#tries to get away from them when his powers start kicking in and tripping him and not helping at all

[phantom-0-writer]

second chances don’t come for free

cw/tw: child death and child abuse and related traumas

7652 words (!?) ao3

Everyone in the family had secrets, and everyone knew that everyone in the family had secrets. It was a promise that came with the crest they all wore on their chest. Some were more open than others, like the way that Richard always avoided tight ropes despite his impeccable balance, and how Father never enters the 4th room on the west wing of the 3rd floor.

Damian had secrets too. 

After a relatively calm night by Gotham’s standards they returned to a briefing for their next big mission. Damian was one of the last to return, busy settling a mugging attempt on his return. 

“Good, looks like everyone’s here.” Father announced, gathering the attention of the rest of the occupants of the room. 

“Looks like a full house.” Richard commented lightly looking around as everyone gathered around the computer. Todd leaned casually on the railway to the changing room away from the crowd but close enough to be included, Drake was clicking away at the keyboard as usual. Brown and Cain stuffing in their last cookie before butting the container away. Thomas stood idly by waiting for Father to explain what their next operation was. Barabra likely was listening from a separate location as usual. 

“We’ve received a tip from a trusted source that the League is up to suspicious activity.” Father began, as Drake pulled up a few schematics on the screen. 

“When are they not?” Brown scoffed, lightly jabbing Richard in the arm. He chuckled lightly. 

“Naturally,” Father continued, “It would be irresponsible for us to all go and leave Gotham unprotected so Spoiler, Orphan, and Signal will stay to cover the city while the rest of us are gone. I’ve informed Batwoman as well, and she’s available to assist you if the situation demands.” Father paused to give the rest an opening to speak, when no one did so, he continued. “We’ve discovered that they’ve found a rare washup of some form of solidified Lazarus Waters. We don’t have much information on the substance itself apart from what's essentially speculation. Regardless if the League found a way to solidify the Waters, there is no telling what they would find themselves in possession of, weapons, tech, humans at a level we’ve never seen.” Damian knew all too well what the League was capable of. After all, he had been the League. Father continued explaining the details of the plan and the positions each of them were meant to play. 

It would be the first time Damian returned to a League of Assassins base since he had first left them 7 years ago and he had met his Father at his own doorstep for the very first time at the age of 10. It had only been the lifetime's worth of rigorous training that kept Damian from curling into his gut at the sight of those eyes. 

The eyes that haunted Damian the last days he had stayed in the league when Mother had ordered him to pack anything he wished to take with him. The look of terror in the eyes that look just like the one that calls him Champ while he ruffles his hair and tells him to go sleep early since it was a school night. 

Damian found himself freshly showered and comfortably under his duvet, then a moment later he was pulling them off to go through the motions of his day. Next thing Damian knew he was in his Robin uniform in a jet that would be taking him to the sight of his biggest mistake. 

The League had always kept a close record of Damian’s activities since he had been taken out of his test tube. Every daily schedule, no matter how mundane, every mission report, no matter how simple, was expertly stored in the League’s database. 

That was with the exception of the final test. The League had taken extensive measures to scrub away any traces of the final test before Damian had gone to live with Father. 

When Father and Drake had meticulously gone through every file about Damian on his arrival to the manor, Damian was told his first kill had been at the age of 4, a politician in his house in the capital city not far from the League’s Nanda Parbat base. 

Though Damian had only understood what it meant to kill - to watch death - only 3 days before he had met his father. 

“Damian.” Richard called, Damian hadn’t noticed that he had been approached, “Are you sure you're clear for this mission.” He sounded concerned. 

“Yes.” Damian responded with a frown. He had his own mission, he could not afford to be benched. 

“You seem kind of out of it. I know you don’t have the best memories with the League and none of us are going to force you to go if you're not ready,” Richard was trying to seem approachable and understanding, and perhaps Damian should be more reciprocative of his efforts. But he ‘knew’? What exactly did Richard Grayson ‘know’ about the League? About what happened to Damian in the League? 

Damian bit his tongue, there was no point in lashing out before a mission only for it to impede needlessly on their cohesiveness “Would you prefer for me to bounce off the walls in excitement?” Damian allowed the snark to roll off his tongue, and raised a brow at the older boy. 

Grayson let himself laugh at that, “No, I suppose not.” And with that Damian was alone again. 

When Damian was 3, Mother had taken him to watch the older kids train. Damian had noticed someone else there, another boy around his age. They looked similar even, but not identical. Damian remembered the jealousy he felt when he started noticing the similarities the boy shared with Mother’s features, the audacity that he looked more like Damian’s mother than Damian himself. When he told Mother, she had found it humorous and praised Damian for looking more like his father insead.

While Damian sat on the bench with mother, their escorts behind them, the boy sat alone at a bench further away. “Damian, do you know who that boy is?” Mother had leaned in to ask him.

“No, Mother.” He answered honestly.

“That is Danyal al-Ghul, your twin brother by 76 seconds.”

“What is a brother, Mother?”

“Your opponent in all that you do, Damian, he is your enemy. You must always remember that.” Damian made his best efforts to remember that, because of course Mother was always right.

Damian and Danyal had been assigned rooms across the hall from each other but they never met outside of coincidental encounters. And whenever they had, someone had always been there to remind Damian that Danyal was not to be trusted, that he would get under Damian’s skin, find ways to exploit Damian, a cheat and a smear on the al-Ghul bloodline. One of his teachers at the time had told him Mother would’ve done well to leave that one in the tube he was born from. The people of the League would not dare lie to an heir of the Demon’s Head, so Damian believed them.

 One night, after a particularly tiring day of training, Damian found he couldn’t sleep and decided to sneak out onto the roof. Damian had not been expecting anyone to be there but he was surprised to see the boy there. He considered his options, assessing his opponent like he had been taught to do. The enemy, Danyal, seemed to act purposefully unaware of Damian’s presence there. There were no weapons stored on him, and his posture was incredibly lax and he simply stared at the stars in the night sky. 

With a sigh, Damian sat silently at his side of the building, and looked into the far expenses of the League's base and the mountains that surrounded it. Though Damian had intended to be alone, he found an unfamiliar sense of comfort from the un-accosting presence of the other, unlike the others of the League who always seemed to need to say something to him. But Damian knew, regardless, the boy was not to be trusted. 

The next night Damain found himself climbing out of his window again, and found Danyal already there. For the next three months, every night Damian would sneak out of his window onto the rooftop and find Danyal already there, and the both of them would sit there in a comfortable silence, back turned to the other. 

One day Damian had been sent out for a mission, nothing he wasn’t used to. Except the location was quite far so he had to leave early in the morning and would be returning much later in the day. He had managed to complete his mission much earlier than anticipated, and so with this newly earned time, Damian snuck off to explore instead of heading straight to the rendezvous point. Easily pickpocketing a handful of cash unnoticed from a preoccupied group of wealthy looking men, Damian pursued the options. 

Perhaps he could buy a toy, a train set the other kids were ogling at. Except that would be much too difficult to hide, and needless to say Mother would not approve of such distractions. Damian overheard some others talking about the deliciousness of the sweets in one store, and he made up his mind. He bought 4 different types, not sure which would be the best, handing over his money to the clerk and heading out of the store. 

Damian found himself anticipating the rooftop of his room, and wondering how Danyal would react to Damian’s new found treasure. Slipping the chocolates out of their hiding spot, Damian snuck all 4 bars onto his usual spot on the roof. Letting the wrapper crinkle loudly as he purposely fiddled with it unnecessarily, Damian successfully earned a curious glance from his roofmate. Damian took the first bite of the bar labeled ‘Dark Chocolate’ and let himself enjoy the bitter sweetness of it, as Danyal looked at the candy bars spread haphazardly across the rooftop. 

Not liking that he was beginning to lose Danyal’s attention, and not receiving the eager response he was expecting, Damian found himself sticking a piece of chocolate towards the other boy, offering it to him. Danyal hesitantly took it, eyed it cautiously. Some of the chocolate had already melted on Damian’s fingers. “What is this?” Danyal asked him. 

“It’s chocolate.” Damian explained to the other six-year old, not that he had really known what chocolate was either. 

“Chocolate.” Danyal repeated, before carefully nibbling on the side of it. His eyes went wide in surprise at the sweetness, and he looked up at Damian in disbelief. “Woah.” He breathed, taking a much bigger bite. 

Damian, having been the one to discover this, smiled pridefully at the other boy, “There's different ones too.” He proclaimed. 

“Really?” Danyal asked wide-eyed crawling closer to Damian who turned around to face him. 

At the end of that night, they were short 4 candy bars as they tried to keep their whispers hushed and the melted chocolate on their fingers left stains on the floor of the roof. Damian wondered how Danyal was supposed to be the villainous enemy everyone told him he was, but Damian was not so easy to trust, after all he was an assassin of the League, the heir to the Demon’s Head. 

Every night they would meet on the rooftops, exchanging souvenirs, sharing snacks, telling each other stories of the stars and mountain demons. After a while Damian had forgotten what he had been warned of for his whole life, and would look forward to meeting with Danyal every night. Maybe Danyal wasn’t his brother, like Mother had said. 

Perhaps Mother was mistaken.  

One night, Danyal didn’t show. Damian waited for him for an hour, but the other’s side of the roof remained unattended. Finally, having had enough, Damian skillfully snuck over to the other side of the roof and peeked through his neighbor’s window to see if he had fallen asleep, but there was no sign of Danyal in his room, either.

Feelings Damian didn’t understand swirled in his gut, the ones he got when the mission unexpectedly goes off script, or the sharp end of a weapon comes closer than he would’ve liked. Hurriedly, he slipped down, letting himself stay hidden in the shadows, as he searched for the boy that wasn’t his brother. The kitchen, the hall, the training room, the weapons room, the barracks, the field, the river in the back, Danyal was nowhere. 

Tired, and out of breath, Damian tried to formulate a plan. Where could Danyal have gone?

“Young Master Damian.” At the voice Damian instinctively reached for his sword only to find it not there. Had he forgotten to bring it with him? Damian assessed who had caught him, and easily recognized by the uniform that it was one of the servants. 

“What are you doing here?” Damian demanded, frustration at his futile efforts at finding his… -at finding Danyal.  

“I am cleaning the walkways, as we are to do every 10 days, Young Master. It is more convenient to do it at night, since there are less people around.” The servant explained, bowing his head. They seemed scared of what Damian may do to them. But when Damian did not respond, the servant hesitated before speaking again, “If I may ask, Young Master, what are you doing here at this late hour?” 

Damian turned to the servant again, if they had been out cleaning as they said for the previous hours past curfew then perhaps they had seen or heard where Danyal had gone. “Do you know of Danyal al-Ghul?” Damian made sure his tone was void of emotions, it would not do either of them well for it to spread that Damian had found himself fond of Danyal. 

The servant’s face paled slightly at the name, there was a small stutter before they finally spoke, “Young Master Danyal should be in his room at this hour.” The servant began fiddling, with the handle of the broomstick.

Why was he lying? “Where is he?” Damian kept his voice even, demanding respect. 

“I- I do not know where the Young Master is.” The servant pleaded, but Damian didn’t believe him. 

Anger growing at the situation, “Tell me.” He demanded. 

“The Demon’s Head, and The Lady Talia were to speak with him.” The servant spluttered out, caving under the pressure. 

Why would Mother and Grandfather seek out Danyal at this hour of the night? The feeling from before only strengthened as Damian rushed to find him.

“Damian.” Mother asked surprised, catching him easily at the door, “What are you doing here?” Damain tried to get a look inside the room, but Mother had positioned her body to block his view. 

“Mother, shouldn’t you be asleep by now.” Damian asked, trying to find the casualness in his voice despite feeling like every vein in his body was being controlled to squeeze his chest. 

Mother looked down at him in amusement, “I should say that to you.” Damian tried to force his way through the door, but he was no match for Mother, “Why are you here Damian?” She repeated. 

“I would like to speak with Grandfather.” He tried, lies slipping easily out of his mouth. 

“I’m sure it can wait till the morning, your Grandfather is tired from a hard day's work.” When Mother pushed her hair behind her shoulder, Damian wondered why there were splotches of fresh blood on her hand. 

Damian stood there in defiance, and Mother seemed to consider him for a while. “Perhaps since you're merely a child you wouldn’t understand.” Mother thought aloud. 

“I am seven, Mother, nearly eight. I am hardly a child, and have far surpassed the many of the teachers you’ve assigned me. I can understand.” Damian demanded. He needed to find Danyal. 

Mother straightened, and with a nod, moved from the entrance allowing Damian to enter. There on the floor was a trail of blood, that led to one of the darker corners of the room, and Damian couldn’t tell what the heap on the floor was. 

“Damian, you should be in your room.” Grandfather chided, sitting in his chair by the fireplace. The darkness of the room finally became accustomed to Damian, as he began making out the details of the room. Grandfather didn’t have his cane, instead it was left closer to the heap in the corner. The heap had its hair cut messily just like Danyal’s always was, and its hands were smaller than an adults, as it tried to bundle itself together. The heap moved slightly, it’s head turning to look at Damian. Damian drew in his breath, at the sight of Danyal’s fluttering consciousness on the floor. 

Mother was right, Damian didn’t understand. 

Grandfather followed his gaze, and nodded understandingly, placing a lit pipe between his lips. “Danyal is simply being punished.” Grandfather explained. Damian couldn't find the word to ask what for, but Grandfather explained anyway. “He seems to think he is your equal, in the way he speaks and acts. As if he is one of the respectable heirs of the Demon’s Head.” Damian didn’t understand what that meant either. If Danyal was meant to be his brother, would he not have equal claim as heir as Damian did. 

“He is my equal. Mother said so herself.” Damian stated, not sure the source of his deep rage at his Grandfather and Mother at that moment. 

Grandfather turned a questioning look at Mother. Mother turned to Damian. “What are you talking about, my son?” 

“You said that Danyal was my brother.” Damian said, it was true that Mother had said this, regardless of whether Danyal should be considered Damian’s brother, “A brother is an opponent, someone waiting to strike me down at any moment. My enemy in all that I do.” Damian recited Mother’s own words, though he could not put his faith in them. Danyal had always listened to Damian, understood Damian, laughed at his jokes and added with his own, always the first one to comfort Damain. They weren’t brothers. “If he is to be my enemy, should he not be on the same grounds as I, as a true equal in skill?” 

Grandfather considered what he said, and shared another look with Mother. “I suppose I see the reason in your words.” Grandfather turned to him again, “Why have you come Damian?” 

“I simply was taking a late night walk since I couldn’t sleep, and I thought I would perhaps feel better if I came to visit you. I did not expect to see Mother here.” Damian was surprised how easily it was to lie to the only people he had trusted for the previous year of his life.

Grandfather let his hand rest on Damian’s shoulder “Take him back and dress his wounds.” He ordered Damian, “And do not trust his words, he simply wishes to get under your skin. Manipulate you.” The doors to the room shut behind them as Damian carried the body of his battered enemy back to his room, and patched up his wounds. 

Danyal was sitting on Damian’s bed, fluttering on the line of consciousness. “What you said before,” his voice was barely above a whisper and he spoke slowly as his words meshed together. Damian listened raptly, “to Grandfather, do you-” Danyal seemed to be having a hard time forming the question, but Damian understood. 

“It was the truth.” Damain said easily, Danyal's face fell at the admission, but Damian was quick to explain, “It was true that Mother told me what ‘brother’ meant, and that was the true meaning of brother. But I do not think of you as my brother.” Danyal examined him for a moment, trying to determine if he was being honest. 

“I trust you.” Danyal said with more conviction than Damian thought he could possess in that moment. He trusted Damian’s words and actions when not even Mother or Grandfather did. 

Finishing with the last bandaid, Damian looked at Danyal. “I trust you, too.” Trust seemed to light a word for Danyal, but Damian was not sure what word he should have used instead. 

That was because Damian did not know what love was, and because Damian al-Ghul loved his brother.

“Mother you called for me?” Damian sat in the chair opposite of Mother’s study. 

“Damain, you’re here.” She greeted, not looking up from her screens. Damain waited for her to finish what she was working on, arms crossed impatiently. “You do remember who your father is?” Mother started, turning the screen with two of Father’s well-known persona on display. One of billionaire Bruce Wayne greeting guests at a function, and the other of the Batman perched near the head of a gargoyle. 

“Of course, I remember, Mother.” Damian sighed in resignation. “Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman.” He recited. 

“Good. You are a decade old now, and there is not much the League has left to teach you. So, in one week's time you will be going to stay with your Father.” Mother said bluntly. 

Damian’s brows creased together, “For how long?” 

Mother looked at him with authority as the next in line for the Demon’s Head, “For the foreseeable future.” 

“What!” Damian stood in indignation, “Mother that's unreasonable, how could you make me-” 

“It is an order Damain.” Mother said with finality. 

Damian frowned, “And what of Danyal then? He is Father’s child as well, I doubt he would sit by knowing he has another child here.”

“An intelligent conclusion.” Mother praised, “That is why you and Danyal will have a final test, the victor will be the one who is sent to your Father.” Damian’s eyes lit up at the concept, Danyal never talked about how he trained or what skills he best utilized, other than once slipping that he prefers to use katanas too, Damian did not know much of Danyal skills. This was finally Damian’s chance to see how capable of a fighter Danyal is. Despite whoever won, Damian was sure, even without knowing his father yet, that he would come back to retrieve the other.

“When will the spar be a mother?” Damian asked. 

“In 4 days, you will be expected in the main courtyard by noon.” Mother said dismissively. 

The day came both faster and slower than Damian would’ve liked. Wearing his usual gear, and his swords by his side he headed towards the field mother had instructed him to be at. Damian had waited in anticipation for this day, making sure all his swords were properly cleaned and sharpened. Of course they always were, but he had taken extra care that they would be in their best condition. His attire had been carefully selected by himself, a measure he usually wouldn’t take. 

Danyal and Damian stood facing each other, waiting for the signal to begin. Mother and Grandfather watched them closely from their spots in the audience, as the two exchanged blows, swords slidinging across each other, dodges and blocks, evasive flips, feint attacks, Danyal punched him in the gut once when Damian hadn’t been prepared. Damian let the battle engulf his senses, body moving in flow with his weapon, switching seamlessly between offense and defense until Damian found the perfect opening for an attack and he took it, knowing he would be named victorious. 

Damian’s katana sunk into Danyal’s chest, a gasp of pain escaping the other boy, as he looked down at the point of impact. Confusion filtered across his face for only a moment, and before Damian could question it, Danyal’s expression slowly morphed into fear as Mother and Grandfather approached them. 

“Damian, congratulations are in order.” His Mother praised him, stepping in between him and Danyal. “I knew from the beginning you would come out victorious.” 

“Thank you, Mother.” Damian tried to look at Danyal. “What now?” 

“We will be taking your brother to the Lazarus Pits, and let Fate decree any value to his life.” Mother explained, turning to Danyal and pulling Damian’s sword out of his chest, Danyal yelped in pain. 

Damian wondered if Danyal had been hurt during their fight. 

Damian bent down to load Danyal onto his back and carry him to the mystic waters and let him heal so he could join him at Father’s later. Perhaps Father would not be as keen as Mother on fostering their brotherhood, and they could train and fight together like they always talked about. 

“Damian.” Danyal croaked out lowly, if his face wasn’t already positioned near Damian’s ear he likely wouldn’t have heard. 

“Shh.” Damian chided, “Mother will notice.” 

“Damian.” Danyal called again, “Promise, you won’t forget about me.” 

Checking to see that Mother was still occupied in a conversation with one of the servants, “Don’t worry, I'm going to take you with me. Or I’ll come back to get you.” 

 “Promise.” Danyal asked again. 

Damian sighed, Danyal could be so stubborn sometimes, even with strange requests “Fine, I promise.” he rolled his eyes. Danyal didn’t say anything after that, instead resting his head on Damian’s shoulder. 

“Place him in the waters, Damian.” Mother instructed. 

Danyal’s body floated in the waters lifelessly for a bit, and Damian wondered why nothing was happening. And then suddenly, as if it were the mouth of some vicious beast, a gaping vortex circled around Danyal swallowing his body whole. Just as suddenly as it had erupted, the vortex disappeared and the waters returned to a deathly still seconds later. Everyone surrounding the waters watched in anticipation, but when nothing happened and enough time had passed, everyone headed back to their tasks. 

Mother stayed for a moment longer, “It seems even Fate, too, was eager to be rid of you.” she muttered, before heading off. 

Damian was the only one left there, waiting for Danyal to walk out and tease Damian for getting worried that it was taking so long. But the sun was beginning to set, and the waters had not moved at all, and there was no sign of Danyal. 

“Young Master, Lady Talia says that you should return to your chambers.” A servant stood by the gates holding a plate of food for him. Or was it for Danyal? There was only one serving.  

Damian turned to the servant, and he asked in a voice shakier than he had been expecting of himself, “Why hasn’t Danyal come out yet?” 

The servant seemed taken aback by the question, before their face morphed into something sadder that Damian didn’t understand. “Young Master Danyal will not be returning to us.” They explained softly. 

“Why not?” Damian demanded, confused and angry. His eyes were beginning to burn. 

The servant hesitated before answering him, “Because Young Master Danyal is dead.” 

“What difference should that make, people die all the time?” 

“It is as easy for the dead to return as your grandfather may make it seem, Young Master.” The servant spoke again, their voice gentle and tone careful. “Usually when people die they are gone for good, and they don’t get to come back. Not even with the Lazarus Waters. Second chances do not come for free, after all.” 

Damian let the words sink in. Danyal- Danyal wasn’t coming back? 

It was dark out now, almost the time the two of them usually met on the rooftop. Danyal would be waiting for him there, like he was every night. 

“You're lying.” He accused the servant, as he ran to his room, food left forgotten as Damian quickly made his way onto the familiar rooftops. 

Damian waited there, the servant’s words echoing in his ears at every second Danyal didn’t show up. An hour passed, and then two. And Damian considered for the first time that the servant had been telling him the truth. 

For the first time since he made his first visit to the roof of his room, Damian al-Ghul sat unaccompanied. 

After six years of carrying out various missions as an assassin, Damian al-Ghul cried when he learned what death meant. 

For the first time in his life, Damian al-Ghul cried when he realized he was alone.  

“We’re here.” Red Robin announced, as the plane landed silently about 15 miles away from base like they had planned the night before. 

“Oracle, testing comms and visuals,” Nightwing spoke into his earpiece. 

“All good on my end.” Her voice echoed in all of their ears. 

“Okay, just like we discussed, Robin and Red Hood will head to the surveillance room and get a location for where the experimentation is taking place. Nightwing and I will be on standby until the information is provided, Red Robin collects samples and information in the time that we have.” Father went over the plan again. 

Robin stealthy led the two of them through the LoA’s familiar layout, and the mission went smoothly. Within the next two hours they had the location of the experimentation site. It was on base, but a further location, so Nightwing and Batman headed there, ready to collect whatever information they could. Downloading the files for the surveillance and sending the access over to Oracle, their job should be done, and they were set to wait at the rendezvous point until further orders, or back up was requested. 

