#he doesn't mean it

[hannahbarberra162]

Under the Microscope, Chapter 12 (Yandere Sabo x Reader)

18+ MDNI | on Ao3

TW: light violence and gore at the beginning, medical whump afterwards.

All the other chapters

Sabo POV

Sabo was always in control. He always had been, always had to be. First he had to control himself around his biological family, pretending to think like them and pretending to like them. Next came Ace and it went without saying that Sabo was the one who kept his cool. Ace was brash and emotional, always getting them into trouble while Sabo was the one getting them out. Not to say he didn’t like it - Ace was his brother, his twin, his mirror. 

And Luffy was his own situation entirely.

At work, Sabo was the chief of staff and as such had tremendous responsibility to his subordinates. He ran meetings, planned raids and battles, kept the organization flowing smoothly. He was in his element, controlling the coming and going of the RA with ease.

Sabo never drank in excess either, never once blacked out, never did drugs. He always wanted to be mentally available and secure in the knowledge that he'd be able to do whatever was needed. On the island, Ace was prone to getting black out drunk and often tried to get Sabo to join in. Sabo didn't see the purpose behind it but dutifully held Ace's hair back from his face when he was puking the next day.

Sabo never acted out of passion or anger on the battlefield, using his wits as a weapon in conjunction with his pipe. He had heard stories about people seeing red and losing themselves during difficult fights, but Sabo never felt that way. Fighting was part of his job, it was rarely personal. 

And yet, Sabo had no memory of the massacre he and Ace committed against the Marines who had hurt Sunny. Sabo wasn’t one for purposeless carnage, he tried his best to keep fatalities to a minimum on his missions. The last thing he remembered was telling Sunny to close her eyes but everything after that was lost. He snapped back to reality when Ace grabbed his arm and held it back, preventing him from swinging again. 

“I think they're dead enough Sabo,” Ace said with a grimace, glancing down. Looking at the deck, Sabo saw a head that had been bashed in beyond recognition with only a pool of brain and bones left on the deck.

Looking down, he realized he wasn’t even on the deck of the RA ship anymore. Somehow he was standing on the Red Dog’s Den, the Marine ship that had come to attack them. Getting his bearings, he saw Ace shoving charred corpses off the side of the ship, joining the hundreds below. The ocean was full of corpses in various states of destruction bobbing gently in the red tinged water. The Sea Kings would be eating well, that was for sure. Sabo could pretend that he felt bad for killing all those Marines, but he didn’t. They deserved what was coming to them for trying to kill Ace and hurting…

“Ace, where’s Sunny?!” Sabo yelled frantically, searching desperately for her smaller form on the deck of the burning RA ship. If he had hurt Sunny in the melee, he would -

“She’s already in the infirmary, Iva took her. She’s on this ship, the RA commandeered it,” Ace said, kicking a Marine corpse off the ship. 

“Are all the Marines dead?” Sabo asked, knocking the brains off his pipe with the sole of his boot. 

“Yeah, we got ‘em all. There were like, thousands of ‘em. Some made it to the RA ship but you set it on fire so…” Ace shrugged as he trailed off. Killing wasn’t new to either of them but Ace was lost in his thoughts, Sabo had seen the far away look in his eyes before. Sabo didn’t have time right now, he would catch up with Ace after he saw Sunny was alive. Tearing off for the stairs down to the lower levels, Sabo gripped his pipe tighter in his hand as he practically flew down the halls to the infirmary. If there was one thing he liked about Marine ships it was that they were all built with the same design. He’d been on a similar ship a few years back and they hadn’t made any significant changes to the style.

Bursting through the door of the infirmary, Sabo scanned the area quickly for Sunny. There were RA soldiers in some of the beds, most of them looked alright though some would need extensive help from Iva. As Chief of Staff he would have to ensure the health and wellbeing of his soldiers but right now he could only think of one person. Barging down the aisle, he saw Iva’s purple curly hair in the window to a patient room. Skidding to a halt in front of the door, Sabo composed himself for a moment before turning the handle and entering the room. 

Iva was patting your arm as you lay in the clinic bed. Bandages covered nearly all of your visible skin, some of which still had bright red blood seeping through. Your hands were cocooned in bandages, none of your digits free from the wrappings. The portions of your face that Sabo could see were bruised with broken blood vessels beneath the skin, your jaw at an angle that suggested it was broken. If he had been watching for you, if he’d been faster, if he’d seen you on the deck sooner, he could have prevented all of this from happening to you. He couldn’t ever repay his debt to you for saving his brother using your brilliant mind and your devil fruit power. Now that he thought about it, he’d left you in seastone, how had you removed it to save Ace?

Mulling it over, the door creaked as Sabo opened it slowly so as not to disturb your sleep. As he approached you his stomach roiled with the obvious extent of your injuries. He hadn’t seen all that much of your assault but he already knew you weren’t a fighter. You didn’t have combat experience and probably hadn’t taken a punch since basic training. Sabo knew you weren’t able to defend yourself, that’s what he had promised to do for you. And he’d failed, not only you, but Ace as well. He couldn’t protect you, couldn’t protect Ace, what was the point of being strong if it didn’t help those he loved. 

