Tumgik
#failure to communicate au
Text
Over the years Tim had lead, taught and helped countless other teens come into thier powers and said teens looked at him like he hung the stars. They admired him greatly and wanted to do something to make thier mentor/big brother figure proud.
So when they found Tims soulmate they were absolutely ecstatic.
Yeah sure, the guy was the child of evil mad scientists and apparently the heir of a creepy fake vampire supervillian but they'd seen weirder couples in the hero community. They just needed to convince him to join the heros side!
Naturally they try to kidnap Danny and he has no idea whats going on other than a bunch of kids in superhero costumes are trying to abduct him. Between his powers as Phantom, that they seem to not know about (thank the ancients that ghosts don't show up well of pictures and that he started wearing a mask) and his own parents paranoid housebuilding techniques Danny escapes them easily.
Danny figured they would leave him alone eventually, right? If not he would have to call the cops for stalking and harassment.
If that didn't work he would just set all the house lazers to stun. Worst case scenario he might have to call the Justice League emergency line and yell at them to come get thier kids.
It would also be funny if he just kicked them out as Phantom
2K notes · View notes
novelconcepts · 3 months
Text
tell 'em i'm a good kisser
Van finds herself stranded on the side of the freeway. Rescue comes in the form of a beautiful stranger with a truly idiotic price:
She just needs a fake girlfriend. Just for a little while. Just to avoid a few unfortunate feelings.
(A Tumblr prompt fill [owltrifecta]: Taivan meet cute.)
chapter 1/2 - sunburnt
chapter 2/2 - someone else's movie
M, 58k words
Taissa Turner considers herself one of the smartest people in just about any room—but even she has to admit that this? Might not have been her finest hour. “You sure you want to do this?” It’s the sixth time she’s asked. Six times granting them both an escape, a get out of jail free card. Six times—and, for the sixth goddamn time, Van only laughs. “If you want to bail, just say the word.” A challenge, if Tai’s ever heard one.
38 notes · View notes
radioactivepeasant · 2 years
Text
Fic Prompts: Transformers Tuesday
This is an au of an au. It's based on my "pirate Megatron and company surprise adopting the very unwilling Team Prime", but in this version the Cybertronians are a cyborg species rather than giant transforming vehicle robots. Just because.
It was always amusing whenever his men managed to capture one of the so-called "Autobots" for a little...discussion. The troublesome urchins fought with twice the ferocity of the government that had disavowed and exiled them, with less than a fraction of their training. For the most part, they coexisted with Megatron's government in an uneasy kind of unspoken, hostile symbiotic arrangement. Megatron graciously allowed the young cyborgs their freedom, and they kept the streets clear of the rank and file humans who styled themselves "supervillains". Eventually, of course, the Decepticons would have to take the little exiles in hand once and for all. But the birth rate of cyborgs was so low even without the war on their homeworld. There hadn't been any Decepticon younglings -- nor even Neutral younglings -- for many years. They couldn't afford to kill the Autobot team. Not unless every attempt at integrating them into the Decepticon forces had failed.
Lugnut shoved the door open with one steel-plated arm and marched in. His synthetic skin, where it showed, was bruised -- even torn in some places -- and his armor was scuffed. The reason for his state of disarray was trapped, kicking and swearing, under one of the massive cyborg's arms. Megatron raised one eyebrow. It was no easy feat to isolate and capture Optimus Prime. Lugnut would be getting hazard pay for this.
[[MORE]]
"Thank you, Lugnut," Megatron said calmly, turning back toward the window, "You can place him where you'd like. This won't take long."
Until the day the Autobots pushed him too far, he would continue to maintain an informal "catch-and-release" policy.
"What do you want, Megatron?" Optimus demanded.
Megatron didn't turn around. "A little more respect from you, to start with, but I suspect that's as infeasible a request as asking the Autobot Council to revoke your outlaw status."
He could almost hear the boy wince behind him. Megatron knew how to twist the knife.
After a span of two seconds, Optimus ground out, "You want my "respect", Megatron? Earn it."
Megatron shrugged smoothly. "If you cannot respect a Cybertronian controlling an entire city with minimal human death, then I don't know how to help you. But in the absence of respect, compliance will suffice."
He glanced up at the reflection of his office -- formerly the office of Professor Isaac Sumdac -- in the window. The boy had actually been bold enough to take a step forward, only to be pulled back by Lugnut, who had no intention of letting the Autobot ringleader get close to his liege.
"Compliance? Are you kidding me?! I'm an Autobot!"
"You were an Autobot." Megatron turned on his heel and stepped closer to the young man. "The Magnus wanted nothing to do with you the moment you lost the Allspark. If you returned to the homeworld today, the very cyborgs that raised you would have you in chains before you left the shuttle. You know that, don't you?"
Optimus set his jaw stubbornly, but Megatron knew his words had found their target. The marauder leaned down, putting him closer to eye level with Optimus.
"Mark me, boy: I have permitted you and your companions to continue your misguided crusade in my city this long only because it so vexes the High Council. Had you been Decepticon offspring by birth, I would not have been nearly as lenient."
Optimus shut his mouth with a click. He stared at Megatron as though he'd grown a second head: part confusion, part fear. That was better. Perhaps in future...meetings...the outlaws would be a little more appreciative of the freedom they had been granted. Provided Megatron's own soldiers didn't antagonize the younger ones unnecessarily again. Children were rather hot-tempered, after all.
"What do you want, Megatron?" Optimus asked again. His tone was wary now, and some of the fight had gone out of it.
Megatron smiled coldly. It was as he often told Lugnut: one did not have to engage in violence to make a point. It was much easier to let the enemy realize on their own that you held all the cards.
"Mr. Powell has been encroaching on company territory with Biotech Unbound," Megatron said calmly. "I have received word that he intends to unleash nanobots to deal with refuse within the city. However, given his...portfolio, I suspect this nanotechnology will prove to be more of a virus."
At least the boy seemed to understand the gravity of the situation. Malignant nanobots would endanger any cyborg, regardless of the brand they wore. Optimus's jaw tightened until his teeth audibly ground together. Then he sighed and dropped his head.
"Fine," he said wearily, "I'll handle it."
Megatron smiled thinly. "That's my boy."
He flicked his fingers in dismissal. "Run along, Parvus Prime. You're free to go."
The Decepticon paused. "Actually. Since you've caught me in a relatively good mood, if you manage to obtain the nanobot blueprints, I'll allow Sumdac out to visit the little one. If you obtain the blueprints."
Optimus clenched his fists. "Fine. I'll get the blueprints. But Sumdac gets a full 48 hours with Sari. No five minute visit through a fence."
"That sounds reasonable enough." Megatron folded his hands behind his back. "And do take care not to let the wee one short out the computer systems. He's gotten a little too fond of those electric "stingers"."
Optimus actually rolled his eyes. "You try telling Bee what to do," he scoffed. "You learn to pick your battles."
He sidestepped as Lugnut reached for him and narrowed his eyes in warning.
"Hands off," he hissed.
Megatron turned his eyes to the ceiling in mock exasperation.
For all his talk, clearly the boy's original guardians never bothered to teach him to pick his battles. He would have to learn sooner or later if he wished to survive this new Detroit. As Lugnut escorted the angry outlaw out of the tower, Megatron shook his head and smirked.
"Entirely too much like you, this descendant of yours, Brother. The Allspark must have a sense of humor to inflict you twice upon me."
55 notes · View notes
cartoonsaint · 2 years
Note
you mentioned how hlvrai is an interesting form of storytelling and i think thats part of why it got big- same with taz and other dnd podcasts- people like the authenticity of it. theres no big writers rooms working to make it "perfect." its all very in the moment. the actors arent actors- theyre not reading off a script. everyone whose playing a part are equally a part of the storytelling process. everyone is making the script up in the moment, and things happen either to immediately make their friends laugh or make their friends go 'holy shit thats awesome' or (my personal favorite) to give their friends the opportunity to do something cool!
its an honest form of storytelling that we're kinda losing with the way media is so sanitized and washed out and forced to be marketable. like, i struggle explaining hlvrai or dnd podcasts to my friends when they ask what kind of content i watch, because theres really no comparison to it (unless they also engage with that type of content). its like people sitting around a campfire telling stories, just to pass the time and engage in creativity. and i think thats why people like them, theyre just fun and real.
i got a little rambley but overall: i think hlvrai and these types of media are popular because theyre honest
i think there's truth to this, yeah!!! :) there's a lot to be said for stories where the storytellers are present/visible, esp when they're all close-- it's like being invited into their warm, fun little friend group for a little bit, even if it's just to observe. it's a kind of antithesis to the wave of polished and soulless media that has become more and more of the stuff out there in the past ten years (spotless set design, everyone is beautiful and no one is horny, reliance on the Save the Cat method, i don't have enough links to sketch this whole thing out but yes: the number one word is marketability). these are lonely times; stories told by real people in real-time are a breath of fresh air, especially when there's the doubled wild cards of 1. wtf are my friends going to pull out of their asses next and how do i keep this balloon-story in the air oh god and 2. dice-rolling/weird g-mod stuff à la the helicopter heap, etc. it's great fun to see people up against these odds who manage to pull together a semi-cohesive story anyways :)
i don't think we're really losing this kind of story-telling, though it is becoming less visible in a marketability-lowest-common-denominator-blockbuster-content-production kind of way. but you're right that these kinds of practices trace back to telling stories around a fire, or while spinning thread or sharpening flint-- it's deep in our core as human beings. our lives are very different from those of our our ancestors 50k years ago but in the grand scheme of things, we've barely barely changed. we still want those stories. we still want to tell them, too. even as inhuman companies beyond our individual grasps manipulate things far above us, try to distract workers from too-long days at work with stripped-down marketable manipulative garbage, there will always be people making weird, niche art: friend groups who stream goofy improv together, people who write thousands upon thousands of words about their OCs even though only 3 people read it, toby fox in his basement, DnD podcasts with fewer than a fifty listeners, stick figure webcomics updating every day, pre-teens scribbling about sparklewolves in their composition notebooks and shyly sharing a little bit with the other weirdo in their class.
but yeah. especially for those of us who don't necessarily have the energy to create as much as we'd like, story-telling that has the foundations visible, that is honest about what it is and where it's coming from, that has at its core the desire to make one's friends laugh-- it's great! it's fun! it's a good antidote to the big polished crap :)
22 notes · View notes
ao3commentoftheday · 5 months
Note
Hey!
This is something that's been rolling around in my head for a while, and I'm wondering if you or any of your followers have experience with getting back into writing after illness.
I've been chronically ill for a long time. My symptoms vary a lot depending on external circumstances. From about 2019-2021 or so, I was updating an AU about once a month and having an absolute blast with it...then my health hit a stumbling block. Then it hit another, and another.
I'm now at a point where the stumbling blocks don't seem to be going away anytime soon. I'm starting to feel the mental health effects of not having the spoons to work writing into my day.
I spent the past couple years trying to let myself lie fallow and be kind with my brain when my body needs so much help. I'm at a point where even when I WANT to write, it feels like it's been so long I've almost forgotten how. I'm stalled on all my WIPs from that AU, but it doesn't feel like writer's block so much as it feels like writer's atrophy. I miss it terribly, but I'm having a lot of trouble getting back on my feet.
Thank you for everything you've given our community over the years! 💜💜
*hugs* that's a rough spot to be in, and I hope that we can offer you some ways to get out of it. I'll offer some suggestions from my own experience with a change in health status, but I'm really hopeful that the rest of the blog have some tips to share as well.
Don't hold yourself up to your previous standards. Your abilities have changed, and you should take that into account. If you used to be able to write for 2 hours and now you can only manage 10 minutes, don't see that as a failure. 10 minutes is now your success point. If you used to be able to manage 100K stories with intricate plots and now you find it a challenge to write a straightforward oneshot? Then finishing that oneshot is an accomplishment to be proud of.
If the way you used to do things doesn't work, don't keep trying to do them that way. If you used to type onto a laptop but now staring at the screen makes you feel exhausted? Try dictating into your phone and using speech to text to transcribe it. Then you can go through and edit what's already there. If you used to write at a desk but now sitting up for long periods wears you out? Try tapping it out on your phone in bed. You can't focus for long periods the way that you used to? Turn on the TV and write during commercial breaks.
Don't try to pick up right where you left off. You need to get yourself back in writing shape before you can take on a story that's already halfway written. Those WIPs will still be there, even if you start off with a ficlet or a missing moment or a post-episode coda etc. Start off small. Use ideas or plots that are easier for you to write. Get back into the swing of it before you try to tackle a big project again.
