#But can be read as platonic ofc

[leafthesheep]

Tw: intrusive thoughts

So I had an idea that Dark's programming is always urging him to kill Chosen. And then I read some fanfic and realized that's a pretty common headcanon, but at that point I already started this comic. This is my first attempt at a comic so it's far from perfect but ehh who cares

I had to foreshadow the showdown while I was at it. Uhh also idk how american pancakes look or how you eat them that was the first breakfast food that came to mind even though I've never eaten it once for breakfast.

[hyperfixies]

I know I keep complaining that JayVik didn't kiss and the problematic implications this has for male queer couples compared to other couples yadda yadda but I'm also aware that Fortiche did what they could and that they made sure to use the Zaunite gesture of touching foreheads instead of touching lips.

We see a few examples of that over the course of the show and it's obviously an act that speaks of a deep bond between two individuals.

But one scene in particular stood out to me. In season 2 episode 8, during the scene where Jayce is giving his speech and we see families say goodbye to one another as one of them goes off to join the fight, there's this scene between two parents using the forehead touch in lieu of a kiss goodbye:

And in the next episode we get this and I've seen enough of this show to know Fortiche don't draw a single frame that isn't intentional:

So yeah I'm taking the liberty of eating that up, thank you.

[kroosluvr]

yusuke kitagawa endeavors to draw the people he loves - the phantom thieves (and company).

[half-a-life-left]

Cannot find the corresponding emoji on my phone for the life of me but tender first aid with Gabriel ultrakill. Who is giving the aid is your choice

holy cloth

[aequarea]

if luffy is a god then sanji is his angel and zoro is his warrior. end of the discussion.

[heyyesimtrash-whatofit]

Hey Gatsby people, I know I’ve seen ppl talk about a reincarnation AU and wanted to try my hand at it (thanks @writerinconstantcrisis for listening and helping this bullshit lmao). Please consider-

Nick, having successfully published his memoir The Great Gatsby, stands as the last of their group to die

The gang are reincarnated and run into each other just a tad earlier than before, their Junior Year of High School. They become great friends, absolutely clueless to their past lives

Spring of their Junior Year they get the good ol required reading of The Great Gatsby, in which their friend group just sorta laughs at it although Nick can’t shake this sense of Deja Vu reading it…

It comes to a head for him in the hallway one day leaving class when Jay calls him “old sport” (“because it sounds cool! I like it, I’m gonna bring it back.” “You’re gonna look like an idiot, James.”) Nick is hit with an entire lifetimes worth of memories in one go

Has to spend the rest of high school in constant crisis because none of the others know, they clearly don’t know, if they knew they wouldn’t be hanging around George and Myrtle so casually oh god he’s gonna be sick-

Jordan remembers next, at a graduation party. Nick decided to shoot the long shot and mention how he’s never liked small parties because there’s no privacy. Jordan is left reeling but at least Nick is there to help her

Daisy finds out next, although she’s alone when it happens. It’s their first year of college and she’s left reeling and on her own. At first Nick thinks nothing of her sudden texting spree in the group chat (which was jokingly named “The Gay Gatsby” back in high school and hasn’t changed) until Christmas, when he sees that look in her eyes and spends the rest of dinner staring her down until he can ask in private. She cries for an hour at least

Tom remembers second to last, his Junior Year of college when he and Daisy get together (on much better terms, mind you, and both he and Daisy are better people because screw you it’s my AU and I get to fix the characters) Like Daisy I’m not sure exactly what his trigger event is but it hits him and hard. First off, gaining a second lifetime of memories is rough. Second, he was an asshole oh my gosh. Third, he caused the death of someone he gets along with pretty well now (no, he and Gatsby are not best buds. They’re more like those friends who constant piss each other off as a show of affection). He’s not the other three there for him though so it’s not terrible.

Gatsby is last. First to die, last to remember and boy does it hit him like a brick. They’re out of college, hanging at Nick and Jay’s shared apartment (roommates, but room for ship because I do, but can be platonic) when someone says something and immediately everything shatters. His admittedly short life crashes back harder than the others’ ever did (except maybe Nick) and he is absolutely broken by it. It takes three days for Nick to be able to talk to him, and that’s not even beginning to acknowledge the others.

Once everyone is back and ticking, barely comprehending what’s going on mind you but they’re trying, they all vow to never let the events of that summer happen again. They’re on a good roll already but they need to keep it up. For everyone’s sakes

That’s the jist of it main plot wise. I’m gonna include some additional sillies under the cut. Feel free to ask/comment/whatever about this AU if you’ve got questions, because I have a lot of thoughts for it lmao

Additional disaster-

Every time someone remembers, they watch the 2013 movie together with those who know and laugh at the inconsistencies/wrong things. It helps them make light of their shitty pasts.

