Tumgik
#both of their medicines that they need to live healthy lives???
llondonfog · 1 day
Note
OK so Baul and Lilias friendship lives in my mind rent free, so I think that a few days after silver gets sick for the first time and mama and papa zigvolt manage to teach lilia the proper way to care for a sick infant after he comes over to their house tembling with poorly restrained panic, Baul goes over with v little persuasion from his daughter to check up on them.
What he sees is a happy and healthy Silver just quietly smiling up at him from Lilias arms while Lilia is passed out in his rocking chair fevered and red from catching baby's first cold.
Baul immediately assigns himself caretaker duties, doesn't even bother trying to move Silver from Lilias arms and instead just picks them both up to deposit them both in Lilias bed for a proper nap before checking the fridge for tomato soup ingredients.
When he first heard from his daughter that Lilia— Lilia Vanrouge, the once General of the Right, feared commander of the fae armies and scourge of humankind— had adopted a human child and had been caring for it for several months now, Baul had roared with laughter so hard that he split a scale wide open on his cheek.
It was certainly a poor excuse for a joke, the very kind of rumor that the castle fae still bitter over Lilia's persistent existence four hundred years later might spread. The very idea that Lilia, Lilia Vanrouge, would debase himself to care for a human child not of his blood, to stoop so low as to toil over its screeching and wailing demands when he had bathed in the screams of its own kind with a mad vengeance after the tragedy of Lady Meleanor . . . not even four hundred years of honeyed peace was enough to sweeten that wound.
Time, it seemed, had forgotten what was so cruelly emblazoned in the very depths of Baul's mind, in Lilia's own memories, and the nightmares of all those surviving fae who stalked the forests during those blood-soaked nights. Those born in kinder years had never known the horror of human avarice, and even his own daughter had taken up residence with one of their kind despite her father's immense displeasure, simpering, soft-hearted fool that her husband was.
At least, to Baul's proud credit, their lineage rippled strong and true through his grandchildren— and with his daughter due any day under the weight of a third, he's only too certain for another healthy, bouncing, scaled Zigvolt.
So when she had simply stared back at him with crossed arms and an arched brow while he had laughed and laughed and laughed, a sinking kind of horror began to creep into his heart— surely . . . she wasn't serious?
Tumblr media
Months— hardly the blink of an eye for faekind, but everything to humans. Months, Lilia had kept a child for several months, and not once had tried to rid himself of it? Not once tried to deposit it upon the stoop of a human village and wipe his hands clean of the responsibility of child-rearing? He had been taking advice from Baul's daughter and her wisp of a husband on how to pacify and coddle it? He had barged into their home, fretful beyond measure with a colicky babe clutched in his arms, and all but demanded them to cure the child?
("Or what?" Baul found himself asking, utterly bewildered and needing to find some kernel of normalcy in the fact that surely Lilia had menaced his daughter's husband some into obeying his whims.
"Or nothing, Father," she said, the taunting ghost of a knowing smile playing about her lips. "In all the years that I've known him, I've never seen him quite so distraught. He stayed by the crib all night, frozen— we had to tell him it was alright to breathe and to hold Silver's hand if he wanted, it was as if he was afraid to hurt him.")
Silver? Lilia, afraid? Holding the hand of some human child?
It simply couldn't be true.
It couldn't be, this had to be some elaborate, poorly executed prank.
He clung to that belief even as his daughter shoved a bundle of medicine, food, and knitted blankets into his arms with the stern instruction to deliver them to Lilia's home (Home! He had never heard the forest cottage to be described in such terms! The place was a hovel, a storage shed for Lilia to dump his treasures before venturing off to the next location, how could it be considered a home?).
He clung to it even as he emerged from the woods to the path that led up to the cottage's door, casting unnerved glances to the strange and new abundance of woodland creatures skulking about the thatched roof and scampering along the thick tree trunk supporting the cottage like a lean-to, soft little animals that would have darted away in fright from Lilia's presence before Baul's own.
He clung to it until he could no more, when he threw open the cottage door with an odd tightness in his chest to see his oldest friend collapsed on a worn and lumpy armchair with a honest-to-goodness human baby snuggled safely within his arms and sucking happily on a stray piece of ruby-stained hair. Beyond them, a soothing glow flickered in the fireplace where a kettle of milk quietly steamed, and the scattered presence of cloth toys littered the living room floor along with (Baul shuddered) well-thumbed pamphlets, their covers illustrated with the cheerful faces of frolicking human children.
What had this child done to Lilia Vanrouge?
54 notes · View notes
apollo-zero-one · 1 year
Text
I wish capitalism was a tangible object I could bite and claw at I start foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog when I think about it gwrrwhrwgwwrgwr
#my mom shouldn't have to have a job she is busy all goddamn day every goddamn day taking care of her mom and her 6 year old child#and she takes care of me and my brother and her husband this woman is exhausted#and she makes us breakfast and dinner every day and she watches all the neighborhood kids and and and#she is already fulfilling an extremely valuable roll in society!! why the FUCK should she have to have a job too!!#not even going to say 'outside the home' because her job IS OUTSIDE THE HOME she contributes to this whole damn community#It's BULLSHIT it's UNFAIR she deserves justice#and it's also bullshit and unfair that a household with three workinh adults cant afford a 4 bedroom family home.#We collectively make enoigj money that we lost our fucking health insurance and are being kicked out of our subsidized housing#But there are no homes anywhere near any of our jobs that we can afford so WHAT THE FUCK#and every part of it is capitalism and I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it#Is the purpose of life not to find and be with wnd care for loved ones?? are humans not born to love and be loved and help one another??#what went wrong? why did we let it get this far? why are we taking a mother away from her 6 year old daughter so she can afford#both of their medicines that they need to live healthy lives???#A caretaker away from a disabled elderly woman? A safe person to leave your children with away from the village? Why the goddamn divide??#sorry there was ten minutes begween that tag and this one because I had to cry I am calmer now#still heavily anti-capitalist tho
8 notes · View notes
chiharuuu22 · 3 months
Text
During the healing process, Whumpee needed many things, both for physical and mental healing. What are they?
Rest. Of course. There is no need to explain anymore. A good rest would restore Whumpee's body and mind after all his stress and suffering.
Calmness. From the environment and the people around Whumpee. Apart from the hospital, an isolation house far from the hustle and bustle of the chaotic city would be a good place to support Whumpee's recovery. Maybe a Caretaker's house would be better.
Medical. Medication is consumed to support healing (antibiotics, vitamins, painkillers, etc.). Medical equipment was used during the treatment and healing period. Professional medical personnel will care for Whumpee until he is completely healed.
Foods high in nutrition. Of course, it's easy to digest. Healthy food usually doesn't taste good, but it's the Caretaker's job to make the food able to whet Whumpee's appetite.
Water. There is no need to ask. Hydration is very important for Whumpee's body as it recovers.
Snack. Taking medicine every day definitely makes Whumpee bored. A little snack will help. The cookies, candy, or chocolate that Whumpee eats after swallowing the bitter medicine will make him smile.
Fresh air and morning sunshine. Many people say that fresh air and morning sunlight are also good medicine for recovery. Taking a breath and basking in the cool of the morning would be great for Whumpee.
Clean clothes. Replace every two times a day.
Bathe. Bathing in the morning and evening makes the body fresh and clean. Maybe at first, Caretaker won't immediately pour water but will wipe Whumpee's body with soapy water.
Straighten hair. Maybe cut it when Whumpee starts to get better. Apart from making it look fresher, Whumpee will also feel comfortable.
Comfort items. Plusies, stuffed animals, pillows, blankets, photos, scent, or anything else that can keep Whumpee calm and comfortable during the recovery period.
A change of scenery during recovery will also be helpful. Occasionally moving Whumpee to the living room, sitting him in the dining room, accompanying him on the terrace, or taking him to sit on the grass in the garden will make Whumpee feel better.
Light and pleasant conversation. Don't expect to be able to interrogate Whumpee during the recovery period if you don't want to be shouted at by Caretaker.
Touch. Whumpee is definitely touch-starved. A holding hand, a caress on the cheek, a stroking of the hair, a light kiss on the forehead, a hug, or a backrest when sitting will be what Whumpee really needs.
Calming sentences. Simple sentences that make Whumpee feel safe, such as "It's okay, you're safe", "I'm here", "no one will hurt you anymore", "I will take care of you", "it was just a dream, it's all over", "just rest, don't think about anything", "go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up", "you did a good job", "I'm proud of you", "thank you for coming back to me," "I'm happy you are here," "I love you," and others.
Caretaker. There is no need to ask. Caretaker is the "medicine" that Whumpee needs most for his healing.
Anything you want to add?
475 notes · View notes
slytherinshua · 2 months
Text
I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU
genre. fluff. sick fic. warnings. reader is sick (fever, headache, nausea). food mention (soup). pairing. sungchan x fem!reader. wc. 754. request. requested by anon: currently dying atm... would live for sungchan taking care of me rn :( a/n. just me continuing to write sungchan as the most boyfriend material™️ to ever exist. also i swear im gonna be finishing those event drabbles soon i'm just sidetracking skdjks help.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
“You need to eat, baby.” Sungchan coaxed, holding up a spoonful of soup for you.
“Don‘t want it.” You mumbled in response, close to tears at just the thought of eating anything. 
You had felt nauseous almost all day, accompanied with a raging headache and a rising fever. Sungchan had dropped everything to come take care of you as soon as he heard you were feeling under the weather. You appreciated that you didn’t have to be alone in your misery, but you wished that your boyfriend would yield to your suggestion of just sleeping all day instead of taking medicine and food.
“It’s good for you. Come on, Y/n, please? Don’t make me have to do the airplane.” He held the bowl a little closer to you, hoping that the smell of fresh hot soup would persuade you. It did almost the opposite.
“Eating anything right now sounds like a nightmare, Sungie. Especially this soup…” You wrinkled your nose, trying not to breathe in any more of the aroma that on a normal day would make you salivate. Being sick was the worst.
Sungchan seemed to finally give up on the soup, placing the bowl and spoon down on the bedside table and slumping back to the side of the bed. He reached out for your hand, rubbing his thumb along your knuckles. Just the small gesture made you infinitely more sleepy than you already were. You would’ve just succumbed to the tiredness if Sungchan hadn’t opened his mouth to say something.
“You have to eat later, though. Okay? I can make you something else if you really hate the soup, but your body still needs nutrients.” He frowned at how exhausted you looked, even though you had done nothing but sleep and watch shows for the past day.
“I’ll try.” You closed your eyes again, considering the conversation done for now. You weren’t sure what Sungchan would do now. He had offered to cuddle with you many times, but you had outright refused each time he brought it up. You’d feel even worse if you got him sick, so you were trying to limit your contact as much as you could. 
Plus, from prior experience, you knew Sungchan had the worst cases of man colds known to the universe. Taking care of him when he was sick was listening to him whine and complain 24/7. No matter how much you loved him— even when you had to take care of him— you would always prefer healthy Sungchan.
“You must be cold sleeping by yourself.” The words came almost as a whisper, and much closer to your ear than you anticipated. You were too tired to open your eyes again, but you could feel that Sungchan had gotten on the bed with you, laying behind you to spoon you, one hand on your waist pulling you closer to him.
“Go away, I don’t want you to catch it.” You said meekly. You and Sungchan both knew you wouldn’t fight for him to leave in your state, though.
“I want to nap with you. I’ll keep you warm.” He said softly. He shifted even closer to you so that he could plant a kiss on your shoulder. You could hear him giggle slightly and feel his warm breath hit your skin. 
It felt nice. Even though your body probably felt hot to the touch, you had been freezing under 2 blankets all day. Nothing quite kept you as warm as Sungchan. His bordering on giant height and broad shoulders served their purpose in keeping you embraced completely; like your own personal heater in boyfriend form.
“You’ll get sick…” You mumbled one last time when you felt Sungchan start to press more kisses to your skin. You knew it would accomplish nothing. He was as stubborn as you were, and if it came down to it, he had at least 10 times the physical strength that you did, especially when sick. 
“I don’t care.” He muttered, his kisses steadily trailing up towards your forehead. He pressed a soft kiss to your temple, silently willing your headache to go away. 
You were sure that there was no real way that his kisses could actually relieve the ache in your head, yet in your half-asleep state, you felt as if the pain almost completely went away the second his soft lips came in contact with your burning skin. With the comfort of Sungchan next to you, slipping away to your dreams felt easier than breathing.
↳ riize taglist: @eternalgyu,, @kangtaehyunzzz,, @weird-bookworm,, @haecien,, @seolboba,, @cyberpunksunwoo,, @cosmicwintr,, @chiiyuuvv,, @evalevaeva,, @lecheugo
272 notes · View notes
mrsparrasblog · 25 days
Text
Mission save the human race Pt1.
Pt2
2090 Days since it happened since your life changed completely. You can still remember the day of the outburst like it was yesterday. You were stuck performing an appendectomy on a five-year-old, and then there were shots – the military evacuating us. You didn't take it seriously at that time; thought it would be like every pandemic, and there would be a cure soon. But after weeks spent with your family in a military camp, you knew it was nothing like this. You remembered how the military shot women who even got near to a zombie – too much of a risk that they could get infected. The irony of the whole thing was that women were the carriers of this unknown virus, while men only turned when they got bitten. Women turned by a simple scratch of a zombie, or when they died of any cause, they would turn in a glimpse of a second into these brainless creatures.
After it went completely downhill and more healthy people got shot without any remorse, your dad, brother, and you tried to flee out of the military base, resulting in your dad and brother getting shot, screaming you should just take their gun and leave as fast as possible. You never felt more remorse than leaving their corpses behind, but you had more than enough years to mourn them and pray for forgiveness. On the way to a safe place, you noticed small details, weird details. You got scratched, even bitten on the way, expecting to fully turn into a brainless monster – but you didn't, and to this date, you didn't know why. Well, there wouldn't be a lab anymore to find out anyway, so you just accepted it as a blessing first. But after a while, you learned the true curse of living in this shithole.
The survivors were scarier than the zombies and almost as inhuman as them – while most didn't try to hurt you since a surgeon always could get handsy in a zombie apocalypse, you still saw the horrors of self-proclaimed "Leaders" who killed in the most inhumane way just to prove their dominance. They weren't better than animals. You saw how different groups tried to start wars with each other to win resources and territory. There was still enough place and enough resources in the world for both of them to survive, so it was just a power play. If you had had a say in this, you would have tried everything to start a civilization with many people trying to rebuild humanity with strong people as guards, people farming, and people working in the infirmary, but no one ever listened to you. Why should they, as the Apocalypse proceeded, the hatred of women got only worse – "The reason for the apocalypse," resulting in women getting used, tortured, and raped if they weren't useful in other ways, and you thanked every day your mother who practically forced you to study medicine instead of law.
After months, you finally had enough and ran away from the camp – not tolerating the inhumane ways. You wondered if you were the inhuman one for leaving people there who you could have healed if you had stayed, but sometimes you needed to be egoistical, and you at least tried to stay as innocent as possible through the apocalypse. You lost everything but not your good heart which made you incredibly proud of yourself.
You didn't know how you survived this. You didn't have a particular skill set; sure, you were a pediatric surgeon before all of this, you were capable, you were smart, which probably led you to survive. But you weren't something that was of use like a soldier or police officer. God, before this Apocalypse, you didn't even carry your groceries to your apartment. You were screwed but somehow you still survived, with your one handgun that you nicked off the corpse of your dead dad. The irony was you didn't even use it in three years; you never used your gun – god, did you even know how to use it? You highly doubted it.
You claimed yourself a small cottage in the forest. It wasn't much but pretty well-hidden, and you built-in safety measurements so no walker could surprise you by night. You lived in a shithole but at least in a comfortable manner. The house had three small bedrooms, a kitchen with a tiled stove, a fireplace, a water source, and enough space outside so you could grow all sorts of vegetables and fruits. Pumpkins, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, and raspberries highlight your perfect garden. You even had some apple and cherry trees you took great pride in. Before all started, you couldn't say you were good at gardening; even your cactus didn't survive the neglect you put them through – but you used all your remaining time learning about farming and providing for yourself, growing plants you can use as medication. In your imagination, you would somehow manage to have some chickens and cows, but you knew it would draw way too much attention, and you liked your hidden lifestyle way too much for this to happen. You were quite naive; you thought this would stay this way until-.
You heard sounds from your garden – nothing unusual since some local animals came and tried to steal a carrot or two, but then the sounds of multiple men echoed.
"Fuck."
They blundered in weird ways, talking about finding a safe place and raiding something. You ran upstairs, grabbed your handgun, and hid in the closet.
"Fuck, here isn't anything useful," a man with a hoarse voice and a British accent cursed all my cabins violently.
"Johnny, you will get through this; you won't die on me," a man said with a worried voice.
"He has a fucking bullet in his shoulder; how can he fucking survive this?" A bullet in his shoulder, probably not gone through. If it didn't hit anything major, his survival rate would be 80% in a normal world, depending on the material of the bullet; he could survive or die. If it's lead and stays inside his body, he will be dead in at least 4 days from lead poisoning. If the wound isn't properly cleaned – blood poisoning. If they take it out of him and don't properly sew him – death. This man hasn't a high chance of surviving. You could at least triple the chance of his survival, but if you get out there, you would probably lose the chance of survival by several digits. Your morale was high; you swore an oath to help every human you were capable of saving, but was it worth more than your own life?
"Shut the fuck up," the worried man screamed at the other.
You decided to stay in the closet, a choice you'd later regret, your lack of courage weighing on you as survival seemed uncertain. Tears slowly started to fall from your eyes, running against your soft rosy cheeks. Your handgun was clutched tightly in your sweaty palms, your breath trembling from pure horror, convinced that today might be your last.
With a sudden grunt, the closet door swung open. Before you stood four imposing men, each holding big machine guns, and a fifth man, held by another, similarly armed.
In front of you was a middle-aged man with brown hair, a fishing hat atop his head, and the most amazing blue eyes you had ever seen. He was tall and muscular, with a well-groomed beard for an apocalypse. Handsome and scary simultaneously.
