#PROMPT

[edwardcreel]

reblog if you believe fanfics are as valid as books that were published and sold by authors who write as their main careers. I'm trying to prove a point

[firewasabeast]

Can you please do a hurt/comfort Eddie + Tommy friendship with Bucktommy - Tommy gets hurt in some way (mentally/physically/sick/etc) and Eddie helps him until Buck can get there

you gave me a reason to finish the fic I started earlier today! thank you!

His teeth were chattering. Had been since he woke up after hitting the ground.

He didn't hurt anywhere, which was never a good sign.

He laid there, surrounded by trees. Cold, wet leaves underneath his body. He could hear crickets and frogs all around him. Could smell smoke somewhere nearby.

There were distinct sounds of metal creaking mixed in with nature.

Slowly, he moved his head to the right, then to the left.

Fire.

It was about fifty yards away. Thankfully, due to the recent rain, the fire was contained to the helicopter that had so gracefully fallen out of the sky.

He wasn't sure how he ended up so far from it. Had no memory of being ejected or jumping or whatever happened that made it so he wasn't inside those flames.

He lifted his hands to his face, could barely see them as the sun set below the trees. He was sure there was blood. Dirt, mud, leaves, and blood.

They shook so fiercely he wasn't sure how he had any control over them at all.

His breathing was labored, heart beating rapidly. No matter what he tried, he couldn't seem to calm himself down.

Suddenly, in the distance, he heard something.

People talking.

Not just people, familiar people.

Family.

“H- Here,” he barely managed to get out, figuring they'd be running toward the fire instead of him. He cleared his throat, tried again. “Here! I'm here!”

The talking stopped, then there was running.

He could feel the pounding of the footsteps as they approached.

“Hey, we gotcha, Buddy!”

“Howie?”

“Yeah, it's me. Saving your ass, once again.”

Hands were on him now. Lights shining in his eyes, causing him to squint. He could hear others talking. Hen, Eddie, Bobby. Couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Chimney had him focus on him. “Can you tell me your name?” he asked.

“T- Tommy,” he answered. God, he wished he could stop shaking. He couldn't barely get out a word.

“Year?”

“2024.”

“Best paramedic you know?”

“Hen,” Tommy replied, choking out a laugh.

“Hey now!” Chimney exclaimed, mocking offense.

“I knew I liked you,” Hen said with a smile. She patted him on the shoulder before getting back to work.

Chimney chomped on his gum a couple times before asking his next question. “Can you wiggle your toes for me, Tommy?”

Tommy shook his head. He lifted his arm, tried to pull Chimney closer to him so he could whisper. “I c- can't feel anything,” he paused, sucked in a shaky breath, “b- below my waist.” He knew what this meant, and he also knew he was in shock. The adrenaline pumping through him was the only thing keeping him remotely alert.

Chimney nodded, sharing a glance with Hen. “Cervical collar for our dashing pilot here, please, Hen.”

“Already on it.”

“Ho- Howie?”

“Yeah, Buddy?”

“Ev- Evan?”

“Buck went home early today,” Eddie answered, moving into Chimney's place so he could do whatever work needed to be done. “Chief is cracking down on overtime, so he had to be sent home.”

“We've... We've been sa- saving f- for the wedding,” he explained, although he wasn't sure why. Everyone there already knew that.

Eddie took Tommy's hand and wrapped it up in his own. “You were probably already up in the air when Buck sent you the text complaining about being sent home.”

“He'd say... He'd say th- the chief didn't want us t- to have the good hors d'oeuvres.”

Eddie nodded, tried putting on a smile. “He did mention that on his way out.”

Tommy squeezed Eddie's hand. “We m- might have to re... reschedule.” His lip trembled at the thought, tears welling in his eyes. Evan was so excited for the wedding. Had been working diligently and meticulously on every detail since they got engaged in October. He wanted a winter wedding, and didn't want to wait another whole year, so February it would be. With it being December now, Tommy didn't see any way he'd be able to fully recover by then.

If he did at all.

“Let's not worry about that right now, alright, Man? I don't think Buck will care when the wedding is, as long as there is one. Let's focus on that, okay?”

Tommy nodded. Blinked a few times to rid himself of the tears.

A few fell anyway.

“Ed- Eddie?”

“Yeah?”

“Do I... Do I still have my legs?”

“You certainly do, Kinard,” Bobby interrupted. Tommy wasn't sure how long the captain had been on his other side. Bobby gave his shoulder a light squeeze. “You've got all your limbs right where they should be. You ready to move now, Kid?”

Tommy could've laughed at the nickname. He'd been called that by Bobby a couple of times, many years ago. It'd been a long while since then.

