#god i hope this doesn't reawaken anything in me..

[legend-as-old-as-time]

Plot bunny for u: through unspecified fanfiction magic the Turaga go back to being Toa Hordika and freak out. The Hagah bring in recently reawakened Mata Nui (who lamented he would have liked to see the toa Hordika bc they sounded super cool and interesting) hoping he can work some god magic on them or just keep them entertained while they go look for Keetongu again bc the sasquatch fucked off right back into the mountains as is his right. They return to find Mata Nui squashed under a Metru cuddle pile as they incessantly chirp and whine for him to give them scritches and pats and kissies on the head. Hes been like that for roughly twelve hours and has never been happier

Aksdsfhgosdhgdhg-

This has sent me down a rabbit role for an appropriate plot device that transforms the turaga into Toa Hordika, and which would thematically connect with their interactions with Mata Nui. I haven't found an idea yet. But maybe later!

The Toa Hagah fetching Mata Nui makes sense. He's a god of life, especially through the Ignika. Mata Nui also tires easily and this will likely stay for decades to come, if not forever. And this is delicate work he needs all his focus for. So, no godly magic for the time.

The Toa Hordika are upset because this happened without their consent or control. Dragging up old trauma from the Visorak Horde and their failures.

It's also difficult not compare themselves to their more powerful siblings. (Failing to notice that neither the Mahri nor the Nuva had any control over their transformations, either.) Or not to feel as outsiders, again. They use their elemental powers differently. They have no access to their mask powers. They have instincts that go against what Metru Nui stood for.

(Things like: I want companionship. I want to rest. I want to play.)

With Mata Nui arriving? To say their perception of him is complicated is putting it simply. And they fear his judgement.

Not that it outwardly changes anything. They're the only group who hasn't visited him yet. Not even one of them. And now...

They've been hiding for two days since their transformation. No amount of begging, cajoling, assurances, and praise could get them out. Their friends are all busy so they're taking turns checking on them / staying close their hiding spot. The toa stay silent even when the Toa Hagah announce their arrival plus their guest.

Mata Nui doesn't need to be anywhere. Actually, what he needs most is rest, at best lying down. Pouks makes him a nice little hut if they are outside. They help him lay on his bedding. Whoever is on watching shift is now looking after him, too.

He doesn't mind. He's used to waiting. He'll wait as long as his Chosen need him to.

The Toa Hordika fear his judgement. They also need to see him. They need to know why he chose Them of all matoran in Metru Nui. Which ends up with them watching him sleep, slowly coming closer when none of their friends are looking.

Until one of them finds themselves staring directly into Mata Nui's eyes. They jump in the air from surprise. (Stopping for now because this is getting so long.)

[patheticpaprika]

Fandom: Ace Attorney Ship: Miles Edgeworth/Phoenix Wright Rating: Teen and Up Words: 3.5k Summary:

Edgeworth feels like he doesn't deserve to be loved by someone like Phoenix, and Phoenix is terrified of being too much and scaring Edgeworth away. But when they are finally forced to acknowledge the truth of their relationship, will they face the fire or continue to hide from its flames? . . . And Trucy? Well, she's just a little fed up.

“Just let me pay for it, Wright,” Edgeworth stated stubbornly.

“Thank you, but I’m entirely capable of paying for myself,” Wright responded, just as resolutely.

Phoenix and Edgeworth had gone out to eat for the night. They’d decided on a small Taiwanese restaurant with clean black tiles and red trim. The food had been delightful, and the conversation even more so. It had been, all around, a pleasant evening. That is, until they had finished their food and begun to argue over the cheque.

“I’m perfectly aware of that. But it’s no secret I have some amount of wealth. Please, it is the least I could do to repay you.”

“I might not be rich like you, but I can still support myself perfectly fine, Miles,” he bit back, already taking out his wallet.”

“Don’t be asinine, Wright. I’m perfectly aware you can.”

“Then let me.”

“Why do you insist on being so stubborn?”

“Why do you.”

“Because I— Because…” Why couldn’t he just say why?! So instead, he conceded. “...You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“Thank you,” he enunciated firmly.