Furthermore, every time someone remembers Nick rereads the book. He can’t forget. He refuses to.

Once Jay remembered and the shitstorm passed, everything returning to as it had been was marked by everyone in their group chat sending some form of “Close enough, welcome back The Gay Gatsby.” Jay laughed for ages at it. Nick had to respond for him.

Everyone has dreams about their past life, although for some it’s more common. Namely for Nick and Jay, whose reoccurring dreams are more like nightmares

Nick feels responsible for everyone. He was the first to remember, he wrote the book, he has to be there for them better this time around. He fails to remember that they’re there for him too, which comes to a head when they find him passed out, locked in his room, surrounded by smudged pages on which he was once again trying to recall that summer by memory. Things get worse when he lets it slip that he was easily ten times worse when writing the original TGG. Mandatory group therapy amongst each other doubles in frequency, with the others refusing to let Nick just brush over the shit he was put through because of them.

Everyone calls bullshit on Nick’s flawless A in English 11. Why? “HE DIDNT HAVE TO READ SHIT! HE WROTE THE DAMN BOOK!” Nick claims that’s their problem, not his.

After first regaining his memories, Nick became very reclusive. He hid from his friends until they broke into his room, partially RAN from George and Myrtle every time he saw them, and became very invested in rereading TGG. Oddly enough though he wasn’t adverse to hugs, especially from Jay. In truth, it was because he just liked hearing his friend’s heartbeat. It helped remind him that he had a second chance, they all did

Jay and Tom argue a lot still, but about the stupidest things. Once things settled from Jay remembering, Jordan, Daisy, and Him were hanging out when suddenly they heard a loud argument approaching. Nick braced for the worst, only to find the two arguing about whether normal or Dino nuggets were better. Idiots.

Nick, having no other outlet for his feelings and thoughts toward his past life at the time, took to his English class’ book discussions to discuss and explain things missed or misunderstood. He was. Rather passionate about proving his point when someone tried to claim he was wrong. He wrote the book damnit!

Jordan is a Lesbian and proud, Nick is Gay, Gatsby is Bi. It’s practically stated in the book but I just need to say it here to be sure.

Jay has had an “irrational fear of pools” since he was a kid. It makes sense in hindsight

And I think that’s all I have for now! Please, if there’s any interest in this AU, do not be afraid to let me know. I will rant. I am trash. Don’t forget it

[fluffypotatey]

Shadowpeach's reaction to believing the other is dating again

ANON I AM SO SORRY T^T i meant to reply to this the moment I read it then got distracted and now it’s almost 1am (edit: it is now 1:30 lmao)

anyway,

you have come to ask me, a girlie who is a sucker for unhealthy shadowpeach and long time lover of the jealousy & possessive tropes, about shadowpeach’s hypothetical reactions of the two monkeys believing the other is back in the dating scene?

well, obviously, they would be completely fine. absolutely no negative reactions or breakdowns or obsessive thoughts hindering their ability to function and be mentally healthy. of course.

jk i lied: THEY WOULD BE SO HORRIBLE LMAO

however, i feel like swk would be more subtle about it. like maybe he hears something out of context said by MK or Mei or Tang or Red Son or Sandy (who might have also jumped to the same conclusion) and is like “oh……” and then is oddly quiet for maybe a month, freaking out MK

also, SWK would have his own internal battle of wanting to see Macky to confirm but also not wanting to see Macackle because the confirmation would break him. but he would make so many excuses to see Macaroon by visiting Pigsy’s noodle shop then chicken out when the time does come (the funny part of me says that Pigsy is the only one aware of SWK’s true intentions and is very annoyed about it)

the anger doesn’t really come until SWK feels fed up with Macaroni’s “mixed signals,” meaning Macky’s very bad attempts at being civil/flirting. because “if Macky thinks he can just use my feelings while being in a relationship he can think again!” (despite Macky never being in a relationship but Wukong never confirmed this so is mad for the sake of this hypothetical SO and himself while struggling with his own very messy feelings. because he likes it when Mac has his attention on him, he likes it when Mac tries to woo him the same way he had tried when they were younger and ignorant, he likes it when Mac cannot help but look at Wukong, he likes it when he makes Mac forget all about that stupid significant other because Wukong and Mac used to be something and could still be that something if Mac just gave Wukong a chance or if they had never ended their old relationship like the way they did. if only, if only, if only, if only, if only—

with Macky, ahahahaaaaaaa hoo boy.

