#but they have this Thing about wanting to keep sol separate from the more serious illegal activity they get into

[byanyan]

@gcldfanged sent:ㅤ"So, pretty please with fucking sugar on top- Who the FUCK is Sol and why's he more important than doing work for me, huh?" Jae demands, clearly not very happy that he hadn't been able to get in contact with his favorite little pickpocket/contraband pack mule.

ㅤuh oh.

ㅤit's true that they played a little hooky from work this evening, but wasn't supposed to be for long — half an hour, that's all! they'd spend half an hour distracting sol from his homework, and then they'd be right back to it. ...except, half an hour had turned into an hour, distraction turned to dinner, to letting themself get distracted, to not realizing how late it was until they noticed it was pitch dark outside and they had several missed calls and unread messages.

it was a mistake, sure, but not one they thought much of. they'd come up with some excuse on their way to meet up with jae, feed it to him, and things would be fine.

ㅤ—that's what they thought, anyway.

met with a none too pleased looking jae-hyo, byan's mouth opens to spew some bullshit about having to search for their phone after dropping it off a rooftop, about how they had to run around for hours trying to find somewhere to get it fixed or find a replacement— ...only to be cut abruptly short when their boyfriend's name leaves the other's lips. eyes widen in alarm, panic fluttering in their chest as they stare at the man before them in stunned silence. they've... never mentioned sol before — not even in passing, let alone by name — so... where did he hear it? —and how does he know that that's who they were with? had they been watched? did someone go through their shit? who told him?

ㅤㅤ" that's— "ㅤall but stammering in surprise, the teen bites their tongue and fights to regain their composure. okay, so their excuse is off the table, so what? they can still get out of this! and they can do it without admitting to having been distracted by their boyfriend, too! they can keep him out of all this. they will keep him out of all this.

clearing their throat, byan relaxes their stance, forces down the hint of fear that flickers at the corner of their mind, and shakes the shock from their features with an intentionally casual roll of their shoulders.

ㅤㅤ" he's just some kid in my class, "ㅤthey lie easily, although perhaps less believably than if they had come out the gate with it rather than staring dumbfounded at jae for a full minute beforehand.ㅤ" he was helpin' me with some'a my homework, tonight was the only night he was free. didn't think it'd be a big deal, i wasn't there that long. 'sides, i still got all night that i can work, so fuckin' chill. "

is it wise, telling the pissed off guy they work under to chill over their own fuck up? probably not, but being more respectful would surely only raise more suspicion. with an idle sniff, byan reaches back to pull free their loose hair tie, beginning to regather the ponytail that had ceased to be thanks to their rather frantic run to get here from sol's place, all while squinting at jae.

ㅤㅤ" how'd you know who i was with, anyway? you got someone babysittin' me? 'n here i thought you trusted me. "

[the-ace-with-spades]

Another unhinged buddie fic idea - amnesia Eddie at his best and dumbest

So Eddie gets hurt, hits his head, is unconscious for like two weeks and when he finally wakes up, he thinks it's 2018, he's almost finishing fire academy and his parents are still saying he should let them take Chris away permanently.

To say he panics is an understatement — his muscles are weak after the lack of stimuli but he still puts a fight with the nurse that's trying to take his blood pressure.

He keeps on asking about where he is and where is Chris, only gets a you're in Cedars Sinai MC in Los Angeles and doesn't take for answer anything that tells him to stay still or to be careful with the IV, until the nurse says, "Your partner is right outside, I'm sure he's arranged something for your son."

He freezes. "My partner? I don't have a partner. Who is taking care of my kid?"

The nurse's face changes and there are suddenly more and more questions about what he remembers last, what year he thinks is, and does he remember his partner's name. He tells her - he fell asleep in his bed, 2018, he doesn't have a partner because he's been separated from his wife for a few years now.

Apparently, the year is 2023, he was on a call with his fire crew and got hurt, his partner is definitely his partner because he's his power of attorney, next of kin, and has been taking care of his kid.

So the nurse leaves to talk to the doctor and his partner who is still outside, with said doctor.

(Eddie doesn't know that but the nurse was either absolutely sure this is what Buck is because there are assumptions and there are legal medical documents or she is sure this is the mythical firefighters' bond and they're just very close work partners - your pick. Either way, Eddie thinks she means romantic life partner.)

Meanwhile, Eddie goes through all stages of grief because his apparent partner he acquired in the past five years is a he and apparently such a sure thing he's in all of Eddie's medical documents.

A guy. What kind of a guy he would have to be for Eddie to choose him as his partner?

Then the nurse comes back with a very tall, very handsome guy built like a brick wall but also making a face that makes him look like an eager but sad golden retriever and—

Oh. That explains some stuff. If just looking at him makes Eddie feel like it, then he can't even phantom what being with him feels like.

The guy stops mid-room, not going for a hug like Eddie expected him to. "Heard you don't remember me."

And he sounds so sad that Eddie reaches his hand out and the guy — his partner — is instantly at his side, gripping his hand, and Eddie doesn't let him go until he gets the point and pulls a chair closer and sits with him.

"I don't. So a name would be nice."

"Buck. Well, Evan Buckley, but everyone calls me Buck."

And like, Eddie's never been big for pet names but even in this short moment Buck seems so bright he wants to call him mi sol. "I call you Buck?"

Buck chuckles. "Yeah, you call me Buck. Unless you're really serious, then you call me, you call me Evan."

"Evan," he tests out. "Sounds like you're in trouble."

And Buck smiles at him so softly Eddie is melting in that bed, warmth hitting him where he's still holding Buck's hand hostage and traveling up. "Not to me."

Bobby, who is apparently their captain — even though Eddie has a feeling like he's talking to his in-laws again the whole time he is there — brings Chris to the hospital and he's so big, already eleven, and so sassy with Eddie.

He's also very, very familiar with Buck, which calms him down - he talks about the funny sandwich cutters Buck's been using the whole time Eddie was in the hospital to cheer him up and tentatively admits how they slept in the same bed the first week because Chris had nightmares.

And even though his dad landed in the hospital — again, apparently? — Chris seems very, well, very well-adjusted to the situation at hand, even if Eddie can see he's being a bit clingy with both Eddie and Buck. Like the adults in his life are doing a good job at shielding him.

Buck is the one who has all the hard conversations with him, about Shanon, about his parents, about his abuela moving to Texas because of a whole pandemic, about the accident he had at work, and what will happen once he leaves the hospital.

It's really reassuring, that it's Buck telling him all that.

If he had any doubts about Buck being a very, very good and very, very close partner, all of it disappears when they go back home from the hospital.

His whole house has signs of Buck living their best lives in there — there are photos, cookbooks, cooking utensils Eddie doesn't even know the names of, Buck's clothes mixed in his wardrobe, cards from Chris for the both of them. It's very clear Buck is not only a big part of their life but also lives with them full-time, too.

He knows where everything in the kitchen is — "I have a system, Eddie" — and he knows where all Eddie's insurance paperwork is, knows the PINs to his phone, his cards and accounts, he knows all about Chris' medical needs. He knows how Eddie likes his coffee, how Chirs likes his toasts, which shaving cream Eddie likes, which toothbrush is Eddie's, which pair of shoes Eddie's only bought because they were on discount and never worn, which of Christopher's notebooks is the one for math.

He doesn't remember the past five years but he can't imagine not having Buck as his partner. Knowing he is there doesn't make him anxious like he thought it would — it makes him calm, settled.

So he's offended when the first night comes and Buck tries to bring spare blankets onto their couch. He wants him in their bed.

He gets that Buck is trying to give him space since Eddie doesn't really remember all the years they've been together, but that's a bit much. They're partners, and pretty solid ones at that, not just a new couple figuring stuff out, they must have slept together a million times.

So Eddie tells him to go off the couch and sleep in bed with him. It takes some convincing but eventually, Buck agrees. They lie down, Buck is being unnecessarily awkward, turning his back on Eddie in the dark. Eddie is not having this — turns towards him and spoons him, holding him in his arms. He's pretty sure Eddie getting hurt and forgetting five years is stressful on Buck, too, even if he doesn't show it. He deserves the comfort of his partner, even if said partner doesn't remember all of their life together.

It happens again the night after, and the night after that, until Buck stops tensing up whenever Eddie wraps his arms around him.

Because Eddie was unconscious for so long, he still needs PT, and Buck somehow manages to arrange that Eddie's and Chris' PT is at the same time and Buck oscillates between staying with either of them for the duration. There's one time when the receptionist at the therapy center asks him why he comes in so often when he looks fine — she's flirting with him, Eddie knows, which makes him glare at her, and Buck just tells her, "I'm just the chauffer for my boys." And Eddie calms down.

They assessed him at the hospital and he's supposed to have someone's handheld assistance or use a stick or a frame when he walks, until the PT gets his legs to the state from before. Using either the stick or the frame makes him feel like an old man, and the feeling doubles when Buck, the hunk of a man that he is, is nearby, so he refuses to use it when Buck is around. Which ends with Buck helping him around by placing an arm around his back and holding his hand with the other whenever Eddie needs to move.

Which is an absolutely amazing feeling because Buck is both the gentlest of giants, always knowing when Eddie needs reassurance and so freaking fit and big, Eddie can just rest against his chest whenever he feels wobbly or needs comfort from the embarrassment. It's a very contrasting feeling because it makes Eddie want to be held and pecked all over his face and thrown into the wall to make out.

Eddie's physical fitness improves and he misses Buck's touch the second his therapist says he can start moving without assistance.

That's the only problem Eddie has — Buck refuses to touch him. Again, he knows it's a bit weird with Eddie not remembering. At first, he thought it was just Buck giving him the lead on how much he wants them to do but then Buck keeps on ducking out any time Eddie initiates something.

He goes in for a kiss when Buck is drinking coffee and he dodges, standing up before Eddie can try again. Eddie gives Chris a kiss goodbye and goes to give Buck one, where he's standing next to their kid, and Buck skips out the door, telling him he's going to start the AC in the car. He tries to curl up against his side on the couch and Buck gets up with an excuse of making popcorn or tea or anything else possible. When Eddie slips into the shower while Buck is brushing his teeth, he leaves the bathroom with the toothbrush still in hand. Buck pretends to be asleep when he kisses his neck and swats Eddie's hands off when he moves them under his t-shirt when they're spooning, always calls out Eddie in the dark, like he isn't sure Eddie is comprehending what he's doing.

(Buck is pretty sure Eddie is trying to kill him — just make him have a heart attack or something — even if not deliberately. He isn't suspecting a thing about Eddie's partners assumption.)

It's like Eddie has a partner that loves him but without the bits that are funny. Like, he thought life-affirming sex is a thing and he is cleared for physical activity now and still out of work and going stir-crazy.

He doesn't get it and he can't talk about this with Buck because it almost feels like Buck is rejecting him, every time he ducks away from Eddie's affection or doesn't reciprocate it.

"Buck is—He loves me, right? He hasn't stopped after the accident, he's—He finds me attractive, he wants me, right?"

(Hen, sweet Hen, thinks he figured out Buck is in love with him now that he has a bit of an outsider perspective, and mutters, "Oh boy," cursing in her head because it's too early for this conversation. She isn't even suspecting Eddie heard partners once and ran wild with it.)

"I don't see where you're going with this," Hen says diplomatically.

"It's just, he's not doing anything about it," he explains. "It feels like he's barely touching me."

Hen is freaking out because of all times, Eddie had to realize now—"Do you... want him to touch you?"

"Have you seen him?" Eddie asks and then frowns. "Oh, right, playing for a different team."

"You just had a brain injury," she points out, hoping Eddie will find his brain somewhere, actually, and think.

"It's been almost two months, the doctors say I'm fine, memories aside," he says stubbornly.

"Eddie, I don't think Buck is going to make any first moves when you don't remember the past five years you guys—" She needs to change the track because she's saying too much. "Why don't you just talk to him about it?"

"And say what? Please bend me over our kitchen table? Please shower with me? Please give me kisses goodbye? Please hold me at night?"

"You probably should start with something more...tame," Hen suggests.

He's tried tame — he's tried initiating kisses and hugs and Buck doesn't respond. It's like he is afraid to touch him and Eddie isn't made of glass.

He needs to do something drastic.

So at night, he waits for Buck to come to bed, lights dimmed, and when Buck pulls the covers away to slide into bed with him, Eddie is naked — he can't be more blunt, if this flies over Buck's head, he'll be worried.

"Oh my god," Buck keeps on repeating, not looking at Eddie, blindly trying to put the covers over Eddie.

"Oh, come on, I can't be more obvious," he complains. "Why can't you just touch me, Evan?"

He's taking deep breaths, not looking at Eddie at all and this is the opposite of what he aimed for. "You don't want me, Eddie, you don't even know me."

"I definitely want you," he protests, irritated. He knows what he wants, it's Buck who's been missing the signals right and left. "And I know you, you're my partner, my Buck—I know you want this, too."

It's the truth — when he thinks Eddie can't notice, he looks at him like Eddie is everything he could ask for. He wants him to look at him like that now, too. He knows Buck, even if memories aren't there.

"We're not doing anything until you get your memories back and you actually know who I am."

"What if I never get my memories back?"

Buck doesn't reply and for a second Eddie think he got him, but then Buck stands up from the bed and says, "I think I should move out."

"What?" Eddie protests because that's definitely not what he was aiming for. Buck's place is with them, even if things in their relationship are a bit dry or stilled. "And where exactly would you go?"

"I do actually have my own place, you know?"

And how Eddie was supposed to know? He lives with them. He should not have a back-up place to go.

"I think I'm sending you mixed signals and you obviously don't remember enough to interpret them with clarity in your head," he tells Eddie and leaves.

He actually leaves the house, too, no matter how much he's asking to just sit down and listen to him. He spends the night trashing from side to side, expecting Buck to be back any moment but never getting him back.

(Meanwhile, Buck doesn't go to the loft because everything is dusty in there since he's moved into Eddie's place when he had to take care of Chris when he was still unconscious. Instead, he goes to Maddie's and complains to her over a glass of wine, aiming to stay on her couch overnight. "You didn't see him, Maddie, he was just lying there like a starfish, completely naked, going all, now you can touch me all you want—" and Chim wakes up Jee with how hard he drops the pans he was pretending to clean while eavesdropping.)

Buck comes back in the morning to take Chris to school — he doesn't offer Eddie to take him together and they don't talk at all.

Eddie needs to talk to someone about this because he might have somehow ruined the relationship with the man he's pretty sure he'd like to marry one day. By wanting him to touch him, of all things. But everyone is at work.

Pepa is retired, though. The problem is, Eddie isn't about to tell her Buck had threatened to move out because Eddie wanted him to fuck him.

So he asks the more appropriate question, "Why are we not married yet, actually?"

Maybe if they were married, Buck wouldn't have some secret place to escape. Maybe he'd feel like he can touch Eddie because Eddie is his on paper, too.

Pepa gives him a look that says he's crazy. "Who?"

"Buck and I, obviously." Forget crazy, Pepa stares at him like he's insane. "What? Does Buck—not want to get married? Did I say anything about this to you?"

"Mijo," she says, sounding like it pains her to do so. "You and Buck are not—you're not together, Eddie."

Eddie laughs because that's—that's not possible, they're partners, Buck's been taking care of him and Chris since Eddie woke up, and long, long before that even if Eddie doesn't remember it. He's Eddie's power of attorney and next of kin and he's in Eddie's will, he's all but a step away from adopting Chris, knows all of Chris' and Eddie's medical history, their allergies, their likes and dislikes. He's Eddie's partner.

Pepa is not laughing, just looking at him with that pitying expression on her face,

"But—he loves me, he loves Chris, he loves us," he says dumbly.

"Believe me, I know, we all know," she says. "We've tried stirring you in the right way but you're very stubborn, mijo."

[restlessreveries]

Okay I'm gonna ramble a bit about that silly fairytale-ish NemxSym AU that's been living in my head for... A Lot of months. Because I've been awake long enough to not worry about it and I will probably worry about it later but that's a future Lini problem.

So basically this is kind of a fairytale AU, fey and kingdoms with knights and princesses and stuff like that. Originally it was SolxSym because I'm pretty sure it sprouted from one of Hirokiyuu's three sentence writes, but as all things goes it eventually turned to NemxSym in my head.

It started off with Sol being the only royal heir of the kingdom they're living in, and them needing to strike an alliance with the sorta-close fey kingdom because idk reasons, outside human enemies and they can't afford the fey getting on their bad side too? It's not exactly fleshed out but I haven't planned on writing anything serious about it anyway so -shrug-. Whatever, the alliance is very important.

Sooo yeah, in the original, it was Sol x Sym, but as time moved on, I figured "Nem would do that if Sol was in love with someone else because she's protective like that." Which is really just an excuse to further my NemxSym agenda. but it works (She's high up enough on the nobility ladder that it works in universe).

The start is, rough. In a way? Nem is scared because marriage wasn't exactly on her to-do list and nobody really knows much about the fey and how they work? Like everyone is wary, but they do need this. And of course this silly fey prince is Sym who is very excited to be staying in the human kingdom and learning more about them, because he's very bored with how stagnant are among the fey. (the fun of long lived races and all that).

But... surprising her, he's also very respectful and understanding of her situation. He keeps his distance, puts a hand up in pretense of holding her but it's just to fake a kiss during the wedding. Happily spends the wedding night sleeping on the couch (after having been confused about her being nervous about it because he really had no plans on intimacy) and probably keeps sleeping there until they get separate rooms after a few weeks.

So her life continues mostly the same. Unexpectedly. She kind of does keep her distance though, because she doesn't really like the thought of being married and he is a bit odd and she really has no idea what to expect there so... it's just easier not to engage? Which Sym is perfectly fine with, he's all smiles and friendliness towards any human he meets, even though most of them takes Nem's lead and avoids interacting as much as possible. Which, really, doesn't seem to trouble him...

Except it does. Only, he's so adamant on respecting people's boundaries that he refuses to show that over the course of like two years, he becomes very lonely. Having gone from being surrounded by his own kind to living alone among humans who spare him as few words as possible and often finds excuses to leave the room he's entered (this displacement and loneliness is a bit of a nod towards "Disable the Array"). Until one day his sister Constellation comes to visit which has him suddenly a lot happier than people have seen him in a long time.

Only problem is that she sees right through his charade and calls him out on it. That she's never seen him so miserable before and how does he imagine this will go over if their Queen finds out how the humans are treating him? If Constellation can see through him so easily there's no way he can hide how he's doing, should the others come by, and then the alliance is pretty much garantueed to be broken. And yeah, she's going to have some words with his wife, because he really should at least have some support there.

And of course, he's instantly all up in arms about it, protesting because he genunely doesn't want Nem to be burdened by this. She's already dealing with enough, having been forced into this situation in the first place. He'll sort this out. Definitely, just don't put this on her.

