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Writing prompt

Directions: Write from a character’s point of view. Write about a sacrifice that they have made to proceed in life. This can be in an AU of your own. Needs to be at least three to four (or more) paragraphs. One paragraph being equal to at least four sentences.

*

Nothing. He couldn’t see anything in the cramped room. Couldn’t distinguish any of the shapes or colors. Todoroki Shoto blinked a few times, but to no avail. The darkness didn’t let up and for a second he became worried. Thoughts that were normally so clear to him grew increasingly fuzzy in the darkroom. He didn’t enjoy the feeling of being blind. It was as if not being able to see somehow clouded more than just his line of vision. Like it somehow clouded his judgement too - making it difficult for him to tell right from wrong, and fantasies from reality.

    Shoto’s breath became ragged and he fumbled with the opener as he tried to get a hold of the film. He wanted to get the job done as soon as possible, but instead of removing the lid of the cassette, he dropped the opener. The metal part of it hit the stone slabs underneath him with a /clink/. ‘No, not now. Please, not today,’ he thought to himself - but pleading had as much effect on his circumstance as blinking.

    The small room grew unnaturally cold and Shoto knew what that meant. She was drawing near. Dejectedly, he raised his head, stared out into the dark, and waited while the shape of a familiar shadow slowly began to materialize. “Go away,” he told her. “Go. Away.” But of course she didn’t. On the contrary, her lips moved as she manipulated her disfigured face - warping it into a twisted grin.

     The darkroom wasn’t protecting him at all. It should have been depleted of all light, yet he was able to see her. Somehow, she was still there standing in the center of the floor - smiling sickly in all of her morbid glory with her wet hair still clinging to her gooey face and her grey lifeless eyes ready to pop out of their sockets at any given moment.

     No matter what he did and no matter where he went, the shadow of his late mother never left him. Sooner or later, it always sought him out - whether he liked it or not.

    “You haven’t forgotten me, have you?” She wet her lips before placing her dead gaze on him. Shoto tried to turn his head and look away, because the mere thought of her made him sick to his stomach, but it was as if he was being held in place by an invisible force. The darkroom had not been built with the intention to hold much negative space and she stood right in front of him - only a couple of inches away. “Answer me,” she demanded. “You haven’t forgotten me, have you?”

     Her voice had an alarming ring to it. It was a warning and he didn’t dare to defy her further by ignoring the question. “No, I haven’t. I could never forget you,” he replied bitterly hoping that the she would leave, but by the time that he had spoken she seemed as real to him as he /himself/ must seem to others.

     Rei ignored his impudence. She seemed pleased with his answer and beamed at him like a child while her pathological grin widened - though, it was more of a grimace than an actual smile when placed on her distorted face. “That’s my boy. My good little boy.” She patted his head.

    He wanted to run, but he waited - still frozen on the spot like a statue while she continued to caress him with a cold hand. The one that wasn’t attached to an arm that hung inanimate and torn alongside her body like it’s counterpart. Shoto was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded. Water from his mother was running down the crown of his head, along his neck, into his shirt, and over his spine. It smelled metallic and putrefactive like decaying tree roots. “You love me, don’t you?” Rei mused in a way that was so typical for her.

    Shoto wanted to hurt her. He wanted to kill her, and he might have done it if not for the fact that she was already dead. He couldn’t stand her questions. Always leading. Why act like he had a choice? Why wait for an answer when it wasn’t sincere? What was the point of any of it? He was sick of her appearances. Sick of the way she hurt him, but what choice did he have? Sometimes, ‘proceeding’ meant staying alive.

    “Of course.” His breath hitched and her hand moved down to his throat. The secretion from her coated him in a slick sheen when she trailed her fingers over his bare skin. “How much?” she inquired. Her face was so close that he could feel the cold radiating out from her. It made him think of a dead fish.

     “How much, Shoto? How much do you love your mother?”

    “Much.” The pressure on his throat increased. Her hand closed around his windpipe.

    “More than anyone else,” he added in a strained, but quiet voice.

    “More than you’ll ever love anyone else?” she wanted to know.

    He didn’t answer her. The idea of nothing ever getting better— the idea of belonging to her for the rest of his life and possibly even after that was too much to bare. He couldn’t bring himself to say it. Some days were just worse than others, and it chafed him from within.

     When she cornered him and put words in his mouth - when she hurt him and forced him to say things that he didn’t want to say… things that he didn’t mean - it made him feel like nothing. Like a toy. Like her property.

     But he wasn’t. He just had to believe that, and she wasn’t even alive. She had died so then why did she still have the power to torment him, and why did he let her? Sometimes, he would be overtaken by rage, but he never did anything about it. He always surrendered sooner or later, and she knew it.

    He didn’t know what would happen first: him lapsing into a panic attack or her beating him while threatening to hurt his siblings and innocent people until he submitted. At first it seemed like it would be the later, because it didn’t take long before he found himself telekinetically nailed to the floor and unable to move or breathe as she used her knowledge of water torture on him.

     He was on the verge of ing out from asphyxiation when a shy knock on the door shifted the momentum. The pressure on his chest subsided and he could suddenly breathe freely again. Greedily, he sucked in the now warmer air into his ravenous lungs, taking as many shaky breaths as he needed before gathering his thoughts enough to move. The careful knocking ever present. Arduously, he rolled over to lay on one side, and listened.

    “Uhm… hello?” Midoriya’s friendly, but at the same time slightly anxious, voice reached him from behind the other side of the door. “Todoroki? Are you… are you okay in there? Do you need any help?” His voice sounded muffled and strained because of the heavy barrier that separated the two of them, but Shoto could still distinguish the hesitation and concern in his tone.

    “I’m okay,” he said biting back a groan.

    “You sure?”

