#part 2/7

[fairyniceyeah]

💎 I love my team, I love my crew (Part 2/7)

Title from Super (SEVENTEEN)

ILMTILMC Part I

Summary: Seungcheol, Jeonghan and the manager check on the sick members. The group has to decide how to go on as all are at risk of contagion.

CW: emeto, diarrhea in the context of illness

Sickies: Woozi/Jihoon + Joshua + Minghao + S.Coups/Seungcheol

Caretakers: Wonwoo + S.Coups/Seungcheol + Seungkwan + Jeonghan + Jun

💎🍚

Jihoon told himself he would never ever set foot on a boat again. He had told himself the same thing when they had filmed on a boat for the first time and he had gotten really sick in the span of an hour but until now every time they had been on ships the motion-sickness medication had helped. He didn’t understand why it didn’t help now, instead he was feeling worse with every passing second.

His head hurt. His stomach hurt. His whole body hurt. 

And he was still so nauseous. 

The producer had at first not been a fan of company, though he felt bad for snapping at Seungkwan to go earlier, but now he didn’t know what he would do without Wonwoo. Crash, burn and die, all while pathetically laying on a random sailing boat’s bathroom floor, probably.

Instead he had relaxed under Wonwoo’s fingers braiding his disgusting hair back from his face, maybe even a little too much. The older had barely finished braiding before Jihoon had to jerk forward, a spray of sick painting the toilet water brown. He truly hadn’t wanted to see the kimbap from this morning again. 

“It’s okay, Jihoonie”, Wonwoo soothed and pulled Jihoon away from the toilet. The rapper reached up and flushed the sickness away before propping Jihoon up on his lap. It should have been weird but it was cozy instead. Like Jihoon was hugged by a big teddy bear. “Manager-hyung and Cheollie-hyung are coming now. They have meds for you. I’m sure you’ll feel better soon.”

Jihoon sighed and nodded. He truly looked forward to medication that hopefully helped even if he wasn’t sure if he could actually keep it down. The nausea was unrelenting and he could feel his stomach rebel under the tight grip he had on it.

“Sorry for ruining your afternoon”, he whispered. He was glad to have Wonwoo, yes, but he also felt bad for him. Wonwoo surely hadn’t planned to spend the afternoon sitting in a tiny bathroom watching over his seasick, pukey dongsaeng. 

“Nonsense”, Wonwoo said firmly, “don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help. We all know you get seasick and though it sucks, it just happens sometimes.”

Jihoon was saved from having to think of an answer by footsteps and then a knock on the partly open door.

“Hyungs”, Wonwoo called, “come in or well…”

There really wasn’t any room for Seungcheol and the manager - both tall and broad - to come in. Instead they stayed in the open doorway, looking down at them. Wonwoo scooted a bit, still holding Jihoon on his lap, so they all could look at each other.

“Hey, Jihoon-ah”, Seungcheol greeted with a hoarse voice. Even the leader seemed a bit confused by his voice quality but after he gave a short cough, it cleared. “How are you feeling now?”

“Nauseous, hyung”, Jihoon mumbled, “I just threw up again. My head hurts too, and my stomach. I hate boats.” He shivered and felt Wonwoo hold him tighter.

“We don’t think it’s seasickness, Jihoonie”, the manager remarked, “Minghao-yah isn’t feeling good too. And Jeonghan is fine and he took the same meds as you - that doesn’t really mean anything but still … it’s more likely that you are really sick. Food poisoning is out of the question considering you all ate the same thing.”

Great. Just great. Nothing better than a stomach flu in these tight quarters. Jihoon already dreaded the coming hours.

“Shit”, Wonwoo spoke aloud what Jihoon thought. 

“Yeah. But don’t worry about it, Jihoonie”, the manager said and crouched down to look at Jihoon, brushing back a strand of hair. “I have some pills for nausea and vomiting here that we can try. Do you think you could take one?”

He held out a bottle of pills.

Jihoon took a deep breath in and tried to decide. His stomach was unsettled, so much was true, but he also didn’t feel like he needed to be sick in the next few minutes again. So he nodded, hoping the pills would bring some relief.

The manager handed him a pill while Seungcheol balanced past them to fill Jihoon’s toothbrush cup with water. Wonwoo helped Jihoon lift the cup to his mouth, his shaking hands not able to properly grasp and hold it. The cold water felt uncomfortable in his queasy stomach and suddenly Jihoon doubted his ability to take the pill after all. Saliva filled his mouth, making him feel like he was about to gag again.

But he was already inconveniencing his hyungs enough. Surely he would manage to swallow one teensy tiny pill. 

Jihoon was wrong. He was so wrong. The moment he took the pill into his mouth, he realized that with how tight his throat was he couldn’t swallow. Within a few seconds the pill had started to dissolve and before Jihoon was even able to comprehend what was about to happen, the vile taste made him gag. 

The water, white and chalky from the pill, spilled from his mouth before he could stop it, drenching his shirt. But then Jihoon couldn’t stop. He retched again, feeling his stomach reject everything, and more vomit came up, falling onto his lap. 

Wonwoo exclaimed in surprise but quickly helped Jihoon lean over the toilet where he proceeded to gag and retch. Torrents of throw up dirtied the water and the porcelain while Jihoon started to fight for breath. His stomach hurt, cramping badly and pushing even more sick up. 

It took a few moments before Jihoon was able to stop gagging even after he hadn’t thrown up in a bit. He kept leaning over the bowel, not sure if he wasn’t about to spew again.

“Deep breath, Jihoon-ah”, Wonwoo said, gently patting his back. With his other hand he used a wad of toilet paper to wipe Jihoon's mouth. A dangerous task, if Jihoon was honest. He couldn’t guarantee that he would be able to warn Wonwoo in time but it also felt good to have the sick away from the corner of his cracked lips.

But it was useless, as much as dangerous. Jihoon felt his stomach contract and this time the force of his angered stomach was so much that vomit rushed out through his mouth and nose. It was a horrible feeling, burning his esophagus, throat and nose and it took Jihoon’s breath away. His vision went a bit black before his stomach calmed down and gave him mercy. 

Exhausted from the ordeal and too tired to feel humiliated, Jihoon just sunk back against Wonwoo’s chest. He couldn’t hold himself up anymore, even if he wanted to.

