#two a lot of the color gang consider red as a younger brother/just a sibling

[nyankoizumi]

how it feels to chew five stickmen.                           stimulate your senses

[ambivalentmarvel]

so the story behind this is that @sreppub​ arrived in my dms saying “sitcom starring two uppity, former rich guys and a regular poor college kid who follow up an online ad and become roommates” and i said something along the lines of “your MIND” and here we are. she does the art, i do the fic, and we both yell a lot along the way. read it on here or ao3 and enjoy!!

The Sitcom Supreme

If Peter or Stephen were around to hear Tony tell the story of how they all ended up rooming together, they would have plenty of objections, to which he would call them both dirty liars, to which they would gang up on him because they’re terrible and like that, to which he would probably throw up his hands in exasperation and/or make the mistake of engaging them in a debate, to which they would grin like wolves because, once again, they’re terrible and like that, but Tony’s the asshole who put up the Craigslist ad, so he gets to start—because he’s terrible and like that.

It’s a common trait amongst the three of them, what can he say?

The beginning of the story does not involve either of the other two, however. It begins with Rhodey, who is only occasionally terrible and like that. Rhodey has been Tony’s best friend since the tender age of fifteen. Considering Tony at age fifteen was a greasy little douche bag with too much money and a whole bunch of daddy issues that were somehow more obvious then than they are in the present, this is an impressive feat. 

Where things start, Rhodey and Tony are roommates at MIT, which is Howard’s school of choice to shove his problem child onto. Tony is supposed to get a single dorm room, but there’s a cockroach problem in that building. Administration has to get creative, which is how Rhodey, fresh out of boot for the fall semester, gets saddled with approximately one hundred and fifty pounds of neglected teenage boy who has only kind of gone through puberty.

The first words out of Tony’s mouth are blunt: “Any chance you have plans to drop out?”

And Rhodey looks at him with a raised brow, efficiently unpacked and totally unimpressed with the enormous stack of Tony’s things wavering in the doorway. “You have any plans to quit being annoying?” he retorts, which set the tone for their entire relationship.

Tony loves him to pieces. 

He’s the older brother he never knew he needed, yanking him by his collar from frat parties on the weekends and to his house for holidays because getting swamped by Rhodey’s six younger siblings is infinitely better than having to wear a suit and tie for Christmas dinner with six CEOs and maybe some senators, depending on the year. In return, Tony sees him through every finals week of his collegiate career, during which Rhodey gets so nervous he usually pukes at least daily and pulls so many all-nighters Tony memorizes the exact shade of red his eyes are at the end.

So, it’s safe to say they get along well. They get along so well, as a matter of fact, that when they stare at each other after their graduation ceremony for their Masters—a two-year process for both of them, and Rhodey receives two degrees to Tony’s four—surrounded by Rhodey’s family and Jarvis, Tony’s lips curl in a smirk Rhodey knows spells the best kind of trouble. “What do you say we keep the roommate streak alive, yeah? Howard’s building an office in New York, and I’m thinking of doing a doctorate at NYU.”

Rhodey’s brows raise, but he’s grinning, so Tony already knows his answer. “Depends. Are you still gonna’ snore?”

“Are you still gonna’ have a stick up your a—”

Mama Rhodes shoots Tony a look from where she’s trying to corral the rest of her kids.

“—butt?” he finishes with a sheepish glance her way.

Rhodey does not even remotely have a stick up his ass, but of the two of them, he features in tabloids far, far less, which Tony somehow uses to his advantage.

“You know it,” Rhodey replies, and so they find a fancy penthouse that Tony mostly pays for, with the excuse of Rhodey satisfying his part of rent via generally covering Tony’s ass to the best of his ability. And he has a lot of ability, honed from years upon years of Tony self-destructing at the drop of a hat, but there’s only so much he can do, especially as his military career just keeps flying higher and Howard just keeps pushing Tony harder.

A few sex tapes, especially wild benders, and crashed cars later, when Howard cuts Tony off and tells him, quote, “I won’t speak to you until you learn to do something other than disappoint me”, Rhodey very gracefully still shacks up with him in their considerably less fancy apartment.

This is all important to know, contrary to what someone whose name may or may not rhyme with Tephen Trange might say about Tony’s “long-winded” and “overly-complicated” storytelling tendencies because it explains exactly why Rhodey is a traitor.

Is Carol a very cool lady who could kick Tony’s ass? Yes. Is she sickeningly cute with Rhodey and not just because a smile from her makes him melt into a pile of fucking goo on the floor? Also yes. Does it probably make more sense for Tony to find roommates who will actually be around to monitor his—allegedly—poor mental health and self-care habits? Okay, fine, yes, but the bottom line is, Rhodey is moving in with Carol and abandoning Tony, and nobody said he had to like it.

(This is not strictly true, what with the approximately ten conversations Rhodey and he have had about his happiness and how, if Tony needs him, all he has to do is say the word and he’ll be back, but Tony has always had a flair for the dramatic.)

The whole idea is that Tony will find someone gone less than Rhodey with all his military business to enjoy having around the apartment. It’s technically a three-bedroom, but he and Rhodey use the extra one for storage. Fortunately or unfortunately, that storage area has become a lot of junk they go through before Rhodey makes his grand exit, and Tony suddenly has the option of having two roommates.

The ad is a low point, he can admit that, but there is a flaw in what Tony loudly calls Rhodey’s master plan to leave him alone to wallow in misery: Tony doesn’t exactly have a lot of friends, nevermind people who he’d want to live with.

“Rhodey. Honeybear. Platypus.”

“The nicknames are old, and you need to stop using them around Carol. She called me Platypus last night during sex, and it ruined the whole mood.”

“You poor thing.”

“She thought it was hilarious.”

If Tony has to lose Rhodey to anybody, by God, Carol is his first choice by a long shot.

“Anyway, as I was saying, Sourpatch—”

“I hate you.”

“—how am I supposed to find someone else to live with?”

Tony is thirty-two and regularly speaks out with all of four people: Pepper, Rhodey, Carol, and Happy. Unfortunately, Happy works in Stark Industries’ California branch and has stated rather firmly that he’s not interested in transferring to the city, Pepper wouldn’t live with another person for love or money, and the other two are spoken for.

It’s a terrible situation to be in, honestly.

“Craigslist,” Rhodey deadpans, fighting with some packing tape.

Tony feels his heart stop beating in real time from his place folding some of Rhodey’s clothes into a plastic tub. His head snaps up, and his jaw drops, absolutely affronted. “You would suggest that I, even disowned and stripped of my former glory—” Tony has several million dollars in the stock market, but that’s neither here nor there and isn’t much compared to the fact that he was supposed to be a billionaire. “—would stoop to looking for live-in friends on Craigslist?”

Rhodey looks up to meet his eyes, unfazed. He’s used to Tony’s antics after nearly two decades of friendship. “Well, I’m not moving out until you have at least one person guaranteed to take my place, so unless you have any better ideas, yeah.” He shrugs—just shrugs, as if he isn’t advising Tony to scrape the bottom of the fucking barrel in terms of reliable people to regularly fall asleep around.

It’s insulting.

“I’m not putting out an ad for a roommate on Craigslist,” he protests, shoving the next horribly colored polo into the tub with disdain.

That night, he tears up thinking about stopping Rhodey from being happy with Carol, and the post is up by the time Rhodey gets up—stupidly early, like normal—for his morning run. Along with his contact information and a few blurry pictures of the place, it includes a blurb about the circumstances.

Best friend moving out. Need a roommate or I will die of Sadness. His girlfriend is cool but hewas mind first. Carol, I am watching you. Two rooms open for business. But not sketchy business. You can just lve there. Current resident (me) is cool and very charming. I am a man. No dumb fuck offers. Thanks.

It could use some work, but Tony’s never been great with words, even less so when he’s crying to rock ballads at two in the morning. He edits it when he wakes up, and by noon that day, it’s looking better.

At seven o’clock that evening, he receives one of two messages that actually work out.

Enter the first offender: Peter Parker.

Peter, Tony will learn, is nineteen, attending NYU—like Tony did, which is a sign, really—for a double major in biochemistry and physics, and has the worst luck of anyone Tony’s ever met.

Rhodey’s moving out in a week—he’s been putting off finding a roommate for a while, alright—and Peter has to legally be out of his dorm in three days. That is quite the predicament, and Tony, by nature, is a curious creature. He is not, however, one for beating around the bush. That results in a text that reads exactly this.

Tony: What the hell did you do?

He could hack through the university files, but explanations are always more fun with a personal touch that’s lacking in, say, an incident report. Tony watches a bubble with three blinking dots for a long, long time, and the reply is surprisingly sparse—sparse enough, in fact, for Tony to have more questions than answers when he receives it.

Unknown Sender: theres been a few things but the kicker was the fire

Tony: The fire?

Unknown Sender: i tried to make popcorn and the microwave blew up

Now that is some problematic behavior Tony can get behind. He amends the kid’s previously non-existent contact information.

Tony: How can they kick you out for that? That’s not your fault.

Roommate (?) Peter: it blacked out the power on the entire first floor

Tony: And?

Roommate (?) Peter: last month i got the blame for contaminating half the campus water supply

Roommate (?) Peter: so i was already on thin ice

Tony: Accidentally?

Roommate (?) Peter: idk sometimes things just happen to me

Tony doesn’t know how to respond to that. If Rhodey knew, he’d never let him live it down. He can hear his annoying laugh in his ears like a premonition—“Hah—Tony, speechless?”—but then there are the dots again and a simple message to follow the last, a touch pathetic.

Roommate (?) Peter: please let me move in

Tony likes him.

Peter shows up on the stairs of the complex thirty-six hours after Tony posted the ad with a backpack and a meager total of six beat-to-shit boxes. The backpack holds nearly all of his school supplies, which makes Tony, in retrospect, genuinely fearful for the integrity of his spine, and the contents of the boxes are sorted, as Tony will learn, into three categories that each have two boxes in them. The categories are fairly simple—clothing, necessities, and whatever other shit he could fit from his dorm—and leave Peter with thrilling possessions such as an entire collection of truly atrocious shirts with science puns on them, a gallon of hand soap, and any food he had in his cupboards.

Thankfully, Rhodey is out furniture shopping with Carol when Tony goes out to meet him, which solves the problem of Rhodey going into overbearing caretaker mode at the sight of a beanpole of a kid failing to manage their life successfully. As someone who has been made many a you-haven’t-eaten-a-meal-in-two-days-and-I’m-secretly-a-panicking-mother-hen casserole, Tony counts his blessings.

Tony waves. “Peter?” he asks, reluctantly changed out of his pajamas for the day.

The kid nods. “That’s me. And you’re Tony?”

“Guilty as charged. Want a hand with those boxes?” he asks, watching Peter lift three at a time.

“No, I got it,” he insists, and then the box on top slides out of his grip and onto the sidewalk.

Peter stares at it for a second before he lets out a long-suffering sigh.

“Maybe I could use some help,” he admits, and with much struggle, the two of them, each with three boxes, waddle inside. There is a moment and only one moment where Tony thinks that it might be nice to have some extra assistance, but with another thought of the things Rhodey would do at the sight of a woefully inept college kid, Tony decides it’s for the best.

