#yeah this got long and I honestly don't know how I could've possibly approached this

[bragganhyl]

i saw someone post about how aloth doesn't actually love a romanced watcher and it upset me to the point i don't really enjoy their romance anymore. i know that's so silly but he was a comfort character and it was just an opinion but yeah. can you explain that he actually does, to try and get me out of this funk? you seem to understand his character very well.

Oh wow, this is... quite the ask. Let me just say this right out of the gate: I don't know if I could tell you anything that would work better than replaying the games and reminding yourself why he was a comfort character to you in the first place. Also I haven't seen the post so I can't exactly refute what was said there but... yeah this is kind of a baffling take to have to me at least.

The thing about Aloth's romance is that it's treated not so much as a route but more like a potential end point for the Watcher/Aloth dynamic that started as early as pillars 1. So if you try to view their story from the vantage point of the romance alone then you might find it - and him lacking.

But anyway here is a long ramble about Aloth and the Watcher that kind of aims to recap/break down their relationship that also won't tell you anything new and low-key goes into cringe territory haha lol bye but okay here you go

Aloth, however, is far more complex character than to try and understand him from that perspective. He is a character who strives for perfection bc any flaw was punished severely and painfully. He is a character who prioritizes duty and devotion above all else bc that is how arcane knights are taught to think (this is a call to read Until He Started Screaming lmao). He is a character whose name belonged to the gods, his hand to their service, who sought the company of shadows so that his labors may remain secret and whose purpose you'll know by the confession of his tongue, the deeds of his hands, and the oath of his soul, bc that's what's expected of the members of the Leaden Key. And that doesn't even touch on the secrecy he had to upkeep for 50 years in order to hide his Awakening.

So it's safe to say that by the time you meet Aloth in Gilded Vale, he is not someone who thinks he can have anything for himself or someone who has the freedom to choose to live openly and for himself. And yet in pillars 1 at every turn, he'll choose the Watcher. He takes steps out of his comfort zone when he opens up about Iselmyr. He's ready to fight the Leaden Key to keep them (and Kana) safe. And even when he finally admits that he hoped the Watcher would cure him of his Awakening, he takes it upon himself to sort it out by himself instead. By the Watcher's side, Aloth develops his own sense of autonomy. You could even say that the Watcher was the light to lead him out of the shadows. But Aloth is also someone who recognizes the dangers of making one such person an anchor. He says so himself in deadfire when he talks about why he left (I mean aside from going to hunt the LK) at the end of pillars 1 - he couldn't allow the Watcher to become another authority figure to him like Thaos or his father was. He needed time away to figure out what life he wanted to have or what he wanted to do with the freedom he found with the Watcher.

But he still dedicates his life to the LK (although he hunts them now or at least he does in the route I prefer to take), he still lives an isolated and secretive life - until he meets the Watcher again. And then he chooses the Watcher again. And much of the deadfire dynamic between Aloth and the Watcher points to Aloth treating the Watcher as a role model and being blinded to their struggles by their own admiration for them. But like... that gets resolved at Ukaizo: the end of that arc is Aloth realizing the sheer magnitude of what is expected of the Watcher and he pities them for it. Sure, I personally would have liked it if that point was reached earlier, but it's a sensible character flaw to give him at this point, especially considering all that they've been through. And the romance itself is pretty low-key and short which makes sense after all that Aloth has been through. Bc just take note of how he reacts to the Watcher kissing him - he holds them as if he was worried he'd break them. That is not someone who wants to keep his distance bc he doesn't love their partner, but someone who really doesn't want to mess things up with them. And he warns the Watcher that he might not be 100% open with them, that he won't be able to give them 100% of their time. And you might think that he's unreasonable to treat simple boundaries as deal breakers, but remember that this was what was expected of him for the majority of his life. Duty and devotion. His name belonged to the gods, his hands to their service. A part of him expected a demand to give all of himself when he was still learning how to be his own man - and when he was still duty-bound to hunt (or lead) the LK. That is what he means when he says that he can't make a commitment he can't honor and that is why it is such a relief to him when the Watcher offers to take every day for what it is. He wants a relationship that is happy and healthy but he recognizes that while he has healed somewhat, he still has a long way to go, and he's worried he might not be able to make such a relationship happen - especially with the person who gave him a sense of belonging that his family never could *cough*wealthyaunt*cough*.

And even in the ending where he leaves, you get the sense that he's doing it out of - you guessed it - duty and devotion. Duty, well that's a given. Devotion... I mean what better way to show your love than fighting for the world that your beloved wants to create? And as for the ending where he stays... well... once again, he finds himself to do whatever he wants and he chooses to stay with the Watcher even as they become the one rebuild the world after Eothas kickstarted the apocalypse. So yeah, idk what else I could say, Anon, as far as I'm concerned, Aloth is filled to the brim with love for the Watcher, but he's also someone who is too self-aware and nervous to really wear that love on his sleeve, but you can be sure that it's there and it's unwavering.

[theromaboo]

Guess who was wandering through the drafts looking for gold? I found a little thing I wrote a few months ago after I read Cleopatra's Daughter, a historical fiction novel about Cleopatra Selene.

Unfortunately I was planning to write a lot more about all the historical fiction novels I read about Cleopatra Selene, but I kind of forgot and now it's too late because I read those books quite some time ago and don't remember them well :(

Maybe possibly I'll reread them all and then write about them. Likely not anytime soon, though. But you guys can read what I managed to write! (it's not much)

Spoilers for Cleopatra's Daughter and Cleopatra's Moon.

I finished Cleopatra's Daughter, so it's time to write some stuff I noticed between it and Cleopatra's Moon. Spoilers for both books, some little, some big.

Octavian and Illness

In Cleopatra's Moon, Octavian says that he's sick often but he actually is never sick but he just says he's sick because he's a coward. Also this is something that's mentioned once and never again and it hardly affects anything. I really don't like how this book did that.

Meanwhile in Cleopatra's Daughter, Octavian is actually quite sickly and struggles especially in cold weather. But then it's somewhat treated like a moral failing, though I think that's mostly just what Cleopatra Selene the character thinks about this, not how the viewer is supposed to think about it. I think this book certainly approached this topic with a lot more care than Cleopatra's Moon did.

Alexander Helios and Homosexuality

(yeah I'm going to be using anachronistic wording here, but this is about two historical fiction novels written less than 20 years ago by authors with modern ideas of sexuality, so I think using modern language makes the most sense in this context)

In both books, Alexander Helios is a major character with some sort of connection to homosexuality.