“Sabo boy, I - I don’t know what to say,” Iva said, your chest rising and falling under her gaze. Sabo didn’t either, the two of them watching the IV lines slowly dripping medicine into your destroyed body. After a few minutes Iva continued, “I know what to say - she saved Ace’s life,” Iva said quietly, still touching your arm. You were hooked up to IVs and had drainage lines coming out of your mouth, reminding Sabo of the first time he’d taken you on a ship. Kidnapped you, really. Sabo set his hat down on a side table, unstrapping his pipe and setting it aside.

“She’s stable but heavily injured. She’ll make it through, none of her injuries are life threatening. I didn’t use adrenaline- it wouldn’t have helped her, just kept her awake and in pain. I’m going to check on the others, make sure things are tied up. Stay with her for a few minutes, Sabo boy. She’s a hero,” Iva said softly, pushing your hair out of your face. You didn’t move or react at all, nothing to indicate that there was anything left of you besides your still breathing body. Iva stood up, clapping Sabo on the shoulder and giving him an encouraging pat as she left. He dropped into the chair Iva vacated. The adrenaline rush from before was fading and Sabo had so much more to do. 

Sabo leaned over the bed, getting a closer look at you as your chest rose and fell evenly. The left side of your face was nearly black and it was particularly pronounced around your left eye. He reached for you with his hands but retracted them when he saw that his gloves were no longer brown but red with blood. It didn’t bother Sabo particularly to know that he’d just been on a murder spree but he didn’t want to infect any of your open wounds. Clutching his knees, he bowed his head, his blonde hair falling in his face.

“Sunny, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m so sorry. I can’t- I wasn’t there in time to protect you. And that was a promise that I made to you when I took you - that I’d be protecting and taking care of you from then on and I  - I didn’t keep it. I can’t thank you enough for saving Ace. I’ll be th-thanking you for the rest of my life,” Sabo said, wiping away the tears that were now falling from his eyes. 

“I’m suh-sorry, Sunny,” Sabo sobbed, crossing his arms on your cot and laying his head down. 

Sunny POV

You’d been tired for weeks, for months, for years. You couldn’t remember a time when you hadn’t felt tired in your adult life. But you’d never felt like this before. Anytime you were able to open your eyes and groggily wake up you wished you were asleep again. It felt like all your bones had been replaced by metal screws, constantly tightening and keeping you in pain. After the first time you woke, you shut your eyes again moments later. To be awake was to be in pain and you couldn’t bear it. The nurses gave you painkillers around the clock to keep you comfortable and you didn’t protest as they kept you tucked deep in sleep, far away from the pain of reality.

The first time you woke up, you thought you were back at your old base. You had a few nightmares during your time with Sabo in which you were back in the Marines and they were going to throw you into the brig for fraternizing with wanted pirates. So when you woke and found yourself in a Marine patient gown on a Marine ship, your confused brain took it for reality. 

You began to panic as you realized your body wasn’t working like you remembered. Your jaw was wired shut, you couldn’t see out of your left eye, and you were in hard casts from your hands to your shoulders. The only place left free were your legs, which were black and blue from internal bleeding. You tried turning your head to get your bearings but it hurt too much to turn very far. An alarm went off near you making you shrink back from the sound. Nearly as fast as the alarm went off, a short, raven haired man came by and turned it off. He wasn’t wearing any kind of Marine uniform and you didn’t recognize him by sight. He was talking at you as your brain tried to catch up to what was happening.

“Good morning, Sunshine! Or afternoon at least. I’m Logan, one of the RA nurses. You’ve been sleeping for quite some time - a few days now. After I get you up I’ll go get Sabo, he’ll be excited to see you’re awake,” he yapped at you as he moved you to sitting carefully as you whined from the painful sensation. RA nurses? On the Marine ship? You struggled to put the pieces together as you tried to recall anything you could from the fight. Logan left you for a moment and you let your head loll to the side. Sabo…you remembered seeing him standing above you, his pipe dripping in blood as he set his gaze on the Marines in front of you.

It was mere moments before Sabo’s top hat appeared in the window of your room. Logan opened the door for Sabo, who stood with his mouth open in the doorway.

“Sunny - I - you - you’re awake,” Sabo sputtered while staring at you, as if spellbound. You couldn’t answer very well due to your jaw but after a moment standing there frozen, he moved towards you slowly. 

“Sunny -” he repeated, reaching his gloved hand out to you as if to stroke your cheek. It wasn’t intentional but you flinched as his hand came close to your face. Sabo had never hurt you but the last memories you had were of someone beating you to death. Sabo’s fingers curled into his palm as he frowned and sat down in the chair by the bed. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, I came here as soon as I heard you were awake. Are you - do you remember who I am?” he asked softly, leaning in closer. You looked at him warily but nodded. “Do you know where you are? What happened?” he continued, his eyes roving over your face. You tilted your head from side to side to indicate that you sort of remembered but the rapid movement made your head hurt. His hands gripped the railing on the side of your bed as he began speaking to you.