Tony leads the operation, considering he has the key and also knows explicitly where they’re going, and he would have to say his biggest complaint about the ordeal is that Sam, who lives in the apartment below Tony and Rhodey with Steve and Bucky, happens to open his door as they walk by.

Being an asshole, he has something to say about it. “Need some help, shellhead?” he crows.

Tony wishes he had a free hand to flip him off.

“Watch your back, Wilson,” he growls in return, a continuation of the beef the five of them have maintained since they met approximately seven years ago, when they all moved in on the same day and kept knocking into each other’s shit in the halls.

When they reach the top of the next flight of stairs and Tony starts to fumble with the key, Peter asks about it. “So—uh—who was that?”

“That was Sam. Part of the deal with moving in is that you harass him and the other two idiots who live with him. He also responds to jackass, douchecanoe, or birdbrain.”

“Birdbrain?”

“It’s an old joke. He had a rather—” Tony grunts, forced to set down his load to unlock the door, “—spectacular run-in with some pigeons a few years ago.”

“Oh.”

“They shat on him. A lot.”

“Oh.”

“It’s a good nickname,” Tony assures him, throwing open the door with his arms flung wide for dramatic flair. “Welcome to Casa Stark. I mean, I guess it’s Casa Stark-Parker now, but if we’re hyphenating, my name goes first because I lived here first.” He holds up a finger as if to stall Peter, who has yet to speak from where his mouth is decidedly blocked by the aforementioned three boxes he is carrying. “And I know what you’re going to say—that Parker-Stark works better because it’s alphabetical—but that is where you are wrong because letters have no place in this house. Numbers are much preferred, and we play by seniority here, anyway.”

He gives Peter a meaningful look that he cannot see because, once again, boxes.

“More on that, by the way—”

“Hey, Tony?” 

He cuts him off which is, objectively, rude, but Tony rarely gets along with people who aren’t a little curt with him from time to time. This is a positive sign, really, so he allows it.

“Yeah?” 

“This can be Casa Stark-Parker, but can we get to somewhere I can set these down? My arms are, like, going to give out on me.”

Not even ten minutes in, and he’s already learned the art of bargaining. Tony’s proud, and he ushers him inside without any more monologues and a grin stretched across his face.

Peter, by virtue of moving in before Rhodey is out, ends up with the room that is no longer being used for storage. Tony has several questions for him, beginning with the fact that, despite the six packets of instant noodles he bothered to bring, he does not appear to have a mattress. Or a desk. Or a dresser. Or anything that’s supposed to go in a room.

His solutions for Tony’s concerns are as follows.

In place of a bed, he has two blankets, one to put on the floor and one to cover himself with. He was planning on sitting on the floor to do schoolwork instead of using a desk. And finally, he was going to leave his clothes in the boxes.

This is all relayed to Tony with an earnest gleam in his eyes and a smile.

Tony blinks in disbelief. Then, very eloquently, he says, “Kid, that is the saddest shit I have ever heard. Aren’t your parents helping you with the move to an apartment?”

The kid shifts from foot to foot, shoving his hands in his pockets and glancing to the side.

Tony’s eyes narrow. As someone who is extremely well-versed in avoidance tactics, he feels very confident in saying that is definitely a fucking avoidance tactic.

“About that,” he begins, “first of all, I’m an orphan.” Jesus Christ. “Second of all, my aunt doesn’t exactly—uh—know I got kicked out of the dorms.”

That is all interesting information, to say the least, but luckily, Tony thrives under pressure.

“Alright. I can respect that.”

It’s not like he never hid anything from his parents. Evading his aunt is Peter’s problem, not Tony’s. None of this is Tony’s problem, really, except then he looks around the room and wonders which of Peter’s boxes are holding his two blankets.

Tony was concerned about Rhodey, but he can’t stop himself.

“But I’m also gonna’ level with you—you’re not sleeping on the ground. You can take the couch.”

The until I get you a proper bed frame and mattress goes unsaid, but sometimes things like that are better as surprises. It’ll be a fun housewarming gift, Tony thinks, and by the time the shipment from IKEA arrives containing both of those things and the aforementioned missing dresser and desk, there will be a third roommate to help put it all together, not that either of them know it yet.

That night, Rhodey and Carol show up with enough ingredients for lasagna to serve four, and Tony delights in showing off Peter as they cook because now he has a “super cool roommate too! Take that, Platypus.”

Rhodey glances to Peter. “If you’re being held hostage, blink twice.”

“Hey!” Tony protests. He is a perfectly lovable roommate, thank you very much, and he’s so offended, he’s not even going to let Rhodey know about his mission to furnish Peter’s room.

God bless her, Carol just laughs.

The four of them get along with surprising ease, considering Peter’s only been around for a few hours. Peter even tries to help with the lasagna, but Tony has a near-photographic memory and has not remotely forgotten the popcorn incident, however vaguely it was described.

“You just sit there and be a nicer person than Rhodey,” he urges him, and Peter nods, hiding his grin behind his hand at the argument that starts.

Once everyone is done, he and Rhodey get suckered into dish duty while Carol spirits Peter off to the living room, claiming she has to warn him about what he’s getting into. Tony doesn’t care enough to complain, and when her back is turned, he splashes a plate of suds onto Rhodey’s front. 

Rather than rise to the bait, however, he raises his brows, slipping into what Tony affectionately calls his big-brother-giving-a-stern-talking-to mode. “You have to be a good example for him, Tones.”

Tony blinks. “I’m sorry, did you just say—”

“I’m serious!” They keep their voices mostly down, but Rhodey’s rises a bit with the declaration.

“He’s nineteen—an adult, in case you forgot. He signed the lease all on his own and everything,” he hisses back incredulously.

He thought he dodged the bullet by not disclosing just how underprepared Peter is to live in an apartment, but Rhodey’s head dips. Tony braces himself for the part of his big-brother-giving-a-stern-talking-to mode where he tells Tony he’s making a bullshit excuse and needs to get it together. “Don’t give me that. He’s a baby adult at best, and you know it.”

Yep, there it is.

“That’s still an adult!”

It is! Tony was on his own way earlier than nineteen. This is not a big deal, no matter how outlandish Peter’s circumstances are for moving out of NYU’s dorms.

“Watch his back.”

Tony scoffs. “It’s not like I was going to feed him to the wolves. I’m barely thirty—I’m not his dad.”

“Tony.”

Ah, the final, crushing blow of this version of Rhodey: his name—but with emphasis.

Tony sighs. “Fine,” he acquiesces. “I solemnly swear I will not let him get up to no good.”

A beat. Rhodey squints at him, slowly lowering the plate he’s holding into the sink. “You told me you refused to read Harry Potter.”

Shit.

Back when the books were first coming out, Rhodey was insufferably obsessed with them, and Tony loves him, but emotionally, he couldn’t handle having Rhodey think he was willing to discuss anything having to do with the series for longer than thirty seconds. Thus, he read the books—everyone in the world was doing the same, okay, and he cannot stand being out of the loop—but lied to Rhodey about it.

And now, he’s been made.

Rhodey and he launch into a very spirited discussion that draws Carol and Peter back to the kitchen, and despite the vein throbbing dangerously in Rhodey’s forehead, the promise has been made.

The day after Rhodey moves out, he and Peter manage to flood the bathroom.

In Tony’s defense, he only promised to look out for Peter. He said nothing about curbing his own dumbass tendencies, and it’s not like Bucky’s bedroom is all that damaged by the leak that Tony fixes before it’s really even a problem.

He and Peter settle into a nice sense of camaraderie, and Tony, content with his situation, forgets to take down his Craiglist ad that, logically speaking, someone would have to dig to find at this point, over a week after initially posting it.

Then, he receives a text that is as simple as it is effective: Is there still an available room in the apartment?

Enter the second offender: Stephen Strange.

Ahem, Doctor Stephen Strange, technically, but Tony has six PhDs. Nobody sees him going around making people call him Doctor Stark, and that’s because it makes him sound pretentious and stuffy, both things Tony prides himself on not being. However, Tony likes to push buttons, and very little gets Stephen worked up as fast as someone ignoring his credentials.

It’s a fun set-up, really, but annoying the piss out of Stephen is something that comes a little later—Tony’s not there yet in the story.

He humors the text, and after getting a read on things, he bursts into the living room, startling Peter nearly off the couch. He’s been doing his homework there and on the coffee table in front of it because the Swedish have many things but fast shipping is, apparently, not one of them, not that Peter knows there’s anything to be waiting on, but he’s getting off-topic.

Peter lets out a short yelp and presses a hand over his heart, both things that Tony ignores.

“We have a situation,” he announces.

“I swear I didn’t do it,” Peter defends pleadingly.

Tony is trying to teach him that messing things up is expected and, especially in particularly magnificent cases, admired in Casa Stark-Parker, but it’s a work in progress.

“I know you didn’t—don’t be ridiculous,” he waves his concerns off. “We are talking bigger than setting things on fire by accident. I bring you, my young protege, the proposition of—” A pause for dramatic effect. “—another roommate.”

“Ooh,” Peter says appropriately, setting his textbook down to examine the texts Tony brandishes. He begins to scroll, but while he does, Tony figures he can go ahead and fill him in on the essentials. It’s a very juicy situation, after all, and he can’t help himself.

“His name is Stephen Strange. He’s a neurosurgeon, but he got into a pretty bad car wreck that messed up his hands. He’s trying to save money while he goes to physical therapy—he apparently has a chance of recovery, but it’s a ways off—and that includes downsizing on where he lives.”

“I mean, yikes, but that’s an oddly specific backstory.”

“I’m glad you think that too, but I am intrigued. I looked him up, and he’s a real person—has a basically flawless reputation, or at least he did before his accident. Thoughts?”

Please say yes, please say yes, Tony thinks. The chance of a competent human—not including Rhodey, who looks more put together than he really is next to the chaos Tony perpetually dwells in—choosing to live with him is too fascinating to pass up, and he needs Peter to see that too.

Peter shrugs. “I’m down if you are. How old is he?”

Victory!

Satisfaction floods Tony, but he tries to maintain his cool.

“Thirty.”

Peter blows out a long breath, tipping his head back to look at the ceiling. “I didn’t anticipate moving into a nursing home,” he remarks dryly.

What a little shit.

It’s worth noting half the reason Rhodey left so easily is because he said he trusted Peter to keep Tony on his toes. Then again, that Tony likes being snarked at is a large part of why they get along so well despite only knowing each other for a matter of days.

“You’re the worst, Parker. I’m going to feed you to the hooligans downstairs. Steve has a monster appetite, you know.”

Peter hums, picking his textbook back up. “Not if I feed you to them first. And, Tony?”

“What?”

“Only old people say hooligans.”

Tony thinks about that one book, Give a Mouse a Cookie or whatever. Except in his case, it’s Rent a Teenager an Apartment, and Tony doesn’t have to adhere to the literary equivalent of a G-rating.

His response to the dig is creative and colorful, and Peter laughs.

Four days and a brief conversation at a coffee shop later—a formality he and Peter did not do and probably something Tony should’ve thought of as the older adult before giving him the address—Stephen’s team of movers invade the apartment.