The manager sadly smiled at him, looking truly empathetic to Jihoon’s plight. “Let us take your …”

“Cheollie-hyung”, Seungkwan called, barreling into the bedroom out of the blue. Ashamed, Jihoon bowed his head. He didn’t want the younger to see his vocal leader this way. “Thank God I saw you from the hallway. Shua-hyung isn’t doing well either.” He stopped for a moment to take in the scene. “How is Woozi-hyung?”

“I’m okay”, Jihoon replied before any of the others had a chance. It was getting too crowded. Having three people stare down at him laying miserably on his taller chingu, covered in his own sick, was overwhelming and humiliating. Luckily Wonwoo seemed to get the memo.

“Go check on Shua-hyung, Cheol-hyung, manager-hyung”, the rapper said and tightened his arms around Jihoon even more for a moment, “I’ve got Jihoonie.”

💎🦌

The headache Joshua had been nursing since lunch had taken on a worse level. It didn’t quite seem to be a migraine, despite the awful pain. He ticked all the boxes for an early level migraine but somehow he didn’t think it was one. Yet the pain was bad enough that he wanted to cry or smash his head against the wall. Knowing that would scare Seungkwan - if he hadn’t left while Joshua had been asleep - who had no idea how bad headaches could get and to some extent aware that it would not solve his issue, he refrained from it. 

He’d only been awake for a minute or two but Joshua was ready to fall back asleep again. 

He took a deep breath, trying to speak and find out if he was alone or not. Opening his eyes was out of the question. But even speaking seemed to have been the wrong thing to do. Suddenly nausea was rolling in his stomach. 

Oh no. He didn’t know if he could take vomiting on top of everything. He was sure his head would split open if that happened. Still, he couldn’t ignore the bitter taste in his mouth.

“Kwan-ah?”, he whispered without opening his eyes. There was a bit of a scuffle and it sounded like something was dropped. Somebody was there. Joshua felt relief was over him, even if the sound aggravated the pain. 

“Shua-hyung?”, the younger vocalist replied quietly, “what do you need?”

“Can you get me a bin or a bag or something?”, Joshua mumbled, “I don’t think I can make it to the bathroom.” Getting up would definitely make him sick, he was sure.

“Are you gonna throw up?”, Seungkwan asked, his voice a bit more frantic now. 

“Maybe”, Joshua admitted, “can you…?”

His stomach rolled again and he felt himself break into a cold sweat. 

“I’ll be right back”, Seungkwan said before the door opened and closed quietly. The sudden silence was deafening and in the absence of anything that could distract him he was now very aware of the ship’s slight up and down movements. 

Joshua wasn’t sure if he had fallen asleep again or if Seungkwan was so quick but the door opened quite soon. It sounded like there were more footsteps now. Who had Seungkwan brought? The vocalist hoped for one of his fellow 95-liners. Seungcheol had a lot of experience caring for Joshua’s and Woozi’s migraines and Jeonghan was his best friend and his safe place. 

The bed dipped as somebody sat down beside him, causing the nausea to surge. Joshua resolutely clamped his jaw shut, breathing deeply through his nose and trying to concentrate on anything but the nausea.

“He’s gonna vomit”, a quiet voice said. Seungcheol. It sounded further away and there was a weird quality to the leader’s voice. Why was Seungcheol so far away? Who was sitting beside him? Jeonghan? He hoped it was him but he couldn’t tell for sure.

Then the words registered in Joshua’s sluggish mind. He wasn’t gonna throw up, how would Seungcheol…?

Joshua gagged, tasting bile at the back of his throat. The mysterious someone lifted Joshua up into an elevated position and it was enough for the nausea to boil over.

Hot sick sprayed past his lips and Joshua whimpered. It was disgusting. Even worse, the sound of his vomit hitting a crinkling plastic bag seemed to stab at his brain, making everything too loud and intense. Bile burned his nose and he threw up again.

“It’s okay, Shua-yah, we got you”, the head manager said. So it was him who was holding Joshua up. If he wasn’t so focused on how awful he was feeling he would have been embarrassed. At least Jeonghan had seen him like this before. 

“I’ll go and get him something to drink”, Seungcheol announced and his hurried footsteps receded. For a moment Joshua wondered why the leader was abandoning him now but as he retched again and his brain felt like it would explode with the next sound, he couldn’t care less.

He whimpered again, not able to stop the helpless sound. “Make it stop”, he begged, despite knowing there was nothing the manager or Seungkwan - Joshua supposed it was him holding the bag - could do. He was so desperate for relief that any rational thought was wiped from his mind.

“I’m sorry, Shua-yah”, the manager said, rubbing his back. “Try to calm down, okay?”

Joshua wanted to tell him that he could not - under any circumstances - calm down. He was so hot. He was shivering. His stomach was turning itself inside out. His dongsaeng was holding the bag he was puking in. Worst of all, his head was in so much pain that even thinking was hard.

But he couldn’t. He just gagged again, the stench of his previous meals reappearing making the nausea worse. 

It seemed like Seungkwan understood. The bag was pulled away from his face and suddenly Joshua could breathe.

“What are you doing?”, the manager asked, confused and panicked, “what if he …?”

“The smell is making me nauseous. Imagine how Shua-hyung feels”, Seungkwan - so it was really him - replied quietly. “If he throws up, he throws up. But I think this will help more.”

It really did help to not have the bag in front of his face, even if he didn’t even see the contents. Joshua gagged dryly a few times but then his stomach calmed down. He sighed in relief. A tiny part of him had started to believe he would forever be trapped in a circle of vomiting making his headache worse and his headache triggering more vomit. 

The manager, seemingly satisfied and hopeful that Joshua was done, lowered the vocalist back onto the bed. “What can we do for you?”, he asked.

Joshua desperately wanted to remove the taste of throw up from his mouth but he didn’t think that drinking or even swishing his mouth out would happen without him vomiting again. Nevermind the movement needed for that. Taking medicine was out of the question as well. Just the thought of his anti-emetic and the migraine medicine wanted him to start gagging. 

“Ice pack?”, he slurred, sudden exhaustion hitting him.  

“I’ll go look for one”, Seungkwan said.

“Good call. You’re running a fever, I think”, the manager whispered, “I think you have what Jihoon and Minghao have.”

Joshua didn’t even have it in him to ask what was going on with his dongsaengs. Sleep pulled him under.

💎🐸

Minghao didn’t remember a time where he had felt this terrible. His mom had once told him that  he had had a terrible stomach flu as a baby but he obviously didn’t remember it. Even when he had eaten the spicy curry Jun had made some years ago - and then never again - he hadn’t felt like this. It was as if his insides were boiling, reduced to watery, sick liquid.

