#overworked hero

[puddleslimewrites]

Overworked (Prompt #11)

"Helloooo!"

Hero blinked slowly, only just registering the blur of a hand waving in front of their face.

Villain frowned. "What's up with you?" they demanded. "First you don't show up to our fight, then you ignore me and walk right past me when I show up at your door. You didn't even have the decency to leave a coded message!"

Hero stared blankly at their nemesis. "...Sorry?" They really must be out of it if they didn't notice all that.

The villain pressed forward. Hero didn't seem to notice how close they were. "Are you sick? Hurt?"

It took a moment for Hero to register the questions and then another to realize that they were supposed to answer. "Just...tired."

Villain finally leaned out of their space, eyes narrowed. "Well that won't do. I need you at your best if I'm going to beat you!"

Hero nodded absently, already zoning of the conversation.

[sacrifical-lamb-core]

Jason: the legion didn’t raise a quitter!

Leo: NO! THEY RAISED AN IDIOT WHO CAN’T TAKE BREAKS GO TO BED ITS 3 AM, STOP TRAINING?

[whumppromptoftheday]

the voices from below shake the ice in hero's cup, desperate cries for help, "Why aren't you helping us!?"

"I'm just so fucking exhausted," hero sobs, hands in their hair as they slide down their wall onto the ground.

[fujii-draws]

Continuation of this (+ft Aimilios’s aura sensory overload)

[the-broken-pen]

“You’re going to blow out your arms,” the villain observed. They watched as the hero merely grit their teeth, shoving themself through another pull-up. It looked painful, and if the sweat slicking the hero’s brow was any indication, it was.

They waited for the hero to let themself drop from the bar and accept the villain was stronger. But they didn’t.

Three more pull-ups, and the villain stepped in.

“Hero,” they said slowly. “You’re about to tear the ligaments in your arms. You need to stop.”

The hero blew out a shuddering breath. Struggled for purchase, fighting gravity—and let themself drop.

The hero’s hands were bleeding, calluses torn open by the bar. The hero didn’t seem bothered when their own hands shook so much that their blood began to splatter on the gym floor.

For a moment, the villain could only stare at them.

Shit.

They didn’t know how to handle this. They knew the hero was dedicated. They knew the hero was strong, and perpetually trying to be stronger, but they hadn’t thought…

They hadn’t thought the hero would be so willing to tear apart their own body for success.

It was supposed to be fun, the villain thought. They felt a little sick as the hero pressed their palms together to soothe the bleeding, an action that was practiced and familiar. As if they had done this before.

The hero reached for something in their bag, smearing blood on the side, and pulled out a roll of blue electrical tape. The villain didn’t understand why, until the hero tore a strip off and made to wrap their hands with it.

The hero would be the death of them.

They crouched in front of the hero, plucking the electrical tape out of their hands.

“What are you doing with this?”

The hero blinked at the villain like they were the strange one in this situation.

“Wrapping my hands?”

The villain hissed in a breath.

“With electrical tape?”

The hero flushed slightly, looking down at their bloody hands. They looked close to tears.

“It…sticks to skin, really well. And it doesn’t move, either, when you move your hands or wherever else, even if you’re fighting. Plus, blood doesn’t make it come off, at least, not for a while.”

The villain blinked at them.”

“Blood doesn’t make it come off,” the villain repeated, processing. The hero nodded, reaching for the electrical tape. The villain settled it out of reach.

“Not if you wrap it right.”

Dimly, the villain realized that meant the hero had done this enough times to have it down to a science.

“And you couldn’t use a bandaid?” The villain asked incredulously. The hero shrugged a shoulder, then winced at the motion.

Yeah, the hero had absolutely blown out their arms.

“Bandaids move—“

The villain hushed them.

“Be quiet for a second.”

The hero, wisely, went quiet.

The villain rubbed a hand over their face, then studied the hero for a moment. They took one of the hero’s hands into their own, studying the damage.

“Why did you do this to yourself,” the villain murmured.

“What do you mean, why,” the hero snapped. “It’s my job.”

“Your job is to save people,” the villain corrected. “Not destroy yourself.”

