#he still knows some of his doctors/healers because he was there so frequently

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

headcanon that scorpius was a sick child and was in and out of hospital constantly, perhaps related to astoria's blood curse but not directly. his immune system isnt very strong, and everytime he gets sick they're terrified that it's the blood curse but also whatever else it could be, because it's always so sudden and so intense and they call healers over to the house who recommend this delirious feverish 4 year old is hospitalised immediately, and you'd think it'd get easier to some extent because they'd be used to it, but everytime they feel like this is it, this is the time he'll walk in to the hospital and not walk out again

[komoreangel]

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

pairing: scaramouche x fem!reader

scenario: you met when you were both very young, and since the day he left you behind he still feels an undying fear for what sight would await him if he dared to return home.

or…

thantophobia - the fear of losing a loved one. but he had made it perfectly clear that you did not fall under that category when he left you and all of your promises behind.

request: okok my first idea was: scaramouche childhood friends to enemies to lovers. take with that what you will <3

a/n: hi anon ty so very much for the request we all know i love scara <33 but i did tweak it a bit basically its childhood friends to enemies to scara loves reader but reader isnt convinced (with a hint of 'ive always loved you' thrown in)

side note: this is a rewrite of an excerpt i wrote for a scara x oc, in which the oc was female (the same is said here but i will avoid using pronouns) and adopted into the kamisato clan as a princess (minor inazuma spoilers). the same situation is stated here. also i am 1000% willing to write more of this (includes my personal headcanons for scaramouche’s backstory, not canon!!)

growing up, you had always had poor health

your mother worried for you a lot when you were younger

she didn’t like to let you go outside much either

you spent most of your time in the palace walls while she worked, frequently being taken to see the royal physician

you would sit outside the door while your parents talked with the doctors about your “condition”

you weren’t even that sick

just weak for your age

that was when you first met him

he was training to be a soldier along his father

you were like a ghost in his eyes

sitting in the hall in the middle of the night

knees pushed to your chest, snoozing in the soft light of the moon

he was naturally a curious boy, so he kneeled in front of you and poked your shoulder

“hello?”

you startled awake

“wah-!” he fell back at your sudden movement

“who are you?” you asked

your voice was soft, and gentle, like a midnight breeze

“i’m [redacted].”

you remember what he told you, but some part of that memory had been erased from your mind…you wonder to this day what he could have said.

“my name is y/n.”

he thought it was a pretty name, although he wasn’t going to say anything

the two of you sat in the moonlight, talking quietly amongst yourselves

“why are you sitting outside the physician’s office?” he asked you

“my mama says i’m sick, and that going outside will make it worse.”

“oh. are you going to get better soon?”

you smile at him, a gesture that makes his chest tighten, although he can’t fathom why.

“yeah! she says that if we can afford to get some medicine from liyue, i’ll be all better! then i can start making friends!”

he slightly smiles

“can i be your friend, [redacted]?”

you had even said the name yourself once. why couldn’t you remember it?

his expression shifts to a slightly surprised look

“you…want to be my friend?”

he was quiet even then, and his silent expression would grow to an angry one over time

“yeah! you’re interesting, and you’re one of the few people who bothers to talk to me.”

he doesn’t speak for a while.

“you can say no if you want to.” you say to him.

“okay. i’ll be your friend.”

it’s a short response, but the bright grin that lights up your face makes it worth the wait

“yay! i can’t wait till i’m better so we can hang out more!”

you two talked in that hallway a lot

meeting after dark, talking about anything in the world

when you were about six, the worst of your illness hit you

the doctors didn’t even know what was wrong, and there were nights when he would sit outside the physician’s office alone at night, hoping, praying that the sun would shine on a world that still had you in it

you would collapse from exhaustion at the slightest overexertion

his father always told him he had to be careful with you, not only were you shorter than him, but you were also very fragile

those hours spent sitting in the hallway alone, he got to do a lot of thinking

he wanted to help you, but he didn’t know how

then, there was a sudden burst of hope

you were going to liyue with your parents

you would get the help you needed

he was happy for you, even if it meant you would have to spend time away from him

and then there was the terrible news

the ship had gone missing

you had too

he couldn’t sleep for days on end

his father was worried too

when he saw you again, you found yourself shuddering on the shores of inazuma

he wrapped his arms around you as tight as he could, as if his strength alone could undo everything that had happened

it was one of the few times he showed affection in public

he rushed you to the healer again

and this time there was no hoping

there was no praying

there was just the pit in his stomach, the fear that coursed through his veins and fueled his blood

every second felt like a decade, it was a moment in which you weren’t perfectly healthy and safe

the townspeople began to spread rumors, as people do

the guard’s son who was lovesick with worry for the sickly orphan girl

what a pity, no?

he wanted to shut them up. he wished he had the power to shut them up.

when even his father had to drag him away from the pharmacy, he didn’t talk to anyone for a very long time.

this was around the time he grew sour and snappy

his simply quiet demeanor developed into a scowl that constantly graced his face

he only smiled the day you were released from the physicians.

you weren’t fully healed. but you felt better than you ever had in your life.

his father took you in without a second thought, and he was just happy to have you with him.

“i’m better, scara.” you said to him, a happy smile on your face

“i was wondering when you’d hurry up and get well.”

you were a bit troubled by his attitude, but no less, you were happy to see your friend again.

it went like that for a long time.

he was rude, but you didn’t care because you knew what he was like underneath.

some nights he would sneak into your room and talk to you.

he told you he was just bored and felt like annoying you.

but his real reason was to make sure you were still breathing.

he always worried about you

so the day you received your vision, he felt a lot of relief

surely this meant that you could protect yourself. you were safe.

then the worst of all things happened.

his fathers death.

the day he felt like his world was ripped from underneath his feet.

almost immediately, the electro archon, baal, herself, intervened, and declared that you were to be adopted into the kamisato clan.

why you? why couldn’t he keep you with him? he was old enough to be able to take care of both of you

baal didn’t like his questioning. she said she knew what was best for you.

it was strange. because in the days he spent with you after, although not many, you didn’t seem sick at all.

for the first time, you seemed perfectly healthy.

he was glad for that…but he wasn’t happy. you could see that easily.

you knew this wasn’t the right thing for him

he stuck around for a year. you suppose you’re lucky he even stayed that long. you were pretty much his only reason.

sure he found friends in ayaka and kazuha…but he was unhappy.

he knew there was no point in staying, so he thought it was time he took his leave.

he approached you one day, as the sun began to set

you were worried for him, as he had been very angry towards baal and the emperor lately.

“scara, is there something you want to talk about?”

you watch as he stands before you

he blurts out, “run away with me.”

you’re taken aback almost immediately.

“what?”

he repeats his statement

“i’m going to flee from inazuma. come with me.”

“scara..”

his expression, as it does often these days, turns stern and serious.

“i’m not going to ask you again. come with me, y/n.”

you’re tired of him ordering you around.

“you know i can’t. i have duties here. i can’t just betray my country for you.”

“you know baal wants me gone. she’s going to kill me if i stay. she might do the same to you.”

you scoff at his words. “she won’t harm me or you. you’re being dramatic.”

he spits out his next words, laced with venom. “baal killed my father. i hate her and so should you.”

“scara.”

“it’s like you’ve completely forgotten about him just because you’re royalty now.”

“scara.”

“don’t call me scara. come with me if you ever cared at all.”

“scaramouche!”

he goes quiet

“don’t go. please.”

he frowns

“you know i can’t do that.”

you want to try and make him stay

but he won’t. you know nothing you say will convince him. he won’t let himself be convinced by you, even if that’s what he truly wants.

you inhale

“get out of here.”

“what?”

“go. leave. and take this with you.”

you throw the necklace you were wearing at him, and he catches it. baal had exiled him, it was true, but he couldn’t expect you to throw everything away for him.

“wait, what are you-“

as the two of you stare each other down, you hear ayaka’s voice coming from the courtyard, calling for you.

she has a guard with her, as the emperor assigns every royal family member. you managed to ditch yours early on.

“the guard is gonna get you if you stay, scara. get out of here, now.”

he scoffs

“whatever. i can’t believe i thought you were worth risking my life.”

he pockets the necklace and steps over the wall, and he’s gone.

nine years of friendship and he threw you away like you were nothing

in truth, the minute he was out of sight, he threw down his bag in anger

he turned around and you weren’t there anymore

you gave up on him

so if he hated you, you deserved it

it might be worth a hefty price anyway.

at least that’s what he told himself

(he never stopped missing you. almost as soon as he joined the fatui, he requested an audience with the tsaritsa to ask her how you were doing.)

“a simple agent, asking that much of me? and for a girl? that’s very bold of you.”

upon hearing it was about you, the cryo archon grew very interested. of course she remembered you.

the sickly orphan she gifted a vision to at a very young age.

she told him you were well

what she didn’t tell him was about baal going berserk and massacring thousands of her people.

upon receiving the news, he felt that chill upon him once again

the fear that fell onto his shoulders, weighing him down, too scared to ask for more information. he didn’t want to be told you were gone.

“the royal family was not harmed.”

he felt his muscles relax as he calmed down.

he quickly reassumed an upright stance.

he was the sixth harbinger. he has no weaknesses. he cares for nothing and no one.

but beneath his mask, the fire of his love for you burned brighter than the flame of any pyro vision.

a/n: ok so i really enjoyed this….scara banner when. i did tweak it a bit but i have other things written for this scenario in which scara returns to inazuma and reader is (deservingly) PISSED with him :) lmk if you want me to post those !

[kass-storycorner]

An unpleasant surprise

I should definitely do my coursework instead of writing this fic, however the idea just came into my head and I couldn’t focus until I wrote this down. Writing this took waaaay longer than I anticpiated and it was way more spontanious... so it’s not proof read or anything, still hope you’ll enjoy it.

The idea/prompt: character is secretly in love with you, but won’t tell you because you are already in a relationship with someone else. Character however finds out that your partner is cheating on you – this is how they would react/act upon finding it out

Word count: 3637 Words (I’m sorry)

Character: Kaeya x gn!reader (in this it’s still very platonic and one sided love) Genre: Angst (?), Hurt, Comfort, even a bit of humour but maybe not, idk haha

Content warnings: cheating, threats, mention of blood and a major injury, mentioning of Dilucs and Kaeyas past, but nothing to explicit (tried to avoid the major spoilers)

Format: The first part / backstory is written in bullet points, but at the end you’ll find a fic written in the normal text format 

He just wanted to drown his sorrows in peace at the Angel’s Share, but no. He had to be witness to that disgusting display of infidelity of your (hopefully soon to be ex-) boyfriend

Kaeya has known you for several years now, both of you started around the same time in the Knights of Favonius. The early years of your training were some of the most fun times Kaeya had- thinking about it always made him smile. Both of you were known from the beginning as rule benders, mostly breakers, within the Knights and if it weren’t for the influence of Kaeyas adoptive family none of you both would’ve gotten that many chances to stay until each of you proved their own worth without familiar ties.

However, in the last few years you both grew a bit more distant. Kaeya blamed himself entirely for it, after Crepus death he knew he should not have any emotional ties to anyone in Mondstadt, at first he ruined the relationship with his brother by telling him the truth. He then just tried to avoid you more and more, which wasn’t easy, because after Diluc quit his position as a Cavalry Captain Kaeya rose up to his position – only to have you as his subordinate.  

It was not until you were on a mission with Kaeya that went horribly wrong, that Kaeya realised his feelings for you never were platonic, he was in love with you since the early days of training.You are his first love.

That mission was more of a secretive one, a few months after Diluc had left Mond and Crepus died, and one of the first bigger outings Kaeya had to lead as a Cavalry Captain. And the first mission without his brother by his side. The dragon Ursa resurfaced and continued to cause harm to the people of Mond, so Grand Master Varka gave Kaeya the responsibility to find that Dragons lair.

Instead of finding the hiding spot of Ursa, Kaeyas troop stumbled into a hiding spot of the, at that point not known as, Abyss order. That was the last time Kaeya went into a mission without information he himself collected and checked, because looking back it was so obviously a trap. How did he not notice it back then?

The fight was brutal and exhausting – somehow it was a miracle that the only Knight dangerously wounded was you. At least that is what the other Knights who were on that mission too would say, thankful that the worst they had to suffer from back then were a few scars at most. Hearing anyone talk about it enraged Kaeya, though he would never show it. It was because you were the most skilled fighter in that troop, even without a Vision Kaeya was sure that at your peak back then you could’ve bested him even now. But because of one of his mistakes, he did not care to watch his own back, maybe because he knew you would protect him, it was you who was injured and not him.

In that moment, seeing you unconscious on the floor laying in your own blood because you protected him, Kaeya understood his feelings for you.

After bringing you back safely to Mondstadt, and you thankfully not dying because of the injuries, Kaeya became even more distant. At first he wished to be able to tell you his true feelings after you’ve woken up, but he just couldn’t. When the healers and doctors gave the news that the injury was so severe that you would never be able to fight again, or even walk down the streets of Mond without being in pain – Kaeya thought the guilt of keeping that secret from Diluc and Crepus for years was unbearable, but the guilt he felt from being responsible for this? It pained him even more.

You stayed in the Knights, taking over administrative tasks and helping every other department of the Knights in the best ways you possibly could.

What surprised Kaeya is that you were never bitter about it. You never said it was Kaeyas fault, even went out of your way to constantly reassure him after you got the news that he shouldn’t blame himself for it (until this day he refuses to listen to you). Your smile and laughter didn’t stop after it, which he never could understand.

How were you able to be so happy and kind when your dream of leading your own troop just – vanished. To travel around Teyvat, see the world. When you weren’t able to do the things, you loved on your own, like going to Windrise to pick some of your favourite flowers.

Somehow, Kaeya thought, it was because of that guy. He never liked your boyfriend to begin with, but Kaeya thought maybe it was his jealousy that clouded his judgement.

He came into your life shortly after the incident and Kaeya remembered the first time he saw you two together – holding hands, you looked so smitten and the way you laughed when he leaned down to whisper something into your ear. After seeing that Kaeya knew he could never have something like this in his life. Not if its not with you.

Kaeya didn’t spend much time with you outside of the Knights anymore, though he would always have a conversation with you when you came up to him or he had to visit your office. Whenever he saw you outside of the Knights, you were always with your boyfriend, sometimes stopping and having a quick chat with Kaeya. Sometimes he wished you would stop being so nice to him.

Now seeing that disgusting piece of shit of a boyfriend sit in the corner of the Angel’s Share, with his hands all over some young thing made Kaeyas blood boil.

How dared he, the man who should be so lucky to have you, have his eyes and hands on another woman.

