#and medically I’m not really in the position to be switching things up

[fairy-grotto]

Trying to convince my employers to let me work from home has once again proven far more difficult than it should be.

[noisilyscreechingsong]

Dp x Dc Crossover

Danny and Ellie somehow get tangled with Cadmus and frozen for study later. Obviously it comes to the JL’s attention and they all go ‘oh no another clone’. Anyone’s choice of who they think it is or if it’s a collection of people they took DNA from and meshed together to make these two sassy children.

Would be funnier if they came to DC universe by accident and didn’t have time to really learn about it before capture. The result being they have no idea superheroes are a thing and the heroes just thinking ‘these kids were traumatized and held captive, they don’t even know who Superman is!’ and cue another layer of hilarious misunderstanding.

When confronted about the whole clone thing, Danny immediately defends and protects Ellie. Obviously. Then they notice he was not defending himself, to which Danny goes ‘I’m not a clone!’ The heroes look at each other in clear doubt. ‘Oh he was in denial or seriously didn’t know who he was made from. That will make this harder.’

I may have started something though…

They found a discrete laboratory hidden in plan sight, underneath an office building. When researched, they found connections to Cabmus.

Considering the last encounter they had with the organization, they wanted to be prepared. Hence why when the small team noticed Batman walking down the stairs, Superman followed behind with a tight expression.

“Report.”

Red Robin stepped forward.

“Two cryo-stasis containers holding two nearly identical people. The first a male, approximately 13-14 years of age. Stable. The second a female, younger, approximately 10-11 years of age. Also stable, but her stats are lower than the boy’s.”

“What do you know?”

“Virtually nothing,” Connor says casually. “There are no documents left behind, digital or physical, and there are zero labels on these things.”

They arrive toward the back of the basement where the two frozen containers were sitting upright. One unit obviously smaller than the other most likely holding the girl. Batman has to peer down into the larger unit to see the boy’s face. Frost collected on his eyelashes and black hair like a forgotten doll. No movement from either forms, not even breathing.

“So we don’t know who they are made from,” Superman pushes, clearly displeased.

Batman keeps looking at their faces. The curve of their noses, the shape of their jaws, the positioning of their cheekbones. They didn’t look like Connor. No, they reminded him of someone else.

“We suspect hybrids of some sort,” M’gann contributes. “A mixture of different heroes if I had to guess, but there is no way of knowing with our lack of information without waking them up.”

“Can’t you look into their minds?” Clark questions.

M’gann squirms at the directness and Connor steps forward to defend her. Tensions rise.

“No, sir. They are frozen so there is hardly any brain function except to keep them alive. They aren’t even dreaming.”

She looks them over sadly, obviously distraught with not being able to connect to their minds in anyway.

Batman turns to Red Robin, the younger already watching him.

“You see it too, right?”

Batman grunts. Yes, he saw it.

“Is there a way to move them?” Batman brings back the focus.

“The containers are connected to the buildings power and then a back-up generator in case of emergencies. We’d have to switch the power to something mobile and there’s no telling what kind of effect that would have on the kids,” Connor explains, against the idea of moving them.

“It’s six in the evening. Most everyone in the building above as gone home for the day,” Red Robin helpfully adds.

“Evacuate the rest. Then call a medical team.”

“Wait,” Superman interrupts as the three younger heroes jump to do as instructed. “You’re not thinking about waking them up now, are you?”

“You have a better idea?”

Batman doesn’t even look at him as he studies the stats on the old screen connected to the nearest pod. This one holding the boy. He’ll be the first one out seeing as he’s the more stable one.

“They could be dangerous. They could try to attack us.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Batman deadpans. He didn’t state the obvious that they were children who had been frozen for who knows how long. If anything they’ll need reassurance that they were safe, not weapons in their faces as soon as they wake up.

Clark was not happy with his decision, but as long as he didn’t antagonize them Bruce left him alone.

It wasn’t long before they were ready to begin. Three medical personnel stood several yards back behind the heroes. Red Robin begins the defrosting procedure and they have to wait maybe an hour before the door slides open. There is a breath among them as they wait for his eyes to open. Instead they hear a cracking of thin ice and the boy falls forward without the door holding him in place. Connor is the one to catch him before he hits the floor face first.

Superboy turns him to lay him flat on the floor, the boy’s body still stiff with cold. Frost makes his hair and eyelashes brittle. His lips are a faint shade of blue.

“He isn’t breathing,” Connor informs quickly.

One of the medics push forward first, oxygen mask in hand.

“Bring the thermal blankets. We need to get his core temperature up,” the woman urgently instructs.

They get to work quickly in warming up the boy who is too small and fragile. After several minutes of the medics squeezing air into his mouth and rubbing his limbs and chest to get the blood flowing, the boy takes a breath. Then another. He coughs roughly, his throat scratchy, and starts to shiver.

“There we go.”

He whimpers and tries to move his hand, but the action is jerky and unpracticed.

“His eyes,” M’gann informs them, finally able to get some brain activity. “He can’t open his eyes. The ice-“

Connor takes a water bottle the medics brought and poured the room temperature water over his eyes to melt the ice holding them together. The boy jumps in surprise and tries to turn his head away but Connor continues until he can manually wipe away the ice and water from his eyelids.

Blue eyes. The boy has bright sky blue eyes. They aren’t the Krytonian blue, but they were still familiar.

He blinks and squints and looks around, breathing picking up at the people surrounding him and the unfamiliar environment. M’gann, sensing his distress, kneels down and sets a warm hand on his leg.

“It’s okay. No one here will hurt you. You’re safe now.”

He doesn’t relax, but he seems to at least understand her. He studies their uniforms and then her face before his eyes flick to something behind her and they widen. His breath stutters in his chest, making him wheeze out on the exhale.

They look behind the green skinned girl to see the smaller pod still holding the little girl, no change in her status.

The boy reaches out a shaky hand toward it, scraping against the cold concrete in his lack of energy to lift it.

“She’s okay too.”

He opens his mouth to speak, licks his lips, tries again.

“-ou-,” he rasps. His breath hitches and he’s coughing again. They help him onto his side.

“You want us to get her out?” Red Robin interprets.

The boy squints through the tears from the lack of oxygen at the hero. His expression is scrunched in discomfort and worry. As enthusiastic as he can manage, the boy nods.

“Okay, we can do that. You just have to wait, she needs to thaw out, just like what we did with you,” Red Robin explains to the boy.

He nods again in understanding, his eyes glued back to the girl in the pod. He still shivers harshly and his breathing isn’t regular but he’s not panicking and in no shape to attack them, so it seems like they were in the clear with that one.

While the girl is thawing, they get him more comfortable with warm blankets and get him to drink some water for his throat. He still wasn’t moving much except to curl up on his side and breathe on his colorless fingers. Every time he swallowed he cringed like he was drinking acid, so talking was off the table for now.

The boy was fighting sleep by the time the container door slide open. Connor was there and holding her before she could fall like the boy had.

Superboy lays the girl down close to the boy, seeing the pale hand reaching for her. As soon as he backed away the medics were on her to get air in her lungs and warm her body same as they did for the boy.

The boy watches, quietly holding her hand. Siblings it looks like it. Seeing them side by side was startling. They seemed to be clones of each other, one just younger and the opposite gender, but they were the same.

It was concerning as the number of minutes increased and there was no change. She didn’t breathe or move. She looked dead.

“Get the defibrillator,” the medic ordered, urgent.

The boy surprisingly wasn’t panicking, instead he held a hard determination that made some of the heroes curious.

Pushing himself up onto his elbow, he leaned over the girl and started weakly pushing the blankets out of the way. Thinking he was just helping to make the medic’s job easier, M’gann helped until her torso was exposed.

“You need to back away so they-“

She stops when she sees him tug at the girl’s white shirt to get into direct contact with her skin, hand pressed to her chest.

“What are you-?”

He narrows his eyes in concentration.

Red Robin unconsciously takes a step back when the boy’s blue eyes change into a glowing toxic green, illuminating the girl’s face, frost shining in the light. The hand pressed to her chest also starts to glow the same green until it seeps into her skin like she’s absorbing this weird energy. It reminded them of Starfire actually.

The green in his eyes fades as soon as the unknown green energy is lighting up her entire torso just under the skin. He pulls away and looks expectantly at the medic holding the defibrillator. She flinches into moving, setting the machine down and charging it. She’s hesitant to touch the green energy but the boy nods in encouragement, not looking concerned for anything but the girl’s health.

“Clear!”

It takes one shock for the green energy to disperse through her body and cause her to gasp. The girl starts coughing harshly and the boy pulls her to lay on her side facing him. Connor quickly helps the boy to cover her in blankets. The boy goes as far as tucking them around her and taking one of his own blankets to pile on top. He was moving more easily now even if it was sluggish.

M’gann gasps quietly just as the girl starts sobbing, whining when the act of crying hurt her throat. The boy pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her and tucking her under his chin so they could barely see her. They watch as he calmly comforts her until they are both eased into unconsciousness.

Batman give Superman a pointed look as he passes him. Clark doesn’t respond.

“Get them to the Watchtower med bay,” he orders.

It’s Superman who picks up the pile of two children tangled together and wrapped in layers of fabric, nearly throwing them at how light they both weighted. The three younger heroes follow behind, Tim mumbling about “Lazarus pits” and “Jason”, M’gann twisting her fingers in anxiety, and Connor keeping a close eye on the two kids being carried by his original.

It’s unsurprising that it’s Connor who volunteers to say with them when they are settled down in the med bay, still clinging to each other in sleep.

[thaltro]

this ask is a free pass to talk abt did/osdd as much as you want 👍

I love these free passes..thank you..please give me more 🫶🏽

Spending my pass on a rant about the online perception of DID/OSDD

One thing I find interesting is the concept of fake claiming and how that’s affected the community. In 2020 there was a large increase in mental health “awareness” online- mass vague posting of common symptoms and connecting it to larger disorders. This eventually lead to a lot of people misdiagnosing themselves with DID/OSDD. And Contrary to popular belief, I actually think most misdiagnosing was in good faith- younger teens for the first time connecting to disassociation, maladaptive day dreaming, emotional swings, PTSD, and derealization- and genuinely believing they had it. It’s more likely they had more common disorders like maybe Bpd, DDD, depression, psychosis- because there is a huge overlap in symptoms. (It’s also important to note it was also a huge awakening for actual systems too- because I’m definitely not saying everyone who had did/osdd in 2020 was misdiagnosed, in a lot of cases people were right!)

Buttttt

The internets reaction to this wasn’t with reeducation or kindness or even respectful criticism- it created a whole list of “faking signs”. I personally think the people who misdiagnosed themselves harmed the community much less then the people pushing for constant fakeclaiming. And now these arbitrary concepts plague actual systems pushing them into a deeper denial and opening them up to waves of unwanted harassment. Like ok, here’s some common misconceptions you’ll see (all the ones I’m listing are just bullshit and are contradicted with actual medical research)

-Systems can’t have fictives

-Systems can’t unmask

-Systems can’t have littles

-Systems can’t have factives

-Systems can’t have internal relationships

-Systems can’t have high amnesia

-Systems can’t have rapid switches

-Systems can’t have faceclaims or go by different genders/sexualities

ALL OF THIS IS BULLSHIT! None of these actually are backed up with medical research! And the worst part is I see groups of people just harass normal systems who show these normal symptoms and constantly fakeclaim them. I see cringe compilations, r/fake disorder cringe, tik toks, and video essays just spewing this nonsensical shit and it genuinely hurts. (It’s SO ANNOYING when they say shit like “people who do this hurt actual systems” YOUR HURTING ACTUAL SYSTEMS SHUT UP 😭) but Yes I do think there are people out their who do fake this disorder and use it to hurt and manipulate people. But I don’t think that’s the majority of misdiagnosed people. Even if someone was wrong I think it’s safer to just ignore them then to spread misinformation about DID/OSDD and encourage the possible harm onto genuine systems. (Also being wrong and admitting you are wrong is fine)

But yeah I’ll end my rant by saying If you support this weird online fakeclaiming witch hunts then I don’t want to associate with you. And to the self diagnosed systems or suspecting systems, it’s incredibly hard being in that position- harassment is almost guaranteed online and that sucks. Self diagnosis is valid especially if you can’t afford DID specialists- however with that statement If you do self diagnosis its necessary to do research. Don’t look at plural pedia or random websites- I recommend reading the DSM and The haunted self (it explains the fundamentals of structural dissociation)

PDF for the actual book ^^ (it’s also good for self diagnosed systems because it can help you weed out any other possible disorder overlap with BPD and PTSD)

But yeah 🙁 sorry for the rant I’m just really frustrated with the current climate of the internet especially for systems.

[fanfic-writer-and-rambler]

The Wayne girls on their period and how the boys handle them. My Aunt Flo is visiting this month and period woes should be told. All right, let’s do this thing!

Stephanie rested on the floor in the fetal position. She groaned from the intense cramps her period bestowed to her. Tim walked into the living room spotting her on the ground next to the couch. Tim, confused: Why are you on the floor? Stephanie, uncomfortable: I attempted to readjust myself on the couch then I was on the ground. That's when the stomach cramps entered the mix and I am in too much cramp pain to want to get up. Why are these always so intense? This is the worst. Tim: You might have a medical condition related to the- Stephanie: I need you to stop doing what you usually do. I seriously don’t want to kick you in the crotch and mind you I’m at the level to do so. Tim, not concerned: Sorry, it's hard turning it off. Um… Do you... Do you need anything? Stephanie, sardonic: For us to switch places and you go through this. Tim shakes his head: Nah, I'm good. Stephanie: It feels like an elephant is standing on top of my ovaries and then… bouncing. Tim: That is… descriptive. Stephanie chuckles raising her hand to talk with it. Stephanie: Because it’s real, mon frère. At least I still have my humor. She moans once more from the elephant bouncing pain. Stephanie: I think this is it, Timothy. Leave me here to die. Tell my family I loved them and tell Kite-man not to attend my funeral. I’m serious, lock the doors if he tries to step foot at my burial service. Tim rolls his eyes and helps his sister up. Tim: At least lay on the couch. Stephanie: Yes, I'll lay here and suffer. Tim lays his sister on the couch and places a pillow behind her head. Tim: I can get you an ice pack or a heating pack. That helped when I got kicked in the stomach. Stephanie: Hmmm, bring me the warm one and Nutella and more carrots... And pain meds. The kind that will let me sleep like a baby. Tim: Gotcha. Anything else? Stephanie, raising her pointer finger. Stephanie,sounding like an old lady: Blanket, child. A fuzzy one. Tim, kind tone: You just rest. I will take care of you until your period ends. I'll also tell Bruce you're too... Sore is the word I want to use, yeah, too sore to go out tonight. Stephanie: Thank you. You're the best. Tim: I try to be.

... Dick Grayson got the angry side of the menstrual cycle. Something he has dealt with since knowing Barbara and it was never a fun time.  Barbara is not happy with her replacement cake. A vanilla and chocolate mix cake that Dick bought at the grocery store. Barbara: This isn't the same cake! It has vanilla in it! You bastard! Barbara tosses the cake at Dick, hitting him in the face. The cake falls off his face, leaving only icing and bits of cake on his face. He breathes heavily. Dick: Maintain peace. Maintain peace. Barbara, crying now: Why did you eat my cake? I needed it at this time! Dick wipes cake out of his eyes. Dick, as calm as he can sound: Maybe you shouldn't have said I could eat the rest. Barbara: You shouldn't have listened to me! I was naive back then. Dick: It was… two days ago! Barbara pouts and then bursts into more sobs. Barbara: You YELLED AT ME! Dick: Don’t cry- How was I supposed to know your period was coming on?! Barbara: You live with Bruce Wayne! The man tracks everything! I thought you'd have the knowledge to do the same. Dick: I really don't. You seemed to fail at that too. Barbara: I was a few days off okay?! This is such shit! I’m tired and bloaty, and I can’t focus! I want to get to work, but my brain is foggy. Worst of all you made me cry! Barbara sobs covering her face while doing so. Dick sighs, cautiously walking over to her. Dick: You are going through a lot due to… a specific week of troubles and I really can't go through a sore foot again. I can do this for you, you just take a break, shut down this room for the night and rest up. I can buy you a big box of... Your favorite chocolates and a teddy bear that you can hit instead of me and give you some space until you’re up to going back to work. Barbara, sniffling: That might help. Okay. I'm sorry for yelling at you and rolling over your foot. The cake throwing was uncalled for too. My PMDD makes me a little bit difficult to deal with. Dick, sarcastically: No really I couldn't tell. Barbara: Can you not tell anyone I cried either? Dick: I’d rather forget all of this, secrets safe with me. ... Jason got lucky with the chill side of the cycle although Cass is shy about this stuff. Her birth father wasn’t the type to want to raise a daughter correctly, Bruce tried, but it was awkward with him as well, but Jason was a better person to drag to a local convenience store for menstrual supplies. Cass walks over to Jason, holding four different brand boxes of menstrual pads. Cass: I couldn't figure out what to get so I picked each brand they had. I swear you think one brand will do its job and then… it doesn’t. Jason shakes his head not wanting to think about what she meant. Jason closes his eyes, regretting what he's about to say. Jason: Never tell anyone this, but Artemis recommends the Playtex. Just get that so we can go. Cass: Artemis suggested that? Okay, that’s the one to buy. Cass hands Jason the playtex box then shoves the other brand boxes on a store shelf.  Jason: All right, take this back please. Cass giggles. Cass: I'm glad you took me to the store, you’re the best. Cass attempts to hug her brother, but he steps to the side.

