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takerfoxx · 2 months

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(After)Life: Why the Evangelion Pilots Should Be Left Alone

Hey, throwing this up here before I officially publish it in a couple days as both of a sort of preview and also for feedback. This is the first installment of that Evangelion story that I've been talking about, a sort of in-universe opinion piece to introduce the premise and themes and whatnot. But basically, here's the general idea: it takes place over the course of about a century and a half after End of Evangelion, where Third Impact turned everyone into orange juice (LCL, whatever) and made humanity into a hivemind. Shinji and Asuka emerge onto that beach in a post-apocalyptic landscape like in the movie, Rei herself later returns under very odd circumstances, and after many trials and tribulations they eventually form a throuple. However, as more and more people also emerge from Instrumentality and society begins to rebuild, they find themselves needing someone to blame, and the Eva pilots seem the perfect fit. And since Shinji, Asuka, and Rei are afflicted with a somewhat modified version of the Eva's curse from the Rebuild films (basically, can't age, can't die), they're stuck with it for a long time.

So, basically the idea is for it to be a series of short stories released out-of-order, each of them taking place at a random point of time and touching in with how the trio are doing at that particular moment and keeping track of how society is reacting to them, and vice-versa. So, this will be very different than the more serialized stuff I've done in the past, and a lot more manageable as a result. Any installments will come out whenever I feel like working on this. Anyway, here's the first installment. Let me know what you think.

Why the Evangelion Pilots Should Be Left Alone, by Alice Glocke

One-hundred and twelve years ago, the world died, and ever since then, we have been seeking someone to blame.

A world still reeling from the horrors of Second Impact. A world under constant invasion by extraterrestrial monsters beyond comprehension. A world fighting desperately against increasingly hopeless odds not just to recover, but to survive, to not go quietly into that good night, to plant its feet and declare into the face of God himself that it not only existed, but would continue to exist, and woe be to all that would seek its destruction.

In this, it failed, and the world died.

In many ways, the horrors of Third Impact are less of a scar and more of an open wound, one bleeding LCL into our waters. Yes, we continue to rebuild, and life continues to repopulate and flourish. But though the brief moment in which humanity ceased to exist was now over a century ago, we still have those among us who were forced to take part in Instrumentality, only regaining their thoughts, bodies, and sense of personal identity through sheer force of will, and who had to eke out any means of survival that they could on a dead planet.

In the years following Third Impact, as society finally began to reconstruct itself and climb out of the muck into something that was at least functional, humanity has had to grapple with how to respond to the collective trauma that every person on the planet now shared. There was a great deal of righteous anger and a cry for justice, but with the entire SEELE Council still out of reach within Instrumentality, those cries went unfulfilled. Yes, a small number of NERV employees were found and taken into custody, but those were found to have nothing to do with Third Impact, with only that organization’s highest-ranking members working in cohorts with SEELE. And those individuals also remained out of reach.

And then, everything changed. Fourteen years after Third Impact, we finally had someone to blame. The surviving Evangelion Pilots had been found.

In a way, finding them had been a relief. So much bottled-up anger, so much unresolved pain, and those responsible were beyond justice. Now, humanity had the perfect scapegoats. Essential key components of SEELE’s Instrumentality Project, masquerading as fearless defenders of Earth while working the whole time to destroy it. Shinji Ikari, known as the Third Child, and son of NERV’s infamous commander Gendo Ikari, the man perhaps the most responsible for enacting Third Impact. And Asuka Soryu Langley, Second Child, daughter of one of the Human Instrumentality Project’s designers. And while there had been many to decry pinning the blame on those two, that it was unfair to place the sins of the parents on their hapless children, all of those protests faded away when Shinji Ikari made his fateful confession. It had been he that had been given the choice whether or not to allow Third Impact to take place. And it had been he who had made the decision to end the world.

Everyone knows that image of two young teenagers being led from the UN Council by their lawyers and bodyguards, being pelted with garbage from an angry crowd. Whether they saw it in textbooks, had it sent to them by friends as a meme, or even were one of those that watched it live, this is perhaps the most infamous image of the New World. And for a time, most felt that the anger directed at those two was fully justified. Certainly, the UN Council seemed to agree, finding them both guilty of aiding and abetting in SEELE’s schemes to end the world, Shinji intentionally and Asuka unintentionally. The two were then incarcerated in a “secure facility,” and that was that.

Since then, the condition of the two pilots has mostly fallen out of the public’s consciousness. No appeals, no interviews, no word as to what they were up to or how they were doing. Every single “Where are they now?” op-ed has always ended up as a rewritten version of the same events, with each one ending with “Shinji and Asuka: still locked up,” with the only significant change being the number of years between the trial and the newest article’s publication.

Which isn’t to say that they’ve disappeared completely, but rather they seemed to have ceased to become actual public figures and become more of caricatures. They appear in comic strips and cartoons as grossly exaggerated versions of themselves, usually with the destruction of the world as the punchline. They’ve become symbols, memes, representations of the guilt laid upon their shoulders, little more than villains straight out of a children’s story.

Which isn’t to say there haven’t been voices of support over the years. Asuka especially seems to have garnered a small but vocal following, pointing out that she actually had nothing to do with the implementation of Third Impact, and so forcing her to share Shinji’s fate was perhaps unfair. The phrase “Asuka did nothing wrong” has come in and out of vogue, and in time it seems that she has become something of a symbol of the unjustly persecuted. Even Shinji himself, who for so long shouldered the majority of the blame for Third Impact, has seen a turnaround in how the public has treated him, pointing out that perhaps placing the full blame for what had happened upon a child soldier indoctrinated by an evil organization of adult men is a bit unfair.

However, none of these voices ever gained much traction. Once the trial was over, most of humanity’s attention was directed toward just trying to heal, and there was little room for the Evangelion Pilots.

But then, nine months ago, all of that changed.

The hacking of the UN security files and the subsequent leaks of not only their own data on the pilots, but also all of the files that they had managed to recover from NERV, has been nothing less than earth-shaking. Granted, little had been revealed about the Human Instrumentality Project and SEELE’s designs that the public didn’t already know, though the full extent of their machinations had been troubling. However, it was the data on the pilots that had been the most troubling, and revealed how little we truly understood about the Earth’s murderers.

For decades, Shinji Ikari had been painted as a willing participant in his father’s schemes, Gendo Ikari’s heir anointed and trusted lieutenant. But now we knew the truth. He was little more than a child forced into taking part in a war that he wanted no part in and suffered greatly for. We listened to the recordings of his screams of agony, his enraged curses and threats, and his pleas for help on behalf of himself and his fellow pilots. We read the psychological evaluations of his frequent depressive states, his attempts to run away, and the lack of support that he received. We learned of his own father’s cold treatment of him, and how Gendo Ikari would psychologically torture his son to get him back into the cockpit of his Evangelion.

And with all of this came the truth. Shinji and the other pilots were deliberately abused. Evangelions were at their most effective when bonded with a broken soul. The pilots were traumatized time and time again in order to increase their effectiveness in combat and denied help afterward. In light of this new information, we ourselves were forced to confront an uncomfortable truth. Shinji Ikari’s decision to cause Third Impact was less the act of megalomaniac enacting his father’s master scheme as it was that of a suffering child drowning in a sea of rage and torment, desperate to escape the Hell that his life had become.

Who among us as children has not wished that the world would end at one time or another? Shinji was simply unfortunate enough to have the means to do so thrust into his hands when at his lowest, and he had far more reason to do so than anyone ever could have imagined. And by all accounts, he regretted it immediately afterward.

There is no justifying what he did, no taking back the suffering that he caused. But at least now, people have come to understand why, and feel that he had been unfairly mischaracterized by history.

But that was far from the biggest bombshell to come out of that leak. Just as everyone was coming to terms with what we had learned about someone so long believed to be a monster, we discovered something that pushed almost all discussion of Shinji Ikari out of everyone’s minds.

Rei Ayanami had survived.

If there is anyone among the Evangelion Pilots subject to more discussion, demonization, and blame for what had happened, it is her. And why wouldn’t she be? An artificial human, created by a combination of human DNA and genetic material gathered from Lilith, the secretly imprisoned second Angel, literally created to serve as Lilith’s resurrection and the one to carry out the Third Impact.

Rei had fulfilled her purpose. She had bonded with Adam, the first Angel, and transformed into an abomination. Those who witnessed Third Impact spoke of a monster, an enormous pale-skinned woman embracing the Earth. And there was little reason to doubt this, as her gigantic corpse had been found just offshore of the ruins of Tokyo-3 and sits in the Human Instrumentality Research Center to this day, alongside the recovered remains of the Evangelions themselves, the corpses of the Angels, and the last remaining pool of LCL, containing the souls of those who decided to remain in Instrumentality. Surely, if anyone deserves to be painted as a monster, it is her. And it wasn’t as if she were around to protest how the history books characterized her, as she had perished immediately after destroying the world.

Except she hadn’t, at least not permanently. She had come back, and had been found alongside Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley. The whole time when the UN had been making scapegoats of those poor children, the actual monster had been in their hands, and they said nothing.

However, calling even Rei a monster had proven to be more complicated than anyone could have expected.

The topic of Rei Ayanami’s rebirth is woven into the enigma of her existence. Much has been made of her reincarnation as Lilith, while next to nothing has ever been discussed about Rei Ayanami the person, Rei Ayanami the human. And why would there be? All accounts of her painted her as a cold, emotionless being, as befitting her alien origins. What more is there to discuss?

As it turns out, there is plenty.

We have long known of NERV’s barbaric and, dare I say, downright blasphemous experiments involving the human soul, how each of the Evangelions literally had the soul of a person close to its chosen pilot embedded into its neural network. For Shinji and Asuka, it was their mothers. But what of Rei? What of this artificial person, created from a test tube, born from a vat? What person could possibly fill that role?

As it turns out, it was herself.

Three years after her creation, Rei was accidentally killed by Dr. Akagi, one of the scientists working on the Human Instrumentality Project. Her soul was preserved, thanks to its artificial nature. However, with her death, NERV saw an opportunity. Only half of her soul was implanted within a fresh clone body, while the other served as the core of Unit 00, the first of the Evangelions.

With only half a human soul, Rei’s capacity to experience normal emotions and form human connections was severely stunted, resulting in the passive, almost robotic individual described by those who knew her. She was likewise groomed to be utterly obedient, valuing little for her own life while carrying out her orders with no hesitation. And yet, despite these handicaps, connections did form. Notes from her handlers speak of a growing friendship between herself and Shinji Ikari, one that had NERV’s command concerned. After all, should she somehow break free from their programming, it could threaten all of their carefully laid plans.

This was further complicated by her second death, when Eva 00 became infected by Armisael, the Sixteenth Angel, and was forced to self-destruct before the infection could spread. Again, Rei’s soul was retrieved, but with no Eva to implant half of it into, the entire thing was placed within her new body. And unwilling to risk having a Rei Ayanami suddenly experiencing the full range of human emotions with no prior experience controlling them in such a critical stage, NERV using psychiatric drugs, tranquilizers, and mental conditioning to keep her confined within her customary passive and pliable state, right up until the end.

The topic of Rei’s latest resurrection has also been heavily debated. Certainly, her own recounting of the event has been less than helpful. We know that NERV had a number of clone bodies in reserve should she die in battle, but they were all destroyed leading up to Third Impact. According to Rei herself, a new body was formed by a “her,” presumably Lilith. Another time she claimed to have created the new body herself. But regardless of the body’s origin, following Lilith’s death, her human soul somehow found its way back into the final clone body, where she was later found by Shinji and Asuka, and remained with them for the next fourteen.

Part of the reason that the outrage against the UN has found it difficult to be sustained is that there is a lack of agreement on what exactly to be outraged about, as so much was revealed that turned everything that we thought to be true on its head, causing more confusion than anger. But perhaps the most revealing aspect of the leaks were what has since been dubbed the Pilot Interviews, recordings of the interrogations of the Evangelion Pilots following their capture.

Shinji Ikari’s were certainly eye-opening. Throughout his questioning, he was revealed to be a man haunted by his actions, someone who spent years drowning in guilt and who had only just begun to break the surface. He spoke of his many failed suicide attempts, of begging both Rei and Asuka to put him out of his misery, and seemed completely resigned to whatever justice he was to be sentenced to, though at times a passive-aggressive streak would surface, especially whenever the topic of his infamous father came up. Still, if anything, it was these series of tapes that did the most to rehabilitate his image.

Asuka’s, on the other hand, were anything but passive. If anything, she was downright hostile. It was clear that she did not feel that her and her companion’s capture was in any way justified, and felt compelled to explain her disdain to her interrogators in full, and often very colorful, detail. Nor did she feel the slightest bit remorseful for any part that she had to play in NERV’s atrocities.

There has been some debate if her attitude was warranted, with her defenders pointing out that she was correct, that she hadn’t actually had anything to do directly with Third Impact, while others claim that given the circumstances, her behavior reeked of haughty entitlement.

However, all of that was completely overshadowed by the third set of interview sessions, that of Rei Ayanami.

If Shinji’s were regretful and Asuka’s volatile, then Rei’s were downright unhinged. A far cry from the serene, almost emotionless person that she was said to be, this Rei was fully out of control, at times exploding with anger, screaming curses and profanities and death threats so detailed that they seemed less threats as they were expressed intentions that she would have carried out were she able. Other times she would collapse into a blubbering mess, wailing and pleading for forgiveness. Other times she would enter into a catatonic state, seeming to retreat within herself and not respond to any stimuli whatsoever. And still others times she would sink into a full depressive state, unable to respond with anything more than a few whispered, one-word answers, while frequently asking for death.

Certainly, the tapes of Rei’s sessions were disturbing, and to this day no one seems to know what to make of them. Is she truly the monster that she’s made out to be? An innocent victim? Nothing on those tapes seemed to indicate either way.

However, Dr. Anno of London-2 University seems to have what I feel to be the most likely answer. Rei was someone who grew up as an incomplete person. With half of her soul locked away in a gigantic bio-mechanical abomination, she was kept from experiencing the full range of human emotions, and thus never learned how to control her feelings when those emotions were returned to her. She then spent the next fourteen years thrust into a harrowing survival situation, where her only two points of human contact weren’t exactly the finest examples of emotional stability either.

However, as different as the three pilots’ reactions to their interrogators were, there is one thing that united all three: a fervent, almost desperate concern for the well-being of the other two. Rei was the most overt, with her episodes of rage especially largely spent demanding to see Shinji and Asuka and making graphic threats should any harm befall them, but Shinji and Asuka also frequently pleaded to be reunited with each other and Rei. It is clear that whatever their relationship had been during their time actually piloting the Evangelions, the fourteen years that they had spent together had formed an extremely close bond.

What followed next, we all know. Shinji and Asuka’s capture was made public, with no mention of Rei. Those two were then put on trial before the UN Council and found guilty, with the last time that the world saw them was them being led through a jeering crowd toward the waiting transports. And from there, they were to be taken away, never to see the light of day again.

However, we now know that the trial was, at least in part, a façade. An act. Almost a stage play. A deal had been struck with Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley: take the fall for the Third Impact, and you will be reunited with Rei. And then the three of you will be taken somewhere safe to live out your days in peace. The world needed a scapegoat, and it was to be them. Naturally, they agreed.

At this point, the tide had fully turned in favor of the unfairly maligned Evangelion Pilots. Even Rei was starting to be treated with some measure of sympathy. But it was what happened next that fully won over people’s hearts.

As I said, we all have the image of Shinji and Asuka being led away from the trial burned into our minds. The sorrow on Shinji’s face and the resentment on Asuka’s. The featureless helmets of their bodyguards. The trash flying through the air, hurled by the angry crowd. But what nobody knew until now was what happened when they reached their destination, and when they were finally reunited with Rei.

The nature of the relationship between Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley has, like everything else about them, been hotly debated, though it has been commonly accepted that they were lovers. And it was this moment that definitively proved that assertion, but with a new wrinkle: not only were Shinji and Asuka romantically tied, but Rei was equally involved with both of them.

It feels horribly gauche to comment on such an intimate moment, especially since it was no doubt intended to be private, but I feel that it was this moment that the world fully realized how cruel those grossly exaggerated portrayals in our media have been. These were not monsters. These were not villainous masterminds. These were people. People that loved one another, people that were willing to shoulder the blame for history’s greatest tragedy in order to protect one another, people that gave up everything just to be with each other. Yes, they had done terrible things, and yes, they should bear that responsibility. However, it is now clear that they are far from the monsters that history has deliberately painted them out to be.

But of course, it was not enough to completely upend everything that we had thought that we had known the Eva Pilots. It was not enough to smack us with the truth of Rei’s existence or her humanity. We were then confronted with perhaps the strangest revelations of them all.

And that was that the Evangelion Pilots were almost certainly still alive.

One hundred and twelve years have passed since Third Impact, and though people living past a hundred is not unheard of, it is still exceptionally rare. However, even before the leaks, people have pointed that despite the fourteen-year gap between Third Impact and the pilots’ capture, Shinji and Asuka still looked fourteen, when they ought to be in their late twenties. Was this the result of piloting an Evangelion? Some Faustian deal made with Lilith? A result of NERV’s experiments, perhaps?

Whatever it was that kept their youth, it persisted even after their incarceration. Shinji, Asuka, and Rei lived on under the watch of the United Nations for another eight years, and none of them so much as aged a day. What is more, tests ran on the pilots showed that their cells lacked any sort of molecular decay. Quite the contrary, their bodies stalwartly resisted any sort of damage at all. Any wounds were swiftly healed, any diseases immediately snuffed out, with even complete brain death being nothing more than a temporary inconvenience. A rather disturbing but revealing file revealed that all three pilots had attempted suicide a number of different times during the first few years following Third Impact, with Rei Ayanami especially taking painstaking notes on the various methods that she employed and their effectiveness, which was none. There was some speculation as to whether this strange regeneration would persist in the face of total disintegration, but no one was willing to give the go-ahead to check.

Regardless, the case was clear. Whether it be an undeserved blessing or an ironic curse, the three Eva pilots had been afflicted with some sort of immortality, frozen forever in time from the moment of Third Impact. As such, despite the decades since, they are no doubt living today, unchanged from those historical photos.

