#((this was exhausting to write ngl))

[galaxythreads]

time to start query round #5 (active torture, geneva convention violation, i need a forehead kiss)

[writinggremln]

Hero whump part 2

Continued from here

Cw: hero whump. Exhaustion whump (sort of, I tried). Kidnapping (mentioned). Wing whump. Implied torture.

Superhero was in his office, buried knee-deep in reports. The blinds and windows were all closed, the only light in there a lonely, big lamp on top of his desk. He had locked himself in there for days, his only interactions being with his secretary and occasionally Sidekick, who liked to pop in from time to time to check on him. Nice kid. Smart, too. They could always tell what he really needed at times like these. They had been begging Superhero to take a break, however small, but he had refused. How could he?

He knew he had told everyone that was left after the… he wouldn’t call it “war” exactly. But he wouldn’t call it fight either. Seriously, what the hell even was that. It all came so sudden, leaving them unprepared.

“Superhero!” A hero yelled. Superhero only grunted in response, too busy stuffing his face with pie. “Hn?”

The hero panted as he ran towards the cafeteria table, their hair disheveled, their eyes blown wide. “Superhero…” they wheezed, and Superhero saw then that they had some blood smeared on their face too. He straightened his back, this had to be serious. “Superhero…” the hero almost fell to their knees, nearly sobbing, saying his hero title like a prayer. The super’s spine went rigid.

“Speak, hero.”  He ordered, not unkindly. He had to know what was going on.

“Villains…” the sobbing hero chocked out. Superhero only quirked his brow, waiting for them to calm down. Other heroes were watching them, some with concern and wariness, some with curiosity, others with frustration as their peaceful break got interrupted. But the shaken hero before him payed them no mind. They shook as they struggled to stand on their own two feet.

“Take your time.” Superhero smiled reassuringly at them and patted thespot beside him. “Come. Sit. You seem quite shaken up.” He said, observing them as they sat down, wincing. Superhero frowned slightly. There was blood coming out of their leg. They were in need of medical assistance, but he decided not to press on the matter, judging by the deep breaths the hero took as they tried to regain their composure. He patted their back lightly, relieved to see that they didn’t flinch.

After a while, the young hero licked their lips nervously. Superhero offered their bottle of water wordlessly, but they other didn’t even notice. “Villains...” They rasped. “Villains are attacking the Square.”

“How many of them?” Superhero asked softly. The hero beside them was young, but he doubted that that was the reason they came all the way from the Square to HQ in this condition.

“Ten.” They whispered, their voice wavering and Superhero stilled. Did he hear that right? Ten? Ten?!

“Ten?” His voice was composed, belying his speeding heartrate. He could feel other heroes nearby blinking and murmuring with each other in confusion. Ten villains in one place was… well it was unheard of. Unless…

“Were they in some sort of group? Gang? Cult?” He stopped suggesting when the hero shook their head repeatedly.

“They all wore different suits. They didn’t have any patterns, didn’t look like they belonged in one group. There were only two at first.” They whispered, as if scared to relieve the memory. “I was patrolling with my… with my partner,” their voice cracked, “when we saw them. They weren’t really doing anything, they were just… lurking there. My partner and I saw them and we sort of stopped walking, because we were a bit confused, you know?” Superhero nodded, even though he didn’t know. He always went to confront villains, always the daring one of his group, never the one to sit still. But that wasn’t important right now.

“Our eyes locked and then…” the hero clutched their seat, their knuckles going white, “and then they just started attacking? Unprompted. No explanation. They just, they just lunged at us.

“We fought against them as long as we could and for a while we had them. But then a third and fourth showed up.” The hero’s body started shaking and Superhero put a gentle hand on their shoulder. “And then a fifth. And then a few others. I called for backup, but these guys… they were on a different level. I wanted to keep fighting, I swear, but-” they hiccupped, tears in their eyes, “my partner, they were taken away and I…” they trailed off, their body shaking as they sobbed.

Superhero frowned and turned his head towards other heroes who had listened to the whole thing. “Gather all your partners and check on the Square. And all the areas nearby.” He ordered with a jerk of his head. “All of you. Now.”

None of them protested. Superhero’s orders were absolute. The break room filled with the scraping of chairs as they stood up and the voices of the heroes calling out to their partners, explaining the situation as they headed out. The one that gave the order focused on the young hero beside him. God, they looked… sixteen, seventeen? Weren’t they too young for this job? “I wanted to continue fighting, I swear, I was doing fine, it was my partner that…” they mumbled to themselves. Superhero rubbed their shoulders in a friendly manner and made sure that his tone was gentle, even though he had a very bad feeling in his gut. “Don’t worry. You made the right decision by coming here.”

