#that spot is RESERVED for SHIRO DAMMIT

[sockdooe]

Every time someone edits Keith in the black paladin armor an angel loses its wings.

[dadboyshiro]

Cleaning up some old writing stuff and found these bits of nonsense I wrote for a never-finished one-shot during the height of the Crocs-Shiro debacle

It’s not like they never have visitors. The extra seats at the dining room table serve a purpose outside of placating Shiro’s insistence that “dining room tables don’t only have two chairs, Katie,” to which Pidge had reminded him that they spent most of their time eating take-out on the living room couch. But impressing Mrs. Holt is high on the list of things Shiro takes seriously, somewhere below ensuring that Pidge is in actual bed past 2:00AM and above having a landline “just in case.”

Pidge didn’t even know they had a home phone for a good two years and the dining room table is more of an extension of her desk at this point, but whatever. The point is that they have a table, with chairs, and occasionally? People sit at it. People who aren’t them.

People who are usually Keith, or Hunk, or Lance; occasionally Coran or Allura, sometimes even Kolivan, though his presence is usually reserved for the holidays. Pidge can always tell who’s visiting by their shoes alone, something one unconsciously learns to do while spending the better half of a decade in space with a group of individuals with vastly differing tastes in fashion. So when she sees the unfamiliar pair of black Crocs lined up neatly next to Shiro’s boots in the entryway, she doesn’t know who’s in their house, but they need to leave—immediately.

-----

Lance, of course, does not disappoint.

“Please, Pidge.”

“Say it and I swear you’ll be singing falsetto for the rest of your life.”

“I – I can’t. I have to.” Lance is two seconds away from completely losing his shit. He’s talking to Pidge but his eyes are locked on Shiro’s feet as he stands at the counter, blissfully unaware as he pays for their meal.

“Let me say it, just once. Please,” Lance begs.

“No.”

“Once!”

Pidge digs her heel into his shin when Shiro makes his way back to the table.

“You wanted chocolate, right?” he asks Pidge, voice hopeful and brows furrowed.

Pidge accepts her brownie with a wavering smile. “Yeah, thanks.”

Shiro nods and takes his spot next to her. Pidge can practically feel the need to be a jackass radiating off the moron next to her. She glances at him from the corner of her eye to confirm that, yes, he is in fact about to implode.

Shiro pulls apart his donut. “You guys want to try this?” he asks, and Lance – God fucking dammit, Lance – can’t help it.

“WHAT ARE THOSE???”

[summonerscenarios]

I always find angst about MC dying infront of their friends and the knowledge of the App literally reviving them after it closes just makes it funny for me. Unless cases like overworld shifts or enclosed area snot created by the App. So may I request MC dying infront of the Summoners and in the heat of the moment confesses their love for MC.... then MC revives thanks to the App. How would the Summoners react to themselves confessing and how would MC react their feelings.

Since you didn’t specify hcs or scenarios I got a little carried away and wrote a drabble instead~! I know that even if the MC dies in the app battle it still counts as a death, so I got the MC as close to near-death as possible instead - hope you enjoy some good ol angst hun~!

---------

Shiro

You know, getting stabbed in the gut hurts far less than you thought it would. Don’t get it wrong, it still hurts like hell, but you’re trying to focus on the positives of the situation as you stagger backwards, hitting a wall and sliding down it as your legs give out on you. Reaching down you pat down your stomach, almost disbelieving what’s just happened until your hands wrap around the hilt of the sword that’s been sunk into your abdomen, and you hear the sound of metal grating against the wall as you lean back.

Yep, it’s gone all the way through.

Your hands squeeze the hilt, mind trying to process what’s happening as you figure out your next course of action. On the bright side, you’ve technically disarmed the app user who attacked you, but on the not-so bright side you’ve got a blade as big as your arm run through you, and every time you shift you feel it move, a new wave of agony spreading through the wound. It’s enough to make you wince, grip tightening as all you can think about is getting it out.

You need it out - if it’s out it will stop hurting, right? 

That’s the first idea that comes to mind as you brace yourself. Slowly, carefully, you make a move to tug it free from the hole in your stomach…

“Stop! Don’t touch it!”

A pair of hands fly to cover yours, stopping you from moving the sword any further and you blink up at the figure that comes into view. It’s Shiro, and he looks terrified as he hovers over you.

“Try not to move, okay?” 

His tone is level, firm, but his hands betray him as you feel them shaking as he tries to put pressure around the wound, doing his best not to bury the sword any further in than it already has. You hiss, gritting your teeth as you attempt to force your muscles to relax - keeping them tensed just makes it hurt more, and you watch Shiro work, though it’s clear that no matter what he does it’s going to be in vain. Blood seeps around the blade, leaving deep red streaks that stain your clothes and dirty his hands; his palms are red when he pulls them away from you stomach, and the color drains from his face when he sees them, voice quivering.

