#ill probably wait a little before i start any either way

[pretzel-box]

Hi Chea!!! First of all, I read some of ur fics, and I absolutely loved it. You did such a great job :D

Second, I wanna make a fic request because why not lol. It's my first time doing this, so I'm a lil nervous ishdudjudos

Can I pls get a fic where reader gets ill (like probably a cold or whatever) because of them constantly entering bodies of water and by the time they reach Sebastian, they're wet and miserable as hell so Sebastian just decides to keep them in his shop to rest and recover lmao

(Sorry if this ask is a mouth full aishdidhhd)

Tags: GN!Reader, Can be read as Established Relationship, Reader has a cold probably, comfort, slight fluff.

Words: 1,1k

Authors Note: Sorry for the wait! ÓwÒ It took me a while to gather my creative brain cells. I actually edited this story twice, so if there are any weird words or logic mistakes then I overlooked something!

It had started as a small, nagging tickle in your throat—a little cough here, a sniffle there. Nothing serious, you told yourself. But days passed, and that tickle had grown into something worse. Yet, despite it, you kept going, pushing through the feverish haze that had begun to creep in. After all, the job wasn’t going to finish itself. Each day, you found yourself wading through rooms, water, and debris, trudging through wet halls to retrieve all assets and the crystal that were needed, drenched to the bone in cold, murky water.

You told yourself that once you were done, you’d rest. But for now, you have to keep moving. And so you did. Rest means death and death isn't something you aimed at for now. So it either meant pushing through or giving up.

By the time you reached Sebastian’s shop, the combination of the relentless water and your refusal to take care of yourself had finally caught up with you. The cold had settled deep into your bones, and your wet diving suit clung to your skin, sticking uncomfortably as you stumbled inside his little store. The warmth of the room hit you like a wave, making your head swim, and you stopped just inside the door, breathing heavily.

Sebastian, stood in front of a table and sorted through papers, glanced up the moment you entered. His usual sarcastic smile froze as his gaze took in your appearance.

You looked a mess—soaked, shivering, and pale, with dark circles under your eyes and a slight flush on your cheeks from the fever you were clearly running. Water dripped from your hair, forming a small puddle on the floor beneath you. For a moment, he just stared at you, incredulous.

“Are you serious?” Sebastian’s voice broke the silence, his usual dry tone tinged with something close to concern. “You look like death warmed up in a microwave. I don't sell coffins here yet.

You tried to muster a reply, maybe something sarcastic, but all that came out was a hoarse cough. The effort left you feeling even more drained than before. Sebastian’s expression softened as he sighed, slithering over to you with a quick glance at the water-soaked floor.

“Come on,” he muttered, shaking his head. “You're staying here. There’s no way I’m letting you go back out like this.”

You didn’t have the energy to argue—not that you would, honestly. The idea of staying in Sebastian’s warm, quiet shop was far more appealing than going back out into the cold, miserable hallways. You let him guide you through the cluttered aisles, past shelves filled with oddities and relics, to a back room that you had only seen in passing.

It was cozy, with a pile of blankets by the barely functioning heater and a couple of scattered books on a nearby table. Sebastian, ever practical despite his tendency to tease, pointed to the pile of blankets. “Sit. Don’t move.”

You collapsed into the pile, grateful for the soft fabrics that seemed to envelop you. The warmth of the heater seeped into your cold, aching limbs, and you closed your eyes for a moment, just trying to shake off the chill that had settled deep into your bones.

Sebastian disappeared for a moment, only to return with a towel, some dry clothes, and a steaming cup of whatever liquid he had in the cup. He tossed the towel onto your lap and then held out the cup, raising an eyebrow when you blinked up at him, surprised.

“I’m not going to sit here and watch you shiver to death,” he said, the corners of his mouth twitching in what might’ve been a smile. “Drink up, and then get changed. I’ll turn around if you’re shy.”

You snorted at that, though it turned into another cough. “I think I’m too tired to care.”

Still, his comment brought a bit of warmth to your chest. Sebastian wasn’t always the most outwardly affectionate person, but he had his moments. You took the cup from his hands, wrapping your fingers around it and letting the heat sink into your cold palms.

The tea-like liquid was soothing as it slid down your throat, easing some of the tightness that had built up. Meanwhile, Sebastian busied himself by pulling a blanket from a nearby chest and draping it over your shoulders, creating a little nest of warmth around you.

“Why didn’t you say something?” he asked quietly as he settled onto the edge of a nearby table, watching you closely. “You’re not exactly subtle when you're sick.”

“I thought I could handle it,” you mumbled, tugging the blanket closer. “Didn’t want to bother you.”

Sebastian gave you a look that clearly said, *Are you kidding me?*

“You’re soaked and half-dead, and you thought that wasn’t worth mentioning?” he asked, crossing his arms. “I think that qualifies as a situation where bothering me is okay.”

You sighed, leaning back into the blankets. The heater running softly in the background, the sound oddly comforting as the warmth of the tea and the room finally started to loosen the tightness in your chest.

“Sorry,” you muttered. “I’m just… tired.”

“I’d imagine so,” Sebastian replied, his voice softer now, less teasing. “But next time, just tell me. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

You met his eyes, feeling a mix of gratitude and exhaustion wash over you. “Thanks.”

He nodded, brushing it off with a wave of his hand, though you could tell he was relieved that you were finally letting him help. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get all sentimental on me. Just rest, alright?”

You smiled faintly, shifting in the pile to get more comfortable. The heater, the warmth, the steady presence of Sebastian nearby—it all worked to lull you into a sense of peace that you hadn’t felt in days.

As you started to drift off, you felt a gentle hand on your shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on you,” Sebastian murmured. “Just sleep.”

For once, you didn’t fight it. You let yourself relax, your body finally giving in to the exhaustion that had been gnawing at you for so long. And as you fell into a much-needed sleep, you knew you were safe. You were warm, you were cared for—and for the first time in a while, you didn’t feel so alone.

When you woke up later, the room was dim, and the heater had cooled down a bit. Sebastian was still there, sitting in a nearby corner, flipping through a file. He glanced up when he noticed you stirring.

“Feeling better?” he asked, his tone casual, though there was an underlying note of concern.

You nodded, your throat still a little sore, but the rest of you felt… better. Lighter, maybe. “Yeah. A bit.”

“Good.” He closed the book and stood up, stretching. “You’re staying here until you’re completely better. I’m not letting you back out there until I’m sure you won’t collapse in a puddle somewhere.”

You smiled, feeling a warmth spread through you that had felt oddly comforting. “Deal.”

And for the first time in what felt like forever, you truly meant it.

[biting-miguel-ohara]

Shower - Logan Howlett x ftm!Reader

A/N: I cried so much while writing this. I think that means it’s good? Either way, I hope you all like it. Lmk if any of the warnings are missing or labeled incorrectly

Written for this request

CW: dysphoria; chest dysphoria; descriptions of dysphoria triggers; descriptions of dysphoria; anxiety attack (or panic attack. I’m not sure which one counts for this); crying; mentioned emotional exhaustion/numbness; Logan is soft in this; hurt/comfort; Reader and Logan bathe together; bathing while partially dressed; Reader is called handsome; mentions of panic; fluffy ending; talk of love; mild kissing

669 words

It really was the mirror’s fault.

One of your least favorite tasks to do was to shower. Not because you didn’t like being clean or because it was too overwhelming. No, you didn’t like it for an entirely different reason.

Taking a shower meant being naked. And that was the one thing you hated more than anything else. Well, sort of. Being partially naked was fine. The real problem came when your chest was bare.

And your bathroom had a mirror. A large one, so no matter where you were, you could always catch a glimpse of your reflection.

It made you feel physically ill. Like you could see all the people around you, laughing and mocking you for not being as flat as you needed. It made you want to rip off your very skin.

But you have to take a shower.

Everything is fine until you get into the bathroom. Your back is to the mirror, you’re focusing on something else… and then you drop something and have to turn around to pick it up.

You catch a glimpse of your reflection in the mirror, and it all spirals from there.

Logan finds you in the corner, crying and numb. He crouches in front of you. “Hey.”

You don’t answer.

He drapes one of his shirts over you, careful not to touch your chest as he buttons it up a bit. Once your chest is hidden, he steps back, starting to shed his clothes.

You lift your head a little to watch, but don’t say anything. You just sniffle and wipe at your eyes.

He turns on the water to the bath, waiting a moment to make sure it’s the right temperature. Then he gently scoops you up and steps into the bath.

He sits down, settling you on his lap. The bottom of the shirt gets wet, but he makes no move to take it off.

You lean back against him, resting your head against his shoulder.

“You alright, handsome?” Logan asks, hands gently rubbing your thighs.

“No.” You shake your head. If you weren’t all out of tears by now, you’d probably be crying again.

He nods and presses a kiss to your temple. “I’m here now. I’ve got you.”

You take a deep breath in and let it go. You do feel better now than before. The shirt you’re wearing clings to your body as the bathtub water rises, but your chest is still covered. You don’t feel so gross anymore.

Logan doesn’t leave for the rest of your bath. He helps you wash, doing it for you when your hands shake too much and bile rises in your throat. His hands are rough but gentle. They ground you, keeping you from falling into panic.

The shirt is soaking wet by the time you’re done. Wet and clingy and gross. But you feel so much better.

You get out of the tub on your own, shying away from the mirror. Logan drapes you in a towel before undoing the buttons of the shirt. When you pass by your reflection, there’s nothing visible but fluffy towel. You take another deep breath.

There are no mirrors in your bedroom, so you drop the towel to get dressed. Logan sits on the edge of your bed, watching. It makes you feel the tiniest bit insecure about yourself before you catch the look in his eyes.

Absolute adoration.

It makes you blush, hasty to finish dressing. You’ve always known Logan loves you. He’s made it abundantly clear since the two of you started dating. You just forget sometimes how much he loves you.

Once you’re done you sit on the bed next to him and lean against him. Entwining your fingers with his. “How did you know?”

Logan looks down at you. “I had a feeling. You’re always fast on shower days. Figured something was wrong after you took a while.”

You lean up to kiss him. “Thank you.”

He leans into the kiss. “Anything for my man.”

[throneofsapphics]

the ebb and flow of fate part 5

Cazriel x f!Reader 

(part one) (part two) (part three) (part four) (epilogue)

Summary: Everything made sense, looking back in time. The pull she felt to them, beyond the bounds of friendship. They’d be the reason she tore all of her hair out, this entire damned thing was a mess. 

Warnings: angst, illness, discussions of death, smut, minors dni

Word Count: ~3.1k

A/N: a short one, but I wanted to update this! It’s not over yet, I promise

“I thought you would’ve figured it out by now,” Cassian shot back at her. 

Azriel watched as the bond snapped. Counted the seconds it took her to reply. Fifty six. Less than a minute for his heart to crush. Maybe it was his fault, for assuming it might fix everything. Still, an angry and dangerous hurt filled him. The type of hurt that would make him reckless, that would make him say and do things he’d regret, so he left. Left her and Cassian in some kind of stand off. Did it make him a coward? To turn his back and walk away? Maybe, but it was the safe option. The option to cause the least harm. 

The weight of the last several months settled on him. 

You deserve it. 

Maybe she had a point. Even if he didn’t regret the things he’d done in the past, it had to balance out somewhere. Why would he deserve anything good? 

Azriel sought out Rhys, he couldn’t handle Cassian right now, but he needed an outlet. Some way to get all of his anger and hurt out. His brother didn’t ask questions, didn’t pry, but stayed in the ring with him until they were both covered with sweat and filled with exhaustion. 

It didn’t work. 

-

Mates. Mates. Mates. The obnoxious voice in the back of her mind repeated. She wouldn’t lie to herself, they were telling the truth. Everything made sense, looking back in time. The pull she felt to them, beyond the bounds of friendship. They’d be the reason she tore all of her hair out, this entire damned thing was a mess. 

Could fate throw a wrench in plans she hadn’t actually made? She should consider herself blessed to find two mates, but she never imagined herself mated this young. Not before her first century. They probably didn’t either. 

Her mind drifted to the state of their world, of the impending conflicts constantly around the corner. Could she forgive herself if she ignored them? Ignored herself? Only to have it ripped away unexpectedly. 

It was not the time to make a decision. A few weeks passed, and they all made careful circles around each other. Back to ignoring, thrown back to the past, and it was miserable. She was miserable. This wasn’t the past she wanted to be thrown into. 

Azriel had turned his back. Azriel walked away. Again, like a gods-damned coward. Cassian left after she kicked him out. If she accepted the bond, is this what waited for her? Constant fights, turning their backs on each other, always falling out and making up, only for everything to crash down again. 

Deep in herself, she knew she couldn’t go centuries without them, but she wasn’t sure she could handle centuries of that. Miserable with them, or without them. 

-

It started with a barely noticeable shake in her hand, followed by increased headaches. Not often, but more than usual. It didn’t impair her life, not significantly, but it was enough to bring her to Madja.

The healer looked … contemplative, and worried. She knew it would be bad news, at this point she was just waiting to hear how bad. 

“I need to look into it more.” 

That’s the last thing she wanted to hear. A few weeks passed, and it was all she could think about. Even pushing thoughts of the mating bond aside. She’d given up on bugging Madja, who said she’d call her if she had any news. Finally, she received a letter, a summons with little detail, and burst out of the library as fast as she could, winnowing as soon as she cleared the wards. 

“What is it?” She didn’t bother with a pleasant greeting, especially when she saw the look on her face. After working alongside her for a few years, she knew that one, and her heart dropped to her stomach. “What is it?” She repeated, lower this time. Madja motioned for her to sit, she obeyed, and the female took a chair across from her. 

“It’s killing you.” At least she didn’t mince her words. 

“Any more details?” 

“It could be three years, it could be three hundred, could be a thousand.” 

“Right,” she swallowed, tilting her head towards the ceiling, willing the tears away. 

“We’ll find ways to manage it, I have more contacts to reach out to.” Madja continued, gently. 

“Manage,” she repeated faintly. 

“Have you told your mates about it?” 

She winced, taking a breath to center herself. “We’re not on speaking terms.” 

Madja clicked her tongue, “it could be three years, it could be three hundred, maybe a thousand. Do you want to live the rest of your life ignoring them? Is your grudge worth it?”

No. It wasn’t. She didn’t need to say it, Madja read the look on her face, returning it with one of approval. 

Tonight. She would do it tonight, before she ran out of time. Walking back to the Townhouse, she thought of how she would do it. First step would be to get the two of them alone. Then … maybe just tell them she’s ready. She didn’t bother going back to the library, there was no way she could focus. Not now. 

-

“What if we’re not ready?” 

Each word sliced into her, carving her heart open for them to see. Her eyes shuttered closed, taking a few moments to trap the tears behind, to will them away. 

All she could manage was a stiff nod, before making a quick exit - nearly at a sprint, if she’s being honest. She made it all the way out of the townhouse, winnowing down to the sidra, to a secluded spot near the river, before she broke. 

Knees hit the pavement, gravel embedding in her skin, her hands cradling her head as tears flowed, leaving a salty taste on her lips. 

“Thought I might find you here.” 

Amren. For fucks sake. Out of everyone to find comfort in, Amren was at the bottom of her list, not that she wanted comfort or company. Right now, she wanted to wallow in herself. 

A small, but surprisingly strong hand gripped her shoulder, yanking her back to her feet. Silver eyes looked at her with a mix of distaste and pity.

“What?”

Those eyes narrowed in warning, but she didn’t care. Nothing could hurt now, not as she let numbness take over, and let herself slip into that void without feeling, the inbetween state where nothing mattered. 

“You’re all idiots.” 

A broken laugh left her, one hand rubbing her forehead. She could’ve sworn Amren’s blood red lips curved at the corners, however briefly. 

“Do you have any good advice?” 

Amren ignored the sneaky barb, tilting her head to assess her. As always, it felt like she was stripping her bare, somehow staring into the dark depths of her soul. “The three of you need to drag your heads out of your asses.” She scowled, that wasn’t much better. “What exactly did he say?” 

“What if we’re not ready?” she quoted. 

“It was a question, then.” 

“Not the way he said it.” 

“You make too many assumptions,” Amren clicked her tongue, finger running across her ruby necklace. Giant, almost gaudy, gems. But, the ancient creature managed to pull them off. 

-

Azriel was conned into picking up a tonic for Mor, who was currently acting like a child over her cough, but he didn’t mind doing it - not really. 

He startled when he scented her there. After the conversation a few days ago, a question Cassian meant rhetorically, she’d disappeared before they could follow her, and had been a virtual ghost the last few days. They were ready, had been ready, but resentment still lingered. 

Respecting her privacy would be the smart thing to do, but bits of her conversation with Madja snuck through, and his shadows investigated. They’d been restless. Wherever she retreated to, they couldn’t find her. 

“I heard back from my friend in Dawn, she said she’d be willing to take a look, but she’s not sure she’ll find anything I couldn’t.” Madja sounded a bit disappointed. To look at what? 

“It’s worth a shot.” 

“Have you told them?” 

“I did. They’re not,” her voice cracked, “ready.” 

“Have you told them about your … condition?” 

“No. I won’t, they’ll probably think I’m guilting them into it.” 

“It’s not going away,” Madja said, maybe a tad harshly. Azriel had a sinking feeling he knew what this was about. “As far as we know, we’re not going to cure it, this is about management.” 

“You’ve already said that,” your voice was dead, flat. “It would be nice to have a timeline.” 

“Like I told you before, it could be three years or three hundred. We’re in uncharted territory.” 

Azriel couldn’t handle it anymore, couldn’t handle being this close to you without speaking, and strode for the door, knuckles rapping against the wood. 

Madja swung it open, raising her brows. 

“Came to pick something up for Mor,” he said, but his eyes darted behind her - where you sat, head buried between your hands, forearms propped on your knees. 

“I think you need to talk,” Madja said, and slipped past him, leaving them alone. She didn’t look up, keeping her hands shielding her face. 

Slowly, he crossed, stopping to kneel in front of her, peeling her hands away. Eyes wide, brimming with tears slowly escaping, she asked “how much did you hear?” 

“Enough.” 

She tried to force a smile, and it failed miserably. Shock and realization set in as he looked at her, as he tried to read the swirling emotions on her face. He’d have to watch her die. Three years, three hundred, a thousand. Eternity didn’t feel like enough time with you. He’d be haunted by the knowledge that some day he’d lose his mate. As a result of all of their actions. Of something so fucking preventable, if all could’ve swallowed their pride. 

She deserves someone better. Someone who hadn’t fucked everything up. Maybe it made him a bad person, a selfish asshole, but she was his. His mate, the person destined for him - sent by the Mother, the Cauldron, Fate, or whatever. Azriel wouldn’t let go of her, wouldn’t let her slip through his fingers again. 

Cassian needed to know, but they needed to figure out a way to tell him without him slipping into a pit of misery and self loathing. 

“Might as well tell him now,” she read his expression, the unsaid words in his eyes. For once, she didn’t protest as he helped her up, tugging her to his chest and winnowing to the Townhouse.

-

Cassian took one look at her expression, at the tear stained cheeks, at the grave look on Azriel’s face and knew something was wrong. Something beyond whatever happened earlier. 