It's honestly really funny in Cleopatra's Moon. So basically, Cleopatra Selene notices Alexander Helios kissing or something with a blond haired person, but it's really unclear who the blond haired person is; she didn’t get a good look. Then she hears a masculine laugh. So she immediately assumes it's Marcellus. That masculine laugh could've belonged to anyone, Alexander Helios, for example, but Cleopatra Selene hears a masculine laugh and sees blond hair so her brother's lover has to be Marcellus. And she's so supportive about this, honestly. She was like "Good for them. Good for them. Wonder what Octavian will think about it."

She spends a bunch of time giggling just imagining Octavian's golden boy as the lover of Alexander Helios of all people.

Then Marcellus disrespects her, so she's like "How dare you disrespect your lover’s sister!"

And he's like "I... don't understand?"

And she's like "Stop pretending you don't know! I saw you in the gardens with him. How long have you and my brother been together?"

And he's like "Uh..... did you think that Alexander and I are lovers?"

And she got confused, and said "Yeah? I saw you today! I saw your blond hair!"

And he was like "Julia and both Marcellas have blond hair. What made you think it was me?"

And then she thought about it for a moment. She thought "Hmmm. Julia is a jerk and both Marcellas are boring. If my brother had any taste, it could only have been Marcellus!"

And then she said "Well I also heard a masculine laugh!"

And Marcellus said "Your brother is... you know, masculine too. Also, I spent the entire day with Caesar, not Alexander."

And she was like "Then who was it!?"

And he was like "I don't know and I don't care. What I do care about is how quickly you assumed it was me."

And then she was like "What!?? Is Alexander not good enough for you? I'm offended for him!"

And then I don't really want to spoil anything more. Anyway, this is terribly terribly funny. Alexander never canonically did anything homosexual in this book. However, the one mention of homosexuality in this book concerns him.

Meanwhile, in Cleopatra's Daughter, Alexander is canonically not straight. Judging by the writing, he is almost certainly gay. The book kept foreshadowing it from the very beginning. I swear the writing of this book has the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The foreshadowing was so heavy-handed, it was awkward.

Anyway, Alexander meets this one dude called Lucius and they instantly become lovers. And Cleopatra Selene is not happy about it in the slightest. She's honestly quite homophobic throughout the entire book.

Anyway, one night, Alexander went to Lucius' room. Then they both got stabbed. So I think the author heard about Bury Your Gays and took it as writing advice. One of them survived, though.

So, yeah.

Livia and Octavia

In Cleopatra's Moon for most of the book, the reader is forced to assume that Livia is super evil the personification of evil she hates everyone she poisons people every day she never did anything good in her life meanwhile Octavia is just kind of creepy. But then, there's a big twist and it turns out Livia just looks evil but she didn't actually do anything, and Octavia was the true villain.

Listen, it made me happy to see that Livia wasn't the villain, but not at the expense of Octavia!

Meanwhile, in Cleopatra's Daughter, Livia is evil and Octavia is a complete angel.

Using a Greeker version of someone's name

I swear that these books just want to feel educated or good about themselves in some way, so they use a Greeker form of one name so they can feel fancy.

In Cleopatra's Moon, Alexander Helios is called Alexandros.

In Cleopatra's Daughter, Cleopatra is spelled Kleopatra. Cleopatra Selene gets annoyed when Cleopatra is spelled with a C instead of a K.

[cocastyle]

Robin — TWO

Pairing - Joel Dawson x reader

Word Count - 4,476

A/N - new update for Robin!! yay!! this series as been so much fun writing so far and I’m overwhelmed by the unexpected love for this series so far! I hope you all continue to enjoy it as much as I! I have a lot in store for our very own Batman and Robin duo :))

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

R O B I N

Robin Series Masterlist

⭒❃.✮:▹  TWO   ◃:✮.❃⭒

Dear Aimee,

This week has been especially shitty.

We lost Connor to what looked like a really big ant. It helps me to draw them. I try to capture their essence, scribble down some notes on how to kill them.

Turns out Robin's katanas can pretty much solve anything. Although, I'm pretty sure it's just because Robin's the one wielding them.

Sometimes I think drawing them is the only way I know how to cope with these things. That and having Y/N. She helps me a lot more than I give her credit for.

I owe her my life.

We've lost a lot of people over the years. You'd think you'd get numb to it after a certain point.

You don't.

- - -

Y/N walked through the hallway with a small skip in her step. Despite everything that had happened in the past week, she still managed to feel happy just at the thought of being with her best friend. With her activities for the morning already done, she was determined to spend some time with Joel who she knew was still a bit down on himself about what had happened during the breach.

She had set up the target in the room where Gertie and Mav1s were, knowing that the boy had been begging her to teach him how to shoot for a while now. She had about a half an hour before she had to be back with the hunting squad, so she was hurrying to get to Joel so that they could have more time working with the crossbow.

She was almost to his room when she heard his voice echoing down the hall. Furrowing her eyebrows, she picked up her speed and went pass his bedroom until she was at the radio room. She poked her head inside, her eyes landing on the boy who sat at the desk with the radio turned on.

"This is 7045. Come in, 3022. I repeat, come in, 3022. Over," Joel said, his eyes flickering over the map in front of him where he had 'X's marked everywhere except for the circle around their bunker and 3022.

"This is 3022. What is it now, Ray?" a voice replied over the radio making Joel sit up a bit more.

"Hey, Janice. No, it's actually. . .It's, uh, Joel," he told her making Y/N smile softly as she watched the boy.

There was a long moment of silence before the woman chuckled, "Oh. Joel."

"Yeah," he replied, smiling slightly.

"All right. Hold on one second," Janice said. "Aimee, it's Ray!"

Y/N’s smile faltered at that, muttering softly to herself, "Aimee, of course."

"Joel," the boy corrected with a small sigh into the radio. "Thanks, Janice."

"Joel! Hey!" a new voice said, instantly making the boy perk up as a big grin took over his features.

"Hey, Aimee! Hi!" Joel exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Hi. Yeah. I, uh. . .I'm good," Aimee told him.

"It's so good to hear your voice," Joel admitted, relaxing a bit at finally being able to hear her voice once again.

Y/N watched him for a moment longer before smiling sadly and turning to walk away. She knew how much getting to talk to Aimee meant to him, so she wasn't about to interrupt him with something he honestly probably didn't care to do. Besides, she wanted to give him some privacy to talk to the girl he was in love with. After all, that's what she would've wanted if it were her having to talk to Joel over the radio.

