Writing Inspiration - Blog Posts

Prompt #57

(Tw: suicide)

It was silly, really. The villain thought. These cat and mouse games, chasing each other down with hunger in their eyes, and a mutual desire in their body craving for each other but never once spoken of. They hoped one day that they could have the hero to all themself, never sharing it to the world.

The hero laughed bitterly in their dimly lit office, hearing the other one’s thoughts in their mind, before slitting their wrists.

Prompt #55

“Tch, stop being a coward and fight me, villain!” The hero grunted, their hands bound by ropes behind their back. Their legs also covered with ropes that they struggled to get out of.

“Hmmmm.” The villain started, standing up and walking slowly to where the hero was splayed on the ground. “You shouldn’t speak like that to a person who has full control over your life right now. They could take it any time they wished.”

The hero scoffed, a dirty noise in the air. And, looked up with a glare. “What you gonna do? Kill me with your silly little knife or strangle me to death? Pathetic.”

The villain frowned, and then chuckled. Their expression settling back to a calm one. They bent down to hero’s level. “Well, well, well. Aren’t you being a brat? Do I need to teach you how to talk to me?”

The hero half snorted and half laughed. “Oh, you’re going to teach me manners? The great scary villain? Gods have blessed me.”

The villain sighed. “Hero, the reason you’re here-no, we are here is because of you. You had a plan to kill me. But upon entering my secret hide-out, you find yourself instantly boomed into a trap. How very sad.”

The hero stared at him, speechless, because apparently that was true. They did indeed fall into a trap like a fucking kid who didn't know any better. They should've known about it. Predicted it. But, the bubbling excitement. The thrillness of it all had made their brain go frenzy. Never thinking about the possible obstacles of it all. They stayed silent.

The villain smiled, a mischievous smile. "With that said, I wouldn't mind teaching you some manners. If you don't mind, of course." The hero blushed at the implications, immediately going red in the face.

It was going to be long before they actually got out of that place.

Prompt #54

"So, what do you say we run away together?" The villain suggested to the hero with a grin, that was way too wide. The hero sighed. The villain had asked the same question every time they fought together. It was getting tiring. But with the way the villain was now pouting while looking at him expectantly, made it harder to say no. He was too cute.

"I-" The hero started. However, he couldn't say anything else before the villain interrupted him.

"Don't object this time. Listen, I have a plan. A. Foolproof. Plan." The villain emphasized, confidence. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and then strolled to where the hero was standing.

"And, what plan would that be? The last time we were planning, you got too distracted and we ended up doing something entirely different. But, go ahead. Tell me." The hero muttered as the villain came face to face with him.

"How about we fake our death?" The villain whispered, his hand moving to trace along the jaw of the hero's. The hero raised his eyebrows.

"You said you had a foolproof plan. This is your plan?" The villain's fingers went down and down until they were resting on the hero's shoulders.

The villain nodded. "Yeah. We get to fool people about our deaths, so fool-proof, get it?" He chuckled at his own joke. The hero just kept his straight face. This wasn't something to joke about, honestly, what was the villain thinking? He'd never know. "And anyway, it would be pretty believable. Think about it, we could plan a fight and act like we both died during it. And then poof! we disappear. We could go to another country and get different identities. Sounds very good to me."

The hero gaped at him. Was the villain serious?! This was below believable. If anything, the hero's agency would seek him out from the depths of hell. And if they did hide their identities, it was only a matter of time before someone recognized them. It would be too dangerous and too disastrous. He was not ready to take that risk. So, he shook his head, letting himself get away from the warmth of the villain's hand, and shuffling to the window on the left.

"It's not as easy as it sounds. We can't do that. There is too much of a possibility of our lives being endangered. I can't let us get hurt. See, no one knows about this, about our secret relationship. So, how about we keep it that way for now? I'm going to retire in a few years either way." The hero said, turning around and searching for the villain's eyes who was still frowning. He went to him and put their foreheads together. "I want you to be safe, my love. I can't afford to lose you. Ever. Do you understand me?"

