#look i know asthma isn't something you can just grow out of

[transgender-catboy]

I would like to dedicate this moment of "Why Does My Body Hurt Now?" to my childhood friend... Asthma!

haven't heard from you in years, was kinda hoping you died

[saphflare]

Personal take on "Chayanne as a Glass Child Interpretation" that no one asked for

===

Apparently people have been using the "Chayanne has glass child syndrome" thing to rag on q!Philza, which I haven't seen, at least not overtly. Or at least not with the purposeful intent of labelling q!Philza completely as a Bad Parent. But I can get why ppl would feel like that is an attack on his character (*stares at DSMP*)

But I also kinda wish some ppl understood that when we interpret the fact that Chayanne is a glass child, it isn't necessarily to blame q!Philza and his parenting.

please

Because anyone that has a singular critical thinking brain cell can see that the man is trying so fucking hard to raise his two children, and that he loves both of them so much. And that is the sad thing isn't it. Because the thing about glass children is that practically always it is not intentional, and the parents never mean to neglect or force their more capable/older children to become so. That it is often just a consequence of the circumstances of their lives together, and it is something that isn't obvious most of the time until it of course becomes an issue. That for all the efforts of the caretaker(s), they sometimes need to focus on one child more because of their needs and that is perfectly understandable, especially if it is health needs. But as a result, there are gaps in the support and needs of the family. And so, other children in the family that are capable of helping just end up doing so because additional aid and care is needed.

And if you especially look at the Death family's circumstances, we can see those circumstances in play. That the island is dangerous compared even to "normal" society, with the government system provides little to no additional care for its residents & their families. If not downright making it basically punishing them because they have children, due to needing to work for additional resources for their kids (cookies, tasks, etc.) And then there are the monsters and external forces trying to kill and torment all of them. Now that is already fucked, but then you consider the fact that Philza has two children, as he is their primary caretaker due to q!Missa's frequent absence. Which not blaming q!Missa, as the family still loves him and like probable lore reasons, but regardless that adds to the circumstances of the family. That q!Philza is the only one, for the majority of the time, responsible for two kids instead of just one for most of the other parents.

Which again, I will say that other residents also help out with taking care of other eggs of their own and all that, I won't deny that. But they can't always know or be able to pinpoint all things that the two children specifically need or be reliable as the island limits their ability to help.

That at the end of the day, Philza in specific is considered the official guardian for Chayanne and Tallulah, and the one that they spend most time with in their development on the island.

That with the constant danger and additional circumstances surrounding them, it is no wonder that Chayanne ended up taking more responsiblity, becoming more mature in the process. That like any other kid that could see their family struggling and also feel it, he wanted to help his dad. And especially at first, when they had Tallulah and it was evident she needed support due to her asthma and health issues (aka internet issues). She needed not just the support of Philza, who was already lacking consistent support of a partner, but also her brother to help out in case. That it might not have been the intention for Chayanne to take on these burdens or have to grow up so fast, but it happened out of necessity.

That it was as a result of everything they have faced on that island, both good and bad, for Chayanne to have turned out the way he has now and before.

And, I want to stress this so fucking much that neither Philza nor Tallulah are responsible for this. No one in this family is completely at fault because for fucks sakes it isn't exactly like they fucking meant for Chayanne to be a parentified child. That yes their circumstances contributed to to the situation, but that is the same as saying the island has given them lemons and they had to just do the best with it. And that in some ways, they are still growing out of their original dynamics, even months now that they have changed so much and literally have been displaced onto a new place. That in this manner specifically, Philza sometimes still falls into the same mentality in believing Tallulah is still the same little girl that he needs to constantly look out for, when she has become so much more and grown to be able to defend herself. Honestly almost, if not, just as well as Chayanne. But I also acknowledge that he has improved quite a bit, and given her much more freedom and autonomy, especially since they all reunited after Purgatory. But he is still getting used to it, and even in these few months, he has learned to give them room to grow a bit.

Also, I don't blame him for sometimes falling back on the old habits considering you know the dangers he is so guarded against are real and most definitely out to get him and his eggs.

The whole thing of people having flaws and making mistakes yada yada ya, they don't know everything they need to do all the time, especially with things changing constantly and all that shit.

And in some ways, I look at Chayanne right now and I see he is more of a glass child healing from their early circumstances. That his family has acknowledged in some way that he had to take on so much more than what a kid should have. And while I don't think they have unpackaged everything, and that it something that will take a lot more time. Not to mention all the new issues that pop up every other fucking day (for void sake, let this family have a goddamn break). But the thing is they are improving. That they are definitely moving towards that direction in which they are looking in retrospect of what they had to deal with and realizing things. And then, they are having conversations about it together.

And look, for all the things you can say about Death Family, they are all trying their best. That yes perhaps their family is dysfunctional due to fact that it is literally IMPOSSIBLE to cultivate a healthy stable and safe environment for them to grow up in. And yes, of course there are interpersonal issues and current trauma that they need to work through because of all the things they experienced on the island, there are issues in every family, small or big that needs to be worked through. But that doesn't negate the fact that they are trying so hard to the best of their abilities because of each other. That it is undeniable that they have sought to improve and grow and become who they are because they love their family, and hold each other closely in their hearts. That they are still people actively trying to discover things about themselves. And it will always be a struggle in their places as the family they are, but they do so out of love for each other.

But yes whole point is, "Chayanne has experiences that can be comparable to that of a glass child" and "q!Philza is a flawed person that is trying his best" and "Death Family is dysfunctional but also loving of each other" are all statements that can exist together.

Death Family isn't perfect and I love them for that <3

[chaosofmanyfandoms]

Hi!! Could you maybe do a rowan x fem reader request where she’s a new student at nevermore and first meets him when he’s having an asthma flare up or something? And while most other students are making fun of him bc of it, she helps him and they form a friendship/eventual relationship? Thank you so much! 💝✨

Adorable | Rowan Laslow x fem reader

I don't know much about asthma so this probably isn't completely accurate.

It was your first day of class at Nevermore, and to say you were nervous was an understatement. You hardly knew anyone and your roomie, who you had become quick friends with, wasn't in any of your classes until later in the day.

You had struggled to find your first class, almost ending up late. There was only one seat open, so you sat down making the boy next to you look up.

"Hi." You said, getting your pencil and notebook out of your bag.

The teacher didn't give the boy a chance to respond, starting the lesson. You took notes for just about everything the teacher said, trying to absorb all of the information.

About halfway thought the lesson you noticed the boy next to you coughing and taking a puff of his inhaler. When he started breathing quickly you started getting a little worried.

The teacher now noticed that the boy was struggling to breath.

"Can someone please take Rowan to the nurse?" The teacher asked.

When the boy, Rowan, stood up to leave and nobody offered to go with him you shoved your things in your bag.

"I'll go with him." You said, slinging your bag onto your shoulder.

The teacher thanked you, but you just grabbed Rowan's bag and walked with him out the door.

"I hope you know where we're going because I sure as hell don't." You said, making him laugh a little making him couch again. He took another puff of his inhaler that didn’t seem to be working.

"Yeah, I do." He took a moment to breath.

"Thanks for...coming with me." Rowan said, sending you a shy smile.

"Yeah, no problem. I just want you to be okay." You said, pushing open the door to the nurse's office.

"Oh dear, take a seat Rowan." The nurse said, apparently used to this.

"You can go back to class now, I can handle him." The nurse said with a smile as she dug around in a cabinet.

"Okay, I'll see you later." You said, smiling at Rowan before leaving.

"She's cute." The nurse said as soon as you left, handing Rowan a new inhaler.

After that the two of you sat together in classes when you could and helped eachother with homework. You quickly became friends, hanging out whenever you got the chance.

"Do you want to go with me to Jericho this weekend?" He asked nervously.

The two of you were sitting side by side on his bed in his dorm, working on an essay. Rowan had been trying to get the guts to ask you out all week, but was too scared that you would reject him.

"I thought we were already planning on it?" You asked, looking up from your notebook.

"We were, I was just thinking that maybe we could do it as a date? But if you don't want to, that's fine." He said, nervously watching you for an answer.

"I'd love to." You said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

He grinned at you, his cheeks turning pink.

"Can I kiss you?" Rowan asked softly.