As his stomach cramped anew, he couldn’t help but whimper and curl over into himself. Tears burned in his eyes and he didn’t have the strength to hold them back. They trailed down his cheeks, dripping onto his lap. 

He felt so humiliated. The ship was small, barely fitting the members and the staff. In fact, Hoshi didn’t even have a bed but only an inflatable mattress on the floor of the bedroom he shared with Seungcheol, Jun, Jeonghan and Vernon. All of the staff would sleep on air mattresses on the floor of the living room, a small section would be separated by a curtain for the four women on staff. 

And here he was. He was acutely aware that his stomach wasn’t throwing a quiet fit. Anybody passing by would know what exactly he was enduring. To add to his misery, the combination of upset stomach and the smell quickly made him queasy. 

A gag made his throat jump. Oh no. There was no trash can in the bathroom. It only held the toilet he was getting very familiar with and a tiny sink. He couldn’t throw up in this bathroom, not now. It was bad enough that he had been forced to admit to Vernon about his bowel issues, he couldn’t throw up on the floor on top of that. Speaking of the youngest rapper, Minghao really hoped he hadn’t followed him after he had been forced to flee the living area. 

Fate was against him. Just as he heard a knock on the door and Vernon’s concerned voice asking if he should go and get a hyung, Minghao’s throat spasmed. He retched. 

Minghao didn’t have any time to prepare himself before a cascade of vomit made its way out of his mouth, splattering onto the floor between his feet. At least he had been already bent over so he didn’t hit his lap. More liquid, chunky and hot, spilled from his lips and this time the backsplash dirtied his lower legs. An instinct reaction of disgust made him sick again. 

Helpless tears sprung to his eyes and Minghao couldn’t help but sob between expulsions from both ends. Everything hurt and his stomach was so sore and unsettled. He wanted a hyung. But he also didn’t want to be seen this way. 

A knock on the door made him jump and another wave of vomit rushed up his throat to join the rapidly growing puddle. For a moment Minghao wondered what would happen if he continued throwing up like this, already most of the floor was covered. Would the puddle just continue growing until it ran out of space and pushed its way out into the hallway like a broken water pipe? Minghao certainly felt like a leaky water pipe, his body desperate to get rid of all fluids. 

“Eissa, it’s Jeonghan-hyung and Junnie. Vernonie fetched us”, his second oldest hyung said through the door. “Are you okay? Can we help you somehow?”

“No”, Minghao gasped out, “just … wait…”

“Okay, we’ll just be outside, baby”, Jun called. 

Embarrassment crept up on Minghao as he realized they wouldn’t budge. They would get first row seats to the sounds of his body rebelling. 

In a stroke of luck it seemed like his body was done with him soon after. He cleaned himself up, flushing a few times, and tried to wipe the sick from his legs without stepping into the puddle. It didn’t really work as his stomach cramped badly as he tried to bend down. So quickly he was forced to admit defeat.

He didn’t really know what to do. He knew that he’d likely be in this position again sometime soon. And he desperately wanted comfort. In the end the need for comfort and his inability to properly clean up forced him to call out for his hyungs sooner rather than later. He was just glad that he had been wearing shorts and therefore had been able to pull them up over the sickness on his legs. At least he was spared the indignity of being naked after all that.

“Gege? Hyung?”, he called out cautiously.

“We’re here, Xiao Ba”, Jun replied instantly. “It’s just us. Can you open the door for us?”

Minghao didn’t reply, just unlocked the door. However, he couldn’t bring himself to open the door. It only took a few seconds until he was facing the two older members. Tears sprung to Minghao’s eyes again and he looked down at their feet, ignoring the mess on the floor.

“Oh, baby”, Jeonghan cooed, managing to sound shocked at the same time. 

“I’m sorry”, Minghao whispered without lifting his head. He didn’t want his hyungs - or worse a staff member he would never be able to look into the eyes after - to clean up after him, but he knew he couldn’t do it. 

“It’s okay, Xiao Ba, come over here”, Jun said and held out his hand. Tentatively Minghao grabbed his hand and stepped over the mess to immediately be pulled into the older dancer’s arms. 

“It’s okay”, Jun repeated as Minghao kept sobbing into his shoulder, “I just wish you’d told me earlier you didn’t feel well.”

“It’s embarrassing. It only started when we played table tennis anyway”, Minghao mumbled. He was starting to feel really lightheaded and wobbly, even with Jun holding him. “I don’t feel good.”

“Don’t be embarrassed”, Jeonghan said from behind him and rubbed his back, “you’re just really sick. It happens.”

Minghao removed himself a tiny bit from Jun’s arms so he could look at Jeonghan. The older gave with a sweet, comforting smile and Minghao noticed that he had closed the bathroom door so that anybody who would stumble upon them would not immediately see. Minghao was deeply grateful for that.

“Do you feel ready to go lie down in the living room?”, Jeonghan asked. 

“Please”, Minghao mumbled. All he wanted was to lie down. The walk to the living area wasn’t long at all but at the moment it felt like they were asking him to hike the length of the Great Wall of China. 

His head was swimming and then his knees really buckled. Jun tightened his grip on him as soon as he felt Minghao sway, which was the only thing keeping him from face planting on the floor. 

“I got you, Xiao Ba”, Jun whispered, “Hannie-hyung, could you…?”

Within a few seconds Minghao found himself supported on both sides by his hyungs, his arms wrapped around their shoulders. His legs were like jelly and he was more dragged than he actually took steps. The little strength it took to keep his head up made everything woozy again so he just let it thunk against Jun’s shoulder and closed his eyes. The last thing he felt was being laid down on a soft cushion and a cool cloth wiping his legs before he fell asleep. 

💎🦖

From Jeonghannie-hyung (17:48): Everybody who is able to, please come to the living room as soon as possible. It’s important. 

“Well, that’s ominous”, Hoshi commented after Vernon read out the message out loud. Dino and the other maknae had done as asked from Jeonghan - they had joined Mingyu, Seokmin and Hoshi in the lounge area on the deck. They hadn’t found Joshua to tell him about the arising situation but they apparently had been able to keep appearances up enough for the three elders not to ask if anything was wrong. 

“Let’s just go”, Vernon said and rolled his eyes at Mingyu and Seokmin, who were still discussing the table tennis match - which they had done since the two maknaes had arrived. Even Hoshi looked like he wanted to strangle the two which was really a feat. The older was so easily drawn into shenanigans that it was truly a wonder he wasn’t involved.

