Oof, to add on to the relunctant AbsentDad!Touya, courtesy of @willowser....
Hell breaks loose the day your daughter calls Shouto otō.
You can't really play it off. Shouto and Otō both rhyme, but your daughter is very articulate for her age, only two, nearly three, and she said it with perfect clarity.
It's one of those family dinners that the Todoroki's have once a month. Fuyumi does most of the cooking, but everyone is obligated to bring a dish.
And you don't have the last name, but they all welcome you so readily, and your daughter loves them all. She loves her uncle Natsuo, who picks her up and throws her up in the air. Her aunt fuyumi, who cooks good food and always gives hugs. Sweet and calm baba rei, with her cool hands. And even jiji enji, who sometimes picks her up, so tiny in his giant hands. You always watch them carefully.
But her favorite is Shouto. He learned how to make little ice orbs for when she was teething. He lets her 'braid' his hair. Rattle the little canisters on his hero suit. Heats up her food when she lets it go cold.
Shouto was trying to feed your baby in her high chair, that she's getting too big for, while she kept shaking her head and turning away. No trains, or airplanes, or birds or dragons would make her open up. Finally she yelled,
"No, otō!!"
And the room fell silent. Your daughter, oblivious, just kicks her feet and leans farther away from the spoon. You have frozen, passing a platter onto Natsuo.
No one moves. Your daughter continues to kick her feet.
"...Oji. You mean Oji, right baby?" She looks at you, confused. She points to Enji.
"No! Jiji is jiji. Otō is Otō!"
"Shouto is Oji. Oji. Natsuo is Oji too, okay?" She still looks confused, and you repeat yourself. She nods.
She opens her mouth to say something but Shouto attacks, putting the spoon in her mouth, gently of course. And she knows better than to spit food out, so she swallows, albeit with a disgusted look on her face.
"See? It wasn't that hard, right?" She pinches her face and nods.
"I'm sorry. But if you eat all your food, I'll make you those ice lamas you like to munch on." Shouto smiles, imperceptibly, when she nods eagerly this time, and he continues to feed her.
________
The tension stays, but the night goes on without a fuss. You feel an absence, like the cool imprint of air after someone moves out of your space. Your stomach rolls, appetite gone.
The next morning, you hear on the news that seven people have been burnt to cinders. The estimated amount is only seven, because only teeth were what was left in the ashes. Pro heroes most definitely, or some politician whose scandal will be thrown to the light soon.
You swallow against the dry patch in your throat. You turn off the tv, glad your daughter is still sleeping.
He doesn't try to hide what he did, and the next time you see him its a video, uploaded to YouTube, prancing and shouting more than laughing. He's got more burns now. He's laughing so hard the staples on his face are falling off, tearing him open. His burnt eye patch things are bleeding. Something aches inside you.
________
You don't know why you save the video. It's taken down two hours later.
Every month you find a check, some large sum of money, inside your apartment. Always somewhere obvious-on the counter, atop the fridge, on your desk or your pillow, today. The amount has been increasing lately. You see him more in the news now.
Ever since you moved to a new, nicer neighborhood there have been no footsteps creaking in the night, no doors wincing as they were let open. No figures looming in the shadows a street, a block away, watching over you, though you know he still does. Just too far, too hurt and too busy to do it in person. Maybe that's a good thing. You think his hands would ignite, if he saw what you do right now.
Fuyumi being in your apartment and helping out is okay, but not Shouto. Shouto shouldn't be in your apartment too, much less cradling your baby, half asleep in his arms.
Its only been a couple of days since the dinner incident. More bodies have been found, properties destroyed. You all know who did it. Its an unspoken knowledge. And the death toll only keeps rising, somehow, everytime your daughter slips and calls Shouto, otō. They haven't made the connection yet. You have.
She likes Shouto because he's warm, she says. And cool. Everyone else is cold and nice, and you don't really see jiji much, nor do you want to, so Shouto is her favorite. You think she would've loved Touya. He was always warm.
Is, is. Sometimes you have to remind yourself he's alive, somewhere.
Shouto is just happy to be of service, he says. He's not good with kids. He just wants to be a good oji-san to his little niece. Just wants to make sure she's healthy, happy. It's sweet. You know his intentions are pure when he smiles down at her. Your stomach twists, anxious, anyways. You are waiting for something.