The man himself stands like a drill sergeant at the last flights of stairs it takes to get to the apartment, arms crossed, beard wild, conducting activity.

Peter and Tony share their evaluations, peeking their head out from the doorway when it’s unoccupied by movers and Stephen isn’t looking their way. This involves quite a bit of ducking, but they are very careful not to be caught.

(Someone’s whose name may or may not rhyme with Tephen Trange later informs that “they were not at all subtle” and “were, in fact, very embarrassing”, but that’s how things with the three of them generally are, so Tony figures it was a good crash course to how life together goes.)

“He’s kind of scraggly,” Peter whispers, his head under Tony’s because he’s the shorter of the two of them, something Tony delights in refuting Peter’s quips about his age with.

“Kind of? He looks like a hobo.”

It’s true, okay? Facially, at least, the guy is a wreck. He’s not quite to Einstein levels of bad hair day, but he’s getting there.

“Be nice,” Peter chastises him. He’s gentler than Rhodey when he does it, but considering neither of them ever shut the hell up and they have thus bonded very easily over the course of their short relationship, it’s gotten to feel as natural as most of their interactions.

“All I’m saying is that I am happy to retain my place as the most attractive person in the apartment, okay?”

They’re forced to retreat from the entryway as another load comes through, and Peter looks at him disbelievingly. “Dream on,” he replies bluntly.

Tony gasps in offense.

Peter shrugs. “Look, I’m just gonna’ say it—you knew Rhodey before me, and now that I’m here—” he trails off, looking at Tony in faux-sympathy that doesn’t match the mischievous glint in his eyes.

While it is true that Rhodey is a fine specimen of a man—yet another reason Tony can’t, in good conscience, be truly angry Carol mooched him away from the bachelor lifestyle—Tony can’t cede that easily for the sake of his pride, and he scowls. “I am going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

They’re still bickering as the movers finish up and Stephen enters the apartment, dressed in what Tony recognizes as the latest from Armani and Tom Ford.

He may not get invited to fashion week anymore, but he still has taste, alright, even if Rhodey limits him to one designer purchase a month.

(Rhodey isn’t around to see what packages he orders now, Tony thinks but shelves the thought for later.)

Tony and Stephen met over coffee, and all three of them said hi to one another before the moving business officially began. However, there is a little stiffness in the air, make no mistake. It’s not Stephen’s fault, exactly, because he’s just kind of a foreboding guy, but still.

It figures that Peter would break the ice. As Tony’s found and will continue to discover, Peter is just as talkative as him. Granted, that trait usually appears in the form of rambling about something from class, but it’s not surprising that his natural passion for life comes through with someone about to be very, very involved in it. 

“Hi!” he begins. “Are all of the movers gone now?”

Stephen raises an unimpressed brow. “Yes.”

His reply is seriously lacking enthusiasm, but Tony isn’t allowed the opportunity to jump on that as Peter keeps going. 

“Sweet! Okay, so welcome to Casa Stark-Parker.”

Woah, woah, woah—timeout.

Tony frowns, raising a hand in a motion for Peter to stop. “I thought that was my thing?” he interjects.

“Well, it has my name in it, so it gets to be both of our things,” Peter replies, then furrows his brow, looking to Stephen. “Actually, since you’re here now, I guess it’s Casa Stark-Parker-Strange. Order’s based on who got here first, sorry,” he explains with a smile that Tony, now familiar with the fact that Peter has more to him than meets the eye, notes is a touch impish.

Tony is pleased to see, despite his generally wholesome appearance, the kid has at least picked up on the power of staking a claim.

Stephen blinks. His hands, Tony has noticed, don’t stop shaking, not even when he folds his arm across his chest, like a physical barrier between him and Peter’s excitement. “Okay?” he drawls slowly, confusedly.

“Tony’s rules, not mine,” Peter assures him as if he doesn’t just want the satisfaction of having his name not be the last in the line-up.

Tony scoffs. “Oh okay, so now we’re throwing me under the bus?”

“You have to take responsibility for your actions, Tony.”

“Oh, sure thing,” he replies, tone betraying that he does not, in fact, think any responsibility is at all necessary. He looks to Stephen, rolling his eyes. “Can you believe what I have to put up with? And it’s barely been a week.”

Stephen blinks again. “I see it’s a lot,” he says measuredly.

Peter gasps, unaffected. “Oh my God, we should make a sign for it,” he enthuses. “We can put it up on the door, and we’d be so much cooler than Sam and them.”

To say that Peter rose to the challenge of bothering their downstairs neighbors with zeal is something of an understatement. 

Tony is, honestly, a fan of the sign idea, especially if it were to light up, but that is where Stephen cuts in, his hands still trembling as he gestures. “Can we slow down for a moment?” He looks carefully from Tony and Peter and back again, bearing the appearance of a man in the throes of realizing he has made a bad decision. 

Tony knows that look well. It usually shows up when Rhodey agrees to one of Tony’s ideas and doesn’t realize just how badly constructed it is until it’s too late.

“First of all, I am fairly certain my car is parked illegally, and before we get too far, I need to fix it before I get towed. And secondly,” Tony watches Stephen’s lips curl in a self-satisfied, I-totally-think-I’m-better-than-you-even-if-I’m-not-technically-saying-it smile, “I am not here to be part of any Casa. I am waiting for physical therapy to work for me, and then I will be out of your hair. I appreciate being able to live here, but—”

Yeah, Tony’s had enough of that. Personally, he would like to thank Rhodey, who, in a way, begins and ends the story, and truly is the greatest best friend a man could have for teaching him how to properly deal with pompous rich people.

“Nuh-uh, none of that. If you’re living here, you’re a part of Casa Stark-Parker-Strange whether you like it or not.”

Stephen looks downright appalled that someone would dare to interrupt him, which, Tony knows from experience, is exactly the kind of shock rich people need to go through. He splutters for a second before he manages to get out a reply, “That was not in the lease.”

Tony spreads his hands as if to say what can you do? “And you didn’t mention in your texts that you were going to try to be a bump on a log, but here we are.”

Perhaps sensing the mounting animosity in the room or maybe just as excited as Tony to have someone to bother, Peter takes advantage of Stephen’s overwhelmed and bewildered state.

“First day with all three of us!” he shouts. “Picture!”

And before anyone can protest—including Tony, who would prefer to be documented in something other than a Black Sabbath tee and his work pants—Peter leans in with the camera on his phone ready to capture the moment.

In the resulting photo, Tony looks vaguely alarmed, Stephen looks pissed as hell, and Peter wears a grin that stretches across his whole face. The whole thing is blurry, and they eventually get it framed.

It’s a beautiful and fitting start to their time as roommates, and in the humble eyes of the asshole who posted the Craigslist ad, that is how the story of how they came to live together went.

[punkinroses]

Soooo. This part has been a lot of work to try and figure out and while I'm still working on the storyline aspect, I did want to start presenting the characters of the Avatar Lian story/the Zutara grandkid is the Avatar au. Some may play bigger roles than others but it's still important to know the family dynamic of everyone so here we go. And we're gonna start with the first family;

Zutara kids

Fire Lord Iroh: The eldest son of Zuko and Katara, affectionately named after his great uncle. Many assumed with such a powerful namesake and with being the heir to the longstanding dynasty, he would be a Firebender. However, the nation was shocked when he demonstrated Waterbending abilities. This leads to a lot of conflict from other nobles of if he should be the Fire Lord or if that role should be passed onto the next in line. Katara and Zuko were both firm that their son was more than capable of being ruler, no matter his bending ability. He has become a man of resilience, patience and understanding, who wants what is best for his nation, though he has his mothers spirit and will not let others try and treat him as lesser. He also tells the corniest Dad jokes, he got that from both sides of that family. Appearance wise, he actually has shorter, dark brown hair than most fire lords before him but still drops down to his chin. While he wears it in the traditional top knot for political meetings and public outings, if he is just relaxing with his family he likes to keep most of it down with a small part pulled into a ponytail. He has a deep tan that's just slightly lighter than his mothers complexion and deep blue eyes. He favors a lot of his father's facial features, but has Kataras smile. His clothes are primarily reds, but still bears some blue and purple in his clothes.

His wife is Fire Lady Tae, the daughter of a prominent noble family and a Firebender. She's someone who sees the healing the nation needs after spending so much time in a strict and rigid order and falling toeards propaganda, even after her father in laws time as Fire Lord. She and Katara also get rather close. She loves tea and the arts and wants to see her home and family prosper. Iroh knew she was the love of his life when she actually laughed at his super horrible jokes. I imagine that scene actually kinda plays out like the one in Mulan 2, where Ling and TingTing are together and she admits she's embarrassed by her laugh and Ling was like "I just thought you had no sense of humor". Like that scene. She has fair skin and long, wavy black hair with a thick topknot that she keeps a gold decorative comb in, a present from Iroh. Her eyes are a paler gold color. Her outfit is actually one that tends to be more common and subtle, rather than extravagant and the gold comb is the only extravagant jewelry she keeps.

Crown Princess Tomoe is the eldest daughter of their union. She is a nonbender and has chosen to learn how to wield swords, as taught to her by her Grandfather. She is a loving older sister to her younger siblings and is also a big supporter of the arts, like her mother. She has an undercut and keeps her dark brown hair flipped to the side or up in a ponytail to show it. Her eyes are gold and her skin is a lighter olive color. She keeps up with the most up and coming fashion trends and dresses the most stylish out of all of the family, but always keeps to outfits she can move freely in.

The secondborn is more than just a princess. Born on the day that Avatar Aang passed, Avatar Lian is an adventurous Waterbending prodigy. She is extremely close to both of her grandparents and wishes to explore like they did in their youth and has always been considered a free spirit. Her animal guide is a Snow Leopard Caribou named Lumi, who was gifted to her by Sokka. She has long, jet black hair she keeps in a half up ponytail with some locks braided back into the ponytail (I always kinda pictured a more viking hairstyle for her) and blue eyes with gold flecks, and her skin is a bit darker than her sisters. She likes wearing a combination of dark blues, golds and blacks, with certain bits of red that accentuate her outfit. I'm also debating on if she is actually given her grandmother's necklace as a parting gift before she goes and travels.

The only firebender out of his siblings, Prince Roku has always been a wild child. He is a very active young boy who loves practicing his firebending as an extension of himself and playing games. He is also very much a tea snob, like his great great uncle before him. His hair is still shorter, nearing his chin and he's like two steps away from either shaving it or going into the new up and coming hairdye products that have been hitting shelves. He's paler than both of his sisters and is a very light olive skinned boy and he has bright gold eyes. Theres also a scar going through his brow from an accident involving him taking a Dragon Moose for a joyride.

Princess Kya: The youngest daughter of Zuko and Katara, affectionately named after her grandmother. As a child, her fire bending abilities came at a young age and very unexpectedly. Many tried to push her into the role of Firelord, something she very quickly rejected. She has instead found herself a role as a diplomat in Republic City and is helping in efforts to fight poverty in the city and helping improve life not only there, but in the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation. She also has been running an academy with the aid of the White Lotus to teach children fromm all nations and heritages to learn bending, weaponry mastery and philosophy. She has long black hair pinned back with bangs framing her face and she's lighter skinned than her brother, but not by much. Her eyes are a dark gold and she's actually the taller of the two siblings. She has a full tattoo sleeve, with the top part of it being a sun and moon combined and the rest of it being differing things from her two cultures, i.e. a dragon, a wave, water tribe designs and a fire symbol at the wrist.

