#sick Wednesday

[creative-caramel-coffee]

Hello Author!! I've read a lot of your fics and I love your work!! Even though I would like the roles to be reversed from time to time, it's always up to Weems to take care of others a little bit.Return of the elevator (return the device if the English do not have the same expression as the French, or perhaps the translation will be understandable 😅) I think it would be a nice idea To work, But that's not the reason for my presence here, I read in one of your fictions, I no longer have the title in mind but it's when the reader is tired and weems takes care of him, you mentioned From a difficult student for whom the baby monitor is useful, I have a question, what is the use of the baby monitor? Is it like a camera with microphone to see and speak with the student if she Is busy elsewhere? I really can't imagine what use this is for him but hey my request is a story about why wednesday ended up sleeping at weems and how the baby monitor Has been used ? I'm really very, very curious about this situation, thank you for reading, have a good day, author!

The Baby Monitor

Pairings: Ms Thornhill x Weems x Wednesday (platonic)

Word count: 1.9K

Summary: Wednesday has been too busy to listen to what she needs. Sooner or later, she is forced to listen.

TW: passing out, not eating, not sleeping, illness

A/n another Wednesday fic!

“Wednesday come on, you have to eat. I know this investigation means a lot to you, but you need to take care of yourself, or you’ll be useless.” Enid begged.

“Im so close. I can feel it. Enid, go to lunch I will join you soon.”

“This is the third day you haven’t shown up to meals wends you can’t keep doing this.” Enid frowned before huffing and storming out of the dorm.

Enid was at the end of her patience. Wednesday had been working non-stop for days. She hadn’t been eating properly or sleeping, but because her grades stayed the same nobody else really seemed to notice too much. Enid was considering going to weems about the issue. If there was one person who could tame the addams it was her. Since all of the drama last semester Wednesday had been slightly more accommodating to the British principle. But that wasn’t to say she would listen to her without a fight.

Lunch came and went with no sign of Wednesday at all. They both had botany after lunch and despite all the fuss Wednesday was yet to skip any of her classes. She probably knew it would warrant a trip to weems. After all the issues with Ms Thornhill were cleared up, she was back to her old self, the bubbly easygoing botanist and dorm mum they all knew and loved.

Enid sighed in defeat and gathered her things. She disposed of her lunch scraps and tray and shouldered her bag, heading off in the direction of the conservatory.

Taking her seat, she watched Wednesday enter. She seemed slightly off kilter. Mildly sluggish and more pale than normal. She was squinting as if the light hurt her eyes and yet she almost seemed as if she was sick and downplaying it. Enid wouldn’t be surprised with how little sleep she had been having. Even an addams body was more susceptible to illness when run down. Wednesday flopped down in her seat without her usual poise or grace. Enid raised a brow, she looked much worse than she had in the dorm. The trip to class seemed to have sucked the life out of her.

Slouching in her seat she rested her head on her folded arms on the desk. Before she knew it enid realised Wednesday’s breathing had evened out slightly. But her sleep was short lived. Ms Thornhill called on the raven to come solve some questions on the board.

Wednesday lifted her head wearily and glared.

“Now Miss Addams.” Thornhill said tapping her foot impatiently. Wednesday gave a tired sigh and stood, swaying. After slowly making her way to the front one step at a time, she swayed badly. Ms Thornhill came to her side. Putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Wednesday? Wednesday, what’s wrong honey?” She asked but the words were garbled to the young Addams. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her body dropped like a stone. Ms Thornhill was quick to catch her in her arms. Slowly she sank to the floor, lowering herself and her student to lean against the wall. She sat against the front of the room with Wednesday tightly in her hold and mostly draped across her lap, unconscious.

“Enid.” Ms Thornhill said in an urgent voice. “Get Ms Weems in here this instant. The rest of you wait outside. Now!” She said as she kept her tight hold on the addams. She looked so peaceful yet so tired even while she was unconscious.

The class scrambled to carry out the instructions. Ms Thornhill knew the nurses were away for a conference, Ms Weems had sent a staff wide email that morning about it. She had said if any issues arose to contact her directly. This defiantly counted as an issue.

Ms Thornhill sat and waited. Wednesday’s head was in her lap as she traced her fingers over her pale face to remove the small hairs from her face.

After a few peaceful moments of quiet the door opened.

“Marilyn?” Came the accented voice of the principle.

“Im here. Shes still out cold.” The botanist responded.

A moment lapsed before Ms Weems face appeared over the desk and she came around to join her staff member on the floor.

She laid a gentle hand on Wednesdays forehead. “She seems a bit warm. Do you know if she felt ill at all?” The principle asked with concern.

“Not that i know of but she seemed exhausted.”

A tentative knock sounded on the door and both teachers turned to see enid standing there awkwardly.

“Ms sinclair? Do you have something to say?” Ms weems asked with a raised brow.

“She hasn’t been sleeping. Shes been too busy with her investigations and i don’t think shes eaten either. It’s been about four days and she’s not taking care of herself. I’ve been trying to get her to listen and i was going to come to you this afternoon, honest. I didn’t know it was this bad or i would have done more sooner.” Enid said talking a mile a minute and wringing her hands.

Weems brow softened. “Thank you, Enid. We’ll take it from here. You’ve been more helpful than you realise. You're a good friend.”

Enid nodded and left again.

“Well, she doesn’t look like she’s waking up anytime soon and it seems she’ll be in need of close care for a while. I’ll take her to my quarters for her recovery. She would simply escape if she was left in the infirmary. I won't be surprised if her fever is the beginnings of an illness from a weakened immune system. Most likely from lack of sleep. I’ll take her off your hands Marilyn.” Ms Weems said and smiled.

“I’ll drop by after class.” She said and gently slipped her arms under the addams girl and passed her limp from to Weems.

Weems stood up straight and propped Wednesday’s form up so her head rested in the crook of the headmistresses' elbow, with her other arm supporting her legs.

The principle expressed her thanks and swiftly and fluidly swept from the room, ignoring the looks from her students as she walked to her office with the addams unconscious in her arms, looking pale and sickly.

After making it into the haven of her office she gently set Wednesday down on the couch so she could set up the spare bed for her before she woke up.

Rooting around in one of the spare drawers she found what she was looking for. A small plastic white device that had been left in storage by the previous Principle. A baby monitor. No way was she leaving the addams without being able to monitor her closely. She set the device down on her desk near Wednesday, she took its counterpart with her to set up the room.