The villain grimaced, followed by a groan. He buried his face in the hero's neck. "But I-I can't do this anymore. It's so intolerable when the whole world is wanting to marry you and I can't tell them that you're mine. That we belong to each other and no one else. That, I love you." He confessed, kissing the hero who kissed him right back.

"I know, I know. But you don't have to worry, because I love you too. And, I would never leave you for anyone else. I would never even think about it." The hero mumbled in between the kisses. The villain brought him closer by his waist, and kissed him again, deeply.

Perhaps, someday the hero and the villain will be able to tell the world just how much they love each other. How they belong together with each other, like pieces of a puzzle.

Snippet #11

The villain scanned the gadgets that were set in front of him, tucked away in glass-paneled shelves on the wall. If you knew about how they worked, you'd know that they could make a person stronger than they are by 10 times. But if you didn't, well, good luck. They could possibly explode you if you didn't use them wisely. The villain sighed, waving his hand dismissively. He needed something better than these toys.

The last time he fought with the hero, the hero had commented that 'he should just fight with some teenagers and not waste his time', he had basically told the villain that he was too strong to be fighting with him. The villain took that very personally, and here he was. He wanted to pin the hero down there and then, if it weren't for the hero's blunt remark making him retreat away. He was still embarrassed about the whole situation. How dare the hero call him 'weak'?! He scoffed quietly, shuffling his feet to his desk.

If he wanted to take down the hero, he needed something that would amplify his powers by more than 10 times. Just as he was thinking what he could do, his sidekick appeared in the doorway, grinning.

"Hey, villain." The sidekick said, coming forward and taking the seat opposite to the villain, seemingly bouncier than usual, the villain noted. "Guess what our fellow scientist is up to? Actually, don't. He's making this new tube-like machine that amplifies your power by 100 times. A hundred times, that is totally insane. Crazy." The villain's eyes widened, that was exactly what he needed. He leaned in, curious.

"That's...that's really awesome." He tried to keep the excitement out of his voice, as he continued, "Did they tell you when it's going to be ready?"

"Oh yeah, he was planning on testing it today. I wanted to volunteer but the supervillain wants me to go a mission. So I can't, how about you?" The sidekick asked, their eyes filled with unhidden eagerness. The villain smirked lightly.

"I might as well. Volunteer, I mean." The villain internally started thinking about how the hero would react if the machine really did work, and he got stronger! The hero was surely going to be surprised, hell, even scared for his life, if it comes to it. He couldn't wait to meet the other, anticipation running wild in his veins as he stood up suddenly. The sidekick glanced up at him. "I should go pay him a visit, it's been a while."

The sidekick nodded, his head bobbing up and down.

When the villain was out of the room, he jumped and fisted a punch in the air. Oh, the hero was going to love it. Or hate it, for that matter.

Snippet #6

(Part 1…?)

“We used to be best friends,” The hero murmured, gazing out the window of their room. The moon shining so bright, they tore their eyes from it. The light shining through the glass, illuminating the whole place up. They sighed. “Perhaps, something more intimate that I refused to put a name on. We both refused to.”

“Dad, were you guys more than friends?” The hero’s child, a fourteen-year-old, asked them. Their eyes animated with wonder, their lips curved up a little. The hero chuckled, as they patted the teenager’s head.

“You should go to sleep now, hmm? It’s getting late.” The hero murmured, moving from the place they were standing and striding to where the other was sitting on the bed.

“Buttttttt, I have to know.” The fourteen-year-old whined, shaking their head as their parent picked them from the bed by their arm, in one sweep. “Where are they now? Do you know?” They asked again.

“No, I don’t know where he is right now, and nor do I wish to.” The hero said, eyes filling with suppressed sadness, their voice cracking. They tried to stay calm as memories of their college days came crushing in all at once, fogging their whole mind. Suddenly, they felt dizzy as they let go of the confused teenager’s arm, and sat down on the bed.