So Constellation relents, but comments that he'd better up his theatre game before the fey queen finds out, or actually find a way to sort this out. So that's a fun little bit of pressure 'cause you know, it's not like he was dealing with enough already.

And as if we haven't invoked enough silly tropes already, this is where we add accidentally spying on a conversation somehow. With Nem (and maybe Sol?) overhearing the entire thing and having a bit of a realization that things aren't going so well after all and they do need to fix this somehow. (and also, he's been keeping this to himself to protect her? That won't 'cause difficult feelings at all.)

So later that night Nem's just, suggesting to Sym do something together the next day, to which he is surprised and delighted at first, but then she kinda nervously keeps going? Just listing a bunch of different things and parties and stuff they could attend and Sym gradually goes from happy to a sinking realization and that fake happy mask gradually dropping.

"... You overheard me speaking to Constellation?"

"No! I mean- maybe a little bit, but-"

"I see..." -the most forced attempt at his usual soft smile ever- "Please don't concern yourself with it. The last thing I wish for is to burden you further, I'll get this sorted out."

And then he absconds to have his own little breakdown because she knows now, and she's going to feel bad no matter what he does and he can't just fix this? And meanwhile Nem is having her own little moment of "Wtf why didn't I realize this sooner? He's been notihng but kind and I've just been avoiding him? Two years and I haven't even tried to make friends?"

It may or may not end with Nem kicking down the door to his room to actually sit him down and have a long chat about all of this because yeah, neither of them went into this with the intention of love, but they can at least try to be civil and upfront with each other.

After that it kinda settles into a standard slowburn of gradually realizing that they actually do enjoy hanging out with each other, and with Nem (and Sol contributing) being more openly friendly with him, other humans starts to feel more at ease chatting with the odd fey and... yeah, it sorts itself out eventually. Slowburn romance and all.

(Also I feel like the first thing Nem suggests for their real activity together after their proper talk is that they go for a ride around the area together. Sym agrees because he's happy to be included. Sym has never ridden a horse before. Nem finds it hilarious when this thousands-year old fey turns out to be terrified of even a light trot around the castle grounds. It's a good ice breaker.)

...Okay, now I'm gonna crawl back in under my rock and let future Lini deal with the regrets.

[broken-clover]

Got around the finishing GG Begin! It’s so surreal to have been able to just read through it. Really, truly, the biggest of thank-yous to @solradguy for putting in the time and effort to translate it, having to do that for a whole book is no small job. I have just a couple of thoughts I had on it, and there will be some spoilers, if that’s something that someone would like to avoid

-Maybe it’s weird to criticize the novel of a video game series, but the first chapter or so had a lot of ‘as you know’ moments that felt somewhat jarring. Gotta be honest, not sure what the point was of the prologue was, being its own separate thing, when flashbacks were a recurring thing across the story. I think it could have been broken up and slipped in there.

-I got as far as I think chapter 2 or 3 with an incomplete, older translation before Strive came out, so with only so much I’ll admit I had thought Viidia had something to do with I-no, based on the name and their appearances. I had thought this was somehow going to be the explanation behind where she came from (and, being honest with myself, it might have been cooler)

-Tying into that I’m sorta surprised there weren’t really any connections to the main series, though I guess that’s ultimately more realistic. Part of me still wants to go with the headcanon that Dustin is a distant relative of Ky’s just for the fun of it

-Did not expect to get attached to the OC’s, I’ll admit I garnered a fondness for Viidia and Dustin and got genuinely bummed that they didn’t make it out in the end. (To a lesser extent, Serge can go fuck himself, and I wish Frederick had gotten to properly maul him)

-It was nice seeing things from Frederick/Sol’s POV, obviously he’s the protagonist so we’ve done that for most of the series but I don’t think it’s been brought up much how the cells physically feel 

-Hooooly fuck Asuka his Strive interpretation has only worsened to me. Yes, I understand needing to keep up the facade to keep the military from viewing him as suspicious, but I think there’s a difference between that and actively proclaiming Frederick was never really his friend and offering no indication that he wasn’t 100% serious about this. I find it legitimately impressive that Frederick was so disbelieving of Asuka’s claims of disobeying Aria’s wishes and working for the government until Asuka fucking shot him (again). I know at least for the most part he’s putting on a show, but Asuka comes across as massively unlikeable, and I am doubling down on my opinion that Aria-Justice has every right to disembowel him and munch on his entrails

-Props to Sol for actually going ‘this isn’t what Aria wanted you dumb fuck’ someone actually listened

-Lastly I think it’s good to finally know what the fuck Aria was dying from, but it...doesn’t make much sense, at least in my opinion? I mean, I’m no doctor obviously, but the temporoparietal region of the brain is mostly affiliated with moral decisions and memory. The diseases is tends to be involved in are ones like schizophrenia and alzheimers, and while I think it’s be fine if it was stated to be a memory-related disorder- if anything, it could have been interesting to see Aria trying to hold onto the memories of her friends- but as far as I’m aware in here or in the games she’s only been portrayed as physically sickly with no real impaired brain function. I mean, if she’s still allowed to work in a science lab, clearly there can’t be much concern about her ability to recall things or perform tasks properly. I could be off the mark, though. Again, not a doctor. 

[wishing4nuclearwinter]

A B D H S for Sol?

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

While Sol is very much someone who values simply being in their partner’s company, they also really love when they get to travel with them. Being able to share that passion with someone else, see the sights together, etc. all means a lot. With Arcade specifically they enjoy having him read to them or watching movies together.

Beauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

I think when Sol and Arcade first started getting close, Sol mentally put him on a pedestal. They saw him as this compassionate, selfless person who could do no (serious) wrong, despite being vaguely annoying at times. To an extent they still believe that, but learning the nitty gritty details of Arcade’s past and seeing him fuck up on occasion and waiver in his sense of morality both humanized him and really cemented Sol’s love for him, both platonically and eventually romantically. They are continuously in awe of Arcade’s compassion- not because he’s effortlessly perfect but because he isn’t and because he is all that despite the road that led him there.

On a less sappy level, Sol does think he is beautiful visually and tries to convince him of it. They enjoy his sense of humor and somewhat awkward demeanor.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

They aren’t much of a long term thinker truth be told. They spend a long time somewhat convinced that Arcade would leave or get killed or otherwise be separated from them in due time. Once they get past that, they just try to take life a few months at a time. They just want to keep doing courier work and traveling with Arcade for the foreseeable future.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Sol is a habitual, natural, liar, though less so than they were pre-Goodsprings. It’s a habit formed for the sake of survival. They hid a fair bit from Arcade at the beginning but slowly opened up to him with time. This was before they were together romantically, but the one that really hurt Arcade was how long Sol hid the fact that they can’t really read even after they had gotten close. By the time they got comfortable in their romantic relationship Sol was able to finally work past some of the deep seated fears and habits that kept them so closed off. They both end up sharing most things with each other. Sol may still try to hide when they aren’t feeling well or little things like that, but Arcade can read them well enough that the point is moot.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

A lot of Sol and Arcade’s relationship is formed on that. They share an overarching goal of improving life for those struggling and it was what brought them together. Aside from that, Arcade does what he can to help Sol reconcile their past and create a new life for themself. Similarly, Sol helps Arcade with issues from his own past and the identity struggles that came from that. Not only with Arcade’s canon personal quest of figuring out how he fits into the Remnants, but also as he wrestles with the juxtaposition of trying to live up to his father’s legacy/shadow vs the knowledge of what his father did and what he truly represented along with the rest of the Remnants. Sol isn’t all that familiar with the Enclave, but they do everything in their power to help Arcade work through those on going issues and forge an identity that doesn’t lie in that shadow. Without Sol fully realizing it, Arcade does find some answers and empowerment in simply watching Sol work so incredibly hard to better themself and not let their past define their future.

More consciously, Sol does everything they can to help Arcade feel safe and assure him that they have his back unconditionally.

They both believe in each other whole heartedly.

[erbezdiez]

On your Seiya and Usagi post, you had a tag about an AU and YES I WANT TO HEAR please(:

YESSS *RUBS MY GAY LITTLE HANDS*

Click the read more because this post turned out longer than I expected but SEIUSA AU HERE WE GO

Okay, so this is basically just “The Sailor Starlights come to earth at the beginning of the series instead of in S4″ AU. In that specific scene/whatever, Fighter hears Sailor Moon screaming during her first fight and goes there to save her on pure instinct, not because she’s looking for the Silver Crystal or anything.

Honesty in my head I wouldn’t necessarily get rid of Mamoru or anything and the whole thing would kind of follow the same basic beats as the canon Sailor Moon story.

After the first fight, Fighter would get curious about Sailor Moon, and with time she’d end up aiding her too from time to time in her battles. Maybe she can even meet Tuxedo like that, when they both go to save SM at the first time or something safsadgs. Usagi would develop her crush on Tuxedo Mask while at the same time being curious about Fighter as well. Also during all this time Fighter is flirting with Sailor Moon because she’s a big lesbian and I love her, which would leave her feeling ~~confused~~.

Meanwhile, the Three Lights could serve as the standard “popular idol” like Minako does in PSSM, though I do like the idea of their popularity growing through the series exponentially.

Sometime after the senshi go meet Queen Serenity, Fighter would be aiding Sailor Moon and the others in a fight, but then get hurt herself. Then Maker and Healer can make their appearances, introducing the full group. They wouldn’t appear much more, but they would make it very clear that they’re not after the Silver Crystal so the senshi can have the whole “they’re not our allies, but they’re not our enemies either?” thing.

After the finale of S1, I like the idea of the Starlights noticing the senshi have forgotten about their identities and Figher being sad, but deciding that it’s better this way.

They could have a bigger part during the Makai Tree arc because that arc is great and I don’t care if it’s filler, where maybe they can sense something similar to Kakyuu’s light in the Makai Tree or something. Seiya and Usagi could meet while Mamoru is away as their civilian selves, and of course, Seiya falls for Usagi right away without knowing she’s Sailor Moon. Usagi however rejects him, because she’s still hoping Mamoru will return to her. When he does get his memories back and all that, Seiya stays friends with Usagi without telling her about his feelings.

And then during the Black Moon arc. Seiya could become a sort of emotional support for Usagi; she’s not sure why she likes talking to him so much, but it’s like he gets him in a way no one else does, not even her best friends. They grow especially close then Mamoru and Chibiusa go through the whole Black Lady thing. By this point, the Starlights are still focused on searching Kakyuu and only get involved in the other’s fight when they happen to be there or it’s something very serious, but they’ve become a sort of “sometime-allies we can rely on when something goes wrong”.

But then, of course, the Death Buster arc happens, and Uranus and Neptune are immediately wary of the Starlights since they’re from outside the solar system. They could go from suspecting them of working with the Death Busters, to attacking them on-sight. At the same time, Haruka meets Seiya while he’s hanging out with Usagi, and distrusts him right away. Partly because she feels “he’s just dangerous” and partly because let’s be honest she’s a bit mad that Seiya gets better reactions from Usagi than she does. Through this whole arc, Mamoru and Usagi begin to drift apart as she starts relying more on Seiya than on him, but she always denies the possibility of having romantic feelings for him, especially because she knows that Chibiusa existing at all depends on her staying with Mamoru. This however does nothing but strain their relationship even further.

Before the end of the arc, the Starlights would explain to all the senshi that they’re looking for Kakyuu, so Uranus and Neptune can stop trying to kill them for one second.

The Dead Moon arc is all about ChibiUsa and Usagi, and by this point, it’s undeniable that Usagi likes him too. Chibiusa could actually talk to Helios about this in her dreams, and how she’s actually scared Usagi will choose Seiya over Mamoru and either create a paradox or straight up kill her.

I would use Nehelenia’s motivation in this point as a way of separating the current Usagi (and by extension, Mamoru and everyone else) to their Silver Millenium selves. In Death Busters Uranus and Neptune are affected by their destiny in a positive way (they’re soulmates who can finally reunite, much like Serenity and Endymion) but in a negative way, when they think there’s no way to stop Saturn from destroying the planet. Now, when Usagi senses how much Nehelenia hated Serenity and her mother, she would feel sorry for her. Usagi had nothing to do with Nehelenia’s punishment and feels like Queen Serenity did a bad thing she can’t excuse. By creating this crack in the perfect image of the Silver Millenium, Usagi would begin to question if just because Serenity loved Endymion that means she should love Mamoru unconditionally.

And then of course, the Stars arc!! By this point, Usagi and Seiya are very close and both have feelings for the other, the Sol senshi trust the Starlights in varying degrees, and Usagi isn’t sure if she truly loves Mamoru and wants to fulfil her destiny. By the time Mamoru goes to America, he tells her they should “take a break” while they’re away so they can sort their feelings out.

I would also have Mamoru actually get to America instead of being kidnapped by Galaxia. Enjoy your education, boy!

Usagi tells Seiya rather quickly about this development, and they get even closer than before. Chibiusa hasn’t returned to the future yet, either because she senses it’s unstable or because she’s too worried about Mamoru and Usagi to leave them. She can tell Usagi that she knows how she feels about Seiya and that she’s broken up with Mamoru, and that she’s afraid of what that means for herself. For a while, Usagi starts avoiding Seiya because every time she thinks of him, she imagines Chibiusa disappearing and she can’t bear to choose between the two of them.

Then one day, Seiya gets targeted by one of Sailor Galaxia’s lackeys, and Usagi has no choice but to transform in front of him, revealing her secret identity. Seiya is surprised, but before he can say anything, Usagi runs away.

Seiya isn’t sure what to do, and she can’t even tell Taiki and Yaten about it because it would betray Usagi’s trust. One day, Seiya finds Usagi crying under the rain (or maybe the moonlight?) as she feels the weight of the whole world is in her shoulders. Seiya reaches out to Usagi, but she pushes him away when she thinks about hurting ChibiUsa. Seiya takes her hand anyways and holds it to his chest, telling her to look after her own happiness instead of the happiness of others for the first time. Usagi cries, and Seiya wipes her tears off. She then says “you were crying that time too at the jewel shop”, and Usagi isn’t sure what he means. Seiya transforms in front of her, showing her her true self.

This only makes Usagi confused for a second before she realizes that of course, it makes so much sense now. In a moment where she allows herself to think of her own happiness, she kisses Seiya.

She then rushes back home, suddenly afraid that she’s made Chibiusa disappear, but to her surprise she’s still there, alive and well. Chibiusa is suspicious of Usagi’s actions, but she leaves her be.

Shortly after this, before Seiya and Usagi have the chance to properly explore their relationship, the rest of the inner senshi have to transform in front of the Starlights (and vice-versa). By this point their relationship is much less tense than in the canon (both groups think of the other as allies, and now they’re united under the same enemy), and while Haruka still doesn’t like Seiya too much, she accepts her when Usagi defends her.

Eventually, the final battle comes, and in this version, I’d actually like Galaxia to be the villain not because Chaos corrupted her and she doesn’t have a Starseed, but because she became bitter and angry by the mere act of having to fight Chaos over and over again.

Turns out Sailor Galaxia isn’t just the most powerful Sailor Senshi of the universe; she’s the most powerful Sailor Senshi of all universes. Each time Chaos is born, she travels to that universe to destroy it. She’s been doing it since the dawn of time and is now so tired of her destiny that she just joins Chaos willingly.

So during the final battle (which honestly I’d leave almost the same because that battle is amazing), Usagi makes Galaxia see that she doesn’t need to keep on fighting just because someone decided it was her destiny. The existence of the Silver Crystal, the Golden Cyrstal and Kakyuu prove that Chaos can be fought against by other people, and that she’s already done more than enough. By realizing this, Galaxia lets go of Chaos, and by joining forces with Sailor Moon (and maybe with all senshi there present, even if it’s in spirit form), they manage to destroy Chaos.

I didn’t mention her anywhere else but ChibiChibi is here! And in this version, she actually is Sailor Cosmos, who’s awakened after Chaos disappears. She tells Usagi and Galaxia that Cosmos and Chaos will always be in battle, but that as long as people don’t let it consume her, peace will reign through all universes.

So the peace is restored, and the Starlights have to go back to Kakyuu. All senshi share a farewell in the school building, where Seiya struggles to let of Usagi and she has to try her best not to beg her to stay. Mamoru (who was captured during the final battle but is OK now) notices how Usagi hasn’t looked at him the way she looks at Seiya in years, and catches up very quickly. Seiya says that going back to restore her planet with Kakyuu is her duty, to which Usagi can’t say anything, because she feels she too has a duty to fulfil on earth.

But as they’re flying off into space, Yaten Taiki and Kakyuu tell Seiya that she’s already done more than enough. Seiya looks at them for a moment, when Usagi breaks down and cries, begging her to stay. Seiya leaves the space teleportation whatever the Starlights were using and jumps towards Usagi, who only barely manages to catch her. Everyone laughs and they kiss.

Later, they discuss whether or not this changes their destiny, since Chibiusa has never seen Seiya in the future. Setsuna could then explain that they may as well have created a new universe where nothing is set in stone, and that their future is now in their hands.

----

...And that’s that!! SORRY THAT WAS SO LONG asfshkgjhdfgksd. I know this fandom is very small so if anyone wants to idk expand on this idea or change anything or use it for something please go ahead!!! More seiusa content is always welcome. I hope you enjoyed this really long read!

[alittlewhump]

Unbidden - Act 5, chapter 6

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Content warnings: None

The golems faced off against one another, three rocky shapes grappling and striking at each other, the sound of stone on earth rising up into the brisk morning air. Nihlathak observed, circling the demonstration with interest. Blaise leaned against a rocky outcrop, arms crossed over her chest, watching the barbarian elder. He had taken them to a spot further down the mountain that hadn't seen battle in some time, so it was just the three of them.

"Impressive," Nihlathak said eventually. The approval sparked a flicker of warmth in Morgan for a moment, before he remembered that the barbarian had been speaking with Icharion. There was no knowing what they had discussed, but this praise couldn't be trusted. Nihlathak continued his examination. "You control each one separately?"

"Yes."

"And you can turn any earth to your command?"

"More or less," Morgan said. "Soil is easiest. Sand is harder. Stone is harder still."

"Ice?"

"Impossible. For me. That's water, not earth. Different elements require different magic."

Nihlathak looked down at Morgan's left arm. "What of flesh?"

"Not so different from soil. But I could never do this to another person."

"Ah, yes, your laws." Morgan did what felt like an adequate job of keeping his face impassive. They weren't his laws to follow any more. Perhaps Icharion hadn't mentioned his departure from the Order during their previous conversation. That was another small kindness, he supposed.

"There are more reasons than that," Morgan said carefully. "It was very complex work. And a golem will only respond to the one who created it." The appeal to practicality was probably the best argument for Nihlathak, he thought. No need to get into the other specifics.

"So if my own arm was... what did you say, irreparably damaged? Even if you could fix it for me, you would have control over its actions."

