so with my hands in my pockets, and a hole in my soul — burn this house to the ground and hit the road, sayin' oh lord, here we go . . . LEON. 10/30/94
from this meme ! beach —write our characters going to the beach together.
as the monster dissipates from sight, disappearing over the water as slow, black waves lap up against the shore, leon lets his shoulders droop, weapons hanging at his sides. "jesus christ." the monster wasn't particularly creepy, but it was... weird. leon hasn't quite adjusted to seeing stuff so surreal right in front of his eyes just yet, stuff straight out of a picasso painting or a weird japanese RPGs ( not that he would know, he's definitely not a nerd who plays japanese RPG games ) ... though nothing is worse than the monster he faced on his contract day, these things can get fairly unnerving.
it helps to have someone with him.
with the back of a gloved hand, leon wipes a bead of sweat from his brow, turning to face the other hero. "that thing was probably the ugliest monster i've seen all month. did you see its eyes? awful." jimin looks fairly unphased, or at least he's not paying much attention to either leon or the monster they just defeated, looking out at the water instead.
leon goes quiet, following his gaze. the moon reflects perfectly onto the water, creating a white streak of light leading almost right to their toes. it's pretty, he thinks, surprised at the calm, pleasant feeling spreading in his chest.
well, hey, maybe there are some things worth fighting monsters for -- maybe for every horrifying, nightmare-inducing thing leon will see in his lifetime, he'll get to see something beautiful: a calm ocean on a full moon, a city skyline at night, the first snowfall of the year.
"we should go swimming," leon pipes up suddenly.
jimin looks at him. "in november?" he asks, his tone somewhat amused, both eyebrows raised. leon's face heats up. oh yeah. it isn't that cold yet, but definitely not warm enough to swim.
leon feels rather stupid, and he scowls lightly. "i was kidding, don't give me that look..." he wasn't kidding, but the moment is ruined now anyway. he turns away from the water. "whatever -- i don't like swimming anyway."
from this meme ! holiday —write our characters celebrating a holiday together.
PAST: christmas, 2014 or at least sometime pre-contract. timeline: ???, potentially canon but could also be au idksolace will come later i’m SORRY
despite being told not to bring anything, jonghyun and his brother showed up with arms full of presents anyway, matching grins on their faces as haneul squeals in delight and hoseok rubs at the back of his neck, embarrassed at being clearly one-upped; although haneul reassured him that she has it all covered, he definitely worries that their dinner and two hastily-wrapped gifts wouldn't be enough. hoseok was sort of under the impression that if he told jonghyun not to worry about gifts then they wouldn't have to worry about them either -- but of course they didn't listen anyway. judging from haneul's over-the-top reaction, he's guessing that she wasn't expecting them to go so all-out either.
but he smiles, giving both boys a one-armed hug and stepping to the side to let them in. they're only here for dinner and a brief gift exchange, because the kim brothers have other things to do ( more friends to see ) but haneul had insisted that they visit for at least an hour or two. at first, it was just 'stop by for baileys hot chocolate' but soon enough it blew up into a whole ordeal, haneul working some magic in the kitchen ( with hoseok's assistance ) and he's left wondering what the heck he should be doing to earn a dinner this good on a regular day.
although he supposes, if he could choose anyone to treat like this it’d be the kim brothers; he doesn't know much about the two yet but he does know that haneul adores them, the older one especially. one would expect hoseok to get jealous, but he's not, really. maybe he was at first, just a little, but now he's just glad to see that haneul has someone else she wants to trust. he was glad to be introduced to him a few months ago. he he knows how hard it is for her to make friends, when she's normally the somewhat serious and introverted one at school; he likes that it makes her happy to see them all together. as he follows after the other three, he makes a note to try to get to know them more.