It was now or never. Every time they had this conversation, it would end with the hero staying silent the end, not wanting to bring up any reminders of the villain. They could not tell the younger one, that their best friend was none other than the most wanted criminal in the entire city. It would be too much, for both of them. Every time the assignment of finding the villain was assigned to him, they would always decline it. They couldn’t afford to meet the villain let alone, catch them. It would break them, unwillingly.

Yet, they couldn’t bury it all down again. Not when the kid was getting nothing but smarter every day, wiser. Mature. It felt wrong to hide their history any longer than they had been. So, they took a deep breath and let it all out. They told the fourteen-year-old everything that he had been wanting to, everything they didn’t tell anyone else, not even their ex-partner. Perhaps, that’s why when their partner felt that they weren't the one the hero was looking for, they decided to set them both free.

The teenager listened intently, asking their parent questions here and there. Frowning at various times, and laughing at others. It was a roller coaster of emotions, if you asked them.

“So…you still love them then?” They questioned, eyes brows raised.

The hero glanced away, wiping away the tears that unknowingly left out of their eyes, “I wish I could say no, but yes. Yes, I do love-," Before the hero could finish his sentence, there was a big thud from the kitchen. The teenager glanced at their dad, their eyes filled with surprise.

They both quickly but quietly made their way to the kitchen, the hero in the front, while their child trailed behind.

When they peeked out behind the wall of the kitchen, the hero's heart stopped. The villain stood there, appearing smug.

Prompt #25

"Oh, so you're the infamous hero everyone is drooling over lately?" The villain wondered as they let their eyes roam over the hero's figure.

"Yeah. Why, you jealous?" The hero asked them, confident. A proud glint pondering in their dusty brown eyes. Their feet moved steadily but surely on their own to the other one.

"Jealous? Of you? Oh, spare me." The villain scoffed. Their face told otherwise, the hero thought.

The villain stayed planted where they were, while the hero nothing but neared them. Cornered them. They gulped.

"You know, you're not so bad yourself. I'd take you." The hero's voice dropped to a low soothing sound, that the villain's knees almost gave out. Almost.

The villain raised a brow, trying to appear unbothered. "In...a fight, right?" They said, unsure. They were just buying time so they could run, they told himself. It was definitely not because they were curious.

"No. Think deeper." The hero replied, short and curt. A devious smile made its way onto their lips. They let the villain figure out what exactly they meant.

The villain realized soon, the implication of what the hero meant and their eyes widened.

The hero attacked them next. Right there and then.

Snippet #1

“Oops, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spill your coffee Mist-…” the hero trailed off, his eyes locking with a familiar face. There stood the villain, frozen in place. “What are you doing here?” The hero asked, bringing back his voice that was abruptly cut off midway.

“I could ask the same. This is my area, so what are you doing here?” The villain threw back. The barista behind the counter looked between them. The hero sensed it, and was glad that the villain wore a mask all the time so no one would be able to recognize him.

The hero quickly apologized to the barista, ignoring the villain’s eyes on him. He picked up some tissues and cleaning the floor. The drink had only spilled a little, so it didn’t take long to wipe it. He then grabbed the villain by his arm, and took him outside the cafe. The villain followed him with both of his eyebrows shot up.

“Since when was this your area? And, anyway it doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t be roaming around in a place like a cafe, you can get caught. You don’t want that, do you?” The hero questioned, looking around. His lips pressed together in a firm line.

“Now, why would you care if I get caught, hmm?” The villain shot back, suddenly appearing smug. He carefully pushed the hero backwards to the wall. “Unless, of course, you fear that you’ll miss me if they take me away.” He murmured, inching his face slowly near the hero’s.

The hero gave a grin, “Exactly, I’d miss you too much if they take you away from me. I would miss your face, your lips, your…” His eyes tracked down, making the villain widen his eyes and face, flush.

❌Not a prompt❌

Prompt #20

“Let me get your favorite pjs, and then we can nod off, yeah?” The villain whispered, as the hero moved closer to him in the wide bed they were lying on. He smiled a bit before, getting rolling out of the soft sheets carefully. Making sure to not disturb the hero in the process.