“I’m not destroying myself—“

“You are.”

“Shut up—“

“Hero.”

“I need to be better,” the hero snapped. Their voice rang out across the gym, echoing into the rafters, and they both froze. After a moment, the hero spoke again, voice soft. “I need to be better.”

They said it like they needed the villain to understand. The villain wondered who they were really saying it to—the villain, or themself.

“Better than who?”

“Everyone.” It was hushed, like a secret.

The villain watched them, waiting.

The hero took a shaky breath

“My whole thing is being the best. I have always been the best. That’s the only reason I matter. If I’m not strong enough, then I am nothing, so I need. to be. better.”

The hero had started crying, very quietly, like they were afraid to take up too much space.

The villain was not equipped to handle gifted kid burnout.

“There’s more to you than just being a good athlete,” the villain said hesitantly, and the hero shook their head.

“No. There isn’t.”

“Hero.”

“Can you give me back my electrical tape?” They hiccuped to contain a sob.

“No,” the villain said firmly, and then the hero really was sobbing.

“You don’t understand—“

The villain didn’t. Not really. They had never been the kind of talented that the hero was.

They wondered now if maybe that was a blessing.

“I don’t,” the villain agreed. “But I do understand that you’ve saved half the city, and you give everything you have to give, and you always do your best.”

“But I-“

“No.” The villain stopped them. “You are doing your best.” They tipped the hero’s chin up until they met the villain’s eyes. “And it is enough.”

The hero froze, eyes darting over the villain’s face. They wondered if anyone had ever said that to the hero, if whatever mentor they had was giving them anything other than orders to be stronger. Be better. Be more.

The villain had some new targets to take care of, it would seem.

For now, though, they had to take care of hero.

“We’re going to go wrap your hands,” they said softly. “And then we’re going to take care of your arms, and you’re going to take a nap.”

The hero nodded, watching them like they were some kind of good, selfless person.

“And if I ever catch you using electrical tape again, so help me, I will put you six feet under.”

That startled a laugh out of the hero, and they let the villain guide them to their feet.

“Fine.”

The villain turned to them. “Okay?”

Are you going to be alright?

The hero seemed to understand.

“Okay,” the hero agreed.

Yes.

And so, it was.

[willthespy]

children of the underworld doodles inspired by @thegoldenappleofdiscord’s reblog

[deebrisbyfish]

So, this strip isn't REALLY about burnout. I mean, I deal with that problem all the dang time and that fear did INSPIRE the ideas, but this is actually the beginning of what I'm hoping will be a pretty fun story arc.

The fact that I'm literally knocking on the panel border might be a clue as to where this is heading for some of my long-term fans. Hope you enjoy.

[joocomics]

i keep talking but this is the last one for now. i haven't had a decent sleep for a week cuz this stupid project i should've started after the prof announced it. i regret it but at least i finished it. another project to do again 🥹 it's neverending with the midterms.

idk if you did this but do you have any thoughts on somno for the members? i think jiseok would be up for this especially with his cockwarming obsession i swear.

- 🫧

# xdinary heroes + consensual somno

i do cause i can see all of them be open to this! after you talk about trying it sometime all of them would go for it sooner or later

♡ gunil

i see him as a big morning sex type of guy, so he definitely likes waking you up with his cock. fucking first thing in the morning helps him feel refreshed and energised for the rest of the day, and it happens frequently. most likely that’s why one day you tell him there’s no need to always wait for you to wake up, he can just use you to cum and get on with his day

you, wanting him to use you in your most vulnerable state for his own pleasure, the gentle toying with your clit and ass that you’re not even aware of, the surprised gasp you make once you wake up from him reaching your sweet spot - he loves it all, and every time he does it he takes a few clips so he can show you what you missed

♡ jungsu

he loves the idea of turning you on in your sleep. he doesn’t even necessarily feel the need to fuck you, he just wants to worship your body, kiss you up and down and eventually turn you carefully on your back to use his tongue till you start moaning in your sleep

he does it to make the experience fun for you more than for himself. he thinks you’re adorable when you wake up close to cumming from his fingers with your eyelids heavy, your hair messy and your voice deep and raspy from how sleepy you are; he also enjoys the first few seconds of surprise after you open your eyes and you have trouble getting used to the intense rush that he built in your tummy