“They’re gone. My partner… he’s gone… they took them…” the hero continued muttering.

“Hey. Hey. Look at me.” The older super tilted the young hero’s chin slowly. “You did the right thing. I’m sorry for your loss, truly. But you did all you could, I know that. I see that.” He gestured at their injured leg. The hero blinked, as if just noticing it was there. “All you have to do now is rest. What’s your name, little one?”

The hero sniffed. “Youngest.” They answered. “And I’m not that little, I turn twenty next month. Don’t speak to me like I’m a child.”

Superhero only laughed softly. “Could have fooled me. Seriously, you kids nowadays need to eat more.” He ruffled their hair and stood up. “Come on now. Let’s get you to the nurse’s office.”

Youngest stood slowly, their whole body shaking. The older hero helped them as they limped towards Medic’s office. “Don’t worry. We’ll find your partner.” He told them after a few moments of trudging. “Everything will be alright. I promise.” The young hero choked on a sob.

Superhero sighed. He had kept his promise; the heroes had found Youngest’s partner. With their powers ripped off. That’s how they had learned that Supervillain was at play. And that’s when everything started going to shit.

Superhero put his hands on his head, pulling his hair slightly. None of the reports made any sense! Not only were the kidnapped heroes gone without a trace, but so were the villains. Sure, there were a few burglaries here and there, but nothing serious. The supers had left current crimes to the police, seeing that the culprits didn’t have any powers. It was quiet with the supers, too quiet. It was unnerving. Superhero often wondered if this was Supervillain’s plan, to make him slowly go insane while he spent every second of his life on edge, waiting for something, anything to jump out of the shadows as he went over and over the survivors’ reports.

Knock-knock.

He knew that knock.

Sure enough, Sidekick’s head popped in as they opened the door slowly. “’Sup, coocoo.” They greeted as they strolled in. “You still locked in here?” They wrinkled their nose in disgust as they groaned. “Ugh. Open your fucking windows man.”

“No, I’ll lose my focus.” Superhero waved his hand as his gaze went back again at the reports. He sighed. “I just feel like I’m missing something. Like the answer’s right here and it’s staring me right in the face. Like I’m so close, yet I can’t seem to grasp it. I’m- excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?” his head swiveled at the sound of the window opening.

“You’ve been here for hours man.” Sidekick grunted as they opened another window. “I’m serious. You need a break. Effective immediately.”

“Don’t you give me orders.” Superhero stretched, his back popping with the movement as he grunted in satisfaction. “Shouldn’t you be home by now? It’s probably getting late… What?”

The sidekick only stared as they opened the blinds. Superhero blinked at the bright sunlight. It was morning?!

“Please don’t tell me you’ve been here all night.” One look at Superhero’s face and the bags under his eyes and Sidekick didn’t need to know the answer. They scrutinized the super with a look of concern. “Superhero, please, I’m begging you. Take a break. Please.”

Superhero only huffed as he stood up, twisting his back as a form of exercise. Two times left. Two times right. Then he put his arms up and stretched with a yawn. “Did you at least eat anything?” He opened his mouth. “That wasn’t an energy bar or a bag of chips?” He closed his mouth and awkwardly kicked his trash bin out of Sidekick’s sight. Not that they needed to see, they already knew the answer.

The younger super exhaled deeply. “Come on, sir.” They said as they pulled their superior by their arm. “Let’s get you some breakfast. I’m thinking of a ham sandwich, you feel me? I’ve been craving that damn chicken meat for nearly a week now.”

“Pig meat.” Superhero corrected as he allowed them to pull him away from the scattered piles of reports around his office. Sidekick ignored him.

“I’ll tell your secretary to make sure no one is coming to bother you while you take a well-deserved nap after breakfast. Then we’ll eat lunch and after that you can tell me what exactly you’re searching for.” Sidekick rambled as they pulled the sleep-deprived superhero out of their office and through the many corridors of HQ.

The tired hero only sighed deeply. “I’m sorry, Sidekick.” The sidekick turned their head towards the super as they continued walking towards the break room, a question mark on their face. “All I’m doing is eating breakfast. I have no time for naps. Besides,” they said before Sidekick could protest, “remember that hero I told you about? The one that was in coma nearly two months ago?”

“You mean the one that actually landed a hit on Supervillain?”

“That’s the one, yes.” The superhero responded, closing his eyes, relaxing them a bit as their trusted sidekick guided him through the halls. “She’s coming today. I’m thinking of recruiting her to my team.”

