Event Log: Is It a Wonderful Life?

[hadrielmods]

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for Is It A Wonderful Life? event
Where: All over the city
When: Jan 4th-8th
Warnings: None

Throughout the next few days, you may find yourself plagued by visions and dreams of back home. The dreams will be lifelike and difficult to tell apart from reality, as the world will be constructed from what you remember of your world. However, unlike usual dreams, you won't be present, and will find yourself unable to be seen or heard by those around you.

The dreams are vivid reminders of what might happen in a world without you: a world in which you disappeared when coming to Hadriel, a world which desperately needs you back for some reason or another. You may see your parents putting up missing posters, your significant other moving onto their next relationship, or even your hated villain finally taking over the world without you there to stop them.

When the vision leaves, you're back here and nothing about the city has changed. Though maybe you have a different outlook on it now...

► This log covers January 4th-Januray 8th.
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you try a weird solution to make it back home, please let us know here.

Comments

[braveoff]

"I knew you were. I mean, not all the time, but nobody's happy all the time. The good just won out." He goes back to tracing the tattoos, skimming over the scars. "Anything's better than what you went back to. We'll figure it out, like you said. We're not going back to being dead, I'm not... gonna let go."

[requiemshark]

"Yeah. The good won out."

He likes the sound of that. None of it was easy. They fought to get here. And they'll fight to get to a better future, for all of them. It sounds cheesy as all fuck in Ephemera's head, but he believes it just the same.

It's good to have that kind of certainty again. Comforting.

"We'll find a way, with your mom. I'm gonna get her flowers. Not roses. But something pretty. And then I'll be really fucking charming and not swear all the time, and -- it'll be awkward at first, yeah, but it'll work out. I got faith."

[braveoff]

Drake blinks, then laughs softly. The sound is warm and genuine and endlessly fond -- Ephemera realizes he just swore while talking about not swearing, right? God help him, Drake thinks that's adorable.

"She loves camellias. Which is funny because one time when I was getting her some, the florist pointed out that the white ones' meaning is something about the bond between parent and child. I don't think she knows that, though. She just thinks they're pretty."

[requiemshark]

"Camellias," Ephemera repeats. He has no idea what those look like, but he can find out. "Fuck yeah."

And he's swearing again. Well, he'll work on that.

"Think she'd like 'em in a pot or a bouquet, or whatever?"

He's never actually given someone flowers before. But he'll figure it out.

[braveoff]

Drake huffs another tiny laugh at the curse, because it's still funny, before cuddling in closer.

"Just a bouquet, I wouldn't necessarily trust her to keep a bush alive. I mean, I made it, but flowers can't say they're not thirsty anymore or whatever. Even as a kid I kinda had to put my foot down about stuff like that." He looks almost apologetic. "She's seriously a handful."

[requiemshark]

"Yeah, you were a serious kid. All responsible and shit. Not like me. I survived out of sheer dumb luck."

Ephemera's seen Drake as a kid, doesn't even have to imagine it. Little Drake knew enough about how the world worked not to trust it. Hard way to grow up, but it kept him alert, kept him going. Got him to this point. And now Drake's got people next t o him. Doesn't have to walk it alone.

None of them do. That's the good thing about dying, Ephemera supposes. Puts everything in perspective.

"I know." This time his tone is soft, but serious. "But she's your mom. That doesn't go away, ever."

Ephemera never knew his mom, but he knows family. That stuff goes deep, far beyond the bullshit. You adapt. You make changes. You stay through the hard shit. That's what it means to have family. So he'll put in the work for Drake's.

[braveoff]

"I kinda had to be. And yeah... she's my mom and she loves me. And doesn't mean anything bad by it, or I wouldn't put up with her honestly. I'm not that kind of person to sit around in a shitty situation if there's another option."

She can be rude, but she's not mean on purpose. Just a bit tactless. Drake does worry how that'll work out for Ephemera, but... hm. He lifts a hand to trail his fingertips down the other man's cheek, across the scars there that he never cared about.

"You know she's gonna ask."

[requiemshark]

Yeah. The scars. That's one thing they've only talked about vaguely.

Ephemera puts his hand over Drake's, squeezing briefly.

"Thought I'd say something like this. I used to be a soldier. And I got hurt, one time. I got hurt really bad and there's stuff that couldn't be fixed. But I'm here, now, and I love your son."

Which - might be horribly cheesy. He's not sure. He's never done anything like this before. Even in the abstract planning stages.

"....is that really bad?"

[braveoff]

Drake doesn't see that coming. The first part, sure, and he's just listening thinking that's fine, that's the obvious explanation, they can run with that. Then Ephemera says that last bit and Drake feels like he's been punched in the chest, but in a good way. He blinks in surprise before his expression softens, a smile tugging at his lips.

"...bad? No. It's really sappy. But probably perfect."