“I-I’ll get Ryota - yes, just stay here I’ll be back”

He makes a move to stand up but you snag his wrist, squeezing it as you shake your head and offer a tight-lipped, solemn smile.

“Too far,” you wheeze, tightening your grip “Stay, please?”

His eyes dart back across the battlefield, as though trying to catch sight of the boy in question so he can call him over to help, but when there’s no sign of him Shiro kneels back down to your side, resting a hand to your side again as the other moves to hold one of your hands.

“Stay with me - you’ll be fine if you can stay awake” he holds your hand tight, keeping your attention focused on him “Can you do that for me?”

It’s easier said than done - your head feels light and your eyes are heavy, but you fight to keep them open as you mutter.

“Talk to me”

“What?”

You swallow in an attempt to ease the sting in your throat. “Just for a while. Say something, anything you want - just talk to me. At least until...”

When you trail off his expression turns grave and he squeezes your hand, cupping your cheek and angling your head so that you can see his face, serious but oh so determined.

“I’m not letting you die” you almost believe what he says, but even as you try to smile again your stomach sinks as the reality sets in. When most people die in the app, they come back. But you? You don’t get that luxury - this might just be game over for you.

“Is it bad that I’m scared?” your eyes are stinging and your throat feels tight as you admit it out loud “I’m really scared, Shiro”

“I know...I…” Shiro wracks his brain for more words of comfort and you rest your hand over the one pressed against your cheek, focusing on the warm feeling as a welcome distraction to the pain.

He watches you leaning into his touch, and his thumb brushes across your skin as he looks into your eyes, pained by the desperation he sees behind them. You don’t know what he’s thinking, but when he murmurs your name and leans forward your heart leaps. Shiro presses a kiss to the corner of your mouth, pulling away just as quickly but you’re left momentarily speechless, tentatively touching the spot where he’d kissed you.

“Talk about good timing” you can’t help but get a quip in, but it turns into a hack as you clutch at your stomach, the agony striking you hard enough that you throw your head back and whine pitifully.

Both of Shiro’s hands fly to your cheeks, and he’s telling you to stay with him but your eyes feel so heavy now, like they’re being weighed down by some unseen force. This time when your eyes flicker closed they don’t open again, and the fear feels like poison in your throat as the only feeling you’re left with is pain. You can’t feel Shiro anymore; it’s like you’re alone. You are alone.

It takes so long to come to - long enough that you genuinely think that you’ve died and have been left to drift, just another memory in thousands of deaths. But then all at once you’re filled with a rush of adrenaline, and like you’ve been shocked you throw yourself upright, gasping for breath as hands fly to your stomach.

You’re looking for a wound that your sure is still there, but you find it’s gone; not only that, everything is back to the way it should be, not a single tear or hair or brick out of place as you take in yourself and your surroundings. The only thing you feel is tired, a wave of exhaustion hitting you all at once, but you’ll gladly deal with it in comparison to the alternative. With a sigh of relief you let yourself fall back.

“Yikes, now that was way too close” you muse, but instead of hitting the floor your head lands on something soft.

You look up, finding Shiro looking down at you with wide eyes, on the verge of tears - it seems like he’d had your head resting in his lap when you’d been out, waiting (or hoping) for you to wake up.

“Shiro…” you take in his expression, looking so relieved even with tears dusted across his lashes as he sees that you’re okay. 

“So...those kisses aren’t just reserved for when I’m dying, right?”

That’s enough to make the tears fall, but they’re accompanied by laughter, both happy and baffled as you join in with a laugh of your own.

Kengo

The knife moves with every breath you take, and you’re almost captivated by the bizarre sight. You should be screaming right about now, but all you can do is bring your hands up to hover over the dagger, trying to shield it from view like that will make the new hole in your chest disappear. There’s only a moment where you don’t feel anything, then like a wave it hits you all at once and you stumble, legs shaking before finally giving out as you drop to your knees; across the field you hear someone scream your name but you can't tear your eyes away from the blade with a morbid fascination. 

It doesn’t feel real, not entirely, and a part of you is still waiting to wake up from what you’re hoping is some kind of nightmare. That moment doesn’t come, instead someone grabs your shoulders and hoists you back onto your feet, taking all of your weight when you almost drop to the floor again. You blink, eyes owlish, and face Kengo as he moves to get you to the sidelines all the while yelling out to the others that you’d been hit. By the time you’re out of the main fight he’s practically dragging you, and your head lolls to the side resting against his side as you listen to your own heartbeat, thrumming away in your eardrums like your pulse is trying to escape from your ears.

“Kengo - Ken, it’s….t’s no big deal, kay?” you shake your head until you’re dizzy when your words come out slurred, slapping your cheeks and flexing your fingers to confirm that you’re still awake.

