#Whynn Westwood

[xx-sketchy-xx]

@imaginatorofthings oc!

one of the three that asked me! 💜💜💜

[imaginatorcreates]

Prompt Foundry Day 31: Celebrating Halloween! | Fictober Day 31: "it's always been you" | 31: Costumes (bweird OC-tober) (what are your ocs wearing for halloween?)

24 September 2024 — 24 September 2024

Word Count: 649 words

Author's Notes: Prompts by @thepromptfoundry and @fictober-event and @bweirdart. Full promptfoundry list here. Full fictober-event list here. Full BeWeirdOC-tober list here.

“Remember Zephyr — ”

“I know!”

“Not too much candy. And please try to stay close.”

Zephyr groaned. “Whynn, I’m not gonna run off super far! I’ve gotta take care of the passengers! And you’re one of them.” Really, it should be obvious from their costume. Maybe Whynn didn’t understand what they were dressed up as. So the child posed in the middle of the dark street, one hand pointing forwards and the other on their hip. “All aboard!” they called out.

Their hair fluffed out, untethered by a hat or other head accessory. While a hat would’ve really sold their costume, they hated the feeling of almost everything on their head. The most that they allowed was a hood, and even that felt too weird if they really thought about the sensation.

A few beings looked at the child, some cooing and others rolling their eyes. Zephyr ignored them at first, but as their gaze drifted between Whynn and the passerby, their bravado slowly faded into something sheepish. “You think my costume is nice, right?”

Whynn stayed silent for about 13 seconds of varying length before they patted Zephyr on the shoulders. “Very cute.”

“Very professional!”

“Professionally cute.”

Zephyr lightly hit their guardian on the arm and whined, “I’m a professional! ‘M not cute!”

“Oh, fine. You’re the most professional one there is.” Whynn fixed their short cape and said something under their breath that sounded like, “Maybe I should’ve done a different costume.”

“I like your costume. Wizards are super cool! They’re also super smart, like you,” Zephyr said. “You’re just missing the big hat they wear where you can shout ‘Sun and moon! Stars and sword! I summon to me, places not explored!’ or something!”

Whynn blinked owlishly behind their glasses, then gasped. “That’s a perfect spell!” They waved their hands with the grace of someone who didn’t exactly know what to do with their hands and recited the rhyme Zephyr made up. “Oh, that’s perfect!”

Zephyr hopped around their guardian. “Is it?”

“It is!”

The child let out a loud whoop of joy. “It is! I’m a spellmaker and a conductor and– AT!” Zephyr’s attention jumped from celebrating their new careers to the familiar conductor. The conductor was dressed in a classic black costume…maybe a vampire? Zephyr guessed that someone at the train depot or station gave it to the robot. “AT! Look, look!” They stumbled into a run towards the robot, leaping into a floating and slow-moving projectile. “Guess what I am!”

AT-1225 caught the light child and put them down. “Let me see…” He looked at their costume, and Zephyr caught the moment when she paused. “Oh? Are you a miniature me?”

“Yeah! It’s always been you!”

AT-1225 did something a little odd: it made a static-filled sound before covering its mouth. The static turned into a crackly laugh that continued even when Whynn managed to catch up to the duo. “Apologies, but — ” He tapped at his throat and static still echoed out. “Come on…” She tapped her throat a bit more before things calmed down. “You dressed up as a train conductor?”

“Of course! Whynn’s a wizard, I’m a train conductor, and you’re a vampire!”

AT-1225 shrugged. “My coworkers insisted.”

“No hat?” Whynn asked.

“My coworkers also insisted that the hat would ruin the overall costume.”

Zephyr watched as Whynn took one of AT-1225’s gloved hands and pressed the back of it to their mouth. AT-1225’s voicebox fizzed and he reached up to grab a hat that wasn’t there. She instead shaded her eyes and crackled out, “Whynn! You — !”

“Sorry, sorry. I had to.” Whynn looked happy, a sheepish smile on their face.