The second man was one of the most attractive individuals you'd ever laid eyes on. He had brown-golden skin, trusting brown eyes, and a cap perched on his head. His gaze held a mix of awe and confusion as he looked at you.
The third man was colossal, ripped with muscles, and possibly the tallest person you'd encountered. He sported a blonde buzz cut and blue eyes that glowed red, giving him an intimidating aura. With an unhealed scar across his eyes and some stubles, he probably was incapable of growing a beard because of the scar tissue.
The fourth man looked similar to the one with the fishing hat; the only difference was his dirty blonde hair and tattoo sleeves. You noticed the prosthetic leg and wondered whether it had been dealt with properly – you sure as hell could help him too.
The last one was the man who got shot, and held by the scary men. He was the shortest of the group but still taller than you by several inches. His hair was in a funny mohawk, and he was ripped – not a bit; he was built like a fucking powerhouse. You couldn't shake the thought away that if you had known him through med school, learning anatomy would have been different – all those muscles – focus.
You thought that your potential killers were all good-looking, each in different ways. Despite this, you still pointed your gun at them, and they held their machine guns at you.
"A woman – I thought they were all dead," the man with the cap said, making you curious. All dead? When you last left your forest two years ago, there weren't many women, but there were still some out there.
You gathered all your remaining courage, shaking as you said, "Leave me alone, or I shoot." They laughed at you. Okay, they had more people and bigger guns, but you could still harm at least one of them.
"Oh, dove, your gun is still secured," the man with the fishing hat said, trying to hold out a laugh.
You tried to fidget with your gun, but you didn't know how to unsecure it. So, you just lowered it and held your hands up in the air.
"We don't have time for this shit. Knock her out or something; we need to fucking save Johnny," the scary man said, sending shivers down your spine out of fear.
"If you don't kill me, I'll save your friend." Win-win situation; you'll survive, and your morals are saved.
"Shut the fuck up. How could a stupid girl who can't even use a gun save him?" the scary man screamed. You were sure that he had a special bond with this Johnny, sure as hell best friends or lovers by how he acted.
"I'm a surgeon; I can remove the bullet," you said.
"You're a surgeon?" the tattoo man asked in disbelief at your claim.
"Which field?" the scary man asked you.
"Uhm, I was a pediatric surgeon."
"Does he look like a fucking child to you?"
"Simon, we don't have much choice. It's better than nothing; he will die if we don't do anything," Fisher hat man tried to convince Simon.
Simon agreed. "What do you need?"
You were afraid to be a bit rusty, but you'll make it. "Okay, one of you will bring me as much water as he can gather, one needs to guard the door. I don't need any interruptions in my surgery. One needs to stay in the room; this will hurt as hell without proper numbing. My surgical equipment is in the closet by the bathroom, as well as the medication I produced. You need to tie him to the bed; I don't know how, and I don't care, as long as he doesn't try to kill me while I try to fix his shoulder, and I need a promise that I won't be killed if he doesn't survive."
"Yes, ma'am," the tattoo guy said and was on his way. All the men worked efficiently, making you wonder if they had some military background since they listened better than my old residents, at least.
The man who introduced himself as Kyle - by the way, the only one who introduced himself to you - tied Johnny to the bed. Everything was now prepared, and you tried to make this place as sterile as possible.
You sat down on Johnny since you couldn't stand properly by the bed for the surgery and had the advantage of holding him down with your body weight.
"Hey Johnny, this will hurt a bit, okay, but you need to be strong, okay?" You talked to him like with your child patients, but that didn't matter right now. Right now, it mattered to save him.
Johnny spoke completely drowsy from the pain, "Am I deid, Lt? Or how come dae I see an angel oan tap o' me?" You chuckled; even in pain, you noticed that that man was a total flirt.
"Shut up, Johnny, and survive," Simon said.
"Love ya, Lt."
"I love you too, idiot." You were right in your thoughts; they were indeed a couple and a handsome one. You couldn't shake the feeling away, though, that he probably would kill you in the most vicious way if Johnny didn't survive.
You slid your scalpel through him and started the surgery after at least six terrible hours of fear and exhaustion; you were finished; you saved him. You were a bit envious of Johnny; Simon stayed the whole time by his side without being grossed out or yawning for a second; they loved each other. You never experienced that kind of love and never will...
Now he only needs to survive the aftermath of the surgery, which will be harder for his body than the actual surgery since the adrenaline wore off. You were glad that you were able to nick some antibiotics and real medication from a nearby emergency station. You were always better safe than sorry.
You removed the blood from yourself and washed yourself with cold water, which felt like an eternity till you pronounced yourself clean enough. You put on some cozy clothing and walked to the living room where three men sat sandwiched on the small couch. Simon stayed by Johnny.
You planted yourself across from them and looked at them until Fisher Man Hat spoke.
"Thank you for saving our man; I'm John, by the way."
"Alex."
"Well, you already know my name; how can we call you?" Kyle asked you.
"Uhm, everyone always called me Dr. Angel, since the kiddies compared me to one," you replied, telling them the truth.
"Beautiful nickname for a beautiful woman," John said.
You couldn't hide a blush, and Kyle asked you how it came that you lived alone. You explained your life story without boring them for one second.
"Tell me something about the six of you."
"Uhm, we were special forces back in the days before everything went downhill. We protected some scientists who worked on a cure, but they didn't make it and died in one of their experiments. We are originally seven, but the other two are on a raid right now for our camp. I know we probably scare you, but if you want to, you can stay with us, no strings attached. We know how humanity changed, and being the only woman alive makes it even scarier, but we will protect you since you saved one of our own," John explained. You were still confused, only woman alive? How is this possible? Well, you were immune to the virus, but you didn't need to tell them right now since this would make you even more vulnerable.
"Only woman alive?"
"Yes, dove, the woman's got instinct with them, the human race." You gulped; your moral codex spoke to you again. Shouldn't you prevent that from happening? Or is this nature's plan? You didn't want to think about it further.
"Does anyone of you want to eat something? I'm starving," you exclaimed, trying to change the subject to something less uncomfortable.
"You don't have to feed us; you already did enough," Kyle said.
"Nonsense! I'm hungry, and I have more than enough vegetables to feed a whole army," you protested and walked towards your kitchen. You took out the preserved tomatoes and potatoes and wanted to slice them, but a tall figure already removed your knife from your hands.
"Let me help; it's the least thing I can do after you did so much for us," Alex said and started to slice the vegetables while you tried to heat your pot. The other two put plates on your small kitchen table, making it feel incredibly domestic for you. They looked like husbands caring for their wives, and you wanted to shake out the thoughts in your head. You were just underfucked from the whole apocalypse, but deep down, you knew they did something to you, made you feel a tight knot in your stomach.
You took one portion up to Simon, who still gathered around Johnny's bed. With a sudden movement, the tall man hugged you tight, almost crushing you with his sheer strength.
"Thank you for saving him and sorry for being mean to you."
"I understand; I'd do the same if someone I dearly loved would be injured in this hell of a life," he tried to pull a smile at my words. "Here's some hot food, and give Johnny his antibiotics in an hour, okay?"
"Hot food? I haven't had that since forever."
I laughed, "Get used to it, big boy." He raised a brow but didn't question it.
You went downstairs and saw the men laughing while waiting for you like true gentlemen. Kyle blushed a bit when you came down, and they instantly stopped their talk. You asked yourself what they talked about, maybe something that would be dangerous. They ate like starved men and told you how long they didn't have anything warm in their bellies, making you realize how lucky you were in your cottage with your grown food. The only thing you were missing was someone to warm your bed—stop it, you said to your inner thoughts.
You gave the remaining boys some blankets and showed them enough places to sleep, and as they didn't mind sharing, everything went perfectly. Alex took the patrol for the night, telling you it needed to be done even if you never patrolled for the last two years. The other men called you naive for it. You checked one time on Johnny if he had a fever or anything like that, but to your luck, he was fine, still asleep and high on medication. Simon slept beside him, and you couldn't stop yourself from putting a blanket on top of him. He deserved the comfort after taking care of his boyfriend that way.
John walked you down to your room, talking a bit to you, which gave you more comfort than you wanted to admit. You were a human after all, and humans missed humans when they lived two years in isolation to survive.
"Did you ever think about what it means for you to be the only woman alive?" he asked you.
"It's pretty weird to think about it."
"Kinda."
"I guess the human race will go extinct then."
"There are ways if you decide to—you know, save the planet and everything. You seem like a girl who always wants to do the right thing."
"You mean getting pregnant?"
"Exactly, saving the human race and everything."
"Would it be selfish if I let it die?"
"A bit, but it's your choice. I will always protect you from everyone who wants to take advantage of you. You're part of the team now."
"And what if I decide to want to save it?"
His eyes lit up. "Then, of course, I'd support you, like every man on this team. I think most of my boys wouldn't be repulsed by helping you to reach this goal." You blushed hard. Did he just tell you—shit.
"And what about you, John?"
"I'd be more than willing to participate. You're incredibly looking, dove, and I'm just a man behind all this."
"I'll think about it," but you couldn't shake away the feeling of them—you could have all of them.
"Take your time, dove." He kissed you on your rosy cheek and left you completely crazy alone with your thoughts. It was too long ago, and you felt the familiar feeling building up inside of you. Fuck it, you thought and decided to speak with them about it tomorrow. You're a good person after all, right? And that's what a good person does?
166 notes · View notes
shogvnate · 11 months
Text
Insomnia. headcannons
re8 ladies with a s/o who's an insomniac
contains; mother miranda, mia winters, alcina dimitrescu, donna beneviento, bela dimitrescu, cassandra dimitrescu, daniela dimitrescu.
warnings; none.
Tumblr media
🐦‍⬛ mother miranda
honestly she's also an insomniac herself so it's not really a problem for her
if you're not busy, she'll ask you to accompany her while she's doing late night experimenting.
she's… surprisingly domestic?
she doesn't talk much when it's late (she doesn't talk much in general though), and you don't either so it works out.
sometimes forgets that you're not a mutant like her, but when she remembers she'll help you fall asleep. She'll find a way, she's a scientist, after all, a mad one at that. Nothing is impossible with her.
entertains you with her crows if her experiments get too dangerous for you.
the type to make you play chess with her over a cup of tea.
you have zero idea how to play so she teaches you.
???
how did the two of you end up playing uno??
why are the two of you playing go fish now?
🪡 donna beneviento
also an insomniac
but she's not as noticeable because she wears a veil and no one really sees her face.
late night reading, not healthy for both of your eyes but who cares?
donna is surprisingly active at night (not like that).
living with her includes hearing the kitchen being rummaged at 3 am only to find out it's her trying to cook pasta.
either that or she's trying to find her missing tool.
she can be forgetful sometimes and you are too, but remember, two negatives makes a positive! (you two still haven't found where your blue pen went.)
makes you and herself some soothing lavender tea.
she wears her hair down when it's late, and she's fucking gorgeous goddamn.
the sight of her alone makes you sigh dreamily.
you don't need sleep, you're already living the dream.
angie bites your toes if you look at donna funny for too long.
🍷 alcina dimitrescu
for the love of all that is holy, please stop trying to scare the maidens, it's 2 in the morning.
she's very tired.
she's the opposite of an insomniac, her line of work makes her really cranky at night.
technically she doesn't need sleep, but it's refreshing so she does it and hates when she's disturbed.
just imagine having to be a single milf girlboss with a massive dump truck, must be tiring for her, damn.
sorry. anyway, she'll find a way to help you.
perhaps you need medicine? she can give the Duke a quick late night call and make either Cassandra or Bela fetch them (because she doesn't trust the maidens will come back alive if she sent them this late.)
sits up with you until you're tired, but all the time she'll look like someone who hadn't had a blink of sleep since 500 b.c.
you decide to help her sleep instead, you don't mind.
so you ended up being cuddled by her while she's in her deep sleep, yay!
❄ mia winters
she's tired, not like alcina kind of tired, but just tired.
at some point in the night, she noticed you're not sleeping next to her, again, which made her wake up and get you.
you make her feel safe and when you're not there she gets reminded of her Louisiana days, which, isn't fun.
depending on the day, she can either haul you back to bed for her to cuddle or ask you whether you need something to calm your nerves.
stays up with you, but falls asleep in the end.
cuddling on the sofa with her is heaven so you don't mind.
in the morning you'll be so sore and stiff though, because when she cuddles, she's not even a koala, she's literally merging with you.
her warmth usually brings you to sleep, it's likely her general comforting presence that helps you.
buys you medicine to help with your insomnia if you ask so, but she'll do it tomorrow.
for now, she'd like to rest.
🦇 bela dimitrescu
contrary to alcina, the three of her daughters, and especially, bela, are insomniacs.
they do random shit at 1 in the morning.
one time bela got dragged into having a karaoke session, which meant you also got dragged by the other two sisters (read: daniela).
it's fun though, you got a good laugh from them.
which is great considering your insomnia is making you more and more mentally exhausted.
once they all let their energy out, bela can finally get some time with you.
bela may or may not bring you to her bedroom, depending on whether or not her sisters will tease her for it.
doesn't know how to make tea, so don't hope she does or ask her for it.
silence.
it gets really awkward when she's just sitting there staring at you and expecting you to just get bored and sleep.
you end up having candlelit dinner? breakfast? at 3 am.
🗡️ cassandra dimitrescu
as mentioned before she also has insomnia. she sometimes still manages to sleep though, but it usually happens at day or at random times.
after the whole late night shenanigans, usually she's the most tired because she matches daniela's endless energy but also bela's crankiness.
she enjoys laying down doing particularly nothing so expect her to lay on the same bed as you while staring blankly at the ceiling.
when asked she usually takes a few moments to respond, and as it turns out, she accidentally slept with her eyes open. kinda neat.
she's also like daniela, she can't sit still.
may make random small talks before she just… had it.
so she decided to ask you to spar with her in the armor room.
if you're tired, she'll suggest doing something else like taking a walk around the castle.
one time she's feeling generous, she actually asked you to waltz on the grand hall.
she still remembers the steps despite being dead for God knows how long but you absolutely have zero idea how to waltz.
and you're losing your shit whenever she smiles at you softly.
how uncharacteristic for the murderous vampire who gouged a maid's eyes out for looking at you wrong.
needless to say, your nights are always productive with cassandra.
🌹 daniela dimitrescu
with daniela, it's like gambling your sanity.
there's half the chance that she's feeling hyper that night, or the other being that she's feeling hella tired and doesn't want to be disturbed by the maids. (meaning if she sees someone messing up while she's in this mood, there'll be one more barrel in the cellar.)
either way, none of them meant anything good for you.
drags you to the library to read her stories, more often than not, she's asking you to read her fairy tales which is super valid. I also love them.
makes you play with her hair while you're reading.
very unpredictable, no wonder she's dimitrescu's wild card.
she sleeps when her energy runs out, which may take a long time.
she sleep talks, mostly slurring out your name or whining about how cassandra is always so unfair to her.
softly snores
you always end up being the one cleaning her mess if a maid died that day.
1K notes · View notes
xjulixred45x · 3 months
Note
Hello again, Thank you for answering my first request. May I please request for Yandere Nanami x Frail darling x Yandere Gojo wherein Frail darling manages to escape and tries to hide from them ,but their sickly coughs give them away. How would they handle their darling?
Ohhhh this is very interesting! Im in!
Thank you for the new Request hun❤️
Yandere!Kento Nanami+Yandere! Satoru Gojo x Frail!Reader
Genre: Headcanons
Reader:neutral
Warnings: YANDERE(kind of soft, it still), UNHEALTY MINDSET, OBSESIVE BEHAVIOR, MANIPULATION, Minor intimidation, sickness, kind of infantilization, runaway scenario, SCARY GOJO AND NANAMI. Poly Yandere. A little long.
I have a feeling that you and Gojo and Nanami met in a very arbitrary way. You were someone who was part of their lives on a daily basis.
They probably frequented the same eating places as You, for example.
and to begin with, they were already aware of your fragile state of health from that moment on, if it was not because of your docile and weak attitude, it was because of your sudden attacks of coughing or sneezing.
It made both Gojo and Nanami notice you and in a way think more of you, since you were more likely to be a victim of Curses.
They took care of you from afar at first, like they were SUPPOSED to. It wasn't until Gojo decided to take the "first step" to interact directly with you with the excuse that this would better exorcise the curse that was close to you. (all without consulting Nanami obviously).
To be honest, from the beginning you felt a kind of intimidating presence, from both of them. You had recognized their existences because they were also frequent, sure, but when they appeared and entered your life, they definitely left you a little shabby. off your feet, to say the least.
Gojo was a very playful friend, you realized this before when you were listening to him talk to Nanami, he loved to annoy him and try to get him out of his temper. but with you it was more of a strangely affectionate type of game.
He would tone it down with you (Nanami's advice so as not to scare you), and he also always tried to make you laugh, which was sometimes a bit counterproductive because you would laugh so much that sometimes you would end up in a coughing fit, and with one of the people rubbing you. your back.
Nanami was more reserved, but his presence was no less intimidating than Gojo's, he made himself noticeable in your life, even though he was considerably calmer than Gojo.
Nanami would always want to be aware of EVERYTHING you were going through, especially with your illness. It didn't seem very strange to you, when the people in your circle knew about your fragile state, they tended to become hyper-aware of your health.
You just dismissed it as that, healthy and genuine concern, especially now that you were having trouble staying afloat with your illness.
You just didn't want to feel like a burden to others.
although indirectly you ended up fueling the obsessive thoughts of both men more.
Yandere Gojo, being Yandere Gojo, as soon as he had these kinds of thoughts he wanted to take you as soon as possible, but Nanami VERY CLEARLY set the limits to which they would go.
(Gojo was probably a yandere for Nanami before he knew it was also reciprocal, so Gojo tends to listen to him to keep him happy and not hold him against him.)
Nanami is a more obsessive and softer type of Yandere, but no less terrifying. In less than a day he already had all the information about his illness and needs in "emergency cases."
Even when Nanami tells Gojo that he's not going to tear you away from your everyday life, he doesn't act like that's the case. He buys many medical supplies and even he and Gojo set up a room together with hospital supplies in extreme cases (with Gojo family maids highly trained in medicine).