Jason: Don't hug me in a convenience store as you're shopping for pads. I’m just as uncomfortable as you. Cass, smiling: I'll give you that hug later then. Oh if it's okay can you buy me a lot of caramel candies? I'm not a chocolate person honestly and these pads are expensive.  Jason grabs five bags without hesitation. Jason: As long as I'm not paying for the...  Pads. Cass: You so silly. You said Artemis has her own time of the month. Jason, blushing: Yeah I don't- I don't help her out with that. Amazon women... not nice during that time. She screams at me if I talk to her during that pe- ti- situation. At least you're not as... Punchy as she is. Cass: Yeah I'm pretty mellow during this time. Just bad cramps and feeling mushy. Jason: That's... not mood swings, good… for you. I think. Cass laughs, patting Jason on the arm. Cass: Pretty much. I'm surprised you came in the store with me though. Jason: I mean I wanted to help you out... because I care about you and I saw how nervous you were. Cass sniffles with a smile. Jason: Yeah I know I'm awesome. Let's check out. You go first. Cass: I don't blame you.

... Kate and Bruce are at Chili's (Not by Bruce's choice) and talk about menstrual cycles. Kate does all of the talking, Bruce is regretting ordering the burger. Kate, chewing: I swear this one week is the bane of every woman who has to suffer through it. Blood coming out of that area, the aching and throbbing can be intense when my cramps start. It’s like someone is drilling a corkscrew into my uterus. The entire week is nothing but exhaustion, even walking is difficult. Then there’s the diarrhea and your breasts- Bruce drops his fork and slams his fist on the table to stop his cousin from talking. She chuckles. Bruce: Why are you telling me this while we're at a chain restaurant? Kate laughs, taking another bite of her steak.  Kate: You're my cousin and that gives me the right to gross you out. That and you have to know this by now. You have daughters. Bruce: I'm starting to wish I had all boys. Kate, mockingly: You boys are so sensitive about this stuff. How do you think we feel?  Kate takes a fry from Bruce’s hand and eats it. He was going to eat that. Bruce, monotone: You want the rest of my fries? Kate: N- I’ll take a couple. Kate grabs a fist full of fries and plops them on her plate. Kate: Brucie, just support us like you do already and we won't cuss you out. Bruce, doubtfully: Yes you will. Kate: I’m lying you got me. You're doing a great job though, cuzzo. Bruce, sweetly: I’m glad that I am.

[mockerycrow]

Hihi, okay, I have a request!

Can I request how 141(mostly ghost & price but whoever you want) + König would react if their s/o has scoliosis? But it's a really, really bad day, and every subtle movement is nothing but pain? And could you possibly add their back seizes so bad they can't breath or move for like a few minutes? That happened to me earlier in a pizza joint 😣

I've cried so many times today from pain, and I can't stand up straight, and I'm leaning sideways leaning tower of fxckery over here

Please and thank you!

Ghost + Price Comfort GN!Reader With Scoliosis

cod masterlist

A/N: I only did these two, i hope that’s ok! also, warning—i do not have scoliosis, so i did some quick research for this. please let me know if it’s inaccurate and i will immediately edit this <3 i’m also sorry youre in so much pain!!! “birdie” is not a callsign, just a nickname to switch it up!

[WARNINGS: physical pain, military inaccuracies, hurt/comfort.]

-> John Price

Price is aware that you have scoliosis and he knows that it can be quite painful, but he hasn’t gotten the chance to witness how truly painful it could be for you. He’s seen you wince and sit down in unconventional locations in an attempt to alleviate the pain radiating in your back, your braces, everything.

Today is a day where he hasn’t seen you all day, besides in the morning to collect the paperwork that you needed to do by the end of the week. He found it odd when you collected it all at once as you usually space it out between days, but he didn’t stop to think about it.

He hasn’t even seen you leave to get anything to eat or drink and it’s 1100, and you got up at 0600. That’s when John decides to grab you a cup of your favorite drink from the common kitchen area and head to your office, as well as a cup of tea for himself.

John manages to get the door open with both hands full—somehow—and that’s when he finds you hunched over your paperwork, your thumbs digging into the inner corners of your eyelids, pressing until those large block splotches appear behind them. He pauses for a moment, noticing the way you didn’t even perk up at the door opening.

“Y’alright?” He asks in a slow tone, watching the way you jolt from your position. Your eyes open and they land on John and you look miserable, cold sweat dripping down your temple from pain. “Mhm, just.. a flare-up.” You wave your hand in air as if to dismiss your pain, causing him to walk over to your desk.

John places your cup down—thankfully in a blank spot that isn’t covered by paperwork—and he stares at you for a moment with a non-believing look. “Is there anything I can d-“ He’s cut off by a low, pained whimper from you; you shove your face into your hands, as if to hide from him.

Your breath hitches, like you can’t breathe, and John begins to panic. He puts his cup of tea down somewhere on the desk and puts a hand on your back, speaking lowly and gently. “Darling, I need you to talk to me before I drag you to medical..”

You take a deep breath, sending sharp pains shooting through your body. You manage to push out “muscle relaxers” and “NSAID”. John processes your words and his shifted to something serious, like he was on an actual mission. He goes around to behind the desk and finds the bottles in the upper right-hand side drawer.

John opens both bottles and grabs the correct amount of medicine, and he grabs your cup. “Open,” he murmurs, planning on feeding you the medicine. You take a quick breath and open your mouth and John swiftly feeds you some of your drink, pops the pills in your mouth, allows you to swallow and lets you drink some more.

“Good.” His voice is low and comforting, and he presses a kiss against your tear stained cheek, his thumb coming up to wipe your tears away. “When you’re ready, lovie, let’s move you to your couch. Heard hold and cold things may help, too.” He feels terrible as he watches you struggle to breathe, your muscles spasming terribly, sending excruciating pain through your muscles. John wishes he could take this pain from you.

-> Ghost

You’re moving supplies for the base, big crates full of food, MRE’s, medical supplies and more when you feel the familiar pain begin your back and radiating down your leg. You wince from a spark of pain settling into your joints of your leg. You, being stubborn, refuse to sit down at first; “work through the pain” is your motto most of the time.

And most of the time, that does not work at all. Johnny, who is unloading the crates with you along with two recruits, notices your pace slowing and you only slow when something is up. He watches you closely for a moment before he speaks up, walking next to you as you carry a crate to the loading area. “Y’know, bonnie, ya can take a break? We’ve got it.” He insists, watching the way you bend down slower than earlier to place the crate down.

“I’m fine.” You respond—if you don’t think about it, it’ll go away.. right? That was your second mistake, the first being offering to help when your back was already aching a bit earlier. Johnny sighs and grabs the next crate you pick up from you, causing your eyebrows to furrow. “Go rest, you need it.” Johnny says, pausing for a moment with a smirk. “Don’t make me get the L.T.”

You mimic his voice childishly “dOn’T mAkE mE gEt ThE L.T.” before picking up another crate, securing your fate. Johnny texts Ghost and within a few minutes, he walks into the loading area and you make eye contact, groaning half with annoyance, half from pain. “I’m fine.” You try to insist, but your tone is a bit weak, and you wince from the pain—a nerve in your spine is probably being pinched by this point.

You lift a crate and Ghost swiftly snatches it from your hands, and your jaw drops and you look up at him to argue, but his gaze is intense, silently telling you to listen. He protrudes authority with just his presence, much like his captain. Ghost has seen you have scoliosis related problems before, so he places the crate down on the ground and he grabs your hand. He doesn’t yank you along in fear of hurting you further, but he does guide you to your office.

“You need to start taking better care of yourself, birdie.” He eyes you as he has you sit down on the couch, walking over to your desk and opening the drawer he has memories your medications stay on. You grumble and attempt to adjust your position to feel more comfortable. “I do take good care of myself.”

“I said better, yeah?” Ghost pours the medications into has hand and walks over to you, dropping the medicine in your out-stretched palm. You want to be stubborn and snap back at him, but at that very moment, a sharp pain shoots through you and your muscles begin to spasm. You whimper and you blink, within a second, Ghost is sitting next to you, pulling you against him. “Shh, let it pass..” He mutters, his voice unnaturally soft, but still rough around the edges. “I’ll grab you some water soon, birdie. I’ll stay here as long as you need.”

[allywthsr]

EPILOGUE | (l.norris)

summary: epilogue of Lan on Raya! What happened the last three years and another big question.

wordcount: 2.1k words

pairing: landonorris x fem!reader

warnings: miscarriage, getting a dog

notes: someone requested this and I thought why not? Give me ideas in my inbox for specific things and maybe it won’t be the last time you hear from these two🫶🏼 it’s short, I’m sorry but I didn’t want to make it too big. comment your thoughts!

part one part two part three

It’s been three years since you met Lando, let’s see what happened.

In the beginning, it was hard for you two to see each other often, with Lando living in Monaco and you in London, you couldn’t just pop over, and with his job as well, Lando travels a lot, and with your job, you had to stay put in one place. So whenever he was in England for the MTC, he came over for a few days to spend with you and whenever you had free time, you would fly over to him or come with him for a race. The whole time you kept in touch via FaceTime or texting, there were weeks when you would see his family more often than you saw him.

Because of the vacation, you created a bond with his family, especially his sisters, and loved catching up with them, they would visit you in London a lot, Lando was always jealous, but you had to remind him, that it was his own decision to move to Monaco.

After a year of a long-distance relationship you decided to move together, temporarily.

Lando moved most of his stuff in your apartment, to see whether you could endure each other or not.

But you did. You could remember one specific evening where it was still fresh with the moving together and Max and Pietra came over. At some point, all of you were hammered and Max decided it was time for Mario Kart. While he and his girlfriend were playing against each other, you were screaming all sorts of advice to Pietra, while Lando hugged you tight to keep you from it. The whole day he had been touchy, squeezing your side and hiding his head behind your back, because he couldn’t stand to see Max driving into the wall for the fifth time. You wished someone had documented this moment, because of how sweet he had been, he was truly like one of these Pinterest boyfriends.

But it all worked out, and the temporary move in became a full move-in.

You two moved into a bigger apartment just half a year later, wanting more space.

That’s also where some negative events happened, just one and a half years into the relationship you got pregnant, it’s not like you planned it, it more or less, just happened.

You had a really bad cold and the doctor gave you medication which apparently messed with your birth control, so when your period didn’t come and you began to puke every morning, you got suspicious. You took a test when Lando was at the MTC, doing a few last tests, before the season started and when it came back positive, you almost fainted. This was not on your bingo card for the year, nor for the next year, after all, you only were in a relationship with Lando for a year and a half, not enough to become pregnant. You took two more tests and when there was no denying that a little human was growing in your stomach, you couldn’t wait for Lando to get home. You tried to call him and say you needed him back sooner but he was in the sim and important meetings where he was forced to switch off his phone.

Once he finally came through the door, you ran and hugged him tight, he had to promise you to not get mad, which he did, and when you told him, you‘ve never seen him react so slowly. At first, he couldn’t believe what you were saying, staring at you in disbelief, and when you repeated it twice he finally hugged you back. Obviously, it wasn’t planned, but he was still over the moon.

In the following weeks, Lando had been the sweetest boyfriend you could imagine, bringing you food, holding your hair and rubbing your back while you puked every morning, cuddling with you and stroking your belly every chance he got. After just one month of discovering your pregnancy, you woke up to really bad stomach cramps, Lando was lying asleep next to you when you saw that the bedsheet beneath you was completely red. You shook Lando awake and he rushed you to the hospital but there was nothing the doctors could’ve done, by the time you got there it was already too late.

The next few weeks have been rough, you barely talked, you barely touched or looked at each other. It was like living with a stranger, saying good morning and goodnight, maybe a nod when he asked you if you wanted to eat something, but other than that, you couldn’t. You felt super guilty for not being able to carry the life inside of you, Lando didn’t know about your thoughts but you had them and they weren’t pretty.

One afternoon Lando basically dragged you in his car and when you arrived, it was a therapist. The sessions had helped you, your mental health, and your relationship, after just one month it was like it never had happened. Not that you forgot about your little baby, but Lando and you talked again, you started to be intimate again, and it felt like it was back to normal. In the backyard of his parents, both of you planted a tree to remind your unborn child, you could see the tree grow like your child should have grown up, but that’s life.

Every day the burden got lighter, until you could fully let go.

The next year and a half was spent with so much love and light. Lando and you started to build a house, it’s something he always wanted to do and so you both got a lot near his parents, where the house was built. You moved in after a year and it was perfect, you were so damn grateful to have Lando by your side, without him you could never have the life you have now. You quit your job and started working at Quadrant, you were behind the scenes and did office stuff, keeping everything organized, that way you could travel with Lando to every race and not be unemployed since you were sure that the boss wouldn’t fire you. After all, you pleasured him nearly every night.

You still went on every Norris family holiday and his family loved you as much as you loved them. You were happy that you had such a good bond with them, whenever Lando was at the MTC and you were bored, you went to his parent's house, enjoying some drinks with Cisca.

All in all, you were the happiest girl in the world, you were sure. He was spoiling you whenever he wanted, buying you things where he would tell you, that he reminded him of you. That Louis Vuitton bag? It was your favorite color and he couldn’t wait to see you wearing it. Bringing you your favorite chocolate from the store, when he only wanted to get gas? He needed to because he knew that your period was due soon. But it was not all materialistic things he spoiled you with.

Kisses on your forehead? All. The. Time.

Needing a hug before every race? Yep.

Making sweet love to you? Every night.

He was addicted to your pussy, he had to be. He worshipped it, taking his time, whenever he went down on you (and it happened all the time).

The topic of kids was still on the table. He wanted to have some after he retired, but when you were pregnant, he was the happiest he‘d ever been. With that in mind, he wanted you to be pregnant soon, you tried to keep his head calm and remind him how hard it could be to become pregnant again after a miscarriage, and how scared you were after the experience. He understood that but still rooted for you to get pregnant.

”You would look so hot with a bump.“

”I can’t wait to talk to my child every day through your belly.“

”Y/N, I want to put a baby in you!“

”I need a mini Y/N and a mini Lando.“

”You‘d be the milf and I’d be the dilf.“

”Imagine them in a race suit and sitting in my car?“

”We could do a quadrant baby merch series!“

The list goes on and on. But he was right, he would be the hottest dilf in history.

Oh and the dog that you both got? Adorable! You got it shortly after you moved into your forever home, it was your favorite breed and you named the little brown dog mocha. He came with you to every race and followed you everywhere, even going to the toilet alone was becoming harder with the puppy needing you. You three went on long walks together through the forest, and when he got older Lando even took him jogging. Mocha wasn’t the happiest about running several miles but when he was with his dad, it didn’t matter. One of the funniest moments was when Lando made a custom LN4 dog bucket hat and sat Mocha in his car, the little dog didn’t know what was happening but he loved the attention he got, the people were taking pictures of him, talking to him and petting him and that was all he needed, but only when both of you were around. Mocha needed both of you, the amount of pictures Lando and you had on your phone of just Mocha and the other cuddling in the evening on the couch or some hotel bed, was insane.

But back to where you are right now, in your backyard. How did you get here? More to that in a second.

The house you both built was perfect, it was modern but homey. The high ceilings were paired with white walls and light wood-colored details, like the Kitchen that had a wood-colored work surface and the living room that had a wood-colored coffee table just like the TV wall. Lando and you loved designing it, taking your time to figure out what you really wanted. You had several guest rooms, that could be turned into kid's rooms, whenever you needed to, Lando built himself a gaming room and you both shared an office. In the basement was a billiard table and other fun things. The backyard was huge, a lot of trees were standing around the property and you loved it, just like Mocha. The little brown dog loved to run around and catch every ball you threw him.

And that was where you were standing right now, the backyard, it was already dark outside but the candles that were lit, made the place glow. You had been cooking dinner when you heard Mocha bark without stopping, in fear that he caught a squirrel again and Lando took it away from him, you made your way to the glass door, but seeing Lando standing surrounded by electric candles, wasn’t something you expected.

”Lando? What is this?“

”Come here, love.“

You stepped closer to where Lando was standing and slowly it dawned on you. While taking your hand, he started to speak.

”Y/N, I’ve known you for more than three years and I must admit, it had been the best years of my life.“

You chuckled.

”We had many ups and downs, but whatever it was, we got through it and it only made us stronger. We‘re already a family with Mocha…“

You looked at the dog that was circling you both, not knowing what was happening.