He nodded. “Ready.”

Eddie didn't let go of his hand as they lifted him and began carrying him to the ambulance. Tommy was a bit surprised. He didn't remember ever being moved onto the spine board. Hadn't felt a thing.

A part of him had wondered if they'd even been working on him during that time. That maybe Eddie was the chosen distraction until he drifted off and his breathing stopped.

He was glad to know he was wrong.

*****

Bobby drove them to the hospital, with Eddie staying in the back beside him. It was a bit cramped with him, Eddie, Chimney, and Hen all back there together, but the fact he was surrounded by these people made him feel a bit more comforted.

Tommy looked over to where his and Eddie's hands were still tightly gripped together. He wasn't sure if Eddie was refusing to let him go, or if he was refusing to let Eddie go. Didn't really matter either way. He needed something to keep him tethered to reality.

He shook his wrist back and forth a few times to get Eddie's attention. “Can you... Can you call Evan? Please?”

“Of course,” Eddie replied, grabbing his phone out of his pocket with his free hand.

“You've got some cuts on your arms, Tommy,” Hen explained as Eddie pressed Buck's name. “We're gonna work on those on the way to the hospital, so you might feel some stings, okay?”

“Yeah. That's okay.”

Eddie put the phone on speaker and Buck answered on the third ring. “What's wrong?”

“Buck-”

“Who is it, Eddie? I just left work an hour ago. Is it Bobby? Hen? Chim?”

Tommy took a deep breath. “B- Baby.”

Silence.

Then.

“Tommy? Is that you?”

“Had a... a little accident.”

“What hospital?”

“The usual,” Eddie replied.

“I'm heading there now.”

“Evan? Evan!” Tommy exclaimed, wanting to get his attention before he got in the car and started to drive.

“I'm here, Tommy,” he answered. “I'm gonna meet you at the hospital.”

“I don't wanna... wanna scare you,” Tommy said, and he could feel the tears burning his eyes again. “I can't. I can't feel my legs.”

“He's stabilized,” Chimney added quickly, before Buck could ask. “Likely a lower spinal cord injury.”

Another pause, followed by a quiet. “Okay. Okay.”

“He's doing well, Buck,” Eddie reassured him. “We're all right here with him. He won't shut up about you, like always.”

Tommy smiled. He hoped Evan did as well.

“Feeling's mutual,” Buck replied. His voice was softer now. Tommy knew the words were meant to keep him focused and thinking positively.

It worked.

“Need you t- to be safe.”

“I will, Baby. I'll drive safe and I'll be at the hospital as soon as I can, okay?”

“Okay. L- Love you.”

“I love you, too. So damn much, T- Tommy.”

Tommy wasn't sure who hung up first, but he could tell by the way Evan's voice wavered at the end that he was probably close to falling apart.

“Thank you,” Tommy said as Eddie put his phone back into his pocket.

“Whatever you need, Bud, I'm here.”

“Just... Just keep ho- holding my hand.”

Eddie nodded, squeezed a little tighter. “I can do that.”

[questions-about-blorbos]

This request was sent to us and we made a poll in response to it. Send any Blorbo-related question you want to our inbox and we’ll make a poll on which people can vote with their own Blorbos in minds

[houseofheroesau]

More Linked Maze server prompts ahoy!

Congrats, now he's sad.

Don't tag as LU, please.

[what-would-your-blorbo-do]

This poll was submitted to us. If you’d like to send us your own scenario (plus different ways a character might react to said scenario) so we could make a poll for you, feel free to send them to our inbox.

[kittynannygaming]

Sun & Moon's First Meeting

Sir Robert Gadling couldn't not look at the man who walked by him without a glance. Marquis Dream Of the Endless was cold, distant, pale and all Robert wanted was to give him his warmth.

[ailithnight]

Imagine some desperate parent in Gotham taking a gooning job for one of the big rogues explicitly so that when the Bats catch the rogue, cause the Bats always catch the rogue, they can beg the Bats to find their missing kid.

[gingerly-writing]

Prompt #3514

“You can’t betray a henchman,” the villain scoffed. "Don’t be so dramatic. It’s just a job to you people, a regular paycheque. I don’t owe you anything else, certainly not loyalty.”