You smiled pressing you lips softly to his. When you pulled away, he pulled you back to peck you on the lips.

"You're adorable." You said, making his cheeks go red again.

"You're doing it on purpose." He groaned.

"Doing what on purpose?" You asked, knowing exactly what.

"You're making me blush." Rowan said, playfully glaring at you.

"Only because you're so freaking cute when you're flustered." You grinned.

"Stop it." He said, feeling his face getting warmer and probably growing more red.

"Never."

[genericpuff]

Hey I’ve questions to the word “Infantilization” sense into thrown out there willy nilly (in my perspective) I want write/read webtoons and comics and im asking what something to watch out for in characters especially when age isn’t confirmed

Ouu, this is an interesting question/request!

So obviously I'm just one person and can't identify every sign of infantilization myself, I still find myself falling for stuff that was subliminally problematic (which is often the point of the people writing it LMAO) And of course the points I'm about to make, you may disagree with! So take this with grains of critical salt.

I'll try to keep it focused around Persephone and Hades as an example but note that a lot of what shows up between them shows up between other Webtoon couples as well (such as Sam and Charles!)

Identifying infantilization does take context. A lot of what I'm about to include as examples aren't inherently wrong on their own - many writers are legit just trying to write a "cute" character or spicy drama - but when put in conjunction with one another or dialed up to hyperbolic degrees, can absolutely play into subconscious and conscious infantilization of characters that can become easy to internalize especially for the younger audiences these types of works are marketed to.

So let's get on with it!

The character has traits that render them dysfunctional unless they have someone to guide them - and are often exaggerated for the "laughs" or to make them seem "cute". Take Sam from Let's Play, for example - she's got anxiety from previous health scares and asthma, which is amplified and viewed by others to the point of comparing her office booth to a "crib". Now, this does make for an interesting plot point wherein Sam's friends and family are actually enabling her lack of independence by shielding her (which is one thing I do like about Charles, that he pushes her to be more assertive and independent) but oftentimes Sam's lack of assertiveness and independence is played off as "cute" for the audience and their favorite ships when in fact, her character has some serious issues going on that stem back to her anxiety that dick can't solve.

But of course, characters like Charles take full advantage of that and are still offered as the "solution" to their problems.

The character is often pursued on the basis of "purity". Often times the characters themselves will call out how young/innocent they are, for better and for worse - and if it's to judge the main characters' preferences, the romance is still pursued in defiance of that, as if to "prove them wrong".

Think Persephone, a virgin Goddess of Spring, being pursued by Hades, a much older and more sexually experienced man who bases most of his relationships off sexual attraction, who she ends up working for in an office environment as his intern. Or Sam, who is both the daughter of the overprotective CEO and dating her own superior, Charles, who isn't looking for the kind of relationship she's looking for - he's in transactional sexual relationships, while she can barely look at porn or hold another boy's hand without freaking out. She's 22. Persephone is often drawn being objectified by Hades, while Sam has been drawn as the "sheep" in the relationships with the "big bad wolves" around her.

Now I know drawing a character 'small' or in absurd ways like this can be used for framing whenever the character feels small against someone else, but the extent it's done to with characters like Persephone and Sam is often under the guise of "framing" when it's more often blatant characterization. Sam rarely feels like she's actually growing as a person, she's assertive when the narrative needs her to be but regresses right back to being an "uwu baby" as soon as it's deemed funny enough to do so. Persephone never changes between the end of the trial and the events in S3, she still acts and is written and drawn like a teenager.

I know this is a hilarious example, but all I can think is when people call Persephone a "sweet cinnamon roll" or Sam a "precious Bunty". Sam and Persephone are both adult women. And even when Persephone was 19 people still defended her relationship with Hades because "she's legally an adult and can make her own choices!" But then Rachel will often her like, well... this.

The character is often "stuck" between their love interest and a parental figure. Again, this one on its own isn't the worst thing in the world as it's a very real conflict that happens in real life, but it's a common thread that comes up in the stories often criticized for infantilization because the relationships these characters are in aren't ideal in the first place and the parental conflict is used as a way to drive the romance and tension instead of actual romantic chemistry. Think those Lore Olympus banner reel ads featuring Persephone "trapped" between Hades and Demeter; or in Let's Play, Sam being "passed off" between her father and her superior who is the love interest.

These things would be fine if they were making some kind of point about marriage culture but they rarely ever are, it's usually only ever to resort to "haha overprotective parent bad!" (even when the MC is in a relationship they really shouldn't be in) or to serve as a punchline which ultimately just, again, objectifies and infantilizes the character as someone who can't function on their own without a man making the decisions for them.

When you take these spicy drama tropes out of the story - the overprotective parent, the boss/employee relationship, etc. - there's really nothing going on in these relationships that's all that interesting. It's just two horny people trying not to be horny for each other.

The other people the character depends on are typically in higher positions of power than them but often hide it under the guise of "romance". Often times this makes the character directly subservient to the love interest. These power differences often serve as the driving factor in the romance itself rather than any actual chemistry. Hades, Charles, sound familiar?

I know I've talked about LO and Let's Play a lot on this topic but it's literally just because of how egregiously similar they are, Let's Play may as well just be Lore Olympus but with real people (esp when you consider how little the "god" element matters in LO when it comes right down to it). And they're both series that are flagship titles, at the forefront of the romance genre which is one of the most widely read genres in webtoons/webcomics. The fact that two of the highest earning webtoons both push this kind of infantilization in their comics that are pushed on a young audience... it's not great. Even if it were an adult audience it would still be problematic, like I'll give kudos to mongie, she left when she knew WT wasn't the right platform for her work, but I don't know if I'd still enjoy Let's Play off WT either because it's still just a mess of a comic. Still stronger than LO - at least the main character spends a decent amount of time having a life outside of their love interests - but I don't know if being better than LO is really a compliment at this point.

And outside of webtoons, I read A Touch of Darkness recently after being told by people that it's "much better than LO" but y'all it SUCKED. It's shitty p0rn with a shitty plot and Persephone is just as lacking in brain cells in A Touch of Darkness as she is in Lore Olympus.

It's ironic how a comic that claims to be a "deconstruction" of purity culture really feeds right back into it anyways because the creator seems to be a product of purity culture and male gaze media who hasn't actually addressed it or unpacked it.

Anyways, I think that's all for now? If I think of anything else I'll def reblog and add more but I thiiiink that covers the majority of the points that typically come to mind whenever I'm reading stories like this. It's definitely one of those "once you start seeing it you can't unsee it" things that even female writers like Rachel and mongie aren't immune to writing.

[marshmallowprotection]

Ooooh matchups? I'm curious, if you don't mind!

I look like MC if she had green eyes and glasses. I don't go out much due to asthma and an orthopedic issue that causes pain sometimes, but I like to stay inside.

I enjoy playing videogames most, reading non-fiction, and drawing is a fun hobby too, though I mostly stick to sketched things instead of full works. I love to write poetry too sometimes. My favorite hobby is self teaching languages. I've always wanted to get into computer science and coding, but I'm too scared and not confident enough to know where to start.

I usually keep to myself to have fun. It's what I've always been used to. I don't have any siblings and I struggled a lot growing up with bullying. I was kept close to home with helicopter parents (with good intentions of course, considering my school experiences) and so I never really learned how to socialize.

I didn't have any friends my age, and when I DID talk to other kids, I could never... connect? I always felt different, always walking on eggshells watching what I'd say or how I acted, always wanting to be a people pleaser but never be myself, anything just to be wanted by someone. It never really worked out.

Now that I'm in college (I'm studying ecology!), I have this social freedom that I never really got as a kid. My freshman year I had no idea what I was doing. Something more social than high school? (Which I attended not one single dance or event for in all four years (I was doomed.)) My parents told me they just wanted me to finally be happy and to have good experiences. I didnt know how to do that. If I couldn't please my parents in the social department, I could do what I do best- be a study hermit and an obsessive perfectionist at the sacrifice of my physical and mental health. If I could be perfect academically, I'd be worth something as a child then, right?

...

It took a year to learn that that was a big mistake too.

I'm... getting better with that. Slowly but surely.

After some therapy, I'm learning to open up more. I've made a decently large group of friends (I have no idea how). I'm getting used to being involved in things now, and go out on outings, and have conversations.