Zephyr on the other hand, pretended to gag. “Ew! Ew ew ew! I’m here for candy and pointing at people, not this!” They circled around the two with increasing intensity until they could finally move forwards.

Halloween, here they all go!

[justmwahstruly]

another little art post! two consecutive ones! weeee!

ranting below! Read if you like! (and the tag lol)

i wanted to actually make myself a proper puppetsona, but i doubt im ever going to draw him… which is kind of a shame! because i kind of think she’s pretty! but meh, their design… complex…. bah,,,,

and my cousin’s very own puppetsona! i didn’t know what to draw, so she said i should make her one! So that’s what i did! curly hair, unfortunately, is NOT my strong suit… wavy is just so much easier… cjhxjnc,,, so! I think her puppetsonas name will be Avery! Avery.. Melancholy! Oh yea. i am making her into a melancholy because molly was technically my sona for a while (hence the side ponytail lol, it was kind of my signature style for a while)

third one is a gift for my friend @imaginatorofthings ! heheheheheh Whynn my beloved/p (to respect the likely aspec-ness of them hehe)

AND RIDA THE RASPBERRY BUSH HRHJSAHGXCJ YAYAYAY i am still in love with everything you made for Molly, Ima! Truly flattering! In all honesty, that piece was meant to be slightly animated to have the song in the background, but i put so much detail into it I’m not sure I can redo all of it (or if I have the patience to….)

i think I’m getting better with rendering! And line art! I’m pretty happy with how I’ve improved visibly since I first came to this site! Yippee!

anyways thanks for coming to my ted talk

[imaginatorofthings]

9: Relationships (bweird OC-tober)

doesn't have to be romantic! can any kind of relationship (frienship, family, rivalry etc)

Okay so. I am a big fan of queer relationships (I wonder why /sarc...maybe because I am, as one might put it, one of those queers). I also like putting those through a familial and platonic lense, or as of recently, a queerplatonic one. Plain romantic and/or sexual relationships don't exactly vibe with my a-spec self.

The most recent example can be my Westward Trio. Lots of familial relationship there, seeing as how Whynn and Zephyr (cousins who also have a parental/child relationship due to the large age gap) were the first of the trio to come into focus. Then AT-1225 came into the picture due to a stray thought. A conductor and a writer, a bit similar in a way. I queerplatonic-fied that and Zephyr has another adult figure to look up to!

Next most recent example would be Akemi, Jazz, and Carwyn. They're in some sort of poly-QPR, though through different AUs, they're rivals (*looks at my vampire and hunter writing I did last year*). But they always somehow end up gravitating towards each other, even if Akemi --- the first and original character of this trio --- keeps struggling against my brain's grasp to be free.

[imaginatorcreates]

Prompt Foundry Day 3: With their partner(s) in life, crime, whatever | Fictober Day 3: "I know you better"

21 September 2024 — 21 September 2024

Word Count: 515 words

Author's Notes: Prompts by @thepromptfoundry and @fictober-event. Full promptfoundry list here. Full fictober-event list here. Additional idea found here by @creativepromptsforwriting

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing important. Just uh, ‘The door is open’. That’s all.”

AT-1225 laughed that static-filled, crackly laugh. “‘The door is open’? Whynn, I know you better than that.”

Whynn chuckled and pulled their scarf up to cover the lower half of their face. “It’s true. That phrase means ‘The door is open’.”

“And the one last week?”

“‘There’s a bug on you.’”

“And the one before that?”

“‘Did you rest lately?’”

“There was not an intonation to indicate a question last time.”

“Maybe it’s because you actually need a break, and you don’t remember the intonation.”

AT-1225 continued to dust Ironhorse’s window sills, the train occasionally flickering and creaking to voice its thoughts. Whynn watched in silence as AT-1225 conversed with the sentient train, and something within them twisted a bit. They wanted the closeness in language that AT-1225 had with Ironhorse. A language that only a select few could know, one that could allow the speakers to bounce off words and gestures and be privy to the information shared.