Also it’s a good thing that Diluc is not at Angel’s Share today, he was also a close friend of you back in the day and even though the friendship with Diluc didn’t survive his three years absence, Diluc would definitely throw that bastard out

Kaeya was astounded by the audacity your boyfriend had. He never had a high opinion of him but seeing that man openly flirt and make out with a woman that was not you, so obvious for everyone to see… in a bar that was frequently visited by your colleagues and friends. If it weren’t for the fact that he was cheating on you Kaeya could maybe muster up some respect for a man who had so clearly a death wish. Eyeing him from the corner of his eye, Kaeya kept observing that situation. How the hands that always held yours in public were touching all over the body of that unknown woman. How the mouth that told you sweet nothings over and over, told you that he loved you, was occupied with kissing the neck of another woman. That whole display just filled Kaeya with disgust. The loud giggles of that woman in his lap filled the Tavern and that was the moment Kaeya decided he had enough. Calmy, he finished his drink, stood up from the bar and made his way over to the table. “You surely don’t mind if I join you two”, Kaeya said in a nonchalant manner, sitting down opposite to the couple. “Oh, Sir Kaeya!”, the young woman giggled, clearly intoxicated, and embarrassed by the way Kaeya eyed the two. Quickly they both shifted, so the woman sat now besides your boyfriend. The way the cheater looked at Kaeya, it was quite amusing. A mix of fear, shock and uneasiness filled the eyes of him. It filled Kaeya with a weird sense of pride, knowing that being caught by him was something that scared him. “Seemed like you two had quite some fun back here”, Kaeya smugly started his interrogation. It was not unusual for Kaeya to use the Angel’s Share as his interrogation room – the casual setting and the alcohol made it so much easier sometimes for people to spill all their secrets. Especially when Kaeya could just be so charming. What Kaeya interested the most was if this was the first offense of the cheater or if that behaviour was a more… regular occurrence. It was at least for him the first time he caught that man red handed. Getting some information out of the girl was quite easy, she was so eager to tell the Cavalry Captain all about the two. Though from what Kaeya gathered the whole thing between her and your boyfriend was quite fresh. “You two really seem like a fitting pair”, Kaeya replied after a long ramble of that woman on how she was just so in love with your boyfriend. His voice sweet and smooth as silk, not showing how the anger inside him grew. It was just not fair, not fair to you. “Hey,” Kaeya began and eyed the empty glasses on the table, looking then back at the woman. “How about another round of drinks, it’s on me. Would you be so kind and go to Charles and order a few?”, again his voice was charming as ever.  “No, no, Sir Kaeya, that’s too kind, but another drink won’t be necessary. It is quite late; don’t you think flower? We should get going”, the cheater chimed in and Kaeya nearly lost his cool when he heard him call the woman ‘flower’. Whenever Kaeya met you and him on his patrols around Mondstadt he always heard him call you ‘flower’. Fucking bastard, is all Kaeya could think before the voice of the woman protested the cheaters concerns. “Nooo, just one more round. How can you turn down Sir Kaeya, love? Just one more, please”, she looked at him with pleading eyes and he just sighted. “Fine”, he said and with that the woman was on her way to the bar. Kaeya now hoped that Charles would keep her occupied long enough so he could find out everything he wants to know from that cheater. His eye shifted from the woman who made her way to the bar to your boyfriend who sat directly across Kaeya. Now completely alone and vulnerable, for his shield left his side. The tension in the air seemed to be unbearable, Kaeya could see how uncomfortable the silence and his curious glance made the cheater. But Kaeya knew – sometimes saying nothing says it all. Helplessly your boyfriend looked over to the bar only to see that the woman he was with was now totally engrossed in a conversation with Charles. After a few minutes, that might have felt like hours to that cheater, he broke the silence. “So,” he tried to start a conversation, clearly not knowing that he fell right into Kaeyas trap. “What gives us the honour to be invited by the Cavalry Captain?”. “Oh, I think you might be smart enough to come up with an answer yourself,” Kaeya replied, keeping up a smile. Though the look in Kaeyas eye was just as cold as the top of Dragonspine, causing the other man to shiver. “As much as it honours me that you think of me this highly, I sadly have no idea what would make the renowned Sir Kaeya sit down at my table tonight.” “Oh, so this is how you want have this conversation”, now his voice was just as cold as his look. “I don’t understand what you mean.” ‘Bullshit’, Kaeya thought. “I’ve been just curious about that woman that just sat so prominently on your lap earlier this evening, she seems to be not the same I saw you hold hands with earlier this day.” “As nice at it is that the Cavalry Captain seems concerned for me, it isn’t one of the Knights duties to pry into the lives of citizens, now, is it?” Oh, how confident the cheater now sounded, thinking he was winning that conversation. Kaeya couldn’t deny that the entire situation made him furious and that he handled it a bit differently than he usually would if he were to talk with drunk treasure hoarders. “Oh, we’re awfully bold now, are we? Believe me the Knights don’t care about your infidelity, though I guess a certain one might find it awfully interesting to know how you spend your nights.” There was a short moment of silences between the two men, the tension just rising. “Well, they wouldn’t believe you. But if you want to go and be a telltale go, I won’t stop you”, the man gave as an answer. His words did not fit his body language – bold words, but his body was tense and Kaeya could see the fear behind the eyes of the man. But it was not fear of losing you, no he seemed to be quite confident that this would not happen. Kaeya said nothing, he just looked at that man, piercing him with his ice cold look. “You see”, he continued, “I wouldn’t be sitting here in Angle’s Share with that lovely company if I thought they might believe the words of any low-rank Knight coming in their office, believing their lies. Quite sad what pranks some people want to play on them, don’t you think?” Slowly, but surely, Kaeya understood that this tonight was definitely not the first offense of that man. And he now understood why most of the Knights here tonight just looked away from the scene, not batting an eye at what was going on. Kaeya could kick himself in the ass, how did he not notice the behaviour of that rodent before him earlier? If he was so open about cheating on you that even most of the other Knights knew, how come that he did not? “And I think its just so sad, that one of the people they hold in such high regards would join in on those baseless accusations, don’t you think Sir Kaeya? I mean it would be so disappointing for them to find out that you tell them such a lie, only because you just don’t like me.” If Kaeya wasn’t a Knight, if he weren’t Kaeya right now, if he hadn’t to uphold a certain image… the floor of the Tavern would be painted with the blood of this absolute bastard. Oh, how Kaeya wished he could lose his cool. “If you say it like that, then I guess I won’t tell them a word,” Kaeya replied. “I’m glad you understand”, the cheater smiled, the fear in his eyes now subsided and he seemed to relax a bit. At that Kaeya just leaned forward, his look cold and his voice even colder. “You are telling them.” The man just scoffed, looking confused at Kaeya. “Why should I?” Kaeya now coming closer, his voice more threatening than before. “Do you really want to find out, if you don’t?”. Kaeya leaned back, smiling and at that moment the woman came back with the drinks. The face of the man was just pale as snow, the fear back in his eyes. “Oh, thank you dear”, Kaeya said when she places his drink before him, and he took a sip. If your boyfriend is smarter than he seemed to be after fooling around with that woman in public, it would do him good to do as Kaeya said.

                                                             -

Dealing with the pain in your leg was something you were used to now for a few years, but the pain in your heart today… you somehow would prefer a broken leg over your shattered heart. Your eyes were fixated on the documents before you, though trough the tears in your eyes you could barley make out what they said. What they were even for. How could you ignore it for so long, that he cheated. That he fooled around with any woman in Mondstadt willing to be with him. This sleezy asshole. The tears fell down on the paper, you couldn’t care right now what important piece of documents you ruined with your tears. How, how, how??? Why were you so stupid to believe him when he always said that all the people that came to you with their concerns must have been mistaken. Why did you believe him over and over again. You couldn’t stop thinking about how the first person coming to you was Outrider Amber, so nervous to even say anything. How you just laughed her worries away, saying she definitely was mistaken. How after Amber again and again told you how sure she was. Had you just listened to her. Then maybe you wouldn’t feel so humiliated. If you just hadn’t listened to that damn liar. In that moment you heard a knock on the door. Quickly you wiped your tears away with your sleeves, clearing your throat. “Come in,” you said, though you were shocked at how hoarse you sounded. Stepping into your office was Kaeya, but when he saw your red eyes and tear stained face, he quickly closed the door behind him. “Are you alright?”, he asked in such a soft and kind voice. Since you woke up in the infirmary all those years ago you hadn’t heard him talk in that voice. You couldn’t help it, it made you immediately tear up again. Throwing your head into your hands you just couldn’t stop the uncontrollably sobs that took over you. You didn’t even notice that Kaeya was kneeling beside your chair until he felt his hand on your back. “Hey,” you heard him say, again in this soft voice. “It’s alright, let it out.” And you did. For a while you just sat there, crying and sobbing until you ran empty. The whole time Kaeya was on your side, saying nothing. He was just there and somehow, even after you two grew apart in the past years, after all that happened – Crepus death, Dilucs disappearance and return, your injury. Even after all it did not feel awkward to just cry and look for comfort at his side. After all, you still were friends. Slowly you calmed down, looking up to him. “I was so stupid, Kaeya. So many people came to me, told me what they saw, who he was and I- I just ignored it. I ignored it all, my feelings and-“, you felt the lump in your throat, making you stop speaking. It was just too much. “You’re not stupid,” he said, taking you in his arms. It felt so good to just melt into the hug. Just trying to forget the pain for a few seconds, slipping back into the familiarity of Kaeya you haven’t felt in such a long time.

Kaeya on the other hand couldn’t stop asking himself if what he’s doing here was alright. Was it okay to comfort you, he asked. If he hadn’t basically threatened your, obviously now, ex-boyfriend last night to tell you the truth, he might have been met with your bright smile today and not that painful expression. But it was the right thing to do, you deserved to know. You deserved for that guy to tell you, although he should have told you the truth out of his own free will. Not because Kaeya got involved. “Thank you”, he heard you mumble into his chest. “For what?” he asked, both of you now parting from the hug. “For just… for being here. And for being a friend”, you answered, again wiping tears away. Kaeya couldn’t help himself and chuckled at that statement. A friend, yeah. That is what he was and what he must be fine with. However, he didn’t really expect you to view him as one, after all that happened and how much he tried to avoid you in the past. “Well, I have been an awful friend the last years, haven’t I?”. Your eyes shot up, looking directly into his eye. “No, what makes you think that?”. You genuinely looked surprised at his statement. “Well,” he gestured towards your leg. Before he could even say anything, he felt your hands cup his face and looking at him sternly. “Kaeya Alberich, how often do I have to tell you this. What happened to my leg is not your fault, please stop taking blame for it. It was my choice to join you on that mission.” For a short while you both just looked into each other’s eyes until Kaeya couldn’t stand it anymore, a sigh leaving him, and he looked away. “How come that I want to comfort you and you just end up telling me something I just can’t seem to learn.” He stood up and then he saw it. You smiled at him. A sad smile, but a smile, nonetheless. “One day you’ll hopefully learn it”, you said. “Now, to make up for this”, pointing at your leg, trying to joke, “and for threatening a Mondstadt citizen, I think you should get me something from Good Hunter.” Kaeya was surprised. How did you know? He couldn’t even ask you, you already gave him the answer to the question that was so clearly written all over his face. “He literally begged me, after telling me the truth and breaking up with me, that I made sure you wouldn’t hurt him.” Now Kaeya gave out a small laugh, partially because he felt a bit embarrassed by you knowing, but also the thought of that arrogant asshole being so afraid of him amused Kaeya. “And, what did you tell him”, he asked, now back with his more playful tone. “Mmmmmh, I told him I’ll think about it.”

[absolutelyfizzing]

Take a break

Remus x reader

description - Remus interrupts your studying to take care of you. Established remus x reader relationship

word count - 1200

warnings - fluff? reader gets picked up? sleepy fluff? implied fem reader

MASTERLIST

Your head pounded and your eyes were drooping, you had pulled another all-nighter last night while studying for exams. You were in your last term at Hogwarts and you wanted desperately to get into healer school so you could become a doctor. It would require exceptional scores in potions and charms which were not your strongest of classes. Still, you pushed on in the hopes of having it pay off in the next few weeks while exams were being completed.

Suddenly there was a hand on your shoulder and your eyes widened slightly. You would have pushed the hand off of you but your arms felt like they were made of lead. Now that you came to think of it, your eyelids were too. Still, you managed to look up at the person whose hand was warming your shoulder and you immediately relaxed, a small smile on your face. Your darling boyfriend Remus had some to visit. Or, more likely, he had come to try to coax you to bed.

"Honey, you've got to take a break" He whispered and you felt your cheeks warm at the pet name.

"But Rem, I have to get this in my brain before potions exams in 3 weeks, theres no way I am gonna get high enough scores if I don't study now" You whined out. Remus sighed behind you and you felt the want to please him creep in. He was guilting you into taking care of yourself. He sighed again but this time more dramatically, letting you in on the fact that he was teasing you on purpose. You smiled and then glared at him, rolling your eyes.

"Okay fine, I will go get food with you and then take a nap but I need to get back here in a few hours to finish up this chapter." Before your words were fully out of your mouth, you were being pulled up, Remus' hands under your armpits as he helped you step away from the work laid out in front of you. You sent a longing look toward the schoolwork you were being dragged away from.

"It'll be there when you wake up, for now you need food for that big mental workout you just did." Remus smiled and you felt yourself letting go of the school stuff. He had a scary way of just being able to make you content in any situation. You found yourself zoning out along the walk to the kitchens, just enjoying the huge amount of warmth coming from your boyfriend. You had never met anyone who was as much of a heater as him and in the cold halls you weren't complaining. Before you knew it you were being pulled into the kitchens, the house elves greeting you both. Remus frequented the kitchens, often seeking chocolate and warm food after full moons and he was very kind to the ouse elves so they had no issue in fixing him stuff to eat. Because of your time spent with remus, they quite liked you too. They had even gotten over the need to be overly hospitable around the two of you, instead waiting for you to ask before making anything and sometimes even letting you make stuff for yourself if you wanted to. This time when you walked into the kitchens you were picked up and set onto the large center table. Your eyes were drooping and your brain went fuzzy. You could hear people talking but you nearly fell asleep sitting there, not having enough energy to really listen to what they were saying.

You felt a hand on your face and your eyes opened wider, focussing on the brown eyed man ahead of you. You took a moment to gaze at his face, following the lines of his scars with your eyes.

"You're staring." He mumbled, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. You smiled a bit.

"Cant help it, I like you too much." You heard the house elves 'aw' at your remark and now it was your turn to blush. You felt something get placed in your hands and you looked to your lap to find a warm bowl of soup. The next few minutes were spent with you scarfing down the food that you hadn't realized you wanted so desperately. Remus left you to eat in peace, choosing to instead catch up with the house elves who rewarded him with a bar of chocolate that they knew he liked. When you were done with your meal Remus seemed to sense it. He came over, took the empty bowl from you, and then asked you something. You heard muffled talking and tried to focus more.

"Hm?" You hummed tiredly.

"Want me to carry you to the dorms?" He asked again, a smile on his lips.

"No, I got it, m' barely tired." You slurred out and hopped off of the table. You both started to walk along the corridor, hands entwined when you felt yourself start to doze off. You nearly fell a few times before Remus decided that was enough. He turned you to face him and picked you up by your thighs. You were always surprised by his strength but he was the tallest and the strongest of all the marauders. He just seemed so non-threatening that you sometimes forgot. Your arms wrapped around his neck and your feet hooked behind his back. You snuggled your face into the crook of his neck, eyes closing and a hum of approval coming from you. Remus smirked at the action and he continued walking to his dormitory.