I'm still too scared to do some things, and I'm still a bit too buried in my perfectionist study issues, but all this new stuff feels nice for once, despite it all being so foreign.

I'm still finding out who I am, so this description of myself was probably a bit vague, but I figured it's worth a shot nonetheless. Sorry if long, I get carried away writing a lot of the times ;-;

I match you with...

Jumin!

You're somebody who doesn't quite understand the rest of the world. It's not a bad thing, it just means you have difficulty seeing the ways that people adapt and communicate. In some ways, it gives you a bit of a benefit because you don't see the bias or the conflict that can arise in relationships. In other ways, it makes you feel like you're behind schedule and that you're not working fast enough to be at the point that your social peers are.

Once you've learned not to compare yourself to others, you don't need to worry about a thing. All you need to do is go at your own pace and find people that understand you the way that you are. In that sense, that's why the perfect choice for you is somebody you like Jumin. You probably wouldn't believe it but he struggles with the same thing. His upbringing kept him from interacting with other people in most capacities. He may be able to seem like he is an expert at communication, but that isn't really the case. People don't understand him the way that he can understand them. There might be a feeling of similarity in that for you. You might find him to be a kindred spirit. Somebody who knows where you're coming from when you feel you're most vulnerable. He gets it in a way that nobody else ever could.

That's why you'd feel the safest with him. There's no rush to be anybody or anything. You just get to be yourself with him and he the same with you. There isn't a push to communicate or be something you're not. You get to talk about the things you love and see what makes the other person tick. He is also someone who enjoys being a homebody, but it's even better now that he has the right person at home. It doesn't feel as lonely when he looks over from the book he's reading to see that you're sitting there with him. It's almost poetic in a way. Maybe you'll enjoy that with him just as much as he does with you.

[thewinter22]

The thing about dwarf fortress is that, while the gameplay is incredibly similar to Rimworld, at least on the surface, I really believe the type of player who enjoys Dwarf Fortress is very different from those who enjoy Rimworld. Or rather, the mindset you need to enjoy DF is different from the one for enjoying Rimworld.

Rimworld does have a seeming simulstion of specific bodyparts, histories and such, but it wasn't actually generated at the start of the world, and the focus is moreso on adding o to an existing story. Like "Oh, the guy who just landed on your planet is this colonist's brother. Also he has a bullet wound in his left arm and asthma". These things are generated the moment they appear, or at least, the effectively are, because there would be no difference otherwise, since you cannot view any history. Since the focus isn't on all the, it's instead on building a colony that is smallery but each individual is closer to you, and you will naturally grow accustommed to them.

Meanwhile, in dwarf fortress, while there are dwarves that are just generated on the spot, any dwarves who have some sort of history are historical figures who you can look up the entire histiry of if need be. You can look up why their left index finger is cut off, and find out they lost in a fight with a crundle in year 121. You can see that one of your dwarves used to be the lover of one of your other dwarves, and when they broke up. There is history, to the point where you can specifically set out to a certain area because you know there is a certain megabeast nearby that you may want to slay.

This is a big focus of Dwarf Fortress, and while in Rimworld, the story comes naturally as you play, Dwarf Fortress requires you to sort of make your own fun. You need to put in abit of effort to get to know your dwarves. I think this is true for alot of Dwarf Fortress. You need to put in more effort as a player to cooperate with the game ratber than just letting it do everything for you, but get alot from it.

I believe Dwarf Firtress is absolutely worth it to learn IF you are interested in its weird quirks. If you just want a colony builder, Rimworld may be better for you. But if you are interested in parts of the game like the hyper specific combat (losing specific limbs, the material something is made of mattering, the different damage types being affected by the material and changing the way it will wound the opponent), the detailed history, the procedural generations of the world and its monsters... Then Dwarf Firtress is an amazing game. And with its Steam release, even the ASCII thing isn't an issue anymire (though I still prefer ASCII personally because ironically, it makes it easier for me to have an overview of my things, and also it makes it easier for mr to use my imagination)

you play dwarf fortress??? how?????? are you some kind of wizard

Eh, it's really not so bad. At least, for one who does not walk the ways of ASCII. I respect the people ridiculous enough for that, but I've always used at least a tileset to make the game more decodable.

And, well, once you can see the game, the wiki's quickstart guide makes the unintuitive how the hell do I sustain my dwarves' basic life functions stage of the game actually clear. And, well, with that part handled, most of the rest of the nonsense the game is known for is pretty optional, so one is free to learn at one's own pace.

I, personally, have been playing the game since long before the Steam release, but the re-done menus there also go a long way towards making the game somewhat comprehensible. Plus, built-in graphics. Makes the starting experience 20x better than it used to be back when the legends speak of.

Also there's an actual in-game tutorial now. That probably helps another 20 times.

It's really not that much crazier of a game to play than say, Rimworld, honestly. There's a bit of a high skill floor towards comprehending the game, but it's not as bad as it used to be, and how it used to be was not as bad as it was cracked up to be.

It's also just an amazing game. 10/10 highly recommend. Still definitely a lot to wrap your head around, though.

[karasunology]

⸙ ˚₊ ➷ NEKOMA WITH A SHY! ANXIOUS AND ASTHMATIC MANAGER ! ❞

✎ . . . hello since your requests are open may i request vbc teams (karasuno, nekoma and shiratorizawa) + shy manager with anxiety and asthma? i rlly am hungry for some team dynamics and your work is amazing so if you may? YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT THOUGH!

❝ ― submitted by @ nonnie <3 ❞

-ˏˋ ➶ character(s) ━ nekoma vbc <3

[ trigger warnings ━ none ]

✎ . . . TEAM MANAGER HEADCANONS.

[ other parts coming soon . . . ]

NEKOMA VBC.

➜ after finding out about karasuno having TWO managers now,

➜ like they  m u l t i p l i e d ✖➗➕➖

➜ and with taketora's failure of recruiting one,

➜ kuroo was PRACTICALLY BEGGING YOU to be their manager

➜ his reasons being and i quote; “ giving more motivation to the team ” and of course “ to show those bastards the sanctity of nekoma ”

➜ and rooster boi was a determined person, once he sets his mind to something ─ he will do everything to attain it

➜ you knew kuroo ever since you first started first year with him, the both of you quietly competing against each other on your collage preparatory class but soon grew closer to be called friends

➜ but he'd always call you his rival even though it was lowkey one-sided

➜ and after hearing that the club you joined in this year, just for the sake of joining; disbanded, and kuroo was UNASHAMED to ask of you to be the manager of their team

➜ it's been two ever since nekoma had a manager and he was TIRED™ of not having one and it was already his last year playing

➜ you having no other reasons to object, you agreed, but not without asking in a small voice to help you introduce yourself to the team

➜ you were shy to new people ─ hell, even after knowing him for three years you would still get shy around him

➜ and because of that, kuroo was already one step ahead of everything;

➜ talking to the reliable third years ─ kai and yaku, about looking out for you explaining your slight anxiety and asthma problems

➜ homeboy would have a team meeting just to discuss and announce about a new female manager

➜ YAMAMOTO DEAD ASS DROPPED ON HIS KNEES WITH TEARS ON HIS EYES AND PRAISED WHOEVER GAVE HIM THIS OPPORTUNITY

➜ the third years weren't shocked, since kuroo already had a word with them seperately

➜ LEV, BABY BOY WAS ECSTATIC, HE WAS ALWAYS IN FOR THE IDEA OF MEETING SOMEONE NEW

➜ kuroo knew that lev would be ALL UP ON HER FACE if he doesn't do anythibg about it, so he threatened on benching him if he ever does something to scare away this ONE CHANCE of having a real girl manager

➜ fukunaga was curious to say the least, he wondered how it would be like to have a girl manager helping them around since it's always him and yaku

➜ inuoka, being the bubbly boy he is, was excited to have a female manager, since it is his first year in the vbc

➜ kenma was just straight up vibin, he already knew alot about everything he needed to know about you because of kuroo

➜ but still listened as he played with his psp

➜ shibayama and tamahiko were neutral about it honestly, satisfied because their team needed a bit more motivation if they wanted to win nationals

➜ kuroo just wanted to make you feel comfortable and safe with the team

➜ genuinely, the team didn't know how it would honestly flow with actually meeting their manager

➜ scared of scaring her off, they remained uncharacteristically toned down abit right before they meet you

➜ kuroo opened the metal doors to the volleyball gym, while peaking your pretty little head out to see where the members where; you were shocked to see them straightening their backs the second they saw your head peaking out from behind kuroo

➜ it was . . silent, and it was weird since, you've once secretly dropped by on their practices and they were evidently chaotic just by the sounds of their voices which echoed around the gym

➜ your palpitations slowed down a bit as you fully showed yourself to the members before flusteredly bowing at them

“ I HOPE WE CAN GET ALONG ”

➜ it was quiet for a second, before you hear sobbing as you lifted your head up to see yamamoto trying not to cry

“ this, this is my first time having a female manager . . . ” with snot drooling from his nose

➜ being the worried sweet senpai manager you are, you hurriedly took out your unused napkin from your pocket which you packed for the sole purpose of avoiding smoke; offering the napkin to him as it only made him burst into TEARS streaming down his face

➜ like that scene where the third years and second years bursted in tears when kiyoko put up their banner?

