Tumgik
#i have no beta
ymechi · 8 months
Text
Yandere creator reader
I did not think I would write anything for this blorbo I had but so many people liked and I got inspiration from the comments! Thank you everyone for the support!
-TW: Death, Gore, Dying in various ways, Torture
-Gn reader (I tried my best I hope it turned out gender neutral, please tell me if I did it wrong)
-English is not my first language and I have no beta/editor please tell me if I make any mistakes
You knew this was unhealthy, that this would make your issues worse but the loneliness was gnawing at you. It started small, just a mere speck but the spore grew more and more rotting your foundation. You found yourself often alone while your peers had connections, bonds, and kinship. 
You had no one.
You tried so hard to make connections, yet you could not make that chain connect to the other person click. You wallowed in your own misery for a while, instead you filled your whole with fiction and fantasies. There at least in your mind you could construct those bonds and wouldn’t those made in your mind be stronger than those in reality?
You stumbled upon the game on chance. It was a coincidence but soon it became an addiction. Everything about the game captivated you. You loved the art, the gameplay the lore and of course the characters. You just adored these pixels on the screen, each and every one of them. You had none that you disliked. You cried and laughed at their stories and tried to get through every quest for their sake, you even got a part-time job so you could spend and *own* them all.
As you get more and more characters you are determined to build everyone, no one will be left behind. 
You knew this was unhealthy and that this would contribute to your already waning social life and loneliness but you had no other outlet, no other hobbies. 
You were still a respectable functioning member of society gacha game addiction aside, so no one bothered you or questioned you. 
Then one day you woke up in Teyvat. 
You thought it was a hallucination, it should be a hallucination perhaps this was your cue to finally go to a therapist and talk about your problems. You were beginning to see delusions-
Except it all felt so real, the leaves between your fingers, the wind softly caressing your face, and the ground beneath you was steady holding your weight. 
You could feel a chain connecting you to Teyvat with a click.
This was your first real connection to someone, you could feel your face aching from your pleased smile.
You thought hopefully, perhaps, just perhaps you would be able to meet the characters. You know you were not some main character protagonist but just maybe you could become acquaintances and maybe friends? Hope blossomed inside of your chest and your heart beat faster.
If this was a dream you did not want to wake up.
This was a nightmare and you wanted to wake up.
That was your thoughts as an arrow hit you right in the throat, you wanted to scream but all you could muster was a gurgle. You know who shot this it was Venti - Barbatos- the anemo archon, with the same bow you had given him. You did not understand why he did that. 
Was it you? Did you offend him? Why did he kill you when all you wanted to say was that you loved him.
You love love love love-
It was your last thought before you died.
Yet you woke up again.
Once again you died though this time a spear right through your heart, it was vortex vanquisher. You could not even utter a word shock seeping right through your body. 
I love you, love you, love you, so why?
Your next death happened in a fury of storms, your body electrocuted and charred. 
I still love you, love you, love you.
It went on and on, revival and rebirth. Deconstruction and reconstruction. You could not think clearly anymore, days bleeding together, helplessly wandering. You wondered if there was an end to this.
The same people who killed you were the ones you helped build once upon a time through a glass screen. They spoke of a creator up in Celestia whom they loved and who loved them. Who built them and made them stronger, that you were an impostor wearing their skin.
You did not think yourself capable of stealing a god's face. You were born this way. You wondered if you had hallucinated your previous life. It all sounds and feels so surreal. Yet the love you had for them as pixels on a screen lingered and remained even as you died again and again.
The only link, your only chain, your bond to Teyvat was your only solace. 
Then one day the blood that splattered the ground turned golden and your murderers dear characters' faces turned shocked and horrified. 
You yourself did not comprehend what was happening one day you were wearing rags, tired and cold the next you were sitting on a throne, cleaned and adorned in jewels. 
Some tried talking to you but you were far out of your mind.
Then one day you heard someone crying. You curiously asked them why. Through their sobs you heard them asking for forgiveness.
Why?
They looked at you in sadness when you asked why. You approached them and softly whispered in their ear. 
”I love you so much, there is no need to ask for forgiveness.”
Through everything your love still remained. It was the only thing that still remained from the old you. Yet the chain still would not click to link you together. 
You went and grabbed a fruit knife near the table and looked at the person, your acolyte.