“We’re on the Marine ship that was fighting us. You saved Ace’s life and the Marines started to attack you. I got there as soon as I could but I…I wasn’t fast enough to help you before you got hurt. Ace and I - we took care of the Marines and you’ve been here ever since then. It’s been about 4 days since the explosion. We’ve commandeered the Marine ship and are using it to sail to an RA rendezvous point where we’ll switch to another RA ship since we can’t be sure this one isn’t compromised -” Sabo kept talking but your mind felt like it was completely full so you shut your eyes to process what he’d told you so far. Sabo stopped talking and the room lapsed into silence.

“I’m sorry Sunny. I’m sorry I didn’t p-protect you, that you got h-hurt. I told you -” You opened your working eye to see that Sabo had started crying, tears coming out of his right eye as the other remained dry. It was incomprehensible to you that someone like Sabo would cry, especially over someone like you. Wanting to comfort him, you lifted your bandaged arm, the very one he’d put the seastone bracelet on, and patted his hand. Sabo’s head snapped up as he searched your face. He covered your hand with his own gently, like any pressure would break your bones further.

“Sunny -” he started to talk again but you were worn out from the ordeal. You let him hold your hand as his sniffles continued, trying to give him a reassuring look as much as you could. You tried to say his name before drifting off to sleep again but weren’t sure you quite made it.

From there on, you came to consciousness in bits and spurts. It reminded you of the last time Sabo had given you drugs for seasickness but this time you felt like you were still dreaming anytime you were awake. There would be different nurses attending to you but upon hearing you were awake Sabo would come within minutes, no matter the time of day or night. Sometimes he stayed for hours and sometimes only for a few minutes but it was always nice to see his familiar face. He talked to you a lot - sometimes you understood and followed what he said but sometimes you just let him speak at you as your unfocused mind drifted. 

You wanted to see and ask about Ace but it often slipped out of your mind before you could say anything. You tried to grunt Ace’s name to get Sabo to understand but it was difficult for anyone to understand anything you said. Once you thought you heard Ace talking to Sabo outside your room so you listened eagerly.

“ - have to call him,” Sabo pleaded.

“I - it’s complicated. I haven’t seen him since Marineford and I don’t -” Ace started to say, sounding unsure of himself. You wished he would come into your room so you could hug and talk to him but you hadn't seen him yet when you were awake.

“Sunny needs him. She saved your life, I think you can put your feelings on hold,” Sabo replied icily. There was a beat of silence between the brothers before Ace sighed and answered. 

“Of course, you’re right. I’ll call now, I think I still have his number,” Ace mumbled as his voice got quieter and you heard him stomping away. You watched the window in the door hoping to finally see Ace but he wasn’t there. Yawning widely, you reminded yourself to ask Sabo about Ace. After spending that month together you were fairly familiar with Ace and you were getting worried about his extended absence. 

Time passed quickly as you recuperated in your bed, snowed under the heavy painkilling drugs you were given. You were never quite sure when you'd wake up so you tried to just let time wash over you. Sabo was your most frequent visitor, followed by Iva. For someone as vibrant as they were, Iva toned themselves down in your presence. You enjoyed time with both of them but you really wanted to see Ace. Sabo told you he hadn’t left again, that he was still on the ship and would be until the rendezvous point but he hadn’t stopped by. Well, not when you were awake. Once when you woke up you saw Ace’s cowboy hat on the table by the window and another time you thought you saw him leaving the room as you started to stir. You didn’t know what you did to upset him but you wished he would give you a chance to talk to him. 

But that was another problem. Your current physical state was so weak that you couldn’t do anything for yourself. Sabo had given you the rundown of your extensive injuries - broken jaw, broken ribs, internal bleeding, fractured skull, broken fingers, traumatic brain injury and more. As much as your broken bones pained you, you figured that they’d heal eventually. You’d been awake a few times when your bandages were being changed but you’d been too cowardly to look at your own body and see the carnage. You were much more worried about your left eye - you still couldn’t control it or see out of it. It was like half the world was suddenly torn away and there wasn’t anything you could do to get it back. Sabo said there was still hope that you’d be able to recover your eyesight so you tried to stop yourself from needlessly worrying about it. It didn’t work, but you tried. 

Being unable to move meant two things that you disliked equally. One was that you were now dependent on others for nearly everything. When you had to eat, nurses held drinks or food in cups with straws in front of your mouth and had to wait on you until you were finished. Your wired jaw prevented you from speaking while your bandaged hands made you unable to hold anything or write down what you wanted. Your methods of communication had been reduced to pointing in the general direction of what you wanted and grunting. It was trying, to say the least. 

The other thing that you didn’t like was that now there was no distracting you from your thoughts. Not only that but as you began to stay awake for longer periods of time you wanted to do things to occupy your mind. Sabo left you some scientific journals but since you had lost vision in your eye, it took you three times as long to read anything and process the information. You became tired very easily and had to rest often from something as inane as sitting up. You couldn’t write or magnify due to your broken fingers, you couldn’t speak due to your jaw, you could barely read. It was absolutely miserable and you looked forward to the times that your nurses would give you your meds not only for the pain relief but so you could slip into sleep and avoid being awake.

