The Retirement Meme

[goddamnjumpman]

Why, in my day memes meant something...

You survived all your 'adventues' (what rot, not half as dangerous as they used to be, in my day you had to fight Loki, the bogeyman and at least four one winged angels before breakfast) and made it to sweet, sweet retirement, creaky knee and all.

A) Post your character, with their name and canon. Congrats, they're now super old.
B) In your tag either set up a scene, note some preferences or leave it blank.
C) In my day, we just had a and b, and they weren't even capitalised,

Well, now what? You expect me to give you prompts, don't you? Back in better times we wrote our own tags, from scratch! You should be grateful you even got a meme! Oh, very well then, since you'd be lost without them...

1) The Retirement Home: Socialised with other wizened veterans.
2) The Visitor: Looks like you got someone coming to see you! Child? Grandchild? Great grandchild? Other?
3) Out and About: Who says just because you're on your last legs you can't use 'em? Motor scooters weren't invented for the young, you know. Out of the way, whipper snappers!
4) 'Til Impending Death Do Us Part: You've been together a long time. Do they still leave the toilet seat up?
5) Remembering the Glory Days: Swap stories of your achievements, or educate the young.

You want more? Too bad, use your imaginations. Why, in my day...

Comments

Cranky Kong | Donkey Kong

[goddamnjumpman]

CYBORG GRANDPA-G | CYBORG GRANDPA-G

[agricultural]

He may be seventy, but he's more active than you'll ever be.

Q | James Bond/Matthew Swift | OTA

[technosorcerer]

[He's not going to a retirement home (that would require him to retire, and he's not likely to do that), but anything else works.]

A nameless knight ♘ A Fairy Tale for the Demon Lord ♘

[charge_sword]

[His beard is at least six foot long and it's awesome.]

Matthew Swift | Matthew Swift series | OTA

[midnightmayor]

[He's just impressed that he made it to old age. And will take advantage of that age any way he can.]

Orihime Inoue | Bleach | Het where applicable!

[leekspins]

[Probably enjoys her knitting, and pimping out her wheelchair with all the best gadgets and bling.]

John Watson | BBC Sherlock | OTA

[bloggingdoctor]

[It's most likely he retires with Sherlock Holmes and lives in a country cottage, keeping bees. BUT he could also be on his own, or in a retirement home!]

Schuldig | Weiss kreuz

[nie_unschuldig]

[Likelihood of an assassin surviving long enough to actually retire?]

[rev13_3]

[ Assassins tended to live longer than family of assassins, at least. And Sally had lasted longer than anyone expected. ...Granted, that was because those who knew her and her husband all thought that he'd kill her within the year. By the next year, certainly.

But the years -- the decades -- passed, and the only news about the couple was good news. They had settled somewhere in Canada -- those who knew precisely where didn't tend to live long. He was still working -- small jobs, to be sure, but there were those who would pay good money for their victims to die screaming at the hand of the former Berserker of Schwarz.

Nobody who knew about Sally's miscarriage had lived long enough to speak.

Twenty-two years she'd been at his side. Twenty-two years, and now her bones were going into the fire, as once again his family was taken from him.

Farfarello stood silent at the back of the viewing room, as Sally's family and friends said goodbye to her. They all assumed her freakishly scarred husband was drunk. He didn't care enough to correct them. The space Sally had left in his life hurt, and he didn't know what to do about it. ]

[nie_unschuldig]

[Of all the impossible, ridiculous jobs Crawford had ever sent him on over the years, this one...well it wasn't just the idea of going and trying to convince Farfarello to come back with him, it was the time. After all this time, were they just supposed to act as if those years never happened?

The witch had put a hole in their dysfunctional little group and now she'd left one of their own with an even bigger hole. Who knew that had even been possible?

Schuldig waited outside until the others had left, knowing well enough that Farfarello would know he was there--the Schwarz link sparking when they were close enough. There were no words between them when he did finally enter, to stand by Farfarello.]

[rev13_3]

[ She'd made him feel things. Why else would he have gone away with her? Why else would he have let her live?

The old team link flared to life as Schuldig approached, and old habits kicked in before Farf even realized what was happening, shielding himself off defensively. But not closing off the link entirely.

Not until after he heard what Schuldig had to say.

The crying woman finally filed out, a group of then shooting Farf glares that would have scorched wood. He let them pass. Sally had asked for a funeral, and he'd given her one -- one last present to the woman who had touched him so deeply.

He didn't turn as Schuldig approached. ]

Ye got old.

[nie_unschuldig]

[Stupid either way. They weren't the kind of people others understood and at this point Schuldig wasn't so sure he understood them either.]

Speak for yourself.

[Eventually you did get older as long as you didn't get slower or forgetful. Even those were the risks of not dying. Maybe one day they'd decide differently, but there was still enough life left in him that Schuldig wasn't ready to die just yet.

The orange may have faded down to a more natural shade of auburn, or it could be something else since there was no way he was ever going to let his hair turn some ridiculous shade like Crawford's.]

I still look good.

[rev13_3]

[ The funeral director was approaching, soft-heeled shoes silent on the wooden floor, hands folded in the way small men approached dangerous ones. He'd seen enough bodies to recognize those who fed his business, and Farf found his obeisance humorous, if a bit untimely.