As you try to write something and you find yourself unable to, take a moment and try to identify what the hard part is. Are you having trouble finding words? Are you in an uncomfortable position? Is the device you're using annoying you or difficult to work with? For each problem you can identify, see if you can find an accommodation for it - and look to see if other people have had to accommodate the same issue before you. It's very likely that they have.
I'll stop here and let the spoonies share their thoughts in the notes. I look forward to picking up some advice for myself too ❤️
You can find this question and answer over on Dreamwidth as well, if you'd like to join the conversation over there.
1K notes · View notes
palskippah · 19 days
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Hi! Tried again to make a comic to draw something different :y I really had fun drawing this yipiii
It's in the Roleswap AU, where Toadette helps Peach in getting to Princess Mario so he can help her find Daisy!
BTW here's another ideas for the AU:
-Princess Mario is semi verbal and Toad was initially one of the interpreters that went with him through his days, to communicate out loud his words to the people who may not know sign language. As time passes, they become friends and then best friends (Toad always calls Mario bestie and talks about their relationship like that, he's very proud about being friends with Super Princess Mario).
-Imagine that Princess Mario goes over the top for his lil bro's anniversary and throws the biggest party each year for him (and Bowser), and they get to be known as the "Mario Parties" and by the time Peach and Daisy get lost there, it is the Mario Party 7.
>Thinking about this from the Mario Party games where Mario gestures stuff and then Toad says "it seems like Mario..." and then he says whatever Mario wants to do.
-BTW Peach is as much of a girlfailure as Mario was straight up a failure at the beginning of the Mario Movie.
-Also yeah Toad killed her but don't worry they give her a 1-up.
-ALSO YEAH PNG SAUCEPAN I gave up at the third attempt to draw it aksjdakjd
-Imagine that "-MARIO!" like when Peach shouts his name and it sounds far away [like the scene in the movie too where DK is beating Mario's ass and she's like MARIOOO- LA CAJAAA ((Idk didn't watch it in English akjsdksad)]
-Also love at first sight bc Peach's beautiful and her eyes are huge and sparkly.
230 notes · View notes
bluegekk0 · 10 months
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
fpk au reference sheets for the main cast!
(brief descriptions below the cut)
Vyrm (alternate spelling of “Wyrm”) - once the king of Hallownest, now a simple resident of Dirtmouth tormented by the guilt of his past actions and his own emotional trauma. Following the return of the infection, he disappeared in a self-manifested realm where he hibernated for years until he was woken up by Little Ghost. He roamed around Hallownest post hibernation, until he was found by Hornet and taken to Dirtmouth, where he reunited with Holly and Grimm, the latter of whom he would start a relationship with. He embraces his instincts by hunting animals and eating raw meat, though he is far from a dangerous beast. He owns a small workshop from which he creates new inventions and plans for Dirtmouth's renovations.
Grimm - the exiled god of nightmares and The Radiance’s brother. Following his banishment from The Higher Plane, he formed the Troupe with whom he would travel around the world in search of pleasures. Although he has a certain fondness for the mortals, he spent hundreds of years feeling loneliness, unable to find love due to his immortality, until he met Vyrm. They became close friends, though they were not able to confess their love and start a relationship until after Vyrm’s hibernation. Grimm and his Troupe now permanently reside in Dirtmouth, from which they travel to other kingdoms to perform their shows, and to fulfil The Nightmare King’s ritual needed to maintain his physical form. He drinks blood to prolong the lifespan of each physical body, and he has a fondness for fruits.
Hornet - the beloved daughter of Vyrm and the Deepnest queen Herrah. She grew up showered with her father’s love and formed a very close bond with him. Unfortunately, following her father's disappearance, she was forced to spend years all on her own, which turned her bitter and difficult to approach. She now struggles with anger issues and intense fear of getting attached, but deep down she cares a lot about her family. She moved to Dirtmouth following the end of the infection, though she still frequently patrols Hallownest, ensuring nothing could threaten the little town.
Holly - the king's pure vessel born with the mission to contain The Radiance. After the plan's failure and the return of the infection, they were freed from the Radiance's grasp following her defeat at the hands of the void entity. They were taken to Dirtmouth by Hornet, and then nursed back to health by Grimm per Hornet’s request. With their arm missing and their body weak, they are unable to hold their nail, instead they focus on more relaxing activities to pass their time. They learned writing to communicate with the family, though their favorite forms of self-expression are drawing and sewing. They wear a prosthetic arm made from scrap by their father.
Lewk - Vyrm and Grimm's first son, hatched from an egg laid by Grimm. He’s surrounded by love from both of his parents, though with his growing curiosity about everything around him, he finds great interest in joining Hornet on her patrols, as well as in Ogrim’s cooking. He’s still discovering new things about the world and himself. He has a good heart and is very compassionate; unlike the rest of the family, he doesn’t carry any emotional baggage, and his optimism and kind nature are contagious. He regularly attends classes at the small Dirtmouth school, taught by Quirrel.
Milo and Asta - twins, the newest addition to the family. Milo is the little skinny boy with pale skin and fluffy "pants". He hatched much later than his sister, and is quite weak and sickly in comparison. He's practically inseparable from his Tiktik plushie and spends most of the day sleeping or watching everyone else from his little blanket burrow. Personality wise, he's a little grumpy and with every passing day it becomes more and more clear that he's jealous of his stronger siblings. Asta is the dark colored, fluffy girl. She's a feisty one, has the reputation of a finger snapper and is usually the first one to hiss at strangers. She's much stronger and faster than Milo, but always makes sure to slow down and let him keep up, showing a degree of compassion and understanding for his condition, even at such young age.
Zote - a self proclaimed knight of great renown, in reality a lonely young bug living in a world of delusions. He was rejected by his hometown and his family, and so he traveled until he reached Hallownest. After the end of the infection, he found himself “adopted” by Vyrm’s family, and although he still remains his mean and egoistical self, he secretly appreciates the fact that they accepted him as one of their own. Holly is his best friend who most often drags him out of sticky situations.
783 notes · View notes
tossawary · 2 months
Text
Shen Yuan really seems to like Yue Qingyuan at the beginning of SVSSS. He's like, "Oh, this guy is big brother shaped! So helpful! I love this guy!" while also talking about how the original Shen Qingqiu was a terrible person taking advantage of this guy. He's right that Shen Jiu was an abusive asshole towards his disciples, but it's funny how Shen Yuan has NO knowledge of the depths of the Qijiu dynamic at this point. He just doesn't know the history! At all!
I'm not saying that Shen Yuan would judge Yue Qingyuan more harshly here if he knew Qijiu's history from the beginning. Yue Qingyuan did his best to help Shen Qingqiu in a very bad situation and the communication failure between Qijiu is very much a mutual issue with severe trauma acting as an obstacle on both sides, and I think Shen Yuan would probably find Yue Qingyuan even more sympathetic. It's just funny to me how Shen Yuan's view of Yue Qingyuan as a more three-dimensional person is currently clouded by his personal, seething dislike of the original scum villain.
It seems to me that in AU cases where Shen Yuan is wandering around at the same time as Qijiu (fanfiction AUs where Shen Yuan is not Shen Qingqiu), he would 100% be on Yue Qingyuan's side in any disagreement even if he didn't know what the disagreement was, just because he really doesn't like Shen Qingqiu. Yue Qingyuan would not be able to ask Shen Yuan for relationship advice even if he wanted to - and he would not want to, partly because he's pretty private and also because he's predisposed to view the situation as his own fault, both due to personal trauma.
Shen Yuan immediately @ Yue Qingyuan about his shitty boyfriend in every situation: "DUMP! HIM!"
303 notes · View notes
taurusdaylight · 3 months
Text
our rendezvous
Tumblr media
summary. being lost in the horizon sounds scary, but not when you're hand in hand with your lover.
pairing. boyfriend! jaehyun x implied fem! reader
genre. established relationship! au, fluff
word count. 4,021
warnings/tags. as far as i know, nothing :) it's only a little angsty because of uncertainty about the future, but nothing too intense! very very fluffy,,,, maybe a lil pda (oh?)
a/n. ur resident valentine is back! i'm so sorry for going off the grid, my life has been a blur over the past few months… i did nothing and everything. anyway, this is inspired by none other than horizon (soty!) and i was very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit florence, where the horizon mv was filmed, so i knew i had to write this! after finishing it, i realised it's rather similar to my first fic but what can i say, i love jaehyun travel! aus, plus, jaehyun and forever just go together. <3 hope the new year is treating everyone kindly, and as always, have fun reading~
Navigating life after graduation was akin to walking through a maze, struggling to find a way out. Growing up, you always thought that everyone’s life had already been nicely written out since there were only two things that truly mattered: school and work. The adults always preached about how good academic records would land you a great job. All your life, you never failed to achieve and maintain stellar grades so you never doubted that you would get a job. Yet, as the day of your graduation approached, you started to worry that you might not end up finding a job. Or at least, one that was to your liking.
The thought of working for the rest of your life sounded… boring. Perhaps an oversimplification, but you always made sure to put a hundred percent into your studies, so you felt like you never really had the chance to live your life the way you wanted to. You weren’t a party animal per se, but you wouldn’t hesitate to skip a night out with your friends if you had an important deadline to meet. It was always academics over everything else. Apart from meeting expectations that others had on you, the fear of failure haunted you too. More often than not, the urge of wanting to disappear creeped into your mind. It didn’t seem like a bad idea, running away to some random part of the world where no one knew you. Once you’ve spent enough time there, you could easily travel to another city and explore till your heart’s content. That was the dream. Unfortunately, this particular dream of yours never came true.
That was, until now.
Treading the path of adulthood was admittedly scary, you could slip and fall at any given moment and not know how to pick yourself up. But, you weren’t on your own. 
Jeong Jaehyun, your boyfriend of two years, shared the same sentiment. Sure, he was ambitious and had his goals set out. Like you, however, working himself to death wasn’t one of the things on his list. Jaehyun believed that it was important to strike a balance, to not throw yourself into something so deep that you would get lost in it. Working may be important but it would never hurt to have a little fun whenever time called for it. 
You first met Jaehyun in Introduction to Film Studies. Both second-year students, you and Jaehyun clicked extremely well with each other as you bonded over your shared love for films. What started as study sessions to help each other with assignments eventually progressed to warm, cosy movie date nights that also involved cuddling under a fluffy blanket on Jaehyun’s couch. 
While there have been minor arguments over those two years, you and Jaehyun always made sure to communicate. After all, a couple is supposed to fight the problem, not each other. The both of you understood that. These disagreements never bothered you that much because you believed that they were part and parcel of every relationship. Instead, you wondered more about how lucky you are to have found someone like Jaehyun. As you liked to put it, Jaehyun was your twin flame. He spoke to your soul in a way that no one else could.
Instead of taking the conventional route of starting a full-time job after graduating, you and Jaehyun booked one-way tickets to Rome the week after your final exams. How long the both of you were going to stay there for, that was a question for another time. The plan was to have no plan, going wherever your feet took you. Both of your parents weren’t exactly agreeable about this idea, nagging about how irresponsible and irrational it was. But what could they do? It’s not as if they could physically stop two grown adults from going. Eventually, they were able to come to terms with it and simply asked the both of you to stay safe. 
It’s been about three weeks or so since you two arrived in Rome. Tranquil mornings without a blaring alarm was something that you could really get used to. The icing on the cake would be waking up to the sight of Jaehyun sleeping peacefully next to you, an arm securely draped around your waist. His lips would slightly jut out, you would sometimes sneak a kiss or two because he simply looked too adorable to resist. 
A day out together would look something like sitting by an artwork in a museum, coming up with various interpretations or hopping from café to café to try out different desserts (which were often, gelato), you couldn’t count with your fingers the number of times the staff had to chase the both of you out because they were closing. Time is said to fly past when you’re having fun, but even more so when you’re spending it with the love of your life. At least, that’s what you think. 
The both of you woke up earlier than usual today because you’d turned in early the previous night, probably exhausted from all the walking. The sun wasn’t up yet, which meant that there were limited stores that were operating during this time too. It felt like a waste to sleep in and laze around in the apartment, so came the impulse decision of buying last-minute train tickets to Florence. 
“C’mon baby,” Jaehyun half-shouted, his gaze flickering between you and the platform located at the other end of the station.
Hands intertwined, you and Jaehyun were sprinting as fast as your legs could carry you in order to catch your train that leaves in approximately two minutes. Or rather, you were doing everything in your power to match Jaehyun’s speed because why was he running like he was competing in the Olympics? So much for wanting an athletic boyfriend. 