    “Yeah… I’m just finishing up,” he lied.

    “Uhm… I can help you if you want me to,” Midoriya offered kindly.

    “It’s alright. I’m on my way out anyway.”

     Shoto forced himself to move, pushing himself off the hard surface.

     The daylight outside was nothing short of blinding and he raised an arm in front of his face to shelter his eyes. Midoriya had been waiting for him outside the door and was now inspecting him carefully.

    “You were in there for quite some time. I got a bit… ” He smiled shyly with an embarrassed expression on his face. Shoto knew that look. His classmate had a tendency to get involved with all kinds of things - many that didn’t concern him - which had made him rather unpopular with some of the other students, but the taller found it endearing.

    “I’m sorry for worrying you,” he said.

    “Ah, no! I’m sorry for bothering you. Did the… did the pictures turn out alright?”

    “Yes. Very much,” he lied. Technically, the film was not ruined since he never got the time to open the cassette. He could still go back and develop it another time.

    “That’s great!” Midoriya seemed relieved and they began to pack up their belongings.

     The classroom was empty apart from the two of them. All of the chairs had been put up onto its respective desk, the floor had been swept, and the whiteboard cleared in preparation for the weekend. They were just about to leave when Midoriya spoke again.

     “Are you sure you’re okay?”

    “I am. Why? Do I look bad?” Shoto asked.

     Mindoriya shook his head making his freckles blur. “That’s not what I meant at all! You’re fine, Todoroki. I really didn’t mean to impose,” he apologized.

     “It’s just… your shirt is wet.”

*

They were eating lunch together, but he could barely swallow a bite. Shoto pushed his food around on the plate. “So… we’re thinking of going to get ice cream after everyone has finished eating.” Midoriya said casually turning towards him. Uraraka turned around and nodded. “Yeah! You should definitely come!” She smiled brightly and he felt a surge in his stomach when their eyes met. Like free falling.

    “Shoto… ” His mom shuffled towards him on the bench and closed the space between their bodies before shamelessly latching herself onto his nearest arm. Once again, the roles were reversed. She was back to behaving like a small child; shy and possessive. Worried and scared of being left alone. Acting almost innocent.

     “I can’t. I need to study.”

    “No, you don’t.” Uraraka objected boldly before catching herself and instantly turning bright pink due to her own forwardness. She lowered her head for a second before looking up once more. “I’m sorry, but you’re already on top of all of your classes, Todoroki-kun.” Uraraka cleared her throat. “Besides, one scoop won’t kill you.” She gave him an encouraging look.

    His mom tugged impatiently at his shirt still looming over him. He could feel the weight of her body pushing him into the seat as she reminded him of her presence - and her influence over him. The grip around his arm got tighter as her jealousy increased.

    “I have plans already,” he excused himself.

    “Come on! You’re always busy. We never talk even if we’ve known each other since school started which is practically forever!”

    Shoto would have liked to continue the conversation, but Rei was frowning and her mood was turning sour. He could sense her instability and he knew that she would throw a tantrum unless he got away from the table.

    It pained him to let Uraraka down, especially when she was always so kind to him, but he had no other choice. “I’m sorry, but I really do have to go” He apologized and got up. Her smile died down, quickly replaced by a look of confusion. “Wait, right now? Hang on! I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable! I never meant to overstep. Please, sit down again.”

    “I can’t. I’m… I just ed, I’m actually running late. My bad,” he regurgitated.

    At first, it seemed as if she was going to try and stop him, but something must have made her change her mind. “Okay then,” she surrendered, disappointment evident in every syllable, “maybe another time.”

     He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t personal. Wanted to let her know that he really did want to go out and eat ice cream with everyone after school — that he would love to sit next to her and listen to whatever she had to say. That he would love to walk her home. And that he, in fact, loved to be around her. Everything, he wanted to say it all, but he could neither do any of it nor express it openly.

    Instead, he gave her one of his small half smiles praying that she would forgive him one more time. “Thank you,” he said earnestly meaning every word of it.

     She offered him a timid smile in return and he found himself iring her resolution to be a good classmate. It made him genuinely happy to know that she still felt concern for him — but how long until she tired? You could only redject people so many times and he had a feeling that he was approaching that number.

    They had barely made it out onto the street before his mom unloadeded, her eyes flashing with anger. “Another time? Another. Time? When?!” she erupted. “You never see me anymore. Is that what you’re doing instead? Spending time with /that/ girl?” Shoto ignored her hoping that her anger would blow over if she just got to ventilate. “She doesn’t care about you. She doesn’t like you. She just wanted to seem nice.”

    “I was trying to get out of there, mom. Nothing more,” he tried to reassure her.

    Rei’s face softened. “My poor boy. If you don’t tell her off, she won’t understand. You’re too kind. My little boy… I won’t let girls like her take advantage of you. No, I won’t. I will protect you, Shoto. I will take care of you.”

    Something about the way she said the last sentence made him feel ill at ease.

    “You don’t have to, mom. There’s no need to. I’m not gonna see her again. I, I don’t even /want/ to see her again. She’s really… she a horrible person actually.”

    Rei nodded in agreement. “You’re absolutely right. You can’t trust her. You can’t trust anyone but your mother. You hear that, Shoto? No one else but me.”

    “I won’t.”

*

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› Genre: supernatural | low-key horror

› AU: quirkless | ghost AU | photography AU

› Length: 2308 words

› Time taken: 1 hour and 20 minutes yesterday + 2 hours and 40 minutes earlier today + 2 hours just now. So, 6 hours to be exact.

› Idea: instead of sacrificing to gain Shoto sacrifices in fear of losing. By not telling anyone about the harassment that he suffers through he becomes emotionally isolated from others, but he bears his cross hoping to protect them and himself from a force that he cannot seem to weather.

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