The villain came back in less than 3 minutes with the said pjs and nudged the hero’s cheek a bit to let him know he was going to change him. The hero draped himself on the villain, tired. He looked just like a little baby, the villain thought.

Soon, the hero was in his favorite pair of pjs, and the villain put him on the mattress softly with a hand wrapped around his head. The hero let out a small ‘I love you’, as he fell back to slumber. The villain gave him a cheek, muttering back “I love you too”.

❌Please credit me if use this in your writing❌

Prompt #18

The hero finds the villain on a street, his body still. Unconscious. Blood running down from his head. When he goes to check for the pulse, the villain is steadily breathing. But, they will need to have a talk when the villain gets up. Because who dared to touch his villain?

Prompt #13

“I love you, too.” The villain told the hero, as he stabbed him in the stomach with a knife. The hero’s breath choked, as his eyes widened, and then closed little by little. The villain let out a cold exhale, as he did the same to himself.

❌Please credit me if you use this❌

Writing

Is really difficult. Give yourself a break every once in a while. I’ve been on break from starting writing my main wip for over a year, and I still procrastinate the hell out of it. Writing takes time. Let it happen on its own

Needed this <3

“What if I write it and it’s bad-”

WHAT IF YOU WRITE IT AND ITS GOOD? WHAT IF YOU WRITE IT AND ITS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED? WHAT THEN????

Saving this for later <3

Argument-Ending Prompts

"So this is who you really are?"

"I can't believe I ever trusted you."

"You were never there when it mattered."

"This is the last time you let me down."

"I guess we were never meant to be."

"Just go, I can't even look at you right now."

"I've given you so many chances, no more."

"Everything you said was just a lie, wasn't it?"

"You think you're right, but you're just alone."

"I'm done trying to make this work."

"You've shown me enough; it's over."

"Keep your excuses to yourself, I'm done listening."

"You chose this, remember that."

"I'm not wasting another minute on you."

"Forget my number, we're through."

Aughidshh noooo I feel the plot bunnies coming back 😭

characters realizing they are in love dialogue + prompts

@celestialwrites for more!!

♡ seeing their s/o interact with children they met in a small town in the absolute middle of nowhere.

♡ “it shouldn’t take losing me to love me, if you really did, you would have loved me right the first time.”

♡ the character realizes how head over heels in love they are when their s/o took over their whole kitchen in a panic bake.

♡ “i’m so undeniably screwed for this woman.”

♡ the character takes a bullet for their friend, only for that friend to realize that losing the character would destroy them.

♡ "why are you acting like this?" "why do you think?!"

♡ watching their (enemy or best friend) walk down the aisle to marry someone else.

♡ "are you going to leave?" "you? never."

♡ character A staring at character B's face, appreciating every detail of B's face, their eyes, their smile, and A just knows.

♡ "i am so unbelievably afraid that i will lose you, and i don't understand why."

♡ "three words. just say the three words."

♡ character A shows up at character B's house covered in blood, "i needed to go somewhere, and all i could think of was you."

♡ "i used to think i was immune to such temptations." "used to?"

♡ character A running through a rainstorm just to find character B's lost necklace that means the world to them.

REBLOG TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WRITERS!!<3

i really gotta spend more time with my grimoire

we parted briefly. she's a messy one.

Tumblr: *goes ahead with the adult content ban*

miss tumblr? MISS TUMBLR? o my fuckn god she fuckn dead

me, having no inspiration to write in my wip:

also me, writing inspiring things on tumblr for other young writers: do you hear something? procrastination who? sips tea

witchy writing tips!

i - can't find your inspiration? needing to focus? use essential oils! dab some on your paper, or even directly into the ink! peppermint is fantastic for calming the mind and helping to concentrate! rosemary is another great example of enhancing cognitive performance.

and for those techy witches scolding me for even suggesting essential oils on computers, no worries! place a drop or two on your inner wrist!

ii - mediate next to your wip! this is an amazing way to connect further with your characters and the world inside!