You were almost out of breath from running, you didn’t even have the energy to give Jaehyun a verbal answer. Instead, you tried to speed up like he told you to. After what felt like a hundred miles, the both of you finally reached the platform, boarded the train, and settled down into your allocated seats. 
“Oh my goodness. We are never doing that again,” you said, panting. 
Jaehyun shot you a wide grin. “Now that’s what I call an intense leg day.” 
You were rendered speechless. Here you were, thinking that he was going to agree with you. But you also remembered that Jaehyun was a gym rat first, your boyfriend second. Jaehyun goes a little over the top with exercising, you could tell that much just by looking at his physique. Though, you wouldn’t say that it was exactly a bad thing. In fact, what a sight for sore eyes he was… 
Before you had a chance to respond, Jaehyun used his other hand to push your head towards his shoulder. “Go to sleep, doll. Don’t want you feeling cranky in the middle of the day because you didn’t get to take your daily nap. I’ll wake you up when we’re reaching.”
Despite not being able to see him, you could hear the smile in Jaehyun’s voice, which caused you to grin too. Perhaps it was Jaehyun’s shoulder that made you comfy, but you could feel the sleepiness slowly start to envelop you, so you snuggled even closer to him.
“Good night, Jay,” you said before falling into slumber.
The train ride took faster than expected, probably because you were asleep throughout the journey. Upon alighting, you and Jaehyun walked aimlessly along Via Faenza. You stopped in your tracks when you caught the pleasant aroma of coffee beans coming from a café, it was so inviting that the both of you had no choice but to enter.
Save for the long line of people in office-wear queuing to get their morning coffee fix, there was no one else occupying the seats in the café. Wanting to be away from the crowd, you and Jaehyun made your way to the corner booth seat situated all the way inside after getting your order. You sat next to each other, with Jaehyun's arm wrapped around your waist. Your torso was slightly exposed because of the cropped top that you wore, and Jaehyun’s fingertips easily found purchase on your skin. Soft traces all over, which oddly enough, made you feel tingly and warm simultaneously. 
“Jaehyun,” you called out.
He turned to look at you. “Hmm?” 
“Do you regret being here with me? Don’t you feel like you’re wasting your life away?”
Jaehyun halted his movements, but he did not loosen his grip on your waist. His answer was written all over his face, from his creased eyebrows to his frowning lips. 
“Of course not, baby. Did I do or say something to make you think that way? I’m sorry if I did,” he said sincerely. 
“No, you didn’t do or say anything of that sort!” you quickly clarified. “I think I’m just worried about the future, you know? Once all of this is over…”
A small smile played on Jaehyun’s lips as he removed his arm from your waist. He cupped your face in his hand, sighing. “I wish you could see yourself the way I saw you, because then you’d have nothing to worry about at all. You’re going to do great things, ____. I’m sure of that. But for now, just let loose and enjoy yourself, okay? You deserve to have a break.” 
Jaehyun’s words could bring you to tears. He radiated so much positivity that it naturally rubbed off onto you, especially with the amount of time that you spend with each other. However, there were still moments of weakness, like now, where you’d inevitably think about how things could possibly go wrong. Before you could spiral into a whirlpool of negative thoughts, however, Jaehyun would pull you right out of it by telling you exactly what you need to hear in order to help get you through these times.
“Thank you,” you whispered, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on Jaehyun’s cheek.
Jaehyun made a sound, as if to signal that he was pondering. He pointed at his cheek and tapped on it with his index finger several times. “One more?”
You couldn’t help but giggle at his request, but who were you to deny him? Since you were feeling generous and grateful to your boyfriend, you quickly moved closer to give him two more kisses. One on his cheek, and the other on his lips. The best part was seeing the Cheshire cat smile appear on his face after he’d received his well-deserved kisses.
For the rest of the time at the café, you and Jaehyun were people-watching through the glass window while sipping on coffee and feeding each other small spoonfuls of pastries. At some point, random passer-bys became a part of a guessing game that started out of nowhere. Dating or siblings? What would their coffee order be if they came in here? The both of you had a lot of fun making up stories to back up your answer, boisterous laughter sounding through the place. 
Afterwards, you and Jaehyun continued wandering through the streets now that more stores have opened. An apparel store selling headwear caught Jaehyun’s eye, and he spent about twenty minutes or so looking through the bucket hats. Taking one in his hand, he tried it on and started making silly faces at you while dancing. 
“Stop it, you’re embarrassing me.” You reached a hand out in an attempt to remove the hat from Jaehyun’s head, but he swiftly avoided you.
He held on tightly to the hat. “I think this was made for me. I’m definitely getting it.”
The hat didn’t look bad on him, but it was still… questionable. A helpless sigh escaped your lips when you knew that nothing you say would change his mind. “Okay… as long as you’re happy.” 
Fortunately, Jaehyun didn’t have thoughts of wearing the hat there and then. Because if not, you would think twice about walking next to him.
The next few stores mostly sold vintage items and souvenirs. You and Jaehyun ended up getting matching gnomes that had the initials of your first names carved into it. While checking out at the counter, the cashier made a comment about how cute the two of you look together and that the gnomes were such fitting choices, so much so that they looked like mini versions of you two. With shy smiles, the both of you thanked her before exiting the store. You also noticed the tinge of red on Jaehyun’s ears, but kept quiet about it since you were most likely a blushing mess yourself. 
Then, it was time for lunch. 
You and Jaehyun had previously crafted a mini bucket list, and one of the things on the list was to try the various types of pasta while you were in Italy, so that’s what the both of you had for lunch. It appeared that all the shopping must have taken up a great deal of your energy because the both of you still had an appetite for dessert afterwards, or, rather, gelato was considered a staple so there was no way that dessert could be skipped. 
Although it was sunny, the summer heat wasn’t unbearable so you two were at the outdoor seating area of the gelato café. Within the vicinity of the café, there was a group of children playing catch with one another. After finishing the gelato, Jaehyun dragged you along to them. 
“Ciao! I’m Jay,” he introduced with a friendly smile. 
You introduced yourself to them too and stood behind Jaehyun, hiding slightly. You didn’t have anything against children, but you still considered them to be strangers, and you always had a hard time talking to strangers due to your reserved nature. You barely had any experience with children too so this was still foreign to you.
On the flipside, Jaehyun adores children. You could see it in the way his eyes would light up whenever he interacted with him. Not to mention, he was great with children (an understatement, if you had to be truthful). Seeing Jaehyun with children always made your heart swell, in a good or bad way, you weren’t sure… The only thing you were certain of was that you definitely wanted to have his children.
While you were spacing out, Jaehyun was quick to ask and memorise the names of the children. He played around with them for a bit and made sure to include you as well, the game of catch was never so fun before. However, it wasn’t long before you got tired, so you opted to sit at one corner to watch them. You whipped out your phone to capture this moment, giggling at how precious Jaehyun looked. Happiness looked great on Jaehyun, and you hoped that it would stay on him for a long, long time.
All of them grew tired after a few rounds too, putting an end to the game. While they were busy running around, you discreetly returned back to the café and told the cashier that you would be paying for the children to get gelato. You also grabbed a bottle of water and gave it to Jaehyun, who was perspiring profusely; indeed, an intense leg day it was for him. 
Through body language and very poorly spoken Italian, you tried to tell the children that they could go pick out the flavours that they wanted at the café. You were far too preoccupied with communicating that to them, the endearing look that Jaehyun had on his face went unnoticed by you. Thankfully, the cashier was there to bridge the language barrier and they managed to get their gelato without any hiccups. Before leaving, each of the children gave you and Jaehyun a hi-five, a word of thanks echoing after one another.
Having spent almost the entire day in that area, you and Jaehyun decided to explore another part of the city before catching your train back to Rome. Long before this trip, you happened to stumble upon a website about the top spots that offered a picturesque view of the city. One of which was a twenty minute bus ride away from where you and Jaehyun were currently at. 
When the bus arrived, you and Jaehyun entered by the back door and sat down. You were busy admiring the old architecture of the buildings outside until you felt Jaehyun’s hand touching the side of your face. You realised that he was trying to put one side of his wired earpiece in your ear, which caused you to turn and face him, and you saw that he already had the other side of the earpiece in. Jaehyun was smiling so widely that his dimples were showing. You brought a hand up to poke it, feeling a sense of victory because you were one of the very few people in the world whom he allowed to touch his dimples.
Shyly, you took Jaehyun’s hand and interlocked your fingers together. No words were exchanged between the both of you, but there was a mutual feeling that this exact moment perfectly encapsulated the love you and Jaehyun have for each other. Tender, somewhat otherworldly in a way where everything, like the chatter of the other passengers on the bus, seemed to fade out in the background. 
As Can’t Take My Eyes Off You started playing through the earphones, you took it as an opportunity to mouth to Jaehyun, “I love you.”
Jaehyun’s dimples became more prominent at your sudden declaration. He made sure not to break eye contact with you before he mouthed back, “I love you.”
“Look!” you exclaimed, pointing toward the replica statue of David. It was the first thing that you saw after alighting from the bus.
Jaehyun turned his head to look at what you were pointing at. “Wow, it’s stunning."
The both of you hurriedly walked over to take some photos, which ended up in you and Jaehyun bursting into fits of laughter because he was imitating the statue and posing in the same way. It definitely earned you a few stares from the other visitors, but you and Jaehyun were too busy laughing to even notice that you two were getting judged. 
After snapping a few more photos, you and Jaehyun went to the other side of the square where you could see an overview of the city. It was breathtaking, to say the least, the both of you concurrently marvelled in awe at how it looked like a scene straight out of a movie. You could even spot the street that you two were at earlier in the day, as well as many other famous landmarks. Not to forget, the surrounding trees and mountains made it feel more complete, it was a perfect getaway from the bustling city for some peace and quiet. 
The both of you were standing at the top of the stairs, and you saw that there was a walking trail below. Due to time constraints, however, it seemed more logical to sit and admire the view, since neither of you knew how long the walking trail was and where it led to. Besides, it was a perfect spot to catch the sunset before you had to leave for the train station, so you two sat on one of the steps near the top where you had an unobstructed view of the city.
Like before, you and Jaehyun were listening to music together while holding hands. Other than humming along to the song, Jaehyun would also sing some of the lyrics to you, especially if it was a sweet or cheesy line. 
“Can’t believe I get to be here with you.” Even after some time had passed, you were still greatly impressed by the scenic view, in disbelief about how you could share this moment with your lover. The bright orange hues of the sun added more colour to the backdrop, it felt surreal watching it slowly go down.
“Me too,” Jaehyun replied almost immediately. “It feels like a dream…” 
“If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up from it,” you said while shifting closer to Jaehyun’s side. “Like, ever.”
“I want to stay here with you forever.” Your voice came out as a whisper, because deep down, a part of you was afraid that this happiness would be taken away from you abruptly. 
Yet again, Jaehyun made one of those sounds to indicate that he was thinking, which made you gasp in response.
“You don’t want to be with me?” you questioned, a look of betrayal on your face.
“No, silly,” Jaehyun chuckled. “Of course I want to be with you.”
Jaehyun let out a deep breath, as though he had to brace himself for what he was going to say next. “The thought of eternity feels scary. But if I know that you’ll be there with me, then… there’s nothing to be scared of. I think, for me… forever is where you are, wherever that may be.”
Silence ensued, music playing through the shared earphones being the only source of sound. Jaehyun gulped awkwardly when he noticed that your gaze was fixed on him, but you weren’t saying anything. “Did that come out wrong? I don’t even know what I’m saying sometimes. But I guess I was trying to say that–”
You cut Jaehyun off with a kiss. He smiled against your lips, causing you to do the same. Jaehyun’s hand travelled to the small of your back to pull you in before he tilted his head to the side for better access, going straight for your upper lip to return the kiss. It was slow, delicate, and everything you could ever ask for. You sighed when you felt Jaehyun’s hand running over your skin; he knew exactly what he was doing. Every kiss that you shared with Jaehyun never fell short of being exhilarating, which was one of the great things about love… or Jaehyun. Perhaps, both. 
He was the first to pull away, staring intently at you with a cheeky smile on his face. Jaehyun leaned in closer until he could bury his head into the crook of your neck, leaving another kiss on your collarbone. You wrapped your arms around his frame, hugging him as tightly as possible. You and Jaehyun stayed like this for a while until you heard a lady yelp from a distance away, her loud voice grabbing your attention.
As you looked up to find out what the commotion was about, tears immediately filled your eyes and you had to do everything that you could to hold them back. 