”Yet I would hate it if you looked at anyone other than me.”
They screamed as you stabbed their eyes, tears and blood flowing down their beautiful face. 
Now finally the chain clicked and linked them to you.
You were overflowing with happiness and love and you wanted to share that with the rest. 
Taglist: @eccedentesiast-sapphic @d0rmiens-fact0rem (sorry i thought you might be interested in this, if not i apologize)
292 notes · View notes
inkskinned · 10 months
Text
at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"
like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.
"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."
... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.
and i'd still keep writing.
i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.
i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley
"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"
and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.
it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.
you create because you're greedy.
#every time someones like ''AI will replace u" im like. u will have to fucking KILL ME#there is no replacement here bc i am not filling a position. i am just writing#and the writing is what i need to be doing#writeblr#this probably doesn't make sense bc its sooo frustrating i rarely speak it the way i want to#edited for the typo wrote it and then was late to a meeting lol#i love u people who mention my typos genuinely bc i don't always catch them!!!! :) it is doing me a genuine favor!!!#my friend says i should tell you ''thank you beta editors'' but i don't know what that means#i made her promise it isn't a wolf fanfiction thing. so if it IS a wolf thing she is DEAD to me (just kidding i love her)#hey PS PS PS ??? if ur reading this thinking what it's saying is ''i am financially capable of losing this'' ur reading it wrong#i write for free. i always have. i have worked 5-7 jobs at once to make ends meet.#i did not grow up with access or money. i did not grow up with connections or like some kind of excuse#i grew up and worked my fucking ASS OFF. and i STILL!!! wrote!!! on the side!!! because i didn't know how not to!!!#i do not write for money!!!! i write because i fuckken NEED TO#i could be in the fucking desert i could be in the fuckken tundra i could be in total darkness#and i would still be writing pretentious angsty poetry about it#im not in any way saying it's a good thing. i'm not in any way implying that they're NOT tryna kill us#i'm saying. you could take away our jobs and we could go hungry and we could suffer#and from that suffering (if i know us) we'd still fuckin make art.#i would LOVE to be able to make money doing this! i never have been able to. but i don't NEED to. i will find a way to make my life work#even if it means being miserable#but i will not give up this thing. for the whole world.
18K notes · View notes
sofiaruelle · 23 days
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
❄️☃️The SDV Girlies in their winter garb!☃️❄️
One side how i interpreted their lil avatars and then the other side is just me playing dress up lmao.
“Bois when?” Dunno. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I will if anyone donates screenshots.
3K notes · View notes
sketchy-tour · 6 months
Text
Tumblr media
Blame eechytooru for Beta Wally taking up so much free real estate in my mind. And blame work for as to why I am posting...MORE sketches. But! These were some Wally practice cause I'm never happy with how I draw him but also just...ya know. *Gestures to the art
Anyway. Beta Wally am I right? Yea??? Yea....
Tumblr media Tumblr media
....Yea
4K notes · View notes
anoant · 10 months
Text
Tumblr media
Pictochat!
6K notes · View notes
bigassmoonchild · 8 months
Text
Simons Rut
Simon bullied his cock back into you, knot starting to inflate. He groaned, having stuffed you full of three other loads, grunts and groans becoming all you could hear.
His head fell on your shoulder, chest pressing into your back and whines coming from your mouth with the overstimulation. He nipped at your neck, sucking your scent into his throat to coat his tongue. A moan ripped from his neck, eyes rolling back into his head.
You could feel his cock sliding against your g-spot, sending spasms of pleasure through your gut. Biting your gland and remarking you, his knot started catching on you as he slid in and out.
Whines were coming from his throat, his mind lost in the thoughts of breed, mate, fuck a pup into Omega, and you couldn't move from under him, mouth open and drool slipping down your chin.
Your cunt spasmed around him, his knot finally catching you and he pumped his hips shortly. Hips pressing back into him and grinding on him, your own eyes rolling back with the pleasure as you kept spasming around Simons cock.
"Good little Omega, milking me, going to fuck pups into you, need you to be full of me," he growled into your ear, his mouth dropping open as his orgasm finally spread through him, dropping to his elbows and further caging you onto the bed.
Simon stayed like that for a moment, his nose rubbing along your neck as he filled his head with your scent, almost growing drunk on it. When he finally came to, he pushed his weight off of you and slowly moved the two of you over, letting you sit on his lap.
