[Miggs | Male | 28 | Straight] I have a sneeze fetish. I reblog things from my main blog, which does include drawings of dark subject matter. If you don't vibe with that, get the fuck out, or deal with it. By viewing this blog you are exposing yourself to mature subject matter.
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So I've decided to give this a shot if anyone is interested. This is my trying to make myself more social in the snzblr world. Been looking around and I've noticed a few decent fics. I'd like to offer my services as a writer for anyone who's interested in a small cheap sneeze blurb. Here are the rules for commissioning me.
PLZ READ ALL GUIDELINES AND PRICES BEFORE DMING ME
Prices:
500 - 1000 words: $10 USD
1100 - 3000 words: $30 USD
3100 - 5000 words: $50 USD
Fandoms I will write for:
MLP Friendship is Magic and EQG
My Hero Academia
My Dress Up Darling
Rwby
Digimon
Futurama
Lilo and Stitch
Birdie Wing (A Golf Girl's Story)
Pokemon
Kill La Kill
Splatoon
Sonic the Hedgehog
Zenless Zone Zero
Those are just off the top of my head. I'm open to more if any commissioners have any other suggestions.
WILL NOT WRITE:
Underage, scat/fart, gore, males (sorry about that one)
Ellie (OC) and I//sh are alone, I//sh's sneezing eventually devolves into a rant about how the company doesn't supply them with any tissue packets for travel.
They were probably both incredibly bored.
“HiiHcHst…!”
Ishmael stifled a harsh sneeze between her index finger and thumb.
“Bless you.” Ellie responded next to her. The two of them were alone on the bus, as the rest were still eating their lunch. Ellie and Ishmael had returned earlier mostly to get away from the noise.
Ishmael sniffed, brushing loose hair from her face, “Thanks…”
“Are you alright, Ish? The brief time I’ve been sitting here you’ve been sneezing your damn head off… It’s not Church, is it?” Ellie asked, pointing down at her cat, who just continued staring at his owner.
“No… I don’t think so…” Ishmael sighed, “I swear, if I caught something…”
Ishmael was one of the few Sinners on the bus that got sick rather frequently.
“Ih’CHst!... Guh…” she sneezed again, a small, thin trail of snot visible between her two fingers.
“Bless you. Do you need a tissue?”
Ishmael tried to hide her wet fingers, “Yeah, please?”
Ellie reached into the inner pocket of her oversized coat and pulled out a travel packet of tissues, handing it to Ishmael.
She turned the packet around in her hands to find the small tab to open it. By the looks of it, it was an un-opened pack. She opened the tab, pulled out a tissue, and promptly blew her nose, audible congestion being loosened.
“You can keep it if you need it, Ish.”
Ishmael was now moving the soaked, wadded up tissue between her nostrils, occasionally lifting the tip of her nose with it, “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I have a few more in my room, don’t worry about it.”
“HiHCHt!” she sneezed again, trying to cover it with her soiled tissue.
“Bless you.”
“Thanks…” she sniffed harshly, “I usually have my own but… I ran out… And I’ve been out for a solid few weeks…”
Ellie exhaled audibly through her nose, “Yeah. They don’t fuckin’ have any packs in the supply closet in the Backdoor.” She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder towards the direction of the Backdoor. “Like, I’m glad that this company supplies us with utilities, rooms, all that shit in general… But yet, they don’t give us tissues to carry around? They supply us with boxes for our room, which is nice, but we spend most of our time here in the front of the bus or outside. Y’know… Traveling? Do they expect us to carry a box around on top of the shit we carry into battle??” Ellie motioned to her Messenger sword and Ishmael’s mace.
Ishmael stifled a laugh, “Dunno… Maybe they do, I wouldn’t be surprised honestly. Even back in the Nest of District 21– when I had that office job? I had to bring most of the stuff for my desk from home, which I guess that’s pretty normal since it was just an office job… HIIH’CHtt– ‘ChXT– H-hiH’CHIhh!”