The said lady was standing by the railing, both hands covering her mouth. In front of her was a man, down on one knee, holding out a box with a diamond ring. You tapped Jaehyun’s shoulder so that he’d sit back up, and he turned to see what you were looking at. All of the other visitors were also invested, as everyone patiently for the lady's answer. 
Everything happened so quickly. The lady nodding and getting pulled into a hug by her fiancé, the crowd erupting in cheers and applause–a truly sweet moment to witness. Without thinking much, you blurted out, “that’s going to be us.” 
Jaehyun diverted his attention back to you, shaking his head. Seemingly biting back a smile as his lips formed a thin line, Jaehyun jerked his head to motion at something behind you. “That’s us.”
You were about to protest, pop another question that was something along the lines of whether or not he was planning to marry you. However, you remained quiet and decided to take a look at what he was referring to first. 
Well, it looks like the urge to complain has completely disappeared. How could it not? Rather than dissatisfaction, your heart leapt with joy when your eyes landed on a couple standing hand in hand at the other end of the steps from where you and Jaehyun sat; they were having their pre-wedding photoshoot.
242 notes · View notes
thefreakandthehair · 7 months
Text
@eddiemonth prompt, oct 10th: College | Loser Denial - Heyrocco | Determined a/n: steddie, college au, really just fluffy getting together. un-betaed because I’m challenging myself to write these in under an hour. read on ao3 | link to masterpost on ao3
They say that the most basic human need is to feel a sense of belonging, to feel welcomed. Eddie’s yet to find that acceptance at Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne, about 25 miles southeast of his hometown. He’d hoped that getting away from Hawkins and joining a program for automotive technology would give him a good shot at meeting some like-minded people but so far, it’s been nothing short of a bust. 
Not only is he yet to touch a car because he’s had to focus on meaningless general education classes first, he’s made one friend. One single friend in the form of a lab partner, and he’s not actually sure if they’re even friends so much as they are two people forced into talking on a regular basis. But Eddie counts it, because it’s all he’s got for now. 
Without his high school reputation and the safety of a familiar environment, college is an ominous beast with sharp teeth. Each day feels like stepping into a pasture with no shepherd, but he’s determined not to fail. Three attempts at graduating high school is enough failure for a lifetime. So yes, he counts his lab partner. 
Besides, if they aren’t really friends yet, Eddie would like to be. Steve’s a good dude— not quite his normal type in company, sure, but he’s studying to become a nurse, he’s smart in a quick-witted non-traditional sort of way, and Eddie can’t imagine anyone being on the receiving end of that smile and not going a little wobbly in the knees. 
Alright, so maybe Eddie wants a little more than friendship but he’s only greedy when the end goal seems possible. And determined as Eddie may be, he can’t imagine that he’s Steve type. Some days are harder than others though, like the days when they’re crammed next to each other in the library at tiny tables, or the days when they hang back in the lab to work through their latest experiment. 
Today though? Today is downright painful. 
Today, he’s in Steve’s fucking apartment. Steve’s tiny, off-campus apartment that he shares with someone named Robin who Eddie can only assume is his girlfriend. There are pictures of the two of them all over the place, distracting Eddie from the lab report they’re supposed to be working on. Words jump off the page in front of him as he sits cross legged on the floor with his back against the couch Steve’s sitting on. It doesn’t help that Steve’s sitting so close, his foot occasionally grazing Eddie’s side, his thigh close enough for Eddie to rest his head against. 
Twice now, Steve’s leaned down over Eddie’s shoulders to get a closer look at the data chart, turning to face him close enough that their noses nearly touch. Eddie’s just about stopped breathing both times because his hair tickles Eddie’s ear and he smells so good. 
Molecular weight. Boiling point. Propanol. 
He tries his damndest to focus on his section, opting to take on the procedures and data analysis while Steve works on the lengthy conclusion section, but he just— 
He can’t. Maybe he can’t be friends with Steve after all. Not when he’s sitting in his apartment, surrounded by happy pictures of Steve with his girlfriend, feeling his disappointment grow stronger and stronger. Through his haze, he barely recognizes Steve asking him a question. 
“Hello? Eddie? Earth to Eddie Munson?” Steve nudges him gently in the shoulder with his knee. “We have to rank the order that the pure substances traveled through the column from fastest to slowest, and you’ve got the data.” 
Eddie shakes his head, trying his best to hide his disappointment that Steve can’t be a friend because of his own stupid crush and that Steve can’t be more because well, he’s clearly spoken for and why wouldn’t he be? Who wouldn’t just fall ass over ankles for Steve? 
Apparently, he already has. 
“Uh, hey man, you good? Seriously, you’re kinda freaking me out.” Steve drops his papers on the coffee table and slides off the couch to kneel in front of Eddie. He reaches out and gently tips his chin up, probably checking for some kind of medical issue. 
Stupid nursing program, Eddie thinks. But he just looks up, lets himself be guided by Steve soft, practiced hand and makes eye contact. Hazel, he thinks. I’ve never been close enough to notice that. 
But he still hasn’t spoken and can see that Steve is truly starting to panic so he swallows and finds his tongue again. 
“I’m fine, I’m good, promise. Just uh, just lost in thought. That’s a thing that I do a lot, you’ve seen my notebooks,” he tries to laugh it off but Steve doesn’t drop his hand. He simply slides it to the side, resting carefully on Eddie’s cheek. Eddie’s sure that Steve can feel it growing warmer beneath his touch. 
“What about?” Steve asks, inquisitive. Eddie must be going insane because he swears he sees Steve’s eyes flicker between his gaze and his lips. 
Eddie smiles, mostly fake but there’s something about Steve’s touch that does give him a reason to. 
“Didn’t know you had a girlfriend, that’s all. Got a little lost looking at all the pictures, she seems awesome.”
Not that he’s thought too deeply about how Steve would react, but hysterical laughter wouldn’t have been one of them if he had. But that’s what he sees: Steve falling to the side, his face turning red, his hand slipping from Eddie’s cheek to his chest, and his elbow leaning on the coffee table as his entire body shakes with laughter. 
What the fuck is going on here? Eddie wonders.
“That’s—” Steve tries to speak but takes several tries to get audible words out. “God, she knew that was gonna happen, I owe Robin $20.” 
Eddie sits, stuck in place, his eyes wide and brows knitted tightly above his nose. “Robin? What was gonna happen? $20?” 
“Oh my God, Eddie, I’m— no. Robin is the girl in these pictures, and she’s my best friend. She bet me $20 that the pictures were gonna throw you off and I thought I’d been obvious enough by now that you wouldn’t go down that route. But no, we’re definitely not dating. I’m uh, I’m not exactly her type.” Steve grins and slowly sits back upright, this time cross-legged to mirror Eddie’s position, their knees touching this time. 
“How the fuck could you not be someone’s type?” Eddie lets slip, his mouth moving faster than his brain. No surprise there. 
Before he can take it back, Steve just quirks one eyebrow up. “Well, unless I wake tomorrow a woman… not gonna happen. Did you miss that picture?” 
Eddie follows Steve’s finger that’s pointing to the largest picture hung on the wall, one of them at a Pride event. Robin sits on Steve’s shoulders, wearing a flag of varying shades of reds, oranges, and purples like a cape around her neck. Steve’s smiling from ear to ear, otherwise dressed as he does every day save for the pink, purple, and blue stripes painted on his cheek. 
It’s the largest picture in the room, and somehow, Eddie’s missed it completely.
“So yeah, not really her type. Is that why you’ve been so quiet? And completely ignoring all of my attempts to make a move?” 
“A move? On what?” Eddie asks, incredulous. 
Steve shrugs and leans forward, resting his palms on Eddie’s knees. “You, dumbass. Why else would we study here instead of the library?” 
“Gonna level with you here, I didn’t even think about it. I figured you were just tired of me almost getting us kicked out for being too loud or something! That was not obvious, Steve.” Eddie’s heart pounds in his chest, hope clawing its way through a graveyard of isolation. 
Steve just huffs a small laugh through his nose and bites his lower lip. “Let me be clearer, then. I like you. And maybe we can see if we’ve got as much chemistry as propanol and… whatever the fuck else was on that list, I don’t remember.” 
It’s Eddie’s turn to laugh, wild and free as he throws his head back against the couch. When he looks back at Steve, his laughter lulls to a soft smile. “Jesus Christ, that was so bad and I can’t believe it’s about to work on me.” 
“Yeah?” Steve grins, leaning closer, almost closing the distance. 
Eddie nods, breathless. “Yeah.”
Terrible chemistry puns and pick up lines aside, kissing Steve does feel like a chemical reaction, one that deserves its own lab report. 
His lips are soft, a little chapped to match Eddie’s, but he moves with intention and care, two things Eddie isn’t familiar with. He’s kissed before but not like this, not like his partner is trying to pour affection into him with every movement. Over time, he’ll grow to learn that that’s just how Steve is, all-in on everything he finds worth his time and energy. 
Their lab report goes forgotten in favor of learning more about one another until Robin comes home hours later, thankfully after they’ve washed up and settled in on the couch in a much less precarious position. 
“Aw, man,” she bemoans, dropping her bag next to the door with a loud thud. “I really thought the pictures were gonna cockblock you.” 
Eddie elbows Steve in the side. “Pay up, Stevie. Be a man of your word. I don’t date men with poor integrity.” 
“You two are gonna be the worse fucking tag team, goddamn it,” he mutters under his breath as he lifts his hips up to fish around for his wallet, tossing a $20 on the coffee table. “I don’t think it should count because it was fine once I explained!” 
Robin grins, walking over to the couch and grabbing the bill off the table before making herself comfortable in the free corner next to Eddie. 
“Eddie, I’ve heard a lot about you and I think we’re gonna be really good friends.” 
He finds himself sandwiched between Steve and Robin for the rest of the night, comfortable and welcomed, as though he’s belonged there the whole time. The evening doesn’t end with Eddie making a friend out of Steve, but how can he complain when he finds so much more?
291 notes · View notes
wangxianficfinder · 1 month
Text
Tumblr media
Fic Finder
March 15th
~*~
1. Looking for a post 1st seige burial mounds fic on ao3. It was a wip but it's been awhile so may no longer be the case. In it jc only participated in the siege as a cover to get close enough to his brother w/out endangering lotus pier. Since he leads the charge he finds wwx first and when wwx passes out after destroying the seal jc fakes wwx's death and smuggle him back to lotus pier & hides/kinda imprison him. But the longer they're together the more jc realizes a lot of the things he blamed wwx for aren't adding up (seeing through Jin manipulations).
Jc also forgot/didn't know about ayuan so when wwx wakes up he freaks out about where his baby adopted son is, but by the time jc gets back to bm yuan is no where to be found (implied lz had already got him) but jc and wwx think this means yuan is dead. Wwx is very depressed and becomes Jin ling's secret nanny whenever the kid is at lotus pier. In the most recent updates (at the time) a baby xue yang was introduced.
He saw a disguised wwx in a hidden area by lotus pier playing in the water and is basically like 'I'm cute and small too' and plots how to get himself adopted so he can also be pampered like the wealthy kid. I think there were some alternating povs. Might of been a Lan pov too, creating dramatic irony since both yuan and wwx are alive but neither side knows? Was setting up yunmeng bro reconciliation.
~*~
2. I'm looking for a specific fic, it was modern, WWX took LWJ to a concert of post modern, like synth? Chinese music and I think NHS told WWX about it?? It had some good song recs and I'm mainly looking for the the songs- if you guys could help me out? Thank you!!!! @recombinantdna
NOT FOUND! The Quiet Room by trickybonmot (M, 39k, WangXian, Modern AU, 1990s, Goth LWJ, Cellist LWJ, College Student WWX, House Hunting, Dating, Clubbing, San Francisco, Implied/Referenced Past Child Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Academic Disaster Aftermath, Getting Together, Repressed Teen Crushes to Strangers to Lovers, Homelessness, in the form of couch surfing, background NieLan) in which WWX finds LWJ being a DJ in a goth club in the 90s and it talks a lot about music. NHS is totally an enabler.
