#(Not only because Nightmare often used them against him in battle but also it's something different about his brother from his

[somegrumpynerd]

Does anyone else hc that Nightmare can like, absorb his tentacles back into his body sometimes? Like the way Stitch does with his extra arms?

[oh-no-its-bird]

Ok, so. Smashing together my recent posts (stoner Itama / the secret Senju weed empire money / co-dependent twins Itama and Tobirama) to make a cohesive narrative:

So, Itama survives AU.

In this, Itama and Tobirama are twins. They're very close, arguably closer to each other than Hashi is to either of them.

Growing up, after Kawarama died, Hashirama found a new friend in his boy by the river. Meaning the twins were sort of left to mourn on their own, their older brother no longer as interested in playing with them. They got to be almost dangerously codependent, and their father only encouraged it bc they were also training to fight as a duo, and the codependency made the team synergy go crazy hard.

On that note, they're absolutely terrifying in battle together for sure. They're nightmares on their own already, but together?? Let's say that as long as they're fighting side by side, they're on the same level as Hashirama himself.

Itama grows up to be a scientist like Tobirama, but in a different field of science— ✨️plants✨️

Itama is like, a bioengineer for plants. He's crossbreeding the fuck out of these bad boys, finding ways to amplify certain traits in some plants, erase them altogether in others, or mixing them up for the best of both worlds. Full doctor Frankenstein plant edition

It's fun bc he often gets help from both of his brothers, and he's also able to help the both of them in turn!

Hashirama helps with growing plants, meaning Itama doesn't have to wait the years this research would usually take. He can go from nothing to having his final product in days flat when it should have taken a fucking lifetime to do. If he fucks up it's no stress bc as long as he has the seeds, Hashirama can just grow him a new plant to start from! All he needs is one single seed and an entire world of new possibilities is unlocked.

On top of all that, the mokuton can affect the plants in ways growing by regular time doesn't, so Itama also gets to play with special mokuton plants too

Then Itama can give Hashirama all sorts of new plants to potentially use in battle, tho Hashirama doesn't seem to want to use want against the Uchiha. But like. He has them!! And it's fucking terrifying!!! Plus they can just in general bond over being plant enthusiasts. If Hashi finds a cool new plant or vice versa they can get excited about it together

Tobirama understands all to most of Itama's research, at least in theory, and will often help with his experiments. Likewise, Itama also understands all to most of Tobirama's own research (at least in theory) and can help him in return. Having their own specific fields of interest, they're often bringing a fresh pair of eyes and different thought process to the others experiments, and it's great for them both. SO many results.

Itama is let in on most of Tobirama's projects, and even if he's not helping he generally knows what he's working on and vice versa. They have few secrets and its actually just in general very good for Tobirama specifically. Like, mentally and support wise.

Because Itama never died to serve as that final push over the edge, and was instead there to offer emotional support, Tobirama didn't turn to necromancy. (If he had tho, Itama would have been fully on board— sorry Hashirama) Instead, maybe he's spending that time being even more focused on cool time/space jutsu or something.

So like, all grown up he's a poison specialist with a major wind chakra attribute and minor fire attribute. His main weapon is a pipe, which he just smokes normally on top of using its smoke as a weapon. He can put so much pressure into the smoke that it becomes physical, and can then be used as a blunt force weapon (on top of ofc the smoke being used as just smoke, and having different effects on its own)

He's immune to a lot of his smokes effects, but has special extra powerful versions of most of his go to weaponized smokes that are so strong they work even on him. Obviously, he doesn't usually use these in battle, but they're there as a last resort

Fun sort of chain reaction attack where he disperses some super flammable powder or smoke then tosses in a single spark and it goes up like fucking fireworks. Or a cool combo attack where Tobirama provides hella fog with whatever water is nearby, and Itama condenses it so thickly that it chokes out their enemies without having to lift a single finger.

He can make like, platforms of smoke to stand on or use as shields, and he's especially good at deflecting and redirecting enemy attacks with carefully condensed smoke shields summoned up at just the right angles. Like, imagine you throw a kunai and it bounces off some invisible platform, then off ANOTHER invisible platform, and somehow its still gaining momentum (propelled by summoned winds or wrapped in a slightly solidified veil of smoke thats moving it on its own) and hits you right in the eyes

He absolutely fucks around with making all SORTS of custom effects with whatever he's smoking, which also brings us to the idea that got me here in the first place ->

Ok so the joke about the Senju having a secret weed empire where they sell ultra special mokuton weed, but it happens fr in this AU bc of Itama.

Stoner Itama deciding he can make the weed even better and forgetting what the word self-control means and making objectively the best weed in the naruto world. Ultra delux genetically modified mokuton grown senju weed.

Tobirama kind of gets on him for it at first (not liking the idea of mind-altering substances) but then tries some and stares dead silent at a wall for 10 hours then silently gets up, makes several scientific breakthroughs, then passes out dead on the floor.

They get Hashirama in on it and start mass producing, then start selling it and very quickly and mostly accidentally create a secret senju weed empire (oops?) which also gives them hella funds or the war and other things

No one can even reproduce their weed bc they need the Mokuton to grow it right, they have no competition in the market. AND their product safety/quality is insane bc Tobirama's perfectionist ass helps oversee it

Bc of Itama's interference, Izuna lives, and when they make Konoha the weed money means the first shinobi war doesn't happen bc they can afford to bribe officials they couldn't before (and probably have a uhh. Much more relaxed Kage meeting that year.)

You can't go to war with Konoha !!! That's where all the best ninja weed comes from !!!

Itama and Izuna get along really well actually. Izuna's cringe fail ass does NOT know how to smoke and refuses to admit it, he also becomes Itama's favorite test subjects for new product bc he and his brothers tolerance levels are insane so they need like, a normal guy to try shit on

As a person, Itama is one of those really friendly, charming, easy to get along with guys who seem to have a ton of friends— but when you look a bit closer you quickly notice that while many of those friends share their woes with him, he doesn't really with them. He has lots of friends but isn't really close to any.

He's a pretty good mix of his brothers, seeming friendly and cheerful like Hashirama but much more down to earth, and with the same ruthless streak as Tobirama underneath all the gentle mannerisms. He might be more ruthless than either of his brothers when it really comes down to it, but he's very slow to strike or anger, and virtually no one but his brothers and Touka really know he even has that side to him.

He's Konoha's lead poisons expert, is 100% aware and helping Tobirama with all of his especially fucked up experiments, and honestly that should tell you enough— but most tend to get distracted by the soft smiles and sleepy expression.

Art interlude ->

Anyways uhhh. All of this only exists bc I started thinking ab stoner Itama getting dumped face first into modern Konoha with Izuna, the two of them having been hiding after pissing off Madara for unimportant reasons. They don't realize they're not in their Konoha, and proceed to run from Madara (who they still think is mad at them)

Meanwhile Madara is losing his fucking MIND trying to chase down the ghost of his brother, and also some guy...? Who is that actually? He doesnt really give a shit tbh, Izuna oh god please come back here— ARE YOU FUCKING HIGH RIGHT NOW?

@fashionredalert : Zetsu lived in fear of Itama because itama would have made him into an edible That's why zetsu is two colors, itama smoked one half of him before zetsu managed to escape. One half intact the other half charred black

Please?? The closest hes been to death in years.

Itama was put on this earth to smoke everything he physically can, he hasnt been sober since he was 13, he no longer knows the meaning of fear or sanity. If it can burn he can smoke it

Hes holding one of those tiny Zetsu's going "Hey look at this fucked up plant I found :DD" then taking it straight into the weed lab

Zetsu specifically had him killed in canon bc he knew he'd grow to be too powerful pass it on

[alshamswelnahr]

Sanemi headcanons ft. my sister

•He can't swim

•He knew he liked boys early on and used to check out the butcher's son a lot he only realized he was into both boys and girls after meeting Kanae

•He doesn't know how to write since he never went to school because his parents couldn't afford it

•He thinks Gyomei is handsome and has caught himself staring at him more than once

•Sanemi craves a gentle touch but would never ask for it he likes taking care of his loved ones in both big and small ways

•After the war he visits Masachika's mom/parents

•Under normal circumstances Sanemi would have had a big family and loved raising them

•He has trouble accepting compliments

•He never drinks because the smell revolts him

•He tips in an unhinged way the smaller the business the bigger the tip

•He doesn't like plays because he has to sit for a long time in one chair

•After the war he likes attending a few poetry nights when he misses obanai even though he never read any of his stuff

•He is more than okay with spicy food and would take his partner's portion if they whine too much

•He will die before throwing extra food if he can't eat it then animals around will feast

•His yard is filled with the neighborhood's cats and dogs most of the time

•Sometimes he gives his beatles names of people he knows for specific fights so it'll be more fun

•He refuses to sleep overnight in the hospital

•He keeps extra futons stacked in his bedroom (one for each sibling)

•Sometimes when he's bored to death after the war he'll sprinkle sugar on bites of food where they aren't supposed to be and taste them

•He thinks birds chirping in the morning is how hell sounds but keeps putting wet bread for them on his window

•He can't stand being idle so he trains daily for long hours or finds other things to keep his hands or body busy

•When he's feeling down he doesn't take good care of himself

•He loves watching Giyū write because he thinks it's elegant and he finds it endearing to watch him eat he also enjoys listening to Giyū narrate the book he's currently reading

•He's favored in the wisteria houses because he's respectful and low-maintenance but he often refuses medical attention and insists on tending to his wounds

•He knows how to stitch and cook a bit and is good with household chores he's also decent with babies and kids

•Sanemi has frequent nightmares about his mom's crumbling body in the woods Masachika stuck in Ubume's house and Genya slipping from his hands over and over

•He likes kissing Kanae on the top of her head and taking in her scent he buys her medical books sweets and hair bands whenever he's in the market

•He's well-liked by his Kakushi attendants compared to everyone else in the corps

•The abdomen injuries he got in his fight against Kokushibo left marks adding another scar to his collection

•After the final battle Sanemi takes some time to travel around trying new foods visiting different places meeting new people and figuring out more about himself and his likes and dislikes

•He's a light sleeper and doesn’t move around much when he sleeps

•He's the kind of person who thinks respect has to be earned not just given

•After the war it took him some time to get used to sleeping at night instead of during the day and to sleeping for long consecutive hours

•Sanemi constantly thinks about his little siblings and remembers tons of details about them.

•He’s super gentle with his kid(s) but he still roughhouses and playfully teases them he's also a bit of a worrier coddler and even a bit controlling towards them

•He's hesitant about being spoiled or asking for pampering and he finds it hard to do something just for his own sake

•It's easier for him to take care of others he’d wrap his loved ones in a warm scarf but might forget to bring one for himself

•Sanemi is not much of a spender but he knows the comfort money brings he's also more generous with others than he is with himself

•He's a private person who doesn’t easily share about himself and is not a big talker but he wears his feelings on his sleeve and is a bad liar

•In a modern setting he will find dating hard since he always puts his family as his number one priority

R18 headcanons (not very explicit)

•When it comes to sex he switches roles he's mostly a top but he bottoms too

•He grew up in an unhealthy environment when it comes to sex and romance so he's got deep insecurities about being good in a relationship and not hurting his partner

•He doesn't think romance is for him and has little but not zero sexual experience

•Eventually he settles down and fully commits to his partner giving them his all including intimacy and his version of romance

[fe-fictions]

Could I please request a Seteth fic where he has to choose between saving Flayn or saving Byleth?

(This one was so much fun to re-write!! I miss the dragon family so much ;;; A ;;; I really need to write for them more often!)

In the heat of battle, it was imperative to make difficult decisions in a split second. There is little time for hesitation. So when you are in love with someone who must fight alongside you, the threat of having to choose between them is a threat that is real and always looming in every battle.

Seteth was faced with an equally impossible task; to make that decision should something happen to his lover, Byleth, or his daughter, Flayn.

He had prayed every night on that campaign that such a decision would never have to be made.

But eventually, unfortunately, it did. And it was as though he were watching a nightmare unfold in slow motion.

His wyvern jolted suddenly, trained to listen for the sound of Flayn’s voice. He scanned the field for her, spotting the swathe of green curls flung about wildly as she struggled to fight. A small battalion had snaked their way into the backline, and were going after the suppors.

He all but yanked the beast around, driving himself toward while shouting commands to others that the healers were under attack.

He was about halfway there, when his eyes caught something in the corner of his peripheral.

The glint of a blade he was far too familiar with, and found himself following the blurry action. Your sword had nearly been struck from your hand- you were fighting a losing battle against one of the generals present in the fight. Seteth’s body seized, eyes wide when he realized the dire situation you were in.

There was blood all over you- and he knew that it wasn’t all the enemy’s. He could see the exhaustion in your desperate movements, how you were running on pure adrenaline alone. 

You all were; but this…this was getting exceedingly serious.

His wyvern keaned beneath him, reminding him that Flayn still needed help. 

That he was still the closest to reach their little troupe of healers. But that you were also in front of his eyes, fighting for your life. Support for the Archbishop was not nearly as close as it should have been. 

They were being pushed back by the general’s pawns.

His blood turned to ice in his veins. The world went silent around hi, only the thundering of his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

His eyes flicked from his place between his lover and his daughter. The Archbishop, and his child.

“Seteth, we need to discuss this sooner or later.”

“I know you speak the truth, but surely we can table it for another day-”

“No. We have to make this decision clear, here and now. I love ou, and I love Flayn. But if a situation should arise between the two of you, I know what decision you would have me make.”

Seteth’s eyes narrowed, pulling his wyvern’s reins and driving the beast into down the frantic path to rescue.

“I would never ask you to choose between the two of us.” He could hear the words over and over in his mind. He could remember the vivid displeasure in your expression.

“But should such a situation arise, you would have me choose Flayn over you, wouldn’t you?”

His knuckles went white, roaring towards the enemy.

“And Seteth…should you ever find yourself in a similar situation…I want you to choose her first, too.”

His axe ripped through the armored plates of the invaders, forcing them out of the backline. He could see bright green eyes, wide with confusion and relief.

“Byleth, you cannot ask me to make such a choice- if you were to be harmed, or worse, because I wasn’t there to- I-I could not live with myself.”

“If I’m honest with myself, dear…I couldn’t, either. But I am not your wife. And I am not your family…Flayn is. You’ve sacrificed so much to protect her and support her.” I would never dare ask you to prioritize my life over hers.”

“Byleth-”

“There will always be another Archbishop, Seteth.”

He remembered the sad smile clearly, as he reached down, grabbing his daughter up from the ground and protecting her from another blade.

He couldn’t look back when he heard the shrieks of panic, the cries that the Archbishop had been struck down. You were hurt.

“But there will never be another Flayn. And I know that if you were in my place…you would gladly have e choose to save her over you in an instant.”

Seteth’s rigid frame kept Flayn in place as she struggled against him.

“No- no, Father, we can’t-!! Go back!! Byleth’s hurt!! We have to go back!!”

You were right. There would always be another Archbishop.

“Please, she needs us!! We have to help her!! Please, Father!!”

But there was only one Byleth.

And he had just condemned you to death.

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

When the battle finally ended, the campsite was grim. No one was feeling any sort of joy, despite the enemy having been routed.

Their fearless leader, the undefeated warrior, had been bested.

And the Archbishop was in critical condition. Seteth was inconsolable. No words of reassurance, no sympathies were to be spared for him. He turned them all away.

If they had time to worry about the Minister, then they had time to worry about the Archbishop, about the Church, about anything else more deserving of their time than he.

The man who let you all but fall to your death.

The only person who was welcomed into into his audience with a worthwhile conversation was Flayn.

The young woman who stormed into his office, furious with her father.

“How could you?”

He did not look up from his hands, folded tightly atop his desk.

“How could you let Byleth be hurt like that?? How could you prioritize me over the woman who is working to unite the entire continent?!”

Seteth’s grimace deepened. He could not provide her with a worthy answer.

“I…I saw where you were. I saw you freeze- I wanted you to come to me, I knew you were going to save me! But when I saw Byleth-- I realized why you’d hesitated at all. You were trying to help both of us, and then you chose me!!”

“Flayn-”

“But you chose me over Byleth!! A-and we both know that she’s not just the Archbishop to you. We both know very well that she’s you’re in love with her! And you still chose me over her?!”

“It is not so simple.” He sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. He did not realize how much his fingers were trembling, before. “I had to make this decision, because it was mutually agreed upon by both of us.”

“What?” She stared at him in utter disbelief. He nodded, carding a hand through his hair.

“We decided, a long time ago, that if there should ever be a scenario in which your life hung in the balance or one of ours did…we would both prioritize your safety.”

Her mouth fell open, but no words could escape. She stared at him, speechless, struggling to understand what he just said.

“Why…no, no…why?”

“Because you are my daughter.” He looked at her, finally, and what little resolve he could manage to find had met her gaze with a mountain of grief behind it. “And I swore to protect you, above all others. Byleth would do the very same for you, because she knows that my priority has been, and always ill be, the safety of my child.”

“But- but I’m not a child anymore. I’m an adult! I’m a fully capable being that doesn’t need you or Byleth to protect me!! Gods- gods, you had the Archbishop prioritize my life over hers?! I can’t believe that!”

“It’s true. And if I were the one in danger, Byleth would have made the same choice.”

“But- but that’s not- I know how much you care about her. I know that you love her, and that you want to be with her!! For once, can’t you prioritize your own feelings? Can’t you prioritize Byleth??”

“I…do Not know that I am worthy enough to make such a decision. But it matters not- I am a father, first and foremost. I will always put you first. I can only ask that you understand.”

Flayn exhaled sharply, her hands balled into fists. “I understand. But that doesn’t mean it’s right!! You have to prioritize yourself sometime. You have to prioritize Byleth. Especially if you love her. And if she comes out of this alive…you’d better tell her that.”

The word “if” echoed in his ears, reminding him just how serious this situation was. The pale color of your skin, the shallow breaths….the glimpse of your broken form he had seen was not just a hypothetical.

Seteth could actually lose you. That was what terrified him. He did not regret his decision. He could never regret protecting his daughter. But at the cost of not protecting you….it tore his heart into pieces.

A full day would pass before any word of your condition arrived. You had made it through the night, mercifully, and you were no longer in danger of death . They had patched you up successfully, and wrapped the wounds in such a way that they would not be reopened provided you remained in bed long enough to let them heal properly.

It would be six hours after that relieving update was provided that he was informed that you were awake.

Not only that, but you were asking for him, specifically.

He had never moved so quickly in his life. His legs carried him faster than his thoughts could form, all but sprinting to reach your side and ensure that he was with you after far too long apart.

It would give him the opportunity to apologize. To beg your forgiveness, to hope that you understood why he made the decisions that he did.

Eventually, he hoped you would find it in your heart to forgive his transgression against you. But if you did not…he could not find it in his heart to disagree. It would make sense, after all.

The prime minister was at the doors in no time, knocking tentatively on the old wood and hoping the healers would let you in.

Mercedes was the one who opened it to him, her expression cool but her smile at least marginally positive.

“She asked for you as soon as she woke up, Prime Minister.” She said softly, “If you’re of a mind, she would like to see you for at least a little while.”

“O-of course. I would not dare keep her waiting another moment. May I…may I see her alone?”

Mercedes glanced back, considering the state of her patient. “Very well. I can give you a little while, but she’ll need close monitoring over the next few days.”

“I understand. Thank you.” He stepped into the medical bay, taking a deep, shaking breath. It did little to steady his nerves, nor to keep the guilt from bubbling over.

But when he saw you lying there, staring out the windows and bound heavily with bandages…he was not certain if there was anything he could say.

You turned your head when the door was closed, finding Mercedes was gone and the dragon man stood in her place.

He didn’t know what to expect; he deserved to be shouted at, to be reprimanded for abandoning you, to see angry tears fall and a declaration that he had broken your heart, that you never wanted to see him again.

Instead, you smiled.

“Set…Seteth.” You raised your hand, either to beckon for him or to ask him to hold it. Either way, he was striding to the bed and kneeling down at your side within a single breath.

“Byleth-” He could barely choke your name out before the sorrow threatened to spill over.

He took your hand in both of his, squeezing your fragile fingers tightly. He stared at you, the worry and guilt written all over his face. It was impossible to miss, especially as the woman he loved.

“I’ll be okay.” You whispered, your gaze far too warm and loving given the state you were in. 

Seteth swallowed thickly, his eyes running over your frame again and again. 