Unfortunately, there seems no way to actually check, as they are very much gone. As stated before, eight years into their incarceration, they simply vanished without a trace. A thorough, yet discrete investigation into the matter took place, during which a conspiracy sympathetic to the pilots’ plight was uncovered, with a number of UN staffers close to the pilots found to be complicit. However, no one could say where the pilots were now, as their point of release was known only to a small few, and deliberate effort was made not to keep track of them after they had been released.

Which means that Shinji Ikari, Asuka Soryu Langley, and, perhaps most unsettling, Rei Ayanami, the three most controversial figures of the last century, are currently loose somewhere in the world. Perhaps they are wandering the forests of the Americas, the deserts of Africa, or perhaps even returned home to Japan. Perhaps they took on new names, disguised their appearances, and are now living in some suburban home somewhere, or returned their old life from before incarceration and joined one of the many refugee camps in one of the cities slow to recover. They could be in a small Swedish village, in a cabin in the Australian outback, in a treehouse in the Amazon jungle, or any one of the literally millions of other points on the map.

Naturally, there has been much talk about finding them again, some wishing to make amends and publicly make up for the blame that they had been forced to shoulder, others feeling that they still had not repaid their debt to society and should be returned to imprisonment. And there are still others that do not care for either side, but instead insist that they remain a clear and present danger, that more was changed about them than granting them eternal life, that they are inhuman monsters fully capable of ending the world again and need to be stopped. But whatever the motive, something almost everyone agrees on is that they do need to be found.

And I am here to offer up a dissenting opinion. Regardless of whether you love them, hate them, feel bad for them, or feel threatened by them, the Evangelion Pilots should be left alone. This, I feel, would be best for everyone.

Whenever the exploits, positive or negative, of the pilots are brought up, there seems to be a sort of hierarchy to the degree each one is discussed. Shinji seems to be the one brought up the most, as he is still unquestionably the trigger-man of Third Impact. Asuka comes next, given everyone’s complicated feelings toward her and her swaths of supporters. After that is Rei, who, even before her survival was discovered, still occupied a very contentious place in history as the monster who directly ended the world. And then there is Kaworu Nagisa, perhaps the greatest enigma of them all, a half-Angel/half-human artificial being like Rei, created specifically by SEELE as a countermeasure to any possible treachery on NERV’s part, but was killed by Shinji Ikari before his plans could come about, and yet seems to have played as vital a part in Third Impact as Rei, but by the same token, apparently did not see resurrection like she did.

But there is a fifth name that is often forgotten in those discussions, a fifth Evangelion Pilot. And that is none other than Touji Suzuhara the Fourth Child.

It is not that Touji is totally unknown, but he exists in the public consciousness as a sort of footnote, a trivia question at best. Though he was selected as a pilot and given an Evangelion of his own, his Evangelion became possessed by Bardiel, the Thirteenth Angel, during its first test run, leading to its destruction. And though he survived, Touji was critically injured in the process, and with no Evangelion to pilot, he quietly left the program to fade out of history.

In a way, Touji was perhaps the luckiest one of them all. The early destruction of his Evangelion protected him from having to participate in the mentally harrowing battles against the Angels, and he was spared of being an active participant in Third Impact. Even afterward, he was part of the first wave of people to emerge from Instrumentality, even reuniting with most of his family and many of his friends, going on to live about as full of a life as one could in those desolate circumstances. And while the tides of history have mostly washed over him, some effort was made to locate him. During Shinji and Asuka’s trials, once it was discovered that he was among the refugees recovered from Tokyo-3, there were multiple news outlets attempting to seek him out for interviews. However, they were far too late, as he and his family were long gone.

And I know all of this, as Touji Suzuhara was my great-grandfather.

I have very little memory of Touji. Though he lived much longer than most, he at least was spared the immortality that afflicted the other pilots and passed away when I was six, and what little I do recall about him paints a picture of a quiet, reserved old man. However, in interviewing various members of my family, I was told of someone who made every effort to flee his past but was unable to fully shake its shadow. I heard stories of bullying and harassment in those early refugee camps, of the other survivors trying to blame him and his family for what had happened, much as Shinji and Asuka would be publicly blamed later. It got to the point that as soon as they were rescued and carried away from Tokyo-3, his whole family changed their names and fled, disappearing into a still-chaotic world to find a place where nobody knew them.

In time, they succeeded, eventually settling in Austria. Though they had nothing and did not even know the language, that mattered little as very few of their neighbors had much either, and they were far from the only immigrants wandering in. There, they were able to blend in, carving out a niche for themselves and building something resembling a life, and no one ever discovered their connection to history’s so-called greatest monsters.

But even so, my great-grandfather never forgot. Though he never neglected his family and tried his best to provide for them, everyone that I spoke to made him out to be a broken man, someone who had lost the light in his eyes, who would smile very little and always seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. It was forbidden to speak to him of the time before Third Impact, and the very few times he did talk of it, it was from the viewpoint of someone who never truly left Tokyo-3, haunted by ghosts.

Touji might have been forgotten by history, but he bore his scars. Unfair blame was placed upon my family’s shoulders for what had happened, and we know all too well what it is like to be made scapegoats by the those who need someone to blame for their suffering. And though I have never met Shinji Ikari, Asuka Soryu Langley, or Rei Ayanami, and know about as much about them as everyone else, I at least have some measure of understanding of how unfairly they’ve been characterized. And I am sure that they desire validation about as much as they deserve further condemnation, which is to say, not at all. As such, I feel that the kindest thing to do would be to just let them be. Wherever they are, leave them alone to seek their own peace. Because I assure you, they have paid for their sins in full. They pay every day, remembering their part in the previous world’s death.

And to those who still think them a threat, who still believe that they possess the power to once again end the world despite no evidence to back that up, consider this: they have had ample opportunity and reason to wield that power, and yet never have. As such, perhaps it would be best not to provoke them?

No matter how you feel about the Evangelion Pilots, I see little that can be gained by seeking them out. They have taken more than their fair punishment, and would likely shun any reward. And as the descendant of one of their number, I say, let my great-grandfather’s companions be and move on. We have all suffered enough.

#neon genesis evangelion #(after)life #fanfic #shinji ikari #asuka langley soryu #rei ayanami #toji suzuhara #asurei #asushin #reishin #asureishin

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desultory-novice · 9 months

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Bonus Talk: Storycrafting for Noir and Apologies

So, I keep thinking how funny it is how this whole thing started. I had a chain of ideas at dinner one night: "What if the Master Crown really WAS trying to transform Magolor into Dark Matter? Would he be 'Dark Matter Wizard?' But then, what was Swordsman before he was Swordsman? Hmm. There is that one piece of human concept art he has... and you know...maybe it's the retro anime look or the fact that this series doesn't have hardly any humans in it but he looks just enough like Adeleine that one could think they're related-..."

Back then, "Noir" didn't really exist. I just drew up a quick sketch in Adeleine's notebook that I hope looked recognizably like the human DM concept art. He wasn't in color but given Dark Matter's palette, he probably would have had dark hair, and poring through the wiki - I found at least one Dark Matter incarnation with a purple eye. I also had Ado drop a line that her brother was "bad at making friends" because of that one JP guide and that was IT.

But then... I thought it was sad to draw this poor guy only to kill him off in the backstory without even fleshing out what he looked like (and I was afraid Adeleine's pencil sketch made him look blond XD) so I drew up a quick color pic of him, rendering Swordsman's gear as a normal scarf and coat. Before thecrashman said anything, I hadn't even considered the two of them as living on Shiver Star!

As soon as he said that though, everything started to come together...Now DMS was an overprotective brother taking care of his little sister in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Of course he was. No wonder he couldn't bond with anyone. He was straining under the weight of his responsibilities. He's older. He's supposed to be the protector, so he could never bring himself to tell his kid sister about the things he was going through. He focused on her joy to his own exclusion. A destructive pattern. A fatal flaw for this tragedy.

Twitter readers asked after the first comic how Adeleine's brother even became Dark Matter Swordsman, some suggesting perhaps it was because he died in battle against Zero? I thought a big human-led global effort against Zero and Dark Matter seemed too complicated in scope, so my solution was to go back to where this idea started: he would be the same as Magolor - looped in by a bad ancient artifact that parasitized him before he knew what was happening. Only he doesn't have a Kirby to save him...

At this point, I had to give him a name. I wanted something French-sounding, so he sounded good alongside Adeleine, and remembering the origin of Adeleine's name, I thought to choose something in FL-ese. I combed the lyrics of "Welcome to the New World" back and forth in both English and Japanese. (I was lucky as the song is sung as a one-to-one Japanese audio cypher and I speak Japanese.)

It wasn't easy though. I wanted a "strong" word but almost everything in there was about food or naps. XD I finally found a phrase in the Japanese lyrics, "邪魔できない"/"unable to be interrupted"/"unstoppable" and matched it to FL-ese.

Noruruwa. Sounds kinda like "Noir." And with Dark Matter being "Matiere Noire" in French, well, it seemed all too perfect...!

The rest all flowed pretty naturally from there. If our setting is Shiver Star and Shiver Star exists at the same time as the New World, and it resembles our Earth's globe while the New World doesn't, perhaps Shiver is an "abandoned earth"? One with an angry, betrayed populace and two kids doomed by birth to die a cold, miserable death in a place utterly neglected by the rest of humanity.

Now "Noir" had a good reason to seek out the power that would be his undoing. While I'm at it, why not tell the story of how Adeleine gets her brush? That's magical(?) too. It's no Drawcia's Paintbrush, but neither is Dark Matter Blade equal to Galaxia. So now, we've got the idea for "off-brand artifacts" - found in an abandoned exhibit, perhaps? Maybe Noir wants to get Adeleine a present? He grabs the sword on the way out without even thinking because...it's a dangerous world out and he's got a young sibling to look after.

(Although, similar to the Master Crown, it's hard to say whether it was originally entirely his choice to pick it up...or the sword's.)

But wait, why do the artifacts do the bad things they do? Now that I'd introduced the New World into this story, I had Fecto Elfilis/ID-F86 on the table. The concept that the Shiver Starians were sooo angry at the New Worlders when for all we knew, the New Worlders weren't even ALIVE anymore made me think, "Do we really expect powerful, angry psychic Elfilis was passive that entire time? While they were being tortured? What if...they sabotaged everything?"

I'd already speculated that Elfilis and Void are two of a pair, and you can trace their offshots throughout the entirety of Kirby lore. (If you buy into my Galactic Nova is based on Fecto Elfilis theory.) And seriously, at least half those artifacts have led to serious tragedy. Now, we had a reason for Noir to be doomed by the narrative.

I do HC that everyone who has ever had their soul consumed by an Ancient Artifact had some red in their ledger - and so, I conceived of some for Noir. I didn't and don't ever want to write/draw a "humans are a disease" story, which is why 99~100% of anything "bad" implied to be going on in their lives on Shiver Star is entirely background. That was purposeful for several reasons. One was simply to demonstrate the degrees to which Noir was protecting Adeleine. He would build up more stress and more pain and more trauma while she remains the same throughout. Two is I just didn't want to go into detail about what wretched scenario would force Noir to take another person's life, but it is still a part of his character history.

(I write Kirby fan comics after all! I try to stay within the bounds of what I consider acceptable content to show. Best I can ^^; )

Noir was also just pushed to the brink, despairing in his life and the world around him. He wanted more than anything to escape this life. Of course, Artifacts have this funny way of twisting your wishes in the WORST way. (Screams of joy > screams of pain.) So Noir's artifact transforms itself into a collar he can't remove, with an unspoken time limit to do anything his newfound power could do for him - at the end of which, his body and soul become forfeit to the darkness. Now he has lost all escape routes. Even death only delivers him to a fate of serving Zero, robbed of independent thought and choice and memories of the one bright thing in his life.

Adeleine...

Adeleine still needed to escape though. She has to get to Popstar. This was the most complicated part for me to logic out. In the end, I went with the simplest, quickest, and most brutal method of getting that done. Quietly imply that Noir, resigned to his fate, killed as many people as it took to secure Adeleine safe passage off the planet and then lied to her about everything with a gentle smile.

Perhaps it's because the Dark Matter Blade has affected his mind and dulled any emotional responses the normally gentle (if sharp-tongued) Noir would have to harming people (as again, artifacts tend to twist people in the worst possible ways; Noir is verbally abrasive but his nature is defensive. Now he has only violence to rely on to get his wish) but I also think the look of calmness on his face throughout "Brightest Star", in spite of the blood on his hands, is because he's just honestly happy - relieved, for once in his life - to have at least saved Adeleine. He was already consigned to hell, doomed from a simple mistake born from the desire to do good; to protect. (*) But Adeleine doesn't have to carry either his mistakes or his sins.

His was a character who took everyone onto himself. And he succeeded at that. His and Adeleine's past and their traumas will be buried underneath the unending snowfall of Shiver Star...

...Adeleine departs and Noir dies, his human body dissolved into Dark Matter, rising up into the aether right as the first flakes of snow began their long task of erasing all that has happened...

Rest now, Noir...

...it's The Swordsman's turn.

(*) I consider Dark Matter Swordsman be in a very small group with Joronia and Max Haltmann as the only sympathetic characters to be permanently dead In Kirby canon. Which is another reason why I crafted Noir's story explicitly to resemble theirs. We had a pair of (potential) lovers whose story ends in tragedy and a father and daughter tragedy but no siblings whose story has ended tragically. By fanon, that's arguably Swordsman and Gooey, but that just made him more fit to be this story's tragic brother figure...

In which case, Noir basically HAD to be someone who had a simple wish (to keep his only family safe) ran afoul of an ancient artifact almost by accident in the midst of trying to do good and suffers an inevitable, horrifying physical and mental transformation that would end with his only option for salvation to be put out of his misery...

Curse you, Dream Land 2! :cries:

[Apologies AU] “Apologies” “One Sneeze” “Summer” “A Walk in the Snow” “The Swordsman” “Wonderful Gift” "Damnation" "Salvation" "Unstoppable" "Brightest Star"

[Bonus Illust] “Ugly Scarf” [Bonus Illust] "That's...Funny..." [Bonus Illust] "Full Regalia" (DMS "Gijinka") [Bonus Illust] "Was I A Good Brother?" [You Are Here] [Bonus Illust] "You Won't Win..." [Relevant] “Vestige” (script-only)

[Bonus Text] Noir Facts!

[Dark Matter Painter AU] "It wasn't supposed to go this way...!" "You're a good knight!" "The Body Remembers"

#Apologies AU #Noir (Human-form DMS)#Dess illust #CW: Angst #CW: Character death #CW: Mild Horror #Long Post #Not sure if people would find my creative process interesting or not but I wrote it up just in case!#Dess Ramblings

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rebeccalouisaferguson · 1 year

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Note: The following story contains spoilers for the “Silo” Season 1 finale.

The word “cliffhanger” barely does justice to the Season 1 finale of “Silo,” and if star and executive producer Rebecca Ferguson had it her way, she’d start talking about all the secrets and revelations from the show’s in-production second season now.

“It’s like I’m sitting on these secrets and I think, ‘You have no idea,’” Ferguson told TheWrap during an interview tied to the finale.

This show is the best kind of sci-fi in that the world is so tangible and fully realized, yet it’s all grounded in the emotions of the characters.

That makes me super, super happy. I know it’s sci-fi and post-apocalyptic, etc, etc. but that’s not really what interests me. It’s the drama, it’s the characters, it’s the environment, it’s the world-building. And that makes me so happy when you say that, because it’s what we’ve been striving towards.

Let’s talk about that finale. What’s going through Juliette’s head as she’s about to step outside? At the beginning of the season, we meet her and she’s risking her life for the good of the silo. Now she’s about to step outside and, in her mind, likely die and she says she’s not afraid.

I think she’s bloody terrified. I think there’s such a mixture of emotions that are sedimented inside her. We start off with her wanting to find out the truth about the death of her loved one, of George, and one truth after another. And this is a human being who has sedimented trauma in her life. It’s like everything she touches just either dies, commits suicide, just disappears or doesn’t have her back, like her father basically. So she’s very good with isolating and shutting down. When she takes this job as sheriff, I don’t think she’s prepared for the emotional connection that she will have to things to understand the bigger picture. And everything goes quite quickly, this all happens in one week. It’s not like we’ve lost the Juliette that we’ve seen in the beginning, but it’s a Juliette that’s had to adapt really f–ing fast to be able to get the truth from people. Gloria, the relationship, understanding that the police state is even worse than what she thought, so take all of that to a point of, I guess, exhaustion, and there is no way out. I don’t know if she’s thinking, can I be the one who survives? Can this work? Or if she just thinks, “I’m done.” I think hope is the last thing that loses us. I kept on holding on to that hope, that bit of hope.

As you say, she’s searching for truth this entire season. It’s on the badge. She gets out there, she not only sees that it’s a desolate wasteland, but that they’re surrounded by many silos. She gets the truth but that leads to so many more questions. How did you play that moment?

You know what, I think for me, I don’t mean it to be a simple answer, but I find simple thoughts easier to act out. I mean, you and I can have a long conversation about the philosophy of the human mind, but I think at that moment she’s thinking, “Get the f–k out of there and try and get somewhere else very quickly. I have no idea that the tape is going to work.” And I like that. I like that we’re in a world where we as the audience go, “What the actual f–k is this?” and her looking around, but also the fact that she has no idea — sure the screen is a lie, the screen in the screen is a lie, but what is the screen in the screen in the screen? There’s always the, “I don’t believe anything yet.” Nothing is the truth. I haven’t found the truth yet. And there’s an enormous survival instinct. That is what drives us into the next season. It’s that need to survive, and Juliet is the answer to that. The characteristic trait is Juliet personified.

Juliet also has this selfless quality in that scene with her father—

I just called her selfish in another interview!

Well, I think there’s a selfless aspect to her because her father visits her in the cell. She’s thinking about telling them the truth, but she opts not to. If she tells him the truth, she’s still going out but that would put his life in jeopardy. It seems like an expression of gratitude that she does that, and it’s a growth moment for the character.

I agree with you. When people are depressed and I think trauma happens, and when people close down and sediment all of the things they’ve been feeling, there’s enormous selfishness to it. People talk about how people committing suicide is selfish, I find that too extreme, I find it very sad and sad enough, I’ve had it around in my life as well. But there’s something that happens with grief where we lock ourselves in, and it can be seen as selfish. It’s an enormous protection from what can hurt you, right? And I think that when she’s there in the cell at the end, seeing the father and understanding how lonely he is and how similar they have been, in many ways. It’s an enormous growth into what she becomes later on.