”…and I can’t wait to grow a bigger family with you. I love you so much, even with your sweatpants and my hoodie, socks that have holes in them, and messy hair. I’ve never seen a much more beautiful woman than you and I‘m so happy I went on Raya that day to get a quick fuck, who would’ve thought that I would find you, my soulmate. I love to play Mario Kart with you at two a.m., and I will braid your hair for the rest of your life, with a face mask in my face that does absolutely nothing, except steal your money. I‘m super thankful for you, for every race you join, how you’re not mad at me for putting a picture of you on the back of my helmet, directly in front of the camera, so everyone can see you while I‘m driving and that way you’re always with me, for every kiss… the list could go on and on, but you know this stuff. I need you in my life, and I will not let you go, so…“

He went down on one knee and now it was more than clear what was happening, with glossy eyes you followed Lando’s movements, as he pulled out a little box and opened it, before taking one of your hands in his‘ again, looking at you with a big smile and the same glossy eyes as you.

”Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?“

a/n: tell me your favorite dog breed in the comments

[rabbitholessk]

Coincidence

Jinshi is unsure what in particular is ailing him tonight.

No amount of tossing, turning, and changing positions has brought him any rest since his head first hit the pillow. 

It’s late. He knows that. Rising from his bed, he sips on the readily accessible water pitcher. Haphazardly throwing on an outer robe, he stuffs pillows under his sheets that give an impression similar to his build. Jinshi knows Suiren more than likely won’t be looking for him, it was just a precautionary measure. Not only that, he’s fairly certain she knows of his excursions, both past and present. They aren’t often, but it’s been enough times that she is not so easily fooled by his antics. 

What is strange is why she keeps letting him get away with it. Maybe she knows that his sense of duty weighs heavily enough upon him, that he has no other choice but to return.

Opening his bedroom window as quietly as possible, he slips away. At this hour he tries to jog his memory of where the nighttime guards are posted. Unfortunately, he’s had to learn their rotations the hard way, since getting caught a few years prior. After that incident, he’d made it a point to learn the rotations and times they switched the guard. 

However, to get out of his house grounds, he has to get on his stomach and crawl through a hedge to arrive at a less guarded area of the palace. 

His stomach scratches against a few twigs on his way through, but he makes it without being seen. With the hard part over, he stands, weaving his way around court buildings and dividing walls. 

Tonight, he ends up at the medical grounds. Scaling the lead office, Jinshi sneaks around the attached dorm building, until he happens upon the modest plot of land Maomao has commandeered. With the help of the other medical students and doctors, they’ve managed to  nurture a thriving garden, filled with herbs and vegetables.

What he does not expect is to find someone tending, or are they stealing ? From said garden. Moonlight helps illuminate the rough outline of a figure kneeling down in the dirt. He’s hidden behind a large tree just a few paces away from the mysterious person.

“Whoever is there, come out.” The stranger voices in his direction. 

Revealing himself from behind the cover of the tree, he steps into plain sight, making his way closer to the no longer mysterious stranger. The young woman, unsurprisingly, is unnerved by his presence. She continues working in the dirt. When his footsteps are close enough to her, she glances up. 

“Jinshi-sama?!” 

That was odd. Did she not realize it was him when he first showed himself? 

He crouches in front of her, using a hand to cover her mouth. When he deems she understands that she needs to be quiet, he lets go. 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m out for a walk.”

Even with the limited light he can tell from the quiet alone she is narrowing her eyes at him. A similar chill that Maomao’s scrutinizing gaze evokes, reminds him of Suiren when she is about to scold him.

He’s not exactly sure what to do with that. 

“Does Suiren know you’re out?”

Jinshi chooses his words carefully.

“She knows that I always come back.” 

“So she doesn’t.” 

Jinshi remains silent. Maomao sighs. 

“What are you doing?” He turns his attention to her.

“Weeding.” Maomao continues to tend the soil. 

“At this hour?” Jinshi questions. 

“Why not?” 

He can think of quite a few reasons why. Knowing Maomao, she knows the reasons too. If she was awake and trying to distract herself to the point of weeding the medical offices gardens, at this unholy hour, then something must be really bothering her. 

Jinshi stands from his crouched position, and brushes away any dirt. 

“Come on.” 

Maomao looks up at him from where she’s plucking greens from the garden. This is not his first endeavor. He’s come prepared. 

Pulling a small bottle from his sleeves he shakes it in front of her. With the low light he can’t tell if he’s imagining things, but he’s certain her eyes just sparkled with delight. 

Maomao is up and fixing the wrinkles out of her skirts.

“Where to?” Her eyes track where he stuffs the bottle back into his sleeves. 

“I know a segment of wall where there is a blind spot from the guards.” 

“After you, Sir.”

—

They make it to the part of the wall that is for the most part unseen from a guards standpoint at night. After a few close calls, and ducking behind manicured shrubbery, Jinshi sits himself behind a large oak tree. With his back against the stone of the wall, he pulls the bottle out. 

Maomao quietly sits beside him. With how close they are, the trunk of the tree is able to cover both of them from any onlookers. Jinshi uncorks the bottle with his teeth, spitting the cork into his palm. He takes a swig, and passes it off to Maomao. 

For a wonderful moment, he revels in the feeling of her shoulder pressed against his arm. Peering up to the starry sky, he makes an assessment that it more than likely will rain soon. The storm clouds slowly creep along the dark expanse of sky, gliding closer to block the moon's light.

Jinshi snaps out of his viewing of the heavens when he hears loud gulping beside him. Turning his attention back to Maomao he snatches the bottle from her tight hold. 

“ Oi! Leave some for me!” 

Maomao wipes the excess liquid off her lips. “You weren’t done?” 

Maybe he’s more tired than he thought, or perhaps Maomao brings out his childish side– either way he meets her eyes and tilts his head back to gulp down as much of the remaining alcohol that he can.

The look of shock on her face quickly morphs into panic. He anticipates her next move. Switching hands, he holds the bottle in the hand farthest from Maomao, while blocking her grabby hands from taking it away from his mouth. 

Jinshi manages to hold her at bay, before he removes the bottle from his lips, and adds an exaggerated ‘ ah’ sound . 

He of course left her some, he doesn’t have a death wish! Though he does have to tease her that little bit. 

Maomao’s current expression would have once made him break into a cold sweat. To taunt her just that much more he swirls the contents of the bottle so she can hear there is still a fair amount left over. Maomao rolls her eyes and snags it out of his hand.

Jinshi smiles. “The rest is yours.” 

Shaking his head, he listens on as she greedily drinks the rest. Gazing back up, he tries to catch the last glimpse of stars, before the clouds move in and hide them from view. The scene dredges up a memory, followed by an idea. Jinshi stands and examines the area, assuring they were still hidden enough. 

Maomao sets the empty bottle on the ground beside her. 

“You’re not plotting something indecent are you?” 

“Of course not!” He voices harshly.

Now that she’s mentioned it though…

Jinshi moves towards her, leaning down in front of her. He offers her a hand to help her up.

“What’s going on?” Maomao questions, reluctantly giving him her hand. Jinshi gets her back on her feet. He does not let go of her hand. To his surprise, neither does she. 

“I’m reminded of a time where I was alerted, that there was a certain apothecary dancing on the palace wall.” 

Jinshi moves to face her and reaches to take her other hand. She’s immediately on edge.

“That was a long time ago.” 

“Mm, I disagree.” Jinshi recalls the foggy lessons from his youth, attempting to adjust his hold on her, and discreetly fix their stance.

“Again, what are you doing?” Maomao asks again, her body becoming more rigid than it already was, halting Jinshi from trying to proceed with his final move. He knew trying to ease her into a dance would not be an easy task. 

With her hand in his, and his other now splayed on her middle back he stands tall. If he can trick himself into a confident stature, maybe it would transfer to his ego. 

“Will you allow me a dance?” 

The initial look of disgust on her face is quickly hidden when she shifts her gaze to her feet. The mock confidence he had been trying so hard to keep up begins to crumble.

“I thought I told you I’m not versed in dance.” 

The barely noticeable tremble in her voice restores him slightly.

“But you know the basics.” 

Maomao peeks up at him, he grins, knowing he has her. He could mention how she seemed to dance perfectly fine with Rikuson during their first trip to the West. Making the smart choice, he refrains. There was no need to dredge that back up.

“I swear I will never request this of you ever again, if you allow me this once.” 

Maomao takes a breath, yet her hand remains in his. His self doubt increases, before noticing Maomao straightening and placing her spare hand on his shoulder. 

“Go on. You lead.” Maomao commands. Despite the chill in the air, he distinguishes the mild warmth and clamminess of her hand. 

With his eyes trained on Maomao’s face he steps first, she follows. Their dancing is disjointed, there are countless missteps, and they step on each other's toes a few times each. 

They end up bonking their heads, trying to study their footing. They let go of their hold on the other. Maomao rubs her forehead. It’s getting darker, the storm will more than likely begin at any moment.

A selfish thought comes to him. The last thing he wants is for this moment to end with sore heads and stomped toes.

Jinshi gently re-takes her hand and pulls her body to his. The side of her face presses into his chest. 

Nerves continue to pester him, but Maomao remains. She’s not fighting out of his hold, rather, he could say she’s leaning against him. Jinshi knows better than to get his hopes up, this is all just some series of happy coincidences. 

“I’m gathering neither of us are suited for classical dances.” Jinshi whispers into the top of her head. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he starts to sway in place. Maomao limply follows along. Her arms are at her sides, and her head remains nestled against him. Jinshi rests his cheek on the top of her head, inhaling her familiar scent of muted florals with the barest hint of spice. 

The sleep he’s missing out on, begins to make itself known. Their swaying devolves into them standing against each other. 

A loud clap of thunder startles him from falling asleep standing up. To his surprise Maomao is unbothered by the sudden sound. Carefully, Jinshi reaches for her shoulders, keeping her in place. When he takes a small step back, Maomao’s head lolls forward. Quickly, he reaches out to steady her head. Squinting in the low light, Jinshi notices her eyes are shut. 

She fell asleep against him! 

Shock shifts to worry. His fingers skim up from her chin, to her forehead. Maomao is radiating heat. Jinshi kicks himself for not realizing sooner. 

Carefully, he reaches behind her legs and hoists her into a bridal hold. Maomao shivers, then groans at the change. Muscle memory takes him back to his house, uncaring if guards end up noticing him. Maomao’s safety is his top priority. 

Sneaking back through the window is no longer an option. Instead, he’s forced to knock on the front door. A couple nerve wracking minutes pass before the main door creaks open. Suiren holds a lantern out to take in the scene. Jinshi is certain his appearance is a frightening one, haggard and sweaty from racing across the palace grounds in the middle of the night, with Maomao asleep in his arms. Suiren assesses them before further opening the door and ushering him in. 

The door shuts as the sound of heavy rain begins. Jinshi refuses to imagine Maomao, alone, sick , and plucking weeds from the medical grounds garden in the middle of a dark downpour. He knows better than anyone that a tired and sick Maomao would ignore her pain, and continue her self appointed task if given the chance. 

The universe really was creating the strangest coincidences that evening. 

–

Throbbing pain, and bright light wake Maomao from an otherwise restful sleep. Judging by the feel of the mattress she’s laying on, she knows she’s not in her dorm room. By mistake, she jolts when she realizes exactly where she is. 

Clutching her head in her hands, she blocks the sunshine pouring in from the window across the lavish room. 

“You are always trying to get me to rest.” 

Maomao turns her head in the direction of the thankfully soft, heavenly voice.

“You should really heed your own advice, and before you ask, the medical offices know you are accounted for.” 

Jinshi is seated on one of the plush chairs in the common area of his room, a few feet away from his bed. Rising from his chair he pours water into a cup, walking over to the bed and handing it off to her. Maomao takes it, realizing how parched she really is. 

“Jinshi-sama,” He pauses, waiting for her to continue. Maomao glances at her reflection in the water, then focuses back on him. “We shared a drink last night. Seeing as I’ve developed a fever, you are likely to as well in the coming days. Assuming what I have is catching.” 

“And whose fault is that?!” Jinshi exclaims, leaning down into her space, sounding more worried than angry. 

To be fair, Moamao had not realized she was ill until she woke moments ago. She’s never been great at detecting illness in her being. Between her high pain tolerance, and general perseverance, her bodily awareness cues will at times blur. 

It’s probably why she decided to go out in the garden last night. The previous night in bed, she recalls not being able to sleep. Her first idea had been to get fresh air, that method has historically helped her rest.  

A light tapping on his bedroom door interrupts her thought process. 

“Young master, your presence is needed.” Suiren announces.

With his pointer finger and thumb Jinshi pinches the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tightly, so much so his forehead wrinkles. She fights the urge to reach out and smooth them. Jinshi inhales before responding. 

“Understood. I will be out shortly.”

Suiren’s footsteps fade down the hall.

“Suiren knows not to let you leave until your fever has run its course.” 

Jinshi steps to the door, sparing Maomao one last glance before being whisked away to his work. 

“That won’t be a problem. Jinshi-sama’s bed is quite comfortable.” 

The dull aching of her head reminds her to drink the water she’s been given. Maomao watches curiously over the rim of the cup, as Jinshi’s back straightens before sliding the door open and walking out.  

Later, when Jinshi’s carriage is long gone, Maomao’s cloudy-feverish mind realizes the connotations her final remark might have had. 

There was nothing she could do about that now. 

The thought of escape does cross her mind. There were always a plethora of tasks that needed to be done at the medical offices, but somehow the promise of Jinshi and Suiren’s combined wrath keeps her rooted in place.

[fairyniceyeah]

⌛🧸🐿️ I know, I’m with you, lean on

Title from Better (ATEEZ)

Summary: Jongho and Hongjoong suffer from food poisoning on the way to an MV filming.

CW: emeto

Sickie: Jongho + Hongjoong Caretakers: Seonghwa + Mingi + Yunho + San

It was dark outside, the only light coming from the few buildings they were passing and the occasional car that drove in the opposite direction. It was calm and quiet and Jongho was reminded of the car trips with his parents when he was younger, where he would watch the streets passing by until he fell asleep curled up under a blanket and his dad carried him inside to his bed.

He missed them.

Despite his parents living in Seoul he barely saw them, the last time nearly three months back. He supposed he couldn’t complain, San’s parents were all the way in Namhae and Seonghwa’s in Jinju. His oldest hyung hadn’t seen his family in over a year and hadn’t even met his older brother’s daughter yet.

Jongho turned his attention to his sleeping members. Their day had been exhausting between recording and dance practice and now they were on their way to some remote location for their next M/V shooting.

He could see all of them from where he sat in the back row where he was squished between the window on his left and Mingi on his right. Their normal van had to be repaired so they were left in a regular nine-seater divided in three rows, which was a tight fit especially for their taller members. Mingi was resting partially against San, his long legs entangled with Jongho’s in the younger’s footrest. San, for his part, was asleep against the window, using Shiber as a pillow.

In the middle row Yeosang and Wooyoung were curled up against each other, having fallen asleep while listening to music together. Seonghwa was leaning against the door, his neck bent in an uncomfortable position which surely would leave him aching when he woke up. Jongho didn’t want to disturb him and possibly the others when they got so little sleep in total to get him to sit in a better position.

Yunho was asleep in the front row, leaning against the door, the only place where he could at least somewhat stretch out his legs. Hongjoong, who was talking quietly with the manager driving them, was resting his head against Yunho’s upper arm.

Originally they had decided that Mingi would sit in the front with Yunho so he too could stretch his legs. 

Their plans were crossed when Hongjoong had woken that morning with a headache which had gradually gotten worse over the day. At one point their captain had even taken pain medication, which he normally refused since they made him drowsy, and let Eden do the recording with them while he napped on Seonghwa’s shoulder until it was his turn. 

Their second oldest hyung had still looked pale and ashen when they had made their way down to the garage and had quietly asked Mingi if they could switch places as he wasn’t feeling well and whenever he was not feeling good it was a sure thing he would get motion sick. Mingi had agreed immediately, worried for his favorite hyung, and proclaimed that he wanted to sit next to Jongho.

The maknae smiled faintly at the memory until without much warning dizziness overcame him, making him feel hot and cold at the same time. He was confused, he had been feeling completely fine one second and now he had to rest his head firmly against the headrest as the world tilted around him. Nausea made itself known in his stomach and he took a deep breath. He tried to breathe through it, hoping it was a momentary fluke.

But no, with his eyes closed he felt even more dizzy, his brain not sure where up, down, left and right were. It was disorientating and not knowing what else to do, he tried to reach out for his Mingi-hyung, wanting some purchase and comfort. His hands trembled and he let them fall back to his lap, whining lowly in his throat in frustration. He really wasn’t feeling good.

“Mingi-hyung”, he whispered. No reaction.

“Mingi-hyung”, he tried louder. Still, Mingi only shifted slightly but kept on sleeping.

“Mingi-hyung, I don’t feel well”, he said loudly. If he wasn’t so distressed and focused on staying upright, he would have thought it funny when suddenly most of his hyungs jerked awake. 

Still staring straight ahead to abate the vertigo he saw how Yeosang and Wooyoung’s heads collided painfully as they startled. Ordinarily he would have laughed at them. Ordinarily he wouldn’t have felt sick from the disturbance as Mingi in his confusion detangled their legs rather violently.

“Jongho-yah?”, Hongjoong asked from the front, apparently the only person not completely disoriented as he hadn’t been in deep sleep a few seconds ago, “what’s going on?”