Poison. Side effects. No cure. Years or centuries. He didn’t let his eyes leave you as you explained, as tears streamed down your face - Azriel filling in the words where he could, admitting he overheard their conversation picking something up for Mor. 

Beautiful eyes stared at him as you finished, waiting for him to say something. Anything. He’d never been great with words, so he stood, grabbing her and pulling her into a tight hug. Squeezing until she said she couldn’t breathe, and then only loosening enough for her to not suffocate, not willing to let her go yet. 

“Madja’s contacting someone in Dawn,” he said, still holding on to you, “there’s still a chance.” 

“A better chance at management,” she said into his chest. Cassian didn’t want to believe it. Between all of them, with Rhys and Madja and whoever else they could get in contact with, they’d find something. He needed to cling to that hope, to hold onto it as tight as he could. If he didn’t, he’d fall deep, deep down somewhere he didn’t know he could drag himself out of. 

-

“You’ve hurt me, both of you. Turned your backs on me more times than I care to count. How do I push past that? How do I forget it? How do I trust you won’t do it again?” 

It felt like she was asking for an answer, begging for some kind of reassurance, an example that would soothe that feeling and hurt. 

“You don’t,” Cassian said. She frowned at him. “You let us prove it to you.”

“You still have nightmares, right?” She tensed, as if she wanted to avoid the question, and wanted to lie about it. Azriel raised one brow, shoulder swirling around his neck. She couldn’t lie to him, even if he tried to tell them to quit spying, they still kept an eye on her. 

A muscle in her jax flexed. “Right.” 

“Stay the night with us. Let us help.” Azriel didn’t phase it as a question. He needed to help. Every instinct roared at him to get her closer, to protect her from any threats - visible or not.

“You can come on your own feet, or over my shoulder,” Cassian threw a grin her way. 

She chuckled, shoulders relaxing at the old threat - one used several times by Cassian. “I can handle walking down the hall. If I have a nightmare, I’ll come.” 

“Save yourself the walk.” 

They had one of their standoffs, each of them crossing their arms - almost in sync. Azriel pressed his lips together to hold back a laugh. It was so normal. It gave him hope they could build back what they had before everything went to hell. 

She might accept the bond, but Azriel was smarter than to think that would fix everything. The trust they had, it might take years to build back up again. A challenge would be good for them. Sure, it might suck, it might be difficult, but he didn’t doubt they’d come out closer because of it. 

-

“If you don’t relax, you’ll never sleep.” 

“I’m perfectly relaxed,” she snipped back. It wasn’t completely true, actually it was mostly a lie. Something about sharing their bed now, with what she knew, felt different. 

“Liar,” Azriel countered. At least she could always count on him to call her out. 

Cassian ran a hand up her thigh, stopping where her night dress ended. It was a particularly short one. The first one she could grab before he showed up in her room. She’d intended to walk there on her own, but he’d come to throw her over his shoulder anyway, a playful gesture as she laughed and half heartedly hit the space above his wings. 

“Need a little … help loosening up?” 

Gods, his mouth was so close to her ear, lips almost brushing over, breath caressing her neck. She tensed for another reason. Azriel’s fingers tilted her jaw up. Hazel eyes searched hers. Do you want this?

Did she? Fuck, she really did. Yes. 

A nod, not directed at her, and Cassian’s hand drifted, fingers dragging up the hem of the silky fabric, exposing more of her skin. 

Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, Azriel’s finger tugged it free, brushing over it. His knuckles ran over her jaw, Cassian’s hand made its way up. She didn’t know where to focus, not as Azriel leaned in to place a kiss at the corner of her mouth, as Cassian gripped her leg, tugging it back over her hips, dress pushed up to her hips. Exposed. Exposed and nothing worn underneath it. 

She heard them swallow at the same time, vaguely seeing Azriel’s throat bob in the moonlight. 

Being touched by them was safe. This was safe, she emphasized to her mind, not giving it a chance to take over her thoughts, refusing to let it cloud her senses.

Cassian was teasing, fingers drifting around the outsides, never actually touching her where she wanted to. Azriel traced her cheekbones, jaw, collarbone, around the curve of her breasts. 

“This is not relaxing,” she said through gritted teeth, pushing back against Cassian for emphasis. He let out a short breath, gripping her thigh instead. A low whine left her. Now he was too far. He laughed, and her cheeks flushed. “Are you going to make me beg?” 

“Not this time,” he said, just as Azriel’s hand crept under her dress, pushing back up to pinch her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Two of Cassian’s fingers ran up her folds. 

Gods, this was heaven. Why hadn’t they done this sooner? His fingers swirled around her clit, Az palming her breast now, switching back and forth between the two of them. How had she gone so long without this? 

Swirling, pinching, flicking, pressing, the sensations spreading across her body mixed into one. Just one state of pleasure, of confusion and overdrive. She wiggled, arched her back, let out moans she didn’t have time to think about. Her thighs clenched as one finger slipped inside of her. Who’s was it? She didn’t know, didn’t care, as long as it never left. 

“Good,” Cassian murmured, “let go for us sweetheart.” 

You did. You screamed - loud enough a hand clamped over your mouth, one of them laughing. 

Slowly, the one finger left her, and she missed it. Didn’t quite like the empty feeling left behind. But, she was distracted as the hand - it must’ve been Cassian then, crossed over her … to Azriel. 

He met her eyes as he wrapped his lips around it, tasting her. Fuck. Just one hit, one taste, and she was in over her head. 

“I want to … to you-” she babbled, words nearly nonsensical. 

Cassian laughed behind her, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Another time.” 

She pouted. Fucking pouted. Gods they’d really turned her into a mess. 

“We promise,” Azriel pushed some of the hair back from her face. 

“Feeling relaxed now?” Cass asked. 

If she said no, would they do it again? 

“If you lie, I'll know.” 

Fine. “I’m relaxed.” 

“Good, now sleep,” Cassian rested his hand on her stomach. Too appropriate of a place. 

“How am I supposed to sleep after that?” 

“Close your eyes, think sleepy thoughts. She elbowed him. He had some of the worst advice. He countered by pushing her towards Azriel. The male didn’t hesitate to roll her to her other side, now curving his body around hers, holding her tight enough she couldn’t escape if she wanted to. “I regret that,” Cassian muttered, but shifted closer, arm draping over her to rest on Azriel. 

The three of them, curled up together, just how it should be. Fate designed it this way, the Mother put the three of them together for a reason. No matter how limited, she’d take whatever she could get. 

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[thefourthwifeoftengenuzui]

May I please ask for headcanons Aoba Johsai with a manager whose skilled with archery and sharpshooting please

Yes of course! Sorry for the wait I was working on a Rindou piece and my physics exam. It’s like 3Am right now, but I still want to finish this for you boo. Thanks again For requesting Anon, if you like this, don’t forget to like and ask if you have any other ideas. Also, you didn’t specify which you wanted, so this can be interpreted as romantic or platonic. Status: unedited

warnings: crackfic, bad grammar, cursing, violence, oikawa exists, oikawa slander, color coded characters, reader is a whole ass menace, mentions of vaping

🩵🤍Aoba Josai With a Sharpshooter/ Archer Manager🤍🩵

As a Team (platonic)

Oikawa, Iwazumi, Kunimi, Kiyotani, Kindaichi, Matsukawa, you

My first thought when I looked at this post was simple. How many times and we hit oikawa in the head. Everything else kinda spiraled from there. Just imagine being able to do that shit with pinpoint accuracy, and when he turns around to see who did it, be like the gremlin chick from hotel transilivania and be like ,” I didn’t do that”. And then he proceeds to blame Iwa, and pure unrefined chaos erupts from there. *clears throat and sips matcha* good shit

But on a more serious note, these boys are completely ready to take full advantage of your skills. Remember when oikawa sprained his ankle? Guess who had to replicate his serves instead so they could practice receives. That’s right, you. And your aim is a little too good sometimes (Kindiachi has been hit in the face) but they honestly don’t care, they just looking to get practice in, and maybe a few tips here and there for aiming.

But that’s just during their practice. During your archery or other practice. Oh my god. Imagine having like 12 annoying older brothers. Like both Archery and Sharpshooting are pretty quiet sports. But with these mfs at your practice? Oh dear lord. These gon be the most obnoxiously loud humans to walk the planet (3rd only to Fukurodani and Kurasuno). Imagine with me. It’s so silent you can hear a pin drop. You’re trying to concentrate before you’re pulling back your string. You take a deep breath and just as you’re about to let go- “WOOOOOOOO THATS MY LIL SISSSSSS/BROOOO!!!” “SHUT UP SHITTY KAWA!THEY NEED TO FOCAS!” “HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IWA!?” “YOU WOULD KNOW IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH AN DUMBASS!” “IF YALL DONT SHUT THE FUCK UP ILL SHUT YOU UP MYSELF” yeah they’re THAT kind of sports parents. They got kicked out last time :)

I just know yall have made oikawa put an apple on his head and see if you can hit his head. Ofc you can, but it’s funnier hitting him with the Velcro arrows and watching him rip his hair out, and ruining it for the day (his fangirls hated you for that lol.)

I just KNOW that the other teams got some crazy ass conspiracies about you. They call you the Seijo Assassin, and that you kill the best players of the opposing team, and they never find the bodies. And tbh it was probably oikawa who started it, to get back at you for getting Velcro stuck in his hair. So while you’re just as hot as kiyoko, everyone is terrified of you, and are only referring to you as L/n-sama (even though you’re only a second year.). I swear to fuck hinata pissed himself when tsukki told the team about you.

also yall know the sharpshooter shaving cream balloon prank thingy? I know damn well the whole team is having a competition for who can do it best. Like it’s literally so funny, especially when someone not on the team gets hit. Like I know oikawa has accidentally hit the coach with one of those. Do with this information what you will.

Individuals: Could be romantic or platonic, either way fits (though both are seriously on crack.)

Somehow or someway, Oikawa will convince you to be his bodyguard. And not even like paying you money. Just like a, “ YoU wOnT wALk yOuR pOor dEfEnSLeSS FRiEnD tO cLAss? WhAt iF my FAnGirlS Kidnap MeEEEEE?!” “yep.” “Do you even Love Meeeeeee!?” “Nope.” “…I’ll pay you~” “pay me what?” “Food~” “DONE!” *throws chair out window* yeah y’all’s relationship is pretty much just blitz and stolas in the loo loo land episode. Like when Stolas was just walking while Blitz is pretending to be Batman, lurking in the shadows and pointing a gun at anything with a pulse? Yeah that’s you two walking around the school, except with a nerf gun instead.

oh and you know the team jackets? He bought you yours. But not just any jacket oh no. Yours is special. He payed extra to have it say, “The Seijo Assasin; Oikawa’s bobyguard.” He also might have gotten it in 4xl because he doesn’t know your size, but still wants it to be way to big on you so he can make fun of you. He’s an ass.

Iwazumi is much nicer on the other hand. He (regardless of if it’s platonic or romantic,) is all about helping you carry your stuff. He doesn’t even ask either, he just kinda picks it up and does it. He says it isn’t a big deal, and that you’re carrying enough with your archery equipment anyway, and that he needs the weight training anyway. Def the kinda guy to use your backpack as a dumbbell and use it to lift while y’all in the hall.

I know y'all have a running competition on who can hit oikawa in the head the most. Body shots are one point, head shots are worth 2, and the groin is worth 3, especially if he’s being creepy to someone. The score is currently 34-31, slightly in your favor. Whoever hits him the least by the end of the month has to buy the winner ramen. Oikawa doesn’t approve of this game, and ends up attempting to bump everything back your way. But on the bright side, it’s a good way to scare off his fangirls :).

Kunimi just kinda vibes with you. Like he doesn’t really acknowledge much of what you do, just kinda goes like, “ oh so that’s why you were so good at that. I just thought you hated oikawa. Anyway can I have your Chez-its?” Yeah my boy don’t care enough, but he cute so yeah.

also I just know this mf, plays Fortnite and vapes blue raspberry burst. Do with that what you will. ( to be clear, I wouldn’t ever vape, i just know he does, and honestly had to look up what flavors there are.

The honesty biggest thing you do that impresses him is the whole good aim card slicey thingy. Idk man, he just seems like he would be good at that, and would try to fight you on it.

Despite everything, Kyotani is actually relatively nice to you? Or at least as nice as he can be. His version of nice is avoiding you like the plague, cause he’s scared you’ll be scared of him. He actually really likes you and wants an excuse to talk to you. So what does he do? Asks you to help him aim while spiking, so that he can use his strength more efficiently. He actually is pretty patient with your teaching, and genuinely respects you enough to take your advice. ( tell him to shower pls, I can smell him through the screen, luv him though)

He also uses a whole bottle of axe body spray every time he walks out of the house . Be careful not to get too close to him. Please find someone strong, or stupid enough to bully him out of it, for the sake of the teams lungs🙏

Kindaichi is probably the only person on the team who still calls you Y/n- senpai. He’s way too precious. That being said, he still did give you a twenty if you hit kageyama with a vollyball during warmups. He may be nice, but he mad petty. And $20 is $20 man

Matsukawa is definitely a COD type of guy. He knows a lot about guns. Bond over that (then give me his number pls)

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Thanks for reading, sorry the last part was rushed, I am just not feeling it rn. If y’all liked this make sure to follow, Like, and request something of your own. I literally have nothing else to do. Love y’all sm, peace

-joden

[narrans]

A Small and Tall Collection | Chapter Seven | Delirious Decisions

Chapter Seven | Delirious Decisions

This was misery. Worse than that. This was purgatory. It was suffering beyond words.

Hot.

Cold.

Tingly.

Aching.

Sore.

Thirsty.

Nauseous.

Confused.

Light-headed.

Ashlynn had never experienced any sickness quite like this.

The day after she ate the food was when she started feeling weird. It was just a little chill and she thought nothing of it; at least, she didn’t think anything of it until she peered down into the human world below and noticed that the two young boys were not well. It was actually the lack of sound that alerted the Borrower to something weird going on.

It was already too late once she realized the boys were sick. By the end of the evening, she was starting to feel more symptoms other than the chill. The usual Borrower trick was to drink water and get plenty of rest, but she couldn’t just wait around with sickness contaminated food. Fresh supplies were necessary and, sadly, she was on her own.

Regret filled her heart as she threw out her well-earned borrowings from the night before and she scurried back down to the human’s apartment where she managed to snag some cracker fragments from an already opened package which was probably safe and a few other odds and ends like tissue paper for her running nose.

Ashlynn knew herself well, and if her predictions were correct she would be up and running in two or three days with plenty of water to flush out whatever illness was currently plaguing her as well as bedrest.

Sadly, this was a particularly nasty virus.

One week of feverish spikes, nibbles of cracker followed by its reappearance, and a horrendous cough that made her chest tight and her abs hurt. Throat coated in some kind of thick mucus, Ashlynn’s already thin supply was officially depleted, and she was still nowhere close to being better. She stared at the ceiling and stifled another bout of coughs which felt weak and unproductive.

Despite all of this, she forced herself to her feet, all of her blankets wrapped firmly around her shoulders, as she shuffled off toward the water tap for yet another glass of water. She was moving nowhere near what she would call a “surviving speed,” but the Borrower thanked her lucky stars she was still able to keep herself upright.

She filled her cup to the brim and sipped on the surface. It was only now she caught a glimpse of herself in the water basin, and the sight was a bit of a haunting one. Her already thin face was becoming more hollow and gaunt. It was obvious she hadn’t been able to keep down food in a day or two. As she stared at her reflection, her hip lamp flickered on and off before dimming ever so slightly.

Now my battery is going too. Plus, I need to get more food. I need to eat, but what? I don’t have anything else. Curses! I managed to cross over the great ice road and get knocked down by the common cold. What a miserable way to go.

Ashlynn’s mental spiral was interrupted only as she heard the humans speaking from down below. It might’ve been the clogging in her ears or the fog her brain couldn’t quite shake, but whatever the case Ashlynn now noticed that there were boisterous sounds coming from down below in the apartment with the three humans.

“But Soren! I’m better now, see?”

“I don’t care. Drink.”

“But I don’t wanna!”

“I don’t wanna either!”

“If you two don’t take this medicine, you’ll get sick again and we’ll have to cancel our plans. Now, drink up.” The argument was obviously going one way, and it was not in the two young boys’ favor. It wasn’t the fact that the human boys were speaking at a normal level which was shattering Ashlynn’s eardrums. It was the one word that pulled all focus and attention.

Medicine.

Medicine! Why didn’t I think of that? Ashlynn scolded herself as she shuffled closer to the opening and peered down into the kitchen. Sure enough, Soren was holding what looked like two small cups of some dark teal liquid and was handing it to the boys. Both had disgusted looks on their faces. Noses scrunched, they both raised the cups to their lips and downed the contents. Instantly, both boys started coughing and gagging, which wasn’t a reassuring sign.

“There, was that so hard?” asked Soren. “Now, don’t forget to drink your water and then to brush your teeth. Early bedtime for you both.”

“But Soren! It’s movie night,” pouted Rey.

“Yeah,” Dorian chimed in.

“We’ll have movie night tomorrow if no one is hacking up a lung. Come on. I told you both it was going to be an early night this morning when we got up. Let’s go. Rey, I’m looking at you,” encouraged Soren as he ushered the two boys out of the kitchen and into the bathroom down the hall, both boys still holding the cups in their hands.

She wasn’t sure what possessed her, but Ashlynn found herself scuttling along as fast as she could at her molasses pace to the piece of trim that was a bit loose. Perhaps it was her dulled instinct telling her to verify what she was about to be borrowing or maybe it was habit to check the surroundings before going down into the human world. Regardless, Ashlynn peered down and saw the ultimate jackpot right there on the youngest’s bedside table. The cup that was in his hands moments ago as well as the opened package of crackers she’d borrowed from before were both right there. Tissues were also on the table and, best news of the night, everyone was going to bed early.

It was the perfect opportunity and her one true shot at trying to beat this sickness.

That’s my ticket. There’s got to be some of that medicine liquid stuff in the cup. I’ll just go down, take – no, borrow – a little, and then I’ll be better in no time. Super simple. In and out. It’s not an option anymore. I need food and meds, and both are on that boy’s bedside table.

Ashlynn’s feet felt heavy and sluggish as she finally made it back to her bed where she began getting ready. Through the dizzy spells and bouts of nausea, the Borrower finally managed to put on her warmest, most flexible clothes and headed down toward the boys’ room to acquire sweet relief.

She went over her checklist as she powered through her aches and pains while walking across the beams toward the entrance she’d used before to enter the infamous room. Hook. Lamp. Tape for hand protection.

Am I missing something? Probably not.

Ashlynn racked her mind, but each thought that came into her head felt muted, like it was something she was hearing from someone else really far away.

She walked in darkness, seeing that the light from her hip lamp was hurting her eyes, and only flicked it on intermittently to better light the path temporarily. It took multiple breaks and she had to shove her mouth into the corner of her elbow as the coughs racked her body, but Ashlynn finally managed to make it to the electrical cover by the dresser.

The Borrower woman crouched and slipped through the hole after listening for a minute or so and approached the edge. She looked up at the vertigo inducing ceiling as she prepared her hook, but then something happened. Looking up triggered some wicked part of the sickness and, instantly, she felt dizzy and nauseous. She choked back a cough and crouched. The bile in the back of her throat burned uncomfortably. It threatened to make her sick.

