“A deep ache stung Mothwing’s heart as she stared out behind her, her gaze shifting to the ThunderClan oaks across the river. How jealous she was of cats like Leafpaw. Born into a clan, a community, under a father who was powerful yet kind. She must have no idea how lucky she is. Despite her envy, she felt no bitterness towards the ThunderClan medicine apprentice— only a deep yearning that seemed to twist her insides.”
-
Mothwing’s character has always been extremely interesting to me, and while her mini novella and prominence throughout the series has been undeniably fulfilling, I find that the Erins lack exploring her character in a way that’s deep and understandable. In other words, they feel surface level.
I can identify a lot with Mothwing’s characterization, from her challenging relationship with her mother to her tendency to hold others as foundations rather than peers. Mothwing’s struggle with culture and identity after a traumatic separation strikes me where I’m sore, but it also raises some important questions— Why were you left behind by those who were meant to protect you? Who are you when the concept of home becomes unstable? Was what happened really for the better? Why do I seek home in the ones I love? Or rather, what is home? A person? A place? A time? Who am I when my whole life was built on eroding sand? And so this rewrite or AU comes to my mind and I think… I can’t wait to put my favourite character through more than she’s already gone through.
The first chapter will be posted to my AO3 tonight or tomorrow.
Bruh I am so late with this and I haven’t even participated as much as I wanted I am sosososo sorry. BUT! Here is a funny little thing I thought of and just HAD to include in the week. It’s been lit, sugakookie babies! “AS OR WITH KIDS”
fluff; 1.5k
on AO3
- A trip to the zoo has got Yoongi melting at first, but leave it to him to get lost in an unexpected (possibly scary) new thought. -
When Jeongguk woke him, it was with soft little kisses planted on his cheeks and lips and nose, and he couldn't help the smile that would remain long after he opened his eyes. It was because of this awakening and the softly muttered words afterwards that Yoongi barely knew what he was agreeing to for the day. So when they ended up at the zoo, Yoongi was a bit surprised, but pleasantly so. Jeongguk was bouncing on his toes, excited for the little date he seemed to have planned the night before when Yoongi dropped asleep in his lap.
They quickly bought tickets and, soon, were walking around the well-known zoo near their place. Neither of them had been to the zoo in a while -- in fact, it’d been awhile since they even had a peaceful day to themselves that allowed them to go on a date.
Jeongguk took a breath of the animal-scented air and grimaced a bit, a smile still finding its way onto his lips anyway. “Do they have tigers here, Yoongi-hyung?”
Yoongi squeezed the boy’s hand in his, having not let go since they left the house. “I don’t think so, babe.”
Jeongguk whined shortly, shoulders slumping for just a second before he was back to his towering height and dragging Yoongi to an exhibit that caught his eye. He was especially drawn to the amphibians and reptiles, marveling at the snakes that Yoongi couldn’t help but shiver and turn away from. He was more inclined to the bears, anyway, and maybe the cute little otters, too. He couldn't help but imagine Jeongguk and himself as the two otters lazing around the pool on their backs with their paws locked together. This was only for a few seconds before he shook away the thought, hoping his husband wouldn't notice the embarrassing soft pink on his cheeks.
It was after an hour or so of exploring that Jeongguk gasped and tugged Yoongi to a stop. Yoongi looked up from his phone he couldn't help but check from time to time to see what had happened.
“Hyung! There's a petting zoo here!” Jeongguk exclaimed, fingers tightening around Yoongi's hand. “Let's go!”
Yoongi raised an eyebrow, hesitation clear on his face. “Uh, won't there just be goats and stuff? Do you really want to--”
“Yes, I wanna see if there's an alpaca we can pet. Don't you want to find out if they really do spit in people's faces?”
“Why on earth would I want to find out if that was true?” Yoongi was in the process of responding with this while Jeongguk pulled him along, until they were standing in the entryway of a fairly large clearing. From what Yoongi could see, there were animals roaming around; a pony being pet by a child and her mother, an employee holding a large rabbit in his arms, a small group of four year olds gathered around, would you look at that, an alpaca. Yoongi feared for that last group’s lives.
Just when he felt Jeongguk move to stand near the alpaca, there was a call from another employee behind a short picket fence to the side. “Here come the kids!”
Yoongi stood still, bracing for deafening yells of even more children to come racing in but instead all he got was small bleating. His eyes widened when he looked to where the gate had been opened and saw five baby goats teetering and galloping as best they could toward the open space. “What the fuck,” he breathed just as Jeongguk started laughing.
“Oh, my god,” Jeongguk wheezed as he made the connection, “baby goats are called kids, hyung! Oh, god, your face!”