Jongho tried to speak, but his tongue wouldn’t move and his mouth was filling with saliva. He tried to lean forward, as he hoped that putting his head between his knees might help the nausea but he hadn’t accounted for the seat belt pressing against his stomach.

He gagged violently and suddenly his stomach contents were escaping from his mouth, splattering on his hands, jeans, shoes and the back of Yeosang’s seat. He was vaguely aware of loud and confused shouting but the only things he could focus on was the lack of air in his lungs, the warm vomit on his body and the hand rubbing his shoulder blades.

He cried, frustrated as his body betrayed him and left him feeling so so sick.

⌛

The next thing he was really aware of was gentle hands pulling him from his seat between two bouts of retching, soft voices coaxing him towards them. He blindly trusted his hyungs, not knowing how else to feel. Somebody was helping him slide out of the car but his knees buckled the moment they had to support his weight. Strong hands caught him and helped him to the ground, where he continued getting sick.

Yet, the fresh air was helping with the dizziness and - while he was still extremely nauseous - for the first time since it started he was mostly aware of what was going on. He was leaning against a strong chest, the person behind him definitely taller than him, so he supposed it was Mingi holding him. Seonghwa was kneeling next to him, softly smiling when Jongho lifted his head to look around. San, Yunho, Hongjoong and their manager were standing a few meters away, far enough to give him some semblance of privacy but close enough to help should they need it. He couldn’t see Wooyoung and Yeosang from his position on the ground.

As the vertigo started to abate Jongho became acutely aware of how embarrassed he was. Yellowish sick was covering the ground around him, his jeans, shirt and hands and even worse, some parts of Seonghwa’s pants as well. If he had to guess Mingi probably also wasn’t spared.

“Hey, baby”, Seonghwa said, a sad smile on his face, “are you feeling better?”

Jongho took a moment to take stock of his body. He wasn’t as dizzy anymore and the slight queasiness he was still feeling stemmed more from the disgust than actual nausea, he thought. His head was aching faintly and his stomach was feeling a bit weird but otherwise he felt … fine.

He nodded reluctantly. “Yes, hyung”, he said quietly.

“How about we move to the picnic table?”, his oldest hyung suggested, gesturing at the sitting area a few meters away. Luckily it was completely empty, like the whole rest stop they were at, so nobody else had witnessed his … episode. God, if somebody had recognized him and posted it. Tears welled up in his eyes but he refused to cry over something that hadn’t even happened. 

Instead he nodded yes to Seonghwa’s question.

Gently, like Jongho might break, he was lifted to his feet by Seonghwa and Mingi who, as expected, had been the one to sit behind him. They took it slow, walking a wide berth around the sick on the grass and letting Jongho decide the tempo and rest his weight on them. 

As he stared at the ground, unable to look up in embarrassment, he noticed how Mingi’s lower pants were completely covered in sick, causing the older man to walk slightly awkwardly so it wouldn’t stick to his legs. Now tears were falling down Jongho’s cheeks again in earnest.

“I’m sorry”, he whispered, feeling like he had reached a new low. Sure, he had been sick during the time he knew the others but he wasn’t sick often. Especially not this terribly, disgustingly sick. Not like Yunho and Seonghwa who seemed to catch every illness going around or even Hongjoong who wasn’t ‘sick sick’ often but often enough sick from his food intolerances, motion sickness and migraines. This was the worst time for Jongho yet.

⌛

“It’s fine, maknae. Don’t worry”, Mingi assured him, following his gaze downward to his pants, despite wincing a bit, “everybody gets sick sometimes.”

If the situation wasn’t as bad as it was, Jongho might have laughed at the timing. His other hyungs and the manager were coming closer now that Jongho was done playing the exorcist but apparently it wasn’t enough that he had stopped vomiting.

Hongjoong, who was trailing a bit behind the others, lost all of his color then (considering that he could probably see and smell everything, Jongho couldn’t blame him), placed a hand in front of his mouth and gagged, looking panicked.

“Oh, God”, he groaned, barely loud enough for them to hear, and turned on his heel to run towards the bathroom signs illuminating the side of the rest stop. Hongjoong managed to take a few steps before he stumbled and crashed to his hands and knees. He coughed loudly and even from the distance Jongho was able to sick the sick splattering onto the ground in front of him.

Yunho and San worriedly and a bit overwhelmed looked at each other, apparently not having expected that. Then San followed their captain, kneeling down beside him and rubbing his back. Yunho and the manager knew that Hongjoong hated attention when he was ill, so they turned their backs and came closer to Jongho.

“Shit”, Seonghwa, on the other hand, cursed but tugged Jongho to the bench where they helped the maknae sit down, Mingi sitting to hug him from behind again. They both glanced towards Hongjoong a few times but tried to focus on the maknae.

“Baby, can we clean you up?”, Mingi asked carefully.

Tearing his gaze away from the sick captain as well, Jongho nodded blankly. Seonghwa squeezed his shoulder, probably the only part of Jongho that was not soiled. 

“Hey, don’t worry. Joong-ah will be fine, you know he hasn’t been feeling well all day. It’s not your fault”, the eldest comforted, squatting down in front of Jongho. 

“If I hadn’t gotten sick…”, Jongho started, body starting to shake in the cold air. He was still glad that despite being treated to the sounds of retching and gagging, as well as the sight of his captain vomiting, he wasn’t feeling sick again himself.

“Yunho-yah, can you go get Jongho-yah some fresh clothes?”, the manager said, leaving no time for arguments. “And maybe some towels and water?”

The manager crouched down to look up at Jongho and gave him a sad smile: “For what it’s worth, Joong-ah asked me to stop at this gas station anyways because he wasn’t feeling well even before that. It’s not your fault, I’m surprised he held out this long.”

“Hm, do you think it’s a virus or food poisoning?”, Seonghwa asked then. “I mean”, he offered when they all looked at him, “maknae here doesn’t get motion sick normally. Hongjoong-ah wasn’t feeling well all day, yes, he could be motion sick but considering that Jongho was also sick I think that’s unlikely.”

The manager shrugged. “Did you and Hongjoong-ah share food that nobody else ate, Jongho-yah?”

Jongho bit his lip and tried to think back. “I mean, we had some eggs for breakfast today which Wooyoung didn’t manage to eat because he was so slow in getting ready but I could have sworn they were good.”  

“Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t”, the manager said and groaned as he got to his feet, “it doesn’t matter really. I will see if I can get the car clean, you three take care of Jongho-yah, hm?” 

At that moment Yunho appeared next to the manager, holding towels, water bottles and fresh clothes as instructed and the manager patted his shoulder before leaving. Out of the corner of his eyes Jongho saw San lead Hongjoong into the gas station, probably to help him clean up too. San was carrying a towel too, so Yunho must have stopped to give it to them before.

Jongho was too tired to protest when Seonghwa wet the towel with a water bottle and started to clean his face and hands, while Yunho helped Mingi get out of his pants and held a big towel around him so he could change without being seen. There was nobody there except them but being idols they had learned not to assume things like that.

Jongho was bundled up in one of Yunho’s large sweaters and a pair of sweatpants he didn’t recognize who they belonged to. When he looked up he saw San and a pale Hongjoong approaching them. The captain truly looked awful, face washed out and his hairline was covered in sweat. San had wrapped an arm around the captain’s shoulders and held an honestly impressive amount of plastic bags in one hand.

Seonghwa raised his eyebrow at him as they arrived and the younger man grinned. “I think the cashier likes me. I asked for a few bags and he gave me like at least fifteen.”

“Don’t you think it’s rather because Hongjoong-hyung still looks really bad?”, Yunho asked teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood.

Hongjoong just weakly stuck out his tongue, lacking his normal enthusiasm at disciplining unruly dongsaeng. He must still be feeling really awful and Jongho noticed his hand hovering over his stomach. Yeah, definitely still nauseous. 

Before the mood could get awkward San offered: “Well, anyway, I figured the bags might come in handy. Since Jongho-yah normally doesn’t get carsick and he and Hongjoong-hyung shared breakfast we think they might have food poisoning.”

“Yeah, we came to the same conclusion”, Mingi agreed, having managed to change himself and now  was helping Seonghwa.

“I’m really sorry, Jjongie”, Hongjoong whispered sadly, a vast difference to his normally loud and happy voice, “I should have been more careful. Next time please tell me to wear my glasses and check the best-before date.”

San sighed, obviously unhappy with the captain blaming himself but he kept quiet and helped Hongjoong sit down on the bench next to Jongho. Then he handed a few of the bags to Seonghwa who put the soiled clothing inside to be discarded. 

Most of Jongho’s and Mingi’s clothes couldn’t be saved anyways and Seonghwa probably wanted to get rid of the memory with the clothes.

“It’s alright, hyung”, Jongho said, feeling bad that his captain was feeling bad. He had genuinely enjoyed their morning. It wasn’t often that the two of them had uninterrupted time with just each other with their hectic schedules so he had relished in just talking with his hyung about not-work related stuff. It hurt, feeling unfair, that their amazing time had turned into this disaster. “I should have been more careful too. I don’t regret having spent time with you this morning for once.” 

He beckoned Hongjoong closer and wrapped an arm around the smaller man. Hongjoong relaxed into his side and nodded faintly, letting Mingi wrap an arm around him too. It was clear that the captain was exhausted by the ordeal and likely long nights spent at the studio.

“That’s all very nice”, Seonghwa interrupted them, turning his oldest-hyung mode on, “but how are you two feeling now?”

Jongho took a second to check in with his body and he was very surprised. He was still slightly queasy, but it was more of an empty feeling. His vision had stopped swirling some time ago. Honestly, if he hadn’t thrown up half an hour ago he would have assumed he was just fine.

“I feel okay”, Jongho said and, when Hongjoong and Seonghwa stared at him with similar looks of disbelief, he added: “Truly! I’m not dizzy anymore and my stomach feels okay, just empty but not nauseous. I’m just really tired.” As if to prove his point, he yawned.

“Okay”, Seonghwa agreed, “that’s good. What about you, Joong-ah? Also the truth, please.”

Hongjoong grimaced, looking dazed. “My head still hurts and I’m a bit queasy still. I think I just need some more pain medication. I took some like half an hour ago but I threw it up just now, so…” He trailed off, looking at the manager who was walking up towards them. “I can go on though. No use in staying here of all places.”

“Alright”, the manager said, “Sadly they don’t have a pharmacy inside the station, so I couldn’t get any medication. We can stop later if you need us to. I bought some cleaning supplies though and the car is as clean as it gets. We can go on if you’re ready. Anybody who needs the bathroom better go now and somebody please go find Woo and Sang-ah.”

“Oh, well, they are inside in a booth”, San explained, “Wooyoungie wasn’t so good with the puking, so Sang-ah is distracting him with ice cream and games. I’ll go get them.”

The manager nodded and they split up with Jongho, Seonghwa and the manager going towards the bathroom while Mingi and Yunho, both having wrapped an arm around Hongjoong’s waist, walked towards the car which the manager had moved away from the puddle of vomit.

⌛

When they returned Yunho, Mingi, San, Wooyoung and Yeosang were standing next to the car with Hongjoong sitting in the footwell in the middle row, legs pulled up to his chest and leaning sideways against the middle row seat. He looked incredibly tiny and young that way, making Jongho feel extra bad for him. It was unfair really how much he was suffering while Jongho was fine after throwing up once. 

In all seriousness Jongho was surprised that Hongjoong had been so sick while the maknae had eaten way more eggs than him but he supposed the elder’s exhaustion, headache and motion sickness didn’t make his situation better. Still, he wished that the captain would feel better soon. Jongho knew that Hongjoong had looked forward to the filming a lot, able to escape his stressful everyday life for a more relaxed atmosphere with his friends.

“We weren’t really sure how we should do the seating arrangement”, Yunho explained sheepishly, “technically Jongho-yah and Hongjoong-ah should both be in the front to help with the nausea but we don’t think it’s a good idea since they might get sick again and can’t help each other.”

“I can sit in the back row again”, Jongho said immediately, “I don’t feel sick anymore.”

“That’s very good, Jongho”, Seonghwa placated, shaking his head, “but I agree with Yunho. You already got so sick, we should try to avoid a repeat of that.”

Jongho nodded, too exhausted to discuss this in detail. He knew his overprotective hyungs would do everything to protect him even if there was nothing to protect him from. Also, he wasn’t sure if the motion of the car might set his stomach off again.

“Jjongie can go in the front, with either Mingi or Yunho”, Hongjoong said tiredly and without lifting his head from the seat, “Wooyoung and Yeosang should go in the middle row, we all know that Wooyoungie feels better when he feels like he can escape easily out of the door as soon as we stop. San can go with them. I’ll go in the back with Seonghwa and either Yunho or Mingi. I can take Jongho’s old seat so I’m furthest away from Wooyoungie as possible.”

Jongho couldn’t help but be impressed with their captain. He had put some obvious thought to the seating arrangement, despite still looking in pain and queasy. 

San would be able to help Yeosang calm Wooyoung down should he have another emetophobia-fuelled panic attack. Mingi and Yunho needed the space the front provided. Seonghwa always felt best when helping members so he would go with Hongjoong (though Jongho supposed it was also a slightly selfish longing on the captain’s part, wanting his only hyung close). And Jongho would feel best in the front should the illness return.

The only flaw was that Hongjoong looked all sorts of ashen and green already and Jongho didn’t doubt he would be sick again, no matter if it was motion sickness or food poisoning.

Seonghwa seemed to think along the same lines as Jongho. “Joong-ah, you can’t be serious? I’m sorry to be so frank but you look like you’re about to hurl again and sitting in the back won’t help.”

Hongjoong sighed. “I feel like it too but whatever we do, if this is food poisoning I will be sick again no matter where I sit. Jongho might avoid getting sick again if he is in the front, considering he feels better, and Wooyoungie can’t sit in the back row, no matter how much it was cleaned. I’m sorry that you have to suffer our stupidity, Wooyoungie.”

Wooyoung just silently nodded in thanks, squeezing Yeosang’s hand tightly.

“Alright”, the manager interjected, “let’s get in everybody.”

Seonghwa sighed and helped Hongjoong up, so they could crawl into the back where the captain immediately rested his aching head against the cool window and clutched a plastic bag in his hands. Without looking at Mingi, Yunho jumped into the last empty seat in the back. When Mingi tried to protest he was shushed: “Go sit in the front with our maknae, Mingi-yah, I know you want to be with him. Besides I already had the privilege of not being a sardine in a box.”

Mingi grinned and thanked him before hopping into the front seat and pulling Jongho to sit next to him. Within minutes of exiting the rest stop, Jongho was asleep on his hyung.

⌛

During the drive he vaguely woke up when the car stopped and the members in the back got out of the van but Mingi guided his head back to his shoulder, whispering that he should go back to sleep, Hongjoong was just sick again, but he needed to rest.

It was early in the morning when they arrived at the filming location. Jongho had slept through the rest of the drive, he was told, through Hongjoong getting sick a few times until they arrived.

They had Hongjoong sit out from the filming for an hour or two, letting him sleep curled up in the middle row of the van with a member occasionally checking on him. But when he woke up, claiming to feel much better, he basically begged the manager to film with them and the manager agreed since he hadn’t thrown up since the drive.

When they returned to their dorms a few days later they found the carton of eggs to toss, which mocked them with a best-before date that was still  in the future. 

At least they weren’t to blame.

Masterlist links: Fairy's Full Masterlist Fairy's Masterlist - ATEEZ

[victoriadallonfan]

For worm/ward questions: Who would be the most interesting Undersider and Breakthrough members to swap teams?

I think Bitch and Ashley are similar enough that you could plausibly see them sticking with each team or being recruited, while also having radically different outcomes.

Ashley is of course far more destructive without therapy or her medication, and her power makes fights a lot more deadly for everyone involved while removing the option for the Undersiders being getaway experts. On the other hand, Lisa isn’t out in the field due to Ashley not caring, so they likely switch up tactics completely.

She would like Brian’s professionalism but they had a LOT of conflict of personality and her desire for leadership. She and Alec would probably get along decently well, barring moments he pokes fun at her and things go awry. Lisa might latch onto her like she did with Taylor, if she gets the right info, but that could go really well or really poorly. Taylor would absolutely hear Ashley talk and think she’s a bona fide evil villain, maybe even comparing her to Emma, but I can see a chance for Taylor to see past her mask in quiet moments where Ashley tries to stop infighting. I think the big thing that can sway this is that Ashley would probably not stand for Coil treating Dinah this way. I’m 50/50 on her attacking him outright or shocking Taylor by siding with her immediately, because what Coil does pushes a lot of her buttons (plus she wants his spot). That would be interesting, to imagine this unlikely duo working together, and it might actually ruin the plan to return to the Undersiders post Leviathan if it’s not sincere enough.

Bitch is interesting, because WB has mentioned that she could benefit a lot with therapy and a positive environment with other kids her age, which I presume happens if she’s with Yamada. Entirely possible she gets sent to the same Asylum that Kenzie, Vic, and Sveta were at, having meet some or all of them before.