“Where are you going, Brat? We’re supposed to head that way.” Red Hood chastised as Damian took them off course. 

“Then go that way, if you wanna be such a goody-goody.” Damian shot back easily. Knowing the route to his destination easily. Damian kept to the least used route. 

“What’s with you, today? Pissy about not getting to see your Mommy?” Red Hood snarked, still following behind him. 

Damian wasn’t going to justify that with a response. The green of the Lazarus Waters came into view. A shiver went up his spine but he ignored it.

“Robin. What the hell are we doing here?” Red Hood demanded, eyeing the familiar green with contempt. Damian bent down to pick a handful of stay dandelions from the corner of the unused ally, and easily jumped over the gates surrounding the water. “Damian.” Jason hissed, “What are you doing?” 

“Relax.” Damian sighed, bending down near the waters, “I just came to give my greetings to… someone.” To his brother. Danyal was is his brother. Despite the mask hiding his face, Damian could see Jason’s posture soften. 

“Make it quick.” Jason huffed, letting Damian have some pseudo-privacy by turning his back to him. Damian set the flowers he had picked near the edge of the water, only noticing that the temperature had dropped when the wind blew a slight chill at the exposed skin of his face. It wasn’t temperatures Damian couldn’t handle, Gotham was often dreary and chilly even in her summers. But they weren’t in Gotham. They were in the Middle East, where they would consider themselves unlucky when the winters got this cold. 

“Hood, do you-” Damian was cut off by the loud acidic bubbling of the previously calm green waters. 

“What the-” Red Hood balked, turning around alarmed. 

Damian backed away in alarm, the edge of the waters expanding to swallowing the flowers he had laid down. The two brothers could do nothing but watch in suspense as the waters started swirling into a vortex garnering attention they had been trying to avoid. Just as suddenly as it had started the waters returned to their previously calm state, only for the surface to be broken by what looked like a young child, trying desperately to keep himself afloat and get to land. 

Damian and Red Hood were too busy holding off the assault from the small force the assassins had managed to form together to help the child. The second either of them turned their back to the assaulters, the assassins would take the opening to finish them. By the time they had dealt with their attackers the boy had already brought himself to shore, hacking up water. 

Familiar choppy black hair, and blue eyes Damian could never forget. “Danyal.” Damian found himself gasping, body frozen not from the cold. 

“Don’t mean to ruin your meet cute, but look like they brought their friends.” Red Hood warned as more assassins surrounded them. 

“We need to leave. Now.” Damian told him decisively. 

“Wow I never would’ve guessed.” Red Hood snarked back. 

“Call for an extraction.” Damian huffed annoyed, blocking an attack from the left. There weren’t many well trained members currently aware of them, but they knew better than to wait for backup to show up. 

“Red Robin, what’s your eta to the jet? Team 1 needs an emergency extraction.” Oracle spoke through the main line of comms. 

“I can be there in 10 minutes.” Red Robin responded easily, “What’s the situation?”

“We’ve been made.” Red Hood reported back disarming his attacker and knocking them out. 

“Will likely need medical attention.” Damian added, looking back at Danyal, who only now seemed to be registering his surroundings. 

“What happened?” Nightwing asked, concerned at Damian’s statement. 

“Not for us, for our new little stowaway.” Red Hood explained finishing off the last of the assassin, before turning around to face Danyal.

“Explain.” Batman demanded

“Perhaps now is not the best time or place for that, Father.” Damian snapped back. 

Danyal stood scarily still from the bay of the Lazarus Waters, wet and dripping, and despite the chilly temperature and his wet clothes he didn’t seem cold. If Jason had not tried to approach Danyal as well, Damian would’ve thought he was simply a figment of his imagination. 

“Hey, kid.” Red Hood put his arms out to show he meant no threat. “Do you know how you got here?” He tried to make his voice soft and approachable but the voice modulator of his helmet was not doing him any favors.  

Danyal didn’t respond, eyeing the both of them carefully. They let him, not making any movements that may scare him. The world seems to go still around Damian. Go colder. 

“I’m in the jet, heading your way.” Red Robin reported over the comms.

“We’re coming to find you too.” Nightwing added, Father presumably with him. 

Neither Jason or Damian made any moves. 

“Team 1, do you copy?” Oracle asked when neither of them sent a signal for receiving the message. 

Damian wondered what he should do? How was he supposed to approach Danyal, and begin to explain what was happening? Damian wasn’t even sure what was happening. 

“Team 1?” Father repeated. 

Do something, Damian.

“Copy.” Red Hood clicked into the comms and everything rushed into motion. 

At Red Hood’s response and the rapid movements of the wind at the approaching jet approaching overhead, Danyal dashed away alarmed. 

“Wait-” Damian called, running after him. But Danyal only seemed more distressed at being chased. He ran through small crevices Damian was too large to fit through, trying to deter him. But Damian followed regardless. Finally catching up to him where he knew that alleyway to come to an end, Damian caught sight of him, reaching out to grab his arm. Only for it to fall through as if nothing was there. 

As if Danyal wasn’t really there. 

After the failed attempt at contact from Damian, Danyal was only able to get so far before he seemed to trip, his foot catching on something that Damian couldn’t see. 

Why had Damian’s hand just gone through him like that?

Damian began to question whether Danyal truly was in front of him or if it was just some sort of illusion. Damian was quickly reassured of the validity of his vision when a sharp rock Danyal launched let blood drip on his skin. The hiss of pain was real. And so was Danyal.

Damian didn’t stop his domino from falling off his face, from the rock’s impact. Danyal stared at him. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me?” Damian tried to laugh, but it sounded pathetic. 

Danyal analyzed Damian’s features, confusion washing over him. It made sense, the Damian Danyal had known was a 10 years old assassin, not a 17 year old Robin. Danyal was smart, smarter than Damian had been. Damian waited for him to figure it out.

But the world did not wait. Red Hood, Nightwing, and Batman dropped in from various rooftops, as the jet hovered loudly above them. Spooked by the sudden appearances, Danyal quickly started backing away. 

“Excretion ready. Preparing Medbay.” Red Robin reported. 

“I was wondering when the news would reach you, Beloved.” Another familiar voice grabbed their attention. Damian looked to the sound to see Mother with at least 10 of her personal guards staring them down. Although Damian couldn’t see the others, he knew they had been surrounded. 

“Talia.” Father hissed, a cold anger in his voice. 

Damian's eyes shot back to Danyal who looked like he was trying to find a way to make an escape, exhaustion seeping through him. Deciding to take his chance, Damian approached him while Mother was occupied with Father. 

“Who are you?” Danyal asked him, hesitantly, trying to keep the distance between him and Damian. 

“I promised I would come back for you, didn’t I?” Damian said in lieu of an answer.

Danyal’s eyes widened in recognition but before he had the chance to respond, an arrow was launched landing between them. Looking at the source, it was Mother. At the signal attack, all the other guards swarmed in from their positions and started attacking. Damian, blocking a sword, aimed to slash his side, before another sword came for his shoulder. 

Occupied with his two attackers, Damian didn’t notice Danyal trying to escape by climbing the side of the brick building. Fortunately, Mother still hadn’t noticed him yet thanks to their surroundings, and Danyal’s insistence to stay in the shadows. Danyal’s progression was decelerating, the weight of his still wet clothes and exhaustion slowing him down. 

Damian tried to keep an eye on him so he could follow after, once he dealt with his attackers. Disarming both of them and knocking them unconscious, Damian was able to turn around just in time to notice Danyal on the brink of unconsciousness, and losing his grip on the stones he was using to climb. Damian moved quickly, just in time to catch Danyal as he fell and his eyes rolled back. With Danyal in his arms, Damian only registered the on coming projectile without enough time to dodge or block. Damian braced himself for the hit, using his body to shield Danyal as much as he could. 

Only for a familiar black cape to flutter in front of him, blocking the attack before it hit either of them. “Go,” Father ordered, tipping his head towards the jet, “We’ll follow.” 

-

“So basically, correct me if I’m wrong,” Steph started incredulously, “Damian had a twin brother that died, they dunked him in the pit waters but then he didn’t come back. So, they were like ‘welp, lets tell no one about this, ever’. Except the water ends up literally throwing him out when Damian goes back and does this huge water show grand entrance thing. And now we have another 10 year old Wayne child.” Steph summarized arms moving wildly. If there wasn’t a kid that looked a lot like Damian lying unconscious in the bed two feet away from her, and the body cam footage from both Damian and Jason, Steph would’ve thought they were pranking her. Though, she hadn’t entrily ruled that out yet either. 

Tim nodded in conformation, leaning back causally on his chair.

“You were gone for 36 hours.” Cass added exasperatedly. 

Damian still hadn’t said anything other than explain who exactly Danyal was. They were twins, apparently, and they had been forced into a battle to the death a few days before Damian had been brought to the manor. He hadn’t told them why, but Steph suspected it was for some stupid successor business. Some of the other’s had tried to get more information out of Damian, demanding answers for why he never said anything before, never told any of them, why there weren’t any files of Danyal in the League’s databases. But Damian hadn’t answered any of them, so they had been forced to give it a rest- for now. Looking back, Steph could see the signs that Damian was dealing with grief when he had first come to the manor, but no one had been looking for that, and it had gotten swept under ‘weird assassin cult child’ behavior. 

It had been about an hour and a half since the jet had landed in the cave, and Steph, as a certified medical practitioner, had been called in for an emergency. She had thought it was strange that Oracle hadn’t specified who, and now Steph understood why. 

Danyal didn’t seem injured, other than a lower than average body temperature and a slightly slower heart rate, which was likely due to the body temperature, he seemed in relatively normal health. That was if he hadn’t been a 10 year old who had been marinating in Lazarus Water for seven years. Most of the bats had experience with Lazarus Water, and it had never been pleasant. But they hadn’t been in the prime years of their physical and mental development, and at most had been in the pits for an hour. 

Steph, Cass, Tim and Damian were in the medical room with Danyal. Jason had gone to his apartment, and said he would be back later, and to let him know if anything happened. Bruce had changed and gone straight up stairs, not taking the news of having a second kid who Talia had hidden from him and a second kid who had died very well. Dick had stayed for a while but he had an emergency work call and had to leave. Duke was still patrolling, since it was earlier in the day, but was being kept up to date on all news thanks to Oracle.  

Danyal was due to wake up any moment, and none of them knew how to feel about it. Not liking the morbid atmosphere of the whole manor, Steph decided to change topics. “Did Cassie tell you about what Conner and Bart did last week?”

Tim turned to face her happy for the distraction, Cass humored her with an intrigued look. “What?”

“Okay so basically- it was so cringe-” Steph let herself laugh “They were at the mall right. The one near Mount Justice, y’know-”

“-yeah it’s the same one they go to all the time.” Tim interjected, rolling his eyes. 

“Right, so-” The door opened, as Alfred walked in, cutting off her story but not unwelcome. 

“You’ve all been in here for quite some time, so I brought you some snacks. Sandwiches, fresh cookies, and water, juice and milk to drink. All your favorites, do indulge.” The old butler explained, rolling the cart through the door. 

“Thanks, Alfie.” Tim went to grab a glass of water, and a sandwich. 

“And anything for our newest addition?” Alfred questioned. 

“He’s not awake yet.” Damian said quietly, sipping at a glass of warm milk. Like a weirdo. 

“Is that so?” Alfred said with a thoughtful drawl to his voice, as he walked closer to the kid. “Hm…” He stroked his chin animatedly, slowly bringing himself closer to examine the boy’s face, but still keeping a comfortable distance. Steph was about to question what he was doing, only to see the boy’s eyes shoot open, and stare back at Alfred like a deer caught in headlights. Alfred straightened, as Danyal seemed to realize that he had been discovered. 

“What? How long was he faking being asleep?” Tim asked, baffled. 

“56 minutes.” Cass answered, easily. 

“Wait- you knew this whole time?” Steph asked betrayed, only for Cass to smile back cheekily. 

Damian didn’t say anything as Danyal sat up in his bed slowly, examining every one in the room. Steph tried to make herself seem non threatening but stayed ready in case the kid lashed out, not knowing how he would react. If it was anything like how Damian had been during his early days, it would pay to be ready. 

After a long moment of no one saying anything, Tim decided to prompt, “So, how’re you feeling, kid?” 

Danyal didn’t respond right away, instead watching Tim, Steph and Cass from his spot on the bed. Steph was beginning to wonder if this was another case, like Cass, where the kid had never been taught how to speak. Danyal opened his mouth hesitantly, looking over at Steph hesitantly, then Damian before answering. 

“Cringe.” There was a flat blunt honestness to his tone that added to the sudden comedy of the situation. Damian choked on his milk, and the room burst into laughter at the unexpected response. Danyal looked a little embarrassed at the reaction, but there was still a small smile on his face. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad afterall. 

“Do you want some?” Damian asked, breaking a cookie in half and offering Danyal a piece. 

The younger boy took it, curiously, “What is it?” 

Damian took a bite, chewing it before responding, “A cookie.”

“Cookie.” Danyal repeated thoughtfully, before taking a little nibble of it. His eyes widened at the taste, “Woah.” 

“There’s plenty more of those, Young Master Danyal, I’m glad to see you enjoy them.” Alfred smiled happily at the reaction. 

“Really?” He asked hopefully. Steph tried to remember if Damian had been this cute when he had first come to the Manor. “Who are you?” Danyal asked again after a moment. 

“I’m Alfred Pennyworth, you can call me Alfred. I'm the butler at Wayne Manor, your father’s home where we currently are.” Alfred took a pause before speaking again, “Now, I hope you all will excuse me as I go fetch Master Bruce, he’s been quite excited to meet you, Young Master Danyal.”

-------

guys this was just suppose to be an itty bitty little thing. WHY DID IT TAKE ME 3 WHOLE DAYS??? im sensing a pattern and i'm not liking it.

I was suppose to be studying for physics :/

#danny and damian #character death but its danny #please someone help these poor traumatized kids #the mother gothel references go hard #danny is going thru it #first he gets stabbed/killed by the one person who's ever cared about him #gets dunked in a bunch of nasty green water #wakes up to find people in weird costumes chasing him #tries to get away from them when his powers start kicking in and tripping him and not helping at all #and then his mom find him and hes kinda scared out of his mind #and then more weird costume furries are chasing after him #but apparently its aged up damian and his father??? #he deserved that cookie #yes that was totally parallelism from when damian first offered him chocolate and they started becoming friends #ngl idrk how i feel abt the end #damian ate the cookie first to prove it wasnt posion also y he ate the chocolate first #but also he was eavesdropping on them for almost an hr so he kid a had a vibe check on them #his ghost powers let him pick up on languages faster which is why he said cringe lol #he was trying to assimilate and get them to like him so they wouldn't get mad at him #also kinda explains y damian was so aginst having brothers #becasue he had a rly twisted understanding of what that is #damian the one (1) time he tries to socialize: yah i had a twin once #rando: oh wow thats so cool what r they doing now #damian casually: oh he's dead #rando: oh- oh wow im so sorry #damian: yah anyways have i told u abt my brother damian #also damian: idk y pple think im wierd #i actually want danny to be the older twin #just for the unhindged conversation of a 10 yr old turning to a 17 yr old and being like im older than u #and dami responding completely seriously yah but i lived longer than u

[devastator1775]

Uzi helps N with overheating issues

This was supposed to be a simple scavenging outing; look for useable parts around the ruined city to fix the Pod. N was struggling, he could feel it. His movements were sluggish, he couldn’t focus, his circuitry was burning and he felt the thirst coming… He hadn’t drunk oil in a while, and now he was starting to get dangerously close to overheating … but he was fighting it. He couldn’t give in.

Not while he was with Uzi.

N steadied himself against the wall of the crumbling warehouse they were currently rummaging around in, taking in deep breaths of cold air in attempt to cool himself down. He growled softly when his visor displayed the [⚠ HIGH TEMP] alert again for the umpteenth time. He tried to get rid of the message, but it kept popping up again.

“C’mon, just go away.” N muttered to himself.

Uzi, who had been busy looking through a crate with parts, turned around to face her friend. “Did you say something, N?”

Uzi’s voice almost N jump. He quickly stood to attention and produced a sheepish grin. “N-nothing, Uzi.”

Uzi raised a digital eyebrow. “You’re acting goofier than usual.” She commented, after which she grinned mischievously at him. “Which is not saying much.”

N chuckled nervously. “That’s me, alright.” He tipped his cap. “Ol’ goofy N.”

Uzi rolled her eyes. “Whatever, keep your secrets for now. I’ll get you to spill the beans when we’re done here.” She kicked the crate with a huff. “Nothing but vintage-styled toasters in this one. Let’s check the 2nd floor.”

“Uh, you sure that’s a good idea?” N asked as he looked up at the ceiling. The warehouse they were in wasn’t in good condition in the first place, and the floor above them looked even worse. Parts of the ceiling had already broken, leaving holes and cracks everywhere. “It looks a bit …about-to-collapse-y.”

“Pshh, it’ll be fine.” Uzi countered as she made her way towards the nearby stairs. “It had held up this long. It’s not like it’s gonna all just fall down the moment we step foot on it.”

“Maybe, but- “

Uzi let out an annoyed groan and stomped up the stairs. “Stop stalling and let’s go, N!”

N grimaced, walking up the stairs and stopping on the lowest step, looking up where his compatriot had vanished out of sight. Uzi sounded frustrated, even more than usual. Ever since what happened during prom with Doll and the powers they both seem to have; she’d been pressed to find answers. This week, she figured that the pod could hold some answers; but with most of the systems broken beyond use, they needed to repair them if they’d get any sort of hypothetical answers. Which is why Uzi had been dragging N along to find parts on a daily basis lately. They’d mostly go to the furthest edges of the Ruined City, which meant N often had to wait until they got back to consume oil from his ‘stash’ – which was a nice way of saying ‘slurping the remaining oil out of one of the hundreds of Worker Drone corpses that were strewn around the pod so he wouldn’t overheat and die’. But Uzi was starting to become slightly desperate lately, which resulted in them staying away longer and longer before Uzi was content to leave. Which resulted in a few really close calls.

“Are you coming or what!?” Uzi shouted.

N flinched and rushed up the stairs. “C-coming, Uzi!” The last thing he wanted to deal with was an angry Uzi; or, more precisely: an angrier Uzi. Halfway up the stairs, he suddenly was overcome with a rush of dizziness, making him stumble and trip over his own feet. He landed with a thud and groaned in pain. A new message on his visor appeared: [⚠ Alert! Systems overheating! ⚠]. He quickly disabled the message, scrambled up and ran up the remainder of the stairs. He found Uzi standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed and annoyed expression clearly projected on her visor.

“What was that sound?” She asked. “Did you trip, or something.”

“Y-yeah, tripped.” N answered sheepishly.

“Ugh, why are you being such a freakin’ klutz lately?” Uzi groaned. “It’s starting to become really insufferable!”

N deflated visibly. “That’s a bit …harsh. Haven’t I been trying my best to help you this entire time?”

Uzi, instantly regretting what she said, shrunk in herself. “Way to go, Uzi Doorman. Insulting your only friend like that. She muttered to herself, wrapping her arms around her. She took a few steps forward. “N, I’m sorry. I didn’t-“

The floor beneath their feet suddenly groaned loudly, making Uzi stop dead in her tracks. She looked down at her feet, noticing how cracks were starting to form where she was standing.

Uzi gulped. “N?”

“I saw…. don’t move.”

“That’s, like, the opposite of what I should be doing, N!” Uzi gasped as she felt the floor drop a bit.

“Stay there!” N instructed. He gave Uzi a reassuring smile. “It’s gonna be alright, Uzi.”

Uzi managed to bring herself to smile a bit. “I know. I trust you.”

He smiled at her with a nod. He looked down to his feet and took a cautious step forward, his audio receptors primed to pick up on any signs of the floor giving out even more. He heard nothing. He tapped his foot a few times, but the floor beneath him seemed a bit sturdier than where Uzi was. “Okay, I got solid-ish ground here. What you’ll need to, is run as fast as you can to me. ”

“Can’t you just grab me or something?” Uzi asked, yelping as another crack formed, this time taking a bit of the floor with it, which dropped to the room below them. “Like, use those wings to fly and grab me?”

“I need to push myself pretty hard for that.” N answered. “If I try to take off, the pressure might collapse the entire floor.”

Uzi shifted her weight from one foot to the other – and instantly regretting it as she heard the floor groan again. She took a few deep breaths. “O-okay, I’m ready.”

“I’ll count to three and then-“

“I run as fast as I can, got it.” Uzi chuckled anxiously. “Looks like I’m eating my words about the floor not collapsing, huh?”

“I’m not holding it against you.” N held out his hand towards Uzi. “On the count of 3…”

N made sure his feet were planted firmly on the ground.

“2…”

Uzi took a starting position. “I have to be honest…”

“1! Now!”

“THIS SUCKS!” Uzi took off and ran as hard as her legs could take her.

Behind her, the floor started to crumble, pieces of concrete raining down on the floor beneath them. Uzi screamed all the way as she ran towards N. Just as the floor under her started to break, she jumped as hard as she could. N grabbed her hand and pulled her in, losing footing as Uzi’s tiny frame impacted against his body. He fell on his back, with Uzi curled up against his chest.

After a few moments, the floor had stopped collapsing, with only small pieces of debris falling down to break the silence that followed. The entire floor was gone, the majority was in the room below, leaving only a small area on top of the stairs undamaged, where the two drones were laying down.

A few moments passed, both of them breathing heavily as they were processing what just happened.

N heard Uzi suddenly yelp, followed by her frantically scrambling up. He heard her cough nervously. “So, eh …thank you for, you know, saving me from becoming crushed by rubble.” She rubbed her arm, guilt in her eyes. “And, I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean it. You’re a big help, and – N, what’s wrong?”

N was groaning, squirming like he was in pain. He had pushed himself too hard when he wanted to help Uzi, and the exertion had accelerated his overheating. His entire body felt like it was aflame and he felt a thirst like never before.

N felt his body move, but it was like someone else was doing it for him, like he wasn’t in control. He pulled himself up, almost in a zombie-like manner. His gaze was downwards, his shoulders slouched and his tail whipping around menacingly. His wings deployed, slowly unfolding themselves to their full width.

He could hear Uzi shuffle backwards. “N?” The fear in her voice almost made him flinch.

He needed oil.

“U-Uzi …”

No matter where he got it.

N struggled to look up, his visor showing the message: [⚠ OVERHEATING ⚠ HUNTING MODE ACTIVATED]

Or from who.

Claws replaced his hands. “Run…”

The next moment, N suddenly found himself on top of Uzi, who frantically tried to push him off. He saw himself in the reflection of his visor. His eyes were replaced with an ‘X’ and mouth was stretched in wide smile, showing his jagged teeth. He could smell the oil that ran inside her body. Delicious oil, easily acquired. He opened his mouth and lunged down to take a bite, but Uzi, instinctively trying to defend herself, held her arm in front of her.

He felt his teeth sink in her metallic skin.

He could taste the oil, dripping from her wound.

It was delicious.