There was one benefit to having your jaw wired shut though - you were able to avoid deep conversations with Sabo. There was so much to discuss, so much left unsaid but in your current state you weren’t able to respond. Sabo apologized to you frequently, always self flagellating over the actions that led you to where you were now. You wanted to tell him to stop beating himself up, that he’d saved your life in return, that you’d always choose Ace and that you had no regrets over your actions. You did have some feelings about the sea stone bracelet but you'd sort that out later as well. Eventually the two of you would have to have those conversations but for the time being you could just avoid them all together.

In your current state, Sabo was attentive to you and took on a great deal of the responsibility for caring for you when he was with you. He often fed you or gave you water, patiently waiting for you to finish no matter how long it took or who asked for his attention. Sometimes you woke up to see Sabo’s hat on your nightstand and Sabo sleeping in the chair in the corner of the room. Since the event Sabo had stopped touching you outside of what was necessary. He convened with the nurses on staff and kept you informed of your progress when you were awake. You found yourself thankful for Sabo’s presence among all the strangers who were treating you. You yearned for Ace to visit but Sabo’s mouth went tight whenever you tried to grunt or sign for Ace in some way. Sabo assured you Ace was alright, that he was just stewing and would come out of it eventually. 

One day (morning? afternoon?) you woke and heard voices talking outside your door. You perked up as you heard Ace’s voice talking to Sabo, maybe he’d finally come in and spend time with you. Sabo said Ace was having a hard time and didn’t want you to see him like that but you didn’t care, you just missed your friend. You tried to listen in as best you could to the muffled voices.

“- be nice. She -” Ace sounded nervous again but you couldn’t see him. You imagined he might be gripping the brim of his hat in his hands, moving nervously from one foot to the other.

“What do you mean ���be nice’ yoi? I’m nice to everyone. Besides, I know. Everyone knows what she did. It’s alright Ace, come in with me to see her,” an unfamiliar voice replied calmly. 

“No, I can’t. She doesn’t want to see me,” Ace mumbled. You sat up even higher in your bed and tried to make noise to let him know that you desperately wanted to see him. But of course, your wired jaw prevented anything more than an animalistic grunt from leaving your mouth.

“That’s not true and you know it. I’ve been telling you that she’s been asking-” you heard Sabo rebut to Ace with the request you’d tried to deliver a few times.

“I’ll be on the deck when you’re done,” Ace said with finality. You’d heard that tone many times before and it didn’t bode well for your chances to see him. Falling back on your pillows you waited for the unfamiliar person to enter your room with Sabo. You knew that your reaction times were slowed due to having only one eye currently working but you still did a double take upon seeing another of your scientific heroes walking in through your door - Marco the Phoenix.

Your eyes widened as he walked towards you, the Whitebeard tattoo prominently displayed on his chest under his open shirt and doctor’s coat. You weren’t sure that it was hygienic to have your nipples exposed while treating patients but you certainly weren’t going to argue with someone who could cure injury with their devil fruit. 

“Sunny, this is Marco the Phoenix, you may have heard of him. He and Ace were Commanders under Whitebeard together and he was the ship’s physician. He’s going to try to help your recovery if that is okay with you,” Sabo explained. You figured it was something like that but you were glad Sabo was telling you anyway. You nodded rapidly, it had been a lifelong dream to see Marco work.

“Wow, Sunny’s eager to meet you,” Sabo remarked with amusement, noting the gleam in your eye. You nodded even as a slight flush came to your cheeks from the attention.

“It’s an honor to meet you as well yoi,” Marco said with an easy smile. “You’re quite the person of interest in the New World right now,” he continued, snapping on medical gloves. You rolled your eyes, as if you could compare to the brilliance and splendor of Marco the Phoenix.

“Wait Sunny, how did you know about Marco? I thought you don’t know any famous pirates- oh. Let me guess - Marco published a paper in some medical journal?” Sabo asked dryly, giving you an eyebrow raise. You nodded even more enthusiastically, wishing you had your copies on hand for him to sign. 

“I didn’t know anyone actually read those,” Marco said with a small laugh, unwinding his stethoscope from around his neck.

“What were they about?” Sabo asked. You wished you could gush about Marco’s work on cell death and disease impact factors but your jaw was still unmoving. Marco sat down on a stool near the bed and scooted closer to you. You didn’t realize how tall he was, even sitting he still loomed over you. Putting the stethoscope in his ears, he tapped the drum and began speaking to you.

“They’re not that interesting, I promise yoi,” Marco said with a grin. You frowned and huffed as best you could, you found them fascinating and were sure Sabo would too. “I’ll give you a routine assessment first, nothing that you haven’t already experienced. There aren’t any doctors on the RA crew but the nurses have been doing a fantastic job. I want to see where your injuries are in the healing process and determine what the next steps will be. Is that alright with you yoi?” Marco asked, his hands still on his stethoscope. You nodded, a little ashamed of the state of your body.