“Do you think it has something to do with Woozi-hyung and Minghao-hyung?”, Dino whispered to Vernon as they walked side by side. The rapper just shrugged. 

When they entered the living room, they found a variety of staff members, as well as Jeonghan and Seungcheol gathered around a table. Jun sat at another table. Dino quickly realized why, when he saw Minghao asleep on the older’s lap. The dancer was curled into himself and looked pale and sweaty. Jun had his hand on Minghao’s stomach, rubbing soothing circles. 

The atmosphere was undeniably tense.

“Is he okay?”, Hoshi asked, eyeing the duo wearily. The dance leader wasn’t a fan of sickness, as far as Dino knew. He’d rather avoid it because he doesn’t know what to do - except for with Woozi, obviously. Mingyu didn't look any more happy.

Jeonghan sighed and pointed at the five empty chairs at their table. “Please sit. Now, that we are all here…”

He was interrupted by Seokmin. “What do you mean that we’re all here? Shua-hyung, Wonwoo-hyung, Woozi-hyung and Kwan-ah are missing?”

“That’s what we’re here to talk about”, the head manager remarked, “Minghao-yah is sick. So are Woozi-yah and Joshua-yah.”

“Oh damn”, Mingyu cursed. 

“Yeah”, Jeonghan sighed, “Kwan-ah volunteered to keep an eye on Shua and Wonwoo just texted that he doesn’t think he should leave Jihoonie alone to come here.”

“It’s that bad?”, Hoshi asked nervously, seemingly very concerned for his best friend. Dino understood. He too hadn’t thought it was that bad. Beside him Vernon was starting to fidget as well.

“I haven’t yet looked them all over”, the medic replied, “but we all doubt it’s food poisoning. I think it’s a stomach flu, a very contagious one at that. Norovirus, likely.”

Dino felt his heart drop to his stomach. With three members already sick and a very contagious virus going around they all were likely doomed. A ticking clock was counting down on them. It would be awful on the boat, far away from help and in such close quarters.

Another manager seemed to think along the same lines as the maknae. “Filming is canceled obviously, we can do that another time. The priority at the moment is to keep this from spreading, I think. Can we quarantine the sick members to a room and hope that the rest of us are not yet infected? It might keep the sickness from spreading.”

“No, that’s not possible. I don’t think so, at least. No matter that Woozi hasn’t been able to leave the bathroom, no matter that Joshua is in so much pain he basically passed out, no matter that Minghao is really weak, no matter that none of them could climb up to an upper bunk”, Jeonghan started, “Woozi has been throwing up every twenty minutes, Joshua is really sensitive to sound and light and also throwing up, and Minghao is getting sick from both ends. There is no way they wouldn’t set each other off and sharing a bathroom with two other sick members will be a disaster waiting to happen. I’m afraid we all might need to bite the bullet and distribute sick members to every room, so we can watch over them.”

“I agree with Jeonghan-ah”, the head manager said.

Jun nodded as well. “I don’t know about the other two but Minghao needs help. He can barely walk and he’s really dehydrated, he fell asleep before he could drink anything. I doubt he would have kept it down but … they can’t be on their own…” He trailed off, looking lost in thought and so worried about his younger fellow chinese member.  

“What do we do then?”, Dino asked, feeling overwhelmed with the situation but also like he needed to help.

Jeonghan sighed, resting his head in his hand for a moment and taking a deep breath before suggesting: “I think the best would be if we divide into groups to take care of the sick members, as well as one where we only put those we hope didn’t get infected yet go together, and try to avoid each other for the time, so that maybe contagion is a bit reduced.”

Jun nodded, as did the head manager and the medic.

“Wonwoo is with Woozi, Kwan-ah is with Shua and Jun is with Minghao”, Jeonghan decided the obvious, “I think we should add another member and one manager to each team. Vernon, Cheollie and I have definitely been in contact with the sick members, and the rest of you maybe try to stay far far away. Cheollie, what do you think?”

Dino had nearly forgotten that the leader was there, he had been so quiet. It was unusual for Seungcheol to be quiet in a situation like this, the maknae mused, normally their leader was the first one by a sick member's side and decided on how things would progress. But during the whole exchange he had been silent, head bowed and staring at the table in front of him.

Now that all the attention was on him, Seungcheol lifted his head. 

“I …”, Seungcheol started but then he stopped and pushed his chair away so violently it toppled over. 

Dino only had a few seconds to note how awfully pale their oldest was and remember the heart-stopping moment of Seungcheol falling into the water after complaining of the cold on a hot day. Then Seungcheol turned his back to the group and doubled over, throwing up onto the floor with a loud gag. 

“Shit”, Jeonghan cursed and pushed his own chair away to stand and support the leader as he continued getting sick. 

Dino watched in horror, not having expected it even though in retrospect it had been clear that something was up with their mat-hyung. Vernon had seemingly expected it even less and out of instinct clutched Dino’s hand with his own tightly.

“This is not good”, the rapper whispered.

💎🍒

Seungcheol didn’t know when he first started feeling unwell.

When he first noticed it, it was like he had always felt like that. Nauseous, stomach cramping and freezing cold. Not necessarily the best conditions for swimming in the open sea. Staying close to the floatie and getting out before his strength completely vanished had been the only thing on his mind at that time. Falling into the icy cold water had not been his plan, a wave of nausea so suddenly washing over him that he feared he would throw up then and there on the ladder. Instead he had fallen into the water. 

The leader had no idea how he had made it up to the deck without vomiting all the salt water he had accidentally swallowed up. Hell, he was feeling so bad he had all but confessed to Jeonghan, Dino and the manager that he wasn’t feeling well. Only Vernon running to tell them Minghao was sick had stopped him from telling them we thought something else next to falling was wrong. 

While the others had seemingly forgotten about the leader’s admission - don’t get him wrong, he was glad they were focusing on the younger members instead of him -  he himself could not forget about how awful he was feeling. 

If watching Woozi vomit all over himself had not been enough, watching Joshua throw up barely ten minutes later had not done the leader any favors. At least the members had been so focused on the sick ones that they had not even suspected that Seungcheol was feeling about ready to redecorate the floor himself. Getting Joshua water had been as much of a necessity as a saving grace. Seungcheol was sure if he had stayed any longer he would have gotten sick listening to Joshua retch. And if he took a detour to just stand in a corner and take deep breaths until his own shaking had subsided, nobody seemed to care. Least of all Seungkwan who told him that Joshua was asleep and to leave the water at his bedside when Seungcheol turned up with it, much later than the time he would have needed to get to the living room and back. 