Sidekick halted, causing Superhero to trip behind them with a small “whoa!”

“Recruit them?!” sidekick faced their boss, a look of bewilderment on their face. “But you said that she had her powers stolen!”

Superhero grinned. “And yet, she still managed to punch that bastard right on the face.”

Sidekick blinked. “You’re insane. You’ve finally gone insane.” They murmured. “Hey, buddy?” They said then, their voice a bit louder and gentler, as if taming a wild animal. Superhero’s eye twitched. “Don’t you think that putting some non-powered girl in your team seem, I don’t know, a tad bit risky? For both the team and her?”

“She punched Supervillain, the Supervillain, right in the face, Sidekick.”

“So she got lucky. I just don’t think-”

“I saw her, Sidekick.” Superhero said then, their voice low and full of something that Sidekick did not recognize. “What she did was no accident, there was no luck involved. I saw her get her powers sucked right out of her and I watched as she was thrown to the ground. She got up, Sidekick. And you know what she did?”

Sidekick shrugged, eyes darting from side to side. It was unlike Superhero to use that particular tone with them. Or with anyone really. It was as if…

“She calculated.”

Sidekick blinked. “Oka-?”

Their shoulders were grabbed suddenly. Sidekick flinched. Superhero leaned close to them and they suppressed the urge to step back. They had never seen Superhero so… so excited.

“You don’t understand.” The older super rasped, clutching their friend’s shoulder tight. “She waited, got up, calculated the odds and then attacked him and punched him right in the face. Don’t you see?” He clutched them tighter, a manic gleam in his eye. Sidekick winced. “She managed to outsmart Supervillain. Supervillain!”

Sidekick blinked and ignored the pain as they finally understood. Superhero’s tone was one of awe. Of wonder. He respected this random hero that had gotten lucky. No, not gotten lucky, they told themselves, just very smart... apparently.

“But,” Sidekick licked their lips, “are we sure that Supervillain didn’t just let her? Or maybe she just caught him by surprise?”

Superhero smiled as they released his hold of their shoulders. “I know Supervillain, kid.” His eyes shone with nostalgia before it was overshadowed by a look of resentment and betrayal. “Their narcissistic ass would never allow anyone touch their face. He despises looking like a fool, especially in front of his underlings.” He smirked. “You should have seen the look on their face when they wiped the blood of their nose. Hehe.” Superhero’s giggles turned into full-blown laughter. Sidekick only watched him with worry and uneasiness. They hesitantly continued dragging their superior towards the breakroom, his laughter echoing in the empty halls.

Meanwhile, Hero stood in front of her workplace’s door, sweating. Do I even belong here anymore? She quickly pushed the thought away as she stepped in. Nobody shooed her out. Good, this was good. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, the powerless hero entered the elevator and scanned her ID. Her heart pounded in her chest as it went down, underground. The familiar feeling of belonging entered her veins as the doors opened and she was met with the nearly empty lobby. She smiled at the secretary who smiled in return.

“Good to see you’re well.” He greeted.

“Good to be back.” She looked around. “I must be early.”

Something sad shone in Secretary’s face and Hero regretted talking at all. “A lot of heroes had went missing ever since…”

The hero gulped and rubbed her fingers in her pocket. “Yeah, I’ve heard.” Still, couldn't help but glance arouns again.

Secretary only smiled. “Don’t worry, there’s also not been any attacks lately, so it’s not like we’re understaffed.” He clicked something on his computer. “You’re here to see Superhero, right?”

“Right.” Hero said absentmindedly, her mind on Villain’s warning. Then, for some reason, her mind wandered to Hero 2. Her mouth went dry. She didn’t know him personally, they were just coworkers as far as she was concerned. Still, he had saved her during the fight. And that wasn’t the only time. He always was one of the early birds, always punctual, always lurking in the lobby even at the crack of dawn. Hero surveyed the room again. Maybe he’s just getting a snack.

“Hey, Secretary?”

“Hm?”

“Is Hero 2 here?”

The man in front of the computer paused, biting his lip. Hero’s heart dropped. She didn't need to hear the answer.

Hero 2’s wings hurt. They’d been nailed to wall for hours now. His teary eyes that had already dried up threatened to shed new ones at every small move he made. He bit his lip. He would not scream. He would not cry. Not over such a small thing as this. There were others who currently had it worse. He would not complain about this.

“Comfortable?”

The chained hero glared at the voice.