It was pure luck she managed to choke down the bit of sick that wanted to erupt out of her.

Ashlynn knew she needed to act – and fast, before the sickness in her body decided to do something else rash.

She swung her hook around in the rhythmic pattern, her whole body tingling and aching in protest, before she let it fly through the air. Her senses might’ve been dulled, but pure instinct allowed her to hit her mark on the first try.

Ashlynn couldn’t stop the grin spreading across her face as she gave a couple of good test tugs and realized the hook had gained purchase. The moment was short lived as a bout of nausea and light-headedness overtook her. Ashlynn had to lean against the rope and use it as a brace as she fought off the symptoms.

Almost there. Just a little longer. I’ll get the meds and then I’ll be alright.

Ashlynn took another breath and stared at the vertigo inducing line and began the fateful climb up. Perhaps it was a fool’s errand, but Ashlynn needed this. She couldn’t last much longer if she went on withering away with nothing to eat and nothing to ease her suffering.

Hand over fist, she climbed the line, daring to only take a few breaks as she hoisted herself higher and higher. It wasn’t until she pulled herself over the edge with her shaking arms that she let herself breathe a sigh of relief. The aching in her joints and limbs was excruciating. Her insides twisted, yearning for sustenance to replace the energy she just used.

Just one more minute. I just need one more minute.

Ashlynn glanced across the bedside table and spotted both the crackers and the medicine cup. She also saw the tissues, but her two greater needs were right there in front of her. Feeling more lightheaded than stuffy, Ashlynn tiptoed over to the package of opened crackers and immediately began chewing on the edge of one of the crumbs. There was an immediate relief to her discomfort as her vision seemed to clear up around the edges.

It was only now that she realized the magnitude of where she was and what she was doing. The bedside table was surprisingly sparse, most likely because it needed to be cleared to give the boys room for the medicinal supplies, and Ashlynn was sitting in plain view of both beds. While the two boys seemed to be sound asleep, the two young humans were still both within arm’s reach of the bedside table.

It was terrifying.

From where she was sitting, Ashlynn could see the rise and fall of the bedcovers while the boys slept. The youngest, Rey, had his back to the bedside table while Dorin was facing her. It made Ashlynn’s hair stand on end. Every nerve in her body screamed to run, that this was a bad idea, but neither of them seemed to be at risk of waking at any point soon.

Just get what you need and get out. You’re in no condition to fight or run right now.

Ashlynn swallowed, wincing as the soreness of her throat flared up, and made her way over to the medicine cup. It was mostly barren except for a few large drops of the strange, dark teal liquid. Her head swirled again as she leaned over and dipped some of the liquid into her cupped hand.

Just then, she felt her blood run cold as she heard the youngest inhale sharply and deeply. A massive shuffle of covers created a mountain in a moment. Ashlynn’s entire body shuddered as she watched Rey roll from one side to the other.

Her heart thundered against her ribs, making her hands shake more than the fever had over the past few days, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. All she could do was watch in horror and wait with baited breath as the boy shifted two more times before laying still.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

The boy’s features relaxed and, after a few moments, he was sound asleep again; at least, Ashlynn hoped he was asleep.

Too close. Too close. Take the meds and get out!

Ashlynn tried breathing in the liquid to see whether or not it had some suspicious odor, but Ashlynn couldn’t tell anything through her stuffy senses. She’d never taken anything like this before, so she was uncertain of what to expect. The Borrower figured that it couldn’t be worse than anything else she’d ever taken before.

Still feeling lightheaded, Ashlynn didn’t have the luxury of time. She pressed the liquid bubble to her lips and sucked in, swallowing harshly twice before the taste hit her. It was the most vile thing she’d ever tasted and she now understood why the boys’ faces had twisted the way they did when they took the medicine.

The liquid was thick and had an odd, minty taste to it followed by something that reminded her of Christmas decorations. An uncomfortable warmth coated her throat and made her insides churn. Ashlynn couldn’t stop her body from reacting. Whether it was because the reaction was that strong or because she was too weak to fight it, Ashlynn’s body convulsed and vomit spewed from her mouth.

She lurched once and then twice. On the third time, a tickle formed in the back of her throat and she began coughing, spewing the few bits of cracker she’d managed to slip from the packet mere inches away. The room started to spin as she spat the remnants of what little she had in her out of her mouth when she heard a large shuffling sound.

“Dorian? You okay?” The sound was right in front of her, and Ashlynn knew it was from the youngest boy. The child’s voice was groggy and laden with sleep, but it was still obvious that he was waking up. Every instinct screamed that Ashlynn needed to run, and she wanted to. She wanted nothing more than to sprint to the edge, grab her secured line, and scurry to the safety that resided under the bedside table; and if her head weren’t spinning like a top, she could’ve done just that.

As it was, she couldn’t tell the corner of the tissue box from the corner of the table where her safety line was. She stumbled forward and felt along the edge of the cardboard box, confusion setting in.

“Dorian?”

No. No. No. No. No. No! Curses! Where is my line? How do I get out of here? This isn’t good.

“Dorian? Are you getting si-… what the?” Rey’s voice was louder and more clear now. Panic was setting in. Nothing was going right. She needed to get away, and fast.

Ashlynn couldn’t find the rope. She’d gotten turned around and now she was exposed on the bedside table. She glanced over her shoulder only to see the chilling silhouette of the immense boy pushing himself up onto one elbow and looming forward toward her. Doing the only thing she knew how to do, she dived in between the bedside lamp and the tissue box, but not with enough time.

She could just make out the little hairs on his arm as he turned the lamp on, which emanated a brilliant pale white glow that stung Ashlynn’s eyes. She hunkered down, shaking in her shoes, and hoped that the boy would think it was just part of a nightmare. Kids did that, right?

“Wha-? Rey? What’s your problem? Turn off the light.” The older one, Dorian, was up now too. Ashlynn could barely see the mess of brown-blond hair poking out from under the covers as he too pushed himself upright.

“Dorian, something’s on the table. I just saw it. It’s behind the tissue box,” hissed Rey. Ashlynn’s head pounded relentlessly as it seemed the blinding light above her glowed brighter. Her body shivered and ached while a tickle in the back of her throat threatened to enrage another coughing fit.

“You were probably just dreaming,” grumbled Dorian.

“No! I wasn’t. I thought you were getting sick and saw something dart around the lamp by the tissue box. Come on. Help me look real quick,” said Rey.

No. Please don’t. I can’t… I can’t run… Can you stop being so loud?

Time was rapidly running out, and Ashlynn had no escape plan. The fog in her mind was keeping her immobile, and freezing was the last thing she needed to do right now. She didn’t even realize it, but she’d been slowly backing up further and further, stabilizing herself on the lamp.

“Ug… fine,” moaned Dorian.

No! Not fine! Please, just go back to…

Ashlynn didn’t finish her thought. She couldn’t. Not when she saw those four massive hands from the young boys rest on the top of the table, one of them grabbing the tissue box and the other scooting the lamp away from her.

Ashlynn always thought about what it would be like to be seen. She’d heard stories of it from other Borrowers when growing up, but this was a whole new level of despair. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

The first thing was noticing a pale blue eye, pupil nearly a pinpoint because of how the youngest peered around the lamp, spotting her from in between the lamp cover and the interior mechanisms. The distinct look in the child’s eyes from curiosity to discovery was horrifying. Ashlynn didn’t think she could get any smaller, but she still felt herself shrink under the human’s gaze. Her stomach lurched again, and she doubled over as the last crumb vacated her body.

“Woah… did you hear that?” asked the older boy.

“Dorian, you’ve got to see this,” said Rey softly. From the combination of pain, sickness, and defeat, Ashlynn felt her eyes beginning to sting with what few salty tears she had available. Her ears were starting to clog. The tickle in her throat spasmed her insides finally forced another coughing spasm. Thick mucus coated her throat as her chest constricted.

“Wha-… woah…”

Ashlynn heard things moving all around her which shook the table she was on. Her already fragile footing was shattered and she fell to her knees. Instinctually, she reached over and tried to snag her pin from her hip when a horrifying truth hit her.

She’d forgotten her pin.

In an effort to keep herself light and not have to carry so much weight, she’d left her pin at home. She had no weapon. No way to protect herself.

No… Please no…

The lamp and tissue box parted in front of her and, within a matter of seconds, the faces of the two young boys were clearly visible. Her heart thundered against her ribs, making her already sensitive lungs throb. She swallowed dryly, the remnants of upchucked acid still burning her throat, as she glanced back and forth between the two boys.

So… this is it…

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Continue

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A Tall and Small Collection | Original Story

[thequietkid-moonie]

A confesion of unknown feelings

[ SCENARIO ] [ Sonetto, Hercules ] [ Reverse 1999 ] [ Hercules ]

It was a bit dificult to write because i was waaaaaaaaaay too shy to write for Hercules, maybe because he is one of my childhood crush

WAAAAHHH I feel like a shoujo girl in love hahaha ><

Sonetto

Sonetto is a bit disconnected of her feelings, is just that she takes so serious her work and studies that she is stuck between not understanding the true extent of her feelings and underestimating them, so even when the feelings she has for you has grown to be a sincere love long ago she still don't recognize it as love

Its not that Sonetto is embarrased of being in love with you, she would never be embarrassed for something like that, is just that she grow used to your precence, having you close makes her heart happy wich only leads her to underestimate her feelings even more since she already feels satisfied

There is a problem with not understanding her feelings, Sonetto is someone incredibly honest and innocent to some extent, she has no filter to speak because she never really means to say something ill to anyone, but is that same honesty what lead her to one day accidently confessing her feelings

It honeslty didn't matter much what you two were doing, the thing is that she was lost in your conversation, it was either that she was showing some concern or somehow the conversation was about something you two were doing, Sonetto simply started by expressing how admirable and amazing you are in her eyes before starting to get a little carried away by her own thoughts (specially if you try to deny it or just brush off the compliments, not thinking you were that amazing)

For Sonetto this was something normal, in her mind you are not only admirable but also incredibly handsome and she express it that way, since she haven't identified it she is able to express the sincere and inmese love she actually feels for you without a hesitation, she is speaking from her heart without even realicing it, wich end up making her feel incredibly surprised the moment she looks back at you just to find your surprised expression, probably too flustered because Sonetto's words were way too lovely

Honestly, it has to be thanks to you help that her realice the true extent of her feelings, it can be right after her accidental confession or in other time, or maybe even thanks to any of her others friends after getting to know what happened, still it will take a while for Sonetto to finally realice her feelings, she was so convinced that it is just respect and admiration that it is a bit shocking for her to find out, and even more to realice that what she have just told you is actually a love confesion

Still, no matter how embarrassed she can be Sonetto will find the strenght to face you and apologize for saying all those things all of the sudden, even now that she knows she still doesn't feel embarrassed for loving you so she won't take down everything she have said, despite already knowing her feelings she still don't really understand how this kind of things work and since she is happy by just being at your said she will patiently wait until you are ready to give an answer to her confession, just let her stay at your side

Hercules

Hercules is quite social inept because of how great part of his life he was alone, just having his parents to relay on, so is more likely that the moment you two meet started by being friends, he passed from being a bit hesitant to be excited to have a friend so quick that is almost funny

Hercules has problems dealing with his own feelings, he is optimistic and quite energetic, he takes what he feels with naturalness almost accepting it imediatly without thinking further and since you two started by being friends he easily mistook his feelings as being happy to have you in his life, even so he is pretty obvious with his feelings

The moment he started to fall in love he is pretty obvious with his behaivor, he gets blushy, he wants to impress you and show off how he can be a heroe, but more important, your hero, he becomes more clingy and indirectly affectionate, he even start to think more on you what just gives him more motivation to become a hero

He is painfully obvious with his crush for you, he smiles like a fool in love whenever you say anything positive about him and is even more obvious when he tries to get close to you and even stutter a little, it is so obvious for everyone except for him, Hercules simply seems to don't understand his own feelings, he is stuck between being a bit embarrassed by how this feelings make him feel and being too innocent to understand the extent of his feelings, and the fact that he just accepts his feelings doesn't help at all because he doesn't question what he feels

It probably won't be until Philoctetes end up calling him out, already tired of how painfully obvious he is, that Hercules will have no other option than accept his feelings, still he has problems to fully understand them, he doesn't get the extent of it for how innocent and pure his way to love is, so he end up speaking his heart out the next time you two meet

Hercules would start by saying that there is something in his mind, something that has being bugging him for a while since he doesn't fully grap his mind around the idea before declaring the most pure and inmese love towards you, describing his feelings with burning passion but at the same time being the most gentle love someone has ever expressed, it is surprising how cheesy he can be

Its thanks that he finally say all that out loud that he would understand the extent of his feeling, that he would understand how much he does love you and even if he feels flustered (and maybe a little embarrassed for taking him so long to understand) he won't take down what he have just said, and he is even a bit eager to recive an answer but at the same time he doesn't expect it imediatly

[dsvoid]

remember when i said i was beginning to relate more and more to michael? well,

i think it’s easy to underestimate his character and not really understand who he is, but once you start acting like him, it gives you a new perspective in the whole of solitaire. michael is a very angry individual, i think we all know that. however, he is not portrayed like how angry characters usually are. his anger stays inside, like a lion waiting to attack. michael lives hiding a part of himself, somewhere so deep in his mind that whenever it is able to come out it becomes his worst nightmare ever. unlike most angry characters, the anger doesn’t affect the rest, it affects him.

i think this is so important to talk about, because yes, solitaire is tori’s book, but michael brings very important details to the story. i know most of the fandom likes to talk about him as a silly little guy, and that’s valid, because he also is that. my mind just won’t be at peace until we all realize a bit more how important he is.

anger will bring him down. that’s not something we can argue about, it’s the truth. and yes, it sounds silly, anger, really? that’s the thing that’s gonna bring him down? well, not exactly. anger is the first symptom of losing yourself. you start keeping all the anger to yourself, not really knowing what to do with it or why it’s becoming bigger and bigger. as this continues, you start hating, loathing every single moment of your life that doesn’t go as planned. before you even know it, you’re isolating yourself, afraid of any chance of the anger getting stronger.

if i were to show this with a scene of the book i would choose the one were michael finally explodes at tori. because at that moment, he has been trying so hard to be her friend, and attempt after attempt, she’s just been making things difficult. i say this from an objective perspective, because we know tori wasn’t in the right headspace, but that doesn’t mean michael’s wasn’t bad mentally as well. it’s what i said before, you start loathing everything that doesn’t go your way. and in this case, his friendship with tori wasn’t going his way. it’s a very hard topic to explain because i have been in both ends, mostly in michael’s, and it is extremely difficult to deal with. we know michael doesn’t have friends and probably didn’t have before either, which means he has been carrying this issue his whole life. it’s obvious he was going to explode. he keeps trying and trying and nothing goes his way. he can’t make friends to save his life, oh and look, he also failed the competition of what he is supposed to be great at, perfect!

i guess i just wanted to talk about this because as i said, feeling like this is not great. it sucks. it’s horrible to experience but so normalized as well. people like tori get talked about behind their backs. everyone has a bit of bitterness in their voice when they talk about them, spitting how being mentally ill doesn’t excuse you for being a bad person. people like michael get pitied. the people who keep a smile and don’t stop trying even when they’re dying inside. everyone feels bad for them, but no one cares enough to make a difference.

[jessedraft]

TEEN!MC

where the brothers find out that teen!mc, who they practically see as a little sister now has a crush on somebody, how would they react? — gn!mc thats around 16-17 years old

small note_ im gonna say the demon that MC has a crush on is somehow the same age.. dont ask how just go along with it!

MC could not stop getting distracted while they were on cooking duty with Satan. They obviously had something on their mind that was distracting them but everytime that he asked they just brushed it off and tried— key word tried to focus on the task at hand. He also noticed before that they would get distracted or seemed to be lost in their mind during other ocasions. Now that just got him curious, what could be distracting MC so much? He wantsd to figure it out himself but he decided to consile his brothers about it, even if he didnt exactly like that the idea.

"Satan what did you call all of us in here for?" Lucifer asked while crossing his arms, it was after dinner and he decided to call all of his brothers to the living rook while MC was in their room. "Yeah.. I was just getting ready to have an anime marathon with MC!" Levi said sulking— not very excited to be out of his room espcially since Satan interupted him while he was setting up his room so him and MC could watch one of his favorites together.

Before any of his other brothers could complain sbout how he interupted them and whatever they were doing Satan sighed and said, "Well haven't you all noticed that MC has seemed lost in their thoughts recently?"

"I haven't noticed anything about that idiot lately." Belphegor says looking half asleep, but truthfully he had noticed that they seemed to be more distracted recently. Asmo chimes in, "Well.. whenever im hanging out with MC they seem to barely be listening anymore!" He pouts thinking about whenever hes been painting his nails with MC, or going out to shop with them that they haven't really been paying attention.

"They've been ignoring me too!" Mammon says before Beel responds, "Maybe they're just thinking about food." I mean thats what he's almost always thinking about... "Thats what you always think about.." Levi says

"Back to what I was saying.." Satan says— with an annoyed expression, "I've been trying to think of what could be distracting them so much." He continues and now all of them are trying to guess what could MC possibly be thinking about that causes them to lose focus or start ignoring them?

Mammon laughs, "Definitely money!"

Belphegor rolls his eyes before saying, "Probably 'bout sleep."

"Ohh!!! Maybe they're thinking about their favorite anime or.. characters, maybe even games!" Levi says excitedly about the idea of MC having the same thoughts as him

"Cats? Or maybe they read a book that they enjoyed and can't seem to get their mind off it." Satan suggests

Lucifer sighs shaking his head, annoyed at his younger brothers, "Isn't this supposed to be what MC is thinking about?"

Asmo seemed to have an idea and gasped dramatically, "Wait.. what if our little human has a crush..?" He says whike smiling, happy to be a your wingman if you do! Oh and he can dress you up for your dates, aslong as whoever your crushing on is good for you though!

All the brothers fall silebt for a second before Mammon says, "Hah, No way!" He brushed off the idea before Satan cuts in, "No.. that could be it."

LUCIFER

he wasnt very pleased with this idea, espcially since that definetely seems like that is whats distracting you

extra protective, he would be anyway— but its a demon..

and demons are known to trick humans.

he HAS to see who your crushing on and make sure theyre not gonna try anything

oh but dont think your off the hook if they have no bad intentions hes still overprotective

.. but if they have no ill intent then hes more open

no sleepovers though!

basically an overprotective parent

MAMMON

hes not happy with this either..

not like lucifer though, hes more open

he'll even sneaks you out and help you avoid lucifer

and trys to be your wingman!

probably going to have to convince him with grimm or puppy dog eyes— hes weak to those..

also has to see who your crushing on and hes going to pratically interogate them to see if theyre good for you..

that poor demon just wanted to have some peace before they got bombarded with questions

but after he knows theyre good for you hes pretty chill

LEVIATHAN

not very happy either!

though its only because he still wants to spend time with you

where your actually paying attention..

so you'll need to assure him that you will spend with him and you'll listen to him

after that he doesnt really care

though he also wants to make sure that your crush would actually be good for you if you try to pursue them

he wont sneak you out or anything but he wont snitch if your going to hang out with them

so also chill, as long as the demon you like isn't going to hurt you in anyway

SATAN

had mixed feelings— he was intruiged on how you came to like this demon but also wasnt very happy that it was some unknown demon

if it was someone he knew wouldnt have any ill intentions he wouldve erased the second part but it was some unknown demon..

but after he sees the demon and knows they dont have any bad intentions then hes okay with it

he still warns you to be cautious though

he'll help sneak you out only to see lucifer angry

although most are probably cheesy, he'll try to give you some tips on how to ask someone out that he's read in romance novels or seen some people do

basically another one that doesnt care that much

ASMO

he is beyond excited about this!

of course— he'll make sure the demons good for you but after that he is now your wingman!

will help you talk to them, or even talk to them for you!

oh and cant wait til you guys start dating! oh hunny he is going to make you look so good!

he absolutely supports it! maybe a little too much..

also helps you sneak out and see whoever you like

but its all in good nature!