iii - light some candles! scented or unscented are fine. after all, it's the color that matters! yellow can help specifically with increasing activity, while brown promotes concentration.

iv - use crystals! i use crystals daily and they give me a lot of energy! use alexandrite for that little spark of inspiration!

v - tea! before, during, or even after writing, drinking tea has always aided me. i use a mixture of lavender and peppermint to boost my mood, spark creativity, and it's incredible for your immune system!

vi - make your own pen/enchant your pen

i suppose making your own pen is a bit far-fetched, right? so, perhaps you can find a feather that calls to you. doesn't sound appealing? enchant the pen you favor and let the pen do the thinking for you.

After reading 5 short stories from this promt, I decided to draw, and this is what I made

Man-eating sirens have plagued these waters for as long anyone can remember. Now, as you sail across the ocean with your crew, siren songs begin to entrance everyone on board. In a desperate move to save the others, you try something no one else has tried before; you sing along with them.

Mix this with werewolf found family and OH LORD

"Magic cares about what something means, not what it literally is. So when we adopted you into this family, when you truly accepted us as your parents, you became part of it in the eyes of magic. Which is why you've begun to manifest some aspects of our bloodline."

IM GOING FERAL FOR THIS OML AUAGHGAHHHA

Magic has returned to the world, and people all over the world have reported transforming into magical creatures. You are the owner of a tailoring business, and you have since gained an influx of new customers who need help modifying their clothes to fit their new bodies.

”Wait.” The faintest sound darting out from beneath the door. So so quiet, even though there is nothing else to make noise. Even though there is nothing else to hear it.

“Wait, please.” You turn, key already half in your hands pocket, caught stiff from the impossibility of it. It’s barely louder than a murmur. If your hearing hadn’t twitched just the slightest, if you hadn’t stopped just to double check, you’d be gone. The universe would be shut, dust sheets covering the planets and all the windows and stars locked. Lights off.

“Please?” It’s so unsure. So fragile. The silence threatens to break the noise instead of the other way round. Are they unwilling or unable to raise their volume, to risk being heard, to take up space, to actually stand up and decide they want to exist? What horrors do they think being known will bring?

“Please. I don’t want to be left behind.”

You open the door, and the universe flickers on.

You are Death. The last living thing has died. You've put the chairs on the tables, turned out the lights, and locked the universe behind you. Something whispers from behind the door.

“…why?”

“I’m telling you, they make the best bread I’ve ever had in my fucking life.”

“Can I help?”

“So you’re a villain, but you only want to take over this small village?” “Yep.” “You don’t have any plans to take over anywhere else?” “Nope.”

“I don’t know gang…”

“C’mon, you can’t leave us hanging!”

“Yeah, you’ll love camping!”

“I love plumbing. And a mattress.”

“The cabin overlooking the clearing has showers and everything, and plus, if it gets really bad we can just hole up in there for a while. It’s got three floors!”

“Really? That’s quite a lot for a camping cabin.”

“Yeah! The basement, the main floor and the attic!”

“…Excuse me?”

“What?”

“You booked a cabin in the middle of the woods with a basement and an attic?”

“Technically we can’t go into the basement, it’s like super locked.”

“Which means?”

“In the pictures there are three locked chains on the door, see?”

“THERE’S ALSO A FUCKING HAND REACHING THROUGH THE GAP UNDERNEATH?!”

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s just a trick of the light. Or the decor. It’s really gothic.”

“Gothic?! Yeah no pass your phone, I want to- gargoyles. Hunting trophies. Why not. Did you even- IS THAT A CLOWN STATUE?”

“Relax, it does a side gig as a venue for haunted houses. That’s probably where the hand came from: Halloween decorations.”

“…And nothing about this is giving you a red flag?”

“Ok, seriously, relax, you are so dramatic, it’s probably wine not an actual bloodstain-“

“I didn’t see a bloodstain?!”

“Oh see it’s right there next to the fireplace with the axes above the mantle.”

“Just no.”

“Hey folks, I did check the weather and it will be heavy storms so we’ll just have to tough it- what’s up with Red?”