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

ROMANTIC WHUMPEE X WHUMPER DIALOGUE PROMPTS

trigger warnings: NSFW, violence, abuse, rape, power imbalance (everything in here is entirely fictional meant to serve as ideas for writers. I do not condone any of these in real life in any way, also I'm titling the post 'romantic prompts' due to the characters' romantic relationship, not because the prompts are supposed to be 'romantic or cute')

❝it's cute you think they can hurt you like I do.❞

❝you're not leaving me, and if I can't make you stay by words, I'm gonna do it by force.❞

❝are you gonna kill me like you killed those people?❞

❝you're gonna bleed to death if you don't let me help you. I am not asking. stop fucking squirming.❞

❝do I have to chain you up?❞

❝you like that, huh? being fucked on the floor by a sworn enemy and not being able to do anything about it.❞

❝friendly reminder, I own you.❞

❝you're only alive because I let you. don't forget that I could change my mind any second.❞

❝don't think I won't fuck you like an animal right here in front of everybody.❞

❝scream all you want. no one's coming, and I do like hearing you cry.❞

❝is this the only reason you're keeping me alive? because you want to break me more? come on, we both know you can't live without me.❞

❝make any noise and I'll slit your throat.❞

❝no, I had a chance to escape you. I didn't. you've made me love you, and for that, fuck you.❞

❝I hate that I could never hate you.❞

❝this is not a home. it's a prison.❞

❝if I'm ever going to die, and want it to be by your hands.❞

❝I need you to fucking look me in the eyes and say you won't run away again.❞

❝you're not safe with me. I'm scared of what I might do to you if I let the demons win, and I'm scared one of these days they're gonna win.❞

❝I am the only person who can hurt you.❞

❝I won't chase after you, because I know you'll come crawling back to me, you always do.❞

❝I fantasize about my hands around your throat, looking you in the eyes as I twist the knife.❞

❝I know you wish you could kill me and I know you wish you could hate me. but I'm the only person who understands you and I know you need me.❞

❝my only mistake was falling in love with you.❞

❝has anyone ever told you how pretty you are when you cry?❞

❝you can't kill me. I'm already dead.❞

❝you've had that chain around my throat since the day we first met.❞

❝it'll hurt less if you stay still.❞

[sleepyssnail]

As a reverse of the reverse transmigration MQF AU… an AU where med student SY transmigrates as a Qian Cao disciple.

He was willing to suspend his disbelief a little as a reader, but actually living in PIDW. WTF?!

Yue Qingyuan: Mu-Shidi, your new disciple seems a bit...strange...when it comes to the medical treatment of his peers. Mu Qingfang: Oh, he's just like that. Yue Qingyuan: He also said that Shen-Shidi suffers from a...seizure disorder? I thought he had qi deviations? Mu Qingfang: Yes, it's something Qian Cao is looking into.

[meanwhile]

Shen Yuan: Why the hell would you need to know how to treat FROSTBITE in your RECTUM??? Shang Qinghua: It's just a hypothetical— Shen Yuan: NEVERMIND! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!

[daily-prompts]

Prompt 2467

I just don’t know how to talk to you right now.

[questions-about-blorbos]

This request was sent to us and we made a poll in response to it. Send any Blorbo-related question you want to our inbox and we’ll make a poll on which people can vote with their own Blorbos in minds

[fanficshiddles]

New Companion, One Shot

Thank you for the prompt. crimson25: So here's my prompt: Loki has just taken Stark towers and is starting his attack when he notices something. Y/N, she's stark towers mail girl and she's just absent-mindedly doing her job. She has headphones on but had them so loud she can't hear what's happening around her. Well Loki follows her around for a bit. when she finally notices him he decides to play a little game of cat and mouse until he catches her and decides to celebrate his takeover and keep her afterwards

WARNINGS: Rape/non-con

-

Loki grinned wickedly as his plan was unfolding perfectly. The Chitauri did their job of attacking the city and causing enough of a distraction for Loki to take over.

Stark found him in the tower and tried to take him out, but Loki was two steps ahead of him and managed to take him down. His plan of breaking the Avengers up and killing them off had worked, with a little help from the Chitauri.

Now, he had nothing to fear. No one to stop his plan of taking over Earth. One city at a time. He’d have them all on their knees before him, it was just a matter of time…

Loki was pulled from his thoughts when he heard footsteps and someone singing along to a song quietly. Raising an eyebrow, Loki turned on his heels and slowly walked towards the noise.

He wasn’t sure whether to be amused or confused upon seeing a young woman with large headphones on, seemingly delivering mail within the tower. She was completely oblivious to what was going on around her.

She hadn’t noticed that everyone in the building had fled, or that there was a couple of bodies scattered around the floor she was currently on. And she certainly didn’t notice the terrifying Asgardian that was watching her with amusement.

Loki slowly stalked around the room, keeping behind her while she absentmindedly placed mail onto various people’s desks, she still never clicked that there was no one actually at their desks for a change… So oblivious in her own little world of music.

She made her way over towards the lift once she was finished on that floor. Loki kept a distance, but continued to follow her. She was still unaware as she pushed the button for the lower floor and waited for the lift to arrive, still humming along to her music.