After she had finished wrestling with the fitted sheet, she threw on the final covers. Just as she begun tucking in the top sheet, she heard rustling on the monitor. Swearing softly, she hurried from the room back to her office.

As she arrived, she saw Wednesday stand up, bracing herself on the back of the couch to stay upright as she tried to escape. Weems crossed her arms.

“Miss addams! Where do you think you’re going?!” She said and her resolve softened as she noticed the glassy look in her students' eyes. In hurried steps she came over to the young troublemaker who looked at her blankly.

She placed a tender hand to her forehead before moving to her cheek.

“Your fever has risen.” She said, smoothing down her dress. “No matter, we will deal with it. Come now.” She said and grabbed the monitor before guiding Wednesday by the elbow to the room. The raven walked on wobbly legs and uneven steps from a few paced before weems simply scooped her into her strong arms.

“Ms weems!” Wednesday mumbled in protest, her eyes drifting closed as she leant into the headmistress who hummed in a mild concern.

“Come now Wednesday, you can barely stand. To bed with you. I’ll have the cook bring some light food and we’ll get some medicine into you. And in future don’t be so difficult. If you need help with anything, simply ask my darling. We don’t need this to happen again you stubborn girl.” She scolded laying Wednesday down in the bed before tucking her in. Wednesday simply hummed weakly in response making Weems frown.

“Rest now darling. I’ll contact the chef.” She said and set down the monitor on the bedside. Wednesday opened an eye to glare at it.

“I don’t need that.” She said closing her eyes again.

“Wednesday addams, you will remain here until i see fit. Whilst you remain in my care you will keep that monitor on and in the room. Break it and spend a week in detention for destruction of school property.” She lectured before softening slightly. “Im here to help you, don’t be so stubborn. If you would rather have your mother look after you that can be arranged. And I’m sure she will be far more doting than i.” She said and smiled down at Wednesday, who grunted and rolled over.

“No.” She huffed.

“Goodnight darling I’ll be back soon. Rest up.” She said and left.

After contacting the cook the make Wednesday a light chicken noodle soup she grabbed her laptop and came to sit by Wednesday's bedside while she worked.

After a while she heard a knock and went to get the food from the cook. Gently she woke up Wednesday who pouted which was borderline cute with her pink flushed cheeks and nose. Weems frowned at the glassy look in her eyes and lifted a glass to her lips.

“Drink.” She instructed and Wednesday glared before greedily gulping down the water.

“Not so fast darling, leave some to take your medicine.” Weems said and handed Wednesday two small white tablets. Wednesday glared at them but took them before weems lifted the spoon to her lips. Wednesday drew the line there, taking the spoon from weems. But her hands shook, and no soup stayed on the spoon. Weems gently took the spoon back and Wednesday relented.

“Let me darling.” She said and Wednesday allowed the headmistress to spoon feed her the broth like a child. After she had eaten Weems insisted, she rests some more as she settled the Addams back into the nest she had established. As she rested once more Weems gently typed out some important emails on her computer, still sat on the bed with her legs up and lent against the headboard. She had promised Mortica she would look after the young addams and that was exactly what she planned to do. She was learning a fair bit about Wednesday. For example, she was quiet the cuddler in her sleep Weems realised as her leg was trapped by Wednesday who had curled into her side and wrapped her pale arms around Weems thigh. Weems smiled down at the sleeping girl and drew slow circles on her back as she slept.

Weems may not have ever had children, but she loved Wednesday like her own even if she wasn’t able to show it often, she cared for her. And she would make sure Wednesday was well enough soon to receive the lecture of her life.

[rustyarcade]

Nurse Enid to The Rescue!

A sick fic requested by @straightchillin1607

And also a snuggle fic requested by @drunkenbartend

Here’s the ao3 link if you wanna read it there!

But if you’d like to read it here, then click continue reading :)

Enid woke up early.

She usually woke up early, with plenty of time to wake up before classes began. But the sun hadn’t even come up yet. Her eyes were greeted with the soft glow of the fairy lights she strung above her bed. Rain tapped ever so gently on the big round window in her dark dorm room. The mountain of plush animals and blankets kept her warm from the storm outside. Soft sounds of thunder rumbled gently in the distance.

After a moment of drowsiness, Enid had realized why she had woken up from her cozy slumber. She turned in her bed to face Wednesday in the bed on her half of the room. A cacophony of coughs and groans emerged from Wednesday’s bed as she tossed and turned in her sleep. Enid sat up, turned on the lamp on her crowded night stand, and put on her colorful rainbow unicorn slippers. She shuffled over to Wednesday’s bed quietly. She knelt down right next to her bed. Wednesday’s sweaty face was slightly illuminated by the light from Enid’s lamp.

“Wednesday… are you okay?” she whispered. She shook her gently to get her attention.

All Wednesday could do was moan in response and cough.

Enid placed the back of her hand on Wednesday’s forehead. It was alarmingly warm. Like Wednesday’s heart, her body temperature was usually quite cold. “Oh my God! You’re burning up!” Enid whispered hastily. She got up and knocked on Wednesday’s desk to awaken Thing. The hand groggily crawled out of the drawer. “Wednesday is sick. Can you go get a wet towel from the dorm bathroom please?” Thing made a motion of understandment and quickly scurried out of the room.

More coughs erupted from Wednesday. Enid put her hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder in response. “What’s going on, Weds?”

“My throat feels as if I'm swallowing daggers. Every infernal cough sends a rush of pain through my body. Everything feels so hot. I hate sweat. I cannot wait for the sweet release of death,” Wednesday mumbled out. She looked up at Enid. Her big brown eyes filled with a type of despair that was clearly not like the despair she likes. Enid felt her heartstrings be pulled at the sight.

“Shh… shh… I know, I know… you’ll be ok,” she assured her. Enid grabbed Wednesday’s warm hand that was dangling off the side of the bed and held it.

After a few minutes, Thing came back with a small wet towel. Enid thanked Thing and he ran back to his drawer to sleep. She placed the towel on Wednesday’s forehead. Wednesday let out a noise of relief. “There we go… feels nice, huh?” Enid said warmly. Wednesday squirmed and nodded in response. When the towel became warm and Wednesday affirmed she did not feel as hot anymore, Enid sighed out, “When the sun comes out, I’ll take you to the nurse so she can look out for you, okay?”

As Enid tried to go back to her bed, she was held back by Wednesday’s hand still holding onto hers. Enid turned her head around confused. ��Don’t go…” Wednesday pleaded weakly. Enid was nearly horrified at Wednesday’s state. Never could she have ever imagined Wednesday acting affectionate in any shape or form. She really was sick, Enid thought. Enid returned to her girlfriend’s side.