not subtle. very unsubtle. like, yes, even Wukong can see and notice Macky’s very unsubtle and unstable self but unlike everybody else who is aware of the reason, Wukong would just be confused on why Macky is always weirdly snappy and grabby and always feel the need to mention Wukong’s love life????

anyway, Macky would not react well. 1) because it feeds into his angry theory that Wukong found their relationship to be superficial and temporary 2) he has been revived for, uh, *checks watch* not very long, so imagine going through a severe break up and dying them being resurrected and trying to enact revenge on your ex (of whom the feelings are still too raw) but you’ve been out of time for so long that you cannot process shit 3) it is my belief that Macky had nobody else as close to him as Wukong was

so, Macky hearing through the very botched grapevine that Wukong is back in the dating scene? man’s is not handling it well. house/apartment/whatever establishment he was staying in is trashed. he replans his revenge against Wukong. he stalks Wukong obsessively bc he has to see that bastard in the act because maybe then he’ll be free. he would sabotage any and all attempts of demons, humans, whoever that whispers about pursuing Wukong because….reasons

(obviously the reasons are not the fact that Wukong moving on terrifies him, the fact that he can be so easily replaced hurts, the fact that he cannot let go despite everything, the fact that Wukong still smiles the same, that Wukong still laughs the same but it’s so much lighter, that he understood what it was like to be loved and cared about by Wukong. to have all of his attention on Macky, to hold him so gently even though these same hands could break him (and have), to be treasured and desired by someone so powerful. how could Mackarell give up something so precious? he is still selfish and has been deprived for f that love for too long. why on earth would he ever wish for someone else to have a piece of what he once had?)

so yeah i’d say they would be coping sO well :)

[buryam-soul]

Cytham / Haino HCs and Thoughts: Language edition

A lot of this came about bcs I was thinking about speculations that Cyno is also Haravatat (which is seeming unlikely), but even if he was from another Darshan and is just, like, a language hobbyist, they might work with a little tweaking. ANYWAY

- Languages as another thing they bicker and sass each other about. Alhaitham mocking Cyno for confusing tones when speaking in Liyue language. Cyno calling out Alhaitham for messing up conjugations in Mond language. They’d get so, so gloriously petty with it. Cyno: How unprofessional of the Scribe, to use first-person language in an official report. Alhaitham: You counted three words, and it’s practice in the style of official reports. Shut it. Cyno: Five. Wait... Six. Two of the same mistakes repeated. Alhaitham: I’m not taking this from someone who asked for soup instead of sugar in his tea. Cyno: That was one time--!

- But also languages as a thing they could agree about. Cyno squints over a letter from Lisa written in Mond and complains about the grammatical gender being so different from Sumeru’s. Instead of roasting him, Alhaitham makes a remark on how at least Sumeru’s gendered nouns are easier to identify and the articles don’t change around like theirs. Cyno: Tch. Articles. Don’t even get me started on how they change with the cases. Alhaitham: if you won’t get started, then allow me-- (insert 2 hour rant here that they end up laughing about)

- They’re both fond of ancient languages, Cyno a bit moreso. So whenever Cyno borrows a Decarabian-era poetry collection from Lisa after accompanying Collei to Mondstadt or wins some Ishine script stone slates from his Genius Invokation game with Yae, he makes sure to wait for Alhaitham so they could nerd about it analyse it together.

- Cyno adores (and is jealous of) Alhaitham’s handwriting in all languages. Like how does this man write so neatly and robotically in line, yet not lack the flowiness and artistry characteristic to Sumeru and Inazuma scripts??

- Whenever the Traveler comes by to visit, the two keep track of how their accent and phrases slightly changes and then guess where they had been recently, before the Traveler even says it. It’s a game and they’re keeping score of who can guess first, and Alhaitham is just slightly ahead because he’s a Rude Bastard who will just say, “Oh, you’ve been in Liyue this past month?” while the Traveler is still mid-sentence.