And listen, don’t get me wrong, she does a lot of selfish things in the pursuit of the truth.

Yeah, of course, but also without thinking, and that’s what’s so interesting about her. That kind of persuasion of, “I need to get the right thing. I need the facts. Why is it so f–king hard to run something correctly without controlling? What is the truth?” I love that about her. I relate to that.

There’s also great humor in the fact that she becomes sheriff and then just is so one-track-minded that she forgets about the job of being a sheriff.

I know! (Laughs) But that’s what makes her such a good sheriff. The humanity of it. We forget, we forget to be human. We just follow things by the book. But that’s why we have the balance of her and Billings.

What can you tease about Season 2?

As a producer I sit in the writers room with them, I know everything. I can say that it gets darker. It gets grittier. And it’s literally like we’ve introduced the characters in Season 1 and now s—t hits the fan.

I know it’s based on a book series. Have you guys mapped out how many seasons you would need overall to tell this story?

Kind of, yes we have. But I think we try not to count our chickens before they hatch. We hope. Even with something like “Dune,” for example, Denis [Villeneuve] would have been happy to end at “Dune 1.” He wanted obviously to do more, but things need to be able to end, with an exciting twist at the end of possibility to move forward. But at the moment, we’re taking one season at a time.

#rebecca ferguson #interview #silo interview #juliette nichols #silo #silo apple tv #silo spoilers

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blazesartbloglmao · 8 months

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im so sorry (2023 REDRAW)

heyo

if any of you happened to have checked out my youtube channel and scrolled back like 7 years ago, you'd have noticed that 1) ive got a lot of shitty art lmao and 2) i drew this same image all those years ago! ive included the original below the cut, as a way of showing how far ive come in making art since then.

its honestly insane to me that its been 7 years since the initial drawing and not only has the artwork evolved, but so has the story. ive been kind of working on a comic in the background for awhile now, periodically. my books still take precedent and im very much more of a writer than i am a cartoonist, but id love to make this story a reality at some point, even if it'll take a long time.

ill also feature some context under the cut, but for now, i leave you with a link to the speedpaint. said speedpaint took forever to edit and i actually had to loop one of the songs to make it work

anyways, back into the void i go

lucifer (cream cat to the left) and bloodfang (ginger cat to the right) left the city they once called home with a group of other cats, all seeking to escape the cruel cult that reigned supreme, in a post-apocalyptic world where humans died out long enough ago that they've never seen them, but their elders can remember them well enough.

upon reaching this new land, lucifer, who had once been somewhat in a position of power, finds he feels incredibly insecure about what theyre doing now. this new place doesn't value what he's good at (mostly violence and committing atrocities), nor does it hold his belief that only the strong should live. he takes out his aggression on tuft (brown cat in the background), who is doing his best to intergrate himself with the new group of cats that live there.

bloodfang, who was lucifers best friend up until this point, used to share a similar mindset until he went through a few things and learned everything he'd ever thought true was a lie. he attacks lucifer to draw him away from tuft (who is comparatively weaker than those two) and eventually manages to kill him, but not before lucifer brands him in the face with an impressive scar of his own. and, in the eyes of this new group, as a merciless cat killer, capable of turning on anyone at any time.

pictured in the background from left to right are timberheart, dovemist, tuft, rat, ebony and jinx. some of them need design upgrades tbh lmao

and here is the aforementioned original drawing! from 2016 lmao. makes me feel old. anyways, hope you enjoyed!

#art #artwork #digital artwork #digital drawing #drawing #oc #OCs #cat artwork #cat art #cat drawing #illustration #digital illustration #original characters #cat ocs #cat oc art #redraw 2023 #cw: gore

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sambltrs12 · 1 year

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Samantha Ballesteros

G11-St. Francis

/// Blog \\\

Critique#2

Title: The Road

Author: Cormac McCarthy

Setting: A post-apocalyptic world

Plot: A father and his young son journey on foot across the post-apocalyptic ash-covered United States some years after an extinction event. The boy's mother, pregnant with him at the time of the disaster, committed suicide some time before.

Characters/Characterization:

The Man (The Father)- A survivor of the apocalyptic event and the protagonist of the story.

The Boy (The Son)- A child born shortly after the apocalyptic event.

The Pale Bride (The Woman)- A survivor of the apocalyptic event who gives birth to the boy.

The Little Boy- The apparition of a small child seen by the boy.

The Old Man (Ely)- An old man with poor vision traveling on the road.

The Thief- A man who steals everything from the father and son.

The Scarred Man- A man who rescues the boy after the father has died.

The Woman- A mother who embraces the boy at the end of the story.

The Road takes place after some unknown apocalyptic event has nearly wiped out the earth. In this landscape everything is dead and burnt, the sun is blotted out by ash, all plants and animals are extinct, and most humans are either lone travelers. The man sometimes has good dreams about the past and his wife. His wife had killed herself, trying to escape what she felt was inevitable rape and murder. The man and boy cross a mountain range, where they suffer through snowstorms. On the way observe a truck of “bad guys,” the gangs on the road. The man and boy accidentally encounter one of these strangers. They keep traveling, following the man’s map. They stay there a few days. One day the boy gets a fever, and the despairing man won’t leave his side. They set off south on the road again, and as they are leaving a town someone shoots the man in the leg with an arrow. The boys spends three days with the body of his father, then sets off alone, and immediately encounters a group of “good guys" and they set off together. The book ends with a lyrical memory of the brook trout that once lived in the mountain streams.

The moral lesson in this story is to take care in our decisions, as each choice one makes leads down a road, for better or worse. You will make many choices in your life, and those choices can come with many different thoughts about what could have happened you need to keep moving and keep surviving no matter the circumstances.

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earnestly-endlessly · 3 years

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Cherik angst!

Ooooh the angst!! The cherik fandom has an abundance of angst fics and I could probably make a list of hundred fics to recommend, but these are some of my favourite angsty cherik fics. I should warn you though, some of these require tissues.

Cherik Angst

Everyday Love in Stockholm – tahariel

Summary: Magneto is the ruler of the posthuman world.

His only secret? Charles Xavier, the human he's kept locked in his bedroom ever since his right-hand woman, Mystique, came to him pleading for mercy for her stepbrother, who accepted her mutant form and protected her as a child. The human he started fucking after Mystique was killed in battle, despite the guilt he feels at contaminating even this last promise to the woman who was integral to his life's work and happiness.

Boden’s Mate – kaydeefalls

Summary: "Shaw has information that we need, and we need him alive to extract it," Moira says, and there it is: the job is on the table. Extraction.

XMFC/Inception fusion AU. Erik is an extractor, Alex is his point man. They're assembling a team to go after the most dangerous mind in dreamsharing: Sebastian Shaw. But unless Alex and the team can keep him in check, Erik's desire for vengeance might just rip the whole job apart around them -- and then there's the shade that haunts his dreams...

Ritual Self-Torture – TurtleTotem

Summary: Shaw is King, Charles is his royal consort and Erik is a Knight/Lord. Shaw is sterile but his kingdom can't find out, so he asks Erik to impregnate Charles.

He doesn't know Erik and Charles are in love.

The Winter of Banked Fires – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles Xavier has returned from the dead -- but is lost within his own mind. Rogue has cast aside her own power and doesn't know where she fits in the world any longer. The production of synthetic Cure means mutantkind itself is newly at risk. And Magneto, turned human against his will, is in despair until the day he feels a familiar consciousness tugging at his own

Us – Pangea

Summary: “Charles,” Erik says, and if his voice hits a pleading note then who can really blame him, “Charles, it’s me.”

It takes several longer moments before Charles musters up the strength to answer, breath stuttering horribly as he tries to breathe. He’s shaking, entire body trembling.

“Erik,” Charles says, his voice cracking, “Erik, I want to die.”

Enigma – Yahtzee

Summary: Erik dies, or finds a reversey-time mutant, or a magical time travelling device, and wakes up in the past. This time, though, it's before he ever met Charles - in fact, it's before his mother died.

He can save his mother that one time (thanks to his mastery over powers carrying back), but what does Erik do after that? Does he stick around, or escape and run to find Charles again (and hope everything doesn't go wrong)?

By Faint Indirections – kianspo

Summary: Erik is in his ~50s, and lonely and bitter. He survived the Holocaust and was only ~14 when the war ended; and even ~40 years later, living in a country that helped to end WW2 and the Third Reich, homosexuality is still a taboo topic. Then one day, he stumbles over Charles, who is young(early 20s) and bright and smart and cheeky and full of energy and beautiful. And moving in the same street where Erik lives.

Lonesome on the Shelf – ikeracity

Summary: After three years of marriage, Charles has to admit that his relationship with Erik has significantly cooled off. These days, they're barely ever home at the same time and it seems like every conversation they have turns into an argument. Charles misses the way they used to be, misses the spontaneous dinner parties and the surprise morning sex and the wake up calls in the early mornings to catch the sunrise. But it's going to take two of them to fix this marriage, and some days, it seems as if all Erik wants is to be rid of him.

A fic about rekindling marriage.

When the Spell Breaks – kianspo

Summary: Erik, a high-profile lawyer with a successful career, meets a 21-year-old grad student in a bar, and within a few short months marries him. He and Charles are blissfully happy, until Erik's boss runs a background check on Charles and discovers he's been cheating on Erik. Charles denies everything, as there was no affair, but Erik doesn't believe him and throws him out. As Charles tries to figure out how to survive and stay at school that he can no longer afford and makes a lot of bad if not plain dangerous choices, Erik has to fight his own battle of discovering the truth and winning Charles back.

The Tower and the Hurricane – dreamlittleyo

Summary:(Post-movie AU.) Five years after Shaw's death, Erik's predictions prove painfully accurate. Violence rages on both sides of the human/mutant conflict. In a world ravaged by war, it doesn't really matter who's more at fault. Charles struggles to teach his students a better way, but what choices will he make when peace really isn't an option?

The Attempt – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles knows everything about Erik, knows how obsessive and self-destructive he is, how Erik would do anything, give anything, in his quest for vengeance against Shaw. But he also knows that Erik loves him in ways that aren't exactly platonic.

I'd like to see a completely straight!Charles, out of pure love and care of Erik, initiate a romantic relationship with him. It can be because he wishes to give Erik something positive in his life or because he thinks it might help change Erik's mind about Shaw, the reason is up to author. Also, while Charles finds intimacy with Erik strange and awkward, he does enjoy the new, non-romantic layers that have developed in their relationship.

Apple Seeds – pprfaith

Summary: Charles, Erik, apple seeds and Shakespearean love affairs.

Ashes, Ashes – winterhill

Summary: Post-apocalyptic AU — When the bombs fall, and mutually assured destruction occurs, it turns out that Shaw was right and radiation does enhance mutant powers. Snapshots of the XMFC main ensemble in the time after the bombs: Erik decides to stay, Moira thinks she might be the only human left, Raven is having trouble sleeping, and Charles is losing his mind.

Warnings: nuclear holocaust: death (death in general, not a specific character), cancer, burns, medical procedure, mutant powers gone awry

Five Bullet Points – Sperare

Summary: It was supposed to be Erik locked away in a prison one hundred stories below the ground.

Charles was never supposed to be there with him.

Tequila on a spaceship – faerie_ground

Summary: In 2014, Charles Xavier gets brutally murdered and Erik Lehnsherr spends the rest of his life mourning his death.

In 3014, Captain Lehnsherr and CMO Dr Xavier are colleagues, best friends and maybe a little more besides that aboard the Magneto I.

The Tower and the Hurricane – dreamlittleyo

Summary: Post-movie AU.) Five years after Shaw's death, Erik's predictions prove painfully accurate. Violence rages on both sides of the human/mutant conflict. In a world ravaged by war, it doesn't really matter who's more at fault. Charles struggles to teach his students a better way, but what choices will he make when peace really isn't an option?

Simple and Uncomplicated – Pookaseraph

Summary: Erik and Charles had been fuck buddies for some, but when Charles is in an accident he figured their relationship would be over. Erik's visit to his bedside in the hospital changes his assumptions even as he has trouble believing Erik is sincere.

Lazarus – Clocks

Summary: Erik is 19 when he says ‘I love you’ for the first time.

It would take five long years before Charles says it back.

Broken Eternity – CractasticDispatches

Sumnmary: It starts with being alone. It shouldn’t, perhaps, but it does because, of course, alone is what no one ever wishes to be.

Shout it Out Loud – dreamlittleyo

Summary: (Movie-Concurrent AU.) When Charles forges a telepathic link between himself and Erik, the two men find themselves bound together by more than just destiny. With the world on the brink of war, Charles and Erik struggle to cope with a psychic connection that may well be permanent.

Call Me By His Name – sinuous_curve

Summary: Charles wakes from the absence of noise.

There is an empty space in his room, beside his bed. Not quiet as in an abandoned room, but utterly, featurelessly blank. Like a box made of unblemished, impenetrable metal and Charles knows before he opens his eyes.

The Longest Word – septicwheelbarrow

Summary: "I'm Charles Xavier," he says, smiling from ear to ear. Then he gestures to his wheelchair. "Terminal spinal osteoblastoma, reaper due to collect in a year."

After some time, the man gestures at himself with a sardonic smile. "Same, one year. Lung." And then, reluctant, as if trying to keep his name to himself, "Erik."

I reject your reality and substitute my own. Doesn't really work that way, both ways.

Copy – chantefable

Summary: Charles wakes up without his memory. His sole caretaker, Erik, claims to be his husband, and tells him he's recovering from a car accident on their honeymoon.

Slowly falling for Erik again, Charles begins to regain his memories. He starts to notice strange things about his body, Erik, and their secluded mansion.

Myosotis – SomeCoolName

Summary: When Charles got back from Cuba, he lost the two things which made him stand: his legs and the love of his life, Erik Lehnsherr. Charles can get used to the wheelchair but he won't ever be able to get pass the loss of Erik.

"I wish I never met him" is something Charles says one night, maybe a bit drunk, absolutely wrecked for sure. It's a bit silly but Charles figures out his only solution is to use his own powers to erase Erik from his mind, progressively.

Except one day Erik comes back to the Xavier mansion to win him back. And even if Charles doesn't want to stop forgetting about him, Erik will do anything he can to convince him otherwise.

Das Haus am See – sareyen

Summary: The Lake House AU:

Erik is an estate planning lawyer who takes some time off to get away from the big city after his marriage fell apart. He lives in a picturesque lake house by Chautauqua Lake for almost two years, before moving back to New York City. This is in 2019.

Charles is a famous but very private author stuck in a creative rut, and moves to his lakeside estate for a short while to try and find a reason to write again. This is in 2017.

By magic or fate, Charles and Erik discover that the letter box at the lake house has the ability to send letters through time, between Charles in 2017 and Erik in 2019. Through letters that transcend the barriers of time, Charles and Erik fall in love. Charles vows to find Erik two years in his future, and Erik promises to wait for him. Two years - just two, meagre years.

But, fate is fickle, and time waits for no one.

Appropriate Boundaries – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles has been having serious problems with back cramps in the year and a half since he's been in a wheelchair. His doctor prescribes massage therapy. But when Charles meets his masseur, Erik, in some ways they begin to heal each other. So how do you cross the boundaries between professional touch -- and the personal?

Unbound – Cesare, helens78

Summary: Thousands of miles apart, Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier form a soulbond. But when that bond is severed five years later, they have to spend the next ten years trying to rebuild their lives alone.

Do You Love Me – cgf_kat

Summary: Charles and Erik have been married for 25 years, thrown together by a mandatory post-apocalyptic pairing system attempting to increase and strengthen the population. They have seven children. They have never spoken of love, but change is on the horizon.

A Quiet Riot – cloudstroke (aQuired)

Summary: Erik can't stand the fact that his father has brought home a boy less than half his age.

But mostly because he's madly in love with Charles Xavier himself.

#cherik #cherik fic recs #fic recs #angst #asks #earnestly answers

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bi-bard · 2 years

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Familiar Faces - Jack Kline Imagine (Supernatural/DC's Legends of Tomorrow Crossover)

Title: Familiar Faces

Pairing: Jack Kline X Platonic!Reader, Nora Darhk X Platonic!Reader

Requested: nope

Word Count: 1,255 words

Warning(s): bit of cussing, mentions of kidnapping (Arrow spoiler), threats of violence

Summary: (Season 13 in Supernatural, Season 5 (I think) of Legends) In the hopes of saving Jack and Mary, (Y/n) joins Dean and Ketch in the apocalypse world. However, after the mission takes a bit of a left turn, they try to get home, only for (Y/n) get thrown somewhere completely different.

Author's Note: I wrote a post about this on my fan account as a joke, but it felt like a good break from the serious imagines that I just uploaded.

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

I don't think anything was as messy as the time that Team Free Will spent hopping around alternate dimensions.

It seemed like a simple enough task, considering everything. Get the portal open, get into the apocalypse world, get Jack and Mary, and then, get the hell out of there and slam the door shut.

Of course... nothing could ever be that simple.

As Dean, Ketch, and I ran back to the portal, I had a bit of difficulty keeping up. We had been running and fighting constantly and it was finally catching up with me. My clothes and skin had dirt all over and I was far too sweaty.

"(Y/n), let's go," Dean glanced back at me.

"Focus on not running into a tree," I shouted back at him.

We made it back to the portal with barely enough time.

The two of them ran in without any problems. However, when I went to run through, I was sent flying backward. I felt my back hit the ground hard and roll backward for a moment. I stopped myself with my hands.

I hadn't landed on the forest floor like I was expecting, I had landed on this metal material. I looked up to see a group of people staring at me from around a table. I quickly stood up, staring back at them. Then, I caught sight of someone very familiar.

"Kelly," I asked.

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Who?"

"You're not Kelly?"

"Who the hell is Kelly?"

"More importantly, who are you," a blonde woman on the opposite side of the table asked.

"And why are you so dirty," a tall man with brown hair asked.

I looked down at my clothes.

"I'd answer the questions before we throw you in one of the cells on board," another blonde woman added.

"I will," I promised. "However, your story is probably far less complicated. Maybe a few names.... and the name of where I am?"

"I'm Sara," the first woman replied before pointing at each person around the table. "That's Ava, Ray, Nate, Zari, Charlie, Mick, John, and Nora. You are on a ship called the Waverider."

"A ship? Doesn't quite feel like we're on water?"

"Time ship," Ray corrected. He had said maybe a total of eight words, and I could already tell he was the human equivalent of a puppy.