When the lift opened, she stepped in and turned around to press the button for the floor she needed. Just as she did so, she looked out onto the floor she had just been on and that’s when she finally noticed Loki.

Her heart stopped and she felt her stomach drop as she took in the room around Loki, too. Noticing a few of the casualties and the destruction. Her eyes widened as the doors closed, Loki smirked widely and gave her a sinister looking wave just as the doors closed.

In a blind panic, she tore off her headphones and began pressing for the ground floor repeatedly.

‘Shit, shit, shit.’ She chanted as the lift felt like it was taking forever to descend.

Her mind was racing, what was he doing here? She had a feeling that was Loki, Thor’s brother. She’d heard Tony and Thor talking about him before, and Thor had mentioned about wearing green and having horns.

She watched with baited breath as the numbers above the door decreased, though then to her horror, the lift groaned to a halt and a big error came up. She pushed heaps of buttons in a panic, the doors tried to open though the lift was groaning and creaking, clearly struggling as the doors only parted a little way.

Using every ounce of strength she had in her, she managed to grab one of the doors and pull it open enough to slide out of. Thankfully it had stopped on a floor, though she had to bend down and slide out as it wasn’t properly lined up, but at least she was out safely.

She made a beeline for the stairs, as she opened the door into the stairwell, she skidded to a halt as Loki was blocking the way.

Loki chuckled in amusement and took a step towards her, his arms outstretched. ‘Where do you think you’re going, hmm? Why don’t you hang around to play for a while?’

The girl backed up and ran in the other direction back onto the floor. She knew the tower like the back of her hand, she’d been working there for the last four years delivering mail daily. So, she was sure she could outsmart Loki and get out. Surely, he wouldn’t know all the different passageways like she did.

Oh, how little did she know.

She had barely made it across the building to the other side, where there was another stairwell, when Loki leapt out from behind a corner at her. Making her jump out of her skin and scream.

Loki laughed wickedly as he rapidly approached her.

‘Please… Let me go… Please don’t kill me.’ She whimpered as she backed away quickly, but she tripped and fell onto her ass. She continued to scramble backwards away from him but he was rapidly gaining on her.

‘What makes you think I’m going to kill you?’ Loki asked curiously as he raised an eyebrow at her.

She managed to scramble round onto her front, to push herself up and she made another run for it, hearing Loki’s laughter echoing around the building.

Heading back towards the first stairwell, she hesitated on opening the door. Looking over her shoulder, she saw no sign of Loki. She slowly opened the door and peeked in, there was no sign of him in there either. So taking a chance, she ran through and began going downstairs.

That didn’t last long, Loki was stood waiting on the lower floor at the bottom of the set of stairs, arms folded over his chest.

‘Do you really think you can outrun me?’ He grinned.

Screeching in fear, she turned and sprinted back upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. Her legs began to ache from all the running around, but she kept pushing, she had to get away from him.

Emerging back onto the floor, she looked around and decided that since running away wasn’t working, perhaps she should try hiding. Surely, he would leave her alone and give up.

She ran over to the sofa that was in the middle of the hang out room and lay down to crawl underneath it. It was just off the floor enough for her to squeeze underneath.

For a while, there was no sign or sound of Loki. She began to wonder if he had given up, maybe he’d gone back to doing whatever it was he was doing before he spotted her.

Her racing heart slowly went back to normal and she stopped shaking so much. She wasn’t sure how long to wait there for, when would she know it was safe?

Just as she was starting to think it was safe, she heard heavy footsteps that began to get louder and louder. Then she saw his black leather boots come into view. She held her breath to keep quiet as she watched him cross the room to look out of the large floor to ceiling window.

Loki stood there for a moment, then he walked over towards the sofa. She thought she was busted, he must know she was under there… Though he surprised her by sitting down on it instead with a sigh, crossing a leg up over his knee.

His boot was right there on front of her face. She knew if she made a single sound, she’d be caught. She had no idea what he was even doing, was he just taking a break? Was he reading something?

She closed her eyes and tried to space out, to imagine being anywhere else but here.

After what felt like hours, but was actually forty minutes…

‘How long are you going to hide under there for, hmm? Until you get hungry? Need to relieve yourself? Get cramp? What will it be, little mouse?’

His voice sent shivers down her spine. How did he know she was under there? He must’ve been watching her the whole time, somehow. He’d just sat there for this long, just to toy with her. She wanted to scream and cry.

She was frozen to the spot, too scared to move. Though she knew she had no other option. It was either wait here until he had enough and came for her, or until one of what he suggested happened…

‘I have all the time in the world to wait for you, now that I’ve got this city under control… It’ll be easy to work my way around this puny planet. Though finding you, I must say, wasn’t part of my plan. However, it’s been a long time since I’ve had fun with a woman… and I think I deserve a reward, to treat myself for my successful take over.’