You don't wait long. For the first time in years, you get a phone call. Unknown caller. You pick up.
He doesn't say anything for a while. He just breathes, and he sounds bad. There's a rasp, a delay-like he has to drag each breath in and out his chest. Still, he speaks first.
"...That's my baby." You sigh, and that only fans the flames.
"That's my baby. Mine. Not fucking his."
"Of course, I know."
"Than why the fuck is she calling him that? Huh? Why the fuck is she calling someone else dad?"
"Because kids aren't dumb. They see things. They ask questions. They try to fill in the blanks any way they know how. That's why Touya." It's the first time you said his name, to him at least, in years. It doesn't feel like it.
"I corrected her. It's not even a habit. I'm working on it." He scoffs, mumbles the words back to you, but you hear what he doesn't say.
You search for the words, but you seem to have said it all in your last talk. You are standing, unsure and wary, and it's like a liminal space. Time doesn't exist here. Like you could reach out and pluck your last moments together out of thin air, inspect them in the moonlight.
"It was just Father's day, and people, stupid people were asking questions. No one came, except me, and she was sad." You explain.
"She's just…trying to make sense of things. I'll sort it out. Shouto is her favorite anyway so that's why she called him that." He snorts, and you imagine fire came with it, like a dragon.
"...Yeah. Shouto seems to be everyone's favorite." There, the root of it all. Your voice is small, but you take a chance. You still want to comfort him, after all these years.
"Not my favorite."
He pauses, scoffs.
"Really? Because he seems to come over to your place a lot. Helping with the chores, I guess?"
"Touya."
"Picking the baby up from daycare? Taking her to the parks and shit? Helping you pick out clothes and little booties? The fuck?" He's really been watching, keeping an eye on you two, his girls. You think a few years ago you would have been flattered. You're just tired now.
"You know Natsuo does the same thing."
"My baby doesn't call fucking him otō, does she?" He laughs, just like in the video.
"Doesn't he offer you breaks, from the baby? Go relax, or, you deserve this, you work hard enough. I'll pay for whatever, or, let me treat you."
"You know he's dense. He doesn't know what he's insinuating."
He laughs again, hoarse. You wonder where he is.
"He's a man now, of course he does. And you do too. Didn't think I was so replaceable." You go silent, angry, and he takes that as his sign.
"Do you like him? Is he pretty enough for you? Rich enough? Is he everything you've ever dreamed of and more?"
"Touya."
"What, got something to say? I don't want your apologies."
"I don't need to apologize because I've done nothing wrong." He starts to say something but you cut him off, fuming.
"Why are you calling Touya? Why? You don't get to say shit after all these years. You chose not to be a part of this."
"But that's still my fucking baby!"
"You've never even held her! You're never there, you don't want to be there!"
"Don't fucking say that, you know why I cant--"
"Does it matter why? You're still not here."
"So you found someone who is? Perfect fucking Shouto, huh?"
"Touya!" You throw your hand up. You should have never answered the phone.
"The perfect fucking prince, am I right? Are you fucking him, huh? Does he make you say his name when he fucks you? Do you cry when he makes you ride him?"
"Touya!"
"Tell me! Don't be shy now. You got a new man, let me hear about it! Does he rock the baby to sleep and sing her lullabies? Does he make it snow for her when she asks? Does he kiss you both when he leaves for work? The baby already calls him otō. Are you gonna give him a baby too?"
"Touya!" You say his name. You don't know when you've started crying.
"Touya. She's sleeping right now." You don't see or hear it, but you feel the anger leave him. Like smoking hands, going limp as you cry.
"We have a baby. We have a baby girl, and she's right next door." He curses when your breath hitches.
"...fuck, I know. I know."
"You can't yell at me. She's sleeping right now."
"I know, I'm sorry baby, I'm sorry."
"She won't go back to sleep if she wakes up now."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry baby. Fuck. I'm so fucking sorry." You think he'd cry if he could. His breath is ragged enough as is.
The line on both ends is quiet, as you try to calm down. Touya just listens to you,your sniffles and aborted sobs. He sighs. He sounds tired too.