He knew you would scold him tomorrow for not taking you back to your's but he couldn't bring himself to care when he knew that he would get to cuddle you all night. Sirius had figured out how to get around the charm on the stairs to prevent girls from getting to the boys dormitory so he had no problem carrying you up the stairs. When he opened the door to his room a silence fell. All the boys loved you and they had been worried about how little you were sleeping lately. Remus gave them a look and they nodded, heading out to the common room to chat until they went to bed. Once they had all left Remus carried you to the bathroom, setting you down on the sink counter. Your arms and legs released him but your head remained on his chest. He sat you up and stuck a toothbrush into your mouth. Your eyes lazily opened for a second and then closed again as he brushed for you. He then turned you around and told you to spit which you complied with. He brought you back to his bed and began taking your shoes off and then your jeans. He took off your bra as well, knowing you would be uncomfortable sleeping in it. He slipped you into a pair of his sweatpants and a large sweatshirt he had, proceeding to tuck you under his covers. He slid in with you and you automatically curled into his side. Remus wasn't tired yet so he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep but he couldn't care less as he just enjoyed you laying next to him.

[babymagi]

Just some scenarios: How would Magi males react/take care of his sick S/O? And how about the opposite, where the guys get sick and the S/O takes care of them? (if you can, can you also do a separate reblog scenario with the females?)

I'll do both right here :>

The Men

Alibaba - Taking care of S/O: first reaction no matter what is to take them to a doctor, when he finds out it's not something fatal he'd still probably be really concerned and dropping everything to take care of them Being taken care of: absolutely loves being doted on and still wants kisses even if the disease is contagious

Hakuryuu - Taking care of S/O: makes warm food for them and makes sure to get the best doctors in order to take care of them Being taken care of: absolute baby, needs attention 24/7 but also sleeps the majority of that time

Judar - Taking care of S/O: worst caretaker ever. "Hey guess what did you know orgasms can clear a blocked nose" and other terrible health hacks. Being taken care of: also a baby but doesn't want people near him because he doesn't want to be perceived as 'weak' so no one other than his S/O gets the pRiViLeDgE of taking care of him

Sinbad - Taking care of S/O: He's not so great either but he tries (Ja'far helps) Being taken care of: this man is probably so loopy when he has a fever and it's just.... one-track mind and that's blowing his partner's back out even though that will only succeed in getting them sick too

Muu - Taking care of S/O: Older brother syndrome, obviously he's very worried but is also very used to this kind of thing Being taken care of: Isn't actually feeling bad he just wants to spend time with his S/O and using him being sick as an excuse

Spinthus - Taking care of S/O: I had to include the healer, mans knows what he's doing but adds in a shit ton of affection as well Being taken care of: "I CAN DO THIS MYSELF" "LET ME TAKE CARE OF YOU" "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

The Women

Morgiana - Taking care of S/O: Doesn't really know what she's doing but she's trying her best and we love that for her Being taken care of: Doesn't want to inconvenience her partner but eventually allows herself to be cared for

Kougyoku - Taking care of S/O: "Ka Koubun HELP" Being taken care of: Thinks it's the nicest thing that her partner took the time out of their day to take care of her even though she's suffering and is complaining a lot

Yamraiha - Taking care of S/O: tries to magic them to make them feel better but it doesn't work bc healing magic is hard so she just does what she can to make them feeling even slightly better Being taken care of: also a loopy sick and clingy as all hell, can't leave her alone because she'll be extremely sad (yet deny it later)

Pisti - Taking care of S/O: thinks that animal medicine works for humans too (it does not) Being taken care of: other than her whining a lot she's very easy to take care of, will most likely sleep it off

Myron - Taking care of S/O: Not very good at taking care of people so Muu has to help her a bit. Thinks her S/O is dying for like... the entire time they're sick Being taken care of: "I'm not sick, I'm tooooooooootally fine!" *proceeds to collapse after she tries to stand up and has to be dragged back into bed*

Scheherazade - Taking care of S/O: Is able to get the best doctors in all of Riem to take care of them, frequently checks up on the and uses magic to make sure they have enough energy Being taken care of: she needs to be coaxed back into bed because she can't be up and doing things if she's sick, finally lets herself be taken care of by her partner after much convincing

[blushing-starker]

Insanity brings me truth and you

can you guess what Peter's doing to not be understood by the guards?

It's not easy, being crazy. There are expectations to run away from, a bar to limbo under, a specific number of people one has to betray and scar. The unknowable becomes knowable, so you have to skirt the edge of that Venn diagram very carefully. Or very recklessly. Either way, it's a complex thing except for when it's not. Jesus, how infuriating to think about. The point is, the paradox that crazies carry on their shoulders? It's a fucking hassle, a tricky one and Peter is tired of it.

He sighs, lets gravity bend him backward, legs slipping dangerously off the blanket he's hung as a hammock inside his cell. Act like a psycho and you're predictable, don't act like an ax wielding murderer and whoops! Predictable. It's the downside of being insane; you leave the weary capitalist consumer mask out in the world, probably set that shit on fire and make yourself sick with the fumes. But you just replace it with the one labelled 'danger to society' and get forced to play along with that. He did what he did to avoid the world and its predetermined fate, its standards.

Peter closes his eyes, thinks of the nauseating smell on his left. Rupert, the guard that dared graze him while he came back from the shower naked, has a broken nose thanks to Ned and his loyalty to him. The idiot barely cleans the open wound and the whole cell reeks of pus because of it. He does the math of how long it's been going on for and shudders in disgust. His bare calves slip a little more.

An inhale near the front of his cage. Slow, but controlled. Not the usual. Thank God for a circus family and heightened senses.

The doctor is paying attention to him.

"Doctor Stark. Gnittor gnihtemos llems ouy nac?" Rupert grumbles from his perch on the second floor, curses a hare brained psycho that's incomprehensible. Peter hums, pleased to know that after ten months, nine days, twelve hours, and...

Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus on sinking deeper into nothing, into a yawning void. The blanket shakes and his thighs are starting to tremble. Blood is rushing to his head, veins most likely beginning to protrude. Irrelevant.

His favorite guard Stan wears a Swiss watch his wife got for him on their fortieth anniversary. It sings to him now, smooth and cool like a river. A skipping stone is thrown, tic, a fish heads towards the sound, toc. Above all the other stimuli in the room, the watch announces itself. Ten fifteen.

Ten months, nine days, twelve hours and twenty minutes into a game, his tiny gnat still hasn't caught on. Not like the charming doctor. He sees him then, behind closed eyelids, as clearly as a sweet nightmare. Tall, taller than Peter, but less strong. Wide shoulders that morph into a slim waist and a delectable ass he aches to sink his teeth into. Shapely calves from running, curiously delicate looking ankles.

Down and back again. A full head of dark hair with a dusting of silver. Dangerously clever mouth, what his aunt would call a noble nose. Agreeable cheekbones. Piercing eyes that tear his walls down, rip apart the bricks and mortar until he's scrambling on the other side, desperately, clumsily attempting to reinforce them for the millionth time. Those eyes saw the trick, the mirror reflection on his second day here, Peter offhandedly talking in reverse with Ned when they passed the new doctor. A dark gaze had pinned him in place, a spider fixed in place with its own silk against the cold dissection table.

Ned had rambled on, Peter had met a worthy playmate and the doctor had seen all he needed in that eternally prolonged glance. That very afternoon, a psychiatrist signed on as his very own voyeur.

Doctor Stark seems to be as interested in cutting him open to peek inside as Peter is in taking a dagger and comparing their hearts. He does this a lot; wonders how fate and the absence of lucky fate led them here. On opposite sides of a prison when perhaps it should be the other way around. Or perhaps there should only be Peter and Doctor Stark.

He feels himself falling, plummeting ever downward into fantasies and hazy dreams. It's not until the good doctor sharply calls out his name that he realizes he's also plummeting towards the floor. Now, MJ had warned him; had specifically said that the hammock being ten feet off the concrete ground was a bad idea. Ned had said he'd be fine and Peter loves the guy, ok? He has to do everything he can so that his best friend wins a bet over his other best friend.

Peter slightly regrets that when he's forced to arch his body backward, flip right side up in order to hit the floor on his feet instead of his face. The impact chokes the air right out of him, shakes his bones, but he doesn't react. Cracks his neck and that's all. Most of the guards were kind, some shade of understanding. They weren't harmless, though. He knows what he looks like, knows how many hours these men are cooped up with the scum of the earth.

"To answer your question," Peter leaps onto the bars of his cell, slithers higher than any sane person would and somersaults off the vertical slits, sinks into his trustworthy hammock with its trustworthy knots (MJ and Ned had tied them, one each), "yes, I do. It's less potent this time."

He stills, frowns. "How? There haven't been any changes. External or internal." No need to act like the Mad Hatter when the conversation could be had normally. Quicker and more reliable with meanings. But the doctor pauses, enunciates his next words slowly.

"Ti koot uoy erom emit yadot." God, he loved hearing Doctor Stark talk that carefully and smoothly. It was as comforting as it was uncomfortable. (He and sex don't particularly get along. It's like a headache that comes and goes; with the right medicine it can dissipate and evolve into something soothing, pleasant. With the majority of medicine, it blossoms into pain and soreness, a dry throat clogged by a thick syrup that won't leave him be no matter how much water MJ and Ned encourage him to drink. Peter isn't yet completely certain which side of his scale the doctor falls on, but he's guessing it's likely the first.)

(The man seemed to live in the grey areas; fitting that with this, too, he'd reside in the in between.)

The reverse effect is in play and he grins, genuine and wide, when he catches it. "Monsters are visiting more frequently, taking up space in the light." His nightmares had intensified recently, and they're starting to accompany him even in moments Peter knows are real; shapes drifting by the corner of his eye. As a coping tactic, he rips parts of his nails off. Not entirely, just the corners. His mind could concoct lots of things, but in his dreams his hands are always pristine.

(He hasn't caught up with it, hasn't noticed that although his nightmares have a clearness to them, a bright intensity, Peter can't shift enough focus to realize his hands aren't his own. They never are. But he usually has more pressing bodies to deal with than the good doctor's.)

Another pause, this one being done by Tony Stark, doctor and healer of men, instead of Doctor Stark, curious keeper of deranged souls. "I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe this will help." Peter peers over the edge of the grey hammock, watches with interest as the doctor approaches his cell with a glass bottle of clear liquid sloshing inside. The other man stops an inch away from the bars, looks up at Peter.

There's a slow tension simmering between them, something as thick and addictive as honey. There's scientific curiosity, a desire to seek out and maybe comprehend the unknown lurking inside their mirror image, as other and as alike as oneself. But there is also a gleam of something he's afraid of acknowledging in Doctor Stark's eyes. A madness once tucked away steadily unraveling itself with each glance they share.

Peter returns the look, unblinking and thinking. " 'If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.' " A lesson Nietzsche offered to those wise enough, sane enough to live blind.

The doctor raises an eyebrow, is otherwise still. Sometimes, if Peter considers their current predicament for too long, his grasp on his masks loosens, and the Spider begins to spin its deadly thread round and round its very own body. He sees a guard exchange money with a partner; the crazy quota has, he guesses, been filled for the week. And they had such a nice streak going on, too. Oh, well. This web is unavoidable anyways.

He pitches himself forward, is the one who controls the descent instead of gravity this time. Letting the air rush up to meet him, he inhales, tastes a distinct sharpness around him. Crouching, Peter takes it all in, every last detail. Looks, really looks, at the doctor and suspects.

As if he were none the wiser, he calmly heads to the front of the cell. Meets the doctor at the divide and wonders what it'll be. Wonders if he'll rise higher than ash and flame, an acrobat testing the fates by flying just seconds ahead of death. Doctor Stark hands him the bottle and he can see now, tiny pieces of lavender. A distraction for the guards. "That should keep the monsters in the dark. Use it before you got to sleep and tuck away your hair."

Like a schoolgirl with a crush, he self consciously brings a hand to his curls. They're getting a bit long, but the warden only allows haircuts once a month or two. "I don't have anything to use." Digging into his lab coat, the other man retrieves a single black stick.

Well, to everyone else it's a hair pin. Peter knows the truth though, can see it and smell it and very nearly touch it. As it is, he gently plucks the items out of elegant hands and refuses to look at them. Looking draws attention. Doctor Stark gazes at his face, eyes flickering in a rehearsed way around his own, but not into them. That's alright, he understands.

"The lack of movement around your face should also help." The question of why is out before he can reel it in and act as a sane, normal person. Christ, he could handle crazy, not rude. He would have to practice being in control so as not to slip up when the doctor is around. Said doctor cocks his head, doesn't have to do anything more for Peter to get the message: go on, ask the devil why he made the deal.

Peter B Parker does not back down when intrigued. "Why are you helping me sleep better?"

Why help me escape?

"It's my duty." Three words. Not the explicit declaration of affection typical, normal, dull people receive from an admirer or partner. Not a grand proclamation of wanting what the heart wants, or a sonnet regarding the connection between star crossed paramours. Simple, short, concise; enough to turn to religion, to sanctity and salvation if it means hearing it again. He'd do anything, including putting on a discarded mask from his past if it gets him what he desires. Peter would suffer through sanity for this man. He would if it means hearing what sounds silent to those around them.

You're my duty. Whatever happens tonight, Doctor Stark believes it's his duty to see it through. To see him through, in a way.

"Why would you accept?" Ah, silly doc thinking any of his principles have changed since the first time they met, since the first time he brought fire to life and gave death in return. Peter smiles, brings forth the prisoner that had not seen the light of day in almost a decade.

(His uncle often said Peter's greatest gift to the world was his smile, his true smile. His aunt said it was the final move needed to capture a king and make him his pawn.)

"Why, doc, you know I hate to be bored." Call him a psycho, a freak, a sick, pitiful creature. Call him anything and everything and maybe those words would ring true. But Peter will never allow himself to be bored, not when there's so much fun to be had. Especially with a doctor as crazy as he is. "This looks...promising."

" 'He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.' " The first part of Nietzsche's warning.

"Nietzsche didn't understand; those who fought monsters were already fated to become what they struggled to defeat. They believed salvation could be found by killing the monsters outside, but all they did was feed the ones inside."

Anthony Stark, the truest version, grins at him, all glinting eyes, sharp teeth and a crooked smile. Peter Parker, armed with a match, gasoline and soon to be glass shards, grins right back. In this instant, being crazy isn't such a hassle. After all, he has someone to share the crazy with now.

[writeblrfantasy]

when the witches call interludes: ireil

wc 617

Blood.

Ireil has known blood. He has known it well, and intimately, and often. He went to Elodan’s best known, some say only reputable medical school. He has been wrist, elbow deep in blood a few notable, unpleasant times. He is a surgeon. He is a healer, a doctor of all kinds. If he is given a patient, in whatever condition, he will not let up until they have survived.