None of them had suspected a thing. A win in Seungcheol’s book. 

He knew that as general leader and mat-hyung he was expected to say things and give suggestions, work on solutions, at the meeting Jeonghan and the main manager had quickly organized. Yet with a GI infection epidemic looming over their heads no one even spared a thought to the fact that he didn’t speak. 

Seungcheol was proud of the members for staying level-headed even in face of this - a situation none of them had ever faced before. 

“Cheollie, what do you think?”, a voice asked through the fog in his mind. Shit, they wanted his opinion after all. Just … Seungcheol had no idea what they even were talking about. 

Along with the stomach ache, he must have developed a fever. That would explain his muddled thoughts. It was only then that it occurred to Seungcheol that he likely had what was already making Joshua, Jihoon and Minghao so sick. He needed to let them know, needed to let them know they had to keep their distance from him.

He lifted his dizzy head, seeing everything swirl around him. This was not good. His stomach twinged, unhappy with the nauseating movement.

“I …”, he started, feeling like his tongue was too big for his mouth. He didn’t even have a chance to process what happened. One second he was speaking, the next he had pushed back his chair and a puddle of sick was rapidly growing at his feet. 

Seungcheol gagged harshly, feeling his whole body shudder with it and swaying with the motion. A new torrent of vomit rushed up his throat, splattering at his feet. His knees went weak and he would have fallen if not for the hands holding him up.

“Shit”, the person holding him cursed. Hannie? Seungcheol wasn’t sure.

Later he couldn’t say for how long he had been throwing up. Afterwards he just knew he felt wrung dry, his insides twisting and everything swirling around him. 

“Let’s get you to the bathroom across the hall, hm?”, the voice said and it was then that Seungcheol realized it really was Jeonghan who was holding him tightly. 

But then.

“Hannie-hyung”, Jun called, his voice frantic, “I need to get Hao there.”

Seungcheol suddenly felt sick again. Guilt was crashing over him like a wave. First his sickness had interrupted the meeting about the sickness and now he had - even if accidentally - set Minghao off again. Minghao, who as far as Seungcheol knew, couldn’t afford to lose more liquids.

With a sob, more sick spilled from his lips and onto the ground.

“Cheollie”, Jeonghan whispered, gently rubbing Seungcheol’s back in comforting circles. After this surge of sickness passed, Seungcheol was pushed down on a chair. He hung his head low, nearly resting it on his knees. 

“Hey, can you look at me?”, Jeonghan asked, his tone so gentle and worried that Seungcheol couldn’t help but lift his head to do as asked. He didn’t even remember closing his eyes but when he opened them he was greeted by Jeonghan giving him a lopsided smile, the one he used when he tried to cheer members up but also was very worried himself. The vocalist was squatting in front of the chair Seungcheol was sitting on, balancing with one hand on Seungcheol’s knee. The touch was so comforting. 

“Hannie”, the leader rasped.

“I’m here”, his best friend reassured, “wish you’d told me you felt this sick earlier though. I know you mentioned after swimming but you let us brush it aside. Next time, make us listen.”

“Sorry.”

Jeonghan sighed and lifted his free hand up to first brush Seungcheol’s hair from his forehead, then hold the back of his hand against it. After a few seconds trailed his hand down to cup Seungcheol’s cheek.

“You’re burning up, darling.”

Seungcheol nodded. Even with his mind hazy as it was he knew what that likely meant.

Suddenly somebody crouched down beside Jeonghan. It was the medic on staff if Seungcheol could remember correctly. He placed a plastic bag into the leader’s lap.

“Just in case”, he commented. “Can I look you over, Seungcheol-ssi? You seem to be burning up and obviously have what the others have.”

Seungcheol nodded, exhaustion pulling at his every bone. He just wanted to sleep.

Five minutes later the medic had established that the leader was running a sky-high temperature of 39.4°C and Seungcheol had been forced to bring the precautionary plastic bag to his lips, the thermometer having triggered his gag reflex to an uncomfortable degree. He hadn’t yet thrown up again but he also was pretty sure it was only a matter of time. 

The managers had vacated the room, moving the meeting to the outside in hopes to discuss future plans and try to figure out how to get back to land - at least that’s what Seungcheol managed to understand while fighting to not spit out the thermometer along with his stomach.

“Hyungs?”, Dino’s voice suddenly came from the entrance door to the living room. He and Mingyu were both standing there, kind of awkwardly. Seungcheol had completely forgotten about them if he was being honest.

“Hey, Dino-yah, Mingyu-yah”, Jeonghan said, “what’s up?”

“How is Cheollie-hyung?”, Mingyu questioned, biting his lip and seemingly trying to avoid looking at his sick leader. If anything, Seungcheol understood. He arguably was feeling even more awkward than his dongsaeng.

“Queasy but alive”, Jeonghan quipped, likely trying to make the atmosphere more light. “What can I do for you?”

“We just wanted to let you know that Hoshi-hyung went to help Wonwoo-hyung with Woozi-hyung and Seokmin-hyung went to check on Joshua-hyung and Seungkwan-hyung. Vernon-hyung went after Jun-hyung and Minghao-hyung. That leaves us with Cheollie-hyung if that is okay? We thought you might like to check on all the sick members periodically, Hannie-hyung?”, Dino said hesitantly. 

It was not a bad idea. Jeonghan seemed to agree. 

ILMTILMC Part III

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

[senseigrace]

Take These Broken Wings and Learn to Fly (Part Two)

I did NOT expect the story to blow up on here the way it did. I'm so glad you all enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy part two!

(TW for referenced past torture.)

Lloyd slept for most of the day. The exhaustion from being unable to sleep and from being in pain made him sleep much later than he ever would have wanted to. 

When he woke up, Kai was still sitting beside him. He had a book in his hands, something that Lloyd knew that Nya had probably brought to him. 

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Kai said as Lloyd sat up. “How are you feeling?” 

Lloyd ran his tongue over his teeth. The fangs were still there… He wondered if they were there to stay instead of being retractable like the claws.

“A bit better,” he answered, then reached up to feel if he still had the little horns that his hair mostly covered. 

He did. 

And he knew he still had the wings. Even though his back didn’t hurt as much anymore, he could still feel the new limbs. 

He moved them slightly, still weirded out by the new sensation. It wasn’t often when he grew new limbs. 

“The others got back from their mission,” Kai said. “Zane made some food if you want any.” 