Kento wanted your arrival "home" to be perfect--
but Satoru hears himself in advance when he came one day alone to see you...
...and he came back, with you unconscious, in his arms.
To say that Kento was furious at first was an understatement.
But he calmed down relatively quickly, because after all, couldn't they take advantage of this opportunity? They would have to bring you sooner or later, even if he had preferred a better welcome...what's done is done.
In more general cases, these two are a kind of "Good Cop" (Kento) and "Bad Cop" (Satoru).
Satoru is extremely clingy now that he has you and Kento to himself, and he doesn't miss a chance to be close to you.
Apart from the fact that he is the one who is home the most, so he is the one who takes care of you the most, ironically.
Yandere Satoru tends to be a jerk from time to time okay? many times more than treating you like someone sick who still has DESIRES and NEEDS, treats you like a baby, wraps you in a blanket, feeds you with a spoon, etc.
(It's not a good idea to refuse your food unless Nanami is there, forcing it down your throat.)
although he is also the one who tends to spoil you the most and the least rude with "time out" precisely because of his own infantilizing dynamics.
He's like "You?? Runaway from them?? Ha!Like it's gonna happen."
Satoru is quite condescending and, above all, he believes that you are too fragile and delicate to get ready on your own, so he does almost everything for you (which makes everything very monotonous since you rarely leave your "room" and your muscles atrophy from lack of use).
He understands better when you don't want to take certain medicines either because they taste bad or because of the effects they can have on your body, so he usually just grinds them into powder (if possible) and puts them in your favorite food, this way he doesn't have to fight with you to take them.
(the food is done by Kento, Satoru canon burns water).
Although don't be fooled, he is very demanding with affection, hugs, kisses, cuddles, nicknames, both giving and RECEIVING, if you want to gain his trust, a good way to do it is to play along.
Kento, on the other hand, tends to be a bit controlling, but she's the one who doesn't swim because she takes the issue of your health very VERY seriously.
Whenever possible, he will be the one to give you medicine, cook for you, help you change, you don't have to do anything. What happens if you get hurt while trying to cook? Or slip when you try to bathe?
The guy is paranoid.
He probably even gave you a pacemaker without telling you so he could have a record of your heart rates in case of an "emergency"☠️
Nanami is gentle when it comes to you, but at the same time he doesn't underestimate you, there are always several locks on the front door, plus the ones on your door, not to mention the monitor she put in your shared room so he can keep track of everything.
Kento always keeps Gojo in line, and in a way makes him more empathetic to your situation, even if he respects him, he doesn't fully trust him to take care of you. You can use that to your advantage, if you want to be away from Satoru for a while just tell Kento and they will "have a talk".
Although, honestly, Kento may be even more Manipulative than Satoru.
For example, using what happened with Haibara in his youth as an excuse, opening up emotionally to you, to manipulate you and make you see that he is "the lesser of two evils."
As far as possible, both are better in what one lacks. That was what prevented a bad scenario. or at least a worse one you were in now, stuck with both of them.
but on one occasion SOMETHING happens...
It was one of the few days when you would be alone for a couple of hours.
It was a golden opportunity to escape.
you went over everything twice, you took out your pacemaker, you evaded the monitor and Satoru's employees, damn, you managed to get outside!
And what seemed like the icing on the cake? Satoru was supposed to be in Kyoto, even if Nanami started searching on her own, she wouldn't realize you were gone until very late.
You ran and ran as much as you could through the streets of Tokyo, occasionally stealing a few items of clothing to change your appearance a little, paranoid that Kento or Satoru were around the corner.
The plan was to go to the train station in Shibuya - hopefully with so many people you would be harder to detect - and take the first train that would take you away from there, to an airport perhaps.
but as you were going down to go to where the trains were, YOU FELT IT.
His heavy preferences were down there... waiting for you...
How did they know that was where you were going? You had no idea, but you fled in the opposite direction again.
you hid in an alley the best you could. with your heart racing and your heart in your mouth as you felt how they were getting closer...
You had some hope, a little, when they were going to continue on....when--.
A cough.
a coughing fit.
You tried to cover your mouth and muffle the sound, curl up into a ball, anything. so --
-"I found youuuu!~"-
Saotru was right next to you...
Kento made a mistake, but don't worry, this wouldn't happen again, you wouldn't be left alone again if he could avoid it, reinforce security, be with you longer! anything for you!
You have no idea how much you worried them! As soon as Satoru received the call from Kento that you had run away from his house, he stopped everything he was doing and went to help him.
Poor thing! You must be so scared being out there alone! You didn't even bring your cough medicine or anything warm. What happens if you get an outbreak from or due to humidity? You didn't even bring a mask!
Good thing they found you in time, right? You are even crying with joy when you see them! They should take you to the Gojo estate as soon as possible and give me your medicine before your throat becomes infected, stop kicking! They know you like to walk but you are weak! you are weak..
you are fragile!
let them take care of you💙💛
Tumblr media
Shares, reglogs and comments are very welcome!
178 notes · View notes
Text
Thinking about disabled AK!Jason tonite with a disabled s/o
Let's be fr this man could/should be an ambulatory wheelchair user but he won't because he doesn't know that's a thing and wouldn't think he deserved it. If you're an ambulatory wheelchair user maybe one day you manage to lovingly bully him into just TRYING it and it is life changing
He uses his ambulatory energy to do Red Hood shit nbd
if he doesn't use a wheelchair he's got at least 2 braces--shoulder and knee
Baby has chronic pain, arthritis, chronic migraines from being beaten
Missing some teeth too
take this boy to your neuro or your ortho!!!! he is totally unaware he does not need to live like this. better living through chemistry
let's get him some therapy too
you WILL have to go to his drs appointments with him. mans WILL freak the fuck out for ANY medical procedure, has very serious medical abuse trauma. if he can see how your drs help you he is much more likely to go if he can see that you are benefiting from your providers and that they haven't harmed you
if you're scared of drs he will FULLY stand behind you. probably not that healthy tbh but he gets it
having a special Migraine Protocol for each of you (it's basically just a snack and a drink, blue light filter glasses, a sleep mask with headphones for that special Migraine Playlist)
make your own pain scales and talk through frequency of pain bc when you have constant or near constant pain it fucks up your ability to quantify it so making your own pain scale is helpful (he probably uses shakespeare plays or authors. like a 5 for jason is twilight, because you can see some problems but it's fun and fluffy but when you start looking closer OH NO SO MANY PROBLEMS)
pain meters on a wall near the kitchen so you can know what you're working with
CBD patches
the AK suit is basically a giant brace/mobility aid so you help him figure out how to adapt it for his red hood persona, how to make it lighter and allow for greater ROM
will remind you to do physical therapy
resistance bands ALL OVER THE HOUSE
learning bodywork techniques
AT LEAST once a week using a special oil or lotion to work into some of his bigger scars to make the tissue more mobile
giving him a back/neck/scalp/face massage
after a while obvi that's a lot of trust he's putting in you
NOT deep tissue. don't hurt him more. you can have effective therapeutic massage without hurting a person
trager work involves basically shaking a limb and letting the weight of the muscle do all the work but it feels weird the first time and he'd just start laughing at you
specially if you do his glutes
but it feels really nice so he stops laughing and it does help his lower body pain
putting magnesium lotion on each other's neck and shoulders
start to ask each other "are you angry or in pain?"
hand massages
teaching him to stop pushing through the pain
one of his knees is basically bone on bone so you always know when the weather is changing
if u both have bad knees u just don't even when the weather is changing. take some pain meds, use your topical pain reliever of choice, prop those joints up and snuggle in bed. watch a youtube series or he can read to you
heated blankets as heating pads supremacy
occasionally he'll be in pain and the kind of pain where you feel like you're going insane, so as a distraction he will go online and buy a bunch of weird pain-relieving gadgets and you'll spend a week trying them out
(sometimes his pain fog shopping spree is blind boxes, or nail polish, or statement shirts)
all of his siblings know to come to your place if they get beat tf up because your medicine cabinet is UNreal
you're about to give cass or steph a Controlled Substance Pain Reliever and you pause "this is technically drug dealing, isn't it? dOn'T teLL rEd hOOD" jason is literally patching them up right next to you
soft blankets
reminding each other it's ok to take it slow
he's constantly tearing into the other rogues for not having ADA accessible lairs (except Ivy who successfully argued that the plants make it ADA accessible which will do. FOR NOW.)
131 notes · View notes
okkotsui · 1 year
Text
haitani rindou ⇄ cheater, cheater.
Tumblr media
synopsis : you discovered something about ran that made you love your boyfriend even more. the difference between them can compare to the sun and moon, heaven and hell.
tags / warnings : gender–neutral!reader, cheater!ran, angst, fluff, mention of sexual intercourse (not detailed).
Tumblr media
it was just another not-so-calming day— for you that is. you were taking notice of another issue about your boyfriend’s brother and his girlfriend (maybe ex-girlfriend now?), and it was still the same matter that made your head ache from time to time.
of course, that is how your boyfriend’s brother is; a cheater.
you’ve been seeing him bringing different girls from time to time whilst his girlfriend saw each piece of evidence. believe it or not, she even caught them in their own home and somehow, the way they make up is having sex.
eventually heard that ran is ironically the possessive but cheater one on both of them.
you trust rindou enough that he won’t do it to your relationship which has been going on for almost five years and counting now. he assures and reassures you enough that you’re not even thinking about it twice when he treats you right.
another headache is also ran’s girlfriend. she already knows that she is being cheated on and all, but she just stayed and insisted, her reason? because ran is rich enough to fill her wants and needs with his money.
well, it was somehow understandable but they need some help— you won’t do it, it’s problematic when you made the two of them talk to one another. just another toxic relationship.
and when it comes to your relationship with rindou, it is perfectly healthy. he puts more effort than his brother who is the total opposite of each other and you are thankful for that.
currently, his girlfriend is right beside you, bawling her eyes out. she saw ran again with another girl that he escorted out of his car to go somewhere.
“i just wish we could have the same relationship as yours.” she drew her breath, calming herself down as well as fanning her face with her hand.
“aella, girl, how many times do i have to tell you— leave him. i’m willing to help you” you sighed, sitting more comfortably on your couch as she sighed.
“and even though you’re with a rich cheater, it will just ruin your mental health and your whole being just for someone buying you expensive gifts.” you added, though, she is willing to listen.
“but how can i live when i leave him?” that made you sigh, stressed out on her relationship. the irony of stressing over other people’s relationships than yours
“you can an—”
“aella, babe? what are you doing here?” and speaking of the devil himself.
ran furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the two of you. his eyes were confused and a bit betrayed when he saw you though it is not your fault for that.
“this is rindou’s apartment, you must be mistaken, come on.” he entered the apartment you shared with rindou, taking his ‘girlfriend’ back as aella looked at your eyes as if asking for help.
what you didn't notice was that rindou arrived when the two went out of the door. he was confused as well, concerned about you.
“darling? what was that?” your lover called out, messaging your forehead, pouting at him.
“i’m so tired of comforting her every time she sees your brother cheating with another woman!” you squeezed your eyes shot, feeling a migraine from the occurrences that happened today.
“i’m sorry,” he went in front of you, kissing your forehead, tucking some of your hair strands away from your face to behind your ears.
“i’ve been telling him to stop but he just won’t listen. don’t worry, he will get his taste of medicine or karma later on, okay? don’t stress about it anymore.” he sat beside you, grabbing your waist gently to place you against his chest.
“i know, i’m sorry. i’m really thankful that you’re different from him despite being siblings... i love you so much, rindou.” you lay in his chest, hearing his heartbeat.
you shouldn’t compare both of them, at all! it’s an erroneous act for your boyfriend’s brother but you still apologized.
“i’m—”
“no, it’s okay, i understand that you’re stressed, how about we go to bed, hm?” you nodded at his offer, but he just went straight up carrying with ease.
“i don’t know what i did to have you...” you whispered whilst he placed you down on the bed you two shared as he changed his clothes back.
“many things, baby,” he halted, laying down beside you as you wrapped your arms around him.
rindou always makes you feel at home, no doubt to protect you as well.
at the end of the day, the situation between ran and his girlfriend is still the same but that does not matter, you just fell in love with your boyfriend all over again because of many realizations.
it is one of his priorities after all, making you feel safe and royalty in your life. he is willing to hear you out in any way.
617 notes · View notes
stoneagedevil · 11 months
Note
If you are still taking requests, I have one for you 🥺 how would Hannibal and Anton react to the reader having cardiomyopathy (aka a weak heart). Because of her condition reader faints a lot and is danger of going into cardiac arrest if she gets scared or frightened. If you don’t feel comfortable taking this request, please feel free to ignore it. Thanks, love your work! :)
IMAGINES/HEADCANONS: Anton Chigurh x Reader | Hannibal Lecter x Reader
Reader with a weak heart/fainting condition.
TW/CW: Fainting, death, guns, cannibalism, reader being described as pretty, medication, break in.
——————
HANNIBAL:
Because you’re so heavily affected when frightened, both would tread extremely lightly around you. Of course, there’s only so much one can do when you lead the lives Hannibal and Anton do.
Hannibal would do everything in his power to keep you from finding out who he truly is. His worst nightmare had turned from his inner circle becoming wary of him, to you finding out, leaving him, fainting, or even going into cardiac arrest. He’d kill anyone for you as to not actually kill you because of your condition.
If the chance comes where you do faint around him, he’s incredibly quick in noticing the signs. If he can smell cancer, he can definitely sense days when your condition is a little worse than usual. He immediately wraps a cautious arm around your waist when you mention you’re feeling lightheaded.
There was an incident where you fainted, nearly clipping your head on the sharp edge of his dining room table. If not your Hannibal practically diving to cup your head, there surely would’ve been a trip to the ER.
As a doctor, he reminds you of your medication, keeping an extra bottle on his person at all times as well. He picks up your prescriptions, always ensuring they’re the right ones, if there is a change in medication, he monitors you in order to make sure you have no adverse reactions to the medicine.
Hannibal takes great care in ensuring that there is no cross contamination when cooking his special cuts, and your dinner. Hannibal already has to be on his toes when seeing a doctor, as tests could reveal his prion disease, induced by his taste for human flesh. But Hannibal also has to be careful with how he feeds you. Hannibal already understands the risks of cannibalism, not particularly concerned about brain damage and the like, but with your condition, a prion disease could make your weak heart that much weaker.
Despite the fact that he enjoys feeding his victims to his inner circle of investigators, he’d sooner cut off his right hand than feed you people. After all, despite being animals in his eyes, no person could ever be good enough for you to eat….
lest it was him being served.
ANTON:
Anton shows his concern for you in a different manner. Under no circumstances are you allowed on his trips. Besides the chance of stray bullets catching in your flesh sending you into a panic that’s sure to affect your heart, you must be kept at a perfect temperature keep your heart healthy. Anton doesn’t let you leave in the cold. He doesn’t let you leave in the sweltering heat. If you need something, he’ll get it himself and probably get it done quicker too.
Anton keeps your medication stocked, checking over the expiration dates, questioning on whether or not you’ve taken your dose for the day.
Before tracking down a target, he makes sure you’ll be well taken care of while he’s away.
There was an incident where a target had managed to track down where you live. In a phone call, Anton felt the tables had been turned on him when his target said that he’d kill his partner. Llewelyn Moss might have failed in saving himself and his wife, but Anton would certainly not.
Your heart leaped at the sound of gunfire shooting out your lock, and you scrambled for the bedroom, quickly locking the door, opening the window, and diving under the bed. You sure as hell weren’t jumping out your window, as you were on the second floor. Your hyperventilating and rising blood pressure led you to feel light headed, your vision fading to black.
At the sight of the lock being shot into pieces, Anton’s chest tightened uncomfortably, and his brow scrunched almost imperceptibly. He kicked open the door quickly checking the corners of the house with his pistol. Of course, he’d navigated your home a billion times over, could even do so with his eyes closed. The man who’d promised to kill you didn’t stand a chance against him, but he wasn’t concerned about that. The concern was whether you stood a chance against the intruder. Checking the pulse of the man he’d shot, he quickly set off to find you.
He came to your bedroom door first, swallowing thickly when he saw the lock shot out as well. He drew his pistol, entering the room swiftly. He took notice of the window, rushing to it and looking down. Nothing. He closed his eyes, trying to listen for a sign of you - and wouldn’t you know it, he heard soft breathing from under the bed. He kneeled, peeking under the bedskirt, his eyes being met with your pretty face.
Of course. You’re smart, while you may not be able to fight very well due to your condition, you were incredibly sly and an excellent trickster. His lips quirked up slightly at the thought of the target looking out the window and deciding to turn back to the living room to find you outside, only to be met with the barrel of Anton’s pistol and a swift shot to the face.
He would drag your unconscious body out from under the bed, lay you softly down onto it, and time your pulse. After making sure you were truly safe, he’d shut the window, and turn the temperature dial to the right level for you and your heart.
He’d then take a seat next to your bed, watching your chest rise and fall until you woke.
——————-
Thank you so much for saying you love my work! I very much appreciate it. I hope I met/exceeded your expectations with this.
253 notes · View notes
tisaolin · 1 year
Note
I just happened to see your blog and wow I really want to request something if it's okay 💙
Can you write for Fujin, Kuai Liang, Hanzo and Kabal having an S/O who's stubborn and doesn't care so much about themselves (sick but doesn't want to take medicine, no fixed sleep routine, doesn't eat healthy food... something of this sorts)
Thank you so much~ 💙
This is literally me 🧍🏾‍♀️, well time to imagine how mk men woukd take care of me
Kombatants taking care of their s/o who doesnt care for themselves.
Characters: Fujin, Kuai Liang, Hanzo, and Kabal
Tumblr media
Fujin (Plz I ❤️ this gif, he so sassy)
It’s heartbreaking for Fujin to see you like this. He want’s you to live the best version of yourself.
When you gor sick, he FORCED you to take medicine because you refused too. He doesnt mean to hurt you or anything but he wants you to feel better.
Fujin will craddle you to sleep if you’re having trouble sleeping or wake you up gently if youre sleeping for too long.
When Fujin sees you eating a tub of ice cream (your pick on the flavor) he snatches it out your hand and cooks you a meal, a healthy meal.