I imagine she’ll always be gruff, but a lot more overtly aware of that and sensitive to others, maybe having long since begun to treat them like dogs (affectionate). I can see her sympathizing with Byron’s situation of dealing with family while also coming to respect Tristan as a potential leader like she did Brian. Absolutely takes to Rain immediately like in canon, the two of them often discussing survivalist stuff and her becoming an unofficial protector for him. Chris and her actually get along fairly well, especially when they talk shop about dogs and medicine for them. Kenzie, Sveta, and Vic depends on what she knows of them. Possibly sees Kenzie as a very excitable and overly attached puppy, so some of her methods of dealing with her can be blunt, maybe too blunt at times. Sveta and Bitch may be a bit frayed, because Sveta can be a bit overbearing and preachy, and Bitch isn’t sensitive about the same things Sveta is, but they get along and understand how powers fucked them up. Victoria and Bitch, again depends, but I can see Victoria feeling trauma by comparing the mutant dogs to her flesh coffin, and Bitch being naturally wary of the new comer. I think there’s no real conflict though, not with this timeline switch, and ultimately they come out respecting each other like in canon. Bitch might help Vic understand Chris and bridge the two of them together…

[zombubble]

From In Memory; In Truth Chapter 13:

“It’s my job to help make running the sect easier, right?” Mo Xuanyu asks. “Not your job, anymore,” Jin Guangyao says, “but a favor that Gege would appreciate greatly. Do you think you can keep a secret for me?” A jolt of something in Mo Xuanyu’s core, the words familiar in all the wrong ways. Oh, he feels sick. Really fucking sick. “Of course,” he says, closing his eyes. Breathing. “A-Yu? Have I upset you?” Jin Guangyao stops him, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Gege is sorry, he didn’t mean—” “I’m just… seeing things,” Mo Xuanyu says. “Sorry, I—I didn’t want to appear weak, but I…” “Oh. That’s… It’s okay. Gege doesn’t think less of you. Why don’t you rest? I’ll come see you later about everything; there’s no rush.” Nodding, Mo Xuanyu bows his thanks to his brother. Lets a-Zhen lead him away. Tries not to get sick while they walk because his mind is reeling and everything is cold and hot and he doesn’t—doesn’t know what—why—when this happened but something happened. Something that started with words much like those. Not for the first time, he fears the full, unknown extent of what he’s gotten himself into. Not for the last time, he tells himself to stay strong, that he needs to help, that he can do this.

Got this snippet in the post in time, but then I realized this was the perfect moment to go into how Mo Xuanyu is characterized/portrayed in this fic, and it ended up taking me some time to write that up.

Given how little we know of Mo Xuanyu's particular brand of neurodivergence in MDZS, I've decided to put him on the schizophrenia spectrum, he has psychotic episodes, but does not have paranoia, (and believe me, I'm doing literally everything in my power to do this with respect to schizophrenic and psychotic buds out there, I don't want to do any of you dirty with this, you deserve better). He does have auditory, olfactory, and visual hallucinations throughout the fic, which get worse over time as he is under more and more stress.

In this scene, however, he's also lying to his brother and playing it up so Jin Guangyao underestimates him for his own reasons.

CW for nonspecific mentions of sanism, ableism, and various forms of abuse and discussions of consent following this, as I am going into a little bit of detail about how I've chosen to portray Mo Xuanyu, so people know what to expect from this fic with him being such a major character.

The tl;dr is Mo Xuanyu is treated with dignity and respect by those working alongside him, and is given adult levels of agency throughout the fic's present timeline. His mental illness is acknowledged and described, but not made fun of within or by the narrative. It is not considered a character flaw, but a disability, and I've tried to portray it respectfully. While some characters are sanist/ableist both to and about him, they are not major characters, nor are they in control of him. There are mentions of past abuse, but he gets good medical care throughout the fic. He is an important character with major positive contributions, could not be removed or switched out for another without drastic changes, and gets the happy ending he deserves (without a magic cure).

More on how I'm handling Mo Xuanyu after the cut (a little spoilery, but I've kept it as vague as possible. See above content warnings):

I don't want to spoil the plot too much in public, though I'm happy to answer questions privately via message or ask, but I will say up front that Mo Xuanyu is, very intentionally on my part, given adult levels of agency throughout the fic in decisions both big and small.

There are (brief) mentions of him being treated badly in the past, including not giving consent (informed or otherwise) to medicine/medical procedures and other instances of abuse similar to canon, including being relocated and restrained against his will, but within the present timeline of the fic he is under the purview of the Nie Sect and working with a doctor with whom he has a good, mutually respectful relationship.

He makes his own decisions (and has established plans for what he wants done when he's unable to do so safely), gives informed consent to all instances of medication and relocation that happen during the present timeline of the fic itself, and is treated respectfully by the people he's working with. Like Jin Guangyao above, some people make ableist (and sanist) assumptions (and commentary) both to and about him, and he does personally lean into those assumptions for the purposes of making people underestimate him.

Those who are working with him and care about him only play up his mental illness with his prior input, consent and at his behest, and these instances are few, far between, for the purposes of the mission they're on, and never used as the butt of a joke, or done in a mocking way.

Mo Xuanyu has a solid, well-developed personality outside of his mental illness, though does talk casually and frankly about the symptoms he experiences, including hallucinations and his disconnect from reality. He doesn't enjoy having symptoms, but he does not have a self-pitying or self-loathing inner monologue. Though sometimes he tries to hide his symptoms from others (and, at times, fails), he does not make a habit of minimizing them (or exaggerating them) when he's describing them seriously.

When he does speak lightly of them, it's not mocking, and I intentionally avoided anything that sounded like it might come across as "LoL so random omg!" types of humor. Overall, though, he typically refuses to go into details with others, though his inner narration in his pov does, on occasion, describe what he's seeing, hearing, or smelling, without lingering too long on the descriptions.

His visual hallucinations edge more towards abject horror (monsters, things moving that shouldn't be moving in the ways they're moving, people looking dead/like ghosts with unnatural features (pure black, bleeding eyes, far too many sharp, non-human teeth, as a few examples)) instead of utilizing potentially-real facial/muscular/skeletal differences or movement disorders for shock value.

I do not portray him as someone bloodthirsty or irrational when it comes to killing. He wanted his family dead for the abuse they caused, he wants his brother dead (and wishes he didn't) for various shitty actions at various times. With everyone else, he's kind of just trying to keep to himself (or, when he can, be helpful to the people he gets along well with) and not get involved with any more conflict than he has to. He does not kill anyone in the course of the fic.

Jin Ling has a bit of trouble understanding at first, but does make efforts to be respectful and he improves over time. They end up growing close, and Jin Ling is not distrustful of Mo Xuanyu by the end of the story. The other juniors are similarly respectful.

The help Mo Xuanyu offers everyone is a) help only he could give, utilizing his skills and/or achievements specifically (e.g. making arrays/talismans a certain way, other forms of espionage that rely on his ability to lie and/or memorize information) and b) crucial to many of the successes they have. He is an essential member of the core cast of this fic, and it would be markedly changed if I were to remove him or switch him for someone else.

Mo Xuanyu does not die, nor does he get cured at the end of the fic. He ends up in a loving, mutually respectful relationship where his agency is respected, with a man who understands full well that loving Mo Xuanyu includes accepting his schizophrenia, psychosis, and the symptoms thereof. While Mo Xuanyu is doing better at the end than he was just before the end, it's because he's in a stable home and being treated by medical staff, rather than a magical cure.

[izvmimi]

Matchlit - Chapter 7

cw: none.

Masterlist

You’re back in the bathroom again, but this time you’re alone and the walls feel like they’re closing in on you and your best friends are pounding on the wall and your heart is pounding even faster in your chest and you can’t believe what you heard at all. Not for a second.

Is it real after all? How can he be engaged and yet have just kissed you? How could he not have told you? Aren’t you friends? How could he embarrass you like this? What does it all mean? 

“___, come out, it’s okay!”

“Or just let us in there with you, please! It’s fine.”

You hear them but it doesn’t register. All you can think of is the fact that Katsuki’s fiancée is a person that exists in the world, a real person, someone whose future husband you kissed, someone who is in a spot that you… covet? Covet is not the word for it… Covet is not the right word for what you feel in your chest, even if it’s technically true. 

You’re trying not to cry but the tears have started to cloud your vision anyway. You hug your knees, and try not to make a loud sound because it’s embarrassing and it’s your best friend’s birthday and who the fuck does he think he is to kiss you and plan to marry someone else?

Lili groans loudly and storms off, but you can tell June is still outside the door, pulled between the two of you. You can hear Lili call Izuku’s name, and you wonder what exactly she expects him to do. Take the door down? This is her apartment. Stop Katsuki from leaving? He has the right to do as he pleases. A kiss is not a promise. 

You can hear June slump down to a sitting position outside the door. She doesn’t say anything, there’s nothing to say, so the two of you sit, separated by a door in silence.

---

A million things run through Katsuki’s mind as his legs carry him away from the party faster than he can process his own thoughts. Should he really be dragging her so far away, grip tight on her fragile, never-worked-a-day-in-her-life wrist? Or should he be explaining himself to you instead, owning up to this awful outcome that isn’t his fault but sure as hell is his responsibility?

Does he have anything to apologize for?

“Katsuki!” Kasumi yells. 

He can’t hear her over how fast his heart is pounding in his chest. Now is not the right time. He’s not ready. He can’t hurt you. He can’t, he can’t, he can’t.

“ Katsuki! ”

“Kacchan, let go of her!” 

He couldn’t hear Kasumi but he hears Izuku calling from behind him and suddenly he’s snapped back into reality. His hold on her wrist lets go and when he finally looks at her, really takes her in, she’s flushed and angry, wrenching her arm away from his hold and holding it in her other hand. She holds it limp and Lili, close behind, runs over to her, tossing Katsuki an exasperated look for a split second, before she goes into medic mode. Kirishima stands for a moment, gives Izuku a look, then nods, and turns back into the apartment to make sure things don’t get too out of control.

“Hey, sorry to introduce myself like this, but I’m Lili, Katsuki’s friend, and it’s my birthday today, haha, but let me just take a quick look.”

Izuku pulls Katsuki away from the two women as Lili confirms that Kasumi is just bruised but not severely injured, then holds him by the shoulders.

“Okay, I’ve been nice for long enough, but you have to act normal,” Izuku finally says, sternly, and Katsuki realizes that if even Deku has switched to an assertive tone, he must really be falling off the deep end. 

“Fuck… I’m sorry,” Katsuki finally says out loud. The words come out quiet at first but he repeats the apology again, louder, as he realizes it’s true. He is so, so sorry about this mess. Truly. But the person he really wants to apologize to is still locked in a bathroom, unwilling to face the outside world again for the time being. 

“You better be,” Kasumi hisses as she takes her arm back gently from Lili. Running her hand through her long locks to resettle herself she stands a bit taller now. She’s in a silky red dress that hugs her figure perfectly, a tasteful slit up the side of her thigh, and dramatic eye makeup, and it’s clear she intended to impress. She does - she is striking, and Katsuki looks red-faced and distraught still, breathing just a little heavier as he tries to quiet down his panic. 

“I asked you specifically not to-”

“Then when !” Kasumi nearly shrieks back. Lili looks between the two of them, and then at Izuku. Izuku nods, then stands between the two betrothed, turning his back to Katsuki as he introduces himself just as charmingly as you’d expect the current chart favorite to.

“Hi! I’m Izuku Midoriya. Thank you for coming to my girlfriend and I’s birthday party! We didn’t expect you today, but any guest of Kacchan’s-”

“I didn’t fucking invite her!”

Izuku pauses just for a second, seemingly unfazed, but with his eyes now closed and a nearly incomprehensible flicker of irritation on his face, Katsuki can sense he’s getting irritated and quiets down for just a moment.

“Any guest of Kacchan’s is welcome.”

Lili gives Katsuki a piercing look and Katsuki folds his arms over his chest. If there were any credibility left for him, it’s absolutely gone now, and the worst part of it is that it’s for good reason. She’s right to look at him that way. 

Kasumi smiles and politely shakes Izuku’s outstretched hand, then looks over at Katsuki. 

“Are all your friends this charming?” Kasumi asks, raising an eyebrow at Katsuki. He scowls at her and Lili bristles for a moment but keeps focus. 

“So, if I heard correctly, you said fiancée earlier?” Lili asks. Izuku steps finally from between Katsuki and Kasumi and stands by Lili while Lili starts her line of questioning in the gentle yet assertive way she’s picked up at her clinic. “Since when?”

“Mind your business, Chatty-” Katsuki starts but the green of Izuku’s eyes is starting to shift when he glares at him and Katsuki lets his complaint fall to a grumble. Kasumi seems delighted to talk finally, and grins widely.

“It’s been a couple weeks, but it’s been something in the works for a few months.”

“Ah,” is all Lili responds with. She pauses for a moment, pondering, then asks Katsuki, “so you’ve known Kasumi for a while, haven’t you?”

“Absolutely not.” Katsuki replies. Lili and Izuku look towards Kasumi again and she nods.

“It’s true, we’ve only recently met. The arrangement is between our parents.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Izuku asks, his surprise poorly masked.

“No.” Katsuki says firmly. Kasumi rolls her eyes then folds her own arms over her chest, mirroring Katsuki. 

“I am perfectly fine with this arrangement, however odd this might sound.” Kasumi replies. Lili tenses but tries to keep her polite smile on her face. It’s not how she wanted to spend her birthday, and she’s not exactly sure what she feels about this girl already, but she tries to reserve her judgment for the time being. Izuku appears to have reached his limit by now, and takes Lili’s hand abruptly.

“Kasumi, would you like to join us for a slice of cake?” he asks politely. Lili glances at him as if to ask him what he’s doing but he has that smile again. “We have guests for our birthday and we wouldn’t want to keep them waiting in suspense!” 

Izuku sounds like he’s talking to Kasumi but it’s a warning to Bakugou and an explanation to Lili. The latter nods and laughs although the last thing she wants to do is bring this vixen back to torment her friend with her presence. 

“We have plenty of cake, yes. Come on in!”

Katsuki is in disbelief by the sudden turn of events. Even Lili seems to be giving in to Kasumi. Everyone seems to, and he cannot bring himself to go back into that apartment with the woman he actually loves and break her heart further. 

“I’m out,” he says. 

Izuku gives him a look but Katsuki has already turned his back and is halfway down the hall. Kasumi watches him go for a moment and seems pensive; Lili expects her to go follow him and is thankful that this drama will finally end, but Kasumi smiles widely, flashing rows of bright, white teeth. 

“I would love to meet everyone!”

Katsuki freezes for a moment in his stride, but resumes his pace.

---

What feels like ages later, Lili returns to your makeshift hideout and by now, her voice has just enough defeat in it that you almost feel bad for her, rather than yourself, and you steel yourself enough to remember that you are not so weak that you would crumble over a man.

Even if he is your best friend. Even if you harbor such strong feelings for him. 

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Lili whispers through the door. “... I had to be nice so um, she ’s coming here, but I can sneak you out if you don’t want to interact,” she whispers. She doesn’t give you much more backstory than that, not tonight, and when you finally, with a sucked in breath, open the door to see her frowning, brown eyes pitiful and unsure, you accept that you probably don’t want to hear any more than that. 

“It’s fine,” you reply as your friends slip into the room and lock the door behind them.

Your voice comes out raspier than you hope and Lili sighs, then pulls you in for a hug. June pulls in as well and you remember that even if you lose one friend in the pursuit of more love, you’ll always have enough platonic love to fill you up.

---

“Thanks for staying,” Lili whispers to you a few moments later. You nod, swallowing down the last of your mixed drink (Sero’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ special cocktail, which Katsuki prior to leaving had told him should be more aptly named the ‘Dumb and Dumber’), and force a smile. 

“Why would I leave?” you reply. “It’s your birthday.”

Lili offers you an understanding smile and squeezes your forearm gently. Your slightly tipsy gaze is now loosely fixed on Kasumi, who’s already made one round of introductions through you and all her friends, and is so charismatic she seems to glow in the corner of the room where she stands, barely obscured despite being crowded by your curious friends and acquaintances. On the side, you can see Mineta trying his way to force himself into the circle with no avail, and it would be hilarious if not for the fact that you’re still trying to ignore the pain in your chest. 

“She’s really pretty,” you offer, flatly and Lili scoffs.

“So? You are too.”

You laugh and nudge her.

“What?!”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” you reply. 

“Okay, but I did,” Lili replies to your amusement. The two of you leave your spot on the counter and fall onto the couch. June has disappeared by now in an apologetic hurry, tending to some other issue that neither of you are particularly keen to worry about. 

“I’m surprised he left,” you murmur finally, pulling your knees to your chest. The music is quiet enough by now to mask your voices as you talk in public, but not enough to make it hard to hear, and you rest your head on your friend’s shoulder, letting the alcohol confuse you further. 

Lili scoffs. 

“I think he knows he messed up,” she offers. There’s a small pause as your heart thumps. “But I will say I don’t think he genuinely meant to hurt you.”

You glance up at her. 

“Are you on Katsuki’s side, Lili?” you ask, with fake sternness in your voice. She tenses immediately, sputtering in shock. 

“I would genuinely stab him if you asked me to. And enjoy it.”

