Healing Hugs - Tumblr Posts

A comforting scene with Echo

There's fluff ahead. I hope you like it <3

<•>

Rain falls thunderous outside as you watch it batter the viewport of the Havoc Marauder's cockpit. You don't remember the name of the planet Tech rattled off hours ago before the ship left hyperspace. You've been to so many with them now, you don't always make an effort to keep track.

You do remember him telling you about the nasty weather, though, and you stare at its ferocity now while you tuck your knees up to your chest, stockinged feet braced up on the edge of the chair.

As pretty as it is with the strangely muffled lightning flashes illuminating everything in constant, flickering wash of silver-blue, it's keeping you from being able to take a walk outside and get some fresh air. The ship is stuffy, cramped to begin with and currently resident to seven people, including yourself. After how the mission for Cid went, you've had a particularly hard last few days, even if things ended up turning out alright.

The memories still sit with you, like an uneasy, cold fist of discomfort settled in the pit of your stomach.

Everyone else is asleep, like you should be. Your makeshift hammock hangs limp and empty at the end of the hall, strung just out of the way of Omega's room that takes up the gunner position. You can hear their soft snores and feel the quiet lull of dreaming people that hangs in the air.

One of them turns over in their bunk, judging by the soft creak and shuffle of fabric. When a metalic tink sounds off next, you wonder who got up, and reach out with a finger to push the console's edge and turn the chair.

A pale face immediately looks up at the movement of you peeking down the hall, and you see Echo sitting on the edge of his bunk, feet planted on the floor. The hull is barely illuminated to simulate night, small spots of brightness stationed periodically along the edges of the floor and significant corners. The lights glint dully on the edges of Echo's cybernetic implants.

He looks surprised to see you awake, leaning forward to be able to better see the empty hammock at the other end of the ship with a glance. You offer a tiny wave as Echo looks back, and aren't terribly surprised when the soldier quietly gets up. He takes care to move quietly down the ship, his mechanical limbs inaudible with the background noise of the Marauder's passive electronic systems that remain online even as you all sleep, and the less-so-passive ground security protocol that was engaged before lights out.

"Hey," you greet quietly, barely breathing the words. You know Echo will hear you, and though Hunter sleeps with earplugs, you always do your best to take extra care to not make noise when he's trying to sleep.

"Thought I was the only night-owl, after Tech," Echo answers just as softly, his left hand turning a chair by the backrest towards himself as he takes a seat, still looking at you. "Can't sleep?" he wonders.

You almost forget to vocalize your answer, too distracted studying the lines on his face, the slight stubble that's been growing in since his last shave yesterday, and the bags under his eyes.

"You don't look like you've slept a wink."

Echo's shoulders jump a little, like he's been caught doing something, and your heart tumbles over itself as he looks away. Though he's staring at some point off to the right and down, it doesn't hide the haunted look in his eyes.

Echo turns his elbows and splays his fingers like he's about to steeple his fingers together, only to go stiff when his only hand touches empty air. He straightens in his seat uncomfortably. You're burning to say something, do something, but he looks like he's working out what words to say. You give him all the time he needs to answer.

"A lot of things don't come as easy as they used to," Echo admits when he finds his voice. He doesn't meet your gaze, not even when you quietly say his name, until you stand up and take the few short steps to bring yourself to his side.

Warm, honey-gold eyes turned a pale silver by the flashes of lightning, finally meet yours. He looks so lost, more than you've ever seen let slip through his careful guard. Always keeping so busy, so focused, keeping ahead of his problems until they catch up at the end of the day when the world slows to a stop, and says it's time to sleep.

Your offer is silent; his acceptance is immediate, and Echo practically jumps out of his seat to accommodate.

You say nothing as his mechanical elbow digs into your softer ribs while you wrap your arms around his broad chest, which proves much more comfortable to hold without his armor on. The hard ridge of his artificial respiratory system's access unit presses uncomfortably against your chest, while his natural arm crosses behind your back.

Where his natural body presses against yours, he feels warm and solid. The metal provides a strange contrast of hard, cool ridges.

"Do you want to talk about it?" you ask, rubbing soothing circles on the man's back as he wraps himself around you, burying his face in your shoulder.

You feel his head shake an emphatic 'No,' as his grip tightens.

You make a soft noise of comfort, relaxing against him as you hug. Echo takes a deep, shuddering breath, then surprises you by speaking, after all.