“Are you in pain? Are you uncomfortable in any way?” He asked worriedly, searching for something to fix.

You shook your head, wiggling your fingers that he grasped so tight. “No…I’m not in any pain. Mercy…treated the most pressing wounds very well. And…and she gave me some healing tonic that’s quite strong….I feel more numb than anything else.”

“I-is it supposed to be numbing??” He asked, the alarm breaking through the guilt, “I’ll go and fetch her right away, I’m sure sh’es just outside the-”

“It’s supposed to.” You assured him, “It’s that or…the pain and discomfort you asked about.”

“Oh…I see. Very well.” He cleared his throat, steeling himself with a deep breath. “Then…aside from your physical state…how are you feeling?”

“You mean, how mad am I at you?” You corrected him jovially, though he did not seem to appreciate your humor.

“You have every right to be furious at me, Byleth. I let you be harmed. I did not protect you.” He sighed, looking down. It was far too difficult to meet your eyes. “You should be shouting at me, and I imagine you would be if you weren’t in such a sorry state. A position that I condemned you to, that day…I…I know my words hold little meaning in this situation, but I must apologize to you, profusely. I am so, so sorry that you were hurt.”

“Ou shouldn’t be apologizing.” You shook your head, trying to free your hand from his. When he realized you were trying to slip away, he quickly removed his hands, clasping them tightly in his lap. Of course you wouldn’t want to touch him.

At least, that’s what he thought. But then warm fingers brushed his cheek, cupping his face with a tenderness he could never deserve.

“You did the right thing.”

“I-”

“You swore to protect your daughter. We both agreed…to put Flayn first. How could I ever be upset with you for protecting your family?”

“I-I do not regret my decision to protect Flayn. I could never regret that. But I cannot help but feel that I have betrayed the woman I love, as well. That I abandoned you in that moment.”

“You didn’t abandon me.” You shook your head again, smiling softly, “You were keeping your daughter safe. And I will never hold that against you. I know you would not if I did the same.”

“I wouldn’t, no. But I’m also not the Archbishop of Fodlan. Your position holds great influence, and to see you wounded when I could have prevented it…the blow that the whole army took when you fell was severe.”

“It wasn’t their decision to make. We  made it. It was ours, and ours alone. It may be callous to say this as the Archbishop, but…frankly, I don’t care what they think when it comes to those I love.”

“I cannot believe you still have the strength to say such things,” He laughed, though it was clipped and bitter, “I am not deserving of your love. You should want nothing to do with me after I risked your life.” It would be safer for you to cast me out.”

“But I won’t, because I love you. I will always love you. You and Flayn are like family to me. I’d do anything for both either of you. Even if it means sacrificing my life to protect you.”

Seteth did not register the tears down his cheek until you wiped at them, still cradling his face with your frail little hand.

He bowed his head, covering your hand with his.

"I do not deserve you. Nothing I have done in my life could ever make me worthy of you.” His voice trembled,  turning his face to kiss your palm. “You are not like family to us, Byleth- you are our family. You are  our world…And it is desperately important to me that you know that.”

“I do.” You whispered, all but beaming even in spite of your exhaustion. “I know, and I feel the very same way. So don’t ask forgiveness, Seteth- there’s nothing to forgive.”

He did not wholly agree with you on that point, though. He was quite certain that you were more than deserving of affection and attention from your family, and he didn’t consider himself worthy enough to be that to you, yet.

So instead he decided to shift his plans up, from waiting until the war was over, waiting until the continent was secure and rebuilt, to make you a fully fledged member of his family.

Instead he took Flayn’s advice; as soon as you were healed and back on your feet, he whisked you up to the north tower, and proposed to you on the spot.

A proposal you readily accepted (and naturally earned the cheers of your soon-to-be stepdaughter, who had snuck after her father when she saw the ring in his hand earlier that evening).

While it was an absolutely joyous moment, you did have to agree to Flayn’s demand that from now on, you and your husband must put yourselves first; protect one another above anyone else. 

Otherwise, how else would she get a little sibling?

[cringecompanionapologist]

Had a Random Burst of Inspiration

I'm not sure if anything will actually come of this, but I wrote a bit of Turlough being a big brother to Adric and thinking about how they both have nightmares. This isn't anything like a complete story, even a short one, but I've been having writer's block for nearly a month now and I'm just excited that I created something.

CW: Turlough remembers being branded with the Misos Triangle, and the same thing happening to a literal infant. Nothing graphic, but it's mentioned, so now you know. There's also some talk about what happened to Adric in Castrovalva, so the word "torture" is used.

Adric was afraid of the Master. Of course, they all were, to some extent. Turlough found him more irritating than anything else. He usually just let the Doctor handle him and stayed out of the way. But, the other companions had a different perspective. To Tegan, this was the man who randomly murdered her aunt. To Nyssa, this was an evil being walking around inside her father’s corpse. And to Adric, this was a monster who kidnapped and tortured him to make him a weapon to use against the Doctor.

Nyssa and Tegan didn’t talk to him about their problems. They had each other and Turlough wasn’t about to stand in the middle of whatever they had. But when Adric had nightmares, he woke him up. They only shared a room because there were only so many bedrooms close to the console room and the Doctor didn’t want them getting lost. Honestly, they only shared the room around half the time anyway, with Turlough spending more and more time in the Doctor’s bed. But, on the nights they were sharing a room, sometimes Adric would wake up thrashing and muttering refusals. He wouldn’t obey the Master. He wouldn’t betray the Doctor. Turlough would crawl out of his own bed to wake him up, rescuing him from his own mind. He’d try to soothe him, though he had no idea how to do that. It was exhausting. He often fell asleep in Adric’s bed next to him, as if his physical presence could keep the bad dreams away.

Turlough knew what it was like to have nightmares, and to be tormented by some evil thing that wanted the Doctor dead. He never bothered Adric about them. There was nothing the kid could do. Anyway, Adric could sleep through basically anything. He never had to know. Even though he knew things about him that no one else in the TARDIS did. He knew that he’d had a family once. A mother, a father, brothers, sisters. He had no idea what happened to most of them. He knew his mother was dead. He’d been there when it happened. His older brothers and sisters ran away after that and he never saw them again. They were probably dead too. As for his father and younger brother…

Those were the worst nightmares. Worse than the Black Guardian, worse than the bullies at Brendon, worse than the battles, even worse than that day at the academy where he is mother died in from of him. It was those screams. Some nobody who called himself a judge reading out sentences of death and exile with no emotion in his voice. The smirks of the Custodians as the prisoners were paraded in front of them and strapped down. It was bad enough when they branded him. It was bad enough when they branded his father, who put on such a brave face for his children. But Malkon…he wasn’t even a year old. He had no idea what was happening. He was just suddenly yanked from his father’s arms and burned with a hot iron. Those screams…

Based on Trion maturation rates, Malkon would look around Adric’s age now. Maybe that’s why Turlough felt like he had to watch over him. He also knew that Adric had had a brother once, one that would be around Turlough’s age. They grew up without parents, so this brother, Varsh, was all he had. 

Adric saw Varsh die in front of him like Turlough watched his mother be gunned down. They both understood what it meant to watch the person who’d kept them safe become a pale corpse in front of their eyes. Turlough was fortunate enough that when his mother died, he could run to his father, even if he didn’t do much to comfort him. Adric ran to the Doctor. He’d only just met him, and he wasn’t any better than Turlough’s father when it came to comfort. Turlough suspected that the incarnation of the Doctor he knew was even worse than the one before him in that regard. Though, he’d gotten better. At least, Turlough didn’t feel as bad about his nightmares when he woke up next to him.

[notmedicine13]

Why did you Join RED?

"Good evening Mr. Torres, my name is Gregory Mason, a representative of Reliable Excavation Demolition. Now, before we can let you in, I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that all right with you?"

Bat: "Yeah, that's fine"

"Good! Now first things first, why are you joining RED?

Bat: "Well, I never really knew what to do with my life. I finished School, went studying and applied for a job. But it didn't last that long. I quit after some time, the job really didn't appeal to me. I tried several other jobs, but none of them really clicked with me. I was also struggling with paying rent in time. Always felt like I was hanging on by a thread for when I do manage to pay. So I'm hoping that maybe this is the job that is for me."

Hawk: "I was really fond of watching military movies as a kid! Something about fighting for your country just really stuck with me y'know? I remember I'd often get into fights as a kid, my parents always had to keep me under control. Anyways when I got older I wanted to join the military, managed to get in boot camp, but I had to resign after something happened there, so I thought that this would be the next best thing"

Howitzer: "Isn't it obvious? Money, duh! And this job seems like easy pay. I also really enjoy fighting and hurting other people, used to be in a gang too, but that also meant that I often had encounters with the cops, so this job was obviously the right one for me, getting paid to kill people? count me in!"

Iron Clad: "I used to work in the British military back in my day. But I had to leave because I accidentally blew up the captains quarters. My father still wanted me to be out there fighting for my families honor so I thought that this job could do.

The Don: "I had to find a way to escape from my family. Everyday felt like a nightmare, constant arguing, always getting punished for the littlest things. They always told me to go get a job so I wanted to apply to this one so that I wouldn't have to deal with my life back at home"

NG: "As a kid, I was always fond of tinkering with things. I made all sorts of contraptions, from building a small car out of scrap to making my own little rube goldberg machines, all the way to making my own machines. Wanting to put my mechanical skills to the test, I thought applying here would be a good idea.

Not Medicine: "I wanted to study to become a doctor. I was making some good progress early on, but I caused an accident which lead to a classmate being severely injured so I got expelled, which is also how I got the nickname "Not Medicine". I still wanted to work in the medical field, and since I accidentally caused harm, what if I healed while also causing harm on purpose?"

Operator06: "Mostly to support my wife. We are currently struggling financially, and I was scouring through multiple well paying jobs, but none of them were enough to support us both. Which is why I'm applying for a job here at RED, I'd work here, while I'd send money to my wife so that she can have a roof over her head and a good meal. My wife was against this because she didn't want to lose me, but I assured her that I wouldn't put myself in great danger, which is also why I'm applying for the sniper position.

Kaard: "My father used to work for RED before I was born. He always told me about stories about his time as a mercenary and the many battles that he has thought. So I want to follow in his footstep in being a mercenary for RED, to see if I could not only be on the same level as him, but to also surpass him in order to make him proud"

[inkyminx]

~ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓷𝓴𝓮𝔂 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼 ~

Eyyyyyy another LMK OC-  now with a detailed description-  cause I have no life and I thought this would be cute, so don’t mind me.

Anyways meet Sun Wukong’s adopted daughter, Tao Ling.

In the beginning, Sun Wukong was unsure of what to do and often kept the baby with the little monkeys for a period for them to entertain her as he obviously had no clue how to take care of a kid let alone a newborn.

It wasn’t until the crying baby girl reached out for him after a bad dream that SWK ended up adopting the pink monkey and raising her as his own.

Like SWK and Macaque, Tao Ling is a mystic monkey that was born from a stone.

When she was born, she was found by SWK after he sensed something was up in the mountain, resulting in him finding her as a baby.

Because of her peachy fur and gold eyes, SWK named her Tao Ling, meaning “Peach” and “Spirit” as he adopted her after his Journey To The West.

When she was younger, she is often seen wearing Wukong’s old clothes from his youth during his Brotherhood days, at least before he makes her her own.

During her young adolescence, Tao Ling became immortal after accidentally eating the Peaches of Immortality— though she was caught by SWK and thought they were normal.

As she began to reach adulthood, SWK models her clothing (mostly her vest) to be somewhat similar to his when he was younger, but with some alterations and a double peach pattern on the back of her top.

And now some character relationships I wrote in the meantime.

~ She adores Wukong as her father and it shows that she took quite a lot after him as he raised her since she was a newborn.

She tends to act like her dad during battles as well and tends to have the same shameless mannerisms but also learns much quicker as SWK made sure she wouldn’t repeat his mistakes.

For example, when Mei was being overtaken by the Samadhi Fire and SWK revealed his plans, Tao Ling chewed him out and told him off, saying he was stupid to even consider taking such a threatening risk.

Not only harming him but may also greatly injure- if not kill Mei in the process.

Aside from that, the two have an incredible relationship as father and daughter, and are shown to be extremely close, especially when Wukong reminisces about his little girl growing up and wanting her to be better than he was in his youth.

He’s definitely the “bedtime story” and playful type of dad as Tao Ling often mentions how he used to climb trees while holding her tightly with his tail to make her laugh.

Of course he had a few scares during early fatherhood (never ask him about her first steps cause there was a cliff and fruit involved) and he did often have moments of thinking he was clearly not cut out to be a parent to a child who definitely needed his full attention.

But Tao Ling (especially in adulthood) made sure to be by his side and to always let him know he did enough for her and that he didn’t have to worry about her anymore, often joking that she’s immortal too so she can’t exactly die even if she wanted to.

To which SWK chuckles and understands— though his papa monkey instincts made sure they were present in a way of “your my kid, I’ll kill every God and demon there is if they harmed you.”

~ With Possessed SWK, MK had to literally push Tao Ling out of the way to get her to safety when he realized how froze up and horrified she was, witnessing her beloved dad being taken over and clearly struggling against LBD’s power.

Tao Ling is extremely prone to nightmares and Possessed Wukong took them over ever since the first fight with him. Thankfully MK was there to calm her down, though he didn’t miss the rare fear in her eyes— and the tears, which shocked him.

Thankfully, when LBD was defeated and everything had settled,

Tao Ling became more scared for her dad’s life, immediately running up to him and begging him not to leave anymore (though both injured from the battle, it was a tight hold) .

Let’s just say Wukong had to be by her side every time they went to bed to let her know he wasn’t gonna leave her and the gang, reminding him of her childhood comfort.

~ With MK— I mean the girl practically crushed the kid’s bones in a bear hug and openly called him “brother” when they first met when she realized he is her dad’s successor.

They too have an extremely close relationship a little after meeting and play off of each other quite well, often times with Sandy and Mei joking that they are twins.

They’re definitely a chaotic sibling duo that the gang can barely keep up with, even Mei (which says a lot) .

When it was revealed that MK too is a monkey-like being, Tao Ling secretly went after him and often tried to comfort the boy, showing a much softer side of her than she usually does around her brother.

There was a moment when Wukong had thought MK and Tao Ling were supposed to be twins due to similarities and their similar stones, but that’s obviously debunked by the fact that she is like a couple decades older than the Monkie Kid.

And just make sure you don’t remind Tao Ling of MK’s clones: She is pretty traumatized by PORTY and artsy MK, and often gets war flashbacks if she ever witnesses them in action.

~ As for her reaction to INK MK (or INKY) , much like with Possessed SWK, Tao Ling often has nightmares and always goes to find MK to make sure he’s okay— and often ends up with Pigsy finding the pink monkey sleeping on the floor next to his son’s bed.

While yes, she was scared for her brother’s safety and mental state, Tao Ling was more enraged and ready to defend MK whenever he was struggling with his monkey side trying to take over.

~ With Mei, Tao Ling treats her like a sister as they too also grow pretty close together and it only enhances after the Samadhi Fire events and the war against LBD.

Though much like siblings, they tend to “fight” like sisters and are both quite competitive, amusing the gang.

So much so that Tao Ling ended up making a motorcycle JUST to race Mei in competitive yet fun competition.

And Tao Ling is no stranger to taking pictures with Mei whenever they hung out alone or with MK: Whether at the arcade, on the streets and at a club, you’ll most likely see these troublemakers causing chaos.

~ For Pigsy, just like her brother and father,

Tao Ling tends to get on his nerves— and much like Tang— eats at his restaurant quite a lot after her intro— without paying in money.

Instead, she pays in lighthearted jokes and trinkets like a loose button she picked up and a tiny piece of shimmery leather, or a “But second daaaaaaad” .

Aside from that, Pigsy and Tao Ling have a good relationship as he begins to understand that much like her father, the monkey princess really is a good kid and takes a lot of interest in his chef skills, making him proud.

~ With Tang, well- they are “critic” buddies and Tao Ling does tend to tease the poor guy a lot— mostly about his “old-man exterior” which Tang fires back by calling her grandma as she is DECADES MAYBE EVEN CENTURIES older than he is.

They’re more of the bickering type of duo compared to the rest (minus Macaque) but when it comes to being food critics and freeloaders? You’ll never find a better team.

They have fun times.

~ As for Sandy? Tao Ling can’t go a day without enjoying some tea with her favorite gentle giant and you’ll probably often find her snuggling up to he and Mo, purring like crazy.

And in return, Sandy takes any chance to be huggable and affectionate with the pink monkey just to hear her purr and chirp. Much like Tang, Tao Ling and Sandy are also always seen drinking tea if spending time together.

Though Tao Ling’s monkey instincts take over and pick at Sandy’s beard for “ticks” like a normal monkey would to clean themselves.

~ With Red Son,

BOI does Tao Ling get a kick out of teasing him and being a menace to the guy.

And much like she does with Sandy, the monkey takes every opportunity to rub her cheek against his just to mess with him or make him crack a smile.

She even jokes about them being cousins as their fathers are sworn-brothers, always making the bull prince (or Spice Bull, as she calls him) pull a face and cuss her out, creating a very comical reaction.

It often ends with Tao Ling holding her stomach and on the floor laughing, and Mei and MK holding Red Son back from murdering her.

~ And finally Macaque, well…

Tao Ling hated the guy as she often remembers him going after Wukong or MK (who she’s extremely protective of) and she often gets in between to snarl at him.

Most times, MK would have to physically move her away from the fight so she wouldn’t get hurt from protecting he and the gang, as he knew just from her expression that she wasn’t gonna go down without getting one punch in.

To Macaque on the other hand, he was more confused and dumbfounded by the monkey princess’ appearance, shocked that SWK even HAD A KID he raised.

After that, he was conflicted, wondering what the guy was thinking,

And had even asked Tao Ling if she knew what her father did in the past (not just talking about his own story) - to which she says yes, revealing she knows JTTW’s events but not the falling out.

During the fight in S3, much like MK— SWK had to hold his daughter back from literally ending Macaque’s life (to which the dark monkey says to her that it wasn’t his first rodeo) ,

And forces his princess to stay put until he says so, worrying but acknowledging her father’s wishes.

But thankfully after the battle against LBD and the father-daughter duo reunite,

Tao Ling let’s Macaque in and even thanked him for helping her brother and aiding to save her father,

To which Macaque then makes jokes about going back to “being evil” and it ends up with Tao Ling getting up and purposely hitting him in the face with her tail.

After that though, they have a great relationship as they grow and finally get along, the two of them letting each other in and Macaque (much like with MK) watches over her if her dad isn’t available.

[ask-codeearasure]

I'm a picky son of a bitch with my ships, that's why. I need to know what kind of chemistry and backstory are going into pairings I'm either not familiar with or didn't care about before.

With Colorkiller I'm introduced to a fuckton of interactions that build and introduce character, I'm introduced to personalities and motivations behind what Killer and Color want, I'm introduced to what they have in common and what they don't, what their own backstories were like, how they'd handle each other in battle, how they'd grow and heal together through their mutual support and genuine affection for one another.

It's all this information that makes me like it so much, and it's information like this that I'd need to know in order for me to enjoy other ships as well.

Take Dream x Ink and Dream x Cross for more examples.

Dream has all these problems with developing close relationships. He is terrified not only of his aura manipulating and warping the people around him into being addicted to his presence, but also Nightmare catching wind of the people he's close to torment and use against him. Dream also does everything he can to avoid showing others how traumatized he is and whatever negativity he's feeling, often breaking down in private where he knows no one will see, because based on how he acts, others may react in negative ways which hurts him physically because of his aura giving him the ability to feel everyone's emotions regardless of what he wants. And given the multiverse itself is predominantly in a negative condition because of Nightmare, this entails Dream is constantly in agony but doesn't show that. He's so used to being in pain but once someone else factors into that pain is where he begins to panic internally and start distancing himself without much word.

Now with Ink, this bastard doesn't have a soul. This means his emotions cannot be sensed by Dream and neither can they sense his aura or feel any effects from it. Ink also can't feel physical pain, so physical torture isn't something he's personally affected by and if Nightmare were to capture them, they could always escape via traveling through his rotten acidic apple goop, since it's technically liquid enough.

If you remove their difference in ideals as an issue, their relationship looks great 11/10 and there's barely any downsides to this hypothetical Ink x Dream relationship. Ink checks all the boxes of "least likely to form an aura addiction" and "least likely to get merked by Nightmare".