"Oh," I nodded. I took a few steps toward the table. I was standing in between Ray and Nora. "Well, my name is (Y/n)."

"Hello, (Y/n)," Mick said, reminiscent of an A.A meeting.

"Alright," I muttered. "I am from a different universe."

"God, not again," Nate groaned.

"Tell me about it," I replied. "I'd give anything to be done with this portal nonsense. Anyway! I am a monster hunter. I have been for most of my life. I work with two men named Sam and Dean, and an angel named Castiel. We had... a complicated situation take place."

"All ears," Nora pushed.

"Well, that's kind of where you come in," I explained. "There's a woman on my earth who looks just like you. Except, her name is Kelly Kline. Kelly was manipulated by Lucifer... and it was our fault he was free in the place. He manipulated her and she ended up pregnant. She died in childbirth. I was there when it happened. I promised to watch her kid."

The table was silent.

"Their name's Jack," I grinned a little. "They're a Nephilim. Half archangel, half human. They're incredibly powerful. Their birth ripped a hole in space and opened a portal to an apocalyptic world when Lucifer and Michael fought and when Michael when, he started wiping out the humans. Sam and Dean's mom got dragged over. Jack thought that in order to make things right, they should find her."

"The... baby," Ray asked. I froze.

"That's another complicated part," I replied. "I'll explain that in a minute. Anyway, Jack ended up stuck. Dean and I managed to open a portal and tried to find them. Ended up trying to save someone else. When we went to make it back to our world, the portal... glitched? And then, I was thrown in your ship."

"The other me gave birth to the antichrist," Nora asked.

"Jack's a complete puppy dog," I said. "They're nothing like their dad. They don't call Lucifer that. To them, their dad is Castiel."

"How would the baby call him anything," Ray seemed very stressed about this.

"Jack... didn't... they didn't come out a baby," I tried to explain.

Before I could properly explain, there was some kind of intercom that came on.

"Ms. Lance, there's a new presence on the ship and it's coming toward you all," it said.

"What the hell-"

"It's just Gideon," Ray whispered to me.

"(Y/n)," I looked over as Jack walked into the room. They looked at everyone else and waved, "Hello."

"Jack," I shouted, running over and hugging them. I stepped back and looked for any visible wounds. "How did you get here? How did you get out of the apocalypse world? Are you hurt? Where are Sam and Dean? Is Mary alright? How long have I been gone?"

"Everyone's okay," Jack said. "And it's only been a day. We got another portal open so we could find you."

I let out a sigh of relief.

I turned around to introduce them and saw Nora looking absolutely terrified.

"You... This is Jack," she asked quietly.

I nodded.

"The other me gave birth to them," she continued. I nodded again. "I don't know if there's really a God, but I'd love to give them a swift kick in the nuts."

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"They... They looks like the man who killed my mother," she explained.

"Oh," I whispered.

"His name was Lonnie," she continued. "He was angry with my dad. Kidnapped me and my mom twice and killed her. He tried to kill me."

The entire ship was tense.

"I understand you're not him... but it's... scary. I won't lie."

Jack stepped forward slowly, "I'm sorry that I scared you."

"It's... it's not your fault," she shook her head. "Umm... (Y/n) told us about your dad. My dad was kind of known for being evil. I understand what that can be like."

"I'm trying to be better than him," Jack replied happily.

Nora grinned at them a little, "Good."

"Jack," I asked. They looked back at me. "Ready to head home?"

They nodded before looking back at Nora, "Can I give you a hug?"

She just kind of stared at them for a minute before slowly stepping forward and giving them an awkward hug. They were happy with it, hugging her back. She smiled wider, relaxing a little bit.

When they stepped back, they walked over to me quickly, "Come on!"

They started walking back to the portal. I chuckled at their excitement and turned to the group, "It was nice meeting you all!"

"You too," Ray said excitedly. The others waved to me right before I turned around and jogged to catch up with Jack.

We stood next to each other next to the portal. I grabbed their hand and dragged them through the portal.

"There they are," I let out a laugh when Dean yanked me into a tight hug. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," I stepped back and looked at the crowd in the room. "Oh. Wow. There's a lot of you."

"Where'd you end up," Sam asked from the front of the crowd.

"Oh... I've got a bit of a story..."

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

Author's Note: I would love some art of Ray absolutely stressing out about this baby. Thank you for reading this very silly imagine.

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

Masterlist

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

folklore/evermore Writing Challenge (and Masterlist)

Maisie Peters - “You Signed Up for This” Writing Challenge Masterlist

#jack kline imagine #jack kline fanfiction #jack kline x reader #fanfiction #imagine #x reader #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural imagine #supernatural x reader #legends of tomorrow x reader #legends of tomorrow imagine #legends of tomorrow fanfiction #nora darhk imagine #nora darhk fanfiction #nora darhk x reader

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your-dar-ling · 2 years

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Why Penny is RWBY's Jesus

Don't look at me like that. You all knew it was coming. Yes the idea sounds ridiculous, but RWBY was made in America, primarily written by two cishet white guys. The show is at least culturally Christian. And! This post also doubles as a defense of Penny Polendina's writing, which means positive RWBY content on your dash! So are you gonna scoff at me or let me tell you why?

Well, it all starts with this image that I saw on IG one day. You don't have to read it all, I'm going to hone in on each important part.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Jesus was born crucified. Whenever he became aware of who he was, he also became aware of what he had to do.

This pretty blatantly applies to Penny. She was born to protect Remnant and more specifically -- though this is only commonly accepted fanon -- to become a maiden, whose purpose is only fulfilled when they die. She understands this goal as her destiny. Let's unpack that.

RWBY's understanding of destiny is extremely culturally Christian. Everything on Remnant happens for a reason. This is baked into RWBY's text as a "story about stories." The writing of this show comes to embody this theme increasingly as it approaches its end, as the writers grow and change from their own real life experiences, and naturally improve upon their skills as the narrative progresses. And Penny as a character begins to see to see what role she plays in all of that too, so these themes become diegetic (I could make a billion posts about diegesis in RWBY). Pay attention to that quickening, to that hyperrealization of these themes. We're coming back to it.

RWBY's definition of "destiny" inherently implies The End™. Your "Final Goal." The last thing you do before you die. And everybody gotta die. Salem refuses to accept the death of her dear Ozma, and thus becomes immortal, stuck without a destiny. Without end. So as Salem is the obvious anti-Christ (I mean her name... c'mon), Penny becomes Jesus in her willingness to die.

And this is very important, and not rarely completely missed by those disparaging her story as shock value or fridging or what have you. Penny is WILLING to die. Her choice to die has ALWAYS been the thrust behind her character arc. Penny starts the show completely unconvinced that she is worthy of life at all, but her story in Volume 8 does end in that place; and she literally dies 4 separate times to prove it.

"The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. No one takes my life from me, I give it up willingly!"

The show takes great care to show the difference between Penny's growing acceptance what her humanity means.

Penny spends Volumes 1-3 completely innocent. She is excited to be alive, and wants to forge her own path in the world, but no one values her as a person. She's genuinely shocked when Ruby affirms her personhood. And while her desire for self-determination is something that never fades, right now she is entirely unaware of the harsh realities of the world. Her life is taken from her simply because of the circumstances of who she is and where she was. Completely out of her control. She wanted to live, but did not get the chance.

Penny dies again in Volume 8 Chapter 5 (from henceforth writing these as #.#, so 8.5). She doesn't even make it a full two volumes this time. She doesn't actually "die" here, but it at this moment that her choice, her autonomy, what makes her human, is stolen away. She also falls a from a phbfgillion feet in the air in a flaming, apocalyptic meteor, so. I mean. Anyways this period of her character is marked by the desire to be someone else. She says herself in 8.2: "I was the Protector of Mantle, and now I am much more than that, and I wish I was not." Ruby says "You're still you, Penny," the poor thing, Bestie's depressed. She doesn't wanna be herself. She wishes to live, but as someone with less responsibility and purpose. But not so she can throw all her responsibilities away. Pfft, she's not Raven. It's just that the gravity of her position in the world is now at odds with her desire to protect others. But in any case, those that love her choose to support her decisions and allow her to make those choices, even if it means she dies...and she does, so.

Nnnot everybody is as supportive, and girl actually is suicidal now. This is the ultimate commodification of her person. Her worst fears have come true. She is being literally driven away from her own choices and also towards death, which is not helping with the ideation of it all. Death has officially become a desirable outcome to living, in her mind. She barely makes it half a volume before 8.11, wherein she asks Ruby, who assured her that she could never be anything but herself, to kill her ass and inherit her burden. But! Once again, with the support of those that love her (is it too late to start calling Team RRAYNBOWE her disciples? Add Maria, Winter, and Pietro and there's 12!), she is able to choose (!!) to be reborn as an official Real Girl ™, rid of her depression and completely ready to do what she always wanted to, which was just to protect folks.

The most tragic part of Penny's final death is that she can't do it herself. It isn't random, it isn't the result of who she is, or someone using her, or even necessity. It's a direct result of her own choice to turn around and fight, despite her loved ones' pleas, despite knowing she is meant to die, and this death would be final...and still. She can't do it herself. The real test of faith here is whether or not her family still believes in Penny's RIGHT to choose, even when they disagree with them. It's a very extremely philosophical example of that, but well, remember what I said about hyperrealization and the "quickening" of the story's pace? This is it. Not even 2 full chapters after the last death. And well, Jaune passes, at least. The point is, Penny is not suicidal here. Penny got to choose how she lived her life, including ending it by the hand of a friend. We are all human, which means we all have goals and hopes and dreams we want to achieve in life, which means, we all, on some level, have to want to die a little as well. It's the inevitable risk of life. At any moment, that could be it. Penny was only able to truly live once she accepted it, which is ironic because it seems like some of the audience can't even accept this fact, and Penny is LITERALLY FAKE.

But I'll empathize for a moment. I could see how someone could think, "Penny didn't get to choose anything! She got stabbed through the heart and was left with not enough time to be healed, Jaune was her only option outside of leaving things to fate entirely! That's not choice, that's just awful." And honestly? I'm inclined to agree. But here's the thing: even if Penny didn't get to choose how she lived her life, she gets to choose what it all means.

So call it what you wish: An act of grace. A martyr's sacrifice, but whatever you call it, don't call it an accident. Things did not just "happen" to Jesus. By following God's will, he changed our history. It was God's plan from the beginning.

Penny knew what her destiny was and she fulfilled it. She got Jaune to kill her because he was her only option, yes. But she also got Jaune to kill her because she wanted to die by a friend's hand instead of an enemy's, in the ultimate show of trust and vulnerability. She gives Winter the powers so that she could beat Cinder, yes. But she also gives Winter the power because "You were my friend." Mind you, she doesn't even know that Winter is alive. She just takes that risk because she WANTS Winter to have the chance to escape the cycle of duty and sacrifice that she herself couldn't more than anything. Do you understand how powerful this is???

So after after all this you might be wondering, "Who is God?" Oh if only you cod see the grin on my face. It's Penny. It's all Penny. She rejects Trinitarianism lol. After all, there are 4 versions of Penny, not 3: and 4 is the biblical number of creation (although: you take three 4's and you get the angel numbers, just like Penny is an "angel" watching over Penny, and the 12 "disciples" that watched over Penny herself, but that's a bit more tinfoil hat behavior than I'm used to)! So just as Jesus died for our sins, the world of Remnant is created in Penny's image. They call it "The Final Word" for a reason.

Amen.

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby8 #rwby v8 #rwby volume 8 #rwby volume 8 spoilers #rwby analysis #rwby meta #rwby penny #penny polendina #long post #and im not even a practicing christian #this goes out to that one christian rwby fan on twitter. you know the one.#cinder is judas. i mean obviously.

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astridianmayfly · 3 years

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The Magnus Archives IS a Podcast-- How The Web Literally Wrote This Story

So we’ve all listened to MAG 197 (if you haven’t READ NO FURTHER!) but I am genuinely serious about the topic of this post!

I’ve seen a lot of predictions swirling around regarding the nature of MAG 200, and a lot of us seem to think that the next universe the fears are going to defect to is ours. Frankly, I agree-- but I’d like to put forth what I think is a more specific theory about the way that events will ensue.

All 4 Magnus seasons follow a predictable pattern in terms of their episodes-- the second to last is action-packed and climatic where the last episode (ALWAYS statement form) is the resolution. MAG 200 will be in statement form in some way or another, not straight dialogue. Jonny’s a writer who enjoys parallelism, and finishing the series with a statement is both a reflection of Magnus’s unique medium and the precedents of the previous seasons.

The question here is what will this statement be ABOUT? Everything’s wrapped up. All of the strings will be tied. Unlike the previous seasons, where cliffhangers and anxiety regarding the outcome of the next season were horror fuel, MAG 200 has to have that little bit of loose thread to stir something in the audience. So what’ll MAG 200 be?

A warning.

Not just any warning, though. It’ll be Jon’s statement to us, the residents of the world the fears have defected to, and I’ll go as far as to say that it’ll directly parallel MAG 161 (Gertrude’s warning to the future archivist, with a possible dialogue interlude from the past aka post-change Scottish Safehouse era.) I think it’ll finish off his character arc, explain why he’s using the tape to record this statement (as a throwback to MAG 1!) and stir up some terror (”if you’re hearing this....”)

Don’t forget--the tapes are the web, and therefore malevolent in nature. I find it incredibly unlikely that anything will be recorded after the world changes back-- the tapes will ideally be sucked into the hole on Hilltop Road if all goes well. If the tapes go into the hole, though? That’s how we’ll get to hear Jon’s statement and are hearing this entire story contextualizing it.

But wait! I hear you saying. The tapes are web! How the fuck would we be hearing this if the web’s behind it ALL?? Why would they want us to hear about this story and the people who stood against them?

Well. Hm. MAG 197 gave us a big fat clue. Well, two clues, actually:

ANNABELLE

We found the one we believed most likely to bring about their manifestation. We marked him young, guided his path as best we could. And then, we took his voice.

ARCHIVIST

No…

ANNABELLE

His, and those he walked with. We inscribed them on shining strands of word and meaning, and used them to weave a web which cast itself out through the gate and beyond our universe. So that when the Fears heard that voice, and came in their terrible glory, they might then travel out along it.

Or be dragged.

BASIRA

Is she talking about the tapes?

ARCHIVIST

Yes.

AND

ARCHIVIST

We can pass them our apocalypse.

ANNABELLE

Nothing so extreme. In these new worlds they would exist as they used to in ours, lurking just beyond the threshold.

ARCHIVIST

Until someone is stupid enough to release them there, as well.

ANNABELLE

Perhaps. Even the Mother cannot see the future. Only try to shape it.

All of this is very interesting phrasing.

Let’s break it down. Part I almost seems like... a writer. “Inscribing words of meaning?” It’s a very interesting choice of words to describe the Web’s MO--spiders “weave” rather than “inscribe.”

The first time I heard this paragraph, I thought she was referring to the Change of MAG 160, what with the “door opening” and all and Jon’s inability to stop reading the statement. And while I feel as if this statement absolutely confirms that the Web was what forced Jon to keep reading (Jonah being in somewhat of kahoots with the Web but not understanding its entire plan is a theory for another day) I think that there’s a lot more here than that. The Web didn’t just “take his [Jon’s] voice”, it took the voices of “those he walked with.” Literally everyone else Jon has interacted with--most notably the main cast. Jon became the narrator or rather the Archivist. Unbeknownst to him and the others on tape, their stolen voices were “cast through the gate and beyond our universe.” Guys. That’s us. We’re the ones listening to this from beyond the TMA universe.

The Web used the podcast to form a bond with our reality that the fears could use as a PATH when the apocalypse stops in the world of TMA. When we all started listening, we got dragged in. Like a fly caught in a web. LIKE PREY TO THE LURE OF AN ANGLERFISH.

Basira and Jon’s next lines basically confirm this, too. Basira specifically asks if Annabelle’s talking about the tapes. Jon says yes, and doesn’t elaborate further. It’s a perfect indication that Annabelle’s not talking about the one-off accidental kickstarting of the apocalypse--Jon would clarify that if she was. She’s talking about the fact that literally every moment they had of the crew on record formed a tether with our reality.

Part II provides even more insight into the why. WHY would the web want to tell us the story about The Magnus Archives? What’s the ulterior motive here?

It’s simple: The Web (and the fears) do not want to die and probably want to live in our dimension for a very long time. As Annabelle says--they can only try to “shape the future”, and they will do all they can to survive. The Web is the system incarnate, and for the Web, it’s all a show. The Web feeds off of its victims by pushing them in directions and gaslighting them by telling them they’re where they are because of their actions and their actions alone. It doesn’t think like us. The Web thinks that we will take The Tragedy of Jonathan “I refuse to become another mystery” Sims like the Web domain audience received the tragedy of Francis: Through laughter. As something to be mocked or scorned. The Web thinks we’ll see Jon himself as a cautionary tale. Someone who (from the beginning) was too curious for their own good. After all--Jon marked himself with the impulsive decisions he made-- grabbing the tape with the worms, breaking the table, going out for a cigarette confronting the avatars, entering Michael’s corridors, etc etc. Look how many people died! Look how the world suffered! It’s because he was “beholding,” he questioned the world around him, he made people uncomfortable by holding the system accountable. He “made the choice.” He opened the door.

But that’s just it! That’s ALL BULLSHIT, and we know it! And that’s how this fits into the heart of TMA. The recurring thematic elements of choices and consequences and free will and the beloved capitalism metaphor. This is why slightly breaking the fourth wall works so fucking well for this story. We have empathy, unlike the system, and it’s our pathos that will inadvertently help us kill the Web in our own world!

Individuals are not born apocalyptic lynchpins. They’re made, pushed, into becoming monsters and/or helpless witnesses to horrors of uncontrollable magnitudes. The individual is not the evil. It’s the brutal, ugly system that has us tearing at each other, mocking each other, blaming one another for universal maladies. The status quo would listen to The Magnus Archives like it’s teaching you to keep your head down and stay out of trouble. People, real people, listen to The Magnus Archives and hear the words of over a hundred unique statement givers, Tim’s jokes, Jon’s protectiveness over Sasha’s memory, [fabric rustles], and What the Girlfriend’s conversations. The love, not the loss, is more audible than the warning that fearlessness is shortsighted and silly in the insignificant blip of human life. (That’s what the spiders want you to think!)