He bit down harder.

“N! Please!” He heard Uzi beg; her voice thick with pain. “Stop!”

It was the pained scream that erupted from Uzi’s mouth that made N realize what he was doing.

He was hurting Uzi.

He was going to kill her.

“No.”

With enormous effort, N managed to wrestle enough control over himself back to tear his mouth away from Uzi. He grabbed her and threw her to the side. N forced himself to back away, until he felt his back hit the wall.

“No! I’m not gonna…I’m not gonna” N shouted at himself. He saw Uzi looking at him, still fearful, disoriented, …easy prey. He felt himself getting ready to pounce again.

No, he had to stop himself. In the corner of his vision, he saw his tail whipping around. He reached out and grabbed the syringe, bringing the blade in front of his eyes.

“N!” He heard Uzi yell. “Don’t-!”

He shoved the blade in his visor.

There was a sharp pain.

And then his vision turned dark.

How long had he been offline? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? N couldn’t tell. The only thing he saw was darkness. But after what seemed to be only moments, a message suddenly popped up in his vision.

[SYSTEM REBOOT]

Slowly, his vision started to come back online, followed by the rest of his systems. The first thing N was aware of was Uzi’s voice, talking to him.

“-ease, open your eyes, your loveable numbskull!”

N opened his eyes with a gasp, immediately jumping up and get as much distance between him and Uzi. He quickly noticed that they were back on the ground floor of the warehouse. Uzi must’ve dragged him down the stairs.

“Uzi, please, don’t come closer!” N warned, holding out his hands.

“N, calm down.” Uzi said, taking a step towards him.

“No, I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I’m …”

Fine? He noticed was in control again. The urge to hunt and kill was gone. He was still close to overheating, but it wasn’t at as a dangerous level anymore.

“What …what happened?” N asked. “Why aren’t I…?”

Uzi held out her arm - the very one that N had tried to take a bite out of – which was still dripping oil from the bite wound he had given her. “It took a while, but I managed to cool down your circuitry, drip by drip. I figured I’d give you enough so you’d feel okay again.” She took a cautious step forward. “Are you? Feeling okay, I mean?”

N looked down at his hands, squeezing them shot a few times. “I …think so?”

“No urge to hunt …me?”

“No.”

“Good.” She balled her fist and threw a punch right in N’s face. BANG! The impact of Uzi’s fist cracked N’s visor, which quickly healed itself. Despite the damage, N didn’t even feel dizzy.

“OUCH, son of a glitch, that hurts.” Uzi shook her aching hand, shooting N an angry look.

“Listen, Uzi.” N started, guilt washing over him. “About what I did …. I’m so sorry about hurting you and scaring you like that.”

“Hurting me? Scaring me? How about what you did to yourself? That’s what scared me!” Uzi yelled angrily, shoving her finger against N’s chest. “What were you thinking, stabbing yourself with your tail like that? In your head, of all places! You’re lucky you missed your processor! And even then, it took so long for your regeneration to kick in, I almost thought you …you….” She took a deep sigh. “Seriously, don’t do that again.” She hissed in pain, grabbing her arm.

“Uh, do you want me to ….” N asked cautiously, pointing at Uzi’s injured arm. “I mean, I know you probably don’t trust me right now, but- “

Uzi held out her arm, a soft smile on her face. “I do trust you.” She assured. “Now, please fix this, it’s starting to sting.”

N nodded and gently took hold of Uzi’s arm, bringing it closer to his face. He ran his tongue over her wound, letting the regenerative nanites do their work.

“Ugh, still gross…” Uzi commented, holding up her arm to her face to see the wound close, until it looked brand new.

“Aren’t you mad I attacked you?” N asked. He genuinely was confused why Uzi was still here. Why did she help him, after he put in her danger like that.

“Oh, I’m mad, trust me on that.” Uzi replied, shooting him a brief angry look, before letting out a sigh and letting her expression soften. “But …I know you weren’t in control. You couldn’t help yourself.”

“Still, that doesn’t- “

“And, it’s not the first time you ever attacked me.” Uzi crossed her arms. “Remember how we met? That time, you were actively trying to kill me.”

“And you shot my head off.”

“You deserved it, then.” Uzi sighed and walked over to him, fists on her hips. “N, why didn’t you tell me you were overheating?”

N shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He sighed. “I thought we would be back before it would become a problem.” He replied. “I mean, the last few times we did, so I figured- “

“Wait, ‘last few times’?” Uzi asked, making N slap his hand on his mouth. “You mean, this almost happened before? Not only once, but multiple times?”

“Y-yeah…?”

Uzi stared at N in disbelieve for several silent moments, before she walked up to him, her fists balled. “Kneel down, you tall jerk, I’m gonna punch your lights out again!” She threw a punch, but N managed to dodge it. “Why weren’t you drinking oil before we left? You know that I know that you need it! Is it because of me? Are you trying to spare me from seeing it? Is it-“

Uzi froze dead in her tracks, horrified realization beaming from her visor. “It is because of me….”

“No-no-no, Uzi, it’s not- “

“Yes, it is!” Uzi interrupted. “I’ve been making you come with me every day, and each day we’re leaving earlier and getting back later. And every time you asked me if we shouldn’t go back, I just ignored you. My stubbornness did this to you.”

When she suddenly made a dash towards him, N briefly thought she’d try to punch him again, but to his surprise she threw her arms around him into a tight hug.

“I’m so sorry, N!”

N slowly wrapped his arms around her. “H-hey, it’s okay…”

“It’s not!”

“Okay, but you’re not the only one who’s at fault here – not that It’s your fault.”

“N, I am saying it’s my fault.” Uzi said again. “Because I’m such a screwup!”

“And I should’ve said I was overheating, so ….I guess we’re both screwups.” N presented her with a soft smile.

Uzi gazed in his eyes for a few moments, before she let out a chuckle. “I can live with that…” She sighed. “Let’s promise not to let this happen again? We’re gonna tell these sort of things to each other now?”

“Promise.” N agreed with a bright smile.

Uzi stepped away from the hug, a blush on her visor. “So, uh, you good on …your overheating issue?” Just as N opened his mouth to answer, she quickly interrupted him. “And remember what you just promised!”

N sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “I …maybe need a bit more, just so I’m sure I’ll be able to fly to pod all the way without any more problems.”

Uzi sighed deeply. “I guess it can’t be helped. I guess you-” she suddenly blushed fiercely. “You, eh …you can …bite me?”

 “You sure?”

“S-sure, why not?” Uzi replied, rubbing her arms shyly. “You, uh, are in control of yourself, right?”

“I think so…” He chuckled nervously when he saw Uzi’s blank reaction. “Ehh, I mean, I am, definitely, yes siree.”

“Guess that’ll have to do….” Uzi shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “So, uh, how you wanna …do this”

“I guess I’ll … “ N walked up to her, suddenly very much aware of how much taller he was compared to his Worker Drone companion. He nervously opened the zipper of Uzi’s hoodie halfway, partially exposing the bare chassis. He slid the hoodie down a bit, so that her shoulders were showing. He looked up when Uzi let out a shaky breath. “You good?”

Uzi nodded, blushing brightly. “Y-yeah, just …be-be gentle.”

“Just try to relax, Uzi…” N instructed softly. He picked her up, giving her time to wrap her legs around his waist and get a good hold on him. “I’ll try not to hurt you too much, okay?”

“S-sure….”

“Okay, here I …here I go…” N took a deep breath and slowly lowered his head to her shoulders. His mouth split open, his jagged fangs showing. He felt Uzi’s grip on him tighten. His teeth brushed the plating, making Uzi gasp softly. He softly bit down, putting enough pressure to break through the mesh. Warm oil started to leak from the wound.

“Ow…” Uzi whimpered softly, her fingers digging into N’s arms.

N placed his mouth over the wound and started to take slow, cautious sips. His visor showed the message [COOLDOWN COMMENCING], prompting him to take a few bigger gulps.

“Ah!” Uzi exclaimed softly, her hands gripping at N’s jacket as she whimpered quietly.

When N’s visor showed that he had drunk enough oil to cool down at least 10%, he tried to retreat, but Uzi pushed his head back against her shoulder.

“No, keep going!” She whimpered softly. “You – ah – you need it.”

As more oil flowed down N’s throat, he started to feel something boil in the deepest part of his system. Something primal, something hungry. A low growl rumbled from his chest as he pulled Uzi against him, taking in deep gulps of her precious oil. He fell on his knees, making Uzi squeak in surprise. His grip around her shoulders tightened.

“Ah, N …careful…” She implored softly.

There was no fear in her voice, N noticed, but …something else? She wasn’t fighting him, nor was she giving any sort of sign she wanted him to stop. After a few more moments, N forced himself to tear away from Uzi’s shoulders. He panted, hot air escaping from his mouth. His visor showed he had 50% cooldown. That was more than enough. He turned his attention to her wound and lowered his head down again, his tongue slowly coming out of his mouth. He gently licked her wound, making her gasp in surprise.

“N, give me some warning next time…” Uzi groaned quietly.

“Sorry…” N apologized softly, before he started licking her wound again. When he was sure that it was closed again, he gently put Uzi back on the ground. He held on to her hands when he noticed she was a bit wobbly on her feet. “ You good, Uzi?”

“I …I’m a bit dizzy, but …otherwise okay.” Uzi stated weakly, shaking her head to in an attempt to get rid of the dizziness, which only made her more dizzy. Her visor suddenly showed the message: [Error: Equilibrium compromised]. Uzi’s legs instantly gave out, but N quickly scooped her up before she could hit the ground.

“Ugh …thanks, N.” Uzi stated weakly, an embarrassed smirk on her lips.

“Guess I overdid it a bit, huh?” N gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

“’S fine…you needed it more than me.” Uzi looked away for few moments. “Just …don’t mention this to V, you hear me? If she’ll get wind that this happened, she’ll never let me live this down.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Good…” Uzi’s eyes started to close. “Can you take me home, please? I think… I need a nap…and a few cans of oil.”

“No problem, Uzi.” N started, as he walked out of the warehouse. “We’ll have you before y-“

He froze when he suddenly felt Uzi’s lips briefly touch his cheek. He blinked a few times, staring in front of him, cheeks burning bright. After returning to reality, he noticed that Uzi had fallen asleep in his arms. The sight did bring a smile on his face. He unfurled his wings and took off, with Uzi safely in his arms.

#murder drones fanfiction #murder drones #murder drones uzi #murder drones N #biscuitbites #nuzi #enzi #n x uzi

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

May I request Kieran with an older cousin Reader who also goes to blueberry? Like post TealMask and pre Indigo disk reader is just like “Alright buddy, why don’t you just take a breath and calm down, I’ve poured some chocolate milk, tell me what’s wrong.”

Yesss bc TealMask Kieran definitely needed somebody to talk to after all that shit went down-

And choccy milk, of course

.........

"I hate you...you should've chosen ME. Was I not good enough? If I'm that weak, then I'll just get stronger. And I'll get even stronger until you wish I was your trainer-"

The knock on the door snapped Kieran out of his tirade for a moment. But he refused to move from his bed, glaring back down at the Ogre mask in his hands as the knocking persisted.

He wasn't in the mood to see anyone right now.

"Go away, sis." He snarled. "I'm busy-"

"Too busy to see your cousin, Kiki?"

Oh.

Although he was still brooding, he couldn't ignore the fact that his favorite cousin was here, wanting to see him after he's been away from the academy for a while. So he forced himself to get up and leave the mask on his desk.

He opened the door to see you and your Shiny Furret at your side, smiling at him in greeting. Attached to her collar was a shimmering normal gem; he recalled you explaining how it powered-up one of her normal type attacks in battle, albeit only once.

Yet seeing her reminded him of his own Furret and the losses they both suffered....and he couldn't help but look away, unable to meet her gaze. "Hi, [y/n]..it's been a while.."

"I know, right?" You chuckled. "How was your trip? Carmine told me you guys had to come back a little early-"

"It was awful."

"...awful?" In that moment, you could feel your stomach sink, and hearing your Furret's concerned trill made you realize something was very, very wrong.

Kieran looked as though he hated the world, anger clouding his eyes.

"Yeah.." Clenching his fists, he could feel his jaw tightening up. Tears were already blurring his vision as he wondered why everything had to turn out the way it did...

He thought he made an actual friend who was a strong trainer....only for them to befriend his sister, meet Ogerpon, lie to him on multiple occasions, and steal the Pokémon he idolized--all while kicking him and his team into the dirt like they were nothing.

Like he was nothing.

He felt cheated, wronged, humiliated-

"Hey, it's alright..take a few deep breaths." You gently patted him on the shoulder, noticing how he was seething in anger over something you didn't quite understand yet. But you hoped to get to the bottom of it soon enough. "We can talk about it over some drinks."

He took a few breaths, his body now slightly less tense than before as he tried to remain calm. "You got me something?"

"Of course." Nodding, you took some glass bottles out of your satchel--moomoo milk to be exact. "They finally restocked your favorite. Chocolate." You handed one to him, confused when he just stared at it, not taking it right away.

Normally, he'd be unable to resist something sweet, especially chocolate (it runs in the family, anyways), but now he looked almost offended that you dared to buy him something he liked.

"I'm not a little kid anymore, y'know."

"Kiki, I'm almost 20 and I still drink this stuff. You're never too old to enjoy it."

".....fine, thanks." He grumbled, finally accepting the bottle before returning to his bed, taking a few sips.

Although he felt a little better knowing you still thought about him, he kept stewing over the other people who didn't care about him anymore.

Or at least in his eyes...they didn't care.

You sat beside him, with your Furret climbing on the bed and curling around him. He sighed and rested a gloved hand on her tail, fingers stroking the fur.

"Now..what happened?"

".....where do I even start?"

Yikes. He wasn't cracking right away and instead was being extremely vague, so you knew something was seriously wrong.

Growing up, he used to always run to you to hide from his sister or bullies, never keeping secrets. You were the only cousin (or family member for that matter) who didn't judge him for liking Ogerpon or being reluctant to do Pokémon battles.

Now he was acting more withdrawn than ever, even with you here.

"Maybe from the beginning..when you first got to Kitakami." You suggested, yet he still seemed hesitant.

"Do you have time? You don't have better things to do?" He muttered.

"My class in the canyon biome got out early, so I have all the time in the world."

Although it took some more convincing, Kieran ended up going into detail about everything that happened on his trip: Florian/Juliana, Carmine, his grandparents, the festival, Ogerpon, the Loyal Three...nothing was left unsaid.

He rambled for a long time, having finished his drink long ago while you were still savoring yours. But you just calmly listened, feeling absolutely awful for him as he talked about all the times his team got beaten down by this exchange student.

Not only that..but they apparently lied to him as well about meeting the Pokémon he admired. He kept wishing he was good enough to be its trainer--yet he kept failing at every chance to prove himself worthy.

Least to say, this kid sounded like a real jerk.

"...and now all I wanna do is be stronger than them. They got everything I've ever wanted, [y/n]: friends, strong pokemon, Ogerpon's love...the whole village was amazed by what they did, but what about what I did?!" He gripped the glass bottle tightly. "I told them all the Ogre's story was false! But it's like..nothing even changed!"

"You had to leave early, though.." You pointed out. "Things might've changed. They could've left the Three's monument in ruins-"

"They won't. They'll find a way to restore it. All they want is money...and any tourist gullible enough to visit without caring about the truth."

"..jeez, now you're sounding more like Carmine-"

You only meant that as a light joke, yet it only plunged the atmosphere into even deeper tension as your cousin gave you such a cold stare--like he was using Mean Look.

It honestly startled you a bit.

"I-I'm sorry, Kieran.." You apologized quickly. "You're right. Kitakami's banked their entire economy on tourism for generations. They're not gonna let go of that story easily, even if it's all fabricated."

His gaze softened, although now he was looking down at the floor, now absentmindedly petting your shiny Pokémon's fur. "[Y/n]...could I ask you something?"

"Of course. Anything."

"Would you be able to look after my old team?"

In an instant, your heart sank. "What..?"

"Yanmega, Furret, Poliwrath..and all the others..I wanna transfer them into your care permanently. But I'm keeping Dipplin."

"You..wanna surrender your entire team?" Your eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "That's....look, there's ways you can improve upon it. Maybe they just need-"

"NO! You're not listening!" Kieran snapped angrily, clinking the glass harshly onto his desk. "I couldn't win at least ONE battle!! I did everything right! I formed bonds with them, taught them the best moves possible...and for what?! Just so they could hold me back?! Just so I could keep failing?!! I need to change my team, so I don't want any of them anymore."

"Not even Furret?"

"Not even Furret." He repeated with a scowl, gritting his teeth. "It's no good to me if it keeps going down in one hit..."

"Ret!"

Blinking, he looked down at your own Furret, almost forgetting that she was still curled around him. She seemed rather upset, ears folded flat against her head...and he made the mistake of staring at her beady-black eyes for too long, as guilt quickly settled in.

What was he doing?

''m sorry, I didn't mean any offense. I've seen you fight...and you're so much stronger. [Y/n]'s lucky to have you...o-of course, you're a shiny after all...h-haha..." He began to sniffle, his hands trembling as he pet her fur; unlike before, it was failing to calm him down. "It's okay. Y-You'll get to hang out with my Furret from now on...just like the old times. Wouldn't that be fun? You and him..d-don't have to worry about me anymore.."

"Ret-ret?" She felt a drop of water splatter onto her ear, which she flicked off, now looking worried.

You frowned slightly, finally understanding how much your little cousin was in pain...and to learn all of this happened within such a short timespan.

It made you wonder if you could've somehow prevented this.

"Kieran.."

"I-I don't wanna surrender anyone, I don't wanna feel like this. But..what else can I do?" His voice cracked, bowing his head. "I just..w-wanna be like Florian/Juliana..but nobody takes me seriously. They all think I'm going through some "phase". They all treated me like the Ogre..laughing behind my back, calling me weak...getting mad when I try to fight back...and I hate it, [y/n]!! They hurt me and NOBODY CARES!! Not even my own family!!"

"That's not true at all. I care, Kiki..I care so much about you. That hasn't changed." You wrapped your arms around him, letting him clutch your uniform jacket as he hiccupped, burying his face into the fabric. The poor kid was shaking, and you weren't sure if it was in anger or sorrow, or perhaps both.

When you were his age, you remembered dealing with all sorts of difficult feelings, too, and just like him..nobody else seemed to get you. You were mostly alone in coping, yet you had incredible Pokémon who helped you realize there's more to life than battling and winning.

Hopefully, you could help him realize this, too.

"..wh-why couldn't my own sister be this nice to me..?"

"I don't know. You want me to beat her up?"

He was quick to shake his head.

"Okay, okay.." You sighed softly, patting his hair in comfort. "Then...if you wanna become a stronger trainer, I'll do my best to help. I'll take care of your old team, lend you some research articles...whatever you need, just say the word."

"...I-I wanna take on the Elite Four and become champion.." He mumbled. "Maybe then..no one will mock me. Will you still support me then?"

That caught you by surprise, considering it was such an unrealistic goal for him right now. He barely has any double battle experience, yet he was willing to learn it if it meant becoming the best trainer in this academy.

Who were you to say no to him when the rest of the family seemed to turn his back on him? You didn't want him to shut you out, too, so you finally relented after giving it some thought.

"Of course."

"You're not lying, are you?"

"No, I promise."

Those words seemed to get Kieran to settle down, as he pulled out of the hug. His cheeks were a scarlet hue, stained with tears that he hastily wiped away before you could fully see them.

And he immediately insisted on going to the library to begin his research, and you both simply packed up your things and headed out, sending your Furret back into her pokeball.

You hope you made the right choice.

#once again this went off the deep end but hgh #that's how we roll with angsty kiki #clanask #anonymous #pokemon x reader #pokemon sv x reader #pokemon scarlet x reader #pokemon violet x reader #pokemon kieran #cousin reader #angst #hurt/comfort

[autisticlancemcclain]

“Lance, buddy.” Hunk nudges his best friend gently, who is currently dead to the world, somehow using his own shoulder as a headrest. “We’re here. Up you get.” Lance makes a noise that sounds vaguely like a mix of muffled yelling and sobbing, then testily uncurls himself, opening bleary brown eyes just to glare through the windshield.

“You’ll be fine, you drama queen,” Hunk admonishes. “You’re always fine once your brain kicks in.”

Lance only grunts, shifting his gaze to the door and opening it.

Well, trying to. It takes him four tries before Hunk takes pity on him, turning off the car before getting out of his own seat and walking to the other side to open Lance’s door for him. He sighs slightly to himself — he’d been planning on dropping Lance off at work and then jetting, but he should’ve known that wasn’t happening.

“C’mon, out you get,” he says, opening the door. He has to stop Lance from faceplanting on the pavement when he trips over nothing.

“Yeesh,” comes a voice from behind them, “what alien came down in the night and sucked out his brains? Or whatever’s left of them, anyways.”

Pidge stands by the rear door of the cafe holding three bags of coffee beans in her arms, glasses gleaming in the moonlight and smirk making her look impish. Her poofy dandelion hair is more of a mess than usual, as if a brush was a distant thought.

“He’s on low power mode,” Hunk explains. He slips an arm around Lance’s shoulders, patting him delicately and perhaps a bit patronizingly on the cheek. Lance responds only by groaning again and flopping his head back to rest on Hunk. “Lance is very big on beauty sleep, you see. So this is kind of a nightmare for him.”

Pidge’s smirk only gets wider. “I do see.”

Somehow, she makes a simple phrase of acknowledgment sound like she has just formed several evil plans in her head and is about to commence Lance’s downfall. She makes no attempt to hide this, which speaks to her power.

“Pidge? Everything okay out there?” calls a voice from inside the cafe.

“All good, Shiro! Just harassing Lance!”

“Oh, okay then.”

This makes Lance pull away from Hunk in pure indignation, jaw dropped and eyes furrowed on betrayal.

Hunk bursts out laughing.

“I think you’re good now, dude,” he says, patting Lance’s back one last time before waving goodbye and heading back to his car. Lance watches him go, then stomps into the cafe, putting his apron on as aggressively as he can possibly manage and scowling at a gleeful Pidge.

“Hello, Zombie Lance,” greets an amused Shiro. He looks impossibly normal for a man who has to be awake and working at Three In The Goddamn Morning. “Thanks for coming in, kiddo. I appreciate it.”

Lance shoots him a tired thumbs up and then heads to the kitchen.

“Never in my life have I seen him like this,” Pidge remarks. She is practically bouncing off the walls.

Shiro raises an eyebrow at her. “He’s the only one here who can bake. You’re not allowed to make him quit.”

“Can I make him consider it?”

“No.”

Pidge pouts. “Aw, Shiro, come on! You’re not here on the afternoon shifts! He and Allura gang up on me, Shiro. I am a victim. They do that weirdo thing where they communicate with eyebrow wiggles and Looks Of Judgement and then suddenly they know every embarrassing thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Shiro snorts, but shakes his head again. “Still no, Pidge. You’re all an asset to this team. Besides, Lance is the only one who doesn’t hate interacting with customers during rush. Do you want to start doing that? Because that’s what you’ll be doing if you annoy him into quitting.”