The girl walked aimlessly down the hallway, lost in her own thoughts about Joel before she was snapped back to attention when a voice softly called out, "Y/N, are you alright?"

She came to a stop, her head lifting up to notice Kala standing in front of the memorial they had for all the lost colony members. The girl's eyes were on her, concern evident despite the sadness in her eyes.

Y/N gave her a forced smile and said, "I'm fine, Kala."

Kala just stared at her before giving her a sad smile and whispering, "Joel's talking with Aimee again, isn't he?"

Y/N looked away at that, swallowing thickly before asking, "How. . .how are you?"

Kala went quiet and glanced down at the hat in her hands that had belonged to Connor. When she continued to not respond, Y/N walked across the room and pulled the girl in for a hug. Kala melted into her embrace, her body shaking a bit as she softly cried.

"I know," Y/N whispered, holding onto the girl tightly in hopes she would realize she was no alone. "Connor. . ." She trailed off as she felt her own sadness bubbling into her throat. After all, Connor and her had been close. He was a part of the hunting team with her. He had been like brother to her and she had lost him. "He was a great person and he loved you so much. He died protecting you."

Kala sniffled and nodded her head. "I know," she said, her voice cracking a bit.

The sound of footsteps approaching pulled the two apart and they turned to see Joel walking in. He plopped down on a seat beside one of the tables, a numb and upset look on his face that made Y/N’s heart break.

"I'm going to go put Connor's hat up," Kala muttered, her hand gently squeezing Y/N’s arm in order to pull the girl's attention back to her. "Thank you."

Y/N nodded and Kala gave her a small smile before walking back over to the memorial while Y/N walked over to Joel. She sat down in the seat beside him, the boy instantly looking her way while she offered him a small smile.

"Hey," she whispered. "How are you?" Joel looked away at that and Y/N sighed, "Joel, you need to put the breach thing behind you, okay? No one was expecting it, so you can’t blame yourself for being scared."

"But you're not scared," Joel retorted, his head still hung low.

"Are you kidding me? I'm always scared," Y/N told him, her words making him look up at her. "It's my fear that keeps me going.It's my fear that pushes me through whatever challenges may come my way."

Y/N didn't go into the fact that her fear was never truly about herself. Her fear had always and would always be for Joel's life. For if she died, then that meant Joel could die simply because she wouldn't be there to protect her. And that's what scared her more than anything in the world.

The thought of Joel dying.

So in her mind, she survived for him. She survived so that Joel would survive.

The boy was looking at her, still not saying anything. Sighing, the girl reached out and placed a hand on top of his own. She gave him a reassuring smile before saying, "Even Batman was afraid every once in a while, Joel. That's what makes him human."

Joel smiled a little at that, squeezing her hand and rubbing his thumb over the top of her skin while Y/N smiled back.

She let go of his hand and leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up on the table as she looked to the boy. "How's Aimee?" she asked.

Joel looked at her in surprise, not sure how she could've known he was talking to the girl, before saying, "I think she's fine. We. . .we didn't get to talk much before the radio cut off."

Y/N frowned, "I'm sorry, Joel."

Joel smiled weakly and looked down at the table before whispering, "I just miss her."

Y/N felt her heart ache at the sight of him and she quickly dropped her feet to the ground before wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning her head against him. "I know," she whispered softly, ignoring the way her heart slightly broke knowing that even after seven years of not seeing her, Joel still loved Aimee.

Y/N had gone through seven years of watching him pine after a girl who barely even seemed to understand what she had when he was her boyfriend. Yet she still stuck by his side even though she found herself falling in love with him even more with each second that passed.

Joel let out a soft sigh and leaned his head against her own, relishing in the comfort of his best friend while his heart ached for the girl he loved.

Still oblivious to the fact that the girl holding onto him loved him more than Aimee ever could.

- - -

"I wanna know how it got in," Karen demanded, frowning from where she sat down at the table. The whole colony was there, the discussion about how the monster had gotten in finally being brought up after giving everyone enough time to mourn.

Y/N was watching Joel, her eyes flickering over the boy who sat on the opposite end of the table with his gaze on the table and a numb look upon his face. Frowning, she pulled her gaze away and looked to Karen. "You sure about that?" Y/N asked. "Sometimes it's better not knowing."

Karen was hesitant, knowing that what the girl said was true. After all, the hunting team didn't always tell them what went on unless everyone agreed on it. It was better for some people to have to worry about certain things over others. When she gave a small nod in response, Y/N looked to Tim and gestured for him to go ahead.

With Connor gone, Y/N was one of the designated leaders at the moment. She had a bit of a reputation in the colony anyways, having worked her way to top hunter on their squad within a matter of weeks. So Tim didn't hesitate to comply to her orders, looking around at the others as he explained, "It appears to have ripped through one of our perimeter defenses."

"What, it ripped through steel?" Anna Lucia asked, having not known that bit of information.

"Y/N, Anderson, and I resealed the breach point and the vent. Nothing's getting in that way again," Tim assured them.

"And if they do, we'll be ready. I set up triggers around possible breach points to help alert us when something's attempting to get in. Next time one tries to strike, the team and I will be out there ready to take it down," Y/N said.

"But why did it happen?" Karen asked.

"It was a freak occurrence," Ray told her. "There's no reason to think it'll happen again."

"Ray's right. We only took precautions just to be safe," Y/N spoke up. "We should try to stay calm. There's no use worrying—"

"How far away is Aimee's colony?" Joel spoke up, his voice making them all go silent while the boy looked over at them.

"What?" Tim asked.

"Aimee's colony," Joel repeated, ignoring the fact that everyone's eyes were now on him including Y/N who looked like she didn't understand what was happening. "How far away is it?"

"About eighty five miles," Ray answered.

"How long does that take to get there?" Joel questioned. Y/N sat up a bit, her feet that she had propped up on the table falling to the ground as she stared at her best friend.

"Joel, you're not actually thinking of going?" Tim said confused.

"Tim, just. . .humor me," Joel pleaded. "How long?"

"Seven days," Y/N spoke up, causing the boy to look her way. She was watching him, her eyes flickering over his face while she had a completely blank look upon her face. It was enough to make Joel still, for he had never seen her act that way, but he was too focused on her words to speak up about it. "Minimum."

"An armed and trained hunting party would be lucky to last fifty miles on the surface," Anna Lucia said, the others all looking at each other and mumbling in agreement while Joel looked off in thought and Y/N continued to study him with narrowed eyes. "But you, Joel. . ."

"All right," Tim spoke up, noticing the way Y/N had obviously gotten distracted by what her best friend was saying. "Now I need volunteers to help reinforce some of the outer perimeter."