If they die, it tears straight down his soul, ripping out his ability to sleep. he doesn’t get nightmares, but he gets their effect in his dreams—the happy reality where they survived, where their families laughed and hugged him in thanks, where he got to watch them wake, so alive. Waking is the nightmare, when he has to remember all over again that he failed.

He doesn’t care about the blood. That is the last thing on his mind when he operates, other than from where it is flowing and how he can stop it as fast as possible.

Ireil knows blood.

Never before has been blood this nauseating.

Blushing pink, sticky, coating his hands and making them heavy. Ireil’s breaths come heavy, it’s hard to breathe. He’s standing over a sink, lanky form bent under the crushing pressure of a low ceiling, eyes closed and trying to breathe.

He failed. He was never given a chance to try for success. Celel was like no patient he’d ever had before. But still, he should’ve tried. There’s never an excuse. And this failure has hit him hardest of all.

Ireil opens his eyes. He wears the jacket of a surgeon, sleeves cut just below the elbow so that he doesn’t have to waste time rolling them up or fearing they’ll fall and get in his way as he works. He blesses whoever invented them as he washes his hands now in a deep white sink, the tap running and filling it with Celel’s pink, level nine blood. It’s rare to find running water pipes in the middle countries as frequently as one finds them in Ela Onir.

He almost wishes he was forced to wash his hands in the rush of a river. The rawness there, the way it forces him to listen to sounds other than his own ragged breathing are exactly what he needs. Something to drown out this void in his chest.

Ireil told the others to wait outside, he needed a minute alone in this dirty, dilapidated little washroom in the middle of nowhere, but now he’s regretting it. His breaths come back to him half formed, harsh, and the shack is silent but for the running water. The sink is pink.

He shuts off the tap and lets it drain, bracing his hands against the sides of the sink, bending and ducking his head to suck in some air. Golden sunlight floats in through the windows—there’s so much golden sunlight in the southern countries, Ireil will never tire of the three hour sunsets.

Celel will never see another golden sunset because of him. Ireil may not be the reason he was wounded, but he’s the reason he succumbed, gasping, staring up at a blue sky while his brother cursed and screamed in his own tongue. Ireil is numb. No, he’s all too aware of his pain, his buzzing mind, that hollow grief and guilt in his chest. He cannot be allowed to walk freely, happily, unimpeded while Celel died in his hands. Pink blood everywhere. Ireil must give himself the divine retribution he knows he deserves.

Ireil turns the tap back on. He dips his hands in the water again. It’s turned crystal clear, but he blinks and finds it pink.

wtwc taglist (lmk to be added/removed): @magic-is-something-we-create @47crayons @saltwaterbells @piyawrites @faithfire

[quazartranslates]

Welcome to the Nightmare Game - CH116

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

[<<< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]

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Chapter 116: The Dream of the Holy Nun (VI)

Out of habit, Qi Leren went to Chen Baiqi to buy some information about the Holy City. Unfortunately, Chen Baiqi didn't have any details on it, only an old map of the Holy City from decades ago that she made Qi Leren pay for. Chen Baiqi reserved the task information of "The Dream of the Holy Nun" from him, to be sold to her when he finished his task.

Qi Leren also asked her if she had any interest in this task. Although the number for the task was already full, if Chen Baiqi was willing to join, he could consider persuading Dr. Lu to stay safe in the clinic.

Chen Baiqi gave him an inscrutable look: "I’ve been able to  live in this world for eight years by holding a principle."

"What principle?" Qi Leren asked.

"Never die easily unless you have to," Chen Baiqi said.

“……”

"This kind of task involving the demon invasion from more than 20 years ago is either epic difficulty or a chain task that will go through eighty-one difficulties before finally becoming epic difficulty. Anyway, it won't be easy. I wouldn't be surprised to see demons all over the city as soon as you enter the Holy City. Please Qi Leren, don't let me sweep your grave again," Chen Baiqi patted Qi Leren on the shoulder and said with a smile.

"Hey, don't give me a flag," Qi Leren said depressedly.

"You'd better hold Su He’s thighs. He may have items that force him out of the task. He would never let himself die from not being able to stand the difficulty. After all, there’s still a long way to go. It's a pity that you are a little poor, otherwise I could sell you some high-quality items. Right now I can only sell you cheap little miniature bombs, I really can't make a lot of money." Although Qi Leren had earned a lot of survival days, he was still a poor wretch in Chen Baiqi's view. She couldn't extort money before he was fattened.

Qi Leren, after paying for the task’s necessities, went home depressed.

The mandatory task for the first month had arrived. In the first month, Qi Leren performed two tasks, namely, Witchcraft Sacrifice and Castle Cry; one was a main world task and the other was a copy world task. During the tasks’ execution, the players’ remaining survival days would not be consumed, but they were still counted as survival time spent by players.

Every mandatory task could be postponed for one week. If a player failed to start after the deadline, he would be forced into the task world. If a player performed a task that lasted for two months, he must complete a mandatory task within one week after the task was finished, and then complete another mandatory task within one week.

Players in the Nightmare World hated the "monthly exam", because there was almost no task reward (unless the degree of completion was extremely high), and the difficulty was also raised every month. By the third year, those players who were not qualified and neglected to improve themselves began to fall off one after another and were eliminated by the cruel monthly exam without the chance of a make up exam.

Qi Leren wasn't worried about his own strength. Ning Zhou said that his skill cards and his own strength were enough to cope with the compulsory tasks of the first three years, but he was often flustered because he frequently met tasks with unusual difficulty.

Dr. Lu, however, looked frightened, fearing that he couldn't pass the first monthly exam, and came to Qi Leren's home to start the task together. Although most of the first compulsory tasks were single-person tasks and starting together didn’t mean they would be in a task together, it made Dr. Lu feel a little safer.

But…

"You, you, you, you, hello*!" After seeing Ning Zhou standing by the window, Dr. Lu suddenly remembered that Su He had talked about a friend in Qi Leren’s home last time.

*{E/N: Dr. Lu is trying to cover up his shock by making “you” (你) into “hello” (你好)}

At the moment when Qi Leren opened the door, he wanted to throw the door in Dr. Lu's face. However, if you thought about it carefully, Ning Zhou and Dr. Lu would meet each other sooner or later. Seeing him early was the same as later since he had to introduce people to Ning Zhou.

"Dr. Lu, this is Ning Zhou, who will participate in the 'Dream of the Holy Nun' task. Ning Zhou, this is Dr. Lu, whose full name is Lu Cangshu, he’s my friend from the same Novice Village who’s a healer," Qi Leren briefly introduced the two men.

Stopped on the sofa, the big black bird cawed angrily, forcing Qi Leren to introduce it to Dr. Lu to get it to stop.

Dr. Lu looked at the person from head to toe with his mouth open, pulled Qi Leren’s ear to him, and asked, "Your goddess?"

Can you not be so quick with this? Qi Leren vomited in his mind and nodded honestly.

So Dr. Lu sat down with a strange smile, looked hard at Ning Zhou, and looked hard at Qi Leren, as if he knew everything. Qi Leren felt that he couldn't explain clearly even if he had one hundred mouths.

Poor Ning Zhou didn't know why he was being scrutinized. He was completely out of the situation and was not used to getting along with strangers. He sat for a while and then went upstairs.

When Ning Zhou left, Dr. Lu tried to suppress the excitement of getting gossip, and forced him to align himself with Qi Leren seriously, saying, "I don't discriminate against homosexuals. Really, I’ve seen many as a doctor. Several little gays came to the anorectal department every day to ask my brother for a finger examination. His technique isn’t bad. It takes 30 seconds to milk a prostate..."

"...You’ve misunderstood, we’re not that kind of relationship."

Dr. Lu had a look of "Excuse me, you are living together".

"Ning Zhou just came to help me train. The training menu I gave you last time was set by him," Qi Leren explained.

"I see..." Dr. Lu suddenly realized, then looked at him askance, and asked, "Do you think I’ll believe this nonsense? Didn't your relationship die as soon as the mission was over? Why is it that now he cordially trains and practices with you? A while ago, you suddenly disappeared. I couldn't find you all over the world. I really wondered if you’d given up and chased your goddess. Now that you’ve finally caught this goddess, you actually say that you have a pure straight man friendship, hehe."

Qi Leren was speechless.

Although it was normal for two men to live together, Qi Leren believed that Ning Zhou didn't think much about it at all, but it was unconvincing in front of Dr. Lu who knew the previous episode... After all, more than half a month ago, they’d fallen in love at first sight and went through fire and water, dying to live... and then died when it was all laid bare. As a result, it took less than half a month for them to live under the same roof. This development didn’t seem quite right…

However, Qi Leren couldn't explain the Slaughter Secret Society undercover task to Dr. Lu - although he feels that after the explanation, Dr. Lu would only be more convinced that they weren’t innocent, and even Qi Leren himself began to wonder if there is something really wrong between him and Ning Zhou.

Qi Leren asked himself, if he had met Ning Zhou as a woman at a different time and place, would he fall in love with her? The answer was: he would. As a woman, Ning Zhou perfectly met all his expectations for the other half. Whenever and wherever he met her, he would definitely fall in love with her.

But if he met Ning Zhou, who was a male, would he still fall in love with him?

Qi Leren thought that the answer was probably no.

He may worship him, yearn for him, want to be friends with him, and even go through life and death for him, but he wouldn't fall in love with him, because he wouldn't consider the possibility of exceeding the limit of friends at all, and Ning Zhou would only be more stubborn than him. Even if they went through hardships and died together, they may have a deeper friendship and even affection than love, but that would never turn into love.

Feelings were so simple and complicated, neither one was deeper than the other, but only a small error would completely change them.

"Although there was something wrong at the beginning, the misunderstanding has been solved now. I think we’ll become good friends, very good friends," Qi Leren said, speaking slowly. Maybe he was a little confused, but he still said so, inexplicably determined.

Dr. Lu looked at him carefully for a long time with disbelief: "...Oh."

"Time is almost up, let's start the mandatory task." Qi Leren cast aside his distractions and concentrated on dealing with the present difficulties.

He opened the system’s menu bar and selected the mandatory task for this month. Qi Leren and Dr. Lu disappeared from the room one after another.

The eagle, who stopped on the sofa, patted its wings and flew up the stairs to return to its master. Ning Zhou, who stood on the stairs, stretched out his arm to let it land. The eagle that understood speech affectionately rubbed the side of Ning Zhou's face and felt it’s master's mood. It was very clever at times.

The two people in the living room had disappeared. Ning Zhou wanted to go downstairs to help them prepare but instead heard Qi Leren and Dr. Lu talking about him, so he had stopped on the stairs.

Friends…

This should be the most appropriate distance.

-----

Editor’s Notes:

Qi Leren: “I’m not gay.”

Dr. Lu: “Okay but like have you tried having a finger up your ass? For science.”

-----

[<<< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]

[trulycertain]

fic writer interview

Tagged by @skogrr Thank you very much! It's a while since I've done one of these, and I've missed them.

Name: Tru/"Oi you" Fandoms (that I write for): Dragon Age, mostly. Still the fandom of my heart. Mass Effect, Deus Ex... uh, accidentally GreedFall? I don't know how or when that happened. Two-shot: Hmm... The actual last two-shot I wrote was Terms & Conditions, a very silly Dorian/Inquisitor modern AU where Gal is the guy Dorian hires to stop his late father's house falling apart. Recently? I suspect that's going to be Driftwood, which can stand on its own as a sort of weird post-canon first-meeting AU, but is trying to tempt me to continue it. (Vasco ends up going looking for Tír Fradí, which has disappeared - and finds it. He also finds De Sardet as a highly avoidant tree god of the island, post-Bad Ending, who transformed against her will. And he ends up falling in love with her anyway.) Weird tree gods! Pining by literal pine! An eventual happy ending! More grumpy commentary by Vasco!

Most popular multi-chapter: Either An Unquenchable Flame or Distraction, probably - both juggernaut pairings, the former close to the game's release and the latter with some fancy forbidden romance, so not so surprising. But surprisingly, Prague, 10:42 PM has done really well, considering it's for a small fandom (Deus Ex) and a rarepair age/rank-difference pairing that I thought would be a one-off experiment? I get it, guys. I like sad repressed stoics too.

Actual worst part of writing: Editing - which can be fun, but that "over and over" stage when you're about to post, especially in a longfic if you fear you've lost the spirit of the thing and the character voices and you can't see the wood for the trees. And when I have to remove a whole scene which Jenga-unbalances the fic, and then I have to redux from the top. Basically, most things to do with pacing. How you choose your titles: I like double-meanings and one word titles. If that fails: quote from a song. If that fails: quote from poetry, but very rarely. Do you outline: Only a little. A bulletpointed list of events or noted-down major lines of dialogue, that's usually it.

Ideas I probably won’t get around to but wouldn’t it be nice: Uh... oh god. I blame so many people for some of these.

Post-Destroy ending where John is attempting to build a shed on Rannoch because that's the kind of thing retired people do, right? and Tali is far better at it than him, and it's just... disgusting fluff.

Actually, just reduxing the early John/Tali stuff with a bit more nuance and a stronger style.

Eva and Kaidan, and their mutually wary first meeting. ("Wow, that's a lot of pomade." "Wow, that's a lot of death-glare.")

AU where Gal and Dorian never met in DAI, and after everything went down, Gal tried to fade into the shadows and leave. He ended up working in Tevinter as an occasional informant/odd-jobs guy the way he was pre-Inquisition. He ends up being a gardener for a bitter, wry magister who seems to hate the entire Magisterium, has recently lost his father to political scheming and murder, and wants to take down the entirety of the remaining Venatori with one staff and maybe his teeth if he has to (hi, Dorian). But first, Dorian's going to drink his own body weight in whiskey and be a recluse for a while and start thinking about time magic again. Gal is trying to keep his head down and should definitely not be falling in love with said magister. Who's someday going to end up at one of the more southerly ports, come across a statue of the great Inquisitor, and go, Oh.

Stuff on Jensen's PT and rebuilding himself post-augs. More of Proprioception, basically.

Mer-AU where Marie De Sardet is still a diplomat attempting to make new connections, just not a human one, and it's a disaster. An awkward disaster. Highlights include her being framed as the beast trying to drown their best captain; her attempting to wobble about on brand-new legs and Vasco's coat while everyone assumes the dear captain has had a few too many; her asking Vasco if his "fascinating markings" glow; them getting into a duel, and her (fondly) getting punted off the side of the ship going "Woo-hoo." OK, I wrote a bit of that, but only a 1k doodle I'll probably never return to.

Non-Naut court AU where Marie gets promised to Bastien D'Arcy, because he's a bit of a layabout but he's also rich, popular at court, and amenable to bribe - [cough] suggestion, and the D'Arcys have prominent trading links with the Alliance. Instead she falls for his far less of a social butterfly, tired, worried-numbers-guy brother Léandre, who's pretty damn uncomfortable around Nauts because he's well aware he nearly got sold to them and he is not the favourite.