“Fine,” Pidge grouches. “I’ll only torment him a little. Until he gets his voice back. Fair’s fair.”

She sprints off before Shiro can stop her.

Chuckling to himself, Shiro continues unpacking the supply shipment, stacking sacks of flour in the store room and bringing boxes of teabags up front. They’ll probably be fine. They’ve worked here for years and managed to not kill each other. Sure, Shiro has never had three of his early-morning bakers and stockers quit at the same time, nor has he ever had to panic-text his best employees to get them to work outside their usual shift in the dead of night, but he’ll…manage. Hopefully.

“I’m here! I’m here! I’m not late, I’m —” Allura stumbles into the storeroom, frantically trying to tie her thick, kinky hair out of her face and shove it into her visor. She gives up very quickly, tossing the visor on a random surface and smiling sheepishly at her boss. “I’m a little late. But in my defense, Uncle Coran is trying to build a flux capacitor again so all the clocks were behind.”

“Grab a sack of flour, you walking mess,” Shiro says fondly. Smiling back at him, Allura does, picking up three sacks with complete ease and stacking them neatly.

“What do we have to do to open?” she asks. “I’ve done it a couple times, I think, but never this early, and —”

She’s interrupted by screeching, followed by cackling, and then the sound of several things clanging together as they fall to the floor.

She purses her lips, clearly fighting back a giggle. “Pidge and Lance in the kitchen?”

Shiro sighs. “Unfortunately.”

They follow the sounds of destruction, pulling the two fools away from each other, Allura dragging Pidge to go help her with the unloading and Shiro staying to help Lance. Between the four of them they manage to get the cafe stocked and prepped for the day, supplies out where they belong and enough goodies baked for the morning rush.

“Thanks again,” Shiro tells them, when six rolls around and they get ready to open.

Lance grins at him, having woken up fully sometimes around four. “All good! Opening shift is kinda nice, actually. You get to see the sunrise.”

Shiro smiles back, somewhat nervously. “It’s great that you feel that way, buddy.”

“Oh no,” Pidge says, sensing his tone.

Shiro pushes on. “—because Stephanie, Tyler, and Lou all quit. So. I am completely out of an opening shift.”

All three of them blink.

“Have you been opening on your own every morning?” Allura asks, concerned.

“No, this just happened,” Shiro assures. “That’s why I called you guys in. I know it’s frustrating, but I was hoping you guys would be willing to take this shift for a while, at least until I can get new hires. You guys like working together, so I pulled all three of you, but you don’t all have to say yes. I can definitely ask the late afternoon or evening shifts.”

“I never said anything about liking to work with the gremlin,” Lance grumbles, but he’s resting his elbow on Pidge’s head and his tone is nothing but fond.

“Yeah, and who says I want to work with two beanstalks?” Pidge complains. “If you move these two knuckleheads to this shift then maybe I can go back to my regular shift and work with appropriately sized people!”

“Oh, darling, I don’t believe any of our coworkers are preschoolers.” Allura bends down to Pidge’s height, face exaggeratedly sympathetic. “Child labour is illegal, you see.”

Pidge scowls as Allura and Lance burst into cackles, high-fiving each other. “You see?” she demands, gesturing between them and Shiro. “They gang up on me! Workplace harassment! I can’t believe you’re making me take the morning shift with these two doodooheads!”

“This is the best gift you could have possibly given me, Shiro,” Lance says, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “I’m eternally grateful for this opportunity.”

Allura sniggers. “As am I.”

“Alright, alright,” Shiro says, rolling his eyes. He shrugs on his jacket, tossing the keys to Allura — the most trustworthy of the bunch (Pidge will most definitely make copies for nefarious purposes and the one and only time Lance was trusted with the keys, they ended up accidentally baked into a banana loaf). “I’m gonna sort some things out and see what I can do to get some newbies hired. No killing each other while I’m out, and no making each other quit either. Play nice, children.”

The three of them call out some derivative of “will do, father!” and wave him goodbye, watching him unchain his bike from the side of the building and pedal off.

The second he’s out of eyesight, Lance turns towards the other two, hand flying to his nose. “Dibs on first pick of breakfast! And on not unlocking the doors!”

“Hey! No way!”

“You only get to dibs one, you cheater!”

———

Usually, Lance works from ten to five, so he gets the second wave of breakfast rush and both waves of lunch rush. Early dinner rush too, but only if he’s working on weekends.

Early morning rush, though, is a whole different ballpark. There are way more people, somehow, and a lot of them are ruder. Possibly the lack of coffee, but still. Pidge intentionally makes decaf after notices several people be much meaner than Lance than usual.

Not that she thinks Lance notices she does this. But she’s not very subtle, and every time she does it makes Lance smile.

“Whew,” Allura huffs, slumping over the counter. “That was rough.”

“Was it ever,” Lance grumbles. The cafe has been quiet for five whole minutes, signalling an end to the dreaded mass of customers who’ve yet to caffeinate themselves.

Pidge is very scowly. “That one guy was such a prick. He was so mean to Lance for no reason, and then he called you hotcheeks, Allura! Ugh. He’s going to be so miserable when he gets caffeine withdrawals. I hope they’re particularly bad for him.”

“Careful there, Pidgey,” Allura says, sharing a grin with Lance. “It almost sounds like you care about us.”

“That has nothing — I do not! I’m just —” She flounders, ears going red. There’s no bleeding heart like Pidge, but God forbid she ever admit it. “I’m going on break! Fuck you guys!”

She stomps off to the back, throwing her apron at Lance’s head as she turns the corner. Allura and Lance look at each other, and last approximately four seconds before cracking up.

“Payback,” Lance says between giggles. “She was a total shit this morning. I considered throwing eggs at her.”

“You didn’t consider shit. You did throw an egg at her.”

“Yeah, but she dodged, so it doesn’t count.”

Allura rolls her eyes. “If I put you in a chokehold but you don’t die, it still —”

She cuts herself off at the sound of the windchimes hanging from the door, looking over to see a guy walk in, their age, wearing a cropped leather jacket, fingerless gloves, big emo boots, and —

“Is that a mullet?” Lance mutters, aghast. “In this day and age? Unironically?”

Allura bites her lip, hurriedly turning towards the espresso machine. “I’ll get started on a coffee as black as his soul,” she teases under her breath.

Lance has the bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing, and even then he can’t stop his smile. He turns to the guy. “Welcome to Starbrews. What can I get for you?” he asks, voice shaking with mirth. He glances at the man’s gloves, and then back at his face. “A pink drink?”

Is he being a little mean? Yeah, probably. Can he kiss any tip goodbye? Most definitely.

Oh, well.

The man scoffs. “Is that your idea of being funny?”

Lance shrugs, very much amused even if the beloved customer isn’t. “What’re you gonna get, then?”

The man hesitates for a beat, still glaring at Lance, then mutters, “A pink drink.”

Lance does his absolute best to keep his smirk at a reasonable level. He sees Allura’s shoulders shaking out of the corner of his eye.

“What size?” he asks pleasantly, tapping the register.

“A medium,” the man says, with no small amount of attitude.

Without waiting for the man to finish, Lance shakes his head.

Oh, he is delighting in this.

“Sorry,” he hums. “I don’t know what that is.”

The man looks a hair’s breadth away from reaching over to strangle Lance, which is excellent. Instead he places his hands on the counter very gently, in a way that tells you he is physically holding himself back from slamming them, and leans in close. He hums, mocking the way Lance did earlier, condescending smirk on his face. “It’s, like, in between a small and a lar—”

“Shh,” Lance interrupts, matching the man’s position, leaning so close he can see the freckles that dot his nose, and the faint scar on his cheek. “We go by tall, grande, and venti here? Most people know that.”

Most people don’t know that, actually. This is a privately owned cafe. This isn’t a Starbucks. Shiro just has an all-encompassing loathing for Starbucks and anything associated with it, and expresses this loathing with as much copyright as he can get away with, which is a lot. (Aside from the sizing, they even have two menus, labelled ‘Our Menu’ and ‘The Starbucks Menu’. How Shiro has not yet received a cease and desist, Lance does not know, but the pettiness as a whole brings him great joy.)

But for whatever reason, Lance appears to be set on being as annoying as possible to this random man today. Perhaps it’s because he is personally offended by the mullet. Perhaps it’s because Lance is neurotic and the man is objectively very attractive. No one will ever know exactly how Lance’s mind works, least of all himself.

The man’s eyebrows narrow, and something shifts in his expression. He smirks widely, tilting his head at Lance and putting his hand to his heart in a false show of genuineness.

“Aw,” he coos, as patronizing as Lance was seconds ago. “Do I look like most people, sweetheart?”

The mocking pet name only emboldens Lance further. He straightens, punching in the order — not that he needs to, there’s no way Allura isn’t paying full and complete attention, but still — and grinning.

“Absolutely not,” he chirps, as preppily as he can.

The man huffs, straightening up as well. “Hm. That was a little condescending, don’t you think?”

“Was it?” Lance drawls.

“Yeah,” the man says flatly.

“Interesting,” Lance dismisses. “Can I get a name for the order? Or does Billy Ray Cyrus work for you?”

Allura can’t tamp down her laugh at that one, clamping her hand over her mouth as soon as the sound escapes and hurriedly reaching for the coconut milk.

“Keith is fine,” Keith grouches.

“Sure thing,” Lance assures, writing Billy Ray Cyrus on the cup, and then a heart just to be annoying. He slides the cup over to Allura, who fills it up and walks it over to the counter.

“Pink drink for Billy Ray Cyrus?” she calls, because she may pretend to be more mature than Lance but deep down she is just as much of a shit disturber.

Keith scowls. “Not my name.” He takes the offered drink and then — to Lance and Allura’s great surprise — drops some money into the tip jar, before leaving the cafe in a huff.

“You are going to get your dumb ass fired,” Allura says once he’s gone.

“Nah,” Lance dismisses, grinning cheekily at her. “Shiro likes me too much. Plus, how would he ever find out?”

Allura grabs a rag and stars wiping the machines down, shaking her head. “You’d be surprised.”

“Oh, come on. What’s Mr. Emo gonna do? Tell Shiro? It’s not like they know each other. That would be romcom levels of ridiculous plot hangering. Not happening.”

“Whatever you say, Lance. When this comes back to bite you in the ass, I am going to point and laugh.”

———

scene from this video

#i have more planned obviously no one let me forget #vld #voltron #lance #lance mcclain #hunk #hunk garrett #lance & hunk #pidge #pidge holt #lance & pidge #pidge & allura #allura #princess allura #pidge & shiro #allura & shiro #shiro #takashi shirogane #broganes #keith #keith kogane #klance #pre klance #brown-eyed lance #autistic lance #cafe au #fluff and humour #my writing #fic #longpost

[sugolara]

𝘼 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙙𝙖𝙮

ft. Shota Aizawa x daughter! reader

series m.list || next

The day the outbreak started

"Bottom floors are flooded with the dead! We managed to block the door to prevent them from coming in but the door won't hold in any longer!" Hizashi told Shota after he and Toshinori came back.

"We don't have much time. It won't take long before they come in and come after everyone in those rooms." Toshinori said as he worried about the students locked in the classrooms. "We should've taken them outside so that they have a chance of running."

"No." Shota said and stared at the end of the hallway where pounding was coming, "The streets are filled with those things. I barely made it."

"Shota...we can't take them with us." Hizashi said as he stared at his friend, already knowing what he was thinking. "The military aircraft won't allow it. With how small it is, barely half of us will even fit!

"That's bullshit." Shota scowled, "They can’t just leave these kids here, they’re humans, not a life you can just toss away! There has to be another damn aircraft!"

"They did say another aircraft would wait in Hosu." Toshinori tried to reassure Shota but he knew it wasn't working. Instead, the pounding of the door caught all their attention, "We should go, now."

"C'mon." Hizashi tried to move Shota, "We did all we could. The dead would have a hard time getting into the classrooms. It would give some time for the students inside to escape through the windows."

"...This is messed up." Shota whispered, "We shouldn't leave them here."

"I'm sure the aircraft would come back and rescue them when we tell them there's people here." Hizashi once again tried to move his friend forward but he was beginning to get frustrated, "Shota, move it."

"No." Shota yanked his arm from his friend's grip and began to move into a different hallway, "You two get out of here. I still need to do something."

"Wait!" Hizashi and Toshinori tried to grab the black-haired male's attention, "Where are you going!?"

"My daughters are still out there! I'm not leaving them behind!" Shota then turned to face them, "I'll see you guys! Stay safe."

The two blondes watched as their friend ran off. They watched as his figure got further away and turned through a corner, his figure out of sight. They mentally wished him good luck and moved to the roof of the building where a military aircraft would arrive.

Running down the hall, his mind raced as he thought about his daughters. Were they safe? Did their school evacuate already or were they trapped in a room? Or maybe...something else happened?

He had to push his thoughts back as he tried to get to his daughter's school. When he arrived at the hall door, he quietly listened in case anyone was behind the door. When he heard nothing, he hesitantly pushed it and peered inside. The hall was dark from the power going out.

He calmed his nerves before slowly entering and closing the door behind him. He watched his steps as he tried not to step onto the fallen corpses of the school's students. He avoided looking at their body as he felt like he failed to save them. He wondered if his students were doing okay in the dorm.

Walking further, he stumbled a bit as he tripped over a body. He grunted as he caught his fall, but his body shook as he heard a growl and a hand grabbing onto his ankle. He twisted himself and with wide eyes he watched as the student tried to maul his ankle.

His survival instincts kicked in and tried to shove the dead off of him. He kicked the girl's student face and mentally apologized as the girl was shoved off and tried to grab onto him once again.

Shota didn't get the chance to run as other deads nearby turned to his direction and began to move towards him. He cursed as he realized he was surrounded. Acting fast, he moved into a classroom behind him and loudly shut the door but with his back unguarded, he failed to see another dead student pounding onto him.

He grunted as the dead grabbed onto his shirt. He tried prying him off as well as not letting go of the door but it was difficult and if he wanted to leave, he had to let go. With a deep breath, he moved away from the door and slammed himself onto a desk until the dead removed himself.

He then looked around and picked up a nearby scissor. When the dead neared him, he sunk the scissor into its head and repeated the action with him and the dead toppling onto the floor. Blood sprayed everywhere and a pool of blood began to form underneath them.

The male then let out a heavy sigh as he dropped the scissor and moved away from the body. He peered at the body and then back at the door where the dead were pounding.

How the hell did this even happen? It was all Shota could think as he moved his way to a window and looked down. He opened it and climbed out, his feet kept him steady as he kept an eye on a shed that was placed beneath. He was thankful he was on the third floor and a drainage pipe was next to him to help him climb down.

He worried as he climbed down the pipe as it would wobble from his weight. When his feet were able to reach the shed, he jumped onto it and then safely jumped onto the floor. He crouched as he moved around the school building and avoided anything that could trigger the dead nearby.

It seemed like most of the students were inside the school or in their dorms as civilians were mostly outside. When he reached the front of the gate, he anxiously looked around for a clearing where a dead wasn't lingering but it was impossible as the road was completely filled.

He instantly made up his mind and decided to make a run for the forest that surrounded the school. He dodged every mangled hand that tried to clutch onto him. He kept low once he no longer spotted any dead and quietly continued forward.

He figured he would try the nearest school which would be Eri's and then head for F/n's. He first had to look for some sort of weapon. He cursed himself for leaving the scissors behind.

Exiting the forest, he stayed near a bush and watched as a few dead walked around and cars left unattended. He looked inside the car from the bushes as the doors were left open. From what he could see, a bunch of suitcases were left so he moved to a different direction where he spotted a lonely dead man stuck under a car.

Shota closed his eyes as the man was most likely run over and died from his injuries. He then spotted a pistol near his waistband. He hummed as he looked around for any dead and then moved forward to the man.

Getting on the floor, Shota hurriedly reached his hand out to the gun as he was worried the growls would alert any dead nearby. He let out an annoyed sigh as his hand couldn't reach it. He moved half of his body under the car and when his hand touched the gun's handle he quickly grabbed it.

His eyes peered at the gun. He's never used one but he did know the basics so maybe it shouldn't be hard to figure it out. With a weapon on hand, he steadily walked to Eri's elementary school.

However, his heart dropped when the school came into view. All the windows were broken and the front door was broken down. The school playground was coated in blood and Shota feared the worst as he thought of Eri. He hurryingly rushed inside only to be met with silence.

"Eri!" Shota yelled out as he frantically moved room to room. "Eri! Where are you!?"

When he moved into a room, he saw Eri's shoe coated in blood. His heart shattered as crumbled onto the floor, tears soon beginning to brim his eyes. Through his blurry vision, he spotted a bloody paper a few inches away from her shoe. He sniffled and picked it up. His eyes widened and his heart was put at ease.

"They said we would be heading to Sorston. I'm okay, dad. Eri." Shota blinked tears away and looked up, a relief washed over his face as the wall ahead was marked in red paint. It read, "Place secured".

He gathered himself and placed the note in his pocket and left the elementary school. He wondered if F/n was also with Eri or was still in her high school. He then decided to head for his oldest daughter but the sun was beginning to set down. He needed to be quick but it was difficult with the dead trying to eat him.

He stayed near cars as he traveled to the high school. He knew he should've sent her to U.A. It would've been much easier to keep an eye on her, but her persistence and wanting to be with her friends had him cave in. 

He regrets coddling her so much.

"Fuck." Shota angrily whispered as the road was blocked by a horde of dead. There was no way to continue unless he wished to die. He stared at his gun and shook his head. Noise would only draw them to him. He then peered at the sky, at least a couple more hours before the sun was gone.

Letting out a low sigh, he figured he would come by tomorrow early. It'll give him some time to pack a few things and get going to Sorston and find Eri. Steadily making his way home, he checked his neighborhood and was surprised it was empty.

"Seems like they managed to get away." Shota figured and headed to the front of his house. Once there, he opened and closed it behind him as he continued further into the house, but a sound crashing alerted him. He moved to where the sound was heard.

Nearing his daughter's room, his hands shook as it held the doorknob. Holding a deep breath in, he quickly opened it and aimed his gun, but let out a sigh of relief and tightly hugged his daughter, "F/n! H–How did you get here?"

F/n sniffled and showed him a bloody bat she was holding, "The teachers took us all outside and told us someone was coming, but when we turned around they locked the doors and we were left alone. Some guy came in and began to order us to run into a nearby truck, but a classmate shoved me back and the guy rescued me as we got left behind. He gave me his bat and he had a gun and tried to get me to a nearby house, but...I heard a crash and a car was on top of him!”

Shota eyed his gun and wondered if it were the same person, but shook his head and rubbed his daughters hair, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Dad...where's Eri...?" F/n whispered asked, afraid to hear the worst but her father reassured her.

"She's fine." Shota began to move around and grab a duffel bag made for traveling, "We need to get out of here and go get her. Then, hopefully, find an evacuation site."

"Where would we go?" F/n questioned as she watched her father pace around grabbing useful things.

"For now Sorston. It's where Eri is and we need to get her before we do anything else." Shota then handed F/n an extra backpack she used for middle school, "I need you to pack your stuff. Don't pack a lot, just things that might be useful."

F/n eyed her bag, a solemn look on her face, "Dad...how are you so sure that Eri might even be there? If someone did manage to get her, what makes you think they didn't find any trouble on the way there? Sorston...is far. Very, very far."

Shota stopped packing and instead stared at the duffel. Although it was painful, his daughter was right. He even saw what those things could do but he'd rather not even think about it, "F/n, pack your stuff."

The h/c haired girl stared at his back for a few seconds before heading to her room and packing a few clothes and a photo of a smiling F/n, Eri and Shota. She then headed to Eri's room and grabbed her small apple plush that the little girl loved. When she was done she stood by her fathers side as he boarded the front door with the living room couch and closed every curtain.

For now, they would rest and tomorrow morning their travel would begin. 

#zombie apocalypse #shota aizawa x reader #aizawa x reader #eri bnha #aizawa x you #aizawa x y/n #mha aizawa #aizawa fanfiction #aizawa shouta

[reigenkills]

MISSION FROM GOD TO FILL THIS TAG, GOD BLESS. THIS IS A SERIES NOW I GUESS

PART ONE | PART TWO (YOU ARE HERE) | PART THREE | PART FOUR | PART FIVE | PART SIX | 7 | 8

also this is on ao3 for easier archival

The nice thing about being entrapped into such an outlandish job such as capturing Death is that your clients hadn't paid you beforehand. They barely thought about reimbursement for your exploitation, really. They were more smug about the fact that they had leverage on you and eagerly sicced you on the personification of death.

But, while you went penniless from the encounter, you had no binding contract, magical or otherwise, which means that now that you have no obligation to do anything for them, you can sail halfway across the ocean with them none the wiser.

Duloc used to be one of the biggest kingdoms this side of the hemisphere. Ever since its ruler's untimely demise, however (eaten by a dragon, or so the rumors say), the resulting power vacuum had thrown the whole place into chaos with lesser aristocracy staking claims here and there, lobbying assassinations at each other while everyone else tried to stay out of the way.

But it's been years since Lord Farquaad took the slip n' slide down a giant lizard's throat. The kingdom has mostly stabilized, with sovereign villages here and there, while the fighting mostly took place on aristocratic lands. And where there's a semi-safe village and a shitton of espionage, there's an open job market for people like you.

You find yourself the cheapest inn available, ditch your usual all-black attire for locally-made clothes (a lot harder to track where you're from when your stuff's locally sourced - you are not getting compromised by a shirt tag), and start hitting the seediest bars you can find. In a land with this much unrest, there's plenty.

Predictably, you're not the only mercenary on the hunt for a job. Duloc's mostly merc country now, and the barmaid helpfully tells you where to frequent and who to talk to. There are even formal guilds here, though until you get a better feel for the land and the political climate, you think you'll go solo.

Your first few weeks aren't too bad. There's jobs from big wigs and commoners alike - from farmers needing wolves chased off their property to jealous lovers with too much money putting a hit on some poor schmuck. The most challenging thing you have to do is going to the mountains to bring a pair of brothers home after their camping trip goes awry, and their worried family puts a job out to find them when they don't come home. Turns out they got scared by some deer and ran deeper into the woods, getting lost in the process.

It's nothing you're not used to. At least no one's given you an assassination job, but you're new to town. Everyone's still getting a feel for your presence too - par for the course.

Three months into your stay in Poisonapple, Duloc, a hysterical parent barges into your new favorite bar, already drunk out of his mind and begging people to help him. Muffet, the barmaid, winces and mutters, "He's still at it?"

"He's done this before?" you ask.

"He was here yesterday," she says. "Poor Elrick's gotten tangled up with some rich family up north. I heard they got him tricked into pricking his finger on a cursed spindle."

"Oooh." You suck in a breath through your teeth. "True love's kiss not work out?"

"If his love even knows what's happened to him." Muffet shakes her head. "His father's been asking people to find some way to undo it, but - " She looks around, then leans closer as she whispers. "You ask me, I think Elrick's love's been locked away in some tall tower to keep 'er away from trouble. Weeks' worth of journey and the boy'll be bones by the time anyone comes back."