“Like hell you are!” he snaps, the concern in his voice not missed even through the haze. “Just - just don’t waste your breath on talking”

“Naaa, keeps me awa...ke, y’know” 

You pat his shoulder, but your hand feels numb and stiff, like you’re losing control of it bit by bit. The dagger must have been poisoned, and soon enough your legs are giving out again, head feeling foggy as you sink down onto your knees, dragging Kengo down with you.

“It’s...spinning. Hah, not good huh?” 

“Shit. Listen, lie down okay - and keep your eyes open! That’s what you’re supposed to do when it happens, right?” Kengo curses under his breath, helping to ease you down onto your back.

His eyes flicker down to the knife in your chest, as though contemplating if pulling it out would be better; he’s quick to shake the thought away and turns his attention back to you as you lean your head back, staring up at the sky. The light burns but you can’t bring yourself to turn and look away; fortunately Kengo moves to lean over you, snapping his fingers to bring you back into focus. Once he’s got you back he turns to yell over his shoulder, hoping that the other Summoners will hear and come running.

“OI! CAN SOMEONE GET OVER HERE AND HELP!?” you wince at the volume of his voice, waving up at him with a grunt of discomfort.

“It’s good, Ken. Lemme just...just sleep for a bit…”

A hand grabs your chin, and you grumble at the harsh hold; Kengo squares you with a sharp look.

“Stay awake, dammit! You aren’t going anywhere, you hear?!”

He smooths your hair away from your face, wet and messy from the mix of sweat and grime collected over the course of the fight, and Kengo can barely control himself as he continues.

“It’s bad enough I didn’t have your back when you got hurt, so I’m not letting you go dying on me just cause you wanna sleep! You’re too important to let go just like that” 

He’s close to yelling at this point, overcome with emotions and clenching the fist that isn’t holding your face.

“We’re partners! We said we’d be together till the end, yeah?!”

You giggle, both delirious from the wound and at his words, reaching a hand up to poke his cheek.

“Damn...Kengo; sounds little like...like a confession~”

“Well it is!”

The words are sobering, and you force yourself to focus as your eyes widen, taking too long for your liking for the words to sink in. Something flashes over Kengo’s face, surprise, shock, or something else entirely, but just like that he goes quiet, jaw clenched as he stares daggers at his lap.

“It is, okay” This time his voice is lower, but Kengo quickly regains the wind in his sails as his head snaps back up to look you directly in the eyes.

“Which is why you ain’t dying on me now, get it?!”

You attempt to give him a mock salute, trying to grin but you can’t get your muscles to work with you. The whole area is spinning, making you feel sick the longer you keep your eyes open, however, you feel like if you close your eyes you won’t be opening them again.

In the end, it doesn’t even matter, as a sudden buzz fills your ears and every noise gets lost within it. Dread swells in your chest, and you look down at it only to find your entire torso is soaked with blood - your blood.

“Kengo? Kengo I can’t hear…?”

You say the words, but you can’t hear them, static filling your vision right as you see Kengo turn in the direction of the battlefield, mouth opened in a scream calling for help. It’s like staring at a screen, or seeing shapes behind your eyes when you close them, and just like with the dagger, you’re captivated as you watch, waiting for it to clear.

And waiting…for far too long.

Even when it begins to clear it’s way too slow for your liking, and the moment you see that familiar sky coming back into focus you’re reaching for it’s clawing at the floor in a bid to get to your feet as quickly as possible. You’re still shaken from waking up, and just about buckle as a result, but you’re grabbed from behind the moment you trip.

“Oi, slow down will ya!”

“Kengo?”

Your eyes meet, and in the next second you’re hugging him, Kengo’s arms engulfing you as you bury your face into the crook of his neck, relishing in the fact you grip him tight as the feeling returns to your limbs. You let your eyes close, taking a deep breath and listening to his heartbeat beating in time with your own - near death experiences sure do give you an appreciation for the little thing. Eventually, reluctantly, you pull your face away from his neck just enough to speak.

“Now, about that confession-”

“Later”

“Aw come on you can’t just leave me hanging after that!”

“I said later, alright?!”

He squeezes you tighter and you wheeze, thumping his back in return.

“Okay, okay! Just ease up, Ken!”

Ryota

You hate seeing Ryota cry - watching tears well up in his eyes makes your heart twist in your chest and you want so badly to be able to wipe those tears away. If you could you would, but instead your hands are occupied clutching your throat, gasping for air are a howl of pain tears itself from your esophagus. 

That sacred artifact had seen so unassuming, so small, and you’d gotten cocky enough that you hadn’t even taken the time to think about how deadly it could be. Not until you’d felt something pierce your neck and you’d gone down like a sack of bricks. It’s poison, you realize a little too late, and it’s acting fast too, spreading across your neck and constricting like a vice, giving you only brief moments of respite where you can breathe normally; you don’t know how long it’s going to last before it’s run its course, but you’re sure that it’s not just going to go away like you’re hoping it is.

“No, no, no - Please work, please” Ryota’s by your side, both hands clenched around his sacred artifact begging the chalice to work with increasing desperation.

