Nepenthe

[goldnepenthe]

“I’ll gently protect you forever” Right now I can’t put those words into lyrics

independent oc written by e/peachy | muse. mun. rules.

[goldnepenthe]

wanting to write hcs but brain is MUSH so

kathe = this song

[noisyhajimari]

"No way-- Right now~?? You own the place??"

A businesswoman-- An entrepreneur~! Color him impressed! Does he know how to pick 'em, or what~!

That's the kind of thing dri would kill him for

"I shoulda known, you look like a girl of class~! Love the outfit too, by the way, you stand out in all the best ways~!"

[goldnepenthe]

" i do! i'm very proud of my store! "

compliments are one of her weaknesses and oh, is he good at giving them. a girl of class? that's part of her wish whenever she puts her outfits together,

" thank you! you're handsome yourself! " kathe has no idea how to tell him that she's blind and he's just one giant 'assumed-to-be-somewhat-attractive-blur' in her eyes.

[noisyhajimari]

"Woaah, that's a cute name~!! I'm Mahiru! You can call me just that, Mahiru~"

It's not so bad, right? At least he's cute, right??

"I know a great place nearby, whenever you're ready to go~! It's on me, no worries!"

[goldnepenthe]

" mahiru is a nice name too! "

she can't believe she's going on a date. god, dri is going to kill her when he finds out. but maybe going on a date will be nice?

" uh, we can go now! i can close the shop for a little while. "

[goldnepenthe]

a friendly reminder that kathe is single ! but she is also a mess lmao

[noisyhajimari]

!! It worked?? He'll still slide her the money, but--

"Woooo~! I'll hold onto this for ages to come~! Can I treat you to dinner? Coffee? What's good to you~??"

[goldnepenthe]

this was not anticipated. this was not the plan. she doesn't know how to react. mayday mayday—

" coffee sounds nice? " is this a date? " i'm kata, by the way... "

[noisyhajimari]

K.O!?!?!?

p.... pulls out his wallet,,,?

[goldnepenthe]

she's scribbling down her number on a piece of leftover kraft paper.

... c'mon.

[goldnepenthe]

@noisyhajimari : mahiru vc: and how much would your number cost~?

...

...

¥4800

[goldnepenthe]

medium sized rose bouquets free for valentine's day!

[kicnai]

Oh-! I-- I came by for today.. I guess I could stay longer-! If you want to hang out,,!

Maybe I could get a hotel, even-!

[goldnepenthe]

it's been a decade, of course i'd want to hang out!

i can help pay for the hotel, it's the least i could do!

[kicnai]

Aa-! That's good, isn't it? That kinda said something, but he laughed it off!!

They-- they do? That's good-! I... feel brighter!

What about you? You look so nice-!

[goldnepenthe]

i do? thank you~!

are you visiting? it'd be so nice for you to stay a little while!

[kicnai]

A-Ah, right, and he's... @goldnepenthe.. uncle...? sort of...??

.... How are you! It's been too long!!

[goldnepenthe]

nao? it has been! your eyes look brighter!

[polycephebi]

@goldnepenthe | Cont.

Kay-chan is stupid in a lot of ways, granted. This was far from the worst of it.

In some way, he was almost grateful -- Because if she'd gotten herself sick, she wouldn't be able to be stupid in other ways for a bit.

It's with this twisted relief that he clicked his tongue and sighed.

"Kay-chan ended up here because of her habits, right?" Clocked right away, and his expression showed the disappointment plainly. But concern was still etched into his core ; he dragged his hand down her cheek, cradling it. The neutral temperature of his hand was engulfed in her unearned warmth.

"You have to stop using it so much. I'll end up really killing you at this rate."

Jesting, to lighten the load of the one word that changed.

[goldnepenthe]

having it pointed out so plainly always earns a wince of embarrassment from her. it’s almost second nature at this point, which is arguably worse than any bad habit she might have. the disappointment has her wanting to apologize, but she can’t bring herself to.

“ will you now? ”

the weight of that word doesn’t go unnoticed. have. kathe knows dri enough ( she’d certainly hope so ) that it might as well be a command. the older brother finally putting his foot down on his little sister’s self-destructive habits.

" ... m'kay. " a mumbled word, the fever finally hitting her proper. " no killing me while i'm sick, though. that's not fair. "

[goldnepenthe]

Fever ?

[  fever  ]  sender  presses  the  back  of  their  hand  to  receiver’s  forehead,  brows  knitting  with  quiet  concern

overuse, overexertion, overwork— there's so many ways to phrase it. but her brother has lovingly titled this situation with the statement ' kay-chan is stupid. ' a reasonable title, truly. she is awfully dumb when it comes to her ability.