Kya is someone who never focused on romances and was very dedicated to her own work. She's had a couple of failed relationships but has stopped actively looking for love. She wants to focus on her career.

She does, however, adopt two siblings, Gen and Rohan, who had been orphaned after their parents were killed by one of the gangs that had been forming in Republic City.

Gen is the elder of the two and he is an Earthbender. He's very confident in his abilities and is a bit of a jock. His ego is jokingly and lovingly kept in check by his adoptive mother, but she always encourages him to keep doing his best. He's a bit thickheaded but he is very loyal and he absolutely loves messing with his cousins. Hes got short brown hair that's spiked up a bit, tan skin and emerald green eyes.

Rohan loves messing with his cousins as much as his brother does, but he's a bit more of the subdued sibling. He loves reading and philosophy and finds something poetic in his earthbending, wanting to use it to help build and create. He also has a strong sense of justice and wantd to use his gifts and what he's been taught to be put to good use in Republic City and help find who killed his parents. His brown hair is a bit longer than his brothers, his eyes more a green-gray color.

Edit: sharing the link to the other kids list down here!

Sukka Kids; Taang Kids

[queerbutstillhere]

Hi, honey!! I'm back on Tumblr hohoiii 😆 If you still accept prompts can I ask you for: Damian and Jonno's children (a boy and a girl, God knows why😶) are sent to the past and met their daddys who are recently dating. ((Please, make it extremely awkward, some Batfam too)) tysm😙

(Once again, thank ya for giving me a chance to work with these kiddos! I hope you like this!!)

The portal dumped them out in the middle of the air. Because of course it did.

The two screaming kid vigilantes grabbed at each other as they plumpted through the air. Zaina willed her fluctuating powers to kick in, and sure enough, the adrenaline caused the surge and she snatched her brother out of the air, slowing their fall.

"Oof! You're heavy!" She exclaimed, scowling down at him.

"I am not!" The younger teen, built like a rugby player, said with a scowl.

"Yes you are!"

She looked around, flying to the nearby roof and touching down on it, she "gently" dropped her brother to the graveled roof of the tall building.

"Where are we?" Malik asked, popping up and looking around.

"Ummm."

He was already activating his lenses, which were glowing blue now. He looked around, turning a full circle.

"I think we're in Gotham," Zaina asked, walking to the edge and looking down.

"Really? Did he just teleport us away."

"... No, look."

Zaina pointed across the street to billboard on the side of a building, one that had Bruce Wayne, and something about Wayne Industries.

"Oh my God," Malik exclaimed. "Sis. I think we were sent back in time."

Zaina and Malik Wayne-Kent were the children of Damian Wayne and Jon Kent, they had been adopted at 5 and 3, respectively, and had lived with their parents for thirteen years now. Both were born Arabic, but had met Jon during a crisis in their Homeland, their mother having been killed in it, and Jon took very quick steps to make sure the kids were okay, and not long after, he and Damian decided to adopt them.

Zaina was eighteen now, and yet still shorter then her brother. She was only 5'5", and fairly muscular from having done gymnastics almost her whole life. Her black hair was cut short in a shoulder length bob, and she had darker skin like her father. She had, a few months ago, been exposed to platinum kryptonite, and had thus gained the powers of Superman. Only they were still on the fritz. It made her wince to remember the weeks when her hearing was changing, and when her eyes evolved. The good news was she didn't need glasses. Her father had wanted to take them away, but Zaina had begged and begged and made full persuasive essays and finally convinced him to allow her a trial period.

Malik was only sixteen and but he was tall, and broad in the shoulders. He played lacrosse and worked out and ran and all those things, and yes, he was in a rugby league. He was already a hottie at sixteen, and Zaina could not count the amount of girls she had chased away from her brother. His dark hair, more brown then black, was kept short, shaved on the sides and just a little bit of fluff on top. He had no powers, just his wicked sharp intellect and skills with technology.

They had both become teen vigilantes a few years back, having adopted adaptations of some of the previous heroes in their family line. Zaina had become Robin, with a bit of a twist on the uniform, it was more solid black, with splashed of color here and there, her boots, her belt, her cape, her gloves. So on. Soon she probably would switch to a Super title when her powers fully developed. Malik had made his own name, Batboy, until he felt he had earned the Batman title from his father. His costume was a lot like the Black Bat costume, and his cowl didn't completely cover his head, just came up his neck and around his eyes, his hair sticking out the top, and the classic bat ears poking up from the sides.

Their parents had both stepped down from their vigilante rolls for the most part while they were raising the kids, but when the siblings had started sneaking out, they decided to pick the rolls back up so they could properly train them, and watch their backs until they were ready to go out. It's doubtful they ever thought this would happen.....

Their game plan was simple. Find Batman or one of their uncles. Explain. Get taken back to the batcave, and then to the Watchtower so Waverider or someone can send them back to their time.

They split up after Malik resynced their comms, going to opposite ends of the town. Zaina was flying, scanning the streets, listening for the sounds of her family. And then, as it tends to do, her powers just gave out. She screamed as she started falling, scrambling for her grapple gun, which Malik wisely made her keep. And then she landed on something with a small thunk.

"Hey there, you better slow down a bit, shouldn't jump without a grapple in hand."

She recognized that voice. It was a bit younger, a bit more innocent and lively, but she recognized it all the same. She twisted in her savior's arms, looking up at Superboy.

"Pops!" She exclaimed joyfully, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

She probably shouldn't have done that.

Jon chuckled nervously, keeping his hold on her.

"I think you have me mistaken for someone else..."

"Oh. . . No. It's a long story, we need to find ba- Robin, or errrrr....." She paused, considering how she should do this. "What year is it?"

"2019?"

"Okay. We need to find Robin."

".... Who are you?"

"I'm also Robin, but from the future."

Malik had similar luck. He had been poking around the narrows, secretly hoping to find Red Hood, when the screaming hit him. His sensors started going crazy seconds before he could hear it, and then he took off, running through the streets and weaving between cars and signs to reach the source.

He burst around the corner and found a full on gang street fight going down, a couple kids stuck in the middle.

"Hey!" He yelled, his voice projected slightly by his tech.

A couple people paused and turned to him. He grabbed his Bo staff, fully expanding it and hitting a button to send electrical currents through it.

"Back away from the kids."

One of them scoffed, stepping forwards.

"It's one of them batkids. Soak 'em, boys."

Malik easily knocked out the first two, flipping off the third to get back out of range of their bats and knuckles.

"Oh ho! He thinks he's hot shit!"

More thugs rushed at him, but Malik was used to this, he easily beat them all down. Until one got behind him, arms wrapping around his upper arms and squeezing. Another grabbed his Bo at the insulated section, preventing him from hitting anyone.

Then there was a thump and the person behind him let go. Malik reared forwards, headbutting the person in front of him. He judo flipped them quickly before turning back to find the kids. They were huddled against the wall. He took a running start and flipped over some thugs, ducking past others until he was at the kids. There were three total, two younger ones, and a teen, not much younger then him.

"Hi," he said with a smile, smacking another thug with his bo. "I'm going to get you children out of here okay?"

They nodded rapidly. Malik considered his options and then looked at the oldest.

"I need you to carry the smaller one."

She nodded, quickly getting him on her back piggyback style. Malik picked up the other kid the same way. Then he produced his grapple and aimed for the roof. Once it was hooked, he put away his baton, and grabbed the girl with his free arm. They quickly were yanked up and swung over the crowd of gang members to the end of the Street, where it was clear and safe. His shoulder complained greatly, but it was fine.

When he landed, set down the kids and turned around, everyone was gone. Except a vigilante. Robin. His baba.

He recognized his father instantly, having seen enough pictures to know, even with the significant difference.

"Oh thank God."

Robin eyed him warily.

"Who are you."

"I think we best wait for-"

His sensors beeped in annoyance at the detection of two Kryptonian's. He turned and found his sister and a much younger version of his pops landing, Zaina on Jon's back.

"Sis! Are you okay?!" He exclaimed, ditching Damian to run to her. She jumped off and ran over, meeting him and grabbing his face, scanning him over.

"I'm fine! I heard all the fighting!"

"I'm okay, did your powers give out again?"

"Yes! I was up four stories and they dropped and-"

"I told you not to get that high!" Malik protested.

"Hey! Don't lecture me!" Zaina glanced to the side and froze. "You found Baba?"

"Yeah."

"Are we going to tell them?"

"What else do you have in mind?"

"Doesn't that break time travel rules?"

Malik gave his sister an annoyed face.

"No- God, that's not- no, Z, no."

"Excuse me. We have questions," Jon said, stepping up.

"Police are almost here," Malik shot back, the lenses of his mask slightly blue. "We'll talk after."

After they cleared things up with the police, they headed to the batcave, and Malik immediately felt more relaxed in the familiar, yet older interior. He didn't hesitate to pull his mask off, looking around, noting the differences.

"Robin what is this?"

He glanced over to see Batman and immediately went still.

Bruce had died with they were young, they had barely gotten to know him, and Malik especially had very few memories of him... Zaina, on the other hand, gave a sob like noise and smacked her hand over her mouth. Everyone looked at her, confused.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, composing herself. She too reached up and took her mask off.

"You would like an explanation?" Malik questioned, even as he tapped at the screen attached into his glove.

"We would," Damian responded, eyeing him warily.

"I'm Malik Wayne-Kent, this is my sister, Zaina Wayne-Kent, and we're from the future."

Silence hung over the cave after his words and Damian looked thoroughly shocked.

"I'm sorry," Jon said, speaking up. "Did you say, Wayne-Kent?"

"Yes."

Damian opened his mouth, shut it once, and then spoke. "Please tell me you are Drake's children?"

"Afraid not," Zaina said with a head shake. "You're our baba."

There was another several beats of silence, and then Bruce seemed to put two and two together.

"And your other parent is..... Jon?"

Malik nodded. "Pops."

"Which makes me your grandfather."

Another nod from Zaina.

"You're kidding me. If you're joking right now I'll-" Damian clenched his jaw and looked up at Jon.

"Wait, are you two.... What half of 2019 is this?" Malik asked. "Have you not started dating yet?"

Bruce opened his mouth, looking at his son, and then back at his future grandchildren.

"Oh, dear," Zaina said softly, leaning into her brother. "I don't think they have."

"Oops."

"Wait so you're telling me we get married?!" Jon exclaimed, shocked.

"Uh, well in our timeline you do. When we got spit out here, we created a separate time line from ours."

"And. She . . . She has powers," Jon said, pointing at Zaina.

"I was given them by Platinum kryptonite," Zaina explained. "You wanted to take them away, baba, but I managed to convince you otherwise."

"Sounds like something you'd do," Jon said, nudging Damian.

"Shush, Jon, this is important. We have to get them back to their timeline before we change anything else accidentally."

Bruce was sitting there in silence and then he looked to his son.