#the magnus archives #took me two hours to write this bye #tma #tma vague #tma season s5 spoilers #tma theory #the magnus archives season 5 #jonmartin #wtgfs #tma spoilers #tma season 5 #tma season five #jmart #tma meta #tma predictions #mag 197 #the web #tw unreality #unreality

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oldbay-on-apples · 3 years

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Dystopian Larry Fic Rec

Inspired by some of the lovely people and fic recers on here, I’ve decided to start making my own fic recs. If you’d like, you can request recs in my inbox and I’ll see what I can do <3!

Please read the ratings and tags to these fics (because some of them are dark or have dark themes) and enjoy!

You Try To Be Everything (I Need) by lululawrence - @lululawrence (NR, 36k)

Wars, and rumours of wars, were nothing new for the world in the twenty-fourth century. The fighting had evolved over the years, and rarely did it involve traditional weapons. A group most widely known as the Southern Powers gained strength amongst portions of the western European continent and spread quickly. There was a fight the Southern Powers didn’t expect coming from the north of England, though. Resistance came in the form of an organised underground; a group comprised of people with the Touch that did the best they could to enforce a line that would not be crossed. Slowly, that line was moved from the Channel to boundaries further and further north. It seemed only a matter of time before the Southern Powers took over everywhere. Until that time, people did the best they could to live their lives in some semblance of normality. For Louis Tomlinson, that sense of normality was about to change when his best friend, Harry Styles, goes missing. Louis embarks on the journey of a lifetime where he uses his newly developed abilities to search for his friend, even when it takes him to places he never thought he would see while surmounting trials he never could have imagined. -

I loved the way the magic and technology in this fic intersected in such a unique way and the way the world was built was extraordinary!

red hands by reveries_passions - @dystopianharry (T, 132k)

I’ve never told anyone,” Harry murmurs, voice so soft no one else would be able to hear, if it wasn’t just the two of them. “But you’ve told someone,” Louis says firmly. “And that’s not gonna fucking happen around here. You don’t speak a word of it, or someone’s going to kill you, and we can’t let that happen.” * a dystopian au in which harry, an ex-soldier who’s escaped from his government run camp, accidentally stumbles across the biggest rebel movement in the country, and louis, one of the rebellion’s mysterious leaders who appears to hate him, seems to simultaneously have an obsession with keeping him alive. or: harry is wanted for treason, niall hasn’t changed in four years, liam is always smiling, and louis is angry. like, really angry.

- The plot of this is just *chef’s kiss* in so many ways! I love the way the characters interact with each other and I’m weak for Niall and Harry’s friendship in this.

Love After the End of the World by writing_practice - @mercurial-madhouse (E 158k)

“Wait. Just so I’m clear in me fucking noggin,” Niall says. “An international worldwide takeover is well under way and the only thing standing between having hot showers and a second end of the world is us five fuckers?” ----- Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda. When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

This just came out in the most recent Big Bang (that’s still on going so you should definitely check that out) and this fic is so amazing! I think it does a great job of just really immersing you in the world the characters exist in. Love After the End of the World is also a Soulmate AU and I love the way those parts come together. It also has an amazing prologue called PROMETHEUS RISING (M 5k) that I enjoyed immensely set in the same world!

at last, at last by suspendrs - @suspendrs (NR 41k) Locked

“Come with us,” Tommo says, stopping at the other end of the gymnasium, near the doors. “Don’t let them make you suffer any longer. Come with us, and be human.”

Before Harry has even finished thinking it through, he’s on his feet, gaining the attention of every single person in the gymnasium. What has he got to lose, anyway?

Or, Harry is born into a cult in a post-apocalyptic world, and Louis is the leader of the rebel group tasked with the mission of shutting them down. Together, they make a rather effective team.

This fic does a great job of making you feel like you’re experiencing with the characters, like I could practically smell what the characters were smelling! The world it’s set in is so cool and the entire fic feels so well thought out and everything is so consistent!

my love will never leave you by we_are_the_same @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (T 10k)

In a world where memories are used as currency, Louis will do anything it takes for Harry to get better.

I loved the idea behind this. Like the entire world is so brilliantly done! And it was all based on ONE word (because of the wordplay challenge). Even though it’s set in a different world everything feels so grounded and realistic and I really really like that about it.

a prayer for which no words exist by Eliane (M 34k) Locked

"Louis is a few seconds away from blowing up a rather important section of the New York subway when he sees Harry for the first time."

In this fic the characters motivations are so clear (to the reader) and I love how it goes from Louis accidentally sort of, kind of, kidnapping Harry to them becoming friends then more. I also love how no matter where they are the fic has a real sense of place. This is part 1 of landscapes of war. The entire series is really good!

Who Painted the Moon Black by throughthedark (E 95k) Locked

“People died,” Harry whispers so quietly Louis strains to hear. “People died, and I killed some of them. How does life just go on after something like that?”

Louis shakes his head. “I don't know. It just does.”

Hunger Games AU where Louis Tomlinson is district six's victor from the 69th Hunger Games and Harry Styles is district seven's victor from the 72nd Hunger Games.

This fic is a hunger games AU that both people who have and haven't read/watched the Hunger Games can enjoy. I like how it explores the world of the Hunger Games in a way that isn’t explored in the Hunger Games canon. It’s really intense (like the E is for the darker themes and violence) and I enjoy it a lot. There is a happy ending (as the author assures in the tags) and I really enjoy all the struggles that the characters go through.

Nobody Marks You by graceling_in_a_suit @graceling-in-a-suit (T 33k)

“The plan is: we’re gonna put on a play. Now, I see some doubtful faces–” Louis looked around and found zero doubtful faces. Liam looked intrigued, Zayn looked bored, and Harry looked scarily blank. “But this is what’s happening. We’re gonna do some fucking acting, we’re gonna perform our hearts out, and we’re not going to think about anything else. The past, the future; none of it. All we’re going to think about is... “ Niall trailed off, eyeing the bookshelf to his left. He closed his eyes and reached a hand out towards it, running his fingers over the covers before pulling a book out at random. “William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.”

AU: Five assholes stuck in a bunker put on a play.

This is one of my absolute favorite fics. I just love the way the characters interact and they way the story is told. It’s nonlinear so you jump around in time and it shows the way the character's relationships change throughout. I’m a sucker for Much Ado About Nothing and though you don’t need to read it to fully appreciate the fic I think the use of the play throughout is genius.

@1dfanfictionbookcovers has a really cool cover for the fic as well HERE

With a whimper by kitundercover @kitundercover (M 132k)

Dystopian AU. Louis has been alone for too long to remember how not to be, and Harry has too much to worry about to deal with a scrawny, wild, stranger.

---

The man grips his arm tightly. “You’re not going to say anything.” It’s not a question.

Louis shakes his head, his body twitching.

“Fine.” Large green eyes survey him before letting go. “It’s cold. Take this. Wear it.”

Louis can’t help another flinch as the man’s long scarf is wrapped around his tender neck, it’s still warm. He touches the soft material. “Thank you.”

The man bears his teeth. “Don’t thank me. Don’t ever thank me.”

The thing this fic does really does is showing emotional reactions. Louis’ inner monologue is so well done and I really like the plot of the story.

these bountiful silences by tommoandbambi (T 123k)

they live in a world where they can only say four words per day. harry meets some people that don't want to live that way.

I really, really, really, like this plot and the story! The world that the characters exist in is so interesting and I just love the way in which it is a dystopia.

#my fic recs #Dystopian Larry fic rec #Larry Fic Recs #Dystopian Fic Recs #fic recs

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princessfbi · 3 years

Note

Ok I have got to know what happened with Oliver's character on that one show that makes you rage so hard every time you see him.

WELL NONNIE I'LL TELL YOU!

This is a warning for spoilers if anyone wants to watch this show because my rage cannot be contained.

OK SO...

This show is called Into the Badlands and Oliver's character is named Ryder. Basically the premise of this world is that it's kind of post apocalyptic/alternative universe where humanity got so caught up in trying to one up each other that it sort of imploded and now you have this society where either you're super wealthy (the Barrons), super poor (Cogs and Nomads), or somehow a ninja (The Clippers and whatever the hell MK was supposed to be). ANYWAYS....

Ryder is the son of Barron Quinn. Now the surviving land is either divided into like factions run by Barrons (who control a majority of major trade) or there's these lawless lands that are run dredges of society. You either become a Barron by killing another Barron (which is what Quinn did) or you are an heir apparent. Ryder is more an heir presumptive because Quinn won't outright name him his heir even though everyone just assumes it.

This is because Quinn is batshit crazy and thinks he can just live forever through sheer stubbornness and will alone. This is especially hard to do because he has a massive brain tumor that's dwindling down what little bit of sanity he has leading him to make questionable choices such as killing the only doctor they have in the lands who would've been useful pretty much for the rest of the series but go off Quinn. Ryder has a lot of resentment towards his father, which I will get into in a minute, and at the same time has gone out of his way to prove to Quinn that he's a worthy heir. Except Quinn keeps comparing Ryder to his second and regent, Sunny, and he's just all around a shitty person in general.

NOW HERE'S THE AMAZING BACKSTORY WITH RYDER:

So, when Ryder was a child, he was kidnapped by these nomads who were trying to blackmail Quinn. Ryder's mother begged Quinn to pay the ransom and save Ryder. Quinn... refused. So the nomads tortured Ryder and (Gross warning) like cut off part of his toes and disfigured his foot in the hopes of crippling him and scaring Quinn into giving to their demands.

Quinn, again, refused.

Eventually Quinn's regent at the time, Waldo, defies Quinn's orders and goes to rescue Ryder from these nomads. Waldo defying Quinn is a big deal because he's a clipper which is basically a soldier (often brought in from the slave faction called Cogs) and they take their oaths to their Barrons very seriously. Barrons trust no one but their regents because again you can become a Barron by killing them. But Waldo always had a soft spot for Ryder.

SO Ryder is saved and eventually nursed back to health but he always has a bit of a tragedy cloud hanging around him because from what we were told Ryder was a very sweet, bright child before he was kidnapped and was brought back as "a broken bird" and he's been doing everything he can to get rid of the broken bird image ever since.

Quinn resented Ryder for making him look weak and Ryder resented Quinn for... Well being a heartless dick.

But here's the crazy part... They both, in their own way, still kind of loved each other.

Now I won't bore you with my rant about how the best antagonists are often the tragic figures who have fallen from grace (Peter Hale, Draco Malfoy, Loki to name a few) BUT I will say Ryder had the PERFECT foundation of showing that fall. He was an asshole and hard and spoiled and super privilege but also soft and still a little broken. There's a whole other narrative involved too with his childhood love and how his dad planned on marrying her but we won't get into that.

ANYWAYS Ryder still had this desperate need to prove to his dad that he was a worthy heir but in his attempts to prove himself (and his dad's fall into madness) his dad started seeing him as competition. Competition and another objects (like Quinn saw with most other characters but especially Sunny). But Quinn has this weird kind of pride when it comes to things that he considers his and an attack on his property is an attack on him. There's a character named the Widow who lured Ryder out and tried to kill him slowly and personally as well as Sunny as an attack on Quinn and he went bananas (sorta).

Ryder was fine eventually but he realized that trying to prove himself to his dad was never going to work so he decides to try the other option: which is killing his dad. Partially because if he doesn't, Ryder is smart enough to know that Quinn's going to get him killed, but also because Quinn's descent into madness is spiraling faster and faster and Ryder wants to protect the legacy. Nothing to inherit if his dad burns the whole thing to the ground!

Long story short, Sunny turns on Quinn and stabs him and everyone thinks Quinn is dead and Ryder takes credit for it therefore succeeding his dad by becoming not only Barron of his father's lands but some other Barron that got murdered by another subplot that was pointless.

Now Ryder is determined to bring peace to the lands (not out of some noble obligation but because he just wants people to chill the fuck out). And for the most part... he's doing okay.

BUT THEN PLOT TWIST HIS DAD IS ALIVE AND CRAZIER THAN EVER.

Basically his dad storms Ryder's house, chases him down in the garden, and they fight. But Ryder's foot that was crippled when he was a child trips him up and the fight gets even messier. Ryder's sword breaks and Quinn points the sword to his own chest and tells Ryder to finish him.

Ryder hesitates and so Quinn takes the sword and stabs Ryder. You know like a rational father would do.

Quinn then asks Ryder why he hesitated and Ryder whispers "because you're my father" before he dies in Quinn's arms. Quinn is... horrified because he realizes that with the death of Ryder is the death of the last parts of his own humanity. He mourns Ryder but also like... takes no responsibility for killing him but neither did Ryder so he can't process it. Later on he's haunted by Ryder but again the man has a giant grapefruit sized tumor in his brain so it's all very reverse Hamlet if you will.

SO LOOK AT ALL THIS POTENTIAL!

THE REASON I RAGE:

Is because Ryder was set up to fail from the beginning. Which is great!....... If that had actually happened. The show worked so hard to tell us that Ryder was a failure and a coward but if you look at it from a story perspective... Ryder was the opposite of a failure. Every time someone told him he couldn't do something, he proved them wrong. Again and again and again. But that was never good enough for anyone. So that vicious cycle would've been amazing to see!

But instead of exploring any of that, we had to watch a storyline that was frankly ridiculous from the beginning that took up way more time than it should. There's a character named MK, who was supposed to be inspired by the myth The Monkey King, but if you don't know that story then you never would've figured that out. Hell, I knew the story and didn't figure it out until I had to google his name because I kept forgetting it. In comparison to everything else happening in the show, this magical mythical storyline just didn't fit and I'm not kidding when I say I watched a season and a half of this show and forgot about MK every time.

Now if you noticed my icon is Buck in a Box. That's an inside joke I have with a friend about this fucking show. The first scene starts off with Sunny stumbling onto a group of Nomads who go absolutely feral about this massive box they don't want him to look inside. Turns out MK was in this box for reasons that were too weak for me to even remember but again MK was entirely forgettable. My friend and I kept talking about how it would've been better if Ryder had been in the box because the Ryder and Sunny rivalry had so much unexplored potential that would've been incredible if we started from the very beginning instead of just being told over and over again that Ryder hates being compared to Sunny.

Sunny is the main character and Quinn, unlike with Ryder, was incredibly proud to have Sunny "in his possession" and Ryder hated him for it.

But did we get to explore that? NO! Did we get to explore the parallels of Sunny and Ryder chafing at being considered possessions by Quinn? NO! Did we get to explore the trauma Ryder was working so hard to shake off? NO!

Instead the show spent so much energy victim blaming Ryder essentially for being the son of a Villain and his Nonsensical Ambitious Mother who had the misfortune of being kidnapped by bandits as a child while telling the audience that Ryder was never going to succeed. That Ryder had no honor and was a coward and weak.

They spent way more time trying to tell us that we should hate Ryder and that he was a bad guy but didn't do ANY of the work to show the fall from grace to prove that. Ryder remained a tragic figure that didn't fall from grace but was rather pushed off by lazy writing because they wanted to focus again on this magical ninja boy with a penchant for getting in the way and ruining everything.

I rage because Antagonist and Villain are not the same thing. Ryder had the potential of becoming a villain and his death by the hands of his father would've cycled him back into the role of a tragic figure. But instead... it was just wasted.

THAT is why I rage. You had the material right there and yet you spent so long telling us that we, the audience, don't like Ryder instead of showing us anything that would make us not like him (besides the whiny white boy thing).

Instead I found myself rooting for Ryder. Like could you imagine if Ryder and Sunny went against Quinn together instead of having the weakest rivalry known to man? Could you imagine Ryder's fall from grace of wanting peace in the lands as it turned to greed? Could you imagine Sunny becoming actual competition for Ryder instead of being manipulated to do so?

WE GOT NONE OF IT.

THIS is why I rage.

#I'm so sorry nonnie #I ranted #But you asked for it #So here it is #Oliver Stark #Ryder into the badlands #Into the badlands #anon #ask #answered

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ashintheairlikesnow · 3 years

Text

Guns Ain’t a Plague

I wrote some version of this story over and over. This is the version I apparently emailed to a friend in 2013 and just rediscovered in my inbox. I am staring at this and realizing how long ago 2013 was now. Oh my gosh.

Background: I was already very much all about post-apocalyptic stuff, but this takes place in a world entirely unlike - and yet strikingly like - our own. In a world where war and disease once tore the land apart, an isolated, caged city of children struggles to survive.

Until one decides to leave.

Oh man somewhere in my stuff I have all my old maps and descriptions of the different countries and the war and... I wrote so much stuff for this universe/storyline...

The young woman crouched where the last of the road crumbled into broken stone. It had been crushed when they exited the city, taking their horses and carriages, doctors and soldiers and history, with them. Her feet were bare and she dug her toes into the warm red earth between the cracked rock. The muscles in her legs tensed, she placed one hand for balance on the ground.

She would have to run like wind if she was going to survive this.

“Don’t,” came Tor’s familiar voice behind her. She jumped up, wondering why she was even surprised he had followed her. She had, after all, been the one to teach him how to do it. She turned around, to look him in the eye, heart aching at the idea that if she didn’t time this just right, she would never see him again.

“Ed,” The boy said in the same pleading tone, hands held out to grab her, “don’t. You can’t even think it. You’ll die, same as they all do!”

Ed rolled her eyes and shot him a baleful glare, but she was bluffing and they both knew it. The toughness fell off of her face almost immediately, and she grabbed the much younger boy, pulling him into a fierce hug.

The two of them looked so alike that they seemed mirrored, almost, the teenager and the adult just barely ten years older than him. Ed’s skin was the same dusky red-brown as Tor’s, their hair the same rich black. It even hung in the same small twists, cut short and close to their heads, although Tor’s was cut a little longer. The only difference was in their ages and in their eyes. Ed’s eyes were a deep, rich pure brown, but Tor’s were green.

Ed thought she was somewhere near twenty-five; no one was completely sure on ages here. She knew Tor had been something like two when she’d found him; herself a ragged orphan, hearing him crying from two buildings over and simply taking him home. It was better than letting him die.

“I should’ve known you’d follow me,” She said, shaking her head. “And if you’re here… Jedder came too, didn’t he?”

“I run faster’n Jedder,” Tor said, clinging to her even harder. His arms around her waist felt like they were crushing her organs and she attempted to try and loosen his grip, with no luck. “Don’t die, Ed!”

“Won’t die, Tor,” she replied. “Don’t think I will anyway. How long they been standin’ there, those towers? Ten years now? Every gun’s got to run out of bullets sometime, right?”