BEELZEBUB

hes happy for you and doesnt care that much

he also warned you to be cautious

again, he made sure he was good for you

but he did ask you to meet them or at least see them

after that he didnt care— covered for you if your sneaking out

but hes probably not the best option to hide it.. once lucifer offers him food then he snitches

but hes really sorry for doing so, he just couldnt resist food

he'll listen to you ramble about them as he eats

pretty much just happy for you

BELPHIE

similiar to satan— he had mixed feelings

he didnt really care for the most part

but definitely needed to see who this demon was and made sure they werent going to use you

also sneaks you out to make lucifer angry— sometimes to annoy you he will snitch

gets annoyed when your wont stop going on about your crush to him while hes trying to sleep

he does tease you about it though, a lot.

other than that he really doesnt care

end_ if you couldnt tell this was supposed to be a small fic.. but i got lazy

[ryuichirou]

How would the TW cast react about them being kidnapped?

Anon this is such a fun theme for headcanons!! We have a couple of “darker” themed ones in the ask box, and I’m really looking forward to all of these, but I think this would be a very good start. Going through the list right now… I see how horrible some of these guys are lol their poor kidnappers.

Riddle – we’ve seen the way he behaved when the Charon squad came to abduct him, so I can imagine this is how he’s going to act in any kidnapping scenario. He’ll start yelling, swearing, attacking and trying to free himself. He is smart, but he is also very easy to trigger, so he is probably going to tire himself with his tantrum… not the best strategy.

Ace – he’d be very confused because why would anyone even want to kidnap him? He’s just some guy! In any case, he’ll try to charm his way out of this one, but since he’s definitely going to be in quite a panicked state, he won’t succeed. Still, he’ll annoy his kidnappers with his chatter, so they’re going to gag him pretty quickly. At least this is going to give him time to think about a plan…

Deuce – he’ll try to escape. He can’t really come up with some kind of smart strategy, but he is physically strong and very fast + can endure a lot, so this is Deuce’s strong points. If he gets even a tiny little moment of freedom, he’s going to run as fast as he can. If his kidnappers are smart, they’re going to shackle his ankles first. He is also very good at fighting…

Trey – he’d look so out of place… aside from obligatory “hey, let me out!”, it’s like he doesn’t fight back at all. In actuality, Trey is going to try to play his cards smart and start conserving energy and thinking about a runaway plan instantly. Oh maybe he’ll decide that it’s better to just sit there and wait until he’s rescued.

Cater – oh he’ll talk a lot. A lot of uncontrollable nervous chatter that’s going to make the kidnappers gag Cater even faster than they gagged Ace lol But if he’s lucky and has any access to any phone, he’ll use it as his means to escape. If there is no signal or phone in reach though and no way to obtain it, he’s probably going to give up quickly…

Leona – he’ll scoff and tease the kidnappers about the fact that they’ve kidnapped the wrong brother + that his family doesn’t care about him and that if they want to use him for money, they’re out of luck. He could however give them plenty of money if they free him… Unfortunately, this plan won’t work and he’ll just fall asleep lol Maybe he’ll think about a runaway plan if he wakes up and no one is there to rescue him yet. He says that he won’t get rescued but he still kind of expects it.

Ruggie – out of the entire cast, he’ll be the one to start thinking about the runaway plan the fastest. He hasn’t been kidnapped before, but he knows how this type of thing works, so he’ll try to either cooperate or try to talk his way out of the situation. He doesn’t care what he has to do to get free, he’ll do it no matter what. Ruggie is a survivor 💪

Jack – he is a wild beast, he won’t even talk to the kidnappers even if they want him to cooperate. He’ll just try to break out, even if it means that he has to fight everyone, break chains, do anything he has to do as long as it isn’t implying any kind of compromise with these assholes. He would despise them more than anything.

Azul – his initial instinct would be to start fighting back, because the feeling of losing control is one of the most triggering things to Azul (of course, anyone would be triggered by kidnapping, but still lol), but he would also calm down rather quickly and try to figure out who the other party is. He’ll talk to kidnappers, ask them leading questions, go through the list of his ill-wishers in his head and try to think who is trying to take revenge on him. Then, based on his conclusions, he’ll either try to bribe the kidnappers (he won’t pay them of course, he’ll just ask the Tweels to get rid of them), to talk his way out of the situation, to fight his way out of the situation or to stay put waiting for the Tweels to come and save him. Even though the situation is shocking, Azul is overly controlling and paranoid, so he is always prepared for something like this.

Floyd – he’d be so ANNOOOOOYED. “Hey, this isn’t funny” is a line that comes to mind first. It’s not that difficult for him to escape, and he’s probably going to do it as soon as possible. He doesn’t like being tied down, he doesn’t like people talking about him as if he isn’t in the room, he doesn’t like the fact that when Azul and Jade come to rescue him they’re going to make fun of him. So he has to go on a rampage before they do~

Jade – he also won’t be amused about the whole thing. It’s also quite easy for him to escape, but he’ll actually try to humour himself with this whole situation. He’ll probably sit there and talk to the kidnappers, messing with their minds, saying crude and horrifying things, metaphorically picking their brains with needles and honestly having way too much fun for someone who’s been kidnapped. He is honestly the wrong Leech to try to kidnap… he’ll leave the kidnappers traumatised lol

Kalim – even though the initial reaction would be shock and terror, he’ll try to calm himself down quickly: he has been instructed what to do if he’s kidnapped. So breathe calmly, avoid conversations and wait for Jamil or the guards from the Asim family to come and rescue him. Even though he’d have the urge to do something stupid like try to talk to the kidnappers and stuff.

Jamil – he would feel so sick, like the sickest mix of “oh no, where is Kalim” and “this is all the Asim’s fault”. Somehow, even when he is kidnapped, Kalim is the first person on his mind, which isn’t really illogical: if they targeted Jamil, it’s absolutely related to Kalim in some way. He won’t do anything stupid, he’ll scan the surroundings and try to figure out what’s going on as fast as possible and then either wait for the kidnappers to lose vigilance or try to charm his way out of there – his unique magic is perfect for that, and he’d check if his kidnappers are aware of it.

Vil – he is a verrry intriguing one. Because Vil could be very physical and aggressive, and he has both the strengths and stamina to pull off an escape and fight the kidnappers with just his fists and kicks. But he is also such a good actor that I almost want him to stay kidnapped for a little longer just so he could do his charms for his advantage too. He could pretend to be sick, or to be in a complete utter despair, playing the role of a gentle spoiled magicam superstar that’s never done a single difficult thing in his life. Whatever would suit the situation more.

Rook – he’d be scarily calm. He might even chat with the kidnappers in such a friendly Rook way that he’ll just freak them out lol But he also might just be very serious but unbothered about the whole thing. He studies his surroundings, he studies his kidnappers’ behaviour patterns, he knows what to do and when to do it to run away. He’ll be alright. He’s always better than his kidnappers at literally everything.

Epel – he’ll get very feisty lol and he’ll try everything: he’ll get aggressive at first and try to fight everyone, then he’ll calm down and start quietly crying, then he’ll start to tug on the kidnappers’ heartstrings with how pathetic and weak he looks, then he’ll try to bite them and fight them again, then he’ll get punched again, it’s a very long journey for Epel.

Idia – oh poor Idia, he’ll give up immediately. He won’t be doing anything physical – he knows there is no way that he’d escape. The only thing he could do is sit there in complete terror hoping that Ortho will come and save him soon. Wait, there is one other thing he could do – make his situation even worse because his response to stress is so start irritating people by belittling and trolling them. He could be in a very rough shape when Ortho finds him because of that…

Ortho – lasers go brrrrrrrrrrrr, I’m sure it won’t be an issue for him lol But if the kidnappers find a way to turn him off, then, well… I guess he’s not going to have much of a reaction in that case :(

Lilia – oh it’s going to be so easy for him to run away it’s not even funny lol He definitely has some experience with stuff like that, even though it hasn’t happened in quite a while. He knows both how to manipulate/emotionally and verbally abuse his kidnappers, and how to escape in a sneaky manner, but you know what? He’s not going to do anything because he wants to see if Silver and Sebek figure out how to find and free him first.

Silver – he is going to be alert and serious, and he’ll probably know what to do because he’s been trained to handle situation like this. So he would be surprisingly badass about this whole thing, but I’d like to note than in contrast to all the other guys who would be sassy and aggressive towards the kidnappers, Silver is going to be very earnest. He might also fall asleep at a lot of inappropriate times lol

Sebek – his initial reaction is similar to Riddle’s, but he is also trained enough to stop himself at some point during his tantrum and start actually thinking about what he’s going to do. Just like Jack, he wouldn’t want to converse with the kidnappers, but he’ll gladly tell them about how worthless they are. They’ll dismiss him as if he’s just some righteous idiot, but then Sebek is going to have his badass moment lol He really is a bit of an idiot, but he is a good soldier.

Malleus – he would be both confused, amused and a little bit offended. He would be more offended if he wasn’t so amused by the kidnappers’ stupidity. They surely don’t know who they’re picking a fight with, these pathetic fools. Malleus is going to humour them for a couple of hours before smiling at them menacingly, breaking the chains/rope and going absolutely ballistic on these idiots.

[platonic-sponge]

I relate to Tim partially because I, too, was ignored most of my childhood, and so speaking from that I feel like there are a couple stages that kids go through when they're neglected. I'm not naming all of them, but I'll name a few along with some situations I think Tim would have gotten himself into during those stages. (obviously talking abt parents who do neglect kids, not all parents but if I say parents, I mean the neglectful ones)(also the age ranges/"stages" are all based on personal experience + what i've witnessed, not saying any of this is fact)(+ if I get any personality traits/time stamps wrong w Tim pls don't come for me lmao but feel free to correct me in comments)(long post incoming)

So #1 we've got confusion. Basically, at some point between the ages of 2-5, I feel like that's when parents usually start to neglect their kids (can happen sooner or later but, generalizing). So the kid goes from moderate amount of attention and receiving affection, to a lack thereof. Sometimes the kid will continue to expect affection and when they don't receive it, this can leave the kid wondering what they could have done wrong to cause this.

I feel like one day, Tim (around age 3) goes to lay in bed and is expecting his mom to come and tuck him in/give him a goodnight kiss, and he just stays laying there for almost an hour. At some point he gets up to check if she's coming and she's already gone to bed. Tim knocks on the door, no response. Understandably upset, he goes back to bed and attempts to tuck himself in before giving up and laying in bed, crying himself to sleep. The next day he tries making his mom a card telling her how much he loves her, thinking that will fix his non-existent "mistake", and she accepts it kindly enough, but he finds it later that day in the trash.

Ok on to #2, we've got a mix of denial and the beginnings of acting out. This might happen between 4-7, the kid doesn't know how to deal with the neglect, so they act like it's not happening. They've adjusted to less affection but they're still so eager when they receive any bit of it, and they still offer hugs and cards when they think that will help things. If someone asked them if their parents loved them, they'd confidently answer yes. But there's still that pit in their stomach, like they can't do enough to get that love and affection back, so they find another way they think could work. It's not necessarily a conscious decision, to act out. Could be the kid is a little fussier in the morning, hoping their parent will offer to hold their hand on the walk to the bus. Could be the kid saying they don't feel well at school so their parent will come pick them up. Could be seeming like a "distraction" or "nuisance" because the kid keeps trying to make conversation or make funny faces during dinner.

I think little Tim would try and hug his parents each morning before school, going as far as being late to school because his dad had an important phone call and Tim sat there waiting for him to hang up. Tim would probably leave his lunch bag at home on purpose just so he would have to call his mom and ask her to bring it to school for him. She'd end up asking a nanny to send it for her, or just telling Tim to get a lunch from the cafeteria instead.

#3 is more obvious attempts at gaining attention. Probably from anywhere within ages 7-12, the kid will still preen at affection, but they're less likely to seek it from their parents. They might even outright dismiss any potential affection from their parents because they feel like it's not genuine or that they don't deserve it. The kid will likely try to get attention and affection from a teacher/authority figure, but they may also like attention from peers. This may lead to the kid either seeming to be a "class clown" or just a "class nuisance", that or a teacher's pet. They may still act out by faking an illness or being more irritable, but they could go further towards things like knocking stuff over and causing a scene, bullying peers, or interrupting the teacher to tell jokes.

I feel like Tim might try the joke route, while also being a teacher's pet with certain teachers. He'd do the jokes in a subtle way where it's not outright loud and attention seeking, but where people still know it's him. He might be the type to draw a caricature of a teacher he dislikes on the board before class, or put gum on the bully's desk chair so it gets on their pants, or pass around a silly joke on a paper. He might get himself into trouble with the principal, or get bullied more by some peers, for his various antics, but never bad enough that his parents are called. If they threaten to call his parents, he reminds them that either they're A) out of the country and would be of no use or B) that they fund the school (or smth like that, maybe Tim just straight up pays them not to call his parents). Teacher's Pet Tim would only happen with one teacher I think, probably the art teacher or maybe English. It'd be something where he'd start joking in that class but right as that teacher says so, he'll calm right down and be super respectful loll.

#4 is basically all of the teenage years. This can vary a lot from person to person so i'm hesitant to label this, so i'm just gonna talk about what I think Tim would/does do. So at this point in time, around 13 years old, he's pretty much given up on his parents. He could give less of a shit about what they think (or at least that's what he tells himself). So during this time, he's started following Batman and Robin, bouncing around rooftops and photographing them and whatnot. His parents don't notice, and if they ever asked he'd have "i'm sleeping over at a friend's house" prepared as an excuse. During this time, he's distant from his parents and while Batman has become that authority figure that he looks up to, he's not close with Batman either. I think this would lead to him feeling exceptionally lonely, and while he still has friends, he doesn't ask to hang out near as much as he used to. Whenever they ask, he usually rejects and says he's busy that night, even on nights he wasn't planning to go out and do photography. On those nights, he mostly lays in bed either doom scrolling through blogs and news stories about vigilantes, or just listening to music. This span of time finds Tim occupied with art, photography, laying in bed, listening to music, and finding out secret identities.

Once he becomes Robin, he's far happier than before. Finally a vigilante, he's become the thing he looked up to for years. But there's downsides, besides the obvious horrible things he witnesses of course. He wants to reconnect with those friends he pushed away when he was in that depressive slump, but he can't just say "Hey batman, i'm taking a night off from patrol!", and this leads to his friends making rumors or just being suspicious in general. They realize he seems happier, but he still can't hang out? He dodges questions? Why is that? They begin to rely on him less, not inviting him to things because they already assume he won't be able to go. While he's happy, he still feels far too lonely.

But he's a vigilante now. He tells himself he doesn't have time for being lonely or feeling unloved. So he'll push down that urge to receive a hug from his mother, he'll ignore the pride he feels when he receives a sliver of attention from Batman or his teachers, he'll try not to feel lonely when his friends mention shows or movies he hasn't had time to catch up on yet, he'll hope Batman ignored those times he slipped and called him "Dad", and he'll ignore that pit in his soul that's been there since he was 6 years old and never really healed.

He's a vigilante now, he doesn't have time to want (need) affection.

[aurorasilverthorne]

Doe — A Deer — A Female Deer!

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Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!!! Hazbin Hotel and all of its characters belong to Vivziepop and Amazon Prime.

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Overlord meetings either made her feel awkward or uncomfortable. It depended on who was in attendance. Rosie didn’t mind Zestial or Carmilla most of the time. Zeezi and Kilian were alright. She adored Alastor. But the Vees…ugh! Velvette—the loudmouth little shit talker was the most tolerable. Vox was a raging, petty bitch boy. And Valentino…his lewd remarks and unwelcome advances were enough to make Rosie’s stomach turn, which was saying something considering her cannibalistic tendencies.

She waited as long as possible before entering the conference room. Walking in with Alastor was usually enough to deter the pimpmoth, especially if they sat beside Zestial. Unfortunately, Alastor had yet to arrive. Part of Rosie feared he’d disappear again for another seven years. The thought formed a lump in her throat she forced herself to choke down. The others were already inside and ready to start. Valentino—the bastard he was, had claimed the seat between Zestial and the remaining unoccupied chairs.

Rosie glanced toward the elevators hoping and praying they’d open with a resounding ding and Alastor would step out. Nothing happened. No ding. No open doors. No dapper deer gent to rescue her from the clutches of Hell’s greatest pervert. Rosie bit back a groan and made her way to the table back straight and head held high determined to ignore the attending Vee.

The meeting began as they always did with roll call. It continued with a list of boring, drawn-out conversations about current events and other tedious things. The exterminations were still on hold and would be until further notice thanks to Charlie’s efforts and Carmilla’s knowledge of angelic steel and how to use it against exorcists. Rosie only half listened glancing at the door periodically looking for any sign of their resident wendigo.

Where was Alastor? Was he avoiding her? She’d been present during the battle, had seen him take a severe blow to the chest from Adam’s weapon. He’d come to her later for medical assistance. She’d cleaned, treated, and bandaged his wound. He’d promised to visit in the near future once repairs on the hotel were complete. She hadn’t seen, heard from, or spoken to him since. That had been a month ago.

Rosie tensed when she felt a familiar presence next to her. Valentino had switched chairs. He sat so close she could smell the overwhelming stench of his expensive cologne. She fought the urge to gag as he leaned in. His breath smelled of cigarillos and liquor. “What are you looking for, hermosa? Don’t you know everything you could ever want is right here?” He gestured to himself with what he probably thought was an alluring smile.

Rosie wrinkled her nose—or she would’ve if she’d had one. “I doubt that.”

The moth demon’s ill-tempered nature was legendary. It showed in how his expression twisted from false charm to petulant in the blink of an eye. “Hey, don’t blame me because your favorite furry isn’t here.” His suave facade slid back into place quicker than a snap of one’s fingers. “I’d never abandon you, Rosita.” He took her hand making her skin crawl as he brought it to his lips. “Forget Alastor. Date me instead. I don’t mind the occasional love bite.” His tongue slid out of his mouth to run along her knuckles.

Rosie jerked her hand out of his and recoiled. “That is disgusting!”

Everyone looked up and silence filled the room. Carmilla narrowed her eyes at Valentino before addressing Rosie. “Something you’d like to share with the rest of us, Rosie?”

The Cannibal Queen refused to falter under the weapons dealer's disdainful gaze. “Yeah. I have something to say.” She stood up and put one hand on her hip while pointing a finger at Valentino. “This prick’s been harassing me for weeks now, and not a damn one of you has said or done shit about it. These meetings are supposed to be neutral, not a breeding ground for sexual perversion. I’m leaving, you hear me? And if you don’t like it, feel free to kiss my ass!”