FOUND! show me a quiver, give me tonight by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 115k, wangxian, lwj/others, communication failure, mutual pining, artists, demisexual wwx, angst w/ happy ending) WY surprised LZ by bringing him to a performance of an artist LZ likes, H i d d e n f r a g r a n c e who plays electronic guqin. The sample songs can be found in the author notes in Chapter 10
~*~
3. hi! im looking for a fic and the only thing i remember from it was wangxian (canon divergence, maybe arranged marriage but im not sure) in maybe caiyi?? sitting down at a noodle place, and there was a thing about how wwx loved the gusu dialect and kept pestering lwj to say something in the dialect, and he knew enough of the dialect to flirt or haggle so when lwj said an endearment term (i think it was something like sweetheart?) he froze and got all panicky about wwx recognising the word because he froze too, but then wwx just asks if he swore?? THANK YOU SO MUCH IF YOU FIND IT ive been combing my bookmarks and history for almost weeks now and im so close to thinking i made it all up
FOUND? Your Hand in Mine by cerbykerby (T, 20k, WangXian, Humor, Comedy, Pining, cursed to hold hands, Light Angst, Sharing a Bed, First Dates, Embarrassment, Fluff, bathing together, wwx is a menace to society, and lwj Suffers A Lot, Canon Compliant)
FOUND? Fentao-laoshi’s Guide to Cut-Sleeve Pleasures by occultings (microcomets) (E, 31k, wangxian, canon divergence, pining while fucking, friends with benefits, first time, cloud recesses study arc, practice kissing, sharing a bed, jealousy, getting together, confessions, happy ending)
~*~
4. For fic finder: I have lost a modern-au fic where Lan Zhan is in the hospital, in a children’s wing, and Wei Wuxian visits a lot/volunteers there. Wei Wuxian has prosthetic legs and he gets a new red pair around the point I lost the fic. I am pretty sure I found the rec through this blog but I can’t find it again TT Help please!
FOUND? 🔒 some things go forward by everythingispoetry (T, 73k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hospitals, Teenage Drama, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending)
~*~
5. First, thank you for everything that you do ! Your posts and recommendations and "I'm in the mood for" collections have kept my heart and soul busy for years now! I am honestly in awe of all the hard work and time you dedicate to both pages! 🥰
Unfortunately I don't remember much of the summary of the fic I'm searching for, but I wanted to try my luck. 🙈 It was a light modern dom/sub fic where WY accidentally sort of turned LZ into a sub. I think by giving him indirect orders all the time? And nobody noticed until WQ pointed it out? I searched through Ao3 with the light dom/sub tag for ages and then eventually gave up.
Maybe it rings a bell for you? 🙏🤞❤️ @papperlapapp1
FOUND? And They Were Roommates! or The Accidental Domming of Lan Wangji by DizziDreams (E, 21k, wangxian, Dom WWX, Sub LWJ, inexperienced BDSM practices, un-/under- negotiated kink, horny climbing, horny cohabitation, horny on main except by main I mean at a party surrounded by innocent bystanders, Praise Kink, Masturbation, Bondage, Lingerie, Orgasm Delay/Denial, omg they were roommates, Modern, BDSM, debatably a bit of dom drop, Public Masturbation, Edging, Getting Together, WQ has to come in and straighten this shit out)
~*~
6. Okay so looking for a fic where lwj or wwx accidentally summon incubus/succubus wwx or lwj. (I can't remember who was the sex demon or who was the human but it is a wangxian fic)
So, the succubus needs food and it is, unsurprisingly, cum. As in they have to literally eat cum to survive. So the human is followed by this succubus/incubus everywhere they go to including his university.
The human does love feeding the sex demon and even lets him feed in the uni bathroom during breaks.
Does a fic like this exist? Does it ring any bell?
FOUND? An Array of Good Decisions by celerydragon (E, 11k, WangXian, Demon Sex Size Kink, Size Difference, Consensual Non-Consent, dubcon, Tongue Sex, Omegaverse, Humiliation, Mild Breeding Kink)
FOUND? Lan Wangji's Fullproof Guide on How (NOT) to Summon a Demon by fardimensions (E, 3k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Porn With Plot, but not a lot of plot, Incubus WWX, Demons, wwx has a tail, Wings, Interspecies Sex, Bottom LWJ/Top WWX, Anal Sex, Crack, Filthy, size queen LWJ)
~*~
7. for the fic finder: it's a fic (dom/sub canon au?) where wei wuxian gave lan wangji a collar before he died. lan wangji keeps the collar for as long as he can but eventually the leather is too old and it breaks. there's a bunch of sadness but all is well when wei wuxian resurrects.
thank you for all you do!!
FOUND? Breathe Again by Sheehan_sidhe (E, 4k, wangxian, Grief/Mourning, Depression, Breathplay, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, POV LWJ, LWJ Has Feelings, Submissive LWJ, Crying LWJ, Grieving LWJ, Collars, Angst with an Eventual Happy Ending)
~*~
8. for fic finder: my heart tells me it was a modern/modern with cultivation au, but my searches have been fruitless. i just remember our beloved wangxian dancing around each other, and the juniors being there with a similar problem. specifically, jin ling being tested at archery, and sizhui Totally Only There For Emotional Support And No Other Reason.
FOUND? with you, I am home by tellthemstories (M, 47k, wangxian, Modern Cultivation, fake dating for reasons, Meeting the Family, There Was Only One Bed, Casual Domesticity, wwx is oblivious in more ways than one, 'this fic is like emotional edging', this comment sums up the entire fic)
~*~
9. heyI've been looking for a fic for a while.WWX and LWJ were in the turtle's cave of slaughter... they had no energy to fight and decided to do double cultivation.
When it comes to the part where WWX donates the golden core to JC.... during the surgery, WQ discovers WWX is pregnant, the double cultivation generated a uterus.
He is still captured by the Wen clan and thrown into the grave hill.He believes he lost the baby because of this and uses his resentful energy to survive and get revenge.
When he reaches the part at the end of the campaign where the sun falls, he goes into labor without knowing that he is still pregnant.
It's not Omegaverse.
Sorry if my writing is bad, english is not my first language @crazy-tai
FOUND? Impermanence, Transience, Permanence by Best Bepsy (BepsyGray) (E, 39k, wangxian, canon divergence, unplanned pregnancy, mpreg, gore, sunshot campaign, assumed miscarriage, medical procedures, childbirth, golden core reveal)
~*~
10. Hello! I was wondering if anyone here knew of a fic that took place during the Wen Indoctrination? If I remember right, it was only one chapter, set mostly in the Untamed universe because Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning had worked together to make it seem like he was dead for the Wens after being locked in with that dog, but he was grabbed too early and basically paraded in front of the other disciples under the belief that he was dead. If anyone else has seen this fic, I'd be extremely grateful!
FOUND!🔒💖 the universe would turn to a mighty stranger by RavenclawLoki (T, 11k, wangxian, Angst, Eventual Fluff, Some mentions of blood, it looks like someone is dead but!!, it is okay, everything is going to be okay i promise, First Kiss, Canon Divergence, Wwx and lwj know they're in love, They just don't know the other loves them back, Everyone Lives AU, Hurt WWX, Hurt LWJ)
~*~
11. For your next fic finder, I'm looking for a modern wangxian dating reality tv au. It's omegaverse and in the first half of the show, everyone is paired up, but in the second half of the show, it's wilderness survival with the alphas trying to catch the omegas. Wwx is a career omega who is trying to get a cash prize instead of an alpha. @leahlisabeth
FOUND? 🧡 shoot your shot – hot or knot by defractum (nyargles) (E, 51k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Reality Show, Hunger Games Setting, Canon-Typical Violence, Extremely Dubious Consent, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Humor, Additional Warnings In Author’s Notes)
~*~
12. Guys I need help finding this story. So it’s about Wei ying being hit by this memory yao. And he is in pain. So lan zhan, lan yuan, lan qiren, lan huan, Jin rulan, and jiang cheng. They use this spell to take Wei ying bad memories. They hold onto this bad memories because they don’t want Wei ying to go through all of that and remember. Ofc they are traumatized but they love him, etc. sooo please if you know the name write in comments. I have been looking for it for DAYS @zodime101
FOUND? Window of the Waking Mind by mrcformoso (M, 8k, wangxian, LSZ & WWX, JC & WWX, Graphic depictions of violence, Major Character Death, Heavy Angst with a Happy Ending, Sad with a Happy Ending, Post-Canon, Torture, Golden Core Transfer, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, Hurt WWX, WWX Needs a Hug, WWX Needs a Break, Flashbacks, Curses, Night Hunts, Suicide, Starvation, Canonical Child Abuse, Canonical Character Death, Cannibalism, Although it was forced by the situation to survive, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, lots of comfort, Soft LQR, Learning To Communicate, Zidian Spiritual Tool, JC Tries, Reaction)
~*~
13. hi! for the next fic finder — it was sizhui centered! him being raised by lwj but also wwx, but wwx is a ghost. and wwx has no recollection of his death and there was this one scene where he curls up around ayuans body and falls asleep and he wakes in the cloud recesses and i think he thinks he's being ignored? and then there was the whole realizing he was a ghost thing. and also lwj burying his body at the bm. pls help me T^T its Not "the dark doesnt frighten me, its mine" btw!
NOT FOUND! the moon, grown full by Deinde (T, 22k, LSZ & WWX, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Spirits, Identity Reveal, discussion of war crimes, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Hopeful Ending, Homecoming, reclaiming your name and identity, Names, Families of Choice)
FOUND! The Intervening Years by rosemu (G, 11k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, LSZ centric, Parent-Child Relationship, Wangxian is background, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort)
~*~
14. Hi! For fic finder: I am looking for a canon-era fic where cultivators have golden blood and regular people have red blood. When Wei Wuxian loses his core his blood fades to red, which means he has to work harder to hide his wounds or they will give away his core-less state. I particularly remember the scene where Jiang Cheng stabs him in their “mock” fight WWX hides his wound with a cloak. He takes to covering up his body fully from head to toe to avoid showing any scrapes. Then after he is revived and Jiang Cheng whips him he purposefully shows the red blood to “prove” he isn’t WWX, then I think the core reveal happens when Jin Ling stabs him and everyone knows its him and they see the red blood too. Thank you!!
~*~
15. I need help finding a fic, I didn’t get too far into it but I really want to finish it. I think it was a longer fic and I think it’s well known and/or already in a comp or itmf answer. I i remember is that the summary put wwx as a temporary head of the Jiang Clan, from the first few chapters I think he’s tricked/strong armed into this position by JC. He had some Buisness at koi tower or a conference that would take a while so he needed a filler and wanted WWX. I think it’s post-cannon and it had someone insulting WWX in the summary and something along the lines of a statement of spite and a declaration to prove said person wrong.
This is likely a terrible description but it’s all I have. I know I got the og link from this site so someone should recognize it… Help would be greatly appreciated.
FOUND? Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics)
~*~
16. Hello! For the next fic finder I have two fics:
A) the only thing I remember about this fic is that it deals with the "do not speak with Wei Ying" rule. Lan Wangji was really angry when he found out and was about to go yell at his uncle, but Wei Wuxian kept trying to stop him. I remember Wwx threw himself into a pond or down a hill or something to snap Lwj out of it? I don't remember anything else about the fic unfortunately.
B) vampire au where Wwx was a vampire and the lans hunted the supernatural I think? Wangxian had to work together to stop some evil thing. I remember Wwx's backstory was something like: Wen Chao captured him and locked him in a room with a vampire, thinking it would result in Wwx dying (cultivators couldn't be turned into vampires, they would just die). But Wwx had given up his core so he got turned and Wen Chao locked him in a house with Wen Ning. There was a fire and Wwx turned Wen Ning to save his life. I also remember a scene where Wwx tried to go into Cloud Recesses, but the wards wouldn't let him. He thought this meant Lwj wanted nothing to do with him, but it was just Lan Xichen updating the wards or something.
Thank you!
16A)
FOUND?🔒Scenes From Three Winters by LtLJ (G, 12k, wangxian, post-canon, romance, family feels, family issues, family drama, PTSD, body horror, bad parent LQR, happy ending) Wei Ying throwing himself in a pond and down a hill to snap LWJ out of anger at his uncle sounds a lot like what happens at the end of Scenes from Three Winters by LtLJ but it's not specifically the 'do not speak to Wei Ying' rule that's the problem (will probably need to read other fics in the series for context)
16B)
FOUND?🔒hear the monsters calling home by sundiscus (M, 8k, wangxian, Modern Cultivation, Vampires, Misunderstandings, Angst with a Happy Ending, blood drinking (romantic))
FOUND? And you must keep your soul/ Like a secret in your throat by athena_crikey (E, 48k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Vampire WWX, Cultivator LWJ, Case Fic, h/c Angst, Falling In Love, First Time, Reference to Torture)
~*~
17. Hi!! for the next fic finder, I was hoping of you guys could help me find a fic where it takes place in post canon: lwj cultivates to immortality even though he didn’t want to be and wwx tried hard to catch up to him but later on passes away bc he was never able to. Lwj was so devastated and during wwx’s funeral, jc came to pay respects and lwj found out that jc has also become an immortal. lwj says something along the lines of “how dare you cultivate to immortality with his core?” it might be a reincarnation fic but that’s about all i can remember from it. Thank you so much! @makkachiin
FOUND!🔒Closer Than Eternity by Netrixie (T, 26k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reincarnation, an unhealthy addiction to starbucks, Immortals, Self-Doubt, POV Alternating, Minor Original Character(s), Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Temporary Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, not for jc fans, This is not a reconciliation fic) The scene at WY's funeral is in Chapter 3.