"Yes."

Nihlathak snorted. "Rather have no arm at all, then. Still. Yours. Is it any better than it was?"

"Better?"

"Stronger, faster... you know, better."

"The golem part is more resilient," Morgan said after a moment's thought.

"It's a lot stronger," Blaise piped up. "Remember Diablo?" Nihlathak's eyebrows shot up.

"Yes, that was-"

"You turned your arm into a sword and stabbed him in his big stupid face. It was the best thing I've ever seen," she declared, and the warmth flared back to life. Morgan met her beaming smile with a small one of his own. Blaise may have been exaggerating for effect, but at least he could trust there to be a kernel of truth behind her compliments.

"Resilience," he repeated. "And leverage." Blaise rolled her eyes. "It's no stronger than the rest of my body. Just a little more solid. I wouldn't want to use it that way in most circumstances. Remember how much trouble I had with the shield," he reminded her.

"Diablo?" Nihlathak was staring in disbelief between the two of them. "I heard whispers of his defeat - that was you?"

"Sure was," Blaise confirmed. "Haven't been telling that story much, though. Where'd you hear it?" She gave him a steady, evaluating look.

Nihlathak waved his hand. "I cannot remember where every story comes from. But this is great news! Surely now we will prevail!" His gaze fell back on Morgan. "Especially if you can help me with a... special task. I trust you can be as efficient with your attention as you are with your words."

"What would you have us do?" Morgan asked. He hoped it would be something challenging, something he could really focus on. Nihlathak glanced back at Blaise, whose arms were still crossed, before answering.

"There is a mighty sword, a twin to my own blade. The two of them together are imbued with such power as to make slaying Baal as easy as slaughtering a lamb. It was stolen from us long ago, but marvellous things have been happening ever since you stepped into my city. If you can find the twin sword for me, I would be able to overcome any obstacle, even the Lord of Destruction himself! But if the tales are to be believed, it now lies in the depths of the frozen river caverns, and I fear you may have trouble with your golems there."

"I would have to see the area to know for certain," Morgan said. It didn't sound like an especially difficult task, which was disappointing. But on the bright side, it was also something he had experience with, which meant he'd likely be successful. It would be good to accomplish something finite, tangible.

"If you know where it is, why don't you just go looking for it yourself?" Blaise narrowed her eyes at the chief elder.

Nihlathak's brow wrinkled. "I am the last chief elder. I have many responsibilities. I must attend to my people, my city. I cannot even take the time to grieve the other elders properly. I cannot spend all my time down in the caverns."

"So you would take us off the battlefield, where we can help your people, to hunt for a sword you've heard a story about." Blaise was acting a little strange, Morgan reflected. She didn't generally seem so combative. He wondered what was causing it. He would try to remember to ask, later.

"Do not dismiss stories so easily, girl. The sword is real enough. My own blade is proof of that, passed down from the Ancients themselves! It was quenched in the warrior blood of Bul-Kathos. It has yet to fail me in battle. And now that we find ourselves in such great need, its twin has resurfaced! With both swords, our victory would be certain!"

"I mean, our chances are looking pretty good already. Your people are strong and determined. This is probably going to be the easiest one yet. Right, Morgan?"

"The numbers are in our favour this time," he agreed. "But Baal has been more elusive than his brothers. We should still be cautious."

"What, like he's going to sneak away again? He wants to play king of the mountain badly enough to make a run for it, and we're going to crush him before he gets there. Simple."

"You are very sure of yourself," Nihlathak said, sneering.

"We took down Mephisto in Kurast and then we followed Diablo to Hell and killed him in his own sanctuary," Blaise returned the sneer, squaring her shoulders as she came closer. "And that was just the two of us. So yeah, I'm sure of myself. Of us," she amended.

"Please stop," Morgan said. They both ignored him, focused on each other.

"What a shame you couldn't have come to us a few days sooner," Nihlathak snarled, not backing down. "Your accomplishments might have swayed some of the other chief elders while they still lived. But they all died to protect Harrogath and I will not let their sacrifice be in vain."

"And somehow you survived all of them, huh? Just lucky, were you?"

"What are you saying, outsider? They were my friends, my kin! You think you can just walk into my city and-" Nihlathak moved to lunge forward and Blaise mirrored him. They both bounced off of the wall of earth Morgan raised between them.

"Stop," he repeated. They gave him matching glares. "Fighting amongst ourselves serves only chaos," he pointed out. "I may be able to find this sword quickly. I have some experience searching for magical items. How large are the caverns?"

"Vast. Miles of underground paths, like a maze. If it was easy I would have done it already," Nihlathak scoffed.

"You said your sword has a similar enchantment?"

"Yes, just not as strong on its own."

"May I examine it?" Morgan brought the wall back down slowly. Blaise shot him an annoyed look but stepped back, crossing her arms again. Nihlathak stared at her pointedly as he unsheathed his sword before presenting it peacefully.

Morgan held his hand out over the sword. It was impressive, large enough that he would have had to use both hands to even hold it, though the barbarian wielded it easily in one. The blade was decorated with a series of runes, slightly worn by years of use and honing but still visible. But when he touched it with a questioning wisp of magic, there was no answering resonance. There didn't seem to be anything magical about it, not even in the gems inlaid in the hilt. He widened his focus briefly - yes, Nihlathak had other magical items on his person, but the sword wasn't one of them.

"This sword isn't enchanted," he said. Nihlathak took a step back.

"What are you saying?"

"I don't feel any magic on your blade," Morgan explained. "I can sense the enchantments on your amulet, some of your rings, something in your pockets, your boots," he enumerated. "There's none on the sword."

"You're full of surprises," Nihlathak said slowly. "So you mean to tell me that you can tell if something has magic in it, but you can't feel the power of our runes?" He pointed to them one by one. "El for swiftness, Sol for strength, Dol for fortitude, Lo for vitality..." He trailed off as Morgan shook his head. "Well. You will just have to search the normal way, then. A man such as yourself must have an eye for details."

Morgan frowned. "If I can't sense the magic on the sword, I have no advantage. My eyesight isn't all that good, and any of your people could search faster than me. I'd be more use on the battlefield with my golems."

"I cannot put my trust in just anyone. The sword is a powerful weapon." Nihlathak's face grew suddenly serious. "Power does things to people. Even when you think you know them."

"You don't know us at all," Blaise said. "How is that any better?"

"I know I can trust a necromancer not to take part in the petty squabbles of men." Morgan tried to keep his face neutral at that, despite the pull in his chest. "You, I don't know," Nihlathak continued, flapping a hand dismissively in Blaise's direction.

"Icharion arrived before me. And he's probably faster. Why not ask him?"

Nihlathak hesitated for a second, then spread his arms wide. "I like you better!"

Blaise snorted. She was right. That seemed an unlikely reason. As far as Nihlathak would know, there wouldn't be much disparity between their skills or attitudes. But, as ever, there was one obvious difference.

"You would prefer I find the sword because you know I won't use it. If it's a twin to yours, it's too large for me to wield."

"See, that's why I like you better! So clever."

Morgan considered. Blaise had proven over and over that she was capable of besting even the strongest demons, with very little help. She didn't need the extra assurance of Nihlathak's aid, with or without the additional sword. But although the previous day's battle had been reasonably good, the aftermath had proven much more difficult to bear. A more solitary pursuit might take less of a toll. And the children of Bul-Kathos put great stock in symbols, according to Cain's findings. The sword could represent something important for the whole clan, not just Nihlathak. Finding it could help to bring them a little light to combat the darkness of the losses they'd endured so far.

"Let us talk it over. In private." Blaise's tone indicated this was not a request.

"Fine. I have other matters to attend to anyway. Find me when you've reached a decision." Nihlathak gave Blaise one last dark look before turning back towards the waypoint. Morgan waited in silence until he had gone through, leaving the two of them alone.

"You don't trust Nihlathak," he observed.

"Not as far as I could throw him," Blaise said.

"Why?"

"I've been talking to some of the warriors. They don't trust him either, and they've known him all their lives. He won't discuss what happened before we got here, but it's really suspicious that he's the only surviving elder. There were six others, all of them strong. Something isn't right."

"He said the other elders were his friends. He could just be grieving." Grieving those recent deaths, the people they could have met and maybe even helped if only they had been able to come a little sooner. If they hadn't had to wait for him to slowly recover. Again. Morgan looked down, leaving the rest of that thought unvoiced. Blaise caught on to his train of thought anyway.

"Hey. Hey, no. No. Don't start this. There's nothing we can do to change whatever happened before we got here. And we came as soon as we could."

"If-"

"No if. There is no way we could have gotten here in time to save them. Listen to me, Morgan. A hundred little things could have gone differently, but they didn't. Don't waste your energy thinking about things you can't change. We have our own battle to fight right now, and I need you with me."

Morgan pressed his lips together. That lie was meant to make him feel better, but it was too transparent for that. She didn't need him, not really. There were dozens of hardy warriors already intent on beating Baal back down from their mountain. Competent, skilled warriors. Ones she wouldn't have to save from peril, ones that wouldn't slow her down.

"Besides," she continued, "that sword story is clearly a load of crap. Why would he need another sword if the one he already has is so great? And why doesn't he have anyone he can trust to find it for him? You'd think there would be at least one person, he's the chief elder. It's suspicious. Not to mention the captives we picked up yesterday. Since when do demons take prisoners like that? This whole thing stinks."

It did stand to reason that someone in an important position would have at least some people he could trust. If even Morgan could manage to collect a couple of friends, surely a person as socially inclined as Nihlathak would have someone he could trust. But perhaps only one or two, and perhaps they had died in the siege. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility. However, thinking on his own friends, particularly in the context of demons taking prisoners, something else occurred to him.

"I can't feel the enchantment on Cain's scrolls either."

"What?"

"They hold magic. In the runes. It doesn't resonate like other items."

Blaise wrinkled her nose. "So there's a chance there might actually be something to his story."

"There could be."

"I don't like it."

"You don't have to go with me. If I go looking for this sword. You work well with the war party."

"So do you, and I'm not going to make you search through some sort of awful frozen cavern on your own. Let's go talk to Deckard, see if we can sort this out."

[that-one-awkward-anon]

Shrine of Confession

Happy Pride Month Twisted and Creased are gay and in love 

tagging @darkwarfy​ cause he saw the preview of this and said it’s cute so I got encouraged to finish it 

Creased had a problem. He really liked Twisted. Like, liked liked him. Loved him, even. The problem was… well, Creased wasn’t sure if Twisted liked him too, or if they were just very close friends.

For example, Twisted said that he loved him a bunch of times, even when he did small things. But friends said they loved each other all the time, right? And then there was that time where Twisted said he could kiss him after Creased had helped him in a particularly tough battle. But that was just a saying, right? People said that when they were relieved, and they had just barely escaped with their lives. And then there was that time that Twisted really did kiss him after a fight. He forgot what he had done to earn it, because his brain had basically shut down during it. But that was probably just a fluke, so it didn’t count. And so, Creased was stuck, unsure if he was actually picking up signals or just hoping for the best. He didn’t want to just come out and ask Twisted- he was way too scared of ruining their friendship if he didn’t feel the same. So for now, he was forced to silently pine. Unfortunately for him, he was currently sharing a room with Twisted for the night. Which really didn’t help his situation at all. Instead of the wilderness, they had actually found a small Red village to stay in for the night. And after Twisted had convinced the mayor that they were trustworthy, they had been allowed to stay in their inn at a discount. Which was good, because they only had about 10 Gold between the four of them after buying supplies. He didn’t know why the Princess of Sivilus didn’t have more Gold on her, but whatever. Unfortunately, they still couldn’t afford separate rooms, so they decided to pair up. And since Snapped and Rugged were obviously going to share a room, that left him and Twisted. Together. In an inn room. For the entire night. At least they had separate beds, or else Creased might have actually died. Creased had been trying his best to be quiet and mind his own business, but his eyes kept flitting over to Twisted, then back to book he had randomly picked out. Currently, Twisted was kneeling at the side of his bed, doing his nightly paladin prayers to SoL. He looked so… serious. It wasn’t like Creased had never seen him with that expression before; hell, he always looked like that while fighting. Unlike Creased, who actually liked fights, Twisted looked like he just wanted to get them over with. Brow furrowed, deep frown, completely focued on whatever he was attacking. But seeing him like that while things were calm was… odd. It was as if he just wanted to get his prayer over with as well. But he was a paladin, right? And a pure Red on top of that! Wouldn’t talking to SoL be the highlight of his day? Creased looked over again when he heard Twisted sigh in frustration, then stand up from his kneeling position. “Twist? You good?” he asked, trying his best to play it cool. Twisted looked over at him in surprise at his question, before relaxing slightly. “Oh… I thought you had fallen asleep,” he admitted with a weak chuckle. “Yeah, I’m just… having trouble praying. “Oh? Why’s that?” “Honestly? I’m not sure. I’ve been kinda struggling for the past few days, but tonight it’s really bad. I just feel like I can’t… properly connect with SoL. Which kind of makes me a crappy paladin.” Creased frowned slightly, then closed the book he was pretending to read to properly look at Twisted. “Twist, you aren’t a-“ “I know I’m not, don’t worry. But I sure feel like a bad paladin right about now. What kind of paladin can’t pray to their god?” Creased frowned and sat up more as Twisted continued to degrade himself. “Twisted. Not being able to pray once in a while doesn’t make you a crappy paladin, it just makes you normal,” he said, much firmer than before. Twisted glanced over at him, before looking away. “…Yeah, alright. I’ll take your word for it. Anyways, there’s a small SoL shrine in that park we explored. It might help to actually be looking at him, so I’m gonna go test my luck. Do you wanna- “Yes!” Both Poprets started at each other at Creased’s enthusiastic response, both equally as surprised. After a few stunned seconds, Creased immediately started to backtrack. “I mean, o-of if you want me to come! I can j-just stay here and w-wait for you to-“ Creased cut himself off when Twisted started to laugh. “Crease, you can come. That’s why I asked. Now then, let’s head there quick, so we can come back and get some sleep.” Creased didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as Twisted finished talking, he jumped out of the bed and onto his feet. It wasn’t either of them had to change- their “pajamas” were just cleaner travel clothes. So they both quietly left the inn, then Twisted lead Creased to the park. He hadn’t exactly been impressed the first time they had visited, but this time he could appreciate all the effort that must have gone into planting and maintaining everything. Not to mention, despite most of them being some shade of red, the flowers were quite beautiful at night as well. Finally, Twisted stopped and looked at Creased with a smile. “Alright, here we are!” He stepped aside with a dramatic flourish, and… wow. How had he missed this before? The marble statue wasn’t that impressive- every SoL shrine had one. But it was the decorative flowers around it that had him speechless. Unlike the rest of the flowers in the park, these flowers were a complete rainbow of color! And the way they framed the statue was just… beautiful. And laying on the palms of the marble statue was a marvelous, sparkling, deep blue flower. It reminded him of Rugged’s fancy magic flower, but it was absolutely the prettiest thing there. Well… the second prettiest thing there. But Twisted was occupied, so he had to keep his pickup lines to himself. While Creased stood there gaping, Twisted went and kneeled in front of the statue. Creased finally snapped out of his stupor and quietly took a seat near the statue. From that angle, he could see Twisted’s face again. And this time, he actually looked… different. Instead of serious and stormy, he looked completely relaxed. Kind of how Rugged looked when she was healing one of them with her magic. But to be fair, she looked relaxed 95 percent of the time, so it wasn’t much of a difference. But for Twisted… it was almost fascinating. This entire adventure, he had seemingly switched between being stressed or hesitantly optimistic, sparing the group a weak smile once in a while. Around Creased, he would properly smile and laugh, but that was probably just because they had been friends for so long. But it had been a long while Creased had seen Twisted look so calm. And… it was really cute. Seeing the always serious, “let’s just get this over with” Red actually relaxed made Creased start to relax as well. He had kept up his “selfish asshole” persona for so long that being vulnerable was still new to him, but around Twisted… it came completely naturally. After this adventure was over, he wanted to always feel like this. No stressing over the end of the world, just relaxing with the man he adored. “Take a picture, Crease, it’ll last longer.” Aaaaand Twisted had noticed him staring. Immediately, Creased could feel his face heating up. “U-Um, I’m, uh… s-sorry, I didn’t m-mean… I was just l-lost in thought, I w-wasn’t-“ “Lost in thought, huh? What were you thinking about?” Twisted asked, nonchalantly sitting next to Creased on the bench. God, Creased felt like he was going to melt at this rate. There was no way he could admit what he had been thinking about! “I… u-um… I was t-thinking about… tomorrow? W-When we leave, I mean.” “Oh? What do you think we should do after we head out?” Was Twisted getting closer? He was absolutely getting closer, right? Creased could just barely feel the Red’s hand touch his, and he felt ready to absolutely explode. “…T-Twist, c-can we pretend I w-wasn’t staring? Please?” Creased finally squeaked, admitting defeat. Both of them knew he was lying about being “deep in thought”, so doubling down wouldn’t do him any good. Unfortunately, Twisted only gave him a cheeky grin and scooted closer. “So you were staring. What, were you just admiring my paladin physique?” Twisted teased, leaning in closer. Creased probably looked like a neon sign at this point, because now he was thinking about Twisted’s body. Despite Creased being taller and older by a year, Twisted could probably pick him up and throw him around without trying. Not that he would exactly mind that, but one issue at a time. “N-NO! No, I w-wasn’t staring at-“ “You sure? This shirt is kinda tight, so I wouldn’t blame you.” “Twist, dude, you’re killing me here.” Twisted barked out a laugh at that. “Alright, alright, sorry. I’ll stop. But what were you staring at, then? Cause whatever it was, it sure got your attention.” The pair sat in silence for a moment. Creased was too embarrassed to even attempt to explain why he was staring, but he couldn’t think up any decent excuses either. Slowly but surely, the silence became awkward. “…Creased, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t-“ “I was looking at your face.” Creased glanced over at Twisted again after he blurted out his reason. But instead of disgusted or surprised, he just looked… confused. “My… face? Why?” “O-Okay, well, not really your face. Your facial expression.” “…Dude, I’m even more confused. What facial expression did I have on?” Alright, Creased needed to just suck it up and explain himself. “You… you looked really calm. This entire time, you’ve always had your eyebrows furrowed, sometimes even when you slept. You really only relaxed around me, but you still looked kind of on edge. But just now… you actually looked relaxed. And I haven’t seen you like that ever since all of this began.” Twisted stayed quiet as Creased explained himself, nodding silently at the end. “Okay. I didn’t even know I had that expression on… Well, I guess just being around you makes me chill out more!” “…Come again?” “I mean, according to the others, I look… stressed when I pray. Again, I never know what facial expression I have on, but that’s what they said. And you just confirmed it, I guess,” he said with a slight chuckle. “But being around you… I don’t know. You just seem to help me relax whenever I’m near you.” Creased just stared at him wide-eyed when he said that. He… helped Twisted feel relaxed? Just by being nearby? They had such a deep connection that even being near him helped him relax? He didn’t even know how to respond to that. Well… there was one way to respond. Maybe he could finally just… come out and admit he liked him? Now felt as good of a time as any, especially after that confession. “…Twisted?” “Yeah?” “…I like you.” Twisted chuckled slightly. “I like you too.” “No, I mean, I like like you.” “I ‘like like’ you too, dude.” He was still grinning teasingly. Okay, Creased needed to just spit it out. “Twisted, I… I love you! I love you a lot!” Twisted blinked in surprise. “…Seriously?” Alright, time to commit. “Yes, seriously! I love fighting with you, because you look so focused and it’s really cute! And I love sleeping in a sleeping bag next to you, even though you snore, because when I’m next to you I had good dreams!” “Crease-“ “And I think you’re really cute, and really handsome, and I really like it when you wear that jacket because it just makes you look really cool, and you already look cute fighting, so it’s like a mix of cool and cute and-“ “Creased, am I that bad at dropping hints?” Now it was Creased’s turn to be surprised. “…What?” He finally looked at Twisted properly, and that’s when he noticed that the Red was also basically glowing with a blush. “Creased, I have literally kissed you before. How did you ever think I don’t love you back?!” Well, now he just felt silly. He glanced away slightly, too embarrassed to look at Twisted while he explained himself. “…I mean… you can kiss someone that’s just a friend! S-So how was I s-supposed to be sure that meant you love me?! I just thought-“ But before he could even finish explaining himself, Twisted kissed him. Again. And once again, his brain temporarily shut down. It only rebooted when he pulled back, and Creased was staring at that cheeky grin again. “Now are you sure I love you?” “…Yeah,” Creased finally managed to whisper. “Yeah, I do”. Everything was quiet for a few more seconds… until Twisted let out a soft laugh. He leaned closer to Creased again, kissing the still frozen Green on the forehead. “You’re a damn idiot, Creased.” “H-Hey!” He wasn’t going to deny it, but still! “I didn’t hear a ‘no I’m not’, so I assume we’re in agreement. Now let’s get back to the inn before someone notices we’ve been gone for too long. Or…” Twisted grinned again. “…Do you need me to pick you up and carry you there?” “…I’m pretty sure I’d die if you did that, Twist.” Twisted laughed again, this time much louder. “Alright, walking it is.” He grabbed Creased’s hand and helped him to his feet, and for half a second Creased seriously considered that offer to be carried again. But thankfully, his brain kicked in once again, and he silent stumbled back to the inn with Twisted. And as they did, he glanced at the blue flower sitting the shrine one more time, then over at Twisted. He was right. Twisted really was the prettiest thing there.