He has a whole mental breakdown about it and Raiden has to listen like “😐🧍🏻”
“WHY, Why do you not care for yourself?!”…. “No comment”
Tumblr media
Kuai Liang
He’s cold, but not heartless. He lectures you on taking care of yourself.
He literally has to HOLD YOU DOWN AND FORCE YOU TO TAKE YOUR MEDICINE!
“BY THE GODS Y/N YOURE WORSE THAN FROST”… “I should fucking spit on you for that”
He is disgusted by junk food so he lectures you on that too 🙄(like OKAYYY DAMN, you ain’t my daddy ) “all that junk food is going to cause health problems” “oh well” “MY GOD Y/N”
When he sees you’re still up at like 3 in the morning he forces you to bed. “Go to bed” “NO!!” “You’re worse than Johnny Cage” “NOOO!!!” He drags you to bed and tucks you in so you can’t get out.
Tumblr media
Hanzo Hasashi
This is different from his previous relationship so he had to bring out the lovely husband on you.
He doesn’t force you to take your meds, instead he gently coaxes you to take them.
When it comes to your sleep schedule, he’s like your father 💀 “Hanzo you can go to sleep” “not until you get some rest, you can’t keep pulling all-nighters” “so you’re just gonna watch over me” “if I have to then yes”
Junk food… he’s not really fond of it. “Is that all your gonna eat” “…Yeah” “You’re gonna have to eat something else” he gets up and find leftover vegetables from last night and whips up some fried rice from there. “There..a good meal that is also good for you”
Tumblr media
Kabal
Honestly, felt. He doesn’t care for himself that much but he does care for you.
He understands the junk food, you both eat loads of it on the couch occasionally but other than that, he’s ATTEMPTING to cook a healthy meal.
You try to avoid taking your meds but he’s too fast and before you know it, the medicine is already in your mouth.
“You need sleep, you look like the walking dead” “how flattering KABAL” “don’t get mad at the truth”
854 notes · View notes
filmofhybe · 4 months
Text
taking care of you from afar
🫶 pairing : Nishimura Riki x oc 💌 GENRE : Angst 907 wc
Warning : break up , cold Christmas
; AUTHORS NOTE : mixed up mixed up up up
Masterlist to my other works
Tumblr media
"Y/n, I can't just stop caring for you," he insisted, his eyes reflecting the conflict within.
I sighed, realizing the complexity of our emotions. "Niki, it's going to be harder for both of us if we keep holding on. We need to move forward separately." We know we both don’t want this. But if only you knew why..
Two months before Christmas, Niki and I decided to part ways. We knew it was for the best, but the pain lingered in our hearts. I told him he should let me go, that holding on would only hurt him more with each passing day. Yet, Niki, stubborn and caring as ever, couldn't bring himself to release his grip on our relationship. It has very much affected my way on moving on from him because of his kind and caring gesture till this day. But nothing would ever change him or even stop him caring for me.
Christmas approached, and the bitter chill in the air mirrored the frostiness between us. I knew he couldn't stand seeing me suffer during the cold holiday season, especially knowing how much my seasonal depression intensified without him.
One day, as I sat alone in my room, I received an unexpected package. Inside were heat pads to keep me warm, some havd cream and lipbalm. With accompanied by a note that simply read, "Stay cozy and warm." Confused, I wondered who could have sent such a thoughtful gift.
Days passed, and the surprises continued. Warm, comforting meals arrived at my doorstep, sometimes even health care products and medicines, bringing a strange mix of gratitude and confusion - Niki, despite our breakup, was orchestrating these gestures from afar. He understood my struggles, even when I tried to convince him otherwise.
“I’m not struggling from my little seasonal depression..”
“Y/n i know you long enough to know you are.”
“Just stop sending stuff over.”
“Just because we broke up doesn’t mean I’m going to stop.”
Then came the day when I opened the door to find a box labeled "Snakes." My heart raced with anxiety until I noticed it was a typo – the intended word was "snacks." I chuckled at the mix-up, realizing Niki's efforts were not without their share of mishaps. Remember how he somehow can’t seem to spill snacks correctly makes my heart swell.
It became a routine. Each day of December, a new surprise arrived, is like a little advent calendar, ranging from handwritten notes to carefully chosen gifts that catered to my needs. I was touched by his unspoken care, yet torn by the knowledge that we had chosen separate paths. Was it really worth it?
One evening, unable to contain my curiosity any longer, I sent him a text. "Why are you doing this, Niki? We're not together anymore." His response was simple, yet it carried the weight of sincerity. "I care about you, Y/n. I can't stop that, even if we're not together anymore. I’ll never break the promise I made with your mother.”
I pondered his words, conflicted between appreciating his gestures and urging him to let go. I replied, "You need to move on, Niki. We both do.", “fine. I’ll stop soon.” His messages became more sporadic, but the surprises persisted. I found solace in his warmth, even if it was delivered from a distance. It was as if he aimed to heal the wounds he couldn't see.
As Christmas neared, I felt a mixture of gratitude and guilt. Gratitude for the kindness he continued to show, as he continues to deliver gifts to my front door despite telling him not to, and guilt for allowing him to hold on to a love that no longer had a place in our lives. I knew I had to confront him, for both our sakes.
One evening, I called him, the familiar sound of his voice stirring a whirlwind of emotions. "Niki, we can't keep going on like this. It's not healthy for either of us." He sighed on the other end of the line. "I know, Y/n. But I can't help it. I still believe in us, and I can't bear to see you suffer. Especially during this time. I know and we both know your struggling and I can’t stand that.. To me your still my precious Angel that i care for everyday..”
Tears welled up in my eyes as I whispered, "You have to let me go, Niki. It's the only way we can truly heal." He fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly agreed. "I'll try, Y/n. But promise me you'll take care of yourself."
As Christmas Eve arrived, I braced myself for the solitude that awaited. To my surprise, a final package arrived, adorned with a ribbon and a note that read, "Merry Christmas, Y/n. Take care of yourself, that’s all I ask for.”
Inside was a beautifully pink crafted blanket, a symbol of warmth and comfort. Despite the pain, I couldn't help but appreciate the bittersweet beauty of his gesture. As I wrapped myself in the blanket, I whispered a silent thank you to the universe for the love that had once been, and the strength to move forward into a new year, alone but not entirely lonely.
“thank you for the gift. Take care.”
“Your welcome, and I’ll always take care of you from afar.”
Tumblr media
© filmofhybe on tumblr — do not copy , translate or share.
104 notes · View notes
theblackdahliaemporium · 10 months
Text
Medicinal Remedies
Medicinal Remedies-- This is a LONG one!
NOTE: This article is about 20 of my favorite medicinal healing herbs to grow in most garden areas and types of soil. There are 100’s more, though, that I just couldn’t include because of space. Enjoy this rundown of 20 of my favorites.
Tumblr media
1) Calendula:
Calendula is one of my top five favorite herbs of all time. It's sunny yellow or orange face can't help but make me smile. In summer time, it grows like crazy, just about anywhere, and like other flowers, the bees love it.
Calendula has some super skin healing and strengthening properties, and I always have some infusing in olive oil in a sunny window for use in salves, soaps, and other body products.
Calendula is also edible, and it's so fun to toss some blooms in your salad! It really brightens things up and adds excellent color. I love Calendula.
Calendula just makes you smile.
2) Cayenne:
Here is another herb I think should be in every garden. Cayenne is a very hot and pretty red pepper with some excellent culinary uses for adding spice to foods.
It's also great for helping with circulatory problems, can be used to help stop bleeding since it's a hemostatic herb, and has been shown to be useful in helping slow or even stop a heart attack until help can arrive.
It's also a very attractive plant, and the bright red of the pepper is just gorgeous mixed Into the dark green of the plant's leaves. This is one herb you should definitely grow if you can, and have handy in your herbal medicine chest.
Cayenne grows like crazy, especially in warmer climates. They dry well, too.
3) Chamomile:
Like Lavender, what would an herbal garden be without sweet Chamomile? It's honey scent and sweet taste are an absolute pleasure. Besides that....Chamomile is a popular relaxant and mild sedative herb.
Need to de-stress? Drink a bit of Chamomile tea!
Chamomile is also useful as an anti-inflammatory, as it contains high levels of azulene. It helps with pain relief, including for arthritis. If you are heading to bed and are bothered by mild pain, try drinking some chamomile tea! In one clinical study, this helped 10 out of 12 people fall into a restful sleep. (Gladstar)
Growing Chamomile can be tricky in very hot climates. It likes full sun, but a cooler climate. Chamomile is also best grown in less maintained soil and doesn't need the rich fertilization other plants require.
4) Chickweed:
Chickweed is another one of those "weeds" that is completely misunderstood and has some excellent medicinal qualities.
It's Latin name, (stellaria) means "star," and that is because of its small, pretty starlike white flowers. It's easy to grow, and has many uses.
Chickweed supports liver and kidney health due to its high nutrition and diuretic properties. It's also wonderful in salves for healing skin issues, including rashes, eczema, and very dry skin.
Chickweed is a great diuretic and blood purifier.
5) Dandelion:
This prolific weed, as some people see when they notice Dandelion in their yard, is actually a powerfully helpful medicinal herb! Dandelion is terrific for your liver and kidney health, having diuretic properties.
It's also an edible plant! You can roast the roots and add it to teas and even your coffee for a delicious flavor that also packs a healthy punch. The leaves can be eaten in salads and other foods.
6) Feverfew:
Feverfew has lovely white flowers and at least where I live, is rather invasive. I don't mind, though, because it has a great number of medicinal benefits.
As its name connotes, feverfew is helpful with reducing fevers. Most recently, however, feverfew has become rather well-known for helping with migraines, both preventing and reducing the intensity and time.
One of my favorite teas to provide for people who suffer from migraines is: 1 part feverfew, 1 part spearmint, and 1 part lemon balm. This is a soothing, nervine combination, that along with the powers of feverfew, can be used as daily tonic.
Feverfew is also great for minor bug bites. Just apply the tincture topically. Since it has mild pain relieving properties, it will help with the discomfort too.
7) Garlic:
Garlic is one of the BEST all around medicinal herbs anyone can grow, in my opinion. It's useful for treating colds, flus, sore throats, and digestive issues. Garlic boosts the immune system by increasing and stimulating the production of white blood cells.
Garlic is antiseptic, anti-bacterial, and vermifuge (kills parasites). It is also useful as a blood purifier and helps promote healthy circulation. It may also help regulate blood sugar levels in those with type 2 diabetes.
Besides all these wonderful benefits, garlic is delicious! It's added to so many foods and dishes because of the flavor it imparts. Granted, using garlic medicinally is different than in culinary uses, but if you really want to "eat thy medicine," as Hippocrates famously stated, garlic is a great place to start.
8) Ginger:
Oh, what would the herb world be without Ginger? This sweet and spicy pungent herb is actually a rhizome, not a root, as many believe. The useful part grows under ground, so is often confused.
Ginger is stimulating and is a great additive for teas, tinctures, and fermented foods, as well as culinary uses. Ginger is anti-inflammatory, decongesting, and increases circulation, promoting warmth. Ginger is also excellent for flatulence and stomach issues, including nausea.
Ginger likes a tropical environment---hot and humid. Therefore, unless you live down South, Ginger would most likely need to be grown in a green house.
9) Lavender:
What would the herbal world be without lavender? It's good for SO many things. Lavender smells wonderful, the bees love it, it's great for medicinal uses, AND it's a gorgeous flower. Lavender is useful for air freshening and cleaning the air or freshening closed up places such as drawers. It's popular in sachets for this reason.
Lavender is actually relatively hardy, growing well in Zones 5 through 8. If you are in a colder zone, be sure to plant your lavender in an area where it will get plenty of sunshine and be as warm as possible. If your winters are rough, you'll need to provide your lavender with some type of protection, especially from harsh winds.
I had some planted in pots here in the mountains, and it did very well all summer long. Even through snows, it was fine. But we get wind speeds over 125 miles an hour at times, and lavender just didn't last through that. Not much will, I guess.
Lavender is useful for so many things---AND it smells incredible.
10) Lemon Balm:
Lemon Balm....I LOVE this species of mint. It smells lovely, the bees love it, and it grows well nearly everywhere. Lemon Balm has a pleasant lemony taste and is a great additive in herbal teas, both for the nutritive value as well as the soothing nature and relaxing effects it has on the body.
11) Marshmallow:
This probably isn't included in too many herbalist's garden lists, but I think Marshmallow is seriously necessary. It's a demulcent and soothing herb, and it complements "hotter" herbs very well. It also soothes inflammation in mucous membranes and is one of my favorite herbs to use for allergy blends or teas for any kind of inflammation in the body for this reason.
Marshmallow is an upright plant, similar to a very small hollyhock. In fact, if you can grow hollyhocks where you are---you can use it pretty much interchangeably with Marshmallow as their chemical constituents are very similar.
The flowers are light pink and very pretty, too. The entire plant is edible and useful for medicinal purposes. Go ahead and throw a few flowers into your salad for a beautiful and surprising presentation!
Marshmallow is a demulcent anti-inflammatory. Plus, it's pretty.
12) Mullein:
This is yet another plant many see as just a weed, but has some truly wonderful medicinal qualities. Mullein is a plant that grows from a rosette of fuzzy large leaves into a tall stalk (sometimes as high as 7 feet tall) and is covered with yellow flowers in mid-summer.
Mullein does best in full sun, with lots of water, in cooler areas. It grows really well in the creek beds up here in our mountains, but I've heard it is very common in almost all places. It's worth trying to cultivate, in my opinion, if you don't have it growing naturally in your area.
Mullein is one of the best herbs you can use to support and heal the respiratory system and illnesses that affect the lungs, sinuses, and breathing. It's useful as a tea, tincture, and the large leaves can be used in an emergency to cover a poultice.
In my opinion, Mullein is the premier herb for respiratory issues.
13) Oregano
Oregano seems to be the bane of many gardener's existence. They plant it, and it just goes crazy. I can't tell you how many neighbors, family members, and friends have given me Oregano from their yards over the years! And I'm glad to have it! The thing with Oregano is you have to know how to manage it.
Oregano is a fabulous culinary herb, and if you have ever had pizza or marinara sauce, then you've tasted this delicious Mediterranean herb. Oregano grows best in warm, dry climates, but I have found in my experience that it is quite hardy and can survive winter lows in the single digits (at least it does in my yard).
Oregano (also known as Mountain of Joy in Greek) has some excellent medicinal uses, including having anti-viral, anti-biotic, anti-fungal properties, as well as being very high in anti-oxidants. It's a great skin care herb and also a digestive aid.
Oregano can be used in many forms, too: As a tincture, an herbal infused oil, eaten in foods, and as an essential oil. These all have different strengths, potencies, and uses.
The tincture is an easy way to use the herb medicinally, along with making or using in an herbal tea.
14) Peppermint:
Super easy to grow just about anywhere, Peppermint is a spreading perennial that has the propensity to take over your garden if you allow it! It's spicy, pungent scent is well known to just about everyone, since it's a popular culinary additive in many foods and candies.
Medicinally, Peppermint is useful for aiding digestion and getting rid of flatulence (gas). It has mild anti-spasmodic properties, so if you are experiencing cramps, especially digestive types or menstrual cramps, it can be very helpful.
15) Plantain:
Here is another weed that many people find repugnant, but that is actually an incredibly useful medicinal herb!
According to Rosemary Gladstar, Plantain grows everywhere, and if you invite it in, it will definitely show up.
Plantain is great for liver health, detoxifying and cleansing the blood, and drawing out toxins. I like to infuse it in oil for use in healing salves.
Like Dandelion, this easy to find weed is edible and useful.
16) Rosemary:
Rosemary is a famous culinary herb, and is great for use on red meats and very pungent dishes. Besides this, rosemary has been proven to be helpful for the brain, especially memory functions.
It's high in anti-oxidants, and has mild analgesic (pain relief) properties. Rosemary is a stimulant herb, and is helpful with circulation and low blood pressure. People with high blood pressure need to exercise caution using rosemary medicinally.
Rosemary grows best in hot, dry climates and is native to the Southern European countries.
Besides being a pungent and delicious culinary herb, rosemary provides medicinal qualities and enhances memory.
17) St. John's Wort:
St. John's Wort is a misunderstood plant, in my opinion. It went through a popular phase a few years ago and was touted as being the new natural anti-depressant. St. John's Wort can absolutely help with feelings of mild depression, sadness, grief, and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but it's not a cure-all.
Important to know---St. John's Wort can interact with certain drugs, so be sure you discuss usage with your doctor (as you should with any of these herbs mentioned).
St. John's Wort is also great for neuralgia, and I personally use it as part of my back pain and sciatica regimen with excellent results. I also use it in a tincture form to lift my spirits if I'm feeling down.
Besides all the medicinal qualities of St. John's Wort, it's a really pretty plant. You won't be able to grow it in a super hot area, however, at least it's unlikely. I tried growing it in Las Vegas, and it was a total fail. However, it does well here in the mountains in full sun or partial shade and the cooler climate.
One of my favorite ways to prepare St. John's Wort is as an herbal infused oil. The medicinal species (H. perforatum) releases bright red juices into the oil, creating the most lovely infused oil.
Another safety note for the garden: St. John's Wort has been shown to have potential for phototoxicity, especially in grazing animals if they eat too much. Just be aware and watch what your pastured animals eat.
St. John's Wort is a wonderful healing herb that positively affects the emotions.
18) Thyme:
Thyme, in my opinion, is one of the best plants to use in your garden. It attracts bees, smells lovely, and is incredibly useful for medicinal purposes. It's a small, spreading herb (although some species will grow upright) that is fairly hardy, so if you have rough winters, it may do just fine---you'll be seeing it again in the Spring, with it's pretty scented purple flowers.
Many herbalists forget all about using thyme as a preventative medicinal herb or for helping heal quickly from colds and flus---but it has been shown to fight off colds.
It also has disinfectant properties, and can be used as an effective wash for skin infections or as great sore throat rinse. For medicinal purposes, Thymus vulgaris or Thymus citriodorus (Lemon Thyme) are the best to use.