“Can I… Can I drive you home at least? It’s dark, and it’s cold, and your bike fits in my trunk.”

Phoenix looked at him, searching for something; that something Edgeworth wasn’t sure of. He finally responded with a light sigh and a short, “Okay.”

They rode to his apartment in a heavy silence, broken only after they arrived at Pheonix’s apartment.

“Goodnight, Wright,” Edgeworth murmured, looking up at him, still off-kilter and anxious from their conversation (and lack thereof in the car.)

Their eyes met. “Goodnight, Miles,” he said, sad but not unkindly. He opened the car door and turned away to get out.

“Wait! I—”

Phoenix looked back at him expectedly.

“Wright—” This was him, god-damn it. He could tell him the truth. The man loved foolishly and kind. He had still stuck around him when Edgeworth had been actively trying to push him away. So he started again. “…Phoenix.”

Oh, but it was him. What would he do when Phoenix finally had enough of him? Despite how he’d tried for so long, Phoenix had nestled tightly in his heart, reawakening its quiet beating tremors. A heart that would surely collapse from these tremors in his absence. Not all things should be woken up, because its stirring will surely bring about its own destruction.

Edgeworth hit his head on the steering wheel, leaving his head to rest there and causing the car to let out one short beep. “Fuck.”

“Uhm, Miles, are you okay??”

“I’m sorry!” he finally mustered out rather abruptly. He heaved himself back up from the steering wheel fully, with a sigh, looking back at Phoenix before quickly darting his eyes away again and clenching his hands. “It was not… my intention to make you believe I was belittling you. You have shown me time and time again truly how capable you are, and I did not mean for you to think I thought anything differently. I simply wish… You see… It’s just… This is the only way I seem to be capable of repaying you. I know it’s still not enough, but I had hoped it would at least… help.” He paused. “However, if it makes you uncomfortable, I can refrain from doing so in the future.”

“What.”

“Must you really make me repeat it, Wright?”

“No no no, that’s not what I meant. What do you mean repay me?”

“Come now, isn’t it quite obvious?”

“No, it’s not… unless.”

Edgeworth risked a glance and found Phoenix’s face scrunched up in the middle of a disgruntled realization.

“Miles Edgeworth, do you mean to tell me you believe you owe me, for what? Being there for you? Caring for you?!”

“Something along those lines.”

He let out a frustrated sigh. “Miles, could you look at me?” His voice was heart-wrenchingly gentle.

He obliged wordlessly.

“I don’t know what you were taught to believe love is, but my love for you is not contractual, and it will never be contractual. I do the things I do for you, not because I expect things in return, but because I want to. Okay? I care about you, you doofus.” He rested his hand on top of Edgeworth’s. “And I’m sorry for snapping earlier. I realize now that you meant nothing rude by it. I was tired and upset, and my own insecurities were eating away at me like I was a tasty turkey dinner. And I pushed those insecurities onto you.”

Edgeworth merely blinked back at him.

Phoenix flicked him squarely in the forehead.

“What was that for?!”

“Thought it might help get it into that thick head of yours,” he grinned impishly. He’d clearly spent too much time with Maya.

Edgeworth scoffed, “I will have you know my head is of just the— the right thickness thank you very much.”

“Pff, I know, I know.” Phoenix patted him on the head. “I do mean it, though. What I said” His tone became serious again. “You’re my friend, my closest friend even, and that’s what I do for friends. You’re certainly no exemption.”

“...Are you sure?”

“As sure as I am in my client’s innocence.”

“Then I believe it might be accurate to say you are my closest friend too?” Did he say something wrong? Phoenix looked like he was now about ready to cry.

Oh no no no no, what had Edgeworth done now?

But before he had a chance to ask, Phoenix launched himself at him with a hug.

Edgeworth sat there dumbstruck for a few seconds, unsure of what to do with the man now clinging to him in the cramped car. He eventually rather anxiously slipped his arms around him.