and then there’s jonghyun -- a kid, hoseok decided soon after meeting him. hoseok is reminded of this when he watches jonghyun react to the sight of dinner, clapping and cheering. he’s almost surprised by how he acts sometimes -- at first sight he would’ve pegged him as someone more serious. although that air of responsibility is still there, he’s definitely more childish than hoseok expected. and he lives up to that every time he sees him -- for example, today he nearly runs straight into the table before his brother steps in, holding him back. it makes haneul laugh, and even hoseok smiles a little.
this is such a hallmark moment. gross, he thinks, but even the voice in his head speaks fondly. he's not really used to this -- sure, his time with haneul has been filled with cheesy moments on their own but he isn't used to actually sharing it with anyone else. for so long, it's been just he and his girl against the world -- he wasn't really prepared to let others into his life, especially when it's at haneul's will and not his.
but maybe it's time. if haneul can open up to them like this, if she's this eager to have them all be great friends then he should too, right? it wouldn't be fair for her to put in this effort just for him to flop on her. so he'll try his best.
he catches her eye from where she’s sitting at the table, and he must've had a particularly pensive look on his face because he sees slightly furrowed brows, a hint of worry in her eyes. he shakes his head and gives her what he hopes is a reassuring look -- and, after a moment, he steps back and turns on his heel, pulling out his cell phone. "everyone look alive," he says, hoisting his phone right before smiling as he snaps a selfie.
he glances at the screen as he slips his phone back into his pocket. jonghyun looks fairly goofy, with food half in his mouth, his brother smiling politely while haneul looks brighter than hoseok has seen her in months. "cute.”
he's not usually this sentimental. it's just for her, is his first thought. of course it is -- but right after he realizes that's not quite true.
the others resume their conversation as hoseok slips into his spot at the table, and he feels some kind of emotion doing funny things to his insides. happiness? maybe, but not quite; it's more like anticipation, the sort of anxiety that comes with knowing that something good is coming your way while the potential of messing it up somehow is right there, too.
he wants to make friends. he really does. especially if it would make haneul smile like this more often -- it's worth it. if he has to put his wariness and social exhaustion aside to do it, he will, at least for this one night.
"hey jonghyunnie, pass me the salt?" he hopes they can stay for a while.
from this meme ! nightmare —write my character having a nightmare about yours, or vice versa.
tw: light gore i think?? idk but just in case? it’s moreso a nightmare about Himself ft. ricky very briefly being there for some reason
it’s been a few days since that weird encounter with ricky, the bright-haired hero from special class; leon has never really bothered talking to him one-on-one since then ( not that they talked much before that point, either – different social circles. if one could say leon even has a social circle... ) but that strange expression still comes to mind once or twice a day. why did he look so -- what’s the right word here. upset? sad? distraught? pitying? he has no idea what the look meant, really. leon is used to people giving him looks of disappointment but not looks that are that level of just plain sad, as if leon had run over his dog or something. or, more accurately, that someone had run over leon’s dog.
but he brushed it off for the most part. maybe ricky was having a weird day. it happens; sometimes your day is just going so shitty that you can’t help but stare down everyone you see with a hopeless expression on your face. he’s sure it’s something that can be easily explained – and it isn’t until he shows up in leon’s literal dreams that he really starts freaking out.
the dream starts off fairly normal, and he’s unaware that it’s a dream at first. he’s fighting off a familiar. in real life, he probably doesn’t have the knowledge or the skills to try to fight one of these things – he doesn’t seem to be aware of this though, deflecting different projectiles thrown at him and running up at the monster, swinging at whatever he can reach.
it doesn’t start to get really weird until he starts seeing sights he recognizes in the calamity; among the smoke and swirling colours that make up the familiar’s realm he starts seeing faces. both of people he recognizes and people he doesn’t. he sees his colleagues from the league, random other heroes that he doesn’t know, as well as old friends and family from the past. he sees haneul – but she vanishes just as quickly as he registers seeing her face.
physically, he starts to feel strange as well. heart thumping much harder than normal, slamming too painfully against his ribcage for him to focus properly, his attacks slow down and eventually stop, and leon is forced to take a knee as he tries to control his breathing. he’s never had such an adverse phsyical reaction to a fight like this – and it brings him to a panic as he realizes that if he can’t get up, he’s probably going to die.