“Sleep in my bed tonight? Please,” Wednesday coughed.

Enid couldn’t believe it. She must have been dreaming or hallucinating. She felt excitement grow inside of her. Enid had been trying to reassure Wednesday that she can be more affectionate when they’re alone. And this time felt perfect. “Are you sure?“ Enid asked, smiling.

“If you make me ask you again, I will put you in a cardboard box outside of a gas station that has ‘free mutt’ written on the front of it,” Wednesday responded in her usual cold tone.

Enid nearly jumped onto the opposite side of Wednesday’s bed. She laid on her side facing Wednesday’s back and pulled her closely towards her. Her body wasn’t as warm as it was earlier, but she still felt pleasant to hold. She held onto her tightly and buried her face in Wednesday’s dark, unbraided hair.

“Is this okay?” Enid asked.

“Yes,” Wednesday confirmed.

Wednesday was too sick and tired to complain about how “affectionate and gross” she was snuggling her, which to her sounded like a better excuse than admitting that she was actually loving every second of it. Wednesday felt all of her pains melt away in Enid’s arms. She felt as if she could finally breathe again after a horrible night.

Enid was the first to fall asleep, snoring softly after five minutes of laying together. Wednesday closed her eyes too, knowing in the morning she’ll wake up safe and sound thanks to her hero, nurse, and girlfriend.

[woahitswednesday]

Been feeling not so great all day 🥺

And there's nothing to eat that won't make it worse. So if someone wanted to send me money so I could order soup I'd appreciate it 💜

I'm surprised this hadn't occurred to me before, but if you do I'd be more than happy to give you free access to my onlyfans for several months!

Cashapp: $willingwednesday

Or I have PayPal.

[acekindaneat]

Good thing there's espers on board, no car crashes today everyone 👍

[why-the-heck-not]

hell-bent on getting this one thing done by wednesday for some arbitrary reason. why? idk. but that's the deadline I've set for myself and I underestimated how much there was to do, so rn got 3-ish days of the mad scramble left (..hopefully)

[margindoodles2407]

hello my friends

so uh.

please pray for me cause i just came down with. like. some demon flu or something. it hit me out of absolutely nowhere. like i left the house feeling slightly nauseous and i chalked it up to my normal everyday morning nausea but. it was. not that

i threw up twice in the span of like an hour earlier today and came home around 1:30 pm and then spent like four hours drifting in and out of consciousness. i'm not nauseous anymore but my limbs are so weak i can't walk. which is a problem cause i do need to eat dinner y'know? and even though the kitchen is literally right down the stairs from my bedroom i just. i'm not sure if i can make it down and back up again without collapsing

also i *need* to drink fluids and knowing me that's going to be a battle so please also pray that i will remember to consistently do that. especially in the middle of the night.

thank you :)

[vaniloqu3nce]

Yoko, sitting down next to Enid randomly: I think I get it now. You and Wednesday work because you’re both crazy and obsessive

Enid: What? Where the hell did that come from. I am not crazy or obsessive.

Yoko: …how many wallpapers do you have of Wednesday?

Enid: Ninety two and there aren’t enough hours in the morning to appreciate them.

Yoko: And how long have you two been dating?

Enid: One hundred sixty eight days and six hours—and…*checks her phone* nine seconds

Yoko: And what time did you first meet?

Enid: Eight thirty two am on Monday morning.

Yoko: And when is my birthday

Enid: …aren’t you dead why does that matter.

[sportsthoughts]

baby

[sparkles-rule-4eva]

Happy birthday, Tails!

"Fevers Can't Ruin Birthdays"

based on this post by @niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian :)

AO3 version

Sonic didn’t have to be a genius to know that Tails had never had someone celebrate his birthday before they’d met. The kid had been the littlest outcast there ever was, for the dumbest of reasons. He’d been shunned and abused for what Sonic in all seriousness considered to be one of the coolest things about him— his extra tail that let him fly. On top of that, Tails was an absolute genius.

Too bad Sonic had to be the first one in the entire world to notice all this. Or maybe not so bad, because that meant he got to keep him. Which was quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to him.

They’d been with each other for years now. Things were familiar between them. Familial terms flew from both their mouths in reference to each other all the time without hesitation. Tails had grown so much and now had a level of sass that rivaled Sonic’s. And now the kit was approaching his tenth birthday.

Sure, Sonic had made plenty of efforts in past years to celebrate his little brother. He’d thrown parties, bought out hardware shops in the hopes that whatever he brought would be useful to Tails, and even once made a horrendous attempt at making a birthday cake. (He hadn’t tried again since that first time, although Tails had at least appreciated the thought.)

But this year? This year was extra special somehow. Not only was Tails finally entering double-digits, it was going to be his first birthday after coming back from his extended time of solo adventuring. His “going it alone,” as he’d told Sonic he’d wanted to do back on Starfall Islands.

Sonic had missed him to no end during that time, although they’d still texted most days. Now, Tails had been back for a few weeks. He hadn’t said a word about his upcoming day, but there was no way Sonic would ever forget it.

He’d made plans, alright. Conspired with Knuckles and Amy, Vanilla and Cream, the Chaotix, even Silver and Blaze (though that had been a bit of a challenge). He’d convinced Tails to head out to one of his live-in labs that was closest to all of their friends, to make it easier for them all to come together. He’d spent an entire week shopping (with help from Amy), looking for anything that Tails would even potentially like. Mechanical stuff, computer stuff, bags of mints, lego sets the size of a dining table, video games, a collection of tiny metal airplanes he found at a thrift store, etc.

He had the entire day planned out (which was something that he usually never did). He’d hidden the giant assortment of gifts in a bunch of random secret places and connected them all with strings (although the arts and crafts store had been pretty ticked that he’d bought out their entire supply of yarn). Amy was going to make a giant, absolutely gorgeous cake. Knuckles was helping Cream decorate banners and blow up balloons. Vanilla and Vector were helping him organize everything. Sonic was going to take him to all their favorite places and they’d have races and go sightseeing and maybe dive off a cliff or two. It was going to be perfect. Sonic was absolutely determined to make sure that fox knew exactly how much he was loved.

… So if he woke up on the morning of the long-awaited day feeling a little more lethargic than usual, if he had some kind of tension in his head and felt a little congested and a little rough in the throat, well, he would keep that to himself.

Correction: he would try.