- Alhaitham is terrorized by Cyno’s attempts at language-related jokes on top of his other jokes. Cyno: If I were to describe my latest mission in grammatical terms, it would be simple past tense. Alhaitham: ...what? Cyno: It was easy, and it happened in the past. Alhaitham: ...I’m going to maul you. Cyno: No, that’s simple future tense. Alhaitham: Your life will be simple past tense if you don’t stop soon--

- Also multilingual puns. Cyno: An Inazuman cat is lazing about. You could say he’s doing...nyathing. Alhaitham: (snorts because Cyno said nya) Cyno: (makes mental note thinking that Alhaitham likes cat puns)

- Sometimes Alhaitham replaces words with shorter words in another language in his personal notes, chaotically using one script to write a word from an entirely different language. One time, since he left it open anyway, Cyno takes a peek to make sure he’s not up to some shit like with the Divine Knowledge Capsule. He feels like he had a seizure. Cyno: Why the fuck did you spell 地脉 with Sumeru script. Just say Ley Line, you lunatic. Alhaitham: It’s shorter. Efficient. Cyno: Not by much. Alhaitham: Considering how much I need to write anyway, every little bit helps.

If you have more please please share with me with the tags or replies, I’m brainrotting over these two and I love languages.

[prisonguards]

some very old ethubs doodles from when I first got into the trafficgames for our throwback today :3c

[jellyfish-grave]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 超探偵事件簿 レインコード | Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Makoto Kagutsuchi & Yuma Kokohead, Makoto Kagutsuchi/Yuma Kokohead, Yuma Kokohead & Kurumi Wendy, Makoto Kagutsuchi & Kurumi Wendy Characters: Makoto Kagutsuchi, Yuma Kokohead, Kurumi Wendy Additional Tags: hurt/comfort?, hurt/light comfort, Eating disorders mention, can be read as platonic or romantic, Kurumi is only mentioned im sorry my girl, food as a love language, Makoto centric, postgame, Open Ending, Bittersweet Ending, rating is that way cuz of the eating disorder, nothing actually happens, also im sorry if makoto sounds a bit ooc it's my first time writing him Summary:

Eventually, his head shot up, and with the most exasperated tone he could fathom, talked directly to Yuma's face. “Yuma, how on earth did you come to the conclusion that you could make Pizza if you can't manage making instant ramen.”

Makoto hated the face Yuma gave him back, that small smirk that clearly meant Yuma had something in mind. “That's why I'm not gonna try this alone! You're joining me behind the counter, Mister Makoto.”

-----

Or: Makoto has been refusing the daily meals, and for a week, Yuma comes over to cook and eat along with him.

[tea-of-destiny]

So what if, in my Clive Triton AU, one of Clive's friends was Naiya, the singer NPC in Misthallery?

It's like, have you ever had the experience where you're the only kid exactly your own age at the social function, and everyone else is either way younger or way older than you, so you end up awkwardly clinging to the one other kid who's reasonably in your age bracket?

I realized that Last Specter has a lot of kids Luke's age, and not many characters in their teens and early twenties, so I had to wonder who Clive could have spent time with in town after he was first adopted.

It was just a silly idea in the beginning, but now I'm kind of attached to the idea of Naiya and Clive hanging out lol. Even if she's a few years older than him, I feel like their personalities would balance out well.

[pekodayz]

i just thought of some oc and kara interaction thing i need to document since im prob gonna forget.

[rexscanonwife]

Ok I feel a bit unwell tonight (gee I wonder why ._.) So since I can't do much else I gotta spew my thoughts and be a little insane about this song for a while

Ramblings under the cut ofc

OUGGHGHH OKKK this whole song is so fucking good but I'll start with this bit for now but my god the whole song has this theme of someone singing TO Achilles, begging him to come away from some edge or precipice. Ofc there's lots of ways to look at this but I choose to think of it as Anakin teetering on the edge of falling to the dark side, thinking that he has no choice.

'The self is not so weightless; nor whole and unbroken' UGHH Anakin carries so many heavy things in his heart. His pain, his grief, his GUILT, his conflict. Yet he's not ONLY these things. I'll never be an Anakin apologist PER SE (except when it's funy) but every bad thing he does can usually be tracked, and so can his deterioration THATS THE WHOLE POINT. Despite all this he's been a great friend and brother, he has love and hope and faith in his heart as well as all these bad things.

'Remember the pact of our youth' the unyielding loyalty and affection that Brea and Anakin have for each other!! But it's true, she'd follow him anywhere, not only because she trusts him and knows what a capable leader he can be but she literally wouldn't be who she is today WITHOUT him. Without his friendship and without the ways they've encouraged or allowed each other to grow 😭😭😭

I'VE SAID NUMEROUS TIMES ON THIS BLOG THAT LOVE TORE ANAKIN APART. More accurately his inability to keep holding it inside him, his fate not letting him express it properly, the fear that he'd lose it and the grip he has on it eventually crushing it UGH MY GOD and I didn't screenshot it but the first verse has 'all of us, some of us love you/it's not really much but there's proof' BUT HE COULDN'T SEE IT 😭😭😭

And maybe the second part of the chorus is more Brea being OPTIMISTIC, maybe in a state of denial.