“You look so happy,” Whynn murmured to themself, tongue sinking into the other language they knew. They weren’t the best at it, but they were able to understand it and speak enough phrases to get them by. Zephyr was a similar story, so the two could converse simple ideas with one another. “I’m only gazing at you, no hesitation.”

“What does that mean Whynn?”

“It means ‘You missed a spot’,” they lied. They were thankful that Zephyr was in school; if their little cousin heard what they were saying and how they sounded like, this self-indulgent thing would’ve probably ended by now.

“That is a long phrase for that idea.” AT-1225 then added, “The word for ‘happy’ was in that phrase.”

Whynn resisted the urge to shrink away. “Was it? I don’t — ”

“You know what you are saying,” AT-1225 continued. “And you are relying on the fact that I do not know that language.”

Whynn looked at the floor like it was the most interesting thing ever. They kept their mouth shut for what felt like too long before they quietly murmured, “Sorry.”

“I forgive you.” A soft static-filled pause stretched out for a moment. Then: “You do not know your mouth’s energy.”

Whynn choked. “What?”

More static. “Was the pronunciation off? Or was it the word choice?”

“Both? Tell me in the common language. I need clarification because it sounds so bad.”

AT-1225 had the audacity to look flustered as they tipped their cap further down their head. “You still do not know your words’ effects.” Static burst from their voice box and they tapped their throat to calm it down. “I did not know the exact phrase, so I used an approximation. I understand that the meaning might have changed — ”

A feeling burst in Whynn’s chest, light and fluttery. They chuckled to themself and breathed out, “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

“Am I allowed to know what that means?” AT-1225 asked, eyelights adjusting a bit wider.

“Yes,” Whynn said, and repeated their words in the common language.

[imaginatorcreates]

Prompt Foundry Day 19: Interacting with a child in their life

21 September 2024 — 21 September 2024

Word Count: 469 words

Author's Notes: Prompts by @thepromptfoundry. Full list here.

Whynn didn’t see themself as a parent.

Sure, they certainly acted the part, taking care of their younger cousin when their aunt and uncle — Zephyr’s parents — decided that they didn’t want the baby breeze. Whynn didn’t like thinking about it too much. Sometimes, they imagined it to be a fantastical thing: a responsible, talking stork dropping the child off at their front door.

They imagined telling Zephyr that was how they were found, but they never did. Family reunions got in the way of those. Sharply so.

Legal guardianship was another thing they didn’t like thinking about. It had involved a lot of documents and signatures for someone who was eighteen at the time. Even when they’re twenty-five, thinking about that period of time made their chest twist.

But was it all worth it?

Was it all worth the sleepless nights? The research and books?

Whynn might be older, but sometimes they wondered if they left their wisdom behind somewhere. Misplaced it perhaps.

“Whynn,” Zephyr said as they pressed against their guardian’s shoulder. “I found something that you should look at.”

Whynn placed their book down and put their glasses back on. The world came back into focus and they looked at Zephyr. “What did you find this time?”

“I found some night.”

“Some night?”

“Yeah.” Zephyr didn’t wait for another clarifying question as they tugged on Whynn’s hands and started pulling them onto their feet. “I found it in a bush.”

“You found some night in a bush,” Whynn repeated as Zephyr dragged them away from their shaded spot underneath a tree and into the sun. “Was it small? Metal?”

“No. It was dark and it sounded nice.”

“Dark?”

“In the bush!”

“Zephyr, are you talking about ‘knight’ with a ‘k’?”

“No!” Zephyr abruptly stopped and pouted a little, their white curls puffing out. “I told you! I found some night in a bush, and it was dark and it sounded nice.”

“Okay?” Whynn lightly shook their head and allowed themself to be once again led by the seven year old. “Do I have to be quiet when you show me the night?”

“I think so. I think the night is shy, like you.”