Carmilla’s eyes widened in shock as Rosie turned to leave. Zestial opened his mouth to speak, but Val beat him to it. “Hey! No one speaks to or about me that way, especially some cheap, tacky old slut from the cannibal colony!”

Rosie kept walking determined to get out of there. Before she could reach the door, Valentino lunged up out of his chair, one hand latching onto her hat while the other dug into the fabric of her gown just below her waistline. Rosie gasped caught off guard by the other demon’s rough attempt to drag her back to the table. She whirled around intent on elbowing him in the face or throat, but Val sidestepped, retaliating with a backhand to the face that left Rosie seeing stars.

The other overlords were about to intervene when something—or rather someone—slammed full force into the moth and sent him flying backward onto the table. The sheer strength of the collision knocked Rosie off balance. She landed on her knees catching herself with her hands as the sound of torn fabric filled her ears. Cool air danced along her doe ears and tail. One hand flew to her hair, the other to the lowest part of her spine in a futile attempt to hide what the others had already seen.

“Holy shit,” Zeezi exclaimed. “She’s a deer too!”

Rosie twisted around desperate to locate her hat. Val had taken it and a portion of her dress with him. He and Alastor were still grappling on the table. Val tried to kick Alastor off of him, but The Radio Demon was relentless and unyielding, landing punch after punch to any and every part of Valentino’s body he could reach. The solid wood beneath them caved in, but even that did nothing to dampen Alastor’s fury. He dug his nails into Val’s scalp and began slamming the pimp’s head against the concrete floor. “Don’t you ever touch her again you filthy piece of shit!”

Rosie winced at the sound of cracking bone. She felt something brush her shoulders and looked up to see Kilian putting his coat around her. Meanwhile, Alastor’s red scleras blackened and his pupils morphed into radio dials as he slashed at Valentino’s face, neck, and chest with his elongating claws.

“Get this fucker away from me,” Val screamed.

Zestial moved forth in a blur taking hold of Alastor. It took him and Zeezi working together to drag Alastor off of Val. Alastor struggled against their hold compelled by unparalleled anger at the moth’s repulsive treatment toward his Rosie.

“Alastor, cesar y desistir,” Carmilla ordered. Her commands fell on deaf ears.

Valentino crawled to the opposite side of the room putting as much distance between himself and the deranged deer demon as possible. His upper body was covered in deep gashes and fresh bruises, his attire soaked in blood. He pointed a trembling finger at Alastor. “Keep that thing away from me!”

Alastor hissed and gnashed his teeth. Zestial responded by slamming a wave of his dark magic down on the wendigo. Alastor bleated in pain breaking Rosie out of her stupor. She jumped up and ran to Alastor. “Don’t hurt him,” she cried, pushing Zestial away from Alastor. Much to everyone’s surprise, the ancient spider demon relented without protest and made no attempt to reprimand her.

Rosie knelt down beside Alastor and placed a hand on his back. The sound of her voice, gentle touch, and sweet lavender scent jolted him back to reality. His eyes returned to normal while his body shrank down to its natural size. She cupped his cheek and buried her face in the crook of his neck to soothe him.

He turned his head to meet her eye. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head following his gaze as it dropped to the coat draped around her. Rosie didn’t argue or fight him when he peeled it off her to replace it with his own. His instincts were likely screaming at him to make it clear to those present that she was already spoken for. Rosie cupped his face and rested his forehead against hers. Alastor's permanent smile softened as he wrapped her in a warm embrace and released what their onlookers could only assume was a content buck bleat.

“Awww,” Zeezi cooed. “So cute!”

Carmilla took a breath to steady herself. She didn’t like reprimanding Rosie or Alastor, especially for something Valentino had started, but there were rules and regulations when it came to overlord assemblies. She squared her shoulders and her voice took on an authoritative tone. “Alastor Dubois, Rosie Hunt?” Alastor stood and helped Rosie to her feet. They both turned toward Carmilla. “You are hereby banned from attending overlord gatherings for the next three months.”

Rosie scoffed. “Whatever. Ain’t no skin off my ass.”

Alastor wrapped a protective arm around her as they headed for the door. Valentino flipped them off thinking they couldn’t see with their backs turned. Alastor paused in the doorway to glare and snarl at the moth over his shoulder. Val screamed like the sissy bitch he really was and pressed himself against the wall. Alastor huffed and guided Rosie out into the hall.

Alastor always smelled of black coffee and pipe tobacco. Rosie breathed him in realizing right away his scent was stronger than usual. “You’re in rut,” she whispered, waiting until they were far enough away from the others to ensure they wouldn’t hear their conversation. “Is that why you haven’t visited me?”

“I didn’t want to risk harming you by succumbing to my baser needs,” he answered, pressing the first floor button.

“Oh, Al, you’d never hurt me,” Rosie assured him as they stepped onto the elevator.

The door slid closed behind them, though not before they saw Carmilla boot Val out of the conference room having banished him as well. Rosie covered her mouth to muffle a giggle at seeing the weapons dealer literally kicking the pimp’s ass all the way down the corridor to the adjacent stairwell. Her smile faded when Alastor removed his arm from around her so he could move to the other side of the elevator as they started their slow descent to the front lobby.

“You’re perfume,” he murmured, turning his face away and averting his gaze to the floor. “It’s so…”

“I’m in estrus,” she confessed, which explained why Val had been even more aggressive toward her than he’d been at previous meetings.

Rosie tried to close the distance between them but he held out his arm to stop her. “Don’t, Rosie, please…” The adrenaline from his fight with Valentino was still coursing through him along with the overwhelming desire to mate.

Rosie caught a glimpse of his strained expression. “Al…”

Without warning, she reached over, yanked open the emergency compartment, and pressed a button. Alastor swayed slightly when the elevator stopped. He lifted his head and saw her close the panel. “Rosie, what are you—”

Rosie silenced him with a kiss. Alastor’s ears jerked upright at the sudden, unexpected interaction. He tried to pull back but she cupped the back of his head and pinned him against the wall with her body. “The cameras,” he warned.

“I don’t care who sees. Let them watch. Maybe they’ll learn something.”

Alastor’s resolve melted away as she trailed kisses along his jawline and throat. He flipped them around pressing her against the wall while she undid his belt and unbuttoned his trousers. “Please don’t hold back,” she begged.  

He hiked up her silk skirt so it pooled at her hips. “Dearest Rosie, I’d never withhold anything from you.”

_______________

The other overlords stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the screen in front of them. They’d left the conference room the moment they’d noticed the red light flash above the elevator. Carmilla, leading the way, had run to her office thinking the elevator had stalled due to a technical malfunction. She’d snatched up the phone on her desk planning to reassure Rosie and Alastor they’d get them out as soon as possible only to freeze after noticing what was unfolding on the security feed currently displayed on her computer.

“Santa mierda! Are you serious right now?”

Zestial tilted his head to get a look and immediately averted his gaze. “Oh, my…”

Zeezi started laughing so hard she had to lean against the desk to keep herself upright. “It’s demonic Animal Planet!”

Kilian blushed then turned away. “We shouldn’t watch. It’s impolite.”

“They’re fucking in my elevator!” Carmilla yelled.

“Be glad it isn’t your office or the conference room,” Zeezi wheezed.

“She doth have a point,” Zestial admitted.

Carmilla facepalmed.

______________

[sickficideas]

it's alright, it's okay || akutagawa siblings sickfic

ao3! 11.1k - please refer to the tags in the link for content + warnings!

16 May, 2012, 09:31am - Yokohama

"You look awful, Ryuunosuke."

She has a feeling that he's heard that a few times today, because all he does is sigh. She's waiting for him to protest that comment, he always does, but she has enough evidence to prove her point. He's unusually pale and she can tell he's dizzy just by looking at him. That red around his eyes is always either a sign that he's beyond exhausted, or he's starting a fever.

"Good morning, Gin," he opts for instead, despite sounding entirely annoyed. Gin decides she's not going to play this game and bother with pleasantries. She reaches up to lay a hand against his forehead, and before he swats it away, she gets enough proof to make her case.

"You're warm," she tells him.

"I'm fine. I haven't slept," he offers as an explanation as he starts to walk off towards the entrance to the subway station. That might be entirely true, but she thinks he doesn't realize that wouldn't necessarily cause him to look like this, with a fever on top of that.

Gin caught a glimpse of Higuchi when Ryuunosuke was first walking over, and she turns to wave her off, and the latter gives a meek wave in return. She probably had to deal with Ryuunosuke's attitude all morning. She feels sorry for her.

"Thank you," she mouths behind her hand, and she catches a smile from Higuchi before she turns around again.

"I hope you were nice to Higuchi," Gin says when she catches up to him. She notices the container in his hand. "What do you have there?"

"Tea," he answers simply.

"What kind?" she asks.

"Ginger," he says.

"Who made it?"

"Higuchi."

That tells her all she needs to know. Higuchi wouldn't make him something like that for no reason, she must be at least a little aware that he's ill, or not feeling well, at the very least.

"That was nice of her," Gin says. Higuchi is always that nice, no matter the occasion, whether he wants it or not.

"Mhm," he mumbles. "You're talkative today."

Gin huffs out of her nose. He’s not saying enough, but she won’t bother arguing with him. 

She takes Ryuunosuke's arm as they walk down. It's painfully obvious how dizzy he is and she really doesn't need him cracking his head open on the subway stairs, that's entirely inconvenient. "You should have taken the elevator."

"It's out of service," he tells her.

The line to their apartment is always quick to bring them a train, and this time she's especially thankful for it. She leads Ryuunosuke to one of the only open seats. He, of course, stares at her for a few moments, expecting her to take it, but she grabs his shoulder to push him into sitting down, leaving him without any choice.

She takes a bit of a defensive position in front of him as she takes hold of the pole right next to the seat they've found. It's just a few stops, thankfully.

Ryuunosuke looks tense. She's not entirely sure what happened. She knows he and Higuchi had to meet with Mori, but she doesn't know why, when, anything, and she doubts Ryuunosuke will tell her - but clearly, whatever happened there is still heavy on his mind. But at least, now, he's closed his eyes.

She wants to think of something that will help him relax, but with how unwell he's looking, she has a feeling she'll need to think of ways to prevent a worsening illness instead.

The train arrives and Gin quickly kneels down to take his arm to lead him through the doors, they're always so quick. This time, Gin really has to make an effort to keep him upright once they're on the platform, and she's really worried he's about to pass out. She stood him up too quickly.

"I'm okay," he assures her with a shake of his head in some attempt to get himself together, but she keeps their arms locked regardless. She knows at least that this station has a working elevator that they will be taking advantage of.

The elevator doors let them out on the street level, and they begin the short walk back to their apartment.

"Did your job go well?"

"It did," Gin tells him with a nod. It's not uncommon for things to go smoothly - she, Tachihara and Hirotsu make a good team. "Tachihara is out for four days, by the way."

"Is he now," he says, after a few faint coughs. Gin nods. Tachihara never elaborates on what he leaves for, but it’s at least once a month that he’s gone for something. "I suppose…the timing is good."

Gin has a feeling that means Ryuunosuke knows he won't be going back to work tomorrow, either.

There's a cat in front of their apartment that Gin always likes to stop and pet. It's a little thing that she looks forward to. Ryuunosuke doesn't usually engage. He pretends he's not a fan of cats, but she thinks he secretly is. Regardless of his feelings on the cat on any particular day, though, he usually waits for Gin. But today, he's unhooked Gin's arm and he's already headed up to their apartment without a word to her.

Gin stays for a while, regardless, just to give Ryuunosuke some silence for a few minutes. She's concerned about him being sick. It's never just a little cold or a headache, it's always a whole ordeal for him. He can never catch a break from it.

"What should I do with him, hm?" Gin asks the cat, who of course, gives her no good answer. He just purrs and presses against her hand for more pets, but before long, he's moved on to his spot on his doorstep in the sun.

Once she's back inside, she realizes this is where she's going to have to really take care of her brother. This is where he'll let his guard down enough for her to help him. She hangs her coat and keys by the door, takes off her shoes, and peers into the kitchen.

She sees him almost doubled over the sink. She sighs. That was inevitable, really. He's lucky he even made it this far, that willpower of his is something else, but as she gets closer, she realizes he hasn't actually thrown up. He's still breathing heavy like he's nauseous.

"You okay?" she asks gently as she walks over. Of course, he doesn't look okay at all. The arms holding him up over the sink might collapse on him at any moment, but even so, he nods. He could be on the brink of death and still be in denial.

"Okay, let's take this off," Gin says as she tugs on his coat. He doesn't look thrilled by the idea, but he's gotten better about letting his guard down in these kinds of situations over the last few months. He views himself as completely defenseless without long coats like this, and often he'll refuse to take it off even when they're at home. She turns him around and unzips it, pulling his arms out of the sleeves, and getting another feel at just how warm he is. She's worried he's going to turn into jello if he's standing any longer.

She takes his wrist to lead him to the bathroom, so she can at least wash his face for him. He often grumbles in protest about how he doesn't see the point in such things, but she knows how much it helps her after a long day, and insists on it anyway. She sits him down on the toilet lid and he rubs his eyes at the harsh bathroom lights, which she turns off for him, instead opting for the natural light coming in through the windows.

"I'll be right back. I'll get you a change of clothes."

And she does just that, finding a t-shirt and a light pair of sweatpants for him to wear. He's not going to like the t-shirt, but Gin won't let him walk around in a sweater with a fever, which she's sure he has.

She's done this countless times, ever since the first time he came home to their apartment with injuries so bad he couldn't brush his own hair. He knows by now that if she brings him to the bathroom, that she's going to help him whether or not he wants her to.

"Do you need help changing? I was thinking I could check if we have any medicine," Gin says when she places his change of clothes on the counter.

"I think I can do it," he says quietly, gingerly reaching for the clothes. He looks and sounds so tired. Gin won't keep him up, but she wants to at least help him wash up before he gets to bed.

Gin isn't sure they have much of anything, but she's concerned about his nausea. She needs to think of something to relieve him of that so that he can rest comfortably.

But of course, before she can start a proper search for medicine she hears Ryuunosuke fall. She scrambles to get back to the bathroom, already horrified that he's hit his head and he's out cold - but thankfully, he's still conscious. He's managed to get the sweatpants on but the shirt seems to have been the problem. He's leaned against the cabinet with a hand pressed against his head and his shirt only halfway on.

"Did you faint?" she asks him gently, deciding to not force him back up. The way he moves his head doesn't tell her if it's a yes or a no, but it's obvious enough to her. It must have had something to do with holding his arms over his head. She helps pull his shirt down all the way, since it seems he got most of the way there on his own.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles, hardly audible.

"Stop. Don't be sorry, Ryuu," she tells him gently. The last thing she wants is for him to feel guilty. "How long have you been feeling bad for?"

"Not long," he murmurs, coughing into his hand, "it hit me this morning."

Gin doesn't think he's being dishonest, because she's seen this happen before. It always seems to go downhill incredibly quickly for him with his poor immune system.

She does her best to be quick, but she has a feeling that he's gotten used to letting this help him wind down. She's careful with washing his face, but she thinks the cool washcloth is soothing with the fever he's running. He probably needs a shower at some point, but she would rather he rest first, especially after he fainted.

She takes a moment to brush out his hair, too. She's thankful that in recent months it doesn't seem to be falling out as much, in fact, there's not much hair caught in the brush at all. She hopes that means he's taking better care of himself, but it's hard to say. It could be a coincidence.

She takes his hand to help him up. He has to lean on the counter for support for a few seconds before he takes any steps further. He's still very dizzy.

“I’m fine,” he tells her, even though she doesn’t say anything to him. He makes it clear that he doesn’t want any help, and Gin knows not to push his limits, so she doesn’t offer it.

"Please go lie down, I'll go get us something to eat," Gin insists.

"You don't need to do that," he murmurs with a sigh. He doesn’t move from where he’s standing.

Gin sighs back at him. "When did you eat last?"

Of course, Ryuunosuke won't answer that.

"It's been over twenty-four hours, I'm guessing. You need to eat, Ryuunosuke,” she says. They’re six years out of the slums and Ryuunosuke is still this stubborn when it comes to food.

"I don't think I'll be able to."

She's always stressed about his weight. He hides it well underneath his clothes, well enough for Gin to forget, most of the time. Gin feels guilty for it. She can see it now, his collarbone past the t-shirt, the way he’s standing making the bony surface of his shoulders a little more prominent.

"Then I need you to take some medicine for your nausea. I'm picking up food whether you can eat it now or not,” she tells him. She won’t push his limits most of the time, but she will when it comes to things like this.

He doesn’t say anything to her, his expression just falls a little like he’s silently accepting her response. That’s good enough for her, he thinks. He takes his body off of the counter and keeps a hand on the wall, tracing it as he takes himself to his bedroom, thankfully with no incident.

Gin decides she’s just going to place an order for something online. She doesn’t want to leave Ryuunosuke alone while he’s feeling like this, and she knows he’s afraid of being left alone with his guard lowered like this - so she finds her phone and puts in an order for something she knows will arrive soon.

She straightens up the bathroom for a few minutes after washing her own face and brushing out her hair. She needs a shower, too. There’s a lot of things she’d like to get done, actually, but she won’t distract herself with things that will take her attention away from Ryuunosuke right now.

She closes the door behind her and peers into the bedroom, hoping he’s at least laying down, by now - but he looks like he’s just sat up, and now he knows she’s there.

"Gin," Ryuunosuke stammers with a hand over his mouth, "the - the trash bin, please -"

By the time Gin can get the bin to him, he's just dry heaving between already painful sounding coughs. Gin can't imagine he has anything in his stomach to bring up, considering how long it's been since he's eaten - and he did this earlier too.

That makes it clear enough how unbearably nauseous he must be. He's far too good at hiding it.

After several minutes, he lies back down with a shaky sigh, not looking relieved in the slightest. He looks like he's in pain, his eyebrows knitted together. His body is frail and weak, he can hardly handle the exertion it takes to even attempt to vomit. Gin can't realistically give him any comfort, which is one of the worst parts of seeing him like this.

“I’ll leave this here, okay?” Gin says, setting the bin down on the floor beside the bed. “Will you take some medicine for the nausea?”

He just nods, sinking back into the pillows underneath him. Gin has always thought he has far too many of them, but if it’s comfortable for him, that’s all that matters to her.

She goes back to the kitchen to fill up a glass of water for him to take with the medicine. She’s a little worried about if he’ll be able to keep it down or not with how nauseous he is right now, but he has a better chance at feeling better taking this than he does just suffering through it.

He takes it without any complaints. Gin busies herself with a few quiet tasks in the apartment - straightening things up, things to keep her hands busy while she decides what to do. She would really like to get a doctor to him now, but she thinks she’ll have a hard time getting him to agree to that. Now, if it has to wait until tomorrow, should she call one in or take him to one? He doesn’t like having people in their apartment for any reason, understandably, but with how he feels right now, any sort of car ride or train ride to a doctor would make him feel significantly worse.

She should probably call Higuchi too, seeing as how the two of them are planned for another meeting tomorrow, but she may put that off to avoid worrying Higuchi for a longer period of time.