[astyle-alex]

[FANFIC - Destiel & JayTim] 

Multiverse Mishap | DCU Bat Family x Supernatural

Fandom: DCU Bat Family x Supernatrual Pairings: Destiel, Jay x Tim Rating: Teen Warnings: Swearing, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Heavy Angst (with a happy ending), Implied Underage Prostitution Total Word Count: ~156k | SPN vers = 76k / Bat vers = 80k

Summary:

One slip up in the lab has Tim Drake careening into a new world where things are rather dramatically different from the world he’s used to. Fortunately, this is not his first rodeo. He knows how to handle this nonsense, more or less at least. Unfortunately, the people of the world he’s wound up in see things a little differently. And when Dick Grayson and Jason Todd mount an ill-conceived rescue mission, things get complicated very quickly.

When Team Free Will is at their lowest (well, their lowest as of YET, at least) with Castiel missing (and probably human), they get thrown a lifeline. Charlie calls with a lead on a strange young-man who bears a stunning resemblance to their MIA angel. Even with the world on a precipice around them, Sam and Dean won’t leave their angel out to dry—Dean especially has a few missteps he’d like to make up for… If only he could find some way to get through to one hella conked out Angel of the Lord.

This project started as a distraction and got WAY out of hand, but I’m actually really excited about it. I’ll be posting it as two separate stories on Ao3 (one form the Bat Family PoV and one from the SPN family PoV, both of which will be updating HERE...) with new chapters going up weekly, but only one chapter from each version.

As excited as I am about it, my schedule is currently in shambles because I got an opportunity to get the COVID Vaccine and it’s thrown my whole schedule into utter chaos. I’m hopeful that I’ll get back on track soon, but I can’t guarantee when I’ll be able to post here or on Ao3.

Since I can schedule posts on Patreon, that updating schedule will be much more definitively regular. The second chapters of each version are already available to Patrons and should open up to all viewers by Monday!

- Multiverse Mishap | SPN Vers - Chapter 2 

- Multiverse Mishap | SPN Vers - Chapter 3

&

- Multiverse Mishap | Bat Vers - Chapter 2

Read the first chapter of the SPN version below (with Charlie playing a super spy and getting Sam & Dean a lead on a maybe-Castiel / maybe-alien-infiltrator) and I hope you all have a fabulous Easter Weekend (whether or not you celebrate religiously, you gotta admit the season-exclusive candy is pretty dang great!)! ^_~

           A bit of fiddling, that’s all it was.

           Well, that’s all it was supposed to be.

           A device that plays with space-time and the very weave of whatever it was that spanned the gap between dimensions?

           How could anyone just let something like that gather dust in an archive?

           It functioned how it was meant to, it was only that what it was meant to do was cause harm… If they just tweaked it a bit, just a little, gave it an anchor point and limited the scale of possibilities… If they yanked down the juice that kept it powered to a more moderated level…

           It could save lives.

           So… fiddling.

           Just a bit, here and there and on weekends when there wasn’t anything big going on.

           The stupid thing wasn’t even turned on most of the time.

           It was inert and dead as fricken paperweight (which honestly is what the fiddler in question had mostly been using it for)…

           And then… it wasn’t.

           One button, a loose screw, the slip of a paperclip…

           A big flash of blinding light.

           Silence, like the absolute nothing right before the tidal wave hits.

           And in that silence, a tiny, over-caffeinated little voice:

“… Oops…”

_     _     _

Chapter 1 – MIA Angel or Alien Infiltrator?

           Charlie Bradbury knows she’s awesome.

           But there’s the standard awesome that any Queen of Moondoor is simply by nature of being epic enough to have achieved the throne to start with...

           And then there’s the awesome that is having created a automated dark web trawling  program to track the world’s Big Weirds (and only the very BIGGEST of the Big Weirds) and having that super secret extra level deep vault program actually work.

           Well, of course it worked, but it like worked.

           It found an Angel.

           Sorta.

           It found a something.

           And an MIA angel, who was not exactly an angel anymore, but also couldn’t really pass as truly human, and who was still on like every watchlist ever (magical, criminal, meme-spirational, etc), but is somehow still entirely off the fricken radar?

           Yeah. BIG Weird.

           Said angel-not-angel popping up at a Biggerson’s in Ohio with no shoes, more money than god, an insane caffeine tolerance and absolutely no idea how to function inside a Walmart?

           HELLA Big Weird.

           So Charlie, being the awesome Queen that she is (and being acutely aware of what false hope here could do to the people in particular question with this) went to check it out herself.

           Personally.

           And, personally, she can say that this kid is the weirdest thing she’s ever seen, and after having day-tripped out to the literal Land of Oz a few times over… well, that’s sayin’ something.

           Charlie’s met Castiel.

           Not exactly her type, but she could see how that divine slice of puppy in a trench coat could be seen as something of a serious snack.

           Though… If he weren’t an angel, she’d swear he was an alien.

           But, like, a cool alien.

           Much less spy-trained infiltrator than innocent human-admirer who wants to experience the local flavor on his little vacation out to the Milky Way’s most interesting backwater, Sol-3.

           And the kid she finds in Ohio… is not that guy.

           Not really.

           For starters, she’s not entirely sure he’s old enough to drink alcohol.

           And he’s… not looking for Sam and Dean ( which is seriously a BIG red flag for deciding whether this particular angel-not-angel is the right angel-not-angel).

           He is looking for something, though.

           Something he seems to think is in Kansas, near-ish enough to the Bunker’s coordinates to make her question the ‘not looking for Sam and Dean thing’ (but the absolute dinosaur of a smartphone he’s working on to pull up maps could totally just call the bunker, if he wanted to… or any of the plethora of emergency numbers the Boys have set up…).

           Charlie’s looking on from a Very Inconspicuous post in the booth two tables away from the kid in the red hoodie and she can feel his frustration with the device radiating off him like physical Force pulses. Fortunately, proto-Sith this kid is not, and all the tables remain table-y.

           She’s watching him fight with the internet to find something and his device’s crappy security means she didn’t even have to work hard to get her own screen to show what’s happening on his. He’s definitely looking at Kansas, at going to Kansas— Lebanon in particular.

           Messy black hair, big blue eyes, grumpy face to rival any Netscape feline…

           Looking for Lebanon and totally out of sync with humanity…

           And… his oversized red hoodie just happens to have the 2-D rendering of a big black pair of wings stitched into its backside— stemming right from where they should on the kid’s shoulder blades if the wings were real.

           Charlie’s not really gullible enough to believe in signs from God anymore…

           But if she were… well, that would be pretty convincingly Divine Sign-like.

           So, she makes the call.

           Sam picks up on the third ring.

           “So, you know how like the main character always has dramatically weird colored hair and sits in the second to last desk by the window?”

           With a heavy sigh filled with enough affection to make Charlie’s insides feel all squiggly and warm, Sam says, “No, Charlie, I have absolutely no idea.”

           “Well, they do.”

           “Okay. And?”

           “They are Narrative Significant, they stick out from the background in like a big way, but not just in like a ‘doing main character things’ kinda way,” Charlie rambles, trying to find her point buried under the spiraling metaphor.

           “Charlie, do you know what time it is?”

           “Uh, 2, maybe, 3am. I think. But that may have been like three coffees ago,” Charlie prattles off automatically before veering back on track, “Anyway. The point is that I think I found a main character. He’s not the character I thought he should be, though. He doesn’t look right. He’s too young. And no trench coat. But he is hella out of sync… and the blue eyes and black hair and everything else…”

           There’s a pause as Sam’s non-caffeinated brain tries to keep up with Charlie’s infodump.

           “Trench coat?”

           “I think I found him, Sam,” Charlie whispers. “I think I found Castiel. Well, I found someone weird enough to maybe be Castiel, in the Castiel kind of way, and he’s looking for a way to get to Lebanon, so…”

           Much more alert, Sam asks, “Where are you?”

           “Ohio. Quaint little place called Granville,” Charlie reports. “It’s a pretty straight shot to the Bunker, but it’s like 14 hours on the road and I’m not sure the gods of caffeine consumption will really be cool with me pushing their bounty that hard…”

           “Don’t try too hard to get him to go anywhere with you, see if you can just offer to pay for a motel room for the night,” Sam instructs, the sounds of a pack being prepped with one hand clanging about in the background. “We’ll be in Granville before noon.”

           “What if he really wants to head out?”

           “Take it slow and text us when you get gas, we’ll meet you in Indianapolis.”

           He’s using ‘Serious Sam’ voice.

           It’s the voice that makes panicking bunny rabbits being chased by wendigos settle down for half a second so Dean can frickin torch those ghost-y cannibal creepers.

           Only, in this case, the wendigos aren’t cannibal forest ghosts chomping down on campers. This time, the Big Bad that Dean is unequivocally about to destroy is approximately 909 miles of US Highway 36.

           It makes Charlie feel a little bit better about nearly everything that’s wrong.

           She hangs up with Sam after promising to keep the updates coming, and looks back at the kid who could be Castiel.

           Only to find him looking back.

           For a minute, she’s worried that he heard her talking to Sam about him.

           But he seems kinda zonked.

           And he doesn’t look upset or embarrassed or angry, so…

           She is the only other person on this side of the Biggerson’s, (and really she’s the only non-staff member in this Biggerson’s all told besides the kid himself), so it’s really not that strange for her to be the dust mote in motion that’s wound up drawing the kid’s eye.

           He’s not really expressing anything.

           He’s just looking.

           It’s weird.

           Whelp, he’s got that creepy unblinking stare down pat, bird-like head-tip and all.

           The kind of stare that’s not angry or judgmental but feels more clinical than anything else, like he’s seeing through the bones and skin and sinew to the soul that’s underneath.

           Dissecting it and diagnosing it…

           It makes her shiver.

           But she plasters on a smile and says, “Hey. You wanna refill?”

           The kid looks down at his empty coffee cup.

           He blinks, real slow like.

           Then he nods.

           Relief floods Charlie.

           Step One, making with the contact with the Target. Check.

           In her experience that’s usually been the hardest part of these things.

           Not that she really has much experience in ‘these things’…

           But still, Score 1 for the Queen, yeah?

           She signals to a waitress for two more cups of coffee, shots of espresso boosting both of them. It’s like a weird AU of a sleezy bar beat, a remixed mark meets con-woman kinda thing.

           “So, kid, what’s your name?”

           “Shouldn’t you tell me yours first?”

           Charlie shrugs. “Well, generally yeah, that is the convention. But I like being unconventional, I guess.”

           Really, it’s that she hasn’t quite decided what name to give him.

           He blinks expectantly, head tipping over again.

           Realizing that she’s already giving up ground in this pseudo-battle of wills and whatnot, Charlie sighs heavily and says, “I’m Charlie, Charlie Bradbury. Geek extraordinaire.”

           The kid nods, visibly internalizing the information.

           Trying really hard not to be perturbed by that, Charlie barrels on to say, “I see that tablet of yours is gone a bit wonky. You looking for something in Kansas? I might be able to fix your tech or find what you’re looking for with mine.”

           “My tablet…” With big owl eyes, the kid glances down at the piece of crap barely smart enough to call a screen and gives a plaintive little huff. “It is… insufficient.”

           Charlie gives a laugh that only sounds two-thirds forced and says, “Understatement, buddy. You’re grand at it.”

           The kid simply frowns.

           “So,” she says, drum-rolling her fingers on the plastic tabletop as she leans into the leading questions. “Tell me what’s your name and what you’re looking for in Kansas and we’ll see if I can work my magic, huh?”

           The kid’s eyes narrow suspiciously on the word ‘magic’, but he gives no other reaction.

           For a solid minute, easy, they just kinda sit there.

           And then the kid downs a full cup of espresso-boosted coffee like it’s a bottle of watered down Gatorade and flashes Charlie the stiffest stretch of smile she’s ever seen on any face that still looks mostly-human.

           “My name’s Alvin,” he tells her with all the bland panache of a used car salesman. “Alvin Draper. And honestly? I’m looking for a hole in the universe.”

           Charlie almost bursts out laughing.

           The kid— Alvin— spots the reaction. He glowers, quite impressively, to be honest.

           “Well, Alvin, that’s the fakest fake-name I’ve ever heard, but I think I can help with the ‘hole in the universe’ thing,” she tells him.

           Alvin’s frowning again, it’s adorable and endearing in ways it really shouldn’t be.

           “One problem, though,” she lays out. “You’re gonna have to be a little more specific about which hole in the universe or tear in the fabric of reality your talking about.”

           Taken entirely aback, Alvin huffs, “Is it a commonplace occurrence to have your universe ripped open, then?”

           “Well, not exactly. It’s more like our universe is the knit-scarf version of a life-raft,” Charlie explains, wheezing a bit as the metaphor sinks perfectly into a crack she didn’t quite realize she still needed to find a way to fill. “Things here aren’t… Well, uh, how many apocalypses have you fended off this week?”

           “You’re really just gonna roll with the implicit declaration that I’m from another universe and you’re not going to question my sanity?”

           Alvin looks like he’s suddenly questioning her sanity.

           For a beat, Charlie feels insulted.

           But really, his reaction is the more logical one.

           Maybe Charlie should start trying to talk to more normies here soon, she’s totally lost touch with what constitutes a ‘reasonable reaction to weird shit’.

           “Whelp, I’m not a Time Lord or anything,” she confesses, “but I’ve had enough contact with the Supernatural to know how to spot someone who’s brushed up against something ugly in the dark and is kinda freaking out about it. You fit the bill, Alvin.”

           The kid rolls his eyes.

           It could be an angel-learned-it-from-Dean thing, it really could be.

           The weight of the sarcasm is just that strong.

           “Fine, yes. ‘Alvin’ is not my real name,” he admits.

           Then he casts a wicked smile her way that almost makes her rethink the ‘learned it from Dean’ idea, because this is… creepy in an almost Demon kinda way… in an almost Leviathan way. The grin is so unnerving that Charlie almost misses his next words:

           “But you know, I’m pretty damn sure that ‘Charlie’ isn’t yours.”

           “Yeah? Well, darn. Ya got me,” she breathes, trying to make herself remember that the Leviathan are gone, that she didn’t even see Cas when he was one of them.

           In any other circumstance, Charlie would be reaching for the Borax.

           But this angel-not-angel (and maybe-but-probably-not-demon-or-leviathan) kid whose name is definitely not Alvin, notices her sudden stiffness.

           Immediately, he softens.

           “Hey, what happened? You okay?”

           Charlie shrugs. “You wouldn’t happen to be allergic to a certain 19th century boron-containing sodium compound, would ya?”

           “Sodium borate? Like Borax? Can’t say I am,” the kid assures. “Any particular reason?”

           “Uh, the word ‘Leviathan’ mean anything to you? Like specific, human-livestock-eating, double-tongued with lots of teeth lizard-men people-imitators specific? ‘Cause you just really reminded me of one there. And like I had a friend go Darkside… well, a lotta my friends have actually gone Darkside, but there was one and he… he’s missing still and well, bad things happen to my friends when they go missing.”

           “Like apocalypses?”

           “Yeah, kinda.”

           “Really? Literal apocalypses? How exactly literal?”

           “Um, pick a holy book at random? We’ve probably hit most of them by now,” Charlie admits, with a discomfited shrug as she vaguely wonders how she ended up on this side of the metaphorical interrogation table. “I think the first one was the Judeo-Christian one, they took things pretty literal. Michael-Lucifer prize fight and all…”

           “Okay…” the kid says, finally sounding a little thrown, “but you stopped that one?”

           “Yeah,” she tells him.

           “So where are you now?”

           “Somewhere between God’s little sister throwing a world-ending temper tantrum and you know a Luci-spawn antichrist accidentally poof-ing up new laws of physics?”

           “Sounds plausible,” the kid tells her, his tone both entirely accepting of it as the gospel truth and sounding like he thinks she’s totally bonkers.

           “No, it really doesn’t,” Charlie sighs. “Doesn’t change the fact it’s true. But enough about me and my world-ending escapades. How about your hole in the universe?”

           “That’s the thing… See, I don’t remember.”

           “What?”