Straight-up role-reversal AU (another thing where I've put down 1k that I'll probably never return to), where Marie's Naut name is Paz, and she's a fed-up second-mate who's tired of noble idiots and feels a little strange and conflicted about her mark (and has context for it, because they make frequent crossings to Tír Fradí). Also a little more jaded, without the love of her mother, and not nearly as much of a tryhard as Vasco in canon; she ended up here because she had nowhere else to go and the Nauts were like "Ooh, free kid," and she's well aware. She gets stuck escorting the D'Arcy brothers to Tír Fradí for their new venture and is not looking forward to it. Except one of them is intensely bright and wry and keeps asking questions about the ship and noticing shit he is definitely not meant to notice, and they keep ending up in strange conversations, even if he seems really, really wary and uncomfortable about Nauts.

Some vague stuff about Vasco's thoughts on Jonas and that whole side quest, considering he's also a sea-given and implies sea-given take some shit in the Nauts, and also how damn difficult it must be watching a sea-given's parents endeavour to get their kid back when he knows full well his didn't do that for him.

Actually, just more Vasco POV in general, even though he's damn hard to nail down. I've written much pining for him from Marie's perspective, and I'd like to try things from the opposite. This guy's idea of wooing someone perfectly normally is to panic and then recite Baroque poetry. You know he's sappy as hell in the privacy of his own head, even if he's trying not to be.

Jean and Síora having the "I'm a sad healer who just lost my mother and I'm trying so hard not to crumble under the weight of assisting the leader" mutual talk way too late at night around the campfire and maybe him crying on her shoulder a little, with mutual kindness and the beginnings of attraction, and her finally getting past his jokey-smug facade to understand him.

More stuff about Jean's past in general, and how he wanted to be a doctor before he was dragged away from it by looking after Constantin and being nobility.

Síora and Eseld and the ways they changed over the years; something like an exploration of grief and growing her own will and the ways they very differently view the renaigse. Also maybe more about the en ol menawi magic, if I can worldbuild well enough?

I'd also love to do a GreedFall soulmark AU - it's generally not my kind of trope, I'm not into biological determinism type tropes - just because names and aliases and assumed identities are such a mess in GreedFall and it's a repeated plot point. That said, I feel like it's been done so beautifully in this fandom before that I wouldn't have much to add.

Callouts @ me: So. Many. Commas. So much over-explaining everything. If they get out of the car, your readers do not need a five-page manual of "and then he undid his seatbelt and leaned over to grasp the door handle, and then pulled it, and then stepped a foot out before he almost thought better of it - but no, he was going to get out of this car. The other foot joined the first, and he nearly banged his head on the doorframe."

Best writing traits: People say I have a head for finding small-but-important moments. I'm also told I write likeable protags. People have more than once said my writing makes them feel safe or makes them smile, and I really couldn't ask for more than that. I'll take those.

Spicy tangential opinion: I don't think I have any, really? Oh god, that makes me sound so very boring. Oh! Um. There should be more tree body horror in fandom. And body horror in general. *thumbsup*

No pressure tagging: @artemis-crimson, @eridanidreams,@rainypixel, @aphreal42.

[the-badger-mole]

Happy Birthday

"I'm bored!" Toph complained. "Why do I even have to be here?" Katara rolled her eyes as she rubbed her distended belly. The young heir in her womb was in a mood today. 

You are your father's child, she thought as a tiny foot connected with her kidney. She turned to Toph and smirked.

 "You're here because my husband is paranoid, and Uncle wasn't able to get here before Zuko left."

 "But you're so boring!" Toph groaned. "You can't even spar with me because of that kid!”

"You mean your little niece or nephew?" Katara winced as her baby kicked her again.  She ran her hand over her stomach. "Settle down in there."

 "What's wrong with you?" Toph asked. She frowned as she turned towards Katara. "Are you hurt?"

"The baby is kicking today," Katara explained. "Hard." 

“I can't understand why you would willingly put yourself through this," Toph scoffed. "What's the upside? After the kid is born, it's all long nights and stinky diapers." Katara waddled across the room and lowered herself carefully onto the sofa beside Toph. 

"Well, I've always wanted kids," she said. "I've had enough experience delivering them to know what I'm getting myself into. Plus there's the whole line of succession thing."

“I would have let the monarchy end with Zuko and made the Fire Nation vote for their next leader." Toph folded her arms across her chest. At nineteen, she was absolutely certain she would never experience the maternal urges her friend had apparently harbored since she was old enough to understand the concept of motherhood. Katara just threw her head back and laughed.

"That's not a terrible idea," Katara chortled. "I'll run it by Zuko when he gets home. But I would still want to have his babies regardless." Toph shuddered in disgust.

The few men she had dated in her life were fun while they lasted, but she hadn't regretted the end of any of those relationships. She certainly wouldn't want to be tied to any of them by a child.

"If you say so, Fire Lady Sweetness." She stretched her arms over her head and leaned towards Katara curiously. "When are you due?" Katara reached around and rubbed the base of her spine, suppressing another groan.

 "About four weeks," she said. "That's why Zuko asked Aang to take him. He wants to get back from Ba Sing Se as quickly as possible."

“And why did I get stuck babysitting, again?" Toph asked. Katara grabbed a cushion and threw it at her friend she missed by a lot, but it didn't matter.

 "Stop whining!" she chided jokingly. "You know you missed m-eeeoooow!" Katara doubled over in pain. In an instant, Toph was at her side, all business and worry.

"What's wrong?" she asked frantically. "Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"

 "I'm fine!" Katara waved her off. "It’s been going on for a couple of days now. This happens when you get close to birth. Your body has practice contractions sometimes." Toph frowned at her unconvinced. 

"I am never having kids," she swore. 

"It's definitely not for everyone."   Katara chuckled. Then she let out another low groan."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Toph asked. Katara nodded and pulled herself off of the sofa. Sitting was too uncomfortable at the moment.

"I'm fine," she reassured her friend. Then she doubled over and let out a sound that reminded Toph of the lowing of a goat-cow.

“You do not sound okay!" Toph jumped up and tried to guide her friend back to the sofa to lie down. "Katara, you're scaring me!"

“I'm oka-oh no!" Toph heard the sound of something splashing on the ground. She frowned. She hadn't heard a glass tumble over.

“What?" she gasped. "What happened? Katara, what's going on?" There was a silence long enough for panic to settle over Toph before she heard a reply.

“Um...my...my water just broke," Katara said quietly. Toph's brow furrowed in confusion even as relief settled over her. 

"Okay...” Toph said. “So we'll have someone bring you another."

"No, Toph," Katara took a deep breath, and Toph thought it sounded like she was trying not to cry. "I mean the baby is coming. Now." 

 "WHAT?" Toph shrieked. She clamped onto Katara's arm, unsure of what she needed to do. Normally, when something like this happened, she would turn to Katara. But who did Katara turn to when she was the one who needed help?

”ZUKO! Toph called. "ZUKO!!!"

"Toph, he is thousands of miles away," Katara reminded her. "He can't hear you."

“You're having his baby!" Toph said frantically. "He has to hear me!" 

In spite of herself, Katara actually laughed a bit before she was cut off by another contraction

"Have someone send for a physician," she instructed Toph. "And then tell a servant I need someone to take me to my room." Toph nodded, glad to have some direction.

"Right!" she breathed. "Got it. Tell...someone to come help." She turned and ran off before Katara could say anything else. 

Fortunately, the entire palace was on alert for this. The Fire Lady was giving birth to the heir to the Fire Nation, after all. There was a well practiced protocol in place. Before long, the physician followed by a couple of the palace staff had arrived with a rolling bed and were loading Katara on to it. Toph breathed a sigh of relief that her friend was in the hands of people who actually knew what they were doing.

"Wait!" Katara cried as they began to wheel her off. She reached back for Toph. "Aren't you coming?" Toph shook her head.

"What do I know about childbirth?" she asked. "You'll be better off without me." Katara shook her head.

"Zuko isn't here," pain and pleading mingled in her voice. "I need you!" Toph shook her head.

“I'm no good with stuff like this!"[

"Please, Toph!" Katara begged. That shook Toph to her core. Katara didn't beg. "Please, Toph. I'm scared! I can't do this alone!"

That did it. Toph straightened her shoulders and went to take her friend's hand. 

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'll go with you. But you had better not splash anything gross on my feet!"

At first, Toph found the whole birth process a bit anti-climactic. After all the drama of Katara's water breaking and her contraction pains, the kid was still not ready to come out.

Toph sat dutifully at Katara's bedside, cracking jokes and keeping her water glass filled. After a while, she began to wonder if Katara was even in labor after all, but the periodic groans of pain testified that she was.

"At this rate, Zuko will be home before this kid is born," Toph said. Katara sighed as she froze a bit of water to chew on.

 "Spirits, I hope so," she sighed. "I'm glad you're with me, but I really, really want Zuko here right now."

 "I'll try not to take offense," Toph deadpanned.  The truth was, though,Toph was sure that Katara couldn't be wishing harder than she was that Zuko would miraculously show up ahead of schedule. He'd only be a day or two early, after all...

"Ooooooooooh!" Katara groaned. That was happening more frequently, Toph noted. The physician and her assistants began fluttering around the room with more urgency.

"What's going on?" Toph asked nervously. 

"The baby's coming," Katara told her. She was trying to keep her breathing steady, but Toph could feel Katara's pulse quickening.

"The baby's been coming for four hours now!" Toph couldn't keep the complaint completely out of her voice. Childbirth was boring!

“No, Toph," Katara grabbed Toph's hand and squeezed. Hard. "It's time." 

"Ow!" Toph tried to pry her fingers free, but Katara's grip was vice-like. 

"I can't do this!" Katara sobbed through the contraction. "I can't do this. I need Zuko here!"

"He's too far away!" Toph reminded her. "I had someone send word, but I don't think it'll get to him in time." Katara shook her head vigorously.

 "I'll wait!" she declared. "I can't have this baby without him!"

Toph balked, momentarily distracted from Katara's grip on her hand. She had never seen Katara so...so...frightened. This was the same woman who had ended a century-long war and defeated the prodigy fire-bender princess of the Fire Nation. The same woman who had decided to move across the world and faced the impertinence of the Fire Nation's snobbiest royals in order to be with the man she loved. And she had reigned benevolently and wisely over those same snobs for two years! She couldn't do this without her husband?

"So, what's the plan here, Sugar Queen?" Toph demanded. "Just postpone giving birth? I'm pretty sure that's not how this works!" She tilted her head towards the physician for confirmation. The older woman nodded her head. In spite of the pain of Katara's grip on her hand, Toph smirked to herself. There was nothing to this child birthing stuff.

"I don't care!" Katara sobbed, squeezing her knees shut. "I have to wait for Zuko! We are supposed to do this together!"  Toph suppressed a groan.

 "I'm sure he's going to be sad he missed this, but Katara, you're having a baby!"

"I'm a healer!" Katara snapped. "I can hold this baby in until my husband gets home!" 

At any other time, Toph would have made fun of Katara's stubbornness, but she had been at Katara's bedside for hours, her hand hurt and she really, really needed to go to the bathroom!

"Your majesty, I'm afraid that might hurt the baby," the physician said, bowing and scraping as if Katara wasn't just the scrappy daughter of a barely noble family from the frozen south. Katara had experienced more in her nearly twenty-two years than this namby-pamby doctor had in all her life. Toph gritted her teeth until she was sure one of them had cracked. The physician was going to be useless here.

“Katara, stop being a brat!" Toph ordered. "You always have to have everything your way! Well, guess what? Zuko isn't here and you are having this thing whether you're ready or not!”

"Is that...supposed to be...be comforting?" Katara gasped.

"It's supposed to be accurate!" Toph snorted. "Look, you have two options. You can either put on your big girl pants and let this happen naturally, or you can be a bigger baby than the one you're pushing out of your white lotus, and make this harder than it has to be. Either way, that baby is coming out! So, what are you gonna do, Sugar Queen?"

Katara, still crying softly, slowly let her legs fall open. The physician let out a sigh of relief and went to work.

Toph had been blind from birth, but she had never really regretted not having that sense. Sure, she had no concept of colors, and she would never really be able to see the smiles of her loved ones, but she had been just fine without that stuff. This, though...this  was the first time she had ever been glad not to be able to see. As long as she lived, Toph knew she would never be able to forget the traumatic sounds of Katara’s agonized screaming. She would never forget the pain of the bone crushing grip on her hand. And she would never ever forget the fear she felt witnessing Katara go through what Toph knew had killed so many women before them. The birth of the heir of the Fire Nation throne was possibly the worst thing Toph had ever experienced.

After what felt like an age, the sounds of Katara's screams were replaced by the wailing of a baby. Katara finally released Toph's hand, and before the gore and viscera had even been cleaned from the tiny body, Katara had pulled her daughter into her arms and cooed as if she had never experienced a moment's pain in her life. Toph shook her head. She would never understand this part of the human experience.After a bit, the physician carefully pried the baby girl from Katara's arms so both mother and child could be cleaned up. It was done quickly and soon, the baby was returned to Katara.

"You did good, Sugar Queen," Toph sighed. Katara turned in her direction, and Toph knew she was smiling.

 "You did good, too, Auntie Toph." Katara reached out and took Toph's hand, gently this time. "Thank you."

“Welcome," Toph grumbled, extracting her hand. She wasn't quite ready to forgive Katara for that just yet. Katara just laughed, sounding tired, but happy. 

"What's her name?" Toph asked quietly.

"I'm going to wait for Zuko to get back so we can decide together," Katara told her. She shifted a bit towards Toph. "Do you want to hold her?"

Toph started to say no, but Katara had already guided her hand under the infant princess' head. She waited until Toph had a firm grip before pulling back.

Toph had been blind since birth, but she never really regretted not having that sense. Not really. She had been able to compensate in other ways. She would never know what her little niece's eyes looked like. Toph would never understand what it meant that the baby took after her mother's skin tone,  and had her father's smile, but she knew that few people would understand what it was to know what the baby's heartbeat felt like or truly understand the soft warmth of the baby's skin. Toph would never forget the awfulness of witnessing the baby's birth, but it paled in comparison to the memory of holding the first child she would ever love for the first time.

Part 1, Part 2

[randomfandomnerd]

Sunshine and Shadows- Chapter 2

Nico woke up to the sound of manic giggling. Groggily, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He slipped out of the bed, moving towards the curtain with the hope of finding food. The blue material was ripped back and, to his surprise, Harley barged in, slapped a smiley-face sticker onto his t-shirt, and left again, still giggling. Nico looked up to see a smirking Cecil at the next bed over, sporting his own smiley sticker.

“Will thought it would be a good idea for him to visit and lift the spirits of everyone. He’s been hovering near for a while, because I told him you should wake up on your own, rather than with his help”

“Hmmph”

Nico responded.

A seemingly amused Will came in with a tray of plates of food, which he proceeded to hand out to the various inhabitants of the infirmary.

“You look so grumpy”,

he chuckled, narrowly avoiding a small Apollo child who seemed to be imitating Kayla by holding a clipboard and marching around on their tiptoes with a small bow strung to their back and the torn leaves of a very green plant on their head.

“Lillie, remember what I told you. No weapons in the infirmary!”