♡ jiseok/gaon

you are damn right - cockwarming is one of jiseok’s kinks for multiple reasons, and on days when he’s exhausted from work he loves napping with his cock inside you. sometimes you plan it and that’s how you fall asleep together as he spoons you, but sometimes you fall asleep first and he pulls down your shorts to sneak his erection in letting the warmth of your cunt relax him until he drifts off to sleep too (just to wake up fifteen minutes later and start thrusting till he cums)

he also loves it when you wake him up by sucking his tip or straight up bouncing on his cock. he gets really turned on when you don’t shy away from getting what you want. however, you get to do what you wish to him while he’s asleep, but after he wakes up there’s a high chance he’s turning you over and not being vanilla at all

♡ seungmin/o.de

i see him taking more time to do this with you after you have the talk in comparison to other members perhaps. it’s when he catches you having a wet dream the realisation that this is the perfect moment to try it out hits him. he starts by gently brushing his lips over your shoulder as you sleep on one side, your quiet whimpers make his cock twitch, and his mind curious to know if you’re getting wetter from your dream

he ends up loving it cause the way you clench around him while you’re asleep feels even more exciting; the vulnerability and the intimacy of it is another thing that plays a big part of why he finds it hot

he praises you despite knowing you probably won’t hear the compliments until he slides it in

♡ hyeongjun/junhan

i think he prefers you practicing somno on him. he likes being used for your own personal pleasure, and he finds it exciting knowing you can randomly decide to sit on his cock while he’s asleep

he has a good time giving it to you when he wakes up with a morning wood of course, but the thrill of you playing with it as you wish while he’s still dreaming hits different for him. he loves opening his eyes to you already licking up his pre cum, ready to get yourself off by riding him as quick as possible

♡ jooyeon

if you sleep only in oversized t-shirts or nightgowns (with or without panties) there’s no way the thought of somno hasn’t crossed his mind. often when he catches you sleeping on your tummy with your ass exposed he gets the urge to squish it and push himself in. i won’t be surprised if this is some of his favorite type of porn to watch to be quite honest, i see this as a turn on for him

he loves it even more when he’s the one who’s sleeping. as a passionate lover of lazy sex he enjoys himself to the fullest when he can chill and you do the work. that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t tease you or command you after he wakes up from your mouth around his cock though. if you’re going to disrupt his nap you have to be ready to deep throat him until you’re out of breath and he always lets you know that

[meraki24601]

The Human Side

If Hero didn’t get some rest soon, they were going to die. Sidekick knew that the moment they saw them. They knew it days ago, really. Hell, the first time the thought crossed their mind was nearly three weeks ago.

Hero was just trying to do their job. Sidekick, the police, and countless others were also out there doing the same work, but the people didn’t want them. They wanted to be helped by Hero. 

Today, Sidekick had seen enough. Hero was so exhausted and bruised they could barely stand, but under the pressure of the cheering crowd of fans outside, they agreed to go on patrol. They had hoped that their presence would be enough to deter any criminals from acting, but Sidekick went with them just in case. As they walked, the familiar sounds of a fight rang out nearby. 

Based on the noise, whatever happened was being resolved, but they decided to check it out anyway. 

Two cops were putting cuffs on a man after what seemed to be a mugging. The victims, a small family seemingly on their way home, were huddled together to the side as the officers worked with the aggressor. Everything was taken care of, so Hero and Sidekick moved on; only one of the children saw Hero. 

“Save us, Hero!” She cried. No matter how hard Hero and Sidekick tried to convince her the police had everything under control, she and her family wouldn’t have it. Hero looked sad as they accepted the mugger from the cops. They didn’t have the strength to hold the man on his feet. The officers wound up taking the man back and waiting as the family refused to leave and give their testimony until after they’d taken pictures with Hero. 

It was time for the people to realize what they were doing to their Hero. 