"I saw them," he says in a hoarse whisper.

"Saw who?" you ask tentatively, when he doesn't immediately continue.

"All of them, every one on the field, in the trenches, my-- My brothers, my friends, e-everyone..." he whispers.

He's shaking harder, and something wet plops against your skin before sliding down your neck, raising goosebumps as it goes.

You don't know much about Echo.

You know he was rescued from something pretty awful, and you know it has something to do with his cybernetics, but more than that, you never felt it was proper for you to inquire about it.

You do so now, gently asking him questions, trying to gauge the scope of the issue and put things together in a cohesive story as he rattles off errant details in no particular order. Sometimes, he tells you about the face of a specific cloned brother he recognized before something happened to them.

Other times, Echo tells you something that makes bile rise in your throat, particularly when he says it so off-handedly, it's like he's trying to be flippant about it.

But you're not.

Your confusion of how he could have been in so many battles, so far apart, as you realize he's been naming different war fronts, finally drives you to ask point-blank what this 'Techno-Union' did to him that forced him to experience such awful things.

"They used me as a computer program to predict battle algorithms; they're the ones who installed my hardware."

It's the most clear his quiet voice has been this entire conversation, wrapped up in your arms in the cockpit as he lets his hidden wounds bleed clean, and you have an immediate gut-punching suspicion that the even tone of voice comes less from calm, and more from a fierce detachment of what he's even speaking about. Like saying the words in such a simple, understated way can make what happened less horrific, less raw.

You let him straighten as he suddenly loosens his grip on you to lift his head up. Having assumed that Echo's eyes would be far away and distant like earlier, you're caught off guard by their intensity as he studies your face with concern.

You're not the one who jus--

You jump when his thumb brushes against your cheek, swiping away a tear.

"I'm sorry," he says gently, voice cracking. "I shouldn't have unloaded so much on you, you don't have--"

"Shut up," you whisper, more eloquent words failing you in your hasty need to stop him from withdrawing. "It's okay, Echo. I'm--" you stutter, realizing his hand is still on your cheek.

Echo's eyes drop fractionally, and quite suddenly, the small, private atmosphere of the cockpit you'd been sharing takes on a whole new weight and depth.

"I'm... I'm just so horrified at what they did you you," you finish, but your voice is trailing off as Echo's gaze doesn't shift. He doesn't answer you for several long, agonizing moments, and you feel your cheeks start to warm when he deliberately brushes his thumb against your cheek again, taking his time to trace the features of your face. His hand shifts, scooting a little further over your neck as long, strong fingers cup the shape of you.

"You never told me why you couldn't sleep tonight," Echo murmurs, clearly ready to change the subject. He's standing strong and confident again, a powerful posture you've noticed seems born and bred into him and all his brothers, and your heart does this funny flip. He's been baring his heart to you and unloading his burdens for some time, so you have almost -- almost -- zero inclination to encourage him to keep talking.

It's not something that can all come out in a single sitting.

"I, uh...."

You like the change in his eyes as they practically shine with a slightly deviant gleam to them, and a small smile tugs at Echo's lips, before drawing itself across his handsome features.

"You, uh...?" Echo repeats, his smile growing wider.

"Yeah," you answer on reflex, blushing harder with embarrassment as Echo's eyes dance with laughter.

You can't even be mad about your own squirming; it's so nice to see him looking happy again, especially after the sorrow and grief you just watched him struggle through, and know he still holds heavy on his shoulders.

"I mean," you stammer, just barely remembering to keep your voice hushed for Hunter's sake, "that I, um, yeah, I have trouble sleeping sometimes. I get... cold," you hedge.

Maker, you're not going to try and explain to him that you just have a hard time sleeping alone in bed, when you grew up used to puppy-piling with your four younger siblings and, later, your Vekolves, two over-enthusiastically protective canines you'd raised from puppies. You still miss the weight of their warm, scaley bodies cuddling up to you at night.

"Cold?" the soldier questions, furrowing his brows. The ship is kept at a constant, even temperature.

You have no idea how Echo sorts it out, but maybe something shows on your face as you glance down the hallway towards your lonely hammock, because his eyes suddenly soften.

Or, maybe he's just been overhearing you talk with Omega about your life before joining the Bad Batch, because he nails it right on the head.

"Miss your family?" he asks quietly.