His artifact works wonders for wounds, healing even the deepest and most fatal injuries incurred during an app battle. But it seems like poison is out of its realm of healing abilities, or at the very least the artifact that poisoned you doesn’t react to Ryota’s in the slightest. If anything, it feels like it's getting worse, as every time the chalice shines and hope lights up in Ryota’s eyes the nausea hits you so hard that you feel like you’re going to hurl. 

You’ve lost counts of the attempts, but as he hovers his sacred artifact over you in another vain effort to save you, you reach out to cover his hands. Ryota pauses and looks down at you, tearing up as he takes in the sight of you, seeing the skin of your neck turning a dark purple hue from between your fingers.

“Ryota” you have to fight to find the breath to make the words, voice a hollow rattle “It’s...not working”

“I-It’s okay! We just need to keep trying, a-and you’ll be okay!” Ryota gives you a reassuring smile, but you see his expression quiver before he looks at his chalice again, now dropped in his lap.

“It has to work” he whispers, trying to assure himself as he clutches his artifact tight enough you can see his knuckles turning white. 

Taking as deep a breath as you’re able, you nudge one of his hands, brushing over the back of them until he gets the hint and takes your hand in his. Ryota lifts your hand up to his face and presses it against his cheek, biting back a sob at how cold it feels in his hands. 

“Don’t die” he whimpers, voice muffled as his face presses into the palm of your hand. “please don’t die - if anything happens to you I don’t know what I’ll do”

Brushing your fingers against his skin from this position is awkward, but you do your best, and the touch seems to make him feel better; however, when your lips part to talk you can’t get the words out, only able to choke out his name before you start hacking, feeling something sickly burning in the back of your throat. Ryota panics, guiding you to roll onto your side hoping to clear your airways, but you’re still wheezing, whimpering at the rush of cold that surges through your throat and down into the pit of your stomach as the world around you spins

There’s worry in his voice, turning into full on distress as he attempts to get you to stay conscious. You’re zoning in and out of what he’s yelling, but the one sentence you catch has your heart jumping up into your throat, wishing more than anything that you could check to see if you’d really heard what he’d said.

“I love you, so please, please don’t die!” 

In the split second that your vision goes blank you can’t breathe, can’t talk, can’t even think. But in the next second something changes and just like that you’re back to normal, all marks, wounds and injuries having vanished without a trace; but more importantly, you can breathe. You take deep, heavy breaths, savoring being able to breathe clearly with each and every exhale; it’s only being fine now that you realize just how close you were to dying. You could have died, got so close that had the battle zone closed just a few minutes later you’d have been dead. And with your death everything would have reset - all of the memories, all of the progress, would have been erased just like that. 

The realization sends a chill down your spine, and as you bring a hand up to touch your throat you hear something approaching you. Someone barrels into your side and right into a hug and you yelp, steadying yourself at the last second before the two of you almost topple over. Ryota hugs you tight, making sure that you feel every ounce of his relief through the affection.

“You’re awake! You’re okay!” Ryota repeats it again and again, the joy clear in his voice as he buries his face into your shoulder and pulls you even closer.

“Yeah, Ryota, I’m fine” you find yourself chuckling, bringing a hand up to run through his hair.

He hums happily at the touch, and he’s grinning in relief when he pulls away, though you realize that his cheeks are still wet with tears as he beams. Not much time has passed since you passed out, but you’re sure that you must have had him scared there for a second, and your expression softens.

“Okay, okay - ease up on the ribs” you say eventually, reluctantly easing his grip to loosen “We still need to talk, you know”

“We do?” he gives you a confused look, and you quirk a brow.

“About that little confession?”

“O-Oh” his cheeks turn pink, as though even he’s just realized what he’d admitted in the heat of the moment; however, at the sight of your smile he seems to relax, smiling bashfully as he squeezes you just a little bit closer.

Toji

Who would have known that you’d end up getting killed in the same park you’d woken up in. You certainly didn’t, and apparently neither did the person that was actually responsible. 

Their face is almost hilarious at how horrified they look, even with their sacred artifact literally burning a hole through your side as they bury it into your skin; there’s a sickening sizzle, but for some reason you don’t feel a thing, at least not until they tear themselves away, clutching their artifact close to their chest with a look of dawning panic. 

“I-I-oh no, no, no! I didn’t mean to actually-!” is the only thing you make out over their stuttering, and even as you stagger to stay upright you find the strength to cast them an aghast look.

“Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me?”

They flounder, mouth opening and closing like a fish, but they don’t have the chance to say anything else before a shadow flies past you with enough force that you stumble backwards, landing flat on your back as a rush of nausea and dizziness hits you like a freight train. One hand flies to your head and the other to your stomach, suddenly feeling like you’re going to puke your guts out (if you have any left after that blow) as you look up to see who’d suddenly taken a stance in front of you.