~*~
18. Hi! I hope my request will be clear, since English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance. I really want to read it, but I can't find a fic in which Lan Sizhui dies on a night hunt, saving the distracted Lan Zhan and Wei Ying. I don't remember many details, but I remember how the grief of A-Yuan's family and friends was described, and then A-Yuan was reborn. The fic was on ao3. @amelliss
FOUND? Setting Of The Sun by heartsdesire456 (M, 8k, WangXian , Character Death, Or Is It?, Grief/Mourning, Child Loss, Heavy Angst) i don't think it's reincarnation but this sounds similar to
FOUND? Our Son Reborn by RenaFair (T, 103k, WangXian, Mpreg, Deities, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Slow Build, There's smut, Rollercoaster of Emotions, baby a-yuan)
~*~
19. hi, I’m look for a fic from ao3, I can’t really remember the plot but the end was wwx absorbing the tiger seal and in the process made a SILVER core. It happened in the burial mound (I think after the seal was stolen in Lanling but that might be a different fic)the timeline was before wwx’s first death because wen Qing was still alive @teasong
FOUND? ❤️ kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), Kid Fic, teen shenanigans, two a-yuans, Fluff and Angst)
~*~
20. Hello! I am looking for Wangxian fanfiction where Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are lovers before Demonic cultivation and Wei Ying hurt Lan Zhan as in canon later the reunite after 13 years or something like that @abz18699-blog
~*~
107 notes · View notes
justaghostingon · 3 months
Text
In which the Tsarista wants Friends And Furina is the Unfortunate Target
A silly genshin au
So i was thinking, u know how every archon has nothing but respect for Furnia?
What if the Tsarista did too? After all, the tsarista wants to defy the heavens, ancthe only person to get away with that and live (that we know of) is Furina.
And its so hard to find archons to hang out with. She’s still not talking to Venti. Morax has to many shady contracts with celestia, Nahida is a child by archon standards, Ei scares her, and frankly the less said about Murata the better.
So when word gets to her through whatever highspeed knowledge that the archons a seem to have about what Focolors and Furina did, she instantly wants to bring her in as an ally.
But alas! Arrlecino has made an absolutely terrible impression on Furina! So much so that Furina refused to meet her without othwr parties present!
This is a huge failure!
She proceeds to tell Arrlecino that while she’s not in trouble, as she did bring back the gnosis, couldn’t she have been a little nicer?
Just look at Childe! He managed to make a good impression on Morax, and he didn’t even realize it was Morax he was hanging out with!
They still get drinks somwtimes!
If Childe can befriend a god by accident, surely Arrlecino could at least mend bridges with Furina? Furina would be sooo useful after all.
Arrlecino, who has jetted off after getting the gnosis with a sick Childe and most certainly doesn’t have connection to whatever instant gossip communication that the Tsarista has, is very confused
She’s still under the impression that Furina was a cursed human, archon impersonator, and all around waste of space.
Now her boss and archon she respects is passive agressively trying to get her to introduce her to Furina and mad she’s not in her good books?
WHY????
Her general attitude is to point agressively at Furina eating her cake and going “This is the ONE u want? THIS one?”
Tsarista, sighing dramatically, “She’s perfect”
But Arrlecino is a harbringer, and what her archon wants, goes. So she goes back to fontain and tries to arrange a meetinf with Furina
This is of course, completely rejected, and accompanied by a sternly worded letter from Neuvillette saying that Furina is retired and not to bother her anymore.
Arrlecino tries to just go directly to Furina, but is chased away by some very agressive melusines. Arrlecino didn’t even know Melusines could be agressive
At this point, Arrlecino is getting annoyed. Did all their personal meetings mean nothing to Furina? She spent so much time and money on her favorite cakes!
Sure she tried to kill her, but that was one time! She should be over it by now!
But she hasn’t lost her head yet. It’s tiem to use her trump card. The magic siblings!
Lyney is a bit dubious on their new mission: “make nice to furina at all costs.” After all, their last two interactions with with her were Furina putting lyney on trial, and lyney and the gang putting her on trial. Not exactly easy to bounce back from.
But orders are orders, so they give it a shot.
They start with trying to ask Furina for help on stage management, give her invitations to their shows, etc.
Shared interests are important after all.
Bur Furina is not biting. She’s not good at magic she points out, so she won’t be much help to them and their better off seeking others to aid them.
She does go to their performance, but spends the entire time sandwiched between Navia and Clorinde. When lyney and lynette try to approach her, navia drags them into conversation instead as Clorinde escorts Furina out.
So that’s a no go.
Lynette then decides to take the more direct route, of breaking into Furina’s apartment to reach her. This goes understandably terribly, as Furina does not take well to a cloaked figure standing over her bed, saying “the Tsarista wants to talk to you”
She sends her water familiars to chase lynette away.
At this point Furina is getting very paranoid and the magic siblings are at the end of their rope. They break out their last hope: Freminet.
Sure he’s not the most social, but he’s by far the most adorable (in the twins opinion) and definitely nonthreatening.
Freminet’s turn goes as thus: Furina is sitting on a bench with her water familiars playing around her
Freminet sits next to her on the bench with Pers. He doesn’t look at Furina, instead staring at his feet.
Pers goes over to the water familiars and they start playing together. Furina and Freminet watch
Finally Freminet blurts out. “The Tsarista thinks your cool and wants to be your friend.”
Furina is startled, then switches into celebrity mode. Freminet doesn’t seem to mean any harm, but she doesn’t want to agree. So she sets an impossible task. She informs Freminet that she is a very popular person and if the tsarista wants to see her, she must come in person to Fontaine instead of sending minions.
Freminet nods and thanks her, saying he’ll pass on the message. He tells her Pers had a good time, and Furina smiles, certain that she’s handled the situation perfectly.
Exactly one week later, there’s a knock on her door. Furina opens it to see thr Tsarista dressed like a tourist with a bag of luggage. She informs Furina they are having a “girls” week.
Next thing Furina knows she and thr tsarista are sitting at a super fancy cake shop where the tsarista is piling Furina with all her favorite cakes with a beaming smile on her face.
As she resigns herself to her fate of lots of cake and spa activites with Tevats number one most controversial archon. Furina realizes she now knows where the Fatui get their crazy from
The end
124 notes · View notes
blue-rose-soul · 2 months
Note
“Angel Dust cracks a joke about Lucifer wanting Alastor to call him 'daddy' and Lucifer promptly vomits all over the carpet.”
Asksjdjdjhdjfjf Absolutely dying, this mental image is hilarious, I just love this au. In this scenario do you think Lucifer would end up telling Alastor or would he just put that off forever?
In Angel's defense, he doesn't know what's going on! He'll apologize when the truth comes out.
Honestly, I don't think Lucifer would tell Alastor right away. Not that he doesn't want to, but, well... Look, the man clearly has communication issues. He barely spoke to Charlie for years, and when he finally did he still sucked at it. At least, until Charlie snapped at him that a bloodthirsty serial killer was literally more supportive than he was being. He'd try to tell Alastor, but honestly, it would probably take something similarly big for him to actually spit it out. It doesn't help that, even without knowing the truth, Alastor already hates his guts.
On top of that, Lucifer just really really hopes he's wrong. He doesn't want to believe he'd betray his family in that way. Even if he was so intoxicated he forgot what teeth were and was very distressed by the sharp bones in his mouth, he can't forgive himself for cheating on Lilith. And he feels guilty over what he did to Nicaise as well. He genuinely liked her! He enjoyed dancing with her, and singing, and just partying and having fun. Lucifer saw Nicaise as a friend. The thought that he 'hit it and quit it' with someone he cared about, leaving her and their child to fend for themselves, makes Lucifer feel like scum.
So every time Lucifer tries to talk to Alastor, he freezes. He stammers, backpedals, and generally makes an ass of himself. It doesn't help that he keeps remembering the stupid things he said during their first meeting, and oh, the 'bellhop' and 'busboy' comments feel so icky now that he knows Alastor's black. He hears his own voice calling found families 'losers' and feels sick to his stomach and ends up just not saying anything.
All the while, Alastor continues to drive home how much of a failure of a parent Lucifer is until Charlie cuts in and shuts him down. Charlie jumping to Lucifer's defense doesn't make him feel much better.
97 notes · View notes
liveyun · 5 months
Text
𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 ; KSJ
Tumblr media
title. white sand
pairing. kim seokjin x female oc/reader
genre. angst, exes au
warnings. mentions of broken marriage, arguments, panic attacks, hurt/comfort, missing communication in a relationship ; divorce ; non descriptive smut, allusions to miscarriage ; surprise ending?
wc. 3.3k+
listen to : playlist
Tumblr media
masterlist | taglist
Tumblr media
The sky is gloomy today.
Do you want to turn a river in its bed,
Or plant a barren wilderness with wheat?
Warm water ripples underneath your feet, giving you a feeling of you being still alive. That certain feeling of your stomach churning never leaves you, as you inhale a deep breath. This wasn't new to you, at least you knowing that wasn't. Your heart throbbing with pain each time whenever you see colors swirling around your life, but not you. Everything felt blank, everyday was an endless loop.
Your thoughts never ran twice before committing anything, resulting in indiscretion.
You didn't know why you'd visit the beach once in the year when the water felt bizzare to your skin; but at least this feeling of your feet sinking in the soft wet sand, the feeling of the cold breeze soothing your skin calms down your racing thoughts.
If you can meet with triumph and failure
And treat those two impostors just the same
Triumph. You weren't sure of when you met triumph, but failure, for sure was met by you. Failure is the secret ingredient to your success, they say, but when you actually fail, there aren't many who still stand by their quote.
The bubbling pot of jealousy inside, being compared to others, despised, accused of being a traitor, these all were some things which you craved to forget, but some things can't be just forgotten, can they really be?
If you can bear to hear the truth they've spoken
That you stepped right in trap for fools. But when?
They get buried inside your own self, in one such deep crests inside your heart that when even a glance is spared over, your whole self falls into an endless slumber of contriteness. Was it fair to lead on in this way? Pity for others, harassment for your own self. The truth is factual, you have heard it by your own self, and you are ready to accept it all. It itself might hurt but all these things, at least have an honesty within that you haven't been through unfair means to provide you a bittersweet nostalgia.
They say that success and failures are like the two faces of a coin. They're both an outcome of luck with a probable chance of 50-50 for each. Hard work does not always bring success, no matter how hard you put in your efforts.
But they also say that to keep a drowning relationship afloat, you have to put in effort.
It hit you hard when you’d realized that the risk of risking it all can also mean losing everything you've ever had in your life.
It hits you even harder when you remember how the decade old moon pendant still rests peacefully between your clavicles, against the resonating of your heart. You'd wanted to throw that away in the vast ocean, wanting the hues of the blues carry your pain, the memories to a place far, far away from you.
But you never had the heart to part away with something so close to your heart.
It's the seventh year you're seeing the imprints of your feet on the dunes of the damp sand on the same day, every year.
It's the seventh year you're walking alone on the beach with no sounds of squeaky giggles tingling your ears.
You wonder if the pendant still holds the tiny pieces of paper between its leaves which have both of your initials imprinted, or it's faded away like your footprints on the sand with each wave hitting the coast. Like how the castles you'd build together did.
4th December.
Your heart beats like crazy within your ribcage when your fingers feel the gentle surface of the white pendant, a relic which once was the reason for your smile blooming like lilies in a pond. But now, it only reminds you of your failure— your failure to keep your relationship afloat. Of your broken connection.
It's the seventh year you're reminded once again that it's truly over.
It's the seventh year you've realized that you're no longer together with your childhood friend whom you'd married.
It's the seventh year you've realized that maybe you've died. Maybe a part of you has, because till death do us part did not do any justice to you. To your best friend, your husband— ex husband.
It's the seventh year you're living without him, as many would say that you're doing completely fine, maybe only you know that a part of you never has ever stopped yearning.
Never stopped loving him.
You take off the pendant from your neck, gently unfolding the metallic celestial halves. The white paper in both of the tiny compartments unveiled bold, black scrawls with tiny hearts surrounding them.