Lillie turned around and proceeded to aggressively skip out of the infirmary, knocking a side table over in the process, and scattering leaves along the floor. Kayla sighed, and put down her clipboard in order to clean up the damage.

“Sorry about that. She really wanted to help”

Will sighed and shook his head, before turning to Nico and setting a plate of food on the table near his bed. Upon closer inspection, the plate had an alarmingly high number of plants. Nico huffed, before selecting an apple and taking a bite from it, mumbling his thanks.

"So what am I meant to do now?"

He asked.

"Well, for a start, breakfast should be more than one apple."

Will replied from where he was putting away a pile of music sheets. Nico felt a pang in his heart, remembering how his mother used to teach him and Bianca to play the piano. Nico could never coordinate his fingers properly, but Bianca played beautifully, and he had liked to sit and watch her, mesmerised by the music. After she died, it was hard for him to listen to music, because it was unfair that music should continue when the people who made him love it were gone. People like Annabeth and Percy could save the world over and over and they still had each other and a billion other friends. Nico had nobody. Not really.

"Nico"

A soft voice broke him from his dreaming, and Nico realised that he was blending in with the shadows. Desperately grasping at the bedframe, Nico drew his gaze up to Will's. The son of Apollo's eyes were blue like his father's, yet less startling. They were more muted in colour, calming and reassuring, just like him. Will tilted his head, and Nico, realising that he was staring, dipped his gaze to fiddle with the apple core in his hands. Will's hands reached out, and took the core, his fingers brushing against Nico's, before withdrawing while the blonde boy apologised gently. Nico waved him off. Everything he touched was destroyed. It was in his nature. He would do all he could to stop that from happening to Will Solace.

Will, it seemed, had other ideas.

“Nico, try sitting down. I’m really sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing. Gods, I’m so stupid, what kind of doctor am I? I should have researched more. How can I help if I haven’t researched? I’m sorry”

The son of Apollo was pacing back and forth and he had a length of bandage which he was wrapping and unwrapping around his wrist. Until he saw him on Half-Blood Hill, Nico hadn’t realised how stubborn Will was. Now, he was beginning to notice that the blonde was constantly self-doubting himself. It was normally less obvious than this, when he would always make jokes about how he was no use in battle because he was ‘just a healer’, but now it was clear that he was insecure about even his healing abilities. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Will was only 15. Sure, Nico was around the same age, but people were constantly calling him "kid", or on one memorable occasion, "young gloomy cupcake" (Coach Hedge had some interesting nicknames), but Will had gone from 2nd-in-line to head counselor in an incredibly short span of time. Nico still felt Bianca's loss as if it were yesterday. He couldn't imagine having to go through that twice.

When he had first arrived at, Camp Half-Blood, he had thought that being a demigod was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him, but now he frequently wished that he could have stayed in the Lotus Casino forever, with Bianca, oblivious to the world outside.

Plato once told a story about a group of people that lived inside a cave, only able to view the world from shadows projected onto the cave wall. One of them decided to leave the cave and found the world outside to be full of joy and wonder. When they returned to tell the others, they couldn't persuade them to leave the cave, because the shadows showed the outlines of terrible monsters and they didn't think it was worth the risk.

Nico had stepped out into the real world, but the joy and wonder was overwhelmed by pain and grief. He wanted to return to the shadows. There, he couldn't be hurt, and he couldn't hurt anyone else. It would be so easy to just slip away, it was so much easier leaving than coming back.

"Nico!"

The worried voice cut into Nico's mind and fractured thoughts. It seemed bizarre that anyone would be worried for him.

"Nico, stay with me"

Will sounded urgent, like he couldn't bear the idea of Nico leaving. Nico recalled their earlier conversation, when Will had said that he wasn't stupid, because he'd decided to stay. Nico looked up into Will's frantic eyes, that somehow calmed him even when the owner was panicking, and decided that he would make an effort to stay, even if it was harder than leaving.

Link to pt 1:

Taglist:

@rainbow-sheepofthefamily @luna0713hunter @percabethfangirl @emava04 @seven-halfbloods

@nightmareghosts (sorry i didn't tag you earlier, your user has changed since you asked me to tag you)

[selenacosmic]

Hiii! I really love your doctor headcanons and just finished watching final fantasy and tangled so I've got an idea. 😃 Can I request a healer MC who can use magic to heal but she heals not only human, but animals and plants (dead trees)? But because she is afraid of people exploiting her power, she hides in a forest and one day the warlord found her by accident. Can I please request Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, Kenshin and Yukimura? Thank you very much. Have a nice day!

That’s an interesting one! And I have been rewatching the avatar lately, this will be really fun to do!

Magical healer MC.

Oda forces.

Nobunaga Oda.

You two met during a war, Nobunaga was hurt but he didn’t care. It was an arrow on his shoulder and a few small cuts on his body. He guided his men to the secret camp, ready to begin his next plan to win the war.

But then he saw someone on the woods, Nobunaga only saw a shadow of this person, he figured it was a spy. Nobunaga could send any of his men to take care of this, but he decided to let them rest for now, he ordered hideyoshi to take the lead while he was going to investigate.

Going through the woods was uncomfortable, but he didn’t care. After walking in search for the spy, he found a house at the distance. It was old, small, but surprisingly well reserved. Before he could take any action, Nobunaga felt something strange within him, it was then that he realized... that arrow was poised!

He opened his eyes to a sweet smell, he couldn’t feel his firm armor, only the soft futon against his back. Something soft was touching his wounds, and suddenly the pain would go away. He looked up, and saw someone beautiful, Nobunaga moved his hand to touch your face, it made you look at him.

“Oh, you are awake...”

You sounded unsure, as if it was a bad idea to take care of him. He looked at your hands, they were involved by a glowing water. How strange...

“Who are you?”

His commanding voice echoed, carnelian eyes fixed on yours. It wasn’t supposed to sound intimidating, but it wasn’t something he could control.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. You were badly hurt, I was lucky to take out the poison before it spread.”

Nobunaga looked at you, you were so bold to talk to him like that, he smirked, letting you take care of him. Be very sure, Nobunaga memorized the way to your house, he will visit you very frequently.

Mitsuhide Akechi.

It was during one of his schemes, the fox needed to pretend to betray His Lord again to deceive one of his enemies. And in the process, was tortured badly. As long as he had his tongue intact, it was enough for him.

He walked for hours through the forest, it was part of his plans to wait for the right moment to streak against the enemy. But the details weren’t important, he needed a place to hide until the right hour. He saw a house in the distance, seem abandoned.

Cautiously, Mitsuhide entered the house without any difficulties, except for the fact that he was surprised to see that it wasn’t an empty house. A startled girl, looking scared at him, lived there. The house might be old from the outside, but the inside was freshly new. Still, he couldn’t ignore the girl.

“Now, calm down. I have no intentions of hurting you, my dear. Let go of the broom.”

“How am I supposed to trust you? You broke into my house!”

“I wonder who is more suspicious. Me, who entered a place that looked abandoned. Or you, who live in it.”

“I am the one making questions here! W...wait... you are injured! Badly injured!”

“You wish to care for me now? My, how adorable.”

You didn’t let him continuing to talk, it was too distracting. You forced guided him to sit down so that you could take care of those horrific wounds.

His foxy eyes widened as he saw what you were truly capable of. Your hands were involved by water, as it glow with life. Brushing it against the injuries, the wounds would slowly close. His amber eyes were fixed on your face, it was truly filled with concern.

Mitsuhide only stayed long enough to know your name and to be cured of his injuries. Oh, but be very sure that he would come back for you. You were just too fascinating.

Uesugi-Takeda forces.

Kenshin uesugi.

War was his nature, and as such, it was normal for him to get hurt. But we shouldn’t forget that, as the god of war, it was rare the moments where he would get hurt.

But this time, it wasn’t because of a war. He wanted to feel his blood rushing through his veins. That’s why Kenshin was at the forest, trying to find a Ronin to entertain him in a fight.

And he did, though most of them were too weak to keep it up with him, this was starting to get boring. That is when he heard footsteps sounds, he smiled waiting for his next opponent, the sound was coming from behind the bushes. And when they got closer... he was ready to attack!

Oh, wait... it’s just a woman. She didn’t seem to notice him, as he didn’t make a noise when preparing his sword. What a waste of time... Kenshin couldn’t find a worthy opponent and had to stumble across a woman.

He was about to leave, until something started to glow. It was coming from you! More specifically, from your hands. When he looked closer, there was a small animal together with you. It was a bunny that injured his leg.

The transparent, glowing water showed the wound close as you moved your hands. The little animal was cured, you somehow made the water go back to its bag. Now this was impressive...

You caressed the animal’s head, getting up to continue walking. But Kenshin wouldn’t let you go away that easily after what you did.

“You, woman! You aren’t going away.”

Of course, you got startled by him, but tried to keep it calm. You knew you shouldn’t have done this where everyone could see! You gulped dryly, waiting for whatever he wanted, he had a sword after all.

Resuming what happened, Kenshin offered you a place in the palace. Your abilities were perfect for his army, you were their healer now!

Yukimura Sanada.

Yukimura is scared of anything involving magic or sorcery, this boy would shake at the very thought of it! He heard stories of an enchantress who lurked around the woods.

Too risky, there is no way he is going in there! What if the evil enchantress caught him during it? Of course, it was a stupid thing to think, specially for a warrior like him. But one can never be too cautious.

Unfortunately for him, Yukimura couldn’t avoid fate. He needed to cross the forest to reach his Lords’s camp, it was well hidden.

But in the dark of those woods...! No, he is an warrior, he has been through a lot, there is no such thing as an enchantress there! It was just childish stories, just that!

He couldn’t finish that thought, footsteps were heard. Yukimura took his spear, if there was really an enchantress there, he would fight her! But then... it was just a girl, she was walking fearlessly through the forest, as if she was used to it. Is that... the enchantress?

He lowered his weapon, putting it back to its place. You looked so... harmless, how could he be scared of you? How stupid of him... Yukimura was ready to give you an warning about how dangerous that place was for you, since you didn’t seem to notice him, but when you touched a tree, that was almost dying, it somehow received life, it was... cured!

Forget it! You are the enchantress! Yukimura looked at you scared, and started to run walk away to the camp before you had any chance of seeing him.

They were staying in that camp for some days now, so Yukimura didn’t had a choice but to walk through that path, very well armed of course. Though, you have noticed him that night, it was funny to see him walk so scared around there.

So you started to tease him slightly, which increased your closeness to Yukimura. His fear slowly fading, even after the war he would go there just to see you.

◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸

Thank you for reading! If you wish to see more of my work, check out my masterlist!

[nebula-starlight]

Sepsis (Pt. 14: Wellbeing)

“You okay Versi?” One of the healers also taking a break about the same time as her glanced at the shaking spirit with concern. 

She immediately passed off the question, ignoring the one who had asked it and gathered her meager strength to push herself off of the wall she’d been leaning against. Just as she told herself before she had come into work, everything was fine. She was fine. There was nothing wrong with her. No cause for alarm at the fact that she simply hadn’t been able to keep food down for a couple days and Nethreis was off doing some unknown work for The Council or, to be more accurate, for Magnus.

Realizing she still had to give some sort of answer to at least make the staring go away, Versi cleared her throat with a dry cough and nodded. “I’m fine. Just not hungry.” 

“It’s all that work with those Corrupt beasts huh? Working yourself to exhaustion over trying to cure something that’s gotten so mixed up in their very fibers that it can’t just be purged with a skillful little light burst.” One of the other, older healers commented, watching the two from across the room. 

“Shut it, Helese. Can’t you be concerned over someone else’s wellbeing for once in your life?” 

“Ladies….” Versi weakly protested, hearing the voices as if she was underwater or in another room completely. She blinked, trying her best to stay upright and focused when all she really wanted to do was go and curl up and sleep. 

“Versi honestly I’d go get checked out. You look pale, sweetie. And you can’t help anyone if you don’t help yourself first.” 

Again she ignored the assistance, staggering away from the wall and heading for the door. She needed to get back to work. That would put her mind off the feeling of the walls spinning and closing in on her. Everything was fine. She was fine. It was just a minor headache and stomach problems. She told herself if it got any worse that she’d go to her supervisors and ask to be dismissed early on account of feeling unwell… though then there would be one less healer to deal with the sudden influx of sickly patients who needed care. 

“Versi!” 

Why was she suddenly on the floor looking up into the distressed eyes of a trio of healers, two of which she had just seen in the break room of their medical wing? There was… something wrong with their shadows, wasn’t there? Too elongated and sharp and focused on… 

She shrieked, thrashing as a fellow healer struggled to bind her wings to her body as she writhed and twisted frantically. Why was it feeling like searing heat was being pressed onto her from all points of availability? Where was Nethreis? Why wasn’t he with her? What was going on? It was so bright… so painfully bright. That wasn’t the sun was it? No it couldn’t be the sun. They were indoors after all. Kept locked away from all others just to ensure they could perform at the peak of health at a moment’s notice. 

“Miss Versila, please. Calm down and answer just a few simple questions. We just need-” 

The poor newly registered doctor, who she hadn’t bothered to learn the name of, was quickly silenced from further questioning her as she headbutted him in her panicked attempt to get herself free of the restraints that just kept coming and kept getting tighter and constricting her airways. She couldn’t breathe… Each breath got stuck and she was trembling and shivering and begging the others to know where her mate was because he wasn’t there with her and she wanted him there. 

At what point she started coughing up bile she wasn’t sure but that only made the headache worse and more healers kept coming in to try to talk to her and understand what was going on. Why wouldn’t they leave her alone? She just wanted to be left alone. If they stopped questioning her maybe she wouldn’t be in such a state of blind panic that nothing made sense and words didn’t seem like words. 

“That’s quite enough for today. Let her rest.” The deep, yet sauve voice washed over the room and immediately all the noise and chatter and buzzing around her ceased as each surrounding her stepped back respectfully. 

Versi eagerly looked up with bleary eyes but instead of finding the beloved crimson irises of her lover, it was the head of The Council instead who greeted her anxiously searching gaze. She struggled to properly scowl at him, the once moderately tame headache now pounding through her skull and the other occupant in her head strangely quiet for surprisingly the first time in quite a while outside of interactions with Nethreis. 

“You,” she hissed, eyes flickering briefly with a faint greenish haze that nearly went unnoticed by the Councilmember. “Why are you here?” 

“Can I not frequent a place we have sought to cultivate? Furthermore, it is a crime to check in on those that are… special to certain ones in our collective group?” He approached the bed as Versi only now realized she was currently laying on her back in the same type of bedding as those used for the patients they normally saw as healers. The rest of the assembled group of now curious onlookers dispersed as Magnus continued, “And please do something about the uninvited guest listening in on us. It is rather rude of them I must say.” 

“How do you-?” 

He smiled, intimidating her with the intensely focused gaze on her whole being. “I’m aware of many dangers which plague our lands, most of which seem to revolve around you and that dear love of yours. Shame truly that he is so good at his job of being the Shield that the Capital needed.” 