You’d recognize that jacket over shoulders look anywhere, and Toji’s voice is harsh as he wields his swords and takes an offensive stance; he’s facing towards the app user but you don’t need to see his face to hear the hostility in his voice as he takes a step forward, as though preparing to strike a blow against the person who’d struck you down. The app user is quick to backpedal, practically scampering in an attempt to get as far away from Toji as possible as they turn tail and flee. 

For a second you think he’s going to charge after them, taking a few more steps in the direction that they ran, but you feel something force its way up out of your throat, burning inside you as you throw yourself to your good side and heave. You pull away with a disgusted noise, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand only to pause when you look down.

Oh. That’s blood. You’re pretty sure blood shouldn’t be black.

Something touches your back and you flinch, whipping your head around to look up at Toji. He crouches down, resting against one knee while keeping a hand on your back for support.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just fine; let me just-”

Another heave cuts off whatever sarcastic retort you were coming up with and your entire body curls up at the force of it, flopping down onto the floor as you gag hard enough that tears pinprick the corners of your eyes. Your hands fly to wrap around your body as though that will make the pain go away, and you hear alarm in Toji’s voice as he calls out your name. He makes  a grab for your side, maybe trying to coax you back up into a sitting position, but the moment his hand grabs ahold of your injured side you scream.

“Off! Off! GET OFF!”

Toji tears his hand away, and realization dawns on his face as he sees the charred and injured flesh. It’s growing, worming its way up your body like a poison as it disappears beneath your clothes and works further up your chest, like it’s aiming straight for your heart. You’re sweating, shaking, and overall feel like a mess fighting back the urge to pass out or throw up. Pain thrums through your chest, surging like a wave starting from your side and spreading out slowly but surely; that's not a good sign, and you’re not looking forward to finding out what’s going to happen next.

“You idiot”

You shoot Toji a glare at the comment, scowling up at him between another retch.

“Wow thanks for the support, Toji”

Toji bristles, even as his eyes fix onto your steadily growing wound; you don’t think he’s actually angry, but his swords clatter to the floor as he leans over you, voice stern even as you catch the tremble in his voice.

“Running into a fight like that before you’d even seen their weapon was reckless! What were you thinking?!”

“I don’t know, maybe protecting my friends!” you find yourself snapping back. 

It’s not as though you didn’t think about it! And it’s not like you’d planned to get stabbed by some stranger either! You’re getting riled up, and it appears Toji is too as he lets his emotions speak for him.

“And look where that’s gotten you” he gestures over your side, but pauses when you flinch and guard your wound as though trying to stop the spread. 

“Do you know how much it hurts seeing you writhe in agony? Watching you joking even as your injuries overcome you. You’re reckless, foolhardy, and think nothing about how others feel watching you get hurt for them - how I feel, watching you die” It’s as though the word die sets alight his feelings, as he blurts out the next sentence before he can stop himself.

“Gods, why do I have to love you?!”

“...What?”

Both of you freeze, and you peek out from your curled up position to settle him with a wide-eyed stare, the realization of what he’d just said settling heavy in the air. Toji catches himself, and you can see panic flash briefly across his face at the outburst.

“I-No, that’s not what I-”

“Toji-?”

Wait; something’s wrong.

For a split second your vision goes black, and your question turns into choked gasps, hands flying to claw at your chest as you curl up into a ball. Your eyes grow wide, watching as black spots cloud your sight and start to branch out, and you watch Toji lunge to grab your shoulder with a look of panic. He yells something but you can’t make it out, your own yell being lost to your own ears as you look up at him for answers, watching his face disappear among a sea of darkness as it takes away your vision.

You’re going to die - holy shit you’re actually going to die.

There’s a frightful moment where you feel like you’re floating in darkness, and you reach out desperately for something, anything, that will ground you back to reality, to life. Seconds pass, then minutes, and right as you feel like you’re never going to get out there’s a sudden blast of light that breaks through the darkness and tears it asunder and you shout, arms flying out to brace for whatever’s coming.

Instead you touch something soft and you freeze, blinking the light from your eyes as you register voices coming from all around you. They’re voices of concern, familiar voices that you recognize, and once your vision clears you find yourself surrounded by the Summoners, all of them looking down at you with anxious expressions. And directly above you is Toji; it appears as though in the time you’ve been passed out he’d picked you up in his arms, cradling you close to his chest. His face is what you’d touched, and he looks taken aback at the feeling of your fingers brushing against his cheek and pressing flat against the side of his face.

The two of you share a look, and for a beat you swear that you see hope in his eyes, relief, and something warmer that you can’t quite place brimming behind his expression. It makes your heart leap, and as you look up into his eyes your mouth opens to speak.

“So Toji, what was that about love again~?”

A wave of relief passes through the group and in a second that soft expression is gone, replaced by an unamused stare. You catch a flash of reddening cheeks before he immediately drops you, thankfully still kneeling, and three sets of hands immediately dart to catch you, an uproar of Toji’s name in varying degrees of shock making you laugh even as you hit the ground.