OK so the song does this cool thing where it switches back and forth in a couple verses to the 'inner voice' of 'Achilles' that berates and criticizes him, but obvi in my narrative I'm choosing to see it as literally Palpatine 😂😂 and ofc the parentheses would be both Brea reaching out to him, but ALSO everyone who loved Anakin, and the tiny glimmer of him that still remembers who he was. I love also that while trying to ease him with words of encouragement the parentheses also just like...basically tell the other speaker to shut up 😂 like yeah Brea WOULD straight up just tell Palpatine to go fuck himself!!

Ok and this bit gets me SO hard. Cause if u listen to it (which I highly recommend but it's ok if u don't 🫶) the opposing voices harmonize and then sing in unison, and to me it gives me a really strong visual of Anakins inner turmoil!! And not only that, it makes me think of my AU where instead of fleeing the temple during Order 66 in the confusion she sees that its Anakin leading the attack and decides to try to confront him!!! And I can see it being something she says to him, and their one on one fight that would ensue 😤😤

Ugh and not to mention how brilliant an Achilles comparison is, as I've mentioned I'm a sucker for religious and mythological imagery. Achilles. The PERFECT warrior, powerful, and NEARLY flawless. Emphasis on nearly. His end being brought upon him by that one thing.

I could go on and on about EVERY verse and little bit about this song tbh but this post would be forever long but my god. My fucking god. I've been thinking about this a lot today as u can see 0_0

[kroosluvr]

Hope to god there is at least one other yusuke x sumire fan out there bc i have somethign in the oven that is blowing my brains out and i need to kill someone else inthe process.

[randomwriteronline]

What did Kopaka remember?

Quiet in the mountains. Chaos. Endless seas. Clanging of metal. Chills of adrenaline in battle.

Warmth in his chest.

The last one was puzzling.

The first three he could see; the second two he could imagine from a glorious past as a proud Toa, a warrior, a hero - the clear shape of it forgotten, but its meaning still there.

The last one, though.

The last one was puzzling.

He was a Toa of Ice. A being forged in endless blizzards, as unrelenting as the avalanche, the snowstorm, the glaciers - as impenetrable as the permafrost that freezes the roots on their path.

He was not supposed to feel warm in his chest.

He was not supposed to be clumsy or get lost easily, either.

Who had ever heard of that? A hero who could not find his path? Did that mean he would not have recognized his own destiny if the elder had not assigned a Protector to guide him? That he would have wandered aimlessly, confused, if not rescued and merely left to his own devices? That he could have been swayed by the minions of Makuta and turned into a foe of his own siblings with ease? That it could have taken as little as a step in the wrong direction to turn him to evil?

He tried not to dwell on that.

He tried desperately not to dwell on that.

He turned his thoughts to Pohatu.

It always helped, to turn his thoughts to Pohatu.

Pohatu was... Well.

Pohatu was perfect.

He was powerful, stalwart, dutiful. He did not speak unless needed, sometimes not even then. He remained serious, stoic, focused in the face of danger. Nothing could have made him crumble, nothing could have made him doubt or flinch. He was smart, and steady, and strong: he was above them all.

He was a proper hero.

The only one out of all the Toa who Kopaka could truly look up to, aspire to be like.

Tahu was too loud, obnoxious, bossy, Gali too neurotic and self-certain; Onua was kind, but slow to wits and hardly capable of dosing his power; Lewa refused to listen to anyone but himself.

And Kopaka, though try as he might to seem so, was far from perfect.

Pohatu was perfect.

He envied him. He adored him.

So what if he was aloof, what if he seemed to hate them? What if a Scorpio or two got him once? What if he got nervous in the dark, and needed a shoulder to lean on to steady his breathing again? Happens to the best of us.

Of course Kopaka would protect him.

Of course he would jump to his defense.

It was an honor.

A way to show him.

See? I am like you. I am a true warrior like you. I am a proper ally to you. I am worth your time.

What self-centered things to think.

But he could not help it.

Pohatu was perfect.

He truly was.