➜ yeah that

➜ but it's just taketora LMAOO

➜ before their captain could tell him off, a small laugh came out of you and kuroo just looked at you like

➜ 👁👁

➜ kuroo : ma'AM DID YOU JUST ─

➜ cue kuroo also dying inside because YOU. RARELY. LAUGH.

➜ since you're more on the reserved side

➜ kai and yaku almost had to put their foot down because now you have broken their captain until you spoke out

“ i was honestly anxious when you guys were quiet, since i've never seen you guys as serious whenever i try and drop by to look. ”

➜ in the end of the meeting you've got acquaintaned yourself with shibayama and inouka, though the former seemed a bit flustered.

➜ you've also hold a small conversation with kenma, the both of you kinda clicked right away since both of you were a bit shy aswell. while you listened to lev rambling excitedly, not noticing your slight trembling figure

➜ bECAUSE MANS WAS A WHOLE ASS ONE FOOT TALLER THAN YOU

➜ after meeting them, the team had already attached themselves in your heart

➜ baby girl you are ATTACHED

➜ though it was subtle but you've noticed how the boys really cared about you ─ bruh even coach nekomata since he has noticed that you are a great asset to the team

➜ if not yaku, kai would always remind you of taking your meds for your asthma if you ever have been prescribed one

➜ kenma would always be the first one to notice if you were ever tensed up or your anxiety was acting up

➜ since he's very perceptive and observant

➜ he'd grow a soft spot for you and if he ever sees you stressed, he'd let you borrow his psp

➜ shibayama, inouka, fukunaga and tamahiko would ALWAYS help you carry stuff around because they don't want your asthma to act up or else tHEY WILL ACT UP

➜ fukunaga would always tell you his jokes since now he finally has someone to tell them to whenever he's in the sidelines watching the others play

➜ yamamoto would PROTECT you from any dangers, like literally, mans knew he was done for the day you gave him your napkin 👁👄👁

➜ you're literally one of the first girls he isn't shy to talk to and one of the first girls to not scurry away whenever he's near

➜ as i said, yaku would BE YOUR MOTHER, he'd one step ahead with having extra masks for you on his bag and an extra inhaler he borrowed from you in case you have forgotten yours

➜ LEV, KUROO & YAMAMOTO ARE YOUR BODY GUARDS AND THAT'S ON PERIODT😡💅

➜ period. periodt. periodism. periodic table.

➜ would not let any guy from other teams come your way and bother you while being the good manager you are

➜ and while doing so, shows you off as they are basically saying “ this is the sanctity of nekoma, you bastards wish you were us. ”

➜ these boys CARE FOR YOU like alot and they love it when you reciprocate their love

➜ whenever you surprise them every other day with their favourite snacks despite always being anxious of looking at the eyes of the guy on cash register,

➜ always having their towels and waterbottles ready for them to use after practice

➜ giving them clarity of mind before a match and whenever the non-regulars start to feel insecure

➜ overall, they'd be the sweetest boys of yours that would give and likely to give you the world to you as you would to them😡💝

-ˏˋ playing soleil's tape ˊˎ-

[ 📼 ] . . . i'm crying bubs, y'all had me at 200 last night ?? um okay i didn't even know people like me enought to even follow me 🥺 y'all cute or whateva😳✋ i'm not even DONE WITH MY LOVE LANGUAGE HEADCANONS FOR 100 FOLLOWERS HSJSJDJ but here's a manger headcanons mini series one of my nonnie's requested for to celebrate 200 of you guys !! <33

[ 📼 ] . . . I also know a bit of about asthma because i also had experience with it when i was young, and my little brother still has them while i've already grown out of it.

[princeescaluswords]

Why do you think Deaton thought that Scott would become a True Alpha the moment he found out he was a werewolf? Just to be clear, this question isn't designed to hate on either character, I'm just curious. In s1 Scott wasn't really much of a hero (he became one later on), so what was it about him that made Deaton believe in the possibility of him being a True Alpha (especially given how rare it is)?

I would argue that Scott showed the traits that would make him a True Alpha from the first episode, Wolf Moon.  I would argue that we saw him manifest those traits from his first scene.  Not to be antagonistic, but one of the things I love about Teen Wolf is that heroism isn’t defined by how much ass the heroic character can kick or how efficient the heroic character is, but instead about how the heroic character treats other people to reach their goals.

In Currents (3x07), Deaton defines what makes a True Alpha.  This is immediately before the line you referenced. 

Deaton: It's rare. It's something that doesn't happen within 100 years, but every once in a while a beta can become an Alpha without having to steal or take that power. They call it a true Alpha. It's one who rises purely on the strength of the character, by virtue, by sheer force of will 

What do we see Scott doing when the show begins?  He’s doing pull-ups in his bedroom and taking care of his lacrosse equipment, planning to go to bed early in order to get a good night’s sleep before tryouts tomorrow.   It’s a normal, average goal.  He wants to make first line.

There are some obstacles to this. He has severe asthma. He also seems to be not very good at it.  As Stiles says near the beginning of the episode.

Scott: I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow. 

Stiles: Right, 'cause sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort. 

Scott: No, because I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line. 

Stiles: Hey, that's the spirit. Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one.

Scott has every reason to simply not try to make first line.   He has a physical handicap, a lack of talent, and a best friend, who we can say isn’t the most supportive.   Why waste that effort?  Because he does aspire to it   (strength of character), because he knows what he wants and he’s willing to do the work necessary to try to get it, without a guarantee of success (sheer force of will), yet on the other hand, even to get what he wants, he’s not willing to turn around after Stiles’s cruel comment and leave him out in the woods by himself with a killer possibly out there (virtue).  

Parts of the fandom tend to focus on what Scott does wrong in Season 1, and in doing so they don’t pay enough attention to what he does right.  Television viewers often think that they are bored by heroes and good characters when they are most often bored by heroes who are flawless success stories right out the gate, who don’t need to learn and grow.  Those stories are not only unrealistic but also not very exciting.  A story about a person who always does the right thing and always wins has its ending given away at the beginning.

Scott, on the other hand, seems to be an average boy with a disability and a romantic disposition.  When confronted by darkness and evil, he initially denies it, he initially panics about it, and he’s never interested in exploring it.  Yet when it comes down to it, the seeds for him becoming the alpha who wants to save everyone are there from the first episode.

Take the scene where he meets Allison.  His new senses are out of control which is why he overhears her phone conversation with Victoria.  He learns that she’s a new girl, she’s anxious, and she forgot her pen.  Immediately, he stops worrying about himself and gives her one.  Yeah, he’s attracted to her -- she’s pretty.   (A near-sighted gopher would tell you that Crystal Reed is pretty).   But once he gives her the pen, he doesn’t try to impose his attention on her.  He doesn’t even try to flirt with her.  He watches her meeting with Jackson and Lydia, but he doesn’t join in the gossip between Stiles and Harley.  He’s happy when he catches her looking at him at the lacrosse practice.   As he tells Stiles, “I got a date with a girl who I can't believe wants to go out with me, and everything in my life is somehow perfect.”  He’s grateful, he’s humble.  