19) Valerian:
This stately flowering plant can grow to about four feet tall and has lacy white flower clusters. Not only is it a lovely addition to your garden, but it is very useful. It's a strong but safe sedative and is very useful for helping with anxious feelings, sleep issues, and pain relief.
Contraindications: Valerian has the opposite effect on some people, so if you are using it for the first time, do so on a the eve of a day that won't affect you much. These folks are rare, but there are definitely some that don't tolerate it well.
One of nature's best gifts---Valerian is lovely and it is an excellent safe sedative.
20) Yarrow:
Yarrow has many tiny flowers that grow in bunches, and feathery grayish leaves. It's a very pretty plant for your garden. Besides, the parts that grow above ground (leaves, stems, flowers) have medicinal purposes and have been used for thousands of years.
Yarrow is a vulnerary, hemostatic herb. Besides helping with healing and clotting of wounds, yarrow is good for helping reduce fevers, hay fever, and fighting colds. As a fever reducer, it is important to note that yarrow induces sweating, so if the person already has a hot fever, yarrow is probably not the best choice to use.
Article: healing harvest homestead Picture: Nikolaydonetsk – photodune . net
298 notes · View notes
boldlyvoid · 2 months
Text
A Court of Seeds and Sight
Tumblr media
Elain x Azriel
Summary: After 6 months apart, Elain sees the way Lucien looks at her new, healthy, body and it reminds her of her mother. The look of disappointment. The look of never being good enough. A reminder that she's spent most of her life letting others make choices for her. she decided in that moment that she's hand enough. While standing up for herself, Lucien suggests they dissolve the bond, letting her go free.
What happens when she's staying at The House of Wind to recover and the male she's dreamed of, the male she's wanted to pick for herself for over 2 years now, is there with medicine and goods to help her feel better?
Warnings: light fatphobia, severing a bond, made-up lore (i had fun making it up) hurt/comfort, the house of wind is my favourite character in this, First kiss, first times, oral sex (fem receiving), multiple orgasms, new bonds snapping into place, lovemaking, rough sex
Word count: 10.6k
Tumblr media
She knew he was there the moment he walked into the house. 
There was a little tug on the bond, the first she’d felt in 6 months now. Where Lucien lived in the human realm, as well as his visits to the spring court, both places brought him out of the bounds of their bond. She went most of the year without feeling him, having heard from him through her sister and her mate, but Elain hasn’t felt him. 
And what a blessing that had been. 
She has been working in gardens all over the city, bringing florals to the night court in a way that keeps their traditions in mind. She’s made hanging flower baskets for lamp posts, displays for windows as well as potted trees and bushes on the street. Bat Orchids, black Dahlia, Persian lily, and Dark Dimension. Black and blue and purple roses. Hollyhock and Hellebore. All darker flowers, but the feeling is still the same. She wanted to bring life and beauty to the city that changed everything for her. 
When she’s not in the garden covered in dirt… she’s in the kitchen covered in flour. Both activities include help from her favourite fae. 
Azriel, ever the traveller, albeit for work, was always bringing her back either a packet of exotic seeds or a new recipe from a cafe or hotel he visited. She’s planted everything, either in her greenhouse outback or in little pots scattered around the house. She wanted them to last, and the best way to do that was to keep them in their desired environments. Food-wise, he mostly brings home recipes for pastries and baked goods. Only a few times has there been a savoury dish, which she made for the whole family for dinner, upon Az’s request. 
The tug on the bond pulls her away from her baking, she’s working on lemon pastries. A fluffy, puffed pastry with lemon filling and a delicious icing drizzle on top. She makes them in a variety of flavours, this one happens to be Azriel’s favourite. 
“Can you watch these for me? Take them out if I’m not back when the timer goes,” she asks Cerridwen and Nuala. They both nod, knowing where she’s going, as they also feel everything going on in the house, stronger than she ever could. 
She makes her way towards the main entrance, wiping her hands off on her apron, she’s only going to greet him because it’s right. It’s a nice thing to do. She doesn’t like him more than an acquaintance, he’s her sister's work partner… he’s important to their court but not to her heart. And she feels awful about that. But she’s heard the stories, she knows that not all bonds are happy. Most of the people she’s met have horror stories about how much their parents hated each other, but the bond needed them together to procreate. Because the cauldron knows what offspring will change the world. Like Rhys himself, his parents were not meant to be, but the world needed him. 
She could put up with Lucien, she could tolerate him. She just couldn’t imagine sharing a bed or making children with him. He may be her “soul-mate” but he is not her type. He was not the male she would willingly choose if she had the choice. 
“Lucien,” she smiles at him. 
He looks her up and down, taking a step back to do so. But it’s not in the usual way he looks at her. He’s taking in how much she’s changed in the half a year he hasn’t seen her. 
She’s put on some weight. For the first time in her life, she has had the luxury to do so. Eating well, lounging in the sun, reading in her room and cuddling with her nephew. She’s not working out like her sisters, she doesn’t have a job that requires her to be able to kick ass in a moment's notice. She’s done what she’s always wanted to do; put a little meat on her bones. And she loved it. 
“What?” She asks, slightly offended. 
“Nothing… I’m just surprised,” he explains, unable to stop staring. “You’ve… changed.”
And it’s not the good kind of staring. His eyes are sharing with her more than she would ever hear leave his mouth. This isn’t the fae he’s been imagining in his daydreams these last few months. His look is one of disappointment, wondering why the Cauldron would match him with someone he’s also not attracted to. 
“Need I remind you that I own my body, it’s not for you to ogle or have an opinion about,” she spits, feeling the fire in her blood, having never related to her older sister until this very moment. “I never wanted this stupid bond, I don’t need your opinion of me. I’m happy, I’m healthy and I’m blessed to be able to reach this size, so if you don’t like it… you can fuck right off.” 
She honestly can’t believe those words just left her mouth. But she stands a little taller, glad that it did. 
He can’t believe it either, “the apple doesn’t fall far in your family, does it? I never even said anything and yet you were ready to pounce on me like a wild animal. Like that human side of you is still perfectly intact.” 
“I understand we have to keep things cordial for the court, however, if I never had to see you again it would be a day too late,” she continued without a second thought. “My sister and the high lord need you and your alliance, I understand that perfectly, but I am not a pawn. I am not here to keep the peace. I trust you’re a good man, that you can keep up the alliance even if things between us aren’t good.” 
“Then let’s get this retched bond removed then, shall we? The last thing I want is to be shackled to someone who could never even give me the courtesy of pretending to love me,” he spits right back. 
“We can do that?” She asks, shocked she never knew it was an option. 
“We need a priestess and a few days rest, but it can happen,” he explains. “Do you have a preferred priestess or shall we just walk into the nearest temple and see who’s available?”
“I’d prefer Merrill a the House of Wind.” 
Knowing she’s a strict witch of a fae, from Nesta’s stories, there was no one else she wanted to sever this, no one else she wanted to deal with Lucien than her. 
Rhysand and Feyre winnowed them in, having spoken to both of them about the risks of separating the bond as well as what this would mean for the court. Lucien agreed to stay emissary, his only request was that he stay in another house, paid for by Rhysand when visiting and that they meet there or at the house of Wind for meetings, so he didn’t have to see Elain again. They understood perfectly. 
“We’ll be back in an hour,” Feyre explained, a hand on Elain’s arm, wishing her luck. She simply gave her sister a smile in return, showing she was ready, albeit a little nervous. 
The happy couple flew off after that, leaving the others to start their quiet walk to the temple inside the mountain. 
Merrill meets them at the door, pissed off as usual. She blinks at them, arms crossed, “I have cleared the temple for the next hour while we do this, no matter how much it stings or the emotions you are feeling, the male must be gone when the hour is up. This is a safe space for the priestesses who live here, I am not ruining it for them. No matter who you are.” 
“I understand,” Lucien agrees, no real fight left in him. 
Inside the temple, they walk past rows and rows of pews towards the front, where a rock is draped with a light blue silk runner and topped with two cups of tea and a book. 
“Do you know the risks?” Merrill asks. 
They both nod, having learned from Rhys that severing a bond wasn’t a difficult act, it was the after-effects that were the most challenging. They could feel sick, possibly emptying the contents of their stomach and unable to consume more. The headache from losing the bond can be anywhere from an annoyance to mind numbly painful and there is a chance they could slip into a year-long melancholia. Sleep helped, but not by much as the cauldron often retaliated with terrible dreams that would keep them up. 
They were both willing to do whatever it took to get rid of this thing. 
“Are you absolutely, 100% sure, you want to dissolve the bond?” Merrill asks, staring them down. The stone above her hood shone in the faelight. Glaring at her. This was real, this was serious, and there was no going back. 
Elain nods, “Yes, I’m sure.” 
“I just want her to be happy,” Lucien shares, solemn and defeated. 
“Alright,” Merrill just pushes through. “Join hands. I’m going to say a couple of prayers, then you’re going to drink the tea and you’ll feel it happen. It can be painful, like holding a metal wire as it snaps, it can whip you as it ricochets.” 
That made her swallow sharply, she wasn’t sure she was ready to hurt again, but if it meant freedom— then the hurt would be worth it. 
Taking Lucien's hand in her own, it feels weird to touch him for the first time since they were bonded by the cauldron. It starts the moment they grip each other's hands, she has no idea what Merrill is saying, it’s in the old language. It sounds beautiful, but she has no idea what it means. She can feel it, there’s a hum that rushes through her and
She’d never experienced an earthquake before, and yet the way her body shook during the prayer had her concerned that it was not just her rumbling. It feels as though the whole world is reacting to the bond being severed. She tries her hardest to keep a brave face, standing on wobbly legs is difficult, however, the shaking stops as soon as the prayer is complete. 
Merrill hands them each a cup of tea, allowing them to stop holding hands for a moment. Pulling away doesn’t feel as intense as she expected it to. If him simply leaving a room used to make her heart ache, physically separating should’ve felt more intense. The prayer essentially numbed the feelings. The tea would snap the bond. The priestess continues her chants while they drink, all but chugging the warm liquid down. It tastes very earthy, almost as if she was drinking bark and dirt… she never even asked what it was before they did this. 
They both look disgusted as they bring the cups down, staring into each other's eyes, unable to hear the other's thoughts but it was evident. That tea was gross. 
They wait for Merrill to finish her prayer and then it happens. 
The snap isn’t as intense as she expected. It feels like walking through the woods and tripping over a root. It pulls from the earth and breaks against the ankle, leaving a welt, but nothing more. No sprain, no twist, just a slight ache. She’s able to walk away from it. 
She looks at Lucien once more and there’s nothing there. Her heart doesn’t flutter, her mind doesn’t race… she simply looks at him the way she would look at a stranger on the streets. He’s just there. 
“How do you feel?” Merrill asks. 
“Fine,” Elain answers while Lucien bows his head. 
“Terrible,” he whispers. He reached up to hold his temples, “what was that?” 
“Olive tree bark tea,” she explains. “Olive trees are a distant cousin to ash trees. it’s not as potent or deadly, it gets the job done.” 
“Can I leave now?” Lucien asks, turning away from them the moment Merrill starts to hum in agreement. 
She doesn’t hurt at all. Her heart is fine, her head is silent… she’s just empty. 
“Thank you, Merrill,” she gives the priestess a small smile. “I appreciate you taking time out of your day for this. Is there anything I can do to repay you?” 
“I’ve heard rumours that your family recovered the harp. In my previous research, I was developing a theory that there are multiple universes stacked on top of one another, upwards of 26 universes, actually. I heard the harp has 26 strings. I would like to study it. Can you put in a good word with the High Lord and Lady for me?” 
She nods, “I’ll see what I can do. That sounds very interesting, I’m sure they’d want to know more about these other universes as well.” 
“Be well, I’m doing the dusk service tonight if you need anything, you’re welcome to join us,” Merrill shares a rare smile and then she leaves, heading off into the back rooms of the temple. 
Elain starts the trek back to the balcony, where she’s meant to meet Feyre for her ride back to the river house. Lucien is staying at the townhouse, he’ll be leaving with Rhys first. She’s given him more than enough time to leave by now. But she doesn’t want to. Leave that is. 
She sighs, resting a hand against the wall, “Would you be alright if I stayed here for the time being?” She asks the house. 
In response, the lights flicker down the hallway, telling her to follow. She follows their lead, all the way to the bedroom she used to occupy when she first arrived in Velaris. Only it’s different, it’s brighter. There are plants and flowers on the tables, hanging from the veiling and vines wrapped around the 4 poles of her bed. Speaking of, the sheets are a beautiful pink, soft silk and topped with the fluffiest pillows. There’s a book on the bed, beside a tray of chocolates and a bottle of her favourite wine. 
“Oh, I love you,” she swoons, holding her hand over her heart. “This is the most beautiful spot to recover. You are so wonderful to us.” 
The house simply sent a warm breeze her way, wrapping around her face and shoulders as if to hug her. 
Within seconds, she can hear footsteps approaching her room and she knows it’s her younger sister by the way she floats down the hall. She stops at the open door and smiles, “You’re staying here, correct?” 
She nods, “how’d you—
“You dislike nothing more than feeling like a burden, here you can recover alone with the help of the house,” Feyre smiles, knowing her too well. “I packed you a few outfits, mostly sleepwear because I don’t expect you to leave the bed for a while. I will be here in 3 days, waiting in the entryway around mid-day, if you’re there I’ll bring you home. If not, I’ll give you another 3 days. Send word if you need me.” 
“Thank you,” she reaches out to take the suitcase but the house handles it for her. Taking it with its magic, the house puts everything away and sets out a fresh set of sleepwear on the bed as the bath starts to run in the other room. 
“You’re in very good hands,” Feyre approves. “I love you, and I’m proud of you, I hope you know that.” 
“I know,” she smiles back. “I’ll see you soon.” 
Once Feyre is gone, she closes her bedroom door and heads right to the bathroom. Her book, chocolate and wine are now on a little side table near the bath. The bath smells of roses and jasmine, the bubbles float over the room as they escape the tub, the lights are dimmed, and everything is perfect. 
She strips, gets into the bath and just sighs. “I expected to feel awful,” she shares. “I just feel free.” 
Her glass is filled with wine then as if the house is telling her to just lay back and enjoy the freedom. So she listens, she takes the wine in one hand, the book in her other, her eyes raking over the summary. 
It’s a romance, one she knows that either the house loves or Nesta does, either way, it’ll be raunchy and delicious. The main character is a florist, she has just escaped a terrible relationship with a man who didn’t appreciate her. Thinking she’ll be alone for the rest of her life, something unexpected blooms with the man who delivers her orders once a week. She hums, it sounds quite interesting, so she flips to the first page, takes a sip of her wine and settles into freedom. 
Before she knew it, the bubbles and wine were gone, and the bath water was still warm thanks to the house, as she reached the middle of her book. Hours pass, her body is pruned from the water and limp from how relaxed she’s become. She sighs, “Can I have a bookmark?” She asks The House. 
On the table by her empty wine glass, a clear, acrylic rectangle with dried flowers trapped inside appears. Around the flowers are gold flakes, her name is engraved into it with gold. It’s beautiful. “Thank you.” 
She gets out of the tub, and dries off with a beautifully fluffy towel only to walk naked back into her room to don her silky underclothes and slip into bed. “May I please have some soup… something creamy and hearty?” 
Then,  a beautiful creamy soup appears on a tray on her bed. She stirs her spoon around, noticing the bits of broccoli, shredded carrot and cheese and cubed chunks of potatoes. All her favourites. And then she notices the bowl, it’s a crusty sphere of bread hollowed out to hold the soup. “Thank you, this is exactly what I wanted.” 
She devours the soup, peels apart the bread bowl and savours the remnants of the creamy soup on the crunchy bread. It’s life-changing, she feels full and warm, happier than she has felt in a while. A little drunk from that whole bottle of wine, however, the bread offsets it. The tray disappears once she is done, and her book reappears on the bed. Candles are lit around the room, the curtains are still open to let in the last of the daylight while the faelight over her bed brightens just enough for her to read. 
She’s another 3 chapters in when there is a knock at the door. 
“Come in?” She says, unsure who would be home. Nesta and Cassian are in Illyria training younglings for the next week. 
The door opens slowly and quietly, the shadows bellow at his feet and she knows instantly. Her best friend has come to check on her. 
“Az,” she smiles. “I didn’t know you were back tonight?” 
He smiles right back at her, “I went to the river house, I left the new seeds I found in the greenhouse. Nuala told me where you were…” 
“I’m okay,” she assures. “It didn’t hurt. Did you know they used olive tree bark in a tea to do it? Apparently, it's in the ash family, it’s not enough to maim but it did the trick.” 
“I did not,” he looks instantly worried. “I did, however, bring you something…” 
“Come in,” she beckons him in closer. Closing her book and resting it on the bed, she pulls her sheets up over her chest to keep her modesty and watches as he sits on the edge near the end, resting against the post. 
“I went to see Madja,” he explains, pulling a few things out of the inside pockets of his jacket. “This is the same headache powder you gifted me, well, a new one, but the same kind. And these are ginger candies, they’ll help with any nausea you may feel. Have you eaten?” 
She nods, “The House made me some lovely soup.” 
“Good,” he nods, looking down at the bottles in his hands with a smile. “I’m going to be sleeping here tonight, you know where my room is?” 
“Just above mine,” she points upstairs. 
“Exactly… ask the house to make my lights flicker 3 times and I’ll know you need me, you don’t need to leave the bed if you don’t wish to,” he explains. “I’ll leave these here. You should get some rest.” 
“Thank you, Azriel, I really appreciate you.”
His smile is remarkable, “this is what friends are for.” 
His shadows leave the room first, leaving him to place the bottles on her night table and saunter off after them. As soon as the door is closed again, she waits to hear him retreat upstairs but it’s impossible. He’s so quiet, he stalks around like a cat on the prowl no matter where he is. So after enough time has passed, when she knows she’s alone again, she sighs. “He’s so… wonderful.” 
The house blows a wind that shuffles the pages of her book to what she expects is a random page, only it’s not. The love interest brings the main character flowers she doesn’t sell in her shop, something exotic and new just for her to behold. For no reason other than he wishes to see her smile. And suddenly she gets it, why the house picked this book for her out of the entire library both private and the extensive one below them. 