Lloyd nodded, but he wasn’t really hungry. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass for now,” he said. “Um… Do you know if Uncle Wu is around?” 

If Lloyd was being honest with himself, he didn’t really want to talk to his uncle. It wasn’t anything personal, but there had been something about Master Wu earlier that had felt off. 

“You know you don’t have to go talk to him yet if you don’t want to,” Kai told him. “I’m not gonna tell him that you’re awake and avoiding him.” 

Lloyd looked up at Kai, his mouth falling open for just a second. “I’m not avoiding him!” he protested, even though he knew his brother was right. “I’m just…” 

Kai laughed. “It’s okay, Lloyd,” he said. 

Lloyd rolled his eyes, then stood up. As much as he didn’t want to talk to his uncle, he definitely didn’t want Kai thinking that he was avoiding him. 

“I’m gonna go talk to him,” he said. 

Lloyd didn’t give Kai a chance to react, he didn’t give himself a chance to chicken out. 

He opened the door to his room and walked to his uncle’s room. 

When he reached the door, he knocked on it with a shaky hand. 

He didn’t understand why he was feeling like this. His uncle had always been kind to him, he had never judged him for who, or what, he was. There was no reason to be scared. Especially when it was something that he couldn’t even control. 

“Come in.” 

Lloyd swallowed harshly at the sound of his uncle’s voice, but opened the door and walked in regardless. 

When he shut the door behind him, his uncle smiled. 

“How did you sleep?” Master Wu asked. He was sitting on the floor, an incense burner in front of him. He looked like he always did, a kind and gentle old man who was wise beyond his years. 

Still, Lloyd hesitated by the door, his arms and wings pulled behind his back. “I slept well,” he said. “Um… You said you wanted to talk to me, Master?” 

Over the years, Lloyd had begun using Master and Uncle interchangeably. Neither one of them were wrong, but sometimes he wanted the distinction. Sometimes Wu was his master, not his uncle. 

Master Wu nodded. “I did,” he said. “Come sit down, Lloyd. Join me.” 

Lloyd obediently walked over and sat across from his uncle. His heart was beating at a hundred beats per second from the anxiety of whatever his uncle was about to say. 

So he spoke first. “Did I do something wrong?” 

A look of shock flashed in Master Wu’s golden eyes. “No, of course not,” he said. “Lloyd, you haven’t done anything wrong.” 

Lloyd let out a sigh of relief that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding in. He knew that he had no control over what his body did, but he knew that taking the form of an Oni could never be a good thing… 

“But I do want to talk to you about your new features,” he said. 

Lloyd looked up at him. He didn’t know what to say, so he nodded. What else was there to do? 

Master Wu cleared his throat. “I owe you an explanation,” he said. “And an apology.” 

Lloyd’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Why was he trying to apologize to him? He was the one who randomly turned into some sort of hybrid freak. “Uncle?” 

“I had known that this day would come for a long time, however the Tomorrow’s Tea changed my timeline quite a bit,” Master Wu said. “I should have prepared you for this, and yet I did not. I kept it to myself and I never should have done that to you. I’m sorry, nephew.” 

Lloyd looked down at his hands. Earlier, there had been claws instead of fingertips. They had been sharper than swords… “I don’t understand.”

“Lloyd, you are so much more than meets the eye,” Master Wu said. “You are an Oni, Dragon, and Human hybrid. It means that you will go through changes to represent all three sides of your heritage, you’ll live a longer life, and you’ll have the powers of creation and destruction as well as your element of Energy.” 

Lloyd swallowed. “I already knew that I was a hybrid,” he said. “But why did it show up? Why am I like this now?” 

Master Wu sighed. “I’m not sure,” he said. “As I said, the Tomorrow’s Tea changed a lot for you.” 

He hated thinking about the Tomorrow’s Tea. It hadn’t ruined his life, but it was a fair source of trauma that he didn’t like to think about. He had tried to make peace with the fact that he had been aged up so unfairly, but whenever he thought it was okay, something brought it back up. 

Lloyd looked up at his uncle. “Will anything else change?” he asked. “I’m not… I’m not gonna end up like Garmadon, right?” 

At the mention of his brother, Master Wu flinched. “Lloyd…” he said softly. “His Oni genetics were not the cause of his evil, that was because of the venom of the Devourer. Yes, the man that was brought back is all Oni, but he is also only the evil side of your father.” 

Lloyd felt his eyes begin to burn. He had been told that all of his life, but when Garmadon had been brought back… He couldn’t help but wonder if the evil was caused by more than just venom from an evil snake… 

“I’m sorry, Uncle…” he whispered. 

Master Wu sighed. “Don’t apologize,” he said. “I did not mean for this to become a lecture on your father. Even if he does possess many of the Oni characteristics that you perhaps will inherit.” 

Lloyd nodded and looked down at his hands. “I just don’t know what to do, Master Wu…” he said, and he hated himself for the way his voice cracked. “I don’t know if I need to hide this part of me or if I should… I dunno…” 

“It is perfectly acceptable not to know things, nephew,” he told him. “I certainly didn’t know what to do when I had my first experience with my Dragon side.” 

Lloyd looked back up at Master Wu and tilted his head. In the midst of everything else, he had somehow forgotten that his uncle was also not a human. He was just as supernatural as he was, if not more. 

“May I see your wings?” Master Wu asked. 

Lloyd nodded his head. He had no problem with his uncle inspecting his wings. After all, he was probably the only person in all of Ninjago who had any idea what wings on a human should look like. 

Lloyd sat up straight and allowed Master Wu to extend his wings all of the way out, to inspect the newly formed joints on his back, to touch the sensitive scales… 

His touch was the same gentle one that had cleaned many wounds and wiped so many tears out of his eyes, but Lloyd couldn’t have been more relieved when the poking and prodding was finally done. 

“They look healthy and strong for a pair of new wings,” Master Wu said as he sat back down. “If they continue to grow like they are, then I have no doubt that you’ll be able to fly by your next birthday.” 

Lloyd couldn’t hold back a gasp at that. Of all of the things that he would be able to do, flying had always been one of his favorites. Of course, he used to be able to summon an elemental dragon, but after everything that had happened… 

That wasn’t important. 

He had wings now. He could fly. 

Well, not yet, but one day. 

Then a thought popped into his head, one that wasn’t related to him, but to his uncle. 

Master Wu was more Dragon and Oni than he was, and yet… He didn’t look like it. Not in the same way that Lloyd did. 