it’s when he looks up again that he realizes something’s not right. the familiar isn’t attacking him. the movements of the familiar seem to be frozen. there’s someone standing there, and it takes a second for him to recognize himself. well – his past self. well, this is weird. he sees the wide-eyed, black-haired version of himself two years ago, staring at something in his hands. leon, head swimming, squints to try and make out what it is– but he only sees something red, and then he notices the blood on the other leon’s hands – and the big wound dripping red in his chest.
it’s a heart. he’s holding a human heart. what the hell–
but when leon realizes this, the vision vanishes. suddenly, he’s standing up again though he doesn’t remember getting up, and the pain in his chest has disappeared – and though the other faces are gone, the rest of the familiar’s realm looks the same.
leon feels compelled to turn around, spinning on his heels. and he sees one more person he recognizes. ricky, in full hero garb, staring at him. just staring, with that strange look from the parking garage. “what do you want?” leon yells, but he feels as though his voice is taken away from him. “stop looking at me like that!” ricky doesn’t budge. leon is more and more frustrated.
he takes a step toward ricky – but as soon as he moves, the dream is over.
leon wakes up with a start, breathing fairly heavily.after a moment, he groans, bringing his hand to his forehead, drawing his sweaty bangs away from his face. “fuck…” what was that? not only was it freaky that he’d even see ricky in his dreams in the first place, but the whole thing just felt.. off. leon swears he can feel a shadow of that pain in his chest. he wonders if the pain he felt was somehow connected to the vision of himself.. with a heart in his hands?
he doesn’t really want to think about it. he isn’t one to analyze dreams in the first place, and this is one he can probably just chalk up to a combination of stress and … bad dieting habits, or something.
hello to our lovely members! this is your admin egg here to share our first drabble meme! this time around, we’re doing something special! not only will you get to have loads of fun writing, but you also have the chance to gain points for your characters !
for this challenge, you will be awarded ONE (1) point for every TWO (2) people you send a meme to! whichever account you send the meme from will be awarded the points, and this works up until you hit ask limit! (you can still send asks from other accounts/anonymous, you just need to stop collecting points after ask limit!)
the only main rule is that in order for it to count for points, it has to be off of anonymous! so with that, have fun!!
a random starter for @ccxwonshik, who sent a prompt to this post !
leon hates the mall.
he hates a lot of things, to be fair. but shopping malls have a fairly high position on his “do not enter under any circumstances” list, falling somewhere beneath “downtown during rush hour” and just barely above “happy hour at starbucks”.
he’s the stereotypical brooding emo when it comes to these things; crowds make him antsy and stupid people make him angry and – amazingly enough – shopping malls tend to have both of those things in abundance.
leon grimaces, staring up at the brightly lit letters spelling out C L A I R E ’ S and honestly, he wants to die a little bit. his masculinity is a bit too fragile for him to feel comfortable walking into a little girl’s store and let alone to be seeking out a shade of lipstick. but alas, he has no choice – he lost a bet at the bar last night against a coworker, and if he doesn’t follow through he thinks the man might actually kill him. although as leon walks slowly, reluctantly into the store, he thinks that dying might actually be a better option than this.
immediately upon entering, leon is lost. he squints at the smudged writing on his hand reading coral blue semi-gloss lipstick and squints back up at the colourful makeup display. he has no idea where the lipstick even is, let alone how to find such a weirdly specific shade.
he spots an employee across the floor, and feels the colour drain from his face as he recognizes him as one of the heroes from nightshade. goddamn. what are the chances?
leon turns on his heel, trying his best to head for the door before he’s noticed.
a random starter for @ccjonghyun, who sent a prompt to this post !