You laugh, and as you look up finally, you catch Kasumi watching you carefully. It’s for just a split second that your gaze connects, and she smiles brightly but it’s warm the way dry ice sears your skin at the touch. Your stomach turns and you look away first, then you regret backing down.

Lili notices your sudden movement and looks in the same direction you were but Kasumi is back to working the room. Denki looks practically enamored with her, unable to hide it and Jirou’s frown is deep enough that she looks like a sad clown until Momo pulls her away and thrusts another slice of cake in her face.

Maybe you imagined the look. It’s easy to demonize the person who you think is taking something from you, but you remind yourself that you’ve never really had him, now have you? Or if you had, time has passed and that window of opportunity has closed. Perhaps it’s good for you, and you’ll move on. Kasumi is not particularly sweet, but she’s undeniably captivating to look at and she showed so much interest in your first interaction that you can’t find fault with her. 

You must have imagined the animosity in her gaze. There’s no way she could know if even Katsuki doesn’t really know, and Lili truly never said anything to her as she swore to you. 

“I’m going to get another drink,” you say, suddenly and Lili looks at you in surprise, but nods. “Do you want anything?” you add, and she shakes her head no. As you rise, Izuku appears and takes your place, pulling her into his lap. You smile as you look back, thinking perhaps you won’t let your falsely started romance disrupt hers. 

Despite this, as you turn the corner to the kitchen, you can still feel eyes at your back and you know that again, they are an entrancing, regal shade of purple.

[galaxyedging]

Hey Liv, I hope you had a good weekend☺️ I’m not sure if you take requests but I can’t stop thinking about Steve finding fem reader passed out in the embassy somewhere because she’s pregnant with Javi’s baby👀 Maybe she’s been off a while and Javi’s away somewhere with Carrillo

Disclaimer: I didn't finish Narcos and I got so excited to get a request I stayed up to get this out.

Warnings: Mentions of smut. A little angsty. Pregnancy related illness.

WC: 1.8k

Uncle Steve

The office was empty. The silence was only interrupted by the ticking of the clocks as he passed them and the click of his shoes against the floor. Each step finally taking him home to Connie. He's almost at the elevator when he sees the light on. It's odd, no one should still be here. They've been quiet as hell if they're still here. Putting it down to someone being forgetful, he pops into the office to switch off the lamp. That's when he sees you. Laying on the floor.

Panic flares in him, but he tries to stay calm. No good will come of him losing his head. What does he do? Pulse. Recovery position. Airways. Words whizz through his mind as his hands work. You're warm, that's good. His hand searches for yours. He doesn't know why, to comfort you? His fingers graze your wrist, and he feels it. A pulse. He didn't have to look too hard for it. It must be strong. At that point, you started to come around. Thank fuck because he had no idea what to do. Connie! 

"Hey. You're alright. I've got you. I'm gonna call for help." You give a weak nod as he pulls your head into his lap. The phone crashes to the floor as he reaches for it. "Shit!" Pulling on the cord, he fishes it back. It takes five rings for Connie to answer. He counts while he prays. 

"Connie. I'm at work. One of the women I work with, I found her passed out." Give him a gang full of guns to face and he'd keep his head. Medical emergencies were not his forte. 

"I'm okay." You managed, hearing the frantic worry in his tone. 

"She's conscious? Be careful letting her sit up. You don't want her passing out again. Get her checked out right away." He hears Connie's advice. Like he wasn't going to take you straight to a hospital as soon as he could.

"Thanks, Con." He is genuinely grateful. He hated the moments it was just him dealing with this.

"Woah. Take it easy." He tries to slow you as you sit up, Connie's words in his head. Please don't pass out again. 

Leaning back against the desk. You crack your eyes open to look at Steve. He looks how you feel. "I'm okay. I just need to eat, I think. My head hurts too."

Steve notices the red mark on your forehead. Maybe from the desk on your way down. He's on his feet and to the kitchen. He raids the cupboard for sweet treats. Grabs a cup of water. Then he grabs the ice pack Javi keeps in the freezer for those really bad hangover days. 

Returning like a triumphant Labrador with a ball, he places the items next to you. All except the ice pack, which he gently holds to your head.

Your pride hurts more than your head as you let Steve care for you. It was stupid to skip dinner but this lead could bring Javi back. He was out there chasing leads when he could be here. He needed to be here. There were some things you couldn't talk about over the phone. 

"Here." Steve holds up a packet of something covered with coconut. The smell turns your stomach. He jumps when you start to wretch.

"I'm sorry. It's the smell of them." A connection instantly is made in Steve's mind. One that terrifies him as well as angers him.

"Are you pregnant?" His eyes are wide as he asks. "We need to get you, both, checked out."

"I'm fine. Like I said, I need to eat. Just something without coconut." You fish out a much more appealing plain cookie. 

"You've been here all hours. And out in the field. If you were my wife…" He regrets the words as he says them. He doesn't know what your situation is.

Shame blushes your cheeks. Steve takes a stab in the dark. "Wait, the father doesn't know, does he?"

"No. Not yet." You confirm his suspicion.

"You need to go get checked out. Is there someone you can call?" It's at this point Steve realises that he knows nothing about you. 

He knows that you are a hard worker. Diligent. Somehow, in an office full of men you manage to keep off the radar. Objectively, he knows you're beautiful. In most places like this your presence would be like throwing a stake to a pack of wolves. He would have thought every single, and a few not so single, man in the office would be sniffing around you. Somehow you've managed to command respect without creating waves. Everyone keeps their distance and lets you work. Even Javi toed the line. He never flirted with you. He was always polite with you. Come to think of it…no. There was no way. You wouldn't give Javi the time of day, you were too smart to get mixed up with him or anyone in the office.

The cookie you ate wasn't sitting right. "I feel sick." 

"Come on. We're taking you to the hospital." 

An hour passed before they would let Steve see you again. He paced the floor like it was his child you were carrying. Something about seeing you on the floor. Looking so fragile and helpless. Even when you were anything but. If it were Connie, he'd want someone with her. When he entered your room, he was happy to see you looked much better. He came to sit beside you. "How are you?"

"Better. I told you I just needed to eat." You nodded at the discarded tray on the table.

"You did." He smiled before adding "So do you want me to call Javier?"

There was no point in denying it, Steve was obviously more observant that Javi had given him credit for. Even though you had been incredibly careful at work. No longing glances. No favouritism. Minimal conversation. Come to think of it, maybe you had gone too far the other way. Javi was charming. Who wouldn't want to talk to him or to curry favour with him?

Javier burst through the doors two hours later. Running right into Steve. "What happened? Where is she?"

Anger boiled in Steve. You'd been working hard to look for leads for Javier yet he had no idea what was going on with you. Grabbing Javier by the shirt he slammed him into the nearest wall. "You fucked around in the office and now I'm dealing with it. Did you know? Is that why you ran off on this lead?"

Confusion furrows Javier's brow. "What? Know what?

"She's pregnant." Steve loosen his grip a little. It seemed like Javier was genuinely stunned and concerned.

"No, I didn't know. I had no idea. We've only…a few times." Javier knew than didn't matter or that he'd uses a condom. It only took one swimmer as his sex Ed teacher once said.

"So she's just some casual fuck? In our office, really?" Steve's head spins with the momentum of Javier changing their positions.

Steve is the one now pinned to the wall, with his partner's fist twisted in the front of his shirt. It takes Steve a minute to see where Javier's anger is coming from. "What? Don't you like being called out on your bullshit?"

Javier bares his teeth before his gaze flicks in the direction of your room for just a second. Then it all becomes clear. "Shit. You care about her, don't you? Poor girl. That might actually be worse."

Javier huffs a laugh in agreement.

"How long have you been…?" He pressed for details.

"We've been dating for seven months."

"Seven fucking months? And dating? With like flowers and shit? Since when do you date?"

"Since her." A smile tugs at Javier's lips.

He started dating because you told him he'd have to work for you. You told him that he could have one night with you now. A night that you would completely make worth his while. Or he could work for it. He could get to know you then he could have more than one night. For the first few weeks that night became more tempting. Everything about you enticed him. Then as time wore on he knew he couldn't settle for just one night. It took five months for you to give him that night. But how right you were, it was completely worth his while. Javier had been with a lot of women on and off Uncle Sam's dime. None of them could hold a candle to you. You kept him up to the crack of dawn. Taking your pleasure from him and returning it, what felt like ten fold, to him. He was already hopelessly in love with you by then. He confessed as much the next morning as you lay on his chest. Since then he'd taken you on dates, treated you like a queen. Things had come up to keep you apart so he'd only known you touch a couple more times. He couldn't work out what type of luck it was that you were now carrying his child.

"Are you okay?" Javier's words ghost across your forehead as his lips leave a kiss there. "Are you both, okay?"

Damn, Steve. "Yes, we are." 

"Steve told me.It is mine, right?" Fuck. He curses himself. Of all the stupid things to say. Especially when he's into too deep to care. Part of him wouldn't give two shits who's it was. As long as you were his.

"You'd think it was Steve's, the way he's been clucking about." You joked to relieve his obvious tension. "Yes, Javier. It's yours. I'm keeping it. I can do this by myself. You don't have to.."

Javier couldn't even stand to hear you finish that sentence. He silenced you with a press of his lips. 

"I will be here. For them. For you if you want me to."

"I do, Javi."

"Good because Steve might kill me."

"DEA agent slain by partner is not a good headline."

"Ex-partner."

"What?"

"Let's quit. Let's go back home. Let's do this right." 

"Are you serious?"

"I have done and seen so much bad shit here. The only time I don't think about or see it when I close my eyes is when I'm with you. I'm not risking losing that or our baby." His warm hand spread over your stomach.

Steve paced the hallway again. He was starting to think he might actually wear a groove in it. Then Javier appeared, a smile on his face even wider than the one he'd had all those months ago, the last time Steve had been pacing outside your hospital room. 

"It's a girl. I have a daughter. You wanna meet her?" Javier slapped his ex-partner on the back in a celebratory hug.

"Well, if that isn't karma. When she's all grown up you'll be chasing off men like you."

"That's not funny, Steve."

"Oh, it is."

"Shut up, you fucking hillbilly."

This first Javier's daughter hears of her Uncle Steve is his laughter over the grinding of her father's teeth.

Tags @kirsteng42 @prolix-yuy @thegreenkid2 @hquinzelle @fangirl-316 @gracie7209 @jedifarmerr @doommommy @scorpio-marionette @sturkillerbase @harriedandharassed @aynsleywalker @mswarriorbabe80 @quica-quica-quica @rise-my-angel @adancedivasmom @graciexmarvel @kinda-nobody @movievillainess721 @munsonownsmyass @mandoloriancookie

[midwestmade29]

It's a Wonderful Life 💙

To Anonymous: Whew, this one's a doozy, but worth the read! Thank you again for your request. I hope you enjoy what I came up with 🥰

Word count: 2,174 Divider by: Me 🙂 Original Anonymous Request: Can I possibly send a Christian x Female!Reader request? Maybe the Reader and Christian end up pregnant and she has to relinquish her title and the request is basically following them through their pregnancy and the after math of a complicated pregnancy and their lives as Parents (as well as juggling parenting Isla as well)

Due to the topics covered in this story, minors do not interact. If you're not 18+ years old, please KEEP SCROLLING.

Some topics and scenarios mentioned in the story may be upsetting/and or triggering for some readers. Read at your own discretion.

Disclaimers: (Complicated) Pregnancy, mention of sex, hospital stays, illness (flu), mention of gestational diabetes, medical testing, (medical) shots, preterm labor, labor pains, bedrest, cesarean section (surgery), postpartum recovery, caring for a newborn.

An OB (obstetrician) is a doctor who cares for the mother and baby throughout pregnancy. They also deliver the baby.

A baby in a breech position means they are upside down. (Feet first instead of head first)

C-section (cesarean section) is a surgical way to deliver a baby.

“Well, what’s it say?” Christian asked nervously. Your eyebrows knit together the longer you stared at the pregnancy test in your hand. “I’m not sure. Do you think we waited the full 10 minutes? There’s not really anything showing right now.” The two of you walked away after you sat the test back down on the bathroom counter, deciding to wait a few more agonizing minutes. Christian sat on the bed while you absentmindedly tossed things in your suitcase for your flight that was leaving early in the morning. You and your shiny AEW Women’s World Championship were set to appear on Dynamite tomorrow, which was something you had been looking forward to, but your headspace was somewhere else now. “What’s going through your mind baby? Talk to me,” Christian asked softly, motioning for you to come and join him on the bed. He wrapped you in his arms, embracing you tightly as your head rested against his chest. “Just worried, I guess. We have a lot on our plates right now with everything. We’re traveling every week, sometimes multiple times a week all while juggling our home and family life. I’ve only been the Women’s World Champion for a couple months. My championship reign will be cut short if I am pregnant,” you sighed as Christian tightened his embrace. “If the test is positive, will you not be happy about it? Concern laced Christian’s every word. “I’m conflicted! Torn between the happiness of expanding our family and sadness for my career. I feel like I was just getting started showing everyone what I’m made of you know?” Your thoughts were a jumbled mess, but Christian did his best to calm them. “I know baby. It’s a lot to take on right now, but we’ll make it work. We’re in this together, every step of the way! As far as your career goes, your fans will miss you, but they will understand if you’re absent for a while. Just think of the epic comeback you’d make. It would be the biggest and most anticipated in company history!”

It was hard to miss the two pink lines that were now visible on the white plastic stick sitting on the counter. Christian’s blue eyes were focused on you while you were processing everything. “Y/N? Are you okay?” he asked. You nodded your head yes, joy replacing all your previous concerns and doubt. Seeing the positive pregnancy test changed everything in an instant! A switch had been flipped as the reality of the situation set in, easing the sting you felt about your career. This baby was so much more important than anything else! You threw your arms around Christian’s neck, and he held you tightly as he spun you around. Images of a little blue-eyed baby danced in your mind and the thought made your heart swell! When Christian sat you on your feet, a certain little girl crossed your mind, prompting you to ask Christian a serious question, “How do you think Isla will take the news? She’s been an only child for almost 10 years now. Do you think she’ll be upset?” “I’m sure she will have her own sentiments about it, but overall, I think she’ll be excited! There’s only one way to find out…”

Telling Isla she was going to be a big sister went extremely well! You had come up with the idea to order a custom puzzle for the 3 of you to put together to tell her the big news. You had taken a picture of a heart she had drawn for you some time ago and uploaded it on the puzzle website, editing her design slightly by putting the words “You’re going to be a big sister!” in the middle of it. Within a few days, the puzzle was delivered and the 3 of you put it together after Isla got home from school. When the last piece of the puzzle was set in place, she let out a loud shriek! She wrapped her arms around your neck squeezing tightly before running over to Christian and jumping in his arms. She started rapid firing questions at each of you, making you and Christian laugh at her excitement. “Is it a boy or a girl? When will its birthday be? Can the baby sleep in my room?” she rambled on. Could she be any cuter?! Telling her was the easy part. Breaking the news to your fans live on Dynamite was a different story.

Standing in front of a live camera and telling the world you had to relinquish your Women’s World Championship was incredibly hard for you. You choked up placing it in Tony Schiavone’s hands as it seemed to mock you with its shimmer and shine when you did. Dynamite cut to a commercial break, relief washing over you now that your announcement was over and done with. You let out a rush of air once Christian closed the door to your dressing room and you walked over to him needing to feel his strong arms wrapped around you. “I think that went well; all things considered. You’re amazing Y/N. You know that, right?” he spoke gently. “Thanks for supporting me, Christian. It means the world to me! Now, our next adventure begins. Baby Cage will be here before we know it!”

Days turned into months in the blink of an eye! Your baby bump was very prominent now, and Christian loved it. He always had his hands on your belly! Whenever he had the chance, he would lay his head on your lap and talk to the baby while planting soft kisses against your skin. Late one night while you and Christian were tucked in bed, he fell asleep with his head next to your stomach. You ran your fingers through his hair while you reminisced about your pregnancy up to this point. You remember how his eyes lit up when the monitor showed the baby at your first ultrasound appointment when you were 20 weeks pregnant. Both of you were mesmerized as you watched the little baby you created together wiggling around on the screen, and how you both got teary eyed when the ultrasound technician told you “It’s a boy!” You’ll never forget how nervous Christian was the first time you met with your OB doctor. He wanted to ask her if the two of you could still have sex despite you being pregnant. You could instantly see the relief he felt when she told him yes! A chill ran through you when your mind wandered back to the time you were admitted into the hospital because you were extremely dehydrated and sick with the flu. It was the longest 3 days of your life! You recalled the next hurdle that came when you failed your gestational diabetes screening at 24 weeks into your pregnancy. The test came back as positive which meant a second more invasive test had to be done. Thankfully your results from the second test showed that you didn’t have it!