She could tell he was grinning, she could hear it in his voice. What he said made her stomach drop, now she knew what his intentions were.

‘I can wait as long as it takes.’

It was another ten minutes that passed before she decided that she couldn’t stay under the sofa forever. Loki clearly had a lot of patience, and she knew that no matter what she did now, she was done for…

She quickly turned herself around and started scrambling out from under the sofa at the back, as soon as she was out, she got up to her knees and was about to get up… but she felt a breeze against her face and suddenly Loki’s boots were in her view, right on front of her.

Slowly she looked up the length of Loki’s ridiculously tall body, his face was plastered with enjoyment.

‘Ah look at you, little mouse. Already on your knees before me, in your rightful place.’ He grinned and put his arms out to the side for dramatic flair.

She scrambled to quickly get up to her feet, before she could take a step to run, Loki reached out and grabbed hold of her upper arm. He hauled her into his firm body, she gasped as he held her tightly to him.

He dipped his head down and ran his nose through her hair, one of his hands slid down her body and he squeezed her ass.

‘Mmm, yes. Now, let’s see all you have to offer.’ He let go of her, though she found she couldn’t move. Her feet were literally frozen to the spot.

She looked down and saw a shimmer of green around her feet. She realised he was using his magic… Her hands were then slowly pulled backwards, until they were restrained behind her back. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t move them.

She looked at Loki with wide eyes just as he swished his hand on front of her and she felt a coolness all over her body. She was butt naked.

She didn’t have time to dwell on the situation as Loki began to stalk around her, eyeing her up and down like a piece of meat.

‘Such perfection… What a pretty little thing you are. And all for me.’ He purred seductively.

His words stunned her for a moment. While this wasn’t a good situation to be in, earning such praise like that from a literal God, did stroke her ego. Loki noticed her slight change in demeanour, too. Even though it was just a split second.

Loki moved in behind her, making her nervous as she couldn’t see him. He slid his hands up and down her sides, caressing her. Then he slid them round and he began playing with her breasts, tweaking her nipples at the same time, sending pleasurable sensations straight through her body.

‘I guess when I take over, I will be in need of a permanent companion… I’m not one to sleep around with multiple people… Would much rather have one dedicated woman to tend to my needs. Perhaps I’ll keep you.’ He whispered into her ear and kissed her shoulder.

He put a hand at the back of her neck and walked her over to the large window, overlooking the burning city. There was still Chitauri soldiers flying around the sky, whizzing right past the window.

Loki pressed her against the glass, so her breasts were squashed and she turned her head so her cheek was pressed up on the glass, too. She felt so embarrassed as some of the alien soldiers turned their heads as they flew by, some did multiple trips to take a look at her.

‘Let them look at you. Let everyone see my new pet. They’ll all know not to dare touch you, because you’re mine now.’ Loki growled and slid a hand down between her thighs.

She tried to keep them closed, but he pinched her inner thighs and then kicked her feet apart, keeping them spread open in place with his seidr.

‘Please… let me go.’ She whined in desperation.

Loki ignored her continued begging for release, and started playing with her clit, her pleas began to fall short, turning into little whines and whimpers instead.

‘That’s it, pet. Let me hear those wonderful noises… They sound as beautiful as you look.’ He hummed into her ear.

Her entire body shivered as he stroked over her clit, her body was becoming more and more aroused with every second that passed. She soon didn’t care about the Chitauri that had began to hover outside, enjoying the show.

Loki sucked and nibbled along her shoulder, to her neck and when he found the right spot, she started to melt. The last of her resolve went flying out the window.

Heck, the world was fucked now anyway. If she wasn’t here being assaulted by the God, she’d likely be one of the dead bodies on the street… Would it really be so bad being Loki’s pet? She certainly didn’t mind what he was doing to her body right now, and at least she would be safe.

‘I can sense your mind racing, pet. Just let yourself go, don’t think anymore. Be mine.’ Loki’s voice was seductively swimming around her mind, and like he was going through her veins…

Her arousal was starting to drip down her thighs, it became more evident when Loki slowly inserted two fingers up into her. He began finger fucking her on front of the Chitauri. She didn’t even care about the cold glass being pressed so harshly against her breasts anymore, it was actually a nice feeling instead of the rest of her body that was hot and sweaty.

Loki grinned ferally from behind her as he watched the army outside gather, more and more of the ugly beasts appeared to watch.

‘She’s mine!’ Loki barked loud enough for them to hear, as he removed his fingers from her and replaced them with his cock.