however leon found himself in this situation is beyond him. sitting in a coffee shop across from none other than kim jonghyun, vice president of the league, former friend ( if 'former' is the right term ), he feels fairly awkward; it's not often that someone asks him to meet up just for the sake of talking and it's even less often that leon actually agrees. he didn't brush him off like he does with most, for a combination of two reasons: one, jonghyun is the vice president of the stupid league and leon is maybe a little bit worried about being rude to someone of that standing, and two, he knows jonghyun well enough to know that he means well.
although leon doesn't really want to talk to him. there's an elephant in the room that hasn't gone away in.. a year? past a year? well, however long it's been since haneul died; and despite jonghyun's most well-intentioned efforts at bringing up the past in a light-hearted way, leon shuts down the conversation every time, almost immediately. don't talk about that stuff, he'd say, perhaps a little too harshly. it doesn't matter anymore.
maybe it embarrasses leon a little that jonghyun knows the old him, knows jung hoseok, and leon is positive that jonghyun pities him, at least a little bit. leon hates that -- it's hard enough trying to forget who he was before and it’s even harder with jonghyun being around; the last thing he needs is a reminder that leon and hoseok aren't exactly as distant from each other as leon hopes.
he's avoided talking to jonghyun alone for so long. and the other hero seemed to understand why, at first, or at least he didn't care to bother pushing his friendship on leon anymore -- leon was able to distance himself pretty easily. it was better that way.
and yet, here he is, doing exactly what he's been avoiding for a year. why? because he's bored? lonely? probably, something along those lines anyway. or maybe there's a small part of him that yearns for those memories of the past, little reminders that leon wasn't always the shitty person he is today.
"so what do you want?" leon says, his tone just as abrasive as usual despite his inner turmoil, blowing a puff of air across his latte. he watches the foam bubble a bit as it settles back onto the top of the sweet drink, refusing to meet jonghyun's gaze.
"am i getting kicked out of the league or something? 'cause, uh -- no offense, but that'd actually be kinda ideal."
hello, i posted one of these on lucky but i want more Stuff for leon too so !! reply to this post with any word and i’ll write u a starter based on it!!
when it comes to friendship, leon is pretty terrible at it. you give what you get, so they say anyway, and he doesn't give that much at all -- keeping up with the pleasantries, affection, whatever that most people demand of "friends", is too much effort. most people choose to avoid hanging out with leon for that reason. and, for the most part, he thinks good riddance.
but there are a few who don't really care all that much about leon's attitude one way or another, and taeyong is one; maybe it's partially because he's kana’s friend, but he doesn’t find taeyong nearly as irritating as the other rookie heroes. with him, leon doesn't have to put up as much of a front ( though his guard is never completely down, it never is ) and for a man who has to deal with the annoying nightshade members nearly every day, it’s refreshing, almost, to not have to waste extra energy on being an asshole.
maybe they aren't exactly friends yet (leon doesn't really know how to categorize those these days) but at the very least, he doesn't mind having him around.
so when taeyong mentioned offhandedly during practise that he's never really had alcohol before, leon didn't hesitate when he offered to take him out. he spent most friday nights there, anyway, and maybe it would be nice to bring a friend this time; and honestly, he thinks taeyong could probably use a night out; leon isn't the most perceptive person on earth, but he can tell when someone's been through some shit.
he was actually a little surprised that taeyong agreed -- but pleasantly so. ( he didn't realize how badly he wanted to actually hang out with someone. )
"well, here it is," leon announces as they leave his parked car, gesturing proudlu at the bright red sign hanging a little precariously over the entrance of the fairly seedy-looking bar, the sound of laughter, glasses clinking and muted rock music coming out from somewhere inside. "home sweet home."
he glances back at the younger hero, grinning slightly. "you excited yet?"
Unless you’re waiting for a lovely retirement notice, any letters issued by the Governing Body rarely contain good news. Your team leader hands you an ivory envelope with a silver seal, upon which an image of two swords clashing is embossed. Whichever secretary had been told to write your name has impeccable handwriting.