“Not those guns.” Torrin gestured at the small turret towers stationed every twenty feet or so as far as they both could see around the place designated as the ‘edge’ of the city. Wherever roads had gone any farther, they had been smashed to bits until the towers were up. It felt like a river of grass, weeds, broken rock and bone surrounded them, surrounded this whole ruined city, a city that no living person had ever seen before it was a pile of ghosts and disease.

Ed, for a moment, allowed her grip on Tor to be as tight as his grip on her.

“Besides,” he continued with his face still pushed against her shoulder, head still tucked just under her chin. “who’s gonna feed us if you’re dead? Who’s gonna take care of us? You always take care of us, Eddi! Always. Since everybody died you take care of us. You can’t just stop ‘cause your feet got itchy.”

“Tor, you know damn well that ain’t why I want to try this time. We can’t stay here forever. This place is full of us, we can’t keep enough food to go on livin’ like this. It’s been over a hundred years since this city fell, by my parents’ reckoning, since they just left everyone to die. Left a city full of kids with a bunch of dead bodies and bullets, fat lot of good it’s doin’ us now. The Oracle and her folk may like this place, an’ the Keepers may think we’re stuck here carin’ for the dead, but I think… I think somebody needs to get out and prove we still exist.”

There were footsteps behind them and they turned, almost as one, with Tor’s hand still twisted in Ed’s shirt.

The sweaty, fast-breathing young man who came running up to them was not like them in the slightest. His skin and hair were the same flat and dull gray-white. Compared to Tor and Ed, his arms seemed too long, he was too skinny, his hands and feet just a mite too big to be human. His eyes were unsettling to everyone but his little chosen family; wide and far apart, set on a diagonal line in his face, they were black. He broke into a relieved smile at seeing them both standing there. “Eddi! Tor caught up with you then. He runs faster’n me!”

“That’s what I said!” Tor was entirely too proud of himself. Ed bit her lip to stop from chiding him for it.

Jedder stopped, leaning over to lean his hands flat on his thighs to try and stop gasping quite so much.

“’Course he does. Plesalka never could run to save your lives,” Ed said with a responding smile and managed to extricate her shirt from Tor’s grasp. She turned back to survey the turrets again. Old and rusting over time, evidence of Plesalka scientific genius, the kind of machines and creations that neither Letenje like Ed and Tor or the Teci had ever been able to match. Their last apology for their part in this before the Exile began.

She knew about the reason those turrets existed only her parents had hoarded the scribble writings of their own ancestors; her great-great grandmother had been alive to witness the Plague and the death, had survived long enough to make sure her children were as protected as possible.

In the end, there was only so much protection to give; scarcity of food and resources meant that no one had a very long life span here.

It was one of the reasons she was so aware of her need to leave.

“I’m going to try whether you two like it or not. I’m going to try on my own, got it? And if I make it over that rise to the other side, I will shut those turrets down somehow. I’ll bash ‘em in with one of those twisted hunks of metal lyin’ all over the damn place. Once they’re broken, you two can get over and we can leave together. We’re not gonna die here where they left all of us, thinkin’ we’d be gone eventually.” Old grief twisted in her heart; she’d lost both her parents when she was 12, when they had gone out scavenging and been caught in the middle of a battle between the old Oracle’s gang and other Scavs like them. It had been a long, lonely, horrible year before she’d found Jedder.

She crouched down again, curling her fingers around one of the broken pieces of the road here at the edge. It was heavier than it looked, warm from the constant rays of the sun. Even with the lean muscle she’d picked up in ten years of scavenging everything she ate she left out a small grunt of effort as she threw it straight at the closest turret. She missed by a long arc. The gun did not respond or move to follow the stone’s movement. “They’re gettin’ worse. They used to shoot the rocks, too.”

Jedder and Tor shared a look behind her back, unsure of what to do. Jedder, at fifteen, was still nine years Ed’s junior and Tor at twelve was a full twelve years younger. She had been as much a mother to them as a teenage girl could be when she’d found them. Jedder had been found first, a little Scav just barely staying alive by stealing from the gangs, unwelcome like all Plesalka were… Tor just two years old, crying inside a makeshift nursery, his parents dead on the floor and all their food stores stolen. She had taken them in, even knowing Jedder being Plesalka would make it harder on them.

No one ever stopped being angry, especially since in a century the stories to explain what had happened had gotten weirder and more elaborate as told by the remaining survivors. Even the truth made it hard to forgive either the Plesalka or the Teci for what they had created, what they had done in their war on each other… even if kids like Jedder were so far removed from those events as to be a whole separate people by now.

“Eddi,” Tor said, and now his voice was starting to take on a edge of nagging worry, “Eddi, what if this doesn’t work and you die?”

“Then you and Jedder go on livin’,” Ed replied without looking back at them.

She was surveying all possible obstacles between her and the turrets. Rocks. Weeds.

Bodies.

The last made her shudder, made the already roiling pit of nervousness that was her stomach threaten to riot up her meager lunch. Some of the bodies out here weren’t even bodies anymore. It was mostly bones left for her to look at, though now and then she could see evidence of newer deaths. Some kids still went crazy and made a run for it. She herself probably counted as crazy, just to be thinking about it. Still. There was a lot of bone out here. A lot of dead people dumped here at the edge to warn away anyone who might see them, to keep visitors out, to keep the descendents of Pohroma citizens in.

Barefoot, you want to run through a burial ground, she thought, wondering if it would be the last thing she did. “I’ve taught you both how to live if you lost me. If you think you can’t stick it out just the two of you, well, the other Plesalka that’re still alive would take Jedder in, if he went to them. Tor, you know the Oracle or the Keepers would have you. They could keep you safe. Don’t you dare join up with any of the Scav gangs, though.”

“We want you,” Jedder said stubbornly. “Besides, even if you died we’d just stick together. We don’t know any other way to be but the three of us.”

“Then you better be prayin’ to somebody’s god I don’t die now, because I’m going to do this.” She didn’t wait for their response but just launched herself forward with all the speed her legs could give her. Not being able to crouch down and prepare first had only cost her half a second, but nonetheless she felt a rush of fear that it would be a half-second too many.

She felt Tor’s fingers clutch the back of her shirt, but he couldn’t get a grip and she twisted away from him easily, running like the devil was at her heels.

There was a rusty shrieking coming from turrets that had been left abandoned, not repaired or even touched in almost twenty years. The sound filled the air, coming from nearly ten turrets who were all slowly, inexorably pointing in her direction as she ran. Birds, having made nests in the openings, took to the air in a sudden frenzy of wings and shrieking birdcalls. For a moment, the sky was dark with them.

Ed ran.

She dodged larger rocks and the corpses of both people and animals shot dead by the turrets. Dogs, rats, foxes, cats, people… all just empty bones, she told herself, trying not to let her feet even brush them as she went past.

She ran.

She caught a glint and looked up, realizing that she could see the sun shining off all the metal casing on the ground for every bullet these huge guns had ever fired. She was caught by the shine of them just long enough to distract her.

And she tripped.

She had to have tripped on a rock, she could feel the rough of it scrape all the way down from mid-calf to her ankle as she fell and went rolling, coming to a halt only when she hit another big chunk of rock a few feet away. The breath was knocked out of her and she could only gasp, frozen, realizing that the horrible groaning of the moving metal had finally come to an end.

She looked up, and was looking directly up the barrel of one of the turrets, and it was aiming at her. She could not move. She thought of her parents, long dead from the violence in this city. She thought of finding Tor at two years old, Jedder at the time the only one who keep the little toddler from crying all the time. She thought of how they had lived the last ten years as a family, kept each other safe. She thought of every time she had ever seen a wild animal gunned down by these turrets, ripped to absolute shreds by the bullets.

She flinched at the sudden click of the gun.

Click?

It echoed, bouncing off against the walls and back again and at least twenty of the turrets were clicking in a chorus and Ed began, despite the aftermath of adrenaline still pumping, to laugh.

The sound of her laughter was something just below a scream, hysterical and echoing, bouncing off against the old stone walls behind Tor and Jedder, making them jump.

It took some effort and her ankle ached in a way that told her this victory wasn’t coming to her without some price to pay, but she began to hobble back to Jedder and Tor, arms out to them, spread as wide as her smile.

“They’re empty!” She called out above the noise. “Every single one!”

Only a moment of hesitation, a look of pure relief shared between the two boys, and then they came pounding across the earth until they could throw their arms around her, the both of them at once.

“They’re empty,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Tor’s head, to the fuzzy twists of his hair, before turning to lean her forehead against Jedder’s cheek. “I knew it. They never did come back to replace ‘em, not since before I was born, at least my da said. They had to run out sooner or later.” She squeezed the two of them even tighter, then finally let them go. Reluctantly, they let go of her as well.

“Empty,” she said one more time, savoring the taste of the word.

“So we can go,” Jedder breathed out. “We can leave. I don’t. I’ve never been outside the city. No one has. We don’t even know if there’s other people out there or if everyone died in the Plague, if it hit other places, too.”

“I don’t think it did,” Tor said, thoughtfully. “Cause otherwise why would they have had to send people to keep us locked in by replacin’ bullets, ever?” Curling his fingers in Ed’s patched and worn shirt, he shook his head. “Bet there’s a whole world full of people out there. Maybe they don’t even know about us.”

Ed smiled, but it was a smile entirely without humor.

“Let’s go show the bastards we’re still alive.”

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biteghost · 3 years

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How do you come up with so many cool characters?? All of your OCs seem so vibrant and fleshed out. Do you have a specific process for developing them, or do they just kinda come to you mostly formed? I find I struggle with building a compelling OCs for D&D games & would love to hear your thoughts on character development.

(This answer got long, sorry.) This is a super nice sentiment, I’m happy you think my characters are all cool and unique!!

As far as process goes, uh, it depends on the character? I’ve spent a long time (years) rewiring my brain when it comes to what I think about when creating OCs. They don’t usually come to me fully formed - I get an idea in my head about a concept, and then over like a week or even months of fiddling I end up with a character for that concept.

A lot of the time my characters are simply people I wanted to see more of in media as a kid! Mostly, female characters I actually relate to or are as nuanced and messy as their male cast members, haha... (It was a trip when I realized in high school that I didn’t hate female characters - it was actually that none of them were written as well as the cool boys in the anime series I liked, haha! Be the change you want to see in the world, basically.)

Inspiration for characters (and stories for them to be part of) come from a lot of places. An easy piece of advice is to make an effort to intake media you like! Read new comics, watch new movies and television shows, read books, play video games, listen to music and obsessively memorize the lyrics - hell, obsessively learn everything there is to know about black holes or public domain characters (that’s what I did, lol...)!

(Note: ’New’ meaning new to YOU - you don’t need to only be partaking of media that’s created in 2021 - you can find a lot to love in media that was created before your time, or for generations before you!)

I must reiterate: intake new media that you ENJOY! You don’t have to like all the same things as everyone else, you don’t have to be invested in the same shows and podcasts as your friends. Varied interests and taste is part of what makes us all unique! Increasing your pool of inspiration will help you come up with interesting ideas, and help you find YOUR voice. Your particular interests and the niche things that speak to you will help you figure out what kind of characters and what kind of stories you like to create! But the process doesn’t end at just intaking media... When you find the stuff that brings you joy, analyze what exactly it is about that thing that speaks to you... Put it into words. Explain it to a friend. Make it tangible, analyze the feelings and why the series made you feel that way... and then take it and shove it into your own stories, lol!

Engage critically and thoughtfully with work you like, with characters you like, and it will help you have the language and thought process to recreate it in your own work!

My creative process is like an exquisite corpse of all the characters and series I’ve liked over my lifetime. I mesh them all together in a grim blender and what comes out is a shake in the vague shape as an OC, lol

BUT... it seems like you’re asking more specifically about making characters for tabletop roleplaying games like D&D? And THAT is a different process for me than making OCs for my comics or original story ideas!

I don’t usually join a tabletop game with a fully fleshed out character, actually?? I don’t spend a long time on their backstory, and I usually figure it out like halfway through the story, or through collaboration with my game master!

My TTRPG characters are usually whatever I think would be most interesting in the given game setting or set-up and... usually they exist in opposition to whatever the core concept of the game is. So, the examples I have from games I’ve played are:

In Cardians: West (World of Darkness: Hunter the Vigil): we played in a modern-day urban fantasy setting, where players were recruited into a supernatural Hunter group that was also a criminal organization that Did Crimes and Broke The Law in the name of keeping peace and protecting humanity from the supernatural creatures that go bump in the night. I played Andrew, a Lawful Good Police Detective, because I thought playing a character who would need to grow past his original ideals of ‘Right and Wrong’ in the name of the greater good would be interesting! (And it was!)

In SINNING ADVENTURE (WoD: Geist: The Sin-Eaters) we payed in a modern-day urban fantasy setting with the premise that the players all Died and were brought back to life by forming a pact with a powerful spirit (and getting cool ghost powers in the process!) I played Cassius, a character who could not cope with his death, and thus refused to use his new powers because they were evidence that he was no longer strictly human. It caused conflict in the group and world, but I thought it would be interesting! (And it was! Cassius was a Bitch.)

In Rex Machina (Dungeons and Dragons 5E), I wanted to play an Aarakocra, but was having a hard time deciding on a class or backstory... until I found out that in the ‘canon’ of D&D Aarakocra only live to be like, mid 20s???? Their lifespans are insanely short compared to other playable races!! And I thought that was stupid, so I decided to make MY Aarakocra, Izzy, a warlock that’s looking for ways to extend his own stupidly short life. His pact essentially granted that to him, giving him extra time to find a way to achieve True Immortality. His conflict challenges what’s ‘true’ living in this world, and his extended life is in direct conflict with a lot of forces in the world we play in, and while it is very stressful I think it’s really interesting to play!

In Lamplighting (Monster of the Week), my character Aicen is an assassin who made a deal with a demon and gained supernatural perks out of it... except I decided that she doesn’t WANT to be in this deal. She is actively trying to undo it because it wasn’t her deal - she inherited it from a CEO that she killed during an unrelated job. (Aicen is probably my character I’ve put the most backstory into, and that’s just because at character creation in MOTW you are given a lot of questions about who your character is and why they’re where they are!)

In Hand of Adam (WoD: HtV), the concept was that all players were going to join a post-apocalyptic supernatural-hating cult. I played Shouter, who was a self-preserving pacifist coward who also turned out to be a fae (which the cult would have killed him over). It was stressful but very fun. I love Shouter. He ran away from fights and didn’t actually kill anyone until the last episode where they fought God (whom he killed, lol).

NOW. THESE ARE ALL JUST EXAMPLES OF HOW *I* LIKE TO PLAY CHARACTERS!! For me personally, I enjoy playing a character who has built-in conflict either with the world, the story, or the other players. I’m only able to play characters like this because my friend group are all really cool and we all know that conflict is not bad - it’s fiction and we’re just roleplaying! If I didn’t trust my GMs and fellow players as much as I do, I probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable enough playing some of these concepts.

I don’t think you need to know every little thing about a tabletop character, and in fact, not knowing some things and leaving it up to the GM and story to flesh out is an easy way to help you get more invested in both your character AND the story your GM is telling! Tabletops are a collaborative storytelling experience, so if you’ve already plotted out your character’s whole story, there won’t be much participation from other players or your GM. Figure out what your character wants, and let your roleplaying and GM slowly put all the other pieces in place over the course of your campaign!

But the TL:DR about how I make tabletop OCs is that I just... try to give them a goal, an ideal, or a personality that is in direct conflict with some aspect of the game we’re playing. I don’t want the character to be undermining the whole game, because that’s really crappy to do to your GM, but I have to have something for my character to grow through or change. I like giving them built-in character arc starters, lol. I haven’t played a game where my character has gotten along with every other player character and NPC over the entire campaign since my very FIRST game, lol!

Also, if you’re having trouble, why not ask your GM what they think? Again, tabletops are collaborative! Don’t be afraid to talk ideas out with your GM for your character.

A final note about playing in specifically oneshot games (i.e. games that are not long campaigns but are meant to be played in one or two sittings). Personally, I always just retrofit an OC I already have to play in oneshots! When I make a new character for a long campaign, it usually takes me two or three sessions to find their voice and figure out how to roleplay them. If the game you’re playing is only one session, I find it easier to jump right in and get the most out of your character and the game when you’re playing a character you already know pretty well! I’ve played characters from my webcomic quite a few times, and it’s always a lot more fun for me than figuring out a new character on the fly!

SO UH, IN CONCLUSION... sorry if this is mad unhelpfu!! My personal processes are unique to me! but that's the point - no one person will have the exact answer that works for you! You have to keep trying until you figure it out for yourself! Good luck! Keep creating! <3

#long post #asktime #not art #art talk #writing talk #tabletop talk #gif #iwishihadhorns

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st-eve-barnes · 3 years

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I always make this end-of-the-year post here to recap my year and talk about the highs and the lows but honestly, I don’t know where to begin this year...it was shit. That’s all I have really, lows and more lows.

At the end of February I was still at a comic con in Brussels surrounded by thousands of people, 3 weeks later our country was in full lockdown and the world suddenly felt like a movie. I’ve always loved those apocalyptic stories but turns out they’re not that great if you’re in them. I also never imagined living through one of them and having to just go to work every day as if everything is normal while at the same time I haven’t hugged my grandma or little nephew since February and haven’t seen them in person since this summer. Every single one of our plans this year got cancelled. We’ve also had too many health scares this year, both my parents had covid and my mum’s also been diagnosed with Parkinsons (very early stages, thank god). Several friends still struggle with the aftermath of having had the virus and they were young and healthy people.

I’ve been angry, and sad, and disappointed more than ever this year, mostly by seeing how selfish and stupid some people are behaving. This year brought out the worst in so many of us, I’ve had to unfollow friends and I lost respect for celebrities I loved before. My faith in humanity died this year and that’s probably the worst thing I take with me into 2021.

There is light at the end of the tunnel but it’s still a long way to walk, I’d like to believe next year will be better (because it has to be.) I hold onto the good things: that all my loved ones are healthy, that the majority of my friends are smart and respectful and trustworthy, that me and my husband have only grown closer through all of this, that I still have a job, that Netflix exists. lol And that there is a vaccine.

It’s really true that you don’t know what you got till it’s gone. I’d like my life back in 2021, see my family and friends, go to the movies, out to restaurants, day trips, comic cons, concerts, to travel again, ... I know most of these won’t come back soon but I hope some of those will be considered okay again in 2021.