"Just, go to sleep. I'm sorry I called, fuck. Just, go to sleep. Give our baby a kiss for me." And he hangs up, before you can say anything. You hang onto the phone.
Then you leave, to go kiss your baby.
You stay in that room, that spot for a moment more, lost in time.
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mike has a panic attack.
it's sudden and it's terrifying and eddie has no idea what to do. one minute they're all yelling and laughing and just playing d&d, and the next, mike is collapsing to the floor struggling to breathe. gasping out the same two names over and over again. the panic attacks eddie's had before were never, never this bad. for a fucking awful moment he thinks he's about to watch wheeler die.
lucas stays with him, crouched by his side and talking in gentle tones. murmuring words of assurance that, while good, don't seem to reach his friend. dustin had sprinted out of the room yelling into a walkie talkie as soon as mike went down, so eddie has no fucking idea what he's up to. not that he's able to focus on much other than the kid (because, god, he's so young, what the hell has happened to him?) trying and failing to just breathe.
he tries the shit that worked for him, trying to get him to breathe in time with his counts, but it's like mike's ears are full of cotton. there's not even a hint of recognition in his eyes as either him or lucas speak.
dustin returns exactly three minutes later, trailed by the last guy eddie would've ever expected to walk through the doors of hellfire club. steve harrington zeroes in on mike like a hawk, crosses the room quickly and crouches in front of him. lucas scoots away, visibly relieved to see steve, so eddie reluctantly does the same. mike's knees are to his chest and he's heaving sobs so powerful they wrack his entire body. for about thirty infuriating seconds, steve just watches.
"oh god- oh fuck- fuck- will, will-" mike is saying, through stilted breaths. "will, el- el- i can't- they're-"
"mike." steve's voice is like honey, low and soothing in a way lucas' can't be yet. mike snaps his gaze up, finally proving his ears work. "where are you right now?"
"hawkins lab-" mike chokes, and eddie just listens, dumbfounded. "hawkins- starcourt- fuck-"
"no," steve says gently. mike stares at him, slightly less glazed. "where are you?" he asks again, a little more pointed. a few seconds pass. mike's eyes dart around the room.
"hellfire." he whispers, barely audible. steve nods, asks if he can come closer, if he can touch mike. the kid nods frantically, and then his hands are being peeled from where they were curled protectively against his chest. they're placed against steve's instead, and they spend the next few minutes breathing in tandem. harrington demonstrating and mike doing his best to follow.
his breathing eventually evens out, thank god, and the heart-wrenching sobs simmer down into quiet tears. mike all but throws himself into the embrace steve offers, tucking his head under the guy's chin and seemingly making himself as small as possible.
"it's okay, you're okay." steve promises, speaking into mike's hair as he gently rocks them back and forth. "they're okay. they're just fine, both of them. you looked after them so well, bud." he keeps whispering reassurances and sweet, kind words into the little cocoon he's crafted. mike stays curled up there for a while, making a wet patch on steve's shoulder.
then finally sounding more like himself, grumbles, "just 'cos we're hugging doesn't mean i like you." after maybe four or five minutes have passed. steve just huffs a laugh, because despite his words, mike is still clutching steve's arms as he pulls back.
"of course not." steve agrees. mike smiles as his hair is carefully ruffled. turns and reaches for dustin and lucas, who waste no time in piling themselves onto their friend. steve doesn't go far though, keeping a hand in the hair at the nape of mike's neck.
it's only then that he finally makes eye contact with eddie, who's watched the whole thing go down with a sick curiosity. because... who was this guy? this was not king steve, or the asshole, cookie-cutter jock steve harrington that eddie knew of. eddie had thought dustin's nickname for him of 'number one babysitter' had been an exaggeration; that maybe he'd watched them a grand total of three times back when he and nancy wheeler dated, and dustin had developed some fixation on him.
but... no, here he was. having brought hard ass michael wheeler down from easily the worst panic attack eddie had ever seen with the ease of someone who's done it a million times. (and wasn't that a harrowing thought?)