“There is such a remarkable light cast upon him,” she swoons. “It’s no wonder he’s followed by shadows.” 
A second book appears on her bed. 
‘Bonds, Mates and Why The Cauldron Fates Them.’
She’s quick to pick it up, flipping towards the first page, she starts to read as fast as she can absorb the knowledge. She should’ve looked for a book like this long ago, should’ve asked questions about bonds and how they come to be and how they dissolve. She always just assumed it would be there until one of them died… she never wished that upon him, never once. She just assumed that was how it would end. 
Turns out, the cauldron makes such bonds either because it knows the union will be fruitful, that the children they’d bring to this world will be of great power or importance. Children like Rhysand, he was born to be a leader while his parents could barely stand each other. Meanwhile, Cassian’s father stepped out on his bond mate, doing the foulest thing a male could do to a woman and creating one of the most important warriors to grace the world in the last 5 centuries. 
The bonds aren’t set in stone, while they can be wonderful and loving and everything two faes could ever dream of… they could also be awful. Like Lucien’s own mother and father. Beron is an awful man, controlling and mean, it’s unknown if he’s abusive but from the stories told. The atrocities that he’s committed, it’s not a far stretch to consider that he hurts her. The Lady of the Autumn court is strong, she’s stayed put and dealt with what the cauldron forced upon her— even in those 10 years she was with the Lord from the Day court. She stayed, she raised her children and she’ll be free when Beron dies. 
Maybe that’s why Lucien let her go. Why he would suggest dissolving the bond rather than dealing with it for the rest of time? Sure, he was already close to 500 years old, he could live to be 500 more and he was not going to shackle her to himself the way his father did to his mother. She needed to find a way to thank him. Maybe in a century when they got over this, she’d send him a fruit basket. Or a new fur throw. 
The more she read, the more she understood. 
It’s not unheard of for someone to have 2 bonds in their lifetime. 
After the death of the first mate, a second bond can snap into place. It’s happened to young widows and widowers alike, bringing them a second chance at happiness for the rest of their time here. Other situations in which a bonded couple gets bonded to a 3rd fae are more unlikely, but it still happens. Polyamorous bonds are rare to come by, seen only once or twice in a millennia, they can include upwards of 5 fae, at least in recorded history. She couldn’t even imagine how that would work. 
There was still hope for both herself and Lucien. He could get another bond, he could find his true soulmate out there… or he could just love someone and be loved the way he deserves to be loved without a bond. It’s not the end all be all. Maybe he’s meant to be with Vessa? Or Vessa and Jurian… they all live together most of the year, and he loves them quite a lot. Anything could happen now that he’s also free. 
Bonds snapping into place at first sight is common, that’s what happened with herself and Lucien. Others exist your entire life and you don’t know until the snap reverberates through you, like what happened with Feyre and Rhysand. He knew it longer, he could always feel her out there, it wasn’t until she started to fall in love with him that she began to understand what it was. That the bond was meant to be there. They were meant to be. 
Nesta and Cassian had a similar situation, the bond lingered from their first meeting and became stronger on the battlefield when she called after him. Grew more powerful after that first kiss when he thought he was dying… it wasn’t until she accepted it, until she announced with her whole being that she loved him, that it snapped into place for good. 
Azriel’s never had a bond. He loved Morrigan for centuries to no avail. He slept with countless fae… he’s gotten close to Elain herself, so close she thought he would kiss her. So close she could smell how much he wanted her. Only for something, or someone, to scare him off. 
Rhysand didn’t often go into her mind, it was typically Feyre who did. Often to share gossip or wish her goodnight from the other side of the river house. But Rhys was in Azriel and Cassian’s mind often. Barking orders, sharing jokes and simply catching up. He loved his brothers, but he loved his court more. She suspects that’s why he was so… so official while speaking to her and Lucien this afternoon. He was willing to do anything to keep Lucien in their good graces, to keep him as emissary. 
What wouldn’t he do?
She puts the book down, breathing heavily as it all hits her. He only called their almost kiss a ‘mistake’ that day because Rhysand was in his mind, telling him to back off, so that he didn’t have to pick between Shadowsinger and Emissary when the fight for her hand officially broke out. Because he would always pick his brother, he just didn’t want to have to.  
“How long after breaking a bond can another emerge?” She asks, watching as the house flips the pages of the book to the near end. The light shines on a specific paragraph more than the others and she knows she has her answer. 
Within moments of a mate's death, a new bond could snap into place. It’s happened in recorded history a handful of times, usually during war. A male would pass and his female, working in the infirmary, bonds to a wounded soldier. A female passes from sickness and her mate, standing beside her lifelong friend at the funeral, bonds to the only person who loved her as much as he did. Sometimes the second bond is stronger than the first, sometimes it’s the more important bond. The first mate was to teach a lesson, the second was for a lifetime of happiness. 
She feels her heart in her throat, her breathing still heavy, her thoughts racing to all the possibilities. Was this why she was so drawn to Azriel? Why she never bonded with anyone in all his years? Why it didn’t hurt when the tether snapped on her end, unlike Lucien's instant pain? 
Before she can even register it, she’s up and moving, out of the room and down the hall. Up the stairs and around the corner. The house makes the lights flicker, drawing Azriel out of his room in an instant, and having them meet in the hallway. 
She keeps walking until they’re millimetres apart. She places her hand on his chest and looks up into his dark and stormy eyes. “Tell me the truth.” 
“About?” 
“Why was it a mistake?” 
“You know,” he breathes. “The seer always knows.” 
She just smirks, “I will not talk down about your high lord… but sometimes he’s a royal pain in my ass.” 
He just smirks, “he spent centuries perfecting that quality.” 
She lets out another sigh, being this close to him just feels so right. Like there’s a magnet pulling her towards him. “Please tell me you feel it too? I don’t want to skirt around it for months like my sisters did.” 
“I’ve felt it for almost 3 long years now,” he whispers, his voice so low it reverberates through her, going right to her core. 
“Tell me about it?” She requests, “I want to know your mind, I want to know how you think. Walk me through it.” 
He picks her up then, making her squeal slightly, “I will tell you in the comfort of your bed, where you should be.”
Around the corner, down the stairs, through her hallway and into her bedroom. The books have been removed from the sheets, and more candles have been lit while the lights have been dimmed down low. He places her on her bed, waiting for her to pick a side before getting in himself, “where should I start?”
“What you felt when we first met?” 
“I thought you were so strikingly beautiful when I entered your house the first time,” he explains. “Like Cassian, I already knew I would do anything for Feyre’s family, but the way I would kill for you… that scared me. I hadn’t felt so strongly about a female in— maybe ever? I loved Morrigan, I thought she was beautiful. She is beautiful. But you, you changed everything about how I feel. I was noticing the beauty in everything after you, I was stopping to sniff flowers and following scents on the street just to bring you a baked good just so I could see the joy on your face. There is nothing I love more than seeing joy on your face.” 
She blushes hard, “I feel the same about you. Making the recipes you bring me, showing you how the seeds have bloomed into flowers, those are the best moments of my life.” 
“Even in the worst moments of my life, all I could think of was you,” he whispers again, almost afraid to admit that. “When you were taken, everyone warned me I might not make it back. They thought it was a suicide mission… I knew I would get you back, if not for me then for your sisters.”
“I have never experienced Rage like I did during the war,” she shares. “Kicking that beast off you, feeling your blood on me, it scared me. what I could do if you died.” 
“I think I’m pretty indestructible now,” he teases. “I’m not going anywhere on you.” 
“Until you have another accident in the middle of nowhere,” she pushes back. “I’m never going to ask you to not be the spymaster, but I will ask that you always, always make it home to me.” 
“Home?” He asks as if he wants to know where that is. 
“we could get a little tent and live in the woods for the rest of our lives and it would still be a home because you’re there beside me,” she assures him. “But I was thinking… I love the river house. I love my friends and the kitchen and my garden. I’d like to be there every day, no matter where we end up living together.” 
“I can ask Rhys if I can build a home on the property, a little 2-story house, just big enough for us, so you can walk over there every day,” he offers. “I have more than enough funds to build a castle, too, if that’s what you prefer.” 
She just smiles, “We can live in the townhouse, or maybe even the house of mist until it’s ready… I have a feeling if the bond snaps into place, we’re going to be just as bad, if not worse than the others.” 
He laughs, that beautiful hearty laugh she doesn’t get to hear often. Not unless they’re alone or everyone is drunk… before he can reply she sighs, “I love you. I really do.” 
A blush creeps up his face, “I love you. More than I can explain, I love you in ways I never thought possible for me.” 
“It’s possible and it’s happening,” she whispers, moving in closer to him. She cups his cheek, staring into his eyes. “I’m just so glad it’s me.” 
“Me too,” he whispers back, a thickness in his throat that lets her know there are more emotions buried behind his stern exterior. “Can I ask… can I ask what happened that made today of all days, the day that you decided to leave him?” 
“He looked at me… and I saw that same look my mother used to have. You see, I never had the privilege of being my own person, growing up. I had to stay skinny, I had my eyebrows plucked and my hair had to be long and I wasn’t allowed in the garden because pretty girls don’t get dirty. When she died, I had 3 years of peace. I didn’t go to as many balls, I wasn’t interacting with the princes and dukes she wanted to marry me off to. It was just me. And I put on weight. Just a little, enough to not see my ribs and round out my face. But it was a weight that I chose to gain. It kept me warm, I liked filling out my dresses. And then we lost all our money and I went back to starving.” 
She watches his face as he catches on, he looks her over, “You’re so healthy now, you’ve just made yourself even more beautiful, somehow. As if that was even possible?” 
She gives him a little smile. “I know, and not in a conceited way. This is how I prefer to look. I like having strong arms from carrying around bags of soil and heavy cement planter boxes. I like having thick thighs and a tummy and I like that my cheekbones aren’t as striking anymore. I love looking in the mirror and seeing myself now. Because I got to make the choice to look like this. I get to wake up every day and make choices for myself.” 
“And the bond, it wasn’t your choice.” 
She shakes her head, “it reminded me of my mother. She always wanted me to marry well. And what’s better than a male who’s the heir to not one throne, but 2?” 
He sighs, “I wanted to tell you there were more choices out there. That you didn’t have to suffer through it.” 
“I have words for Rhys when I get back,” she assures him. “He watched not only his mother but Morrigan, get pawned off to men who didn’t love them. He’s seen the hurt first hand and yet he wanted me to stay with him, to endure a loveless life, simply so He could have a better connection with the human queen. I don’t know if he didn’t realize it, or he's so used to thinking of the greater good that my happiness wasn’t on his radar, but it hurt. It hurt to see both my sisters so happy in bonds they chose, with males who love them, while I didn’t.” 
“I snapped at him that night, after our almost kiss. I never thought it was fair that there are 3 of you and 3 of us and yet only two from each family got to be happy.” 
“I’ve felt that too,” she admits. “I never wanted to try and make it work with Lucien. I was just going to be cordial with him until the time came when I had to have his babies or… and I never wished for this, but I knew he’d pass away at some point and I’d be free to love someone for real.” 
Before Az can even validate her feelings, she continues. “And then he showed up today, I felt his presence and I went out to greet him and he looked me up and down the same way my mother would. I could read it in his face that I was no longer the female he dreamed about, I wasn’t the same fae he envisioned all these months he was away. And something snapped in me. That fire that lives in both my sisters just spewed out and I lost it on him.” 
Az smiles, “yeah? I heard the house almost shook.” 
She shakes her head with a smile, loving when he teases her. “In that moment, I only thought about myself. For the first time in my life, no one was standing in front of me to protect me or talk for me or anything. For the first time in my life, the words I needed came to me and I said them. I didn’t want him. I had never wanted him. I was put into this body against my will, I was bonded to him against my will and I was suffering for it… and I thought about all those seeds you brought me. How they were never meant to be here, most of them have never been in the night court, even clipped in a bouquet. But I managed to grow them, give them life, feed them, protect them and help them flourish. I wanted to flourish, too. So the second he said we should get the bond dissolved, I jumped on it. I had no idea it was a possibility, either it was kept a secret from me or it just hasn’t been done in so long that no one thought to mention it— either way, I wanted it. We did it. And now, I’m free.” 
“And you always will be free,” Az assures. “Even if we don’t bond, even if this pull that we feel for each other is just love… I shouldn’t say just. Love is so powerful on its own. There are millions of couples in this land who love each other without a bond. I want to love you for the rest of my life, in whatever capacity you want from me.” 
“I would enjoy being Mrs. Shadowsinger,” she teases, making him laugh as he pulls her in close. She tucks her face into his neck and breathes him in, “If we don’t have a bond, I still would like to have a huge, disgustingly expensive wedding. I want everyone in the world to know I picked you. That it was my choice to pick you, it was my choice to let my heart keep loving you the way it desired to.” 
He soothes his hands down her back, kissing the top of her head. “It feels like a dream… hearing you say all these things.” 
She pinches him, making him roar as he slightly shoves her away. Elain giggles, so abundantly happy it’s pouring out of her. “See, you’re awake.” 
“And you’re a menace,” he retorts. 
She pushes him so he’s flat on his back and straddles his hips, looking down at him, “I have dreamed about teasing you like this for years now. Making you blush, reminding you how loved you are, making you feel so happy that your shadows turn pink.” 
He laughs, “We could try.” 
“I want to kiss every part of you. I want to know every scar and freckle and tattoo. I want to know your body as well as I know my own… but we can’t tonight.” 
He understands, “Are you feeling okay? Headache or nausea? Are you tired?” 
She shakes her head, “I haven’t taken the contraceptive tea since I was a human… since I gave my maidenhood to my previous betrothed.” 
He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, “And you haven’t bled since becoming fae?” 
She shakes her head, “I never really had them as a human either. Madja said that was likely because I was so underweight, now that I’m healthy, it should happen in a few months.” 
He nods, “so tomorrow, or the next day, when you’re feeling up to it, we’ll go to the apothecary and get what you need.” 
“Aren't they open all night?” She teases, making him smirk. “I’m kidding, we can go tomorrow.” 
Just then, a steaming cup of tea pops up on her night table. “Oh, mother?” Elain stares at it and then back at him. “Is that—“A warm breeze brushes past her, a silent yes from the house. “Is it from Nesta’s collection?” Another breeze. “How fast does it take effect?” 
A book drops on the bed, turned to a page that starts with the world ‘instantaneously.’
“She is amazing,” Azriel compliments. 
“My sister?” 
“No– well yeah, but,” he laughs. “I mean The House.” 
“How do you know they’re a she?” 
“The way they take care of us, the motherly touch, the love… no male soul could compare.” 
The house takes the book back, leaving a chocolate that Elain knows to be his favourite in its wake. 
“Do you have a name?” Elain asks, now sitting against the headboard with the tea in her hands, “I always want to thank you, but I don’t know your name.” 
Another book appears on the bed, the title of the book is ‘Nameless.’ It’s a book about creatures who��ve lived on this earth so long that memory fails to recall their names. 
“So take some time, look through all the books in this house and pick a name that suits you. You have the choice now,” Elain explains. “Pick a name and we’ll make sure everyone refers to you as such.” 
More candles are lit around her room, and rose petals are on her bed and around it. The curtains are drawn, the fire roars in the corner fireplace… and they’re suddenly alone. 
Elain chugs her tea, drinking down every single last drop, he sighs once it’s gone and passes the cup to Az to place back on the night table. “I’m nervous.” 
“Me too,” he agrees. “But… I’m more nervous for a bond than the lack of one.” 
“Why?” 
“Because I don’t know how to ask for a week off,” he teases. 
“Well… we could just stay here, have the house lock the doors knowing Rhys can’t winnow in, we just don’t have to leave for a week.” 
His eyes get darker as he crawls over her, resting between her legs, holding himself up with those deliciously strong arms of his, he looks like a feral animal about to pounce. “I like the way you think.” 
“Go easy on me?” She whispers, visibly nervous now. “I’m practically a virgin again, it’s been so long.” 
“Don’t worry,” he assures, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek and then her nose. Her eyes close and he takes a moment to kiss both eyelids. “I’m going to treat you so well, my love.” 
She blushes, “are you going to kiss me for real, or what?” 
He balances on one arm, cupping her face gently, he watches her close her eyes as he brushes his nose against hers. She feels as if time stops, she’s frozen in anticipation for what feels like forever until his lips are on her. 
It’s then that the magnetic pull becomes something more. Stars explode behind her eyes, she wraps her arms around him so tight, pulling him flush against her body as if she can’t get him close enough. Their souls become one, she is his and he is hers. 
He wraps his arm under her, pulling her in just as close. Her legs wrap around his hips, pressing his groin flush against her heat. His lips part, introducing her to his tongue, she hums into his mouth, not yet confident enough to moan… his hand slips down from her cheek, over her breast, noticing the hardened peaks of her nipples. He palms them, trying to entice more noise out of her. 
She’s heard from her sisters just how sensitive the Illyrian wings are, so she reaches up, running her fingers over the silky membrane as seductively as possible, making him shiver… he grinds against her, hard in his sleep pants. That’s what makes her moan against him. Knowing she’s contributing to his pleasure, that he wants her just as bad as she wants him. 
She brushes over his wing again just as he pinches her nipple between two fingers, moaning in tandem this time. He kisses the side of her mouth, along her jaw and down her neck, leaving her to pant as she stares at the ceiling. This is real. This is happening. She has Azriel in her bed, soon to be inside her, too. Her whole body heats up at the thought, wetness pools between her legs and within moments, Azriel’s kisses become nips and sucks, his tongue and teeth on her neck, leaving marks as he feels down her sides towards her hips and pulls her up against his hardened cock once more. He grinds against her, slow yet forceful, showing her exactly what is to come. 
“Az,” she whines, face pink as her sheets, she can’t believe how needy she feels and so fast. “Please? Touch me, please? I need you. I need to feel you. It’s been too long.” 
He smiles against her, fiddling with the hem of her sleep shirt, “can I take this off you?”  
“Gods, yes!” 
