Curate, connect, and discover
I saw you mention that you'd be moving your stories to ao3, and I CAN'T WAIT. Seriously--there's a disturbing number of incest fics there right now, so Ian and Barley brotherly love fics that are NOT ROMANTIC are something we're in desperate need of!
Oh man, I honestly haven’t even checked the onward tag yet and that’s kinda disturbing there’s already incest fics; but I’ll do my best to fill the tag with wholesome brotherly love/familial love oneshots!!
Particularly, I have to commend you on how you write Ian; many stories have written him more or less on the babyish side, which might be excusable if the story takes place in the boys' childhood, but not so much if it takes place after the events of the film. I appreciate you remembering that Ian actually grew during that film; even if he still doesn't have everything figured out, that's okay, because now he's more willing to learn and try, and he's become braver and wiser for it.
Wow, thank you!!! I’m still not 100% in tune with these characters so it means a lot to see this. I wanted Ian to seem strong, but still uncertain and still with elements of how he was before the quest. Thanks SO much!!! 💖💖💖
I just read your Onward minific, and I LOVED IT. I think you oughta consider writing more; both Ian and Barley felt in character, and the talk and interactions were so good (THE FEET, AAAAAAHHHHH--)! You don't have to feel pressured to write any multi-chapter fics, but I'd like to see you write some more one-shots if you like--I think you have a talent for it!
Oh my goodness, thank you SO MUCH. It means a crazy lot to see this comment, I am literally on the moon right now. I’d love to start writing more one shots, and don’t be surprised if you see more of them in the future!! Onward really inspired me and I definitely want to continue writing with these characters!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
It’s been about a year since the events of the movie, and today would have been Wilden Lightfoot’s birthday. Barley, Ian, and their mother, Laurel, are about to celebrate; but Barley still has a nag in his gut about the events of that fateful day. Guilt that Ian never really got to see their father. Ian sorts things out, and the brothers have a heart to heart. ----
The sun was setting over the peaks of the distant mountains, and Barley Lightfoot let out a sigh as he watched through the window of his messy bedroom. Today would have been Wilden Lightfoot’s birthday. Today was his father’s birthday. It had been almost a year since Barley and his brother, Ian, had set out on their totally awesome quest to bring back the other half of their dad; and his little brother had already turned seventeen years old. The kid was almost as tall as Barley himself, but had still managed to maintain his small frame and bony elbows. Barley smiled to himself at just how much Ian had grown. “He owes an awful lot of that to you, you know,” the voice of his father still rang in his long ears as if they had just been said. Barley smiled wider. Suddenly, a knock at his door made him lazily turn his head.
“Hey, Barley?” The familiar squeak of Ian’s voice came through the door.
Barley’s smile began to fade. Ian. Ian never had the opportunity to speak to their father that day... it had been the kid’s dream to meet him. An involuntary rush of guilt ran through Barley’s gut.
“Uh.... Barley?” Oh. Right. Ian. Ian was at his door. Barley shook his head and puffed out his chest. “Come in, dear brother! What is it you seek?”
A chuckle could be heard from the other side of the wall, and the door clicked open to Ian, a goofy smile on his face. He was wearing their Dad’s sweatshirt.
“We’re about to celebrate Dad’s birthday, so uh, come out of your Knight’s Quarters and let’s have some cake.”
Barley laughed.
“All right, be right there,” He said, turning away from his brother.
There was a pause. Ian hadn’t left yet. Had he... said something wrong? He soon heard his little brother pipe up from his place in the doorway.
“Um... Is everything okay? With you? You seem kinda... Out of it?”
Barley fought the smile rising to his lips at how awkward the boy sounded, and sighed instead. Here we go.
“I, uh.... dunno if you’d wanna talk about it.”
At that, Ian cocked his head as his eyebrows furrowed in concern. He began to walk deeper into the room, careful to avoid the Quests of Yore action figures and miscellaneous articles of clothing on the floor.
“What... do you mean?” He asked softly, stopping at the foot of Barley’s bed. Barley cleared his throat.