With Cross it's a bit more challenging, even after you remove the history of the infamous Cream comic and the handful of issues it presented before its deletion around 8 years ago. So for this example's sake, pretend the Cream comic never existed. We're gonna use material from XTale and Underverse only.

On paper, Cross has no way of not fostering an addiction to Dream's aura. He can feel it and it has an effect on his emotional state and overall mindset. There could also be supplemental issues associated with his past if the writer of this ship decided to implement concepts from Underverse, namely Cross's brief "alliance" with Nightmare.

These two problems are more than enough reason for Dream to avoid letting Cross get too close in any personal manner. Doesn't mean he won't help him, cause Dream does that for everyone regardless of how he feels. But this will be a massive internal struggle for him unless Cross makes it abundantly clear and proves to him again and again that he won't get addicted to his aura and Nightmare hunting him is not an overarching problem.

Cross himself, albeit selfish and immature, is an extremely loyal individual. And even though he is a bisexual trans-coded disaster, I doubt his first thoughts upon meeting someone he likes is to jump to a relationship. He's an impulsive little shit, but he's not trusting of others. I imagine his dependence and trust in Dream first starts because Dream saved him twice before and he wishes to get even with Dream (look at the credits of Underverse 0.4 and the fight scene in 0.6). Cross does NOT like being in debt to someone else, especially not after his trauma with XGaster, XChara, and Nightmare.

Because of this, he's bound to be distant and thoroughly guarded, mentally and physically, when he sticks by Dream's side to provide support. It's obvious he's not happy with this decision, and he knows Dream wouldn't mind if he just left, but some part of him doesn't like the possibility of Dream calling on him later on and perhaps for something he doesn't want to do (which Dream wouldn't do either but Cross is an anxiety-filled bitch, he's gonna suspect and assume a lot of things that aren't true).

And since Cross is fairly dense too, I doubt he'll notice immediately that he's fallen for Dream. He's gonna figure it out in the dumbest way possible, in a way only he can put the pieces together for while literally everyone else around him already knows he's head over heels for this man. He's a dumbass with a heart of gold.

Because of these complexities Dream and Cross have to work through, Cream is meant to be one of the slowest of slow-burn ships in the fandom.

And technically all ships with (canon/canon-adjacent) Dream are bound to be slow-burns when you take this info into account.

All ships with Dream, when you take in canon knowledge on how Dream struggles with all kinds of relationships in the first place and all the reasons why, are so much more complex than you might've given credit for upon first impressions.

Drink and Cream are the two best Dream pairings for these very reasons in my mind, because just like with Colorkiller, there is work to be done and character development to explore.

I need engagement like this in shipping or chances are I'm not going to understand or care about other pairings.

And since I'm intrigued by Colorkiller + MTT, I want to know what you might find interesting about it. I want to understand. I want to have these discussions with people. This is how I start having more fun with content alien to me.

(And since I know @/wickjump likes Cream and maybe Drink as well, star might appreciate the ping).

EDIT: DISENGAGE I REMEMBERED WRONG, DISREGARD THE PING. FUCK.

-- Sarco

so why is there no colorkiller + mtt poly or mtt poly + color are yall weak willed cowards

[misselko]

It's my biggest dream to have a big brother but... oh well. I never had any in my whole life! That's why I decided to try to write this platonic headcannons for my own self-indulgence.

How would the Blue Lions treat their younger sibling that also goes to the Officers Academy?

BIG BROTHERS (BLUE LIONS)

Dimitri

He always loves his little sibling wholeheartedly! Always there whenever you need his help with anything. Lessons, training, homework, horseback riding, or life advice. Big brother Dimitri always gives the best piggy back rides!

Protective towards his younger sibling because you were the only family that he had left after the Tragedy of Duscur. With his life as cold as it is, he doesn’t want to lose other close ones.

Whenever you have nightmares, he will welcome you with open arms to sleep together in his quarters, trying his best to comfort you. He did the same thing as well. When the nightmares and voices become too strong, he always seeks you out for comfort because you can understand him, understand the way he feels and act the way he does since both of you have suffered from the loss of your family’s death. 

Even when he was being distant, he only scowled and snarled, but rarely pushed you away when you approached him and insisted on taking care of him in the cathedral. Healing his wounds or bringing food and drinks from the Dining Hall. Dimitri will only look at you silently, accepting your kindness.

Never let you participate in battles because he didn’t want to expose you to danger. But when you really have to, he will always stay close to you. Even when he went feral like a beast, your safety was his utmost concern, especially on the battlefield. Goddess please have mercy on enemies that trying to strike you. He will attack them mercilessly.

 

Sylvain

He used to protect you from Miklan abusive behaviour when you were kids, taking the brunt of his aggression so you’d be safe. Sylvain is even willing to do his best to defend you from Margrave Gautier’s mean ways to prove your worth (solely based on Crests). And he will do it again in a heartbeat for you, both in your Academy days or battlefield.

Something’s bothering you? Big brother Sylvain’s on it! He will take his time to talk and try to make you feel better. He might not look like one, but actually he is good with keeping secrets safe! Sylvain values communication and affirmation because he’s seen what negligence can do to someone.

Sylvain will always take care of you before himself and he doesn’t hide that fact. For as goofy as he is, Sylvain is a smart and quick witted. He will offer his help whenever he sense your distress, taking his time to help you with studying, training, or anything that you need help with. 

He never said it but he really loves his little sibling with all of his heart. It’s amusing to see that the famous philanderer always keeps tabs on you like an overprotective big brother whenever you go with your special someone. The redhead doesn’t want his little sibling to have a partner that’s overly flirtatious or mistreats you because he knows that’ll break your heart. He just wanted the best for his little sibling!

You know that he always tried his best to look tough and cool in front of you, but his wounds from jumping in to protect you against enemy attacks sure hurt a lot. Both of you knew that he would lay down his life for you in a heartbeat but... just like him, you wanted things to be as comfortable and safe as possible for him as well. He really should cherish his life more. He’d be panicked if you cried over him about it.

Felix

Felix will never turn down a request from his little sibling despite his endless complaints and annoyed sighs. He may make a stink over how it’s a ‘pain,’ but he won’t say no. 

He may not be the nicest, not emotionally expressive (aside from anger, determination, and rude words), and sometimes he’s downright just an ass. Both of you often ended up in arguments but he was always taking care of you secretly.

Expect your favourite cakes or small trinkets on your desk whenever he went to the town with Sylvain. But never try to ask him about it, he will get upset and might snap at you!!

Loyalty, honesty, and dependability are what he used to show he cares. On the outside it might appear to onlookers that he hates everyone and everything, but when things get tough he’s the first one you can call.

Anytime there is a battle Felix will get annoyed if you try to go on which would end up annoying you because you aren’t fragile, and might end up having an argument. But if you do end up going on the battlefield, both of you know that you can handle yourself. He always gets beyond anxious that something bad might happen to you that he almost shakes. Ironically though Felix might end up running straight to the enemies where you’ll have to follow behind him to make sure he didn’t do anything reckless.

 

Dedue

Words are rarely changed between Dedue and his little siblings. He may not be verbal with you, but his sentiment shows through his actions. When you were busy with upcoming exams, he often brought your favourite snacks or foods that he made by himself.

There’s no talking, and he just sits there beside you in silence. Drawing comfort from your reliable big brother really helps with your studying or relaxing time. Sometimes he will gave you some advices on learning on errands or tasks patiently

You often helped him to take care of flowers in the greenhouse. Roses, daffodils, lavender, carnations, anemones, forget-me-nots... Gentle Dedue taught you a lot about flowers and gardening. He almost choked in happy tears when you gave him a watering can and a flower wreath for his birthday. Hugging you and smiling warmly.

Sometimes a heavy pang of sadness gnaws at your heart whenever mean people bully both of you because of the Tragedy of Duscur. Big brother Dedue always tried his best to protect you from that kind of insult with a stoic face. It was very nice of Dimitri to defend both of you from that slander.

Dedue will get ferocious if someone dares to lay their hands on his little sibling on the battlefield. He will ask you to go to a safer place or stay behind him. It’s a known fact that being a retainer to the future king does not leave him much free time. But he always check on your well being after to battle ended before tending his wounds.

Ashe

Ashe always works hard to provide for his little siblings to prove that the world is still worth living in. He loves to see you happy and to hear your laughter.

He’s as open as his books even though his communication skills sometimes flop on him. Since your parents and Lord Lonato’s death, he acted like a parent figure for you. Offering moral support and genuine care for your well being. He can be such a worrywart sometimes but please don’t tell him so, he will be very sad if you told him that.

Weekends are very enjoyable with Big Brother Ashe! Cooking together with him and the Professor always brings so much joy. Bonus point if Dedue helped as well! It will be a delightful feast for Blue Lions!!

As much as he loves his little sibling, Ashe wanted you to be more independent. He will teach you life skills such as haggling, saving, and cooking. Dimitri often gave him some delightful sugar candies from the town that he shared with you when you had to stay up late for the upcoming exam. Hopefully that’ll help to keep you motivated!

The hurt of people he cares for is his own. It always pained Ashe to kill someone but he has to do it to protect you from the enemies. When Ashe loves he does so with his whole heart and won’t hesitate to show it. Their wounds sting him just as much, especially when his sibling was hurt on the battlefield. Expect lots of his handmade cooking and gentle care for your quick recovery!

[kirishimas-manly-eyeliner]

➶ WHAT MAKES THE MHA BOYS BREAK (PT. 2)

pairings: mirio togata, tenya iida, katsuki bakugo, aizawa shota, tomura shigaraki, dabi, hawks, mashirao ojiro, tamaki amajiki

warnings: hinting anxiety/anxiety attacks, reverse comfort, also tamaki’s made me cry so have fun lmao 

part one with mezo shoji, tokoyami fumikage, hanta sero, izuku midoriya, shoto todoroki, eijiro kirishima, denki kaminari, hitoshi shinsou here!

WHEN YOU COMFORT THEM THE MOMENT THEY BREAK DOWN: MIRIO TOGATA, TENYA IIDA, KATSUKI BAKUGO

MIRIO TOGATA

there was no way that mirio was completely fine after everything that had happened to him

he had lost his quirk, experienced a battle that could result in permanent trauma, and he lost nighteye-- the leader and hero that he had looked up to for so long

but when you told him that it was okay to be strong all the time, mirio had broken

he broke for the first time in what felt like years

“don’t worry a-ahbout me!” 

the saddest part about it?

he was smiling through his tears not even a few moments after his grin broke

his lips were trembling, his eyes were red and his entire body was shaking with suppressed sobs, but he had an unwavering smile.

and that... that was heartwrenching to look at.

his smile fell, his body trembled and he let out a strangled sobbut for some reason, this-- none of it had shown a single trace of weakness. it was a way of him to express very human emotions and reactions as everyone else could.

he wasn’t disappointing nighteye in anyway-- more of showing respect by letting it all out to be able to show genuine smiles in public

how come such human emotions were labeled as good or bad?

“i let him down,” mirio gasped, “i let him down, i hurt him, i could have saved him, and-”

“hey, it’s okay, you’re going to be okay. it’s just me baby, it’s just me,” you cooed as you wrapped your arms around him. “shhh, it’s just me. you’re okay.”

mirio’s hands trembled as he gripped tight onto you

his chest was getting tighter as he burst into struggled breaths. he was just so... tired.

a million thoughts zipped through his head at once, but he just had to calm the storm for a while in your arms

TENYA IIDA 

it was right after the accident in hosu city, and everything, everything had gone wrong

even though he didn’t show it at first, he felt used as an advertisement for hatsume, and then losing in a battle with todoroki and felt like he was thriving on dumb luck

he just wanted to make his brother proud, that was-

-if he could, anymore. 

he felt so weak for letting himself feel this way, his head racing and chest heaving as he struggled to breathe

letting your guard down will just make things worse. tensei wouldn’t want this.

tenya’s body visibly trembled as he let out a shaky breath in his dorm room, thinking everything over in the darkness

“iida?” you asked, knocking on the door.

immediately, his demeanor changed as he shifted over to a braver face. 

“hello, y/n!”

just breathe. they’ll be gone sooner or later. breathe.

“why are you up this late at night?” he asked.

“i was just checking in on you, but i should be asking you the same question, sonic boy,” you grinned, until you noticed his hands trembling.

and for some reason, that hurt you. his face was.. so put together with a brave smile, confident eyes, and his head held up high and posture straight and firm

but when you saw his hands trembling and an odd shifting in his chest, you knew something was up

“are you okay?” you tested the words. 

tenya tried. he tried so, so hard to smile and affirm with a confident, “yes!”

but he couldn’t.

“i-i’m not- i’m not sure-,” his voice broke into a whisper. 

“i don’t know.”

you melted into a hug next to him as you took a seat. “hey, you can tell me anything, okay? it’s okay not to have your guard up all the time, it’s not weak to show emotion. just- if you want, can you tell me what’s been going on?”

tenya took a shaky breath and pushed up his glasses. “of course, thank you for asking, i will.”

KATSUKI BAKUGO

after his fight with deku, all of the willpower left in him to hold himself together disappeared 

katsuki had been exhausted after a long day of fighting, not just physically, but emotionally

he had tried to keep his head high for as long as he could, but the moment he went to his dorm room, he just... broke.

angry tears released and he choked out heavy, strangled sobs as he pounded his fist to the ground in frustration

katsuki cursed towards whoever was there, until he found you standing behind him

he was too tired to argue.

“the fuck are you doing here,” he grumbled.

“is something wrong, 'suki?” you whispered. “i was just coming by to drop off your water bottle, you left it during hero training,” you examined his face. “are you- are you okay?”

he loved you, he really did-- but today just wasn’t a good day. “mn-no,” he managed to say.

his chest was heaving and his eyes seemed to be searching the room, as if looking for an exit.

you noticed the dark circles around his eyes and the way his lips trembled. had he been crying?

you slowly cupped his face in your hands, noses touching as you two shared breaths, inhaling and exhaling together

katsuki was too tired to pull away. 

he felt so weak.

you could hear katsuki’s breath shaking but slowly dying in volume as he held him tighter

“hey,” you said softly, brushing your thumb across his cheek. “you’re gonna be okay ‘suki. you’re gonna be okay.”

they’re pitying me.

“this?” you said, holding his bruised hand up and motioning towards his trembling figure. “this isn’t weak.” you said, as if reading his mind. “this is strong. this is brave. being emotionally vulnerable is one of the most courageous things anyone can ever do, and you are so much more than that, m��kay?”

he nodded in response. even though he didn’t express it that well, he thought of it 

WHEN YOU PROMISE TO STAY: TOMURA SHIGARAKI, HAWKS, DABI

DABI

everyone shut up i love him

all that he’s ever wanted and asked for in life was for someone to notice him for who he genuinely was, to be free to do whatever he pleased

it was late at night and you two were outside, the moon illuminating in the darkness as you slid against the wall of the city in the back of the building

“anything interesting happen?” you asked, staring up into the moon

the night was young and it had been a rough, terrible day at work for both of you, even though you had separate jobs and shfits-- the only thing that pushed you forward everyday was being able to meet with dabi right after, at exatly 11pm. 

sure, you did it every day, and it shouldn’t have been that impactful-- but for some reason, somehow, everything about talking to him was so... exhilerating. 

he didn’t reply.

“uhhm,” you shuffled nervously toward him. “dabi, you good?”

he let out a shaky exhale, which was odd.

hold the phone.

no, really, someone hold the phone because it was ringing

“oh, sorry, one sec,” you rushed, hurrying to answer. it was one of your co-workers. “hello!”

“uhuh. yeah. oh, cool... got it, mhm, be right ther-”

you noticed how dabi’s body language immediately changed as he turned around and crossed his arms gently over his chest and stared into the sky.

this really, really wasn’t like him. 

something had to be wrong.

“uhm, on second thought,” you said. “does tomorrow at... noon work for you? i have plans. yeah. mhm, sorry not tonight. yep, bye!”

dabi’s eyebrows furrowed, but he didn’t look at you. “who was that?”

“one of my coworker buddies or whatever. they wanted to have a drink with me, but i said no.”

“why’d you say no?” he deadpanned.

“uhhhm, well, you certainly don’t seem very... how should i say this, at your fullest?”

“but why?” dabi said. “you meet with me every day, and going with your friends is probably a lot easier than this. what’s so different about it..?”

you thought carefully as you shrugged casually, gently leaning your head against his shoulder. “if one of my closest pals were down, i couldn’t just... leave them like that. and even though i know you won’t tell me what’s wrong, i just.. i just don’t want you to feel alone, you know? like everyone in your life has left? and i- i don’t want to do that to you.”

even though dabi stayed relatively quiet for the rest of the night, 

just know that was the day he fell in love with you.

SHIGARAKI

nightmares were the worst. 

for the record, he didn’t get them often, but when he did, and actually reacted to it... they ended up terrible

he gasped, grasping at the air for his mother’s embrace only to be met with nothingness

he clawed at his skin as his breath hitched, trying to control himself

“tomura?” you asked. “...are- are you okay?”

“get away from me,” he trembled. “i’m a... i’m a monster.”

you furrowed your eyebrows in concern. “hey, hey, c’mon. what’s going on-”

“leave me alone.”

his sudden change in tone made you jump as you stepped back and you watched his figure tremble. 

“shigaraki.”

“if something’s wrong, don’t sugarcoat it. if something’s wrong, please, for the love of the world, tell me, okay? i just- i just want to see you... maybe..”

“what?” shigaraki deadpanned. “happy? satisfied? content? joyful? you people all want the same thing.”

“hopeful.”

shigaraki looked up. 

“i want to see you hopeful, m’kay? so just... please. you don’t need to tell me word-for-word, but-- if you need something, i’m here.”

he was not going to cry. nuhuh. no way. no way was he going to start crying. 

you wrapped your arms around him before he cautiously hugged back, letting himself slowly melt into your embrace, his satin gloves against your clothes

“hey. i promise you, i’m never going to be leaving. no matter how much you mess up, no matter how terrible you may feel-- you mean the world to me. please hold on just a little longer.”

HAWKS

it wasn’t supposed to happen until later, when he was actually able to get home and prepare himself for anxious feeling in his stomach to finally settle

but noooo, his mental state really just said yolo

so here he was, reliving his entire childhood with memories that he’d pushed down for so long, about to snap in a matter of seconds

“keigo~!”

your familiar voice rang through his head. 

he just wanted to be held by you.

the most beautiful part about being with hawks his that he genuinely didn’t care about his pride around you. he wasn’t insecure of what you thought of him. he didn’t freak out or try to act like he was fine when you were with him, because... why would he need to? 

so instead of putting on a brave face and getting scared of your voice as if being anxious was a crime, he melted into it.

“hey angel, i got you some food at the-”

“y/...y/n,” his breath hitched. your voice, that you often said you were insecure about-- was his safe haven. he felt safe when he heard your voice and let himself crumple. he didn’t have to worry about putting his walls up, because it was just you.

beautiful, loving, kind you. 

his love was something special that he gave to no one else.

“k-keigo!” 

even though you were far from him, your bags in hand and everything, you immediately dropped them and ran to your boyfriend

“hey, hey, baby, what’s going on?” 

he stood directly in front of you, his head down and not saying a word.

you let your breathing sync with his as you reached out to hold his hand, when he threw his arms around you before his trembling body was held in your embrace

“-hey,” you said, shocked by the sudden embrace, before you hugged back, slowly, rocking him back and forth. “you’re going to be okay.”

“you don’t have to tell me anything, just-- focus on me,”

“i’m never leaving you, okay? no matter what you do, you’re still going to be my hero.”

and hawks decided on that day that out of anything else in the world, you meant the most to him. 

WHEN YOU TELL THEM THAT THEY MATTER: TAMAKI AMAJIKI, MASHIRAO OJIRO, SHOTA AIZAWA

TAMAKI AMAJIKI

useless. useless. useless.

why wouldn’t his stupid quirk activate before? why couldn’t he be more optimistic? why was he always thinking about something else? why couldn’t he ever stay positive and cheery like everyone else?

how was everyone else so strong?

but laying in a hospital bed, in complete silence and vulnerability...

that scared him.

tamaki blinked back the sudden tears that prickled against his eyes-- nuhuh, no way was he about to cry when so many other people had it worse, no way he was going to break down when nighteye was dead, he was not about to cry if mirio could be strong and so many other people had it worse, and-

“tamaki, snap out if it!”

your cold hands cupped his face, as you stared him directly in the eyes. “what are you doing?”

tamaki jumped back at your sudden question. but for some reason, the way you said it wasn’t angrily, more like... a statement? a question? as if you were asking are you okay?

tamaki shook his head. “i don’t... i don’t kn-know..”

get away, get away, get away.

your hands brushed back a hair from his face as you crouched down in front of him, your hands still helping him cool down. they rested gently on his scalp and along his face as you felt his breathing grow uneasy.