           “I don’t remember how I got here, I just remember that I don’t belong,” the kid confesses, sounding a lot more like he’s being honest than before. “I’m not supposed to be here, but I can’t explain what might be able to bring me back.”

           “So, Lebanon, Kansas?”

           “Has a safehouse I remember, or I think I do,” he lays out. “And it has a power source I think I need. And…”

           “And..?”

           Charlie’s hoping for something about the people waiting for him there, something about the ‘profound bond’ doing something to clue him in.

           She can’t tell if this is just a spell or something, or if it’s a consequence of having Fallen, regained Angel status, and then seemingly kicked it again in the fastest repeat of the cycle yet.

           “I dunno,” he sighs. “I just have to be there.”

           Well, it’s not what she was hoping for.

           But it’s still closer than she thought she’d get…

           So, she’s still not 100% certain this kid is a whammied Castiel.

           But she’s definitely like 85% certain, maybe 87%.

           And in Winchester World? That there’s some pretty damn good lookin’ odds. So, Charlie will take what she can get and will roll with the rest.

           Sam and Dean will be here in a few more hours. All she has to do ‘till then is keep this kid in arm’s reach and keep them both from being buckled up for the looney bin.

           Sounds totally doable, right?

           In retrospect, Charlie may have to adjust her definition of ‘doable’…

_     _     _

Keep up with everything I’m getting up to HERE!

Have a great week!

[mobius-prime]

229. Sonic the Hedgehog #161

Eugh, I'm really not a fan of that weird… eye thing going on up there. For whatever reason Spaz did that on a couple subsequent cover pages as well, and it just looks… bizarre. Like, they have actual eyelids for a reason, man! Use 'em!

Birthday Bash! (Part Two): Birthday Boys

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

So right off the bat, we're hit with some classic Ian Flynn humor (which we'll be seeing a lot more of) as well as his acknowledgement that, yes, Croctobot is pretty ridiculous.

Tails ends up having to drag a hysterical Sonic out of harm's way as Croctobot swipes at them, while Fiona watches the battle, impressed at Sonic's fighting skills once he's gotten his act together. Bark and Bean casually leave the scene while everyone is occupied, and Bean happily invites Fiona along to "have some fun like the old days." She hesitates and insists she can't, as she's a Freedom Fighter now, but Bean seems unconvinced and just tells her to say hi to Nic if she runs into her again. Meanwhile in the Chaos Chamber, Rouge seems pleased with Evil Sonic's new transformation into Scourge, but Locke strangely doesn't seem as into it, charging forward to attack once again. The newly-powered-up Scourge proceeds to savagely beat him into unconsciousness, which alarms Rouge greatly.

So, yeah. Just to establish what kind of person we're dealing with here - someone who will kill an unconscious guy just doing his job for fun. Immediately makes Scourge seem like a much bigger threat than he's been in the past, don't it? Scourge uses the Master Emerald to teleport himself and Rouge to Knothole immediately, as he wants to test out his newfound strength against Sonic himself, and shows up right at the tail end of the Freedom Fighters' fight against Croctobot. He smugly introduces his new self, explaining that he's done being merely an evil twin, and Sonic isn't too happy to hear he stole the Master Emerald's power and beat up Locke for it. However, Croctobot becomes infuriated at being ignored, and grabs both of them as well as Shadow, claiming it still has some fight left in it.

Well, that's what you get for being arrogant, Croctobot. Scourge immediately lands a cheap shot on Sonic as he's celebrating their victory, and they begin to race at top speed around the outskirts of Knothole, knocking into each other along the way like pinballs while everyone watches. Scourge ultimately wins the scuffle, knocking Sonic into the dirt, but Shadow interrupts, wanting to ask Scourge something (presumably, why he's such a jackass).

Grave mistake indeed, Scourge. You really don't want to antagonize Shadow of all people. He and Shadow start to fight as well in a similar manner (remember, Shadow is almost as fast as Sonic), and this time it actually wears Scourge out a bit, leaving him open to being knocked down by a combined blow from both Sonic and Shadow.  The rest of the Freedom fighters, deciding they've stood by and watched long enough, all run in to help, targeting the nearby Rouge as well. Rouge doesn't like being caught up in a fight, nor did she particularly want to come here in the first place, so she immediately orders Scourge to retreat with her. She tells him to teleport them back to Angel Island as they race away with Shadow in hot pursuit, but he reminds her he needs an emerald to do that. However, a magical golden ring portal appears out of nowhere in front of them, and Rouge tells him not to question it, leading them inside the ring, which disappears just before a furious Shadow can get to it. Back outside the old base, everyone apologizes to Sonic for his birthday being ruined, but Sonic is completely unconcerned, telling Rotor that his plans for the base to act as a separate target to draw away from the innocents of Knothole worked like a charm, and that he's hardly upset about getting to fight some baddies on his birthday. As everyone cheers up due to his pep talk, Scourge and Rouge come out of the ring portal into a mysterious location…

Well well, Dr. Finitevus! How interesting to see you again, considering you were supposed to have died during the last battle on Angel Island! I suspect there's more to you than meets the eye…

Sonic Rush (Part Two of Two)

Writer/Pencils: Tania Del Rio Colors: Ben Hunzeker

So remember how Blaze has been having these weird dreams about Sonic helping her protect the Sol Emeralds? Yeah, apparently all that's gone out the window now, because she immediately starts attacking Sonic while he's on the ground. He dodges, and they begin to fight, with Sonic wondering briefly if she's one of Eggman's minions before deciding she's too skilled a fighter for that (burn, Eggman!). He tries to carry the fight into a more open area where he can use his speed, and Blaze follows him, flaring up her flames even more. Seriously, Blaze, why are you even attacking him?! He didn't do anything to you!

Well, serves you right for being so reactionary. Sonic stops as soon as Blaze starts to pass out from being unable to breathe, and offers her a hand, as well as a truce to at least learn each others' names. She introduces herself, and then reveals how she's been looking for him, which obviously surprises him seeing as how she was trying to burn him alive not ten seconds ago. She slyly promises to "haunt your dreams the way you have haunted mine," before immediately teleporting away (…somehow) in a flash of flame. Blaze, are you… are you coming onto him?

And… that's where that situation ends! That's all we get. This is what I was saying about not finishing adaptions - the biggest problem with Sonic Adventure 2 was that they only showed the beginning of the story and didn't bother to tell us how it all played out, something which ended up leaving a bizarre gap in the story due to how different the situations were between the games and the comics universes. This is much of the same, with the added problem that this hardly even counts as an adaption. Blaze actually doesn't even properly meet Sonic until quite a ways into the Sonic Rush game, and certainly wasn't having dreams about him helping her save the Sol Emeralds, so we have no real inkling as to how the rest of this story even goes. Because of that, you might be tempted to assume it's noncanon, but not so! Future stories in the comics assume that both Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure (where Sonic and Tails end up in Blaze's dimension) happened at some point within the larger plot, as events relating to both of them are mentioned and built upon later on. This is one of my biggest criticisms of Ian, as this isn't even the last time he pulls this - yes, I'm aware that this story wasn't written by Ian, but considering he's the head writer it's a bit negligent of him to let this slip by more than once, when he could have made a point of writing actual conclusions to these stories. Honestly, I think his reason for doing it was to bring more characters and plot threads from the games into the comics, since it means more toys to play with after all, but I find the implementation to be lazy, since it doesn't actually bother to give us an ending to any of said plot threads. At the very least, I can appreciate the want to bring the world of the comics a little more in line with that of the games, given how far they had started to stray from what was going on in the games world at the time. Luckily, Ian did eventually get a clue and stop doing this, although I suppose to a degree he had to, given how the plotlines of subsequent games just started getting bigger and more dramatic - it's hard to have a story about the world splitting into seven pieces and Sonic turning into a werehog happen offscreen.

This issue ends with a couple of character files - hey, haven't had those in a while! - on Scourge and Finitevus. The one about Scourge doesn't really tell us anything we didn't know - it simply recaps his change in appearance, turning green from the Master Emerald's energies and gaining two large scars on his chest courtesy of Locke. Interestingly, it does imply that Scourge really is a "twin" of Sonic's instead of being the direct inverse, sharing his arrogance but lacking the "moral restraint" that keeps Sonic honest. It also covers some of his abilities, such as the spin dash and super transformation, but given that he's, well, an alternate version of Sonic most of these abilities are things we already know. As for Finitevus, it gives us a bit of a clue into just how weird this guy is - suffice to say, he's not a normal echidna. For one, the patterning on his chest is noted to be the "birthmark of a Guardian in black," rather than a normal set of fur markings, yet there's no place in the genetic line for a rogue Guardian (that we know of). Furthermore, no one really knows the extent of his abilities, with them being noted only as being "some magical or science based powers." It's clear there's a lot more to him than we yet know, not to mention that he seems to have some serious plans going forward and is recruiting shady characters to the cause…

[chibiclem]

The Ace of Hearts and his Jack

" Feliciano never expected the situation to be this complicated... For the Jack of Heart to have been dispatched far from his King and Queen it was an event, but to even have sent him to the border of the No Man's Land, the Joker's territory....By The embodiment of Heart! He really knew something had been off . But what exactly.... Even Kiku..-well I mean his Highness- who was the one to give the alert about strange phenomenons couldn't tell him exactly what he was supposed to find. And even Gilbert the Joker who often came to tease his King would only smile widly at the question, exposing his sharp teeth, and say something like " Kesese !! It's so exciting and awesome you will see!! It's something long forgotten but that will awaken to furfill it's purpose once more! But I can't tell you more, you will have to find out by yourself!" The Heck was that seriously?! It was hella scary now!! Don't get him wrong, Gilbert was mostly friendly to the Heart's hierarchy in general, but he was a JOKER, a malicious and suspicious being, and thus, couldn't be trust. Nobody knew what he really was, nor the extend of his power...nor his purpose. And after saying such things, he would just vanish in a "pouf!", nowhere to be seen ( like usual), letting the poor Jack having to go check all the things out. At least his Highness told him to be carefull not to go too far behind the border and to retreate if any danger was around, which the Jack was to gladly obliged! Still, he had been scared to the core, being the one being send for one of his first real mission, near the abandonned and scary land where nobody from the 4 kingdom would ever go excepted banished ones! Tales said it was full of monsters, or people that didn't belong to any of the 4 kingdoms .(He prefered the second kind to the first honestly.) He eventually had left with his faithfull horse, Isabella, after a 3-hour lecture about how to call help and flee AT THE LAST TIME by his King, and had ran for 4 days before reaching the borders, gulping at the sight of the devastated landscape and the narrow mountain looking like shark teeth. The checkpoint tower's guardians were really brave, he had though, to be able to stay there. Hearts soldiers were known for their discipline and here was the extreme example of that! Stopping by the tower, the Jack had tried to give a confident vibe and had proposed himself to go on an inspection, alone. He didn't know why he had said that at that moment, maybe because he had always wanted to prove he wasn't useless to Ludwig, but he had regretted it immediatly afterward, when he had started to walk along the borders. Before him had been standing the mountains he had seen earlier, and the sight of a desert, the air being dry and heavy and the sun burning good despite the purple smoke emanating from the floor. "Vee!!!" would he cry out when he though he spotted a movement, or a sound. He really wanted this to be over soon, but he still had to go there. And surprisingly even to him, he did. Shortly enough, he had been surrounded by rocks, but still could see the reassuring tower behind him. After 1h, seeing that nothing was happening and that he couldn't spot anything wrong, he had though about fleeing when he had suddenly realized there was an extra shadow covering him. Just after that, he had heard a soft whistle and had felt the air being moved behind him. At this point, he had hoped for a bird, but when he had turned around what he had found...was the most strange humanoid he had never seen: A blond humanoïd man (or woman? He couldn't tell), wearing some bizarre clothes with a heart printed on it, and with a huge tail also shaped as a Heart, floating by him and looking at him with wide eyes. Wide eyes he had exchanged for long seconds while gasping and holding his lance near him as if it was a ramp to save him from falling. "Vee!!! Don't...don't hurt me please!! I don't taste good!" he had said out of habbit. At that, the blondy had started smiling and  waltzing right and left in the air with excitement, singing musical notes so fast that even the Jack confused spirit came to notice it was like he was trying talking to him. Without much warning he could have understand, the thing was hugging him with strengh, seemingly very happy to see him, whereas the Jack had started screaming. More minutes had been needing for him to fully recover that encounter. When the half-humanoïd floating hazard had let go of him, sniffing him around, he really did start to examinate him. "Ve..you scared me! But what are you exactly? I've never seen such creature before...Oww...nobody will believe me.." How was he gonna explain that? No, was that even real? He couldn't have told at that moment. Besides, he didn't know if it was the thing he was looking for. So what to do? Well, he had asked! "Are you...the one who was supposed to awaken?" To his surprise (not that he wasn't already, but it was pilling up), the humanoid had seemed to understand and waved his head, then ondulated and caressed the Jack's hand with his nose. It was like...a floating giant humanoid cat asking for a hug! Feliciano had patted him back cautiously, allowing himself to relax until he had remembered his mission with a serious dead face. "Sorry buddy...I've to report you to the King and the Queen! But I should still search a little more...Could you stay there for a while ?" He had told the Blondy. Yeah, he really did believe it to stay kindly there, but the night and the day afterward proved him wrong. And here he was right now, straddling back to the castle Isabella with the dragon-thingy flying and playing with his lance, trying to steal hugs here and there or floating around him like he was the sun and him an hyperactive moon. Heck he never actually believed nobody in the tower saw the Blondy before he left. It was like he could dissapear in thin air as soon he tried mentioning him and then come back waking him up in his bedroom, when everybody he had tried to explain what he saw was soundly asleep. At least, it was following him so his highnesses could see him! It was better than what Feliciano hoped! But now he was thinking....what was going on exactly, and if the floating hazard was the thing to awaken...what was his purpose? Was he gonna be scolded by the King once again for bringing it to the castle? Heavy thoughs would accompagny him all during his trip, while the Ace of heart seemed perfectly fine and playfull! Fa Fa Mi Sol, It felt good to be awake!" *** From a serie I will call "Ace awakening", with for setting the Hetalia Cardverse universe and his representation I have of it! *Hearts : For me, Heart is a valiant kingdom, know mostly for his strong army but also hard workers community, which is appreciated among the others kingdoms. However, the" Land of Love and Faith " has some like to call it suffers from a lack of ressources, and are very dependant of the others kingdoms, specially since it is one of the most populated kingdom. Thus, only ties with Clubs (a manufacturing specialized kingdom) are a strong one since a long time, the others really being for necessity and commerce mostly, even if the Queen of Spades and Hearts are quite close together. Poland, Ace of Hearts : “Fé” is the most sociable, expressive and malicious of all the Aces. Like an hyperactive cat,  He likes to give hugs, to eat with the royalties, expressing his joy by singing (he is quite “talkative” ) and waltzing in the air like crazy!  The Kingdom of Hearts in my story is the Kingdom of the mind and spirit : Motivation, Determination (hehe, remind you of something?), Bravery, Valor, etc…As his Queen, he have the power to control bodies and of course, can do it to more than 2 or 3 person! *The royals and their Jack : As a result of these weakness the others could exploit, the King Ludwig has to lead his kingdom with an iron hand and thus has it very strict about many aspect in life, at least in public. He had to for most his life, and if it wasn't for the help of his Queen Kiku and his Jack Feliciano, certanly he could evolve in a scary and cold king that have to keep an appareance even among his own people. However he is quite loved, which is not totally the same with his wife Kiku, a foreigner that was born from Spades parents but that showed the Heart mark. Why would the at-the-time Prince choose a stranger among all the candidates? Well, Ludwig wasn't much for love but he felt Kiku and him where on the same vibes, as they both could be strict with things. And he was right, since they became allies quite fast. Kiku is a secretive Queen, not showing much of his emotions and used to not be liked. He was almost pulled out of his family, magical scientist from Spades, and forced to marry the Heart King. Having a strong will to respect the rules, he still initially held a grudge against the Hearts but then thanks to Feliciano discovered the hidden side of Ludwig, the kind one he never showed, and progressively felt like a part of the family himself, becoming the most precious ally of his husband. Still, even if he was never borned with a Spade symbol, he sometimes crave for his old place. That's how he became friend with Queen Arthur, as they are both quite found of spells and magic! He always though that Spades had the key of all the magic power hidden in each kingdom and behind their marks, and he likes to borrow books to deepen his knowledge about it! Feliciano him was Ludwig's devoted Jack since they were children. The poor one wasn't really good at it (he could be scared of many things and run away without warning!), but only him could make him show his warm side, and thus he kept the honor of his family, working for the Heart Monarchy for generations, intact! Besides, the young brunette was strong as all the citizen of hearts, and some had made a mistake by underestimating him. It's rare, but it's only when he wants to! He has an older brother who's ended up being diamound and they were separated very young. They still saw each other from time to time since Lovino was taken care of by a close friend of Francis, Antonio; but there's still a gap between them... It's probably this missing brother that made Feliciano be so clingy with Ludwig and after Kiku. Like that, the trio has an alchemy that none other Kingdom royalties can relate to. ****

Links to others Cardverse related art: https://chibiclem.tumblr.com/tagged/cardverse

I’m making a test to see if it is better that way than making this in as a picture post!^^

[skyholding]

FFXIV A’onisya One-Shot // She Lit a Fire

So it’s been... a minute. But I had some free time on my hands recently and wanted to finish this short (with the intent to keep going). Picking up from where we last saw A’onisya, this is the beginning of her friendship/relationship with @naihtan-jinjahl, a story I’ve wanted to write for a long time! Please enjoy!

I have been trying to find her want to give what I got She lit a fire, but now she's in my every thought

Song: She Lit A Fire by Lord Huron

---

"Enjoying the view?"

A'on jumped, nearly tumbling backward off the stone wall she’d been sitting on until a light shove from behind pushed her forward. Balance regained, A'on turned more fully towards the perpetrator, a Keeper miqo'te around her own age and also a member of the Ataraxia free company. “Aiko--!”

"Guilty as charged," Aiko Gakunin said, sweeping into a bow so low that her ears nearly graced the ground. 

A'on's freckles blended into the blush across her face. "I-I'm just watching them train," she muttered. 

"For the third time this week?" Aiko's grin widened when A'on's blush deepened. She peered over A'on's shoulder at the two figures sparring with the striking dummy in the XIA yard. 

"You can always just talk to him, y'know."

"T-talk, to...?"

"My cousin."

"Ooh, I don't know," A'on stammered. "I wouldn't want to--Naih'tan's always busy training, and he's really serious about it, I'm sure he has better things to - " She stopped short as two impossibly large seafoam green eyes filled her vision.

"A'on." Aiko set her hands on A'on's shoulders. "Listen. My cousin is the. Biggest. Nerd. In. Eorzea."