Phoenix’s name felt rather accurate sitting there in his arms. He was just so warm. It was like wrapping your arms around a fire. He’d always seen fire as aggressively passionate and destructive in its fight to continue on. Yet now, it was somehow so comforting. A forest fire burning away the old withering beliefs and feelings, leaving room for the new. When had his idea of the man shifted so sharply in his eyes, or had he simply been ignoring it before?

Regardless of the timing, he found himself now, always drawing closer to the man’s strength and warmth and life he carried with him in everything he did. Could they do this more? Just sitting there together? Maybe not with the awkward pose the car seats made them twist into. But maybe on the couch curled up in a blanket or after a long late-night work session, Phoenix forcing him to take a break like he apparently loves to do. It doesn’t matter really when or where or even frankly what, as long as he’s there with all his fiery heat. There was something so simple about it that made it feel wrong in the best of ways. Because how could happiness be so easily found? How could sitting there doing almost nothing feel so right? What had von Karma had him chasing for all those years if perfection could be found in one quiet embrace?

This man made him constantly question and reestablish every little thing he thought to be true, during trials, but also entirely outside them. Being around him filled him with countless thoughts he both wanted to know, and already did but simply feared the long-since clear conclusion. A dilemma which filled him with both dread and sheer terror by the prospect. No matter how many times he would try to stop them, burn the thoughts to the ground, they always rose back stronger than before as soon as he laid eyes on him again. He was a glowing breath of life reviving the world. For how much Edgeworth tried to cling to sameness, Phoenix’s perpetual reimagining was its own sort of constant. An ever-changing constant, he found he did not mind as much as he should. Maybe comfort could be found in revolution? God, he loved him. He loved him so much. He’d known that for years now. It was a realization that had hit like a ghastly cacophony before settling softly in his gut. A feeling that would so quickly turn into butterflies from a simple touch of a hand. From a kind, open smile directed towards him.

Phoenix finally pulled away. He looked sheepish. “Sorry, I probably should have asked first.”

“I… did not mind.”

“Oh. Guess that’s alright then.” He smiled again. Such a soft fond smile it almost hurt to look at with any amount of acknowledgment to the genuineness of it. “Hey, would you, um, want to come inside for a bit? Youdonthavetoofcourseyouprobablyhavelotstodo! But uh, yeah, mhm. Plus, I bet Trucy would love to say hi. Maya might still be over too.”

Regardless of what he might say, Edgeworth returned the smile with the same genuine fondness, although in his own reserved way. He checked his watch. “It’s not too late, and I got done more than expected today, so I suppose I can come in. If that’s okay?” He visited the Wrights so often these days that he practically lived there, but that didn’t stop him from putting up the pretense that he wouldn’t drop everything to be with them a little while longer.

“I was the one who offered, so of course it’s alright. We always love having you over!” With that, he nodded to Edgeworth and slid out of the car. Edgeworth popped the trunk so he could retrieve his bike and then joined him outside.

They climbed the building’s stairs, and Phoenix fiddled with the keys, letting them both inside his apartment. “Trucy, we’re home!!” he called out.

She bounded towards them. “Shh!! Maya’s asleep on the couch!” she hissed just as loudly as Phoenix was before smiling widely. “Hi Daddy, hi Uncle Miles. What took you two so long? You guys were sitting in the car foreverrrrrr. I made you tea, but it’s getting cold. You should drink it now so it doesn’t go to waste,” she pouted, before nudging him with her elbow playfully. “Unless someone as fancy as you is okay with microwave-reheated tea.” She dragged him towards the small dining table as soon as he took off his street shoes.

Phoenix followed soon after, quite amused.

Trucy sat Edgeworth down with his tea and handed Phoenix a cup of decaf coffee as Maya emerged from the living room, wiping away the sleep from her eyes.

“Oh, hi, Maya. When did you wake up?” Trucy asked.

“About when you shouted ‘SHhHh MaYa’S aSleEp,” she quipped back with faux annoyance as she joined them at the table.

Trucy smiled guiltily before resting her chin on her hands and turning her attention back to Edgeworth. She had more important matters to attend to. “So why were you and Daddy sitting in the car for so long together?” she asked innocently.