He ran his hands down your sides, your head falling on his shoulder and nudging at his own scent gland, licking at it to fill his scent in your own mouth.
Massaging at your thighs, you felt yourself relaxing around him, eyes falling shut from the exhaustion of cumming so many times around him.
Some time later, Simon was pulling you off of him and allowing you to come back to the present while carrying you into the bathroom, starting the tub after setting you on the counter.
You'd tugged Simon in the tub with you as he'd tried to set you in there and leave. Him joining you caused some water to splash around the sides, but you got to work washing his hair as he held you in his lap.
During his ruts, he was rougher than normal but became the sweetest Alpha, happy when his Omega was more than satisfied before his next wave came through him and had him bending you over the sink to watch yourself get fucked.
4K notes · View notes
saradiation · 1 year
Photo
Tumblr media
HAPPY 413! 🎂
8K notes · View notes
coolerdracula · 23 days
Text
more info on version releases here
853 notes · View notes
lotus-pear · 5 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
got around to fully coloring two of the requests yippee‼️
2K notes · View notes
olexxx · 1 year
Note
(I am asking respectfully) YOUR AU ART???? 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 you HAVE to post it
if i must 😔
i made these prior to watching part 2 so,
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
my idea was that Reagan actually overtakes cognito, but also Ro and Reagan bonded with mutual trust and respect, and while Ro is still a murderous ai, hes more domesticated and becomes her assistant/guard,
he still doesnt like people, except Reagan AND GIGI who he just loooooooves to gossip and share dirt on people with
Reagan gives him a new body, obviously, but still keeps tabs on him just in case and if he behaves, he gets a little violence as a treat
oksorrybye :'>)
9K notes · View notes
ymechi · 8 months
Text
The Naiad au (Scrapped)
EDIT: 17/11/2023 I have decided to rework this series, so this story won't continue, instead there will be a new one with the same concept.
-slight idv and genshin crossover, the mc is an OC and has female pronouns
-english is not my first language
TW: SAGAU, Cult au, imposter au, mentions of death, drowning
part 1 , This is part 2
authors note: if i am correct this part was 1.5k words;; i was so unmotivated to edit i should try to find a beta/editor, sorry for the writing mistakes
She looked up towards the sky from the ocean floor staring at it for a while. While she managed to survive she had no idea what to do. Going to the surface was probably a very bad idea in case she ran into those villagers again, for now she should explore her surroundings.
To swim in the sea came surprisingly easy for her, she was never an excellent swimmer but the way she moved felt eerily natural. She came to realize she did not need to move her arms. Her legs and perhaps something else (a power she did not understand) did most of the work.
Oxygen was not a problem either, she idly wondered if she had gills somewhere on her body.
She swam in between some kelps and fishes. There was, yellow, green and red big huge vines which she saw in between too. The floor beneath was a vibrant green shade, everything here was so colorful and beautiful. It felt so alive and thriving. She would have thought that the ocean deep beneath was darker, murkier and scarier but she fell in awe the more she saw.
She looked up and saw the sun giving the water above a golden hue, soon the sun would set but she did not feel afraid at the thought of the dark.
The ocean was mostly empty of any dangers. There were so many colorful schools of fishes swimming around, occasionally she would see a big fish that would look like a predator but they would never come to her and harm her. Perhaps she did not look tasty to them?
At the thought of food she did feel slightly hungry but it wasn't anything too urgent, yet it was best to find something to eat now while she could. She looked around and saw some seaweed. She did remember seaweed could be edible and the water here looked clean, there was no harm right?
At most it would perhaps taste gross, she tore off some of the seaweed and hesitantly took a bite. The taste was not unpleasant, it tasted salty and the texture was not slimy like she expected but rather a bit rubbery. She happily took another bite, the best part there was a lot of seaweed so the chances of her running out of it was very low. While eating her impromptu lunch-dinner she did not notice a few fish appearing beside her. When she noticed them she looked at them curiously one of them came near her face and bumped into her mouth.
She was rather confused and she started to laugh. While laughing the fish entered her mouth which caused her to panic, which caused her to choke and then her trying to get the fish out of her mouth. She looked at the troublemaking fish she finally caught in her hand in confusion. 