“They are weirded out by the log cabin.”

“CLOWN STATUE. BLOODSTAIN. LOCKED BASEMENT. What does the attic also have to be a meat locker for you to give this idea any thought?”

“It says the owners only kept the meat cleavers after they refurbished it.”

“Ooo, that’s why it’s so spacious, old farmhouse.”

“Right? It’s so rustic!”

“We’re going to die.”

“Look Red, we don’t want to go on this without you. It’s only last freedom before uni, right?”

“If you say we’re out, we’re out.”

“I’m sorry, but it really gives me a bad feeling.”

“No that’s perfectly ok. You’re not happy, none of us are happy.”

“Tell me the deposit wasn’t non-refundable.”

“It’s fine, we got it for dirt cheap, this flyer showed up through the door and the number we called practically gave it to us for free.”

“It’s going to be tricky finding somewhere that cheap again. And when we booked it in person, the lady was so nice, she even gave us this cool themed skull key for the door!”

“Oh! I got an ad for an old castle that needs house-sitting! They’ll even pay us to be there and it looks really nice, and it needs a minimum of five people and we fit perfectly.”

“Let’s see?”

“I love those paintings in the hall, so lifelike. Skilled artists, you guys.”

“None of you are allowed to make decisions anymore. I pick where we go next.”

getting horror movie vibes from the trip your friends were planning, you decided to simply stay home.

Content warning for death, blood and description of injuries

Another slice to my throat. More stains running down my armour, rivers feeding the nutrients I no longer need into the ground. You stand frozen, gaze blank. You always do when we die. Blue already lies, eyes vacant and staring, neck angled horribly wrong. I can’t see Yellow’s face. Their back took the worst of their injuries, as they tripped and did not get back up.

My knees crumble, throat gasping out one last time. I didn’t see Green go down, I heard them like I can hear myself. Their cry cut off, because their brain was targeted. Not their throat. My brain is still stuck trying to make broken vocal cords work.

I blink for what should be the last time.

It won’t be.

“Everyone understand?” Purple looks around at us, all jostling in the belly of the plane, trying to break the tension before our last mission. “We only get one shot at this. We’re counting on you.” They look directly at you as they say that, before turning to where the doors will open.

I don’t know why we don’t get one shot. I don’t know why the gods keep rewinding the clock. You’re the only one that initiates change, so you have to know. I think you’re the only other one who does. The fifth try, you took out a guard I hadn’t spotted. They killed me last time. The seventeenth, you found another way in, after the previous one kept leading to traps and dead ends.

I don’t know why I’m granted so many second chances, and I know I’m alone in remembering what came before. I tried to mention it to Green once. It distracted them, got them killed earlier. I stopped talking after that try. I didn’t want to mess anything else up.

We’re getting close, we have to be. I don’t know what try we’re on, but you get better, stronger every time. Sometimes there’s a stupid mistake from one of us, or a weirdly placed guard, but generally, we’re improving.

Out the airplane, land on the roof, take the fire escape to the fourth floor even though it goes down to the third because there’s too many guards on the third, sneak through the vents, avoid the alarms, climb into the lift shaft and into one of the lifts, ride it down to the basement.

Yes, I can feel it. The death by gravity as I was pushed down the empty shaft. Bones crunching, not able to move my legs. Internal bleeding got me that time. A shot through the window of a corridor, so quick I didn’t have time to be surprised. The phantom pains following me into the next try, aches where my body expects to still find snaps.

This try, we get all the way down the final hall to the vault before the tripwire catches you out. We can still make it, we’ve made it past this point before. Footsteps rumble like thunder above as we dash towards the vault door, weapons and equipment flickering through your hands as you search for something we can use. The vault door creeks as it begins to swing slowly, a ticking clock for our team. Blue makes it in, sliding their backpack off immediately to search for the lock picks they will now need. Yellow whoops as they make it in, keeping an eye on Blue while taunting the guards and hurrying us up. The vault door gets closer to shut. Green makes it in, preparing to take up cover fire through a narrowing field of vision. You’re right behind, squeezing through the shrinking gap. The vault clicks as it closes, Purple slamming into it unable to stop their momentum, and me skidding to a halt beside them.