Gullinbursti

You’re freezing - literally. Your skin feels as cold as ice, turning pallid and sickly as though the very blood’s being sucked from your body, which honestly isn’t that far from the truth considering the huge chunk buried in your torso and the shards spreading up your back giving your body plenty of holes for blood to pour out of. 

There’s some kind of irony of being frozen up on such a warm day; you’re stuck on your back, looking up at the sky that spreads out above you and staring at the sun that’s burning so bright and clear that you’re sure the temperature must be boiling. The most you can move is your arms, but even they feel stiff and weird when you try to move them, and when you look down you can see your fingers trembling, shaking hard enough that you doubt you’d be able to grab anything let alone use it as support to roll over onto your side. So you’re stuck, bleeding out and freezing cold, and all you can really think about is the other Summoners; each of them are off fighting somewhere else within the area, and you just hope that they’re faring better than you are - at least you were able to knock your opponent out cold after they did a number on you.

It’s hilarious that all it took was the butt of your sword to their face to knock them out like a light, but you have a sinking feeling you’re not going to last long enough to gloat about it. 

Well, at least you’re keeping cool in such a bad situation...shit, you really are gonna die.

“Master!”

But not alone, apparently.

You hear footsteps, the sound of something sliding across the floor, and in the next moment a shadow blocks out the sun. It’s Gull - he’s breathing hard as he drops to his knees right above your head at the sight of you splayed out on the floor.

“Oh hey, Gull,” your voice comes out airy and quiet as you tilt your head to look up at him. “Lovely weather, huh?”

Gullinbursti slides his hands under you, and he tenses at the ice shards that he feels embedded there as he guides you up into a sitting position. Your muscles move but don’t feel any kind of pain - you can’t actually feel anything, only numbness as you watch the boar warrior shed his pelt and move to drape it across your shoulders. His expression is grave as he touches your skin, and you’re disappointed that you can’t feel the pelts’ usual warmth.

“Master, you’re freezing.”

You can’t help but chuckle, wearily waving a hand at his face.

“And you’re out of breath- did you run all the way here just to look for me?”

“Of course.” There’s not a hint of hesitation in Gull’s voice as he responds. “Wherever you are I will always run to follow.”

“Damn - that sounds pretty poetic-” your breath suddenly catches in your throat and you wheeze, a flash of panic crossing your face when it takes a moment too long to be able to breath again.

At the sight of you struggling, bleeding in his arms, Gull’s face grows pained, somber, and he pulls you closer to his chest as though hoping to keep you warm. 

“I’ve failed you again.”

You’re sluggish this time as you look up at him again, but steady yourself enough to give him a serious look, patting his chest.

“Gullinbursti,” He turns obediently at the call of his name and you smile, though it’s nowhere near as comforting as you’d hoped. “You didn’t fail at anything - I’ll be-”

“Of course I have!” you’re shocked into silence when he raises his voice, a level of emotion overtaking his face that you haven’t seen before. His whole body is tensed like a coiled spring, and he digs his fingers into your shoulders though you can’t feel them at all.

“This body, this existence, was manufactured to protect - I failed once, and I’ve failed once again in protecting you, my master.”

You can’t find any words, even as your head spins and the strength saps from your body you’re captured by his face, watching as his expression scrunches up in grief.

“The one person in this world who stands above all - the one whom this crafted heart beats for and the one whom this produced body fights and bleeds for. The one who fills all of me with warmth that I can’t explain - that’s who I’ve failed.”

Something wet lands on your cheek, and it takes you a moment to realize it’s tears. Gullinbursti’s crying, silent tears sliding down his cheeks and landing on your skin and you’re sure that he doesn’t even realize that he’s crying as he squares you with a firm, pained look as he declares:

“I can’t lose you again.”

You want to assure him that you’ll be fine - that things will go back to normal if you can just stay awake long enough for the battle to end, but his words pierce just about every word that you could have forced out. He’s bearing his heart to you, and something sparks within your chest at his words. That’s a confession - you swear that’s what you’re hearing right now unless your brain’s trying to compensate for the lack of ‘life flashing before your eyes’ moment. Something’s spreading through your body, below the numbness, and you just know that your body’s giving up; but you’re too stubborn to lie down and take it.

Instead you bring up both hands, still shaking like a leaf and just as fragile as you fight to raise them up to Gullinbursti’s face, resting against his . You’re sure you’re cold to the touch, as even your breath comes out in a visible cloud of air when you exhale, but Gull gently takes one of your wrists and leans into your hands, as though committing the touch of them to memory in doing so. He gazes down at you, watching your eyes flutter fighting to stay open as you give him a smile so warm it betrays your icy touch.

Then your expression falls, and Gull feels your breaths start to slow.

You’re so close to death - within moments you’re going to die, and he’s going to lose you…

....only you don’t die.