“listen,” you began slowly. “i’m not saying you need to tell me what’s going on, but... i just- i have a feeling that you’re not doing okay. and i know that because no one was ever really there for me back then, so if you want to say anything--”

“--i’m here for you.”

tamaki crumpled then as he let the tears fall.

his entire mask shattered as his breath hitched, trying to hold back the sobs but only came out as strangled breaths. 

“hey, hey, hey, you’re okay, you’re okay.” 

you held up his chin and rocked him back and forth, slowly. “just because other people seem to be going through bigger things doesn’t mean that you should invalidate your problems. if something’s hurting you, that’s enough of a problem to take care of it.”

tamaki began to shake as he suddenly clutched onto you, his body trembling as he nodded. 

what would mirio, nejire, nighteye, fatgum-- what would they think of him now?

“whatever is going around in your head right now will all quiet soon, i promise you, ‘mkay?”

“it’s okay. it’s okay. you’re okay.” 

AIZAWA SHOTA

“you didn’t eat,” you said, staring at the takeout that was left in its packaging. 

you heard shota mumble under his sleeping bag. “i’ll eat after.”

“after what?” you said back from the kitchen. 

you weren’t exactly mad at him, you could say-- it was more of disappointment, maybe? concern? he had always been so concerned about his students that he forgot to take care of himself-- no wonder why he was so angry lately. 

(and no, it wasn’t his resting face, he was genuinely burnt-out the last couple of days and it wasn’t getting better.)

“shota, come on,” you said softly. “or else i’m taking your sleeping bag away from you.”

aizawa’s head emerged from the bag, the light from the laptop giving a lovely display of his eyebags. “oh?”

he smirked, even though he seemed so drained.

“yes,” you said, pointing your nose up in the air and crossing your arms. “and you better go eat before i take it away.”

aizawa raised an eyebrow, but obliged.

you watched him eat, but he kept his laptop on the table the whole time.

he was looking through the profiles of all his students, and that was-- insane

despite how much had happened to him, he always thought of someone else first, putting everyone else above him.

“you’re going to overwork yourself,” you finally said. 

“amazing,” aizawa sighed back. “had no clue.”

“oh, c’mon,” you egged. “you matter too, ya know.”

you noticed how tense his shoulders were, how his gaze was fixated to the screen and the way his veins were protruding from lack of sleep, and how red his eyes were.

sure, most of the time, this was normal-- but you just had this gut feeling that something was wrong.

“i suppose you’re not wrong,” aizawa ventured. “but sometimes, you realize that students make up most of the world. i want them to grow..”

his gaze on the screen broke.

“and for them to know a world of love and kindess, not-- whatever this is.”

you looked at him before wrapping your arms around him and kissing his forehead. “but they have a teacher who works so hard already, and you-- you deserve a break. you’re always working so hard, and you have to remember that you matter, too, okay?”

you smiled sadly. “i need to go to work, but please finish the takeout for me, hmm?”

he never told you this, of course-- but yeah, he thought of your voice every time he wanted to take a break. he never forgot the words you said. 

MASHIRAO OJIRO

being forgotten was something that came way too easily for him.

everyone in class 1a was so good at everything-- they all either had good looks, a nice voice, talents, a cool quirk, technique, charisma, and he?

ojiro felt like he didn’t have anything.

but what did it matter, right? being the forgotten one was fine to him, at least. he was able to take time for himself. 

...kind of.

he was heading back from ua into the dorms, walking alone when he realized it started to rain.

picking up his bags, he ran, putting them under his shoulders so that they didn’t get wet-- it wasn’t a long walk, but it was a lot to have to run back and make sure everything stayed dry

“wait!”

ojiro turned around to find you, carrying your backpack in the air and waving your arms. “slow-” you panted, “down! god, where’d all the rain come from??”

he chuckled slightly, until he noticed your bag getting soaked, and before he knew it, ojiro called you over and said he could carry your bag

“are you sure?” you asked, in-between breaths. “i doubt you can carry both-”

ojiro laughed and waved his tail like a hand. “i can carry it.”

your face lit up. “thanks! okay, now let’s run back, c’mon.”

you two ran as fast as you could, trying not to slip as the rain began to pour even harder against your backs. 

but when you opened the doors to the dorms and your bag was completely dry, ojiro smiled.

(also y’all he’s an underrated king DO Y’ALL KNOW HOW PRECIOUS HIS SMILE IS?? PLS-)

“thanks,” you grinned. “your quirk is actually really cool. not just for keeping stuff dry, but uh, thanks. i appreciate it.”

something inside of him made his heart swell. 

“really?” ojiro asked. “do you really- is that true?”

he didn’t want to get his hopes up too quickly, but the way you nodded proudly and affirmed it was something he could never forget.

“yeah!” you said. “just because you’re not flashy as other people doesn’t mean that you’re a plain, boring person, you know that? you’re actually really cool!”

“huh. thanks,” he noted-- and don’t worry, he walked back into his dorm room with a grin on his face the whole time.

🕭 reblog | comment | like 🕭

hey bbys! reminder to go take a break and drink some water if you’re reading this! y’all are so amazing and beautiful, and please remember that you’re valid as well. what you did today was more than enough, please remember that!! i’m very proud of you for getting through today. ily <3

qotd, what song reminds you of a fictional character 👀

join my family! 

list of family members: @kirishimuhhhhh​, @xuxisushi-1​, @kirishima-my-beloved​, @msminsuga​, @farfetchedparanoia​, @satis-mangata​, @moonhere​, @renegadedeca​, @viridevi​​, @cherriiirose​​ <3

☂ requests are open for mha + hq!! ☂

[lily-drake]

Death

Death was nothing new in Marinette’s life.  In fact it played a large role.  Her friends and city had died a hundred times over.  Her brother.  Her funny, smart, loving, dramatic brother had died at the hands of a mad man.  She didn’t think it was wrong for her to use the horse miraculous to visit her brother's grave.  It was officially five years after all.  He would be 20, he would have loved to plan out her 16th birthday this year.  She sat down and read Pride and Prejudice out loud, only a few tears falling as she glanced at the grave every so often.  She had also brought a bouquet of white lilies, statices, red carnations, and white daisies.  Soft grass laid over the dirt, the sun gleamed above, and sometimes when she would lean against the grave it was almost like she could feel him.

Dark storm clouds began to cloud the sky, and she knew she would have to leave soon, though she didn’t want to.  Dad would be upset if he caught her, though considering how many weeds she had to remove from the grave and how abandoned it looked, she doubted anyone had visited any time soon.  Suddenly the rain began to pour down and it felt like the earth shook.  She felt a great imbalance, but where, and how?  She touched both of her ears and she could feel her miraculous still there, Tikki even poked her head out from her bag with a look of fear.  A shiver ran down Marinette’s spine as rain came pouring down soaking everything in sight.  She looked around, and she kept spinning searching for something, anything that could have caused or been affected by the imbalance.  She waited there for many minutes just waiting, when she felt the dirt beneath her feet begin to shift a little.  She quickly moved away and watched as the dirt slowly moved and shifted.  She felt sick, because the dirt moving was directly where Jason was lying in eternal rest.  This couldn’t be right, this must be some mistake!  Her brother had died, she had seen the body, it haunted her nightmares for so many nights.  He’s been gone for five years!  This can’t be possible without some type of wish.

The grass began to move and shift away, and a fleshy mud covered hand raised from the ground causing a scream to rip from her lungs.  Her body sprung into action before her mind caught up to her beginning to help dig up her brother's grave, and when she saw the jet black hair covered in dirt and mud she knew that it was him.  She heaved him out from the hole and stared in shocked horror as he just sat there staring at her.  His eyes were the same blue she remembered, but they were so clouded.  Fear, confusion, and nothing shown in his eyes, like he wasn’t even truly there.  This must be a dream, it has to be, no, a nightmare.  Her brother shouldn’t be back, he died, she saw his limp body in dad’s hands, even if Alfred and bluebird tried to stop her.  But the imbalance was real, she could tell, and he was affected by it.

Slowly she raised her hand and hesitantly placed a hand on his cheek.  He leaned into her hand, though his eyes were still clouded and void.  He may be alive, but he wasn’t fully…alive.  She tackled her older brother into a hug and began sobbing onto him, but just sat there, head leaning against hers.  Pressing her ear against his chest she could hear his gentle heartbeat, and just for a moment everything seemed like it would be ok.  Then she felt a sharp prick in her neck and the world faded to black.

________

Marinette awoke to darkness.  She tried to sit up and felt her hands held behind her back being held together by something cold and thick.  Memories flooded back into her mind and she snapped into awareness and looked around.  It was dark, though there was a small light coming from a window far above where she could not ever reach.  The walls seemed to be made of thick stones and there was a heavy iron door a few feet in front of her.  Jason wasn’t there though, he wasn’t in the room, she didn’t understand.  Suddenly the door opened and she looked up and saw her mother’s green eyes.  Her panic grew again, how did she get here, was she captured too?  She had visited her often in Paris.  She was very vague about her job, and she knew it was probably sketchy, but could it be bad enough to be captured?

“Marinette, My Darling.  I apologize for your treatment, I did not realize that you were part of this.”

Talia rushed towards her daughter and unlocked the chains.  She was pulled into a tight hug that Marinette quickly returned.  After a few moments she pulled away but held her shoulders gently.

“I must show you something, come.”

Talia quickly stood and helped her daughter to her feet and walked swiftly through the calls of Nanda Parabat.

“What is mom?”

Talia smiled at that, she had always loved when her daughter called her that.

“It’s a surprise, My Flower.”

A few more twists though hallways and they stopped in front of a thick wooden door.

“I want you to meet someone.”

The door was pushed open and there sat a small baby in a crip with dark black hair, tanned skin, and dark green eyes.  Marinette gasped and covered her mouth,

“Meet your brother, Damian.”

Marinette slowly walked over and stared at Damian through the top of the crib.  He silently watched and studied her without making a sound.

“He’s about 3 months old.”

Talia said, smiling happily as she watched her daughter run her fingers through Damian’s small tresses of hair.  With a snap of her finger one of her shadows stepped next to her.

“Bring Jason.”

And with that order they were gone returning a few minutes later with a boy who was alive physically, but was mentally gone.  She could fix that though, it would be the last resort if all else failed, but she could fix it.  Marinette looked up when she heard Jason’s footsteps and her bright smile fell slightly into a small sad one.

“Jay-Jay.”

She whispered softly as she took slow steps towards the boy.  She quickly ran and hugged him again.  He no longer smelled like mud and he wasn’t wearing his suit, and he was….he was alive again!  Tears fell down her cheeks, because she missed him so much.

________

Marinette stayed with her mom in what she learned was Nanda Parabat.  She trained with Jason, but he was catatonic, just going through the motions blankly.  It worried her, especially as she watched her mother grow more anxious.  She cared for her little brother, and wondered if her dad knew, or if he would even care.  She often looked at Paris news for when she needed to go for Akuma attacks, but if her host parents even realized she was gone.  They hadn’t, nor had any of her “friends” apparently as they hadn’t sent her a single thing from the weeks she’s been gone.

Marinette knew that Nada Parabat wasn’t a good place, knew that the people were bad, knew that her grandfather was the head of it.  He didn’t seem to care who she was, he just thought she was some nurse for Damian, and she was thankful for that.  She knew that the Lazarus Pits were here, what they did, how they were made, how her grandfather used them for selfish purposes.  She didn’t do anything though, she was mad at her father for sending her away, mad that he adopted a bee kid only a year after he sent her away, mad that he never talked to her, mad that Dick never fought for her or looked for her, mad that Jason was forced to wake up and climb his way out of his grave only to be practically brain dead, mad that her classmates believed lies over her, mad that her host parents believed them and treated her like dirt or an invisible object meant to seen and not heard, mad that Chat Noir would leave her during battles because she didn’t return his affections, and mad that no one cared that she was gone!  So she trained as hard as she could, made sure that she perfected everything her mother threw at her.  Took care of her family and made sure they knew how thankful she was for them and loved them.  Then when she finally got a text from someone it was insults for being a horrible person and hurting Lila when she hadn’t been there for weeks!

She threw her phone at the wall and the crack echoed around the room.  Her breathing was harsh and ragged and then the tears she had been holding back finally fell.  Sobs wracked her body as she bit her lip to keep silent.  She tried to take in deep shuddering breaths, but it was no use and the sobs came out.  Her knees felt weak and she crumpled to the ground.  The door burst open and she saw her mom there knife in hand looking around the room with swift deadly eyes.  When she didn’t see any visible threats she kneeled in front of her daughter and looked directly into her eyes.  Eyes a storming blue that flooded with tears and made her heart ache and her want to murder whoever made her precious daughter look so broken.

“My Flower, what’s wrong?”

“N-nobody cares ab-about me!  No one cares that I’m g-gone.  Everyb-body hates me, and I’m so tired of it!  I’ll n-never be enough for an-anybody and I’m t-trying so h-hard to do wh-what everyone needs or exp-ects me to be!”

Marinette stuttered out between sobs.  Talia glared at that and felt anger at Bruce.  She thought that he at least checked in with her every once in a while.  She had guessed wrong then.  She pulled her daughter into a hug and let her cry against her shoulder.

“Shh, shh.  It’s okay.  You are perfect the way you are Marinette.  You don’t have to prove anything to me.  You’re such a good sister, you train so hard, and you have so many amazing skills and talents.  You are enough, don’t let anyone say anything different.”

Marinette gripped onto her mom and they both just sat there in silence as Marinette finally just cried.  After who knows how long Marinette gently pushed away and looked her mom directly in the eyes with complete seriousness said,

“I want you to help me fake my death.  If everyone wants to pretend I’m gone or wants me to disappear, then fine.  I will.  I don’t want to be seen anymore.”

Talia stared at her daughter in shock for a moment then gave her a small smile.

“It will be done my dear, you will be free.”

“Thank you mom.”

Taglist:

@queenz-z @aespades @fandomsaremylifeline @stainedglassm @toodaloo-kangaroo @prettylittlebutterflie @trippingovermyfeet @liquid-luck-00 @unoriginalmess @buginetye @miraculouslydumb @laurcad123

[xxdragonwriterxx]

🔥Where Is Your Rider?🔥

A/N: HEY EVERYONE!!! So, I just wanted to thank you guys for the massive amount of support you guys have given me recently, I just managed to reach a pretty significant follower count!!! I don’t want to specify the number because I don’t want to make this into a competition, but I’m so happy and grateful for all of you guys and the love and support you have shown me! As promised, I plan to celebrate with a face reveal! I’ll specify when I’m going to do it (as I don’t know when I won’t be busy, lol) but it will happen soon! For now, enjoy this super angsty short one-shot I have written for you guys! This was supposed to be a really short drabble but because I have no self control whatsoever, this ended up being nearly 3,000 words instead of the 500 I planned for it. Also, this was inspired by the two songs, “Where is Your Rider?” and “Pale White Horse” by the Oh Hellos! I hope you enjoy, and again, thank you guys so much!!! ❤️❤️❤️