“Damn, bless you.”
Ishmael sniffled hard, “Thank you… Do you think it’s something we should ask Faust about?”
Ellie sighed, “I dunno. It’s… Honestly probably not a big deal to her, but it’s just one of those small things that feels it could have an easy fix. I mean, y’know, we have technology on the bus that allows for Tick-Tock to pull out different versions of ourselves from different realities…”
Ishmael sniffed, “But not… Tissue packets… I think it’s kind of a valid thing for you to bring up to her, especially since she recruited you knowing that you don’t like germs. I’m very much the same way, but it never got to the point that I wore a mask on a daily basis.”
Ellie scrunched her face, “Yeah that’s fair… I mean it is kind of crazy when a few of you guys come up to me asking me for a tissue… Not that I mind it– I’m OK with that, I just hate that that’s something you guys have to consider, y’know?”
“Ih’CHT! Yeah… I’ve had some of the others ask me a few times… Mostly Rodya.”
“Bless you. Most of the people on this bus have come up to me asking me for one. Pretty sure I’ve seen a few of you guys ask Ryoshu, too. Maybe Yi Sang.”
Ishmael pulled out another tissue and blew her nose softly, “I think we ask you because we know you always have some.”
“Which, I do… Cuz y’know… District 23 Backstreets kind of does that to you… Also… Having a dad as a doctor.”
Ishmael continued to blow her nose, “It just sucks, because I just… Forget, honestly. Which is my fault, but when we stop at a convenience store, my first thought isn’t ‘I need to get some tissues’, my first thought is usually ‘What snacks am I going to get?’ or occasionally ‘I hope the bathroom doesn’t have a dead guy in it.’ …H–Hih… Urgh… I lost that one…”
“It’s kind of worse if you’re me because I’m very fucking picky with my brand,” Ellie pointed to the tissue packet that rested on Ishmael’s lap, “If it’s not 3-ply I’m not buying it. I’m like that with hand sanitizer, too. I was also like that with my face masks when I’d wear them.”
“Seriously?” Ishmael continued dabbing at her nose, which was now visibly and audibly running. It looked like she was getting worse by the minute.
“Yeah, Ish. I’m not gonna carry around cheap-ass paper that’s going to make me wanna tear my damn nose off. I kind of like having an actual nose, I don’t want a prosthetic.”
“HiHt’ChST…. HIH’TCHST…!! Urgh…”
“Are you gonna be OK? Do you need me to get someone?”
“No, I’m alright… Although I think I’m gonna go lay down… I’m kind of starting to get a headache, also. I don’t want to leave you alone, but…”
“Don’t worry about it, lady, I’m sure the others are bound to come back pretty soon. I’ll tell Teach if she asks.”
Ishmael took the pack of tissues on her lap and held it in her hand, still rubbing her nose with a used one, and stood up, “Thanks…”
“Do you need, like… I ‘unno a humidifier or something? I have one in my room if you wanna borrow that.”
“No, I’m pretty sure there’s another one in the supply closet…”
I am a horrible sickfic writer because I just end up trying to tell a normal-ass story.
Not only that but like. I also just suck at channeling my horniness. Like I could say some horny shit, but for whatever reason, I just want to move on to the next storybeats.
That being said: The ending is super fucking abrupt. And like... For a sickfic, the sneezing is pretty light.
I dunno. I tried. I'm bad at writing.
For context: Captain Trips is the virus that wipes out like 90-something % of the world's population in "The Stand".
I've included Ellie, my OC, into this story, as in another non-kink fic, she mentions this virus in passing. Why? Because I kind of tied a bunch of King stories and stuff into the Li//mbus universe (specifically District 23) just for the fun of it, and just to make Ellie a little more interesting.
That being said, she plays a pretty minor role in this story.
We're all adults here, but I think most people will "warn" or whatever that there's mentions of mess and contagion. Look, these characters get sick, it's what you probably expect.