There’s a sudden rush in the air, and just like that it’s as though the battle never happened. Debris disappears, dust disappears, the blood stains on the concrete vanish, and then, with a choked gasp like you’ve come up for air you jolt back awake in his arms, barely missing headbutting him in the face as you sit up straight.

You slap his chest a few times, grounding yourself back in the moment as you remind yourself to breath, taking a few seconds before you’re finally able to do so normally.

“Hoo, fuck, that never gets any easier.” You cough, shaking your head to clear your head and remind yourself where you are.

Then you look up at Gull, and he looks so astounded that you cock your head to the side in confusion, wondering what’s got him so spooked. Then it hits you.

Oh, oh you forgot to tell him about the end of app battles.

“Oh damn, Gull, I’m sorry for not-”

“Master!”

He pulls you into a hug so hard you’re wheezing all over again, his arms wrapping around you and pulling you as close to him as physically possible. The heat of his body, on top of the delightful warmth of his illustrious pelt radiates against you, and you find yourself sighing at the blissful contrast to just minutes ago, going lax in his arms as you enjoy the feeling of him holding you close.

You bring a hand to smooth across his back, patting the bare skin as you press your cheek against the side of his head. You’re definitely going to be bringing up that earlier confession, his words still echoing in the back of your thoughts, but that’s a later problem. For now, you’ve got a boar to comfort.

“It’s okay,” you murmur. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Gull only hugs you tighter in response.

[fangzeronos]

SDCC 2018 wrap up

Ok now that SDCC is over, I feel like I should do a little wrap up for the weekend. I got to sit and wait for all the trailers and news to come out since I couldn’t afford to go, so this is gonna be strictly from the “Nerd on the Couch” perspective. I’m putting a read more in case anyone wanna skip this.

 Titans: The trailer was alright. Robin’s in a bad place because of Batman so his “Fuck Batman” line is justified. Starfire and Beast Boy could still use some work, but it was only the first trailer, so we’ll have to reserve judgement until the show comes out. I’m looking forward to it anyway.

 Young Justice Outsiders: It’s actually real. I thought for the last two years we’ve all been thinking it’s not coming and that we’ve all been living in a dream about wanting it back. I was in the middle of the store when I saw the trailer and my heart stopped. Two minutes of Season 2 recap, including Wally’s ‘death’ (HE ISN’T DEAD ALRIGHT!? HE’S JUST IN THE SPEED FORCE AND NOBODY CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE DAMMIT!!!) before we get the new footage. The new characters look amazing, Geoforce looks like he’s going to be a good character, hopefully we’ll get Terra since she’s “been missing for two years”. Still waiting to see M’gann, Kaldur, Beast Boy, and the rest of the season 2 cast, but I’m excited for this one more then Titans.

 And since both shows above are going to be on the DC Universe Online service, I can see paying $75 a year for it if we’re going to get more Young Justice. With all the shows coming out on DCUO, like Harley Quinn, Stargirl, Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, and all of the older shows like Batman The Animated Series, Wonder Woman, the older DC movies and the comics, I can justify paying that much for a yearlong subscription.

 Supergirl: Season 4 looks like it’s going to be interesting. Agent Liberty seems like a decent antagonist, but with the way this show has done in the past, hyping a villain for the first half and then swapping it with a generic bad guy for the second, I don’t have much hope. It looks like they’re toning down the relationship drama from season 2 and 3, which is good. I’m honestly thinking they’re going to screw Lena’s character development and have her go evil Luthor judging by how season 3 ended with her “We can begin phase two” line and having the Harun-El made up that she gave to Alura. A few quick shots of Alex as Director of the DEO sporting a new haircut, nothing too revealing except for the Supergirl spacesuit at the end. I saw it and my mind went to the first Injustice 2 game trailer from 2016 with the armored look. I’m looking forward to the new season, not keen on it being on Sundays before the Charmed reboot but have to get the viewers for a remake somehow.

 Arrow: Oliver Queen in prison. That’s a hell of a concept for the season. We know something’s going to change and he’s going to be out by the fourth or fifth episode, possibly earlier. Decent shots of the other characters, Dinah wearing SCPD riot gear was a nice touch, Laurel-2 denouncing vigilantism makes for an interesting idea considering what the hell she’s done in the last seasons. Diaz is fine, not enjoying having him around again but since he didn’t get killed at the end of the last season, it’s fine. Longbow Hunters might make for interesting fodder, but we can’t be sure until the show starts. I’m sick of Felicity, but that arguments been done to death. We all know it was Roy in the Green Arrow suit in the end of the trailer. If it had been Diggle, we’d have seen his face and since we know Roy’s back, it doesn’t really give us many options to choose from. I’m glad it’s on Mondays now so I can watch it and keep up instead of being behind.