What was going on?
in her peripheral she saw one of the larger fish approach her, it looked like a salmon but she was not sure. The larger fish approached one of the smaller fishes and opened its mouth, she could see the fish's sharp teeth. The smaller fish then willingly entered the pseudo salmon's mouth much to her shock.
The salmon then began to eat the smaller fish all while looking at her and she could not help but to think of the smaller fish's earlier actions. They wanted her to eat them?
This was all too confusing. Fish are not supposed to behave like this, since when did prey willingly enter a predator's mouth? The fish in her hand wiggled before approaching her face, more specifically her mouth.
Should she try to do it? Maybe just one bite. . .
She held both ends of the fish with her hands, closed her eyes, did a sharp exhale and took a bite.
crunch.
Yikes she forgot about the fish bones but the bones did not hurt at all. The fish's taste was rather tasty and flavorful, much better than the seagrass. Another fish appeared in front of her, a different species than the one she ate and she took the fish and proceeded to eat it too, this one tasted a little bit saltier. Soon different species of smaller fish came up to her and she ate one of each.
After a while she patted her stomach. She really overdid it but in her defense she never had eaten fish like this, they were raw and despite that they were tasty. Hopefully since she was presumably no longer human she would not catch any diseases from eating raw fish. . .
She slowly traced her sharp teeth with her tongue, another discovery about her body. Speaking of her body she really should move around to digest the food. With that in mind she began swimming around with no direction in mind exploring the seafloor and its vibrant ecosystem.
She followed some manta ray looking creatures (she was pretty sure manta rays were not green). She swam along with them doing twists and turns which caused her to laugh. One nudged her on the hand which caused her to start petting the manta ray like one would a dog, the texture was not unpleasant to the touch.
After some more playing around with the manta rays they approached. . . something?
 She looked towards the direction of the place. It was ominous, omitting a weird aura. It was as if she should not approach the place but that only piqued her curiosity even more. If she was sane she would not approach whatever that place was yet she has gone through multiple literal life changing events so she went ahead to the direction of the place.
It certainly did not disappoint.
She gasped as she saw the tall pillars holding down a creature which she could only describe as a blue sea dragon with multiple heads. The structure despite being so impressive looked old yet so sturdy still holding down the monster (or creature?).
She hesitantly approached a pillar that pinned down one head. 
The creature snapped its eyes open.
She made a small squeaking sound and fumbled backwards. The bound creature gave her what she could only assume was an unimpressed yet annoyed glare as they stared down at her.
She shivered yet stood frozen still in his glare unable to move or break eye contact.
"You should not be here."
She gulped and frantically tried to come up with something.
"I-i- i just followed a trail. . ."
"This place is sealed, no mortal or god should be able to come in here."
The creature ignored her previous comment and the annoyed expression he had previously turned into curiosity as he stared down at her like one would do to a dog who made an interesting trick.
"I am- i don't know," she cringed at her own words, "I uhh sort of woke up in here, the ocean, and-and just came upon this place."
The more she spoke the more she wanted to dig herself into a hole and curl in there. The creature before her did not change his expression, continuing to stare at her.
"You were just born?"
Born? That was one way to look at it. She did die but now she is alive, so a sort of rebirth.
"Yes?"
Her answer came more out as a question, she herself was unaware what really happened.
"I see and do you have a name?"
the creature looked at her expectantly as if that would give the creature an answer to a question. For her that question was a curse.
Impostor. Heretic. Stealing the name of the creator.
She sucked in a harsh breath except what filled her lungs was water reminding her of her drowning. Her mind began to go hazy, flashes of the village mob still inside of her mind. She hugged her body tightly. Her real name was a liability in this world. Yet just like her body she can change it as well.
"It's Naiad."
The creature closed their eyes, perhaps thinking or reminiscing. She doubted the creature would know of her name. The name was not of this world.
"I see you were born with a name, not many do."
Naiad looked at him questioningly, not really sure how to answer, she had so many questions other than what he just said. Yet could she ask them? Despite having a powerful aura he was pinned down, as if they were imprisoned, the pillars acting as chains to this prison. If Naiad did end up offending them perhaps she could make a run- swim for it.
"Uhm. . . What do I call you?" She asked with a meek voice.
He looked down at her and she stared back. Naiad felt like time  passed slower before the creature finally answered.
"I am Osial."