I’d like to wish you all the positivity I’m often lacking myself, to find the good and believe that better days are coming. Also thank you for sticking with me here throughout this year of hell. Hopefully this time next year we’ll all look back on this as a distant memory. Let’s hope for that and treat 2021 with careful kindness.

Happy New Year!

@sarahp879 @b-n-a-o @greyhoundsgirl @enchantedbyhiddles @musette22 @riricitaa @lipstipsky @erinthevampire @neonhairspray @lowkeysebastianstan @poppy-in-the-woods @topkay @firewolfkelly @noname30 @bitsandbobsandstuff @abovethesmokestacks @mrshopkirk @royalermine @ladyoftheteaandblood @tinaferraldo @sideeffectsofyou @isabellajack @bloggingfromherbed @marivela14 @existansial-crisis @dorkos @wickedsingularity @estelior @mille-baci @postmodernmulticoloredcloak @fiftyscenes and all my other mutuals!

#personal #the gif seemed fitting #so long 2020 #don't let the door hit you on the way out

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jeranasblog · 4 years

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The Virus

Notes: If you have huge anxieties regarding Covid, please don't read this. It's an apocalyptic setting.

Rating: E

Pairing: Peter Parker/ Tony Stark

Summary: Three years ago, a virus killed 99% of the human population. It came out of nowhere, taking over cities, countries, and continents. During two months, more and more people died until no one knew where they could bury all the dead bodies anymore. When the virus was finally eradicated, 1% of the population was left, 1% resistant or lucky, and those 1% started to build-up the world they knew again. Peter Stark was one of the 1%.

But even though Peter was considered ‘lucky’, he had lost everyone. His friends, his family, even his husband. Tony Stark died three years ago, didn’t he?

Warnings: Apocalypse,��Post-Apocalypse, Virus, Death, Character Death before the story begins, Sensitive Topic, Smut, check the tags on Ao3, please

Read on Ao3

Three years ago, a virus killed 99% of the human population. It came out of nowhere, taking over cities, countries, and continents. During two months, more and more people died until no one knew where they could bury all the dead bodies anymore. Hospitals had closed because no doctor was willing to risk their life, supermarkets turned into battlefields and everyone was left on their own. What started with something that was compared to the flu, ended in chaos, despair, and death.

After a while, people gave up. There was no protection, no escape. A small part of humanity was resistant, but since the disease had destroyed too much to even think about an antidote, people accepted the world as it was. Virologists couldn’t even search for a vaccine because it spread too fast.

The pandemic lasted a year before almost everyone was dead and the virus was eradicated as well. 1% of the population was left, 1% resistant or lucky, and those 1% started to build-up the world they knew again. Peter Stark was one of the 1%.

Happiness was rare these days. Peter had lost everything over the last three years. His aunt May was one of the first ones dying due to the virus, and his best friends Nat and MJ followed quickly after. His husband, Tony Stark, had been on a business trip in China when the virus spread, and Peter couldn’t even say good-bye to him before Tony died like everyone else around him, alone in a country with no one he knew.

Peter was a lucky man. He was resistant. He didn’t die, even though the virus had hit him too. But completely alone, Peter didn’t feel lucky at all. Instead, he clung to everything that connected him to his past. The necklace May had always worn, a friendship bracelet he had made together with Ned and MJ in second grade, and most importantly, his wedding ring that he didn’t even take off to shower. It was the last connection to his husband and he would defend it with his life.

Every day was hard. He lived in a small settlement with 500 people. New York had been hit particularly bad, so there weren’t many people left. Peter needed them because he knew shit about hunting, collecting, and surviving in the wild. They needed Peter because he was an engineer and could help them get access to technology back. He had already built multiple generators that produced electricity for the most important things and communication devices for the people going out every day.

Mostly, Peter stayed for himself. He lived in a small hut, surrounded by all his engineer toys, and only came out if he had to. Peter knew he hadn’t adjusted well, knew he was one of the ones clinging to the past, but he couldn’t imagine a happy life without Tony. The only people he was talking to were Bucky and Steve, two married men who had magically survived both, and his inspector Nat.

Life was quiet. The settlement had only rarely problems with hostile groups, and conflicts were reduced to a minimum. It wasn’t like it had been before, but a lot of people got a second chance. A chance to survive and be happy again. But Peter couldn’t be happy. Not without Tony.

~*~

“Hey, Pete. What’s up?” Bucky asked him one day when he visited Peter in his hut. “Stevie and I went on an expedition and we found some stuff for you.” He placed a backpack in front of them that was filled to the brim

Peter eyed it suspiciously. “Anything interesting?”

Bucky gave him one of his bright smiles that made Peter’s gut clench and reminded him how lucky the other man had been. Steve was here while Tony was dead somewhere in China, probably alone in a fancy hotel room. Bucky still had his husband. Bucky only had to adjust to new circumstances because Steve was still by his side. Before Peter’s thoughts started to spiral again, he pulled himself back to reality. A reality without his husband.

“Let’s see, Petey.” Bucky rummaged in the bag and pulled out a few electrical devices. “We have another radio, headphones for wires, and an old laptop that still seems to work.”

Peter raised his eyebrows. “How do you know it’s still working?”

The laugh Peter got in response was so carefree, it made him sick. “Stevie, the punk, had turned it on and the battery wasn’t empty. It worked. Trust me.”

Hot jealousy surged through his gut, but Peter forced himself to smile too. Bucky was so clearly in love, but Peter could only think about his own misery. What kind of friend was he?

“That’s great, thanks, Buck. I’ll see what I can do with it. Say hi to Steve for me. I still have work to do.”

The mood shifted. It was a clear dismissal and Bucky understood it as such. Peter knew it wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t stand other people’s happiness on bad days. And today was a bad day.

Thankfully, the other man didn’t take his mood swings personally and only gave him a pitiful smile. Before Bucky left, he put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Peter, I really like you, but you’re killing yourself with that. Don’t you think it’s time to try to move on?”

Bucky was right. Of course, he was right. But even thinking about taking off his wedding ring, even thinking about moving on, made Peter feel as if he would betray Tony. He once had sworn ‘forever’ to his husband and forever wasn’t over yet. Bucky couldn’t understand, he still had Steve.

So Peter forced his expression to stay blank. “One day, Bucky. Just not yet.” Both of them knew it was a lie.

~*~

The settlement they lived in was small. It was well structured and everyone had their specialized tasks, but they still depended on other settlements for trade. Especially when the winter came, and the food supplies had to be stocked. So Peter spent his days building communication devices to stay in touch with other settlements.

The things Bucky had brought him proved to be quite helpful, so around noon, Peter could bring a newly built communication device to Nat, the woman who was responsible for trade and his inspector at the same time. She and Steve were the leaders of their group.

Her so-called office was next to the gate of the settlement, a hut with a radio-station on a desk in the middle. It had been Peter’s first project, and thanks to him, they could now communicate with the settlement in Philadelphia and after a few upgrades, even with Boston and DC.

Nat sat on the chair in front of their radio station and turned his head when Peter entered the room. “Pete, do you have more of your toys for me?” Peter knew she was just joking. Nat had told him a while ago that she was grateful for his work.

“Always, Nat. Bucky and Steve found a radio and even a laptop. It’s still working.”

She whistled and gave him an impressed smirk. “You don’t see that every day.”

Nat was right. After the virus, none of them had thought about electrical devices and when they actively started searching for them, most of them had already been useless.

“I’ve rebuilt the radio into another communication device.” Peter placed the walkie talkie on her desk. “It’s improvised, but we can still sell it.”

She gave him an honest smile which was rare for Nat. “Thanks, Peter. We can trade that for food. Helps us getting over the winter.”

He shrugged and tried not to think about the upcoming winter. They would make it through, they always did, but the expeditions would stop and therefore also his work. He always had something to do, but not enough to keep the thoughts away all day long. Last year, he had spent three months in bed, crying over Tony.

“Peter!” Oh, no. Her voice was filled with concern. Of course, she could sense his sadness.

Even though he tried to cover it with a fake smile, Nat wasn’t as easy to get rid of as Bucky. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

She pressed her lips together and Peter could see the familiar frown on her face. “Peter, don’t you think it’s time to move on?”

No, it’s not time to move on. It will never be time to move on, not without Tony. He was Peter’s husband, god damn it. Marriage! As in forever. Not for three years until Peter would find someone else. Why didn’t they all just leave him alone?

“Soon, Nat. I’ll get over it soon.” Another lie, and just like Bucky, Nat didn’t believe him.

“Peter, you’ll never make progress if-”

Thankfully, a scratching noise interrupted her. “...-ello? Is there someo-...? Can you hear-...”

Immediately, Nat let Peter go and gave the radio station her entire attention. “Hello? Is someone there? Here is settlement 513 in New York. Can you hear me? I repeat, can you hear me?”

For a second, there was no answer and Peter had already thought the communication broke, but after a few seconds, the voice spoke again.

“Hello? Do you hear me?” This time the transmission was better and Peter could hear that a man was speaking. “We are two, we need help.”

Nat gave him a look that indicated he should stay but be quiet and Peter nodded to signal her he understood. Making contact with strangers was always a risk because there were a few outlaw groups in the wilderness that survived by hi-jacking settlements. Still, every now and then, travelers reached out to them for various reasons.

“Yes, we can hear you.” Her voice was neutral.

The scratching flared up again, but Peter could still hear the voice clearly. “My companion is hurt. We need help. We can trade tech for our lives. Please, give us protection.”

Nat hesitated. On the one hand, they needed more tech. The communication device Peter built secured their survival because they didn’t grow enough vegetables to get by themselves. Other settlements depended on them thanks to their tech and they always needed more. Still, trusting strangers was always a risk.

In the end, Nat decided to keep their location hidden and sent people for them instead. “Where are you?”

“Where the Passaic River flows into Newark Bay,” the scratchy voice answered.

That wasn’t too far away, maybe a six hours walk. Eight if they travel with baggage.

“We will see what we can do. Give us a day.”

“Please, bring a doctor.” There was still hope in the man’s voice.

~*~

In the end, Nat and Steve, the leader of the village, decided to send six people to look for the injured strangers. Dr. Cho to treat possible injuries, Peter to check out the usefulness of the tech and four warriors who would protect them, including Bucky. Peter was glad for the trip. Every second he had something to do was a second he didn’t spend thinking about Tony.

He grabbed his backpack, filled it with water, food, and tools like a screwdriver and tongs before he closed the door of his hut and walked over to the gate. They met there at dawn and Peter was glad he put on his winter clothes because autumn was coming to an end. Slowly, it became colder and colder.

“You’ve packed everything you need?” Bucky asked him when he arrived and Peter nodded with a small smile. He was glad the man came with him because he trusted Bucky with his life.

They kept walking and walking and walking. Through overgrown streets, bridges that had already collapsed, and past ruins that had once been houses New York had been so proud of. Now, it was just empty. Everything useful had already been taken, leaving behind a sea of waste, bones, and dust.

Peter swallowed when he walked through the streets. They reminded him of the life he had lost, of May, Ned, MJ, and Tony. Once, he had loved the streets of New York, loved the crowds of people and the busy atmosphere. Now there was nothing more left but death.

Bucky knew about his disgust, so he did everything to distract him from the city. He told him about the last time he went hunting with Steve, told him about the alarm clock Peter had given him for his birthday because it was a hardship to wake Steve up before noon. He actually managed to make Peter smile and when they finally took a break around noon, Peter’s mood had lightened up a little.

They ate and sat down for half an hour before they decided to keep going again. A few years ago, a group of the settlement had built a small shelter close to Newark Bay. If they wanted to get through the night safely, they would have to pick up the two persons and bring them there. It wasn’t safe to sleep under the stars anymore, so they had to hurry before it got dark.

After humanity had disappeared, nature came back. The forests were green again, animals went back to their natural habitats and the country became quiet. But with nature came also the danger. Wild animals like bears and wolves so they had to be careful again. Raiders, so desperate, they didn’t back off from hurting them. The night was their greatest enemy.

“It’s not much longer,” one of the warriors announced and Peter exhaled in relief. “Just around the corner and maybe half a mile. Be careful now. We don’t know if we walk into a trap.”

All conversations died down and they paid attention to the noises they made. The closer they came to Newark Bay, the more nervous Peter became. He wanted to tag along, wanted to go on expeditions, but there was always a risk and his stomach fluttered with fear. He was exhausted, the walk had been a long one, but if they would get more tech and save lives, it would be worth it in the end. Just a little longer. Maybe ten minutes.

When they finally reached the point the man had described, Peter could see two silhouettes in the distance. A woman that sat on the ground, her arms clutching her leg that was probably injured, and a man standing next to her, looking around with a concerned expression.

They walked closer, carefully looking out for possible traps, but there seemed to be no danger. Eventually, the man noticed them too.

“Oh, God bless. You didn’t leave us alone.”

Peter immediately froze. He knew the voice. It was as familiar as his own. Bucky, who had walked behind him, bumped into him and cursed, but Peter couldn’t move an inch. That’s it. He was slowly losing his mind. Maybe Nat’s and Bucky’s concern was valid, and he started to go crazy. That couldn’t be true. He was dreaming.

The man kept talking. “Please, we need your help. Pepper is hurt. We were attacked by raiders. They shot her in the leg. It’s inflamed and doesn’t look good. Could you-”

It was the moment the man raised his head and his gaze fell on Peter. The man’s eyes widened and he froze as well before he started to tear up and ran towards them. Bucky raised his gun and pointed it at the man, afraid they would get attacked, but it was a single word that made him lower it again.

Peter let out this one word before everything went black.

“Tony.”

~*~

When Peter opened his eyes again, he thought he was dreaming. They were in a hut that looked like the settlement’s shelter next to Newark Bay, but he was embraced by his husband's strong arms. Tony was dead. There was no way Peter could be in his arms again.

“Peter, are you awake?” It was Tony’s voice. Peter covered his ears with his hands because he couldn’t stand the soothing sound. He was going crazy for sure.

“Open your eyes again, baby.” Peter shook his head. “Please, Peter. Let me see you. I love you.”

The words were too much. Peter crumbled. He opened his eyes and looked up, seeing the familiar face right in front of him. Tony looked older, a few more wrinkles around the eyes and a small scar above his right eyebrow, but otherwise he looked exactly as Peter remembered.

“You’re dead.” It was a statement to convince Peter of his own sanity.

Tony pulled him tighter against his chest and Peter inhaled the familiar scent of pinewood and coffee. “Oh, baby. I’m not dead. I’m sorry it took me so long to come back.”

“But you died. In China.” Peter knew he was right. It was a hallucination. But why was the hallucination smelling so good?

“Sweetheart, I didn’t die in China. I’m lucky, I’m resistant.”

No, no, no. Tony Stark was dead. Peter had been alone for three years now. “But you weren’t here.”

Peter could see Tony swallowing after his words and a hand started to play with his hair. A hand that felt so real that Peter shuddered.

“And I’m really sorry about that, Peter. After the virus spread, transportation was difficult. Planes didn’t fly anymore, ships didn’t sail. Baby, it took me three years to build a plane myself, three years to learn how to fly and navigate, to come back to you. Please, forgive me. I love you, I’ll always love you.”

Oh, God. It was the moment Peter realized this was real. His vision was too clear for a dream, the smell too strong and the pain on his forearm too sharp. Peter crumbled. He started to sob and clutched Tony’s shirt to pull him even closer. This was real. Tony was real. Tony was back.

Peter pressed his lips on his husband’s clumsily. Tony tasted salty, like the tears that didn’t stop running down Peter’s face, but it was perfect. The lips were familiar, and Peter relaxed for the first time in years when Tony pulled him onto his lap.

“T-they told me I h-had to get over you. I c-couldn’t. I love you so m-much. Don’t ever leave me again.” Peter didn’t care that he sounded desperate. He had never dared to dream about meeting Tony again. He hadn’t let himself.

But now, he got him back, got the second chance he was always waiting for. Suddenly, he grinned like he hadn’t grinned during the last three years. It was the first time he felt like being lucky.

He pressed his lips back onto Tony’s, this time with less force. He opened his mouth, inviting Tony to capture his mouth. It felt like before. Tony’s lips were still the same, still addictive. Peter could feel himself twitching inside his pants. He wrapped his arms around Tony’s chest, stopping him from moving away.

Before the kiss could get too heated, they were interrupted by a knock. “Peter?” Bucky stood in the doorway. “As much as I don’t begrudge you meeting Tony again, don’t make out on the bed. We only have two in the hut which means a lot of cuddling tonight.” The smile on Bucky’s face showed him the man wasn’t serious.

Peter giggled, a sound he hadn’t made in front of Bucky before, and the warrior gave Tony a smirk in return.

“I see, you have already transformed Peter into another person. Nice to meet you. I’m Bucky. One of the few people you husband has been talking to.” Tony shook Bucky’s hand with a crinkle around his eyes.

“Hey, that's not true,” Peter protested. He had talked to Bucky, Steve, and Nat. Three people were more than a few.

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “It is true. You’ve been moping.”

Of course, Tony pulled Peter closer when Bucky confirmed that Peter hadn’t coped well with the loss. He turned Peter on his lap so that they both faced Bucky who sat down on the bed as well. “Baby, I’m here now. No reason to be upset anymore.” How could Peter stay mad when his husband was with him again? His smile turned even brighter.

Bucky made a gagging noise and pulled them out of their bubble.

Peter hissed at him. “Oh, be quiet. You and Steve are no better.”

“It’s not my fault Stevie is clingy,” Bucky said, his voice mockingly shocked.

Now it was on Peter to raise his eyebrows. “Steve is clingy? Who didn’t want to let him go on a mission last week.”

“It could have been dangerous.”

Peter’s voice was dry when he responded. “He had to chop wood.”

“Outside of the settlement.”

“Right next to the gate.”

Now, Bucky was pouting and his expression made Tony laugh loudly. God, Peter had missed the sound and he turned his head to press another kiss onto his husband’s lips.

“Whatever, Tony, how have your last years been?” It was obvious that Bucky wanted to stop them from making out again.

“Well, I was in a hotel when the virus spread. The authorities forced us to stay inside. It didn’t help. They all died anyway. When no food came after a few days, I left the room anyway. Found out everyone was dead.” The man swallowed before he continued speaking. “Pepper was in the hotel as well. She’s resistant, just like me. We both wanted to go back to the States, so she helped me build a plane by keeping me sane. We’re both from New York. The plan was to look for Peter, but then we stumbled into raiders and she got shot.”