Everyone began to speak up, agreeing to help out, but Joel spoke out again, his voice making everyone freeze as he said, "I'm gonna go."

Everyone was dead silent as they looked to him, Y/N’s face growing a bit pale while Joel ignored her gaze. "It's an impossible journey, Joel," Tim told him.

Joel shook his head and stood up. "No, I'm serious," he said. "I love you guys, but Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy, and she's only eighty five miles away. And I'm gonna go see her." He let out a breath he had been holding before smiling slightly. "That felt awesome." He then turned and walked out of the room, leaving everyone staring after him.

All eyes turned to Y/N who was staring at the place Joel had just been with tears in her eyes. All she could hear were Joel's words playing over and over in her head.

Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy.

Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy.

It took her a moment, but Y/N was up and out of her seat without a second thought. She ran out of the room, leaving the others to sigh and exchange a look for they knew Joel's words had hit her harder than he meant to let them.

By the time she reached Joel's room, her tears were long gone and her mind was already made up. She appeared in the doorway, her eyes instantly locking on Joel who was shoving his few belongings into his backpack. He glanced up at her, his eyes hesitating on her form for a moment before he looked back down.

"I have to go, Robin. I can't stay here anymore and just wait for something to happen. I'm done waiting," he told her, shoving his journal and pencils into his backpack as he did so.

"I know," Y/N replied. "You have to do this. You should go." Joel looked up to her at that, his face displaying a look of shock for a small second. She smiled softly at him before walking towards him and saying, "But I'm coming too."

"You're. . .you're what?" Joel asked in surprise, his eyes flickering over her face as she came to stop in front of him.

"Joel, you're the only person who makes me happy," she began, her words making his heart skip a beat which he quickly pushed aside as nothing. "I can't let you just leave without me."

Joel was reminded of what he said earlier and his face softened as he reached out and cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "You know I didn't mean that you don't make me happy, right?" he eyes searching her own to make sure she understood what he was saying. "Cause you do, Robin. You're the one that keeps me going every day."

He let go of her and turned to his backpack which he zipped up, missing the way Y/N’s face heated up for a second due to his words and display of affection. She quickly pushed her feelings aside, knowing Joel always had been an affectionate person. It was just how their friendship worked.

"But I have to go see Aimee," Joel continued, letting his gaze fall back upon his best friend. "And I can't just make you come with."

"You're not making me do anything," Y/N assured him. "I'm coming. We stick together through everything, remember?" She took a step forward before holding her hand out to the boy. "Batman and Robin, right?"

Joel hesitated as he looked to her, a smile slowly making its way onto his face while he felt his heart swell with an emotion that he pushed aside as nothing else but relief in getting to keep her by his side.

"Batman and Robin," he agreed, clasping his hand in her own while they exchanged small smiles.

Y/N gave him a short nod before taking a step back which caused Joel to frown because it suddenly felt like he was missing a warmth he hadn't known had been there when she was right in front of him.

"I'm going to go grab my things," Y/N said. "I'll meet you by the exit." And with that, she ran out of the room, leaving Joel to stare after her. He was a bit confused as to what he had just felt, but didn't think much of it as he turned back to his bag and smiled.

"I'm coming, Aimee," he whispered, thoughts of reuniting with the love of his life running through his head.

- - -

Dear Aimee,

I am done hiding. I am done waiting for things to get better.

It's time to take matters into my own hands. Time to let someone else make the minestrone.

I'm taking a radio, even though it doesn't have power. But I'm gonna take it anyway.

Robin's coming with me. She's just the best, you know?

I didn't want to admit it, but the thought of leaving her behind had scared me. Knowing she'll be there with me every step of the way, it provides me a sort of comfort that I can't even begin to describe.

I can do anything if I have her with me. Walking eighty five miles through a monster infested world will be a piece of cake.

- - -

When Y/N was done packing, she went off to find the rest of the colony, knowing she would have to explain to them that she was going with Joel even if they might not want her to. Muttering rehearsed lines to herself, Y/N walked into the main room where the colony was all huddled around a map and writing things down.

"Guys," Y/N began, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm—"

However, she didn't get a chance to finish before she was being tackled in a hug by Kala. Y/N fell into a stunned silence, hesitantly hugging the girl back in confusion before Kala pulled away to look at her.

"You're going with him," Kala stated. "We know." Y/N blinked in surprise before looking around at the others who all just nodded softly despite the sad smiles on their faces. The girl looked back to Kala who just smiled softly. "It's okay, Y/N. We knew you would."

"I didn't want to do this to you guys," Y/N admitted. "I know we just lost Connor and losing another person on the hunting team isn't ideal, but I have to go with him. He's my best friend."

They all nodded in understanding before Tim reached out to clap a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to explain to us, Y/N," he told her. "We get it. Just know that we'll be waiting for you two when you get back."

Y/N smiled softly at that, falling into Tim's embrace while everyone smiled at the exchange. "So," Y/N began as she pulled away from the man, "what are you guys doing?"

"Attempting to make a map for the two of you. Well. . .mostly for Joel in case he somehow gets lost," Anna Lucia said making Y/N chuckle softly before she walked over to the table.

She smiled softly at the sight of all the notes on the front before noticing that there seemed to be something on the back. She flipped the paper over, her smile growing even more at the notes the crew had all written on the back for the boy.

"We were going to make one for you too," Kala spoke up. "But I think Joel needs more of a reminder of how much we love him than you do. I have a feeling you already know that."

Y/N smiled and looked up at the people who had become her family. "I know," she whispered making them all smile before she looked down at the paper snd grabbed ahold of one of the pens. She scribbled down a small note on the back to go along with the others before Karen folded the map up.

It was when she was almost finished folding it that they heard Ray call out, "He's not joking."

They all walked out of the room at that, Y/N catching sight of Joel making his way over towards them with his backpack on and two crossbows and her katanas in hand. His eyes locked with hers and he smiled before holding out her weapons. "I think you may have forgotten something," he mused making the girl roll her eyes.

"Thanks, Joel," she said before grabbing the katanas and strapping them into her back and under her backpack. She then took the crossbow and the two turned to head towards the ladder that led to up above when Tim stepped in their way.

"We're not letting you two leave. You're needed here," Tim told them, even though Y/N knew that he understood he wasn't going to be able to stop them.

"Tim, Y/N may be, but I'm not. Come on. I don't do anything," Joel said.

"Joel, that's not true. You fix the radio. You make the minestrone," Tim stopped after that and winced slightly at his own words. "Okay. Doesn't sound as important when I say it out loud."