Kopaka watched him as he slept, warmed by a fire Tahu had set up, instead of focusing on the surroundings of the camp. He watched him safe from judgement, as all the others too were asleep - he could hear their breaths and snores, could tell them apart from those alone. He watched him: he slept sitting up, curled in on himself, hands clamped around his arms, knees pulled to his chest, head dangerously leaning forward always about to fall. The glow barely escaping the sliver between his eyelids was dim. Something in the way they were shut gave the impression he was frowning fiercely beneath his mask.

He looked so strangely small.

He never looked happy.

Why did that hurt?

That was just how he was. Never happy. Never overtly, maybe never at all. Always more concerned with something else.

Why did that hurt?

It was a phantom pain, behind his nape.

He could not place it, could not figure it out.

It must have been something, one of the many things he could not remember, not fully, not completely. Something shapeless, but still there.

What did Kopaka remember?

Quiet in the mountains. Chaos. Endless seas. Clanging of metal. Chills of adrenaline in battle.

Warmth in his chest.

Dark.

Mlexqr?

Mlexqr!

Mlexqr!

Pohatu was looking at him.

It scared him briefly.

His hand had somehow gone, all on its own, to find and hold the Toa of Stone's.

He hadn't even noticed he'd moved closer to him.

He hadn't even noticed he'd woken him up.

He hadn't even noticed he'd held his hand.

Pohatu was looking at him.

Kopaka looked back, silently, stupidly, because he could not have explained himself if he had wanted - and he wanted, stars above knew he wanted.

This was no heroic behaviour. This was no behaviour at all, period.

What would the other think of someone like that? Someone who moves closer to a sleeping person and holds their hand like that, for no reason, waking them up out of nowhere and not offering a single explanation for the trouble?

He was annoyed, certainly. He had to be. He had to hate him by now, for such an incomprehensible inane action.

What was he doing?

What was he doing?

He couldn't even answer himself.

He kept holding his hand.

He should have stopped.

He kept holding his hand.

Pohatu was looking at him.

He did not let go of Kopaka's hand.

The shape of his eyes seemed less furrowed. Slightly, only slightly. But it really did seem a little less furrowed.

Tenderly, comfortingly, uselessly, Kopaka caressed the other's knuckles with his thumb.

Pohatu let him.

They remained like that for a while.

A long while.

Kopaka watched intently as the other Toa's face, what little he could see of it, mellowed out until it was calm. He watched as his breathing turned deeper, more tranquil. As his body unclenched.

It reminded him of that moment as they walked underground, looking for a way back to the surface, before they'd emerged from the empty tomb into the city's cemetery - when Pohatu had suddenly leaned on him, silently, and had seemed to be soothed immensely by his mere presence.

Maybe Lewa had been right. Maybe he was afraid of the dark.

No wonder he had looked so terribly unhappy as he slept. There was nary a light in the sky. Even stars would have barely done anything to help.

He had nothing to worry about now, Kopaka's hand said with a gentle dead seriousness through the gentle chill that it emitted as he kept caressing Pohatu's knuckles with his thumb. He was there with him. He was not letting go of him.

The phantom pain behind his nape cried.

They did not say anything.

But Pohatu's dim eyes took a strange shape, a softer shape. A shape Kopaka recognized.

Beneath his mask, he was smiling.

Smiling.

Warmth in his chest.

So sweet and sudden that it burnt and singed and scarred him beneath his armor, potent enough to make his heart stutter and shake with a violence he wasn't sure anything else could replicate.

Kopaka tightened his hold a tad more.

Pohatu smiled.

Just a little, but he smiled.

Warmth in his chest.

The phantom pain behind his nape wailed.

Pohatu's head laid on his knees, maybe not too comfortable, but no longer at risk of slamming onto them. His hand was slack in Kopaka's, though it held on: it felt like a stone left under the sun, radiating pleasant heat upon a chilly palm.

He had fallen asleep again.

Kopaka continued caressing his knuckles for a moment more, just to make sure he wouldn't wake up immediately.

He looked into the fire, into the night. He should have let go, at some point: certainly the Toa of Stone wouldn't have enjoyed being made fun of by Lewa for needing his hand held throughout the night. Certainly he would have glared at him viciously, yanking himself away from his fingers with a hissed warning of never doing that ever again.

Or maybe he would have said nothing, and only hated him in silence.

Or maybe he would have said nothing, and held onto him still.

He thought back to the shape of his eyes when smiling.

Such a familiar shape.

A familiar look.

A warm look.

Warmth in his chest.

When Gali took over guard duty and allowed him to rest, Kopaka forgot to let go.

[vicsep7250]

Reblog if you want a hug, a kiss on the forehead, and for me to tell you that I love you.