The scariest moment of all came late one night when you started having intense pain in your lower half. Christian rushed you to the hospital after you called your doctor, and she told you to come in to be monitored. “You’re in preterm labor,” your doctor explained. She went over the details of everything that was going on calmly, “It’s too early in your pregnancy to deliver now. You’re 33 weeks along and the goal is to be at least 39-40 weeks for a safe and healthy baby. I’m going to administer medicine that will reduce your contractions, ultimately delaying your labor. I would also like to administer 2 steroid shots that will help the baby’s lungs mature faster in case we have to deliver early. I’m very confident that we will be able to halt your labor and keep that little guy safe and sound inside until we’re ready to meet him!” The air in the room didn’t feel quite as heavy after the doctor explained her plan. When she gave you and Christian time alone, it was obvious that he was shaken up. “I’m in good hands baby. I fully trust the doctor and her plan. We’ll get through this together and our baby boy will be okay!” you reassured him while giving his hand a light squeeze. The discomfort you felt from the shots the doctor gave you was ultimately worth it when your labor had successfully been stopped. You were eventually discharged from the hospital with strict orders from your doctor. You were placed on bedrest and could no longer travel with Christian unless it was to a place that was pre-approved by the doctor. No exercising or heavy lifting either. The couch and your bed were your new best friends! Whatever you needed to do to keep the baby secure, you were going to do it.

Ready or not, here he comes! At 38 weeks pregnant, it was time to finally meet your baby boy. You had met the goal your doctor set for you after your preterm labor scare! Your last ultrasound showed a healthy baby, and he was measuring right where he should be. Everything was going well until another curveball was thrown your way. Your doctor had come to check on you when she noticed something was off. “Was the baby breech at her last appointment?” the doctor quietly asked the nurse. They conversed for a few minutes more before the doctor directed her attention back to you. “Okay Y/N, the baby is in the breech position. To safely deliver him, I must do an emergency c-section…” her words started fading away as you got lost in your own thoughts. Emergency? Surgery? Must move as quickly as possible? Christian could tell your thoughts were in a downward spiral the longer you blankly stared past the doctor. He took your hand in his and kissed your knuckles, speaking calmly when your eyes locked onto his. “Y/N, I promise I won’t leave your side! I know this isn’t what we planned on, but you got this! You’re incredible baby. I’m in awe of your strength and courage!”

Never did you think that the sound of crying would be music to your ears, but hearing your son wail after he was born was the best thing ever! You had successfully delivered a healthy 6lb, 4oz precious baby boy! Christian was over the moon holding his son in his arms for the first time. It was a moment that you’ll never forget! As soon as you were taken care of and wheeled into your recovery room, Christian brought Isla in to meet her baby brother. “He’s soooo cute!” she exclaimed. She was smitten with him right from the start! If she could’ve held him all night, she most certainly would’ve. You and the baby were able to go home just 2 days after delivery. Recovering from your surgery was rough on all of you since you were healing, and you still had restrictions and things you just couldn’t do. It frustrated you not being able to do simple tasks and having to rely on everyone else to do things for you! Christian encouraged you to give yourself some grace, especially after everything you went through your entire pregnancy. Deep down you knew you would bounce back; it would just take time. 6 weeks into parenthood you were starting to feel a little better. Your body was healing, and your son was growing and changing by the minute. Just yesterday you and Christian took Isla and the baby to the zoo, it being one of your first outings as a family of 4. Isla had settled in to being a big sister well, but that’s not to say there weren’t pangs of jealousy and rough patches. This was a major adjustment period for all 3 of you, but the love and adoration each of you had for one another remained strong and continued to grow as each day passed!

You quickly learned that parenting was a juggling act! You and Christian dividing your time and attention between two kids, each other, and AEW was extremely difficult. Splitting yourself between 3 people that rely on you was hard. Having to put your career goals on the self (for now) was hard. Making sure Isla was getting the love and attention she needed and deserved was hard. Taking care of a fussy baby in the early hours of the morning with little to no sleep was hard. Finding alone time with Christian was hard. But, at the end of the day when you tuck Isla in bed and she tells you she loves you, and when you watch Christian rocking your baby boy to sleep in his strong arms from the doorway of the nursery, it eases the stress the difficult days bring and makes everything you went through to get to this point worth it. How did you get so lucky? It definitely is a wonderful life 💙

[juicycoutureheaux]

Hey yall! It’s been a minute since I posted on Tumblr! I just want to let you know my series: When it’s over is alive and well on Ao3. I stopped posting chapter updates on here because I felt like I was clogging up the tags.

This prompt was inspired by an AI chat prompt weirdly enough. (So if you’re reading this and you made the chat please message me so I can tag u bb!)

Anyway here’s a product of me being sleep deprived and literally just being mushy in general. I seriously wrote this last night before I went to bed and it hasn’t been edited. I may go back and edit, I just figured releasing this fic into the wild wasn’t the worst thing I could do.

This is a fluffy kind of OOC fic for Chris Redfield. I hope y’all enjoy

“Late night feeling”

A Chris Redfield x reader fic

Tags: fluff, migraines mentions of death, intimate but platonic relationships, younger woman X older man dynamic

You were resting after a rough deployment. You had made it back to the BSAA barracks and returned to your small room that had just enough space for your twin size bed, a desk and some shelving.

You had made the space work to the best of your advantage; free housing meant you had to get creative but you managed to make your small room as welcoming as possible.

The other soldiers were used to the barebones when it came to accommodations, and usually you didn’t mind when you were out on deployment, but when you were stateside you made sure to have all the comforts you could fit in the tiny room.

Pretty soon, you were popular in your unit for having just about anything. Did somebody have a headache from the dry air? You had a humidifier. Somebody needed some extra toiletries but didn't want to leave the building? You always had spare supplies. Cold medicine? You had it.

Pretty soon you were known as “mom” despite being on the younger side. It made you proud, because your position was technically as a medic, and it meant more to you that you could care for your teams stateside as well.

You were studying the popcorn ceiling in the small room for the 50th time, trying to get yourself to get to sleep when you heard a knock on your door.

You opened it thinking it was another soldier needing something small, but were shocked to instead see Chris Redfield, Captain of multiple elite task forces and founder of the BSAA.

You didn’t know whether to salute or curtsy, you were so close to falling asleep and were delirious

He smiled at your obvious discomfort. “I heard from the guys earlier you were the one to see if I needed anything.”

You looked at him wide eyed, still shocked that he came to your room late at night. He must really need something bad.

“Y-yeah, I’m sort of the barracks *mom* of sorts.” You giggled nervously. “What can I get you?”

Chris sighed. “Do you have anything for migraines?”

You looked at Chris, thoughtfully.

“I have a couple of solutions, how long have you had symptoms?”

Chris looks at you, you can tell what he’s going to tell you he’s embarrassed about. “…4 hours.”

You looked at him in horror. You knew Redfield was hardcore, but you had some migraines yourself before, if he was seeking your help, it must have been pretty intense.

Without thinking, you mentally switched into caretaker mode.

You quickly pulled the covers on your bed, and pulled out a foam wedge you had underneath your bed that you used to get comfortable for reading or watching tv.

Chris couldn’t help but grimace through his pain.

“Are you used to having late night visitors Y/L/N?” He looked at the foam wedge. “What the hell is that for?”

You snapped your head back at him. “What are you insinuating?” Genuinely curious, did he think you were going to treat his migraines by fucking him?

Chris grimaced again. “I hear you younger girls are into some wild things these days, but I didn’t expect it from you.” He put his hands up defensively. “More power to you though.”

You laughed from your belly. “Captain with all due respect, I think you’re seriously confused on what this is for.” You placed the wedge close to the foot of the bed. “Plus, if that’s how you think we’re gonna fix your migraine, you’re seriously confused on what my job here is.” You smiled at him.

You had only worked with Chris a couple of times. He wasn’t a stranger to you by any means, but you definitely weren’t friends either.

He was your superior and you respected him. The first time the two of you had met, you were a new recruit trying to make it onto the field.

You had passed every cognitive test the BSAA had to offer, but your physical skills were shit to say the least. You were athletic, you were great when it came to stamina, but when it came to hand to hand combat and firearms, you hesitated.

You remember the disappointed look your supervisor gave you when review time came. You were extremely gifted when it came to observations and patching men up, but you were a liability on the field.

“Get used to seeing the inside of the clinic, sweetheart.” You remembered him saying to you.

You remember going to the gun range, it was late in the afternoon and you thought no one was there. You were crying while missing the target completely. You knew you looked insane, but damn you felt so good.

“Why the hell can’t I just do this one simple thing?” You remember saying out loud to yourself. “The stupid boys back home could do this shit, but I doubt they could suture up flesh, and I can’t deploy because of this one thing!” You said louder emptying the clip into the target.

You pressed the button that brought the target to you. You looked at it helplessly; the bullets holes were all over the place. You crumpled the paper furiously into your hands.

“That's one way to neutralize a target,” you heard a warm baritone behind you say.

You turned around to see Chris Redfield with his own gear, ready to begin his own practice.

You saluted him. “Captain Redfield, Sir.”

He saluted you back. “At ease soldier, you don’t have to be so formal, no one else is here.”

“Y-yes sir.”

He walked closer to you, clearly in his element.

“I heard news on your performance review, Y/L/N. That’s brutal.” He said, trying to sound comforting.

Your lip quivered, you were angry and disappointed in yourself. You wanted to angry-cry, but not in front of one of the founders of the BSAA. He probably already thought you were weak, crying would just exacerbate the issue.

“It was.” You said looking down.

He looked at you sympathetically, and put his arm on your shoulder. “You have an incredible brain though.” He said, trying to lighten the mood. “We were really pulling for you this time, we need more personalities like you on the field.”

You looked up at him. “Really?”

Chris smiled at you. “I definitely don’t picture you in spec ops anytime soon, but we definitely could use you in damage control.”

You returned his smile.

“But you also understand why we can’t send you out there unprepared, you could be ambushed anytime.”

“I understand.” A heavy tear fell from your left eye and you immediately wiped it away, in fears of Chris noticing.

He looked at you sympathetically, “It’s normal, not being able to just want to shoot a living thing.”

“But why is it so easy for everyone else? I just can’t do it!” You said, frustrated.

“I think it’s because you’re overthinking it.” He shifts on his feet. “Think of it this way, if someone was going to hurt someone you cared about, even slightly, wouldn’t you not hesitate to take them down?”

You honestly had never thought about it before. You really were thinking of BOWS like victims, but if it were between you and your fellow soldiers getting out alive you wouldn’t hesitate.

Chris saw the gears in your brain working. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“You think of them like they’re normal people, and they definitely may have been at one time.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “But you can’t think of them like that, it’ll get you killed, rookie.”

“Yessir,”’

“You know,” he said, picking up his duffle bag with his arsenal of personal weapons. “I actually have free time this evening, can I show you a couple of things?”

You looked up at him, shocked he would even want to spend one of his rare free moments with a dumbass like you.

“Are you sure? I know you’re always busy, are you sure you want to spend it mentoring my ass?”

“I don’t have anything else better to do, plus I see potential in you, rookie.” He motioned for you to follow him to the lane you were at before he came in.

He positioned himself behind you to perfect your form, gently touching your biceps and arms. He had a strong, but gentle grip on you. You tried not to turn into a teenage girl at his touch, but you seriously hadn’t got any action in a long time.

Chris, remained professional as always; if he noticed that you were crushing on him in the moment he didn’t acknowledge it, he just focused on the task at hand.

The afternoon turned into late in the evening, but you were finally comfortable with shooting your gun.

“Look at you, that was maybe 3 hours of proper training?” Chris looked at your work. “Looks like you’ll be out in the field in no time.”

Chris’ kindness stayed with you, and you were able to get into a lower ranking team, but a team nonetheless. You were finally able to help on the ground.

Now, Chris was looking to you for help and you couldn’t disappoint him.

“I’m going to have you sit down on my bed, okay? I promise I’m not gonna try anything funny with you okay?” You joked with him. Trying to lighten the mood.

“Honestly Y/L/N, I’m in so much pain, I’m willing to try anything.” He said sitting down.

“Good.”

You instructed him to lay down, putting the wedge underneath his calves, elevating his feet. You then grabbed a thick towel from one of your drawers and rolled it up. You gently placed the towel under his neck and made sure to keep his head supported with a pillow.

Chris grunted.

You looked down at him worried. “Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah,” he breathed out. “This is the best I’ve felt in a while.

“Good!” You chirped. “Where’s your pain radiating from?” You asked, getting up to turn on the humidifier. You knew from your own experience warm steam always helped, especially since it was December and seemed to worsen migraines.

“It feels like it’s behind my eyes, but it really does feel like it’s all over.”

“Is that normal for your migraines?” You asked putting hand sanitizer on. You had an idea of what you were going to do, but you wanted to make sure.

“Recently, yeah. I sustained a pretty bad neck and head Injury a couple years ago and they worsened from there.” He said, closing his eyes. His voice lowered like he was starting to get some relief.

“Are you okay with me touching you, Captain?” You said hesitantly.

“Of course, Doc.”

You smiled. “Not a doctor, but I think I can help.”

You began massaging the base of his neck, gently pulling his head to realign his spine. You were going at it for a couple of minutes before you heard him groan.

You stopped for a moment. “Still okay?”

“Better than okay. Can you keep going?” He asked sheepishly.

You were thankful he had his eyes closed, because his tone made you blush.

You began to let your hands move to his temples massaging the tense muscles in his face.

“You really carry a lot of stress,” you said trying to make his facial muscles relax manually.

“I guess 20 years of fighting monsters will do that to you.” He said bluntly.

“I’m sorry Captain-“ you stammered.

“Y/N drop the captain shit, it’s Chris. Please call me Chris when we’re alone.” It almost sounded like a plea.

“Yessir.”

He smiled, lightening the mood again. “I bet they ate you alive in boot camp.”

You smiled. “They did, but I survived.” You giggled.

You began to work your fingers over his sinuses, being sure to gently, but firmly relieve the tension in his face. Your fingers gently caressed a couple of mostly healed scars over his handsome face.

“I heard you got to see some action in the desert, Y/L/N.”

You sighed. It was a sensitive topic for you right now, but you didn’t want to offend Chris. “Yeah, I had to shoot my first aggressor.”

“You sound upset.”

“It was just,” You sighed heavily, trying to push the image of the infected soldier from your memory.

“We don’t have to talk about it.” Chris said, opening your eyes to meet your gaze. Before that moment you hadn’t realized how intimate this interaction was with him. His head was in your lap on a pillow, supported by your crossed legs.

“I knew him.” You said quietly.

“I heard he was one of our guys,” Chris said, his tone tinged with a slight sadness.

“He always was so shy and he was so into his routine it was funny. The other members would always clown on him.” You were reminiscing about your comrade.

“I always keep snacks in my room, and one day he broke his routine to see if I had anything. I was so happy that he asked me for something, that I kept buying the same snack so he would keep coming to me, I just wanted him to feel like I had his back.” You started to sniffle, feeling a burning sensation in your sinuses.

“I don’t know what happened he came back from

recon fine, I had just patched him up; then he turned.” You couldn’t help but tremble, Chris felt this and sat up.

You were slightly surprised by his sudden actions, he turned to face you.

He held your shoulders. “I need you to promise me that you’re not going to let this destroy your life Y/N. Remember what I said, it was either you or him.”

“But why did it have to be him?” You let your emotions go. You began to cry, you were wiping your own tears when Chris wrapped his arms around you. It immediately took you off guard.

He just held you, the warmth of his body radiating onto yours, you no longer felt so cold and lonely. He slowly let go of the embrace.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered.

“Don’t apologize, that’s a lot to have on your heart.” Chris looked at you more seriously this time. “Have they done your mental evaluation yet? You guys didn’t get back that long ago.”

You let out a sigh. “Honestly, after all that work to get me in this unit, I think I’m about to fail and be released because of a psych evaluation.”

Chris looked at you sympathetically.

“I guess it wasn’t meant to be, I really am just not cut out for this am I?” You pulled your knees to your chest.

He placed a warm hand on your leg.

“You’re doing just fine, the first kill is always the worst, but it doesn’t get easier. You just get tougher.”

You instinctively put your hand over his and squeezed. “I can’t imagine what you’ve seen, what keeps you going?”

Chris rubbed his hand over his face, his migraine had disappeared finally. “I wanted to stop getting close to others, I wanted to shut down, stop caring about people.”

You rubbed his arm and felt him shiver.

“But, that wasn’t who I am. I’d never stop caring, it was the reason I joined the Air Force and the RPD. It just led me…here.” He trailed off.

“We can’t control what happens to us, is what you’re saying, right Chris?”

He smiled. “Exactly. We can control how it affects us. You’re a sweet girl Y/N, I couldn’t stand to watch this line of work harden you.”

You blushed at the sweet girl comment.

“Well I guess then you’ll be happy that I’m thinking of going to TerraSave.” You said, nervous of how he was going to react.

Instead of looking at you with disgust like you had anticipated, he was excited.

“TerraSave? Really? I’m close with a major player over there, maybe I can tell her you’re interested.”

Your heart sank at the mention of a woman he was close with, you knew you never had a chance with him, but you liked to indulge in the healthy fantasy every once in a while.

“That would be great.” You said sheepishly.

“She’s my sister in case you’re wondering.” He winked at you.

You were embarrassed that your face gave it away that you were jealous.

He then boldly lifted your chin with his hand. “If you end up working for TerraSave, there won’t be any rules against taking you out on a date either.”

“Chris, really?” You laughed. You were in shock.

“I like a woman who doesn’t know when to stop,” he winked at you.

“You’re disgusting.” You playfully hit his shoulder.