He sits up on his knees, pulling her forward, he slips the top off of her and tosses it to the floor. She lays back down and she watches his eyes rake over her makeup upper half, “sweet mother…” 
“Your turn,” she breathes. He looks at her confused so she sits back up, gripping his shirt in her hands. “I want to see you.” 
He simply grips the front of it and pulls it, tearing it off his back, she hears the sound of the seams ripping and the cotton tearing before the fabric is chucked on the floor beside her shirt. She presses her hand to his bare chest instead, the tips of her slightly chilled fingers running over his heated abs, down towards the tuft of hair leading down and disappearing under his pants. “All of you,” she adds. 
“You first,” he interjects, getting her to lay back once more, she lifts her hips as he starts to tug at her bottoms, freeing her from the fabric. 
He’s quick to kiss her stomach, spreading her legs before she can make him take his own pants off to make things even. He kisses her all the way down, over her mound towards her hip and then the crease where her leg meets lip. Breathing her in, his eyes roll back in his skull, “fuck,” he groans. “Can I? Please?” 
She nods as if her head is on a spring, dying to experience this. She’s read about it, dreamed about it… she all but pushes her hips against his face as he drags his tongue along her sex. She moans, back arching off the mattress, she grips her breast and allows him to continue however he sees fit. 
He kisses her most sensitive spot, sucking on it gently before lapping up her wetness, sticking his tongue deep inside of her to gather it all up. His nose bumps her clit as his shadows come up to play with her. Black swirling smoke circles around her breasts like mini tornadoes, playing with the hardened peaks of her nipples, she drops her hands to her sides, gripping the sheets for dear life as she feels him everywhere. 
In the 2 years she’s been left with just her own hand and imagination, it’s never been this easy for her to feel her climax approaching. It usually took a while, multiple imaginations, moving positions, adding more fingers… but Az, tongue deep inside of her for this short amount of time, has caught her stomach aflame. The heat spreads through her whole body, the blood in her veins feeling like molten iron on a mission. She reaches out for his hair, holding on tight as her climax rips through her. She’d never been so loud in her life, letting go, feeling it all so intensely, she didn’t even care to try and be embarrassed, not when she looked down between her legs to see that beautiful smirk on his face, the shadows clearing out once again.
“Holy fuck?” She says between gasps for air, feeling as though she just ran up all 10,000 steps to this house. 
He just laughs, deep and lustful, “I didn’t know that word was in your vocabulary.” 
“It’s reserved for moments like this,” she teases right back. “When I’ve been thoroughly fucked by the best lover in the world.” 
“Don’t let your sisters hear that, I can’t imagine the fight that would break out trying to compare us all,” he teases, returning to his knees. His cock hard as a rock in his pants, he starts to push the fabric down, freeing the monster. 
“Please, don’t mention my sisters when you’re that hard,” she groans. “Gods… I’m going to be impaled on that thing.” 
He laughs again, maneuvering out of his pants, they end up on the floor with everything else. He gets as close to her as possible, grips his cock and rests it over her, allowing her to see just how deep he would be able to get. A shiver runs down her spine, “You really do have the biggest wingspan…” 
“Hey, don’t talk about my brothers when my cock is on you,” he says through a smile, clearly just saying it to even the score. 
She just shakes her head, laying back, still worn out from that first orgasm, “Mother almighty, please make it fit.” 
“It’ll fit, especially now that you’re nice and relaxed. That’s the key part, you stretch better if you’re relaxed,” he explains, pulling back. “It might be easier if you’re on top, too.” 
“and that doesn’t hurt your wings at all, laying on your back?” She worries, sitting up as well. 
He shakes his head, “No, they’ll be fine.” 
“Okay,” she smiles, reaching up to take his face in her hands, she pulls him in for another kiss. Missing the way his lips feel against her own, tasting herself, she knows it from her own curiosity, she hums into his mouth. 
Her hands slide down his chest, over the trail of hair leading to his cock. She grips it at the base, letting him bite her lip in surprise before she starts to stroke him. She pulls away enough to look into his eyes, “what’s more sensitive?” She runs her thumb over the head, gathering the precum that’s been leaking since she had her legs wrapped around him. “This or your wings?” 
“I don’t know,” he breathes out, deep and dark, his eyes going basically all black, blown out with lust for her. “The only being who’s ever touched my wings is the healer…” 
“Well then, I have some experiments to do later,” she assures, letting go of his cock before taking him too far. “Lay back for me?” 
He nods, listening to his lady. 
Resting his head against the pillows, his cock laying back against his stomach… those big majestic wings spread and the tips hanging over the edges of her bed. She marvels over him. Taking in the sight, she sighs,  “You’re more beautiful than I ever dreamed.” 
He blushes slightly, “I’m glad you think so.” 
“By the time I’m done with you,” she says, hiking a leg over him, resting her heat over his cock. “You’re going to believe me when I say you’re beautiful. Handsome,” she leans over him, cupping his face before pushing his hair back, “everything I’ve ever wanted and needed wrapped up in one. You are going to feel so loved.” 
“I believe you,” he whispers back, unable to find his full voice in his surprise. 
She hovers slightly, gripping his cock once more, “ready?” 
He nods, “are you?” 
She just smirks as she angles him towards her entrance and begins to sit down. The stretch is glorious, she takes him inch by inch, forgetting how to breathe the deeper he goes, she rests both her hands on his abs and stares at him, mouth agape. She lets out an exasperated breath, “holy gods…” 
“Take as much time as you need to adjust,” he assures her it's okay, biting his lip. She can tell he wants to thrust, he wants to take advantage of the tight, wet heat wrapped around him currently. 
She waits half a minute, the longest half-minute of his life, and then starts to pull back. His hands find her hips, helping her as she pulls off his cock an inch, barely, and grinds back down. Finding her own rhythm, he simply guides her hips alongside her own movements, “That’s it, sweet fuck, you feel so good.” 
“You’re one to talk,” she grips her breast again, head tipping back as she rides him, “this is glorious… but I need more.” 
“Tell me,” he growls. “Tell me what you need and I’ll be it for you. Forever.” 
“I need–” she stops to bite back a slight moan, still riding him to the best of her ability. “I want you to fuck me, I can’t— I want to lay back and let you have your way with me.” 
“Okay,” he agrees, sitting up slowly, he wraps his arms around her and maneuvers himself onto his knees without ever pulling out of her. Her arms were quick to wrap around his shoulders, holding on tight as he moved them. He rests her back, her head at the foot of the bed, still wrapped around her, he looks into her eyes, “How hard?” 
Her hands trail down his shoulders, admiring his tattoos. She looks down at his chest, down to where they’re connected, and then back up to his eyes, “slow at first… I want to savour this. Making love to the man of my dreams for the first time. Our first time.” 
He pulls out ever so slowly, more than she was able to on top of him. She feels him leave, the emptiness left in his wake… and then he pushes back in. Starts to explode behind her closed eyes, her head once again thrown back. She grips his arms tighter as he does it again and again, hitting a spot inside of her that she never knew existed. He’s so deep, filling her perfectly, she can’t believe any of this is real. 
“Az,” she gasps his name as he picks up the pace, leaning in, he tucks his head into the crook of her neck and covers her in kisses, sucking gently, afraid to leave any marks, even though she heals fast and has 3 days of uninterrupted peace lined up. 
She doesn’t hold anything back, moaning as loud as she wants, running her nails over his shoulders and back hard enough to draw blood. It feels too good to care, she’ll put some cream on him later… but for right now, she lives in this euphoria and doesn’t give a fuck about anything else. It’s just her and Az and two impending orgasms that might bring the mountain down. 
There’s a hammering in her chest, a pang that contracts and expands with each thrust. It doesn’t feel like her heart, it’s not her lungs, either. Sure, she’s breathing heavily the faster he goes, but this is entirely different. This is… this is 10 million times more intense than when he tumbled from the cauldron and looked at Lucien the first time. This is a bond that she knew was there, buried deep inside of her, waiting to be awoken when the time was right. 
She’s so close, she’s right there, but she needs more. She wants to reach between them and rub herself but she also wants to keep holding him this close, “Az, can— holy fuck, can you,” she starts to ask him for help, too overthrown by passion. “Shadows, down there,” she simplifies it. 
He nods against her. “Yeah,” he breathes, hot and heavy under her ear. 
She doesn’t see them, but there’s a presence between them, the same twisting, tingling feeling dances around her clit as it had her nipples. Ghosting over her, adding just enough pressure to push her to where she wants to be, she pulls his face out of her neck and slams her lips against his. Breathing him in, becoming one. 
While her bond with Lucien was described as a metal wire, cold and formed against her will… the feeling of this new bond coming into existence is so much brighter. Lighter, full of life, love and happiness. It drapes over them like ivy and wisteria taking over a house, blooming eternal purple, white and pink blossoms all around them. Growing wilder as the years go on. She was covered in him, he was covered in her. This was how it was always meant to be. 
He pulls back just enough to rest their foreheads together, breathing against one another now, he holds her tighter, “Mine.” 
“Yours,” she agrees. Letting another few thrusts pass before she adds, “And you’re mine.” 
“Yours,” he whispers. “Forever.”
“Forever,” she repeats as the feeling returns. 
Heat builds and builds, swirling in her gut, mimicking the shadows she’s engulfed in. Wrapping her arms around him tighter, she brushes over his wing, making him whine. She does it again, pushing him to the edge alongside her. He’ll catch them both when they fall. Her stomach drops, her eyes squeeze shut, her body goes limp as pleasure pulses through her with a high-pitched, repeated moan as she rides it out. 
And he’s gone then too, filling her up, she feels his cock twitch with each rope of release, only elongating her own orgasm. It’s everything she’s ever wanted, him, all of him, inside of her, making her his for life, and hopefully in whatever comes after. 
He slumps against her, she can take his weight just fine, it actually feels wonderful. Crushed by his safety, his big delicious body pressed to her own. Wrapped around each other so tight they’re like a ribbon tied in a knot. Breathing heavily as they come down, that pang in her chest still strumming away. 
He kisses her cheek, over to her ear, along her jaw and down her neck, she wonders if he’s feeling it too. “Az?” Hesitation in her voice. 
“I know,” he whispers. “It happened for me too.” 
She holds him even tighter somehow, tears slipping past her eyes as she lets out a sob. Happier than she could ever imagine being. He struggles to push out of her grip, holding himself up to look at her with genuine fear in his eyes, she just shakes her head, “I’m fine, I’m… I’m so happy.” 
Tears blur his own vision, she watches one of them slip out, roll down his cheek and land on her chin. She just cups his face, brushing off the wetness. “You’re everything to me, everything and then some. You’re my favourite friend, my lover, my confidant. My test dummy, my best reviewer, supplier of my seeds—
“In more ways than one now,” he jokes, having to make it funny before he really sobbed. 
She laughs too, “You make the world so much brighter for me.” 
“Really?” 
She nods, “you are the sunshine to my flower, you make me flourish and grow and love being alive… your light is so bright, of course, you have a shadow.” 
By the look on his face, he never ever thought of it like that. “Thank you,” he lowers his head, brushing their noses together, “I love you.” 
“I love you.” 
The kiss they share is… everything. Full of love and respect and wanting. Lust and need and friendship and yearning. Every emotion at once, so strong, it knocks the wind out of both of them, causing them to pull away enough to breathe, mouth to mouth. Sharing their souls, trading them back and forth, learning them more intimately than ever before. 
“Mine,” he whispers again. 
“Mine,” she reminds him, owning him just as much as he owns her. 
A second wave washes over them, another round of need. He’s not as gentle this time and she’s perfectly okay with it. Flipping onto her stomach, he absolutely rails her, fingers digging into her hips while she screams into the mattress. 
He’s definitely going to need that week off. 
When things settle a bit, when there’s nothing left to come out of him and she’s barely able to stop her legs from shaking, the house drops two of their favourite danishes on the bed. Allowing them to make it real, to accept the bond before anyone in their lives can make an opinion of it. 
He takes one, she takes the other, and like a couple on their wedding day, they bring it to each other's lips, arms crossed, and they feed one another. The beating in her chest steadies out, becoming one with her heartbeat as she swallows the pastry down. Her heart and his beat the same, sharing a rhythm, bonded to each other, forever. 
She just smiles at him, “It’s real now.” 
“It always has been,” he assures. “I knew from the moment I met you that this was going to be the outcome, and I would’ve waited 500 more years for it to happen.” 
“Well, now we get those 500 years to be happily in love,” she adds, face dropping a bit, “Forever will never be long enough.” 
“No it won’t,” he agrees, putting the pastry down and cupping her face again. “Let's make it count.” 
She nods, “you know… I still want a big wedding.” 
He laughs, “I do too. I want everyone and their mother to know you chose me.” 
“And I would choose you again, over and over, in every universe. Always.” 
He steals another kiss, having to do something to stop himself from crying. It’s a dream come true for both of them. 
“Of course, the seer’s dream would come true,” he whispers against her. “I’m just blessed to have been the dream.” 
“Hopefully we can make them all come true,” she teases, smirk on her face. “I’ve had some… rather colourful dreams about you.” 
“Yeah?” 
“Mhm, we’ll have to explore them all this week.” 
“I’ll fly down and tell him I’m not available this week, the second the sun comes up,” he assures. 
“Take me with you, I want to see the look on his face when he realizes what happened,” cheeky as ever. “Maybe we should all take a week off, see who comes back the most relaxed.” 
He laughs again, “well one couple has a kid, the other is with the Illyrians, I think we’ll win.” 
“And thank the mother for that,” she leans in for another kiss, unsure how she could even sustain another round but her lust for him overpowers logic. 
This was going to be a long week. 
Tumblr media
A/N: the house picked the name Anvita: who bridges the gap, who connects home and heart. 
54 notes · View notes
misslavenderlady · 11 months
Text
Baby Come Back 🥀
Dwayne/Female!Reader (She/Her Pronouns)
Summary: After a year and a half of being Dwayne's brainless little doll, he finally realizes how much he misses the old you. It's not going to be easy going back to normal though.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
This is a sequel to @ghoulgeousimmaculate's story T.L.C. (which I recommend you read before this!!). It has references to her stuff, and takes place in the modern world, not 1987. This takes place before my other fic F is for Fight.
WARNINGS: N.s.f.w./Smut/18+ Readers Only, References to other fic, Infantilization/Dumbification, OCs, Character based off an OC, Mind Control, Vampire Powers, Hypnosis, Panic Attacks, Paralysis, Yelling, Fighting, Needles/Injections, Medicine, Physical Therapy, Memory Issues, Fear, Anger, Trauma, Submission, Making up, Stockholm Syndrome/PTSD, Dark Fic
Tumblr media Tumblr media
No matter what, Dwayne would never regret the actions he took with you. From the moment he laid eyes on you and watched you struggle with your shopping bags, he knew he had to take care of you. After all, you were just so sweet and helpless in his eyes. Never had he ever wanted a human so badly.
So, he took you in and spoiled you rotten. You never had to lift a finger or let your feet touch the ground. Every moment you spent together was pure bliss, and he wanted to keep his girl as happy and healthy as possible.  
That's why he didn't feel any guilt for taking your mind away.  
You had threatened to leave, and he wasn't going to have that happen. All the knowledge, thoughts, and intellect were tucked away safely in his brain while yours was left empty and dumb. He even used his power on your cerebellum, taking away your ability to walk properly. You would be far too shaky and off balance to move on your own, meaning you would have to rely on him to get around.  
Dwayne was in absolute heaven. Every evening his baby greeted him with an adorable smile, holding her arms out for a big hug before he helped her start the day. You looked so beautiful in your flowing dresses and soft sweaters. Even if you never walked, he always helped slip on pretty knee socks and dainty flats. Your hair was always shiny and styled perfectly. The only makeup he put on you was some kind of candy-flavored lip gloss. You were true to your nickname, becoming a pretty little babydoll.  
Naturally, he wanted to show off his beautiful darling to the world. Whenever you needed a night out, Dwayne was happy to push you in a wheelchair along the wooden planks of the boardwalk. Poor dear, you couldn't get around without it, but you didn't care. You would simply giggle and fawn over Dwayne, constantly squealing about how happy you were.  
If the two of you ever went somewhere to eat, the locals knew to mind their own business. They wouldn't dare watch as Dwayne cut up your food and cooed at you to open your mouth for him. If someone was caught staring with a look of judgment, Dwayne would send his brothers their way for their dinner.  
The two of you were perfectly happy, and for over a year, things stayed that way. But then reminiscences of your old self began to trickle back into your lives.  
Dwayne bought you ice cream from a shop downtown. While he went back inside for extra napkins, you had been doing some people-watching outside. Your pretty eyes wandered over to a couple that was walking down the steps of a very familiar building.  
The old museum you used to work at. Before your mind had been altered, you had loved working there. Your knowledge of artists and their works was quite impressive, and your colleagues all respected you. Now, you could barely label a color wheel correctly.  
Your smile fell as you watched the couple laugh happily, both of them having just enjoyed a date night. Something within you felt sad taking such an image in. The memories were gone, but there was a tug at your heart. A reminder that you were missing something important.  
Dwayne could see the look of heartache on his mate's face as he kneeled in front of you.  
"What's the matter, lovey?"  
The sound of his voice was enough to snap you out of your spell. With a shake of your head, you flashed a smile his way.  
"Daddy, ice cream, please!"  
Though Dwayne was delighted to spoon-feed you the frozen treat, he didn't let that moment escape his mind. He found himself pondering over what had caused you to zone out like that. It didn't take long for him to take notice of the museum too.  
Days passed by, and the handsome vampire couldn't stop thinking about his babydoll. You were always on his mind, but this time was different. He now found himself thinking back to the woman you were long ago. The one he had fallen in love with when you still had control of your mind and body.  
Seeing the outside of the museum made him think back to all the facts you used to tell him about art. How the two of you would wander the halls as you went on and on about each story behind the variety of paintings.  
"So, this was the first version of 'Susanna and the Elders' that Artemisia Gentileschi painted. Unlike other versions made during the time, Artemisia actually depicted the gravity and fear of the biblical tale. An x-ray was done on it a few decades ago and revealed a much more anguished and enraged version of Susanna. It's one of her most powerful paintings." 