—

“Hey, Taaaaiiilllsss.” The voice was teasing and familiar, but surprisingly gentle for being an apparent wake-up call. Tails barely stirred from his dream, making the slightest of humming noises in acknowledgement.

A hand gently shook his shoulder. “Happy birthday…” the voice went on to sing, albeit quietly.

Still mostly asleep, Tails barely rolled over and automatically finished with a sleepy, “To yoouuu.”

The voice— Sonic, no doubt— snickered. “Nuh uh, lil dude. It’s your birthday!”

Tails smiled as he finally started waking up for real. “To meee,” he corrected, opening his eyes halfway as he began pushing himself to sit up.

“There ya go!” Sonic laughed, reaching out to ruffle Tails’s already-messy bangs. “Welcome to double digits! Just wait till you…”

Tails paused in his climbing down from bed as his brother trailed off in his sentence, instead ending with a sneeze.

“Bless you.” Tails hopped off the bed and grinned.

“Eh. Thanks.” Sonic shook his head and smiled back. “Sorry. What was I saying?”

“Just wait till…” Tails prompted.

“Aw, yeah— just wait till ya see everything I’ve got planned!” Sonic dragged him in for a tight hug, then a noogie, and Tails squealed with fake protest.

Sonic let him go, grabbed the end of the yarn lying on the floor near the bed, and shoved it in Tails’s hand. “Just follow the string!”

Tails laughed, but obliged. “Wait, what? What is this, birthday edition of the Wizard of Oz?”

Sonic shrugged. “I woulda built a yellow brick road, but I didn’t think you’d appreciate me messing up your floors like that. Didn’t think the public would be much of a fan, either.” He turned his face away and sneezed again.

“Whaddaya mean the public? Bless you.” Tails frowned a little when Sonic didn’t immediately turn back towards him, instead reaching up to rub his nose, then his eyes. “You good?”

At the concerned inquiry, Sonic quickly snapped back towards him. “Yeah, I’m good! Now come on, your day awaits!”

Tails kept an eye on him even as he smiled and started walking alongside the string, which he now noticed was stretched out across the floor and tucked in random places out of sight. “Are you getting sick?” he asked Sonic, who scoffed.

“‘Course not. You know colds are too slow to catch up with me.” Sonic gave him an exaggerated wink. Tails rolled his eyes.

“Lame joke, but you sound all stuffy.”

Sonic rolled his eyes right back and put his hands on his hips. “Maybe your ears need cleaning out again.”

“Just like your immune system needs cleaning out?”

“Stop sassing me, or there won’t be any cake.”

“Fine.”

Tails knew Sonic was joking about the cake bit. He still wasn’t sure if Sonic was actually sick or not, but if he was, there was no way he was going to just admit it and go to bed. He was one of the most stubborn people Tails knew, and he hated to be vulnerable in front of other people.

So, deciding to hope that Sonic wasn’t lying and maybe was just sneezing excessively for no reason that morning, he went along with the plans Sonic had created, which admittedly were all pretty fantastic.

“Yooo, is this the newest game from AGES?” he squeaked as he flew up into a tree after the string and found the tenth gift tucked in the branches.

“You bet!” Sonic called from the ground, although his voice sounded extra raspy when he raised it. “Pre-ordered it ‘n everything! I dunno if you watched the trailers for it, but it looks sick. Hoped you’d like it!”

Tails hovered back to the ground, picking up the previous gifts alongside the video game case that he’d left at the base of the tree. Sonic turned his head and coughed a couple times.

“Speaking of ‘sick,’” Tails mumbled, eyeing his brother worriedly.

Sonic waved him off. “I’m fine, I said. Besides, there’s still so much left to do!”

Tails sighed. He was beginning to think that his initial intuition was right, but was Sonic going to care? Nope.

They headed into town next, and Tails finally understood what Sonic had meant earlier about the public. If they hadn’t been world-renowned, Sonic probably would’ve gotten in trouble with the local government for leaving string and random computer parts in cardboard boxes all over the parks and roofs.

The sun was high in the sky at this point. They met with a few of their friends in the streets, too many to be a coincidence, but Tails didn’t mind one bit. While all the effort was definitely heartwarming, it would’ve been easier to enjoy it all if he weren’t so worried about Sonic, who was looking more tired by the hour. Every now and then he’d catch him rubbing his head when he thought no one was looking, as if trying to ward off a headache, and every couple minutes Tails heard him sniffling.

They had lunch with the Chaotix, and Tails of course chose chilidogs. It may have initially been Sonic’s favorite, but his love for them had rubbed off on Tails over the years. The taste of them always brought warm, pleasant memories, and almost for the sake of those memories alone, they were one of his favorite meals.

And he would’ve had an easy time enjoying them now, but it was hard when Sonic was barely picking at his, in the seat next to him. He’d taken a small bite or two, but was now doing nothing more than staring at them with slightly glazed eyes.

Trying not to make a scene, Tails nudged him a little. “Not hungry?”

Sonic blinked and looked back at him, his eyes clearing. “Um. I dunno.” He picked up his chilidog, immediately set it down again, then twisted aside to cough again, as quietly as he could.

Tails caught Vector eyeing the hedgehog from across the table and winced. “You good there, Sonic?” their older friend questioned.

Sonic looked back at the crocodile, almost uncomprehending for a moment. Tails looked between them. Sonic waved a hand. “Not you, too. I’m fine,” he sighed, even though his voice cracked when he spoke.

Espio looked towards them, away from his whispered argument with Charmy that no, Tails was not obligated to share his three new lego sets with him. “You don’t sound well,” he pointed out.

Sonic glanced back at him, squirming under the sudden scrutiny of everyone else at the table. “Hey, quit staring,” he complained, then smiled way too big and nudged Tails. “This is Tails’s day. Give him all the attention!”

Tails gave him a look, deciding that it might be better to be upfront about this than to spare Sonic’s dignity. “I’m not the one who needs medical attention,” he said with a tiny shrug, smiling apologetically when his brother shot him a pleading look.

Vector sat up straight. “Wait, are you sick?”

“No,” Sonic protested, his ears flattening slightly.

Espio leaned down and started fumbling through one of their bags under the table. “I think we still have flu medicine leftover from when three of us had it a few weeks ago. You can take it if you need it.”

“Noooo, thanks.” His big brother looked like he wanted to disappear, although at this point Tails couldn’t tell if the redness on his face was from embarrassment or an oncoming fever. He looked meaningfully back at Espio and nodded, and the chameleon quietly slipped him the bottle under the table.