The Chitauri began to look uneasy, they realised Loki was serious and claiming her. They all reluctantly dispersed, at Loki’s manic laughing.

She started moaning louder and louder as Loki fucked her hard against the window, feeling his harsh leather and metal armour digging into her skin. He made her cum by playing with her clit again, feeling her cum on his cock was the end for him. He finally claimed her fully, spilling into her with a groan of his own.

She didn’t know what to think, or do. She had just been fucked by a God, on front of his evil army… and it seemed like he was intent on keeping her. Her body wasn’t complaining, it was cheering in absolute delight. Though her mind still wasn’t able to get fully on board. She knew how wrong this all was…

‘Good girl… I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with you at my feet.’ Loki chuckled, his breath warm against her ear.

Her mind completely shut down as he pulled out of her and scooped her up into his arms as he wrapped his cape around her.

‘My good little pet.’ He whispered to her as made his way out of the tower with her, into a jet that was waiting at the helipad.

[goodlucktai]

Would you maybe do 8 with Leo talking to Usagi? :D

dialogue prompts

8. “Okay. Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do—fuck.”

x

The subway tunnels are dark, half-collapsed, and the purest pitch black. Leonardo’s eyes are hooded white when Usagi sweeps the beam of his penlight towards him. Usagi’s never gotten a straight answer from any of the turtles about what, exactly, they had been genetically modified for in the first place, but he watches Leonardo pass his own light to one of the frightened humans behind him and figures he could add ‘built-in night vision’ to the column of weird abilities he’s seen firsthand proof of. 

The woman takes the light from Leo and passes it to her young daughter, who clutches it like a lifeline. No one from their group makes a sound, hyper-aware that the Krang hounds they barely managed to outrun could make a reappearance at any second. 

“Okay,” Leo says, in that steadfast, fearless tone of voice that made heads swivel from every corner of the room to pay attention when he talked. “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do—fuck.”

“What?” Usagi blurts, jolting forward. “Leonardo, what?”

He tries to keep the panic out of his voice, for the sake of the humans they had not quite managed to fully save just yet, but he can’t help the way his heart starts to race. Leo doesn’t swear. He never swears. Every time he used to, he would look around guiltily, waiting for his big brother to swoop in out of thin air and scold him— “I don’t care if you’re a hotshot resistance leader,” Raph would say, “you’re still my brat of a baby brother, and I’m still bigger than you.”

But Raph died two years ago, and is no longer around to scold him for it. It didn’t stop Leo’s knee-jerk reaction of looking over his shoulder for him, as if he still might appear. And Usagi knows that hurt him every time. So Leo doesn’t swear. 

For him to break out the big guns, something must really be wrong. Usagi sweeps the light over him, his pulse pounding in his ears, and freezes when he finds what definitely looks like a piece of metal sticking out of Leonardo’s arm. 

Leo tilts away from him, putting the injury in the dark, and says, “Hush, Cottontail. We can’t let the hounds know we’re here.” 

But what was already a tricky situation has become a ticking time bomb. The hounds are nearby, their warbling, high-pitched croons reverberating down the dark tunnels, making it nearly impossible to pinpoint their location by sound. They’ll follow the scent of blood from a quarter of a mile away, like sharks. And Leo’s losing it fast—alarmingly fast. 

He unties his mask from around his eyes and uses his teeth to knot it around his arm instead, tight above the wound. He’s perfunctory and businesslike about it, and when he looks up Usagi knows he’s going to say something horrible.

Sure enough, “I’ll draw them away,” Leonardo says. “Once I do, you get these people to safety. We’re not that far from the safe zone, you’ll make it.”

Only that’s not how it’s going to go. Because Leo’s siblings are waiting for him. Because Mikey still hugs Leo like an octopus any time one of them leaves without the other, every single time, almost thirty years old and made ancient by grief and fear but still very much someone’s baby brother. Because if Usagi goes through with this, he’ll have to look April and Mikey both in the eye when he returns, and he doesn’t have the stomach for that. 

A crooning howl creeps toward them, alarmingly close. The hounds are getting excited, as if they’ve picked up the trail. Usagi shifts one step back, then another. 

Leonardo says, “Don’t. Don’t you dare.” It’s his leader voice, but it doesn’t work on anyone who grew up with him. And they were kids together before the end of the world. 

“Sorry,” he whispers, because he is. If he had a choice, he wouldn’t go. But this—him or Leo—this isn’t a decision that needs to be made. This just is what it is. 

He runs as far as the end of the track, sticks his fingers in his mouth and whistles piercingly, and Leonardo’s stricken face, fuzzy and indistinct just within the range of Usagi’s flashlight, is the last thing he sees before he turns and runs for his life. 