More importantly, he doesn’t win a date with Allison by showing off at lacrosse practice.  Instead, he is working alone in the animal clinic when she comes by, having hit a dog with her car.  He takes care of the dog because it needs to be taken care of, doing what he knows he can do, even though -- as antis have pointed out -- he exceeds his jurisdiction to do so (force of will).  He not only takes care of the dog, he takes care of Allison, salving her panic and her regret for hitting the dog (virtue).  He’s also willing to denigrate himself:

Allison: Thanks for doing this. I feel really stupid. 

Scott: How come? 

Allison: I don't know. 'Cause I freaked out like a total girl. 

Scott: You are a girl. 

Allison: I freaked out like a girly girl, and I'm not a girly girl. 

Scott: What kind of girl are you? 

Allison: Tougher than that. At least, I thought I was. 

Scott: Hey, I'd be freaked out too. In fact, I'd probably cry. And not like a man, either. Like the biggest girly girly ever. It'd be pathetic. 

He is willing to mock himself to make her feel better about herself.  (strength of character).  He doesn’t ask for a date until she is ready to leave, having calmed her down and made her feel better first.   

He’s not perfect.  He sneaks a peak at Allison changing (though he feels bad about it).  And he’s certainly not amazing or spectacular.   Scott starts out with the qualities to be a True Alpha, but he hasn’t developed them yet. 

Take the scene when Derek lures him out into the woods with Allison’s jacket.  Remember when he’s locked himself in the room after fleeing from the party due to his first change?  He’s watched claws grow from his fingers and his teeth lengthen into fangs.  Stiles comes over, but he won’t let him in, even though he’s scared, because he doesn’t want to hurt his friend:

Scott: No! Listen, you gotta find Allison. 

Stiles: She's fine, all right? I saw her get a ride from the party. She's - she's totally fine, all right? 

Scott: No, I think I know who it is. 

Stiles: You just let me in. We can try - 

Scott: It's Derek. Derek Hale is the werewolf. He's the one that bit me. He's the one that killed the girl in the woods. 

Stiles: Scott - Derek's the one who drove Allison from the party. 

Scott thinks that Derek is the werewolf (by the way he is!) who attacked him in the woods (he is not!) and transformed him into this monster (Scott has no experience with werewolves and Stiles told him all about their bloodlust).  Immediately, he rushes off to save Allison, which gets him put in danger and shot with a crossbow.

In this scene, even though he’s terrified of what’s happening to him, he refuses to let Stiles come in and possibly get hurt and instead thinks about making sure Allison is safe (since Derek was watching both of them dance -- and antis somehow sees this as bad that he wants to protect the innocent girl he took on a date).  When he believes she is in danger, he abandons all thought of his own safety and rushes off.   Is he immediately heroic?  No.  But then, Teen Wolf would have been very boring if its heroic protagonist mastered being a werewolf and knowing all the answers in the first episode.

But the seeds of greatness are there, and Deaton has worked with him for months.  He knows that Scott has the qualities that very well would lead to becoming a True Alpha, especially when he finds Scott braving dangers in the woods as a brand-new werewolf to save the bully who is blackmailing him.  

Deaton: I believed. From the moment I knew you were bitten, I believed.

And I did, too.

[bunnirs]

Scarlet Crossroads:

Chapter 2: Breaking The Ice

Previous/Next

Scarlet Crossroads Masterlist

It felt like hours before most of the exam contestants arrived. Of course, you happened to be exceptionally early, being only examinee 113.

You wish you could’ve said waiting was boring, but a few of the other examinee’s made it extremely difficult to settle down.

There was a wide variety of other characters, their personalities most likely to clash further into the exam, dragging you into the crossfire.

One man stood out to you. He was short, rather full looking, and had an ugly ass beard. Maybe he was a child… seeing as he certainly acted like one. This child of a man was Examinee #16, Tonpa the Rookie Crusher.

It was obvious to you that he was bad news. I mean, he reeked of mold and broccoli. (Well, you thought it was broccoli, but you could’ve been wrong on that. You were hoping, no praying, that it wasn’t the case.

He shifted uncomfortably underneath your stare, somehow growing nervous as he tried to speak. It seemed your aura was suffocating him, how typical.

Anyone who isn't strong enough to withstand it seemed to have that reaction. This just proved he was up to no good.

Your Nen Ability was something close to a Trump Card of sorts. No one would know it existed until it was too late. This poor man had already succumbed to it though, seeing as he was choking on his words.

With a quick inhale, your aura dispersed, leaving the short man to choke on the air that shot into his throat.

“You run a mile or something? Asthma?” You said curiously, a sly smirk seemed to pick at your lips, a laugh growing in your throat.

“No, no! I’m just thirsty! About that, what about a drink? You must be thirsty from your way here? What about we become pals? My name's Tonpa! How about you girly?”

Ew, okay gross. Did this man just call you.. girly? Yeah no, he’s not worthy enough to hold your drink, much less give you one.

With that conclusion, you gave him a forced smile, your eyes narrowing as you stared him down. “That’s really nice of you to offer, but I don’t take things from strangers.”

“Oh huh, really? That’s too bad!” He thought aloud, his expression faltering as he paid close attention to your expression. With each second your eyes got darker, the sides of your mouth twitching as you grew aggravated. Damn, something was up with you. “Your mother must be proud! The whole ‘Stranger Danger’ lesson worked huh?”

“Ah.” You paused, your smile dropping. Looks like the muscles in your face were sore now. Just great. “I didn’t have a mother.” You spoke calmly as you shifted your weight to the other leg, looking down at your fingernails.

With that realization, his eyes almost poked out of his head. He began to spew apologies, falling to the ground in a bow. It was painfully obvious that it was a forced reaction, but you took pleasure in watching him kneel. Okay maybe that’s coming off as too strong? Yeah, maybe it was just funny to you.

With that, you turned on your heel, signaling him off with a mere wave of your hand. Damn old men, they really did freak you out. Usually Chrollo or the Troupe would’ve killed him on sight, but they weren’t with you. The familiar faces began to run through your mind, distracting you from the small white blurr standing in front of you.

In a split second, you could feel your aura activate itself as you collided with another examinee. As if it didn’t startle you, the small kid seemed to be falling off his board. Everything seemed to slow down for you, his surprised face turned into one of anger, and his pupils locked with yours.

You quickly shot out your hand, grabbing his wrist, holding him up so he wouldn’t fall on his back. His skateboard flipped in the air, but it seems he had already caught it. You thought to yourself, ‘Hey that was kind of cool’, and let go of his small wrist.

He shifted uncomfortably, his hair covering his blushing face, his hands clamping up into small fists. “Hey why don’t you watch where you’re going?! If I was someone else, you would’ve been dead the minute you touched me! But you got lucky this time, I don’t really want to pick a fight with anyone just yet.” He smiled confidently to himself, laying his board back onto the ground, his left foot pushing it back and forth. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t come after you, you old hag! Man, people like you won’t ever pass this exam! Especially when you can’t even walk without bumping into people?!”

You didn’t even get to open your mouth before he jumped back on his board, weaving through the crowd, blowing the small strands of hair from his face.

What a spoiled brat. Who the hell does he think he is? Telling you that you won’t pass the exam? Hell, you’d blow through this thing like it’s nothing. All you had to do was get your hunters license, and then shove it into that kids face.

Yeah, sounds simple enough.

That declaration of yours was made almost an hour ago, and now, waiting was getting old. For said hour, you’ve been sitting against the wall, playing with a small rubix cube. Instead of its natural colored squares, small little pieces of duct tape covered the surface. What was written on said tape, were the names of each troupe member.

You remembered Pakunoda spending an hour just writing the names down, wanting them to be spelled perfectly so you could read them correctly. This was years ago, probably when you were nearing age 5, the withered adhesives almost giving up.

Seeing as there were no school opportunities for you, Pakunoda mostly took charge of your education, wanting you to be as smart as possible. She really was motherly in a way, even when she denied it.

Her teaching certainly worked its wonders. Even though you came off as an idiot, your mind worked faster than what was natural. You could tell peoples moves before they even acted them out, which seemed to help greatly in the troupe’s line of work.

It seems they raised you to be a Phantom Troupe member, the spider tattoo being embedded in your mind, almost like a nightmare. It was truly Ironic, considering that you hated the very idea of joining the Spiders.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the elevator, and the doors slowly opened to reveal a group of three.