“Aw… don’t look at me like that.” The cat-like villainess entered his cell. “I’m just trying to strike conversation here. It feels like it’s been weeks since we’ve really talked.”

Because it has been weeks. The hero thought bitterly. He balled his bound hands to fists behind him.

“…still not in a talking mood?” The villain sighed and strolled in, halting in front of him. He just met his gaze defiantly. He clenched his jaw when his chin was tilted by the villain’s finger, forcing his neck into an uncomfortable position. The hero flinched, his eyes flashing with regret and pain as his mutilated wings also moved. He choked on a gasp, his eyes brimming with new tears. “This could all go away so easy, you know.” The winged hero only clenched his teeth, his muscles tense as he willed himself not to tremble and cry at the pain. He ignored the villainess’ voice. Or tried to.

She grabbed his face, her claws scratching his cheeks. “Listen to me.” She purred. “Is your defiance really worth it? Is it worth all the pain and the suffering? Really, Hero 2, I thought you’d come to your senses by now.” She leaned in and whispered in his ear. “Is it really that hard for you to join us?”

The hero’s breath hitched when the villainess suddenly pulled his face, making him whimper as his wings nearly ripped behind him. He could feel the blood sticking on his feathers, the thought of it making him feel bile in his throat.

“Are you going to come to your senses,” the villainess continued to whisper in his ear, her tail swishing behind her, ignoring the man’s whimpers, “or do I have to bring Torturer here again?”

The chained hero visibly paled. The villainess leaned back, admiring the fear in his eyes. She stroked his face softly, as if she didn’t just bring up the source of his current nightmares, the one who nearly ripped his wings off is his back. Who would’ve ripped his wings right off of his back if the villainess holding his face hadn’t stopped them.

“No.” He whispered, terror in his voice. “No, don’t. Please.” Two months ago he wouldn’t have even thought about begging, especially to her. But that was before Torturer had clipped his wings and forced them into a makeshift oven, nearly burning them of. Before they plucked his wings one by one until the stubborn hero started crying. Before they had chained the hero to the ceiling by the wings, leaving him dangling there for two days straight. They would’ve left him a third day if he hadn’t resorted to begging. “Not them, please.”

“You know what to do, hero.” The hero stilled. “Join us and you will suffer no longer.”

A few seconds passed.

“No.” Hero 2 whispered.

Villainess sighed tiredly and released his face, too suddenly. The hero bit back a scream as he heard a rippp coming from behind. “Is the word ‘no’ the only one in your vocabulary?” She shook her head like a disappointed mother. “Looks to me like you still need another lesson.”

The hero shook his head and choked back a cry, his shoulders shaking as tears streamed freely down his face. The villainess ignored him, walking out of the cell humming a tune.

The hero cried freely then, begging to any god that would listen that the ones that had survived during the war were still looking for him.

Continued here

---------------------------------------------

If you read all of that, thank you and congrats. I didn't know it would come out so long

Sidekick's live reaction to Superhero suggesting recruiting a hero whose power was taken away because she managed to land a lucky hit on his nemesis (they're concerned for both Superhero and the Hero):

[lenzimanot]

little hiatus (again) guys my busy summer continues unfortunately 😬 on Friday a friend will come to visit me & I’ll show her my new home & on Monday we will leave for a few days in Vienna, before I have my next (but also final!!) session of my advanced education there. Then my choir also has a big concert on Saturday, so yeah I will be busy & not really here until Sunday next week!

[zorosdimples]

my drafts are a goldmine

[wikiangela]

wip wednesday

tagged by @jesuisici33 @callaplums @daffi-990 @loserdiaz @thewolvesof1998 @disasterbuckdiaz @fortheloveofbuddie 💖💖

made a bit of progress on the sick fic so here it is🤷

prev snippet

___

“Maybe we should get you to a doctor.” Buck muses, wrapping the blanket over Eddie’s shoulders.

“I don’t need- I just closed my eyes for a second. I’m fine.” he grumbles, fumbling with the blanket too long to want to actually throw it off, but he does in the end – he’s cold and refuses to admit it, and he’d rather sit here and pretend he’s fine. He’s impossible.

“Eddie, that cough did not sound fine.” he points out. 

“Buck-” he sneezes, and then wraps the sleeves of his hoodie over his palms. Buck raises his eyebrow, and Eddie pointedly avoids his eyes, as he not-so-discreetly wipes his nose with a sleeve. 