“Alright, I’m going to start with your internal injuries and work my way to the external ones. Are you knowledgeable about anatomy and physiology?” Marco asked. Sabo scoffed at the question even as you tilted your head from side to side in a “so so” meaning.

“She is, she’s underselling her intelligence again. She’s the world’s leading scientist on lineage factors, she knows more than anyone else in this hemisphere,” Sabo bragged on your behalf as you shook your head. If you were able to talk, you’d argue that you knew a lot about the human body at the microscopic level but not as much as a physician would about disease processes or treating injuries. 

“So you must be the one who made Ace his new Mera Mera as well?” Marco asked, his hands palpating your tender jaw. You nodded shyly as the doctor began his examination. 

Sabo POV

Sabo watched you flush even further as Marco complimented your skills and intelligence. Sabo knew it was a trick to keep you from focusing too much on your physical examination but it still annoyed him ever so slightly. Obviously, Marco wasn’t going to swoop in and take you away, Marco had retired as a pirate and was living on Whitebeard’s old home island. And yet, Marco was charming, charismatic, and you already liked him based on his intelligence. Sabo’s feelings of jealousy wormed through his gut as Marco spoke to you and assessed your condition.

Sabo’s feelings were compounded by the fact that he’d pulled back from you recently, wanting you to feel as comfortable as possible. He tried to spend all his limited free time with you but he always felt like it wasn’t enough. You always looked exhausted, even more than when he first met you. He knew you didn’t like depending on others after a lifetime of independence so he tried to give you as much emotional space as possible. Every time he saw your mitten bandaged hands it reminded him of that day all over again, of all that you’d given up for him and his brother. Which was why Sabo had forced Ace to call Marco despite his deep objections. 

Ace had railed that Marco hated him, that he wouldn’t want to see him ever again, that Marco blamed Ace for Whitebeard’s death, that Marco blamed Ace for Blackbeard becoming an Emperor, the list went on and on. Sabo argued that none of that was true but Ace hadn’t budged. Sabo had resorted to bringing Ace down to the infirmary to look at you in recovery before Ace had agreed to call Marco. Hopefully Marco could heal your physical injuries then help Ace with his emotional ones. Ace had needed to speak with Marco for a long time and this would be a good opportunity to force the reunion.

Marco was an efficient doctor, checking Sunny over quickly but thoroughly. Sabo had to look away as Marco had skimmed his long fingers over your broken ribs, not wanting you to see his displeased face. Soon enough, Marco was rolling back from your bed and writing down notes on your chart. He had clipped and removed the wire from your jaw in anticipation of healing your bones shortly. You clutched Sabo’s hand as pain relief as Marco delicately removed the metal from your face. For what felt like the millionth time, Sabo wished he could bear the pain for you instead of watching helplessly from the sidelines.

“I’m going to start healing you yoi. I’m going to begin with your head then move down to your hands. I’m guessing you are itching for some independence,” Marco said, placing his stethoscope in the pocket of his doctor’s coat and removing his gloves, throwing them in the metal trash can. He raised his right hand with a smile, his hand already enveloped in blue flames. You nodded rapidly, excited for the scientific opportunity as Sabo smiled to himself.

“Start with her hands, she’s going to want to watch you heal on a microscopic level,” Sabo suggested while tossing you an indulgent look. You enthusiastically nodded at Sabo’s words and tried to grunt the word “please” to Marco.

“Sabo knows you well it seems. It doesn’t really make a difference where I start, I’m happy to begin with your hands yoi. My only request is that I also get to see the magnifications, I admit I’m incredibly curious,” Marco said, beginning to unwrap your hands. Sabo hid his reaction as he saw your deformed fingers set straight with braces. Your wistful gaze when you had looked at the clear night sky told him all he needed to know about your feelings towards the loss of your powers even after you’d gotten the seastone he’d put on you off. Sabo had put seastone on himself for a day during your initial recovery as penance but it wasn’t even close to what you’d had to endure.

Marco held your hands in his own, making you blush and look away. Marco looked at Sabo and mouthed the word “cute,” giving him a wink. Sabo didn’t react to the teasing doctor but shifted on his feet, waiting impatiently for your hands to be healed. Ace told Sabo that Marco’s healing flames weren’t painful but Sabo worried anyway, searching your face for any sign of pain. The only thing he saw was fascination as you watched the Phoenix fire dance over your skin. A few moments later, Marco took away his hands, letting you flex and bend your fingers slowly. 

“They might be a little sore but they should be completely healed. Let me know if anything still hurts,” Marco added, now putting his hands on either side of your head. You held up your index finger in a sign for “wait,” and quickly made a rectangle with your fingers, moving the magnification to where Marco’s hands were in anticipation of him healing your jaw. Giving him a thumbs up to Marco, you waited eagerly, practically vibrating with enthusiasm. Sabo wanted to kiss you right there but knew it wasn’t appropriate. Marco began again and you magnified the area. You shook your hands rapidly as Sabo watched cells dance inside the magnification. 