They were oddly fitting for a friend group. One of them was obviously a child, his innocent face matched his horrible sense of fashion. Next to him was a rather greasy... business man? He looked to be at least in his late twenties? It was an understatement to say that his limbs were of average length, because damn, those arms were long.

Your eyes then glanced over to his other partner. He was shorter, but much younger looking. He looked to be your age, which was very exciting for you. You never had a friend that was actually close to your age. Maybe you’d sneak in a word or two during this?

The longer you stared, the more you noticed about him. He had blonde hair that stopped right behind his ear, his eyes were soft, a calming grey color. If you stared at them any longer you were sure to get lost. It sounded cheesy, but you ignored that thought.

To be honest, everything about him screamed Mom friend, almost reminding you of Pakunoda in a way.

You watched as Beans, the Secretary that approached you not too long ago, gave them their badges. They were numbers; 403, 404, and 405.

They were likely the last ones to get here, which was good news in your book. Finally, the Hunter Exam was about to begin!

A few more minutes passed, and you shifted uncomfortably as you watched Tonpa walk up to the group. You didn’t necessarily care about the two older ones, but the kid seemed to bother you.

That’s when you decided to take your chances and try to rescue the trio. As you thought to yourself, you figured you most likely wouldn’t make it in time to stop them from drinking it, so you did the next best thing.

Your mind spewed apologies as you looked down at the rubix cube that resembled your childhood. With one last glance, you lined it up with the kids' drink. With a strong over handed throw, it spiraled towards the can, completely tearing through the thin metal.

Juice had sprayed all over Tonpa’s face, it’s orange contents seeping into his clothes. Maybe, just maybe, that would help him smell better.

With a quick smile, you cautiously jogged over. You held up one hand, waving as you came in peace. The closer you got, the more you noticed the blonde boy’s eyes. They seemed empty almost, like they were hiding something behind them. Tough childhood huh? You could relate.

You stopped as you got in front of them, rubbing the back of your neck as an act of nervous behavior. Good act. Keep it up. “So sorry guys, sometimes I forget I’m surrounded by other people! I kinda just threw it y'know?”

“That was… so cool!” The smaller boy piped in, his eyes adorned in admiration. “My names Gon! Gon Freccs! What’s your name?”

“Oh.” You were generally surprised by his positivity, seeing as you just knocked his source of hydration from his hands. “The names Y/N.” You held out your hand, taking the kids palm in yours. “Sorry for spilling your drink.. but I can’t say it was purely an accident. This guy has been trying to mess with people, I just felt like I had to warn you.”

With that, the blonde boy and his accomplice poured their drinks out, a disgusted look on their faces.

“Oh really? I thought it smelled weird! I’m glad to know I wasn’t having allergies or something!” Gon muttered the last part, rubbing the surface of his index finger underneath his nose, as if to wipe something off.

You nodded, a small smile reaching your lips. “Well Gon, and his…” you paused for a minute, your eyes meeting the blonde boys. “Accomplices? Besties…? Caretakers?”

“Friends is a better word.” The grey eyed boy said quickly. “My name is Kurapika, and this?” He gestured with his hands, pointing at Leorio’s stomach. “This is Leorio.”

“I think I can introduce myself, you damn blonde!” Leorio interrupted him, yelling in his face, his finger pointing into Kurapika’s chest.

“Oh, it’s quite alright. Seeing as I got it the first time” You said quickly, not wanting to hear it again.

You ignored the taller man as he started to spew nonsense, most of its contents having to do with insults directed towards you. Your small smile seemed to falter, suddenly remembering the very item you had used to save them was not in your hands.

That’s when your eyes dropped to the floor, searching for the old rubix cube that contained most of your memories of home. You felt your heart spike, the feeling of disappointment taking over.

On the outside you remained stoic, your shoulders merely shrugging as you let out a small groan of annoyance. “Damn, I lost that old thing again?”

“What thing?” Gon interjected, standing on his tippy-toes as he rocked back and forth. “You mean that toy?”

You cringed, your teeth grinding together as you glared him down. “That ‘thing’ is not a toy, it’s something very important to me.”

“Must not be ‘very important’ if you throw it at people.” Leorio retorted, rolling his eyes as he adjusted his suit sleeve. Why he wore it to an exam was beyond you.

“Well, no matter how important it is, I’m sure you’d like it back?” Kurapika cut Leorio off, trying to prevent whatever fight was about to break out between the two of you.

“Huh?” You broke your gaze with Leorio, only to meet the cold, empty eyes of Kurapika. “Well of course I’d want it back. It is mine after all.”

Leorio started to grow annoyed, most likely with the fact that you were ignoring him. “Hey! Don’t give him that crappy attitude! We’re being nice to you, so don’t overstay your welcome!”

“..You make it sound like I’m at your house.” You looked to him, your face forming into a scowl.

This sent the overdressed man into a blushing mess, his words coming out as broken stutters, his hands fumbling with the hems of his suit. It seems he did that a lot.

“Please ignore him.” Kurapika sighed, obviously embarrassed by his friend’s behavior. “But regarding the object of discussion, I think you should have it back.” With that, he reached his hand out, your rubix cube in his hand.

Your eyes quickly rushed down towards it, your hands quickly snatching from his own, scared that if you touched him, he’d know everything about you.

You let out a soft sigh of relief, putting the cube back in your small bag. Unbeknownst to you, the tape that once held your brother's name, was now somewhere along the ground.

“Thanks.” You muttered, your fingers tingling from where they had brushed against his. “..So, why not break the ice a little? Why are you guys trying to become Hunters?”

The small child opened his mouth to answer, but it seems it was cut short by a blood curdling scream.

You all turned your heads to the noise, being greeted by the sight that was Hisoka.

It seems someone had bumped into him, seeing as they were now in a fetal position on the ground, their arms missing as they disintegrated into little flowers. At least the flowers were pretty.

If matters couldn’t get any more interesting, the large door that you presumed was a wall opened, revealing who looked to be an Examiner.

He wore an all purple suit, his white hair almost looking like a soft lavender. His mustache seemed to cover his mouth, hiding whatever lurked inside of it. His name didn’t matter to you, frankly, none of these people did.

Atleast, that’s what you kept telling yourself.

TYSM FOR READING GUYS!!!!!! ALSO WHAT DO YOU THINK READER’S NEN ABILITY IS????? WGAJDHJWdAJDHkjshdkJhd

I HOPE THIS WAS ENOUGH tO SATISFY YOU THIS WEEK UMMMMMM!!!! LUCILFER READER AND KURAPIKA JUST HAD THEIR IINTRoDuctION TO EACHOTHER SO!!!

[mandelene]

If you feel like filling this: for the first time, Matthew and Alfred are left alone overnight and Alfred feels all grown-up and excited. Pity that Matthew had hidden he wasn't feeling well and he isn't getting any better... Thank you! ❤️

Torture Matthew? Sure thing! Haha. 😁 As usual, I got carried away. You can’t ask me to write a sickfic and not expect the word count to be high lol. I made it a throwback to my “Matthew has asthma” headcanon. Also, did you know many U.S. states don’t have a law for how old a child must be to be left home alone overnight? Same for the UK. Apparently, it’s generally recommended that the child is at least 14 or 16, so I went with Al and Matt being 15 in this one.  

The House Party That Never Was

Word Count: 1924 (I know. I’m sorry!)

10 AM, Friday

“We’ll only be two hours away, so if anything happens or there’s a problem, call and let us know, and we’ll drive back right away.”  

“Okay, Dad. We know,” Alfred groans. They’re not babies anymore—Mattie and he can handle being left alone overnight while their parents go to see the philharmonic orchestra in Philadelphia for their anniversary.

“There are leftovers in the fridge that you can have for dinner tonight. You can order pizza tomorrow if we’re not back by six o’clock,” Papa reminds, just as worried and over-protective as Dad is being. “Make yourselves breakfast and lunch. We have plenty of fruit, cereal, bread, cold cuts, yogurt—” 

“Yes, Papa. We’ll make sure to eat,” Matthew interjects with a soft sniffle. “It’ll be fine.” 

Dad immediately notices said sniffle and flips out. He puts his duffle bag down and presses a hand against Matthew’s forehead, feeling for a fever and not finding one. “Are you all right? You aren’t coming down with something, are you? We can cancel the trip and—”

“No, no. It’s just allergies.” 