"...yeah," you admit, looking down. You let him tip your chin back up, and take in his breathtaking smile. "I've never been good at sleeping alone."

He just revealed wounds to you that no one should ever have to suffer in the first place, and here he is smiling at you so warm and gently.

"I've got an idea," Echo suggests. Though that earnest warmth remains, you catch a sudden mischievous cast to his expressive features. "Come on."

You think he means 'come closer,' so you step towards him, but he moves at the same time you do, dropping his hand to your shoulder before he slides his fingers down your arm, and wraps them around your wrist. Echo leads you down the narrow aisle, where his brothers sleep on their bunks.

You cast a long glance at Hunter as you slip past, noting with relief the soft, audible snores and his peaceful, sleeping expression.

Echo stops at his bunk, lets go of your arm, then gently places his hand to your back, fingers splayed as he gestures with his scomp-link prosthetic.

"Space enough for two?" he suggests, not quite hiding the hopeful sound in his voice.

<•>

Hunter opens his eyes with a jerk to consciousness that momentarily disorientates him, his gaze immediately looking towards the source of disturbance that yanked him from a rare, good dream.

Something about Omega and Wrecker playing a game in some sunny field, far from the war and strife strewn through the galaxy.

He blinks, not sure he's seeing things right, then nearly sits up with surprise as he registers that, yes, he is seeing right, and that's an Echo curled up in his bunk, sound asleep, with you wrapped in his arms and snoring like an asthmatic bantha on his chest.

Hunter stares at you both.

He's never heard you snore. Not once.

And he's never heard Echo's heartbeat sound so utterly peaceful, a low, gentle thrum that harmonizes with the idle whirr of his prosthetics. More than that, is the way the soldier's face has for the first time since joining their team, relaxed into something truly peaceful.

So peaceful, there's actually a little bit of drool escaping from Echo's slack jaw where his lips part a bit, and Hunter smirks, wondering how you'll react to the wet spot on your hair in -- he frees an arm from the blankets to check his wrist -- less than an hour.

Warm floods his chest as he smiles, taking in the scene for a few moments longer, before he drops his head back onto his pillow and sighs deeply.

With less deliberation that perhaps he should be using, Hunter gives in, and lifts his vambrace up to tap a few buttons.

Two more hours, a generous enough gift as he saves the new alarm setting, then rolls over to go back to sleep.

Y’all I’m healing with this. Come vibe in this with me 😭🙌🏼💙💜

Baby’s first time clinging

I swear you could associate the 4 phases of this song (every time the melody switches) to each panel and youd get a pretty damn good picture of how im feeling

Again, the healing hug I needed to see. Bless you 🙏🏼😖💙❤️

THeYrE bRoThErS aNd tHeY lOvE eAcH oThEr, Your Honor.

His bones may be broken, but his heart? So light

Can you tell ive been listening to this ost

My happy bois 🥺💙💜

Also they’re probably spinning fast enough to launch each other as teenage boys do.

Question is, who’s going to be the one flying 😆?

I think Leo deserves to have a genuine smile. As a treat

He needs this. I think honestly we all do 🥺💙💔❤️‍🩹🙌🏼

I am not immune to Future!Leo angst.

*openly weeps*

Guys…they did it. They finally did it. They had the talk. They had the hug.

I’ve been waiting for so long 🫢😖🤧😭🙌🏼💙🧡✨

"You're not a bad person-- you're young. And you're doing your best"

read the latest chapter of T&E this morning... it's gotta be my fav future Leo fic

under the cut: a glitch with the background that I thought looked cool as well

*switches between crying and laughing like the ToTaLlY sane individual I am*

This is fine. I’m fine. He’s fine. They’re fine. EvErYtHiNg Is GoInG tO bE oK!

*my friends @anobodyinabog, @saspas-corner and @holydoncakes walk in and look at each in surprise*

“Is…is she gonna be ok?”

“She’s fine. Just a dramatic lil bleeding heart. Let her get it all out.”

“*amused chuckle* She’s like this what? Every two weeks? I’ll go get the weighted blanket and goldfish.”

*me still having an emotional break down in the back* “GUYS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! THEY HUGGED!”

Hello hello!! I come forth with more art for the recent chapter drop for @apatheticrobots 's Trial and error!! <3 This time it's a heavy one since the previous chapter's cliffhanger... And by far my favorite, here are three separate scenes that stood out for me personally ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

Be sure to check out the fic, and dont forget to leave a kudos and a kind comment as always~ have a good one!