She peeks back into his room after half an hour or so, hoping he’s asleep. He's curled into his side, a pillow tucked between his arms. She's thankful that he's finally decided to lie down and stay there, but he looks miserable.

"Can I call a doctor over for you?" Gin asks quietly.

"No," Ryuunosuke murmurs. He’s completely avoiding eye contact, likely very aware that Gin doesn’t like that answer. "I'll be fine tomorrow."

Gin knows he's lying, but she'll respect the boundary he's setting, at least for now. As long as he’s not doing worse.

"If you're not doing better by tomorrow, I'm calling a doctor. Okay?"

He doesn't object to that. He shuts his eyes, and Gin decides to close the door and let him sleep for a while.

17 May, 2012 05:27am

Ryuunosuke sleeps through the day and into the night, which is troubling enough on its own. He’s never been known to sleep for long periods of time at all, not when they were younger and living in the slums, and still not after all of their years outside of the slums. Gin managed to find time to shower, order food in, and not any of her movements woke him. Not even when she laid clothes over his hot forehead, or when she slipped a thermometer under his tingue to take his temperature.

It’s a quarter until six the next morning when she takes his temperature again, and it’s steadily climbing. It stayed at around a hundred even throughout the day, and now as it beeps, the numbers ready one hundred and one point six. She bites her lip, brushing his hair out of his face.

He looks exhausted, but worse than normal. His gaunt face is only dimly illuminated by the lamp in the corner of the room, but even its warm light can’t cover up his horribly pale skin.. She doesn’t think he would have the will or energy to move even if he were awake. His brows are twisted together like he’s still uncomfortable, in pain. Even while he’s sleeping.

“Ryuunosuke…even after all this time, you still look the same when you’re sick,” she says quietly to herself, brushing back his hair, remembering his thirteen-year-old face illuminated by the candle she managed to find at the time. At least they’re safe here. At least she can properly take care of him, now.

Now is probably a good time to call Higuchi.

She steps into the bathroom and shuts the door, to help conceal the sound just in case it were to somehow wake him, as she pulls up Higuchi’s number.

"Gin, is everything okay?" Higuchi stammers almost immediately, not leaving room for a ring. Gin realized she hasn't exactly thought of what to say.

"Hi, miss Higuchi," Gin says a little nervously. She doesn't want to alarm Higuchi, but this isn't exactly a good situation, either. "I just wanted to let you know my brother needs to stay home today…maybe a few days. He's not well."

"I knew he was coming down with something…" she grumbles, sounding frustrated with herself. Gin wasn't want her to put any blame on herself, she's positive Ryuunosuke did his best to hide his condition from her. She hears shifting around, the sound of keys. "I can call a doctor over. Or if you think it's a better idea, I can come pick you two up to take him to the clinic at headquarters, but -"

"I think he'll be okay. It's not too serious," she assures. She’s not quite sure how truthful she’s being, but she didn’t have any plans to involve Higuchi. "I just don't want him to overwork himself."

The shifting stops. “Okay…if you’re sure. But, Gin, please call me if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Gin almost feels herself tearing up at the sentiment. She’s thankful for Higuchi’s kindness and willingness to help, and she’ll certainly take her up on it if she needs it, but for now, she thinks everything is okay.

They end their conversation with a few pleasantries, and Gin steps out into the kitchen.

She hears the cat’s little paws on their front door, and she opens the cabinet at the front door to access her secret stash of cat food for the little thing. There’s a few others on the street that feed the cat, but she thinks that lately, he has begun to favorite her. Ryuunosuke has made remarks here and there that they can’t keep a cat, they’re not home enough, but she thinks there’s no harm in this.

She fills up a little bowl with some kibble and sets it outside the front door for him. It’s started to rain a bit, the cat’s fur is damp. He purs and meows at her, rubbing his head against her hand as she sets it down. She scratches behind his ear as he eats. He really is cute. She wants to give him a name, but she can’t think of anything. She can already hear her brother telling her not to name stray animals, that it creates attachment, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

"Gin…?"

It's so quiet in the apartment that Gin can hear her brother's weak, raspy voice despite being at the front door.  She pats the cat and tells it to be careful before she shuts the door and heads for Ryuunosuke’s bedroom.

She doesn't think that he'll be able to hear her, so she doesn't bother responding. When he’s sick like this with fevers at those numbers, he's so out of it that he has trouble understanding her even when she's right next to him, so she makes great haste in taking a new washcloth from the kitchen to replace the one that's still resting on his forehead.

She's careful when she opens the door just like she always is, but especially now, to avoid scaring him.

His eyes follow her the moment she can see him, but that's all. He doesn't have any energy to move, not even lift his head.

She kneels down beside him on the futon to press the new washcloth against his forehead. She lets a hand linger on his cheek to get an idea if his fever has gotten any worse, and she thinks it may have.

"What's the time…?" he croaks. He’s still so exhausted, it almost looks like he’s fighting to stay awake. She can see it in his eyes.

"I think it's around six in the morning," Gin tells him. She's not entirely sure. She's been up all night looking after him, but she doesn't find herself tired at all. She's used to it. "I contacted Higuchi earlier, she knows you won't make it in today."

"Higuchi…"

"She was very concerned for you," Gin tells him.

Ryuunosuke is quiet from that point forward.

It's raining hard outside. It puts her on edge. It always has, it's a feeling from the slums that she's never been able to shake off, and Ryuunosuke's the same way. But she's worried right now that his fever is bad enough to make that feeling subside. He's so out of it that he almost seems relaxed, which isn't right at all.

His shirt is damp from sweat, she’s noticed. She needs to shower him later when he’s a bit more awake, maybe with some lukewarm water to help bring his fever down a little, but he’s not awake enough to even sit up, right now.

She holds up his head, gently, to slide out the pillow under his head and replace it with a dry one, a cooler one that’s bound to feel nicer. She sees him visibly relax at the feeling as his head sinks back into the pillow.

"I had a strange dream," he says quietly, after a few minutes of silence. His voice is hoarse, it gets quieter with each word to save his throat from the trouble.

"What kind?" she asks him.

"All of our money turned into chocolate."

Gin isn't sure if he's being serious or not, but she remembers this is her brother - he doesn't joke, not ever. She chuckles, she can’t help it.

"Chocolate? Like back in the slums?" she asks.

"It seems so,” he says. She almost sees his lip twitch into a smile, but in the end, without the energy to commit.

She laughs, this time.

"That won't be very useful to us now," Ryuunosuke says.

"It would've been gold back then," she tells him. She’s still plagued with a strange sense of relief whenever she sees chocolate of any kind. They would trade it for anything they needed back then. It was especially useful to them when he was sick - they could trade it for medicine, blankets, clean water.

She brushes through his hair again.

"I remember the time you were really sick, before we lost everyone," she says quietly. They didn’t have anything for him back then, not until she took he situation into her own hands. "They were all so afraid you weren't going to make it through the night."

She sees him tense up.

“It’s only thanks to you that I survived,” he says quietly.

Gin chews her lip.

28 February, 2006, 16:57 - Suribachi City

"How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine."

Gin knows he's lying, but right now, arguing with him isn't worth it at all. Ever since they were forced out of their last place, Ryuunosuke has been on edge. She's afraid even speaking too loudly to him will scare him, and with the loose control he has on his ability, that could be a dangerous situation for her.

"You two should go to sleep," he tells her, and Sayaka meekly standing behind her.

"I can stay up," Gin tells him, but the look he shoots her says he's not willing to accept that answer.

Right now, it's just the three of them. This is how things often end up when Ryuunosuke isn't fit enough to leave their shelter. She's pretty sure that he's broken bones in his knee and shoulder, but he's used his ability to force everything back into place and now he's simply pretending he's not in any pain. Gin can see it, though. He’s trying really, really hard to hold it together.

“I’m not - I’m not gonna argue with you, Gin,” he huffs, clearly frustrated with her non-compliance.

“And I’m not gonna argue either. I’ll stay up. You need to rest, Ryuu,” she says. “I know you’re in pain.”

She knows that he hates her talking like that in front of Sayaka.

Ryuunosuke turns his head away from her, but something else is on his mind, now. She watches his breaths start to pick up the pace. He waves her off and stumbles out of the shelter, I’ll be right back, he tells her silently, but Gin won’t let him run off. She gives Sayaka a look to make sure she doesn’t follow them, and runs after Ryuunosuke.

He didn’t get far at all. He’s just outside of the shelter in the little makeshift alley, sitting on the dirt ground and leaning against the unstable wall.

“What's wrong?” she asks him as she kneels down beside him. She knows he's nauseous, she can see it in the way he holds himself up, in the expression on his face, the way he’s breathing. But he won't say anything. He never does.

He brings a hand over his mouth like he's trying to stop himself from throwing up.

Vomiting is probably the worst thing for them to do here. Food is so hard to come by, especially as they’re just coming out of winter now, and throwing it up is so much worse than just losing the food. The dehydration that follows is the worst part. They don’t have clean water, they don’t have anything at all.

“It’s okay, Ryuunosuke,” she tells him quietly, laying a hand on his shoulder. She bites her lip. If he really is sick, they’ll figure it out. They have to.

She rubs his shoulder and he leans off to the side to choke up what little he’s had in his stomach to begin with. He has a hard time breathing through it, he’s really trying - but she thinks between the nausea and the pain from his injuries, this is all too much. He groans and lowers his head, trying to keep quiet but ultimately losing the battle.

She’s trying to think of a game plan. Rin and Shinya should be back the quickest, the left first this morning, maybe she can leave in their place to see what she can find for him. They won’t have brought back any medicine, they don’t have any idea that Ryuunosuke is sick - and she can’t ask them to turn around, if they’ve been out scavenging for hours.

She takes his arm once she thinks he’s finishing throwing up to lead him back into their shelter. She’ll get him to rest for a while this way, at the very least - he can sleep on the couch cushions they managed to find a few weeks ago.

Sayaka doesn’t say anything when they walk back in - she knows not to, but she can already tell what’s going on, Gin can see it in all of the concern in her eyes.

"Lay down, okay?"

She's shocked that he listens to her, it's telling enough of how he's really feeling. He curls up on the cushions with a little pained noise, his uninjured arm wrapped around his middle.

“It’s just from the pain,” he says quietly, but she knows he’s lying. She’s angry with herself that she didn’t realize he was sick.

Gin isn’t sure what to make of this. She lays a hand on his cheek and realizes he’s warm, so he’s been sick all this time. Getting sick from eating something bad is so much easier to deal with, but he must have an actual illness.

What else can she do? They can't take him to a doctor. Medicine is impossible to come by. They’ve already used everything they could trade in to replace everything they lost at their last shelter. They have absolutely nothing for him.

"What do we do?" Sayaka asks meekly from behind Gin.

“We’ll just see if some rest will do him some good,” Gin assures her with a nod. She’s hoping that will help, she’s praying for it, but she has a feeling they won’t be so lucky.

Shinya and Rin make it back an hour or so later, unfortunately with nothing more than a water bottle - but that’s certainly better than anything else they’ve been finding.

“Gin? Is Akutagawa…?” Shinya starts, eyes darting to Ryuunosuke’s curled up half-asleep form in the corner of the room. Both of them saw him as soon as they got back, but held off on saying anything.

She just nods, she doesn’t need to say much else. Shinya and Rin both exchange nervous glances. Ryuunosuke was sick for nearly two weeks last time, unable to do much other than sit up - and they need him more than anyone else, a fact everyone is painfully aware of. Ryuunosuke’s very aware of this too - that’s why he’s so hesitant to rest at all. He’s the reason all of them are alive. His ability is invaluable.

“He’ll be okay. He has to be,” Rin says with as assuring smile. Gin appreciates the sentiment, it helps her a tiny bit, but she can’t avoid her concern.

A few hours later, most of their group has returned, and Ryuunsouke is doing much, much worse.

He’s thrown up two more times since the first, and Gin’s holding a bin out for him now, Takehiro helping him keep steady because he doesn’t have the fight in him to even hold himself up. He doesn’t even have anything left in his stomach - they tried to get him to drink water a few hours ago, but it just came right back up.

Not to mention the fever. His skin is so hot that it burns to the touch. He’s covered in sweat, his hair is damp from it, but he’s freezing. She watches him shiver under the blankets, even with the fire going, and there’s no telling how bad that fever really is. Gin’s stomach twists, he’s gotten so much worse in a matter of hours. He’s still in so much pain, too.

She watches him blink away tears as he lays back down. It’s humiliating for him. All of these kids look up to him, he’s their pillar, their protector - and now he can’t even sit up on his own. She knows he would rather suffer alone than with any help.

“Gin?” Yuji starts quietly, just after Ryuunosuke has calmed down enough to rest his eyes. Yuji is abnormally quiet, like he doesn’t want anyone else to hear. The rest of them are curled around the fire pit on the other side of the room.

“Yeah?” she says.

“Do you remember…a few months ago, when Akutagawa told us that the Sheep owe him for something?” Yuji starts quietly.

Gin’s eyes widen.

She’d forgotten about that.

She doesn’t remember what he did for them, but she’s not sure he ever told them - but she distinctly remembers that they do in fact owe him something. And right now would be the perfect time to cash in on that and get him some help. The two of them only know this because he's told them that if they need something important, that's the route to go.

This is important. He may not consider it so, but she’s not sure he would survive this kind of illness this time around.

Gin stands up and walks toward the fire pit, where the rest of the group’s wide eyes stare with concern.

“I’m going to get help. Please take care of him while I’m gone,” she says quietly. At least, while he’s this sick, he can’t try to stop her.

“By yourself, Gin?” Rin asks nervously. “I’ll go with you.”

“I won’t be long. I know where I’m going,” she says. Rin’s already been out all day, she can't ask her to waste her energy to simply accompany her. “If I’m not back in two hours, come look for me.”

“Please be careful,” Sayaka squeaks.

Gin nods. She has to make it back for her brother, after all.

She takes her pocket knife out of her bag and stuffs it in her pocket, looking over Ryuunosuke and decides she has to go without saying anything to him - she can’t worry him, not with how awful he’s feeling already. She’ll be back before he can even realize shes left.

She scurries out, only with her knife and a plan to hunt down a sheep.

28 February, 2006, 19:49

Gin spots one after only half an hour of sneaking around their territory. Long, brushed out pink hair. She’s walking inside the building, but Gin won’t let her get that far. She’s cornered this girl before, and she knows that of she gets her, she can get who she wants to come out.

Within seconds, Gin has her against the wall with a knife up to her throat, close enough for her to feel how sharp it is, but not drawing any blood.

Her wild eyes stare straight into Gin’s. She seems to recognize that screaming right away may be a death sentence for her, so she stays quiet for a moment.

“Where is he? Your leader?” Gin growls.

The girl somehow manages to push Gin back long enough to shout something without a knife against her neck. “Shirase!”

“Answer me. Where is he? Where can I find him?” Gin snaps at her, digging the knife again, feeling her hand shake. Realistically, she has no solid way to defend herself, and no reason for them not to kill her - but she doesn’t live in a world where she can politely ask for help.She has to demand it, or else, her brother will continue to suffer.

“Get offa her, bitch!”

Gin whips around fast enough to catch the new boy off guard, presumably Shirase, and she holds the knife up close enough to his throat to draw blood. He's frozen in fear for just a second, caught off guard by Gin’s quick movements, but that’s all she has. He pushes her to the ground.

“Where is he?” she stammers, standing up on her shaking legs. The girl runs behind Shirase and grabs his arm, pointing straight at Gin.

“Kill her! She’s crazy, she tried to slit my throat! I didn’t even do anything!” she shouts, and Gin swallows back her fear. She wants to shut this girl up. If she wanted to slit her throat, she would have.

“The hell do you want with him, huh?” Shirase growls, sticking an arm out over the girl like he expects Gin to go after her again. “I’m not gonna let you near him if you think you can just go around holding knives to our throats, you psycho!”

Gin, for some reason, has enough courage in that second to try to go after him again, but he kicks the knife out of her hand and pushes her to the ground, pressing the heel of his boot into her chest.

“What did I just say, dammit!” he yells, stomping once against her ribcage. She cries out, fairly certain he’s cracked one of her ribs with that action. What they hell was she thinking? Why did she think this was going to be easy, that she could simply get help for her sick brother? She can’t hold her own against these people.

“Get off her, Shirase!”

Another voice shouts, and a boy with red hair suddenly appears in her line of sight. She knew she made the right call. She always sees these two around the leader.

“Don’t go near that bitch, she tried to kill me and Yuan!” Shirase growls. Yuan has already scurried over to snatch Gin’s knife off of the ground before she can reach for it again. “Held that knife to our throats!”

“Well, you still got your heads,” he huffs. Shirase looks completely taken aback by that. He scoffs.

"You're the Sheep's leader, right?" Gin asks. Her hands are shaking as she sits herself up. She has no chance in fighting anyone back now, so she needs to make her case.

"I'm not anyone's leader. Whaddaya want, kid?" The latter snaps. He keeps his hands in his pockets, glaring down at her with a raised eyebrow. The way he looks at her makes her wonder if he recognizes him.

"The Sheep owe us. Our group," Gin says quietly, slowly trying to stand herself up. Shirase and Yuan back up as soon as she does. "My brother, he…he helped you guys with something. A few months ago."

He looks suspicious, and waits for Gin to continue making her case.

“You’re not seriously gonna hear this bitch out, Ch-”

“Shut up. Let her talk, dammit,” he groans, waving his hand around to signal her to continue talking. He doesn’t make any steps forward, anything to make he think he’s going to retaliate. She tries to swallow back her nerves.

"I'm sorry, I don't…he didn't tell me what happened,” she mumbles quietly. She doesn’t have any idea. All she knows is it was significant enough for them to make this deal together.

"Ability user?" The red-head asks, cocking his head to the side, like he’s recovered a memory.

Gin nods.

"The one whose clothes turn into knives," he confirms.

Gin nods again.

"Yeah. We owe him. Where is he?" he asks. Shirase drops his jaw, starting to argue again, but the boy waves up his hand to shut him up. “Why’d he send you and not come here himself?”

"He needs a doctor. He's really sick," she murmurs, eyes dropping to the ground for a moment, intimidated by the red-head’s intense stare. "Do you know anyone that can help him?"

He exchanges a glance with Shirase for a moment. Shirase looks angry that he would even consider helping, but he knows what the latter is about to suggest without him even saying it, it seems.

“We know one in the city,” The leader says.

“Don’t help this punk ass kid, dammit. She just tried to slit Yuan’s throat! And mine!” he reminds him. Yuan doesn’t seem to want to speak up against this, for some reason. She stares back at Gin with a confused look.

“Well, we owe her brother a favor,” The red-head huffs, not even bothering to give him a look. “No take-backs for that kinda stuff. You know how it works, Shirase.”

Shirase pushes his shoulder and nearly knocks him to the ground. “Since when do you put outsiders over the rest of us, huh? The hell’s your deal? If I wasn’t here, this bitch would’a probably killed Yuan, you fuckin’ - ”

“This girl’s brother took out the guy who stole Yuan, you dumbass,” the leader snarls. “She’d be - if it wasn’t for him, she would -”

“This - that guy…?” Yuan starts, eyes suddenly full of concern as she looks over at Gin, and she starts to put all the pieces together. She remembers the day Ryuunosuke killed the trafficker, the man whom he met with to get supplies in exchange for favors. She suddenly feels sick, remembering his face, and then, his dismembered corpse at her feet. She doesn’t remember why Ryuunosuke ended up killing him, but even if it meant their supplies significantly dwindled, she was thankful he was gone for good.