Maya perked up at that, entirely forgetting she was still pretending to be grumpy.

“What do you mean? We were just talking, Trucy,” he responded evenly.

“About what, though,” Maya chimed in.

“Yeah, that! You talk inside all the time, so if it’s outside, that clearly means it’s important.”

“Uh, well.” Edgeworth stuttered out. “It was nothing much… really—”

“But, but, I saw you two hugging for like… 30 seconds at least! That’s a lot of time to be hugging, even for Daddy.”

“Trucy enough. Don’t pressure him. This isn’t a court of law; Uncle Miles doesn’t have to tell you anything,” Phoenix interjected.

Trucy collapsed over the table, her excitement deflating into upset frustration. “But why? You two are such... Such… boring-stupid-big-dumb-idiots—”

“—Language—” Phoenix scolded weakly.

“—Why can’t you two just figure it out already!? It’s been forever, but you’re both too stuck in dim-witted overly-serious adult mode to finally just get it together.” Tears started to form in her eyes, and she wiped them away angrily. “Why can’t we just be a proper family like everyone else?” She pointed sharply to Phoenix, “Daddy” and then to Edgeworth, “Mommy.” She crossed her arms, still trying to stop her tears from flowing. “There, I did it for you!”

She got up abruptly from her chair and escaped to her room, shutting the door. Maya looked to the door, to Phoenix, and then to Edgeworth, and back again. She murmured, “I’ll go check up on her,” and left for Trucy’s room.

That left Phoenix and Edgeworth sitting at the table with the weight of what Trucy had just said permeating the atmosphere.

After some time, Phoenix eventually tried to break it. “Listen, I, I’m sorry. I guess I’ve accidentally said some stuff that has made her think, er, some things, and now… I guess… She got the idea that, ugh.”

“Have we really been doing that?”

Phoenix fiddled with his coffee mug, not making eye contact.

“Trucy isn’t an idiot. In fact, she’s probably smarter than the both of us.”

“...Yes”

“Then is she right? All of it?” No amount of self-preservation could stop him asking it when he was now so desperate to hear the answer.

The prolonged silence hung heavily over the two, but Phoenix finally broke it, sounding ragged.

“I didn’t want to scare you away.”

“...Oh… I see.”

Phoenix looked at him at that, unreadable emotions flickering past his face. “You see? So we’re just moving on from so much as finally acknowledging that bottomless rabbit hole then, are we?!” His voice cracked. “Pretending it doesn’t exist for another 15 years.”

“No, Wright, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I wasn’t expecting a response like that. Please. Just give me a moment.”

He opened his mouth as though to protest, before shutting it again, nodding, and sinking into the chair.

Miles desperately tried to wrangle his unruly thoughts into something coherent. He finally managed a question. “What do you mean you didn’t want to scare me away?” Talking is good. Communication is good. He can do this. Even on territory in some self-sabotaging way, he’d hope to never cross.

“It seemed to take you years just to admit I was your friend, Miles. Is it really all that surprising? You still call me Wright most of the time for crying out loud! I didn’t want to be too much because I always seem to be too much. I love intensely, and that’s not something I can just tamper down. I’ve finally gotten you back; I don't want to lose you again.” Once it started, he couldn’t seem to stop. It unraveled out of him like unruly thread. “And yes, sometimes I wondered, sometimes I hoped, but I wouldn’t dare push you into something. So I just ignored it. I ignored what I felt and, eventually, what I felt coming from you. I refused to give myself the hope that you, cold callous Edgeworth, would ever, ever care for me like I do for you. And when that facade slowly broke down, revealing how soft, and kind, and caring, like I’d always known you were, I shut that up too, because this is a line, that if we cross, we can never return. Please, Miles, I don’t want to lose you.”

“Phoenix, I—” Take his hand, take his hand, just somehow comfort him; why can’t you ever seem to comfort him? “Why-” Comfort him, comfort him, you idiot, why can’t you even do that? Not even a simple reassuring touch?! “I don’t want you to.”

“Oh.”

“No! No. I don’t want you to hold back for me.”

“Oh.”

Edgeworth clutched his elbow tightly.