Once you decide to open it, a dark grey paper is crisply folded three times. It reads the following:
Greetings, JUNG HOSEOK
This is a formal notice that you will be placed into Rotation B, as ordained by the Governing Body. We will be arriving for an impromptu observation to see how you perform when group dynamics are suddenly, inexplicably changed. We are intrigued by the Busan League’s high performance and are considering you for an elite mission. It’s of the highest caliber and will possibly require the assistance of humans and/or cards, which is why it is essential to test your adaptability.
The elite mission your league is being considered for will pay generously, as well as contribute to your ranking when an official inspection is scheduled. In addition to monetary reward, we will allot funds to upgrade your training room equipment at HQ.
Currently, we are also considering the Changsha and Saint Petersburg leagues to be assigned this mission. We can only choose one, so know your competition and be prepared to perform. Be brave. Be bold. Be ready to work as a team.
- The Governing Body
his immediate reaction is to scoff, nearly tossing the letter aside. “ … ‘fucks sake, again?” ‘jung hoseok’ is printed in beautiful handwriting, but he squints at it anger anyway. that’s not his name! christ. what’s the point of having a hero alias if your hero colleagues won’t use it?
the fact that he’s getting a letter from the league at all is annoying enough – these letters usually mean that he’s either a) in trouble or b) getting some kind of orders that he doesn’t want to follow and both options aren’t exactly ideal.
leon grumbles to himself, kicking off his shoes at his front door. he opens up the letter again, apprehensive eyes scanning the page as he heads for his kitchen, grabbing a beer out of the fridge.
you will be placed into rotation b –
a team mission? wonderful. great. lovely.
his lips press into a tight line with annoyance, but his irritation lessens a little as he reads on, replaced instead with slight concern. an elite mission that requires the help of all kinds of people… rather than feeling ambitious or proud that he was chosen for such a high-calibre task, leon feels wary, suspicious.
it’s not often that the league asks for something like this – something must be happening. he doesn’t know what, but he does know that he doesn’t really want to be involved. it irks him that he won’t really have a choice – but whatever. such is a life of a magical hero; and he has to participate, he might as well do his best ( and, ideally, score that reward later on. some cash would be nice. )
when he’s finished reading, he looks at the letter for a moment longer before finally tossing it aside. whatever the mission is, he has better things to care about.
( but that doesn’t stop him from thinking about it for the next two days. he’s not worried, because leon doesn’t worry -- he’s just apprehensive... )
leon isn't normally the type to ask for help. whether it be something physical, practical, emotional -- if he can't deal with it himself, his policy is generally to just ... not deal with it at all. he's fine with giving up on something if it means he doesn't have to ask someone else to do it for him.
needless to say, it takes a lot of brooding & frustration by himself before leon even thinks of seeking out sombra, the notorious hacker card to help him out.
leon wants information. being stuck on the rookie team, he lacks the knowledge on the league that he believes he deserves to know. truthfully, he knows jack shit about the people given at the beginning of their training, of course ) and it bothers the hell out of him. he doesn't like the league. he's not really a team player to begin with, he hates following orders and on top of that, he thinks they’re stupid. they aren't doing enough with all the power and resources they have. they force heroes into the group and claim they're giving the best training, while, from leon's perspective, they're just handing heavy weaponry to children and calling it a day. he disagrees with the system, though there's nothing he can do about it ( and when it comes down to it, he doesn't exactly have a better solution. ) but he can't help but feel bitter watching the younger heroes hype themselves up before a fight where they're obviously outmatched and probably going to die because all he can think about is her.
he knows there's no point in finding out more about the league, especially since he knows he can't ( and he won't ) do anything about whatever he learns. there isn't exactly a reason for him wanting to know. maybe uncovering some of their secrets is some attempt at defiance on his part? maybe he just wants to stir up some drama?