"Wait… seriously?" A'on burst out laughing, causing Colson and Naih'tan to glance over from their training. Aiko waved wildly back. Naih'tan returned a small smile, pausing to watch them a moment before the roegadyn called his attention back.

Aiko leaned in so her lips were almost touching A'on's ear. "Seriously," she whispered. She gave an exaggerated wink, leapt lightly over the wall, and disappeared out of sight into the free company house.

***

"Everything all right, cousin?"

Naih'tan was sure he levitated off the floor as he nearly dropped his freshly steeped tea. "Aiko! Why are you always so sneaky? Have you been training with Tavarius?" he demanded. Aiko, smirking, curled her way out of the shadows of the library stacks.

"What's the point of training if I'm not the one lucky enough to have cute girls watching me?" she mused, flopping down in the seat across from Naih'tan. 

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind." Aiko rifled through the stacks of notes Naih'tan had arranged on the desk with disinterest and ignored his continued glare.

"While you're putting my papers into complete disarray, mind telling me what you've done with my book?"

"Book? What book?"

"I was gone five minutes to make tea. I return and the book I was currently preoccupied with has vanished. Miraculously, I find my dear cousin in the very room said book lay, innocent and unwitting. Surely this dear cousin of mine witnessed the book pick itself up and walk off, and would like to tell me where it's got to."

Aiko winked. "You'd be right." She pointed over Naih'tan's shoulder. He turned, and found himself looking directly at an open window in the corner of the library. There, poised neatly on the narrow ledge, was a topaz carbuncle, with a familiar tome clutched in its mouth.

"Nugget!" Naih'tan roared, striding to the window. The carbuncle allowed him two steps before it spun and leaped outside, leaving only gold sparkles in its wake on the windowsill. "Library books are not to be removed from free company premises, you thief!” Nah’tan yelled uselessly.

"I don't think shouting is typically allowed, either," Aiko commented, but Naih’tan was already out the door. He caught only her laughter echoing behind him as he bolted after the summon.

***

The day was perfect for training, really, with a fresh almost dreamlike air warmed by the late morning sun. But Colson and Naih'tan weren't sparring by the training dummy, so A'onisya had instead settled on another perfect activity for such a spring day - a bit of an adventure.

From the top of Gullperch Tower, the blue of the water and sky stretched so far that they embraced one another at the far-out horizon. She was so high that even the waves were silent; the only sounds were the occasional cry of a seagull and the gentle ocean breeze on her ears. A'onisya had walked past Gullperch many times, but the presence of Maelstrom officers usually shooed her away. Today, however, was her chance - for today, Gullperch Tower stood oddly empty on the edge of Bloodshore beach.

An endless amount of stairs that stretched as far as the horizon later, and - "We sure lucked out, eh? Well worth the climb, yeah?" A'on had gasped to her carbuncle when they finally reached the top. She leaned back against the warm white stone, staring out at that endless blue, admiring the view, and must have dozed off... She awoke with a start and stood with a yawn. Shielding her eyes, she peered up at the sun. Peaking just past noon. Should be heading back soon, I s'pose.

"Y'know, Nugget, I dunno what Aiko was implying the other day," she thought aloud, stretching her arms upward. "She had that same look in her eyes Jewel has sometimes when he wants to cause trouble, you know, buddy?" Hearing no response from her carbuncle, A'on craned her head around to see if he was asleep. Nowhere in sight. She jogged a lap around the top of the tower, but he was gone. "Nugget?" she called down the stairwell, but received no answer except her own voice echoing back to her. "Nu - !"

"Nugget!"

A'onisya stopped for a moment, confused. "Wait, that wasn't me, was it?" Cupping her hands to her mouth, she yelled once more, "Nuggeeeettttt - oh! Hello." A flash of gold turned the corner, and her topaz carbuncle reappeared, its three tails wriggling with delight. "Where in Azeyma's name did you run off to?" A'onisya demanded. "And what's that you've got in your mouth, you little thief?"

As she knelt to take the tome from Nugget's mouth, she heard that second voice again. "A'onisya! Where are you?"

"Uuh - up here?" A'on replied, looking this way and that for the speaker. Finally, after running around the tower, she saw a familiar miqo'te far, far below her, looking wildly this way and that at the foot of the tower.  "Oh - Naih'tan! Hello! We're up here!"  She waved until he looked up.

"A'onisya?! What in Eorzea are you doing up there?"

"Just - you know - having a look around!" A'onisya called. "Were you looking for Nugget?"

"Yes! One moment, please, I shall be there posthaste." Ten minutes later, A'on was wondering if she shouldn't start her way down the steps in case Naih'tan had collapsed halfway, but finally he staggered up the last flight and sat in a heap on the stone floor. "That is - quite - quite a few - stairs," he managed.

"Need some water?" A'on asked, offering Naih'tan her jug. As he gulped between gasps, she said, "View's well worth it, though. I always wanted to come up here!"

"I must admit, I had never really - considered it, myself," he replied. He returned her now-empty flask and grasped her outstretched hand, standing with a grunt. "I'm rather embarrassed to say I've actually never ventured to the coast up this way - not until Nugget there led me on a wild chase."

"Never?!" A'on gaped. She pulled him towards the side of the tower and gestured outward. "But Costa del Sol is beautiful! There's no place in the world with a bluer sky, I'd wager!"

"It is a lovely view," Naih'tan agreed. He had to keep himself looking firmly towards the horizon, as his vision swam if he looked down. He found himself focusing on the touch of her hand in his, as her grip was a steadying comfort. "I just never thought to come up here by myself, I suppose. I'm... glad I finally did." If A'onisya noticed Naih'tan clutching her hand, she said nothing. They stood for a long moment in silence, admiring the sparkling water and cloudless sky. Finally Naih'tan burst out "oh but you're probably - " while A'on said "I'm assuming you're just here because Nugget - "

They stopped simultaneously, then laughed.

"Sorry, go ahead," A'onisya giggled.

"No, no, my apologies. I shouldn't take more of your time," Naih'tan said. Realizing he was still holding her hand, he pulled back quickly and stepped away from the edge. "I was in the library studying when Nugget made off with one of my books, and I simply came to retrieve it from the - "

" - little thief," A'on finished, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry about that. I've no idea what possessed him to run off and cause trouble." She knelt down and beckoned to the topaz carbuncle, who happily waddled forward and dropped his prize into her outstretched hands. "Maybe Jewel is rubbing off on him." She stood and held out the tome to Naih'tan, but as his hand closed around the binding, she suddenly snatched it back. Her eyes scanned the runes and illustrations across the pages.

"Wait a sec! I recognize this. It's Transmuting and Transfiguring. Guildmaster Thubyrgeim assigned this to me not long ago," she exclaimed. 

Her eyes were wide as she peered over its pages to look at Naih'tan. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Naih'tan, have you - "

"A'on, please, I promise it's not - "

" - been watching me - "

" - it's nothing untoward, I swear - "

" - study and now you - "

" - the book looked quite intrig - "

" - want to become an arcanist?!"

Naih'tan stammered, "I, ah - that is to say, well - I mean, I have perhaps taken - an interest in the field - "

"Really?" A'on moved closer so now only the book, clutched in her hands, separated them. 

Naih'tan swallowed and chuckled, eyes darting everywhere but her. "That, that is to say - "

"Cause I could totally introduce you to the guildmaster! She'd be delighted to have another arcanist. You've such a knack for studying, I bet you'd catch up to me in no time. Then we could even train together!"

"A'on, I - " Naih'tan paused. "I have a knack for studying?"

"I see the piles of books you leave in the library," A'on said. "They're all huge, and I don't recognize even half the symbols on the covers. So you've got more've a knack than I do, at least."

"You've been studying the arcane for awhile now, though, right? I'm certain you could read those books if you wanted," he replied.

"Yeah, if I had a hundred years!" A'on groaned, leaning on the stone rail to peer down at the beach. "You can probably polish off ten of your tomes in the time it takes me to read one of these." She tapped her finger on the cover of Transmuting and Transfiguring.

Naih'tan shrugged. "Personally, I find the fact that you are working your way through through your arcane stuides despite not having a scholarly background far more impressive," he said.

"Not that I always get very far," A'on lamented. "I kinda... stopped halfway through Transmuting. I just couldn't follow it. I know the guildmaster will be disappointed, but what's the point of reading what I don't understand? Sometimes I can work through those blocks, and sometimes..." She sighed.

"If you'd like, I felt I was getting a fairly good grasp on it, myself. Perhaps I could be of assistance?" Naih'tan had asked the question before he realized what he was saying. He bit his cheek, cursing his thoughtless tongue - first he complimented her studies, only to then insult her with needing help! If she was offended, he admonished himself, she certainly had every right to - 

"You'd do that?" A'on's voice was soft, but cut through Naih'tan's swirling thoughts like a shock. "I couldn't possibly ask you! To have that on your plate along with your own studies, and all your training - "

"It's no trouble at all," he blurted out. "Why, it - it would be my pleasure! To spend time with - that is, to help you advance, I mean - not that you are not fully capable on your own accord, of course, but - if I could be of some help - perhaps it might - it might be nice, I think?"

A'on allowed Naih'tan to finish his rambling before her smile burst into a full-on grin. "Yeah, I think that sounds great!" she exclaimed. "When d'you wanna start?"

Naih'tan squinted up at the sky. It was early yet, and the air was still clean and fresh. As a gentle breeze rolled up from the ocean, he realized how much more pleasant it was sitting in a tower that felt yalms away from the world than in the increasingly stuffy library. "We could begin now, if you'd like," he said.

Nugget curled up in a corner of the tower, tucking its paws neatly beneath it. A'on sat so she was leaning against its fluff, and motioned to Naih'tan. He hesitated, but she was already opening the book eagerly; Nugget stretched out its tails in an open invitation. Its dark eyes watching him intently, a comically stern contrast to A'on's eager expression. Naih'tan laughed in acquiescence, and curled up against the carbuncle so he and A'on were shoulder-to-shoulder, hunched over the very beginning of chapter one. 

Afternoon turned to evening, and it wasn't until their stomachs rumbled hungrily and the sun had slanted well past the top of the tower that they realized how late the hour had become. They had just started to gather their things when a voice made them both jump. "Ho - you there! What're you two kits doin' up here, eh?!" A gruff midlander wearing the distinct red of the Maelstrom had come up the steps, his face as shocked as theirs.

"Quick - make a break for it!" A'on screeched, and they raced down the steps before the officer could yell after them. They ran down the dirt road, Nugget lagging only several feet behind, until they finally burst through the front gates of the Mist. Seeing the Maelstrom officer at the entrance was enough to set them off again, and they collapsed in an undignified laughing heap until they finally caught their breath. As they stumbled their way down to the Ataraxia free company house, they were watched by a young Keeper miqo'te with seafoam eyes at the beach. She smiled, hearing their excited chatting on the wind, before running up the steps to meet them for dinner.

[jlf23tumble]

One Direction holiday gift guide

I feel like the only person who’s willingly seen more useless 1D merch than me is Niall (egads, all the “future Mrs. Tomlinson” shirts!!), so naturally, @fullonlarrie figures I’m the best person to create a holiday gift guide (my money’s on Niall, but he has a million dollars for his holiday budget, and if twitter is to be believed, he’s currently fucking his luxurious couch, so it’s up to me, jeepers, the pressure!!)

Lauren’s original request was for a fan-made 1D calendar, but alas, she’s SOL unless she goes official. The options:

Give me cash money, and I’ll create a calendar from my infamous “undefined” folder; I still plan to make myself an X Factor highlights calendar when the shitshow is over (Louis munching on cheese-bugh-ahs so he doesn’t have to talk to Simon and can listen to his boyfriend’s go-to karaoke song in peace; Louis selling me pens; Louis mentoring while dead on his feet; Louis smiling and judging; Louis glaring; Louis sporting hickeys; Louis sharing snacks with Ayda; Louis hanging out with his pal--and mine!--Dermot; Dermot in general; you get the gist).

Encourage fandom artists to create their own calendar (this would be remarkably easy for them to do, and there are so many great artists out there…use your powers, Luke, I mean, Lauren).

Give Simon Cowell cash money and buy an official 2019 1D calendar to fund his next tit job, hoping someone botches it.

Buy an individual calendar (I found some GREAT Zayn, Louis, and Liam options; Harry’s are hit or hugeeee miss, depending on vendor, and Niall’s are just too “Au Bon Pain” for me, so no links for you).

(Lauren also wants a One Direction beer koozie [cozy? koozy?], but these don’t yet exist outside of the D’s notorious pool party pad...that said, they’re remarkably easy to create, so throw a fiver at a merch blank place and make one! I’m probably gonna throw a fiver at a snowglobe creator so I can make “the hug” extra poignant in my bathroom.)

Okay! So with these individual requests out of the way, let me take you on a deeper dive under the cut with pictures and links. There are literally THOUSANDS of choices for mugs, t-shirts, wall art, phone cases, stickers, notecards, etc., so I highly recommend that you visit redbubble, etsy, or society6 and search for your faves (or make your own), I promise you, you won’t regret it! Instagram’s a great place for pins, my two faves being Miri and Milly. Amazon’s another great resource, but god, there’s a lot of random shit, most of it terrible/good and cheapppp, as only the best form of camp/kitsch can be. My recs under the cut are for things that I would gift my own personal IRL friends.

Let’s start with the individual boys, and I forced myself to limit each one to less than five, but you have my solemn oath that you can easily find at least a dozen wonderful items in your price and cheese range on the sites I mentioned above.

Niall:

This one feels obvious, but you can’t think Flicker and not think candles, amirite? Bonus: you can find one of these for each of the boys: 

Similarly, you can find this set for each of the boys, but Niall Nails are the only ones I would ever buy anyone ever:

There are a million tragic lyrics on Flicker, but I think millypins captures this one nicely:

Do I really want to wake up to fetus Niall’s smug-ass outline lording it over me? Nope, but I’d probably stick him in our tacky useless front half-bathroom: 

Zayn:

I could be gross and say something about him being a real snacc, but I prefer thinking of Zayn as the band’s cupcake, hence, if I threw a cupcake party, this is what you’d see on top (or maybe Harry…maybe ZARRY, I’d take it next level, yo):

Speaking of Zarry, I love everything in this artist’s shop, but especially this pillow:

Someday soon, I’m doing a “my fave Zayn shirts” zodiac post, and you can bet your ass this one’s gonna be on there. That said, it makes a pretty rad tattoo/sticker, too: 

Not too many size options, but wow, these are something I’d actually wear and enjoy being sorta stealth about (until someone called my ass out in public):

What the WHAT is happening in the Amazon sports section? Compression cycling socks in a variety of sizes/styles, all with this iconic logo action:

Liam:

My car has really gone ~through it with me (skull gearshift knob, barefoot gas pedal, my burning desire to apply flames to the outside of it), but the Liam car chevron seems doable!  

Not gonna lie, this is REALLY cute, but don’t let it limit you because the Liam jewelry that’s currently out there is amazing:

Fuck Jesus, what WOULD Liam do???

(I still contend that you can make your own iconic Liam Payne/Mona Lisa sweatpants for about $20, but there’s no link…send me some cash, say, $30, and I’ll make ‘em for you.)

Louis:

I promise you, this’ll be full of LAFFs, some “facts” on Louis, circa 2012: 

Do you have a tiny dog? Do you have an appreciation for an iconic Louis shirt that you’d like to see on said dog? Here you go!

So many of Louis’s tattoos are art on their own…why not buy a print and stump your future house guests? These are two separate ones:

Speaking of house guests and parties, this is a sure-fire smash (and again, something that’s available for all the boys, but Louis’s version is especially pretty)…judge your own X Factor contest: 

I can’t find my fave rbb/sbb travel mug options, but there are quite a few, so do sbb proud and pick your fave!

Harry:

I actually own this, yet I’ve never taken it out of its wrapper, it’s THAT iconic:

Who can keep all your useless work account login information secrets better than Harry Styles? Answer, no one except for Liam (tbh, the previous version of this book is what stores all mine): 

I wish this existed in actual book form, but still, pretty damned cool, and you can print them out/frame them, if you’re really good: 

“Hip pack,” it’s a fanny pack, a bum bag, and I love it!! 

One Direction as a collective:

Oh, Jesus, okay, there is SO MUCH OUT THERE, and most of it is garbage, but it’s fun garbage, so here’s what I would give to a fellow fan, assuming they didn’t already own ALL of it.

These still exist, they still work, and don’t kid yourself, Niall brushes his very own teeth with one (according to my insider…the insider is my imagination): 

Would I buy a larrie friend this low-key larrie beach towel? You bet your fucking ass I would:

Wow, people want a lot for the One Direction Monopoly game, but Monopoly is so fucking boring, so just watch this video instead. 

I’m not gonna lie, this perfume is fucking VILE, but buy it for the Larry packaging…between us, I see you, sbb: 

I absolutely need this on a t shirt to match my fake-o Joy Division shirt:

Look, the only thing holding my remote control together right now is this duct tape (currently, the panel with Zayn’s face), but I’ve seen a TON of proof that you can make cute shoes, wallets, etc., with it):

It’s easy to lump this in with all the other merch everywhere else on Amazon, etc., but I lmaoooooo because it’s so ~serious, like, I’m a goth but I’m also into normcore because it’s the only true goth at this point, so fuck your glitter version, this is my truth:

If you find others, send ‘em to me! You know I love this garbage!

[seniichi]

Ultima (II)

Summary: The Power of Waking was abused a time too many. With that abuse, it inverts reality, subverts expectations, and turns the greatest lights into the darkest of shadows.

Note: If you like my work, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi account - Seniichi.

Sora’s arms are crossed, long legs tucked up into his seat as he sulks. Vincent carefully does not smile, though in truth he wanted to, especially as he knew his son well enough to know that Sora was merely pouting, as he was wont to do whenever they did something unexpected, especially one he was unhappy with. He’d been in that position for nearly five hours at this point, making his displeasure known in a way only he could.

“You know, this is hardly the worst thing in the world,” Vincent tells his son, who huffs unhappily. “It’s not as though that phone of yours won’t let you and your companions keep in contact,” he points out, reminding his son of the item he’d gifted him for his birthday only a mere three months ago. Sora pouts deeper, and Vincent sighs, slowing his ship so he can turn his seat, face the boy he’d been raising since the child had been four years of age. Now, at seventeen, they were leaving Traverse Town to embark on a new world. He’d fought against the change for a while at first, before sliding into the resigned defeat of one who was not happy.

“We’re moving because I screwed up. They’re not going to want to talk to me after what I did.” His tone is sour, and Vincent internally winces. That… was unfortunately a distinct possibility. Sora, despite his youthful and sweet nature, had caused nearly as many problems as Vincent himself had over the years, and the most recent – a rather unfortunate burst of magic that had nearly taken the power out of Traverse Town’s downtown district – had necessitated a move.