Phoenix wet his lips. “Are you sure, Miles? Please, are you sure? How can you be sure.”

“I don’t think I can. But…” A small smile crept to his lips. “Someone once taught me that sometimes it’s worth putting trust in others, even when you don’t know how it will end.”

“Oh, is that so?” he choked out. “You’ll have to introduce me to him sometime.”

“You are an idiot, Wright, you know that, correct?”

“Shut up. You said don’t hold back, so does this mean I can kiss you?”

Miles let out an undignified squeak but soon nodded repeatedly.

Phoenix got up from his chair to approach him, moving slowly as though Edgeworth was a spooked animal about to bolt. But maybe that wasn’t too far off an assumption, considering how fast his heart was currently beating.

Pheonix cupped his cheek, gently brushing away his silver hair. He leaned down and pressed their chapped lips together. It only lasted a few seconds, but it made Edgeworth feel woozy and his stomach leap. From happiness or pure panic, he did not know.

“Was that okay?” Phoenix’s voice said, reminding him he was still present in a body apparently.

Was it okay? It was more than okay, actually. It wasn’t some grand kiss at the end of Samurai Summer. There were no fireworks or orchestra. But there was Phoenix in his cramped kitchen kissing him, and that was all Miles ever needed. This really was perfection, wasn’t it?

Edgeworth stood up from his chair, leaving only a few inches between them. Regardless, he looked directly at him. “Phoenix, I believe I would like you to kiss me again.”

Phoenix happily obliged.

—⚖—

There was a knock. “Can I come in?” Maya said from behind the door.

Not wanting to use her voice because she was worried it would break from her crying, Trucy got up from her bed and padded over to open the door.

Maya joined her back on the bed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She sniffled. “I didn’t mean to snap at them like that.” She rested her head against Maya and closed her eyes. Maya wrapped her arm around her shoulders. She sat there a while, just thinking and quietly sitting in Maya’s arms.

Trucy was just getting so frustrated. She loved her dad very much, but there was only so much of his thick-headedness she could take. And, well, okay, it wasn’t just that.

Trucy had always kind of wanted to have a family with two parents again. It’s not that she wasn’t happy! But sometimes, she wondered what it would be like. If it would make her life more normal. And before her dad had gotten his attorney’s badge back, if it would make him less sad. She had long since realized that she was more than content with her strange little family, although, sometimes, it felt like the thought just slipped out and back into her mind, despite the irrationality of it.

Still. There had always been Uncle Miles, and she started to realise he already acted like her second parent. Not only that, her dad and him already acted like a couple too! Still, no matter what happened, they never seemed to acknowledge that. They made each other so happy, but like this, they were also making each other sad.

“Hey, Truce?”

She opened her eyes again. “Hm?”

“Do you think they’re kissing yet?”

Trucy giggled wetly. “They better be, or else I’m gonna have to yell at them again.”

Maya snickered in return, “Heh, yeah.”

Trucy turned her head to look at Maya better. “You know, I do feel bad for yelling at them like that, but I’m not sure I regret it. Other than maybe each other, I’m like… their favourite person. If they can’t figure it out on their own, they’ll at least figure it out for me.”

“Hey, what about me!” Maya exclaimed in mock offence.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t exploit Daddy for so many burgers, you’d be higher up their list,” she teased. The heavy feelings of sadness hadn’t quite yet drifted away, but she was in higher spirits.

“Ehhh, sounds like too much work.”

“Pff, figured as much.” She paused. “I think I still need to apologize, though. I miss having a second parent sometimes, but that’s not their fault. I love the family I do have. You all mean the world to me.”

Maya nodded and smiled fondly. She gave Trucy, who was still in her arms, a quick squeeze.

“In the meantime, though…” She sniffled, smiling smally, but with a glint in her eye. “Wanna peek through the door and see what they’re doing?”

Maya’s expression immediately turned devilish, putting her fingertips together in glee. “Of course.”

They crept towards the door and cracked it open. Maya’s head peaked out, as Trucy’s soon did the same underneath Maya’s. They exchanged a gleeful glance.