“You seem to know quite a lot about my mate, Monsieur.” She returned the glare with one of her own, finally hearing the other growl deep in her skull. Not that it helped the headache that continued to persist or the sudden apathy that seemed to wrap its way around her limbs. 

“I have been meeting with him, yes. And now I’ve come to seek you out. You poor, miserable little creature who clings to his wings like an empathic leech. But I can help you, fix you even. I just need you to trust me.” He held out a clawed forepaw to her as though presenting his hand. “Because the task I have for you is one of great importance. You would usher in a new age of powerful spirits alongside the Shield.” 

“My beloved is not just some object!” She growled, trying to move and ultimately wincing in pain and curling up on herself as best she could. Her eyes flickered green once more but just as soon returned to being the warm yellow they usually were. 

“To me he is. Just like you are. Even being tainted doesn’t save you. Now just look into my eyes, deep into them if you will. I promise all your pain will fade away like it never even happened. In my domain, there is no suffering, Versila. And you have suffered much, my dear. Allow me to ease that strain… To bring you great joy unlike anything you have ever experienced before.” 

She tried to ignore the urge to comply with his request but found she couldn’t, her gaze fixing on his as the red serpentine eyes glowed. After a few seconds of the extended look, they seemed to shift and turn a bright fluorescent green that sent a shiver of dread down her spine but also left her feeling strangely comforted. Versi felt herself relax, the tension fading from her body except for a small spot near her abdomen. 

“Wake my agent of chaos. For the time draws nigh for the final test and you the ultimate chess piece.”

[anotheronechicagobog]

The Heroic Heralds of the Hermann Horde

Part 1

written by: @anotheronechicagobog​

Warnings: swearing, tension, parental issues

 A/N: You should read my fic ‘Tylenol and Tequila’ part three for some relationships to make sense but it can be read without having done so, the story focuses mainly on the Hermann family (or Hermann Horde as I have dubbed them) but there’s some stellaride and upstead in here as well.

Being one out of five kids was exhausting. There were pros and cons that they all had to deal with. Lee Henry, Luke, and Annabelle got new clothes, Lee Henry because he was the oldest, Luke because hand me downs were too worn when they got to him, and Annabelle because she was the only girl. Kenny, Luke, Max, and Annabelle got away with pretty much everything because they didn’t have to set an example (and the only times they did get in trouble usually had more to with a bad call their dad had than anything else). Kenny was unintentionally favoured by their dad more because he has made it very clear he wants to be a firefighter like his dad. Max was favoured by their mom because of his traumatic birth. Kenny, Luke, and Max were closer because Lee Henry was the firstborn and not only had Cindy and Christopher decided to wait a few years before having more kids but also because he had to be the responsible older brother/third parent most of the time, his parents hadn’t intended for that to happen and they felt guilty about it sometimes, but they needed his help and made sure he got at least an hour of free time (this didn’t include homework or chores) a day. Annabelle felt left out frequently because she was the only girl and while she didn’t fit the girly girl mould, she just didn’t share a lot of interests or societal problems with her brothers. So the Hermann’s were their own unique brand of love and chaos, and they were alright with that. 

Lee Henry had gotten a part-time job for Friday nights and weekends as a lifeguard. People liked to joke that lifesaving ran in the family, but that wasn’t the case. Lee didn’t want to ever rush into a burning building, he never wanted to let worry and fear linger over his family’s heads day after day. Wondering if every unexpected knock on the door or phone call was a death notice or call to the hospital. He didn’t resent his dad for his career, but it had affected a lot of his life choices. The reason he became a lifeguard was because when he was 10, almost 11, his dad fell through the floor of a burning building.

He remembers the phone ringing, wondering if it was Susan from his granna’s quilting club, or Kraken (Karen) from the PTA. His mom answered with a cheerful hello but when she made no other noise and the room suddenly felt thick, he looked up, and he saw his mom’s face. She had gotten so pale he could see her veins, her eyes were wet and had sunken in, her mouth moving like she was screaming so loud it would shatter windows but nothing was coming out, and then she collapsed. Her knees just gave out underneath her. Lee jumped up to try and keep his mom from falling on the floor. He was too weak to catch her so they landed together on the hardwood together with a thump. She still couldn’t say anything, she started shaking, so Lee grabbed the phone. “-Ms. Hermann? Are you still there? Did you hear me? Your husband fell through the floor of a burning building, he’s on transport to the hospital-”

“In ambulance sixty-one?”

“... I’m sorry who am I speaking to?”

“Lee Henry Hermann, son of Christopher and Cindy Hermann. Is my dad being taken to the hospital in ambulance sixty-one?”

“Yes, but I should really-”

“Which hospital?”

“Lakeshore medical centre, I should really speak to-”

“We’re on our way.” He hung up, remembering the words his dad has said to him a thousand times, ‘if you’re in a dangerous situation do everything you can to stay calm, you can make things worse if you panic’. “Hello, yellow taxi? I need a cab to take five people, one adult and four kids, to Lakeshore medical centre. My Dad got hurt and mom can’t speak.” It was a flurry of running and car seats and firefighter turn out gear that wasn’t his dad’s. That wasn’t cool anymore. That he couldn’t stand to look at or smell. So when no one was looking he got up and, calmly, walked to a closet. He walked inside, closed the door, and let it all out. He cried, muffled his screams with his forearms. He ruthlessly scratched his arms, and hit himself. In the head, chest, thighs, feet. He knew right then, from the look on his mother’s face, from the grimness behind uncle Randy’s eyes, from the tearing feeling in his chest, he could never do it. He could never be a firefighter.

When he returned to the group, his long-sleeved shirt was rolled down and he’d stopped at the bathroom before heading to the cafeteria to make sure he looked okay. He was carrying two plastic bags that were filled to the brim with sandwiches and water bottles. He was spotted by uncle Randy first. “Lee Henry! There you are, what’ve you got there?”

“Some food and water, I figured we’d all need something to eat and drink, we might be here a while after all.”

“Yeah... Hey, I heard that you helped get everyone here, and you’ve been really calm and level-headed throughout this whole thing. You’ve done really well, why don’t you sit down and we’ll keep you company til we hear some news about your dad? Severide can pass around the grub, okay?” Severide made his way over to the oldest Hermann child and gave him a proud smile. “I for one, am not even remotely surprised that you’re so calm. Your old man is a firefighter, remaining calm in stressful situations and helping others is in your blood. Should we be expecting another Hermann at 51?” Lee felt his heart sink into his gut, but thankfully Boden called for all the members of 51 to have a talk in one section of the ER before Lee could answer.

Lee took one last walk around the pool, to make sure he hadn’t missed any puddles or items when cleaning the deck while the last of the stragglers got out of the pool and the stands when he heard a loud crack. He whipped his head around and found a teen about his age lying on the floor at the bottom of the stands. He rushed over and methodically went over his injuries, calling out orders to the other lifeguards and people around him. He and Kylie got the guy on their backboard and his neck stabilized. The paramedics arrived quickly. “Lee Henry?”

“Hey Brett, so we have a teenage male, unsure of age or name, with a head laceration, possible neck trauma, and loss of consciousness. He fell off the stands and hasn’t so much as opened his eyes, one of the other lifeguards went through the change rooms to see if there was anyone waiting for him but they couldn’t find anyone. I noticed him come in a couple of hours ago, but he didn’t socialize with or appear to have come with anyone. He just came in and sat down at the top.”

“Alright, well you did a good job, we’ve got it from here.”

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

The next morning he was met by his dad, smiling from ear to ear. ”There's my boy.” Christopher began patting Lee Henry on the back. ”Brett said you were amazing, guess you'll be joining me at 51 pretty soon, huh? And tonight we are going to celebrate, the entire firehouse is coming over and we're gonna do a pot luck.”

Lee Henry couldn't get a word in edgewise, just sighed as his dad walked away, over the moon. Lee Henry finished getting ready under the concerned eyes of his mother, who had witnessed the tension in his shoulders and fine line his lips went into. ”Are you okay, honey?”

”Yeah, I'm great. I'll see you after work.” He gave his mom a kiss on the cheek, grabbed his duffle and headed for the station.

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

Lee felt his stomach sink when he recognized the extra cars cluttering the street in from of his house. He rolled his shoulders back at the sound of heavy laughter coming from inside, knowing it was better just to face it head on. He was met with the smell of various kinds of foods, and was met with the sound of rowdy firefighters. ”Hey Herm, the guest of honour had finally arrived. Lee Henry, come over here!”

”Hey guys.” Lee spent the next two hours, after working a 10 hour shift of a labour intensive job, bearing everyone’s comments about the ’next generation of Hermann firefighters’, and constantly being pulled away from the food table! Donna made pallea and his mom made brownies! He just wanted to eat!

He was tired, hungry, and emotionally worn out when uncle Kelly pulled him aside. ”Hey, Lee, I didn't want to say this to your dad before you, but I made a couple calls, and was able to get you a spot at the academy for next fall if you want it. It'll be great-”

”I don't want to be a firefighter.”

”What?”

”I haven't since I was ten.”

”Lee, you don't have to-”

”I... It's just a personal choice.”

”But your dad... He thinks you want to be a firefighter.”

”He never lets me get a word in, just rambles until he has to leave for shift or Molly's.”

”What do you want to be then?”

”A doctor.”

”Ha, you’re a healer not a smokeater, huh?”

”Don’t laugh, you'll need someone to fix up your self-destructive ass when you fall through a floor in a burning house.” Lee just couldn't take it anymore, his emotions had boiled over, so he’d snapped. And now he needed to leave so that he didn't have to watch his uncle put all the dots together right in front of him.

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

He was hungry and in need of comfort. Both from food and people. So when Kylie jogged out of his house after him, he was grateful. They caught the el downtown and went to Bartolli’s, a favourite restaurant of the Hermann’s. ”You were pretty loud, when you were talking to Kelly, just so you know.”

He sighed. ”I figured. I texted my mom before we got to the station, told her where we were going, mostly to avoid her worrying, but I fully expect someone to show up.”

”It does seem like something anyone at 51 would do, they are very involved in each other's lives.”

”Hey, you've been dealing with this for a few months, I've been dealing with it my whole life.” Their conversation flowed freely, mixed with milkshakes and deep-dish pizza. 

”Do you know what you want to do when you get out of high school?”

”Definitely something that helps people, but I don't think I want to be a firefighter either. Kelly and Stella worry about me just going to school, I can't imagine how they'd feel if I was running into burning buildings! They'd probably only be okay with it if I was at 51 with them, and while I love them, I don't love them that much. I think something in law.”

”The only issue for us is how to pay for all that.”      

“We could join the military, but that does kinda defeat the purpose of not being firefighters...”

“Lee Henry? Kylie?”

“Detective Upton and Halstead, hi.”

“What are you two doing here? I thought that 51 was celebrating a big save you made.”

“Yeah, but it just ended up being a firefighter thing, you know how it goes, especially because apparently, you guys do the same thing.”

“Yeah, we do...”

“Well,” Halstead gave a smirk and a nod, “you two enjoy your pizza.”

“Thanks,” Kylie piped up, having not spoken much with the detectives, “and you two have fun on your date.” Lee and Kylie turned to go back to their meal, but noticed the frozen body language and panicked expressions of the two adults. They looked at each other, concerned, before Lee decided to bite the bullet. “Uh, guys? Are you okay? Should we call the other Halstead?”

“We’re not dating.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“... Yesssssss.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“Have a nice night kids.” Upstead (what they were to be referred to as according to his mom) turned and bolted out of the restaurant, blushes and pizza in tow. “I really hope that they sort out their feelings, it’s getting a little exhausting and I don’t even spend that much time around them!”

“Amen to that.”

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When Lee returned home it was late, and only the porch and living room lights were on. He entered the quiet house alone, having dropped Kylie off at her apartment before returning home himself. He locked the door, turned off the porch light, and went straight to the living room knowing that it was better to face his dead head-on than beat around the bush. “Dad.”

“Lee Henry.”

“We need to talk.”

“Apparently we do.”

“I don’t want to be a firefighter.”

“Well, I heard that pretty loud and clear. It was too loud to miss. You know I just don’t understand-”

“October 10th, 2012.”

“Excuse me?”

“You and uncle Matt fell through the floor of a burning house. Your ADSU went off cause the fall knocked you unconscious. I’ve heard Gabby say that that was one of the scariest days of her life. And I remembered you comforted her when she visited you in the hospital. But you didn’t comfort me-”

“Lee-”

“No. Let me speak for once. I was ten years old. And I had to call the cab company, and get everyone in the car, and keep everyone together, and make sure everyone was eating, and check-in with the nurses about your condition, and get school stuff organized for Luke, Max, and Annabelle, and make all the meals for a week, and get Granna and Grandad on an earlier flight back to Chicago, and manage your medication because mom was too stressed to. Your voice was ringing through my head the entire time, ‘if you’re in a dangerous situation do everything you can to stay calm, you can make things worse if you panic’. All that I was told that miserable week was that I was destined to be a firefighter like you. But I was just listening to you, and I realized that being a firefighter was the absolute last thing I want to be when I get older. I had always known in the back of my mind that your job was dangerous, but it didn’t hit me until that day, not even when uncle Andy died. I just... I had my blinders ripped off, and I can’t ignore the terror I feel every time you leave for work. And I see mom and the others feel it too now that there have been more close calls, and I can’t do it. I want you to know that I don’t resent you for it in any way, but I can’t do that to my friends and family. I can’t let the people in my life feel like they’re saying goodbye to me every time I go to work. And I’ve tried to tell you, but I can never get a word in.”

“I tend to do that apparently. Look, I’ll admit there’s a part of me that’s always wanted you kids to follow in my footsteps, but that is a very small part of me. I am actually really happy that you don’t want to be a firefighter because I know that I don’t have the strength to worry about you or any of the others day after day. It takes a special breed of people to do that, and I don’t come from it. If you want to be a doc, that’s great. I know that you’re more than capable and I’m really proud of you for being able to recognize that. I’m also really sorry. That you had to be so brave so young. Need you to know that I love you, that I am so proud of you, and that I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you as much as I should have been.” Lee had never, ever, seen his dad cry. Christopher Hermann was always strong and firm. But here he was crying in front of his eldest son, exposing all of his vulnerable emotions to him. Cindy found them forty minutes later full-on bawling and clinging to each other as though their lives depended on it. Finally making peace with each other.

[headoverjojo]

SBR characters, how they would react to a Crush that has a healing Stand but the user has to kiss them, not necessarily on the lips, anywhere is fine for it to work. Bonus: If you try and get out of the line (Stealing a Kiss without consent, etc) let's say your wounds just will get worse XD Who behaves, who has to be put in it's place? uWu🐴

Hi there, darling! Oooh western gang ** Sure sure!! I’m still not so familiar with them, but I hope I’ve still done a good job! Here we go, I hope you’ll like it! :3

Johnny Joestar, Gyro Zeppeli, Diego Brando and Hot Pants with a crush who has a healing stand -but do not steal a kiss!-

(Under the cut for length!)