They’ve used these tunnels for training exercises more than once, and that’s the only reason he makes it as far as he does, counting on muscle memory as he sprints and ducks and climbs. He crawls into a pipe just barely big enough for a rabbit yokai, much too small for a Krang hound—but not before he feels the drag of claws in the meat of his calf, not before a cry of pain is wrenched out of him, the immediate sting of the alien toxin setting in like a chemical burn. 

There are four of them screeching and digging at the mouth of the pipe with their horrible hands, and Usagi presses as far back as he can and hopes the metal holds. Hopes Leo got away. Hopes he won’t look over his shoulder for Usagi the way he does for Raph, because that would be—that would be so—

The sun comes out, flooding the tunnel with gold. The hounds shriek and peel away. A familiar, powerful force thrums in the air, like the charge before a lightning strike but consistent. 

Usagi thinks it’s strange to see a sunrise underground, and stranger still to see the sun at all when the sky has been overcast with dust and smoke for years, but it’s nice. It’s warm. 

And then he wakes up, which is super disorienting because he doesn’t remember going to sleep. He’s in the infirmary, the one room in the base guaranteed to have working lights and clean linens. The soft pillow beneath his head feels like a luxury he didn’t do anything special enough to deserve.

There’s a pressure on his hand, and when he looks he discovers Leonardo is holding it while he sleeps on the edge of the bed, slumped forward in his chair. Michelangelo is conked out beside him, his hair doing the funny curly thing it does after he uses too much ninpo, the whole of him blanketed in leftover static electricity. 

On the other side of the bed, April is watching Usagi with brown eyes that see everything. 

“That was close,” she says. “I don’t need to tell you that.”

No, she doesn’t. The memories limp and crawl back, and Usagi rips his eyes away from Leo’s face. He looks stressed even when he’s sleeping. Usagi contributed to those lines under his eyes, the chasm between his brows. It doesn’t feel good to know that. 

“I won’t ask you for a miracle,” April murmurs, “because that isn’t fair. But—it feels like I’m holding onto him by a thread sometimes. And I know Angie isn’t gonna let him out of his sight again for at least a week. Usagi, he can’t lose anybody else, okay? He can’t.”

The distress in her voice triggers something in Usagi that just bleeds, all through his ribcage, all through his heart. 

“I know,” Usagi whispers. He really does know. Donatello’s funeral was three months ago, and it still feels like they’re walking through a minefield. They’re balancing on a tightrope. Leonardo hasn’t laughed once since he buried his other half. 

“So just,” April says, “come home, okay? No matter what, make sure you come home.”

“I promise,” Usagi says, and holds his free hand out to her. She clasps it, and her fingers are human, the shape of them entirely different, but they have had a decade to make the gesture familiar and second nature. She’s his sister, as much as she’s Leo’s and Mikey’s, and Usagi would do anything she asked of him. 

So he keeps that promise for a long time. But he doesn’t keep it forever. 

[letters-unsending]

No. 53

////

Villain is either very good or very bad manipulator. Accidental seeking of comfort.

////

Villain pinches the thin neck of his wine glass as he peers over Hero's shoulder.

"I was quite fond of that set," he mused, surveying the wreckage between Hero's palm.

Bits of fine China and glass gleam, their sharp edges catching the chandelier light. Hero holds the last intact piece of glassware, a teacup, with spasming fingers. His wrist jerks and amber beads of tea join the runnels of sweat slipping down Hero's palm.

"You said you wouldn't give me anything that mattered," Hero grits out.

"I lied," Villain reaches, curling his hand over Hero's damp shoulder, "more pressure would have ruined our little lesson and I promised you that we'd start out easy."

The teacup shatters. Fragments fly like spittle and speck the embroidered tablecloth.

Hero palms the table and breathes a shuddering breath, staring as the tea soaks into the fabric, deep orange overtaking paisley print like a bloom of fire. Villain's fingertips hang over his clavicle. Every ragged gasp reminds Hero of Villain's palm perched upon his shoulder, pressing down.

"I can't do this." Hero exclaims, jolting upward. The tile beneath his toes cracks as he wrenches himself free, away from the table and the feast of broken porcelain spread upon it.

Villain's fingers hang in the air before curling around the back of Hero's deserted seat. He turns his head toward Hero, who stands with shoulders hunched and hands fisted at his sides. The sound of his heaving rips through the room before drowning in the thick curtains and glimmering finery fixed upon the walls.

"Why, we've just begun, [Hero]," Villain croons, "and you've been doing splendidly.”

“I never wanted power. I wasn't supposed to have this power.” The gold decor gleams in Hero’s peripherals as he staggers back. “I'm so tired of being careful.”