They were kissing!!! After so many years spent ignoring their feelings, they were finally kissing!

Just wait till the groupchat hears about this.

Trucy went to pull out her phone to take a picture. She almost dropped it in her haste, catching it at the last second before it made a sound. She went to take a photo.

The flash turned on.

Maya and Trucy looked at each other in a panic. They both tried to back up into the room at the same time. Trucy’s head hit Maya’s legs as Maya was midstride. Maya floundered for something to grab onto, finally grasping onto the door knob. The door followed Maya’s backward descent, swinging open. "Ahh shit!"

The two men broke apart, alarmed. Both looked at them concerned, but Edgeworth's expression soon turned to indignation.

"Maya. Trucy. What the hell are you doing?"

[spacecadetspe]

A snippet from last year...

Jul. 16, 2023

I'm sore and sun-tired.  It's a pleasant but lazy feeling.  I spent a few days at the beach with W and my mom, just to try and reset.

That doesn't mean that I've been totally idle.  The situation with the Daktyloi has progressed, somewhat.  I say somewhat, but I mean it's mostly been resolved now.

The Daktyloi, or Finger Men, are followers of Gaia and whatever entity most represents Mother (the Divine Flame) to them.  Theirs happens to be Orpheus.  I had to find this out the hard way, though, since nobody actually wanted to communicate what was going on with me.  My first day at the beach, I awoke from a dream about doing emergency surgical triage on a group of Oneiroi, and I was immediately contacted by Vassilios, who rushed in wondering if I was all right and my burns had healed.

Burns?  I'm basically fire-proof.  The only fire that can really harm me is Mother's fire, and I'm susceptible to chemical burns.  So I was perplexed as to what happened.  But nobody seemed to be forthcoming, so I asked to be directed to Orpheus.

And boy did I give him an earful.

He was sitting in the guest quarters, playing his lyre, and asked me to wait until he finished his sequence, a set of phrygian chords.  I gritted my teeth and obliged, since it gave me some time to get my thoughts together.  And, unfortunately, the encounter just got more and more frustrating from start to finish.

"I might be pretty green as a Dream Lord, but last time I checked you didn't have the authority to admit visitors.  Especially ones who have demonstrated that they're hostile to the naturalized citizens.  So I hope you'll explain what is going on here before I take my wrath out on somebody."

He answered by putting down his lyre.  "Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos have reawakened a seal in their dreaming.  A seal Hypnos cursed them to prevent heirs from ascending to prominence."

"I figured," I said tersely.  "What about it?"

"Before the reincarnation of Lord Phanes, there will be a great destroyer born from the line of dream spirits..."

This is not explaining anything.  "There already is."

"Yes, and you harbor her."

"She's not here."

He responded by summoning a ring of iridescent fire, intent on showing me a vision.  That's what clued me in to him being an astral guide.  But I wasn't having it.  He asked that I call Morpheus, and I did that, at least.

"Chalcon followed the path I opened to this realm.  He was tasked find the three brothers and reveal the seal of the curse before anyone else could take advantage."

Morpheus poked his head in the door.  "Take advantage of what?"

"Of Cure," I replied.

Morpheus growled and struggled through the ring of fire to listen to Orpheus.

"I still don't understand what happened last night," I said.  "Were Chalcon and his men successful?  And if they were, why were there multiple injuries?"

Chalcon entered and spoke up.  "Because this level of power is beyond the ken of your retinue."

I was completely done with this whole conversation.  "That's why I asked why none of the Dream Lords were alerted in the first place.  I am Chief Virtue, the Song of God..."  I began exuding my own divine aura.  "And I am my Mother's daughter.  I am angry that I was not informed of any of this, and that the children of my world were made to feel unsafe under my protection.  I am perfectly aware that my retinue can't tolerate the sheer magnitude of what I do, which is why I don't ask them to, and I rightly expect any of those requests to be communicated to me effectively!"

Chalcon offered a placating tone.  "Like many, your followers value their loyalty over their own safety.  They were warned that this would become dangerous."