"Royal types do tend to do that, don't they?" you mutter. "Thought that solution fell out of popularity after Fairy Godmother herself kicked the bubble."

"Eh, where there's a vacancy in the market, there's a thousand other people waiting to fill it," Muffet says. "Competitors just had to take over the niche."

"Yikes." You knock back your drink, turning around in your seat to watch the poor old man plead, hands wringing as he begs for someone, anyone, to save his son.

You'd give it a shot, but like Muffet said, intel gathering would take days alone. The human body isn't designed to be unconscious with no food or water for that long. You don't even know how long Elrick's been knocked out, how long he has left.

"Can't they get someone else to do a counterspell?" you ask Muffet. "Like Sleeping Beauty?"

"Fae are hard to find around these parts. Witches too. Lord Farquaad chased everyone magical off the land a few years ago and very few have decided to come back since. The constant fighting between them aristocrats ain't helping."

"Yeah," you say. "Guess it'd be easier to find a witch and buy time than getting that true love's kiss, though."

Elrick's father suddenly turns to you. You freeze, and watch in horror as the man begins to stumble towards you.

"You - you know how to help my son?" he asks. "Please - "

"Uhhhh." You turn to Muffet, who wipes down the counter and dutifully keeps her gaze away, minding her own business. You're all for minding your own business, encourage it in fact, but come on. Traitor.

"Please," the old man says. "He's only sixteen - "

Fuck. Of course he is. Or course it has to be some young fucking kid.

"I don't really know, I was just…throwing ideas out," you say, tugging on the collar of your shirt. "See what stuck."

"B-but you're a witch, aren't you?" The old man eyes the red of your cloak, a new piece you'd gotten to replace your older one. While people in Duloc dressed much more colorfully than from your old town, the colors you now don make it so easy to identify you. 

People know what your look like because they've been keeping an eye on you. You have a red cloak. You have two guns holstered on your belt at all times. You have a spellbook you carry in a satchel everywhere.

"I'm not very good at it," you admit.

"At least try."

"I could make it worse. I don't know how to use magic," you say. "Is it really worth the risk?"

The old man pauses, his brows furrowing, before he nods. "Anything," he says. "I just need someone to help."

"Look," you say. "Messing around with magic I barely know is a recipe for disaster. If I mess up, I'm not just gonna be trying to break a curse, I'm gonna have to drag your son back from the jaws of death. Does that sound any better?"

"Then just drag him back, witch," the old man insists. "Rally against death if you have to."

Your eye twitches. This is why you hate talking to people. This is why all your work is through written correspondence and why you talk sparsely. People always forget to suggest and go straight for commands. Where are the manners?

You turn around, mouth clamped shut, tapping a nail against the grain of the counter while the old man shouts behind you. A few people later come to drag him out.

You ask Muffet for another drink with the biggest glass she has. She gives you a raised eyebrow as she slides one twice the size of your forearm at you.

Whatever. You need to get a little reckless, burn off some energy. It's fine. Just as long as the person you're now supposed to rally against doesn't show -

"That could have gone better."

Son of a bitch.

You slam the glass onto the counter a little harder than you should. In the corner of your eye, Death flashes a smile.

"What can I do for you this evening, señor?" you ask, fingers twitching. 

"What was your last command? Rally against Death?" He turns and leans am elbow on the counter, resting his face on one paw. "How are you gonna do that, peque?"

"I am trying - " your hands itch. " - not to."

"Can you actually fight your curse?" he asks.

You resist the urge to bang your head against the counter. As much as you're trying to control yourself, he's not making it easy when every word that comes out of his mouth makes you want to maul him.

He snickers. Your nails scratch against the grain of the counter as you turn back to him.

"Oh? Something's happening." Death leans over, hunching down to your height so you're nearly nose-to-snout, red eyes tracking every twitch and tic of your face. "What are you gonna do, peque? Bite me?"

You bite him.

"Son of a bitch!"

In your defense, he'd suggested it, and he was the one who got the brilliant idea of sticking his nose within biting range. You get a mouthful of freezing fur and snout, and then he's pulling you off of him like a leech. You snarl, grabbing fistfuls of silver fur to hold on, but he's much stronger - and he pulls you off with a comical pop!

He punts you across the room. You tuck your knees in and roll, landing on your hands and feet. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Mierda!"

You spit out the fur in your mouth - it tastes like ice chips for whatever reason. What the hell. "Hey, you asked for it. Gift of obedience, remember?"

You stand and watch him actually pause and consider it, before he glares, remembering he'd phrased it as a question and not a command. He reaches up to rub his snout.

"You're lucky you've got a while to go." He glances over your head. "Otherwise, I'd make you regret that."

"Hey, I was told to rally against Death. Can't hold that against me, can you?" One of your hands is already itching towards your gun. You look to your hip in distaste, your fingers twitching again.

"Don't."

Despite how annoying he is, you visibly sag with relief, sighing as the uncomfortable urge to just maim disappears. Your hand drops. You straighten and smooth out your cloak.

"That's way better," you mutter.

When you turn back to Death, he has his head tilted, his now-lopsided hood revealing the end of an ear. That's actually kinda cute, if he was, you know, not built like a brick shithouse and has rows of needles in his mouth.

"What?" you ask.

"I could just tell you never to attack me again," he says. Your hackles raise. "But that'd be less funny."

You raise an eyebrow. "What am I, entertainment TV?"

He snickers.

"Asshole."

"Brat."

You sneer, before marching back to the counter to drop a few pieces of silver onto it. You have no idea where Muffet's gone. Out back for a smoke break, probably, since you were the only customer left by the time Death showed up.

"Might wanna keep away from these parts, old man. Some of the folk up north are getting restless and desperate," you say. "My previous clients weren't the first people to think about chaining Death. There's always people who want more power."

"I know, peque. I've been here longer than you," he says with a chuckle. "You keep your eye on not getting turned into a dance monkey again."

You turn and flip him off. He laughs, and the candles in the room flicker, bathing everything in darkness for a second.

When the lights steady, he's gone.

#puss in boots death x reader #puss in boots x reader #muerte x reader #puss in boots the last wish #fic #fanfiction

[gothicprep]

some interesting twitter discussion i encountered today, piggybacking off a tiktok screenshot of an either late-teens girl or early 20-something woman saying "i wish i could be friends with boys the way that boys are friends with boys". the guy side of twitter chimes in, basically saying that whenever they had women express this to them, they reacted poorly to stuff that's pretty common in guy group friendships. the woman side of twitter is screenshotting these and saying shit like "ack, for all this talk of male loneliness, isn't it interesting how these guys talk about friendship in a way that's antisocial and boorish!"

it's always really something to see conversations like this happen, because it's a very clear expression of someone not being familiar with the social nuances in a setting they haven't really spent time in. and on top of that, it being so alien to them that they don't even realize they're wearing this lack of experience on their sleeve.

this is hard to put into words and there are probably a few things i'm missing here, but in my experiences of being the only woman in a friend group, Guys Being Dudes social culture involves a lot of giving each other shit, but not in a way that's mean. it's more like a signal that indicates you being a part of the same group. it's not like there aren't any generic insults that fly like "hey, you dipshit", but what's more common are insults that show you're paying attention – "hey, you dipshit that's always tripping over because you don't know how to tie your own shoes." it shows you actually notice what that person is like lol. and that person has the right to come back at you, and it's kind of a give and take. it's a game. there are bad dynamics that can sometimes come out of this, where someone is picking on someone else too much and there are awkward dominance displays going on. but for the most part, it's mostly just clowning around.

and – not always, obviously – this stuff drives a lot of women nuts. and as you get older, you move away from acting like this around people who will be bothered with it, because out of the context of a friend group, it's rude. but "we give each other shit for fun, and that's how we know that we're friends" has a lot of connecting power under the right circumstances.

there's a scene in "jackass: forever" where jason acuna is staked to the ground and a vulture is picking cuts of meat off his body, and the bird pecks him and he starts spasming and kicking (it's been known to happen when you get pecked by a bird with a giant beak). and one of the guys off screen is like, "don't kick the bird, dude" and acuna says, "i'm not kicking the bird!" but he's mad that someone would suggests that he would kick the bird. he understands that the bird is an outsider. the bird isn't in on the joke! nobody wants to be mean to the bird here. it's all about what's happening to acuna. this is obviously a pretty extreme version of the thing i'm talking about but, eh, it works for my purposes.

and it's not like it stays this juvenile forever. you grow up. life happens. but having this foundation in a friend group of 5+ doesn't prevent you from talking about life stuff together. even if this type of camaraderie doesn't make a lot of sense to you on the surface, that doesn't mean it's not tried and true. and, tbh, i get the sense that a lot of the men who struggle with pervasive feelings of loneliness probably *aren't* part of a group dynamic like this.

#men can have a little 'filming each other doing the cinnamon challenge' as a treat imo

[dragondemoness]

Sabotage - THH Cast x Ultimate Cuteness Reader Part 3

It had been a week since the incident.

You went back to your day-to-day life like nothing happened, and here you were, back at school.

You walked through the Hope’s Peak hallway alone, with your bunny plush clutched tightly in your arms.

Normally you held your head up high, showing off that adorable smile of yours.

But today, something was really getting you down.

Maybe it was the distress of your bunny attacking your partner?

Or how they reacted to it?

Perhaps that particularly upsetting phone call you had gotten a couple days ago?

Or maybe it was all three of those things. Either way, you were so distracted, you could barely focus on what was ahead of you.

So it was a perfect invitation for you to suddenly trip on something and fall hard onto the floor.

You sat up in a daze and looked up to find your longtime rival standing over you.

It was none other than the Ultimate Bully themselves.

They gave you a smirk, that same smirk that showed that they were in power.

“Well, well. Long time no see, Ultimate Crybaby. I know you’re still trying to figure out the world around you, but anyone could’ve seen my leg from a mile away. What’s the matter, mommy didn’t give you your bottle early enough?”

You tried so hard not to cry, but that remark about your mom made your vision blurry with tears.

The sight of it made the bully’s expression change to irritation.

“Ugh, can’t you go a single second without bawling your damn eyes out? Honestly, how pathetic can you be? But don’t worry, I’ll help you grow up.”

They picked up your plush rabbit, which had landed near their feet after you fell. 

You stood up and ran to them, attempting to get the bunny back, but they kicked you in the stomach, forcing you back on the ground.

As you recoiled from the pain, the bully ripped the bunny’s arm, and the stuffing poked out from the stitching.

Just then, your partner arrived on the scene.

Makoto Naegi 

“H-Hey! Stop it! They didn’t do anything to you!”

He knows he probably doesn’t stand a chance against the bully, so he helps you up and asks for the bunny back

The bully just throws it at his chest before walking away with a grumble

Then he starts fretting over you and making sure you’re okay

He gives you a big ol hug before bringing you to his dorm

He’ll watch you as you repair your rabbit, feeling bad that he couldn’t do more to protect you 

But he’s glad you’re alright now

You’ll spend the rest of the day cuddling, and if you want, he’ll rub your stomach to help with the pain

Byakuya Togami 

“And just who gave you the right to put your filthy hands on my significant other? I suggest you get out of my sight immediately before your chances of a bright future become even more slim than they already are.”

The bully runs away and Byakuya carefully picks the bunny up off the floor

Then he walks over and kneels down in front of you before handing the bunny back to you

You take it and look away, unsure of what to say to him

He can see that you’re still upset from the other day, so he’ll ask you to follow him to his dorm so you can talk there

You begrudgingly agree and you go to his dorm together

You sit on his bed in awkward silence while he finds the words to say

He wasn’t used to apologizing when he hurt people’s feelings, but you were different

So he clears his throat before speaking

"(Name), I would like to apologize for my earlier actions. I realize that your rabbit was only trying to protect you, and it was wrong of me to get angry. So... I'm sorry."

That caused you to look up from your lap and over to him

He paused before continuing 

“And I’m sorry for calling you childish, as well. I know that rabbit was a gift to you, and it is an incredibly important possession of yours. I shouldn’t have made fun of it, and-“

He stopped himself when he turned and saw tears in your eyes once again

“Oh, um… I didn’t mean to upset you, I-“

Then it hit him

That phone call from the other day

It must’ve been about your grandmother

Now he felt even worse for yelling at you before

“Come here.”

He didn’t need to tell you twice

You scooted close to him and he wrapped his arms around you

You stayed like that until he suggested you get something to eat

He’ll come to the funeral with you and comfort you when you’re feeling down

He also patched up the bunny plush for you, to aid his apology to you

He’s never gonna judge your cutesy style ever again after that

Chihiro Fujisaki 

“P-Please… Stop it… They don’t deserve that…”

It takes everything in him to stop himself from crying on the spot

Seeing you in that position reminded him of when he used to get bullied

He knew about your situation with the bully, and he wanted to get stronger so he could protect you

But now that he was face to face with your tormentor, he was frozen with fear

He politely asked for the bunny back and the bully laughed and taunted him with it

This was getting nowhere, so as a split-second decision, he swung his fist and punched the bully in the mouth

The bully stumbled back in surprise, then finally gave up and gave the bunny back

Chihiro hated to be so violent, but something in him felt proud

He rushed to you and hugged you, asking if you were okay and apologizing for shocking you

But you responded by telling him how proud you were of him, causing him to blush and smile

So you returned to his dorm and he cuddled up to you while you stitched up your rabbit

You noticed he seemed down, and asked what was wrong

He explained that he wished he was stronger, so he could protect you from the bullying

He didn’t have someone in his corner back then, but he wanted to be that person for you

You told him that he didn’t have to force himself to do anything, and that you were proud of what he did accomplish 

He smiled and snuggled into you

He still wanted to be stronger for you, but that could wait for another time

But right now, all he cared about was you

Leon Kuwata 

“Hey! Get the fuck away from them, you piece of shit bastard!”

If the bully doesn’t get out of there, he’s gonna throw a punch or two

Then he’ll help you up and take you to his dorm

He sits next to you while you stitch up your bunny, silently fuming

You’ll notice this and asks him what’s wrong

He grumbles that the bully is a piece of shit and how he wishes he could make them stay away from you forever

You lean against him and tell him that you’re grateful for what he did for you today

He smiles and pulls you close to him, swearing to protect you from that bastard

He’ll offer belly rubs to help with the pain from the bully’s kick

You spend the rest of the day together, and he’ll take you out to eat right after

The bunny acknowledges his resolve, and silently promises to grant his wish

Kiyotaka Ishimaru 

“This behavior is not welcome in a school environment, especially towards my significant other! I suggest you leave them alone or I will report you!

So they leave and Taka goes to pick up your bunny

His hands quiver as he reaches for it, but quickly picks it up and returns it to you

Then he’ll help you up and take you to his dorm

He sits in distress while you repair the rabbit, feeling bad that he couldn’t do anything more

He would never do anything violent, but perhaps that really was the only way to get it through to people like that

Homeboy’s been spending too much time with Mondo

You snuggle up to him and tell him it’s okay, that he did enough to protect you from the bully

He didn’t really believe it, but he suppose he can let it go for now

What’s more important is making you feel better

And it doesn't matter if the bully left you alone this time

Taka’s still gonna report them to the principal

And that fucker’s gonna get expelled

Mondo Owada 

“Hey. Leave them the fuck alone before I knock your teeth down your fucking throat.”

Ain’t nobody wanna mess with a biker gang leader, especially when he spoke with an unusually calm tone

Somehow that was scarier than yelling, and the bully GTFO’d immediately

Mondo picked up the bunny and handed it to you

You took it and held it close to your chest, cowering away from him

Seeing you afraid of him felt like a knife to the heart

“Hey, uh... I’m really sorry about the other day. That bunny of yours scared the shit outta me, but I didn’t have the right to yell at you like that. I guess the little guy was right to hate me.’

You look up at him and take his hand in yours

“No, it wasn’t. I’m sorry it attacked you. I swear, I didn’t know it was gonna do that.”

He nodded

“I know. Again, I’m really sorry for yellin’ at you.”

You leaned close to him and wrapped your arms around his waist

“It’s okay.”

He stiffened up, but hugged you back

Then he helped you to your feet and brought you to his dorm

You sat next to him on the bed and patched up your rabbit

Mondo looked at you and noticed you still seemed down

“Hey, is somethin’ else bothering you?”

You fixed the rabbit and held it close to your chest

“The other day, after I left, I got a phone call.”

He kept his gaze fixed on you, patiently waiting for you to continue

“Yeah? What was it about?”

Your eyes glistened with tears, and they slowly began to fall

“M-My grandma... She...”

Mondo understood what you meant without needing you to explain

He felt even worse for how he acted before

If he hadn’t been such an asshole, he would’ve been there to support you

But at least he could now

He wrapped his arms around you and gently pulled you into his lap

He’s not used to being so soft with someone, but he’ll give you whatever you need

Yasuhiro Hagakure 

“Hey, don’t be mean! What did they do to you?!

He’s trying so hard not to freak out, and it shows

He politely asked for the bunny back, with a quiver in his voice

The bully proved to be difficult to work with, so he quickly grabs the bunny, helps you up and you run to his dorm together

Once you made it to his dorm, he locked the door behind him, relieved that it’s over

He felt really stupid for losing his cool, but now his focus is all on you

You lay on his bed and he holds you close to him in an effort to make you feel better

He’ll rub your stomach and leave little pecks on your head and face

If you want, he’ll also bring out his crystal ball and start rambling about his “predictions” to make you laugh

He watched as you repaired the rabbit, still uncomfortable around it after what happened last time

But it’s important to you, so he was glad you were able to fix it 

He wished he had more courage, so he wouldn’t freak out so much in those kinds of situations

But for now, he can at least provide support for you when you need it

He’ll have a talk with Taka about helping get them suspended or something

Hifumi Yamada 

“Wh- HEY! How dare you treat my darling (Name) that way?! You are sick, absolutely SICK!!

He’s a little bit afraid, but also furious

Good thing it doesn’t do much to him when the bully tried punching him

He basically absorbed it like it was nothing

And the way he towered over them was horrifying, so they gave up and left

After they left, he started freaking out, asking if you were okay and if they hurt you

He was afraid to touch the bunny after what happened, but he scooped it up and handed it back to you

After that, you headed back to his dorm to hang out

He drew you some wholesome comics to help lift your spirits while you repaired the bunny

If you’re up for it, he’ll gladly cuddle you too

He loves getting opportunities like this, and he’s glad it’s helpful to you as well

He swears he’ll knock the bully’s lights out the next time he sees them

Not out loud, of course

He knows you hate violence, but he can’t stand to see you hurt by anyone

Just an idea in the back pocket, that’s all

Kyoko Kirigiri 

“How deplorable. The fact that you’re preying on someone so shy and soft tells me a lot about who you are. Never let me see you do that again.”

Her icy stare is enough to scare the bully away

Kyoko calmly picked up the rabbit and helped you to your feet before taking you to her dorm

She made or brought you your favorite snacks and drinks and just sat with you on her bed

She offered to fix it up for you while you relaxed, so you handed it to her while you laid down

She handed it back to you good as new

She doesn’t mind cuddling you if you want her to

She’ll hold you close to her and rub your back while you rest on her chest

And she’ll find a movie to watch while you cuddle together

Thanks to her father’s role as the principal, she can pull some strings to make sure the bully never bothers you again

Mark her words, you’re not gonna see them very much after that day

Toko Fukawa/Genocide Jack

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

Your eyes shot open at the familiar voice

Genocide Jill stood in front of you with her signature scissors in both hands

And the bully was on the ground, holding their hand to their cheek with a fearful look in their eyes

Genocide Jill held her hand out

“Hand me the bunny.”

The bully held out the rabbit to her and she swiped it from their hand

Then she approached them, grabbed them by the collar and pulled them close to her

Now that their hand wasn’t in the way, you saw a scratch on their cheek that was lightly bleeding

“Don’t you ever think about messin’ with my baby ever again. Got it?”

The bully nodded frantically, and Genocide Jill dropped them on the ground

“Now stand up and get the hell out!”

They scrambled to their feet and ran away immediately

Then Genocide Jil turned to you with her signature grin and walked up to you and gave you a tight hug

“I missed ya, y’know. Did that bastard do anything else?”

You shook your head

“No. They just kicked me really hard.”

She pulled away and handed you your rabbit

“Here ya go. Sorry for maiming it before.”

You took it from her and smiled up at her

“It’s okay. Thank you, Jill.”

She put her scissors away and held one of her braids up to her nose

“Weeeeell, I’d love to stay and talk, sweet cheeks, but Miss Morose wants to have a word with ya. See ya ‘round, cutie.~”

She tickled her nose with her braid and let out a sneeze

She fell back onto the ground, then a second later, she stood back up with the nervous gray eyes you were familiar with

“H-Huh? Wh-What happened?”

Toko saw you and quickly rushed towards you and knelt down in front of you

“A-Are you okay?! That b-bastard didn’t hurt you, d-did they?”

You shook your head, refusing to meet her eyes

She knew you were still upset about the other day, and she knew what she had to do

She held her hands together nervously before speaking

“L-Look, I’m really s-sorry for wh-what I said the other day. I k-know it wasn’t your f-fault. I w-was just sh-shocked and s-scared, and I b-blamed it all on you. Y-You were right. You sh-shouldn’t trust me. All I ever d-do is cause p-problems for people...”

You turned your head and took her hand in yours

“Toko, no. I’m sorry I said that. You never cause problems for me, I swear.”

She looked at you with wide eyes

“R-Really?”

You nodded and smiled

“Yeah.”

You pulled her into your arms and she didn’t hesitate to snuggle into you and hug you back

You missed this, and she did too 

You both went to her dorm to relax together

Toko noticed that you were still feeling down and she worried that you were still upset with her, until you explained that it wasn’t the case

It actually had to do with the phone call from the other day, and Toko felt even worse for yelling at you

Even though she was a little stiff, she took you in her arms and comforted you the best she could

She’s definitely not leaving your side anytime soon

Aoi Asahina 

“Hey, stop it! Didn’t your parents teach you to be a better person than this?!” 

That seemed to irritate the bully, but Aoi didn’t care

She’s not afraid to throw a punch if she has to

So the bully left in surprisingly low spirits

She picked up the bunny with a shaking hand, and returned it to you

Then she hugged you and made sure you were alright before helping you up

Earlier that morning, she picked up a box of donuts to share with you later

This was as good a time as any, so you went to her dorm and she busted them out

Then you cuddled up and watched some movies together

She also gave you some belly rubs to help ease the pain

Next time someone decides to pick on you, she’s calling Sakura

Any friend of Aoi’s is a friend of hers, so you’d best believe she wouldn’t tolerate any kind of nasty behavior towards you

Sayaka Maizono 

“Hey! It’s not okay to treat anyone like that, especially someone who did nothing to deserve it! Don’t let me see you putting your hands on them again, got it?!