The crowd outside of the office had gotten restless. They saw Hero return from patrol, knew they were in the building, and wanted to see them. Hero was finally getting some rest on the small couch in the back of Sidekick's office when someone in the crowd threw a rock at the window. It hit hard enough that the sound echoed in the small room and woke Hero. 

Sidekick tried to soothe them back to sleep, but the damage was done. The so-called “adoring fans” had proven they were willing to get violent if they didn’t get what they wanted. Hero was awake and stumbling toward the door. This time, Sidekick swore they’d see a side of Hero they refused to acknowledge. 

The human side.

Careful as they could, Sidekick threw Hero’s arm over their shoulder and led them to the front door, mindful of their healing broken ribs. They didn’t argue as Hero pulled away from their support to walk out of the building. They controlled their face as the crowd screamed loud enough to make Hero flinch. 

This time, instead of following close behind Hero as the other signed autographs and shook hands, Sidekick allowed the crowd to see Hero, then stepped protectively in front of their friend. “Hello, everybody! Let’s give it up for Hero!” They screamed over the crowd.

The answering cheers were deafening. Sidekick felt Hero’s hand brush their back in a silent question, but they stepped away from the touch. “Alright, alright! Let me hear you if you saw Hero on patrol today.”

Again, the crowd cheered.

“Yeah! What about yesterday? Anybody see them take down the gang threatening downtown?”

Deafening screams.

“What about the gunfight the day before? The meet and greet the day before that? Anyone here saved by Hero from that burning building four days ago? Five days ago, anyone hear about Hero saving the woman from a rapist? Six days ago, when Hero stopped the car from crushing a family? Does anybody still remember how Hero found that missing child seven days ago?”

The crowd was putty in Sidekick's hands. People were cheering and crying; a few seemed even to be livestreaming. The whole time, Hero stayed tucked behind Sidekick, cowering away from the reaching hands that would grab and tear, disregarding the hidden and visible injuries. 

“Hey, listen up! Does anyone know what all those things mean?” Any answers to Sidekick’s question were buried in the screams, cheers, and more than a few “I love you, Hero”s that blasted Sidekick’s Eardrums. 

“Alright, Alright. That’s right, everyone. That means Hero has been working all day every day for the past seven days without being allowed to rest or take the time to see to their wounds properly! Woohoo!”

A few cheers still rang out, but Sidekick was mainly met with low gasps and confused looks. Hero’s hand gripped Sidekick’s arm tightly, but they weren’t about to stop yet. They had the people’s attention. 

“Yep! That’s right! That means Hero is a total beast, right?” 

A few more confident cheers.

“Hero is a real superhuman, right?” 

The volume was back, but there was concern simmering under the surface.

“Hero is an actual god, right!” 

The people who cheered jumped around and grabbed at the people actually looking at Hero. Sidekick could tell some of the tears this time were not happy ones.

“Wrong! Hero is a human! A person just like you and me.” 

A few people had the nerve to boo at Sidekick, but they weren’t near done. “Hey, anyone want to guess how many hours of sleep Hero could get in the last month? A grand total of 90 hours! Isn’t that crazy? People are supposed to get around 240 in that time.”

“Oh! You know what? I’ve got a great idea. Let’s take a look at the damage saving those people from that car did. Sound good?” Sidekick growled as they dragged Hero out from behind them. The motioned jostled Hero so much they could only gasp for air instead of begging Sidekick to stop. 

Hero’s hands gripped Sidekick's arms as they lifted Hero’s shirt. The action wasn’t to stop what was happening. No, Hero could only hang on and rely on Sidekick to keep them from falling to the ground. They didn’t have the strength to stop the people from seeing the mottled bruises covering their side. They didn’t have the will to beg Sidekick not to turn them and display the gash from where they had been stabbed during a robbery. 

Sidekick lowered Hero’s shirt, adjusting their grip on the other to hold them in a way they hoped didn’t hurt too bad. “Oops. Sorry about that last one. That wasn’t from the car crash. That was from the robbery two weeks ago. Man, that’s barely healed at all, huh? Hey, Hero, why don’t you have that bandaged? Oh, right. When you tried to get medical attention, a woman screamed at you until you got her kid out of a tree, definitely within their reach.”