Whynn chuckled. “Thanks.”

Soon, the pair were crouched in front of a bush. Zephyr reached in and parted some of the foliage. “It’s the night,” they whispered.

Whynn leaned closer and placed a hand behind their pointed ears. Between the small rustles of the leaves, there was a quiet chirping noise. One that often was only heard at night.

“Oh.” Whynn slowly backed away and gestured for Zephyr to look at them. “You heard a cricket.”

“You heard it too!” Zephyr grinned at them and added, “Do you think it sounded nice too?”

Whynn patted Zephyr on the shoulder. “Yeah. The night sounded lovely.”

[imaginatorcreates]

Fictober Day 16: "no, I'm not okay"

23 September 2024 — 24 September 2024

Word Count: 536 words

Author's Note: Prompts by @fictober-event. Full list here. Connected to yesterday's prompt, "Giving comfort to another".

CW: Contains (vague) descriptions of a panic attack. Anxiety abound.

It was a silent day for Whynn.

It had hit them all of a sudden, choking at their throat and clawing up their chest. Their eyes only focused back after too long. They had been sitting in front of their writing, pencil in hand. They had suddenly drew their hand back, fully intent on throwing the pencil against their wall. If it had ricocheted back and hit something, then it would. If it had grazed their felt, they would sew themself back up. The stitches would fade away and no one would be none the wiser.

Their grip had tightened, then all the energy to throw their writing utensil had left them in an instant. Their fingers had loosened and the pencil clattered to the ground. Their chest had felt too tight, tighter than it normally felt. They had reached up to their hair and grabbed fistfulls of it. Dark clouds started to appear at the edges of their vision, and they released their hair to wave the clouds away.

Calm down.

The words couldn’t come out. Each inhalation to say it aloud wasn't enough.

They couldn’t let Zephyr come home from school and see them like this.

They looked at the time. It was enough time.

That's why they were sitting inside one of Ironhorse’s empty cabins, faintly listening to the train’s concerned creaks. They weren’t fluent in its language yet, and that thought agitated them more than it normally did. Their little cousin — a mere seven years old! — understood more of Ironhorse’s unspoken language than they did. They knew that everyone had their strengths, but it still stung a bit more today.

Whynn opened and closed one of AT-1225’s gloved hands, feeling the joints beneath the fabric move but not once catch. They bent one of its fingers a bit further than it was supposed to, pushing through the resistance.

Sharp crackles and static hissed from the conductor’s voice box. “I would advise against that.”

They knew it was to prevent anything from breaking, but their mind (it was still so very loud in there) slinked away and they followed suit.

“Are you okay?”

“No.” The words fought their way out of their mouth, forcing their tongue to shape it into something tangible and audible. “No, I’m not okay.”

“Do you want me to do anything?” AT-1225 asked. He gently tugged at the hair tie in Whynn’s hair and pulled it loose, freeing their purple hair. “I could fix your hair. There are a few loops poking out.”

They let her. Fingers ran through their hair, combing out the small tangles and smoothing out the damage that they had hastily covered up by redoing the ponytail. Quietly, their hair provided less resistance, and they felt their own chest steadily detangle. Their mind quieted, and words started to detangle. Slowly, they felt gentle tugs to signify that she was tying their hair back up, exposing their undercut. They should clip it sometime this week.

“Cafuné,” Whynn murmured.

“Excuse you?”

Whynn slowly turned around, and before they could talk themself out of it, they pressed their forehead against the conductor’s. “Thanks.”

The gentle pressure in return confirmed the reciprocation, and they let the world quiet down.

[imaginatorcreates]

Prompt Foundry Day 15: Giving comfort to another

23 September 2024 — 23 September 2024

Word Count: 435 words

Author's Notes: Prompts by @thepromptfoundry. Full list here. Connected to tomorrow's prompt, "no, I'm not okay".