"you mind cutting it a bit early tonight, man?" he asks, softly, and it takes eddie a second to register that he's speaking to him. "i know you've still got, like, 20 minutes, but-"
"no, no," eddie cuts him off, kind of desperate for wheeler to get home and rest. "shit, man. that was... yeah, of course, take him." steve smiles appreciatively (an annoyingly pretty expression eddie never imagined him capable of, let alone directing at him), and turns back to the kiddie hug pile.
"hey, boys? mike?" he calls, all gentle and warm. it makes eddie's heart ache; even more so when all three turn to steve with big, shiny eyes. mike's peek out from dustin's arms. "how about we head off now, and stop at that payphone on the corner of glenview on the way home? give the byers a call in california?"
mike nods, hinging on desperate. dustin and lucas give him one more good squeeze before agreeeing themselves. steve corrals them all up, bids a fucking goodnight to the present company, (plus an extra one for eddie specfically), and shuffles them out of the room. eddie, and the rest of hellfire, are left stunned in the wake of babysitter harrington.
(when mike tries to apologise the next day, eddie absolutely refuses to accept it- and, at lucas' timid request, writes the mind flayer he'd introduced out of the campaign entirely. the next session, it's like the thing never existed.)
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The Curse Of Hope
_
Danny is in another universe. He had a reason, but he doesn’t remember anymore. He can only stare, horrified and disgusted, at the sickest city spirit he’s ever seen. Shivering and swaying with every step, core exposed, and ectoplasm leaking from wounds that are decades old. A ratty blanket was thrown over their shoulders, barely hiding the spirit’s pale grey skin and protruding black bones.
The spirit didn’t even sense him until he reached out to touch its wispy shoulders. The spirit flinched, clutching at the dozens of trinkets hanging from their neck and tucking in on themselves like they were expecting a blow.
“Oh, shit,” He swore, floating back a few feet, hands in the air, to show he meant no harm. “I’m sorry. I promise, I’m not here to steal from you.” The spirit shivered again and rolled a pearl necklace in between their fingers. A nervous habit. “Uh, I like that pocket watch? It’s very nice.”
That got their attention. They peeked at Danny, and he saw that more tattered cloth was covering their eyes, blending in with the stringy hair that reached the ground. Their blanket fluttered weakly, revealing hundreds of thousands of tiny marks etched into their skin. Scars, really. Scars that wrote out curse after curse onto the spirit’s very being. They burned with evil intent, and even reached inside the spirit’s body and wrapped around their core.
Occasionally, blinding specks of color raced across their body, temporarily erasing the writing, but it always returned quickly. He watched, a little detached, as one particular line rewrote itself across their rough forearm, drawing fresh ectoplasm like someone was writing it with a thin knife.
“Are you…alright?” Danny stuttered. A stupid question.
The spirit cocked its head. He couldn’t see their eyes, but he felt their burning gaze as they pondered the question.
“The pain of others becomes mine own.” They rasped. “The lights of the city dim as rotten wealth clogs mine veins. Magicks long forgotten have eaten mine skins, pulled mine cloak, and darkened mine skies. Helios has refused to grace mine doorstep, and the seasons of the Earth have revoked their kindness.”
Danny held his breath. It felt like he was the one with the exposed core, not the spirit.
The spirit shivered once more. “Tell mine soul, little lamb. How could this Forsaken City know peace, when it was long since ripped from mine hands?”
Shit, he needed Frostbite. And maybe Clockwork. Now.
-Or-
Danny meets the spirit of Gotham City. The villains and rogues that have plagued the city for decades are literal curses that are taking quite the toll on Gotham, and honestly, Danny isn’t sure how much longer they can hold out. The heroes seem to be doing some help, and are probably the reason Gotham made it this far, but the poor city needs help from the Realms if they want to get better.
Luckily, Danny can provide that help.
But only if he could get Gotham to leave their city behind. Because recovery is going to take a very long time.
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☆ thrice the bell tolls
{☆} characters neuvillette
{☆} notes cult au, imposter au, villain au, drabble, gender neutral reader
{☆} warnings minor angst
{☆} word count 0.9k
"Get in the water."
There is no trepidation in the voice of the Sovereign as he speaks, only pure contempt that bleeds into the very air until it chills their lungs – there will be no penance here. No redemption. He stands before them with apathetic indifference, and with his hands he shall draw judgement upon sinners without a shred of mercy, so heavy his gaze they cannot move. This land shall become the grave of gods – no, not gods, Archons. Transcendent..and fallible.