138 notes · View notes
monteruu · 16 days
Text
Tumblr media
let's see how far we've come :)
[image id: digital illustration of john egbert, jade harley, rose lalonde, and dave strider from homestuck. they are all laying on a blue checkered picnic blanket laying on top of one another in a familiar manner and smiling.
john is at the center laughing heartily while jade is to the right laying down on her side. dave is to the left and is in a comfortable lounging position with one leg over one of john's and is resting his head in rose's lap who is smirking at john and jade's antics.
they are all in their respective godtier outfits. around them are some lush grassy hills with variously colored wildflowers spotting the landscape and the sburb sun setting behind them. end image id.]
599 notes · View notes
Text
Ex-soldier!reader who nannies Ghosts kidd while he's away on missions. Who notice people who have never been on theirhis street before out and about. Who gets his kid out of the house just before it blows up. Who goes on the run with the kid while Ghosts enemies hunt them down. Who is injured and solely focused on keeping the kid alive. Who makes it to the safe house Ghost gave them "just in case". Who pistol-whips Soap when he shows up. Who almsot cries when the kid screams daddy as Ghost walks in behind Soap. Who resists the urge to run unto his arms just like his kid did. Who end up in them anyways when they collapse from exhaustion and stress.
Who finally gets a kiss when they wake up in the medbay.
644 notes · View notes
sketchy-tour · 3 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Silly silly whiteboard doodles don't mind me. The reboot one is super recent and I'm slowly getting more used to the site yiippeee
Anyway take these. Reboot au belongs to @bloodrediscream
Tumblr media
1K notes · View notes
dammjamboy · 3 months
Text
BETTER CALL SAUL!
594 notes · View notes
kiaxet · 8 months
Text
HOW ABOUT THAT @somerandomdudelmao DISASTER TWIN REUNION, HUH
Went a little feral to the tune of 2.2K words of self-indulgence. What else is new?
~~~~~~~
Donnie can't sleep. More accurately, he won't sleep. Not until he's done. He'd never been one to leave a project unfinished; death and resurrection hadn't changed that.
He taps incessantly, repetitively, on a keyboard and screen, the motions long since past inputting data and now only serving to keep him awake. The repetition is soothing, easy, and - counterintuitively - he finds his head drooping forward into sleep-
And he snaps back upright. No. Not until he can confirm Leo is okay.
Leo is behind him, he knows. Breathing. In bed. Asleep. Very much alive. And-
He jumps and whips around as a thud sounds behind him. "What the-"
Leo is on the floor.
Well, that answers the question as to whether his twin is awake.
For a fraction of a second, part of him wavers uncertainly. He loves his idiot twin. The question he hasn't been able to answer is whether his reaction to Leo waking up will fall on love or idiot twin-
"Leo!"
He can hear the exasperation in his voice, and yep, it's the latter. He takes a knee next to Leo and hauls him into his arms, lecturing him all the while, and if he can hear the annoyance in his voice then Leo sure as hell can. Sleep deprivation for the purposes of keeping his brother's soul alight had done nothing for his temper. "I swear to God, all you had to do was make a sound! Why are you such a difficult patient?"
He deposits Leo carefully on the bed - "Sit still!" - and checks him over, running every scan he can think of and making sure his brother's new body really is in good working order, spouting increasingly irritated commentary all the while. Of course the fall didn't hurt him - Leo is tougher than that, and Donnie does better work than that - but he still can't help the rising anxiety in his throat.
This almost didn't happen.
"-stupid, stupid selfless idiot!"
Donnie almost couldn't save him.
"Grrhh-"
Leo nearly died for real. Permanently beyond Donnie's reach. Well and truly gone-
"Do you have any idea how close you were to having nothing left to save?"
And now here Leo is, in perfect health, sitting on Donnie's bed with a big dopey grin on his face as Donnie chokes on his anxiety and damn near shakes himself apart-
Oh for fuck's sake.
"Hey. Are you even listening?"
Leo speaks up for the first time since he's woken up, voice shaky from disuse. "D-Donnie?"
And that is not a goddamn answer to anything Donnie has been saying, because of course it isn't. It's Leo. He's always had his own priorities. "Yeah. No. You're not fucking listening." Donnie heaves a long-suffering sigh, sinking back into the routine comfort that irritation at his twin provides. "At least you're talking." Small favors. "Although I'm surprised you're not throwing your stupid jokes at me." Even smaller favors.