“You’re lying!” Someone in the crowd called, “You’re lying. Hero is a hero. They protect us!”

Sidekick scoffed, “You’re right! I’m sorry. Here you go, Hero. Go protect them.” Though it sickened them, Sidekick lifted their arms, pulling their support away from Hero. Their stomach churned as their friend fell to the ground and didn’t move.

The crowd parted as a man pushed to the front. He glared down at Hero and began to laugh. “Seems you’re right. Hero is broken.” The man yanked a gun out of his jacket, aiming it down at Hero. Several people screamed, and the security guards and police officers keeping control of the crowd moved to charge the man, but Sidekick waved them off. They signaled them to stay ready, but now wasn’t the time.

Gun waving in the air, the man pushed past the barriers and slowly approached Hero. “It’s been exhausting, living in fear of this idiot for so long. Thank you for taking out the competition. You really have done great work. The streets are clean, and the addicts are absolutely begging for more. You can die knowing you helped me greatly, Hero.” 

The man stepped into range, and Sidekick had their gun pressed to the man’s head before he could lower the barrel to aim at Hero again. In the blink of an eye, every officer, security guard, and protector inside the building and outside had surrounded the man, all aiming their chosen weapons to strike should the man so much as twitch. 

“Sorry, friend.” Sidekick giggled. “Just because Hero needs to take a vacation doesn’t mean they’re leaving the city unprotected.”

Sidekick pulled away from the would-be shooter and helped Hero to their feet. They made sure Hero was in good hands, then moved forward to address the audience one last time. “Listen up. You’ve trusted Hero to protect you, right? Well, now you need to learn to trust the people Hero trusts. Hero will never stop saving the city, but they can’t do it alone. I think you can see that now. 

“Hero hand chose everyone in this building to help them keep you safe. They took the time to meet every single officer in the police department and knows them all by name. Hero is our hero, too. Let us do the job we were trusted to do. Let us help Hero. Let us help you.”

The crowd was silent as the officers took the would-be shooter away. There were a few hushed murmurs as Sidekick took Hero back into their arms, but none were loud enough to cover Hero’s gentle chuckle, “I knew you were jealous you didn’t get to make a big speech after the burning building.” Sidekick simply flicked Hero’s nose and helped them back inside. It was about time Sidekick forced them to see the medics.

“Thank you, Sidekick!” A single voice called right before the door closed behind them. The lobby of the building was quiet. Most of the people had rushed outside to protect Hero and were now doing crowd control. 

That was all well enough. It meant no one except Hero saw how the thanks brought tears to Sidekick’s eyes. Even Hero chose not to bring attention to it.

Sidekick didn’t think anyone knew their name.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Link sighed, listening to the crickets as he laid in the grass. Sonia was napping peacefully, a gentle, grounding weight pressed against his chest as she laid on top of him. Occasionally he tipped his head to kiss her hair, smiling at the golden curls.

They’d played all afternoon and into the evening, which technically meant she’d missed her afternoon nap. That would likely come back to bite him (or the nannies), but she was sleeping now, right? He couldn’t say no to her, honestly – they were having so much fun, and he… well, it seemed he had little impulse control when it came to his daughter. Perhaps they were both toddlers, he mused with a smile.

His mind wandered as he rested. His recent visit to Hemisi was still weighing him down, frustrating and freeing and terrifying and painful as it was. He didn’t particularly like that he couldn’t remember what had happened after they’d started drinking (surely… surely nothing too terrible—as wild as Hemisi could be, his dear friend also had principles as well… and they’d woken up in separate rooms, fully dressed…), hated that he’d let himself lose control like that, hated it even more knowing that Zelda had likely figured it would happen.

Zelda. He still couldn’t believe she’d—how could she—

Link bit his lip. He didn’t know why he was surprised, honestly. Zelda had been ordering him around since their marriage, since he’d enslaved himself and then made himself thoroughly useless.

He knew he hadn’t been doing the queen any favors. His mere acceptance of the proposal had helped her, of course—the Sheikah had been brought back into unity, the Sage of Shadow had pledged her loyalty to Zelda as a result, the people had seen it as a sign of destiny itself that everything would be fine—but since then… he’d only just recently started to step up once more. He knew that. He wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t like Zelda hadn’t been struggling and trying to rebuild a nation by herself.