“Wow, I had no idea - this is incredible yoi. Look at that mitochondria you can even see -” Marco had taken his hand off the left side of your face to point out the detail of the cristae.

“Focus Marco,” Sabo snapped, wanting your torment to be over as quickly as possible. Marco raised an eyebrow at Sabo’s words and gave him a sharp look. Sabo had a feeling that if Sunny wasn't in the room Marco's talons would shortly be meeting Sabo's own.

“I assure you I’m focused yoi. I’ve been healing broken bones since before you were born Sabo,” Marco tossed at him. 

“I apologize,” Sabo quickly supplied. He wasn’t in the position to bark orders at someone doing a huge favor, much less Ace’s former crewmate and lover. 

“It’s alright, a lot of boyfriends get nervous yoi,” Marco said with a laugh, tension already gone. Sunny rolled her eyes at Marco’s words but was still unable to respond with his hands on her jaw. When done, Marco removed his hands as Sunny flexed her jaw, wincing as it opened wider than it had in weeks. 

“Your whole body is likely to be sore, it’s not something I can fix for you yoi. It’s not an injury per se, it's your body warning you to take things easy. Let’s keep going and maybe afterwards you can rest in a hot bath. Sabo can arrange it, I’m sure,” Marco replied, putting his hands on your ribs. The rest of the healing seemed to take moments as Marco covered you in his healing flames. Sabo watched the kind flames dance over your skin, so unlike the destructive fire he and his brother wielded. He idly wondered if you would like him more if he had been the Phoenix as you watched Marco, transfixed by the wonder of his power. Once the healing was complete, Marco sat back down on the stool and looked at your face carefully.

“I’ve healed everything I can. Your bones are all healed and set correctly, your internal bleeding injuries are gone as is your concussion. But I will be honest with you and this may be hard to hear yoi,” Marco began. Sabo put his hand gently around your own, letting you squeeze his fingers from nervousness. “I can’t heal your sight in your left eye yoi. My powers only extend to healing, not to repairing things that have healed incorrectly. Your optic nerve was damaged and your eye has already healed itself. It hasn’t healed in a way we would like, but it has healed from the acute injury yoi. I can’t do anything for your sight,” Marco said solemnly. Your hand went limp in Sabo’s as he stroked your skin gently. 

“So - I - my eye - I’m like this forever?” you said, breaking into a sob. Sabo remained strong for you as he wiped away tears from your cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Marco said softly, touching your arm. He kept talking to you but your far away look told Sabo you weren’t listening. 

“Marco, please give us a few moments,” Sabo said softly, his attention focused solely on you now. Marco nodded and left the room, closing the door. Your lip wobbled but you held yourself together while Marco could still be seen through the glass of the door. When the sound of Marco’s footsteps finally receded, you broke down. Sobbing loudly, you screwed your eyes tight as Sabo rubbed circles on your back with his hand. Sabo watched as both of your eyes spilled tears down your cheeks. It was a good sign of ocular health, but he didn't want to tell you that now. You pulled your hands out of his own to wipe your face with your sleeves as your cried quietly, your sobs the only thing in Sabo's mind. Mentally he prepared himself for the torrent of harsh words you were likely to tell him shortly. You'd tell him that you hated him - for the kidnapping, the seastone, the beating, and now the partial loss of your eyesight. And he'd take everything you had to say, he deserved it. Looking up at Sabo from where you lay in the bed, you hiccuped and began to speak.

“I-i’m sorry. I don’t want y-you or Ma-marco to think I’m ung-grateful. Thank you for hic saving my li-ife. I’ll th-thank Marco too. I’m j-just sad ab-about my eye. I c-can’t see as well or sniffle read as we-ll and I wo-won’t be able to research. Bu-ut at least now we m-match,” Sunny said with a watery smile, pointing to Sabo’s dead left eye. 

Taglist: @mfreedomstuff@epochal-oracle @divinedolliebun @rebeccawinters

[dragon-ascent]

I can’t help but imagine a comical scenario of Reader quickly sneaking back home through the front door after sneaking out in the middle of the night, putting all their bags down and locking the door all while making as little sound as possible… only to be immediately surprised when they turn around and see their husband Zhongli (possibly in dragon form even) looking at them with a cranky stare (he’s probably so cranky because he woke up in the middle of the night only to find his beloved missing from bed!). Reader immediately scrambles to try and make up a lie about what they were doing so late at night but Zhongli keeps silently glaring at them, their defences begin to get increasingly weaker and weaker until, under Zhongli’s harsh stare and nothing else, Reader breaks and confesses that they snuck out to go on a shopping spree, “I know you said I should save my money but I couldn’t help myself!! There were just so many wonderful trinkets in the market, I couldn’t just leave them behind!”, and Zhongli just stands there both relieved they didn’t get into any real trouble but also shocked because he didn’t have to say a single word and they just confessed to everything! Is he truly that intimidating when silent..? Of course he tells them that it’s okay as long as they’re not hurt, but they should still be careful less they run themselves right into bankruptcy! Maybe next time they want to go out shopping they should invite him so this doesn’t happen again… This got a lot longer then I thought it would my bad-

Aaaaa how adorable!! And also ironic too, considering Zhongli also has a habit of buying all sorts of things - during his reign as Rex Lapis he'd gone around buying up all those soldiers' time-dials for instance. A part of him might find it endearing that you're also similar to him in this regard, so he wouldn't be too mad hehe~ and yup, next time he'll accompany you for sure, his wallet at the ready so he himself can purchase the things you like.