There’s a small glass window through the vault door, and you walk right up to it, staring at us while you try to slam anything into the door. Looking for a trigger to open the metal lock. Running to get Blue or the others to help, but they shake their heads, already moving on. You return to the window, and I smile back. It’s ok. You might be able to make it this time. This could be the one. You could do it.

The door we came through shatters open as guards pour in. We ready our weapons for a fight, turning away from you, who has gone so still. You never stop moving, not unless one of us is dead, but you can’t do that now. You can make it, you can complete our mission and save the world. We signed onto that, weeks of training and trusting each other before we committed to our shot. Helping people, or die trying.

The stench of blood taints the air as Purple and I engage, holding back the guards to give you as much time as we can. Every second gives you more of a chance to make it. Please, you have to make it. You can do this. Dodging a knife and twisting away from the action, I see you, still frozen on the other side of the glass. A jolt in my back, my breath catching and your blank express do the rest.

I blink.

“Everyone understand?” Purple looks around at us, jostling each other. I smile at you, because you are already moving, already checking weapons and ammunition and equipment again. You could have made it that time.

It’s happened quite a bit. Your chance for freedom, for success, very clearly in reach. But then Yellow will get taken out as a warning that we’ve been spotted. Green succumbs to previous injuries. Blue can’t break the locks in time. Purple gets caught in a triggered trap. I stay behind to buy more time. It resets every time. And although it hurts, and the hollow pain in my stomach has me checking the wound really did disappear like they do everytime, I will smile at you. Because you are going to get us through this. You’re going to make sure one of these times, everybody lives. Every death, every injury, is nothing compared to losing any of us.

It may be selfish, and painful, and at times threatens hellish hopelessness, but whenever it gets too much, whenever the danger gets too close, I know you will save us. You will stay with us, and I know you will keep doing so until one try, we all make it out ok. And I would rather that ending than any other.

Player keeps reloading trying to save every ally in a mission, one of their allies remembers every attempt.

Oh. This is it?

I don’t want to be left behind. Please.

please don’t leave me too.

i dont want to be alone.

After being a superhero for decades and experiencing many awful events, you make a horrifying discovery: you don’t age and will never be able to retire

The dragon appears to be currently having a tug of war with a rogue tooth fairy over the coin it meant to leave under your pillow (the academy’s been dealing with a bit of a problem at the moment so it’s become routine to check you still have all your teeth when you get up), and eventually gives up on the coin.

The tooth fairy, cloaked in cracked tooth enamel, makes the brief mistake of blowing a raspberry at your new familiar, believing to have won the fight. As it turns out, tooth fairy makes for a good morning snack, as your dragon crunches on its wings. It then tries to eat the previously abandoned coin. Ok.

The Academy is very grateful for your familiar’s help with the tooth fairy problem, and looking after it keeps you on your toes. Life goes on. Twig (named for the one food the brat refuses to eat no matter how much you insist it’s good for her fire breathing-) grows big enough to rival the average rocket of energy that is a Labrador. You’d almost thought the conversation with the Goddess was a dud.

You were telling Twig off for trying to eat your scarf, again, because you really didn’t think you’d be spending the same amount of money on winter clothes as an academy textbook, but you know, favourite chew toys and all, when in a huff, Twig takes a bite of the sludge coating the pavement, never breaking eye contact with you.

You stare as your dragon eats. It’s not snow. It’s too late in the winter for snow. The footprints in beautiful pristine perfection were replaced by grey and brown mush melting into gutters two weeks back. You don’t let her eat things found on the side of the pavement (how horrible of you, you know), so she’s doing this to be difficult. She clearly never tried sludge before, because despite trying to be difficult, her face twists in disgust, and she opens her mouth again to let the sludge fall out. It only looks marginally less appealing than before.