But it still hurt that she would start treating him like she did the nobles. Link wasn’t an enemy, damn it. It wasn’t the fact that she’d sent him to the desert that bothered him, it was that she’d had an ulterior motive without telling him, and she’d wanted to manipulate Hemisi as well. He would not stand for that.

Sighing, the king consort rested his hand overtop his daughter’s back, trying to settle himself and only feeling bitter. He’d thought maybe their relationship was improving after he’d finally started helping, after the incident with House Ishita. He supposed he’d been wrong.

Perhaps I’m just not doing enough, an old, familiar anxiety whispered. He ignored it. That anxiety had driven him to tear himself apart his entire life, seeking the approval of others. He was sick of it. He was so sick of it.

It was foolish to assume everything would be fine. Almost four years had passed since their wedding, and neither of them had really been an admirable spouse. But as he looked down at his daughter once more, Link felt his heart soften a little. At least something good has come of it.

His mind betrayed him a moment, thoughts lingering on Hemisi for too long, wondering what it would have been like to have children with her, and he shook his head as his hand slid off his daughter. It did him no good to linger on such sentiments. He knew that by now. Why couldn’t he just accept the position he was stuck in, that he’d put himself in? Why did he have to be so angry, so hurt, so lonely? Fear gripped at his heart as he looked away from Sonia, the same fear that partly drove him to avoid her when she’d been born, because what if he took that hurt and anger out on her? He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. It wasn’t her fault she was born into these circumstances.

He should have never gone to the desert.

Footsteps approached, moving at a pace that put him on edge. It wasn’t quite running, but it certainly wasn’t a casual gait.

“Your Majesty,” a guard called as he approached.

Link sat up immediately, holding Sonia so she wouldn’t be too jostled, face hardening. This couldn’t be good.

“Sire, it’s—it’s the queen,” the guard stammered breathlessly. “She’s collapsed—”

Before the guard could get another word out, Link was on his feet. “What happened? Where is she?”

Link heard council room and then taken to her quarters and moved quickly, handing off his half-asleep daughter to the nanny at the entrance to the castle. It didn’t take him long to reach Zelda’s room, and he saw her laying in bed looking paler than ever, Lady Impa at her side with a hand on her forehead.

“What’s wrong?” Link asked as he approached the bed.

“The healer said she’s sick and worn herself out,” Lady Impa answered.

“I’m f-fine,” Zelda mumbled, looking anything but fine. Her usually perfect curls were plastered to sweaty skin, bags under her eyes, face drawn and exhausted. “You can go, Link.”

Link glared at her. “I’m not leaving. You look awful.”

Zelda’s brow furrowed a little, eyes remaining closed, mouth pulling into a frown. “I’m ordering you to leave.”

Link felt his body stiffen, irritated and hurt. He wasn’t going to leave her while she was like this! But she clearly didn’t want to deal with him, and just her having the gall to order him around—

Link bit his tongue while Lady Impa looked between the royal couple, worry and sympathy in her gaze. It wasn’t her place to speak up against the queen, and she knew that. Link, however, was reaching a point where he didn’t care anymore, where he didn’t want to keep repeating this cycle any longer, and he knew exactly how to get to her.

“You’re keeping Lady Impa from her duties,” Link said curtly.

Impa immediately stiffened. “Taking care of you two is my duty, Link.”

“As are the Sheikah,” Link reminded her firmly as he watched Zelda open her eyes. “I don’t really do much around the castle, in case you hadn’t noticed, except for take care of the royal family. Given that Zelda falls into that category, it makes more sense for me to care for her so you can continue helping others. Wouldn’t you agree, Your Majesty?”

The queen frowned further. Link smiled. He had her and he knew it, and it made him feel vindicated; it was fairly common throughout his life for people to assume he couldn’t think for himself because of his quiet and obedient nature, and he knew Zelda had probably started assuming the same, so it felt good to prove her wrong. Just because he bowed over to her all the time didn’t mean he was a fool.