🐉 Song Recommendation: “Pale White Horse” By: The Oh Hellos 🐉

Word Count: ~2.8k

~~~

Levi braced his hands on his knees, panting so hard his throat burned with dry fire. That had been close. Too close. To say that the expedition had been a nightmare would’ve been an understatement. It had been an absolute disaster. What was supposed to be a simple mission to retrieve some supplies from an abandoned battle station outside the walls had turned into chaos quicker than anyone could’ve ever anticipated as abnormals had surrounded them on all sides. Levi had tried his best to protect as many of his soldiers as he could, but even Humanity’s Strongest Soldier had been overwhelmed by the vast number of titans. Erwin had called for the retreat only minutes into the expedition, and yet they had still lost more men on this mission alone than they had during the past six months.

Levi closed his eyes, willing the tears back against the images of his fallen comrades, their broken bodies and screams of his name as they were devoured right in front of him. He had to stay strong, just for a little while longer. As soon as he got back within the walls and was able to retreat to his office, he would be allowed to break, to let loose the torrent of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. But for now, he had to be the pillar of strength that his remaining soldiers could look up to for hope and reassurance.

He sighed deeply, forcing down the bile that rose in the back of his throat, and raised his head, his eyes still closed as he prepared what he was going to say to his squad. When he finally felt ready enough to face them, he turned with his head held up high to the pitiful number of soldiers left on the field. He opened his mouth to talk when all of a sudden, he noticed something.

Her squad wasn’t back yet.

Levi’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, his mouth hung open as the words of his quickly prepared speech were immediately thrown out the window, his mind clouded with worry.

“Where’s Captain (Y/N)? And her squad?” Levi asked, prompting the men around him to stop what they were doing and look to their raven-haired superior. It was obvious that Captain (Y/N) and Captain Levi were together, that much was apparent from Levi’s subtle favoritism and soothed demeanor when she was around, but their relationship was often overlooked due to the professional manner in which they regarded each other when working during the day. Nobody was privy to what occurred behind closed doors - the clingy, loving nature that Levi adopted around (Y/N) when they were alone.

Levi felt a cold tremor trickle down his spine when nobody answered, some of their faces paling as they suddenly remembered their Captain’s relationship, panic laced in their eyes when they realized that nobody could answer Levi’s question. “Did anybody see where they went? Or could make a guess on which direction they could’ve gone?”

Levi tried to keep his voice steady when silence once again answered him, only the soft murmuring of the cadets asking each other for information filling the space. His breathing quickened and shallowed, making him feel light-headed, but he shook the feeling away. He needed to stay focused if he was going to find her. She was going to be alright, she had to be. He wouldn’t accept any other option.

“Alright then, everybody stay here. Commander Erwin should be arriving with the rest of you in a moment. When he gets here, someone tell him that I’ve gone to look for them.”

He whirled on his heel when he was met with murmurs of acceptance, aiming for his horse until a quick flash of movement caught the corner of his eye. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized it was the movement of a horse racing for them, its hooves striking the ground with every beat as it galloped for them in a panic. Cold dread washed over Levi as the horse got closer, immediately recognizing the silvery white coat of (Y/N)’s stunning mare.

Levi was frozen in fear for the first time in his life as the horse came barreling towards him; riderless. He managed to snap out of it and quickly moved to intercept the horse, using his hands to jolt the frantic horse to a stop. Levi cooed at the mare, murmuring soft words of comfort as he approached her as slowly and non-threateningly as possible. When she had finally calmed down enough for him to touch her, Levi carefully curled his fingers around her reins and stood back to get a good look at the animal.

Her nostrils were flaring with every harsh breath she took, panting with both fear and exertion. Her eyes were wide enough to flash the whites around her irises at him, her gaze darting all around them as if expecting something to jump out at her. Levi felt his stomach clench hard enough to rip a whimper from him when he saw that her once gleaming silver coat was now soaked in sweat, mud, and fresh blood. Levi took a shuddering breath, his eyes closing.

“Danika, where is your rider?”

The mare’s only response was to jerk her head in panic, her ears pinned as she tried to rip herself from his iron grip. Levi bared his teeth, a few stray tears sliding down his cheeks. “WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR RIDER!?”

He knew shouting would only make things worse, but he couldn’t help himself, his fury and paralyzing fear driving him to the edge of insanity. Where was she? She had to be here, he wouldn’t accept this, couldn’t accept this. She was alive and well and perfectly fine, her horse was just acting crazy. It had to be some kind of trick, some kind of illusion meant as a punishment for the lives of the men he had lost.

He rubbed his eyes but to his horror, the image of blood soaking Danika’s fur didn’t disappear. He wanted to believe that it was Danika’s blood, that the poor animal had just been clawed up in battle, but he knew it wasn’t hers. She had no external wounds to speak of and the blood was pooled on top of her saddle and splashed along her flank rather than gouged from her flesh.

More tears started to stream down his face, the air in his throat hitching with every shaky breath he took. It wasn’t possible. No. She was alive. (Y/N) was alive. The love of his life was alive. Levi hung his head, his hair falling to curtain his expression as he choked on another sob. “Danika, please. Please. Where is your rider? Where is (Y/N)? She was with you, right? She has to be around here somewhere…”

He knew he must look deranged, talking to a horse and muttering to himself, but he didn’t care. All he cared about, in that moment, was finding out where the fuck his lover was. Another sob ripped through his body, his eyes squeezing shut even harder as more tears fell from behind his lids. He didn’t want to accept it, he couldn’t accept it, so why was his heart shattering as if he already had?

The sudden touch of a warm muzzle brushing against his face made him flinch and look up, only to be met with the sight of (Y/N)’s silver mare, watching him with a deeply sorrowful expression that mirrored his own, as if she too was grieving the loss of her rider. Levi wanted to scream, wanted to chase the mare into the woods, wanted to slash titans until his body gave out, but he knew he couldn’t do any of those things. It wasn’t the horse’s fault, no matter how much he wanted someone to blame.

“Please,” he whispered, his fingers coming up to curl against Danika’s soft muzzle. “Please tell me she’s alive. Tell me she made it back with you, you just got scared and left her behind. Tell me that she’s going to be okay. I-I can’t live without her, please.”

He was begging now but he didn’t notice. He just wanted some damn reassurance, some comfort, some support - all of the things that (Y/N) usually provided for him when he felt helpless. But (Y/N) wasn’t with him and he was floundering. His eyes were glossy with tears as he looked deep into the mare’s eyes, begging with both his voice and his gaze for the horse to give him something, anything to work with.

“Levi,” the deep voice right beside him made him jump, too lost in his hysteria to notice that Erwin had slipped up next to him, his face dark and grim. Levi’s eyes were frantic as they searched Erwin’s gaze. He knew the Commander had seen (Y/N) last, her squad had been flanking his during their initial departure. Erwin swallowed. Hard.

“Levi, I’m so sorry but…” The Commander dug around in his pocket until he found what he was looking for and pulled out a small piece of fabric with (Y/N)’s name written on the back. It was (Y/N)’s wings of freedom patch. Levi carefully took the patch in both of his palms, tears flooding his cheeks as his whole body started to shake.

“S-She saved her squad, Levi. They were being chased by a hoard of abnormal titans and she darted off to act as bait. Her p-plan was solid, but there were just too many of them and they overpowered her,” Erwin said, his jaw clenching when he stuttered a few times, fighting back his own tears. He lifted a hand and rested it gently on his friend’s shoulder, squeezing once. “Levi, s-she’s gone.”

Levi immediately shook his head violently in response, refusing to believe it. She wasn’t dead, she couldn’t be. She had promised him that she would stay alive, that she would never leave him alone, especially after all he had lost. She promised. Erwin walked forward, hands outstretched to keep Levi from doing something rash, but he wasn’t fast enough as the raven crashed to the ground, collapsing under the weight of his grief.

A loud, miserable howl tore from his throat and filled the valley, making the soldiers around him flinch as they silently mourned, a few of them even beginning to shed tears as they watched their normally stoic, steadfast Captain break for the first time since they’d met him. Levi ignored everyone as he sobbed out for the world to hear, his head buried in his hands and his body shaking violently with the force of his sorrow.

He didn’t want to accept it, didn’t want to acknowledge what everyone was telling him was fact. He didn’t want to think about anything but getting her back in his arms as soon as possible. It was all he wanted, to feel her warmth pressed lovingly against him, to hear her murmur gentle words filled with more love than he’d ever expected to receive in his life, to see her eyes light up brightly whenever she saw him. Without her, he was nothing. He knew that if he accepted this, that he would be accepting the loss of his very soul. It was too much for him to handle, he had finally been broken.

The pain was unbearable, he couldn’t take it anymore. Without (Y/N) by his side, he had no will to live. Fuck fighting the titans, fuck finding a new, better world, fuck being Humanity’s Strongest Soldier. Fuck everything. None of it was worth it if (Y/N) wasn’t wrapped safely in his arms.

“Levi…”

He heard Erwin coo at him, his hand outstretched to guide Levi to his feet, but the raven quickly ripped his arm from the Commander’s grasp, his eyes filled with an icy fire that would make Death itself shiver.

“Lead the retreat, take my men back to the walls.”

“Levi, what are you-?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Levi snapped aggressively as he tore his cape from his back and draped it over Danika’s blood soaked saddle.

“Levi, (Y/N)’s dead. You need to come back with us, if you don’t, you won’t make it.”

“That’s the point,” Levi said as he pulled himself into the saddle, once again avoiding Erwin’s attempt to grasp him.

The blonde’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, his jaw dropping at his Captain’s words. “If you think for one fucking second that I am going to let you kill yourself over some girl-”

“Don’t you dare speak about (Y/N) that way,” Levi said, his voice a deadly calm. “She is not just ‘some girl’. She’s the love and light of my life and I’m not leaving without her. I’m going to bring her back, no matter what it takes.”

Erwin opened his mouth to argue, but wasn’t even able to get the first word out before Levi had kicked Danika into a gallop, aiming right for the forest she had come from just minutes earlier. Nobody could do anything but watch as Humanity’s Strongest Soldier tore off into the woods, dread settling in their stomachs at the thought of having to fight without his support. Because they all knew, even if Levi made it, he would never be the same. Unless (Y/N) was somehow magically still alive, Levi would never be the same man he once was. His responsibilities and future didn’t matter to him anymore, not if they didn’t include his love.

Erwin sighed and shouted for his men to retreat, knowing that sending more men to retrieve Levi would only end in more casualties, by both titans and Levi himself. All he could do was trust that his friend could hold his own and would make it back. The soldiers of the remaining squads did as he asked without hesitation but the air was thick with tension as they galloped back to the walls, unsure of how to process the loss of their two strongest Captains.

[2-cute-4-school]

𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓮

Group : NCT

Pairing : Griffyndor! Mark Lee x gn! Reader 

Genre : hp au, rivals to lovers, light angst to absolute fluff

Word count : 4.4K words   |    M.list

Warnings : injury, swearing

Summary :  ‘He had nightmares of you slipping right past his fingers and him failing to catch you. He relives that moment.’

a/n: thank you for 1000 followers you absolute cuties!! sending lots of smooches and snuggles your way!!

“Aren’t you going to ask how the coolest champion is feeling about tomorrow’s match?”

You watched Donghyuck, your fellow housemate and best friend since you first stepped onto the Hogwarts train, expectantly. He spared you a quick glance as he plopped down beside you on the couch in your shared common room, too busy to munch on his chocolate frog to give you any further attention. 

“I’ve already asked Mark.”

You would like to be able to say you were surprised at his answer, but his teasing character has become an usual by now

It still baffled you how you managed to even tolerate each other, much less get to share a bond as deep as the one you developed along the years. You two had next to nothing in common other than your cunning wit. While Donghyuck delved deep into his love for astronomy, which you despised with a burning fervor, you dedicated your time to Quidditch entirely. 

You loved the sport dearly, it offered you that adrenaline rush you were born to chase, that quickened heartbeat as you rushed to catch the Golden Snitch. You spent every spare moment you could find in your hectic schedule on the pitch with the wind threading through strands of your hair and your hands clenched so tightly onto your broomstick your knuckles turn white. And you adored every second of that. But what you definitely didn’t adore was Mark Lee.

“And worst best friend award goes to surprise surprise Lee Donghyuck!”

He shrugged unimpressed by your weak attack and focuses back on his damned frog.

Mark Lee. Unfortunately for your sanity, you had to see him almost as often as you decided to practice on your own. If there was one thing you shared with him and you respected him for was his own commitment to Quidditch. More often that not, you’d have to share the pitch with him in your spare time, taunting each other for the entire period of time you spent practicing. He was the beloved Seeker of Gryffindor, their pride and joy and your rival ever since you were both accepted in your respective teams.

“So what’s your score against him?”

“It’s a draw.”

Yes, you were that petty. You and Mark kept the score on how many times you defeated each other in matches. It didn’t actually matter which team actually won, the only thing that mattered for your childish competition was who managed to catch the Golden Snitch.

“That’s why you’re so tense?”

“Bingo, smartpants.”

“What even is the big deal about your little game? It’s not like either of you actually gets something out of this.”

“I gain the right to stick my win in his face and vice versa.”

Teasing between you and Mark often stretched your patience to its maximum and ended up in one of you snapping like a chord under pressure. Donghyuck shivered as he remembered the final match of your fourth year when your house lost against Gryffindor due to Mark catching the Snitch before you. He could vividly remember the blood rushing through his veins in fear at the sight of you battling Mark shoulder to shoulder at a dangerous speed, arm stretched out so far he believed you’d topple over at any moment.

He doesn’t want a repeat of the miserable image of you he saw at the time, a defeated you, slumped on the bench in your changing room, head lowered in ultimate shame and disappointment as bitter tears rolled off your face, splashing against the floor as Donghyuck watched worriedly through the half opened door. Mark had really done a number on you that day.

“You have to win, Y/N.”

“Why the sudden change of heart, wasn’t our competition meaningless for your highness?”

“I don’t give a frog’s toe about your competition, but I want to spend time time with you this summer. And not just to watch you practice until you drop.”

You scoffed. You knew that he was referring to the summer after your horrifying defeat against Mark. Donghyuck could barely get a hold of you since you spent all day on your broom, tiring yourself out to your limit.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on losing.”

~

“Already wetting your pants, Y/L/N?”

You didn’t have to turn around to put a face to the taunting voice behind you.

“I don’t know, Lee, should I? You must know since you have more experience than me.”

Mark’s face scrunched up at the reminder of his first year when he lost control of his broom and he quite literally saw his life flash before his eyes. Not very Gryffindor from his part.

“Whatever, we both know how this is about to end. Save your cheap defense until after this final. My team will win this year’s tournament and I’ll beat you individually too.”

The reminder of the stakes of this match weren’t soothing your nerves at all, especially mere hours before you were facing Mark on the pitch. You curled your fists and kept a straight face, not daring to show him any weakness from your side.

“Shove that pointless confidence up your ass until you prove you’re worthy of it, Lee.”

“Oh so fourth year isn’t enough proof?”

The corner of your lips twitched and your eyes narrowed. zeroing on his tense featured in a chilling glare.

“You said matches don’t count, didn’t you? You were the one insisting that you didn’t consider anything a victory other than catching the Snitch before me. And in that aspect, last I verified, we’re equals.”

His lips moved soundlessly, trying to come up with a retort, but you didn’t spare him enough time to come up with anything, turning on your heels and marching away to meet Donghyuck.

“You’ll see, Y/L/N, you’ll never be my equal.”

His voice followed you tauntingly through the busy corridors, your rushed footsteps taking you anywhere but close to the only person who could make your blood boil.

~

It took three pep talks and four ‘friendly’ attacks of your personal space from Donghyuck to make you gather your spirits and stop the tremors shaking up your entire body. He walked you to the changing room’s door, patting you roughly on the back one last time

“Give your best, I’ll be watching from the stands. I trust that you won’t let me get bored. Also, remember that if you lose you’re sleeping on the mat in front of the entrance in our common room.”

And with that he skipped away, hurried to find a good spot in the stands that were already starting to fill up with students. You sigh, used to his weird way of encouraging you and stepped inside the room, greeting Jungwoo, your captain and your fellow teammates, starting to change into your Quidditch uniform.

As soon as you set foot on the familiar pitch, your eyes met Mark’s who stood straight and proud side by side with his own captain sporting his Gryffindor red cape and holding his broom, the newest Nimbus model.

You Keeper was talking your ear off about the ‘amazingly efficient’ polish he found, but you couldn’t seem to rip your gaze away from Mark who in turn seemed to burn through you with his gaze. He threw you a smirk as if provoking you to lose your cool. But you decided you wouldn’t allow him the satisfaction.

The stands were already roaring to life. Any match between you and Mark was very sought after by everyone in your school due to the intensity it held each time. Despite the already loudness surrounding the pitch, one high pitched screech couldn’t help but catch your attention.

“KICK SOME ASS, Y/N! Or the mat is waiting for you!”

Count on Donghyuck to be the embarrassing mom rooting for you at her child’s every sport event. You shoot him a warning look to which he only responded with an over dramatic wink and an even louder ’whoop’. You could only sigh, appreciating his support despite your lack of reaction to it.

“I’ll kick your ass, Lee Donghyuck.”

You muttered, trying to stop the smile forming on your lips. A snort came from the side, making your head snap in its direction.

“Try your best, Y/LN, too bad you’ll still disappoint lover boy over there.”

“Jealous, Lee?”

“You wish.”

Madam Hooch interrupted your banter with a shrill whistle, stepping in between the two teams while holding the Quaffle.

“Alright, boys and girls, mount your brooms.”

Within seconds all players were high in the air, adrenaline pumping through your veins, your heated gaze locked with Mark’s. It became kind of a tradition between the two of you, intense stare downs before the official start of the game. Madam Hooch’s voice which carried the same words every time sounded far away as she bent down, ready to throw the Quaffle.

“Alright, I want a clean and fair game, hear me? Good luck and may the best win.”

The long deafening whistle signified the start of the match and Chasers whizzed past you, speeding towards the Quaffle. You and Mark broke eye contact, each of you getting immersed in the game, your sole focus being on catching sight of the Golden Snitch.

The weather worsened as the game progressed, the unpredictable May weather acting up. The clouds darkened, completely shutting out any ray of sunshine trying to sneak past them, a thickening fog suffocating the school grounds. Slowly but surely, what started as a few scattered rain drops soon turned into a full blown storm, a cold shower falling atop of you, the harsh wind whipping your capes back and forth. The stands were barely visible, the cheers from below inaudible over the wind and the players’ yells.

If it wasn’t hard enough already to spot the small, golden ball, now it seemed close to impossible. You could make out Mark’s silhouette flying around, but you didn’t linger any longer on him, focused on catching sight of the Snitch. Bludgers were flying everywhere, the Beaters’ efficiency decreasing because of the lack of visibility, another worry to add to the list.

Gryffindor was in the lead with 20 points, the score remaining tight as the match dragged on and on. You had already been playing for a while, your uniforms were already soaked and your skin paling from the biting cold of the unforgiving rain, but the conditions only spurred you further. You had to catch the Snitch.

Just as your patience was running thin, you caught sight of a fast-moving golden spot, hovering on the sidelines. Without a second thought, you sped towards it, your surroundings blurring as your eyes focused solely on the already moving Snitch. Mark noticed your forceful actions immediately, whizzing past the others players and nearing you.

“And Y/L/N seems to have finally spotted the Golden Snitch! Both Seekers are bolting after it, I can barely keep track of them!”

The crowd exploded, cheering louder than ever, but you couldn’t hear anything, pushing yourself to the limit as Mark caught up to you and you battled side by side once again. The Snitch seemed to be angrier than ever, jerking furiously at every corner, but you didn’t let yourself be caught by surprise, keeping up with it.

Until it started speeding in a straight line, stopping its irregular twists and turns and you knew that was your chance. You flew at top speed, stretching your hand in front of you so much that your muscles almost protested and Mark followed suit. You were shoulder to shoulder with him, subtly knocking into each other in an attempt to make the other lose their balance.

“Move! It’s mine!”

His hoarse voice yelled right by your year, only making you grit your teeth harder.

“Fuck off, Lee!”

Your fingertips were a breath away from the Snitch, Mark’s arm pressing into yours, the cold wind biting at your cheeks. Desperately, you shifted your weight from your bottom to the hand clutching your broomstick, leaning forward on your arm and before Mark could react, you lurched forward slightly, encasing the running object in the palm of your hand, clutching it so tightly it left marks into the skin, but you didn’t care. 

You did it. You caught the Golden Snitch.

“Y/N!”

Before you could regain your stance, a Bludger knocked into your broom forcefully. With your already unsteady grip on the broomstick, you toppled over in an instant, the broom slipping from under you, but you didn’t dare unclench the fingers trapping the Snitch in your hand.

Mark’s desperate yell seemed to be the only sound echoing in your ears as you plummeted. The last thing you saw before you knocked loudly into the ground with a sickening crack were Mark’s distressed features, a hand stretched to its full extent in front of him as he rushed to get a hold of you, your own outstretched fingers slipping right past his.

~

Surprisingly, as soon as you managed to crack your eyes open you weren’t hit with a blinding light. It still seemed to take a great effort to keep them open for longer than a second, your hand twitching in an attempt to bring it to cover your sensitive eyes, but being stopped by a weight forcing it down. 

“Y/N?”

You groaned, scrunching up your face as soreness hit your body full force at your attempt to move.

“Merlin, Y/N, can you open your eyes?”