“Hello there Whynn. What is– Oh?” AT-1225’s fingers flexed closed for a moment as the blue-felted puppet wordlessly pressed their forehead against his shoulder. He tilted his head to try to better view the other’s face, but Whynn only turned their face away. “Are you alright?”

Whynn didn’t respond.

“Is it a silent day today?” AT-1225 tried.

The slightest of movements answered her. A nod.

“Ah, I see. Would you like me to guide you further inside Ironhorse?”

Another nod.

AT-1225 held out a hand, and waited until Whynn limply placed their hand in her own. She guided them inside Ironhorse, who lowered some of the shades. The train car lit up with the interior lighting system, creating a warm environment against the dimmer world outside. “You have not had a silent day in a while. I will not pry on the reasons for such, but you are free to share it when you are ready.”

Whynn raised their head from AT-1225’s shoulder. Their dark eyes were heavier than normal, their eyelids partway down as if they were halfway asleep. They raised their arms against their torso, hands gripping the sleeves of their long maroon coat. Their mouth opened, then closed silently.

AT-1225’s eyes adjusted and looked over the puppet. They kept silent and only looked away to give Ironhorse their full attention when the train creaked and flickered a light. They tapped the floor with their foot, and Ironrhose gave a long creak in return.

The conductor turned its attention back to Whynn and static burst from its voice box as the puppet wrapped their arms around it. Its arms were still free as Whynn at gone for a hug underneath the shoulders, but the force of the hug caused the conductor to take a step backwards. The puppet partially buried their face in the crook of AT-1225’s neck, causing the robot’s voicebox to static out once again and its eyelights to flicker. It waited for a minute, then slowly tapped a finger against its upper head and neck. The finicky parts fixed themselves.

“Whynn?”

Whynn’s only response was a tightening of their arms.

AT-1225 slowly placed his arms around Whynn. “Is this okay?”

A silent nod.

“Take your time.”

“Don’t go.”

It was a quiet order. Not even an order, just a request. But AT-1225 felt how much effort it took for Whynn to say it: the fingers momentarily curling as if contemplating the decision to grab onto her navy vest, the inhale to form the words, the harsher exhale of the words.

So they hugged them tighter. “I will be right here.”

[imaginatorcreates]

The Whynn Westwood Chronicles

[imaginatorofthings]

Hello People Of The Internet! Welcome To My World. Allow Me To Show You Around.

Meet Me!

Hello! I'm ImaginatorOfThings, but you can call me:

Ima

Imagi

Imaginator

Mystic

I use they/them pronouns. I'm not a minor (I'm an adult!), so if that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to block me. I won't be offended.

Additionally! As I'm an adult, there may be suggestive jokes and/or content (nothing fully NSFW, as per my list below of who this blog isn't for), but I will tag accordingly!

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This blog is mostly for rebloging whatever seems to capture my attention, as well as sharing my thoughts and creative works. I'll tag accordingly.

My writing: #Ima Writes

My art: #Ima Creates

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My thoughts and rambles: #Ima Rambles

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Where Else To Find Me

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Other

Feel free to reblog my works and ideas with credit to me, but if you repost, I'll come after your kneecaps.

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Characters Of Note (either with character sheets or search their tags):

Whynn Westwood (and their cousin, Zephyr Westwood!)

AT-1225

Akemi

Jazz

Carwyn

Interaction Guidelines

Who is this space for? Glad you asked!

Most anyone. I love seeing people post art — as I can't draw very well myself —and write about theories and things. Just please be respectful. If you take inspiration from me for whatever reason, please credit me!

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If I end up reblogging or referencing something incorrect or offensive, please let me know politely so I may correct my mistakes. I'm only human.

[imaginatorofthings]

For the OC asks, 🍕 and 🧠 for Whynn, please?

Woah Whynn, you're popular!

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

Oh, uh...congrats! I didn't think of this when I made them so I'm going to fumble around!

I want to say tea? Though they wouldn't pass up a good chocolate chip cookie. Soup maybe?