“Then be careless. Be brutal.” Villain sets down his wine and glides over the crack in the tile. He settles in front of Hero and grabs his tense shoulders, manicured nails biting into muscle, backed for the first time by a measure of superhuman force. “I won't stop you.”

Beneath Villain’s touch, Hero startles, head snapping up. His grip warms his shoulder with pain. The ache rolls down his spine, a nostalgic twinge.

“Did you even want to help me,” Hero asks, settling into Villain’s hold, leaning, “or was this just a ruse?”

Villain almost releases him. His fingers spasm across Hero’s shoulder blade before steadying, singing that constant stripe of pressure into his skin–a force that would've felled any other man.

“Of course, I wanted to help. Your predicament is so similar to my own,” he assures, “it's only natural to sympathize, but control is not your issue. Since gaining your power, your every waking moment has been a practice in control.”

“I have broken everything you’ve given to me,” Hero reaches out and grabs Villain's forearms, applying a reciprocal, biting pressure overtop his satin sleeves, “how could that possibly reflect control?”

As soon as Hero’s palms press in, Villain’s knee jilts forward before steadying again. He takes a long breath under the guise of delivering his next words with trepidation.

“When I first inherited my power, I was like you. I was careful, so very careful, [Hero].” Villain pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth as Hero’s hands slid further down, cupping his elbows. “But the more you care, the more you exhaust yourself. Every delicate thing becomes a burden you must bear simply because of who–what–we are and there comes a point where even the most well-meaning person can not maintain such constant vigilance.”

“I have no other choice. I can't stop caring.” Hero squeezes down, thumb digging against Villain’s bicep. “I'm a Hero now. What if I hurt someone?”

“You can still care when you need to, but you must allow yourself to relax. Indulge in your strength,” Villain glances toward the glittering sea of glass shards, “do not fear it.”

“Okay,” Hero whispered, dropping his hands, “I think I understand.”

Villain slowly withdrew his grasp from Hero’s shoulders, his elbows still pulsing with the press of Hero’s grip, hanging onto the sensation like a physical afterimage.

<><><>

“Go ahead.” Villain breaks the silence as they hover in the doorway.

“Yeah?”

“If you desire it, I understand,” Villain swallows down an anticipatory breath, “you shouldn't have to fear the act of comfort.”

Hero approaches, placing a tentative hand over Villain’s wrist, increasing pressure in increments, testing the strength of the bones beneath. It's a fickle weight compared to before, to those angry fingers digging into his arms. Lightly, Villain breathes through his nose.

“You were so bold before. You didn't hurt me,” Villain keeps his voice instructive, almost monotone, “you need not be concerned now.”

“I'm not concerned,” Hero retorts, sliding his hand up to Villain’s shoulder, “I'm just adjusting.”

Villain closes his eyes, his heartbeat thumping beneath Hero’s palm. He channels his buzzing impatience into impeccable stillness and wishes he'd finished the wine he'd left on his dining table.

And finally, finally Hero pulls him in, hands connecting over his spine.

It's still too light. Hero stalls against him, his shoulders a tense plane.

“Reserve your care for the people who need it.” Villain reaches around, placing a hand over Hero’s back. He feels him breathe against his fingers.

Then there's pressure, sweet pressure around Villain’s ribs, stealing his breath. For a moment, Villain wishes he could bruise, wishes he could prolong this sensation and paint it purple across his skin. He chokes out a cramped breath as Hero’s head turns against his neck.

Immediately, Hero lets up. Villain’s hand keeps him from lurching away.

“No, no, you did not hurt me,” he leads him back in, “I am alright."

Wariness draws Hero’s back into a taut line and Villain sighs, dropping his head against his shoulder.

“It's been a while, hasn't it?”

“I hurt the last person I touched. Broke [Other Hero]’s hand. It was so easy,” he lamented, “I hardly even noticed it happening until it was too late. Forgive me if I'm a bit nervous.”

This time, Villain pulls Hero back and squeezes, pressing his nose against the collar of Hero’s sweater. He runs a hand down his spine, marveling at how nothing breaks, at how Hero unspools and leans into him.

“I'm sorry. I know how hard this can be,” Villain murmurs, though some part of him feels like an open wound in the wind, bleeding and overexposed.

The pressure came again and Villain remembered to breathe as Hero held him. These arms and hands would one day grow stronger. One day, they would bruise Villain, and Villain would be capable of breaking, but by then, Villain would have Hero’s mercy.

He would remember Villain as a guiding hand and source of sympathy.

Villain hoped that was enough.

[prompts-and-circumstance]

"You belong with me."

"I belong on the throne."