#but send me shit for atreus' birthday

[roxaeri]

He can't promise anything

Atreus can't always be smiles and encouragement and bright eyes

He's never been able to promise that, but he always delivered. It's what he's known for. Even when he hadn't slept in days and it hurts--

Atreus doesn't hide, but it's not always up front when he's doing bad. It's really fuckin easy to ignore it, or even edit out in videos. And it's common enough that it's not just part of just his life anymore.

Except for this

AML pushes him past what he's used to, added onto it, and it shows.

There's video of the struggle: the symptoms and the side effects.

He drifts off on stream more--and at some point they all agree to continue even when he does, slumped onto whoever's closest. Usually Aloy because he likes to read the chat since he doesn't have much energy to play whatever game they tossed up.

It tore her apart when she had to edit the announcement video and what it meant for DBPG going forward after Greece and getting Atreus home and starting treatment. The footage from the last leg of their trip. Traveling home. Going with him to the hospital. His complete breakdown after his hair became too brittle, and he was more Anger than anything. That fucking look on Kratos' face as he calmed Atreus down into a sniffling mess that didn't have the energy to even cry.

Atreus didn't hide, and neither would she even when it didn't just hit close to home with her own history, but actually sat in her own house--dozing on the couch after approving the video.

No one can blame her if the editing job isn't up to par with the rest of her work.

Aloy promises not to tell a soul about who took the picture of Atreus cheezing it at the camera with with peace signs and a large black dog curled up at his back, a fluffy long dog lying along his stomach, and a poofy-one-eyed Ragdoll cat curled around his head.

((By the height, every can guess it's Kratos anyways))

And on Atreus' birthday stream they have cake and ice cream. He can eat a bit of it. Keeps it down.

If he falls asleep, he's not called out on it when he wakes up. They end up with countless screenshots of Atreus sleeping on everyone by the end of it.

((Some fuckin perfect shots of Dad and Boy simultaneously snoozing at one point. Dad is Old. Boy is Sick. And ugh, their hearts--it's too damn cute even if they're both grown men at this point. Damn if they watched Atreus grow up on camera.))

(((Screenshots of a family portrait surface of Aloy and Mimir grinning as they frame themselves, the snoozing Dad and Boy, and the Awkward Pets in one shot. Because of course the Awkward Pets would magnetize themselves to Atreus in the middle of a stream. It's too perfect.)))

They keep it going to a good several hours, raising money for charity like he's always done on his birthday.

And yeah, no ine judges if Atreus just some how wakes up without really waking up and he doesn't make much sense. Aloy and Mimir and Chat handle it as they would if he were sleep walking and wait for him to doze again.

It's not really the best birthday, but he loves it just the same and

"Fuck it, I'm crying. My god you guys are amazing, and I don't know what I'd do without you."

And his birthday has always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-ass kinda deal. He's gotten used to it.

Atreus can't promise anything, but he promises it to himself anyways as he swears to make his next birthday make this one entirely forgettable.