He stops short as Leo's hand closes around his wrist, drawing Donnie's arm to Leo's plastron. "You're real," his brother breathes, looking from Donnie's hand to Donnie himself with tears streaming down his face. "You're real!"
And then, in the space of a thought, Leo's joy breaks, his smile turning desperate. "Are you?"
For a moment, Donnie stares at his twin, wondering at the sudden change in expression. He takes a breath-
And the part of him that had lain dormant for so long after he'd woken up - the part of him that had been screaming for his twin's safety ever since they'd recovered the few scattered embers of Leo's soul - gasps to life, blooming like a time-lapse video of a flower and reaching to the edges of Donnie's soul. Leo had called it their twin sense, and Donnie hadn't had it in him to argue after a while. Whatever it is, it's back, connected to Leo's renewed presence, and-
Donnie's heart floods with emotions. Relief and joy sprout quickly and are nearly swept away in a tide of exhaustionanxietyfearfearfearfearFEAR-
But down beneath it all, steady against the rising wall of terror, is the little blue spark of hope that his brother always carried. His core. The thing that let him continue on in the face of insurmountable odds, and lent that same strength to everyone around him. A ninja's greatest weapon.
It's Leo. It's Leo-
And Donnie can't leave him alone in his fear. Not when there's no need for it. Not when they're safe.
He lets that breath out, and sits next to Leo on the bed. "Mhm. I'm alive. And you're alive. We're safe. The Krang are gone." That's all the news that's fit to print, or at least the most important parts. What else does he have to say?
Oh.
"I'm sorry I..uh…"
He's sorry he what? Died? Left a mess for Leo to deal with? Didn't do enough while he was alive to keep everyone else alive in turn after he was gone? Kept his brother's soul in a fucking mug, because that was the only way he could ensure he wouldn't break it while Leo was still fragile? All of the above?
…yeah, it's all of the above.
He owes Leo one hell of an apology, and he's never been good at any of this, so instead he shrugs haplessly and leans forward, pulling Leo into his arms and hanging on tight.
It's a matter of moments before Leo has him flat on his shell on the bed and is sobbing into his arms. Normally he'd hate seeing his twin cry, but it's proof of life - proof that Leo made it, that his soul is intact enough for him to still be Leo, that he's alive and awake and here - and Donnie will take it.
And if he's squeezing Leo back pretty hard himself, well, that's fine too. Nobody else needs to know.
~~~~~~~
Donnie is yelling at him.
Donnie is strong enough to have picked Leo up off the ground, well enough to be on his feet without support, running tests and reading Leo the riot act over his latest boneheaded maneuver - in this case, forgetting he was missing an arm and falling out of bed.
Donnie is yelling at him, because Donnie is here to yell at him.
And Leo is smiling, because he couldn't be happier. He lets the words wash over him, draping over his shoulders like a favorite cozy blanket that he'd lost so many years ago, and he basks in the warmth that is his brother's voice and smiles.
It's enough to interrupt the yelling for a question, though he doesn't really hear it - just keeps smiling, and says Donnie's name, and it's so nice to be able to say it with a smile now, because Donnie is here-
-he is, right? This isn't just a dying hallucination on Leo's part, right?
(It couldn't be- he remembers his death, remembers breathing his last, remembers being trapped- but this-)
He reaches out, taking Donnie's wrist in hand, and pulls his brother closer to him. "You're…real…" It certainly feels real - skin and scales, softer than his own, and his fingers barely fit all the way around the wrist instead of encircling them with room to spare - and he stares down at it, tears rolling down his face as he finally looks back up at his twin. "You're real!"
The Krang show you what you want to see.
The thought strikes him unbidden, turning his joy and relief to ice. It's a well-known fact: a Krang infection can show its host what they want to see, visions of comfort and family and home, and extract intel from the host's reactions. He knows that- he knows that, and-
And he'd died surrounded by Krang- and even if he couldn't see or hear or feel, he knows he'd been held captive-
But it's Donnie- he wants this to be real- he needs this to be real- he wants his twin back so badly he can't think, and the idea that this could be a Krang hallucination is almost too much to bear-
"Are you?" He can hear how choked the words are as they leave his lips, but he needs to know-
And Donnie stops, and sits down next to him, and tells him everything he wants to hear - everything he could've ever wished for. They're alive. They're safe. The Krang are gone. It all sounds too good to be true.