You could recognize Donghyuck’s voice anywhere, but the almost desperate tone he used was quite foreign to you.

“Come on, babe, open your eyes. Madam Pomfrey! ”

You realized the weight on your hand were actually his fingers which now squeezed yours encouragingly as his other hand came up to smooth strands of your hair away from your face. You clenched your teeth, forcing an eye open.

“Stop fucking yelling, punk.”

At your annoyed retort, he let out a relieved sigh, wrapping his arms gently around you while trying not to jostle you too much.

“Thank Merlin, you’re back.”

After Madam Pomfrey checked on you and updated you on your injuries which were a bit more serious than you expected, she left you with Donghyuck once again. He leaned back in his chair, a lot more relaxed than in the past days he’s had to spend by your bedside. You furrowed your eyebrows.

“The match. We won the match right?”

Donghyuck snorted as your first question was about Quidditch instead of your own health, but it didn’t even surprise him anymore.

“Yes, you crazy hag, you won.”

“Yes! We did it! We won!”

You’ve never felt more relieved in your entire life. You finally proved to yourself that all the time and work you’ve put into Quidditch wasn’t for nothing. And if this was the elevation you’d feel after winning cups, you were ready to spend the rest of your youth chasing the Snitch.

“You should eat some chocolate, gain your energy back.”

Now that he mentioned it, you finally focused on your nightstand that overflowed with sweets. You grabbed the closest one, a chocolate frog, not hesitating to stuff it all in your mouth and collect the card inside. Another Nicolas Flamel, you already had two of those. 

“Those are a lot.”

“Tell me about it. Don’t worry, I’ll help you finish them.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

“Hyuck, tell me, did Jungwoo cry?”

“Should’ve seen him, like a baby. I’m pretty sure he filled half of that cup with snot-”

“Ewww, I didn’t need all the gross details. Ah, I’m sorry for missing that. And Lee’s face, I bet I’d sleep like a baby for the next 10 years if I had the chance to see that.“

Donghyuck’s lips were suddenly pulled into a smirk, eyes glinting with a dangerous mischief.

“You should see one of your beaters, damn nice nose Mark delivered.”

Your munching slowed down, gulping down the sweetness loudly.

“What do you mean? Did that petty git start a fight?”

“Wouldn’t say it was out of pettiness actually.”

Mark was the first to land beside your crumpled figure, dismounting his broom faster than ever and crouching hurriedly before you. His hand ghosted over your cold cheek, too scared to touch you in case he did more harm than good. His shaking pupils fixated on you, running a hundred miles per hour over your face, hoping, praying that you’d open your eyes and celebrate in his face.

“Hey, wake up, don’t play games on the pitch, you already won! Y/L/N!”

Mark knew deep inside that you had no games left to play after a fall like that, but it was his first time seeing you so small, so hurt, so defeated despite the shining Golden Snitch still clutched loosely in your limp hand. It scared him.

“Bloody hell, wake up! Madam Hooch! Help! Anyone, help!”

His head snapped around trying to catch sight of anyone coming to your aid, eyes scanning through the fog crazily. The rain seemed to fall faster and faster, the chill settling deep into your bones. Exhausted, Mark lowered his head in defeat, his forehead gently leaning on yours, his nose nudging against yours. One of his hands still touched your cheek, lightly caressing it, thumb running over the apple of your cheek as his other hand curled into a fist against the ground.

Jungwoo landed next, almost tripping over his broom as he rushed over to you and knelt next to you, opting to ignore the position Mark was in and focus on your well being. Mark’s head didn’t even turn as he spoke lowly.

“Do something for Merlin’s sake. Get Madam Hooch, or Pomfrey! Anyone dammit, just to something!”

Mark raised himself at the lack of response from Jungwoo who seemed rotten to his spot, freezing at the sight of you.

“Are you deaf?! Fucking help!”

That seemed to snap Jungwoo out of his frozen state as he jumped to his feet, sprinting towards the stand where teachers usually stayed during matches. One by one, your teams landed and gathered near you as Mark’s yells of help guided them to you.

“Merlin, that doesn’t look good.”

Mark’s burning gaze settled on your beater who stood a few meters away, leaning on his broom.

“It would have looked better if you did your part right.”

The beater rolled his eyes at Mark’s harsh remark.

“Relax, man, I just wasn’t playing attention for a moment.”

“And you think that’s a proper excuse?!”

Mark was fired up by now, lifting himself to his feet as one of your Chasers, a year younger than you crouched by your side, gripping your hand. He sauntered over, coming face to face with the beater who didn’t seem that interested.

“I’m just saying it’s not my fault their own incompetence landed themselves in the hospital wing, I’m not pulling anyone’s wight al-”

He didn’t get to finish his mocking words as Mark’s fist met his nose with a loud crunch, Mark’s powerful swing sending him to the ground as blood started dripping from his nose steadily.

“Don’t you ever talk about Y/N like that. Not ever again. If I hear one bad word about them coming out of your worthless mouth, I’ll hex you into next year. You’ll never be half of the player Y/N already is, remember your place, asshole.”

Madam Hooch was already tending to you by the time Mark turned back to you, deeming it safe enough for you to be moved to the hospital wing. Donghyuck, who sprinted out of the stand as soon as he heard your name coming out of Jungwoo’s mouth, held your head in his lap, smoothed down your hair, pushing away wet strands that covered your eyes.

Mark strode over to you, taking off his cap and laying it over your body as he slotted an arm under your legs, his other coming around your back. He lifted your body, cradling you against his chest as Donghyuck also stood up to fix your position in Mark’s arms into a more comfortable one.

“Off to the hospital wing,now. Quick, quick, quick!”

Mark didn’t waste another moment before he hurried inside the castle with you in his hold and Donghyuck quick on his heels.

“Mark Lee stood up for me? The same Mark Lee who hates my guts since we first got in our Quidditch teams?”

“Do you know another Mark Lee? Maybe he didn’t hate you that much after all, or…not at all. After all, all these chocolate frogs are from him, said something about seeing you exchange some cards with his Griffyndor friend in class or something.”

“He visited?”

“We wouldn’t be able to get rid of him sometimes. He opened up to me once when we met outside the door trying to sneak in one night.”

“Why were you even sneaking in?”

“I was bored, okay? I had no one to tire me out during the day.”

“Hey!”

“Anyway, he said he had nightmares of you slipping right past his fingers and him failing to catch you. He relives that moment.”

“Did it really affect him that much? Accidents happen all the time.”

“Not to you, Y/N.”

“Maybe, but I’m just another player from the opposite team., right? …Do you think he…?”

Donghyuck brought a hand up to his head, massaging his temples as he sighed with annoyance.

“You’re too dense.”

“How could I have known? ”

“Look, just talk to him as soon as you can. That boy needs to finally sleep properly, even my grandma’s bag has a lighter color than his eye bags.”

You just nodded, a bit skeptic.

You were discharged on that same day. Jungwoo almost cried again when you met in the common room, hugging you tightly, praising and scolding you at the same time with a brotherly smile.

You first saw Mark Lee in the halfway, after your Potions class. He was sitting on the ledge of a large window, staring seemingly into space. Donghyuck’s words echo in your mind as you decide to approach him and hop onto the space beside him, settling comfortable against the window behind you.

“Woah, Lee, Donghyuck was right, you could really use some concealer.”

Mark jostled as if he only noticed you now. His wide doe eyes racked over your smiling face and he seemed to panic internally.

“Whe-When did you get here? Why are you out of bed?”

“Because I was discharged?”

“What? Since when?”

“Earlier today.”

“Oh…”

He cleared his throat awkwardly, eyes running wild everywhere but in your direction. You chuckled.

“It’s okay, I already know how much the almighty Mark Lee worried over poor little me.”

Mark scoffed, his embarrassed behavior vanishing. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I see that hit to your head didn’t help with your sharp tongue, disappointingly.”

He swiftly moved away, starting to walk away from you until your hand clasped around his wrist, stopping him mid step.

“Wait, I just… I wanted to thank you.”

Mark seemed confused now, turning back to you with furrowed eyebrows.

“Thank me? What for?”

“Standing up for me and uh, you know, taking care of me.”

Mark’s face darkened at the memory of your beater.

“That git was just asking for it and I barely did anything.”

“Then at least let me repay you for the chocolate frogs you brought me.”

Now he seemed to choke on a confused ‘huh?’ with a bewildered expression that just melted your otherwise cocky demeanor.

“W-what? How-”

Mark’s words died in his throat as you slotted your lips against his in a teasing kiss, your hand holding the nape of his next affectionately and pulling him closer you. Mark took a few moments to realize it was actually happening in reality, not just an illusion from the lack of sleep. His hands came up to your waist, wrapping you in his embrace and pulling you against him impossibly closer. Years of pushed down passion and longing were exchanged in that moment, dizzying both of you.

As you pulled away from each other for air, Mark could taste the faint sweetness of chocolate on his lips. He smiled and his whole rival image turned into a lovesick teenage boy with a smile brighter than the sun. He laughed quietly, thumbs caressing your sides gently.

“I see you enjoyed your chocolate.”

You leaned more into him, pulling his face so close to yours that your noses brushed against each other’s, your ravished breath fanning across his lips as you whispered.

“I did. I’m glad I’m so interesting to you that you observe me in class enough to know that I collect chocolate frogs cards.”

You expected a blush to paint his cheeks red, an elbow in your side or at least an annoyed huff but you got none of that. Instead, one of Mark’s hands came up to cradle your cheek as he stared deep into your eyes with an unreadable look.

“Excuse me but it’s hard not to look when I have the prettiest person I’ve ever seen who also happens to be my crush since 3rd year.”

Your eyes widened, searching his for any hint that he may be just lying or teasing you. But all you could find was pure, unadulterated fondness, a withheld fire burning low in his eyes. He leaned down, lips brushing against the shell of your ear and sending goosebumps across the expanse of your skin.

“It’s been so hard not to just pull you aside and snog you senseless, especially in your Quidditch uniform.”

You decided to play along. You brought your fingers to his heated neck, running them faintly over his skin and you smirked seeing him shiver at your touch.

“Having a kink for uniforms, Lee?”

Mark screeched lowly, pulling away from you as if burned. He smoothed down his robes, fixating you with a glare that made you laugh.

“Y/N, I’m serious, though. I like you, I really really lo-….like you.”

You noticed his stutter, but it only made your smile widen as you stretched out a hand to intertwine his fingers with yours and pull him along down the corridor.

“Hm, I’ll need some more proof of that.”

Mark squeezed your hand in response, chuckling at you sweetly. He leaned over, pressing a feather like kiss to your temple.

“Don’t worry, you’re nowhere done with your payment back to me. And I only accept it in the form of kisses and cuddles.”

You smiled at each other, your hearts finally settling satisfied in your chests after years of internal turmoil that finally burned out.

“That can be arranged easily.”

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

Illuminated, pt.2

Summary: Seeing an old friend isn’t always a happy occasion, but it can direct you to someone who undoubtedly makes your heart beat faster.

Warnings: talk of war and death, book spoilers

Part 1   

=================================

It felt strange to be walking the same halls she once revered. Y/N had barely grown at all since her time at Little Palace, if anything she'd claim she got shorter, but the walls didn't seem as intimidating as they used to.

Back then, she was just a clueless girl with dreams that turned into nightmares. The war had left deep wounds everywhere in Ravka and for that, Y/N would curse Alina Starkov's name until her dying breath.

Ravka trusted Alina to rescue them from the darkness, but she only expanded it. She fled from her responsibility and responded with force when General Kirigan asked for accountability.

Y/N was considered too young to be allowed in battle, sent away by the Darkling with children who have not yet mastered their particular branch of small science. Grisha a year older than her were given the chance to protect Ravka, something she wished she could have done. 

If it were up to her, she'd have stood by him instead of hiding.

Y/N had always been quite capable of controlling her power. Whether it be fire, wind or water, she held a firm grasp over all three elements with an iron fist and a terrifyingly sharp mind. She had developed attacks no one else is capable of, the kind that made other Grisha wary of her ferocity.

Naturally, she assumed that was why General Kirigan had called on her. The last thing she expected was to have the General, her King, admire the abominable blue flames she wields.

"Y/N?" A breathless reminder of a voice she once knew had stopped her in her tracks.

Looking over her shoulder, Y/N's lips break into a wide smile at the sight of her old friend and confidant.

She didn't waste time, running toward the girl who had fiery hair Y/N always wanted to have too. Colliding with Genya, Y/N couldn't stop a laugh that escaped her as she wrapped her arms around her much taller friend.

“I. Can’t. Breathe!” Genya manages to say between shallow, strained breaths. 

Chuckling, Y/N releases her from the death grip she calls a hug. She’s never been subtle in showing affection, or hate.

“I can’t believe it’s you!” Y/N exclaims, her attempt to quiet down failing before she even tries.

With a surprised smile set on her lips, Genya nods. “I didn’t realize you’d be at Little Palace.”

Faltering, Y/N licks her lips as her smile is erased. “You don’t seem too happy about that.”

“Little Palace isn’t exactly the safest place in Ravka anymore”, Genya musses.

Scoffing, Y/N furrows her eyebrows. “Alina made it unsafe.” Lifting her chin, Y/N continues, “The Darkling will protect us.”

Pursing her lips, Genya looks around carefully to ensure they’re alone. “That’s the problem. While he’s here, no one is safe.” Taking Y/N by the elbow, she pulls her aside toward the open window to help disguise their voices from any curious listeners. “Alina was our only hope of killing him.”

Ripping her arm away from Genya’s hold, Y/N narrows her eyes at the friend she once trusted more than anyone else in this world. When there was no hope, Genya put a smile on her face. Even when Y/N was losing herself, she had Genya to remind her of who she is.

She never doubted her friend, never questioned her loyalty or sanity. Until now. 

“Genya, who did you fight alongside with?” Y/N asks sharply, her lips forming a thin line.

“You don’t know the entire story”, Genya tries but Y/N steps away as if she’d been burned.

The war had made warriors from children for no matter how they tried to protect their innocence, war leaves no one untouched. When Alina Starkov decided to turn her back on Grisha, Y/N and many others have been forced to grow up far too quickly. No silly crushes or petty arguments mattered for the blood had reached them once Alina slaughtered Botkin in front of them. It was the only taste of war Y/N had for she had killed for the first time on that day. 

Alina is the reason she has blood on her hands.

“The story I do know is enough for me”, Y/N huffs as she shakes her head at Genya. “The fact our General did not kill you is proof of his generosity. Perhaps you should learn to appreciate him. Your precious Alina never showed such mercy.”

Turning her back on Genya, Y/N headed back. She didn’t want to explore the old corridors anymore, but to bathe and sleep. From tomorrow on, she’ll be working with Kirigan on her new ability and she didn’t want to display any reasons for him to distrust her.

She pauses as Genya speaks up.

“I wonder what will get you killed faster – your loyalty or stubbornness?”

Turning her head to the left, Y/N could see her old friend in her peripheral vision. “At least I’ll die for something I believe in. I’ll die for Ravka. Can you say the same?”

Fuming, Y/N tossed and turned in her bed. She turned the pillow to the colder side, she even tried turning her head on the opposite side of the headboard, but nothing could calm her mind or the itching to use her powers to blow off some steam.

The one part of herself she truly did connect with the Inferni was the temper she often got in trouble for. When Nina Zenik called her stupid, she burned off her eyebrows and Botkin forced her to wake up at the crack of dawn and do sprints for the next month as punishment. It’s probably the only time in her life she was truly in good form.

Grunting, she raised her legs and slammed them back on the mattress in frustration. Tossing the blanket off, she grabbed her blue kefta and left the room. 

Her footsteps echo the halls as she all but runs out, straight into the foggy morning air outside. The cold pinches her skin, her lips trembling for a moment before she sinks her front teeth into her bottom lip. Her breaths come in visible puffs of air as she wraps her arms around her middle while securing her hands under her armpits to stop herself from using her power that’s calling to her like the siren song calls sailors to their certain death.

Y/N always had the misfortune of wearing her heart on her sleeve with those she cares for. She also has a nasty tendency to either feel nothing or everything at once and when someone she loves turns out to be different than what she believed, it causes an uncontrollable explosion of emotion deep within.

“Is there a particular reason you’re outside at this ungodly hour?” A deep voice makes her gasp as she turns to look at the very person she most admires.

Raising her eyebrows, she nearly laughed as she realized the Darkling wore not his kefta, but the clothes he sleeps in. It’s loose clothing, black as his kefta and horse and yet it gives off a softness she did not realize a man as powerful as him could ever possess.

“I’d ask you the same, General”, she retorts with her eyebrows still raised as if she’s challenging him to come closer and make her stop ogling him.

For a moment, she thought he might turn away and leave as he stood there calmly. It feels as if he’s studying her, taking in every inch of her and committing it to memory. If it were any other man, Y/N would have spoken up or acted out to prevent the uncomfortable feeling of being watched so intimately, yet she didn’t want Kirigan to ever stop looking at her. If not for her fear of being too forward, she’d invite him closer.

As if he read her mind, Kirigan takes a step closer….and then another one. She can’t help but wonder what’s going through his mind. 

What does he see when he looks at her? 

How does she look in his eyes, because the way he’s looking at her now is taking her breath away?

He looks at her as if there is something worth looking at.

“Sometimes my mind turns on me”, he admits in a low, quiet tone that Y/N has to strain to hear him properly. “I’ve lived a long life and a longer one awaits me. My mind is full of ghosts that want retribution for what I did to them.”

Swallowing thickly, she straightens her back as she comes closer – close enough to feel his breath as it fans the hair at the top of her head.

“What did you do to them?”

The left corner of his lips twitches. “You’d think ill of me if I told you.”

Averting her gaze to his bare chest revealed by the wind as it pulled the fabric of his shirt, Y/N licks her lips. She argues with herself on her next move, wondering if it would be improper to touch the man who had been considered untouchable by everyone she ever met. Her fingers years to feel his skin under their tips, to slowly trail the jawline she wants to press her lips against.

Frowning softly, she bites her lower lip as she locks her eyes on his dark ones. Unlike many before her, she does not crumble under the weight of his heavy gaze. Her heart trembles as she reaches out and places her palm on his chest.

He didn’t expect her to touch him, tensing up. It’s surprising how warm her hand is, more so how inviting the warmth is. He’s hyper-aware of every breath he takes as his chest expands under her touch, hoping this incredibly brazen Grisha does not feel the way his heart jumps with the sudden surge of her bravery.

When he notices her lips move, he holds his breath as if the simple act of breathing could muffle her voice and make it harder for him to soak up the blind loyalty and love she holds for him.

“Who we are and who we need to be to survive are two different things. You’re not evil for choosing to protect yourself and your country. I could never think badly of you, General.”

It’s been a long time since he found someone so incredibly devoted to him and his cause, exhilarating him to the core. Alina had never truly believed in him for she always considered him wicked, but Y/N couldn’t be more different. Perhaps he’s right and this time it will work. 

With someone trusting as Y/N is, he can’t possibly fail again.

Letting her hand fall, Y/N looks away as she realizes she crossed the line and his silence is the easiest way for him to inform her of it. Truth be told, she wondered who was the last woman who got to lay her hand on his chest.

Was it Alina?

There were rumors of the relationship Kirigan and Alina supposedly had and Y/N always felt a pang of jealousy upon hearing the girls talk. She never knew him, she never truly had him and she never will, but the idea someone else does brought her pain.

Perhaps her overthinking or the increasingly awkward silence prompted her temper to speak instead of her brain.

"Did you love her?" Y/N blurts out. 

Her eyes widen as she realizes her thoughts have become vocal and in the presence of the very man she should be watching her mouth around.

"I apologize. It must be a difficult time to reminisce about." Maybe Nina was right – she is stupid!

"It is quite alright.” Darkling lets out an audibly heavy breath. “I did not love her, I trusted her. I trusted her enough to put all my hope for a better Ravka on her shoulders and she betrayed our country."

"No", she reaches out slowly, her hand finding its way to his as it gingerly grasps his fingers. "She betrayed you."

Smiling reluctantly, Kirigan finds himself wondering if he should embrace the fact Y/N seems to be a very touchy person or if he should set some boundaries. Despite the shiver that runs down his spine, he allows her hand to fully take his as he closes his fingers around hers.

"I should have seen it coming. I'm far too used to betrayal."

"I'd never do that", she pauses. "I'd never betray you. I'd never break your trust."

Her responses are quick, so innocent and naïve that he can’t help but feel guilty about every moment he spends near her. No one should send a doe eyed beauty into the clutches of a beast so easily, yet he has no desire to force her to leave.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Smiling, her entire face lights up. It’s a true delight to witness so early in the morning after a long night of nightmares he faced.

“Do not worry, General. I have every intention on proving myself to you.”

Glancing at their hands, her smile widens. She spent years wishing for this and now that it’s happening she can’t seem to believe it’s real.

“The sun will come up soon”, he changes the topic.

Y/N fears he might leave and her hand would be back at her side as she watches his retreating figure, but when he speaks again her heart dances in her chest.

“Would you like to watch the sunrise with me?”

Inhaling sharply, she nods. “Very much so.”

Unfortunately for them, someone else couldn’t sleep that night and they had seen just enough for a terrible plan to be born.

=================================

A/N - So, I’m definitely going to play with the books here and twist some things to fit the storyline I have in mind. There might be some spoilers, so read with caution. I debated on making more than a one shot for this and taking on some ideas I have for Darkling but also Nikolai, so I’m not sure how long this will be just yet. 

Tags: @deceivedeer​ @evyiione​ @measshaw​

Part 3

[meescha]

Mipha’s Grace, Memory 10

Time was the first one up, as per usual. He went about the normal-ish routine he had when he woke up. Though he deeply missed Malon and the ranch, he was happy to be here with other heroes.

They all ranged from abilities, for him, he was great at many different things having had multiple adventures and world-saving he has been through. Though he hated to think of Termina and how he basically started a whole timeline split.

Sky was trained as a knight, just like his father he once commented. He knew how to fly in the sky with the help of his loftwing, which seemed to remind Wild of the Rito of his world. He was the one who gifted them the sword that seals the darkness. He was the start of it all. No one blamed him though.

Twilight was someone who was a skilled ranch hand, but held the capabilities of a knight, often training with Rusl and the other townsfolk of his village. No one knew of Wolfie, except Wild and himself, Wild was a complete accident, and Time because of another accident that neither of them choose to speak about.