(maybe in the mirror he'd practice some less intimidating stares in his dragon form? roleplaying with himself to see what works and all)

[hms-incorrect-quotes]

Mind: You know, at first, I really didn’t like you.

Heart: …I thought there was going to be another half to that sentence?

Mind: Nope!

[missdcalls]

"i hope you know that you are incredibly infuriating, and one of the brattiest person i've ever met." // @nyctcphiliacs

[benevolentgodloki]

I wish I had a big brother like yours

"You can keep him."

[batcavescolony]

Katniss is such an unreliable narrator. She says "Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me" girl you deliver strawberries to the Mayor, you hunt and trade for the district, when you fell at Prim being chosen someone caught you, when you went to Prim people parted for you, when you volunteered EVERYONE stopped. Idk how to tell you but I think you're a pillar of the community.

[angstandhappiness]

LMAO NO TENTEN

Teacher/student disfunctional conversations

Thank you @shadow-chan81 for the idea!!

————

Wuxia AU masterpost:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

[starlingzzz]

my favorite scene :)

[prlssprfctn]

I actually need some fanfic, where Bruce and Jason are in the middle of some argument, and a casual (and a well-practiced with Dick before) sentence leaves his mouth, something along the lines "How old do you think you are?!", meaning that he is acting childishly. And because Jason is irritated, and his tongue runs loose in his anger, he screams back that he is nineteen, and Bruce just freezes, because... Oh. Jason is nineteen. He is a fucking kid - his kid - that lost years of his teenhood, and was forced back without anyone giving him a space to catch up, with everyone else already treating him like an adult... When he isn't.

[fallen-first-man]

Lilith is a mf bitch and I laugh at the fact she abandoned Lucifer the same as she abandoned me

[penn-dragon]

I have a headcanon that Sanji struggles with wanting/asking for non-sexual intimacy from Zoro. So if he's having a rough day or just wants to be held by the man he loves he'll initiate sex in order to feel that connection, regardless of whether he's actually in the mood. But Zoro's gotten unnervingly good at telling when he's doing this and redirecting to give him what he actually needs in that moment.

[bet-on-me-13]

Bruce owes Danny money. He does Not want to pay up.

So! Danny had to run away from Amity Park when his parents discovered his Powers. But every time he tried to stay in a single place in America, they somehow managed to find him.

Turns out, they were working with the GIW to track him using the GIW's resources and the Fenton's Genius to find him everywhere he ran to. Eventually, Danny figured he had had enough and ran to Europe where the GIW had no Jurisdiction.

After wandering for a while, Danny was found and recruited by the League of Assasins. He was powerful, skilled, and connected to the Lazarus Pits, so they approached him with a job offer.

They would hide him from the Fentons, who had began to search for him in Europe independently, and in return he would work for them as an Assasin.

Considering his situation, Danny agreed.

He began training to be an Assasin, supplementing his Ghost Abilities with the abilities of an Assasin to become even more Stealthy.

While training under the League, Danny met another recruit simply known as Bruce. They trained together for years, even going on a few missions together gathering intel, and using disguises to hid in plain sight.

On one of these missions, Danny lent Bruce some money with the promise to get paid back when they returned to the League. That same night, Bruce left the League of Assasins and never came back.

...

Bruce was sitting in the Batcave going over a case with Tim, Jason was off to the side cleaning his Guns, and Dick and Cass were holding an acrobatics competition in their Obstacle Course, with Damien, Steph, and Duke cheering them on.

Suddenly an Eldritch Emerald Light sprang to life in the center of the Batcave, and everybody dropped what they were doing and sprang to action.

Slowly, a glowing green figure emerged from the Light. He appeared Eldritch in Nature, as if he existed in multiple layers of reality at once and looking at him gave them minor headaches. Then, the figure spoke up.

"BRUCE. ITS BEEN 15 YEARS. YOU STILL OWE ME 16 DOLLARS."

Recognizing Danny, Bruce took a moment to compose himself before responding.

"Fuck Off."