Probably foods they can share with others or eat on the go.

�� - What do you like most about the OC?

I like how they're trying. They try and they push themself to go out of their comfort zone (if they can! Sometimes it's too hard that day and they have to cave up inside their room before trying again).

They feel for others but they try to distance themself from them, but they feel and they're scared of what others will think but they want friends. So they go out there and cross their fingers and hope that others can handle them.

[imaginatorofthings]

throws a ✨at you with very little effort skdj

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

I'm assuming you want Whynn's name origins.

I looked up names that began with a 'W' online, and came across "Wyn" and "Wynn". I added an 'h' because it made the word "Why" and I wanted to be funky.

Westwood was the same process, though I forgot why that last name.

Zephyr on the other hand?

Whynn sounds like 'wind', and Westwood led to 'west'. West Wind!

And who's the god of the west wind in Greek mythology? Zephyrus. Zephyr!

[imaginatorofthings]

for the oc ask list: 10 for your welcome home oc? or any oc i don’t mind

10. What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

It'll be the classic "I'm fine."

Because the more you ask them, and the more they insist it (they're avoiding eye contact with you, they're putting up their walls, they're starting to snap at you), the more they're not.

So maybe, if they admit that they're not, maybe they would be a bit better in terms of mental health.

[imaginatorofthings]

OC Time!

"You are cringe but you are free." <;- actively takes psychic damage to try to internalize that

Anyways!

I've made a Welcome Home OC! And I love them very much.

Meet Whynn Westwood!

“With a story brewing in their head, searching for ideas, and in desperate need for a cure for writer’s block, Whynn Westwood is Home’s resident writer. Amatur author of all sorts of fiction and potential nonfiction, one is never far from finding Whynn snooping out their next bout of inspiration!”

[imaginatorofthings]

And here we are again! Our second written thing for day 3, combing two prompts from different lists at once!

Prompt Foundry Day 3: With their partner(s) in life, crime, whatever | Fictober Day 3: "I know you better"

21 September 2024 — 21 September 2024

Word Count: 515 words

Author's Notes: Prompts by @thepromptfoundry and @fictober-event. Full promptfoundry list here. Full fictober-event list here. Additional idea found here by @creativepromptsforwriting

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing important. Just uh, ‘The door is open’. That’s all.”

AT-1225 laughed that static-filled, crackly laugh. “‘The door is open’? Whynn, I know you better than that.”

Whynn chuckled and pulled their scarf up to cover the lower half of their face. “It’s true. That phrase means ‘The door is open’.”

“And the one last week?”

“‘There’s a bug on you.’”

“And the one before that?”

“‘Did you rest lately?’”

“There was not an intonation to indicate a question last time.”

“Maybe it’s because you actually need a break, and you don’t remember the intonation.”

AT-1225 continued to dust Ironhorse’s window sills, the train occasionally flickering and creaking to voice its thoughts. Whynn watched in silence as AT-1225 conversed with the sentient train, and something within them twisted a bit. They wanted the closeness in language that AT-1225 had with Ironhorse. A language that only a select few could know, one that could allow the speakers to bounce off words and gestures and be privy to the information shared.

“You look so happy,” Whynn murmured to themself, tongue sinking into the other language they knew. They weren’t the best at it, but they were able to understand it and speak enough phrases to get them by. Zephyr was a similar story, so the two could converse simple ideas with one another. “I’m only gazing at you, no hesitation.”

“What does that mean Whynn?”

“It means ‘You missed a spot’,” they lied. They were thankful that Zephyr was in school; if their little cousin heard what they were saying and how they sounded like, this self-indulgent thing would’ve probably ended by now.

“That is a long phrase for that idea.” AT-1225 then added, “The word for ‘happy’ was in that phrase.”

Whynn resisted the urge to shrink away. “Was it? I don’t — ”

“You know what you are saying,” AT-1225 continued. “And you are relying on the fact that I do not know that language.”