Horribly, humanly fallible.
What a cruel thing to be – neither god nor mortal, in the end. Their Authority a stolen, coveted thing, so easily taken in a blaze of fury that singes them to the bone, in winds so harsh it tears the breath from their lungs from the sheer pressure, in the way their hairs stand on end as if lightning shall smite them for their arrogance. Judgement has come for them, in the end, and no plea nor bargain can save them from it's justice – they shall be judged and they shall be sentenced.
"..I was willing to put aside your past transgressions – forgive your thievery of the Authority that is not your own – to see Their vision of harmony come to reality." He speaks with nothing but clarity and calmness that unsettles – as gentle as the serene pond illuminated by gentle sunlight, ducks drifting across its pristine surface and creating faint, brief ripples. Calm as the tide as it recedes from the shoreline. His eyes speak of the tempest – the raging winds and the harsh waves that will crash and break and ravage. There is a fury so turbulent it makes the wind go still, the earth erode and the water recede. "You do not deserve repentance when Their body bears the marks of your transgressions," There will be no mercy. They try to plead, to beg and bargain but they cannot speak – their cries go unheard just as Theirs were ignored. A horrifying irony.
"Self proclaimed Acolytes, all, yet you bathe in Their most divine blood and call yourselves Saints," He breathes in, taps his cane against the hardened earth, and holds his head high as he meets their eyes unflinching. Mercy, they think, for we are innocent – we did not know. "Sinners, to the very last. You tear at the flesh of the most Divine like wild dogs to sate your own hunger, for you know nothing else."
His voice is the toll – it echoes like the ringing of a bell, calling them to the water like a siren. It beckons, it demands, and it will not wait. The water recedes and he stands like a beacon among the shores – a bastion of light where it has been snuffed out.
His eyes witness their sins – heavy a burden he bears as he witnesses that which they must atone for. The cruel hand of an Archon as it spills the Divine blood of the very earth beneath their feet. He sees Their agony, feels it to the last. Every bolt of wind, every jagged rock, every bolt of lightning. Every single one he feels until he weeps – for Them, he weeps.
His left hand renders judgement – guilty. Their transgressions are grave, and no redemption can be found for such horrors they have inflicted upon the mortal vessel of the Divine. They have felt their sorrow, have felt Their pain, and he has found them guilty.
And with his right hand..he enacts justice.
"Let your sins be your anchor – let your sins weigh heavy upon your shoulders so that you may feel a brief flicker of the agony you have inflicted upon Them," He lifts his cane with a solemn resolve, tears staining the scales upon his cheeks. "I shall weep for you, too, for no other shall do so in my stead. Return, wretched beasts, to the earth and let it nourish Them where you did not."
And at his call, the waves devour.
Entire cities, entire nations – those who bear the sin shall drown in it's wake, dragged to the lowest depths where even the sun cannot breach. It takes and takes, claws and tears and rips at the bodies of the damned – it devours the world, impartial and unrelenting in it's judgement.
And Neuvillette alone weeps.
◇
"Neuvillette? Are you..crying?" Their voices makes him startle back to awareness, the briefest flicker of shame welling up in the empty space of his chest as he wipes away the tears that roll down his cheeks like drops of rain.
"It..appears so. Forgive me, most Divine, it seems I had a brief lapse in focus." He clears his throat, straightens his back, tries to ignore the pit in his stomach as he watches Their lips pull into a smile all too happy. He..he should be happy too, shouldn't he? He should. If They are happy, so should he be. His lips curl into a smile that doesn't feel like it fits on his face, but he delights in the way They smile wider when he does.
They approve, and that's all that matters, isn't it?
"It won't happen again, I assure you."
Their approval is all that matters.
So why does his chest ache so badly? He did as They commanded, he removed the stain upon Teyvat and ensured Their safety.
So why does he feel such sorrow?
The thought gnaws at him like the tides erode at stone, yet he cannot bear to burden his Creator with such..nonsense.
He will bear this weight alone until the day the waves come to claim him, too.
"Shall we visit the gardens today, Divine One?"
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