"I appreciate you trying," Joel assured him. "Really, I do. I just don't feel like I belong anywhere. I don't really wanna die all alone at the end of the world, so. . ."

Tim stared at the boy for a moment, his eyes flickering over to Y/N who gently shook her head at him to let him know he shouldn't say anything about her feelings for the boy. Tim sighed and turned away, allowing the two to walk by.

Joel moved forward, but paused before looking back at the others. "Look, I know you guys all just think of me as, like, some little, pathetic, adorable hedgehog. But I can take care of myself. I'm actually probably a lot stronger than you might think," he told them.

Y/N smiled softly at the boy's words, knowing how badly he wanted to prove to them all that he could do this. She placed a hand on his arm and Joel looked her way, smiling as she squeezed his arm before looking to the others. "We'll take care of each other," she assured them. "We've survived seven years. We can survive seven days."

The colony didn't say anything until finally Karen stepped forward and held the map out to Joel. "We made you a map," Karen told him.

"Thanks, Karen," Joel whispered before the girl reached up to hug him. Joel hugged her back and Karen pulled away with a sad smile before going over to Y/N and hugging her as well.

"Just. . .take care," Karen whispered before she pulled away and backed up to join the others. Y/N stared out at the people who had become her family, her eyes tearing up a bit as she knew that there was a possibility she would never see them again.

She felt a hand latch onto her own and Y/N looked to her left to see Joel giving her a reassuring smile as his fingers intertwined with her own. Y/N gave him a shaky smile in return while Joel rubbed his thumb across the skin on top of her hand.

"Everything will try to kill you," Ray told them.

"Oh," Joel muttered, making a small face which made Y/N chuckle softly.

"Be observant. Use the advantages that you have. You're fast and small and Y/N is one of our best hunters, so, Joel, don't fight. Just run and hide. Y/N, you should do that too, but if you need to, use those katanas and crossbow like your life depends on it cause it does," Ray said.

"Don't fight," Joel repeated, making another face before looking to Y/N. "So Robin fights, but Batman doesn't?" he whispered to her. She just smiled shyly at him.

Ray reached out and pulled the two into a hug, Joel and Y/N hugging him back while their intertwined hands still stayed by their side.

"You're both assholes if you get eaten," Ray told them.

Y/N smiled at that before saying, "And you all are douchebags if you don't answer our call when we get there."

The group all chuckled while Joel went to hook his crossbow to his backpack. Everyone fell silent as they watched him, their smiled falling as he struggled to simply latch the crossbow to his back. Y/N sighed and brought her free hand up to facepalm herself while Joel just awkwardly laughed and tried to latch the crossbow one more time.

This time it latched into place and he smiled before saying, "Okay."

"Nice," Ava muttered.

Joel ignored her comment and squeezed Y/N’s hand before turning to climb up the ladder. "I love you guys. Tell Aimee I'll see her in seven days," he said before climbing up the ladder.

"We believe in you," Karen called after him.

"Love you, buddy," Tim said.

Y/N walked over to the ladder before hesitating at the bottom. She glanced back at the colony, her eyes flickering over each of them. Karen and Kala were softly crying as they hugged each other, the others all looking at her sadly before Tim just gave her a small nod.

"Take care of him," Tim said before hesitating. "And yourself."

"I will," Y/N whispered, smiling at the group one last time. "I love you guys."

"Love you too," they all chorused as she began to climb up the ladder like Joel had. The latch was already open by the time she reached the top and she was blinded by the sunlight until Joel moved himself above the hole and looked down at her.

"You sure about this?" he asked, his eyes flickering over her face for any signs of hesitation.

Y/N smiled softly, "I'm sure."

Joel smiled at that before holding his hand out, the girl looking to it for a moment as she realized just what it is they were doing. Was she really about to help the boy she loved reunite with the girl he was in love with? It was crazy. She knew that. Yet seeing that smile on Joel's face and knowing that this was what he wanted, what he needed, to be happy was enough for her to know this was the right thing to do.

Then, without another second thinking about it, Y/N took ahold of the boy's hand and he pulled her into the world above.

- - -

Tag List

@simplybarnes

@spideysimpossiblegirl

@bookdorkfangirl

@katemusic

@eternallyvenus

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@trustfundparker

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@used-avocado

@havingagooddream

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[topherfoxtrot]

Resilience

Here's the third part of my thunderbolts au. Emil Blonsky scaped his long imprisonment but he didn't went after the Hulk. Where did he go? The answer is bellow the cut. There's an original character here too. I'm not kin of OCs but I didn't find any character who would fit the role I wanted. Said oc will only be a part of this episode so consider it a special guest appearance. I've realized I've been writing more and more with each installment. Sorry about that, I'm getting more comfortable with the whole precess and I like to challenge myself. Continuing the trend, this chapter has a widely different vibe from the previous ones. As usual if you enjoyed please like, share or comment something.

Episode one

Episode two

Emil woke up from a nightmare. It was a fight. From as long as he could remember all Emil did was fight. Now even when he's not awake he's still fighting. He sat on the bed breathing heavily. Wait, where am I? He thought.

"You must be confused." A female voice was heard nearby.

Emil looked around looking for it. The cabin was small. The bedroom, the living room and the kitchen were all occupying the same space. There were two doors, one of them was probably for the bathroom. The woman was sitting at the kitchen table. She dressed a knitted sweater and rabbit slippers.

"My name is Charlie Reznik." She pointed at the soup, "Are you hungry?"

"Where am I?"

"Alaska. Three hours driving from Barrow."

Emil sat on the bed. He was naked. He covered himself with the blankets not for modesty but because they were warm.

"You weren't using any clothes when I found you and you don't seem like the kind of person who would wear my clothes. I hope the blankets kept you warm."

"Found me?"

"Yeah. You were screaming a lot. And throwing trees around." Charlie chuckled, "Eventually you got tired and just fell asleep right where you were. I was thinking about calling the police or something but when you started to shrink I decided to bring you here."

Suddenly Emil looked at himself realizing he did indeed shrink. He didn't look like that anymore. Still, the bones in his hands and abdomen were more prominent than they should be. He took his hands to his back to feel his spine was also prominent. That made him think of the super soldier serum, of the Hulk and of the prison he just scaped.

"I need to contact someone." Emil got up only to fall on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Charlie approached him with caution.

"I think I'll have the soap first actually." Emil muttered realizing how weak his body was.

***

The soup made with vegetables reminded Emil of his childhood in Russia. He had almost no recollection of those few years before he moved to England. He mostly remembered the cold and his mother's soap.