whatever his thought process truly is, it leads him up the steps of a fairly fancy-looking house. he glances down at his phone, frowning, double-checking the address sent to him by a friend. he looks up again, blinking at the impressive architecture and perfect paint job. damn. maybe he steals all his money. for someone who supposedly has the power to hack nearly any database on the planet, leon wouldn't put it past him. but he still feels jealous ( and, hey, what is that feeling -- inferiority? that’s new. ) when he thinks about how many years he would have to save up for to be able to afford a house like this.
after a moment's hesitation, he finally lifts a finger, pressing the doorbell.
he waits.
and waits.
and waits...
and a million years later, someone comes to the door.
leon, looking fairly out of place and uncomfortable in his black graphic tee, backwards snap-back and hands shoved in jean pockets, peers at the young man ( teenager?? ) standing in the door-frame.
for someone who is very close friends with alcohol and its effects, it's not really that unusual at all for leon to wake up in unfamiliar places.
it doesn't usually hurt this much, though.
when he brings his palms up to his face and goes to press them down on his eyelids, all he feels is pain. ow. what? the skin around his eyes feels tender.. swollen, almost. he hesitates, then moves his arms back down -- and that hurts, too. blinking his eyes open, he stares at the ceiling. almost immediately, his head starts throbbing, much more than it usually does when he's hungover.
holy shit, what did he do last night?
he shifts, wincing, and turns his head to his left side. no one's there, he sees the empty left side of a double bed. thank god. he breathes a sigh of relief, and turns to look at the room on the other side --
and he nearly shits his pants. "woah! oh my god!"
someone is standing there, watching him. but not just someone -- it's the tempest card.
or at least, he thinks it is. why does he look so.. weird? he appears human, for one thing, and weak-looking, and very different from the powerful card that he's been trying to capture for the last few weeks. or months. ( probably months. )
leon squints, which makes his head feel worse. his head is spinning; why is tempest standing there? why does he feel like he's dying? why can't he remember how he got here?
normally, those questions lead to one thing. and if it was anyone else, leon would just accept it as a notch in his belt, eat breakfast and go. but the fact that it's tempest is confusing and alarming and about 50 shades of weird.
fuck.
he groans, rolling back to his other side ( with some effort ) and shuts his eyes tight again before speaking.
“i don't wanna know what happened, so don't tell me anything."
this is my Other boy, the.. significantly meaner one
some of u will remember that i was cchope last time around but i decided to go with an old hobi muse idea that i had!!
here’s some info about him, to help with plotting -- please like this if u wanna plot with leon !
- born in 94 !! a whole Scorpio...
- he became a hero in 2015, after the death of his fiancee, who was a hero before him
- was originally a med school student, dropped out, now he’s a parking lot attendant
- incredibly bitter & cold, at his friendliest he’s just a sarcastic ass
- he’s incapable of feeling love bc of the wish he made, smth that he is Totally Fine With ! ( and by that i mean he’s not, deep down, rip )
- in the first timeline, he was consumed by regret & envy, became a familiar and killed a lot of rookies, even though he wasnt a particularly powerful familiar, having been a rookie-level hero when he transformed
- he was killed by another hero ( an open plot! )
- he obviously doesn’t remember this happening
- in the second timeline, he’s obviously not a familiar yet but Getting There
- resistance members: possibly remember his whole familiar thing, we can plot around that
- feel free to be someone who wants to save him, but gl finding a way to completely purify him when he cant feel true love ;;
- i’m open to pretty much any plot for him except shipping bc u know. he’s definitely The Type to have fwbs or Exes or flings where he’s not 100% honest about his lack of affection
- he is also capable of having friends but most ppl have to have a thick skin & darker sense of humour to get along with him lol
- he’s true neutral leaning toward neutral evil, so he’s really not someone good people should be around... i mean unless u want that .... another good plot idea eyes emoji
- ( i’d also really love a childhood friends who remembers what leon was like before signing the contract - a possible human plot ? )
- anyway ! leon is my trash son and i love to hate him but I THINK he’s a p interesting character and im excited to write for him
- see his about page for more info !