Whynn looked at the floor like it was the most interesting thing ever. They kept their mouth shut for what felt like too long before they quietly murmured, “Sorry.”

“I forgive you.” A soft static-filled pause stretched out for a moment. Then: “You do not know your mouth’s energy.”

Whynn choked. “What?”

More static. “Was the pronunciation off? Or was it the word choice?”

“Both? Tell me in the common language. I need clarification because it sounds so bad.”

AT-1225 had the audacity to look flustered as they tipped their cap further down their head. “You still do not know your words’ effects.” Static burst from their voice box and they tapped their throat to calm it down. “I did not know the exact phrase, so I used an approximation. I understand that the meaning might have changed — ”

A feeling burst in Whynn’s chest, light and fluttery. They chuckled to themself and breathed out, “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

“Am I allowed to know what that means?” AT-1225 asked, eyelights adjusting a bit wider.

“Yes,” Whynn said, and repeated their words in the common language.

[imaginatorofthings]

Please head the warning.

Fictober Day 16: "no, I'm not okay"

23 September 2024 — 24 September 2024

Word Count: 536 words

Author's Note: Prompts by @fictober-event. Full list here. Connected to yesterday's prompt, "Giving comfort to another".

CW: Contains (vague) descriptions of a panic attack. Anxiety abound.

It was a silent day for Whynn.

It had hit them all of a sudden, choking at their throat and clawing up their chest. Their eyes only focused back after too long. They had been sitting in front of their writing, pencil in hand. They had suddenly drew their hand back, fully intent on throwing the pencil against their wall. If it had ricocheted back and hit something, then it would. If it had grazed their felt, they would sew themself back up. The stitches would fade away and no one would be none the wiser.

Their grip had tightened, then all the energy to throw their writing utensil had left them in an instant. Their fingers had loosened and the pencil clattered to the ground. Their chest had felt too tight, tighter than it normally felt. They had reached up to their hair and grabbed fistfulls of it. Dark clouds started to appear at the edges of their vision, and they released their hair to wave the clouds away.

Calm down.

The words couldn’t come out. Each inhalation to say it aloud wasn't enough.

They couldn’t let Zephyr come home from school and see them like this.

They looked at the time. It was enough time.

That's why they were sitting inside one of Ironhorse’s empty cabins, faintly listening to the train’s concerned creaks. They weren’t fluent in its language yet, and that thought agitated them more than it normally did. Their little cousin — a mere seven years old! — understood more of Ironhorse’s unspoken language than they did. They knew that everyone had their strengths, but it still stung a bit more today.

Whynn opened and closed one of AT-1225’s gloved hands, feeling the joints beneath the fabric move but not once catch. They bent one of its fingers a bit further than it was supposed to, pushing through the resistance.

Sharp crackles and static hissed from the conductor’s voice box. “I would advise against that.”

They knew it was to prevent anything from breaking, but their mind (it was still so very loud in there) slinked away and they followed suit.

“Are you okay?”

“No.” The words fought their way out of their mouth, forcing their tongue to shape it into something tangible and audible. “No, I’m not okay.”

“Do you want me to do anything?” AT-1225 asked. He gently tugged at the hair tie in Whynn’s hair and pulled it loose, freeing their purple hair. “I could fix your hair. There are a few loops poking out.”

They let her. Fingers ran through their hair, combing out the small tangles and smoothing out the damage that they had hastily covered up by redoing the ponytail. Quietly, their hair provided less resistance, and they felt their own chest steadily detangle. Their mind quieted, and words started to detangle. Slowly, they felt gentle tugs to signify that she was tying their hair back up, exposing their undercut. They should clip it sometime this week.

“Cafuné,” Whynn murmured.

“Excuse you?”

Whynn slowly turned around, and before they could talk themself out of it, they pressed their forehead against the conductor’s. “Thanks.”

The gentle pressure in return confirmed the reciprocation, and they let the world quiet down.