Johnny Joestar

Seeing how often he and Gyro end up wounded, having a third party member with a stand with healing properties would be wonderful. To crush on them, Johnny needs time: time to know them, to come to trust them, and also to heal his own internal wounds. His way to interact with them changes subtly: from suspicious and distant, it becomes more open; he starts to rely on them for real, to see them as an ally and not as simply a fellow traveller. He gives everything he has, all the help he can deliver, every drop of energy and stand power; he thinks they’re doing the same and this may lead to some misunderstandings.

He didn’t know their stand could also hurt. Until that moment, all the kisses he had given to their hand had been consensual and it was G/N the one who told him to go ahead. But this time the situation was too rushed and confused and he really needed to be healed, in order to fight again. G/N was knocked down… but their stand was still working. So he grasped their hand and kissed it, waiting for the usual rush of healing energy, but, instead of it, he felt like he was punched in the guts. Instead of feeling better, he started to bleed even more; just the panicked screams and confused noises of the fight made G/N wake up. The moment they say Johnny, they understood what happened, and they immediately gave him the consent to kiss again their hand. Stii trusting them, despite what had just happened, he did it, and instantly he felt much better. He was finally healing!

After the battle, they finally explained that little trick. In order to protect themselves, their stand acted more as a weapon than a healer when there wasn’t consent. Even if still in pain for the wounds now mostly healed, Johnny recognises that it’s a good defensive system; in this way, their enemies would end up just more injured or even dead and not all patched and ready to fight again. Now he will always bear in mind to first ask them for their ok; that experience has been more than enough!

Gyro Zeppeli

Gyro, at least at the start, under that friendly behaviour hides a stricter and almost unforgiving character. He has a mission, a goal to reach; if G/N can follow him and Johnny, then that’s ok, if they cannot, then they’re out. They don’t just show an incredible strength and determination, but also a healer’s kindness, a softness that comes out also in the way their stand activates. Not flashy lights, not weird magic… just a kiss. Gyro is fascinated by them and, soon enough, he starts to see them more than allies, and then more than just friends. Also, as a doctor, he’s really interested in the way their stand works, and he comes to wounds himself -not anything serious, just scratches or bruises- and asks them if he can kiss their hand to heal those “bad scratches” and, the more they stay together, the more he gets bold, even asking if he can kiss them on the cheek. They often joke saying that he injuries himself more for giving the healing kiss than for the science, and they don’t even know how much they’re near to the truth.

Having talked for long time with them about their stand, Gyro knows how it acts to defend itself and their user: a stolen kiss will bring more wounds and worsen the ones already on the body. So, even in the worst situation, he wouldn’t ever steal a kiss, and would stop Johnny to do so. Once, he had tried to do it, for the science, of course, and the effects had been… well, not every day he has experienced a pain like this. That experience, as painful as it had been, however, taught him more about their stand, and, in the end, it revealed to be useful, stopping him even in the most desperate situations from taking a kiss when he shouldn’t have to.

In the end, however, they find a solution to this problem by giving him the consent to take a kiss before they start to fight. In this way, even if they’re knocked down, Gyro -and Johnny, of course- could still benefit from their healing powers. It’s valid just for them, however; if an enemy tries to copy the cowboys and to steal a healing kiss, they’re going to end up more injured than ever!

Diego Brando

At first, Diego sticks with them just for their healing power and they stick with him because he’s the best jockey around, so, by staying at his side, they have more chances to be in the first places. This sort of professional and utilitaristic relationship, however, slowly changes through the race, as they have to fight together, to basically do everything together. They start to talk. They start to familiarize. As days pass, Diego sees he now cares for them. He finds himself smiling when he’s with them, and genuinely laughing. He feels… good. He trusts them and they trust him. They’re friends. And after a while, after more fightings and stages, he finds himself with a huge crush on them. Now he doesn’t stick with them just for their healing power, but for something deeper and stronger.

He likes the way their stand works, he can’t deny it. A kiss… it’s almost poetical. What he doesn’t like, however, it’s the stand’s defensive system against “unwanted” kisses; not only real unwanted kisses -and he may be unruly, but a no is a no, and he respects his crush’s no-, but also playful, sudden ones. More than one time his frequent scratches or bruises got worse because he stole a kiss on their cheek while they were cooking or setting up their tent, and then he ended up crawling on the ground with his wounds worse than before. They usually leave him like this for a while, hoping he’s going to learn the lesson, before kneeling and allowing him to kiss their palm and feel good again. He’s a good boy for few days, but then he strikes again with another kiss, usually on their hand or cheek, making them roll their eyes with an amused huff. He’s really a dino who can’t restrain himself!

However, when they’re in a serious danger, he’s not playful anymore. He knows how risky can be to just steal a healing kiss while they’re fighting, so he always asks them before doing it. If he ends up more injured, he can’t fight, and if he can’t fight he can’t protect them… he can’t allow this to happen!

Hot Pants

Hot Pants prefers to travel alone: she has an important mission, a sacred duty and she has to do it alone. So, she isn’t the one who actively seeks her companion and ally; it was a casual meeting. She was injured and even her spray wasn’t enough to patch her wounds; G/N got in her way and, seeing her like this, they decided to help her, offering her the help of their stand. Hot Pants, more than by that prodigious power, was impressed by their kindness; they got out of their way to help her, a, technically, rival in the race… they ended up sticking together. All in all, their help could have been important in order to achieve the holy body…

During their travel, they socialized. She found again a certain joy of living, a certain light that she thought to have found in the Church but that, to be honest, was lost since her little brother’s death. Finding the body was important, yes… but they were important too. And, even if she never admitted it, as, as nun, she was spiritually married to God, she was feeling more than a simple friendly love for them. So, even if they offered her their healing powers more times, every time she could she preferred to use her spray to patch her wounds; a kiss was something too intimate, too deep. Even if it was just a kiss on their hand, she knew it would have been something more than a simple healing kiss, for her, so she tried to avoid it as much as she could, hoping they didn’t end up offended.

As they were now alley and companions, she thought it was right to inform them about her mission -not in details, but enough to let them know that she was searching something really important- and her stand. In exchange, she wanted to know how their formidable stand worked and, so, she came to know also about its defensive system. Good for her she already didn’t benefit a lot from it… a power like that, an incredible, gentle power like theirs must be protected from who would use it for evil deeds. At any cost.

[damienthepious]

Going Through Changes, Ripping Out Pages (chapter 4)

[ch 1] [ch 2] [ch 3] [ao3] [ch 5] [ch 6] [ch 7] [ch 8] [ch 9] [ch 10] [???]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla

Characters: Lord Arum, Sir Damien, Rilla, The Keep

Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Lizard Kissin’ Tuesday, Established Relationship, (uhhhhh sorta), Amnesia, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, (WE WILL GET THERE…… EVENTUALLY)

Summary: Lord Arum wakes to discover that some things have changed while he slept. Namely, there is a human in his bed.

Chapter Summary: Two conversations, and a little investigation.

~

Damien isn't far, when Rilla finds him again. He’s standing out in the hall near the kitchen, and-

And the Keep has wrapped steady vines around his shoulders, clinging lightly and blooming in soft yellows and blues. Damien has his eyes closed, his expression motionless but tense, his lips tight together as Rilla comes close.

"Damien," she says gently. He probably hears her coming, but she knows how deeply he can get caught up in his own head. He sighs at her voice, clinging to the Keep's vines in turn, but he doesn't open his eyes just yet. "Are you-"

She doesn't quite finish the thought. Are you alright? Stupid question, obviously. Neither of them are. None of them. Damien's lip pulls to the side, a weak sort of grimace, and she steps closer. The Keep makes room, shifting some vines to brush her shoulders as well, a gentle curtain around the both of them as she pulls Damien into a tight hug.

"Rilla," he murmurs. He presses his face into her neck, inhaling sharply and holding her in return. "I… I am sorry I left in such a state. It was- I should not have-I shouldn't have faltered. I couldn't-"

"It's okay, Damien. I know. He- he was being cruel on purpose but you know he doesn't really think that. He couldn't have known it would hurt you like-"

"I know," Damien murmurs, drooping further to rest his forehead against her shoulder. "Of course he doesn't know that those particular cruelties would affect me. A rather cold comfort, I'm afraid, considering that his lack of knowledge is entirely the issue."

Rilla sighs, because obviously Damien is right. The fact that he could hurt them like that by accident- it almost stings worse than if the cut were deliberate. "I sent him to cool off in his workshop," she says softly, and Damien's lip curls into something wry, something that isn't quite a smile.

"I'm sure he was quite amenable to instruction, hm?" he drawls.

Rilla bites back a bitter laugh. "Obviously. I-" she pauses. "I don't know what to do now," she says, only recognizing the feeling as she voices it. "Shit."

It's Damien's turn to tighten his arms, holding her more securely with a quiet, sympathetic noise. The Keep shifts around both of them, humming low and brushing soft leaves over their shoulders, and Rilla looks up, raising an eyebrow.

"What, do you have an idea?" she asks, and she has less than zero clue how the Keep could answer her in a way she can understand, but- "I'm not willing to rule out anything at this point."

The Keep pauses, and then it sings, unsure but hopeful, and pulls open a portal.

Damien and Rilla meet each other's eyes, concern and hope and doubt and pain passing quick and quiet between them, and then Damien takes a steadying breath, takes Rilla's hand, and they both step through.

~

Arum steps into his workshop, the portal disappears behind him, and then he simply closes his eyes and clenches his hands and breathes, until he begins to feel less panicked, less uncertain.

He is too agitated to realize, for quite a few minutes, that he should have been much less agreeable to allowing the little knight to bolt off into his Keep unsupervised, and that doctor as well. When he barks out an irritated question regarding their whereabouts, however, the Keep calmly informs him that the herbalist has just now found the knight, that they are currently in a corridor near the kitchen, simply- talking.

Plotting, he thinks darkly, and then he scowls.

"If you say so," he mutters, and then after a long moment he sighs. "If they will be remaining here until this little mystery is unraveled… well. See that their biological needs are met, at least. Wouldn't do to have them starving before I entirely understand their part in this."

The Keep hums lightly, pointedly, and Arum growls.

"I do not care what sorts of meals they prefer."

The Keep hums again.

"No, I do not."

The Keep says nothing for a moment, and then it gives a very, very gentle trill.

"Well I do not currently, then!" he snarls, throwing two hands in the air emphatically. "What have they done? What did they do to pull you to their side above mine? Are we not two parts of the same whole? I exist to protect you- you are my sole reason for existing- why should either of us care about a pair of interloping humans?"

The Keep pauses, and then sings one short, gentle phrase.

Arum's frill presses tight to his neck, and then he attempts to scoff, folding his arms over his chest in a way that feels unfortunately uncertain.

"... ridiculous," he breathes. "Why should that matter? And- and it is absurd to suggest that they would have enough of a grip on me to effect- to make me- ridiculous."

It sings again, the same short phrase.

"I am-" he snaps his teeth together. "I am already-" he hisses low, feeling his tail thrashing uncomfortably. "It does not matter. What is the value of happiness, Keep? In what way does it serve to ensure your safety?"

The Keep does not sing in response, this time, but Arum can feel the sorrow that pulses through it in its silence.

"See?" he says after a moment, his voice stilted. "You can provide no answer to that, can you? Ridiculous. All of this is absurd. The only thing that matters- the only thing that matters is our survival. These humans are nothing but a threat to that."

The Keep remains silent, and Arum can feel that it is pulling its attention back, retreating from the conversation.

Arum attempts to consider this a victory. Arum resists the impulse to call the Keep's attention back. Arum pretends that the idea of being left entirely alone at this moment does not fill him with-

It does not matter. He sighs, turning his body away, ending the conversation on his own terms, despite the fact that the Keep surrounds him, despite the fact that the Keep chose to fade from attention first.

At last Arum brings his focus to his surroundings, observing his workshop, and he narrows his eyes in confusion as he does.

The experiments he has been working on are gone. Every one of them has disappeared from the space, replaced by newer creatures and tools that he does not recognize. Not only that, but the space- it has been widened slightly as his bedroom was, grown outward to accommodate wider workspaces, more tools.

Arum narrows his eyes even further, realizing that this space, as it currently exists, is meant to have room for two.

Some of the projects appear to be the ordinary fare, new traps and creatures with modifications to help protect themselves and the swamp, but beside them appear to be experiments of decidedly medical intent, and others besides those he cannot seem to determine a reason for in the least. They are magical in nature, of course, but he can see little else from which to glean their purpose.

There is a third pair of fireproof gloves beside his own set of four, now. Slimmer, smaller, carefully stitched. He stares at them for a long moment, an uncomfortable ticking in his throat.

Everything is out of place. Everything.

… He would not even have noticed the scraps of torn parchment shoved unceremoniously into the fireplace, if the colorful splash of the wax seal did not catch his eye. Catch his eye, and then stick there.

Even torn in half, Arum knows the seal of the Senate by sight.

It takes perhaps a half an hour to pull together enough of the scraps that he can reconstruct the letter, at least to the point where it is mostly legible, and his hands are utterly ruined with ash by the time he achieves his goal.

Some is still fragmented. If there were a greeting or a signature they have burned or been torn away, and though Arum can see frequent scatterings of words like Universe and Will and bits and pieces of aggressive posturing, the one paragraph he has managed to restore is edifying enough that he does not feel the need to continue scrabbling through the hearth.

It is the Will of the Universe that the monster collective does as it pleases. The Senate does our utmost to uphold this Will, and it is to our pleasure that the human infection be eradicated. By failing to destroy a growing number of humans - chief among them a healer of their kind, and a monster-killer - you defy the Will of the Senate, and by extension the Will of the Universe itself. You are going destroy them. The Senate assures you, Lord Arum, that it will be your Will to do so. A monster may only defy its nature for so long, and the human infection will destroy you, if you do not destroy your own small infection first.

Arum can see the holes on either side of the parchment, where his own claws must have dug in before he tore the page entirely asunder. His own claws fit neatly in those spaces, and part of him wishes to tear it all asunder yet again, if only for the letter's smug, self-important tone.

Evidence, he thinks vaguely, and the word comes in the little human's confident voice. Mention of a healer and a monster-killer, the doctor and the knight- the letter shredded and half-burned in the hearth- barely legible even after wasting half an hour in the effort-

If this is part of some enormous lie… it would be a nearly impossibly elaborate one.

Arum looks at the small pair of gloves again. He smooths over the torn edges of the letter from the Senate.

The growth within his greenhouse corroborates the timeline the Keep and the humans claim, the year he has lost. A year of making room in his home for these creatures. A year of dulling the sharpness of his claws, a year of experiments he no longer knows, a year of, apparently, deceiving and defying the Senate.

You are going to destroy them.

Arum feels his frill shiver at his neck.

it will be your Will to do so.

Arum's mind churns, confusion and frustration and fear, and he digs his claw into the wax of the Senate's seal. Their words certainly sound like the threat of a curse, to Arum's ears. And if it truly was the Senate who stole a year from him-

(The memory is gone. Utter blankness. Did he truly, honestly risk the safety of his Keep? Did he truly dig his heels in to earn the Senate's ire?)

He needs to speak with the humans again.

[->]