"I need to ask you but.. it's gonna sound weird." Emil was at the table tangled with the blankets, "What year is this?"

Charlie looked him in the eyes to decide if he was being serious or not. Emil didn't flinch so nor did Charlie, "It's 2023."

Emil pressed his lips and started to breath heavily. He was sleeping this whole time. They kept him asleep without ever giving him a chance to explain himself. No consent and no agency.

"No one has heard anything about you since 2008 Mr Blonsky and now you show up in the middle of the forest not knowing the year?" Charlie seemed genuinely curious.

"You know me?"

"I didn't recognize you at first. There isn't much footage from big you. But the sketch from witnesses matched pretty well. They call you the Abomination."

"Abomination?" Emil suddenly smashed the wooden table with enough strength to crack it. Charlie quickly moved her left hard to somewhere under the table. They locked eyes. For the first time Charlie didn't seem warm and inviting but rather fierce and absolutely ready to react. Emil closed his eyes a bit before recomposing himself.

"I'm sorry."

"I also think the name is impolite." Charlie brought her hand back, "But no one knew anything about you except you were military assigned to find Bruce Banner. I had to make some phone calls and turns out my guess was right! You are indeed in the accords database. Quite high level threat.

"What accords?"

"Alright." Charlie put her hair behind her ears, "I need you to be honest with me Mr Blonsky. What's the last thing you remember?"

So he said. He fought the hulk on Harlem, fell unconscious and woke up in Alaska. Charlie brought a computer from a big bag under the bed and put it on the table in a way that both of them could see it.

"The world changed a lot since 2008 Mr Blonsky. Put on your seatbelts."

Charlie then gave him a contemporary history class the best way she could while showing videos and pictures whenever she felt necessary. She talked about the avengers assembling in 2012 to stop an alien invasion caused by a norse god. She talked about the genocidal robot destroying a whole country in 2015. She talked about Wanda Maximoff killing those people back in 2016. She talked about the Sokovia accords and how that made the avengers disassemble. She talked about Wakanda opening up to the rest of the world. She talked about the avengers coming together again to fight yet another alien invasion. She talked about the snap and the chaotic years that followed. She talked about the blip and the even more chaotic year that followed it. Emil listened to everything in silence. It was a lot but he was smart.

"They put me to sleep for fifteen years." He whispered.

"I'm so sorry about that. It's unfair."

Emil had finished his soup but he stayed exactly where he was. Thinking about everything.

"I became strong. I became as strong as I could and still... they defeated me with bed time."

"You're being unfair."

"How come?"

"I don't think strength is really what you think it is."

"How would you know?"

Emil looked at Charlie's small stature with unconscious disdain. She picked on that and wore her fierce eyes again.

"With all due the respect Mr Blonsky..." It was possibly to hear the rage under her words, "You have no idea how strong I am. Thanos snapped my whole family! I wasn't even at home when it happened. Do you have any idea how much strength I needed to gather to simply get up every morning? I may not have big muscles like you -in fact no one does Mr Blonsky - but guess what? You could not have went through what I did. I'm sure of it!"

Emil got up aggressively and so did Charlie.

"You're really pulling the trauma card?"

"Wanna compete?"

"I think I do." He showed his teeth.

Charlie walked across the cabin stepping heavely. She sat on the bed. "Enlighten me."

The challenge got Emil off guard. He hesitated.

"I don't need to tell you anything."

"Of course you don't. If you tell me how traumatized you are, I'll tell you how traumatized I am. Then you will have to admit that none of it gives you permission to do the shitty things you did!"

The cabin merged in silence. Outside there was nothing but the cold wind running through the trees.

"I know your type." Charlie continued, a little calmer now, "Though childhood huh? No perspective of a future so you joined the military. Felt good to explode some heads didn't it? It felt powerful."

Emil remained in silence. He still looked mad, but remained in silence. Charlie went to the kitchen and grabbed a photograph from one of the drawers. She gave it to Emil.

"You're military." Emil studied the photo of Charlie and other soldiers smiling inside a tent.

"Used to be. Came back in 2019. The welcoming party wasn't exactly a party as you can imagine. My house was empty. As I said both my parents and my little brother got snapped. That's when I found this cabin."

"It's not yours?"

"Nah. I don't know who it belongs to actually. It was a cold night and I was just driving aimless. I don't know why exactly. Everything just seemed so meaningless back then. I felt weak."

Emil put the photograph on the table and they both locked eyes again. Not with anger this time though.

"It's cold but it's isolated enough. I could cry and scream as much as I wanted without anyone knowing. And did I need to scream! Scream at Thanos, scream at my parents, scream at myself. A part of me wish it could've been me, y'know? Trust me I would give my life for theirs in the blink of an eye! Yet, here I was."

Charlie sat at the table again. The temperature of the cabin went from 20°C to 40°C and then to 20°C again. Emil felt sorry about the table but most importantly he felt sorry for making Charlie mad.

"There's no much to say." He started, "Though childhood. No perspective. Joined the military. After everything I've seen, being strong is honestly the only option. It's survival."

"I get it. I really do. But strength is not on your muscles."

"Don't come with this heartfelt bullshit."

"It's not." Charlie chuckled, "Trust me I won't fall for that bullshit either. It's something else."

She got up and grabbed an old book from the shelf near the bed.

"All those things were already here when I got here for the first time. There was water, gas, energy, the bed, the blankets. It's like whoever lived here had just left. I've known this place for couple more than three years now. No one is ever here except me, yet the feeling never goes away."

The old book was covered with leather.

"Self help book?" Emil asked.

"In a way." Charlie tilted her head, "This book is about the universe. But not like a scientific encyclopedia. This book is about the whole universe, about the energy that comes from different parts of the multiverse and how to harvest and manipulate them. Essencially, magic!"

"Alright it's a self help book. Magic is not real."

"I was honestly hoping you would say that." Charlie smiled, "Check this out!"

Charlie put her hands in front of her and took a deep breath in order to focus. She moved her hands vertically and a orange string appeared from thin air. Charlie's hands drew a circle in the air and the string curved itself in a circumference. Charlie closed her hands as if grabbing something and with another gesture polygonal forms started to draw themselves in the magic circle. Charlie snapped her fingers with both hands and the whole thing started to spin like a magical ferris wheel.

"You discovered magic!" Emil whispered.

"Of course I didn't! People have been studying that for a long time. I just happened to find a weird book." The magical strings disappeared as Charlie stopped focusing so much on them, "You know when you are depressed so you set a simple goal just to give yourself a little achievement?"