When the queen couldn’t come up with an argument, Link waved Impa off. “Just tell me what she needs. I’ll handle it.”

His chief sighed, glancing at Zelda once more, and then rose. Link knew that Impa was just as fiercely protective and caring for Zelda as she was for him, if not more so, but if finding a way to essentially get her out was the only way for him to take care of the queen, then he would do it. He’d apologize to her later.

“The healer’s convinced it’s just a bad cold, but given…” Impa stopped, glancing at the queen once more. “She’s… just overworked herself.”

Link watched the Sheikah chief quietly. There was more to it than that. He didn’t push, though. Not yet. Nodding, he thanked her and then sat at Zelda’s side.

“I don’t need anything,” the queen said quietly, tiredly, as Lady Impa looked at them one last time from the doorway.

“Your Majesty,” Impa called from where she was half out of the room. “Please, just… let him help you.”

Link glanced over at his chief, giving a small nod of gratitude, and then she left, closing the door behind her. The pair was silent, and Link suddenly wasn’t entirely sure what to say next. The last time they’d spoken was when he’d snapped at her in the throne room upon his return from Gerudo Desert, and that had been a week ago.

He definitely had no right to be here. But he also knew Zelda, like him, would hardly accept help from anyone. She somehow trusted people even less than he did.

“You know, when I was younger I fell prey to the same issues,” Link noted, leaning back in the chair. “I pushed myself too much, and I… learned it didn’t do me much good to not accept help.”

His heart twisted for a moment, recalling that the help came from Hemisi and Merovar, from Ganondorf. That had been a lifetime ago.

He still wondered if that monster had ever cared at all. Probably not. It didn’t matter anymore, anyway. He was gone, and with his soul split into four pieces, the primordial evil that he’d bound himself to would never return, either.

It shouldn’t still hurt, after all these years, should it?

Link shook his head. Not now. It wasn’t like Hemisi didn’t have it infinitely worse than him. He had no right to mourn anymore.

“Spare me your anecdote,” Zelda snapped tiredly. “I know I got myself into this. I’m not a child.”

“You’re right,” Link bit back. “You’re not a child, yet you choose to act like one.”

Zelda sat up, eyes opening, glaring at him weakly. “I’m not the one who lost my temper last week.”

“I’m not the one who lied to my spouse, manipulating her to make someone else fall in line with my wishes,” Link retorted before realizing this was quickly spiraling in the wrong direction. He took a calming breath, slow and steady. “Look. I… I still don’t agree with what you did. But can we put that aside to just focus on now? It doesn’t matter our opinions on what happened, you’re sick and you need to rest.”

“I don’t see how that involves you.”

“Perhaps because you look like you can hardly get out of bed,” Link snapped. “Perhaps because you probably will not be able to attend to your duties in the morning—”

“I will attend to my duties in the morning,” Zelda insisted, laying back down, voice shaking, and though she glared defiantly at the canopy of the bed, he could see fear starting to trickle in. She looked on the verge of tears.

Link didn’t know what to do, didn’t know how to get through to her. He tried for one of her redeeming qualities. “Look. Hyrule needs you to be strong, but you can’t always do that all the time. The best way you can help your people is to rest.”

Zelda’s lip wobbled, and she closed her eyes as the tears quietly slid down the sides of her face. Link slipped a hand into hers, and thankfully she didn’t pull away.

“C-can… can I see Sonia?” She asked quietly.

Link’s thumb traced along the back of her hand. “In the morning, okay?”

For once, she didn’t argue. But the tears continued to fall.

Link frowned at it, feeling his chest hurt. As much as they didn’t get along, he hated seeing her like this. “I’m sorry.”

Zelda started to sob. Link’s eyes widened a little, alarmed, and he pulled away from her touch to grab a handkerchief for her. Helping the queen sit up, he let her lean against him as she buried her face in the cloth.

“I’m a—a t-terrible mother,” she cried.

Link wasn’t quite sure what to say all of a sudden. Zelda did try to be there for Sonia, but honestly the couple spent so much time avoiding each other that he wasn’t entirely sure how often she saw her. Sonia did talk about her mother, though, so that had to count for something. “She loves you, Zelda.”