They managed to go the rest of the meal without bringing up the sickly elephant in the room, but Tails couldn’t brush off his worry. More and more he wanted so badly to just take his brother home, tuck him into bed, and take care of him until he was healthy again, but with the way Sonic was, such a thing would be immensely difficult.

“Ready for a hike with the gang?” Sonic asked him, with about as much energy as he could summon at the moment.

“A hike?” Tails echoed, brows rising. “Why don’t we just fly in the Tornado? Where are we hiking?”

Sonic laughed, then immediately started coughing again. It was sounding rougher every time it happened, and Tails automatically reached to put a hand on his brother’s back. “M’fine,” Sonic reassured him, trying and failing to clear his throat. “There’s this one spot out in the mountains nearby with an awesome view at the top. The hike is an hour or so, and yeah I know we could just fly, but I thought it would be nice to catch some scenery in the woods along the way. Knux and Amy are coming along, is that okay?”

“That’s— it’s fine that they’re coming.” Tails paused, trying to sort through his immediate concerns. “Um… I just think…” With a quick breath, he went on, “Sonic, this has all been awesome and the hike does sound exciting, but… I really think you need to go home and rest.”

Sonic sighed, glaring at the ground for a moment, before dragging his gaze up to meet Tails’s with a frustratingly relaxed gleam. “How many times do I gotta say it today, I’m fine! Nothing can keep me down for long. I’ve been waiting to do all this with you for months; please just let me have this?”

His brother wasn’t as good with the puppy dog eyes as Tails was himself, but it somehow worked— for now. Tails groaned, conflicted still but not knowing how to convince the stubborn hedgehog that walking around all day and hiking entire mountains and spending all energy for the sake of birthday fun was not going to let him feel better. Especially if he refused to take any medicine.

“Okay, but—”

“Awesome!” Sonic didn’t let him finish. “I told the others to meet us at the parking lot in twenty minutes or so— whaddaya say we beat them to it?” He swallowed with a grimace as he finished speaking, then sniffled.

Tails stared at him regretfully. “Okay.”

They made it to the parking lot in under five minutes. Tails decided not to say anything about how much easier than usual it was to keep up with the speedy hedgehog, who didn’t seem to be purposefully moving as slowly as he was. As they reached the sparsely populated lot, Sonic stumbled over his feet and all but fell against someone’s car, struggling to catch his breath as he started coughing again, even harder than before.

“Sonic?” His worry ramping up a decent amount, Tails hurriedly dropped down beside him. “You alright?”

Sonic gave him a tired grin, even as his chest heaved for air. “Just catching my breath,” he wheezed.

Tails stiffened, looking at his brother with blank eyes as a haunting memory surfaced in his mind.

“Just catching my breath,” Sonic tried to assure him, even though he was near entirely covered in flickering, red and black cyber energy, had just been coughing, was clearly in pain. Tails stared at his own transparent, glitching hands, realizing he had no corporeal form and could do nothing to help his brother feel better.

And then he’d spent the next few days watching Sonic get sicker and sicker, watching him limp tiredly around instead of run with his trademark smile, watching him hold his arm and his hip and his head until he could barely walk. Tails had come back to his real, solid form, only to find Sonic paralyzed, unresponsive, all but dead, because he’d cared more for their lives and their comfort than for his own health.

This wasn’t the same, he reminded himself in the present; at least, it wasn’t as dire. This was just a bug. Just the flu. And it was just a birthday.

But Sonic was still rejecting his health in favor of making sure that someone he loved was having a good time.

Tails wasn’t sure how to articulate his feelings on that to him right now. So he chose to step closer and throw his arms around Sonic instead, holding him tightly.

Sonic paused for a moment, evidently taken aback, then silently hugged him back. Pressed up against him, Tails could hear and feel the raggedness in the hedgehog’s breathing, and feel the unnatural heat radiating off of him.

“Whoa, are we interrupting something?” a deeper voice called, and immediately Sonic pulled back as if nothing had happened.

“Brother stuff, Knux,” he told the echidna, as Tails fought his internal annoyance at missing his chance of actually convincing Sonic to go home and go to bed. “You wouldn’t get it.”

Knuckles eyed the hedgehog ruefully. “I think I would, somehow.”

Beside him, Amy laughed. “You guys ready for this?”

“The view won’t compare to Angel Island. But I suppose it’ll be nice in its own way.”

“The scenery on the way is supposed to be really cool, too,” Tails put in, remembering what Sonic had said earlier.

“It is!” Sonic agreed, then pointed to a sign by the woods nearby. “That’s the start of the trail. Let’s do this thing!” Without waiting for a response, he half-ran, half-stumbled off towards the aforementioned sign.

Tails just sighed, shook his head, and ambled after him. As he did, Amy headed closer to walk beside him.

“Is Sonic… sick? Or something?” she whispered, looking concerned after their friend ahead of them. “He seems off, somehow. And he sounds all raspy.”

“…Yeah,” Tails mumbled guiltily. “He’s been coming down with something all day. I’ve tried to talk him into going home and resting, but he won’t listen.”

“Sounds about right.” Amy groaned. “I’ll help you keep an eye on him while we walk. If he still won’t go home to sleep by the time we’re done the hike, I’ll just drag him there myself.”

Tails couldn’t help a laugh at the mental image. “Thanks, Amy.”

“Of course!” The pink hedgehog beamed at him. “Now then— how’s your birthday been going, mister ten-years-old already?”

“It’s been good otherwise!” He grinned. “For the first half of the day he just dragged me around town following a string to all sorts of gifts. I had to drop them all off at the lab, or else we wouldn’t have been able to do the hike.”

“Ooh! What’d you get so far?”

“Mm, a lot of computer parts, three new lego sets, a couple new video games, a skateboard, a weighted blanket, a box of mint tea—”

“Wow,” Amy cut in with a giggle. “I helped him do some of the shopping, but he really went all out, it sounds like.” Tails nodded with a soft smile. “I’ll never get over how much he just adores you. How much you both love each other,” she added, watching the fox kit’s eyes shift to check on the hedgehog ahead of them.

Sonic had paused beside a tree, leaning heavily against it, panting with eyes glazed over again. “Sonic?” Tails called, hurrying ahead to catch up with him.

“What?” Sonic jolted upright again, eyes brightening but not clearing as they passed over Tails. “I’m fiiine,” he drawled, and staggered back onto the trail. Knuckles grabbed him by the arm to keep him from tripping down the hill on the other side of the path.