"I never knew how serious this painting was, babydoll. You're so brilliant." 
Dwayne hadn't enjoyed a deep conversation with you in ages. Even with his need to take care of his baby, he was starting to miss your adult side. The intelligent, creative, and fascinating woman you had once been. Dwayne missed the late nights drinking wine and sharing flirtatious banter with you. Going on dates that ended with incredibly passionate sex. Listening to you talk about all the ideas and dreams you had.  
He missed the real you. It was time to bring your true self back.  
It was going to be the hardest thing Dwayne would ever have to do. He still held no regrets for taking away your precious mind all that time ago. He would do it again in a heartbeat if you ever hinted at leaving the family. The real struggle would be dealing with your reaction when he restored your brain. It wasn't going to be pretty. He would most certainly need backup.  
"You're really doing this, huh? After all this time you're finally seeing how extreme this was?"  
Sis was walking side-by-side with Dwayne as they made their way down the cave halls. While Dwayne had been happy to infantilize his mate, Sis had continued to treat her sister with the respect she deserved as an adult. Whenever the dark-haired man was out with his brothers or caring for the kids, Sis took over making sure you were fed, clean, dressed, and cared for.  
It was like she was a personal nurse to you. She just felt terrible seeing the lovesick dummy her sister had been transformed into. The least she could do was treat you with dignity.  
"I love her so much. I don't want to stop taking care of her, but I miss the woman I fell in love with." 
Sis shot Dwayne a glare, silently telling him to try that sentence again.  
"I mean the other woman I fell in love with, of course, baby," Dwayne said, giving her hand a loving squeeze. "Did you bring the stuff I asked for?"  
The vampire queen nodded, giving her jacket pocket a small tap. She had a special tool prepared at his request if things got out of hand and the younger vampire girl needed to be calmed down.  
"Alright, let's do this." 
Both of them stepped into the nest you had for yourself. What was once a room filled with sketches, paintings, and various books on art history, was now a room fit for a princess. The walls were decorated with cute posters of cartoon characters. A lilac canopy curtain was draped over a bed covered entirely with soft blankets and cute pillows. There were dozens and dozens of stuffed animals that Dwayne and the boys had gifted you over the months. It was all the perfect space for someone with a childlike mind. 
You were feeling peaceful, all nice and cozy in your room. Dwayne and Sis found you perched on your bed, all snug in a soft, baby blue pair of pajamas with the latest addition to your teddy bear collection tucked under your arm. Whenever you were left alone, you would watch movies or shows on your tablet. All picked out by Dwayne, of course.  
Your attention shifted right to your caregivers once you noticed them. With a dreamy smile on your face, you reached out for Dwayne since he was closest.  
"Daddy! Missed you!" you said sweetly. Seeing you so cheerful made Dwayne's heartache. Soon you weren’t going to be very happy to see him.  
"Hey there, angel," Dwayne greeted you. He sat on the edge of the bed and gathered you close to him. You nuzzled against his scruffy cheek as he positioned you on his lap.  
He savored the last moment of affection before speaking up.  
"Babydoll. You know I love you, right? That I would do anything to take care of you and make you happy?" 
You didn't always understand longer sentences or big words. Being dumbed down made it harder to talk to you, so he tried to make things as simple as possible. All you understood at that moment was he loved you, so you just nodded eagerly.  
"Uh-huh!"  
"Then please know Daddy's very sorry for what he's about to do." 
There wasn't even a second for you to try and comprehend what he meant. Dwayne had your chin tilted upward so that your pretty eyes stayed on his as his color faded from chocolate brown to a sinister red. They swirled slowly, drawing you in as Dwayne took control of your mind.  
He let go of everything. All of the parts of your mind that he stole long ago came flooding back into your brain. The more information restored, the wider your eyes got. Tears were trickling down your cheeks as he used his power. By the time the last few memories settled in, your face was soaked from the silent crying.  
Dwayne's eyes faded back to brown. He watched you carefully, worried about just what you were going to say first. You were too quiet for his liking, no doubt in stunned silence.  
And then it happened. You freaked out.  
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME??"  
Sis and Dwayne were afraid this would happen. Any carefree feelings you had before were long gone, replaced in an instant with panic. A new batch of tears ran hot and fast down your cheeks. Your breathing became fast and ragged, soon leading to your hyperventilating.  
Dwayne hated seeing you like this. So scared and confused. He reached out a hand to comfort you, not knowing what else to do.  
"Baby-" 
You immediately slapped his hand away, striking his skin in disgust. The last thing you wanted was for him to touch you.  
"Get away from me, you monster!!"  
Adrenaline was pumping through your veins now. Your ears were buzzing and your blood pumping fast in your veins as your heart practically crashed into your ribcage.  
You pushed yourself out of bed, hoping to make a run for it. Instead, you found no support from your lower body. You hit the cave ground in a split second. That only amped up your terror.  
"M-My legs…I c-can't walk…I-I can't fucking walk!!!"  
It shouldn't have surprised you, given the fact that for the past year and a half, you had no balance or coordination in your legs. That meant you hadn't walked at all in that period of time. Your legs had since atrophied, and the realization was only making matters worse.  
Inhuman sobs and screams fell from your mouth as you helplessly lay on the floor. All the time you had spent without a proper mind was catching up to you. It was only making Dwayne more worried. 
You still didn't want to be touched by him. When he leaned down to help pull you back up, you threw a punch at him. The shock was clearly shown on his face as he held his cheek. You had never hit anyone before.  
"Sis-" 
"On it." 
There was no sign of you calming down anytime soon. Everything was happening so fast and suddenly, and they needed to settle you down so you wouldn't hurt yourself.  
Sis pulled the item she had brought out of her pocket. It was a syringe filled with a sedative. In a flash, she pulled off the safety cap, grabbed hold of your wrist, and stuck the needle into a vein. She held you firmly in place as the medicine worked its magic and finally got you to calm down.  
With your thrashing stopped and your eyes fluttering shut, she finally let go of you. Even with you successfully calmed down, she was still incredibly stressed.  
"Well, that went as well as I expected it to." 
"Look, I can help her get through this," Dwayne said. "She's a little scared now, but with some time, she'll come to her senses." 
Sis shot him a look of disbelief. It shouldn't have surprised her to see him so nonchalant about putting you through more stress. When he and the other boys had put her through her own "training", they did so without mercy. They only saw their shared goal in mind: getting their mates to love them forever.  
Still, it hurt her heart to know you were going to have to adapt to having your mind back. It would be like a coma patient waking up and having to cope with all the things they missed.  
"You better let me, and the girls be the ones to help her readjust. Until she's fully back to normal, she's only going to freak out when she sees you," Sis said to him. "You're gonna be in the doghouse for a while, Daddy." 
Dwayne could live with that. He was a patient man. No matter how long your recovery would take, he'd be waiting in the shadows for you to return to him. His baby would come back to him, one way or another.  
Tumblr media
It wasn't a pretty recovery period. The first few days involved keeping you heavily sedated so you wouldn't have another freakout and accidentally hurt yourself. With the right amount of drugs, you were calm, but also conscious enough to talk. 
Your pack sisters were so relieved to see you back to the person you were before Dwayne took your mind. They all hugged you and brought plenty of flowers and gifts to welcome you back. You were so grateful for them, especially since they were eager to talk to you like an adult.  
However, you soon found that returning to normal wasn't as easy as you hoped it would be.  
A vampire's influence on one's mind tends to leave lasting effects if done for too long. The human brain can only handle so much before it gets damaged. Thankfully, being half-vampire had kept it from breaking to the point where you were a lifeless husk of your former self.  
But after being without your intellect for a year and a half, it still had left some damage. You talked about it with a doctor that Sis recommended. One that specialized in undead patients.  
"You'll experience quite a few memory issues," the doctor explained. "It's similar to what some humans experience with accidents. You'll remember long-term memories with no issue, but you'll most likely struggle with short-term-related matters. Things like following along in a book, keeping track of time, remembering things in your schedule, and so on." 
"But I'm only half-vampire," you explained. "When I fully turn and feed, won't it heal my brain?"  
The doctor sighed, feeling sympathy for this predicament you were in.  
"I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Cuts and broken bones are one thing, but the brain is something far more complex. Whether you're human or vampire, there are just some things medicine can't heal."  
Sis squeezed your hand tightly. She completely understood what you were going through. Back years ago, she had suffered a concussion from the fall David set up. It never properly healed, even getting worse thanks to the torture the boys put her through. It ended up playing a role in her relapse when they used booze and drugs against her, and it was why she went into states of deranged mania.  
She had her fair share of bad days. It didn't help that she was married to the very men who damaged her in the first place. But it was different for you. This recovery was something you wouldn't have to go at alone. Your sisters would be in your corner. 
"And my legs?" you asked with a soft pout on your face.  
"Thankfully, that can be fixed. It would normally take a human six months to regain the ability to walk in such a situation, but in your case, the healing process will be cut in half in terms of time. We can get started with physical therapy sessions as soon as possible." 
Once the final details of your appointment were completed, the doctor escorted you and Sis out. While you were being pushed in your wheelchair now, you were already thinking about how hard you were going to work to get out of it.  
"Don't hurt yourself trying to rush this," Sis gently told you. You frowned to yourself as she helped get you into the passenger seat of the car. When she went to buckle your seatbelt, you snapped at her.  
"Stop it! I don't need any help!"  
Her brown eyes widened in surprise. It was still so surprising to see you act so snippy after being a cute little sweetheart for so long. When you realized what you did, you let out a sigh of frustration. You didn't like how you were behaving. 
"I'm so sorry, Sis," you said. "I just…I want to get my life back. I've already lost my mom and my job to what…he did to me. I can't lose control of my life entirely." 
She was understanding of that sentiment. It was a nightmare losing that control to the boys. If her sister wanted to put in the work to be her strong, independent self again, she would be by her side every step of the way. 
You smiled at her as the two of you prepared to leave. Tonight, you would get plenty of rest to prepare for the journey ahead of you. Even if the physical therapy and exercises would be agonizing, you were willing to take it on. Whatever was necessary to get back the independence you lost. 
Tumblr media
Before Dwayne took your mind away, you had adored the way he cared for you. Anything you desired was granted, no matter what. But now you weren't going to let him do anything. 
Whenever you weren't in physical therapy pushing your body to its limit to walk again, you were by yourself, relearning how to take care of your needs. You were going to get your life back together.  
However, that was sooner said than done.  
Getting dressed was tricky, and you were clumsy whenever you tried to pull on shirts or zip up pants. You had thrown out all the dresses Dwayne gifted you, but after some time, you wish you hadn't.  
Going shopping was ten times harder. As you progressed from wheelchair to walker to cane and finally no mobility aid at all, you had to figure out how to get around the store with your devices each time. Even when you could move on your own, you found yourself getting confused and lost a lot. You accidentally forgot items on your list all the time and would occasionally forget to bring money with you, meaning the items had to be abandoned. 
You remembered how to cook but struggled with proper timing and following recipes because of how your mind worked. Whenever you were too tired to do that, you just ordered takeout. Even so, you found yourself fumbling a lot with cutting up your food. It was something so simple to others, but unfamiliar to you since Dwayne did it for ages.  
I don't need him, you thought to yourself. Whenever you struggled, you recited that mantra in your head.  
Dwayne hated this. He hated it with all his heart. After ages of caring for his beloved little doll, he was completely deprived of the chance to do anything for you.  
He respected you enough to stay out of your way, watching from the shadows the entire time you struggled. As much as he wanted to step in, he couldn't. Not when it wasn't the right time. He had to play the waiting game and let you come to him. If you were going to be his baby again, then he wanted it to be your own choice. 
So, he didn't feel bad about asking his brothers for help. 
"Don't worry, Dwayne," David assured him with a smirk. "We'll make sure she can't function without you." 
"Please do. It kills me seeing her struggle." 
Each one played a special role in this devious plan.  
Paul would use his ability to fly to hide all your stuff on high shelves so you couldn't see or reach it. Even being a half-vampire, you struggled with even levitating an inch off the ground.  
Marko would purposely mess with your sense of time passing, often changing the time on your watch or your phone when you weren't looking. It made you disoriented and confused.  
David was the worst. When you were asleep, he filled your head with nightmares of being broken and alone with nobody to help you. You were often whimpering in your sleep because of it. When he gave you a happy ending to your dreams, it was always about Dwayne swooping in and saving you. The more positive thoughts you had of him, the better.  
The more the boys pushed you, the more your strength broke down. You didn't like being independent as much as you thought you would. It was nothing but struggle and pain. 
You even found yourself missing Dwayne himself. The stuffed animals he gave you made you feel safe when you were in bed, but you longed for his strong arms to hold you. You missed the sweet nothings he'd whisper into your ear after you had a long day. And of course, your body ached to be pleasured by him again. You couldn't reach the spots deep within that he could.  
One day in particular, you were having a really tough time. You were trying to tie your shoes. Something completely simple that you wanted to do on your own before going for a walk as your doctor recommended.  
The laces were not working out properly, no matter which way you tried to tie them. With all the frustration and stress building up, you gave up, feeling a wave of tears build as you began to cry. It was just so embarrassing, and you didn't know what else to do.  
That was until a familiar voice spoke up. 
"Hey, baby."  
You snapped your head upward to see the handsome, brunet vampire standing above you. For the first time in months, there was no anger or disgust when you looked at him. The familiar sense of love for the man was slowly filling your heart again. 
Not wanting to let him know you were getting upset over something so small, you hurriedly wiped your eyes, brushing the tears away.  
Dwayne kneeled in front of you, watching you carefully with his chocolate-colored eyes. They were so warm and gentle. You forgot how much they made you melt.  
"Need a little help, love?" 
You didn't say a word but rather nodded as an answer. With your foot stuck out, Dwayne began to tie the shoe with ease. It made you feel like Cinderella, and Dwayne your Prince Charming.  
"There we go. All good now."  
As much as you didn't want to rely on him anymore, it was all you could think about. Part of you wondered if he was still messing with your mind. Yet in your heart, you knew he wasn't.  
You missed him. Even after everything he took from you, the love for Dwayne would never go away. 
A few days passed, and you were working up the courage to finally talk to him again. You had been struggling for the longest time to read your beloved books again. What once was so simple for you was now a challenge that took three times longer since you often lost your place or got confused with the plot.  
Dwayne knew you were having problems. He could hear all the frustration and confusion going on in your head. So, he sat on the couch in the main room of the cave, silently waiting for you to come crawling back to him.  
"Um….hi.." 
The dark-haired vampire had to fight back a smirk with all of his might. He kept the perfect poker face as you timidly walked up to him with your book in hand.  
"Hi, babygirl," he cooed. "Is something wrong?"  
Your cheeks warmed with a deep blush at the sound of that nickname. It felt a little too good to be called that again. Feeling extra shy now, you held out your book for him to see.  
"Will you…um…read to me? Please…Daddy?"  
Game. Set. Match. Dwayne had won. You were his helpless little girl again, and the best part was that you had chosen to do so willingly.  
"I would be delighted, babydoll," he purred, gesturing for you to sit by his side.  
You snuggled up to him, resting your head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around your body. It relaxed you to be in his arms again. With his gentle, baritone voice reading out your story aloud, you thought about how much you missed this. How right it felt.  
There was no way you'd ever fight Dwayne's love again. 
Tumblr media
Tag List: @britany1997 @6lostgirl6 @thesirenrealm @pixielostboy @bloodywickedvamp @michael-after-hours @legal-lost-boy @american-idiot-jpg @ghoulgeousimmaculate @queen-bunny
189 notes · View notes
lilliththeghost · 6 months
Text
I was always jealous of boys. I knew from a young age they had something I didn't. Different toys, different hobbies, different roles. My dad made it no secret that he wanted a boy. Someone he could teach to play football and game with. It hurt me that he never thought I could be that person. I thought I must've been born wrong somehow, that I was a mistake, that I should've been different.
I remember when I first discovered that you could change your gender, and you could do it just by deciding that you were something else and maybe taking some medicine. It would change me, but I never wanted to be myself anyway, so maybe this would be better. I was on board. I changed my name, cut my hair, bound my breasts. I never wanted to be a girl anyway. I wouldn't miss it. I found a doctor that would prescribe me testosterone and started looking into a double mastectomy. I felt like I finally knew why I was so broken, and this would fix me.
I panicked a week in and cancelled the whole thing. People were confused. They had supported me, for the most part, and now they thought I was lying. They thought I was backing out because I was scared. And I was scared, because I just wasn't sure this was the answer I was looking for. I just wanted to time to decide if I was sure. But the gears were already turning. People had decided I was a boy now from the instant I said so. But I was unwell. Very unwell. And I had always been, and people tried to convince me that transition would fix that. It would cure me.
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder two months ago. After years of psych visits and evaluations and hospitalizations, years of people ignoring and downplaying my symptoms. I just turned 30. It's likely that I have been suffering from this disorder for the last 15 or so years without the proper assistance. This is how long it took for a multitude of doctors to find out what was wrong with me.
And do you what really scares me? The fact that it took this long to diagnose me with a lifelong medical condition, yet when I expressed that I MIGHT be trans, I was IMMEDIATELY told that I needed to make major medical changes. I almost signed myself up for a lifetime of the wrong treatment because people were so concerned about validating my identity that they didn't even stop to ask if I was sure.
I don't know which is worse: not being diagnosed with bipolar for 15 year, or being diagnosed as trans inside of a week. I think both are examples of the failure of the mental health system. Where is the balance? How are women supposed to lead healthy lives when they're either ignored for years or immediately prescribed permanent life-altering treatment that might not be right for them?
I want to understand and be accepting of people. I want the people around me to feel heard and loved. I just can't help wondering how many girls like me thought they might be boys because everything in their life just sucks, and they desperately need a change. I see doctors from gender clinics coming out and saying that the majority of their patients are women with serious mental health issues and trauma. And I just think, that could've so easily been me.
My entire life has been defined by my existence as a girl and a woman. And I always hated that. But it's not because I was never meant to be a female; it's not because I was born wrong. It's because being a female in a patriarchal society is utter fucking shit. And I owe it to every girl like me to help fix that.
70 notes · View notes