"Damian. Are you two dating?"

Damian winced slightly. "Just a few weeks ago...."

"... Okay. I'm going to go prep the jet. We'll head to the watchtower."

The four watched him walk away. Then Zaina looked at Damian.

"It's really odd seeing you guys do young," she said, smiling lightly.

"I imagine so... We really let you two be vigilantes?"

"You didn't really have a choice. I hacked into the cave and then we snuck out every night until you decided to just train us."

Damian and Jon didn't quite know what to do with their children, just kinda awkwardly looked at them.

Malik finally turned and walked away, over to the dino. "Man, this thing is so old."

"Okay, you young pup," Zaina said with a laugh, following after.

"So whose all what in this time line?" Zaina asked, looking over to Damian and Jon, who were whispering softly.

"Pardon?" Damian asked in a cold tone she wasn't used too.

"Uncle Dickie, he's.... Nightwing?"

Jon nodded, his arm was around Damian now.

"Dick's Nightwing, Jason is Red Hood. Cass is Black Bat, Barbara is Batgirl slash Oracle, Steph is Spoiler, and Tim is .... Drake," their pops explained. "Obviously we're Superboy and Robin, and Bruce is Batman."

"Bruce is dead in your timeline isn't he?" Damian asked, walking away from Jon and torwards them.

They exchanged a look, and then Malik nodded.

"There was an accident.... No one could stop it. I'm sorry," he said softly.

Damian shook his head, gently hugging Malik.

"No. I'm sorry. How old were you?"

"I was only five, Zaina was eight."

"I remember him more then Malik," Zaina offered, looking sad now.

Malik, hugging his baba back, looked up to Jon, who looked contemplative.

"But, again, we accidentally changed your time line, so that may not happen. Just like you two may not get married, and you may not adopt us."

"... As far as I'm concerned those seem like fixed points in time," Jon said.

Damian sighed and pulled back, giving Jon a look, and then he hugged Zaina.

"Who am I? In your time?"

"First and foremost your our dad," she answered. "But you're also a businessman and Batman. Once Malik is old enough, you're going to give him Batman."

Damian nodded as he considered this, but went silent, stepping back to stand next to Jon.

They had a very awkward flight to the Watchtower, Zaina and Jon quietly chatting about their powers, and what Zaina had developed so far. Malik sat next to Damian, silently working on his tech, as always. He was obsessive about keeping it updated, always changing the programing. Some of his features didn't work due to the lack of connection to the Wayne Satellites of the future, but enough of them did that he could still preform scans, bouncing off nearby cell phone towers.

"What's that?" Damian asked, watching him tap at the screen on his forearm.

"It's my control panel."

"For what?"

"My OTL."

"What."

"It's. . . Optical lenses in my mask, look."

Malik held it up, flicked on the blue lenses and then turned, looking at Zaina. On his screen, a digital display of a file popped up.

"I can also do this."

He triple tapped it and it was projected up into a hologram.

"Oh."

Zaina leaned forwards, arms on her brothers shoulders. "Malik's a genius. He programs all his tech himself. Even uncle Tim and Aunt Babs can't keep up with him."

Malik flushed, looking down. "I just like programming."

"You'd never guess it, from his public appearance, but he'd a major nerd. Jock Nerd type."

"Okay Prep Jock, shut your mouth."

Zaina giggled.

"So, what are you two's vigilante names?" Bruce asked from the cockpit.

"I'm Robin," Zaina answered, looking up to her grandfather. "But pops and I have agreed once my powers and are more consistent, I'm going to take up another name, Supergirl or something."

"And I'm Batboy, for now."

Bruce nodded slightly.

"I know you guys have a lot of questions, but I am afraid we won't be able to answer some of them," Malik said. "There's somethings I don't dare mess with, timeline wise."

"We understand," Bruce answered. "this isn't our first time messing with time travel."

The rest of the flight was awkward silence. They got to the watchtower and confused everyone they talked to.

"Where's Waverider?" Bruce asked J'onn, who was on duty at that moment.

"He has not been around for several-"

There was a burst of sparks and then suddenly Waverider appeared in front of them. He gave Malik and Zaina a startled look. They waved.

"You two are much bigger," he remarked.

"Well, that's what happens when you aren't hoping around the time stream," Zaina said with a grin.

"Your father's are probably waiting for you," he said, walking over to them. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Zaina backed away, and then spun to Bruce. "I know you don't know me. But... Can I just give you a hug?"

Bruce chuckled and nodded, opening his arms. "Come here."

She ran over, crashing into his body, hugging him tightly. Bruce gently hugged her, rubbing her back.

"It's okay, I don't know what happens, but I understand," Bruce said softly, kissing her head.

"I love you, grandpa," she murmured softly.

"And I can not wait to meet you again, little one."

Zaina pulled away, reaching up and adjusting her mask. Bruce looked to Malik and held open his arms. Malik immediately gave in and ran over, hugging him. They exchanged no words, just hugged. And then Malik stepped back, and Waverider grabbed onto both of them.

"Goodbye, and thank you," Zaina said to the younger versions of their fathers.

"Bye! Be safe!" Jon said with a grin.

And then they were gone.

They appeared back in their time, right in front of their fathers at the batcave. Damian jolted slightly, and then raised an eyebrow.

"Waverider?"

"Hey, Damian. Jon."

"What's up?" Jon asked, setting down his cup of tea.

"Oh, not much, found your kids in 2019. Figured you might like them back."

"Indeed we would."

"Well, see you around."

Waverider disappeared again. Malik sighed and pulled off his mask, walking forwards and hugging his baba.

"It's been a weird day, and I'm ready for bed. Good night baba, good night pops. I love you," Malik said, heading towards the locker room.

"Love you too, kiddo," Jon called after him.

They looked at Zaina. "So what happened?"

"I'll explain over some hot cocoa and smores."

[elenasouthside]

HOLY SHIT IS THAT [ DANNA PAOLA ]?! Oh, wait it’s just [ ELENA SUÁREZ ]. Damn, [ SHE ] looks good for [ 23 ], good thing that they’re [ BISEXUAL ], I might have a chance. I hear that they call them the [ PROM QUEEN ] of the [ SOUTH SIDE ]. I guess that’s because they’re [ LOYAL ] and [ AMBITIOUS ]. But I don’t think a lot of people know that they’re also [ QUICK-TEMPERED ] and [ VENGEFUL ]. Can’t wait to see what kind of trouble [ TEA/25+/EST ] will bring. 

01.  BASICS

Full Name: Elena Estrada Suárez

Nickname: Ella was a common one growing up, especially by her siblings, but she isn’t the biggest fan. Aside from that, she’s had plenty of not so pleasant nicknames in the past.

Sex/Gender: Cisgender Female

Birthday: July 28th

Age: 23

Astrological Sign: Leo

Occupation: She works at The Secret Garden and the Twilight Drive-In

Spoken Languages: Spanish, English

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Birthplace: Casa Grande, Arizona

Relationship status: Single

02. PHYSICAL TRAITS

Hair Color/Style: Her hair is usually in bouncy curls or waves transitioning from dark brown to blonde. But occasionally she does straighten her hair.

Eye Color: Dark Brown

Face Claim: Danna Paola

Height: 5′3

Weight: 110 lbs

Tattoos: None

Piercings: Both earlobes are pierced

Unique Attributes: N/A

Defining Gestures/Movements: She drums her nails often

Posture: Very good

03. PERSONALITY TRAITS

Pet Peeves: People that chew with their moves open, interruptions 

Hobbies/Interests: Shopping and painting are her main ones

Special Skills/Abilities: She can make any piece of clothing look good

Likes: Shopping, painting, music, the Elites, acting, sewing

Dislikes: Working, most of the Southside (not the people, just the area itself), gangs

Insecurities: Her money status is a big one

Quirks/Eccentricities: She bites her lip

Strengths: Driven, clever, loyal, persistent

Weaknesses:Perfectionist, stubborn, devious, bossy

Speaking Style: Very casual but smart, sounds like she knows what she’s talking about all of the time

Temperament: Quick to change, if you get on her bad side, she will make you regret it and still act like she loves you

04. FAMILY & HOME

Immediate Family: Maria Montiel (Mother), Arturo Suárez (Father), Luis Suárez (Older brother), Josefina Suárez (Younger sister), Ricardo Montiel (Younger half-brother)

How do they feel about their family? She’s very close to her brother Ricardo, there’s a 10 year age difference between them but she looks after him a lot and he’s one of the few people that see her softer side. She’s the most distant with her father and her brother Luis, but she does still care for everyone in her family.

How does their family feel about them? Ricardo idolizes Elena, she’s a great older sister to him and she tries to set a good example. Maria cares about her a lot and is thankful for what she does to help out the family. Josefina enjoys talking to her over the phone and seeing her on the rare vacation but they don’t have too much in common now. The rest of family cares about her, Luis has seen her “Queen Bee” side and that’s part of why they aren’t as close as the rest of them.

Pets: Ricardo has been trying to get a dog for a few years now but they don’t have one.

Where do they live? A trailer in Sunnyside

Description of their home: It’s larger than a normal trailer, but it only has two bedrooms, one for her mom and one for her and Ricardo. Very clean, exception being her brother’s side of the room which always seems to end up with clothes everywhere. 

Description of their bedroom: Her side is very nice, most expensive looking items she can get and is practically magazine ready. But she shares it with Ricardo so his side is messier and it’s hard sometimes to keep the divide.

05. THIS OR THAT

Introvert or Extrovert?

Optimist or Pessimist?

Leader or Follower?

Confident or Self-Conscious?

Cautious or Careless?

Religious or Secular?

Passionate or Apathetic?

Book Smarts or Street Smarts?

Compliments or Insults?

Pajamas or Lingerie?

06. FAVORITES

Favorite Color: Pink or Red

Favorite Clothing Style/Outfit: She likes to dress as high class as she can get, thrifting clothes to make them nicer is her favorite thing to do. She enjoys dresses and nice jackets the most. 

Favorite Bands/Songs/Type of Music: Honestly, her mother’s music taste is her favorite. Anahi, Thalia, Belinda, Natalia Jimenez, Ricky Martin, she’s grown up with plenty of Latin singers and their songs never fail to make her smile. Aside from that, she does enjoy a lot of pop songs in general.

Favorite Movies: Her all time favorite movie is Mean Girls. But she enjoys a lot of those “chick flicks” like Legally Blonde, Hitch, etc. She does enjoy horror movies, but she prefers saving them for a night with friends.

Favorite Books: Elena will read just about anything, she enjoys lots of books

Favorite Foods/Drinks: Her mother’s sopes are her favorite, and she loves Coca-Cola

Favorite Sports/Sports Teams: She isn’t too well versed in sports but she enjoyed watching the Northside’s football team

Favorite Time of Day: Afternoon

Favorite Weather/Season: Summer

Favorite Animal: Dogs

07. MISCELLANEOUS

Fears/Superstitions: She believes in La Llorona and that telling someone about nightmares stops it from coming true. Other than that, not much.