“Surely your friend Kairi wouldn’t do such a thing.” At her name, Sora brightens, the mention of his best friend cheering him up from the dark thoughts in his head.

“That’s true,” he says, cheered up immediately from the mere mention of her. Vincent chuckles slightly, ruffling the thick mop of hair that flies every which way at his gentle touch. Sora ducks away with a whine but smiles at his father all the same in thanks. “I think she said something about sending me a good luck message,” Sora continues, though his pout returns after a moment. “But we have no service,” he grumbles, and Vincent chuckles at his son.

“We’re almost there.” He’s said that more than a few times, and Sora’s unimpressed glare is proof enough of that.

“You said that nearly an hour ago,” Sora grumbles at his father, though he’s smart enough not to argue when Vincent raises an eyebrow. “… Where are we going anyways?” Vincent chuckles as his son finally shows enough curiosity at where they’re going to peer out of the window of Cerberus’s cockpit. They’d traveled outside of the isolated world of Traverse Town before, embarking to Hollow Bastion and – very briefly – to the Isles of Destiny for brief vacations, but the place they were going was far more… upscale, than his son was used to.

“We’re going back to my home.” Sora’s eyes go wide, and he tries to lean forward, peer into his father’s eyes to see if he was joking, only to find that no, Vincent was serious.

“You’re taking me to your home?” He splutters, and Vincent almost laughs at his child’s disbelief. “You’re joking, right?” He reaches out to ruffle his son’s hair again, amused, and he doesn’t mind when Sora ducks away yet again. “I thought you said it was dangerous for me?” Vincent slides a glance Sora’s way, and the boy reddens slightly.

“You’re right. Regardless, Traverse Town is no longer a place you can stay.” The earlier incident is proof enough, and Sora’s eyes lower in shame. “Shh.” He murmurs, setting his gloved hand on top of Sora’s head. “You’re young. Save the shame for when you’ve actually gone and fucked up.” That, at least, makes a laugh burst from Sora’s lips, lips curling up into a genuine, enthusiastic smile at his father’s use of humor. A light creates a spark in the distance, and Vincent smiles wryly. “We’re actually almost there – I think you’ll love it.” Sora turns his attention to the dark, vast space before him, visible excitement on his features. The glowing light grows brighter with every second, until the world unveils itself, a glittering sphere of lights swirling in a stormfield. The main display however, is the massive crystal field, sprawling grounds crossing over the green landscape with wild abandon, large spires shimmering with hidden power. “Welcome to my home. Eos of Gaia – these Worlds used to be separate, but a calamity between the Fallen Starscourge JENOVA and the Wicked Healer Ardyn Izunia set both worlds on a collision course with one another, creating Eos of Gaia from its ruins.” He chuckles ruefully. “The outcome created a more powerful World than either of them expected, and each World’s respective Calamity was eventually slain by the other when their quarrel became about who would rule.” Sora props his head up on the console, eyes far away and starry with admiration.

“It’s such a pretty world,” Sora says to his father, lost in the shimmering glow of the World before them. Blue eyes glow softly from the reflected light, making him seem almost ethereal in the light. Vincent carefully removes his hand, watching his son’s spellbound attention as it refuses to be swayed. A soft moue of confusion curls his lips, and Sora glances his way as a thought flickers through his eyes. “Uh… Dad? I thought both those Worlds had a rule about a Chosen Champion.” Vincent can hear the air quotes in his son’s voice at the words, and he gives a chuckle of quiet, faint amusement. His son loved the history of the Worlds and had sat by his knee for hours at a time, enraptured by the histories he’d spin about the places he had been to during his previous work. It was the only time the boy held still in his youth.

“There’s a reason Worlds are not meant to mix. By colliding together, they altered what should be and created a new Destined Path. Whatever that is, we cannot truly be sure.” Vincent shrugs, lifting a shoulder even as he returns to steering the vessel. “However, I’m sure we’ll find out – you have a knack for that.” He’s only teasing, but Sora’s face blooms with a red flush of embarrassment.  “Now, there are a great many places we can land – I thought I’d ask you which city you’d like to spend the summer in before we transfer to your new school.” Sora perks up, all embarrassment forgotten in the thought of enjoying his summer in one of the prettier locales Eos of Gaia offered. He’d heard much of the famous Wutai, the city of Altissia built over the underwater ruins of the Ancient’s City, the scenes of Nibelheim’s sloped mountains and massive villages. The sunny beaches of Costa Del Sol, and the expansive skies of the Lestallum city as it overlooked valleys and fields that sloped into the glorious technological marvel that was Cosmo Canyon. To top them all off, the Crown Jewels that laid within Eos of Gaia – Midgar and Insomnia – were set on opposite sides of the world, their glittering blue and green spires visible in the distance. “Now, as much as I adore your questions, we’re running low on fuel – surely there’s somewhere you want to go.” Sora peers curiously at the World, before frowning a little.

“Hmm…” Sora’s lost in his thoughts again, before his eyes pick something out from the planet, something that interests him. “That one.” He gestures towards it, unsure of which part it was. While the landmarks of his father’s tales intrigued him, there was one that stood far above the others. “Altissia.” Vincent’s breath leaves in a soft huff.

“Of course, that’s what you’d pick.” His tone is rueful, but he doesn’t veto his son’s choice. The mystery of the Ancient’s City coupled with the Eos shrine of Altissia was a wonderous lure for a boy who loved the mystical history of the Combined Worlds. “Promise me if you choose to explore, you’ll do so with a weapon in hand.” He sighs fondly, and Sora nods immediately, eager to do whatever it took to get a chance to look around. “I know you have a weapon of your own – however, while in Altissia, we’ll purchase you one of your own that will work underwater but use yours until we get there.” Sora nods eagerly, though Vincent only really sees it out of the corner of his eye as he angles to land. “We won’t be able to land in Altissia proper, so we’ll be able to explore a little bit on our way to the port. Altissia is a holiday destination, and that aside…” He gives a faint, sheepish smile. “The ship is a little too big to park anywhere but on the mainland.” Sora blinks, before giving an amused snort in response to his father’s words, a smile blooming over his face.

“Of course it is,” he sighs, laughing at his father light-heartedly, turning to watch as his father steers the ship into place, handling her with graceful ease. Sora sits properly when his father gestures, buckling in his belt as he observes the change in the atmosphere around them, fully intending to enjoy the experience. The world around them glows and brightens, and Sora turns his attention to the massive spires of stone as they pass them, wishing wistfully they could stop to get a piece of the crystal – it’d look so cool as a necklace. The landing is gentle, and Sora’s quick to unbuckle his belt, help his father shut down Cerberus so they can start travelling as soon as possible.

“We won’t need most of this,” Vincent tells his son when he moves to pick up the suitcases. “Just grab the one I had you pack first.” Sora frowns thoughtfully, before snagging the requested item and hauling it over his back.

“Are you sure? I left Lady Luck in that suitcase.” Vincent eyes him when his son admits to that, before rolling his eyes heavenward in silent annoyance. “I still have Divine Rose,” Sora says, a little defensively.

“Divine Rose is fine,” Vincent pinches the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath about gun-collecting enthusiasts. Sora glares at him, before letting it slide – his father was worse, so he didn’t see why it was such a big deal if he had a few – okay, maybe a lot – of guns himself. “You’re getting a new one here anyways – we’ll have to take a car, and Eos of Gaia is not safe at night. JENOVA and Izunia may be dead, but the Starscourge is still alive and well – and it thrives at night. We’ll have to get a few backup weapons regardless.” Sora eyes his father dubiously, before smirking.

“You’re just rationalizing getting more shiny things that fire bullets,” he cackles when Vincent’s hand moves to swat him gently, ducking under the very half-hearted attempt before jogging over to the door. “I’m going to see if I can a better signal and see if Kairi messaged me,” Sora says, “I’ll be right outside!” Before his father can give a snarl of (mock) annoyance, he’s out, the door of Cerberus closing behind him. He takes a seat on the step, tugging his shorts down so that they don’t ride up while he opens his phone, tongue sticking out as he thumbs through it, locating his Kingsgram app with a bit of difficulty. (Seriously, why were all the icons the same after an update – he’d have to get to a computer and change the icons again.) There are a few messages – to his surprise, he’d gotten more than a few well-wishes over on Kingsgram wishing him luck. He looks around, seeing nothing but the greenery of the forest around the edges of the clearing before lifting his phone up and taking a photo. He posts it with a satisfied smile, thanking his friends for thinking of him. It’s not much, but his friends seemed to care, and he was pleased to see that his worrying – i.e. brooding – hadn’t ended up being a reality. He exits that one and taps the standard messenger. Out of all his friends, only Kairi and Irvine had his actual phone number. He’s surprised to see that Irvine had sent a photo attachment rather than his usual rapid-fire messages on Kingsgram, and on opening it, busts out laughing.

Apparently, he’d scorched Irvine’s cowboy hat. He types an apology quickly, thumbs flashing over the screen as he promises to buy him one and have it sent over. Once he’s done, he hesitates over Kairi’s icon, furrowing his brow over the little icon that cheerily declared that he had 14 messages from her. He presses it and scrolls up to see what she’d sent him.

Sora, I miss you already. Irvine’s fun but he sucks at sneaking out of the dorms after curfew. Not to mention he’s sulking about his break-up with Selphie again. Help me before I take my sneaker to his head.

YOU’RE AN ANGEL YOU SET HIS HAT ON FIRE. HE’S FORGOTTEN ENTIRELY ABOUT SELPHIE.

Okay no you’re not an angel – he’s holding a funeral for the damn thing. I promised to buy him a new one, but he’s committed to this. IT’S A HAT SORA. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE.

I think he’s calmed down from the whole funeral for his hat – but you better watch out for itching powder in your shorts if you visit us – he sounds serious about vengeance.

I miss you – classes aren’t as fun without you. And I’m jealous – it’s so not fair you get to start vacation a week early. You better send me some flowers to add to my pressed flower collection – I’m dying to know if there are any that glow at night out in the other Worlds.

Your dad said you were going to Eos of Gaia – is it as pretty as it looks in the videos? You’ve got to upload some photos to Kingsgram for me! And try out the mochi – let me know if I’ve got competition. Mom and I have a reputation to uphold as the best mochi in all the Worlds. Nobody’s allowed to beat us!

Hayner, Pence, and Olette stopped by using TT’s train station – they only missed you by an hour at the station, and they said they’re sorry they missed you, but good luck on your move!

So, I was thinking – it’s mindboggling that a train can somehow travel to other Worlds – I’ve got to find out what kind of magic it is – I bet it’s something amazing.

So, if where you’re living has a train station, let me know! I’ll visit you during the winter hols or something – something to work towards! You better make lots of friends for me to meet too!

Hey – if you’re visiting Altissia, you better send me a photo of what the sunsets look like from there. I’ve heard they’re fabulous. And the same goes for Cosmo Canyon! Oooh, I’d love to live in a desert canyon someday – I’d bet they have great ice cream joints. Mmm. Ice cream mochi sounds great right about now.

Your house is already sold – whoever your dad hired works quick damn it. I was hoping to sneak into the garden and get one last papou fruit from your guys’ tree and get the seeds. I hope the tree doesn’t die – you two were the only ones who could make papou trees grow around here.

Hey, I’ve heard that Eos of Gaia has lots of monsters. Please be safe! I know you’re careful but I’m still worried. If all else fails set something on fire – you’re good at that.

It’s not your fault by the way. Kuja was just a giant jerk – I think you did everyone a favor by knocking him down a peg or two. Don’t let yourself get bogged down by your own guilt – don’t look at your screen you know I’m right.

Hey. I’ll see you soon. Miss you already.

Sora smiles, fingers tracing her last message – it’s a photo of her and Irvine, big grins and thumbs up for the camera, with a message that they would see him soon scrawled with the digital touchpad on the bottom. He sighs, hauling himself up on his feet as his father steps out of the ship, locking the door behind him. In a burst of inspiration, he slings his arm around his father’s shoulder, hearing the man give a grunt of surprise as he presses a cheek against his and snapping a quick photo. Vincent gives him an annoyed look, running a hand through his short hair to return it to some semblance of order while Sora rapidly types away, sending Kairi the attachment and letting her know that he’d gotten there safe, he was going to Altissia, and that he’d take a ton of photos for her and grab a few flowers for her collection and send them by train. Vincent peers over his shoulder, watching his son with brief annoyance.

“I look like an idiot in the photo,” he complains to his son as the file is sent off. “While I fully support you keeping in touch, can you please not send photos of me that make me look as though I am a massive fool?” Sora gives his father a skeptical look.

“Dad, you look like you walked out of a runway no matter what I do,” he says, incredulous. “Look at this!” He brandishes the phone, showing his father what he’d just taken. Despite looking a little startled, Sora’s prediction holds true, and Vincent – despite looking surprised – looks no different than his usual unruffled appearance. “You look fine. I’m the one who looks like a dork.” He grins when all he gets is a faint harrumph from his father figure, reaching out to pat his arm affectionately. “I love you too dad,” he chuckles. “Seriously, lighten up a little.” It’s an old argument, and before Vincent can open his mouth to scold his son, Sora flips his phone around to show him Kairi’s newest message.

Wow! You guys sure made good time – I heard from Olette the train normally takes 3 days to get there! And I’m so glad you two are in good enough shape to take photos – tell your dad I like the new haircut! A bit serious, but it makes him look nice!

“So?” Sora’s grin is smug, and Vincent pokes his son on the forehead.

“Using Kairi to get out of a scolding – she’s not even here,” he complains, and Sora grins, knows he’s forgiven. “Alright, I can let it pass this time,” Vincent sounds rueful about it, shifting his shoulders as the button up shirt he wore stretched over the skin. Sora doesn’t have to read his mind to know his father was unhappy about not having his cloak to conceal himself with. Or his short hair. One of the many things he’d changed about himself while they’d been preparing to move had been his outfit. He’d explained a little about his old job, and while he wasn’t going to be rejoining that employment anytime soon, Vincent didn’t want his history as a mercenary in other worlds to be linked back to him. Sora personally missed seeing his father’s long hair – it’d been as much a part of him as his dark, almost theatrical outfit. Vincent shifts uncomfortably under his son’s scrutiny, until Sora gives him a hug. It’s quick, and his father gives him a grateful smile for it. “Thank you regardless.” Vincent concedes his son’s unspoken remark, and the two set off, the older of the two pulling his phone out to check the map. “We’ll be stopping here – it’s only twenty minutes away from where we are now. I’ll be able to introduce you to two people I think you should meet. If I recall, they have a son about your age,” he adds thoughtfully. “At least, if I understood the letters right. They were very enthusiastic about it, but to be frank, I didn’t pay them much mind.” Vincent chuckles slightly. “They’re like puppies, in a way. Extremely enthusiastic about life – though I am glad – he was a SOLDIER, and given the opportunity, he chose to leave that life behind with his lovely wife.” Sora hums, listening to his father curiously. He knew a little about SOLDIERS – they were an even more advanced form of Magitek Troopers – those who had the durability to outlast the Starscourge of JENOVA and were purified by the kingdom of Lucis – but he’d never heard of them leaving the military. Some of his puzzlement must have showed, because Vincent chuckles and continues. “Technically he’s retired – after his service, he needed the rest, and instead of being forced back to work he was given permission to retire, which frankly is a good thing – he deserves it.” Sora nods, a little distracted at the thought, before smiling up at his father.

“Well, I’ll be more than happy to meet him. He sounds like my kind of guy.” Sora says cheerfully, tucking his phone away so he can put his hands behind his head. “Why are we heading their way? Are they a rest stop or something?”

“Or something,” Vincent agrees amiably enough. “Last I heard, they ran a small diner around here with a bit of space upstairs for guests, but I don’t know if they ever changed it to a proper bed and breakfast place or not.” They step out of the forest, and Vincent turns, gesturing for his son to follow. “It’s a rough place for people out here – that clearing we landed in is one of the few safe places left – it’s warded against the Demons that roam at night, and some of the wards have failed in older cities. Now that you’re old enough to keep yourself out of trouble, however, I think we shouldn’t have any issues at night.” Sora gives him a sidelong look, and Vincent chuckles. “Any monster trouble. I’m afraid the human side you’re on your own.” Sora pouts a little at his father for the light ribbing, before he sighs and trudges onward towards their destination.

[broken-clover]

AU-gust Day 5- Post-Apocalypse

Ah. Um. Okay. This one is...sad. I mean I guess it kind of is by nature because of the theme? I wanted this to be upbeat and I feel like I missed the mark by a longshot. Wound up crying when I wrote this and tbh it’s probably half-coherent but here please take it. I promise I’ll do something less...this, next time

A massive bonfire lit up the tepid night, licking at the sky with every breeze and stick tossed onto it. Though he could make as big a fire as he wanted with just his hands and a little magic, Sol found a subtle beauty in nurturing a small kindling until it grew powerful enough that it only needed to be contained, swiftly gorging itself on whatever it came across and standing up to buckets of water that once would have been able to smother it a dozen times over. Almost like raising a child, in a way, though at least fire was easier to keep an eye on. And less raucous.

“Hey, old man!”

Speak of the devil. Sol shook his head with a smile and glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah? Thought you were supposed to be harvesting with your dad.”

Sin’s hair was as wild as it had ever been, though it took a little bit longer now for it to scrape the ground than it did before. It seemed easier and less labor-intensive to let it grow out into a shaggy mass nearly as tall as he was before lopping it all off. Sin used to be so intent of keeping it short at all times, but one could only go for so long being so hypervigilant before it turned to boredom and apathy. The only reason he even cut it at all was because of how he would trip over it while hunting and doing chores.

“I wanted to see if the fire was almost ready.” He pushed some of that messy hair back over his shoulder. “Besides, harvesting is boring, I’d rather help with the fire instead of having to carry stuff.”

Sol sighed, prodding the edge of a fire with a stick. “You’re nearly five billion years old, and you still complain about chores like a toddler.”

“Learned from the best!” Sin smirked back.

He was going to fire a retort back, but he could practically hear a little voice in his head chirping ‘Just let it go, Frederick. You know he’s just trying to get a rise out of you.’

“You’re right, you’re right.” He mumbled to himself.

Sin crossed his arms and huffed. “Fine! I’ll sit over with uncle raven then!”

The pale-haired man turned as sin approached the log he was on. “I’m afraid I won’t make for the best of company.”

“Still better than the old man! You use a lot of big fancy words and don’t yell at me when I slouch!”

“Sol!” A voice called from somewhere behind. As expected, when he turned towards it, he found Ky and Dizzy following, each carrying a large basket of greens.

“Figured you’d be longer. The brat didn’t exactly make it easier for you.”

“Well, I suppose a little mischief is alright for tonight.” Said Dizzy. “We were still able to find enough in the field for all of us to have plenty.”