Tails glanced back to exchange a look with Amy, then sighed and tried to stick closer to his brother. Knuckles glanced back and gestured questioningly at Sonic behind the hedgehog’s back at Tails, who mimed coughing into his fist in response. Knuckles rolled his eyes, then silently exhaled and nodded.

All of them were unfortunately familiar with the way their friend would put up a front for them. As Tails had earlier recalled, it hadn’t been too long since they’d seen this kind of thing with him.

It fooled none of them.

The farther they hiked, the more it became abundantly clear that Sonic was getting worse, and the more Tails and the others worried. The hedgehog couldn’t walk in a straight line to save his life, instead stumbling in a sort of zig zag pattern back and forth across the trail, giggling here and there. He’d gone from being pretty quiet and tired out in the first half to jabbering nonstop in the second half, except it was almost pure nonsense coming out of his mouth.

“Looook, Tails,” he snickered, pointing shakily at a flicky in a tree nearby. “Toldja dragons’r real.”

“Sonic, that’s a flicky. And we’re literally friends with dragons. Remember Trip?”

“Ah, yyyyeahh!” Sonic laughed way harder than he should’ve, breaking into yet another coughing fit. “Y’know, I could probably breathe fire too, with how on fire my lungs feel right now.”

He staggered on ahead and proceeded to trip over a tree root.

Tails shot an anxious glance at Amy, then leaned closer and whispered to her, “Would you mind heading back and bringing the Tornado out here? I’d do it myself but I don’t want to leave him. Once you get it here, I’ll bring him home.” He bit his lip. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay!” Amy whispered back. “You got it. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Amy wasn’t quite as skilled as he was with flying the Tornado, but he’d given her enough lessons that he felt confident at least trusting her to fly it out a short distance. It would be worth it, to be able to take Sonic back home with ease and make him get the care he so desperately needed, whether he wanted it or not.

“Where’d Amy gooo?” Sonic whined a few minutes after she’d hurried off.

“She’s just getting something for me,” Tails told him, patting his shoulder reassuringly, although he jumped at how hot to the touch his brother was.

“Izzit a surprise for youuu?” The hedgehog smiled deliriously. “Tha’s cool. Happy birthdaaayy!”

“Thank you, Sonic.”

“Yerrr welcome! Hey… did you dye your fur or somethin’? Ya look way more orange than usual.” He peered at Knuckles and his eyes blew open wide. “Whoaaa, you too!”

Tails facepalmed. “Dear Chaos, he’s even worse than I thought…”

Knuckles looked back and forth between them, having clearly never dealt with a person as sick as Sonic currently was. For Tails, it had been a while, but he’d definitely experienced things like this before. He’d known Sonic for most of his life, had seen him at his highs and his lows. He picked up his pace to match Sonic’s, and Knuckles dropped behind slightly.

“Sonic, you really need to rest,” he told him firmly.

Sonic giggled. “Yes, I’m a pest! Egghead agrees with that!”

Tails facepalmed. “That’s not even close to what I said.”

Abruptly, Sonic jumped and pointed excitedly at a patch of sunlight ahead in their path. Probably the end of the path, Tails figured, but instead of saying that, his brother exclaimed, “Look! A giant duckling!”

“…What?”

“Izzo cute.” Sonic all but dragged himself up to the patch of sunshine and fell over into the grass. “Can I keep ittt?”

“Uh.”

“Please? Hey Knucklehead, can I keep th’duckling?”

“There’s no duckling,” Knuckles said bluntly.

Looking genuinely disappointed, Sonic shoved himself back to his feet and staggered up to the boulder with the view, the end of the trail indeed. “Taaaiiilllss, canna buy a duckling?”

“Sonic—”

“Whoaaaa, lookit th’vieeww!”

He’d been right, the view here was spectacular. There was no shield from the wind up here; they’d passed above all the trees. They could see hawks soaring below them, and in the distance, they could see the town they’d been in earlier as nothing more than a silent, tiny setup of buildings with microscopic moving specks that they knew were people and cars. For a moment, Tails paused as he surveyed the view. It was fascinating to see something like this and not be flying somehow.

Sonic was grinning in absolute delirium as he whirled sideways to see them, eyes half-closed. “See, wasn’t it worth it…” He frowned suddenly, stumbled, then started swaying. “Whoa.”

“Sonic?!” Fueled by panic and adrenaline, Tails realized what was happening, and lunged to grab the hedgehog by the wrist right before he keeled over— nearly off the edge of the cliff. Panting in suppressed fear, he pulled Sonic back up onto the boulder and sank to his knees, all but cradling his brother as he lay there, barely conscious.

“No more excuses. You’re burning up,” he said, hugging him close to calm his racing heart. “I sent Amy to bring the Tornado. I’m taking you home as soon as she gets here.”

Sonic blinked blearily up at him, then groaned and mumbled, “…Okay.”

Tails blew out a breath. “Good.”

“Jus’ one thing…”

“What’s that?”

“Can I still get a duckling.”

“…I’ll buy you one when it’s your birthday. Now stop talking and rest.”

Sonic grinned wearily, closing his eyes and resting his head down against Tails’s chest fluff. “Okay.”

—

Amy arrived shortly afterwards, and Tails carried his feverish brother up to the Tornado as it circled around them. He set him down in the seat behind the cockpit, then he and Amy switched out as Amy leapt back down to the boulder.

“We’ll head back on our own,” Knuckles called, waving to them. “Go on ahead.”

Tails waved back in acknowledgment, then set the course for the quick flight back to the workshop, barely a minute’s trip.

He thought he heard Sonic mumbling something behind him, but it was difficult to hear him over the wind. He hit a button to bring the overhead windshield over the seats (a feature he usually reserved for rainy days), and said, “What was that?”

“I’m sorry.” Sonic was slumped sideways in his seat, staring sullenly out the window.

Tails frowned as he returned his gaze to the path ahead. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t—”

“I wanted to give you a perfect birthday. After everything.” It was probably due to the sickness, but Sonic sounded downright miserable. “And I ruined it.”

Tails sighed. “You didn’t ruin anything. No one can control when they get sick. It was still a great birthday, Sonic.” He twisted around again and smiled, making sure Sonic saw him before he turned back towards the front. “Thank you.”

Sonic hummed a little in response, but said nothing.

—

They set down at the workshop, and Tails opted to leave the Tornado in the runway for a while so he could take Sonic straight inside and set to doing what he’d wanted to do all day: just taking care of him.