"No, actually. But that's seems like solid advice."

"It is!" Charlie chuckled, "Anyways I read this whole book in like two days and I didn't understand shit. But I was super interested and started to dig the internet and beyond for anything related to all the weird concepts I found. I read the book more two of three times after that. Each time I learned something different and gained a new perspective over myself and the universe around me."

"So it is a self help book!" Emil laughed.

"As I said, it is but in a weird way. I mean look around. There's aliens and gods and the multiverse. When you think of all of it don't your problems seem way smaller?"

"I'm not sure."

"Here's how it's gonna be. I go to Barrow buy you some clothes and you think about everything I just said." She grabbed a jacket and wore boots, "But you have to pay me back alright? Otherwise I'm gonna hunt you and I'll find you. Remember: I know magic!"

"Okay, that's fair!"

Charlie grabbed a ring with slot for two fingers in a kitchen drawer. "That was one of the things I found here. Magic becomes weirdly intuitive once you learn some basics."

She made that focused face again and started to draw circles in the air with her right hand. The air in the middle of the cabin heated up and started to sparkle. An orange circle (much like the one she conjured with the hand gestures) appeared but in the middle of it was possible to see an alley.

"What is this?" Emil was shocked.

"Fast travel!" Charlie winked before passing through. The portal was gone as soon as she was gone and Emil found himself alone in the cabin.

***

There was a small mirror in the bathroom. Alone, he could check his own body for the first time. His face looked pretty much the same, he hadn't aged one day in the past fifteen years. Besides his hands and shoulders and spine, his elbows were also abnormally prominent. Was he the Abomination after all?

The power felt good, he remembered. Felt god-like. But the cost was too high. Emil became too dangerous and lost control over his own life for more than a decade. He wanted to blame Ross and Banner but would it be even fair? Emil was the one who accepted to take the serum in the first place. He actually pointed a gun at that scientist. He begged to become as strong as the Hulk is.

Emil left the house still covered in blankets. The cold snow made his feet burn but no enough to bother him. He was strong after all. Or maybe he enjoyed the pain in a sick way of reinforcing his own superiority belief. An orange portal opened nearby after a while.

"Aren't you feeling cold?" Charlie asked coming with a bag of clothes.

"A little."

"Come. See if any of those fit you. They're from the local thrift shop by the way."

"I've wore worse."

Charlie bought a simple jeans, two shirts, a flannel and boots. Really simple stuff just to protect Emil from the cold. It fit well.

"Thank you." He said.

"You're in debt, Mr Blonsky. Don't you forget that."

"You know magic." He chuckled, "I can't allow myself to have you as an enemy Ms Reznik."

They both laughed. Charlie sat at the table and started to type something on the computer.

"The feds are all over town." Charlie commented, "They're looking for you."

"Listen," he said, "I need to ask you a favor but first can I go for a walk?

***

Emil took a deep breath before jumping as high as he could. He could not see above the tall trees so he jumped again but grabbed one of the trees this time. Even with his bare hards, the wood bowed to his will. He kept climbing until he got to the highest part of the tree. From up there he could see the whole forest, including the trees he threw around the day before.

He jumped to the ground again. The snow splattered around him. His hands and knees started to bleed but he didn't care because he would break soon enough. He felt powerful and smiled without realizing it. Not a happy smile, bur rather a challenging one. Hey jumped a little before running in the direction of the destruction he caused. He started slow (more like jogging actually) but quickly escalated to marathon running and super human running. The cold wind cut his face like knifes but he didn't care. He just kept going faster.

When he finally reached the glade he jumped again. Even higher this time. When he landed his feet felt bigger. Breathing heavily he looked at his own hands and realized they were indeed getting bigger and muscled. Without wasting any breath he took off all his clothes and started running again. The cold started to bother him less and less as his body grew in size.

He started to scream so he could liberate his anger. He jumped high and landed with his fists causing the ground to crack bellow him. Emil grabbed a fallen tree and threw it to the air. He picked big boulders and threw them around at will. In the middle of the chaos he also started laughing. He was strong. He could destroy anything he wanted. He was as strong as he could be.

When Emil finally felt satisfied with his own display of power, he grabbed the trees and rearranged them back into the ground as best as he could. He picked the boulders and put them back where they were. So when the glade resembled the glade it once was, Emil sat on the ground next to his new clothes.

He started to think about everything Charlie said. Yes, he was big and could destroy everything is his way. But there were gods and aliens and robots and uncontable planets and entities across the universe. He was big and strong but he was also small and weak.

His strength though wasn't on his muscles but on his ability to survive. He survived his childhood, he survived the military and he survived the Hulk. Just like Charlie survived the snap and the aftermath. Like Charlie found new meaning in magic so could Emil find new paths to follow.

"I'm big and I'm small. I'm strong and I'm weak. I'm still here." Emil whispered to himself.

His body started to shrink calmly. Once he achieved regular size he wore his clothes and walked towards the cabin. Charlie smiled when he entered.

"Had fun?" She heard the screams obviously.

"Yeah actually. Thanks for everything."

"No problem. Remember, you're still in debt! So what favor do you need?"

"I need a portal but I also need an address. I believe you can find the person I'm looking for in the Sokovia accords database."

"Hm alright. What's the name?"

"Ava Starr."

[onewaigu]

Soulmates

Genre : soulmate!au

Theme : fluff

Pairing : Harin(Onewe) X Reader

Description : people your age were thinking about who their soulmates were. you were more interested in a certain boy who already knew who his soulmate was.

The concept of soulmates having their fates intertwined together by a common connection seemed like something out of a fairytale. Since your whole life, you had become accustomed to seeing people find their soulmates. Which always left you wondering, when were you going to stumble upon yours?

As if someone was listening in on your thoughts, your foot got caught in a pavement hole which sent you stumbling. You closed your eyes to brace the impact but it never came. Instead, an arm firmly curled itself around your waist and pulled you back to your feet. There was no need to turn around to know who this person was because as soon as you heard a strangely familiar laugh, you instantly knew it was your bestfriend, Ju Harin.

He slung an arm around your shoulders and slowed down his pace to match yours. He was towering over you so you had to look up to meet his face which annoyed you sometimes.

“Clumsy as usual”, he humoured while showing off his pearl white teeth.

You punched his arm lightly and shook your head at the insult.

You loved having Harin as your bestfriend because not only was he kind but he was also easygoing. Always managed to make any day better just by his witty and funny jokes.