KSJ ♡ YN
You feel the pain right in your chest, spiraling up your lungs to down your stomach till you could no longer breathe properly.
It's not a vague memory in your mind the day he gifted you the pendant. The event replays in your head like it's yesterday, when you were both young adults with warmth glowing in your faces, in your hearts, surrounding each other with the blanket of love. You still remember how young he looked with flushed cheeks and eyes twinkling under the moonlight, half squeaking, half laughing at some lame joke. His warm, big hand enveloped yours as you two walked to the waves in this same beach, feet sinking to the white sand glowing in the night.
You still remember how Seokjin had made a note of how warm the water was in comparison to the weather, and you'd make a note of how the tips of his ears were a shade of crimson.
You still remember when he had handed you the pendant, smiling so brightly, saying that he's forever grateful to the moon for blessing him, and you still remember the freshness of his breath as his lips touched yours for the first time ever.
You still remember how scared you two were. Having discovered your love for eachother after pining like idiots, you knew you had a lot of talking to do. You still remember how hot his lips felt on your skin, promising you words of affirmation that you both got this.
You still remember how delicate he was at that night of your first time together, how gently he made love to you, and how he coaxed releases after releases from you, gently kissing your heated flesh with each stroke to your skin. How he'd turned to mush after you'd touched him back with the same passion, with the same desire.
You still remember his teary face when you'd met him at the altar, when you'd exchanged your vows of eternal love and fidelity. You still remember how different the kiss you'd both shared felt to be, almost like a seal to your newfound journey.
You still remember how happy you two were. You two had promised that you'd got this together.
You feel your eyes stinging with tears amidst the bitter smile that hangs loosely on your lips, because you still remember the first time when things got hard. Really hard. You still remember the shaking of his dark pupils like an autumn leaf hanging on the tree, quivering with guilt suppressed anger when he saw you flinch. He had yelled at you, for the first time ever. He stroked your back with flurries of apologies as he kissed you to sleep that day.
You remember how any squabbles were silenced without any communication gradually and how any quarrel would be slept on without any apologies from either of you.
Despite the slowly forming gap between you two, he'd still make sure to have prepared breakfast for you when you'd wake up late. How he'd still prepare the vase every two days with your favorite flowers. How he'd pull you closer to his broad chest, lulling you to sleep, or occasionally telling you about his days.
You still remember how slowly the arguments turned to sleepless nights with a fidgeting heart and a choking stomach. How everything was so gradual that it took you time to realize that it was happening, and you'd taken it for granted.
How the loud voices of you both threatened to blow off the ceiling, and how your eyes hurt after crying yourself to sleep. How dark the bags under his eyes seemed every morning. How scared you were when you realized that he was no longer behind you, let alone stroking your back when you were bawling your eyes out as he used to do earlier.
How you'd wake up to an empty side of your bed, how your texts went unanswered most of the time. How every day after work you'd return to an empty home, flowers withered and dead on vases and everything picking up layers of dust.
How you'd fall asleep with untouched food on the table when he'd return back to home late from work. How you'd no longer smell the piping hot food everyday when you'd woken up. You would wake up to the same, empty place, knowing that he had been there, but he left without even sparing a glance.
You'd also miss how Seokjin would return to home with a throbbing guilt in his heart, never putting off the blame in his heart which accused him for everything which has been happening in your marriage.
How his heart would shatter to pieces each time after a quarrel, realizing the situation. How heartbreaking your sobs were behind the closed rooms or the running showers.
But he'd never got to apologize, because a part of him wanted that to come from you too. He'd wonder at times if you thought the same.
You still remember the lone happiness which bloomed inside you after so long when you'd seen two lines on the pregnancy stick after days of throwing up in the morning. How you'd thought that maybe, maybe this could fix everything between you two. Everything which you weren't ready for, but were thrown onto. Everything which you didn't know existed between you two, but was clearly visible day after day. You were positive that it definitely would.
How fucking selfish of you.
You still remember his absence and his ignorance when you were so excited to let him know about the happy news. You still remember the piercing fight which took place when he returned from his three month long business trip. You vaguely remember how you'd cry for him at nights to hold you, trashing beside the empty bed, how you'd throw up and clutch yourself to sleep. How the doctor had already warned you of your difficult pregnancy and to avoid mental stress as much as you can.
You vaguely remember how he'd asked you why do you look so pale. You barely remember the panic, the pain when the conversation flowed to another fight, now you yelling at him. He'd screamed at you that you were a burden to him.
You faintly remember the agonizing pain at your lower abdomen, strong enough to blur your vision and strangle you down to the ground where he'd cried your name as you fell down, and everything had blacked out.
But you actually remember the look on the doctor's face when she told it out loud.
And even clearer, the look on Seokjin’s face.
You don't really want to remember everything else which happened after that. Your friends had taken you home, away from him, suggesting that it's for the best. Some of them had already warned you beforehand when things had started to fall gradually and they emphasized their surmise of the situation.
You don't want to remember anything else which happened after that. You don't want to remember how you'd know that his company had gone completely bankrupt, and how he'd tried his best to save it.
You don't want to remember the time when you'd sent him the divorce papers and the look on his face, ignoring his thin frame, dark bags underneath his eyes which seemed devoid of any light in them, at all.
You don't want to remember all the times he came back to you, called you, texted you endlessly and begged forgiveness for everything he'd done to you but not even once to come back to him.
Maybe he knew already that you wouldn't.
You don't want to remember the time when you'd gone to your once shared apartment to get back your stuff. It felt. . .empty and devoid of any life, your once warm home staring at your face with a cold air around it, partially suffocating you from all the memories you'd created together. Whether they were the happy ones, or the terrible ones.
You'd purposefully ignored the vase of fresh flowers greeting you or all the furniture being spotlessly free of any dust. You'd ignored how your heartstring tugged at you when you'd see that his clothes are still with your own in the closet and how the bed was changed into the bedsheets which you'd bought at the beginning of your honeymoon.
But you couldn't refrain yourself from stepping into his study. Maybe it was because you were sure that you wouldn't be seeing him anymore, and the court would be the last place and time when you'd see him. Maybe because there was a part inside of you which wanted you to hang on for him. Hang on for you, but you'd ignored that, suppressing the voice inside you.
You absolutely don't want to remember whatever you'd seen there anymore. Whether it was the unfinished yarn you'd knitted to a poorly made mass during those three months knitted to an almost finished sweater, or the photos of you both framed on the shelves where you'd previously seen trophies of his youth camping on.
From small kids grinning ear to ear to adolescent teens with awkward poses to full grown adults and your last photo you'd taken together at Ilsan a year ago then as a couple. Each of them rested one beside another and other memories which were caught in small handicrafts you'd thrifted during your small visits to nearby towns in your early teens.
Because that only makes you fall into the endless pit of guilt, again and again, realizing that you'd never heard his part of the story. Your initial anger had always refrained you from thinking that way, but you'd know that despite everything, every effort you two had put into your marriage, had been in vain. You remember how pale, dull, thin and silent he'd seemed at the day of your divorce. He'd just a thin jacket on his frame regardless of the freezing cold outside with heavy bags underneath his eyes. He'd acknowledged your presence with a slow, long stare of his dim, puffy eyes, a small single nod of his head. You'd ignored how much it hurt to see Seokjin like that, but you'd instead decided to move forward, no matter how painful it was.
You remember the silence from his side when the judge had asked him questions about the reasons why your marriage broke down to pieces. You'd held your breath in your chest which already hurt with the constant throbbing.
He'd answered with a voice that you couldn't recognise from the person you'd known for more than half of your life.
“I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most.”
The judge had asked again, why'd he give up. If he knows, shouldn't he be trying to make it up to you? His answer, perhaps, had shocked the judge, too.
“Once a knot gets tied between a thread, the knot forever remains, no matter how much you try to untangle it.”
The actual last time you saw Seokjin was after you two were divorced, sitting beside each other, having signed on the papers which officially meant that you two no longer were married to each other. Your heart felt numb with the pain and your eyes were devoid of any moisture, having exhausted them all within the painful months you'd spent alone with the memories haunting you.
You hadn't looked up at him, and you knew he didn't, too, and you didn't want to. You'd seen his fingers twitch on the paper where he held his pen, close to yours own, but made no further move. You'd itched to say something to him which you didn't know if you should've, but you'd kept quiet all the while.
You'd heard his tiny please forgive me,if you can the last time before you exited the court, but also from the place where you'd relished your memories, a souvenir to your old love.
Tumblr media
You close the pendant with a snap.
It's the same day you divorced your ex husband.
4th December.
It's his thirty-first birthday, too.
As the waves crawl gently towards the white sand of the coast, you exhale in the breath you were holding in. You run your thumb on the craters like designs on the outside of the golden pendant, silently feeling the burden inside your chest now being a bit lighter.
You don't know if you've truly moved on, but the bitterness in the memories doesn't really feel bitter to you. At times they overwhelm you, but it's not intense.
You wonder if Seokjin is doing well.
We were taken from the ore-bed
And melted in the furnace pit—
We were cast and hammered to design,
We were cut and filed to fit.
You don't like nostalgia, but sometimes it reminds you that failure and struggle are the components who develop your character. If anything, it reminds you that mistakes were made and consequences were beared, but it also leaves you with a tingling curiosity inside. Is Seokjin living in the same city? Is he..is he celebrating his birthday today?
Birthdays for him were fun. Birthdays with him were fun.
You don't know. You guess it wasn't really within your imagination to imagine what it would be like for him. You just hope and wish he's doing okay. You hope he has healed well, or is healing well.
You stand up, your pendant still clutched in between your palms, no longer feeling the weight it carried for you, from you throughout the years of your life.
The weather begins to get chillier as the sun slowly makes its way away from the face of the world.
The low rustle of the waves and the slow whoosh of the wind tells you that it's time to leave.
Exhaling a breath you didn't know you were holding on, you turn to exit the beach. A simple smile spreads on your lips when you suddenly feel the pendant slip away from your slightly sweaty palms to the sand underneath.
You bend down to pick it up, and your hands brush against another hand which doesn't belong to you.
A warm one, and an oddly familiar,big one.
A pair of warm, curious pupils, twinkling within the dark pools of coffee hidden underneath tresses of dark hair greets you.
You look up.
“Seokjin?”
His eyes are wide and shaking slightly by the time you both stand up, your hands dangerously close to his which clasps the pendant within. He looks healthier, fuller and he's gained some much needed weight over the years. He's dressed in a white tee and black shorts, and you notice that he's let his hair grow. His cheeks have a flush which you'd notice was new to you. If anything, he looked handsomely young, as if he'd aged back.
Walk down the white sand just to watch his lonely footprints get washed away by the currents. He's trying not to fall back to the habits which tore himself away from him, but he's never been truly free from the guilt which pokes his chest in every aspect of his life.
When he saw you seated on the edge of the coast when he was out to visit the beach that meant the most to him, he couldn't believe his eyes. Every year on his birthday he'd visit the beach in the evening with a selfish hope in his heart, which he knew wasn't rational at any cost.
He used to sit on the coast the whole night, feeling the moon soothe away the burning memories of you. Hoping he'd ever find you, but always in vain. Hoping he could apologize for everything he's done except uttering a small sorry like a fucking coward.
The beach would always remind him of you.
Your hair is shorter than how he saw it the last time. Your cheeks are fuller, and your eyes have their light returned back to their places. You sat there in the same silence which he did at a distance, refusing the rational part of him which told him that it's wrong. He'd promised himself that he'd go away before you'd get up, and you seemed lost in thoughts as he took you in. Even if you two weren't together anymore, he was happy. Genuinely happy to see you okay. After everything you'd gone through. He knew, he was by no means rightful to ever look at you even, because he knew ever since then that you don't need him anymore.
Even if he tried, he could never stop loving you. Trying to be a better man everyday, wishing he could stop time and go back, knowing it's impossible. Everyday he'd wished he could. . . .
Now you're looking at him, and he doesn't know what to say. How to talk. You looked peaceful. You looked happy. You—
But when he'd seen the pendant he'd thought you wouldn't have it with you anymore, he lost it.
“Seokjin?” Fuck. This is the second time you've called him, but he doesn't find the crease in between your eyebrows as he'd expected to. You're rather smiling, a sight which he finds his heart racing miles at.
You don't wait for his response.
“Happy birthday.”