Political Views: Liberal

Addictions: Probably shopping

Best School Subject: She made sure to keep her grades up in everything, but science was her best

Worst School Subject: There wasn’t a particularly bad subject for her, but her lowest grades were in math

School Clubs/Sports: Before she moved to Riverdale, she was a cheerleader, but she was too busy with work and her family to join clubs and sports once she moved

How does she get money? She works two jobs

How is she with technology? Very good, she’s on it constantly posting pictures and such

08. PAST & FUTURE

Fondest Memory: Shortly after moving to Riverdale, she took Ricardo to Sweetwater and had a picnic and just hung out together for the day

Deepest, Darkest Secret: She has been considering doing some illegal activities to help get money quicker.

Dream Vacation: Morelia, Mexico. Elena wants to see where her mother grew up

Best thing that has ever happened to this character: Learning how to sew

Worst thing that has ever happened to this character: Moving to Riverdale

What do they want to be when they grow up? She switches a lot, most recently she wants to be an actress. But it really doesn’t matter as long as she can be famous from it.

Perfect Date: A nice restaurant, classy, like something out of a movie.

09. BIO

Elena was born in Casa Grande, Arizona as the second child to Arturo and Maria Suárez. Her older brother, Luis, is 2 years older than her and her younger sister Josefina is 4 years younger than her, for most of her life, they got along really well. Actually, her whole family got along really well. But when she was 10, it was revealed that there were actually more problems with her parents than she thought. Her father had cheated on their mother and as revenge, Maria slept with another man and got pregnant, having her younger brother Ricardo. Elena’s parents divorced, Maria took back her maiden name, and as time passed and money became harder to find, her mother moved to a town called Riverdale and took 16 year old Elena and 6 year old Ricardo with her.

Moving was tough on her, she was used to be the popular and smart cheerleader at her old schools and while she got along less with her father and brother after the cheating scandal, she missed her sister a lot. Plus, they were on the Southside and could only afford a trailer. Not that she minded sharing with Ricardo too much. Still, when in town she would see the Northsiders and the Elites and wish she was one of them instead, so she began finding ways to dress like one. Sewing was always a skill she had, and finding clothes from thrift shops wasn’t too hard, soon enough she felt like she was back home. Not exactly as popular or a cheerleader but close enough for her.

Luis didn’t like that side of her, the “Queen Bee” side he saw at school or with her friends, and they ended up being a lot more distant than she’d like. And he seemed to take their father’s side in any argument about the cheating that would come up, while Elena usually sided with her mother. So they talk sometimes, exchange a few words whenever they have to, but that’s it. Josefina was 6 when their parents divorced, a little too young to fully understand everything that happened, but she loves talking with her on the phone about whatever tv show the young girl was watching. With her father, Elena partly blames him for being the reason she had to move. If he just didn’t cheat in the first place, then her mom wouldn’t have cheated as revenge and they wouldn’t have gotten a divorce. So their relationship is only a little worse than her relationship with Luis, occasional pleasantries but mostly try to avoid each other.

Her grades were definitely enough to get her a scholarship to a college, and she was offered a few, but unfortunately she didn’t go. Her brother was only 8 and her mom couldn’t take care of everything by herself so she declined with the hopes that eventually she’ll be able to go to a good college and help her family out more afterwards once they have enough money to survive without her or Ricardo is old enough to work himself.

[sorenmarie87]

In The Middle Of The Ride characters

I forgot I had this but if you want to get to know some of my original babies - Here you go. 

Name: Ryuichi A. Madison Age: 18 Height: 5’1’’ Parents: Mom (Elizabeth)- DJ Dad (Jack)- Animator Eye Color: Light Green Hair Color: D. Brown (Dyes it red)

Background: Before Ryuichi was born her mother (Elizabeth) was in college to become a prize-winning pianist but followed Jack to England. (She changed her major to become a DJ), overseas she became famous while Jack worked at his animation.  Before having Ryuichi, Jack and Elizabeth were married on September 7th 1986.  On July 31st 1987, Ryuichi was born and she meets Will for the time when he’s in the hospital visiting his father.  When she was 3, they moved back to America (Jack had been offered a job working on his newest cartoon and they had requests for Elizabeth in nightclubs).

Name: Madeline (Maddie) Parker Age:  18 Height: 5’6’’ Parents: Mom- Chef   Dad- Teacher (Geometry teacher) Eye Color: Hazel Hair Color:  Red Loves: Writing, singing and dancing

Background: Moved from Louisiana and meet Cordy and Ryu in the 4th grade.  She was born on a floating boat casino on May 8th, 1987.  Maddie loves to write music and singing occasionally. She has an older sister named Isabelle and an older brother named Martin (Marty) She also has a younger sister, Leora, and another younger brother named Daniel.

Name: Cordelia (Cordy) Turner Age: 18 Height: 5’8’’ Parents: Lives w/ mom- College professor Eye Color: blue Hair Color: black hair Born on August 3rd, 1987

Background:  Her parents separated when she was four years old and no one has seen her father since then.  Cordy’s mom teaches at the elementary school for the fourth grade.  Her, Maddie and Ryuichi have tried starting a band (hasn’t performed yet).  Maddie writes, Ryuichi plays the guitar and Cordelia sings (although she tries very hard to get Ryuichi to sing)

Name: Lucille (Lucy) Taylor Age:  18 Height: 5’10’’ Parents: Mom (Leilani)- lawyer Dad (Luke)- Animator   Eye Color: D. Brown Hair Color:  D. Brown

Born on April 1st, 1986

Lucy is the type of person who acts and talks tough, but is really a great person to be around.  Lucy is very protective of her family (Lucas and Ryuichi def.)  Lucas and Lucy are only a few hours apart, but Lucas is the older sibling.  (Fraternal twins) Has some anger issues, and when her dad finds out she's dating someone named Lindsey, he assumes that his daughter is a lesbian... but she isn't.

Name: Alice Wonderly Age:  17 Height: 5’3’’ Parents:  Mom- Nurse Eye Color:  Blue Hair Color:  Blonde Born on October 13th, 1988

Background: Alice was born in the country.  She was born on Oct. 13, 1988.  Was friends with Ryuichi and Erin when they were in elementary/middle school.

(She's the kind of person that if there's someone her friend doesn't like, she doesn't like that person either.  Goes with the crowd basically.  Although she considers Ryuichi a very good friend.)

Very kind and considerate, she is very protective of her friends & family.  Alice is an only child and lives at home with her mom.  Others consider her bad luck, but she is very lucky actually.

Very quiet

Name: Erin Ophelia Mackenzie Age: 17 Height: 5’5’’ Parents: Mom - Lawyer Dad - Doctor Eye Color:  amber with flecks of honey Hair Color: red (short) Born on September 15th, 1987

Background: Erin was actually Ryuichi's first best friend.  They met for the first time in the 2nd grade.  Her birthday is on Sept. 15, 1987.  Over time, she drifted from her friends and became very interested in other things (I.E. sports and whatever else) She stopped talking to Ryuichi because a major argument they had.  To get back at Ryu (because Erin always has to get her way) she has to bully her in some way.

-Interested in Will only because she finds Ryuichi's reaction amusing

Name: Hilda Roberts "Quatre" Age: 23 Height: 5’6’’ Eye color: Aqua blue Hair color: Blonde

Background:  Lindsey’s older sister who married the owner of a clothing shop.  She met her husband Wolfram in college while she was studying theatrics; she’s good at improv, which explains the toaster.  She was working with the fashion students on a production her class was putting on; they were introduced and instantly were attracted.  Anita and Pilot like Hilda, mainly because they feared their son was gay, but are happy with his choice.

Name: Charlie White Age: 22 Height: 5'7'' Parents: mom- works at a library, dad- works at an advertising agency Hair Color: Brown w/ red highlights eye color: Blue

Background: Charlie was born on Dec. 31, 1985 in a small town.  She has one younger sister named Remy who is 12.  Her parents are married, and she hopes for the same kind of relationship.  Met and started dating Dominic in his freshman year (her junior year) So she has gotten used to him dressing in girl's clothes from time to time.

Works at a coffee shop on her college campus and still lives in town.  Is unsure if she should go see Dominic or not.  (Her feelings for him never changed.) Working on a degree in early childhood.

Name: Will Sparrow Age: 18 Height: 6’2’’ Parents: lives with grandparents Eye Color:  Blue Hair Color: Black -Born on February 12th, 1986

Background: Will was born on Feb. 12, 1986 in a small province of England.  He is the middle child out of three younger sisters (Yasmin-3, Aiden-11, Rhiannon-15) and two older brothers (Caden-21, Benjamin-28)  When he was three years old his father was in the hospital for an extended amount of time.  The night he met Ryuichi's mom, he was on his way home from visiting his dad.  His grandparents offered to take care of him until his dad got better.  He used to play and visit with Ryuichi until the day she moved to America (He never forgot the promise they made when they were little...)  His grandparents moved to America a few months later, and Will's mom sent him to live with them.  He was home tutored until 15, then he was sent to a high school near them and for his junior year, they moved him to LHS.  His other siblings still live in London with his parents.

Name: Jamie Starr Age: 18 Height: 5’11’’ Parents: None. Lives with older sister and her husband. Eye Color:  Brown Hair Color:  Brown

Background: He was born March 30th 1988 in New York City. His parents died in a car accident three years ago. Jamie's sister took him in after the accident. They just recently moved to the area where Jamie met Ryuichi and her friends. Jamie's sister and her husband own a popular coffee shop/bakery in town. Jamie loves to write. He also loves sweets.

Name: Mark Renart Age: 24 Height: 6’2 Eye Color: Green Hair Color:  Blonde

Background: He is the newest addition to Lasiter High School. He teaches honors and AP English for the juniors and seniors. He lives in an apartment near the school. Mark usually isn't into dating anyone younger, but clearly he makes an exception for one of the students...

Name: Lindsey Houst Age: 18 Height: 6’4’’ Parents: Mom & Dad own a restaurant Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Sandy Blonde -Born on November 29th, 1986

-Moved from Australia when he was 10 and his parents own a restaurant called “Sheila's”

Name: Lucas Taylor Age:  18 Height: 6��1’’ Parents: Lives at home occasionally stays with Elizabeth & Jack Eye Color: D. Brown Hair Color:  D. Brown -Born on April 1st, 1986 -He is Ryuichi’s cousin and Lucy’s brother.

Name: Gavin Smith Age: 18 Height:  5’11’ Parents: Mom - writer Dad-owns his own business Eye Color:  Hazel Hair Color: Brown

Background: Born on March 11th, 1986 but no one actually knows how his eyes got to be orange, but a lot of people don’t believe he wears contacts.  Gavin’s family moved from place to place before settling into his home in the city.  His older sister is named Samira, his younger brothers are Samuel, Brody, and Tommy, and his younger sister is Joanne.  He went to middle school with Cordy, Maddie, and Ryuichi.

Name: Dominic Hayden Howard Age: 18 Height: 6’0’’ Parents: Lives with his sister (Penny) and her girlfriend (Cassidy) -parents are in Ireland Ashton- Penny's son Eye Color: Green Hair Color:  Red -Born on January 3rd, 1986

Background: Dominic’s parents first met when they were on a trip to Ireland and moved to the U.S. after Penny was born.  He was born on Jan. 3, 1986.   Transferred from different schools due to bullying and harassment issues from other students, and has only been in an all-boys school once. The last school he was in was where he met Charlie.  After 2 yrs of dating, Charlie broke up with him and he moved again.  He spent a year trying to make other friends but it didn't succeed.   On his first day of school at Lasiter High, many people were shocked to find he was a boy, and not a girl. Lives with his sister Penny, her girlfriend Cassidy and their son Ashton.  They take vacations with their mom and dad but this year he declined.  