“…Okay, take an anti-histamine from the medicine cabinet.”  

“I will.” 

“In case of emergency—"

“Call 911. We know, Dad. We’re fifteen, not five!” Alfred sighs, tempted to physically push his parents out the front door at long last. 

Dad struggles to find something else to lecture them about and pushes his sunglasses farther up his nose before deciding, “All right…Behave and don’t get into any trouble. We love you.”

Dad and Papa exchange hugs with them before they finally cross the driveway, get into the car, and drive off, disappearing down the road. 

“Woo! Freedom! God that took forever!” Alfred exclaims as he locks the door and turns around to look at Matthew, who is standing by the stairs with his hands stuffed in the pocket of his navy-blue hoodie. “Our first time home alone for a whole night! We’ve been living sheltered lives, Mattie, but not anymore. Today, we’re men. So, who’re we inviting over?” 

Matthew clears his scratchy throat and gently rubs at his nose with his sleeve. “Umm…I’m pretty sure Papa and Dad said we’re not supposed to have any friends over…” 

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” 

“Al, they’ll find out.” 

“No, they won’t. Come on, Matt. Don’t be lame.”

“Yeah, they will. If not tomorrow, then eventually, and I don’t wanna break their trust. If we worry them or make them angry, they’ll never leave us home alone for more than a couple of hours again,” Matthew argues, and if this stupid cold would just leave him alone, everything would be peachy. He rubs at his chest, which feels a little tighter than usual, and takes two puffs of his inhaler. 

Alfred glowers and slumps his shoulders. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. We have to prove we can handle it at least once…You okay, bro? Your asthma’s acting up?” 

“It’s just from my allergies,” Matthew repeats because he has to keep up the lie. It’s spring, so it’s believable enough. To be entirely honest, he’s been feeling terrible since last night, but he didn’t want to give their parents a reason to cancel their trip. He doesn’t have a fever, so it can’t be that serious...It’s just a cold, and he doesn’t want to be an inconvenience. Their parents deserve to enjoy their anniversary without interruption. “Wanna play Smash?” he asks, changing the subject. Alfred doesn’t have the greatest attention-span, and he’ll hopefully forget all about this.

“Okay, sure. I’ll set up the Switch and the controllers. You should go and take your allergy medicine.” 

“Cool. Yeah,” Matthew replies. It’s the perfect opportunity to go upstairs, blow his nose without witnesses, and take some cough medicine…And another two puffs of his inhaler.  

He refuses to be a bother. He knows how to take care of himself. 

--------------------------------------

7 PM, Friday

Alfred has eaten enough mesquite barbecue chips to feed their entire block, and Matthew is genuinely astonished that he hasn’t been sick yet. How can so much junk food fit into one stomach? Now that no one is around to stop him, Alfred has devoured half of the fridge, and he still doesn’t seem to be totally full, even after dinner. 

Papa left them blanquette de veau, a French veal stew. It soothes Matthew’s throat and warms his chest, which feels lovely initially, but then the steam breaks up some of the mucus in his lungs and leaves him suffering through several coughing fits. Fortunately, Alfred is in the bathroom for the worst of it, and doesn't hear him hacking. 

They’ve been playing video games for hours now, and Matthew can feel a low-grade fever settle into his body. Every time he inhales, he can hear his lungs give off a tiny wheeze. 

When Alfred goes off to get some juice to drink, Matthew discreetly takes yet another two puffs of his inhaler. 

“This is getting kinda boring. Wanna put on Netflix? We can binge-watch Avatar: The Last Airbender.” 

Matthew would rather lie down in bed with his tablet or phone, but if he doesn’t join Alfred, he might grow suspicious, and then he’ll worry, or he’ll call their parents.

“Sure. Let’s do it…” 

--------------------------------------

1 AM, Saturday

 “Matt...? Matt? You’re falling asleep on me, bro.” 

Matthew is startled awake and fixes his glasses, which must have tilted awkwardly to the left while he was sleeping. He doesn’t know when he dozed off on the couch, but it was sometime during Book Two of Avatar. Dad and Papa called around 9 PM to check on them, and Alfred did all of the talking. He reassured them that they’re both alive and haven’t broken any part of themselves or anything in the house.  

Matthew squints at the clock on the wall. “It’s late…”

“Yeah. We should go to bed,” Alfred agrees, and he must be tired as well if he’s not insisting they pull an all-nighter. 

“I’m gonna brush my teeth.” 

“Okay. Have fun. I’m gonna live on the wild side and not brush ‘em,” Alfred says with a grin and a wink. 

“Wow, so edgy,” Matthew says, poking some fun at him before heading upstairs with a giant yawn. He’s exhausted, and the wheezing is back. He takes the nightly dose of his steroid inhaler and stares longingly at his nebulizer. He could do with a treatment, but it’s so loud, and then, Alfred would know something’s not right.  

So instead, he brushes his teeth, quietly takes some additional puffs of his rescue inhaler, and burrows under the covers of his bed, hoping this will all have blown over by the morning.

--------------------------------------

3 AM, Saturday

He can’t sleep. He can’t breathe. He needs a nebulizer treatment. Now. But it might wake Alfred. 

He risks it. There’s no other choice. 

And sure enough, five minutes into the treatment, Alfred plods into his room with drowsy eyes, and asks, “Mattie, what’s going on? You’re sick, aren’t you? Hang on. I’ll…I’ll call Dad and Papa, don’t worry.”  

“No!” Matthew shouts, surprised by the strength of his voice given the state of his lungs. “You can’t…It’s their anniversary…I’m fine.” 

“Matt, I’m pretty sure this counts as an emergency, bro.” 

“It’s not!”

“It’s the middle of the night and you can’t breathe—that’s an emergency, dude!”

“I’ll be fine after the nebulizer treatment is done,” he assures in a breathless rush around the nebulizer’s mouthpiece, but he’s not so sure he will be. 

“Well, we’ve gotta tell somebody!” Alfred shouts back at him before coming closer and touching his clammy forehead. “Dude, you’re burning up. What the hell? Why didn’t you say anything all night?”

Ignoring Matthew’s protests, Alfred makes the call. 

This isn’t going to be good…

--------------------------------------

5 AM, Saturday

“Matthew!”  

Dad and Papa burst through his bedroom door, and they’re by his side in a flash, fussing over him and acting as though he’s on the verge of death. They’re still dressed in the clothes they probably went to sleep in, and before Matthew can say a single word, Dad has his stethoscope on his chest and is listening to his lungs. He then clamps a pulse oximeter on his right index finger, waits for a reading, and frowns severely. 

While Papa strokes his head and asks him why he didn’t let them know sooner that he wasn’t feeling well, Dad disappears and then returns with three small pills and a glass of orange juice.

“Take these,” Dad instructs. 

Matthew wrinkles his nose as he puts the pills in his mouth and swallows them. The bitter aftertaste makes him shudder—prednisone. 

“Is he going to be all right?” Papa asks, squeezing Matthew’s hand.

“I’ll keep an eye on him. He should feel better once the steroid starts to work. We leave you boys home alone for one day, and you try to hide a medical emergency from us! What were you thinking?”

“It was very irresponsible,” Papa adds. 

And here he thought that Alfred would be the one to ultimately break their parents’ trust. 

“I’m sorry…I didn’t want you to have to cancel your trip. You’ve both been looking forward to it for a month,” Matthew timidly explains, breaths still shallow. 

“A trip can always be rescheduled. Your health can’t be,” Dad says sternly. “You had us worried sick. I was debating whether or not to tell Alfred to call for an ambulance. You should know better than to ever allow yourself to silently deteriorate like this!” 

“I’m sorry…” 

Dad sighs and rests a cold compress on his forehead. “We can decide on a punishment when you’re feeling well again.” 

A punishment? Really? Not fair.

Now is not a good time to argue though, so he lets Papa and Dad fret over him some more—they fluff his pillows, and force juice, water, and medicine for his fever down his throat. He feels awful knowing they lost sleep over him and had to hurry home, but at the same time, he’s grateful that they’re here, tending to him and monitoring him in case he gets worse. As much as he’d like to be regarded as an adult, he still wants his parents around when he’s unwell.  