Sal and i were giggling abt how everyone overlooked how fleo treated his respective leo compared to the other versions... Little did they know

Old habits die hard ig ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

(OMO by @cherrytraveller / MNMC on AO3 by a_platypus / WMAS on AO3 by chiangyorange)

First things first, Y E S *slams hand down on table excitedly* NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL WHOLESOME FAMILY ART🙌🏼🧡✨🤌🏼

Second @saspas-corner, @holydoncakes @anobodyinabog *bear poses* If you didn’t want to be assimilated into my found family, you should have ran when you had the chance 😏😈😎

I have no context for this

*cries in comment section* YALL UNDERSTAND WHAT PEEPAW LEO IS SAYING HERE RIGHT!?

HES SAVING THE WORLD BUSY BECAUSE CASEY IS HIS WHOLE WORLD. THAT IS HIS SON😖❤️‍🩹💙🙌🏼😭

This family has a chokehold on my heart and it ain’t letting go anytime soon.

Also Donnie is afraid of emotional contagion change my mind

Part 4!

I love the "parent sits at the kid's bedside all day" trope, but Leo has a whole bunch of people he has to worry about :т

Also, I know that their size compared to each other is constantly changing. Do I want to monitor this more closely? Nope

Part 1

I’m healing reading this 🥺🤧💙❤️🤌🏼✨

My heart thanks you @signanothername bless you hooman 🙏🏼🧡

Hey so remember this comic Yeah here’s a continuation, me and @intotheelliwoods are on war as to how we can break each other’s hearts, and in turn break yours too :)

anyway some notes cause this is full of headcanons

1- i like to believe Leo completely lost his ability to use his powers and tap into his Ninpo after Raph and DonDon's death, due to the emotional strain he suffered (going by the theory mystic abilities are heavily connected to emotions) unlike Mikey, Leo doesn't know how to deal with his bad emotions, simply ignoring them, and it just resulted in him losing his powers after so much emotional strain (i literally rambled about this on insta a while back fghjklsdfgh)

2- i like to believe Mikey learned how to absorb emotions out of people if that makes sense, u see Mikey holding Leo's face during their entire talk, Mikey was using his powers to absorb Leo's bad emotions, so that Leo can feel better

that's what the blue energy in Mikey's hands are, Leo's pain and sadness, and that's why Leo seems to actually open up instead of deflecting the convo with a joke or two, cause Mikey's powers made it impossible to do so

doing that however leaves Mikey to feel that pain and sadness, and generally speaking Mikey never does it unless as a desperate last measure, as Mikey prefers that his family open up by themselves instead of the influence of his magic

3- you see Leo calling Mikey "Mike", i like to believe the brothers use certain nicknames in certain situations, in this case, Leo uses the nickname "Mike" as a "i'm really not in the mood, this is serious", its very rare for Leo to use "Mike" outta all nicknames for Mikey, and Mikey hates when Leo uses that particular nickname cause he knows it's bad when Leo uses it, hence, why he resorts to absorbing Leo's bad emotions

4-ok so you see by the end that Leo gets to hug Raph one last time, this is Mikey's doing, Mikey's sharing his own Ninpo with Leo so his big bro gets to say goodbye to their eldest brother

moral of the story? Mikey's cool as fuck

*slams hand down on the repost bottom with a wild gleam in my eye* I will reblog healthy hard conversations till the day I die and YOU CANT STOP ME

Ep. 2. "The calm before the storm" Previous episode Masterpost So, here is the starting point... Raph got angry at first… But Leo drove himself as hard as he could, so even moralizing was not needed here

Anyone gonna mention that here thanks to the beautiful (aNd InCreDibLy PaInFuL) work of @somerandomdudelmao that we see THE Donnie, who is known to be touch adverse most of the time, is so scared, hurt, frustrated, lonely (what other Donnified adjective that fits) is not only actively ReAcHiNg, but using whatever little strength he has to get to Casey, to HOLD him as fast as he can.

Anyone? Or is that just me?