Sometimes you wonder if there was ever a chance for your friendship to become more than it was if the world didn't depend on the idea of soulmates. People would be free to feel whatever they wanted towards whoever they wished to be with. That's the reason why to you, the concept of soulmates sucked.

It sucked even more because you knew Harin had already gotten glimpses of his soulmate while you only dreamt of homework and stress. On the inside, you were kind of jealous of the girl that would end up with him. Although, if it really was meant to be, then you promised to abandon any feelings you had for him.

“You would not believe what I dreamt about last night”, he told you excitedly.

“Is it about your soulmate?”, you teased him and wiggled your eyebrows suggestively.

Even though you didn't want to talk about soulmates, you felt bad dismissing Harin's excitement so you had no choice but to resist the painful throbbing in your heart.

“Yeah, I actually saw her face!”

Ah. It hurt.

“Well that's good, right! Now you could go meet her and hey, you could even ask her out on a date”, you masked your sadness with a smile.

“I'm a little nervous to reveal myself to her because she's someone I know”, he mumbled softly as an obvious shade of red crawled up his neck.

“You're lucky she's someone you know, mine's probably some creepy pervert”, you shuddered in disgust at the possibilty.

“Hahaha I really doubt that, Y/N”

“I'm just saying, there's a possibility”, you exclaimed without any hint of seriousness in your voice.

After that, the two of you just talked about random stuff till you reached the school buiding.

The rest of the day was boring. Everything waskill the usual routine. When you got home though, you had the greatest shocking news of your life.

Through a text message from your best friend, you got to know that he was going to ask his soulmate on a date. You were frustrated. He only saw her face once that day and now, he wanted to go out with her without taking his time to think over it. As much as you were happy for him finding his soulmate, you couldn't just ignore your feelings. You sunk your head into your pillow and that was how you spent your entire night, crying over a broken heart till you fell asleep.

Drums.

You jolted awake in the middle of the night. Sitting upright on your bed, you placed your hand on your forehead in confusion. Was that a glimpse of your soulmate? Whatever it was, you buried your face in your hands as you sobbed quietly. The last sign of hope that Harin was your soulmate was gone because..Harin didn't play drums.

You dreaded the moment you had to face Harin in the morning.

It wasn't making it easier for you when Harin kept on approaching you more than usual. He was an absolute nervewrack. He would stumble on his words and constantly shake his leg. He told you that he was honestly nervous and afraid the date wasn't going to go well. Giving him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, you reassured him that whatever he had planned, you were sure that anybody would fall for him.

Like that, the rest of the day went by in a blur. You were trying hard not to think about Harin's date while he was busy panicking over it.

Once you were home, you immediately entered your room and plopped yourself on your single-sized bed. You were exhausted and drained but as soon as you heard a notification on your phone popped up, you rolled on your bed lazily and reached for your phone. Swiping the screen, you saw that you had a message from Harin. Glancing at the time, you were confused because he should already be on his date. Without thinking much, you read the message.

Hey Y/N, could you come over my house? I need some help preparing for the date :)

You typed furiously before clicking send. When that was done, you got up from your bed and grabbed your black hoodie that was hanging from a chair. Slipping it on, you left your apartment to go somewhere familiar with the image of your reply still in your head.

Sure, Harin :)

Knocking on his door, you hid your shaky hands in your pockets. Why were suddenly feeling nervous? It's not like it was your date-

The door clicked and opened to reveal your bestfriend, Ju Harin. Just like that, you were speechless. No words could truly describe how handsome he looked standing in front of you. He didn't need a suit and tie to look good. Cladded in a simple striped t-shirt and plain jeans, Ju Harin had completely taken your breath away by his charms.

“Uh Y/N?”

You unfroze yourself from your daydream. You could've sworn you saw a little smirk.

“You needed my help?”, you tried to sound cheerful.

“Mhm, could you put this blindfold on?”, he hummed as he unclenched his fist to reveal a black cloth.

Before you could question him, he explained that he wanted the date to be perfect so he wondered if you could stand in for his soulmate for a dry run of the date. Truthfully, you applauded his dedication to planning a perfect date even if you weren't his date. So in the end, you agreed.

You wanted to grab the blindfold and wear it yorself but Harin beat you to it. He shifted behind you and wrapped the black cloth around your eyes, tying it at the back. You felt yourself stiffened as his fingers brushed the your ears lightly. You mentally scolded yourself.

“Okay, I'm going to bring you somewhere now”, he whispered in your ear, his close proximity caused your cheeks to blush.

You couldn't see anything but you did feel Harin locking hands with you. You took in calm breaths.

It didn't take long before you finally stopped getting dragged by Harin.

“You can take them off now, Y/N”, he said.

Fumbling with the knot, you took the blindfold off your eyes. You had to blink a few times for your eyes to adjust to the surroundings.

When it did, time stood still. His normal living room now had beautiful fairylights hanging on the walls. The dining table at the side had vanilla-scented candles and a vase filled with baby's breath. The atmosphere of the whole living room was perfect for a chill yet romantic date. Your heart involuntarily clenched.

Harin, who was at your side, walked to the middle of the room. How you didn't notice it at first was a mystery but there it was, a drumset sitting in the middle. Your eyes shifted to Harin who had drumsticks in his hands.

“So here's the part where I tell you that I lied“

“Y/N, I didn't need your help with the date cause you are my date”

You didn't understand.

“Remember how I said she's someone I know? Did you ever think about the fact that the only girl I've ever talked to..is you?”

“Dammit, Y/N..you're my soulmate”

“I don't care if your soulmate isn't me, I just need you to know that I've been in love with you since the day you stood up for me against others”

Blinking your eyes, you felt a tear falling. You didn't realise you were crying this whole time. It all made sense now and you felt your heart warmed by Harin's confession. All that worrying and it turned out that Harin's been your soulmate all this time. And you were his.

You were overwhelmed by emotions but that didn't distract you from the sight of the drums. The only thing that didn't make sense to you. Why were drums in your dream?

“Ah, the drums”, Harin cheekily grinned.

“I kept it a secret because I didn't want you to think I'm lame”, he scratched his head with his drumsticks.

Wiping your tears from your eyes, you smiled softly at Harin, “You're absolutely amazing, Ju Harin”

His face reddened in an instant but he kept his composure. “Uh- so with everything planned, I think it's time for me to make you fall for me”, he shyly looked away from you.

Now, it was your turn to blush because that sounded really familiar as if someone he knew had said that to him the other day.

[a/n]

someone was craving for some harin content 🤷‍♀️ of course I was tempted to write something fluffyy > <

stan weus and ju harin please stahp being rude boi