Warrior, a captain in an army, and the hero who also traveled time. Time was never going to mention him meeting his younger self. Those masks he used were locked in a box in the attic of the ranch back home. Though he does keep the fierce deity mask, just in case they are ever in a serious life or death situation, well, worse than what they have been through.

Wind was a breath of fresh air for Time. He was young but equally burdened with the Hero’s Spirit. He goes in-depth about certain adventures, though he seems to steer clear of how he got the Phantom Sword. When they were in his world, it was nice to see the teen in his element on the open sea.

Legend was a tough one. Having gone through more adventures than the others, he was hardened at the heart. Though Time knows he has a soft spot for Hyrule and Ravio, someone who has somehow used Wind’s mailman to write to the veteran. He is skilled in using his items as boosts and how to handle them. (Though he does wear one on his wrist that looks slightly older than the other items he owns)

Hyrule was a soft young man. He is skilled in his healing capabilities, saving the group of nine from countless fatal wounds. He was close with Wild and Legend, Wild knew of some healing spells that he said a friend had taught him a long time ago, and he was close with Legend because they do come from the same Hyrule, though one is more dangerous than the other.

Four was unique, from time to time you could see his eyes change from violet, blue, red, and his most common, green. Time speculated that it had something to do with the Four Sword that he currently wields. He has told stories of the Minish and how they are found and that they are responsible for hiding things all around Hyrule.

And lastly was Wild. He was of course a wild card. From what Time has gathered he has a serious case of amnesia, He once told him while still recovering from a horrible nightmare that he doesn't remember who he was before he woke up in the Shrine of Resurrection. The name of the said shrine was enough for Time’s breathing to come to a stop. The words only meant that the young hero had died and had been forced to come back to life. Occasionally, during a battle, Wild will use some sort of magic, like when Hyrule was injured, he used some healing magic that he said someone had taught him long ago. He never really elaborated on that statement.

Time sighed and looked at the eight other heroes that were still passed out. Though he did see Hyrule stir slightly. He smiled and leaned his head against a tree that was near him. He glanced down and thumbed the ocarina on this waist, a pleasant reminder that he had people waiting for him at home.

Wild was the second to get up, still a little sore from walking yesterday, he still got up and attempted to fix his long hair, Sidon could bug him about it later, he wasn’t going to cut it. He looked down from where his head was and noticed Twilight’s pelt next to his head, he quickly placed it on top of the rancher without waking him up.

Wild noticed Time standing by a tree, he was quietly playing the ocarina he had on him at all times. Wild remembered that tune, it was a song from a memory of his mom, she would play a soft melody that made all the horses come to her. He remembered the name, Epona’s song. Wild approached the elder with quiet footsteps.

Wild started humming along to the soft melody, making Time stop his playing to look next to him. A small smile broke out on the younger’s face and was contagious enough to go to the elder. It was moments like these, that he seemed to want to not forget with this group of heroes.

“Well, nice to see you up and early.” Time commented while they both headed back to the fire pot that was there.

“I think I’m just excited to see Sidon again.” Wild signed happily

“Really? I thought only fire and destruction could bring you happiness?” Time joked with the younger.

Wild let out a soft laugh and started working on food, humming a song that he had hummed to Wind when he was badly injured. Time found the song unnerving, maybe it was not knowing what the words were, but he sensed it was something important to Wild so he backed off.

Slowly, all the heroes started to wake up, and gather round the morning fire, Sky being the final one awake. Wild was still humming the same song, it took a while but Legend finally had enough of the humming.

“Hey, what’s that song you’re humming?” Legend asked though it came off a bit rude.

Wild looked up and scratched his neck, clearly trying to think of a way to explain himself. His first thought was to say that Sidon taught him, but then they would probably ask Sidon later. With a short sigh, Wild raised his hands to sign to the group.

“It’s a song Kass taught me once..” Wild signed

“A song? He taught it to you?” Wind asked, setting his now finished breakfast down.

Wild nodded his head.

“Are there lyrics to it, cub?” Twilight asked, earning another nod to the hero.

“You should sing it for us sometime!” Wind suggested, causing Wild to smile.

“I do sing it for the Zora children, I haven't done it in a while, so it would be a good idea to do it when we get there.” Wild signed happily.

“Can’t wait.” Time spoke up, going to gather his things. “Come on, let's pack up and head out.”

They all nodded and went to pack the bedrolls and other various things onto the horse, now named Atlas after Hyrule had asked, and they set out to trek the last bit to Zora’s Domain. Wild was getting slightly restless, he was eager to see Sidon when they came to his world briefly, though they were quickly switched to Four’s, making the champion quite sad.

The way to Zora’s Domain involved a lot of slipping, mainly from Wind, Four, and Hyrule. They all laughed and had a fun time, though Twilight pointed out how there were no monsters around and then they started paying more attention.

The closer they got, the more they could hear the soft melody coming from the Domain, and soon enough they stood at the crystal blue bridge. The group of nine heroes was amazed, sides WIld, who was looking for Sidon. The Domain was a bright, beautiful blue. The Zora was taller than Time, who was the tallest amongst the heroes. Wild quickly pulled his slate out and equipped his Zora Chestplate, which has since been dyed a red for the memory of Mipha.

The Heros approached the town square, where a large statue made of a more bluestone was centered, She was posed in an elegant stance, welding a spear. Twilight couldn’t help but feel like she was familiar. Wild looked at the statue and smiled.

“That’s Mipha.” A strong, elegant voice spoke from behind them.

Wild turned around and raced to the red, tall, Zora. Time looked like he was about to laugh at the height difference between the hero and the Zora. Twilight smiled at how childish his protegee was being. The red Zora returned the small hug that Wild gave him.

“Greetings! I am Prince Sidon, and welcome to Zora’s Domain!” He greeted the eight in front of him.

The others were shocked that this was Sidon, then again, all the Zora were different, or were completely non-existent in other Hyrule's. Needless to say, they were impressed.

They all introduced themselves separately, Sidon seemed to take no notice of the weirdness of their names, he smiled and led them to the king. Time was nervous, he had only ever met the king of the Zora a couple of times in his world, and he was a kid back then.

They walked up the stairs to a giant fish’s mouth, coaxing a giggle from Four and Wind, who were quickly shut up with a glare from Time. They stood in front of King Dorephan, who was tall and had a deep voice.

“Well, Champion, it is good to see you again!” He laughed, shaking the ground slightly.

Wild nodded and smiled at the King. Wild was lifting his hands to speak, when the King placed a hand down near the heroes’ feet, causing Wild to quickly walk onto the hand of the Zora, and get lifted into the air. He was brought to the ear of the king, and he whispered a greeting and a short explanation.

“Well, we would be happy to have you here. Any friend of our Champion’s is a friend of ours.” The king exclaimed.

Sidon smiled up at the interaction, Legend taking notice from where he was standing, forcing a small smile onto his face. Wild was brought back down to the floor, where he gestured for Time to ask about any monsters, he quickly took the offer.

“Your highness?” Time asked

“Yes, traveler?”

“Have you had any reports from your people of black-blooded monsters?” Time asked while crossing his hand behind his back, a slight habit he picked up from Zelda. “None that I know of, though I will alert the warriors of them.” The king declared and looked at Bazz who was talking to Wild in the corner, nodding, then turning back to the conversation, then walking to the heroes.

“I could give you a tour around the Domain, I’m sure Link will want to check out what's happening to Ruta.” Bazz offered.

“That would be great.” Sky smiled at Zora.

“I’m afraid I cannot join you as of right now, I need to finish a few duties of mine.” Sidon smiled sadly.

Wild looked at him with a glare, and then signed how he should have been finished by now if he had gotten the work at the regular time. Sidon smiled and walked down the hall. This coaxed a sigh from the champions who went to follow the Prince.

Twilight smiled at the small interaction between the two lovers. It reminded him of Midna, giving him a small frown on his face. His attention was quickly changed when Bazz started to talk.

The Tour went on for forever it seemed. Wind loved the river around the Domain, while Legend seems to try and stay far away from it. When the tour was finished everyone broke up to do their separate thing. Hyrule was pulled to the statue of Mipha. She looked peaceful. He sat there a while, and the elder started telling multiple stories of her, then his vision went white.

When his vision came back to him, he was floating a little, he looked around and noticed the Zora from the statue and a younger Wild. They were both seated on the trunk of Vah Ruta. Wild had his forearm placed in the female’s hand, who seemed to be healing him.

“I was thinking…” The soft voice of the red Zora flooded the air. “This reminds me of the time we first met.”

Hyrule giggles a little, of course, Wild had to meet at least one of his friends when he had gotten hurt. It’s how they met him when they first collected him.

“You were just a reckless child… Always getting yourself hurt at every turn.” She reminisced, causing Hyrule to take a seat near the two.

“Every time, I would heal you. Just as I am doing now.” Mipha explained to the young hero.

Hyrule was amazed by how she healed someone, he was used to humming a particular tune, while Mipha’s seemed to come naturally to her. He wanted to have her as a teacher, just like Ravio had a teacher to instruct him. Mipha started going on about how she was surprised how Wild was when he was a child, then going on to talk about the Calamity, something Hyrule has only little knowledge of. She seemed to be confident that they would succeed, though she still had that shy tone to her voice that made it soothing.

“You know… Perhaps we could spend some more time together?” She questioned and smiled at Wild.

Hyrule's vision went white and then he was in front of the statue again, somehow, he had a feeling that she was still here somehow. He didn’t know, but he felt it deep within him. He shook off the memory and walked over to Wind who was dancing around with some of the younger Zora.

Nightfall came too quickly for the heroes. Wild was excited since he would be able to sing to the young Zora, though he hoped that the otters forgot (Time has not). He walked over to the younger Zora, who was surrounded by his group. He laughed a little and went forward more, catching the attention of some young Zora.

“Come on Mr. Link! You haven’t been home in a while!” the light blue Zora exclaimed and dragged him over to the small fire, where he laughed out an okay.

“I’ll only sing it if you calm down, okay?” Wild spoke to the young Zoras, who nodded and sat around in a circle.

Time was amazed that he was able to switch from sign to be able to speak complete sentences. Twilight smiled at the interactions between his cub and the younger Zora. Wind was eager and sat near the other Zora, Legend had Hyrule leaning into his lap, Sky and Warriors sat next to each other and laughed at Wild’s misfortune.

“Okay! We’re calm now Mr. Link!” a pink Zora smiled.

“An Ancient Hero. A Calamity appears, now resurrected after 10,000 years.” Wild started, Wind was interested, The others turned their attention to Wild. It was more about his Hyrule, and they felt like they were in a learning mood today.

“Her appointed knight gives his life.” Wild’s voice faltered at the verse and looked away from Wind. The others recalled the story that Impa told them, The Hero’s Fall.

“Shields her figure and pays the price.” He continued though he purposefully looked away from the people he has come to call family, some more than others.

“ The princess's love for her fallen knight. Awakens her power and calamity cowers” The Zora children were swaying with the tone of the Champion’s voice. And Twilight couldn't blame them. “But the knight survives in the Shrine of Resurrection.” Time flinched at the mention of the shrine, he didn’t like the thought of it.

“He sleeps, Until from his healing dream he leaps' ' Legend looked at Wild with a sad expression, he hated the thought of someone dreaming for a long time, after all, he killed people in his dream.

“For fierce and deadly trials await. To regain his strength, fulfill his fate.” Sky looked at the champion, his look held confusion and curiosity. Wild was powerful, did he really regain all that strength?

“To become a hero once again, To wrest the princess from Evil's den.” He finished, some children had fallen asleep from the softness of the voice singing. Wild signaled Bazz and a couple of other Zora to help them to the baths so they could rest.

The group looked indifferent about the song that was sung to them. For one, it confirmed that Wild had died, to those who haven't seen the memory, and they didn’t know how to take that information.

Wild walked back in slightly smiling, he signed that he was going to go check on Sidon and that he will be staying with him and then going into the divine beast tomorrow morning. He quickly left them to their thoughts.

“He really did die?” Wind asked

“I guess so, sailor.” Warriors responded.

“Do you think that… that's how he got his scars, and if so, how long was he in there?” Hyrule asked.

“In the memory, Time and I saw, he did, it was way worse than it is now,” Twilight announced.

“I think we should get to bed, it's been a long day and we need rest.” Time approached the counter, a Zora looked up and smiled

“No need to pay. Link’s paid for it already!” He informed

“Thank you.” Twilight smiled and went to one of the many beds in the inn.

The heroes’ didn't sleep well that night.

Wild was up before Sidon, though the Hylian's movements woke the sleeping Zora.

“You okay pearl?” Sidon asked

“I’m okay. I’m heading up to Ruta. It shouldn’t take me long.” Wild smiled as he kissed the tall Zora's fin.

“Don’t go and get yourself hurt, Link...” Zora stressed.

“I won’t.” He smiled and left the room and walked as quietly as he could out of the palace.

Wild noticed that the others were still asleep, he grabbed his Sheikah Slate and teleported to the Divine Beast, though instead of being outside the beast he was inside. He was confused, he hadn’t been able to enter her since he had completed her.

Wild quickly looked around, there were no scouts, no malice present. Cautiously, Wild walked to the main control unit, which was glowing a bright teal. Wild walked to the middle of the room, water up to his knees, soaking his pants and boots.

“You came back…” An elegant voice came from behind him.

Wild quickly turned around, a red Zora, who was highlighted in the same teal as the Control Unit. Mipha smiled and walked to him.

“Mipha?” Wild whispered.

“I didn’t think you would come.” She stated

“I’ve been busy...You were supposed to move one with the rest of them, why are you here?” Wild breathed out.

“I realized that we took the powers we gave to you, we no longer need these. Personally, I wanted to see the domain and how my father and brother were doing.” Mipha laughed into her palm.

“Mipha, you know they are okay, right? You’re not stuck here anymore.” Wild pleaded to the champion.

“I know Link, but once again let me give you Mipha’s Grace. I’m sure you’ll find more use for it than me.” She smiled and grabbed both his hands and the orb he received months ago was absorbed and recorded in his slate.

“Mipha...Why?” Wild asked, looking at the smaller Zora.

“We care about you Link, and our abilities being passed down to you showed our connection is not only Champions but has friends,” Mipha explained, wrapping Wild in a small hug. Wild stayed silent and let her hug him, he eventually gave in and hugged her back. The two sat in peace for a second, Wild knew this would be the final time he got to see her, so he hugged just a little tighter. Mipha soon let go.

“You should go to the other Divine Beasts, I’m sure they are eagerly waiting for you.” Mipha said with a smile and slowly disappeared.

Wild stood there, not knowing what to actually do. He would tell Sidon what happened, he would understand, right?

Once Wild had descended the Divine Beast, he looked up at the sky, the rain had ceased and the crystal blue sky had appeared once again. The domain shined in the Sun’s light and created that elegance that shined bright to all. WIld smiled, sure he would miss Mipha, but he has Sidon, the other heroes, Flora.

Wild pulled out his Sheikah Slate, and easily teleported to the Shrine under the domain. Once he opened his eyes, he saw Wind chasing some young Zora, and stopped and looked at the Champion.

“Wild! You’re back! Twilight was asking for you!” He called once Wild had ascended the small stairwell.

“You know where he is, Sailor?” Wild signed to the hyper teen

“I think he was in the shop with Time, I don’t know what for. The others should be around here somewhere too.” Wind smiled.

Sure enough, the heroes were all scattered about the Domain, Sky was laying against the railing looking at Wind, Legend and Hyrule were both in the Inn, Four was reading in the Inn also, Warrior was talking to Bazz and other Zora warriors. Time and Twilight were definitely in the shop, talking to the Goron that had visited frequently.

Sidon was standing in his usual spot, just above the Shrine to look over all of his people. Wild smiled up at him and earned one back, he wouldn’t tell Sidon of Mipha just yet, he will soon before they leave to either Gerudo Desert or Death Mountain.

Wild headed to Twilight and TIme, both hearing the new steps coming into the shop. Twilight looked relieved and Time smiled.

“Hey Cub, how’s the Divine Beast?” Twilight asked, throwing an arm over Wild’s shoulder.

“It was okay, nothing out of the ordinary, I think she was just a little impatient.” Wils signed, looking out at Mipha’s statue.

“That so?” Time asked, crossing his arms.

Wild shook his head ‘yes’ in confirmation. He didn’t feel the need to tell them specifically about his encounter with Mipha. He wanted to tell Sidon before anyone. He heard light footsteps and turned to see Sky entering in.

“Not to be rude, but shouldn’t we check the other tribes as well?” Sky asked, coming in from the central plaza.

“Yeah, I need to talk to Sidon before we leave though.” Wild reasoned, “I’m sure Impa will send me something involving the three other races soon.” He signed

The four walked out of the shop and split their ways, Wild going to Sidon, and the others to tell the rest to start packing their things since they would leave the next day. Wild took slow steps up the staircase. What in the world was he going to say to Sidon, he cherishes his sister, how does he explain something like that to him.

“Link! You were gone for quite some time, I’m glad to see the rainfall has stopped once again!” Sidon boomed, many Zora used to the boisterous sound of their Prince. Though from the corner of his eye, he saw Legend jump just a bit.

“Could I talk to you in private for a sec?” Wild whispered to the Zora, who nodded and led them to their shared room.

Wild looked at Sidon and held back tears, Sidon was quick to move and engulfed Wild in a secure hug, ever the kind soul.

“Link? What happened?” Sidon asked softly, something that was rare for the usually extroverted Zora.

“I...I saw Mipha again.” He rushed out, unable to form any other sentence.

Wild felt Sidon stiffen at the mention of his sister. Wild was quick to try and move away from the prince but only ended up being kept in place. Sidon looked at Wild then looked away.

“Did you talk to her?” The prince whispered.

“Yeah, she said how she wanted to know if you and his highness is okay, and that she was sorry she took back her power when she no longer needed it. She came back to give me her Grace, Sidon.” Wild sighed and ran a hand through his bangs.

“I’m sure she knew you would use it better than she could.” Sidon smiled, though his eyes were a bit misty.

“She wants me to go to the other Divine Beasts, she said that the others were waiting for me.” Wild calmed since he saw Sidon wasn’t freaking out.

“Then you should. You may not remember them, and you may not know the extent of what memories you have lost, but they remember you, and they care about you. Link, they love you that’s why they are doing this.” Sidon concluded, Wild smiled up at his soon-to-be husband.

“When I’m in Gerudo Town, I'll have that jeweler make that Sapphire Criculte for me again,” Wild noted.

“You do that, love” Sidon smiled, and hugged his fiancee.

1  2  | 3 |  4  5  6  7  8

[laughing-drawing-aces]

For @zoomersandlosers the Forever Winter by Taylor Swift inspired fic with Steve and Robin 

TW and Notes: lyrics used or integrated in fic are in italics, drunk!Steve, Steve and his low self-esteem issues, talk about a slight assault (in canon when Steve is getting interrogated the Russians hold/tug at his hair so that is slightly addressed here), talking about trauma, talk about Steve and Robin being drugged

          Title:   He Seems Fine Most of the Time (I Call Just Checkin’ Up On Him)

             Robin couldn’t fall asleep plagued with nightmares of the battle. She had fallen asleep early that night, but later she had woken up early in the morning. Memories of melted flesh and the voices with Russian accents and inhalation of smoke were the only things that she could sense. Robin felt jittery as she kept moving her hands and turning into weird positions in her bed. She also kept debating in her head if she should go to the phone and call Steve. Most times Robin’s nightmares consisted of Steve’s screams when they drugged him, and she had wanted to make sure that he was okay. In her dreams she would put her hands on him to wake him up and when her hands came back bloody, she would hysterically search for a pulse. Robin would wake up screaming when there was no pulse found. When her parents would come into her room asking what had happened, the only response was that it was a nightmare from the mall. They had told her parents that they were at late at work and Steve had saved her life. Which wasn’t that far from the truth, well the second part wasn’t that far from the truth.

           Robin had been debating about calling for about a half hour now. Finally, it started to become too nerve wrecking for her, and she threw the blankets off her bed. Trying to go down the steps without making any noise, she looked over her shoulder making sure that her parents didn’t come down to see her. She made it down to the first floor and a smile appeared for the first time that night as she completed her mission. Although, she almost blew it by shouting in happiness. Robin carefully tip toed to the phone and after picking up the phone she called Steve’s number. She had gotten it after the battle and called him so often that she didn’t need to look at the phonebook to figure out who to call. The phone made beeping noises as it dialed his number. She held the phone close to her ear so that her parents wouldn’t hear a sound and leaned against the wall to get more comfortable. In anxiousness she also twirled her fingers around the cord and bounced her legs waiting for Steve’s voice to come through. She felt like time went by forever before he picked up the phone.

           “Hello, who is this?” Steve’s voice came from the phone and Robin relaxed against the wall even more. Her hands paused in their movement from fiddling with the cord. The bounce in her leg also paused but then increased when the slurring of his voice registered. It had been a slight slur, but Robin knew him well enough to pick up on it. She reasoned to herself that he could have just woken up, but Robin was concerned in the way that he was talking. A moment went by before Robin realized she had to answer his question. “Steve, it’s Robin.” Through the phone she heard a sigh come from Steve. Robin bit her lip as she was waiting for Steve’s response because it felt like a long time before he responded back to her. “Is everything okay?” The question that came out of his mouth sounded so automatic like the ones that you would hear at grocery stores. Are you having a good day? Those types of questions, but unlike them he sounded genuine and had a personal connection with Robin. She was the one to sigh now and said, “I just wanted to check to make sure that you were okay.” “I’m fine Robin,” said Steve. But Robin’s mouth formed a frown as the slight slurring happened again. It didn’t sound like he had just woken up. Her eyebrows went up as she realized something. She voiced her realization and said, “Are you drunk?”