(All artwork belongs to the incredibly talented @somerandomdudelmao)

My brain is literally buzzing with this new update. *bear poses*

✨Character Analysis Time Go brrr✨

Like notice how Leo the “most talkative and noisy” of the brothers is completely silent when he comes back. He’s pretty much quiet for the whole exchange because he’s watching, observing and taking action. Because the first thing he does, THE FIRST THING HE DOES, is reach out to his brother. No matter how on earth he’s alive again, no matter where the heck he is, his first thought, and his last thought is to reach out to his family, to sacrifice what little he has left, every fiber that is his soul, for THEM.

This is Leo at his core: a soldier and brother in arms

And Donnie here falling asleep ONLY after saving anyone because now he’s completed his mission. He too gave everything, dauntless in the face of impossibility because he’s THE Flippin Donatello! He’s NEVER fit the status quo, and that includes dying and being dead like a normal person. But Donnie ain’t normal, that’s what makes him so brilliant. He knows that because he’s never existed in limits, that he can therefore push the boundaries and even be so bold as to break limits and that’s why he’s RELENTLESS in his discoveries and expiraments.

So now they’re back, they’re all back. He can finally rest.

This is Donnie at his core: infrastructure of the family

Also this familial kabedonning is giving me life 😆🙌🏼 These boys will be the death of me

Part 21!

Uh..what can I say. I’m literally so so happy I can upload these pages you have no idea.

On a separate note. Oh my god. GuYs. FanDOM?? Thank you so much for your donations I can’t even,,,,jsjshdgdgdj,,,how do I express it?? Thanks to you, I can have a days off. Just..ah. Some days when I can ..like…j u s t. draw this comic in peace?? And don’t have to work a full day at the studio beforehand?? I’m so fucking grateful I kxjsksosjdhfbhr

Thank you 💜💙❤️🧡

Part 1

I’m not crying you are 🥹🧡❤️💜💙

@somerandomdudelmao... Lately I just don't have words, I just smile constantly... They did it... Song: Bastille - Pompeii

this…I-I…*covers face with hands and tries not to cry*

THIS please please I’m begging you

"If you see the boy I used to be,

Could you show him a little kindness?"

I'm so normal about Anson Seabra. Was gonna make an animatic but it just didn't feel right, so y'all get this instead.

Patreon || Ko-Fi

I FLIPPIN LOVE THIS!! LET THE BIG BOI BE BABIED!

Part 8!

He’s teeny tiny now okay

Their size difference is an absolute mess and I’m not even going to do anything about it haha

Part 1

Ace you’ve flippin done it again. Gone and made me feel things like UGG MY FLIPPIN HEART!!!

People please hug your strong friends. They’re tired from holding up the weight of their worlds 😭

So desperate it hurts

Previous | Next

Ah, I love the struggle..

THEY FINALLY MET AND ITS NOT ANGSTY! ITS WHOLESOME! IS F!LEO BOWING LOWKEY TO BABY LEO?! IS HE?!

SO MANY EMOTIONS MUST KEYBOARD SMASHICJSVDISPSLEHRIWJSBDB

Don’t mind me almost getting into an accident because I read this while driving 😅

Part 9!

You have no idea how much I've been thinking about this topic

Part 1

*shakes silently with a hand over my mouth as my mom asks me why I’m suddenly crying*

You have no idea, NO IDEA, how much the Disaster Twins relationship means to me

@somerandomdudelmao *cough-cough* *COUGH* Sorry I'm still not over this arc... *disappears*

Imagine Dragons - I Bet My Life

For Miss @tapakah0 based off her “Jacobs Ladder AU”

Words can not adequately express how this little scene moved me. Leo and Mikey are very near and dear to my heart, so to see such a tender moment between two younger brothers is EVERYTHING to me.

King is such a powerful statement as well because younger Leo wanted nothing more than to be recognized by his brothers as someone worth noticing hence dubbing himself as “King Leo.” So to see Leo cRaDLiNg his littler brother and giving him the title Leo has wanted so much as a child just…it hit me man. Mikey is Leo’s hero and I really wanted to try and capture that moment of the relief and joy of seeing his brother come back even if it was just for a moment. Also *tips hat and bows in Tapa’s direction* Been a big fan for a fat moment ma’am and just want to express my gratitude for you doing what you’re doing. Words won’t ever be enough to express how incredibly impressed and in awe of your skill and abilities. You’re inspiring people honey, and the worlds honestly a better place because of what YOU do.

Please please PLEASE don’t forget that and know you are loved 😉🧡