Once they left, she quickly retrieved the bunny and rushed over to you

She handed you the bunny and hugged you, fretting over you and asking if you were alright

Then you both headed to her dorm

She gave you some snacks and something warm to drink

Then you cuddled up together and she rubbed your stomach to help it feel better

She also insisted on fixing the bunny’s arm for you, so that you could rest and relax

Even though she tried not to show it, she was really mad

She hates that there are people who prey on other people and make it their mission to make them suffer

Especially when the one suffering was you

While she was deep in thought, you sat up and hugged her from behind

She smiled and laid back down to cuddle with you

Even if she couldn’t do much about all the evil in the world, she could protect you from as much of it as you can

Celestia Ludenburg

“Pardon me, but someone as worthless as you shouldn’t be anywhere near my significant other, let alone place your hands on them. So I suggest you leave before I send you back to the PILE OF SHIT YOU CAME FROM!!!”

If that’s not enough to freak someone out, nothing is

The bully ran away immediately after possibly shitting their pants

Celeste picks the bunny and returns it to you with a warm smile

“Here you go, my dear.”

You took it from her and look away

“Thanks...”

Your voice came out meek and soft, and it was barely audible

Celeste could guess that you were still upset from the other day, and she knew what she had to do

“Darling, I am so incredibly sorry for the way I acted during our last date. I was simply stressed out from the incident regarding your rabbit, and I had no right to attack you like that. I sincerely apologize.”

You lightly smiled, but your sad expression was still intact

“It’s okay, Celeste. It’s not your fault.”

She noticed your expression and grew worried

"I truly am sorry. I didn’t intend to upset you.”

You shook your head 

“No, it’s not you.”

Her bright red eyes were flooded with concern

“Then what is it, my dear?”

You didn’t respond, and she carefully helped you to your feet and brought you to her dorm to talk

She made tea and listened quietly while you spoke

You explained that while you were on your date, you had gotten a phone call regarding your grandmother

That explained why you seemed so down the other day

She felt like an idiot for not noticing, and a massive asshole for the way she acted

She wrapped her arms around you and pulled you close, one hand rubbing your back and the other holding your head to her chest

She couldn’t get over how horrible she felt, but you were way more important

Sakura Ogami 

“I suggest you leave before I snap you in half.”

One look at her, and they’re gone

Sakura picked up the bunny and helped you to your feet

Then it’s off to her dorm to relax

She insisted on repairing the rabbit for you while you rested

She spent the whole time caring for you, holding you and making you her famous protein coffee

Or a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate, if that’s more your style

Despite how calm and gentle she was with you, she was furious on the inside

How dare that jerk pick on someone as adorable as you?

She tried not to let it show, though

She’s not gonna get violent unless she needs to be

But hopefully her warning was enough to keep the bully away from you forever

Mukuro Ikusaba 

“Leave. Now.”

She had one hand on the survival knife she carries around, and that’s more than enough to make the bully leave

She picked up the bunny, helped you up and brought you to her dorm

She watched as you carefully stitched up the rabbit’s paw, feeling furious on the inside

As calm as she seemed, she was carefully planning out the bully’s demise

You saw that it was bothering her, and you assured her that you’re okay, and asked her not to do anything rash

She reluctantly promised, and you leaned against her while thanking her for her help

She lightly smiled and cuddled you close, and she gave you belly rubs to ease the pain from the bully’s kick

Later, she’ll bring you to her house to hang out with her and Junko

You and Junko get along fairly well, so Mukuro hopes it’ll help you feel a little better

Even if you don’t want the bully to get hurt, she will at least scare them away so they never come near you again

Junko Enoshima

“Excuse me, who the fuck do you think you are?! You’d better get the hell out before I shove my shoe down your throat!”

They’re high heels too, so they’d better be scared

And they are, so they ran away forever

Junko picked up the bunny and handed it back to you

Then you headed to her dorm to relax for a little bit

"Ugh, what a fucking asshole! How dare they pick on my baby like that?? I swear, if my sister were there, they would’ve been erased from the earth.”

You lightly chuckled at her while you rested on her stomach

“I know. Thanks for protecting me.”

She playfully smirked at you before holding you tighter

After that, she took you to go shopping at any store you want

She knows you don’t like violence, but she’s secretly gonna tell her sister about what happened later

Although, before she can do anything, the bunny’s gonna beat her to it

#danganronpa #danganronpa x reader #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #makoto naegi x reader #byakuya togami x reader #chihiro fujisaki x reader #leon kuwata x reader #kiyotaka ishimaru x reader #mondo owada x reader #yasuhiro hagakure x reader #hifumi yamada x reader #kyoko kirigiri x reader #toko fukawa x reader #genocide jack x reader #genocide jill x reader #aoi asahina x reader #sayaka maizono x reader #celestia ludenburg x reader #sakura ogami x reader #mukuro ikusaba x reader #junko enoshima x reader #ultimate cuteness reader #ultimate cuteness series

[eddiescouch]

What??

sorry this has taken me so long to answer. The brain wasn't cooperating.

I'm talking about Askia Khafra, 21, who died while digging tunnels for an undergound bunker for Daniel Beckwitt, 30, in 2017. An electrical fire started in the tunnels and a combination of hoarding conditions, and Daniel abandoning him, lead to his death. It's relevant to note through all this that Askia is black and Daniel is white. If you want the full details, there's an excellent documentary done with a lot of love for the family and their cooperation that I'll link at the end. This is the cliff notes of it.

Askia met Daniel while chatting on an investment forum. Askia had been trying and failing to get startup capital for his business. Originally he had tried for the Thiel Fellowship, which required him to drop out of college. During that time, Daniel had been giving Askia advice and offered to invest. After he failed to get the fellowship, Daniel also stopped replying to him for weeks.

Eventually Askia messaged Daniel begging for help, saying that he would do literally anything from taking on the investment as debt (over $10,000), working minimum wage, or both by working directly for Daniel. Daniel took him up on that and hired him for $150/day to dig tunnels under his house for a bomb shelter in case North Korea decided to nuke them.

Daniel was a maladjusted recluse who considered himself a hacker. Some of his favorite hobbies were literally harassing the Phone Losers of America (a phone phreaking group with an attitude a few shades nicer than 4chan), spending time on actual 4chan, and trying to remotely destroy a hard drive with things like thermite. In his dorm room. After the FBI was called to investigate him for hacking his school network, they ended up having to call the bomb squad and they found enough evidence to arrest him on. To celebrate he had an AMA on 4chan. Ultimately he was expelled from college.

Don't worry! Though he was kicked out in disgrace he returned home to an inheritance of over two million dollars which he invested into bitcoin and made multi-millions. That was how he ended up in the position to invest in Askia's business.

Though the two actually only lived a few miles apart, Daniel kept Askia literally in the dark by blindfolding him, extending the drive to his house for hours, and leading him by key-lanyard into the house. Askia thought he was in Virginia, miles away, until he smuggled in a gps and realized he was actually at Daniel's home. Askia would be kept there for days, sometimes weeks at a time. He was only ever allowed in the basement and tunnels which had no bathroom save for a bucket for waste. A mattress, microwave, mini fridge, and ceiling fan made up the amenities. The only way for Askia to contact Daniel was through google voice, not an actual telephone, or banging on the wall when the wifi went out in the tunnels which happened frequently.

The night of the fire Askia tried multiple times to alert Daniel that something was wrong. Six hours from when Askia messaged him, Daniel flipped the house breakers and responded acknowledging the 'major electrical failure' but that Askia should 'just put it on a different circuit'. Over the next five hours Daniel would receive three more messages from Askia, including one saying he definitely smelled smoke, and ignored the alert from the first floor carbon monoxide detector. He continued to believe the only issue was a power outage and only tried flipping breakers to fix the issue.

On the return from his last trip down into the basement, where he had not checked on Askia, he heard an explosion back in the basement and smoke began to pour up into the first floor. Daniel went back outstairs and shouted for Askia, trying to warn him about the fire. He heard Askia yell back with a drowsy tone that would have easily pointed to carbon monoxide poisoning. Despite assuming that Askia was very close to him, he didn't try to go to him, help him, or even call to direct him to the safe side of the basement. Instead he ran outside and called for help.

Firefighters found Askia, naked, lying on his back on top of a power generator. He was in the laundry room, like Daniel had assumed, and was actually only steps away from Daniel if he'd tried to save him. Askia was so badly burned he could only be identified by dental record.

Daniel was sued by Askia's family for wrongful death in 2018, and sued by the county to have the tunnels filled in which has not yet been done. In 2019, Daniel was put on trial and was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and second degree depraved heart murder. Though the minimum sentence for a depraved heart murder is 10 years, the judge only served him nine while praising him for his intelligence. This was further reduced to five years, and in 2022 he got probation with five years of probation and 250 hours off community service, after only three years in prison.

#true crime #murder #cw: anti-blackness #true crime documentary #Oki's weird stories

[withered-tears]

Ratchet knows he is a great doctor.

Is not a matter of pride, that's simply a fact.

Bulkhead was a brute with a surprisingly good taste for the fine arts, Arcee could and would kick anyone's aft if provoked enough, Bumblebee had a violent streak that he desperately tries to hide, Optimus has a thing for fliers, and Ratchet is the greatest grumpiest doctor to come out off of Cybertron.

But that medical knowledge was reserved for cybertronians only.

When organics were involved? Ratchet knew only the barest of basics.

Boiling down to "don't step on them" basics.

This was by choice.

It was bad enough to have to spend time in this dirt ball of a planet, with their tiny locals crawling all over the place like nanobots with no processor power to speak of.

He was not going to waste his time learning about their primitive biological bodies, much less how to treat them.

They had their own doctors, they can make due. He had his own people to look after.

Then the sparklings, the children moved into their base.

They were somehow worse than the few humans he was already forced to interact with. Too loud, too tiny, too curious.

Too reckless.

The smaller one, Rafael, was in one of the balconies the humans built around the base, a pointless attempt to be closer to optic level. He was standing atop of a small crate, leaning over the railing to get a closer look at Ratchet's hands as they typed away.

Apparently, the human was interested in learning cybertronian glyphs, ha! As if an organic brain had the memory capacity to learn such advanced language.

Then the human's foothold slipped from under him, making him slam his faceplate on the metal railing.

Immediately, the human started wailing. Apparently, humans came with some sort of imitation siren alarm installed.

Ratchet ignored the sound and continued working.

Jack, the tallest of the kids (but still diminute), rushed to Rafael, seemingly in a panic. Bah, the railing was just hollow metal, and he'd seen some humans punch each other in the face out of boredom. A simple tap should not be cause for such urgency.

Then Jack gently lifted Rafael's head, and Ratchet froze.

Rafael was leaking a lot of energon.

Ratchet couldn't really tell if it was coming out of his nose or mouth, but his entire lower face, neck, and part of his shirt was already covered in the stuff.

Jack picked him up with little effort, same style of carry thay he'd seen soldiers carry injured allies, and ran out of the room.

Ratchet stood there, work momentarily forgotten.

He leaned down to take a closer look to the railing, now also stained with organic energon, but otherwise intact.

Careful, he poked the point of impact.

The railing bent under his finger.

He didn't see Rafael till the next day.

The kid didn't seem to be in any pain, only mild discomfort, as he explained to a worried Bumblebee (who was absent yesterday) about an emergency trip to a dentist office.

Apparently, the hit had not only broken one of his teeth but also made him bite his lip hard enough that he needed some stitching.

And Ratchet had ignored him.

If the injury needed a trip to a professional, it must have been more serious than he realized. Not to mention the amount of lost energon (blood, it's called blood).

How much blood can a human lose before it's lethal? Specially such a tiny human like Rafael.

If Jack hadn't been in the room, would Ratchet just stand there as the kid died?

Later that day, Miko stood precariously on top on some crates, and Ratchet gave her a lecture on how fragile human skeleton were, the dangers of concussions caused by falling on one's head, brain damage, etc.

Human medical knowledge was easy to find and download.

And human medicine and medical tools were already ordered through the proper channels and on their way to the base.

Ratchet was a great doctor.

And no great doctor just stays in place while someone is injured.

#transformers #ratchet #tfp #tfp ratchet #transformers prime #tfp raf #tfp jack #jack darby #my writing

[laugtherhyena]

[Csm oc] Cherry

Back at it again with another lore rundown, this time for my boy Cherry! It's shorter than the girl's one but took a while to post because this man was quite challenging to edit in manga style. Before reading i recommend reading through this post, if you haven't already, since there i go into detail on how his powers work

Katana man arc

-Cherry is seen fighting zombies alongside the other fiends and devils of the 4th division. He's telling jokes to the zombies, a hoard of them charges towards him but before he even gets to the punchline their bodies crumble into piles of rotting flesh on the floor. Cherry laughs at his own joke while asking the zombies if they get it, he kicks one of their heads away which lands on Angel's shoe.

Bomb girl arc

-Makima assigns Cherry and Beam as Denji's temporary partners, as Power needs to get her blood drained. while Beam jumps to hug him Cherry stands behind Makima adjusting his tie, he wants to make a good first impression. It's only after Denji knocks Beam on the floor that Cherry approaches him, extending his hand towards his hero.

-When Beam goes to hug Denji again, Cherry does the same, nodding his head at Beam's words that Master chainsaw's orders are absolute.

-As Denji walks on the street the next day followed by the two. When it starts raining Cherry runs around after Denji as he looks for cover before leaning against him and using his arms to try sheltering Denji from the rain, Denji hits his chest with his elbow and yells at Cherry to back off.

-He then calls Cherry and Beam assholes and tells them to stop running around and be quiet otherwise they won't be able to walk around these streets anymore, Cherry nods and proceeds to hide in an alley while Beam goes underground using his powers.

-Later when Reze transforms and launches herself towards Beam and Denji, Cherry intercepts her by charging towards her and punching Reze square in the face while shouting her name, Reze gets knocked back to where she was before. Cherry goes to deal with her while Beam and Denji escape from the area.

-Cherry tries to keep a distance and avoid Reze's attacks while continuing to talk to her. He talks about school and how he doesn't see a point in attending one as a devil, he asks Reze if she likes school, what subjects she thinks are the hardest, what she would like to have for school lunch and how he wouldn't settle for anything less than torikatsu.

-While Reze does get affected by Cherry's power, shown by her weakened powers, reduced speed and skin becoming wrinkled, she simply triggers a full body explosion near him which not only reverts her body to its original state but also launches Cherry all the way down the hill.

-Three private hunters spot Cherry laying on the street, they approach him only for Reze to jump in, landing on Cherry's abdomen making the devil contort in pain.

-The trio reports the situation on a walkie talkie before Reze triggers another explosion which kills all the hunters and leaves Cherry far too injured and exhausted to follow her. He crawls towards the burnt remains of the hunters and feeds off their corpses to slowly regain a bit of strength.

International assassins arc

-Cherry, Beam and Prince were with Makima dealing with some of Santa's dolls in a building, she orders the boys to go help Denji and the two proceed to head to the department store to do so.

-When they arrive at the scene Beam pushes Long away from Denji and Cherry starts attacking her while the two begin making their way out of the building.

-Cherry throws kicks and punches at Long while asking her if she's been enjoying the trip to japan, Pingtsi frees herself from Power's grasp and uses her ability to analyze Cherry, She joins the fight telling Long that they need to cover up their ears as Cherry's powers only work if you can hear him clearly.

-Seeing as the girls have their ears covered, Cherry starts speaking louder while attacking more viciously. He asks them what places have they visited on the trip so far, if they've been to any good restaurants, if the hotel they're staying at is a good one, saying that the best hotels out there are the ones with room service.

-Their fight is interrupted by Santa sending everyone in the building to hell via her contract with the Hell devil. Upon their arrival, Cherry knees on the floor looking towards the horizon, standing completely still. His eyes can no longer be seen shining through the holes in his skull, the look of someone who has accepted that his end is near.

-Cherry gets his arms removed by the Darkness devil, unlike the others, He expresses no reaction to that.

-Cherry and Beam give Denji their blood, he positions himself behind Denji and pushes him to be in a sitting position as Beam pulls on his chainsaw cord. The Darkness devil sees this and slices both of them into pieces. Cherry's severed head lands near Beam's, their foreheads gently touching.

Gun devil arc

-Aki says that Cherry is dead as he lists the fates of the people who were involved in the last mission to Denji.

Control devil arc

-Cherry's body is seen in the corridor alongside all the other deceased fiends and devils from public safety, kneeling between Beam and Seraphim.

#shout out to Barem because his panel in the latest chapter was perfect to edit Cherry in #also idk how clear it was #but I replaced Beam's little hussle against Reze by Cherry fighting her #so in this he arrives with no injures at the training facility with Denji #Cherry is able to stand better against her since he's much stronger tham Beam #due to being a full devil rather than a fiend #and a really strong one in general. lots of people are scared of growing up #csm #csm oc #chainsaw man #edit #manga edit #Cherry #hyena ramblings #hyena scribbles

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

Headcanons on if leona got forced into an arranged marriage while very obviously dating the epel 5? What does the epel 5 do?

Can do!

Leona argued and argued the best he could in this state, running out a few times and refusing to visit his home when needed

Cheka was starting to feel upset cause his uncle wasn't there his brother had the balls to try and guilt trip Leona by using Cheka as a excuse

And even when he's there he argued to drop the engagement and it just went in a circle

Ruggie was having it worst out of all of them. Usually he's angry and trying to smooth out the bad vibes, but it was sinking in faster that Leona's family are doing this no matter what and he's "better" with someone people approve of

Epel was ready to bring forth Hell

Jack tried to cheer them up with Deuce but the two became depressed over the whole thing

Fast forward to a party Leona's forced to go or else Cheka would be depressed again and be with that family instead

Vil catches Epel trying to sneak out and helps him while he sent Rook to convince Deuce to get Jack and Ruggie to join Epel

Deuce did get Jack to help with Ruggie's depressed muffin face

And off to the Sunset Savannah they go!

Leona's ears are flat and he's unable to curl up with his partners at this point.

With the doors opening the four run in dressed in their best formal attire and staring at leona who stares at them in shock

Ruggie and Epel used their powers to sneak in

Leona set down his glass and made his way to them, ignoring the murmurs that for sure will make his family angry

Not just him, Cheka ran forth and hug them happy to see them

Leona's dad tried to get them kicked out in which Leona and Cheka were like "Um, no"

They stayed and while they help Leona avoid his "fiance" and letting him have a good time the whole night until they were about to be kicked out again

Leona stopped this attempt by getting them in a dance in which, with eyes on him, kissed each of them in the light

There was a huge argument in the palace after the party was over with Leona's parents and brother arguing about image and how they aren't dropping the engagement

Leona yelled he'd rather die than be forced to be away from the people who actually love him and treat him as a person and not his crown or money

#twisted wonderland #leona kingscholar #epel 5 #leona x ruggie #leona x epel #leona x jack #leona x deuce #deuce x epel #epel x jack #epel x deuce #epel x ruggie #epel x leona #arranged marriage

[xxwhiskeyxx]

Love Trope February!

Aether x Swiss : Enemies to Lovers (Kinda i tried lol)

I have been reading kinktobers for years and I decided to make this for February since I have been using love tropes for making prompts but thought this would be more fun. I did spin a wheel to pick different pairings for each day/trope but if you have a request feel free to ask and I'll work it in!

This is set as when Swiss was first summoned, obviously lol, and before him and Aether are close. It's set in the same universe as when they fucked in my one-shot and if it's not clear, their starting slight feelings.

- Love Whiskey

When Swiss was first summoned, he wasn’t our carefree, smiley jokester we all know and love. He was anti-social, distant, and seemed like an egotistical prick because he would show off at practise then isolate from everyone by locking himself in his room and not talking to anyone, even if they were trying to be friendly, coming off as rude and being snappy even to sweet Rain and Cumulus so everyone eventually gave up and left him alone. Even though Aether tried to be kind to the Multi and make him feel included and loved, Swiss pushed him and everyone else away, so even though he wanted to continue trying he gave up because he felt like there was no use, though he noticed Swiss always had a stench of anxiety and stress when around the others he didn’t think it was anything other than he just hated them.

One day Aether had enough. Him and Swiss to get into a big fight after he had yelled something VERY mean to Rain after he had accidentally hit the Multi in the face when he had tripped over a napping Dew that he didn’t notice him on the floor, leading them to cry. Leading to Aether and Mountain screaming at him about what the hell is his deal, what did any of them ever do to him. Which Swiss returned that he knows that they all hate him for being a Multi, so why should he be nice to them since thats what lead to him getting hurt, that made very clear to him in the Pit, before storming off to his room. Now most everyone knows that Multi ghouls aren’t exactly treated the best in hell, but none of them had personally seen what happens to them, as Multi’s aren’t a common thing, except for Dew, who as a hybrid had slight experience with it but he didn’t say anything cause he thought Swiss was just a prick. So when Aether is visably confused, Dew explains what happens to Multis in hell, telling a story about a small group of young Fire ghouls got kicked from a nearby pack after they came back and bragged about majorly fucking up some Multi that thought they were more powerful than them.

Aether and the others are all shocked and now it all makes sense, Swiss is convinced that their attempts of being nice and including him were just tactics to get close and hurt him (a common tactic a lot of ghouls used to get close to young, naive Multis). He’s so used to pushing away everyone that isn’t a Multi because that’s how he’s survived. Everyone feels horrible now and then realize that Dew probably knew this so why didn’t he say anything.

“Dudes a prick, I thought he might’ve just been an asshole on top of typical Multi behavior, their all show offs anyway”, earning a smack to the back of the head from Cirrus. Aether realizes he fucked up but knows if he tries to go apologize now, he might get his head bit off so he decides to wait for Swiss to come out so he can do it as gently as possible.

Except Swiss doesn’t come out, his typical distancing turned into absolute isolation; they only know he’s still in the den because food will be missing from leftovers/food subtly left out for the him, they’ll sometimes see him whipping into his room after probably scrounging for food, and the fact they can sometimes hear screams of frustration coming from his room accompanied with sounds of things smashing. After 3 days, Aether decides to bite the bullet and just go to the Multi’s room to fix this because it hurts to hear someone that is apart of his pack, even after Swiss has pushed himself as far away from everyone as possible, in so much pain and clearly in need.

So that evening, he knocks softly on Swiss’ door to which he gets no answer but he can sense the Multi inside and he can hear him crying. He slowly opens the door to reveal a half destroyed room with Swiss in the middle of the disaster amist a clear panic attack. Aether calmly approaches him as to not get attacked by the distressed ghoul, carefully kneeling near him and, softly saying his name and gently placing his hand on Swiss’ leg but it just scares the poor ghoul, who scrambles away from Aether as his breath picks up even faster while begging him not to hurt him. This makes Aether want to cry, wondering who damaged the poor guy so badly and wanting to return the action, “I’m not gonna hurt you, Swiss. I just want to make sure you're okay. I promise I will never do anything to harm you.” It’s as if he’s pacifying a cornered animal, which he kind of is; Swiss is just watching him with wide eyes while shaking even harder.

Aether carefully sits down and makes a show of placing his hands where the terrified ghoul can see them, then tries to soothe him by reaching out to him with his Quintessence, but the feeling of sheer terror makes him realize just how damaged the poor guy is. He decides to try calming him in a way that works with Dewdrop when he’s touch averse during his own attacks,

“Can you answer a few questions for me please, Swiss?”