He settled him comfortably on the couch, brought him a couple blankets, made some soup, and brought him some orange juice and a couple slices of bread. After he’d eaten, Tails gave him some of the medicine he’d gotten from Espio earlier. Sonic still seemed kind of depressed, but he was looking a little better, at least, now that he was finally getting to rest.

As he nibbled on the bread, Tails sat down with him and handed him the orange juice glass. “You know,” he said slowly, beginning to smile, “I think I prefer this gift over the others.”

Sonic blinked at him as he accepted the glass carefully and took a tentative sip. “What… which… I haven’t gotten you anything since we got back.”

“Just…” Tails shook his head and smiled, then reached out and rubbed his head between his ears, like Sonic always did to him. “Just this. Being together. You letting me take care of you. I always like that.” Sonic stared back at him in surprise as he spoke. “You have no clue how much this means to me. How much I’ve wanted to do this, basically all day.”

The hedgehog sighed, but smiled back. “Sorry it took all this for us to properly hang out.” He shifted. “Although, as nice as this is… I’m not sure if you really wanna be this close. I might get you sick.”

In response, Tails scooted closer and hugged him tight. “I’ll take my chances.”

Sonic was still tense. “It’s on you if you do get sick,” he warned, although his tone was hardly serious and didn’t match with his affectionate grin.

“I know. Just shush it and let me hug you.”

“…Alright. You win this round, bud.”

💛-----------------the end-----------------💙

tagging, as requested, @star-stages and @yogacatdeskknit

[sickficideas]

WIP Wednesday 👽

dandadan edition...hopeing to finish this soon ! 👽🎉

[maxintime]

Sooo its my birthday today and I've decided what better way to celebrate it than posting my biggest kins :]

[ro-sham-no]

@wincestwednesdays | july 31st: spite / in sickness & in health / free space

blanket statement / rivet snaps, a poem by me.

[willowser]

you're not expecting the bathroom door to swing open.

sitting in katsuki's overly-large bathtub, soaking into suds and fragrant oils and trying to enjoy what you believed would be another evening alone; one of kirishima's sidekicks is out with an injury and your great explosion murder god has been picking up the slack, pulling double shifts almost every night this week. not something to be upset about, as it's no one's fault, really—but you certainly didn't forsee your bath being interrupted.

this is what your i'm in here! call is met with: the creak of hinges and the smell of smoke, the deep scowl on katsuki's face as he shuffles across the tile, eyes rimmed with that greasy paint he wears under his mask.

very rarely does he intrude on your alone time—not that you're complaining. a faint shy streak travels through you, and you pull your knees closer to your chest as you smile at him. without a word, he stands across from the tub, leaning against the sink counter as he scratches at sweat dripping down his neck.

"hello," you tell him quietly, trying to tide back your excitement for the sake of his exhaustion. "didn't expect to see you here, stranger."

it's only a joke, but katsuki's frown deepens. for a while, his eyes dance anywhere other than you, long enough that you begin to wonder if a nerve has been struck, but you're surprised to find him a little pink as he straightens out his slouchy posture.

"scooch." is all he demands of you, gruffly. before you can manage a retort, his arms go over his head to grab a fist full of his shirt by the back, tugging it up and free from his dirty, worn body.

it's a nice sight, one that keeps you quiet and content: the soft curve of his shoulders and the rippling, bruised plane of his ribcage; the thick muscle of his thighs as he yanks down his pants; the spreading flush to his chest, as he strips himself bare.

you are more than happy to scooch, slipping to one side easily so that he can sit at your back. a rough groan escapes him when he sinks into the steaming water, as he stretches out and rubs at one of his knees, digging his fingers into his skin with a grimace before gently tugging you to lean back against him.

you turn your head just a bit, so that your forehead is against his cheek, nosing at his jaw. again, you give him a quiet, "hello," that elicits another long, deep groan from his chest.

"hi," katsuki murmurs, a little awkwardly into your hair. you tell him he stinks and he grunts out a single laugh, before pinching your sides under the water until you're squirming against him a little too intimately.

when you turn to face him now, the scowl has slipped away, replaced by a soft curve of his lips that looks almost like a smile. his head is leaned back against the edge of the tub, eyes lidded, and he infects you with a yawn that stretches out his whole face.

he's so cute when he's sleepy like this that you can't help it; you wrap an arm around his neck and run a hand through his hair, leaving water to drip free and down from his temples. you place a fat kiss on his cheek, no matter how dirty, and it earns you a pleased hum that makes you want to squeal.

it's been a long week, that's all, and you're just happy he's home.

"are you all mine tonight?" you ask, pulling your lip between your teeth when he raises his head to stare at you. something heavy weighs in his eyes, like his response will answer to more than just your question, this question, right here in the bath and in your arms.

katsuki blinks softly, and digs a hand into your hair, too. "yeah," he murmurs, serious. "all yours."

[dunkinbublin]

Hiya! Saw you opened requests again and wondered if anything from the fic Online Fights that me and @myyla-x co wrote together sparks any ideas? <3 Started as a conversation about a Twitter poll and turned into a 6 hour long non stop branch of messages and speech marks between us that turned into a fic so will always have a lil special nostalgic place in my heart! <3 Hope you’re having an amazing day!

AHHHH thank you for showing me. dfsmfoskm yeah i had some ideas lmao

i offer them..

(@myyla-x SUPRISE!!!)

[vinelark]

i'm being haunted by nightwing bruce

join me in my protective circle where we imagine a better world in which, given the event that someone has to temporarily take over for nightwing, it’s obviously tim drake in the suit.

beyond the fact that he has the skillset and a closer physique and that he’s not, to my knowledge, even up to anything right now, it would be so narratively satisfying! he was dick’s protégé! he’s currently trying to figure out his own identity and has always been both striving to be dick and also lurking in dick’s shadow! how would dick feel seeing tim put on another one of his suits and face down even more of his enemies! it would be such a good dynamic and heal so many wounds (including, on a meta level, offering the tiniest bit of redemption for dc doing ric grayson instead of putting tim in the suit the last time).

🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️

[quietwingsinthesky]

was writing this down for an ask but realized i was quickly getting off topic for that ask lmao. let’s talk about Dean’s handprint, the wild misinterpretations of it, and how those have affected how people read Anna covering it during her sex scene with Dean.