And then Donnie offers him an apology and a sad half-smile, pulling him into a strong hug-
And the ice in Leo's mind shatters in a flood of warmth as his twin sense opens for the first time since Donnie's death. He feels his twin's irritation, and deep-seated exhaustion, and a choking wave of guiltguiltguiltguiltguilt-
And beneath it all, steady and strong as ever, the thrum of unending determination, powered by an unfathomably deep well of love. It's the backbeat to the melody of Leo's life, the point-counterpoint to his own heartbeat- it's something he'd never had to live without until he did, but it's back, rushing in to fill the silence he'd known with the strength to go on and the knowledge that he is loved loved loved, strong and overwhelming and all-encompassing in the way only Donnie can love-
It's something the Krang could never imitate.
This is real. This is all real-
He throws himself against his twin, toppling them both over on the bed as he clings to Donnie, unable to stand even a fraction of an inch of space between them, as though he could push their hearts together through their plastrons, and he cries, sobbing out worry and terror and grief and the slow, crushing exhaustion of a losing battle finally lost. He cries as though the world was ending - and it had, once when the Krang had invaded and again every time he'd lost a member of his family, over and over until he'd sent his last hope through a portal that had cost his littlest brother his life and succumbed to death himself.
And now he's alive. Here, wherever here is, with Donnie. Clinging to his twin, and being held in turn as Donnie gently sits them both up, never letting go as Leo cries himself out.
It takes a while - long enough for Leo's gaze to settle into a stare and his thoughts to settle into a comfortable static. He's alive, Donnie is alive, and he has no fucking idea what else is going on, but he's just going to be okay with that for now.
His thoughts rouse enough to inform him of something wrong - the line of tension Donnie is carrying down his neck and over his shoulders. That won't do. Leo could try to massage it out with one hand, maybe try to get Donnie to talk about it, but Donnie never likes to talk about it, and Leo isn't one for slowly soothing away tension when he can just take an axe to the release valve instead. Plus, it gives him something definite to focus on, instead of…this whole situation. Whatever 'this whole situation' actually is.
Donnie had mentioned his stupid jokes, right?
"H-hey Dee?" His voice wavers from disuse, thick with tears, but he pushes through. "Why did- why did the tree buy a camera?"
"What?" Oh, Donnie is not going to see this coming. Excellent.
"To do a photosynthesis." It's nowhere near the level of pizazz he normally uses for a punchline delivery - he's still too tired and frazzled and clinging to Donnie entirely too hard for that - but that beautiful pause of a terrible joke sinking in tells him it had hit home nonetheless. Donnie moves - he can hear the telltale slap of face meeting palm - and then breaks down into helpless laughter, smacking the back of Leo's shell as the tension Leo had felt in his twin's shoulders abruptly relaxes. Good. It worked.
"This is so fucking stupid," is all Donnie manages as his laughter fades, and he slumps fully against Leo with a murmur. That's...abrupt. Sure, Leo had felt Donnie's exhaustion, but he hadn't realized it'd been that bad. He takes hold of Donnie, gently laying him down on the bed to rest-
Remember what happened last time Donnie fell asleep next to you.
He gasps sharply at the thought - not again NEVER again - and keeps his hand steady as he moves, laying both fingers gently against Donnie's neck and feeling for his pulse. It's easy to find, strong and steady and even, like it had been before the infection had taken Donnie's vitality and then his life.
But he's alive, and healthy, and sleeping. He's okay. And Leo-
Leo moves his hand to the side of his own neck. His pulse is also easy to find, quickened with the adrenaline of an unknown situation and multiple consecutive shocks to his system.
Okay. Take stock. Assess. Figure out a plan from there.
He's alive. Donnie's alive. The Krang are gone. And everything else…is a big fat question mark, with no easy answers and no indication as to where to begin looking for them.
Well.
Uh.
"What the fuck," Leo whispers to the room at large, as though the walls could answer.
~~~~~~~
(A world away and still very close, a younger pair of twins cling to one another the way a drowning man clings to driftwood: desperately, clutching tight, as though letting go will spell their doom. Neither of them know where the emotions came from, or why; all they know is that each of them are damn glad the other is alive, and they'll do everything they can to make sure that continues to be the case.)
(What the fuck, indeed.)
1K notes · View notes