He feigned defensiveness. “Hey, I was talking about not giving up on reaching a goal, I don’t know where your mind went to.”

You felt your self melt, he was so dreamy, exactly like you imagined. “I never thought I’d see this side of you, Chris. It’s nice.”

He cupped your face with his hand and you instinctively leaned into his palm.

“It helps when I’m with someone who’s able to bring it out of me” he said, stroking your face with his thumb.

You felt equally relaxed with him too, so relaxed that you let out a yawn.

Chris only chuckled. “I guess it is late, huh?” He said gently pulling his hand away.

You whined at the sensation.

“Don’t get bratty on me now,” he laughed.

You put your head into your hands. “How’s your head?”

“Much better,” he sat up straighter. “Crazy what a few moments of relaxing can do.”

You smiled at him, “Feel free to come to my room anytime.”

[fuck-customers]

Since I work in an ER now, and these issues come up frequently, I’m here to give you all some tips on how to make your ER visit easier for you and everyone else

(This is partly meant to be funny and partly meant to get some venting out, but I do have some things that I think are genuinely good information, so hopefully everyone who reads this gets something out of it)

1. Do not bring a bunch of people with you to the ER. Not only can we not let everyone in, but it’s just annoying to have a bunch of other people taking up room in the waiting area. My hospital has certain rules about how many people can come in and stay with you in the ER at one time, partly due to Covid, and partly due to the fact that our rooms are small and nurses/doctors need to get in and out of there often. Unless you’re literally about to die, most times we can only let in two people at once, and even that’s usually only reserved for underage patients who’s parents want to be with them. In many cases we only allow one visitor back at a time, and then if your other visitors want to see you we have to make you switch out back and forth. So having like two people with you is fine, but you absolutely do not need your entire family/friend list to come see you

2. If you are waiting to visit a patient, please be quiet and respectful in the waiting area. No one wants to hear you being loud talking to your friends/family, or playing videos on your phone, or what have you. Everyone in the waiting room is there because someone they care about is sick/hurt in the ER. No one is having a good time. Just be nice.

3. Some hospitals still require patients/guests to wear masks inside the building, which means the employees have to ask you to put on a mask. I promise we’re not doing it to annoy you, and we hate asking you even more because we know some people get really upset and aggressive about not wanting to wear one. Just put one on. You can take it off when you’re in the ER room, we mostly just want you to wear it when walking around halls and such, since hospitals can have all kinds of things floating around that could make you sick (regardless of how much we clean, which we do after every patient, that’s just how hospitals are since we deal with sick people every day in small quarters).

4. We cannot give out any patient information over the phone!! This is a huge HIPAA violation, and we need to be super careful about patient privacy. Often the most we can do is tell you if a person is currently in our facility, and we can only do that after you give us their full name. If you need to reach someone or ask them questions about their care you should always try to contact them personally first.

5. Similarly, we cannot give out medical advice over the phone. If you call to ask about what to do because x happened to you, we will simply tell you that if you feel it’s severe enough then you should come in. We can’t advise how to treat, we can’t tell you what we think you should do, nothing.

6. Listen, we can’t say anything to you about this, but as some friendly advice: stop coming to the ER for non-emergency situations. You should try everything possible that you can at home before coming to an ER. For example, if you have sinus pressure and you’re not sure if it’s an infection, or allergies, or a cold, you should probably try some allergy pills or cold medicine first. Did you test positive for Covid and now you feel sick? Unfortunately that’s what happens when you have Covid, stay hydrated and rest and stay home, because we can’t do anything for you. Stomach hurts? You might be constipated, try taking some stool softener and a laxative because that’s what we’ll do for you in the ER, except you’ll have a huge bill attached for it. I’m not saying this to be mean or rude or belittle anyone. Just saying to please remember that hospitals have limited space and cost a lot of money. If you’re coming in because you stubbed your toe you could be taking a space from someone who really needs it, and even with insurance you may still have to meet a deductible or pay copays.

7. All of the above being said, if something is seriously wrong then absolutely come to the ER. Are you having chest pains that you’ve never had before? Come in. Does your abdomen feel like someone shot you? Come in. Were you in a vehicle accident? Come in, even if you don’t think the accident was that serious. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and if you need us then we are here to help you.

8. An ER is not a replacement for regular medical care with a standard provider. Trust me, I know not everyone can afford to regularly go to see a doctor and get preventative treatment. But in some cases there really isn’t anything we can do to help. If you’ve had a long term problem that requires continuing care, then we can’t do much aside from treat immediate symptoms. If you need ongoing medications we aren’t able to prescribe them for you for as long as you might need. We’ll do everything we can for you while you’re here, but sometimes our scope of assistance is limited.

9. We will have to ask you questions, some of which may be uncomfortable for you to answer. We’re not trying to embarrass you, simply trying to get as much info as possible to help you properly. No one is judging you when you come in here. Personally, I always try to keep my tone light when having to ask a sensitive question, and I know a lot of the nurses do the same, but sometimes tone doesn’t come across well. Just answer honestly and it’ll be over soon. (This also goes for illegal activity, such as taking drugs; we’re not going to report you or anything, we just need to know because if we need to give you something it could negatively interact with whatever you took and harm you)

10. Don’t be coming to visit people in the hospital (meaning people who are inpatients and may be on the regular hospital floor for a while) past 10pm. Some hospitals have rules about when people can visit, but mine doesn’t really seem to care. But just because we don’t have rules in place for visiting hours doesn’t mean we want you around super late with patients. Not only can it bother other patients on the floor who are trying to rest, but as the clerk it’s my job to take you down to the floor and let you in, and that prevents me from watching my station in case someone needs to check in. Also I have chronic pain, it’s hard for me to walk around, I do not want to take your ass down to the floor for you to visit someone at fuckin 2am (that’s just me venting though)

11. If you are going to visit someone, and you have seen that I, the clerk, have to leave my station and walk you to the floor and let you in with my badge, DO NOT KEEP LEAVING AND COMING BACK EVERY TEN MINUTES. In fact, don’t leave and come back more than like one time, period. If you leave once to get food for yourself/the patient, or need to get some stuff for the patient from their house, or whatever, that’s fine and we understand. But if your ass is walking out two or three times an hour and I gotta keep letting you in, it’s fucking annoying. Be respectful to the employees, I have more things to do than just walk you around the hospital.

12. I get asked this a lot, so I figure it’s good to mention here in case anyone needs the clarification. There is a difference between Urgent Care and Emergency Room. In the UC you’ll typically have less wait time than in an ER, and usually your bill will be much lower. However, a UC also has limited abilities of what they can do for you versus an ER. Small things like X-rays, labs, splints, etc. can be done in the UC. But for more serious things, like severe bone breaks, sharp chest/abdominal pains, and certain types of lacerations you need to come to an ER because we have more resources to treat those things, like CT and MRI machines, EKG readers, etc. You can always try a UC before an ER to see what your next course of action should be.

13. Almost all hospitals have a case worker to help you with social services. Are you suicidal? Do you want to get into rehab or addiction counseling? Our case workers can help you with those things! They can often help set up appointments for you with therapists and rehab centers, and there are even times where they can help you get rides home, or get to a safe area if you’re in danger. Never be afraid to ask for a case manager, they are there specifically to help you

14. Most hospitals also have financial advisors who can help with medical bills. Our hospital specifically has someone who can help you apply for financial aid, or assist in applying for state insurance and backdating it to cover your recent appointment. These financial advisors can also help you get your bill lowered and/or set up payment plans. Medical bills can be scary, but they don’t have to be! Always ask for financial help if you need it.

15. Last one (at least for now), this is just something I get angry about: STOP CALLING AMBULANCES BECAUSE YOU SEE SOMEONE ASLEEP ON A BENCH OR THE GRASS OR WHATEVER. Homeless people exist. They can’t always find a safe, comfortable place to sleep, so they may just plunk down in a park on the grass for a while, or try to stretch out on a bench. Sometimes people get drunk and just pass out somewhere. They don’t need to be embarrassed by having ambulances and police called on them just for sleeping. If the person is breathing and you don’t see any blood anywhere then they’re probably fine. And yes, they can refuse treatment from the ambulance, but it’s still jarring and embarrassing for them, and then they have to find somewhere else to rest (if that’s what they’re doing).

Sorry this was so long, a lot of this was just me being annoyed, but like I said I think some of this is genuinely helpful info and I hope it gave y’all some insight into the ER world

[plural-swag-competition]

Tiptapricot again! I’m not the best for giving recs and info on the comics, but can give some trigger warnings on the show and two of the runs I’ve read! This will all b below cut as it’s as in depth as I can do off the top of my head.

This is a long post, but I’ve tried to make it as informative as possible. It lists some heavy stuff! MK fans are welcome to let me know if there’s things they think I should add, and though I say in the post, anyone is welcome to shoot me an ask about specific triggers! There also may be some typos haha so excuse those.

Without further ado, let’s get into it :-)

First up!

The Lemire Run, 2016

This may not be the best run to jump onto as it has a pre-established cast and is highly referential to past MK work, but it was also the first one I read and I still really enjoyed it! As long as you have a general knowledge of the characters from like a quick wiki read, you should be good.

Warnings for: Medical unreality, unreality, psych ward setting, gaslighting, abusive nurses/orderlies and doctors, shock therapy, drugging, death of friends, warped reality, manipulative Khonshu (the god they work for), further unreality/blending of realities between different headmates, mis-naming, car crashes/ship crashes, death of friends again, arrest/police interrogation, institutionalization as a child though not shown graphically, off-page death of father, internalized ableism/belief that to be normal you must not be a system, invalidation of headmates by another headmate, apparent though not actual alter death (they come back triumphantly, they are all ok), talk of brain and mental space/being “broken” as a form of manipulation.

This is the one I sent a propaganda post in about also! It was one of the first really major positive MK explorations (not the first, the 80s run and a handful of others actually have some real good stuff) and while it still has some funky parts, is a really gorgeous and awesome look at them, and again, has one of my favorite characters!

Second!

The MacKay run, 2021

This one’s the currently ongoing comic run! And while there’s less warnings it should be mentioned that since it’s ongoing, my list may become out of date somewhat soon, esp since issue 25 is apparently going to be 70 pages. But it’s a good time to hop on and join!

Warnings include: general monsters and fighting of them, self hate, internalized ableism and force-fronting by Marc/him being frontstuck for a lot of it, regular therapy sessions with Marc and his therapist that, although not manipulative or toxic or abusive like in other runs, are coerced by the avengers due to a previous run where the system basically took stuff over and took down the avengers for Khonshu (this run is referenced a lot), temporary death of main, discussion of gods, faith, and general theology, vomit in the issue 17 fight, racism/cultural appropriation by the character Jack Russel in the annual, forced switch by an outside partner in the annual.

There’s also a general blanket thing that, while MacKay is doing good at a lot, and issues 14/15 specifically have some really good system conversations facilitated by him working with a system for them, he is still not including Steven and Jake as much as he should, and stuff can feel unbalanced/that he’s forgetting about their systemhood sometimes. It’s overall a very solid run so far, but that’s good to be aware of!

And lastly but not leastly!

Moon Knight, 2022 show

The show is 6 episodes long and on Disney+ or u can pirate it (which. Is what I do haha) and these are what I can think of for warnings.

Best to skim beforehand and then peek at each chunk for each ep as you go. Id be able to give times if I was live watching with someone but I hope these cover stuff generally ok, and you can also look up specific stuff if you need, or send me an ask if you watch about a specific moment and I can find the time stamp! My inbox is always open :-)

Disclaimer that the show also has a lot of levity and comedy and calmer moments within everything I’m going to list. These are just the triggers, and since it is a heavy show it will seem dense, but it’s not just hell all the way through.

Ep 1, The Goldfish Problem—At the very beginning there is a scene where glass is put in shoes and stepped on, there is no blood or pain reaction or visuals of the skin, but that is a constant presence in the background for the whole show as the main antagonist is a cult leader who uses it for self flagellation. Lot of sudden and discombobulating switches accompanied by minor flashing, confusion and paranoia as it involves the beginning of system discovery by a headmate who has no idea what’s going on, a generally eerie vibe involving a large bird headed skeleton creature (Khonshu) popping up, voices from indeterminant origin/people seen in mirrors, scene in the mountains involves seeing the cult, and ideas of good and bad and predestined morality, car chase involving car crashes, guns and blood but not really gore or any especially violent ways of taking out bad guys, missing an important event due to amnesia and lost time, apparent stalking by cult and unreliable coworkers, mild panic attack.

Episode 2, Summon The Suit—More of eerie vibe from first ep and more of big bird man and some flashing, uncomfortable firing from job for perceived mental health reasons, headmates arguing, headmate freaking out and jumping to internalized ableism, person who knows one headmate but not ab the system being confused and frustrated/believing the one fronting is putting on an act, police arrest/kidnapping, more of the cult, discussion of eugenics ideology from cult, panic attacks, one use of the word “Psycho” during a joke, headmates arguing worse and lashing out at each other, manipulation by Khonshu, brief use of alcohol in an obviously unhappy state as coping.

Episode 3, The Friendly Type—Sudden and abrupt switches, coming to mid fight/after an adversary has been killed, confusion, non-graphic suicide as form of escape from protags (falling off cliff, body not shown in detail or close up at all), very intense trial scene involving possession by a god, and weaponized ableism and personality language against mains from antag, both demonizing and infantilizing them, somewhat of a breakdown/lashing out from main because of it, another fight at rich guys place involving guns and knives, as well as choking, and impaling of mains, but impalement has no blood or gore shown, the poles r kinda just through them and they’re alright, some more possible flashing triggers at end with sky scene though more mild.

Episode 4, The Tomb—Headmates arguing/tension, choice to pursue relationship action without direct discussion about it, sounds of dissection of human by a monster (dissection is blurred in background and not shown in detail), scary undead creatures coming out of the dark and fighting with a main, emotional manipulation by cult leader, argument with a partner causing a forced switch, intense guilt and mention of believing one should’ve died, main character death, and at very end and also big one for next ep: unreality, medical unreality, psych ward setting, drugging and restraint of patient, gaslighting, feeling like an “it was all a dream” twist (which is proven to be false, the psych ward here is not real and is a construct of the afterlife, but it is a big scare and can be triggering).

Episode 5, Asylum (biggest ones here and very intense episode)—More of same medical unreality and gaslighting by a doctor, on screen drugging of patient/mains with a syringe, forced trauma memory exploration involving static dead bodies, passive suicidal ideation, off screen drowning, off screen sibling/child death, intense verbal abuse from mother, passive father, alcoholic abusive parent, guilty flashback to older Marc the night Khonshu contacted him which involves an attempted suicide (gun put against chin) and manipulation, headmate hitting their head rapidly during a breakdown, physical abuse from parent with belt (action not shown on screen but build up is and there is briefly audio of impacts), headmates arguing, internalized ableism, discovery of being an introject and negative thoughts about “realness” and self as a result, emotionally abusive doctor, parental/abuser death, alcoholism by main, breakdown at funeral, hitting of kippah on ground during breakdown, intense switch in time of distress, apparent alter death (not permanent but is not resolved in this episode).

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY ME TO WATCH EPISODES 5 AND 6 IN THE SAME SITTING OR CLOSE TOGETHER. 5 is really fucking intense, and even while being very well done, it can really fuck up your brain and mental space. Episode 6 is a huge balm onto that and makes me cry every time because of it.

Episode 6, Gods and Monsters—Cult carrying out goals, intense grief from living main, dead bodies talking, brief possession by a god, guilt tripping and trauma leveraging by antag onto mains, sudden switch, brief return of psych ward setting (though in a context of triumphing over it/proving it to be a construct), after credits scene involves abduction of antag from a care facility, and murder.

Also general note that the show is really complicated and nuanced in its rep. It has a lot that’s really good but they also made some mistakes. The term DID/Dissociative Identity Disorder is not said on screen, for example, largely because the system themselves don’t know what’s going on/are dealing with a lot of internalized ableism, however it was still a choice by the writers. Some cast and crew members have also said not great things in interviews, but on the flip side, a lot of them have shown they really care.

Oscar Isaac specifically did a whole lot of research for his roles, and has been very respectful and awesome in interviews and in his pushing for the characters to be given the best they can. There’s a lot of discussion to have around all of it, and a lot they can improve in a season 2 if/when we get it, but it’s still a really complex and empathetic exploration of the system in general.

But also, it may not be for everyone!

I’m a singlet, and I’ve talked and discussed stuff a lot with the groups I’m in including systems in fandom, and there’s a lot in it people connect to, but it also may not be the type of show others want to watch and that’s ok. Rep is so nuanced and complicated especially with something so stigmatized, every step forward doing its best but not always nailing it, that everyone will have their varying relationships to it, and what works for some may not be good for others.

But yeah! I love moon knight a lot, and all of the things recommended here while none are perfect each do really amazing things with their stories, art, and explorations. I hope this can help some people interested in checking them out do so in an informed and safe way. My inbox is open if anyone has questions, and I can also point to some other really cool people in the community for specific discussions, recommendations, and more!

Hope you all have an epic and wonderful day! Good job on a swaggy bracket :-D

(ID in ALT)