I tried fitting this more into the universe as well, so it does get pretty grim with the concept of "paranoia"-- or at least I tried making it that way? Again. You're an adult, if you decide to read this, you know what you're getting into. Don't be a bitch.
Have fun!
I’ll be honest and say I can’t really remember when exactly this happened. I just remember this was some time after our experiences in District 23, after dealing with Ellie’s little brother in the Pet Sematary. Beyond that, I can’t really tell you how long after all of this happened. I mean, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Just… Really scary, I guess.
I’ll come out of the gates and say that the Sinners have all gotten sick at one point or another. Usually a cold, maybe a small virus, pneumonia, nothing too crazy. None of them certainly haven’t died from whatever sickness they’ve gotten. I think the earliest case of this was a few of the Sinners having some really bad sniffles after the events in the dungeon from District 10– if not mistaken it was Ishmael, Hong Lu, Yi Sang, and Gregor. Nothing really crazy happened besides needing to open a few tissue boxes here and there.
This case was worse than that, though. Far worse. And it wasn’t even because the Sinners all were incapacitated or dying, it was just the fear of it all. While we were in District 23, Ellie had told us all stories about something that infected the entire district. A virus called “Captain Trips”. Captain Trips started as a pretty average common cold, but then eventually just spiraled into painful swelling, delirium, and of course: death. Ever since we left the district, oftentimes when a Sinner would sneeze– or break out into a sneezing fit– there would always be the one person that would say: “Oh, looks like you’ve got Captain Trips!” It kind of just became a running joke amongst us, and we never really thought much of it.
I was sitting at my usual spot near the front of the bus. It was really early in the morning, and I was going to start doing the opening roll call to begin the day– which, at the time, I remember being a bit redundant as we weren’t really doing much besides just being in our seats waiting to get to the next destination. That’s when I heard the distinct sound of Heathcliff sneezing.
“Hiih– ITchYEAH!!!”
“Gah! Heathcliff, can you not be so close to me?” it was Ishmael, who he was sitting next to. He sniffed hard. He hadn’t said anything, but I could hear the congestion in his voice.
“Sorry, lass. My usual spot was taken.”
“You sound… Horrible.”
Rodya called from right behind, “Oh, looks like he finally got Trips, Ishy!”
“Don’t…! Don’t say that, Rodion, that’s not funny!”
Ishmael was one of the Sinners that most hated getting sick. Which was a bit ironic because if someone caught a cold, she would very very soon follow suit, despite her best efforts at keeping healthy.
Heathcliff blew his nose loudly into a handkerchief. Ishmael was very visibly shaken. Ever since Ellie told us all about the virus, Ishmael was always on-edge whenever someone would get sick, even though by that time we were far gone away from District 23, where the outbreak had hit hardest.
“Calm down, Ish, you always get like this, Captain Trips hasn’t been a thing for years!” Ellie laughed.
“Ok, but do you know the numbers? A virus never truly goes away, y’know. I’ve heard stories– stories about viruses always surfacing even after centuries of being gone. There are some viruses even the Head can’t deal with. F-Faust. Faust, c’mon, I’m sure you know the numbers, right? The symptoms? Ellie lived through it, but you’re the genius here, right?”
Faust looked at Ishmael with a deadpan expression.
“Hm… Captain Trips was indeed most common in District 23. As Ellie had told us, it began as a common cold, with sneezing and nasal congestion, which eventually led to an increasingly worsening fever, among other symptoms.”
“HIH’TCHYE!!” it was Heathcliff again, muffled into his handkerchief.
Ishmael crossed her arms.
<Ishmael, calm down, I don’t think Heathcliff has Captain Trips.> I said.
“...I hate being next to sick people…”
A day passed, and the next morning came.
“Kh…Kh’CHssTtT…!” Ishmael sneezed into a folded-up tissue. She sounded equally as congested as Heathcliff did the previous day, who was now sitting next to Faust. Ishmael was sitting next to Ryoshu.
“Guh… Fuck…” Ishmael rested her elbow on the window of the bus, her fist against her forehead. She was very visibly angry.