" i haven't seen you make that sort of expression in a long while. "

she hates when she manages to cause such a concerned expression on his face. it makes her feel horrible. seeing him without his smile is unsettling, really.

" ... your hand is cool. " it's the temperature of his hand that makes her begrudgingly accept her current state. she must have a pretty bad fever if his hand feels as cool as it does. the ache of the fever sets in, a throbbing headache settling, cheeks properly flushed bright pink. all the telltale signs of a fever.

kathe never thought she'd be able to get sick again, not like this; like she's human again.

[busyw0man]

⋆｡‧˚ʚ💋ɞ˚‧｡⋆   𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞  𝐨𝐟  𝐲𝐨𝐮

𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - send  ‘reverse’ for the sender and  receiver to  swap.  adjust wording as needed!

[  fever  ]  sender  presses  the  back  of  their  hand  to  receiver’s  forehead,  brows  knitting  with  quiet  concern

[  medicine  ]  sender  sets  alarms  on  their  phone  just  to  make  sure  receiver  doesn’t  miss  a  dose

[  blanket  ]  sender  layers  blankets  over  receiver,  adjusting  them  until  they’re  just  right

[  soup  ]  sender  blows  gently  on  a  spoonful  of  soup  before  offering  it  to  receiver

[  water  ]  sender  holds  the  glass  steady,  murmuring  encouragement  until  receiver  takes  a  sip

[  hair  brush  ]  sender  carefully  brushes  receiver’s  hair  back,  slow  and  soothing

[  ice  pack  ]  sender  wraps  an  ice  pack  in  a  towel  and  presses  it  gently  where  it  hurts

[  temperature  ]  sender  wakes  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night  just  to  check  if  receiver’s  still  warm

[  pill  ]  sender  places  medicine  in  receiver’s  palm  and  waits  until  they  swallow  it

[  quiet  room  ]  sender  dims  the  lights  and  turns  everything  down  low  so  receiver  can  rest

[  slow  ]  sender  stays  at  receiver’s  pace,  arm  ready  in  case  they  stumble

[  bandage  ]  sender  changes  the  bandages  carefully,  apologizing  even  when  it  doesn’t  hurt

[  lap  ]  sender  lets  receiver  rest  their  head  in  their  lap  while  they  stroke  their  hair

[  night  watch  ]  sender  refuses  to  sleep  deeply,  listening  for  every  shift  or  breath

[  warm  cloth  ]  sender  presses  a  cool  cloth  to  receiver’s  neck  or  wrist

[  cough  ]  sender  rubs  slow  circles  between  receiver’s  shoulders  through  every  coughing  fit

[  carried  ]  sender  helps  receiver  move,  taking  more  weight  than  they  should  without  complaint

[  pain  ]  sender  distracts  receiver  with  quiet  stories  or  memories  until  the  pain  dulls

[  soft  voice  ]  sender  speaks  more  gently  than  usual,  like  anything  louder  might  hurt

[  held  ]  sender  sits  behind  receiver,  arms  around  them  so  they  don’t  have  to  hold  themselves  up

[  protective  ]  sender  stays  curled  close  even  after  receiver  falls  asleep

[  food   ]  sender  convinces  receiver  to  eat  “just  a  little  more”  with  a  smile

[  stay  still  ]  sender  gently  stops  receiver  from  pushing  themselves  too  hard

𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

❝  hey.  i’ve  got  you.  ❞

❝  don’t  rush.  we’re  not  going  anywhere.  ❞

❝  let  me  do  it  for  you,  okay?  ❞

❝  i  know  it  hurts.  i’m  right  here.  ❞

❝  you’re  allowed  to  rest.  i  promise.  ❞

❝  just  focus  on  breathing.  i’ll  handle  the  rest.  ❞

❝  you  don’t  have  to  be  strong  right  now.  ❞

❝  tell  me  where  it  hurts.  i’ll  be  careful.  ❞

❝  i’m  not  leaving  until  you  feel  better.  ❞

❝  i’ll  stay  up  with  you  if  i  need  to.  ❞

❝  it’s  okay  to  lean  on  me.  ❞

❝  shh…  you’re  safe.  ❞

❝  i’ve  got  time.  all  of  it’s  yours.  ❞

❝  you  don’t  have  to  say  thank  you.  ❞

❝  let  me  take  care  of  you.  ❞ 

❝  you’re  doing  really  well.  ❞

❝  i’m  right  here.  breathe  with  me.  ❞

❝  don’t  apologize.  this  is  what  i’m  here  for.  ❞

❝  rest.  i’ll  wake  you  if  you  need  anything.  ❞

❝  even  like  this,  you’re  still  my  favorite  person.  ❞

[goldnepenthe]

hello everyone ! i've been gone for a few months and i apologize for that. my focus as of late is music, which is a completely different headspace than writing. i'll mostly be posting headcanons to get back into the groove. because of how long it's been, i will be dropping my current threads, which are admittedly not a lot. i will tag those that i had threads with to let them know that i am respectfully dropping them and more than happy to start another one ( i do apologize for this ) : @polycephebi @electricea @dichotomouskey

anyhow, i am here ! slow, a bit rusty, but here to write !!