“I’m really, really sorry…I feel terrible for ruining everything.” 

“Stop that,” Dad insists, shaking his head admonishingly at him. “We’re not upset with you for being ill—anyone can fall ill at any time and it’s out of one’s control. We’re upset that you tried to hide it from us, even if you thought you had the right intentions.” 

At that moment, Alfred peeks his head into the room, revealing that he’s been eavesdropping, and says, “I’d just like to point out that I did the responsible, mature thing, and called for help for my dearest, darling brother in his time of need. Very grown-up behavior—totally wise beyond my years. And because of that, I think, I deserve to be able to go to Six Flags next week with my friends.” 

Papa laughs heartily while Dad rolls his eyes. 

“Oui, you did the right thing, Alfred. But the greatest reward for helping your brother should be a sense of pride,” Papa notes.  

“I mean, yeah, but a physical reward would be kinda nice, too.” 

“Alfred,” Dad says with a warning tone. “Not now.” 

“All right, all right. I know. Just food for thought, you know? Glad Mattie’s okay, of course.” 

How in the world did Alfred come out on top? He’s a better adult? There’s no way! 

Okay, next time they’re home alone, they’re definitely throwing a party. 

That’ll show him. 

[when-residents-are-evil]

Entry #4

A/N: Aaaaaand, with this chapter, the Bestiary and House Beneviento’s entries updated! You don’t actually need to read them, they’re note my OC is taking to help them go through this mess. Notes that I need to organize better, too.

23th April 2018

07h47

Today's missions:

Find a doctor

Learn more about Lords and Miranda

Stack up on provisions for the day I'll escape (long lasting food, medical stuff, weapons (?), money, etc)

I think I need to investigate about Miranda. Iulian isn't really talkative, but I guess my already-dead rabbit and the two fish I bribed him with yesterday must have impressed him, because he agreed to let me know a few things.

According to him, I wouldn't be the first tourist to 'disappear' if anything were to happen to me. Villagers disappear from time to time, mostly when they want to leave the village for good. Apparently, they need to ask for her blessing so they won’t get torn up to pieces on their way out.

But tourists? Sometimes, people will end up here, like I did, for various different reasons. Maybe they heard about spooky rumors and wanted to have a good scare and brag to their friends about the place. Or maybe they just got lost and tried to roll with it. I'm case number 2, by the way. A few escape (or at least, leave the village and are never to be seen again).

Most of the time, if they get an audiance with Mother Miranda, they don't come back.

Now, if I never got attacked by the lycans, I would brush it off as some lame ghost story or hink that Miranda, for some reason, agreed to help them leave or something ike that. But then, Iulian said these people weren't taken by the woods. And it's weird, because I'm almost sure the lycans are the n°1 death cause around here, and that no one from the 'outside world' would want to stay here. But he insisted it wasn't them, and he said they didn't left. So I have two theories:

1) Miranda killing those people, for some reason. That would explain why everyone is so damn scared of her.

2) There are other kind of monsters here. Aside from the lycans, I mean. I'm also thinking it could be the Lords?

I don't know which one would be worse. There has to be a reason Miranda is feared like she is. She must be either incredibly powerful, or… All these people are brainwashed. I don’t think she’s the kind and generous protector they all claim she is. Why wouldn’t she get rid of the lycans if she truly had good intentions?

And why am I not dead yet? I'm 100% sure she knows I'm here and trying to escape, so why isn't she kiling me? Is it because she likes watching people fail or something?

Because I could understand. I ran into a tree on my way back home last night because I was too scared to see straight. I'm sure she's entertained.

Or maybe I'm too insignificant to be worth the effort. I hope it's that one.

_____________________________________________________________

09h36

Okay, I need to write this down.

There's a weird old lady that's been following me around for at least 3 days. She's really sneaky, and I can't hear her despite the bones rattling at the end of her staff. The only reason I noticed her is because I'm becoming paranoid and keep randomly turning around. That's how I caugh her. Also, not a big fan of feeling observed.

She keeps lurking at the edge of my sight. It's freaking me out. I think I should comfront her, but again, I'm not good with people and don't want to be rude to an old lady. I get she's creepy, and weird, and she follows me everywhere I go, but is it a reason to call her out? She didn't technically do anything bad, in the end she's just observ

... She's hiding behind a tree again. Okay, no, it's freaking me out. I think I'm going to talk to her.

_____________________________________________________________

10h12

She’s so fucking weird. She asked me what would I sacrifice for Miranda and I didn’t know what to answer, so I returned her question. She laughed, didn’t answer, then left and threw some ominous warning abover her shoulder. I don’t remember what exactly. What the fuck. What’s her problem? I think I need to ask the Duke about her. Not sure he’ll tell me what I really need to know, but I can still try.

_____________________________________________________________

14h55

I met the doctor on my way to the Duke. He used to be a herbalist and learned the most… gruesome stuff on his own. He gave me a cream of his own making for my arm, and was kind enough to give me the ingredients. Apparently, these herbs grow near the windmills, but it’s in Moreau’s territory, so it’ll have to wait.

Now, about the Duke.

As expected, he didn’t really tell me a lot about that old lady, aside from the fact that she’s weird and old. Nothing I didn’t knew. Either he doesn’t want to help me, or he just doesn’t know as much as I thought he did. Or maybe he works for Miranda and doesn’t want me to escape ? I don’t know. I don’t know if I can trust him, I just…

I want to go home.

_____________________________________________________________

21h23

I have good and bad news :

Bad news: I got attacked on my way back from Hous Beneviento’s territory. Yeah, I know. I shouldn’t have gone in the first place. I’ll get to that later. Anyways, I’ve got three huge slashes on my face, cutting my lips open. It’s going to leave a nasty scar, and it hurts like hell. Every time I open my mouth to eat or talk, it reopens the cuts. I couldn’t stitch myself up, as I didn’t have any suture and couldn’t find my needles (I used all of them on my arm). I tried putting tape instead. We’ll see how that turns out.

Good news: It wasn’t a lycan! Which means I got to observe a new kind of monster. They were after the suspended bridge, behind the door leading to Beneviento’s territory. I also learned more about this place, I think.

I know I shouldn’t have been there. I knew it was a bad idea. But no one would tell me why and I had to figure it out. The thing is, if I’m ever going to run away from this place, I need to know what I’m up against. I don’t regret going despite what happened.

The door was open. Maybe Lady Beneviento was in town ? Something tells me I’m lucky I didn’t see her on my way back. And it’s a good thing I had the map with me (knowing myself, I’d be able to get lost on a straight path). There were breanching paths, but they were closed off my vines. In any case, I kept going, slowly but surely, and at the end of the path, I could see Lady Beneviento’s house from afar. I didn’t dare come closer, just in case she came back.

There was something odd about this whole thing (aside from the monsters who chased me on my way back, I mean). At first, I thought it was my nerves, but the whole time I was in her territory, I felt… Sick. And watched. I don’t think it was just my anxiety acting up. I kept seeing things at the corner of my eyes, moving shadows and things I still think were fake to some extent, despite everything I’ve seen here.

But I kept going. I wasn’t stupid enough to go inside the house, but my self preservation senses aren’t exactly... developped. I felt dizzy, too lightheaded, and I know there was something inside. I tried looking through the windows but it was way too dark. I left immediately after sending a few glances inside, I really wasn’t feeling well. It felt like I was drugged, somehow. I don’t know. I still feel weird from that whole fiasco. Maybe it’s more because of the burning gash on my face, but I don’t think so.

I ran as fast as I could, hid behind a tree during when my asthma was acting up, and then ran some more. Then some weird ass… Monsters... Zombies things came out of the ground. I thought I was hallucinating at first, and then I felt a horrible burn across my face as my head got sent to the ground, and it got me right back on track. I didn’t even bother fighting back. My poor little knife wasn’t going to damage them, and there were too many of them.

I ran all the way down to the village, and saw the Duke here. He gave me some bandages and herbs for free when he saw me come back. He also held my hand when I told him about what happened. I don’t know if I can really call him a friend, but I’m still glad he was here. I still don’t know if I can really trust him, though. I hope I can. I need someone I can trust.

He said he’ll answer my questions once I’m feeling better, that I wasn’t in the right state for it right now. I think I’ll just go to sleep.