 Legends of Tomorrow: It looks great. This one has become one of my favorites on the network and I’m glad to see they’re getting more episodes. Hopefully this season doesn’t get shafted and end up getting thrown to a different night or time or cut in the middle for a different show. Bringing Constantine back for a regular spot is a good move considering what they’re going to be dealing with thanks to the fallout from killing Mallus. Dragons, demons, all sorts of magical and mythical creatures. “Couldn’t we be heroes just a little longer?” made me laugh and it’s that sort of thing that makes Legends stand out to me. It can be dark and gritty but still lighthearted and fun. It’s what Flash started to be and it’s what Arrow needs to be. I’m glad it’s going to be on Mondays along with Arrow.

 Flash: Coming off of the reveal that Mystery Girl is actually Barry and Iris’ daughter (which I’d had a feeling about anyway since she was so giddy at the wedding in the Crisis crossover), Nora seems to be a fun addition to the cast this year. I’m honestly looking forward to seeing what she messed up, why she came back, and why didn’t she learn from Barry’s mistakes about screwing with the Timeline. Cicada looks to be interesting, and I hope he’s going to be the main villain for the year. I want to know more about how Caitlin was Frost before the Accelerator and Flashpoint happened, or is it a side effect of Flashpoint two years later? Guess we’ll find out in October.

 Aquaman: The trailer looked amazing. This might just be part of what the DCEU needs to get its shit together and stop being so grimdark. Wonder Woman proved DC movies can do fun and lighthearted and still hit some dark themes and notes, and this looks like it’s going to do the same thing. Jason Mamoa looks as badass as he did in Justice League, Amber Heard is beautiful as Mera. Atlantis looked amazing. I’m thoroughly excited and December can’t come quick enough to see this.

 Shazam!: One of my favorite DC heroes, man. Zachary Levi just killed it in this trailer and I was laughing the whole way through. If the movie keeps that same energy up, I’ll be damn happy. March release for this one and I’m ready to go!

 Godzilla: King of the Monsters: It’s frigging Godzilla, fighting his own list of bad guys. Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, all classics that should have been in the first one instead of the MUTO. I’ve always been a Godzilla nerd, so when I saw this trailer I was geeking the fuck out. I’m definitely excited for this one.

 Now, you’re probably wondering, “Hey, where’s Voltron in all of this?” and you’d be right that I haven’t talked about it yet. I have spent three days milling over the reveals from the Voltron panel and been trying the right ways to word things, so I don’t seem like I’m being an asshole and damning myself with what I’m going to say. Now, with that out of the way.

 The season 7 trailer looked good. We’re going back to Earth, so who knows how much time really has passed since the only indication we’ve had was the week that Kuron was in the Galra fighter before Keith and Black found him back in season 3. I’m sad to see that season 8 is going to be the last of VLD, but I can understand why, since they were only approved for so many episodes. Going back to a 13-episode season is the best thing they could have done. Keith piloting Black still kind of irks me, but with Shiro only having one arm, I guess it makes sense. I would much rather have Allura in Black, put Lance back in Blue, and give Red back to Keith, but that’s a whole other post.

 The big thing people took away from the panel was “You’ll meet Shiro’s significant other, Adam.” When I saw that on Twitter, I was…. I’m not gonna lie, I was disappointed. You’ve had six seasons of moments between Shiro and Allura, the Hand Touch, the way she looked at him when he said “You found me” at the end of the season, how adamant they are about saving each other every time they’re in danger, Shiro’s resolve to get her back in Season 1 after she threw him into the shuttle and got taken by the Galra. And now it’s all thrown out of the airlock?

 No offense to the writers, Josh Keaton who gets mad credit for keeping this close to the chest and not revealing anything, the fans that are a fan of this plot point for the next season, but I’m not a fan. Don’t get me wrong, LGBT representation in animation/kids’ media has come a long way in a few short years. Look at Steven Universe. One of the main characters is a literal fusion of two she-pronoun using space rocks. I just feel like this is shoehorned in like a checkmark on an RPG character creation. “PTSD? Check. Missing limb? Check. Male POC? Check. What else can we check to make people happy? OH! Gay! DOUBLE CHECK!!” is what it feels like to me. To me, this feels like the writers have been shadow stalking Tumblr, AO3, FF.net, everywhere else Voltron is big and made their choice but what the popular ships were in the search results.

 Make Shiro gay, fine. Make him bi, that’d be a better option because then we can ship him with whoever we want and not get comments that say that shipping Shiro with Allura or any other female member of this show is gay erasure. By saying “Shiro’s gay”, you’re shooting all of the other Shiro ships in the face. Shieth shippers are over the moon, Shallura shippers are sitting in a corner, Klance shippers are looking between the two going “WTF”, and the rest of the internet’s like “Why is it a big deal?”

 I feel like I should stop there about this. This is already more then a page in my word doc.

 SDCC 2018 was fun to watch from a distance. CW brought some good trailers, DC killed it with 8 trailers, and Voltron is what it is. Now begins the countdown for SDCC 2019.