The queen cried even harder, losing all composure, and Link finally just wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

“I don’t—I don’t know if I—if I can do this again,” she gasped between sobs.

Do… again…? Link stiffened, glancing down at his wife. “Are… are you pregnant?”

Zelda tried to halt her tears and cries, tensing up, but there was no denying it now. It explained her cold, defensive demeanor, her sudden burst of emotion, Impa’s hesitancy to leave. She was not only pregnant, she hadn’t wanted him to know.

Link swallowed, blood freezing.

That had to be the case, didn’t it? They hadn’t been physically intimate since their tour of Hyrule, and that was months ago. She must have known for a while, based on what little he did know of the process.

Unless, of course, she had found someone else to take to her bed, and that was why she had sent Link to be with Hemisi. He wasn’t sure if he should feel insulted or not. But no, it made no sense – Zelda didn’t trust anyone enough to let a man into her life like that. The only reason she and Link had a daughter was out of duty.

So the child was his. And she’d hidden it from him.

Link took another steadying breath as so many different thoughts washed over him. He bypassed that initial realization, just thinking about the fact that she was pregnant again.

Could either of them handle that?

He supposed they had to. Their actions had created the baby, after all. His actions more than anything – although Zelda had never said no to his advances, he had always been the one to instigate them on their trip across the kingdom, a means of physical release from being paraded around like a doll.

This was his fault.

Well. Technically, Zelda had been the insistent one for their first child, had always been the one to push for the matter. So… he supposed this evened things out?

Her first pregnancy. Sonia. Link hadn’t even looked at Zelda since finding out she was pregnant, not until that awful baby shower. He hadn’t looked at his daughter until six months after her birth.

Link swallowed, overwhelmed, and held her more tightly. “You’re not doing it alone this time.”

Zelda glanced up at him, fear dissolving into pure, utter vulnerability. She was so exhausted. He felt all the worse seeing it. Link tried to smile, and it only made her cry once more, burying her face into his neck.

Link hushed her gently, closing his eyes, heart racing, reeling at the fact that this was how he found out, that she was actually willing to hide it from him. Just how broken was their trust if…?

He should know better. She’d manipulated him anyway, time and again, steadily growing subtler and seemingly more sinister as a result. How was this any different?

It involved their child. That was how it was different.

Link hadn’t been involved with Zelda’s pregnancy with Sonia. He’d been too lost in himself. Perhaps that was why she hadn’t bothered to tell him. It stung either way, even more so because Lady Impa clearly had known for a while; she’d been glued to the queen’s side for weeks.

He swallowed, swallowed the hurt and frustration, the regret and shame, the fear of bringing another child into this chaos, and rested his cheek against her hair. “Get some sleep, my queen. I’ve got you.”

[raliciel]

Patapon posting

[sassypantsjaxon]

Well, now that my Mic post has been hijacked to talk about Aizawa, can somebody find me the post about how Mic rarely gets talked about outside of his relationship with Aizawa

[bananonbinary]

rewatching danny phantom and i think part of why i like this show is the complete lack of butch hartmanish family dynamics. the world is....basically kind to danny? i mean, yeah, he gets bullied by other kids, but his parents are well meaning, if clueless, and his sister is genuinely supportive, and even his teacher who is framed as an antagonist a lot of the time genuinely cares about him. hell, his evil arch nemesis wants to adopt him! its a lot easier to stomach as you get older than other kids shows because the adults are genuinely NOT just randomly evil child haters, they just...don't know what's going on.

[the-three-whumpeteers]

The whumper was on a warpath against the heroes,having lost friends and what they considered their entire life to the whumpee in particular. The whumpee wanted to apologize as best as they could, they wanted to cry out that they had never meant to hurt them, but it was too late now, the whumper had nothing left, and they would make sure the whumpee didn’t either.

[honorarypines]

Random headcanon of the day --> I feel like Leo Valdez would totally kin either rise!Donnie or rise!Leo

[epickiya722]

If anyone should win the poll and get a special movie, it should be Miruko. She's so overworked and lost HOW MANY LIMBS?!