“How is she?” Peter had completely forgotten about her injury after his blackout.

“She’s fine,” Bucky answered. “Cho is treating her. She’ll stay here for a few days until she’s stable enough to be moved.” Peter was relieved. Even though he didn’t know her, Pepper was a friend of Tony, so he cared.

“So, we’re all gonna stay here until she’s better?”

Bucky shook his head. “No, we need you to go home. Winter is coming soon and someone has to work on communication devices, so we can trade them for enough food.”

On the one hand, Peter was glad to go home again, but he didn’t want to leave Tony behind. “What about-?” He couldn’t finish his sentence because his gaze got caught on Tony.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll come with you. I trust your people. Pepper will be safe.”

Peter gave his husband a smile in return. Nothing could separate him from Tony anymore. He would hold onto his chance of being happy.

~*~

Time passed so much faster on their way home. Peter was ecstatic. He kept smiling, laughing loudly, and he even exchanged a few words with one of the warriors. Bucky observed him with a fond expression the entire time, and Peter knew he was really lucky to have him as a friend.

Peter’s focus, on the other hand, was entirely on Tony. He held his husband's hand, unwilling to ever let him go. Suddenly, the overgrown streets of New York didn’t look so empty anymore. There was new life. Little butterflies, hedgehogs, and Peter could swear he had even seen a deer. Yes, humanity wasn’t what it had been before, but they were on a good way to build the world back up again.

As much better as the walk was with Tony by his side, Peter still wanted to be home, alone with Tony in his hut. Walking close to his husband without really being able to touch him was like torture and Peter knew Tony suffered as well.

He could see it in the way Tony’s gaze was glued to his face, his thighs, his ass. Every time Peter laughed, Tony watched his throat bobbing, eyes darker than the night sky. Every time Peter talked, Tony’s eyes were fixed on his mouth, building up tension until Peter couldn’t stop his tongue from darting out and wetting his lips. And when Peter climbed over a broken car in front of Tony, his ass a temptation in front of his husband’s face, Peter could even hear him growl.

Three years had been a long time. They might have changed with all the misery, all the suffering around them, but the attraction for each other hasn’t lessened at all. Suddenly, Peter's thoughts were back to how it had been in the past. How close they had been, how obsessed. He couldn’t wait to finally get home.

When the settlement was already visible in the distance, Tony had successfully turned him into a mess, with nothing but longing gazes and occasional touches. Peter was still glowing with happiness, even though arousal was slowly taking over his mind.

After they had entered the gate, Nate took one look at them and started to smirk. Bucky had probably already told her about Tony via the communication advice, and Peter could see in her face how happy she was for him. And maybe he could also see that she noticed the pent-up state he was in.

“You wanna give me a mission report Peter?” She was totally mocking him, but Peter still gave her a pitiful look. Maybe his puppy dog eyes would convince her to leave him alone with his husband.

“My, my. Tony Stark. He’s clearly another man when he’s around you.” Tony gave Nat an honest smile. “Peter, Tony, I’m happy for you. And now go, before we all see something, we wouldn’t forget anytime soon.”

Peter blushed. He hadn’t done anything, he hadn’t even touched his husband in front of them. Tony, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care about her attempts of embarrassing Peter. Instead, he pulled Peter into his arms and didn’t stop asking until Nat told him in front of everyone where Peter’s hut was. Tony had never tried to keep their sex life hidden.

“I’m gonna be inside of you again, tonight,” Tony promised as they walked - okay, almost ran- towards Peter’s hut. “I’ve dreamed about this for years, baby. I need you so much. I need to feel that you’re mine.”

And of course, Peter let out a loud moan just when one of the residents crossed their way. He’s going to die of embarrassment tomorrow.

“I’ve always been yours, Daddy,” Peter whispered and Tony groaned in response to the familiar name. “Even when I thought you were dead. I never thought about anyone but you.”

“You’re gonna be the death of me, sweet thing,” Tony cursed, but Peter could hear the fondness and the tears in his voice. The probability of them meeting again had been so small, but somehow, fate had made it possible.

When Peter opened the door of his hut, Tony was already all over his back, pressing him against the wood and sucking bruises on his skin. It was a challenge to open the lock while his Daddy whispered into his ear how good Peter had been, how obedient. With each new mark, more delicious pain blossomed on his neck and Peter’s legs almost gave in.

Eventually, the door fell close behind him. Every last bit of patience Tony had crumbled, and a second later, Peter was pressed against the wooden wall. His Daddy had almost shoved him and the impact pressed all the air out of Peter’s lungs. He loved it, finally feeling owned again, finally feeling overpowered again.

Tony was like an animal in his arousal, his focus solely on the prey. His eyes were black, lust taking over the chocolate brown, and Peter gave into the storm. He tipped his head to give his husband access to his throat and closed his eyes in pleasure. Peter’s body was burning, screaming and crying for Tony, for his touch.

It was the ripping of fabric that made Peter open his eyes again. “Daddy.” His words could barely be described as a whine, so turned on by Tony’s impatience. Three years had been so long and Peter was dying to finally feel his husband again. “Take me to bed, please.”

Tony growled in response, letting Peter go for a second, so they could stumble towards the bed. Peter was already half-naked. His pants were torn from his Daddy’s attempts to feel his skin and it slid down his legs as he walked over to the bed. He kicked off his shoes and pulled his t-shirt over his head, so the only clothing left were his boxers.

“Take them off,” Tony ordered and grabbed Peter’s arm so he couldn’t climb onto the bed. “I can’t wait anymore, sweet thing. I want you naked on the bed, hands and knees.”

Peter whimpered in response, his hands shaking with arousal as he undressed completely. He could feel Tony’s gaze on his body. Hungry, demanding, impatient, and it only urged him on to present faster.

Settling into the familiar pose on the bed felt like coming home. Peter rested his head on his crossed arms, his back arched beautifully while his legs were spread to give his Daddy access to every part of him. It was exactly like back then, when they fucked on Tony’s expensive sheets, even though it was almost better now. Peter had never been more grateful to have his husband by his side.

“Daddy.” Peter whimpered pathetically, trying to signal his husband he needed him, that he couldn’t wait any longer. He wanted to feel him again, wanted to be split open and used until everything he knew was Tony. Thankfully, his husband was just as impatient.

“Sweet thing, do you have some kind of lube?” His Daddy’s voice was dark, edging towards a growl, and Peter’s muscles clenched in response to the unrestricted dominance.

“Box.” Peter pointed to a wooden box next to the bed, and Tony opened it, pulling out a new bottle of lube. He lifted his eyebrows and smirked at Peter.

“Did you pleasure yourself, baby? Did you stretch yourself thinking of me?”

Peter shook his head. “I haven’t, Daddy. It felt wrong without you. I took the bottle when we plundered a supermarket, but I couldn’t use it.”

Clearly, his words seemed to please Tony. “Let me remind you that you belong to me, baby. Come on, show me where you need me.”

Peter spread his legs even wider and arched his back even further. He knew being on his best behavior would be the fastest way to get his Daddy’s cock, so he listened to every single command like the good boy he was.

Tony settled behind him and his hands began to roam over his entire body. He started at Peter’s shoulders, stroking his back and wandering lower until he could press his thumbs into the dimples on Peter’s back. The grip made Peter sob in pleasure, exactly like it had always done, and the familiarity was relief and torture at the same time. Tony knew every single one of his buttons, and he wasn’t afraid to press them.

Not even a minute later, Peter was a mess. The touch was too much, too good, and he twisted on the mattress, barely able to hold the position. He needed to feel his Daddy, needed to know that Tony was back, that he wasn’t alone.

“Daddy, please. I love you. Need you, please.”

Peter was so desperate, that he didn’t hear the click of an opening lube bottle and the slick finger was a welcomed surprise. His body sucked him in, one finger had never been a challenge for him, even though he hadn’t been split open for three years.

“Look at that,” Tony cooed while his finger thrust in and out of Peter’s hole in a maddening pace, savoring the tightness and the wet squelch of the lube. “So greedy. Sucking me right in. I’ve almost forgotten what a slut you are.”

It was a lie, Tony wouldn’t forget, but it still hit Peter exactly where Tony intended. “Your slut, Daddy. Only yours, missed you so much.” Peter wanted to prove to his husband how needy he could be, how desperate for Tony’s touch. Their time apart hadn’t changed their dynamic a single bit.

One finger became two. Tony opened him up thoroughly, making sure Peter could take his husband’s cock, but at the same time, he touched Peter’s body everywhere with his free hand. It was the desperate wish to feel that it was over, that they were together now, and every second Peter felt connected to Tony, he believed more and more that it was real.

“Gimme three, Daddy? Please?” Tony answered with a growl and another finger that was pressed inside of him.

Finally, Peter felt a resemblance of being full again, open and stretched, even though he hadn’t gotten his Daddy’s cock yet. It was only a matter of time. Peter could feel it in the way Tony’s fingers trembled in impatience and his voice wavered while he whispered filthy things in Peter’s ear. He only needed to take one tiny step and Tony would break.

Peter turned his head, looking at Tony with innocent eyes. “My hole hurt, Daddy. It’s empty. Need to feel your cock again. Need you to mark me up inside too.”

Just as he had thought, it was the last straw. Tony pulled out his fingers and opened his pants hastily, freeing the gorgeous cock Peter had missed so much. It was thick and red, slightly curved to the left and Peter couldn’t wait to feel every inch and every bump. He moaned from the sight alone.

Tony chuckled. “Do you like what you see, baby?” The question was such a cliché, but Peter whimpered and nodded affirmatively. He loved his Daddy’s cock and couldn’t wait to feel it inside him.

But unfortunately, Tony was a tease. He towered above Peter and blanketed him with his body, cock shining with lube. Peter expected him to press right in, but Tony dragged it out, his cockhead dancing around Peter’s fluttering rim. In the end, he only gave Peter the tip.

The denial made Peter sob. “Daddy, please, I- I need you. I c-can’t wait.” He tried to press his hips back, tried to get more friction, but Tony successfully blocked his movements with his entire body. Peter felt him everywhere, Tony’s legs against his spread thighs, Tony’s chest pressed against his back. He felt him everywhere but inside of him, the place he needed his husband the most.

“Tell me what you need, sweet thing.” The whisper was another tease, and Tony pulled back, only to press the tip back in. It was maddening.

In the end, Peter broke. He started to sob, his entire body pleading to be claimed while he struggled to get his words together. “D-Daddy, m’your slut. Need you. Need your cock. All of it. Gimme more.”

The words were too demanding, but Tony was lenient. He turned Peter’s head to the side, his hand buried in the brown curls, and at the same time their lips met, Tony pressed in.

Peter started to cry. Everything came together. The delicious pain of finally being stretched again, the burning arousal, and his Daddy who was back at his side. Not dead but alive. Tears ran down his face, dripping onto the mattress and joining their kiss. Suddenly, their lips tasted salty.

“Are you alright, sweet thing? Does it hurt? Should I stop?” Peter could see the worry on Tony’s face and he soothed him with a beautiful smile.

“Don’t stop, please don’t stop. I need you. So much. It’s not about the pain. It’s about you being back here, with me. Promise me you’ll never leave.”

Tony smiled back, so beautiful and blinding that Peter’s tears came anew. “I’m here, baby. I’ll stay. Forever. Feel that?” Tony sat back on his heels, pulling Peter up so he sat on his lap and his cock slid even deeper. “I’m everywhere, baby. Inside you, around you, where I belong. Bounce for me now. I wanna claim you properly.”

Peter listened like he always did. His hands propped on Tony’s knees, Peter started moving, circling his hips and riding his husband's cock. He could feel every inch of Tony dragging along his walls, the tip occasionally hitting his sweet spot and it didn’t take long for him to moan so loudly, that the entire settlement would hear his sounds. Tony didn’t even try to muffle him, staking his claim in more ways than the marking of Peter’s body.

Peter had almost forgotten how good it felt. Everything was on the verge of being too much. His body burned with pleasure, his hole throbbed and his walls clenched around the cock needily. The muscles of his legs were straining, but he couldn’t stop chasing the delicious friction.

Tony dragged it out. He watched him struggle, whispering in his ear how good he was, how obedient. Peter wanted more, but his body was weak, his mind clouded by the endorphins and he desperately needed his Daddy to take over.

Eventually, Tony pressed him on the mattress again, rutting into him like an animal and chasing the overwhelming feeling. The friction against the sheets was enough for his neglected cock and faster than Peter wanted, his orgasm came close.

“Daddy, please, I’m close. Can I come?” Peter’s voice was high-pitched and needy, begging his Daddy for permission. Three years had done its toll and there wasn’t a single ounce of patience left. He would die if his Daddy denied him.

Thankfully, Tony knew Peter’s body very well, so he saw the signs that Peter couldn’t go on any longer. “Come for me, baby.”

It was the obscene squelch of the lube, the accelerating thrusts, and the light pain. Everything mixed together, taking Peter higher and higher until he exploded. Wave after wave of pleasure shook his body, and Peter was crying his orgasm out to the world.

He had missed this so much, missed the mind-blowing sensations, the feeling of being at someone else's mercy, and most of all, he had missed the closeness to his husband. Peter wasn’t alone anymore. Tony would guide him, he would catch him and he would take over every time the responsibilities would become too much.

Knowing Tony was there for him made Peter relax into the mattress. His entire body became limp, all the tension dropping off, only the muscles in his hole were still fluttering. Peter wasn’t done yet. He needed his Daddy’s seed. Needed to be claimed inside, on top of the marks on his neck, and the ring on his finger.

“Such a good boy. I’ve forgotten how good you feel, baby,” Tony’s voice was nothing but a growl and Peter knew he was close as well. “Gonna fill you up, stay in you for days. Just take it, sweet thing. Take your Daddy and show me you’re born for it.”

Peter obeyed. He didn’t pull back, even when he became sensitive, even when Tony’s tip hit his sweet spot, again and again, his body rebelling with overstimulation. He took it because he wanted to be claimed, wanted proof that his husband was back.

When Tony came Peter preened. The sensation of Tony’s come splashing against his walls made Peter proud of himself. He had been good and he had taken everything. Now he was allowed to keep it, buried deep inside of him.

Tony pulled out, and cuddled Peter against his chest, whispering sweet words into his ears. Peter was out. This wasn’t a dream. This was reality. If he would fall asleep now, Tony would still be there when he woke up. Content with the thought, Peter let the praise wash over him.

“Do you want me to clean you up?” Tony asked but didn’t make any attempts to stand up.

Peter shook his head. “Want to feel you inside me a little longer, Daddy.”

Tony’s smile was a mixture of fondness and possessiveness. “I’ll never leave your side, baby. Not for a mission, not for anyone in the world. I couldn’t stand losing you or being separated again. Promise me you’ll stay with me, too.”

“I promise, Daddy.”

They fell into content silence. Peter could feel everything. His Daddy’s body wrapped around him, his seed stored safely inside Peter’s hole. He never wanted to let Tony go again. No, he would build up the world again with Tony by his side.

For the first time in three years, Peter had a goal. He would do everything possible to get humanity back to what it had been before. As long as Tony would be by his side.

~*~

During the first few weeks, Tony didn’t leave Peter’s side once, not even for half an hour. He settled in perfectly, working together with Peter on communication devices and the regain of technology. Peter loved it. Besides Tony being his husband, the man was also a brilliant engineer and Peter realized how much he had missed bantering about tech.

After some time, Tony managed to improve the radio station until they were connected to every settlement on the east coast. Settlement 513 in New York became the center of communication. They were known for their access to tech and their life-saving devices. Tony and Peter even worked on a plan to reach out further, maybe even the other side of the country.

Life wasn’t easy. The winters were hard, but their little group had developed a routine to get through. Nat and Steve worked hard to organize enough food, and Pepper, who had stayed as well, turned out to be a brilliant businesswoman, and soon, she managed the trade.

Every few weeks, new people came to their settlement, and eventually, Peter felt as if he was living in a small village again. Sometimes he forgot the virus, forgot what it had done to all of them, especially when he spent time with Tony alone. It was almost like before the apocalypse, even though there were still days on which he missed his past badly. He couldn’t get May back, would never see Ned and MJ again, but he had Tony now and it was enough.

It was almost half a year after Tony had come back, that Peter woke up in the morning and Tony pressed a cup of coffee into his hands, his face lit up with a smile. Coffee was a rare treat these days and one of the few things Peter missed daily.

“Is there something to celebrate?” Peter asked curiously while he took a sip and closed his eyes in pleasure.

Tony pulled him into his arms and pressed a kiss on his forehead. “Do you know what day we have?”

Peter shook his head. Dates had become irrelevant after some time, but Nat still had a calendar in her office and she tracked time almost religiously.

“It’s our wedding anniversary, baby.”

The words made Peter’s stomach flutter and he leaned closer towards his husband. They were married for five years now. Five years of which they had spent half apart. But it didn’t matter. Tony was back with him, and he wouldn’t leave.

“I love you so much, Peter. I would marry you again and again if I could. I would do anything for you. I would move heaven and earth if necessary, just to be at your side.”

Peter teared up. He felt the same. He would do anything for his husband. Anything.

But before he could reciprocate the confession, Tony spoke up again. “And I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” Suddenly, the coffee was almost forgotten.

Tony walked over to their desk, picked up the blueprints he had worked on for months, and spread them on the bed in front of Peter. “Did you remember the arch technology I told you about before the virus happened?”

Peter remembered broadly. Tony had tried to create clean energy for years before the pandemic had scattered all of their plans. “You mean the reactor that could power an entire city without any fossil fuels?”

Tony smiled at him. “Not only without fossil fuels but without wind, water and sun either.”

Peter lifted his brow impressed. “That would solve many of our problems.”

The smile of his husband only got brighter. “Peter, I think I have found a way to build a reactor strong enough to power the entire settlement without any supply shortfalls in the winter. I think I can make a step towards building up the world how it has been again. Maybe even better.”

Peter looked at him, his eyes widened in surprise when Tony fell on his knees in front of the bed.

“Peter Stark, would you do me the honor and build the first arc reactor with me? I want to give you the world you deserve.”

“Jerk,” Peter snorted, but he still grinned at his husband when he pulled Tony onto the bed, back into his arms.

“I will.”

#starker #apocalypse #virus

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