           Her concern grew as Steve took a long moment to gather himself together in an attempt to deceive her. His voice came out low and husky with more slurring. “No, why would I do that? What are you? My mom.” Now, Robin was panicking as she had never dealt with a drunk Steve before. In high school they made him out to be this big drinker as he was the Keg King. But throughout their time spent together she realized the times he did drink he never had much. It had been a shock to her especially after learning about the secrets that the gang had to hide from the town. She had assumed that he would want to drink to deal with everything, but one time she had told him her assumptions he had said that it was more complicated than that. Back than Steve had not elaborated on his explanation, but she respected his answer. So, hearing his voice from the phone sounding like this had frightened her just a bit. This led her to say quietly into the phone, ��I’m biking over.” She then hung up because she knew that Steve would protest. He would tell her that it was late and that it was about a fifteen-minute bike drive which she could be kidnapped or something even worse. She was concerned about that too, but she was even more concerned about her friend.

           Robin not caring that she was in her pajamas walked over to the door and saw her coat hanging on the coatrack. She put on her coat and tried to silently yank the door open. Once opening the door, she stepped outside and closed the door. She surveyed her front yard and began her journey to her garage to get her bike. When she reached her bike Robin saw her helmet on one of the arms of the bike. She took it off the bike and secured it onto her head. After that she then kicked up the kickstand and went onto the bike. Robin then rode her bike to Steve’s meanwhile thinking about his voice. Something had sounded off and strange. Even though she thought he was a douche for most of high school, she fastly became attached to him when she first met him. When he had walked into the Scoops Ahoy place for the first time, she couldn’t help but wish that she had just got a different job at another place. Thinking that he would be insufferable. But then when she had teased Steve he just laughed nervously or made a joke at her. He didn’t say rude jokes to her though and nothing surprised her more when she found out he was good with children. The first time that it had completely shocked her was when Erica and her family had come in for the first time. Erica’s brother, Lucas who she hadn’t known at the time, saw Steve and immediately bursted into laughter. His family had scolded him, but he just kept laughing. The reaction of Steve’s completely blindsided her as Steve had just told the kid to laugh it up. And he jokingly laughed at the kid which then led to Lucas unable to stop laughing. Steve got his order without even to be told and when the kid finally stopped laughing, he mentioned about telling ‘the party,’ whatever that meant. Steve had just sighed like he knew this was going to happen. Erica and the Sinclair’s although bothered seemed like they knew about the friendship that the two had. She didn’t know what it all meant back then or why they were friends but after that night (she refused to call it what the others were calling it – even Steve used the terminology) she understood why they became friends. She couldn’t wrap her brain around it but somehow Steve became the person to take in people who were dubbed as freaks. People with strange personalities. People like her.

           While her thoughts wondered she made sure to check her surroundings in case she bumped into a rock or something. In about eleven minutes Robin sees Steve’s house in sight making her smile despite his voice vibrating in her skull with his slurring. Finally, she gets outside of Steve’s house and gets off her bike. She sets the kickstand down and takes her helmet off her head snapping back onto the left arm of her bike. She races to Steve’s door and makes sure to knock loudly. After a few moments nothing is heard from him, and she grows more anxious as she starts to play with her pajama shirt. She curses out loud until she remembers that Steve had told her that the spare key was under the mat. When he had first told her that she had laughed and told him that it was a very typical and easy to find spot for a key. But Steve had told her that that’s why it was a perfect spot. He had said that smart people or nerds, which she found hilarious considering that he surrounded himself with nerds, would never look there. Because they believe that people wouldn’t take that route and spend enormous amounts of time to finding the key when it was right under them the whole time. Sometimes she wondered why he thought he could outsmart the smart people.

           She took the key and placed it into the doorknob. When it clicked, she opened the door and suddenly she realized that his parents might be home. But then she realized that Steve had told her his parents were out for the next week. So, she didn’t feel that bad when she shouted his name into the house. Silence filled the house, and she waited a few moments as he might not have wanted to respond right away. Robin had called out his name again and again but was met with silence. Anxiety grew in her and she raced up the steps taking two at a time to get to his room. When she got up the stairs, she walked the hallway and saw that his door was open. She got to his door but didn’t see him. Even though she peered into his room and didn’t see him, she went into his room. She sat on his bed for a few minutes and saw his window contemplating something. Hoping to get some sort of clue onto where he was, she walked over to the window. She peered out and gasped as she saw Steve on the diving board of his pool. She relaxed a little bit knowing that he was safe, but then remembered his slurring and that she questioned if he was drunk.

           Robin ran down the steps and ran into his backyard. She didn’t shout his name though because she didn’t want to scare him into accidently falling going into his pool. When she had gotten closer however she heard Steve muttering a few words, but she couldn’t hear what they were. Finally, when she got closer she whispered his name which his head immediately turned towards her. His eyes were blood red shot and there were tears tricking down his face. He smiled but it did not reach his eyes and it was not the one Robin was used to. It was not the smile that she had grown to love. The one which she found annoying in high school, but now wished it would never fade away into the universe. Now she stared at his depressed state wondering what he was thinking about. Steve replied to her, “Robin, what are you doing here?” His voice was still husky, but it was the same as when she heard him on the phone. Hopefully that meant he hadn’t drunk anything more when she was biking here. Robin started to get more desperate and begged him, “Can you please come over here, Steve?” Steve nodded a tiny bit and slide on the diving board heading towards his friend not trusting himself to stand up. When Steve got close enough to her, she reached out and grabbed him into a hug. After a few moments she pulled away from him and placed her hands on his shoulders. “You look like shit,” was what came out of her mouth. She wished that it hadn’t come out of her mouth as Steve’s face formed into a frown. However, she was glade when she didn’t notice a beer bottle in his hands. She grabbed his hand and dragged him into his house. Once inside she had to walk a little further and eventually saw a couch up against a wall. She sat him on his couch and saw a blanket that had been draped on top of the couch. Grabbing it, she wrapped it onto his body hoping to get him warm. Although, it was summer she had seen him by the pool and concern grew in her as she thought that he might get cold.

           After a few moments of Steve staring blankly at her she finally gathered the courage. Robin afraid to set him off whispered, “Steve, what happened?” Steve sniffed and didn’t answer her. Starting to become annoyed and anxious again she whispered the same question. The answer was not the one she expected. “I don’t think you should be friends with me.” Robin stared at Steve as she processed that thought, which she couldn’t even do that. Her response came out angry, “Why the hell would you say that?” She couldn’t fathom why he would say that as she couldn’t imagine not being his friend. Steve took a couple of moments to get his thoughts together and said, “I’ll hurt you.” Robin watched in worry as Steve held his head in his hands that were in his lap. Robin grabbed one of his hands, but Steve immediately retracked his hand away from her. Robin couldn’t help how hurt that made her but the worry over Steve was consuming her. She softly said, “Steve what’s wrong?” Steve shook his head and started running his fingers through his hair. A nervous habit that she noticed he had often done. He had done it when they were in the Russian elevator and when they had their talk in the bathroom.

           Now though she wanted the nervous habit to stop and hoped that Steve would explain what he was talking about. Steve then said, “You need to get away from me. It’s the only way you’ll be safe.” Robin was now really getting worried which turned into anger, and she got off the couch. The anger had started to take over now as she was furious as to why he would be thinking this. “What the hell? I want to be friends with you and there is nothing you can say or do that would make me think differently.” She kept moving her arms and wagging her right pointer finger at him to prove a point, but at the end Steve lifted his head and stared at her. Her anger halted at his expression as his eyes were twinkling with a look on the verge of tears. He shook his head and said, “I don’t think that’s true.” Robin gulped and looked away from him. She kneeled onto the ground next to him and took his hands in hers. Steve didn’t pull his hands away from her and she took a breath saying, “Steve something’s wrong. I want to help you so can you please tell me what’s going on?” She felt like she was falling onto pieces on the floor trying to beg Steve for answers.    

           Steve answered her begging with something that made the whole room pause at his truth. “I killed her, Robin. I killed her.” Her head spun at that, but she knew Steve. He wouldn’t kill anyone unless he was protecting his friends. However, she grew more anxious and wanting to understand him, so she voiced her next question. “Who?” Steve turned and stared outside of the door into his pool. Robin wanting to gain his full attention gently grabbed his chin and turned his head towards her. She didn’t expect to see pain, anguish, guilt, and something else that she couldn’t place. It hurt her to see that on her best friend, so she rubbed softly at his cheek hoping the pain went away. Instead of it being a comfort he looked more guilty and looked down at his feet. “It wasn’t supposed to end that way. It was supposed to be a fun night. I thought we were having fun.” She rubbed at his cheek again and wanted to put his eyes back on her, but she didn’t force his head to look at her. She had known that knowing the truth and seeing what they had damaged them, but she wasn’t used to seeing Steve this way. It had forced them all into being fighters and survivors. People that this town would ever acknowledge. People whose pain was used as some sort of joke.

He explained further in a soft cracking voice, “I was supposed to protect her.” Even though Robin cared about his moment she also grew frustrated with his vague responded to her and said, “Who Steve?” Steve looked completely away from her in what appeared to be shame. She found it a tiny bit ridiculous as she was never going to blame Steve for anything. His voice grew quieter as he muttered the name, “Barb.” That stopped her for a moment and gave her pause. She remembered the story that had come out a few months ago about her death. Although Steve had told her a basic story about the lab she was still confused as to what Barb had to do with it. She chooses her next words carefully, “I thought that was the lab. It was a chemical leak, Steve.” Steve shook his head and said, “No, it was those things. The Demogorgon got her. “

           Her voice came out in a whisper afraid to hurt him even more now. “That wasn’t your fault though Steve. No one could have predicted that.” “Well, I should have,” was the angered response. He whipped his head to hers and she couldn’t deal with the amount of pain that was in his eyes. “You couldn’t have okay. So please stop talking like that.” Steve had yanked his hands out of her grasp and her hands flew to her sides. He got himself up and Robin also getting up gently placed her hands on his shoulders and forced him to sit back down. “Steve please just sit down.” He had tried to fight his way out of her grasp and kept trying to stand up. Finally, he just sat down completely on his couch and started to sob. Robin’s eyes widened and she sat down next to him on the couch. She rubbed his back hoping that it would subside. However, in between his cries he admitted something. “She died, she’s dead Robin.” The crying became even worse after that, and she gently grabbed him causing his head to rest on her shoulder.

           After a few minutes the crying started to stop. It didn’t stop completely but it was better than what it had been. As Robin was rubbing his back she whispered to him, “Steve please tell me what is going on. You’re starting to scare me.” She wished that had calmed him down, but instead he started to grow more worried about her. “I’m sorry.” His hands flew back to his hair and running his hands through the hair. She shook her head and said “That’s not what I meant. I just want you to be okay Steve. I didn’t know you were breaking down like this.” She could tell that she was breaking Steve’s walls as he answered her begging with, “She died here, Robin. Barb died here. I had a stupid party with Tommy, Carol, Nancy, and Barb. Nancy invited Barb over and we were shot gunning some beers. When it was Barb’s turn, she cut her hand and had to clean up in my bathroom. I should’ve gone with her to help. Instead, I wanted to have a stupid fucking party.” He paused and took a break there as he was starting to catch his breath from all the energy it took him to explain. Robin watched and didn’t say anything afraid that she would scare him, and she almost shuddered at the thought as if Steve was a frightened animal. Eventually, Steve gathered his courage and continued to explain. “We jumped into the pool. After that we had to get into some clean clothes, so I was bringing Nancy up to do that. And before we could Barb came to get Nancy, but she wanted to be with me. Well, you could guess how that went and Barb had left or so we thought.” The room was silent for a minute as the reality of what Steve had just said processed in Robin’s brain. But one thing wasn’t making sense which she voiced, “How do you know that if you were some place else?” Steve sighed again which she really wished he would stop doing and said, “Jonathan took pictures.” Her eyebrows raised in confusion as she didn’t understand something. Robin said, “You didn’t say his name with the others.” Steve shook his head and said, “He wasn’t invited.”  “So, what he was just stalking you guys?” His shoulders shrugged ad he said, “I guess so, but it’s been so long that I don’t care anymore.” This response to Robin’s confusion didn’t help anything as she suddenly grew angry on Steve’s behalf. “I think you should care Steve,” was what Robin told him.

           Steve took a moment to breathe, and Robin gently grabbed his shoulder to bring him closer to her. Steve’s breathing was coming out in slow motions with a heavy texture to it. Although, he didn’t care that Robin had pulled him closer and he softened into her touch. Robin sighed out a breath and instead of trying to push him about the topic of the pictures she said, “I’m sorry.” She gave a slight kiss to the top of Steve’s temple and the warm touch lasted a few moments. The whisper of affection towards Steve seemed to calm him down but at the same time increased his anxiety as he reached towards his hair and smothered the kiss with his hands. Robin, feeling hurt but also wanting to care for her friend, put her hand on his knee hoping that it was a better alternative. Steve’s hand came back down from his hair and held her hand that was on his knee. Robin said, “You’re my best friend, Steve. I want to know when you’re breaking down.” She took a breath after carefully choosing her words again, “I want to know when you’re not okay.” Robin felt like she was really begging this time for him to let out all his insecurities and demons. She wanted to figure out the puzzle of Steve’s head as sometimes he was so long gone that he wouldn’t listen to anyone.

           She held him tighter, and Steve relaxed more into her touch but retracked his hands from hers. A few moments went by where Robin was looking at Steve carefully until he said, “I need protect you all. I just don’t know how to.” She wanted to take his hands that he was now wringing together but she didn’t. She had wanted to do and say so many things to him. The one above all though was that she loved him. Robin never had a friend like Steve. Someone who made her smile with his lame ass jokes (and sometimes they were pretty good jokes) and his personality. While Robin was silent Steve was now the one trying to figure out the right words to say to her. Steve forced a slight smile and said, “You all are the best people in my life. I don’t know who I would be without all of you.” He gulped and continued, “I can’t lose you all. I’m so fucking scared of that happening. Now with Hopper being gone.” He takes a second and swallows but barrels on. Robin admires his bravery in situations such as this knowing that Steve didn’t open up to anyone else besides her. “Everyone’s a mess right now. We’ve dealt with this pain before but it’s different. We can’t ignore this now and the Byers are leaving. I’m going to be the oldest now out of all of us.” Robin looked at Steve’s face and saw everything that she didn’t want to see.

           The entire world was on Steve’s shoulders right now and he was on a tightrope. Waiting for the moment it snapped and dooming him into a descent of madness. Responsibility was in sight for him, and he would have to ignore the calls or pleas to care for himself. The pain that the others went through were dragging him into the cold pitiless world of despair with no railing to hold him up. Robin wanted to turn away and deny this truth but seeing the desperation in the way his face crinkled told her she couldn’t. Even if she wanted to turn a blind eye, it was still Steve who had carved out a place in her heart no one could ever touch. She took a breath and wanting to be brave like her best friend said, “I’ve got your back, Steve. I’m not going anywhere.” This got Steve to turn and look at her. Robin stared at him and watched as he realized that she was telling the truth which broke down his walls. He threw himself into Robin’s arms and she held him as he started to sob again.

           Sniffling was heard and after a few moments he went onto one of his other demons. One that didn’t involve the others, one that he clearly never even admitted to himself. “He touched my hair, Robin.” Robin’s eyes crinkled and her eyebrows scrunched into confusion. In his ear she whispered, “Who?” Another sniffle was heard and eventually he said, “The Russians. It’s so fucking stupid.” Robin, remembering their time in the Russian base, felt a phantom touch of where Steve’s head had been on the base of her head. Although touching was never shy with them, it had been the closest they had ever been which Robin wanted to change. Shuddering from the experience she remembered when Steve had first woken up and the men had come in. She couldn’t see what they were doing to him which often the guilt of that kept her up at nights. Leaving her with nightmares and she remembered seeing them touch his chin or face from the side of her eye. Robin had rubbed her hands against Steve’s arms again and said, “Its not stupid Steve. They hurt you.” She felt Steve stilling in her arms and heard him whisper, “I feel like it is. They could have done worse things to me.” Suddenly he sounded angry at the end and in pure anger also said, “And somehow I’m still worried about my hair.”

           Robin felt him shudder a bit and the way in which his shoulders became tighter. Robin kept rubbing his shoulders after stopping for a few moments and tried to keep soothing him. She was starting to become angry about how he felt it was stupid. He didn’t want them to touch his hair and they were trying to kill him. She really didn’t think it was that dumb or superficial. Maybe that’s why he thought he was being stupid. He felt like he was being superficial as he had been before. So, Robin in order to calm him down said, “I would be angry too.” It was difficult but Steve picked his head up from her chest saying to her in a weak voice, “Really?” Robin nodded her head vigorously hopping to get the message across to Steve. “It wasn’t something you wanted. You shouldn’t feel guilty over that.” Steve’s eyes glistened with the weariness and exhaustion he had. His eyes were bloodshot and red looking but Robin didn’t care. She wanted to get across that he shouldn’t feel guilty for this.

           Steve forced another smile to get the message to Robin that he understood what she was saying. But Robin knew that it didn’t necessarily mean he would take that advice. More moments passed on as she waited for Steve to continue. She wanted him to know that he could keep talking to her. Steve pulled away and brushed his fingers through his hair. “I feel his fingers lingering and I hate it. Then everything catches up with me. I hear my voice saying Dustin’s name and it’s like the world has stopped. They stare at me and bring him in. I see the gun go right to his temple, and I hyperventilate. I fucking told them his name. All I can do is stare and beg. Then the gun goes off and I stare at walls with blood everywhere. Then I see you and Erica getting hurt too. All I can think of is I was supposed to protect everyone. And I couldn’t even do that right.” Robin watched as he kept running his fingers through his hair as he grew more agitated with himself and at the events repeating through his mind. She had those nightmares a few times. The ones where it felt like you were watching someone else in your skin. Your body not knowing what to do but your thoughts run like a hamster wheel. Repeating over and over the scenarios that could have happened. The what ifs more daunting than what happened. The what ifs taking over your mind until you’re nothing but an imaginary scenario.

           Robin grabbed his shoulders again and kept him into her arms which didn’t scare him as he didn’t pull away. It was a tug of war game with them being apart barely a few inches on the couch and then being in one another’s arms for comfort. “I know this isn’t going to do anything, but you were drugged. It wasn’t your fault just like Barb wasn’t your fault either. No matter what happens, I will love you at your darkest.” What she doesn’t tell him is that she wants to take the bomb of thoughts that was in his head and silence it. What Robin says though is “You have to promise me whenever you feel this way that you’ll come to me.” She had learned that the children had cared deeply about promises which was something that Steve had taken seriously to. Somehow, she wondered how the children and Steve hadn’t been friends forever because their values and virtues aligned with one another. She heard Steve sniffle again and he said, “I don’t think I can do that.” He paused looking at his hands and said, “Sometimes with everything we know, I wonder if ghosts exist. And if they do, I think I’m being haunted by her.” Once again he swallows trying to word everything correctly. After a moment he says, “I can’t tell if it’s in a good or bad way.” He sighed again which she really wished he would stop doing but she would not voice her annoyance after that confession.

           She didn’t know why but this whole time she felt like she had to choose her words carefully but now the choice was made not to be careful. Robin stood up from her spot on the couch and wagged her finger in Steve’s face. “I am not going to leave you to deal with this on your own. I’m here and I will not leave.” She hears another sniffle coming from Steve and she kneels back down placing her hand on his knee for another time. Robin looks at Steve who is back to looking at his shoes and running his fingers through his hair. Another sentence is uttered by Steve that makes the room pause with the amount of weight it holds. “I need to protect everyone. It’s the only way I am useful.” Robin’s jaw dropped open, and her eyes bugged out as the realization of how awful his self-worth was.

           The realization was a bucket of ice being poured down on her back or harshly being hit with a huge snowball. It was almost as worse as seeing the supernatural monster. Seeing him in pain was one of her worst fears, she realized. Tears started to stream down her face, and she squeezed his thigh to provide some comfort. Beneath her hands she feels Steve’s leg bouncing and now it was her that was sniffling. She said, “You are more useful than just for that. Steve, you are amazing, and I wish you could see that.” Steve was silent and he pitched forward a tiny bit falling into Robin’s arms falling onto the floor with her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and Robin’s arms flew to his torso wrapping him in a hug. His sobs wracked against Robin’s body until it consumed the room as the only sound being heard. Robin painfully aware of how silent it had gotten wanted him to say something. He answered her silent pleas with a “I don’t think I believe that. I feel like I don’t believe anything positive that people say these days.” Robin consumed with heartbreak at his response said, “I’m not going anywhere, Steve. You have me no matter what happens.” They stayed like that engulfed in an embrace that neither wanted to let go of. An embrace that would hopefully remove their demons from them.