Swiss looks confused at the request but after a few moments gives a tense nod, knees to his chest, claws digging what looks painfully into his bare calves as he’s only clothed in basketball shorts. So Aether continues, “What’s 5 things you can see around us?” Aether asks, looking around to seem calm and collected to try to show he’s not a threat, theres a silence but then he hears a shuddering breath, “Dresser…Bed…Mirror…Door…Poster.” Swiss says, still clearly in the grasp of the attack but it’s no longer his sole focus, “Good, now 4 things you can feel?”

Aether doesn’t let a moment pass as to not let the poor ghoul slip back into his head, “Floor…My claws…The rug, and my tail.” Aether notices his panic and breathing has lessened slightly but the trembling hasn’t changed at all neither. “Your doing great buddy, can you tell me 3 things you can hear?” Aether asks, tail flicking as he waits for the other ghouls answer, he sees him tense at the nickname, “What the fuck is with all the questions?!” Swiss asks angrily, backing up more so his back is against the wall.

Aether sighs, he had been expecting the typical anger from the Multi to pop up, clearly it was a way he made himself seem tough even while he’s quivering like a kit, “It’s a grounding technique for panic attacks, which your clearly having and I want to help you. Now please, 3 things you can hear please.”

Swiss huffs but begrudgingly answers, “You talking, Dewdrop yelling at something, and the AC.”

“Thank you, almost done. This ones a little easier, 2 things you can smell.” Aether states, he can feel the panic attack is almost dissipated but the fear hasn’t left, but joined by annoyance. “My candle..and your scent.” Swiss says, claws now having left his leg and is now picking at the nail beds which Aether wants to stop but knows better than to approach him. “Okay, last one, something you can taste?” Swiss tenses, its clear he knows what it is but he doesn’t wanna say it, but after a few moments he whispers, “Blood..”

Aether tenses at that answer, “Why’s that?” Swiss looks away, uncomfortable under the Quintessential ghouls gaze, “Fell and busted my lip earlier, bled a bit.” Aether sighs, thankful it wasn’t for a serious reason. “Can I look at it please, I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to, I just wanna check to see if theres any swelling so I can get you some ice.” The thought of the other ghoul coming near him when he’s in such a vulnerable state makes Swiss almost panic again but he steadys himself with a deep breath, “Fine, just keep those giant paws to yourself.”

The deep laugh that comes from Aether startles the Multi but he hides it, he watches Aether closely as he slowly shuffles closer, stopping when he’s close enough to clearly see the Swiss’ face but not close enough to crowd him. At this distance he can see marks and scars covering the Multi’s exposed body, 3 particularly large clawing scars make their way from the top of his chest down to below his waistband, it makes Aether’s heart to see the clear torture the poor Multi went through in the Pit. But what he also notices is clearly new claw marks that cover Swiss’ arms, the only thing that could’ve made them was the ghoul’s own claws as he hasn’t ever been close enough to anyone to even accidentally get knicked. This makes Aether’s chest ache with how clear his bandmate has been suffering but they were unable to help him.

He finally lets his eyes meet the Multi’s face, gasping softly at the now noticeable mark on his cheek and angry gash on hip lip, clearly from his fangs tearing at the soft tissue. Instictifully he reaches for it, but when Swiss jerks away so hard his head hits the wall, his hand stills, “Sorry but that looks like it hurts. I can heal it if you want.” Aether apologizes, Swiss looks confused, “What do you mean?”, Aether is slightly shocked but at the same time he knows Quintessence is a rare element and is even rarer for Multi’s to have an affinity for it.

“Quintessence means that I can heal others, along with feeling their emotions if we pay attention.” Aether says, hand still hovering near Swiss, allowing the ghoul processes the new information, mouth falling open when he realizes Aether felt everything he has been since he entered the room and since he came, “So..you..can fix my face?” Aether nods, smiling at the thought that Swiss is at least trusting him to help him this much, “Yeah, it might feel a little weird since you’ve never experienced it but it won’t hurt I promise. But I do have to touch you, is that okay.” Swiss nods.

Aether leans forward and gently places a hand on the side of the Multi’s face, thumb resting against the cut and pretends to need to balance with the other hand on Swiss’ chest so he can heal the cuts covering his arms as well, closeing his eyes while focusing his magick into his hand. Swiss flinches but accepts the touch, holding in the whimper from being touched so gently for the first time in years. After a few moments, the near constant pain he’s grown so used to over the years is gone, leaving in it’s stead, a foreign feeling of ease. Once he finishes, Aether simply leaves his hand for a moment, gently stroking Swiss’ cheek which the Multi uncounsiously leans into the soft touch, but quickly realizes what he’s doing and jerks away.

“Thanks, you can go now. I’m sure the others are wondering where you are.” There he goes, trying to push him away again, making Aether sigh, “No, everyone else is either asleep, watching a movie, or are doing something by themselves; even if they weren’t, I came to talk to you and apologize.” Aether says, letting his hand drop back into his lap and leans away slightly, so he’s no longer in the lean ghouls space.

A look of surpise overtakes Swiss’ face, why would Aether want to apologize? He was an asshole to everyone, shouldn’t he be the one apologizing. He knew now that everyone was just trying to be friendly with him, he could tell just by the fact no one, except Dewdrop, has ever been rude to him or showed any type of harsh actions that would suggest they wanted to hurt him. But it was instinct after so many years in the Pit, being tortured, abused, and used by other ghouls; the only ones that were ever kind to him were the other Multi’s he came across and were in his small pack.

He felt so guilty for how he treated everyone, how he always flinched and shied away from any type of touch anyone tried to lay on him, how he couldn’t help but push them away and shield himself out of self-preservation because he is terrified of being hurt again. Swiss can feel the tears start to reappear in his eyes, but he hides them by dropping his head, “You don’t have to apologize, I’m used to much worse plus I deserved it, I was an asshole...” it isn’t a lie but he isn’t going to tell the large ghoul that when he and Mountain had bucked up to him and raised their voices almost made him crumble right then and there, fearful they were going to hurt him, especially the huge Earth ghoul that could easily rip him apart without a second thought.

Aether gapes at him, “I don’t know what happened to you down there, but even though, yes you were an absolute dick, you didn’t deserve to be screamed at like that. I don’t care what you think, I wish I didn’t lose my temper like that and I should’ve calmed down Mount instead of screaming at you. I know Multi’s aren’t exactly treated nicely in the Pit, but I didn’t realize just how bad it is for you guys, I’m so sorry Swissy.”

The nickname makes Swiss’ head shoot up, eyes wide. The last person to use that name for him was his mother, she had been mauled by a pack of Earth ghouls because she got too close to their territory while searching for food when he had just became an adolescent ghoul, so that plus the bigger ghouls words are the last straw to him holding back his tears. Aether watches as they glide down his face, he slowly reaches out his hand, slow enough that if Swiss gave any notition to stop he would, and softly wipes the tears from the Multi’s cheeks, this makes a sob Swiss was holding back escape his mouth.

Leaning forward, Aether gently wraps him in a hug, the warm embrace makes the dam holding back all Swiss’ emotions break. He desperately wraps his arms around the Quintessinal ghouls shoulders, heaving sobs into his chest, as he grips his button up in a death grip. Aether carefully shuffles the broken ghoul into his lap so he could properly hold him, cradling him as if he was made of glass while pressing his cheek to his head, gently whispering for him to let it all out, that he has him, he isn’t alone anymore, that he has a pack here that will love and care for him if he just gives them a chance, how he is safe, and he isn’t going to leave him alone ever again. All while Swiss is soaking his shirt with his tears as he hiccups sobs, Aether simply rubbing his warm back softly, who is subtly grimacing when he feels even more raised scars, and letting out all the fear and stress he has been holding since he was summoned go.

Eventually Swiss’ sobs turn into whimpers; keeping his face buried in Aether’s shirt, inhaling the Quintessinal ghoul’s heady scent that makes him feel dizzy. One of Aether’s hands is stilling rubbing his back while the other has made it’s way into his curly hair, scratching the scalp softly, while he rocks him and is now gently humming some song he doesn’t recognize. Soon he pulls back slightly, wiping his face, “Sorry ‘bout your shirt…” Swiss sniffles, a weak attempt at a joke to which Aether chuckles, “Don’t worry about it, I have plenty of others.”

Not stopping the comforting petting, “I don’t know about you, but as much as I absolutely love sitting on the stone floor, I think we’d both prefer something softer and I don’t think you should be alone right now.” Aether suggests, gently bumping horns with the Multi who nods, but a glance at the ruined sheets and bed makes him frown, “I ugh..made a bit of a mess.” Aether laughs again, “As much as I enjoy your whirlwind of a room, how about we go to mine for now and I’ll help you clean up tomorrow, yeah?” Swiss nods and goes to move from the larger ghouls lap but is promptly scooped up with a yelp as if he weighed nothing and is carried out of the room.

Aether deposits the lean ghoul onto his bed, chuckling at the uncharacteristic squeak he lets out when dropped, turning to remove his tear and snot soaked shirt before tossing it into his hamper. Swiss stares wide-eyed at the broad chest and plush stomach of the Quintessential ghoul, a light blush making it’s way onto his cheeks when Aether catches him looking and winks at him with a cheeky grin, to which Swiss looks away and glares at the wall. “You can have my bed for the night, I can take the couch or if you’d be more comfortable, I can sleep in the commons or with one of the others.”

“No!” Swiss immediately answers, the blush growing, “I mean..I don’t wanna kick you both out of your bed and your room after making you deal with me…I can sleep on the couch or the floor, I don’t wanna make you be uncomfortable.” Swiss says, a look of shame crossing his features, knees coming back up to his chest.

Aether sits next to him, placing a hand on his knee, Swiss is learning that Quintessional ghouls, or at least Aether, are much touchier than Multi’s but he isn’t complaining, poor guy is so touch starved it isn’t funny. “I didn’t ‘deal with you’, I was making sure my packmate was taken care of, and plus, I offered it, so you wouldn’t be kicking me out of anywhere.” Aether says and smiles again, Swiss tries to keep the giddy feeling of being called a packmate again off his face along with a strange feeling that courses through his belly, “I..I won’t mind if you slept on the bed with me..it’s pretty big?” Swiss offers, Aether’s proven he wouldn’t hurt him and even though the fear of being taken advantage of is still there, the way Aether simply held him and is now offering to sleep somewhere else just so he’s comfortable makes him shut up the voice screaming danger at him.

Aether’s smile turns into a look of concern, “Are you sure? I’m not lying when I say I can sleep anywhere, if you ever get the chance, ask Dew about the time Mount and I passed out on a pile of crates backstage at a Ritual.” Aether laughs quietly, but the mention of the Fire gremlin and Earth giant makes Swiss’ ears pin back to his head and his lips curl into a snarl. Dewdrop was the only exception of everyone trying to be nice to him, immediately approaching him with irritation and aggression straight from his summoning, along with the fact he’s a Fire ghoul, makes Swiss greatly dislike Dewdrop. But Mountain..he was huge and fiercely protective of his pack, so even while he’s typically a gentle giant, he has been equally aggressive towards Swiss especially when it comes to Rain. This plus his experience with Earth ghouls in the Pit made his warily of the drummer.

Aether frowns, hand reassuringly squeezing the Multi’s knee, “Hey, I know Dew can be a asshole but he honestly is a good guy when you get to know him, he’s just…a little prickly to newbies. I’m sorry he’s been so mean with you, I’ve tried to get him to stop but he’s stubborn and well, a dick.” Aether then gets up and stretches with a groan, “If your sure your okay with us sharing the bed, I’ll take your word for it. I’m gonna go get ready for bed, feel free to get comfy, I’ll be back.”

To which Swiss holds in a whimper, the idea of being left alone at the moment scares him, the idea that Aether won’t come back and is using this as a way to escape him screams in the back of his mind, but he chooses to ignore it and push it into the vault. He chooses instead to curl up atop the soft sheets, nuzzling his head into a pillow that was drenched in the spicy, clean scent of the larger ghoul, allowing it to overtake his senses and giving into the exhaustion that has clouded his mind.

True to his word, Aether returns about 15 minutes later, hair slightly wet from the quick shower he took to get the days grim off, to find Swiss asleep and pressed as close to the wall as possible, curled into a ball. A soft smile overtakes Aether’s face for what feels like the 100th time of the night, seeing the formerly stressed Multi so relaxed in his bed makes his stomach flutter with butterflies. He shakes the feeling away and lays down, gently shimmying the comforter from under the knocked out ghoul, tucking him under it, and lays down with a enough distance between them to not make the Multi ghou uncomfortable in case he wakes up. The soft snores of his bed partner helps Aether relax and fall into sleep himself

After what was probably a couple hours of sleep, Aether is woken up by whimpers and cries coming from somewhere to his left. Sitting up slightly, blinking his eyes open, he realizes the distressed sounds are coming from a shaking Swiss, whose head is currently thrashing back and forth, hands clinging to the sheets under him, and cries of “Please stop, I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me, I won’t do it again!” make it clear to the Quintessential ghoul that the poor Multi is having a nightmare, probably of something that had happened in the Pit. Aether shuffles close enough to shake the Multi, “Swiss, wake up, your safe, it’s not real,” all Swiss does is whimper, trying to curl away from the touch, “Buddy, it’s just a nightmare, it’s okay. Open your eyes, it’s just a dream!”

The words and touch make Swiss open his eyes, gasping for breath and tears now streaming down his face again. He jerks away from Aether, scrambling back to the wall, “No! Get away from me!” he hisses and swipes at the other, tail whipping wildly, head still foggy and spinning from the nightmare, mistaking Aether for a larger ghoul attempting to take advantage of him. Aether sits ups up, carefully grabbing the swinging claws and holds them to his chest, “Hey, hey look at me, it’s Aether, Swiss your okay, look at me buddy.”

“Breathe, it’s okay, your safe, your in the Ministry, your in my room, your safe,” Aether is trying to sooth his pack mate, but Swiss is still panicking, eyes glazed with sleep still, so he pulls him close to him, switching to holding both of the others hands with one while the other cups his face, “Look at me Swiss, your safe in the Ministry, your not in the Pit anymore, I’m not going to hurt you.”

After a minute, tears haven’t stopped but Swiss’ eyes have finally cleared, chest still heaving, processing Aether’s words, “I..I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me, I’m sorry.” Swiss whimpers, Aether sighs in relief and gathers the distressed ghoul back into his lap so he’s straddling his thighs, holding him against his chest but this time tucks his head into his neck so his scent can sooth the Multi as he crys, quietly shushing him, “Your okay, I’m not upset at all. We all get nightmares honey, it’s normal and especially with what you’ve been through. I’ve got you sweetheart, calm down, your safe with me.” The petnames slipped out, Aether is so used to soothing Dew and Rain in a similar way and with his still sleep aidled mind, they came naturally. Swiss’ breath hitches, burying his face further into the other to help calm his mind with his soothing scent.

Rocking him back and forth, Swiss slowly calms down and the tears stop, but he keeps his face hidden. Aether’s hands had released his earlier and are now running up and down his back in a grounding motion.

“Do you wanna talk about it? You don’t have to, but sometimes it helps with processing.” Aether whispers, hand cupping the back of Swiss’ neck, thumb rubbing his scent gland in soothing circles.

Swiss takes a shuddering breath, “I..was back in the Pit, separated from my pack..and I had gotten hunted down by a group of ghouls..they were taking turns beating me up..and saying how I was a..pathetic excuse of a ghoul..a freak of nature..that my kind shouldn’t exist.” he shudders, “It felt so real, like it was actually happening and then when you woke me up…you have a similar build as this one ghoul who would always harass my pack…”

Aether slowly tugs the Multi to make him meet his eyes, holding his chin so he can’t look away, “I am so sorry Swiss, you did not deserve that. What they said is the furthest from the truth anyone can ever be. Multi ghouls are an amazing, you guys are able to control multiple elements and even though you can’t master them, you guys can still wield them better than full elementals at time.” Aether says, fingers stroking the tear tracks that stain Swiss’ cheeks, “I may not have met any before you, but if their anything like you, then I think I’ll like them too. Also I’m sorry that I scared you, I wasn’t trying to.”

Swiss stares at him, feelings churning in his chest that he has never felt before. A whimper escapes his throat, “I..why are you so nice to me..I have treated you and the others like shit. I’ve done nothing but push you away, I’m the worst Multi you could have ever met.” He tries to search Aether’s eyes for a some sort of answer. The soft look tAether gives him makes him want to hide again, “I know, but your still my pack mate. I know now that the way you were acting was you just trying to protect yourself, you’re so used to anyone who isn’t a Multi treating you like shit so I’m not going to blame you for instinct. I hope now that I get to know the real Swiss, the one behind the protective mask. From what I’ve seen so far, I think you're nice and like to joke around and I know the others would love to see it too.” Swiss looks at him with wide eyes, unsure how to react.

Continuing, “I’ll be here for you if this ever happens again, my door is always open to you any time of day or night. I want to make sure you feel safe and cared for, to make sure you get to experience having a pack topside like you did downstairs and learn that other elementals aren’t going to hurt you anymore, not here and definitely not any of of the band. Do you understand?” All Swiss can do is nod, exhausted again from both being suddenly awoken from sleep by his nightmare and the emotions that have wracked his body again, “Atta boy, now are you okay enough to try to sleep again? I know your not used to it and feel free to tell me to fuck off, but I know it helps the others if their being touched while asleep. I can just hold your hand and tail or something, if you want to try it?” Aether offers, he wants so badly to hold the Multi and protect him from all the horrible memories and thoughts that seem to cloud his subconscious but he doesn’t want to push it.

Thinking for a moment, Swiss nods again, head slumped against Aether’s shoulder as he starts to doze off against the larger ghoul. Aether gingerly lays them down, closer than before but with a bit of space, then gently grasps Swiss’ hand, threading their fingers together and intertwining his tail with the others. The Multi sighs, body sagging into the softness and focuses into the warmth Aether’s hand in his as he lets sleep overtake his mind once more. Aether quickly follows, softly squeezing the veined hand in his once, twice.

Aether wakes first, a warm, vibrating feeling against his chest and a breath on his skin. Glancing down, his eyes widen at the sight of a purring Swiss pressed tightly against him with his head tucked into his shoulder, hands wrapped around his neck, his tail had slipped from Aether’s to curl around his thick thigh as if to keep him from leaving. Smiling, he leans back slightly to look at how relaxed he is, how much younger he looks without the constant lines from frowns wrinkingly his skin, also noticing the dark eyebags under his eyes that are probably from countless sleepless nights due to nightmares. Aether can’t help but gently smooth his fingers across the Multi’s sharp cheekbone, over the small scars that cuts through an arched brow and his lip.

Swiss stirs against him, yawning and instinctively curling into the warmth as his eyes blink open. They quickly widen at how close they are, but before he can jerk away, Aether wraps an arm around his waist and anchors him in place, “Shh, it’s okay. I don’t mind. Go back to sleep, we don’t have duties or practise today.” Swiss stares at him with half-lidded silver and gold eyes, but clearly he is too sleepy to argue, so he just lets himself fall back asleep as he snuggles closer, tucking his face into the crook of Aether’s neck. To which Aether’s smile grows, burying his nose into thick curls and inhaling the smell of the Multi ghouls scent.

But before he can drift back off himself, he’s startled by his door opening. Standing illuminated by the dim hallway lamps, is a shaking Rain whose obviously shocked by the sight of the Multi ghoul in Aether’s bed. The Quintessinal ghoul beckons him over, once Rain is close enough he places a hand subtly over Swiss’ ear as to not disturb him, “What’s the matter Rainy? Bad dream?” Rain simply nods, eyes not leaving the relaxed Multi pressed against Aether. “Come here sweetheart. It’s okay, he’s not what you think. Lay down and I’ll explain, he’s been through a lot.

Still eyeing Swiss warily, Rain lays next to Aether who rolls onto his back so he can hold Rain in his other arm; the Water ghoul curls up similarly to Swiss but with his head on Aether’s large chest and draps his arm over his waist. Swiss had grumbled in his sleep when Aether moved but didn’t wake, simply shifting to adjust. Aether presses his lips to the top of Rains head, wrapping his other arm around the skinny male’s shoulder and cards his fingers through his hair, kicking up a light purr from the Water elemental who leans into the touch.

Aether tells Rain of the events of the previous night and then of Swiss’ nightmare, all while the Water ghoul stares wide eyed and mouth dropped in horror. Everything made sense now, just as it had for Aether, he glances over at the still sleeping Multi whose purring had kicked up again. Swiss wasn’t the aggressive asshole everyone thought he was, he was hurt badly and was just trying to protect himself, he didn’t know how to trust anyone who wasn’t a Multi because Multi’s were the only type that never tried to hurt him.

“So..do you think he’ll come around us more? I don’t want him to think he has to stay away from us because of how he acted. I wanna give him a chance, I get why he acted the way he did..” Rain asks, playing with the soft hair on Aether’s chest, “I was planning on getting him used to being around at least me for awhile, so he doesn’t feel overwhelmed and also because you know Dew will just antagonize him,” the Quintessinal ghoul answers, gently petting the purring Multi’s hair as he talks. “I don’t want to make him feel pressured into accepting everyone at once, especially cause he seemed really scared of both Dew and Mount. I’m not sure why, but I know in the pit Fire and Earth ghouls are the most aggressive so I have a feeling he had bad run-ins with them.” Aether and Rain continue to quietly talk, basking in the purrs and soft sounds coming from the snoozing ghoul next to them.

Swiss isn’t sure what exactly woke him up, but there is soft talking next to him. He recognizes Aether’s voice first but after a few moments, he realizes the other voice is of Rain. Wait Rain is in here! His eyes shoot open and he jerks away quickly, breaking from the light grasp Aether still had on his waist as he scuttles backward, both turn to look at him and he feels like he’s being judged. “Hey, it’s okay Swiss. Rain isn’t gonna hurt you, he came in a little while ago. Come back, it’s okay.” Aether says calmly, hand reaching to squeeze the other ghouls. Swiss’ eyes dart between the Quintessinal and Water ghouls, now anxious of the sapphire eyes now trained on him even if their soft and almost..sad looking?

The Multi gradually slinks back, eyes locked on Rain, watching for any sign of malice intent. “I told him about what happened, I probably should’ve asked for your permission first, but Rain went through similar things in the Pit. He understands buddy, your okay.” Swiss’ eyes widen slightly as he watches Rain smile and nod, “Water ghouls, while not treated as badly as you guys, are picked on a lot by Fire ghouls because they think we’re easy targets since we’re usually smaller than them.” Swiss didn’t meet many Water ghouls, minus the odd few that he’d pass when hunting or traveling and while they were never as cruel as the others, they still would hiss and claw if he got too close.