We have to establish the obvious first: the number one way the handprint is misinterpreted is to establish a romantic connection between Dean and Castiel from their very first meeting. Because of how popular the ship is, we’re now left with the unfortunate aftermath of people knowing the ship first and the show second, and therefore being more inclined to interpret the show through the lens of the ship. Needless to say, while looking at season 4 through that lens for hints of destiel is fun, it doesn’t lead to a thematically cohesive reading. The handprint is the best way we can demonstrate this. If we take the handprint to indicate that Castiel has been romantically interested in Dean since minute one, or even that he sees Dean as a person rather than an instrument of Heaven’s will at first (put a pin in that), then the rest of his character arc for the season is incoherent and meaningless. To assert that this is what the handprint is about takes the conclusion Castiel needs the entirety of season 4 to reach and transplants it onto him at the very beginning in order to make it easier to find evidence for the ship.

There’s a lot of media out there where interpreting it through the lens of a ship, even one unintended by the author, can enhance the original text. (Lest we all forget our Winter Soldier roots.) Supernatural does not have that relationship to interpreting it to be about destiel. A season 4 where the handprint means Castiel is in love with Dean is a weaker story and does a huge disservice to Castiel’s actual character arc.

So, now that we’ve established what the handprint isn’t, can we talk about what it is? Yes. It’s pretty simple, actually.

Think of it this way: To Heaven, Dean is livestock, and the handprint is the brand telling everyone (but especially Dean) what ranch he belongs to.

Let’s start with the obvious: it isn’t a metaphorical brand at all. It’s literal. It’s burned into his skin permanently (or at least, when the makeup department wants to put it there.) I’d argue that from the nature of it being notable as the only scar Dean has from being raised from Hell and later showing up during his sex scene with Anna that even if we don’t see the handprint, we’re meant to interpret it as continuing to be there for… well. The rest of his life, most likely. And that’s horrifying. The handprint is telling us two things when it shows up: one, letting us know that Dean’s resurrection was intentional and through a manner we as the audience don’t have the information to guess at yet. Anyone who watched the show airing, or watches it now without knowing about angels would have assumed demonic deal intervention as being the cause of Dean’s new lease on life, and this. handily. discards that theory. But secondly, it tells us that this resurrection was violating. All resurrections on Supernatural are.

We assume from Castiel’s line, you know the one, we all know the one, Mr. Gripped-You-Tight, that he’s the one who put it there. However, to then make a further leap that it was Castiel’s personal decision to do so is, I think, a misunderstanding of his role. Take that pin out now. Dean is not a person to Castiel at this point. They’re not friends. Dean is a tool for Heaven to use, a tool that should be honored and grateful to be picked up at all. Make no mistake: Castiel branded him for Heaven, not for himself. Castiel’s a ranchhand. They aren’t in the business of letting the cows run free if they look a little sad to be slaughtered later.

Castiel needs to start here for his arc to be as impactful as it is. He can’t begin rebellious. He has to learn how to doubt. He has to develop a personal friendship with Dean that threatens his allegiance to Heaven. He has to see Anna having chosen to fall rather than obey Heaven and to be betrayed by Uriel being so desperate that he’s turned to killing their brothers and sisters trying to find a way out from under Heaven’s control.

There’s another line I think gets misinterpreted a lot in this initial meeting. “You don’t think you deserve to be saved?” On its face, easy bait for someone looking for shipping fodder, but that misses the actual point of the line. It’s a powerplay. We don’t learn until later why Dean wouldn’t think he deserves to be saved (aside from his general Winchester levels of self-esteem, but knowing that trait about him actually serves as a pretty good red herring to mask real reason Dean is thinking about himself as irredeemable now until the reveal. It’s not that Dean had a low opinion about himself in general, but that he tortured people in Hell and can never forgive himself for that.) , but Castiel does know. All of Heaven knows what Dean’s sin in Hell was. Without saying it, Castiel can remind Dean of it here. This line isn’t about Dean being so inherently good that Castiel had to rescue him. It’s about making sure Dean knows that the only way he can be ‘redeemed’ is through obedience to the heavenly powers who own his ass now. This is how he deserves to be saved. Because God commanded it. Because they have work for him.

And if he doesn’t bow? Then, as Castiel puts it in the very next episode, “I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in.” This threat hanging over Dean’s head won’t go away for the rest of the season, not from Heaven. The only shift is that Castiel’s continued doubt and disobedience levels the playing field between them. They’ll both be punished, rather than Castiel taking on the role of disciplinarian. (It’s a really clever way of dealing with that power gap between them, actually. There’s always a bigger fish.)

The handprint and Castiel’s early conversations with Dean serve as a reminder of the precarious position he’s in. We shouldn’t take him ‘being saved’ at face value, no more than we should take Heaven being good just because they’re the angels in this equation as a given. Dean hasn’t been saved. He’s being used, just as much (if not arguably more) than Ruby is using Sam. (Because at least Ruby truly believes this is for Sam’s benefit, in the end.) And the worst part is how aware of it Dean is. How could he not be? His entire stint in Hell is defined by how Alistair used him. He’s just been handed off to a different owner, one that will still happily push him into the thing they ‘saved’ him from the minute it proves useful. Dean needing to torture Alistair reminds us just how little his circumstances have actually changed. He’s not allowed to say no to this.

So. The handprint is Heaven’s mark of ownership. It’s Dean’s status as their tool, their victim, burned into his flesh and inescapable. What does it mean when Anna places her hand over it?

I’ll lay my cards on the table. I’ve been thinking about this for so long because the aforementioned tendency to assume that the handprint is evidence for destiel means that the scene between Anna & Dean also gets lumped into being interpreted as more evidence for destiel. For over a decade, I have endured people joking about Anna being jealous of Cas for getting to leave a mark on their boytoy. And that’s one of the nicer things the Supernatural fandom will say about a woman who they perceive as a threat to their ship.

So, not to be rude or anything, but fuck Castiel. This ain’t about him.

This scene—It’s a lovely scene, a fantastic continuation of Dean and Anna’s previous conversation into the language of a sex scene—is about two people who have both been used and threatened by Heaven connecting over that shared trauma. Before, Anna gives space for Dean to open up about Hell, but he can’t, not yet, and though she knows what he’s gone through, she hasn’t been there herself. But when it comes to what Heaven has made of them, she does understand. It’s an incredibly vulnerable moment.

You make the handprint about Dean and Cas, and you erase what that scene is about entirely: the way Heaven’s abuse has tangled itself deep into Dean and Anna’s lives, into their bodies, and how they can resist it, if only for a few moments together.

The handprint was never about Castiel at all. It was about Heaven and its dehumanization of Dean.