Before Yoongi could grumble out a reply, one of the kids (baby goats, of course) came tottering over to them much like a toddler. It stared up at them momentarily before proceeding to rub its black and white coated body against Jeongguk’s leg.
“Aw, hey there, little guy,” Jeongguk cooed, releasing Yoongi's hand to kneel on the grass. He let the kid jump against him, bleating happily as he pet its small head. “Aren't you the cutest thing ever…”
Yoongi felt his heart melt at the sight, his Jeongguk cooing over a small baby goat. He leaned down to pet Jeongguk’s fluffy hair and smiled softly. Suddenly, there was a sound and another kid came up to rub against Jeongguk’s side, and then another. The young man was giggling loudly as he tried to get to all of the jumping beans that were baby goats around him. “Yoongi, look at my kids! Ah!” His voice was elated, eyes curved prettily in happiness as he glanced up at Yoongi, who was awestruck once again by the one he called his own. “I want all of them! Give me all the kids!” He was exclaiming as he fell backwards onto his butt with bundles of wiggling baby goats in his arms or nudging against his body somewhere.
Yoongi laughed while trying to pet some of the kids romping around and then pulled out his phone, snapping multiple pictures before the words Jeongguk had spoken settled into his mind. He couldn't help his sudden shift in mood, distracted with the rapid fire pace his mind was working at then. Jeongguk and… kids? Maybe his husband of only three years and lover for several more finally wanted to bring up… children.
He figured he was being irrational, standing in the middle of a petting zoo with Jeongguk and some baby goats beside him, thinking about such a serious topic. But he couldn't let the thought go. Even after Jeongguk had forced him down next to him to feed and pet the kids and, soon after, leaving the zoo for some lunch, Yoongi had the thought of raising an actual human being with the love of his life on his mind. He'd never thought about it to a great extent, just saw it as a possibility but not one he would pursue unless there was a big change of heart. He didn't even think Jeongguk had given it much thought either, but right then, he was sure he missed something.
It wasn't until they were back in their apartment that Jeongguk turned to him and broke him out of his whirling mind.
“Alright, hyung, what's wrong? You've been acting weird since we left the zoo, did something happen?” Jeongguk stepped closer to where he stood in the little hallway that lead into their home.
Yoongi looked down, not yet ready to bring this topic to light so fully. He was quiet for quite some time, hoping that Jeongguk would let it go and hug him anyway, but while he stood there, he came to the conclusion that he should speak up for Jeongguk.
Jeongguk, the one who quite possibly meant what he said when he had all those baby goats surrounding him.
Yoongi didn't look up when he said, “Baby, do you want to adopt a kid?”
Jeongguk froze, stunned to silence by Yoongi's unexpected question. “W-What?”
“You said earlier in the petting zoo that you wanted kids so I figured that was your way of bringing it up and I'm sorry if I've been dense but if you've been thinking about it, I'm sure we can discuss it and see what we can do?” Yoongi knew he was rambling but it couldn't be helped. He had reached a hand up to run through his hair, eyes staring only at Jeongguk’s chest as he spoke.
Suddenly, Jeongguk let out a short, possibly incredulous laugh. He reached forward to rest a hand on Yoongi's shoulder to tug him into a hug. “You're so silly, hyung. So, so silly,” Jeongguk mumbled into Yoongi's hair, holding him tenderly and sighing.
Yoongi, for one, was a little confused but much more relieved. Almost immediately, he brought his hands up around Jeongguk’s waist and breathed in his familiar floral scent.
“I wasn't even thinking when I said those things, Yoongi,” Jeongguk said as he pulled back slightly. “I was caught up in the moment and they were just so cute! I couldn't help but want to keep all of the little baby munchkins.” He giggled softly and leaned forward to briefly brush his nose against Yoongi's. “I don't know about an actual child and how we would go about that whole process and life, especially right now. I know it scares you a little bit and that's okay, because it's scary for me, too. So, don't worry, okay? We're still young, we have plenty of time to figure stuff like that out but for now, I just want you, Min Yoongi.”
Yoongi stared up into Jeongguk’s pretty brown eyes and felt his heart shake. He let out a tiny breath of relief he didn't know he was holding in before leaning up to press their lips together. “Okay,” he whispered. “Okay, good.” He leaned in for another kiss and then another until Jeongguk took a breath. Yoongi could feel him smiling against his lips.
“But if you want to adopt a little baby goat, I'm totally up for that.”
I’ve been listening to Here Comes a Thought from Steven Universe a lot cause it’s just calming. Miserable at Best the Natewantstobattle cover (I like it more than the original) I love his arrangement and it inspired some poems. And Control by Halsey.