Now next to Aether again, Swiss settles back down but with a little space between them. “I didn’t know that, but I guess it makes sense, Fire ghouls really are assholes huh.” he says, which makes both ghouls laugh, “Yeah, even though Dew is technically half water, he really takes after his Fire side personality wise, I think that’s why he’s such a bitch to everyone.” Rain giggles out. This new information shocks Swiss, he knew the little gremlin had a hint of salt in his scent but he didn’t realize he was a hybrid. “Yeah probably, but I think he’s mostly just a dick because we’re all taller than him.” Aether jokes, which earns a laugh out the two ghouls, Swiss moves closer now as he feels more at ease around the skinny bassist.

Looking at said bassist he bites his lip as he contemplates his words, “Rain?”, earning a hum from the Water ghoul, “I wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said to you yesterday, I know it was an accident. I shouldn’t have said that, even if I’m used to other ghouls being cruel in the Pit, you never did anything but be kind to me. I’m very sorry.” Rain sighs, placing his clawed hand on the Multi’s and squeezes gently, “I know, could tell you were stressed about something already and then my clumsy self just had to trip. I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do about us, when I was first summoned, I was terrified too. And from what Aether told me, you went through a lot more than me,” Rain explains, a small smile on his face.

“I’ll accept your apology on one condition though.” the Water ghoul says, Swiss shrinks back in fear because that type of wording is something he’s heard before and it did not end well, “Can I hug you? I know you probably aren’t used to touch, but you seem like you give good hugs if the way you were wrapped around Aeth was any hint.” Rain asks shyly as if he was scared of the Multi getting angry at him. Swiss perks up, nodding as he opens his arms, he hadn’t been properly hugged in a long time, well other than Aether but he was moreso straddling the ghoul or sideways both tims. Rain grins and dives across a chuckling Aether with a happy trill, he wraps around the Multi who returns with equal ferocity, nuzzling into each other as they begin to happily purr, they were soon joined by Aether who is purring somehow even louder.

A little while later, they leave the room and get food, Swiss hiding behind a protective Quintessinal and Water ghoul as they get food, Aether explains to the other’s in the common room of what he learned when he notice them staring in shock, Swiss is still trying to hide behind him but is quickly tackled in a hug by a happily chirping Cumulus who was excited to learn her pack brother didn’t actually hate her. While Aether told off Dew when he tried to start shit, telling him if he tried to hurt the Multi, he can forget Aether even fucking him again. The Quintessinal ghoul also made sure to quietly pull Mountain aside to explain Swiss’ anxiety around him, which made the poor Earth ghoul feel guilty at how he treated him before but he slowly approached Swiss where he was sat next to Rain and apologized, offering to take him to his greenhouse and smoke with him, which the Multi agreed to but only if Aether was with him, not saying because he was still scared of Mountain because he didn’t want to hurt his feelings. After that day, Swiss’ personality came out and he became the snarky, smiling, shimmying ghoul we all know and love.

#aether x swiss #swiss x aether #aether ghoul #swiss ghoul #nameless ghoul #love trope febraury #whiskey's burbling barrel #enemies to lovers

[arvandus]

Ramble about Gojo x F!Reader ficccc (it’s happening!)

Alrighty, I finally have some time to myself to really dig into this.  Sorry if it’s long, I just... I need this here.  For... reference.

Before I start, manga spoilers abound, DO NOT TREAD HERE if you don’t want to be spoiled.  Also, ironically, I am notoriously behind on the manga (honestly can’t remember where I left off...), so don’t expect accuracy.

ANYWAY.  Let’s get started.

Reader is Nanami’s wife, who’s kept secret from the Jujutsu society.  Reader doesn’t know about curses and sorcerers, and they don’t know about her. Nanami went through a lot of effort to keep it that way.  The only one who does know is Gojo, who reader has met here and there sporadically during her time with Nanami.

Angsty start: Reader is pregnant with their first child when Nanami dies during the Shibuya Incident.  What’s worse, is that because Gojo was the only one who knew of her, and he gets locked away, Reader has no idea what happened to her husband.  One day he just.... doesn’t come home from work. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t find him.  She calls hospitals, the police, his work... who oddly states that he hasn’t been an employee there for some time... she even called Gojo, a contact that Nanami emphasized was only for the most dire of emergencies. But he’s not answering his phone either (since, y’know, he’s sealed and all that...)

It completely throws her world upside down.  She hears nothing, can find absolutely nothing.  He’s just... gone.

Imagine her shock when Gojo shows up on her doorstep 20 days later.  He looks... different, from when she saw him last, even though it’d only been a few weeks ago.

Gojo is the one to tell her that Nanami is dead. He makes up a well-practiced lie, concocted with Nanami in case this exact situation ever happened.  He tells her that Nanami had actually worked for the government and had gotten killed on a secret mission.  It was enough to explain away all the strangeness she noticed before; the nights he’d come home late, sometimes with small injuries, the ‘business trips’ he had to take from time to time, etc.

She’s utterly heartbroken, devastated, angry.  In her woundedness, she blames Gojo for not protecting her husband and essentially kicks him out, telling him she never wants to see him again. He obliges, and tells her to call him if she ever needs him.  But of course... he’s never entirely gone, not really.  He keeps an eye on her in secret, ensuring she’s always safe.  Nanami had been very meticulous in ensuring she’d be provided for if anything were to happen to him, and Gojo had been a part of that agreement.

Gojo keeps his distance well enough to not be seen by her, but he keeps an eye on her, checking in on her periodically...

Still working out some plot stuff, but some things I know for sure: Nanami’s child is going to have jujutsu powers, and when they finally manifest, it’s going to pull reader and her child into the Jujutsu world.  And Gojo is going to HATE it because it’s going to put them in danger when he’d sworn to Nanami he’d protect them.  Also, the child will have something “special” about them that will make them a target (thus upping the stakes and tying into a greater plot besides Reader and Gojo).  Of course, during this time, Reader and Gojo are going to have to learn to put their history aside and work together, and through that, are going to grow closer and closer, where feelings are going to naturally develop (and yes there will of course be steamy scenes).

Things to decide on: Does reader not contact him at ALL until the child’s power manifests?  Or does she contact him before that, during some key life events (e.g., going into labor and giving birth to her and Nanami’s child, maybe a situation where the child is lost at a park or a mall, etc.)?  If she does call on him, does he keep coming back or does he vanish again, popping in and out of their lives only when he’s most needed?  If he lingers, they’d likely start to get closer to each other, and Reader might start to develop feelings.  Driven by guilt, she’d push him away again, and cut off communication with him.  So when he finally shows up to help her with her child’s manifested abilities, there will already be a wealth of history between them. OR just have it be 0 contact and let feelings develop once she’s inside the JJK world. Hmm, choices...

Y’all, there’s gonna be so much angst, drama, and sexual tension, LET ME TELL YOU.

#arvandus rambles #Gojo x Reader #fic brainstorm #fic idea

[melishade]

Number 4?

This ask game

Peaceful Timeline again. Ymir’s dealing with a nightmare and Optimus and Maria helping make her breakfast.

TW blood

She’s running like mad, as far away as see can. Her eye-socket gouged out and bloodied, her shoulder aching from the arrow in her shoulder. She could hear the dogs chasing her through the forest, the soldiers laughing as they chased her down on horseback. One had shot her in the leg, causing her to trip and roll down a hill. She tried to get back up but she was too weak to try. The men had cornered her, surrounded her, with their dark eyes and maniacal laughter. She wanted to plead with them for mercy, but one of them commanded the dogs to tear into her. The dog lunged at her, opening its maw to tear into her flesh-!

Ymir cried out as she shot up from the bed, pulling the covers off of her body. She couldn’t see because of how dark it was, causing her to frantically search for the candle next to her bedside. She grabbed the candle before snatching up one of the matches and rubbing it against the table. A flame started, and Ymir was relieved to see that her depth perception was correct. She still had both of her eyes. She then lit the candle and blew out the match before getting up and walking out of her room. She took small steps, trying her best not to make the floorboards creek from the pressure of her weight as she approached her daughter’s room.

She opened the door and peered inside. The four-year-old was resting peacefully. She had kicked the blankets off of her body quite early in the night, as they lay in a heap on the floor. Ymir shut the door to Maria’s room before wiping her eyes of her tears.

It’s been a while since her nightmares were this bad. One of the being that she didn’t make it to the tree in time, and she was killed by the party sent to hunt her down for sport. Looking back, she was so angry with herself. She should’ve used her power to crush them all! Why didn’t see do it when she got that power?!

“Without me, you are no one and nothing. You are a monster that anyone else would cast out. You will stay by my side, and you will only serve me, slave.”

Ymir felt sick. She felt sick, angry, and sad all at once. She was just an ignorant, fearful, kind girl, who could not fight the world around her. Fighting had only led to pain.

But fighting and defying her orders, had also led her to Optimus. He saved her, and she needed him now more than anything.

Ymir walked down the hall, past the living room and kitchen to the front door. She opened it slowly, and was so elated to see Optimus parked in front of the cabin in his alt mode. She walked down the steps and approached the car, knocking on the passenger door.

“Ymir?” Optimus questioned, his voice tired from rest, “Is something wrong?”

Ymir hugged herself tight, being careful not to drop the candle. She nodded her head and sniffled, and it was more than enough for Optimus to activate his human form and approach her.

“Are you hurt?” Optimus asked as he placed his hands on her cheeks, examine her face and wiping her tears. Ymir shook her head in response. “Was it a nightmare?” Ymir nodded her head at that.

“What can I do to alleviate your sorrow?” Optimus asked her. Ymir, in response, had dropped the candle, the flame thankfully going out before it hit the grass. She hugged Optimus tight and gripped the back of the holoform shirt.

“…stay…” she managed to force out. She wanted to plead with him some more, but all that came out next were soft whimpers. Optimus wrapped his arms around her in response and kissed her forehead before picking her up. He opened the passenger door, and reclined the passenger seat before laying Ymir down in the chair.

“I will be right back. I want to get you a blanket,” Optimus told her. Ymir wanted to plead with him, but Optimus let go of her hand and went back in the cabin. Please stay! Please come back! Don't go! Ymir forced herself to sit up when Optimus returned with the blanket from her bed. Optimus moved to quickly wrap it around her, but she ended up hugging him in response.

"I'm right here," Optimus whispered to her, "Rest now. I'll be right here."

Ymir let Optimus finish wrapping her in the blanket before she laid back down in the seat. Optimus closed the passenger door and turned the heater on. Ymir sighed deeply and snuggled deeper into the blanket as hot air filled the space she rested in. Ymir had managed to hear Optimus speaking in a low voice, probably telling her a story of some kind. She couldn't tell. She was...so exhausted. Her eyes began to droop, and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

============

Maria yawned and rubbed her eyes before sitting up. She saw the light peering into the window and realized that it was morning. She climbed down her bed and picked up her blanket before walking out of her room, dragging her blanket with her. She was hungry, and she wanted her Mama. She approached her Mama's room but paused when she saw Optimus placing the covers over Ymir before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He stood up and turned to leave, but paused when he noticed Maria. He placed a finger over his mouth to tell her to remain silent before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

"I want Mama," Maria told Optimus.

Optimus kneeled down and held Maria's hand into his own. "Mama is tired right now. She did not get enough sleep last night."

"Mama!" Maria tried to go around Optimus to see her.

"Mama just needs a moment to rest a little longer," Optimus proclaimed as he placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back, "But what the two of us can do while Mama rests is help make her some breakfast. She will be hungry, and it's our job to make sure that she eats something."

Optimus couldn't help but smile at how Maria's tiny face turned into one of determination. "I need you to go pick up some dandelions so that we can make something sweet for her, alright?"

Maria nodded her head furiously, dropping her blanket in the process.

"Can I trust that you won't stray too far from the cabin?" Optimus asked her.

"Yes!" Maria answered.

"If you need anything, then call for me, alright?" Optimus instructed.

Maria nodded before running towards the door. She tried to reach the knob but found herself to be too short. Optimus chuckled before opening the door for her. Maria ran down the steps and out into the field to pick up the dandelions growing nearby. Optimus turned his attention to the kitchen before him before pulling out the sack of potatoes. Time to get to work.

Later, Maria had managed to acquire a large handful of dandelions, the roots still intact and the dirt clinging to it. Maria didn't care. She was going to help her Mama feel better. Maria picked up one for herself and ripped the flower off with her teeth before beginning to check. She grabbed another one and was prepared to chew again, but stopped when she saw a shadow loom over her. She looked up to see Megatron's holoform staring down at her with a fresh goose kill in his hand.

"What are you doing, Maria?" Megatron asked.

Maria decided to add the dandelion to the bouquet in her hands before showing it off to Megatron. "Mama is feeling tired, so Papa and I are making bakefast! Want one?!"

"Breakfast," Megatron corrected before scooping her up with his other arm, "And no. I already ate."

"No! I need to get more!" Maria exclaimed.

"You have more than enough," Megatron insisted, "Besides, if you pick them all, there won't be anymore left for the next time you want it."

"Oh...," Maria trailed off, "Is Mama okay?"

"If Optimus says that she's tired, she's probably tired," Megatron answered her.

"But!...Mama isn't supposed to get tired," Maria insisted.

"She's human, of course she's going to get tired," Megatron declared, "A good meal will probably make her feel better, but fretting over it won't help."

"What does fetting mean?" Maria asked.

"Fretting. It means worrying," Megatron answered as they approached the cabin, "Stop worrying, Maria, and do what you can to help your mother."

Megatron carefully kicked the door open and stepped inside the cabin to find Optimus cutting up potatoes and putting them in a boiling pot over the fire.

"I have flowers!" Maria shouted, causing Optimus to 'sh' Maria.

"You did a wonderful job, Maria, but do not wake Mama," Optimus whispered.

"Okay," Maria spoke in a hushed voice.

"Thank you, sweetspark." Optimus walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a wooden bowl from the cabinet drawer, "Now, I need you to pluck the flowers off of their stems and put it in this bowl. When you're done, give me what you have left and I will take care of it."

Maria nodded her head as Optimus set the bowl on the floor. Megatron put Maria down, and the four-year-old plucked the dandelion flowers off of their stems one by one.

"So where do I put this?" Megatron showed Optimus the goose.

"Hang it up. That can be used for lunch," Optimus decided as he returned to the boiling pot and cut remaining potatoes he already peeled.

"What happened?" Megatron asked in Cybertronian.

"Ymir had a night terror," Optimus explained, "She came to me last night shaken."

"And it explains why she is tired," Megatron concluded.

"...It hasn't been this bad since Maria was born," Optimus proclaimed.

"Then it's probably good you and Maria are doing something nice for her," Megatron said.

"She's been through enough. I'd do anything for her," Optimus stated with confidence.

Optimus felt a tug at the holoform sleeve and looked down to see Maria holding up the bowl of dandelions over her head. "Thank you, Maria. Now, give the bowl to Megatron and I'll tell you what to do next."

Maria nodded and walked over to Megatron before handing him the bowl. The former warlord took it from her hands with ease before setting it on the kitchen countertop.

"Maria, can you come over with what remains?" Optimus asked her. Maria urgently picked up the incomplete dandelions and showed them to Optimus. "Good, now what I want you to do is give me the leaves of the dandelions so I can put them in the pot."

Maria nodded excitedly before sitting back down next to Optimus and pulling the leaves apart from the stem.

"Optimus," Megatron called out as he hung the goose to the ceiling by its webbed feet. Optimus turned to face his former enemy. "Don't push yourself too hard. You're doing more than enough."

Optimus returned to the bowl as Maria handed him the leaves. "I will be sure to keep that in mind."

======

Ymir awoke to the sounds of chatter and the growling of her stomach. She slowly sat up and found herself smelling something...sweet. She stood up and opened the door to the hallway before walking down to see Optimus, Megatron, and Maria preparing food. Maria was the first to notice her before running over to her and hugging her leg.

"I help made bakefast!" Maria smiled up at her.

"Breakfast, Maria," Megatron corrected as he sealed the water glass full of water and dandelions.

"Megatron," Optimus sighed.

"Breakfast!" Maria giggled.

Optimus scooped up the cooked potatoes and dandelions leaves and put a serviceable amount on a plate. Ymir smelled the air and let out a sigh of delight. It smelled wonderful.

"C'mon Mama!" Maria eagerly pulled Ymir to the table as Optimus set the plate down in front of her. Ymir sat down while Megatron grabbed Maria and set her down in the other chair next to her mom.

"Thank you," Maria told Megatron, earning her a pat and ruffle of her hair, making her giggle.

Optimus set another plate for Maria before handing the two of them forks. Maria greedily began to eat her share, while Ymir slowly took a bite out of her. Ymir's shoulders sagged at how warm and delicious it was before she continued eating.

"By the Allspark, it's like they're starving." Megatron couldn't help but marvel.

"It's good!" Maria exclaimed as she swallowed her food. Ymir finished her plate and wiped her mouth before kissing Maria on the head to show her thanks. She picked up Maria's finished plate and her own before walking over to the sink.

"What me to keep her occupied?" Megatron whispered to her. Ymir nodded her head and gave a grateful smile.

"Alright, you little gremlin, let's go outside!" Megatron called out to Maria.

"I'm not a gremlin!" Maria declared.

"You're right." Maria yelped as Megatron picked her up and carried her under his arm, "You're a dwarf."

"Take it back, Papa!" Maria yelled while laughing.

"Fine, Little One, let's go up along the stream," Megatron offered as he walked out the door.

"Stream!" Maria cheered as Megatron shut the door behind him. Ymir felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Optimus holding out a cup of dandelion tea to her, with a single dandelion floating on top of the water. She gently took it from Optimus' hands and took a small sip, delighted at how sweet and warm it was.

"How do you feel?" Optimus asked her, "Better?"

Ymir nodded her head in response before she continued to drink her tea.

"Go drink your tea. I will take care of the dishes," Optimus offered.

Ymir mouthed a quiet thank you before walking over to the table and sitting down. She calmly and contently drank the tea, feeling the sunlight pour into the room and onto her arms. Her family stayed, and she was finally happy. The nightmares weren't going away, no matter how much she wanted them to, but she had a wonderful family who would love and support her no matter what.

(Wow, this is the longest dialogue prompt I've written. It was fun. Also, Peaceful Timeline is an excuse to write the softest shit.)

#attack on prime #transformers prime #tfp #attack on titan #snk #aot #shingeki no kyojin #send me asks #asks #ao3 #tfp optimus prime #tfp optimus #optimus prime #maccadam #macadam #ymir fritz #Ymir #ymir the founder #founder ymir #maria fritz #what if optimus appeared during founder ymir's time aka the peaceful timeline #transformers #fanfic #tw blood #tfp megatron #megatron #dialogue prompts #dialogue prompt #dialogue #tf

[hardlyinteresting]

Trailmix

Frankie Morales x GN!reader

For @writer-wednesday even though it's now Thursday. (shhh, I won't tell if you don't!) Frankie's weekly hike leads to finding an unexpected friend Warnings: I don't think there are any, but let me know if you want me to add something. Pedro Pascal Character Masterlist

It had started as a fun thing to do with his daughter on visitation weekends. Little grabby hands in his hair while she sat on his shoulders rambling about her kindergarten classmates, and almost every leaf, bug, and the woodland creature she could see. Hiking was simply a good way to get outside, to teach her some of the things his dad had taught him, poison ivy-- leaves of three let it be, and all that good stuff. It was well worth the bruises from her tiny kicking feet on his chest, to see his kid learning to see and love the world around her.

After that first hike, it had become his favourite pass time, something for them to do together, and on the weeks he didn’t have her, it became an excellent way to clear his mind, and he won’t complain about it being decent exercise. Hikes became occasional camping trips, and new backpacks and tents were purchased; a welcomed change of pace for his survival skill set. 

She isn’t with him today as he makes his day trip along the trail, trekking up the hills towards the lookout point, stopping occasionally to take photos of flowers, butterflies, and snails (his daughter’s new favourite creature) to show her when he sees her next. The buzz of the cicadas in the trees seems louder than usual without any joyful babbling to keep his mind occupied. It’s not all bad having tome to himself, but there’s a loneliness that lingers, he has yet to learn to be good company to himself. The fear of where his mind might wander to much darker times scares him away from venturing into that inner world. Avoidant, his therapist says. He won’t deny it. 

It doesn’t take him long to get to the top of the biggest hill looking out at the little valley below. He snaps a quick photo before shifting his backpack off his back to grab some water. He’s not sure how long he spends crouched in the grass under the shade of a tree, sipping from his bottle and snacking on trail mix, but it’s long enough for him to settle into his surroundings relaxing his shoulders and levelling his breathing. And then it hits him. A gigantic wet kiss across his face and then another, and there's a set of paws pressing into his chest and his collarbone. More smooches. He struggles to keep his eyes open, between avoiding slobber and holding back laughter as he tries to settle the big chocolate lab down. Satisfied with the amount of love he’s managed to give Frankie the overgrown puppy plops down on his rump, tail still wagging wildly, tongue out and panting with glee. “Who do you belong to, hmm?” Frankie wonders aloud, trying to get a look a the dog's collar. The dog surges forward to offer more kisses, which Frankie politely declines, gently guiding the dog to lay next to him, head settled in his lap. “Chewy,” Frankie reads the tag, flipping it over he finds a phone number. He takes a picture of Chewy, his new friend, saving it to the camera roll before sending it off with a text;  I think this is your dog. It’s not long before his phone dings with the response Omg thank you thank you thank you!!! Where are you? Frankie replies that he’s at the lookout point and happy to hang out with Chewy for a while. Chewy is a good dog, loving, and calm. His head doesn’t move from Frankie’s lap as he starts to dose off and Frankie can’t help but feel himself growing sleepy, a tranquillity he hasn’t felt in a very long time falling over him as he pets the dog. “Chewy!” a voice interrupts the pair's power nap. Chewy’s head pops up at his name, he stands up tail wagging, tongue ready to leave goober kisses once again as his owner approaches. “You scared me half to death!” you speak crouching down to be affectionately tackled by puppy lover “A friendly guy,” Frankie laughs. “Thank you so much for watching him. He never wanders off-- I don’t know why he did today--he was there, and then--” “It’s no problem really,” Frankie interrupts your panicked rambling, “I was glad to have some company”. “Good nap?” you smile, “Chewy loves a good nap” you laugh scratching under chewy’s chin. “So, Chewy? Like Star Wars? Chewbacca?” His question is met with a shy nod, “Yeah. And he really likes chewing on things. Especially, old plastic bottles”. “He’s a good dog,” Frankie says. “He is. A very good friend, a good hiking partner,” you grin as Chewy wanders back to Frankie for more petting, “Do you come here often?” The accidental pick up line has the tips of his ears turning pink, “Yeah. weekends mostly”. “You have a little girl right? I think I’ve seen you guys around”. Frankie nods, not able to hide his proud smile at the mention of his daughter, “Yeah, she’s with her mom this weekend. It’s just me today”. “Well, you have my number now. If you ever want some company, I’m sure Chewy would be happy to join you,” you laugh as Chewy tries to get his nose into Frankie’s bag of trail mix. “And you? Would you like to hike sometime?” his heart pounds as he asks it. “Any time”. 

#writer wednesday #writer-wednesday #frankie morales x reader #frankie catfish morales #frankie morales #triple frontier #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character x reader