Lloyd leaned forward towards his uncle. “Do you have wings, Uncle Wu?” 

For a second, the question seemed to shock Master Wu, his expression completely unreadable for a second. And then he smiled sadly at Lloyd, his golden eyes filled with a sorrow like Lloyd had never seen before. 

“I did.” 

It took a second for Lloyd's brain to register what his uncle meant, but then his eyes widened. “You mean..?” 

Master Wu let out a shuddering sigh. “I had them when I was your age, and I was so proud of them. After all, they were stronger and brighter than Garmadon’s were. But then…” he stopped and a dark expression took over his face. 

Slowly, two and two were being put together and Lloyd’s stomach flipped. 

“Nephew, we’re in a unique position. Our heritage is what makes us strong, but it’s also what makes people hunt us down,” he said. “They took me and I… I couldn’t fight them off.” 

Master Wu frowned and looked down. “They cut them off,” he said. “There was nothing my father could do to fix them.” 

Lloyd heard a strangled cry come out of his throat, but he hardly processed it. 

Someone had cut off his uncle’s wings. Master Wu had been hunted down and tortured. They had taken something that he loved away from him. 

He could feel the tears burning his eyes as his mind began to spiral. 

Lloyd had been captured so many times before, but would he be targeted more now? He no longer had the protection of looking human. He couldn’t blend in anymore now. 

“I.. I,” he stuttered as he pushed himself away from his uncle. “I don’t wanna lose…” 

Master Wu reached out and grabbed both of Lloyd’s hands. He held them tightly in his own warm hands. “Lloyd, look at me.” 

Lloyd looked up at his uncle’s gentle golden eyes. He didn’t say anything though, he couldn’t even come up with any words to say. 

“I will never let that happen to you, nephew,” Master Wu told him. “I promise.” 

Lloyd wanted to protest. He had been kidnapped by snakes, had his Power Drained by The Overlord, possessed by Morro… There was so much more too. 

No one could truly protect him, not even himself. 

However, Lloyd found himself nodding at his uncle’s promise. The idea of blissful ignorance to the truth was much more appealing than the reality. 

“If you wish, I can teach you more about your heritage,” Master Wu told him. “And even though I cannot fly anymore, I can teach you when the time comes.” 

Lloyd wiped the tears out of his eyes and nodded at his uncle. His uncle had been there for him for so long. He had been the first kind person who had interacted with him in years after he had taken him in. 

“Really?” he asked. 

Master Wu nodded. “Of course,” he said.

A smile found its way onto Lloyd’s face, and he knew that his newly acquired fangs were probably showing, but he didn’t care. “I’d love that.” 

Master Wu grinned, and Lloyd noticed that his teeth were more pointy than normal for the first time. “We’ll start first thing in the morning then.”

[hinamie]

I don't want to regret the way I lived

[ohmyglobwhatthefrickamievendoing]

The fact that izzy apparently just hangs out in stede's room doing his own thing is so funny because what's he gonna do when stede&ed start fucking?? they're gonna have to lock him out of the bedroom like the family dog that's yowling at the door

[thevoidstaredback]

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

It had been a long few minutes since he'd opened the door and there were a lot of questions running through Dick's head. Most pressing of which was how this kid seems to have information he should not have.

"How did you..?" he asked, but the words wouldn't leave completely. There's so much he wants to know, so much he wants to ask.

"How do I what?" Danny tilted his head like the child he seems to be is.

"How do you know?" Dick knows he sounds weak. There's no hiding that, but there are a lot of implications in what the kid has said so far and none of it is painting a very happy picture for him.

"Oh!" Danny had the audacity to smile, "You want to know how I know you moonlight as a vigilante!" And of course he knows. Dick knows he knows, but he'd held a little bit of hope that the child Danny was mistaken. Danny's smile softened a bit as he explained, "Your hair and voice match up in both jobs almost perfectly. Not to mention your build and how you hold yourself. There's also the matter of your overall vibes, but that's not something living beings can normally pick up on." Excuse him? "Well, not living humans, at least, so no worries on that end!"

"Excuse me?" Dick was fairly sure his heart just stopped beating for a moment there.

"Anyway, I was a hero back home for a while, too. I know what it's like to have to walk the tightrope between maintaining a civilian cover and a hero persona. I know how it feels to have to keep secrets from everyone because anyone who knows will be in danger." he rambled, Though, admittedly, our circumstances are quite different. I was working as a hero all hours of the day as well as going to school. You only have to worry about properly balancing between day and night jobs. Either way, me having more to bounce between just makes me al the more qualified to help you!"

Oh. Oh he did not like that. He didn't like a single thing that just came out of the kid's mouth. Because that's what he is, a kid. "Are you...Are you alright?"

"Not in the slightest," Danny admitted with an even smaller smile. Then, it brightened, not quite to a grin, but to something similar, "But I'm here to make sure you are."

He gets points for being honest, but Dick felt his heart shatter. He knew for a fact that he'd never worked with this kid before. He also knew that the Justice League didn't know about him. If they did, he would've been picked up and dropped with either the Young Justice team or the Titans.

Dick wasn't going to ask why he became a hero because that's not his place. It's more of a 'third mission with the team' kind of questions, anyway. Most of the heroes didn't have many options when they took up the mantle. Asking what Danny can do is a more appropriate question, but he wasn't going to ask that, either.

"Now that that's out of the way," Danny turned a few pages from the table of contents to another one that was topped with 'Why Sleep Scheduling Is Important' in the blue glitter pen that Dick was starting to suspect he favored. "You're not getting enough sleep. Following you around - no one's been able to find me for a while, so don't worry about that - for the last two weeks has given me some really worrisome information on you."

Dick was worrying. He was worrying a lot and even more questions were coming to the forefront of his mind.

"Your dayjob is as an officer on the Bludhaven Police Force, or BPD for short." He was looking over the page he'd turned to very aptly and Dick realized that the kid had notes written on him. "The average hours per week for police across the country is forty hours. Gotham and Bludhaven are the exceptions. As a member of the BPD, you work a solid two days and two hours. Six nights a week, you work as Nightwing from eight in the evening to three in the morning. The last day, you take off, which is good. No deserable pattern, so good on you for that. Regardless, that's seven hour nights and ten hour days, with one day off and one day on call as an officer. Seven hours are now left in your day for personal time, eating, and sleeping. That's not a healthy way to live."

Oh, god, the kid had honest to god notes on him! What the hell!