Twig sneezes then, and instead of her usual purple fire, violet ice comes snorting out, encasing the partially chewed sludge. Oh good. That won’t complicate things. A dragon that can breathe whatever it’s recently eaten, and that dragon is Twig, whose first instinct in every situation is to see if she can eat something. Without fail.

In the end, you really wish the Goddess of Magic could have just spouted one of those ‘the power was inside you all along’ speeches, because Goddess knows raising a multitalented dragon and preventing it from eating everything in sight was throwing you in the deep end on that front. Turns out, when you’re constantly practicing spells that track down where your dragon has wandered off to in the middle of a farmer’s market, or realising you really need that fire resistant spell after you snuck wood into Twig’s diet cause you thought she wouldn’t be able to taste it but you clearly thought wrong- well practice makes perfect, and you get a LOT of practice.

But even becoming one of the most powerful mages won’t get Twig to leave your scarf aLONE GODDAMN IT TWIG-

You are the weakest mage of your academy, so weak that you even fail to summon a familiar. After another dreamed discussion with the goddess of magic, you’re surprised to find a tiny dragon curled up on your chest in the morning.

Your soul knows. It will let you know when it's time to distance yourself from people who no longer align with you mentally, emotionally, physically, or energetically.

“Hi.”

Cause that was the only thing you could say. Really, you didn’t have a right to say anything. But you needed to. You needed to be here, back in this empty world again. “I know it’s been a... a really long time. You’re probably really angry. I don’t blame you. But I’m here now. I want to do something...I want-“

You want to help?

The sharp chill of the words made you shiver. But it didn’t surprise you. Why should it?

You want to do something...now?

Every emotion in those words is what started the tears. The accusation. The betrayal. The disgust. The despair. Nothing but the emotions of a person long forgotten and left to die. The person you once were.

“I’m sorry-“

You’re SORRY?

Black dust and curtains of dark matter whirled to life around you. You felt the anger in the sudden action. The hurt.

Why have you decided to come back? You left me for them. You abandoned me. You chose to become something you weren’t for them. And you dare to show your face to me again? Wanting to HELP?

The darkness suddenly lashed out and you went flying across the great, empty expanse. Your head hit the ground hard, but you felt nothing. Nothing could be felt in this place. That was the point.

The black winds swirled around you once again, striking wildly, unable and unwilling to stop. The fury within uncontainable.

“Please...” You began.

No.

They made themselves known, a black figure with glowing eyes appearing from the dark storm like a car appearing from a fog. Eyes that were dimmer than you remembered. Much dimmer.

Do not beg for mercy. You know how pathetic it is.

“Yea,” you coughed. “But I wasn’t.” The figure tilted its head.

Then you saw it. The light.

The light in their chest, trapped behind a thousand dark chains. It was barely flickering. The chains were cracked in some places, some were simply hanging from being broken long ago. But many were brand new. Shiny, harsh, and black as the darkness that was you.

“I’m sorry I left.” And that was it. That was all you said. All you could do as you lay there, weak and pathetic in front of the shadow that was once you. The real you. The person you forsook to please the ones you thought were more important than yourself.

The tears came down harder.

“I’m sorry.” Your voice wobbled. “I will never forgive myself for leaving you.”

You began to lift yourself to your feet.

“I will never forgive myself for thinking that I needed others’s approval to be whole.”

The figure began to back away.

“And I will never forget what makes me happy.” You stopped in front of them, shaking and humble, their eyes wide.

What makes you happy?

“Being you.”

...

“Being...

Being me.

Slowly. So slowly, the chains began to shake.

And began to break.

Pining!

Pining

Mutual pining

One-sided pining

staring dreamily in their direction

believing they're the only one pining after the other

believing no one will notice

not being subtle at all

both being pining idiots who don't get it

actual heart-eyes

blushing

swiftly looking away

They had to intervene. As their friends it was their duty to play wingman.

If pining would become a sport, they would make the perfect Olympian.

They always thought how embarrassing it was to have a crush. But it's not that embarrassing when they finally figure out, they are not the only one.