[goldnepenthe]

『 Belief of Doppelgangers and Connected Souls 』

below the cut, you will find my personal belief about doppelgangers, along with how it applies to kathe and adriane. this is very long so be prepared to read. ( some parts may seem like babbling, i'm sorry. ) @polycephebi

much of my beliefs on doppelgangers come from irish folklore and paganism, particularly the irish fetch. a smaller portion of my beliefs stem from the concept that doppelgangers are two halves of a whole. i would've included some japanese folklore for kathe and dri, but the ikiryou do not fit the nature of their relationship.

admittedly, much of what we know of the irish beliefs of the afterlife and souls is lost. and what we do know, of the irish and others under the umbrella of the celts, was written by the greeks and romans. thus, much information out there are those that have greco-roman influence. ( keep in mind that the celts were extremely widespread. my beliefs come from that of the gaels, which is the combined areas of ireland and scotland. celtic language and culture of the gaels originated from the irish.)

carrying on ! i and some other irish pagans believe that souls experience a cycle, similar to that of reincarnation. the soul does not die, but returns to the otherworld, which acts as a place for souls to rest and reflect before they return this realm and become a human once more.

with the belief that doppelgangers are two halves of a whole soul, and the folklore of the fetch, a particular concept formed in my mind for kathe and adriane.

130 years ago, adriane came into existence. and 98 years later, kathe was born. then at the age of 111 and 19, they met. looking nearly identical, with their eyes and voices being the only noticeable differences. but years before that, when kathe was only a child, adriane had used her as a host for several years. i have always had a belief, if not entirely canon, that when taking her as a host, his soul pushed out kathe's original soul from her body.

her soul tries to get back into her body. of course it would. those moments of her soul trying to squeeze back into her body would've only felt like tiny slips of control on adriane's part. when he finally left her body, instead of leaving a space for kathe's soul to return to, there was something still there : an incomplete version of adriane's soul. almost as if a fetch had tried to form, only to be stuck inside of kathe. it's not to say that there wasn't any room for her, but something was still there, keeping her from solely occupying her body once more.

it could be compared to kintsugi, where his partially formed fetch filled the cracks of her broken soul. ( no, i am not comparing him to gold. ) he became a part of her, the glue that kept her soul from staying broken and fragmented. kathe became connected to adriane without either of them knowing until they had met years later and felt the pull. a connection neither could explain because she couldn't remember and he would have to take some time before remembering what he had did all those years ago.

this isn't to say that adriane was free of kathe's soul when he stopped using her as a host. a piece of her soul stayed connected to him, a piece that had wiggled into his soul, too small to be noticed.

kathe wasn't originally going to grow up to look like adriane. she would've grown to look like one of her aunts due to dominant genes from her father. but having a piece of adriane's soul changed that. it's another element of them being connected. because of him having the more 'dominant' soul, he influenced her more than she influenced him.

being around him acts as a missing piece for her equilibrium. she can function as her own person just fine, but the connection she has with him is the tiny piece that she didn't even realize she was missing. she feels more stable around him, more understood. he's the best at grounding her because he has a piece of her that gives him that same pull. the same tiny, missing piece to equilibrium that he can function without, but feels whole when it's there.

it makes adriane both the worst and best thing to ever come into kathe's life. worst because he was a catalyst for so much hardship, but the best because when they met again, he let her in ( albeit in a less than healthy way ). she treasures him because she subconsciously feels complete in the sense of self.

kathe's current appearance is nowhere near the doppelganger she once was to him. one would think that this is a sense of growth into her own person, but it's not. it's a regression. nearly a decade without her soul being complete created something else, something that while still her, is not her truly.

the long hair, the soft clothes, the feminine choices ; they're all a step backwards. some of her weaker traits have come to the spotlight without adriane's presence. it's not to say that these traits are bad, but they were never this prominent before.

for her, growth would be marked by returning to her status as his doppelganger. it's her regaining her equilibrium. the day she cuts her hair and puts on her tomboyish clothes will be a good day.