Sally was gone, and he'd paid for her cremation. There was nothing else left for him here. ]

Vain bastard.

[ Turning abruptly, Farf strode out past Schuldig and the director both, heading for the door and the parking lot beyond. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it without an audience. ]

Are ye here to kill me?

[nie_unschuldig]

You've always known how to flatter me.

[If he'd had the time, Schuldig would have enjoyed playing with the man but Farf negated that. He wasn't here to play however, but to gather back what belonged to Schwarz.

He followed after Farfarello, hands in his pockets as he walked, the picture of casual to anyone who might happen by.]

Do you really think we'd have left you alive this long to kill you now?

[rev13_3]

[ No reply to the mental question but a ripple of laughter. Of course he thought that. Schuldig was an amoral monster, and Crawford's list of allies shifted with every vision. Of course it was possible that they'd chosen now of all times to kill him. He would have! ]

Flattery is a sin.

[ Sin. Farf's mental shields slammed up even more at the thought, blocking all but his most direct thoughts from Schuldig's casual probe. Not that he could keep the other man out, but if Schuldig wanted more than was being offered, then they'd have somewhat of a problem. ]

Crawford? ...Nagi?

[nie_unschuldig]

[If it had been up to him, they would have done the job long ago, but Crawford had vetoed the idea.]

Vanity is a sin and I am Guilty.

[Strangely enough, Schuldig wouldn't have even bothered digging any deeper if not for the rather loud slam that resounded when Farfarello blocked him. What curious little puzzle was he trying to hide there?]

Alive. Annoying. Like twins from two mothers, although Nagi's work with Kritiker mellowed him out some what.

[rev13_3]

[ His secrets were his business, and none of Schuldig's.

Halfway through the parking lot and Farfarello stopped dead. He'd ridden over from the hospital with the funeral director -- his car wasn't here.

Had Schuldig really unbalanced him so much that he'd forgotten that? Or was it Sally's death? ]

Why are ye here, then?

[nie_unschuldig]

[Everybody's secrets were Schuldig's, it was the way of the world; they broadcasted and he received whether he wanted to or not.

Either one of those shaking Farf wasn't a welcoming thought. He wasn't supposed to be that easily knocked off balance, and especially not by anything Schuldig pulled.]

It's time to come back.

[rev13_3]

[ No. No, he wasn't supposed to be knocked off his feet by anything. The hole Sally had left inside him was a great tearing waste, ripping at his chest and at the back of his mind. It was crippling, and he didn't know how to heal it.

But she'd become a habit over the years. She'd worn a path right through him, and now he didn't know how to stand without falling into step with her ghost. He was useless like this, to himself and everyone else... and then here was Schuldig, filthy knight on a gleaming horse, offering to take him away. Back into another family, back where other habits could be pressed into his flesh.

And oh, he was tempted. ]

Why would I do that?

[ But there was another commitment, an older commitment. For the second time God had taken Farfarello's family from him, and perhaps it was finally time to address that matter personally. ]

Have ye finally grown tired of getting your hands dirty?

[nie_unschuldig]

[He understood the idea well enough. A part missing like an arm or leg that couldn't be replaced no matter what you tried to do. Still, there was only way to get rid of a hole filling it the best you could or that was always Schuldig's opinion.]

Don't be stupid.

[Schuldig leaned back against the rental car he'd come in. What the hell was he doing here again?

He could spout some shit about it being where Farfarello belonged. Home, family, whatever the fuck any normal person might believe. But they weren't normal where they?]

Maybe I'm just tired of doing it alone.

[rev13_3]

[ An admission of need? That wasn't the last thing he'd expected to hear from the Mindbreaker, but it was right up there. Since when did Schuldig of all people need anyone?

...But then again, since when did he?

Arms loose at his sides, careful not to even hint at reaching for any of the blades he'd tucked into his sleeves, Farfarello turned to regard Schuldig with a gaze as calm and steady as he'd ever worn. ]

Would ye be here if she was still alive?

[ If Schuldig wanted a companion again, if he wanted Farfarello at his side, then it was important that he know whose place he was asking to take. What role he was asking to fill in Farf's life.

Slowly, Farfarello lowered his shields, just a bit. Just enough for Schuldig to have a taste of who Sally had been. She'd given him feeling -- physical at first, but then, ever so slowly over the years, emotional. He'd come to care for her, to value her beyond what she could offer him. To need her. To want her.

Maybe, even, to love her.

And then God had altered her cells into cancer, and now she was gone, condemned for all eternity to either burn in the pit or, so much worse, to cower at the feet of the Liar. He had loved her, and she was gone. What could Schuldig possibly offer to keep him here? ]

Grandpa Harley | Homestuck | ota

[whatadoll]

((He was always super old.))

Carolyn Knapp-Shappey | Cabin Pressure | OTA

[mjn_air]

There shall be no retirement home for me! I own an airline!

Thror | The Hobbit

[bearded_blingking]

[old, yup.]

Kyuubey | Puella Magi Madoka Magica

[firstcontract]

G | Katekyo Hitman Reborn

[soulofaginger]

[He was a crotchety old man long before he was old anyway...]