Tumblr media
a/n : happy birthday to our silly moon prince~ hope you liked this one which i actually managed to finish in the brink of time ong
don't be sad, he's coming back soon home! :D as always, reblogs and feedbacks are always appreciated 🌙🌹
121 notes · View notes
wildestheart4ever · 10 months
Text
@stealingyourbones @ashfly
In this AU, Danny is Jason’s paternal grandfather. [Does DP take place in like the 70s if I'm making Danny this old in the current time? Idk, but the idea of changing the era in which it takes place is always an interesting concept]
It takes place in an "Ultimate Enemy" AU, everyone dies and Danny is left a sad bitter drifter [Destroying all Fenton equipment and research, and avoiding Vlad like the plague, every encounter growing more hostile]. To add to the general angst, he’s also basically on a one-man mission to burn down the GIW.
He did not take the GIW into that much account, so Danny spends years being hunted and equally destroying GIW bases. Unbeknownst to him, the GIW had been keeping a very keen eye on the Fentons and their work [not to mention unearthing Vlad's brand of work], and thus Danny seethes at his failure
At some point, he tries to lead some semblance of a human life after sticking to the Ghost Zone and learning the ways of the ghosts for a while [He finally destroys the portals after learning to make portals on his own - if the destruction of Vlad's portal leads to Vlad sustaining a fatal injury, well whatever].
He meets someone, someone he feels he can trust with his secrets, and pursues a life with them. Cue marriage in the courthouse, cue bun in the oven. Cue nice shit for a while that has him thinking everything will be okay
Cue GIW being generally awful [Police investigating, worried neighbors, ransacked apartment, and a missing wife. Cold rage and unsettled officers, his eyes turn red for the first time.]
Dead wifey on a metal table, bun in the oven missing, and cue Danny’s faith in humanity taking a severe blow.
He loses his shit.
Growing older, growing bitter, and his moral compass turning all the more grayer [at some point wondering why he's been letting these people live]. He hunts GIW bases with a bloody vengeance and any stragglers that might've escaped? Well, he's got plenty of hounds and shadows to send on the hunt.
He turns anti-ish humans, bitter and angry.
Years continue to pass and the staggering numbers of agents loyal to the anti-ghost organization grow smaller, enough for Danny to pull back and leave only a few shades to keep a lookout. With that, he keeps mostly to the Infinite Realms, dead and resentful but taking great care of his people.
Why did he never find Willis or Jason? Well, I say it's because Gotham is a pretty strong city spirit, so her ecto signature kinda masks the ghostly residents living there.
Baby grows up to be Willis, but more on the weirder ghostly nonsense side. I like the idea of him being a good dad before things went to shit, teaching Jason about all the ways of the ghost [Not that either of them knew that. They���re not as ghostly as Danny, it’s just subtle things like cores communication and sneakiness]
Jason goes through his tragic events before his and B’s fateful meeting. Cue Jason being noticeably weird and ghostly in the Manor halls [his and Dick’s first meeting is Jason scaring the shit of Dick. One minute Dick is angry and looking to pick a bone with Bruce, the next, there's a child standing behind him staring at him - where'd he come from? Cause he sure as shit didn't hear anyone walk into the room.]
Danny is part of JL, only as a member that they call for hopeless scenarios. He is pretty unapproachable and JL is just relieved he’s willing to help at all.
He's a somber man by the time that first meeting comes around, bitter, unapproachable, and carries a distinct dislike for humans. The JL are only grateful that he's willing to give his help at all. Do they know about his quiet war with the GIW? No, Phantom keeps measures in keeping it all hush hush, he doesn't let agents get the chance to report incidents or call for outside help, in fact, he makes it all look like an accident when he's feeling particularly vicious.
Jason meets Phantom in an apocalyptic mission he wasn’t supposed to be in. Shrinks under the man’s intense gaze and quietly thinks Dick’s opinion of the man is spot on, he’s an overwhelming force and it feels like he’s being stared down by a predator.
He thinks the old man looks kinda sad.
But strangely enough, he also feels familiar.
[I like to think that there’s such a thing as familial cores, that can communicate impressions and feelings, that resonate deeper than a core would with a stranger. Like beacons.] Their cores are the source of purring. Jason's embarrassed to say the thrum [The one he's known and taken comfort in all his life] within him sounds almost like a kitten's purr, questioning, and yearning. The man's? It sounds almost like Willis' used to: Like a crocodile, deep and guttural, a sound so chilling yet feels warm and tentative. Hopeful and just as strangely yearning as his.
I also just get the image of Bambi meeting his dad for the first time lol
Batman swoops in like an over protective parent. Phantom is demanding where did he find Jason, he’s agitated and asking all sorts of questions B doesn’t have all the answers to.
Batman asks for the reason for Phantom’s desperate interest in Jason.
“Our cores share resonance, a factor only found in familial relationships”
Now B knows about Jason’s oddities, has a year getting used to them - but it’s never occurred to him the source or read for them.
The age difference hides a lot, but B can see a lot of the family resemblance. It’s in their bro, the shape of their jaw, the shape of their eyes
The burning green Jason’s eyes turn to when overwhelmed.
Cue Danny finding maybe not the child he thought he lost, but a grandchild and he makes it abundantly clear he wants some involvement in the boy’s life.
And a health check. Gotham may have been able to sustain Jason but she is still a cursed city, god knows how that affected the ghostling’s health.
[If Batman tries to search up every possible thing about the Ghost Kings from his human life, well, it's not like Gotham will tell - heck, she probably helps nudge him along. Gotta make sure Jaylad's last living(???) biological relative would be a good thing in his life]
Jason’s life proceeds as normal, even as he tries to forget the fact he has a grandfather who’s the king of another dimension and that there are now shadows dogging his steps. That's not mentioning the trips he gets to make to the Infinite Realms.
If he grows impish and generally more creepy? Batman nor Batgirl mention it. A far cry from the mischievous demeanor Dick built Robin on. They don't mention how his giggle now feels chilling or foreboding, or how their adrenaline pumps when he exercises his invisibility, Batman refuses the thought of it feeling like a predator stalking prey - he's sure the goons already think that enough as is.
Then you know what happens: Joker has been keeping a keen eye on Batman and his lot, he knows about Batman’s little birdy’s weirdness and……well, he is eager to play with the new toys he got from that decrepit little organization he found.
Cue the tragedy, cue an angry grieving Bat and an even angrier king.
Phantom is there at the funeral, disguised as a human [He doesn't have a human form, not anymore.]. Making it clear to Bruce he blames him just as much for this tragedy.]
Phantom spent weeks searching in the deepest corners of the Infinite Realms hoping to find the forming remains of his grandson. Phantom is only left with the knowledge that the boy passed over to the beyond.
Anything left of his patience for humans snaps like a frayed thread.
The king is furious, demanding why the boy felt the need to find family elsewhere, demanding why he was left alone
He wants blood
[I suppose he turns into a different flavor of Dan, he’s not targeting just everyone, he’s just targeting those involved down from the Joker to what remains of everyone involved with that damned organization]
He basically declared war on them.
Superman in a typical fashion when faced with Batman’s first attempt on the Joker’s life, tries to reason with the ghost.
Phantom isn’t having it.
“I’m going to make this very clear to you, Kal El. The prince of the Infinite Realms, my beloved grandson, the last of my family, has been murdered by a retched human, using weapons designed against my kind. If you think I’m going to sit idle or let you and anyone else get in my way? Don’t expect mercy from me and mine.
Try to get in my way Kryptonian, I dare you.”
Ghouls and shades swarm everywhere, particularly in Gotham [She is facing the punishment of being unable to protect her bird, even if he’s left her reach], the ghost in the cursed city become visible to the human eye as they help search for the Joker.
He’s found, by the king’s knight. Dragged kicking and giggling as he’s thrown at the king’s feet.
The king grabs the retched clown’s head with a large clawed hand and stares the Joker in the eye as he slowly freezes his insides
While many silently rejoice over the monster finally meeting his end, they cannot stand to look as bloody icicles stab through the man from within.
The beheading seems pointless, but watching this man rip off the Joker’s head, they get the feeling the Ghost King could not help the display of violence
He was stating a point.
Danny loses all faith in humanity and makes it known. He's pissed.
Basically, Batman had one job and he blew it, so there goes whatever relationship the JL had with Phantom.
JL is now missing one of their heavy hitters.
Tim watches Batman spiral and Gotham grow more obviously haunted.
It's like a war zone
Jason returns from the dead and Danny instantly knows about it [he had shades guarding his grave, he knows]. Cue him following his catatonic grandbaby and basically becoming a helicopter parent - Ras is kept in line at the threat of his corrupted bath water being taken from him, and Danny vaguely threatens Talia as he discerns her intentions towards Jason.
The Prince returns to Gotham and the shades are supporting his violent hobbies.
Jason's a little thrown off to find that the Joker had been publicly murdered execution-style.
He goes back to his apartment to think and finds Grandpa waiting for him. He's a little shocked and ill at ease at the massive grudge the old man holds for Batman.
Phantom offers Lady Gotham an apology, citing her inability to interfere. But Batman is a different matter.
That’s all I got for now. Lol, this got very long and I wasn’t expecting to be hit with the inspiration, might think of more soon.
I’ll add what I imagine old King Danny looks like in a minute. Is it necessary? No, but I have to share it with you.
How Danny looks:
I know everyone is a fan of twink!Danny but I'm leaning more on Jack's side of the gene pool in this case. The dude is huge, broad, and towers over everyone by several inches [Jason's epic growth spurt makes more sense when you look at his family lineage lol]. You know that thing Walker does where he's normal heights one moment, and looming sky high the other? Yeah, Danny can do that.
His getup? From what comes up at the top of my head: Something between Dan’s suit and lightweight gothic-style armor, spikes, and beady eyed skulls galore. He doesn’t wear gloves so you can see he charred black claws and he doesn't wear a chest plate, so it reveals the tattered remains of the insignia Sam made for him [I’m honestly thinking of Infinity War!Steve, with how roughened up he looks].
He's like Alfred's age, maybe older. He always has a severe frown on his face. Generally looks like he's one step away from losing his patience
Corpse pale skin, almost bluish
Wispy hair. Some say it looks like it's moving like it's underwater, others think it's wispy and foggy lookin' like dry ice. Along with the crown, it looks like his hair is flaming, which he tries not to think about.
Three eye colors: The general acid green - default, pale ice blue - when using his powers, red - when he's really pissed off. There used to be a fourth, the soft sky blues of when he was human. Jason had his eyes, Danny's sad those were gone too.
He has fangys, he will use them. In fact, he can stretch his jaws wide open horror style to reveal rows of sharp teeth.
Claws, he'll use those too. Long black claws up to his second knuckles, cold blue up to the center of his palms.
270 notes · View notes
genericaces · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media
more rambling about a s5 au: lindsey comes back for a redemption arc to act as legal counsel for angel's team. this ostensibly gives gunn a reason to opt out of the lawyer operation, but he does it anyway because he doesn't trust lindsey not to fuck them over.
Tumblr media
lindsey acts as a moral foil to gunn, who comes to believe his necessary contribution to the team (since he's no longer their only lawyer) is being the defender of the group's principles while working at w&h. they frequently butt heads while working on a case, but eventually develop a begrudging respect of each other's respective strengths.
this hostile-to-friendly-rivalry arc is tested when it comes out that w&h was responsible for some demon problem that's been plaguing gunn's home community. gunn has, unbeknownst to himself, been somehow contributing to it while working at w&h; lindsey knowingly contributed to it when he was last working there as a lawyer. lindsey is forced to confront who he was, while gunn is forced to confront who he’s becoming.
Tumblr media
since he was involved in the project, lindsey uses his insider knowledge to help come up with a plan to fix the problem. they execute it, something goes wrong, and lindsey risks his life to ensure the plan goes off successfully. he expects congratulations and a pat on the back from gunn, but gunn isn't interested in absolving lindsey's sins (or his own), and their warming relationship freezes over.
Tumblr media
at some point, gunn lets himself get taken by the senior partners in an effort to deal with his guilt over various lapses in judgment/perceived moral failures. during their rescue mission to the holding dimension, lindsey stays behind in gunn's place so he can escape, assuring gunn that he's the lawyer the team needs right now. their mutual arcs culminate in lindsey rejecting the idea that redemption is done for recognition, and gunn rejecting the idea that guilt/self-punishment is inherently redemptive.
Tumblr media
eventually after being busted out by illyria, lindsey is there to empathize with gunn about losing parts of yourself (body, mind, and/or soul) to w&h, relationships to power when you've grown up without it, and what it means to live with the consequences of your actions. both of them reflect on the nature of redemption/forgiveness/intent as they grapple with how to own up to an appropriate share of the blame.
71 notes · View notes