Name: Sebestyen Erikson Age: 28 Height: 6’ Parents: both therapists Eye color: Left- blue, right- green Hair color: faded Green

Background:  With both of his parents being therapists, Sebestyen’s childhood was very messed up.  His family originated from Germany where his parents met at school.  They moved from various areas of Europe before moving to America.  Although he was teased in school, he refused to go to any psychiatrists or therapist, so he resorted to storytelling so he could tell half-truths to everyone around him.  Knows Hilda, Penny and Cassidy from middle school but hasn’t seen them in forever.  Works at the high school as a janitor and as a greeter for stores when it’s Christmas time.  Sebestyen is easy to get along with; he just needs some getting used to.

Name: Wolfram Roberts Age: 29 Height: 6’2” Parents: Anita and Pilot Roberts Eye color: Unknown, he where’s contacts with a different color every day. (NOTE: Not even Quatre knows!) Hair color: Platinum Blonde

Background:  He is married to Hilda, Lindsey’s sister.  He owns a clothing shop and sells his own clothing from his own line of clothes rightfully called “Ambiguous”.  The gang frequently refers to him as Lindsey’s “Ambiguously gay brother in-law”.  His parents Anita and Pilot are rich business owners, along with Wolfram’s brother Zeb and his sisters Manon and Mem, or otherwise considered by Wolfram seeing as he is the youngest, “The Triplets”.  It is thought that the multitude of tea parties and dress up games Manon and Mem forced him into caused the resulted Ambiguously gay Wolfram.

[umbrahighpriestofgiratina]

Progenitors

This was a Father’s Day fic that was originally going to be a micro fic until it got way, way longer than that. It involves Xerneas being a good dad and suffering anyway.