“It’s about... that day, y’know, when all that happened, with dad.”
Ian’s face fell as he suddenly found that the floor looked very interesting. A soft “Oh,” escaped his lips, and he tentatively sat down on the bed next to Barley. Ian began to tug at his sleeve, a thing that he always did when he was nervous. The movement did not escape Barley.
“What about it? I mean, I know I made a lot of... big mistakes when all that happe-”
“No no no no! That’s not what I meant,” Barley waved his hands in front of him and shook his head, quick to cut his brother off from whatever train of thought he had starting.
“What I um, what I mean is, well..., “ Barley slowly removed his hat. How was he going to say this?
“Sometimes I just... feel bad.. Th-that I was the one to... see him. I mean, yeah, I only had a few memories of him, but at least I knew him. You were the one who wanted to see him. More than anything. But....”
Barley’s words trailed off when he felt a small weight on his left foot. Looking down, he realized Ian had placed his own foot there. Barley let his eyes rise to meet his brother’s. Ian’s eyes shone in the evening light. They were brown, but they almost looked gold. Barley continued on, more uncertain.
“But... I mean... You never got to.. and-”
“Barley.”
Ian’s voice was quiet, but confident.
“Do you remember what I told you that day? After everything was over?”
“Yeah, but-”
“Barley. I told you that, yeah, I never really had a dad, but I always had you, And.. I’m happy it’s that way. I did see him, too. I heard him laugh....” Ian looked for a moment, smiling wistfully at the memory before looking back up. “And sure I didn’t actually talk to him, but you shouldn’t blame yourself for that.”
Ian’s slim hand softly gripped Barley’s thick shoulder.
“You... deserved to see him again, and.. I’m just glad I have you. Don’t beat yourself up for something that isn’t your fault. I don’t blame you for anything that happened, okay?”
Barley felt tears rush to his eyes as he smiled.
“...... Okay.”
There was a moment of silence with only a sniffle or two from Barley before Ian opened his arms for a hug.
“Just c’mere already, you oaf.”
Barley didn’t have to be told twice. He laughed as he scooped his brother into his arms, squeezing Ian into a bear hug. Ian buried his face in Barley’s shoulder, his curls tickling Barley’s neck and ear as Barley held tight onto his brother’s small frame.
They sat like that for a moment, the last rays of daylight streaking into the bedroom before Ian’s muffled voice rose from the depths of Barley’s shirt.
“Plus there was a huge fire-breathing stone dragon that you probably couldn’t have done much about if I were the one to stay-”
“Okay I get it,” Barley said with a grin, squeezing Ian tighter and hearing a small cough and a giggle escape the younger boy’s lips. He pulled away and let Ian catch his breath.
“Hey,” Said Barley, quietly. Ian lifted his eyes as Barley placed his foot over his brother’s.
“Thanks.”
Ian grinned.
“Any time, Barley.”
Suddenly, a voice rose from down the hall.
“Are you two coming or am I going to have to eat this whole thing by myself?”
Laurel Lightfoot, their mother, called to them from the dining room.
Ian turned back to Barley.
“You, uh, ready to come back ou-”
Barley had suddenly scooped up his little brother into his arms and off his feet.
“Barley! What’re you-”
Barley stood as Ian tried to wriggle out of his tight grip.
“Well, sir Lightfoot, it seems as though our mother awaits our council!” Barley boomed in his dramatic Quests of Yore voice.
“Barley!” Ian exclaimed through a fit of giggles.
“Aaaaand, off we go!”
Barley hauled Ian all the way to the dining room despite the boy’s halfhearted protests, where the cake and their mother were waiting, and the three of them celebrated Wilden Lightfoot’s birthday as a family as the first stars began to twinkle.
-----
Hello and thank you to anyone who decided to read this!! I plan on making at least one art piece for this fic, as I’m more of an artist than a writer, and then later moving everything to AO3 so stay tuned if you’re interested! I’d love to hear any feedback anyone has to give me, I’d love to hear tips or advice on how to improve my writing abilities!