Ky nodded. “And still plenty of leftovers, too. Little bit of mashed fruit, some potatoes, that cheese Raven made three years back, we have a lot! So make sure everyone eats well tonight. Not like we have to save it for anything.”

The man’s expression remained bright, but Sol’s fell. He looked back upwards. The midnight sky was a pale blue, hardly darker than midday. He couldn’t remember when it was truly dark enough to see the stars. Even the moon was little more than a vague crescent. At least the weather was tolerable, even with their hardy bodies, the days had become too hot to withstand, even in the underground bunker they’d shared for the last century or so. The sun was growing bigger and bigger every day, practically enveloping the sky. The few hours of ‘night’ were the biggest relief they got, so it made sense to make the most of what they had left.

Dizzy put her basket on the ground and began pulling out cobs of corn. “Where is Axl?”

“Said he was going on a grocery run.” Replied Ky. “I’m not sure what era though.”

That got Sin’s attention immediately. He sat up stick-straight. “Ooh, he’d better bring back something really good! Chips?”

“Mmm, shame he can’t go back to my time and bring back some of the treats I had in my youth.” Raven said wistfully. “Would probably attract too much attention.”

Sol idly thumbed at the dented lighter in his pocket. He’d run out of cigarettes, and had nothing to occupy his mouth. “He’ll be back whenever, not like he has any sense of deadlines. Just our luck, he’ll skip right past-”

As if on cue, a deep black abyss spiraled in the air nearby, crackling and popping for a moment before someone hopped through, carrying several bags.

“Right on time!” Axl cawed, raising a hand and walking over. “Glad I didn’t miss the party. I brought the food!”

Sin leapt out of his seat and scrambled towards the man, eyes shining. “What did you get? What did you get?”

“Easy, mate, I brought enough for everyone.” The plastic crinkled as he pulled out a variety of different things- packaged hamburgers, snack cakes, fresh fruit, and other things Sol didn’t bother taking note of. He only moved to catch a package of cigarettes as they were tossed to him.

“Maaan, this is much better than being stuck with vegetables!” the youngest’s eyes shone like he had been presented with a priceless treasure. “Jeez, how long’s it been since we’ve seen plastic bags? I think those all broke down ages ago.”

“And to think, people always used to say how wasteful they were, and how long they would take to break down.” Raven quipped, with a blithe little smile. “And now they’re impossibly rare relics.”

“Glad to provide!” Axl did a little bow. “Today, we enjoy the last swiss rolls in existence! Technically speaking.”

The feast started up soon after. Makeshift pots were set up for boiling vegetables, the leftovers were reheated over the fire. Axl’s food was bizarrely pristine alongside everything else, but nobody treated it as anything peculiar. Merriment followed the food, though it mainly just amounted to idle chatter and reminiscing.

“It’s delicious! Very well done.” Ky beamed, though Sol just knew it was bland, at best. “Corn’s so much different than it used to be, but I’m glad we still have that much. Reminds me of that one banquet, uhh, when was it? I seem to be blanking...can’t think of the millennium. I know there were still people back then, does anyone else remember the one with the corn sculpture?”

“Hmm.” Dizzy said. “Was that the one where Leo fell into the courtyard fountain after he drank too much?”

Ky thought for a moment in silence. “...Leo?”

“Scruffy blonde guy, had his own dictionary?” Sin offered.

“It was the first time you were king.” Added Sol.

“First...ah! Now I remember.” He nodded. “Goodness, that was forever ago. It’s hard to keep track. If I told my childhood self that someday I would become the ruler of thirty-five separate nations, I don’t think I would have believed it.”

“I tried once.” Axl replied, between bites of corn. “You thought I was bonkers. Kid-me said the same thing. Guess I don’t blame ‘em. I can hardly believe it sometimes. And I’ve been at this forever!”

“Mostly forever.” Corrected Raven.

“Oh sod off, birdie. B’sides, I could make words mean whatever I want ‘em to. There’s six of us! Who’s gonna stop me from saying ‘cold’ means hot and ‘hot’ means freezin’ your balls off!”

“Alright, alright, settle down.” Ky interrupted him. “We’re not here to fight. We’re here to celebrate. Sin, could you please pass me a hamburger?”

Sol couldn’t take this anymore. “I’ve gotta take a smoke break.”

They all seemed confused by his sudden outburst, but let him leave without too much trouble. He found a place in the wooded thickets that was secluded, where nobody but him could see the way his fingers trembled as he pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it.

Not even the animals were there to judge him. He couldn’t remember the last time those had existed, anyway.

So when the dead reeds began to rustle, he nearly jumped out of his skin. That was stupid of him. It had to be one of the others. Knowing his luck, it would be Sin, pestering him with enthusiasm and trying to drag him back to the fire, or Ky, with those big, soft, sad eyes that still managed to be able to throw him off guard.

“Chief?”

Shaggy blonde and dirty red bobbed in between the reeds, until Axl emerged right in front of him. How many centuries had he owned the same bandana?

“Chief, what was that about?”

Sol huffed, taking a long drawl of nicotine. “Jus’ needed a breather. I told you.”

“Don’t you toy with me.” The other’s voice softened. He pulled out a cigarette from his own pack.

“Didn’t know you smoked.”

“I’ve done just about anything that can be done.” Replied Axl. “I’m serious. What’s wrong? Why did you run off out of nowhere?”

He didn’t want to start a fight, not now. But even at a time like this, it felt preferable to admitting his feelings. It felt like a boulder was on his chest. “How can they be so…”

“So…?”

“So...happy? We can’t take anymore of this. Even if the sun doesn’t consume the planet tomorrow morning, the heat will incinerate everything on the surface and then some. How can they find it in them to celebrate? I know that whole family can be naive, but you and Raven-”

“Sol.” Axl cut him off, softly but firmly. “We know. They all know.”

The answer seemed obvious, but it still felt like a blow to the chest. Sol kept his expression hard and unreasonable. “You’re bluffing.”

“I’m not.” He said back. “God, why would I lie to you now? It’s the last bloody day in the world, what do I have to lose anymore?”

The space went quiet. The weight only seemed to grow heavier.

“You know, I’m older than the rest of you.” Axl sighed in dismay. “So, so much more. I’ve done this before. Never been this kind of fun, though. I guess I just needed to get hamburgers? Hehe…”

Sol refused to meet his gaze, instead focusing on a glowing bit of ash as it fell to the ground. “You don’t have to be here, y’know. Unlike the rest of us, you can just bail.”

He was met with a slow shake of the head, a patient smile, and sagging shoulders. “I’m an old man, chief. I might not look it, but I’m the oldest thing in the universe. More than you, and Sin, and even Raven. I’ve seen the universe begin over and over again, and every step of it after.”

“And?”

“And I’m tired. I’m really tired of all of this. I’m done. The universe is falling asleep, and I finally want to fall asleep with it. The end of it all is the one thing I’ve never allowed myself to see. It was so tempting at times, but I knew that, even with all of my abilities, I was only capable of living once. I tried changing time. I tried seeing what else there was in the universe. But it all came back to this. Just a handful of people, waiting for it all to end.”

The way his jaw clenched made Sol nearly bite through his cigarette and break his teeth. “Were you the one to tell them, then?”

Another shake. “They’re smart, Sol. I didn’t have to tell them anything. I’d feel so lucky, if I were you. I couldn’t think of anyone better to spend so many eons with.”

It wasn’t right. None of it. But no matter what, Sol knew it didn’t matter. He could spend every last moment of his life screaming and clawing in an attempt to change anything, but there was nothing he could do now. Just a moment of silence before the apocalypse.

So he followed Axl back to the fire. Sol put on one of his rare smiles and hunkered down to chat, regaling dozens of lifetimes with the only people who knew could understand what such an existence was like. The rise and fall of nations, births and deaths and the many long years in between. Wars and peace and prosperity and poverty. Hope and love and crushing despair and the ever-flicking light of human spirit that let them carry on so long, even as the world had begun to end.

Sin ended up falling asleep first, slumped against his mother. Raven and Dizzy and Ky had followed suit eventually, huddled under blankets as Sol glanced between them and the fire.

“Don’t you want to sleep?” He asked his only companion. “I can take care of putting this out.”

A hand slid around his waist. “I want to be with you. Just a little bit longer.”

Sol managed a smirk. “Seems like a waste. You could use it for sleeping.”

He felt the hand trembling slightly, and cling to his clothing. “Is it...is it bad that I’m afraid of being alone for this?”

“No.” Replied Sol, wrapping his own arm around Axl’s body. “It just means you’re human.”

[heyroslan]

the lighthouse.

tldr: the bucket list task. roslan decides to sleep on the beach, gets a call, and decides not to sleep on the beach. he climbs the lighthouse instead. he ties up some family things, finally.

The phone screen says Mom and it’s been ringing for the past five seconds. It should be off to conserve battery through the outage, but Roslan hasn’t put it back on airplane mode since calling his brother. He fiddles with the edge of the box he’s been packing all night, counting down the seconds for when it will automatically go to v--

Better not.

He answers. “Mom?”

“Roslan.”

It’s the first time he’s heard Nadya Pike’s voice in what feels like a lifetime, and the disappointment in it is palpable. Roslan can feel his own panic steadily building. For their first conversation in a month, this is not how he wants it to start.

“Your brother just called me. He said that you plan to sleep on a beach tonight.”

Roslan’s hands pause, hovering over the box. His eyes drift to the separate duffel bag he’s packed, just visible in the dark room. Em, you asshole--

“In January. Roslan Gabriel Pike, are you out of your mind?”

“Mom,” he starts weakly.

“I have let you and your brother make your own decisions over the past several years of because as a mother, I can only guide you through the aftermath and help you learn from mistakes, but this? This is is something else, Roslan. Moving to Canada, I could accept. Eloping with that... that boy, I could accept--”

“Mom.”

“--because I knew I would be able to help you through them, but I cannot help you through this because you are literally going to freeze yourself to death doing it. It’s like you don’t remember the only time your father and I took you boys to the beach and you were almost carried out to the ocean because you were too afraid to wade through seaweed to come back to shore. Roslan, angel, I found my first gray hair last week. In the past hour alone, I feel I have grown only a headful more. Your father’s decided to replace every bit of carpet in the house with hardwood, your brother and his fiancée have officially set their wedding date to just a week before mid-year financial checkups, and now you.”

Roslan collapses onto the bed. Immediately, Hopscotch trots over from the foot of the bed to lie by him. “Mom, you should...breathe.”

“This is on par for a Tuesday night,” Nadya says curtly. “Why are you sleeping on a beach?”

“It’s a, um. A bucket list thing. Everyone in town’s doing it.”

“Everyone is sleeping on the beach?”

“No, no, we’re each doing something from our own bucket lists.”

“And sleeping on the beach was one of yours.”

Roslan winces. “Yeah?”

There’s a heavy sigh from the other line.

Roslan buries his face into Hopscotch’s back. “The town is-- It’s Cape Hazel, by the way. I don’t know if you were serious about Canada, but I’m actually in--”

“In Maine, yes, I know, I got that from your letters. Why are you doing this? Are you being forced?”

"No!” Roslan says quickly. “No, no, it’s something the mayor thought would be nice for the whole town, and it is kind of nice, so I want to do it. But maybe,” he hesitates, “I won’t do the beach thing? Climbing to the top of the lighthouse was the next one on my list, I think I’m going to do that instead.” If there’s one thing he hates more than worrying his mother, it’s worrying his mother after he’s already done something stupid. 

He drags himself back on his feet and begins hunting through the bedside table. A moment later, he digs out a spare candle and a lighter. “Mom? I’m about to drive somewhere, but can you stay on the phone?”

There’s a faint rustle from her end. She might still be in the office, or she’s taken paperwork home again. “Of course, darling,” Nadya answers. Her voice is tired, but patient. Roslan wants to go home right then and hug his mother. “You do have an entire month to catch me up on.”

Roslan’s phone might run out of battery before then, but if there’s anything worth losing all of his cell phone battery all week for, it’s talking to her. “Yeah, um. So I told you about how I moved in with Jace--”

-

“No, it’s like-- we went out to the woods to find cryptids,” he explained, craning his neck to look up at the dizzying height of the lighthouse. To his right are the stairs, just illuminated by the candle he’s holding. “We call it unsolved because we don’t really find any answers. It’s more about the search for them, you know?”

“Sure,” Nadya says, not sounding sure. “And these things you call cryptids. Explain again.”

“They’re like...” Roslan tugs the zipper of his coat up all the way, finding that it’s somehow colder inside the lighthouse. “Okay, so. Remember the Marcellos?”

“Unfortunately,” Nadya mutters.

“The Marcellos are like cryptids. You’ve seen some pictures of them, and you could assume they’re real because people talk about them, but they never actually show up anywhere, so no one can definitely prove they’re real. Theo doesn’t think they are, but Sol and I think there’s something. Ugh, it’s freezing in here.”

“You shouldn’t have left your good winter coats at home,” Nadya says, the frown practically audible in her voice. “The Marcellos didn’t live in the woods. I don’t understand.”

“It’s a metaphor, Mom. That’s how cryptids generally are, but they don’t have to live in the woods. Like Nessie-- I mean, the Loch Ness Monster?”

“Right. Nessie.” Nadya doesn’t sound quite convinced yet, but she goes on, “Was this before or after that masquerade?”

“After, and after Jace’s sister. And after Hopscotch’s bad haircut,” Roslan confirms, exhaling as he finally comes upon the first landing. One flight down, another...dozen to go? Climbing a lighthouse had seemed more poetic in writing.

“I’ve missed that dog.”

Roslan snorts. “He’s missed having more shoes to chew on.”

“He misses being spoiled, you mean.”

“No, Jace and I still spoil him pretty badly.” He catches himself saying it a little too late. “Him and Almond. Jace’s dog.”

“Yes, I know Almond, you wrote about him last time too.”

“Okay. Just in case there was any confusion.” Another flight down.

“There’s none. And this is the same Jace you mentioned earlier, and all of the letters before that.”

Roslan doesn’t know how to stall. “Yeah. But. I think I finally found a new apartment, so I’m moving out soon, and then it’ll be okay.”

“All right.” He thinks he hears his mother sigh again, but it’s much quieter. She says, “Roslan, do you know what you’re doing there?”

Roslan conquers the fourth flight. “To be completely honest?” He exhales. “No. But it’s...” He pauses before the next set of steps, gripping the railing. 

“Sweetheart,” his mother says gently, “when are you coming home?”

Roslan takes a deep breath, changing his mind and pushing away from the railing. He starts climbing again, keeping silent count of the steps. “I don’t think I want to,” he answers, feeling short-handed with it. “Not while... Not while Dad still thinks I’m going to change my mind about the company, because I- I won’t.” He passes the fifth. “I love you, and I love Dad, but I know I don’t want to go back and do anything with the company. I know I didn’t turn out the way you and Dad hoped I would, and I know I’m not going to be half as good as you want me to be. I know even if I try, it won’t be good enough, and I know I already disappointed you but I don’t want to wait a few years just to disappoint you again--”

“Roslan. Stop talking and listen to me.”

Roslan clamps his mouth shut. He has to open it again a second later to take a breath though, because his chest feels even tighter after nine flights.

“You have never, and will never, disappointed me or your father. We love you. Do you understand? Your father regrets everything about that night--he told me after you left. He thinks you hate him.”

“What?” Roslan winds a hand through his hair, his voice cracking a little. “No, god, I don’t hate him, I thought-- I thought he hated me.”

"Boys,” Nadya sighs. “If either of you had just talked to each other... Roslan, are you crying?”

“No,” Roslan says, crying. “I’m just at the top of the lighthouse and it’s fucking terrifying but also really gorgeous-- Mom, I don’t hate him, why would he think I hate him?”

“My best assumption is that you both said things you didn’t mean that night,” Nadya says with the patience of a saint. “And that, again, if you had just talked to each other, you both would have known that.”

“I- Is he there right now?”

“He’s on a trip for the week. But I would talk to him sooner than later.” His mother seems to wait for him to calm down before asking, “How’s that view, darling?”

“Dark,” Roslan sniffs, refusing to move further than a step onto the metal landing. “The whole town’s out of power, so I can’t see anything.”

“Oh, Ros,” Nadya says with the long-suffering tone of a mother. “You climbed a lighthouse during a power outage?”

“I had a candle,” Roslan says. “The moon and the beach look good. Here, I’m gonna send you a--” He blows out the candle and quickly swipes at his eyes before trying to open his phone back up. “N- Never mind, I can’t take pictures on twenty percent.”

“On twenty percent,” Nadya echoes. “Roslan, for the love of-- Save your battery. I’m sure we can see it ourselves someday.”

“You’d hate it here,” Roslan says thickly. “It’s the opposite of New York. It’s so quiet, you’d go out of your mind.”

“But you love it. That’s enough for me to want to see it.”

Roslan pauses. “Really?

“Only if you can promise you’ll visit us again at least once too. Your father had the sunroom renovated again, and I need someone else to tell him that the walls are absolutely too dark for a sunroom.”

“I’ll do that soon.” Roslan finally braves a single step forward, grasping the railing tightly. It’s not as high as Hazel Point, but it’s also much windier and the town is a murky spread of buildings, giving the illusion of sheerer drop. “I’m going to puke,” he mutters.

“Do not do that to the poor lighthouse.”

“I should have slept on the beach instead.”

“What even were you planning, Roslan? A tent?”

“A mattress.” Roslan gingerly steps back towards the walls of the lighthouse. When he feels his back hit the side, he slowly slides down so he can sit. “And, like, a lot of blankets.”

His mother clicks her tongue. “I knew we should have taken you boys camping at least once.”

The concept makes Roslan laugh unexpectedly. “Oh, god. I don’t think Dad knows how to pitch a tent either.”

“You all would have learned,” she says dryly. “We can add that to our own bucket list, I suppose. But tell me more about that list of yours.”

Roslan sets down the candle and the lighter carefully, huddling his arms close to his chest for warmth. It is freezing, but for the moment, the pride of having actually scaled the lighthouse is more than any discomfort. “I wanted to learn one more language. If I could’ve done that in week...” He shakes his head to himself. “I... Oh. I wanted to learn how to make chocolate lava cake too, from scratch.”

“I can’t help you with that, unfortunately. But I’m sure if you talked to your father...” His mother trails off, and Roslan knows where he’s being led.

“As soon as I figure out how to charge my phone,” he promises, “I will.”

“I still think you should be saving your battery right now.”

“It’s gonna die anyway. Besides, you still have to tell me about the next banquet. Is Aunt Cecilia’s family really coming? And you’re really going to sit next to her the whole night?”

The phone lasts for a solid half hour. Roslan wishes it was longer, but he thinks he made a solid amount of progress for the original forty-percent he’d started with.

He goes home feeling the lightest he’s felt in months and ticks off the lighthouse from his list.