He stood and stared at it, even with nothing but literal empty space to stand on. This strange orb of great size, made of barren rock and shifting magma wreathed in a thin veil of gas, floated before him amidst countless glittering stars, distant but even more massive. The one he had been told by Arceus themself to give the gift of life. Life. He embodied it, it flowed through him and radiated from him through the metaphysical heartbeats and breaths of the other Legendaries of this universe, and himself as well, flowing through his thin, hooved legs and body, his spiraling antlers, and shining from his wide, eager, X-pupiled eyes. But creating life himself... he was nervous. Only Arceus themself had done it before. If he failed this, he'd be the embarrassment of every other Legendary in the universe. He shifted his front hooves nervously, realizing he'd need help but too nervous to ask. Then he got an idea. He reared up, cupped his hooves together, and let the life radiating from his body flow through them, congeal, become gas then liquid then a solid shape forming between them until he had... An egg. A light pink egg. He blinked, stared at it in confusion. This... Wasn't this the sort of thing Arcus and their children had hatched from? He had the strangest feeling Arceus had helped him, but why? Before he could ask himself further questions in that vein, the egg began to crack. He panicked - had he done something wrong? Would something horrible emerge, or would it explode in his face? But the eggshell fell away to reveal a tiny pink creature, one with a large head, tail, and hind paws but small forepaws, making mewling sounds and stirring softly. "I... I did it!" he said. "Oh wow, this is amazing, I'm a huge step closer..." The creature began mewling louder and clinging tightly to his leg. "Ah! It's OK, it's OK..." He used his hooves to ease the creature upward to his chest, where it clung tightly to his fur and mewled more softly. "O-OK, you seem better now, that's good..." The small creature opened their large eyes and made a more coherent noise looking up at him with wonder. "...Mew?" He gave his own look of wonder back himself. "Wow, you already have your first word! Well, kinda, sorta... Mew, was it? That's actually a nice name, I'll call you that! I'm Xerneas." He cradles them with a hoof, and they buried thir face in his fur, mewling more affectionately. "Heh... Some of the other Legendaries call Arceus their "father"... Does that mean I'm yours?" Mew looked up at Xerneas again. "Mew!" "Guess that settles it! Oh, that must mean you're my son! Er, or daughter, or neither, I can't quite tell yet..." Mew merely clambered up to Xerneas' horned head and curled up in his antlers. If he had a visible mouth he would have smiled. "Get as much rest as you need, little fella..." He looked back to the barren orb before them. "...We're gonna have a job to do." --------- The heat was insufferable, even to them as beings of great metaphysical power. A red sky marked by a blindingly bright sun and moon looming huge - Xerneas wondered briefly how Solgaleo and Lunala were doing - stretched over them, seeming hostile to any and all possibility of life. And yet here they were, in front of a pool of water amid the barren landscape, trying to create exactly that. "Daddy?" Mew said, looking at the pool curiously, "What is this?" Xerneas turned his head to her - she was a girl, they both had realized - and pointed a hoof to the liquid. "This? It's water! It's what we're gonna need to make life on this planet!" "Make... Life?" "Yeah! Like, we're both life, in a sense... But we need to make a new kind of it for this planet!" "But... What, Daddy, and how?" Xerneas shifted a bit, nervously. "That... I'm not sure of." "Maybe we should start small! Like, really super small! I could try!" Xerneas looked at her for a second, then nodded. "Go ahead! You remember what I said about using your powers, right?" "Yeah! Lemmie try!" She scrunched up her face as her body glowed; minerals and water were drawn from the pool and coalesced around her, forming particles that fell into the pool,dispersing, dissolving. She opened her eyes and looking down, frowned when nothing seemed to have changed. "It didn't work..." Xerneas frowned with his eyes as well. "Well, maybe we should try agai-" He suddenly looked at the pool more intently. "Wait! I sense something! An aura of life, it's small, but it's there!" His eyes glowed, and his and Mew's vision grew more amplified until they could see tiny round shapes squirming in the pool. "Daddy! It worked! I made those!" "Yeah! Great job!" The squirming shapes begin to divide, multiply. "And they're making more by themselves!" said Mew, giddly. Xerneas blinked. "How? They don't power like ours..." Their vision zoomed further, and then before them were strange spiraling molecular spirals, which to the two glowed in various colors, splitting and recombining. "They... They have a physical code inside themselves!" said Xerneas. "One that lets them make more of their kind and is changing by itself every second!" "And the code spirals just like your antlers!" said Mew. "Oh, wow! I didn't notice that before, that's awesome!" He was suddenly hugged by Mew. "We did it, Daddy!" "Haha, yeah, woo!" said Xerneas, stomping a hoof triumphantly. "Mission accomplished, Mew!" He looked back to the pool. "...Well, not quite yet." "What do you mean, Daddy?" "Well, so far this new life's only taken up one small pool..." He looks around the barren landscape. "Let's see what happens if it - and we - keep going! ------------------- Xerneas looked around at the massive forest before him; lush, green, teeming with life - both the trees themselves and smaller plants, and the creatures scurrying and crawling and flying amid them. He could feel them, their Auras, the forces that flowed through each and every one of them, and it gave him peace. He noticed one of those creatures land on his head - a large, green, segmented beast with red compound eyes and four massive wings - before glowing, stretching, shrinking, to reveal Mew. "That's always so much fun, Dad!" Xerneas laughed. "You really like the shapeshifting, huh?" "Yeah!" said Mew. "I can be anything on this planet! I can crawl and fly and swim and use any of their powers and do anything!" She frowned. "It's kinda exhausting too, though..." Xerneas frowned with his eyes. "Why's that?" "There's so much life on this planet now, especially since I was born... It's hard to be a protector and all that stuff to it all, even with your help..." She shuddered. "Especially when disaster happens and a lot of it... dies... at once... I mean, Aunt Yveltal helps take care of that, but still..." Xerneas looks at her forlornly before suddenly perking up. "Wait! I've got an awesome idea!" He cups his hooves again, charges energy between them, similarly gradually solidifying as before into an egg. Mew watched in fascination as another small, pink creature just like her emerged from the egg. Xerneas gave a look that if he had a visible mouth would be a goofy grin. "There! Now you have a younger sibling to help you out!" His eyes looked down at the new Mew and glowed. "Looking at his Aura, I think I'm better at this than you were born... I think he's a boy?" "A little brother!" said Mew. "He's so cute!" She floated up to and nuzzled the new Mew, who mewled back almost irritably. Floating back, she furrowed her brow. "What do we call him? Mew two?" Xerneas laughed. "That name's boring! If you're both going to be Mew, you should be Mew with different names!" "Okay! Um..." She scrunched up her face, then pointed at her newborn brother with a paw. "His name is Bartelby!" The second Mew mewled irritably, and Xerneas laughed again. Mew then pointed to him. "And what should my name be, Dad?" Xerneas blinked, looked away for a while in deep thought, then looked back to her, smiling with his eyes again. "Pandora." -------------- Not too far off from where Xerneas stood, two saurian Pokemon with white-feathered crests and beards were biting and clawing at each other in a territorial tussle. He was not so much concerned with that, however, as the sibling squabble before him. "Bartelby, you need to mind your own business!" "I was, Pandora, until I needed help with some forest blight and you were off cavorting with a clutch of Tyrunt!" "You're one to talk like that, Bartleby," said a third Mew, "considering you were messing with me over a pond's ecosystem earlier!" A fourth Mew, blue unlike his older siblings' pink, looked between them with concern. "Pandora, Bartelby, Guyana..." he said, "please stop fighting..." "A-Ask is right," said Xerneas, "you all need to calm down. Listen, I think working together on all that would be super-great, so why don't you all talk about handling that?" Bartelby, Guyana, and Ask all look over to him and nod begrudgingly, moving off a bit to talk more peaceably. Pandora, however, hovered before him, scowling. "They're so obnoxious when they gang up on me, dad!" said Pandora. "I hate it!" "Er, I know, Pandora, just be nice to them, OK?" "You think that'll solve everything!" she said back, paws on her hips. "But it doesn't! You don't understand us!" "Pandora, I'm sorry, I er, um..." He sighs and looks away. "Gah, I'm sorry, I don't know what to do... I'm a terrible dad..." "Now you're just guilt tri-" Xerneas shrinks back. "I'm sorry, Pandora, I didn't mean to make you feel bad..." Pandora blinked, then sheepishly shifted side-to-side herself. "Oh... You meant that..." "Um, yeah, I'm sorr-" "No, it's fine, I was rude..." She looks over to the Tyrantrum with concern. "Besides... There's something I wanted to ask you about." "...What is it?" "All this life we helped make... That me, you, and my siblings are guardians of... It all comes and goes so fast, when you think about it... And, I don't know, I'm probably better off asking Aunt Yveltal about the going, but... Where do me and Bartelby and Guyana and Ask stand there?" "You? Well... You're all a bit different from me and Aunt Yveltal and the other Legendaries like us. We're part of what this universe is, we can't die like the normal creatures of this world can. You and your siblings, you're somewhere in between. You'll live as long as we do if nothing goes wrong, but if you were hurt enough you'd still..." He stopped, stammered, shuddered. The thought of losing her alone, after all these eons, was something he couldn't bring himself to face. After trembling a few seconds longer he forced himself to be more composed and look into her eyes, faking a smile with his own. "...But don't worry, Pandora, I'd never let that happen to you. You or your sibli-" "Daddy, brother, sisters, look!" said Ask. "A shooting star! In the middle of the day!" All immediately looked to the glowing light in the sky Ask was pointing at. All immediately widened their eyes in horror seeing what it was. "Kids!" said Xerneas. "By me! Now!" He ducked down, embraced the four Mew in his hooves and erected a pink barrier as a shockwave rattled the earth and boomed through the air. Xerneas felt the dust and debri roiling around them. He felt the dull thuds of the broken bodies of the two Tyrantrum impacting off the barrier. He felt the agony of billions of living beings having their lives cut short by the blast, their Auras extinguishing en-masse. He felt the almost negative Aura of his sister flying across the world, reaping the souls of the dead to usher them beyond. But he did not see, instead clutching the four Mew to his chest with his eyes closed, muttering the same two words to himself over and over in panic. "I'll never..." ------------- Pandora floated through an autumn forest, marveling at the myriad colors of the leaves. Her attention immediately shifted, however, as she heard the cracks of twigs and branches and turned to see Xerneas approach. "Father!" she said, embracing him. "It's been literally ages!" He nuzzled and laughed back. "Pandora, what's up? You said you wanna talk to me about something?" "Oh, yes... About those humans!" Xerneas blinked. "The humans? What about them? You know they caused a bit of a disruption when they showed up but they're doing fine now, right?" "Yes, and far more than that! The humans of Kanto, they've taken to me!" Xerneas gave her a quizzical look. "What do you mean?" "They revere me, look up to me... I'm not sure what to do..." "Oh! Funny story,the people of Kalos view me the same way!" Pandora tilted her head. "They do? Father, how do you deal with it?" "Well, I try to be a role model? Someone those humans can look up to? Even if I screw up sometimes." He paused. "...Okay, maybe more than sometimes. But still, you should try that! You'd do great job if they like you already!" "Thank you Father, but I'm still not sure..." "Well, if it helps, I've found a way to ease relations you can do too!" Pandora hesitated before continuing. "...Go on?" Xerneas did not speak in reply, merely focusing as his body glowed, shrunk, twisted, until he was no longer a stag but a young adult human, with shaggy blonde hair decorated by rainbow highlights, wearing a long coat decorated in the visage of his true form, but with the same wide, dark blue, X-irised eyes. "Ta-da!" he said. "I already knew I could do it with creatures like Sawsbuck or Stantler, but I and the other higher-up Legendaries are figuring out we can do it with those humans too! Makes 'em easier to deal with in more ways than one." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "The humans say that I look pretty young for one of their species, though, but not really as a bad thing so I just roll with it." Now having a mouth, he gave a genuine grin at her. "But you've had the whole shapeshifting thing down for millions of years longer than your own dad! You can totally pull this off!" Pandora gulps. "I can?" "Yeah! Come on, try it!" Pandora hesitated before nodding and descending, glowing, twisting and growing until she herself was a human woman, with flowing pink hair and flowing pink robes to match alongside her own blue eyes. Xereas blinked at her in amazement as Pandora herself looked down at herself, staggering a bit. "I... I did it!" She turned to Xerneas, frowning. "But the humans... Will they like this form, father?" Xerneas looked her up and down, then gave her a small smile. "I think they will." She smiled back and used her new human arms to embrace him. He quickly embraced her in turn. ----------------- In a winter forest glade, Pandora and Xerneas, once again in their natural forms, were having a far different meeting, Pandora's tears falling from her eyes into the snow. "Father, you can't... I... I need you..." "Pandora, I'm sorry... But I need to sleep until the danger's over. You have to stay safe yourself." "Father, why?" "Something weird has been going on the past several millennia... Ever since the Ultimate Weapon, the Skybreak, especially... I and Aunt Yveltal need to hide away and sleep to stay safe until the other Legendaries and everyone helping us figure out what's going on." "I'm helping too, Father! But I want your help as well!" Tears start falling down Xerneas' face as well. "Pandora, don't worry... It should only be a thousand years or so, that's nothing to us... Stay safe, keep all your younger brothers and sisters safe, please, it's going to be OK..." Pandora stared at him before clenching her teeth in frustration and charging an Aura Sphere. Xerneas flinched before she flung it into the snow and flew off into the snowstorm, sobbing. At that Xerneas seemed to shrink in on himself, close his eyes, until he literally began to shrink and shrivel into a small tree that quickly began to be buried in snow. As he fell into a deep slumber his voice echoed out telepathically one last time: ~Pandora... I-I'm sorry...~ ------ He didn't know precisely how long he slept, dreamt. All he knew was he sensed vague pulsations of events happening outside; but they were wisps, shadows, he could only barely parse. Until he heard her voice. "Please, enough! This fighting must cease!" "P-Pandora!" He was suddenly awake, alone, in a black void with nothing but a thin layer of water beneath his hooves. "People of Kanto, hear me!" "Pandora, I'm coming!" He ran. Suddenly a pulse of violet energy from above battered him, knocked him to his feet. He kept running, but meteors crashed left and right as he dodged the blasts. "No... No!" A vicious, terrible heat caused all the water to fizz, evaporate as Xerneas staggered through it and ran beyond it to dodge another meteor, than another. "Please... You can't let it end this way..." Xerneas staggered through cold this time, breaking free to run yet again. "Father... Father guide me... Where are you?" "Pandora, don't worry, I'm right-" He stopped and stared in horror as an enormous, all-too-familiar flowerlike structure burst from the ground, unfolding before him. A blue core emerged as the entire structure glowed green in preparation to launch a beam that would break the sky, and Xerneas screamed in utter agony and fell to his knees as it drained the vitality from his body at an incredible rate. As it charged its beam his entire body began to crack and implode and he screamed louder and louder until there was nothing but a flash of white light. ---------------------------------- He woke up, with fuzzy vision, dazed, weakened, to the sound of alarms blaring and the gradual sight of a lab with flame-like sigils etched everywhere. At first confused, he then panicked at the sight of tubes and wires and clamps all attached to and siphoning from his body, and he bellowed and thrashed in feral panic breaking himself free from them all. It was only then he noticed the young male human with a male Chesnaught and a female Charizard wearing a Charizardite X by his side, all looking up at him with awe and more than a tinge of fear. In panic Xerneas yelled out to them. <W-What's going on here?!> ---------------------- On a sunny day, in a small town, a newly-reunited, currently-human Xerneas and Yveltal were talking, laughing. "So, what's been up with you since you woke from your hibernation?" the former asked the latter. "Well, I woke up the same time you did, and once I knew you were fine from when Flare captured you thanks to that kid I was so relieved, but I still wanted to find you. Plus after that whole fiasco I wanted to chill out, catch up with what the humans and mortal Pokemon were doing while we were physically asleep." She rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately Time Pony was, fittingly, an ass about it at first. Was a whole fiasco in its own right convincing him I could interact with other beings safely after so long asleep. Eventually I got to the ol' softie in him, even if he made Giratina babysit me." Xerneas snickered. "Which is why you flicked me with his joint?" "Well, you try to deal with wannabe-dudebro dimension dragon on a regular basis." Xerneas grinned. "Hey, I always liked the guy!" His smile grew softer. "But now we're both awake I ought to see my kids again... Starting with Pandora! She's going to be so happy I'm back..." At that, Yveltal froze. Xerneas raised an eyebrow at her. "What? I mean, we kinda parted on bad terms but if she sees me again she'll be super-thrill-" He froze himself. He remembered just what his sister in front of him embodied. He started stammering, shaking. "No... T-That dream when Flare got me, it was them, it had to be them..." "There was an uprising in Kanto, decades ago... When we were sleeping I felt her soul pass, followed by countless others..." She started to tear up. "Xerneas, I'm sorry..." Xerneas started to tear up as well, but then immediately gritted his teeth. "Damn it... Damn it, no!" He vanished in a flash of light. Letting out a curse of her own under her breath Yveltal likewise followed in a whirl of darkness. ------------------ Xerneas rushed through the streets of Celadon City, looking around rapidly for any signs of her, any objects of reverence to Pandora. Seeing none, he rushed in a back alley and started panting, shaking, speaking rapidly. "They respected her, revered her, protected her... But it's all gone, there's literally none of her old Kanto left... It's like it was torn down and this new one was built in her place in a few decades..." "That's... Exactly what happened." Xerneas whipped around to see Yveltal standing behind him. She shook her head sadly. "Brother... I am a being of death and destruction. That does not mean I approve of every instance of either. I'm sorry." Xerneas staggered over to her, kneeled against her, buried his face into her chest and clutched her shoulders, sobbing. "Please... Bring her back... Death is your realm, life is mine... I just want her back, I'll do anything, please..." "I... Xerneas, she's been gone long enough bringing her back in any way is beyond even my power... I'm sorry..." Xerneas stopped clutching at her, staggered back, then screamed as he lobbed a Moonblast at one of the alleyway buildings. "Damn them! Damn this new Kanto! Damn the people that took her away!" He vanished in light again. Yveltal didn't bother to follow, just looked down and clenched her fists as as tears ran down her own face. She stopped, however, as a strange presence dulling that of the humans and Pokemon in the city entered the area. She looked up to see the bricks dislodged by Xerneas' Moonblast being carefully put back into place, and she whipped around to see a certain blue-and-gray metallic dragon staring down at her. She quickly reverted to her own more natural red-and-black avian form and scowled at him. "What are you going to do now, you asshole?" she said. "Sold him for property damage? Scold me for trying to break it to him? Hell, you were being a creep on us the whole time, weren't yo-" "First off," said Dialga. "At the latter, Giratina saw what happened, was concerned enough to inform me at once." He sighed and gave her a much more forlorn look. "Second... I'm deeply sorry. I knew of what had happened with Pandora, but if you felt the need to make sure he didn't find out some other way far worse in your search for him, were worried of losing him and Pokemonkind and humanity yourself... I duly apologize for my behaviour towards you." Yveltal stared at him, blinked. "Wait, why-" Dialga sighed again. "I believe I am very much due to tell you the story of why I was so harsh towards you. Come, it's a story I'll need my siblings to tell as well..." A portal opened through which he exited. Yveltal hesitated before following. ------------------------ In a forest clearing in his "homeland" of Kalos, Xerneas stood stock still, unmoving, dulled. Eventually he felt a Fletchling pass over his head. He looked up expectantly at the noise, as if expecting her, but quickly looked back down, ashamed. Then a thought crossed his mind. He opened his eyes wide, they glowed, and his vision was filled with the Auras of every living being in the forest, flowing, flickering, pulsing. He saw himself in each and every one, but this time he willed himself to look deeper, more physical. And then he saw spirals, spirals lit up in rainbows by Aura, flashing, twisting, dividing, replicating before him. And in each and every one of them he saw her. Tears streamed down his face again. I miss you, Pandora... I always will... But you still are with me in every living thing... ...And so for you I'll stand strong for them all. ***