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

main take aways from Halloween (1978) rewatch:

michael myers is canonically 21??? this bitch should be at the club

*sees tiddies* ***MURDEROUS RAMPAGE NOISES***

that's it that's the movie

outside of the fact that everyone who has sex is murdered by the narrative, this is a surprisingly chill portrayal of female sexuality? these teen girls are horny and actively enjoying Getting It On with their boytoys. no pushy boyfriends sneaking in through their bedroom windows--these ladies are taking the initiative to sneak out and GET SOME. one of them gets laid and then immediately orders her boyfriend to get her a beer. (yes she gets Slashered soon afterward, but so does the boyfriend so honestly, gender equality.) yes the Final Girl is the only one not having sex, but she's not bullied for that, nor are her friends slut shamed except possibly by being murdered by the narrative

actually the only character who is shown being morally condemned on-screen is michael myers. specifically FOR his violent overreaction to other people's sex lives. (people he is spying on). metaphorically, the villain is American Puritanism sticking its judgy nose into other people's business.

aka Michael Myers Is A Republican

but actually the real villain is the doctor. guy's a judgemental, shaming, pathologizing asshole. and he's been in charge of michael's care since he was SIX YEARS OLD? kid never had a chance. i'd go on a killing spree too

also the parents. where are the parents? it's halloween night and all the teenage girls are home babysitting their younger siblings? come to think of it, michael's first victim was his own older sister, whom he killed while she was babysitting him. teen girls are really shouldering a labour burden here. maybe parentification is the true villain

side note: mike commits his first murder wearing a clown costume...which is never referenced again? his 'iconic' costume is a generic mask and wig and jumpsuit, when we coulda had a Killer Clown Michael Myers??? travesty

i like how the Final Girl and her friend casually smoke weed in her car. yeah she's an honor student and her friend is the sheriff's daughter. yeah they smoke weed. so what it's 1978

(to reiterate, mike is 21 and should be at the club. im not saying he shouldn't be rampaging, im saying it's sad that he broke out, tasted freedom for the first time in his life, and immediately snuck back into his childhood home to go rampaging. let's have a remake where he goes to a nightclub and has a few beers. maybe some slutty dancing. then rampage)

oh no he's hot

[fairsweetlonging]

truth serum / system reveal au where shen qingqiu gets hit with an uncloaking spell that reveals the system in the reflection of his eyes every time it pops up.

during one of his missions, in the treasure hoard of some dragon-like creature, he finds a golden, oval shaped hand mirror, its gaudy style more victorian based than anything (airplane you hack!), that doesn't seem to do anything when he looks into it. but when he does, it reveals the system's screen in his eyes.

he doesn't notice this, of course, because he can't see it, and the system, surprisingly, stays quiet.

the peak lords think he's cursed.

maybe mu qingfang is the first to notice, during the mandatory post mission check-up, when shen qingqiu is scrolling through his most recently accumulated points and mu qingfang can see the strange vividly-blue lines reflected in his pupils. it's gone when shen qingqiu blinks, like it was nothing but a trick of the light.

it comes out when yue qingyuan is visiting and, just as he's done laying out the plans for a new mission, shen qingqiu's eyes glaze over and a bright blue box takes over the whole of his iris. shen qingqiu goes quiet; the thing in his eyes moves, shifts, pulses for a second, like static worms crawling all over his pupils. then he blinks, and it's gone, and shen qingqiu accepts the mission that yue qingyuan was almost sure he would decline.

maybe there is an intervention, when the peak lords corner shen qingqiu at qian cao peak and try to figure out what's wrong, subjecting him to all kinds of treatments and curse-finding spells that turn up empty, they can't find anything.

of course, the silencing threat is still very much up and running. at first shen qingqiu was kind of confused by the whole ordeal, but when the peak lords start describing a "strange blue box", he realizes, with sickening suddenty, that they're describing the system. and he can't say anything.

this only makes everything worse, because their fellow peak lord now keeps evading every question and acts like he doesn't understand. liu qingge points right at his face and asks, "that blue box, what is it?" and shen qingqiu laughs nervously and starts talking about how bright the weather is and surely it's the sky and nothing to worry about!

even worse, during the intervention the system thought it was a good idea to start talking to him, so now even the peak lords who hadn't seen it and who might have been persuaded by light tricks and reflections, get a first row view that no, that definitely isn't a trick of the light.

they try to do the whole thing of "are you in danger, blink twice" but shen qingqiu can't even do that because it's still a direct admittance!

maybe eventually he starts saying vague confirmations that don't actually confirm anything, like "this master hears what you're saying", or maybe he goes with a classic "this master can neither confirm nor deny that." but the system starts warning him for that too and eventually he stops saying anything, which worries the others more.

luckily mu qingfang catches on that every time they ask a direct question about the box or shen qingqiu says anything vaguely confirming, it appears. it doesn't appear when they ask about curses or demons, so it must not see that as a threat.

for a little extra angst: maybe the peak lords keep pressuring him for answers, and at some point shen qingqiu gets fed up and snaps out something like, "why don't you understand that i'm not allowed to answer that!" the system counts this as a direct admittance, threatening it's existence. so it punishes. shen qingqiu has a qi deviation so bad it lasts two weeks and takes two people every day to cleanse his meridians. the system doesn't appear in that time. it doesn't appear for a long while after that, either. the peak lords stop asking, mainly because shen qingqiu will instantly leave the room if they do. they don't stop searching for a cure, though.

shang qinghua returns from a business trip and catches on the second someone mentions a blue box and forced silencing.

[brainrotcharacters]

TW: Wolverine Badonkas

I laughed rewatching because like

[mooneggtarts]

Mike will tellthe kid once he's a little older, or once Mike has the mental capacity to explain it