Shirase is suddenly quiet.

“Please,” Gin starts quietly, feeling her eyes flood with tears with the resurgence of those memories, “I just want him to get better.”

“We’ll help you. I’ll get the doctor to come here if you can get your brother here by tonight,” the Sheep’s leader says.

“Next time, you can just ask for help, instead of trying to kill us,” Yuan grumbles, but her expression still holds that sadness.

Gin feels tears slide down her cheeks.

17 May, 2012 10:03am

Gin thinks to herself, that kid looked an awful lot like Chuuya. But that can't be right, there's no way Chuuya's from Suribachi City. Besides, she knew the Sheep leader's name. What was it again…?

"I'm going to go pick up the dry cleaning, I won't be gone for longer than half an hour. Do you think you'll be okay?" she asks Ryuunosuke. He’s been okay over the past few hours. No change in his fever, but he hasn’t thrown up. “I’ll pick up something to eat, too, but I think you might not be ready for that yet.”

“Not yet,” he confirms, letting his eyes fall shut. “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Gin says with a quiet sigh, fixing the cold cloth on his forehead. “Just call me if you need anything, I’ll have my phone on me.”

He doesn’t say anything, but Gin knows she heard him. She dresses herself quickly and scurries out of the front door.

Motomachi isn’t far at all from the apartment, she wouldn’t have left if she knew she couldn’t make it back in a timely manner. She places an order at a restaurant right around the corner from the dry cleaners, that yall it’ll be ready for her once she’s finished picking up their clothes. Efficiently using her time.

She’s caught off guard by a familiar voice before she can wander inside, though.

"Gin!"

Higuchi. Gin whips her head around a little too fast.

"Good morning, ma'am," Gin says, bowing her head for a moment. She’s made herself a little dizzy, but manages to keep her composure.

"You don't have to call me that, Gin. I've said you can call me Ichiyo," Higuchi says. Gin isn't sure she wants to do that. Higuchi is still technically her superior, but she thinks she's latched onto the fact that she knows Gin's secret, now. "How's Akutagawa doing?"

"He seems to be doing better," Gin says, but it's not necessarily true. She'd rather give a vague answer than worry Higuchi any more than she already has. She wonders why Higuchi isn’t at work, but it makes sense that she wouldn’t have any reason to go in with Akutagawa home sick.

There's a girl standing close enough to Higuchi to lead Gin to believe they're out here together, and she almost does a double take at how similar they look. They must be related, but Higuchi's never mentioned anything about having siblings - let alone one that’s near identical to her.

"Ah, sorry, Kuniko," Higuchi says. The girl smiles as Higuchi politely gestures to Gin. "This is one of my coworkers."

"Subordinate," Gin corrects, bowing her head again.

"And Gin, this is my younger sister, Kuniko,” Higuchi introduces cheerfully. The girl smiles back at her.

“It’s nice to meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you,” Kuniko says, a statement that warms Gin’s ears up. What kind of things is she telling her sister about them? “Sorry if we’ve interrupted your plans.”

“Oh - no, it’s okay,” Gin says politely. “I was just going to pick up dry cleaning and some food before I head back home.”

“Do you think he needs to see a doctor, Gin?” Higuchi asks, her eyes suddenly full of concern. She’s not sure what tipped her off. Maybe there was too much urgency in her voice.

“I’d…I’d like him to, but…” Gin says nervously. She chews at her lip.

"I'm so sorry, I should've tried harder to get him to see one yesterday," Higuchi murmurs. She knows that Huguchi’s best efforts would have been wasted on him anyway, he’s far too stubborn to ever take advice or listen to that sort of thing - but of course, Higuchi’s guilt over the situation is tangible nonetheless. Gin doesn't blame her one bit. “I wish I’d noticed sooner…”

"It's alright, ma'am. He's stubborn," Gin says. Of course, to her, the signs are obvious, but she's known Ryuunosuke since she was born. He'll start to space out and become confused over things that make perfect sense. Sometimes he'll get quiet. He way he breathes has been engraved into her memory. She spent several nights keeping watch over him in the slums when he was sick enough to make her think she would wake up to hear his breathing cease.

"Gin?" she says.

"Yes?"

“He’s been getting sick more often,” Higuchi says quietly, her eyes lowered. “I’m worried.”

“I know,” Gin says, but it’s all she can say. She doesn’t know why. He’s never had a good immune system, but it’s only gotten worse. He won’t see doctors, he won’t tell Gin how he’s feeling or why, not ever. All she can do is watch.

"I promise I'll keep a better eye on him, next time,” Higuchi says.

"Please don't blame yourself,” Gin tells her. She would rather take the blame onto herself.

The dry cleaners and picking up food both take much longer than she would have liked them to, and she ends up back at their apartment about an hour later than she planned.

She sets the take-out back on the counter and drops the dry cleaning bag onto the floor before she scurries back to Ryuunosuke’s bedroom, but there’s no sign of him in bed. The sheets are disheveled like he was in a hurry to get out.

"Ryuunosuke?" Gin calls out, but she doesn't see him anywhere in the room. He might be in the bathroom. She’s worried that he’s thrown up again.

She knocks, briefly, to no response. She opens the door, slowly, carefully - Ryuunosuke is curled up against the wall, arms wrapped around his middle, features twisted up in pain. She doesn’t think he’s entirely awake, but he’t not asleep.

“Ryuunosuke?” Gin starts, kneeling in front of him, "You should go back to bed. It's not good for your body to sleep like this.”

She thinks his fever's gotten worse. He's not responding to her. He looks as white as a sheet, and he doesn’t show any sign that he’s heard a word she’s said to him.

"Ryuunosuke, I think -"

Her hand grazes his waist in an attempt to grip his arm, only for a moment, but it sets something off. He flinches so hard that she's worried for a moment he's hit his head, but the bigger problems begin when the ends of his sweatshirt turn into tendrils and hurdle toward her throat. They're wrapped tight around her neck before she can even think to fight back. He’s almost using enough force to pull her off of the ground, and no amount of pulling at his ability could possibly get her out of the restraint.

She feels like she’s going to die. She can feel it start to get sharp, but the choked plea she manages is enough to bring her brother back to reality.

As soon as he lets go, coughs and coughs, really thinking for a moment that she was going to stop breathing. She lifts her head and sees Ryuunosuke halfway up, staring at her wild-eyed, horrified at what he’d just done.

She knows why. He's never once told her, but she knows.

"Gin…I, I'm -" he hardly manages before he forces himself up to vomit into the toilet bowl, clearly not for the first time that day. Gin's angry with herself, she chose a terrible time to leave him. She should have known he would only get worse.

She knows she's safe to touch him now. He's alert, he's said her name. She scoots up closer to him and rubs his back. There’s nothing left for him to bring up. He’s just coughing and dry-heaving. It sounds so painful.

Gin bites her lip when she spots blood drip down his chin.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. His voice shakes. He can’t lift his head just yet, he’s still trying to catch his breath.

"Please don't be sorry," she says quietly. "It's okay."

She holds him for a few moments after he finally lifts his head. She wants him to know he's truly safe, and leave no doubt in his mind.

She can't help but cry.

"Gin…" he manages pulling back and reaching a hand out like he’s trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, it's not - it's not what you did," she murmurs. Of course, it scared her, but she's heartbroken that he still reacts like that. He'll never, ever let his guard down. That’s the worst part of it all.

"Your neck…" he says, his face all twisted up with the slew of emotions he’s feeling. God, he’s so pale. He looks like he’ll pass out any second.

"It's okay, Ryuunosuke, I promise,” she assures him, rubbing at the spot that’s starting to become sore. This is truly the last thing he needs to be worrying about. She’s dealt with much, much worse. “Let’s get you back to bed, okay? I think - ”

His eyes roll back and his whole body goes limp and falls forward before she can even finish her sentence. She hears a tiny noise of discomfort from him as she lifts him up to take him back to bed, but she certainly can’t let him fall asleep in the bathroom again.

She manages to get him back to bed, deciding to change out his comforter to something not so damp. His skin is so, so hot - she bites her lip when she feels his forehead. It must feel nice, her cool hand, she can see him visibly relax at the touch.

His eyes open again when she lays a washcloth over his forehead. His eyes don’t look for Gin for a few minutes. She takes his temperature, and the thermometer reads one hundred and three, now. It’s a miracle he’s able to talk to her at all. God, he must feel absolutely miserable.

“Hey,” she greets quietly when his eyes finally find her face, “you passed out.”

She doesn’t want to cause any confusion. He sighs, like he’s disappointed in himself.

“I think I should take you to a doctor, Ryuunosuke,” she tells him. She knows he’s not going to get any better on his own, especially with how much he’s throwing up despite eating nothing.

“I’ll be fine,” he breathes out quietly.

She sighs again. She wishes he weren’t so stubborn. She can’t imagine feeling as miserable as he is right now and refusing any kind of outside help.

"I ran into Higuchi earlier," Gin tells him, “she’s worried about you. She offered to take you to a doctor. Or call one in.”

"She's a fool," he whispers, turning his head away. He can’t comprehend anyone else caring for him. He’s never understood the lengths that Higuchi has gone to for him.

"She's just worried," Gin says. "You don't need to be so secretive with her. It might have saved you some trouble if you told her you weren't doing well yesterday."

"It's not her problem to deal with," he murmurs. He coughs a few times.

Of course he would think that way.

Gin isn't sure what she can do to change his mind. This has been the way he's thought since they were kids. His problems are his own. He never shares them with Gin, she always just happens to find out.

"That doesn't mean you should suffer alone, Ryuunosuke,” she tells him. "You wouldn't want me to suffer alone, would you?"

He scoffs, like it’s a ridiculous comparison, somehow.

"I doubt you would want that for Higuchi either. Or Tachihara, for that matter… any of us. I know you’re not heartless,” she says, patting his hair.

“You always say strange things,” he says quietly, the last of his words drifting off as he starts to fall asleep once more.

17 May, 2012, 17:41

Only a few hours later, Gin’s finding it hard to breathe after she checks the thermometer.

One hundred and four point one.

She can’t wait anymore. He needs to see a doctor right away. Even if it’s not what he wants, someone needs to help him, to do more than Gin possibly can from their apartment. Her hands shake as he brushes his hair from his face - he’s not reacting to anything. Not to any pinches, squeezing his arm, nothing.

But the worst part is that even through his delirium, only a few moments ago, he turned his head to the side to choke up a mouthful of blood, staining the white pillowcase beside him.

She scrambles for her cell phone and searches for Higuchi’s contact. It rings. Once, twice, three times, and Gin almost hangs up, but Higuchi finally answers.

"Miss Higuchi," Gin murmurs, trying her hardest to hide the shake in her voice. She knows there’s no hiding it.

"Gin? Are you okay?" she asks immediately, evidently recognizing the hurt in her voice right away. She already hears shuffling, like he’s getting ready to leave her apartment.

"He’s not…he’s not responding anymore. He needs a doctor,” is all she says, tears slipping from her eyes. She dips her head onto his shoulder and squeezes his arm, tight. His far too hot skin. She can’t see anything in front of her, the salty tears blocking her vision.

“I’ll be right there. Please don’t worry, I’ll be there very soon, okay?” she says gently, but Gin can hear it in her voice, too. She’s afraid.

Gin hangs up the phone and chokes back a sob.

Higuchi arrives in record time only minutes later, Gin stumbles to the front door to let her in, tear tracks staining her cheeks. She tries to wipe them off, she sees the way Higuchi is looking at her like she’s absolutely heartbroken to see her like this - it only makes her cry more.

“Hey, it’s okay, Gin,” Higuchi tells her calmly, holding her and squeezing her tight for just a moment. Gin sobs, covers her face, Higuchi pulls out of the hold and takes her hand before Gin leads her to Ryuunosuke’s bedroom.

Gin won’t have any problem carrying him, he’s so horribly thin, but Higuchi is still on standby. She sees the horror on her face as soon as she’s in the doorway, seeing Ryuunosuke in the state that he’s in - the blood, his white skin, the way he’s nearly limp as Gin lifts him from the bed. Even then, she gets no reaction from him, nothing but a pained moan.

“He’s not responding at all…?” she asks with a shake in her voice as she follows Gin out of the front door and down the steps to her car. Higuchi opens the back door for her to set Ryuunosuke in.

Gin gets into the other side of the backseat just as Higuchi climbs into the front, and without any deliberation, they’re off.

Higuchi tells her on the way there that she’s already notified the nursing staff at the Port Mafia headquarters infirmary that they would be on their way, which is reassuring, they’ll be ready. Gin cries and squeezes her brother’s hand the whole short ride there. Nothing has changed. Even six years later, she’s still terrified of losing him.

They get him up to the infirmary floor of the building in no time at all, and without any reaction from Ryuunosuke. She watches his eyes flutter, like he was trying to regain control, but simply couldn’t. She quietly reassured him the whole way, just in case she could hear him.

Once Gin takes him inside, she lays him down in the cot that they’ve prepared for him and she kneels down beside it, her hands reaching up to the guards on the side. Higuchi has already run over to the staff, and she tries to listen in, but she’s too focused on the restraints on the sides of the cot.

Her stomach drops.

"We won't treat him unless he's been stripped of anything he can weaponize," the doctor says as she approaches, neither her nor any of the nursing staff daring to come any closer.

Gin freezes in place, and stares at them in horror.

She understands their hesitancy to treat him. He's dangerous. He's killed members of their staff, years ago. After that point, Dazai was required to be present for any treatment that Ryuunosuke underwent, to negate any effects of his ability.

But he's not here. There’s no one who can do that anymore.

"Please don't do this," Gin says quietly, slowly standing beside the cot. She’s familiar with this doctor. She’s treated her many times, but she becomes very cold whenever her brother is brought up in conversation. "You don't understand how humiliating that is."

"It's not worth risking the lives of my staff, sir,” the doctor says. She holds eye contact. She almost looks like she feels guilty. Higuchi stands behind her, eyes wide and confused. She likely had no idea that this would be involved at all. 

"I'll stay here while you treat him. If it looks like he'll hurt anyone at any point, I'll take the hits," Gin stammers, biting her lip. She’s not even sure that would work. She’s just so desperate for someone to help him, She knows he's dangerous. He's hurt her against his own true will many times. She can still feel his sweater wrapped around her neck and holding her in the air. But it's all out of fear. He's lived so much of his life with no choice but to be that way.

“Please, please help him. He’s so sick,” Higuchi begs, eyes darting between the doctor and her staff.

“I will have him thrown out the moment he hurts any of my staff. Do you understand?” she says.

Gin begrudgingly nods. She just needs someone to help him.

They’ve made their agreement, and finally, the nurses start treating him.

Gin stays beside him the whole time, knees on the tile and elbows on the side of the cot, squeezing Ryuunosuke’s hand. He’s so out of it. He doesn’t react to a single thing that’s going on. Not even the multiple attempts to palace an IV catheter - he had terrible veins and it’s always a painful process for him, but even now, there’s no reaction.

They’re able to get some medications in him, too, through the IV, ones that she doesn't have to worry about coming back up. Something for the nausea, his fever - the doctor said she’s concerned about his lungs, she doesn’t like the sound she’s hearing. Gin knows they aren’t good to begin with, but the doctor is concerned about him developing pneumonia. She squeezes his hand tight again, and just as the doctor sets her stethoscope on his chest again, she feels him flinch.

The tendril stabs through her shoulder before she can recognize it, and she stops breathing for a moment. It's so painful. She's never felt anything more sharp than the fabric of Ryuunosuke's ability, it's almost so sharp that it's numb. She realizes it’s only hit her because of the angle she’s at. He meant to hit the doctor.

"Ryuunosuke," she chokes out, gritting her teeth. "They're trying to help you, Ryuu, please let them. Please."

His eyes are so wide and full of fear. She squeezes his hand tighter. The doctor is frozen in place, fully aware that one wrong move could result in a decapitation.

“I’m here, okay? I would never let anyone hurt you,” she says, tears flooding her eyes.

“I’ll try to give him a sedative,” The doctor whispers. She mentioned that she’s been hesitant on giving him one with the condition of his lungs, but it’s necessary.

One of the nurses has already had one on standby.

He makes a sound that almost resembles her name. He’s fighting to keep his eyes open. Gin cries just looking at that expression, it’s more heartbreaking than anything she’s ever seen on him. She can feel the tendril start to slide of her shoulder and return to its normal form as the doctor injects the sedative into his IV line, and the blood from the hole in her shoulder starts to drip down onto the cot.

Within seconds, his eyes fall shut.

“Gin - ” Higuchi gasps as she runs over, two other nurses following one they realize Ryuunosuke is sedated.

“Will he be okay?” Gin breathes out, wincing as one of the nurses rip the cloth from her shirt to expose her shoulder. “With - with that sedative?”

“I’ll keep a close eye out on him,” she says, brows knit together at the sight of Gin’s injury. She doesn’t want to look. It hurts so much, she hears the whispers from the nurses behind her as they try to coax her into sitting on the neighboring cot, but she doesn’t want to move.

“Gin, let them help you, please,” Higuchi tells her gently, taking her hand and moving her back to the cot. Her voice is shaking so much. “I’ll watch Akutagawa, okay? Let them help you before they can’t fix this anymore.”

Gin's finally starting to get tired herself. She feels her eyes roll back, a few shouts of her name, and everything is black.

May 19, 2012, 18:03

The soreness in her shoulder is the first thing she feels when she starts to feel herself coming back.

“Thank goodness, Gin,” she hears Higuchi say with an exasperated sigh. “I thought you were going to sleep forever…”

She finds Higuchi looming over her when she opens her eyes again, looking concerned but relieved all at the same time.

“Guess not takin’ care’a yourself finally caught up to ya’,” a new voice says, one that she recognizes, but certainly not one that was in the room last time she was awake. She rubs at her eyes as she tries to figure it out, and her stomach drops when her brain finally connects the dots.

Tachihara. Tachihara, who said he would be gone for four days last time that she saw him. Which, if she’s doing the math right -

“How long was I asleep?” she gasps as she sits herself up, wincing hard at the pain in her shoulder. Higuchi squeaks and lays a hand over it, frantically looking around for something to help her.

“I think…it’s been over forty-eight hours, now…” Higuchi says, meekly asking her to be careful as she leans forward to see if Ryuunosuke is still in the cot beside her.

He is. He’s sitting up, propped up by some pillows, leaning forward a little like he’s been watching her, too - as soon as they make eye contact, his shoulders relax with a sigh.

God, she’s so glad to see he’s doing better.

Gin scrambles to get out of the cot, with Higuchi nearly stumbling after her. Ryuunosuke seems a little surprised to see her move so quickly, and she regrets it a little - she feels dizzy, but she needs to check him over.

"Gin," he whispers, eyebrows knit together, "your shoulder."

She looks down at it, finding that blood is starting to seep through the hospital gown she’s been dressed in. It hurts, a lot more than most injuries she’s recieved, but she won’t show him that. She lays her hand over it.