[requiemshark]

Oh god. That's probably the sappiest thing he's ever said sober and he meant the whole goddamn thing. Ephemera blinks a few times, before responding. His face is burning. He can feel it. "....I want it to work. And. I want to know her. And I guess that's someplace to start, right?"

[braveoff]

"We'll figure it out. We've dealt with worse than Ma... and she'll see that we work." He leans up, pressing a soft kiss to a blushing cheek, because that's one of his favorite things ever. Not just the blush, but that Ephemera is comfortable enough saying it in the first place. "Love you too. She'll see it."

[requiemshark]

Ephemera huffs a little. This isn't - he's got no frame of reference for how this sort of thing is supposed to go. No idea how you're supposed to act around someone's mother, or tell them he how much he loves their son.

First time for everything, right? And it's not like he'll be doing it alone.

"....we do," Ephemera agrees, softly. Because they always have, since the first time they met. "And I'll find a way to show her."

[braveoff]

Drake grins, finding Ephemera's hand under the covers and tangling their fingers. It feels so weird to be talking in impossible abstracts, but he does want this. Wants it to happen, for this to be the biggest problem in their lives.

"Relax a little. She can be a pain in the ass but she's not blind. She's smarter than people take her for, just bad at manners -- no self control. Doesn't make her stupid. So I know she'll see."

[requiemshark]

Feels like the worst has passed, for now. Ephemera squeezes Drake's hand, shifting to press against him. "I survived Rodriguez, and he was the rudest motherfucker in the universe. See, I've even got practice."

It'll be all right.

[braveoff]

"Was that on purpose, though? When it's accidental it's like... you feel weird yelling at her." He shakes his head, letting Ephemera press in. "What kind of shit did he do? Tell me."

[requiemshark]

"Sometimes," Ephemera says, closing his good eye. "God, he was such a fucker. He had this whole pickly badass thing going on. Cursing at the brass, starting fights with the other squads, all that shit. Always went for your cigarettes, too. He'd get the whole goddamn squad roped in and pretend he hadn't done a thing when we got in trouble. Never apologized for shit, either."

Rodriguez had been an asshole most of the time, sure. It was his way of making sure the world wouldn't get close enough to actually see him.

"And he'd get under your skin. Make these stupid comments. He didn't mean anything by it, but sometimes it'd hit a nerve, you know? And then he'd get this look on his face when he realized he'd actually hurt one of us, and he'd go real quiet. And he wouldn't do it again. Never actually said he was sorry, but he'd apologize in other ways."

Ephemera squeezes Drake's hand gently.

"He always found me paints. Even when we were in the shit."

[braveoff]

"I think I've known the type," Drake admits, a little wryly. People who were jerks almost on accident, who didn't mean to really hurt you but sometimes did. Who'd make up for it in their own way, that Drake still cared about despite all their missteps.

He strokes his thumb over the back of Ephemera's hand and listens.

"He sounds like some friends I've had, over the years. Good friends despite it all, but they always landed themselves in trouble with those mouths. Did you have to bail him out a lot?"

[requiemshark]

"All the damn time," Ephemera agrees. His voice is fond, despite everything. He and Rodriguez hadn't seen eye to eye on a lot of things outside of combat, but the man had been family. When it mattered, Rodriguez pulled through. He'd be an ass about it most of the time, but he delivered. "Always got himself in trouble with the MPs for being drunk around the officers. You'd think he'd learn, but he never did."

[braveoff]

"Didn't learn, or didn't care?" Or maybe everyone bailing him out was enabling the behavior... not that it mattered now, just something to think about for people Ephemera will meet later in life, other friends he'll make. "Could be either."

[requiemshark]

Ephemera shrugs. He'd never really thought about it. "Both, I guess? It was always stupid shit."

Drunk and disorderly. The lower end of conduct unbecoming. But it'd been during the war and the ODST had always gotten a bit of leeway in that area. It helped that they usually worked alone. No one to notice or care how the squad conduct themselves, only that things got done.

"I dunno. Used to think he got a kick out of getting people mad at him. Being the center of attention and all that."

[braveoff]

"There are less dangerous ways to be the center of attention," Drake comments, but he's grinning a little because he knows that type, too. "Sounds like he might've been playing squeaky wheel. I knew kids who did that, growing up. Usually middle children."

[requiemshark]

"Squeaky wheel?"

That's a new one.

Ephemera shakes his head a little. "He was an asshole. But I survived him. Figure I can survive just about anyone, now."

It's said softly. It's never really been about Rodriguez, though Ephemera does miss the man. Misses the barbs and how he felt safe knowing someone was tracking him through a high powered scope; Rodriguez always had his back, no matter what. He'd bitch and moan and drag everyone down into the shit with him, but he was always there. Until, one day, he wasn't.

Ephemera survived that. Not gently. Not with much grace. But he's here, now.

He squeezes Drake's wrist briefly. "It'll be all right. I got faith."