“I bought tissues.” Buck reaches for the bag and digs out a box, then tries to give it to Eddie, who, instead of taking it, just levels him with a stare, as he sniffles loudly, and swipes a sleeve under his nose again. “Seriously? You’re gonna be gross and disgusting just to prove you’re not sick?” That’s a new level of stubborn Buck hasn’t seen from Eddie yet. He can’t believe this is the man his heart decided it wants. And that even while sick and gross and stubborn and ridiculous, a part of Buck is still endeared by him.

“I’m not.” Eddie insists, sounding so congested Buck swears he can feel it in his own sinuses. “Let me just finish my coffee, and then I-” another sneeze. “Have so much to do today.” he finishes, but at least this time he reaches for the tissues, looking anywhere but at Buck, cheeks red.

“Yeah, no, all you’re gonna do today is rest and take some medicine.” Buck says decisively, then takes the bag in his hand, and slowly starts walking to the kitchen. “Get comfortable, and I’ll just put this all away and be right back. I bought meds, tissues, and something to cook you some soup-” he starts listing off, getting louder the further he gets. “Oh, and stopped by the farmer’s market to get honey. Did you know that honey has antioxidant and antibacterial properties?” he asks excitedly, ready to tell Eddie every single thing he found in his quick research. Buck learned a long time ago that with Eddie he doesn’t need to hold back and can rant and ramble all he wants, and Eddie is happy to listen to him.

“Yeah?” Eddie yells back, voice hoarse and strained. Buck can hear the couch shift as Eddie gets comfortable, maybe even finally lays down. He knows Eddie won’t just give in and admit he’s sick, but this is a start. “Why don’t you tell me all about it?” he sounds genuinely interested, though also really tired. 

“I will, just a sec! I’ll make you some tea with lemon and honey, how’s that sound?” he asks, and gets a grunt in response, though he’s not sure if that’s an answer, or if Eddie’s just trying to suppress a cough in an attempt to hide that he’s sick, as if Buck didn’t already know. He chuckles to himself. He really has his work cut out for him today.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @gayarthur @diazass @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @arthursdent @diazblunt @911onabc @eddiediaztho @housewifebuck @lover-of-mine @gayhoediaz @rogerzsteven @watchyourbuck @hoodie-buck @monsterrae1 @hippolotamus @ladydorian05 @forthewolves @honestlydarkprincess @wildlife4life @spotsandsocks @eowon @theotherbuckley @weewootruck @thewolvesof1998 @giddyupbuck @disasterbuckdiaz @hoodie-buck @spotsandsocks

[snickerdoodlles]

New Life Begins is mirror opposite to The Double in vibes and it desperately makes me want to mash up both in a crossover. maybe after Yin Zheng takes the throne, meeting with emperors from other countries for diplomatic reasons? at least one brother accompanies him and they spend the entire time absolutely Extremely Aware of the women's scheming and high key judging the other men of the court for being oblivious and/or dismissive of the women in general. maybe visits the first time with what's his name fourth brother, then he makes a second visit except this time with Stupid An under the guise of more trading and business because Yin An can always be relied on to proudly boast about his wives being smart and amazing and extremely accomplished businessmen. Li Wei goes with him both times obviously, probably causes three diplomatic issues by accident and fixes them all with food. Yin Zheng is just sitting back and enjoying the chaos like it's his favorite theatre. Xiao Heng and Xue Fengfei are scheming so much while everyone is distracted. Zhao Ye has a headache and wants to know if his ally would take it personally if he banned him from ever showing his face in his court again.

[mercymaker]

looking at my gif ideas list and feeling absolutely nothing has to be one of the most crushing feelings as a creator

[raiiny-bay]

the degenerates: out of context

[remus-poopin]

Y’all I was fighting for my life to stay normal when the Christmas family dinner conversation shifted to Snape discourse

[harbingersglory]

Are you still alive?

yeah!!! i just dont really post bc all my asks are fic requests and i struggle to write nsft fics unless im particularly in the mood to. im planning on getting around to them soon(ish) once i have the time

[starteas]

Maybe I’ll post some old Lumi pages here…

[thepapernautilus]

if i told y'all what fandom i've been doing time in you'd never believe me and i'd be more cancelled than for any ascended astarion noncon

[ladylynse]

(Mostly.)

[a-very-fond-farewell]

anxiety level: imma cry at the thought of finally having 1 hour to myself to just vibe 👯‍♀️

(time to write)

[kxllerblond]

the fact someone's business/military/etc handler can be answering to one of clark's aliases who is answering to one of his other aliases who is answering to him is hilarious to me kdfjbgdg

[ninjaliike]

can't believe i missed our 6th birthday here! damn ... time flies, eh? ❤️