Danny didn't even skip a beat as he pulled Dick's attention back to him and his binder. "I've drawn up a schedule for you to follow." The back of the page had a meticulously drawn schedule, complete with blocks of time to eat, sleep, work both jobs, travel, personal time, and still have a bit extra left over. It was titled 'Ideal End Result' in green marker. "Drastic changes right away will only affect you negatively, so we're starting off smaller." The next page over had another schedule titled 'Where To Begin'. "I've only pulled one hour from your Nightwing hours because I know important that time is to you and the city. I am, however, going to be having you submit an appeal to your boss to cut back your hours from fifty a week to forty a week. That way, you'll only be working eight hours a day and not ten. You'll still be on call for one day, and you'll have that last day off. Altogether, you'll be going be going from working seventeen hours a day to fourteen hours a day. Nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, and eight in the evening to two in the morning. Not including breaks at work or travel time. It opens up a few more hours for you to sleep!"

"You really think the chief is going to pull back my hours?" Dick raised an eyebrow in question.

"He will if he knows what's good for him."

"You know I can arrest you for that threat, right?"

"Yeah, but you won't." And, damn it, he's right.

Although, there was now another thing he had to know. "How to you plan on enforcing this schedule of yours?"

Danny seemed to have been waiting for this. He got a gleam in his eye as he pulled a black folder from his bag, not breaking eye contact with Dick. He placed it on the table and pushed it across. "Congratulations, it's a boy."

Part 1 Part 3

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 3: Enveloping Feelings.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 4 (soon))

[oriixxc]

I trust you won't kill me.

and if you do, then I've gotten sloppy and probably have it coming.

🔗Twitter

[hoagiesnadwich]

it was the world's first [[gratitude]]

-> song that goes w/ this part :-b

part 5 <- part 6 -> part 6.5 -> part 7

[katsu2ji]

(a few of) my bakugou headcannons!

a/n: this is me coping with the ending of the manga </3 KATSUKI I MISS YOU 😞😞

i think he would much prefer softer music (off the top of my head: keshi, soft radiohead perhaps??, cigarettes after sex, etc.) as opposed to the loud music i often see him paired with—kind of a mix of whatever he likes but mainly lots of soft/chill rnb!!

++ i believe he would be a kendrick fan tbh!!!

i also think he would listen to music A LOT especially when overwhelmed

speaking of which, he gets overwhelmed super easily in social settings—he tends to go quiet when it comes to a group of people, conversing better when one on one (HE JUST LIKE ME FR!!!)

he’s the guy on campus wearing those apple airpod max headphones 24/7; his are black ofc!!

dude is the DRYEST texter ever. he makes you look like you’re begging for your ex back or smth it’s so bad (😭😭)

unless you’re a handful of very specific people, don’t expect a text back for at least a day or two…or whenever he feels like it.

he doesn't carry a bag sometimes and somehow manages to stuff everything in his pockets…his pants sag BAD...

takes his skincare super super seriously and does it every single night without fail. it is a non negotiable for him.

in general he cares about his appearance a lot; not in a self centered or an insecure way, it's just super important to him. if he knows he looks good, then he feels good, which directly impacts his performance in practice/battle—naturally, he has to make sure he's the best looking one there.

he’s a jjk fan!!!

he is the BIGGEST musical hater on the planet QUICK EVERYONE ACT SURPRISED!!!!

he’s SO MEAN when he's hungry like. to the point where you can tell when he's getting there because he just starts going OFF (more than usual, ofc).

he takes his coffee super sweet. he tried to be one of those black coffee guys, but now he just resents them because he can’t stand the taste LMAO also the sugar boost helps his quirk!! that’s the excuse he uses anyway…

aquaphor’s most loyal customer!!! he has at least one on him at all times, even when fighting

he’s super sensitive to smells and you can tell when he’s smelled something he doesn’t like because it’s immediately written all over his face—i’d also say that due to his quirk, he has a fear of constantly smelling bad because of his sweat

katsu2ji © 2024. please don't copy, modify, or do anything of the sort with my work! i work very hard and you simply do not have my permission.

[halfghostwriter]

When a true baby ghost is born— a ghost not born of dying, but rather through the desire of another ghost— they are little more than a core with wispy ectoplasm emanating from them for about a month. During said month, they take on influence from their surroundings in order to figure out the form they’ll take, hence why so many young ghosts look like their parents.

Because they aren’t fully formed until a month after their birth, the parent or parents will take on a far more aggressive, primal form in order to protect their child. The parent’s form will become incredibly monstrous, and their size will increase, with triple their normal size being most common among parents. Their mental state also becomes incredibly instinctual, higher intelligence temporarily being replaced by aggression towards anyone the ghost doesn’t consider family. They stay in this state until the baby is fully formed.

Of course, Danny “don’t worry about it” Phantom forgets to add this bit of trivia to his explanation to his fellow heroes as to why he was taking paternity leave. In his defense, he didn’t expect them to visit during that month.

And he definitely didn’t expect his brooding brain to latch onto most everyone who visited as “part of his brood.”

[hollow-vergil]

Sephiroth: "I just want to live a normal life. I don't want to be a hero."

[clarkarts24]

Friday The 13th VHS Spines

Instagram

[paramasqueradeva]

The Chara Timeline Epi 6- 10 [Deltarune/Undertale Comic Dub]

(Collab W/ @washerpizza and Project Alpha )

Comic by: @lilybug-02 

[chloesimaginationthings]

What are they fighting about?

[maefansblog]

"You should have told me, to my face."

Bro, she tried. You patted her on the head!

[egophiliac]

As much as I'm worried about Lilia this chapter (and I'm very worried. He's my fav! 😭) I also cant help but wonder if he's not actually dying and just caught the fae equivalent of a cold, and just, ya know, forgot that was a thing. Like his magic is gonna come back in a few days and he'll be all "Oh, guess it was just the sniffles."

I have to think they won't actually perma-kill him in-story -- I tend to be hilariously wrong about predictions, but, like, surely they wouldn't change the status quo that hard. (at least not before his nendoroid comes out.) so it probably will end up something like that! everyone watches Malleus' little shadow-puppet backstory, tears are shed, character development happens, and then Lilia is like "ha ha, speaking of wacky misunderstandings..." let me believe

(or possibly, because Lilia is a jillion years old and everything is relative, "I'm going to die soon!" = a mere 80 or so years left. which still isn't great for Mal, but is way better for Silver and Sebek and me. either way, Lilia's gonna have a lot of 'splaining to do.)