"Especially if none of us knows exactly what the fuck is going on," I retorted.  "I am happy to have such loyal followers, so it pisses me off that you lot have undermined my authority, threatened my consort's children andtaken advantage of my being asleep two days in a row."  I threw up my hands.  "And then you just expect me to roll with whatever the fuck you have planned because it's a prophecy!"  I crossed my arms.  "No.  We're not doing that."  I jabbed a finger at Chalcon.  "If you and your men wish to stay here, you answer to me and the Dream Lords.  Accountability is key with me, and if you can't handle it, you will leave.  Are we clear?"

"We are," he answered defensively.  "We are only trying to stop a catastrophe."

"Oh good," I said.  "Then the first step is not to fuck with a literal force of nature."  I turned to Orpheus.  "And you," I growled.  "If you ever expect me to hear you out, now or at any point in the future, then I want a little goddamned empathy.  I am not your fucking tool, nor will I ever again be used like one.  Is that clear?"

"Clear enough, yes."

"Good.  Then get on with it before I decide you should all just fuck off."

Once that boundary was set, the truth came out a lot more easily.  Orpheus had been granted a vision by Mother about the potential destruction of the dream spirits, due to the prophesied rebirth of the cosmic deity Phanes coinciding with the massive curse that Hypnos placed on his progeny.  Hypnos had used Phanes' primordial energy to cement the curse, as well as placing a kill switch that would potentially allow him to tip the scales if the coup against Hades should go awry.  The effect: the complete annihilation of the Oneiroi... and the death of about half the mortal population.  The curse was drawing Phanes' power so that he couldn't reincarnate, and the brothers have been in and out of the dream state for almost two weeks because of it.  They're killing each other.  

And the one person who can undo the curse... is Cure.

After that whole conversation, Orpheus called the exhausted brothers together to show them his vision, and I sat by and watched the fire rage.

"You're quite dedicated to them."  Orpheus noticed.

I growled.  "Why do you think I got so pissed at you for hurting them?"

"That was not my intent."

"I know what your intent was.  All of this nastiness could have been avoided if you had just talked to me instead of running roughshod over all of us.  Nobody benefited from any of that.  And you can hardly expect me to suddenly believe you care about any of us."

He turned his head to look at me, but said nothing.

"I've lost too much this year," I murmured.

"Do you think I am a stranger to loss?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes.  "I know your story.  It's kind of why I figured you'd take me fucking seriously.  Especially as somebody who could bring Eurydice back if you had just bothered to ask."

"I figured you were on your last leg with Hades."

I sighed.  "Probably.  He's likely had enough of me for awhile.  And the last time wasn't even my fault."

He chuckled, then paused for thought.  "I really do care, Hope.  I wouldn't have done all this to try to stop the inevitable if I didn't."

I took a moment to groan about "prophecy," and Orpheus put his hand on my shoulder.  

"I'm here to help, Hope."

I curled into a ball.  "If I trust you," I replied.

"And trust is earned, right?"

"You didn't exactly make the best impression."

He pulled out his Dream Nail and handed it to me.  "For when you trust me," he said simply.

[cryptiql]

A poem about me sounds really nice, actually… I’d appreciate it a lot. Whatever you come up with, I can’t wait to see it :)

I can’t feel you shaking me sadly but reading that your smile got wider made me smile and i might have laughed and now Bakugou is giving me a weird stare

But thanks for thinking I’m cute. I’m still going to think you’re really pretty though

— Izuku 💚

ofc doll, it's in the works as we speak! it looks like i'll have wait to rattle your skull when we meet and then maybe i'll give you a kiss to apologize...actually, bakugou could use a good skull-rattling as well, so remind me to do that later 🙄

it seems we're at a stalemate, but,,i can't say no to you can i? i guess you can keep calling me pretty

[madroxed]

pls i just want you to know i was going through the blam tag to find an old fic i had imprinted on years ago (spoilers it turned out to be one of yours) and saw a Recent fic... god i hope this doesn't reawaken anything in me

it’s ok anon i’m back on my bs too, bachelor au fic out when?

anyway seems they’re a forever thing for all of us. the more you know.