"It's okay," she tells him quietly. He looks so much better than before. There’s color in his face again, his eyes aren’t so glazed over - there’s still an IV catheter in his arm, so he’s still recovering, but this is a massive improvement from before. “You look like you’re feeling a lot better.”

He sighs, like he was expecting her to say that. “You need to look after yourself, Gin.”

“Only if you promise to do that yourself first,” she tells him. Higuchi has found a chair for her and she urges her to sit down, taking note of her shaking legs, not quote yet ready to be walking around after being asleep for so long. She sighs. She hadn’t slept the entire time she was taking care of her brother, and the stress of it all really knocked her out for that long.

“I’m sorry, Gin,” he says to her, very quiet, eyes turned away. He feels guilty, she can see that clear as day. It hurts her to see.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault you got so sick, but you have to let me get help for you sooner next time. Okay?” she tells him, taking his free hand. He just nods, not quite wanting to look her in the eye yet, but that’s fine. As long as he’s acknowledged her words.

“You guys are scary similar,” Tachihara puffs.

“They are…” Higuchi sighs.

[carpetbug]

I just got to read both chapters of your AU, and I am really intrigued. I assume Master Fu's death happened before school started, right?

I wonder how seeing a brutal crime scene is going to affect a 13 yo girl.

You mentioned that Adrien would get the Ladybug Miraculous, but not due to Marinette's choice. So does she know Adrien is the holder? Or did she lose/the Kawami took action and Adrien got the earrings without Marinette's approval?

Also, without Fu here, there is no rule that the "Black Cate and Ladybug must not know each other"

Are there any other "dark elements" that you are adding to this AU, other than Hawkmoth being a Murderer? (On that note, I feel Gabriel being Hawkmoth might be a red herring, since we never saw Hawkmoth)

Is Marinette going to have a "different core friend group"? Since she is more reclused in this AU (as seeing a brutal dead body would do to a kid) I assume she will be part of the class, but never be as proactive or "hyped" as she was in canon, like a mix of Julleka and Kagami personalities, with a pinch of Marinette on it.

I wonder if Bunnyx will make an appearance due to this timeline being "so deviated"?

Also, I can't wait to see what makes Marinette choose Plagg instead of Tikki as her Miraculous

first of all thank you so much for reading and for all the questions I love love love it <3

Master Fus death happens the summer (really only a few weeks) before freshman year! But Im having fbau!Marinette be 14 when she becomes guardian, so she turns 15 during the school year (befana) (same goes for Adrien, only he turns 15 in bubbler before Mari). Either way, she’s still a brand new teenager and she definitely definitely struggles having seen the murder scene, and just not having the support of Master Fu.

Marinette does not know Adrien is the ladybug holder! I don’t want to give much away, but the main idea is Marinette has someone else in mind and Tikki decides takes matters into her own hands. Since Beetle wasn’t the chosen holder by Feline, she takes some anger and her own guilt from disappointing Tikki out on him before coming to terms with him as a partner, and eventually getting close with him

Not entirely decided, but probably! More mental health/illness stuff cause what’s an AU without a little trauma, probably a bit more violent akumas/mature themes but just gotta wait and see

She has mostly the same friends, but she is much more recluse! She tries to stay out of class drama so bye bye being class president, and now she has bigger problems than high school bullies so she doesn’t stand up for herself as much against chloe/lila (but alya has no problem doing so for her), and she shies away from group events/having people over. This is a big reason why Adrien really wants to befriend her and help her open up :)

I don’t currently have any plans for Bunnix to show up since Luka uses the rabbit miraculous in this au, but it would be a fun cameo!! I’ll definitely think about it + I love Alix so i’m sure i’ll find a place to have her pop in. For now let’s say she leaves the brunt of the work to Tempore Lapin

A lot of different factors go into Marinette picking the black cat rather than the ladybug, but i’d say the biggest one is probably the difference between Tikkis support and Plaggs support! Tikki tries to remain optimistic a lot, looking at the positives and trying to comfort her holder when they’re not okay. Plagg aims more for a coping with humor technique, but can pull it together when really necessary. His support is based much more around wanting what’s best for Marinette, even if that puts him and the other kwamis in peril (not having a guardian/holders). He values her honesty and genuine struggles with caring for the miraculous while Tikki aims to reassure that Adrien he has what it takes and can do it! [TLDR: Tikki says “You can do this! I believe in you! You’re a hero!” Plagg says “I’m here for you! This is your decision! It’s not all on your shoulders!”]

Thank you for the ask, it’s greatly appreciated <3 Feel free to send more!

[cfdbuckley]

Recent History

"So you're in a claim with a woman. And you're the Dom."

It was sunny, still in the AM, and Cap hadn't doled out chores yet, so Buck had decided now was as good a time as any to interrogate the new guy some more. Or just tell stories.

"I was almost in that position myself, once."

Buck crossed his arms loosely in front of his chest as he leaned into the arm chair, getting a faraway look on his face that someone his age probably didn't deserve. Apparently, Hen had this line of thinking, anyway, since she looked up from her phone and pointedly at Buck, over the top of her glasses. "Here we go again. Chim?" She turned her head to look at him as she herself twisted her body in her chair to be facing the sitting area from her spot at the dining table.

"I'm on it!" Chimney replied as he stopped pouring his own coffee and instead walked over to where Eddie was seated, pouring more into his cup. "Trust me, you're gonna need it."

Buck got a perceptively irked look on his face but didn't respond to either of them, instead focusing on Eddie, deciding waiting for him to pry left too much room for more snark to be thrown his way.

"There was this girl, right? No, no, not girl, woman, she was a 9-1-1 dispatcher- Abby - that was how I met her. I mean- not directly because actually she called 9-1-1, but-" He waved away his own interruption. "Anyway, she was older than me-"

"Sixteen years." Hen interjected, feeling this was an important bit of information Eddie needed.

"Yes, older than me," Buck said a little louder, over her, before returning to normal volume. "She was already in a claim, obviously-"

"Because of her age." Chimney tipped the coffee pot like he was punctuating his point.

"But her claim, he was- well, he was ill- terminal, to be honest." To Buck's credit, besides his initial annoyance, he took Chimney and Hen's interruptions in stride, clearly used to ignoring it. "He was bed-ridden, obviously not what she was expecting her life to be like, when it happened. Becoming a caretaker, permanently. Apart from the job, which obviously she needed to keep them both afloat-"

"It's almost like he's just reciting a favorite daytime soap." Chimney said to Eddie and Hen, putting the coffee pot back and stirring some sugar into his coffee.

"She obviously wasn't like anyone I'd ever met before, she was smart, mature-"

"At least sixteen years more mature, but then we're talking about Buck, so probably more." Hen again pointed out before sipping her coffee.

"For the first time in my life, I started picturing a life with her. A future. Since she was already a submissive and I knew what role that meant for me, so I started to really focus my studies in that direction. I got her Dom's permission before asking her out, and it was a little awkward, y'know? Like being grilled by the dad of your new girlfriend. She took a bit of wooing, but when she finally let me in, she told me I reminded her what it felt like to be alive. And I told someone I was in love with them for the first time."

"And he meant it." Chimney clapped Buck on the arm like he was proud, even if it was more of a dig on Buck 1.0. Buck lifted his head to look at Chimney and give him a withering look, then stole the other man's coffee, taking a sip.

"Hey! I made that to perfection!"

"Yeah, for you." Buck grimaced. "It could use some cream. Mind grabbing me some? Since I'm in the middle of a conversation."

"Monologue, he means," Hen muttered as Chimney snatched back his coffee cup and went away with a huff. To his credit, he did start making Buck a cup, though only after pouring his own coffee into a different mug that Buck hadn't put his lips all over.

"But then he died- the Dom- and I thought that was about to be the beginning of a new life. I moved in, everything seemed like it was going really well... and then she told me she felt- like she needed to rediscover herself... she said she had spent so much of the last decade being a caretaker, she hadn't thought about what she wanted..." Buck did pause, looking down at his hands in his lap with sadness etched into his brow. He didn't have the best poker face, at least not about anything real.

"So then, she took off to Europe where the mourning period is longer and left Buck alone in that big house filled with ghosts of the past and a future that would never come to pass." Chimney finished for him, with much less tact or care than the man would have done for himself, handing Buck the cup. "But hey, he got a free place to live out of it, for a year. How long until that lease is up, Buck?"

The younger man looked up at Chimney with a sharp, wounded look, though he still took the cup from him. It was clear to anyone watching that Chimney and Hen were making light of something that was still a healing wound for Buck, though he didn't retort or tell them off for it. "Couple months," He mumbled, hiding his face in the mug of coffee.

"It was young love, Buck, at least for you. It hurts right now, yeah, but eventually you'll realize it was way too soon for you to find "the one" or claim anyone. And you're still flip-flopping about your role. Though, to be fair, you're probably just always going to end up being whatever the other person needs you to be." Hen nodded, at least looking like she believed her words to be comforting, as opposed to Chimney who looked at Buck like he was a kid pouting over something trivial.

"Uh, what about Eddie? Didn't he say he's been with his girl since he was a teenager?" Buck stared at Eddie like he was looking for confirmation before arching a brow at Hen, who was suddenly struggling with how to respond to that, since she did just tell Buck that his being 22 and in love with Abby was "too soon" in his life.

"Well- but- I, uhm- it was different? They were both young!"

[saiiboat]

are there moments outside of fuga prison history where ac au Felps and Pac interact? I am just spinning the au in my head

thinking about this now and i do really like the idea of maybe jaiden bringing felps to pac and mike's workshop once things start to get a little hairy. jaiden brings felps to the workshop to get fitted for a hidden blade so he has something unpredictable on his side to keep him safe. while some assassins wear their blade with pride, sometimes the gauntlets made beautifully with metal and leatherwork, jaiden wants felps to have one that is as discreet as possible. only jaiden doesnt know that felps and pac have serious history ^_^ they knock on the door and walk in and felps and pac just stare at each other; pac reliving the pain and fear and terror as cellbit tore into him while felps did nothing but watch, and felps reliving the sound of pac sobbing and screaming while he stood by as a guilty bystander.

jaiden, noticing the tension, tells pac that felps is on the run from the templars and she wants him fitted for a hidden blade. snapping himself out of it and doing his best to distract himself from his work through his shaking hands, pac starts going through the steps of measuring felps' arm and having him move it and his hand in different ways, picking out materials and asking what would blend best with what felps usually wears, ect ect. felps asks a lot of questions and is generally clearly and pleasantly interested in what pac is doing, though not intrusively so. as pac talks about his work they both start to open up more and get comfortable in each other's presence, jaiden quietly waiting in the background putting them both a bit at ease

i think here pac would tentatively ask if felps knows anything about where cellbit is now, and felps would happily respond that they live together..

"is he. you know. is he better? is he doing better?"

"yeah! he's doing much better! no eating people :) but guaxinim hangs around too much for any of us. he's a templar, you know!"

pac rakes his mind for a moment before his eyes go wide. "from the prison? that guaxinim? he's still around? and i always thought that him and cellbit were like.. friends or something"

felps hums, mouth twisting. "i think he helped make it easier for you and mike to escape. cellbit got a lot worse after you both were gone, you know. and then guaxinim asked him if he would like to escape and work for the templars." he props his cheek up on his right hand as pac wraps a piece of leather around his left forearm to see if it fits. "he didnt have much of a choice!"

pac stills, fingers playing on the leather in his hands "yeah that.. that doesn't sound like much of a choice." he takes a breath and lets it out. "well- i'll.. ill be here if you or- or him need anything. both- either of you." his eyes flick over to jaiden, leaning against the wall and keeping a quiet watch on the street outside. "if jaiden trusts you, i will too. i- i cant make promises that mike will want to help you. or him. but ill talk to him."

felps smiles at him, and something loosens in pac's chest. "thanks, pac."

pac gives him a small smile back and nods jerkily. "yeah! of course." he raises his voice a little to address both felps and jaiden, "im all set here with measurements and everything! i can probably finish it by tomorrow afternoon? so you can swing by then! either of you. mike will probably be in, though," he adds in an apologetic tone to felps.

jaiden speaks up, "we can swing by together. i'll ask bagi and roier if they need anything in the meantime."

[mostoverstimulatedgirl]

Homestuck character who doesn't get enough love?

i have been stalking this ask, formulating my plan of attack, jumping from branch to branch of the canopy of trees, waiting for the perfect moment.

and that moment has finally come

spoilers for homestuck (merp. if you read this ill explode you with my mind im sorry im doing this but it has spoilers for all of homestuck so you arent allowed to read this JDKSKFJSH)

my answer is jade. am i biased?? absolutely!! but thats A Whole Thing so im gonna give some runner ups first before i get into all that

jake prob like idk whenever i see him in stuff its always either with dirk (and usually focuses on dirk kr their relationship) or its a family photo of john, jade, jane, and jake. but like. idk i dont think many people *get* what hes about (me included) but hes a great character and literally soooo aro coded its not even funny. i really should rotate jake in my brain more hes a very cool character

jane too theres some love for jane but i think the epilogues kinda fucked her

the dancestors too, but idk im not a huge dancestor fan cause they are all kinda assholes and the scene with cronus and mituna just makes my skin crawl

but ok BACK TO JADE

i think there are different aspects (most of them probably unrelated to what you untended for the question) that she doesnt get enough love, but lets start with what you were probably talking about, which is

how jade is treated by the fans

i think jade gets a fair amount of fan love. i mean just look at her!! who couldnt love her?? my main problem comes from how she compares to dave, specifically the fact that fans seem to apply an absolutely monstrous depth to daves character that isnt necessarily there in homestuck (like specificallyin regards to angst readings of his character. this is about fanfiction i should say that this is just my grievances when it comes to finding good jade fics). THATS NOT A BAD THING!! i fuckin love it actually and im not raggin on dave with this. its just that i think jade could do that as good if not better!! her life is fuckin dogshit if you treat it seriously, much like people do with daves life, and considering the fact that nearly every single fuckin dave fic i read touches on that topic, it sucks that jade fics like that are so hard to come by. she also doesnt have as many like prominent ships. theres some obv ones, like davepetasprite, or dave/karkat in a throuple (we will fucking get to that later), but yk some of the other characters even uf they dont have canon relationships, they have like. obvious ones yk. like john/vriska or john/terezi or june/rose or john/dave (fuckin j egbert gettin around kfhskshdh) or like jake/dirk or roxy/callie yk ships like those. whether you agree with em is one thing but they are obvious yk you dont gotta do alot of convincing to see them at least try it out.

but with jade, it feels like you gotta stretch it a little to get her with anyone. jade/rose is great (especially jade/rose/kanaya) but. i mean jade and rose barely talk in homestuck proper (we will GET TO IT) so its kinda a hard sell. and does jade like interact with any of the trolls alot?? like idk its been a while but im p sure most of her interactions with the trolls were negative. so that just leaves jade/davepeta which is a pretty good ship i will say, and of course, jade/dave ( + karkat sometimes) and it kinda sucks. like one of my fav ships, jade/vriska, literally started out as a joke!! but it grew on me when i started thinking out it, but it is already such a stretch that theres no fuckin way most people will see what i see (thats a whole seperate rant jdhsjdjsj this is already long enough and we have 3 other parts to get to)

SPEAKING OF THE OTHER PARTS!!

next part, prob the easiest,

jades treatment in the epilogues

do i even need to say anything??

this post is long enough ill try to speed through the other sections

NEXT PART!!

how she is treated in homestuck proper in the text (what literally happens to her)

literally lonliest girl alive has one day with her friends (that day is filled with horrible shit and thats the understatement of the century) before getting on a ship for 3 years, and like a week in having her brother and other friend die. she then lives in this ship in the middle of space, no contact to any of her other friends, no update on whats actually going on, just the company of the consorts and nanna sprite. she finally gets to the new session, meets god tier calliope who explains that that was all supposed to happen and john actually fixed everything, and also space players are just lonely thats just apart of the aspect :/

she then gets put to sleep so the condesce doesnt control her, where she misses all of the socialization that the other people have on the platform before the final fight.

she then has a convo with davepeta while she is dreaming where davepeta says "actually in the other timeline we dated and that stuff still happened to you cause of this thing called an Ultimate Self, a thing thats totally real and not at all bullshit. anyways bye!! *muah*"

she wakes up, chases a few god dogs around, gets puched in the face, and the end happily ever after!!!!!!!!

now obv this was an extremely bitter retelling and i actually cant seperate the 2 sections so this is also...

how jade is treated in homestuck proper, by andrew hussie

now. jade got ROYALLY fucked over. she started out as a mysterious figure that knows more than anyone, but extremely quickly she goes to the person who knows the least out of literally anyone. she barely talks to rose, seemingly one of her 4 childhood friends, throughout the whole comic (jade and rose say about 2700 words to each other over 5 conversations, one of them being a repeat from the others perspective. their longest convo is 571 words. for reference, this convo between dave karkat and john has 2100 words. almost 1500 words more than their longest convo and almost as much words as rose and jades entire convo history. heres a link to da sourse i used cause no way im counting that shit jdjsgsjshs tho they are doing it cause they dont like jade/rose or sumn?? idk i dont fucking care about that. anyways side tangent over!!)

SHE DOESNT EVEN WNTER THE GAME TILL ACT 5 ACT 2!!!!!!!! AFTER WE SEE THE ENTIRE TROLL SESSION!!!!!!!!

then, during the session idk shes cool i dont remember it much cause the beta kids session is a surprisingly short part of the comic jdkshdjshs but she has some cool moments and i love her ^u^

then the yellow yard. god. just fucking left there alone. why?? the entire point of johnfix is that the session could be changed for the better without worry of a doomed timeline. couldnt have even made john give her a heads up as to why her john and davesprite just fucking die randomly?? (before you say that john couldnt have cause he didnt know, motherfucker andrew hussie knew!!!!!!!! he could have just made some fuckin reason for john to know its not that hard)

then during the session she just gets ranted to about how actually its all apart of the plan and this was supposed to be this way and she just goes ":P okie dokie" and moves on like that wouldnt FUCKING KILL HER THAT SHE HAD TO BE ROYALLY FUCKED OVER FOR EVERYTHING TO GO RIGHT.

now obv theres an explanation why her role in the final fight is so passive. shes too op. she combined with bec and is a space player (and is shown using those powers to do some pretty bad ass stuff jfjsgsjdhd). thats fair i guess. im just salty that the way to solve that was to literally put her to sleep for most of it, then go fly around with some dogs and get punched in the face.

now. the rant is kinda over. jade i think is the most slept on character, but specifically she is slept on by one person. andrew hussie. i think that andrew hussie did not explore jades character like he did with other characters. i do not know why. im going to try to not act like i know why he did it (god its so hard HDKSKDHAGDJ). this rsnt is pure salt, pure fuckin cope, i am aware. this is not meant to be objective i just really like and relate to jade and wish she got more love in the work itself. but instead, i must dine on the scraps she gets on fuckin ao3 (did you know there are almost as many davekat fics as there are fics where jade is in it at all?? and thats not even including the fact that alot of the jade fics, shes not the main person. im not mad 🙃🙃)

anyways uhhhh sorry this probably wasnt what you were expecting 😭😭😭😭 i just have alot of incoherent thoughts when it comes to jade and homestuck in general. so uhhhh. THANKS FOR THE ASK!!!!!!!!