“Orange hair. G.R.O.T.T.” Ryoshu pointed at Ishmael.
“Sinclair…?” Ishmael asked, annoyed.
“She said: ‘Get rid of that tissue’.” translated Sinclair.
Noticing the possible spread of a cold on the bus, as their manager, I took the time to bring it up:
<Remember, guys, if you’re feeling sick, do your best to keep it to yourselves…>
“That’s what I did, Clockhead, whatdya think I have this for?!” Heathcliff raised his handkerchief for me to see.
“Apparently you didn’t do a good job, H– HeaAth’TCHST!!” Ishmael was scolding, looking behind her, a sneeze interrupting her mid-sentence. She made sure to cover her sneeze with another tissue, as the previous one was already ruined.
“Ah… Mayhaps the sick should sit with the sick…?” proposed Yi Sang, raising his hand.
<That might be the best…>
After the proposal, Heathcliff and Ishmael were sitting together as they had the previous day, Ryoshu and Faust sitting next to each other.
The rest of the day continued as normal, mostly just the Sinners and I discussing our next steps in the coming district. It wasn’t till towards mid-day when I heard:
“TCHU!” It was sharp, sudden, and quick. It was Ryoshu. Faust side-eyed her.
“Haah… Y’know manager-bud, they say that smokers have worse immune systems, right? Do you think she caught it from the brief time with Ishmael?” asked Gregor.
<I mean… It’s just one sneeze, right? How do you feel, Ryoshu?>
“Tsk. Fine.”
She didn’t sound any bit congested, nor did she look any different from this morning. I figured she was fine as she said.
“Hh…HhTcH! HHTcH!! IhhTCH…!!!” A fit of three sneezes eventually erupted from Ryoshu. I saw Faust’s face turn visibly annoyed almost as if you shared an incorrect piece of information that she knew more about. Ryoshu sniffled with audible congestion. She continued to do so for several minutes, audibly getting worse.
Faust eventually just sighed. She took out a packet of tissues from her coat pocket and gave it to Ryoshu, not saying a word. Ryoshu loudly blew her nose. I could hear the snot shoot out of her nose and into the tissue. She sounded the worst of the three. It was pretty rare that I saw Ryoshu like this.
“Heeey, Dante, are we gonna have to separate the sides of the bus from sick to non-sick?” asked Rodya with the usual perkiness in her voice. Hong Lu, sitting next to her, let out a small giggle.
<I… I hope not.>
The next day came. The plan was to have Ishmael, Heathcliff, and Ryoshu sit next to each other. Alright, no big deal, they sit towards the front of the bus, their backs towards the people behind them, and they’ll be able to–
“Hih’tshu…!”
A very quiet, dainty sneeze came from the back of the bus, next to Hong Lu.
It was Faust.
<... Oh no…>
“Woaah, Faust are you OK?” Hong Lu asked in wonder. I don’t think we’ve ever heard her sneeze before. And if we did… we forgot.
Faust looked awful. Her nose was as red as her cheeks normally were. She didn’t look at Hong Lu.
“Faust is fine.”
<Uh, no, Faust is not fine. This… this isn’t good, guys. Four of you are sick now…>
“Could it really be Captain Trips…?” asked Don Quixote, audible nervousness in her voice.
“That’s highly improbable, as we are approx…imately… HIH’tCHuuU…!!!” Faust sneezed again into a tissue. Or at least, she tried to. I saw the mess come out of her nose, spilling onto her sweater.
“HiTHCH’YIIEA!!” It was Heathcliff, this time not into a handkerchief.
“This is ridiculous. How reckless are you all to get so sick with the Executive Manager so close to you all?!” Outis barked out, angrily.
“Shut it, ya git.”
“All of you just stop talking… I have a headache…” Ishmael rubbed her temples.
“This is the first time so many of us have gotten sick… In such a short time as well…” Yi Sang curled his hand under his chin, pondering deeply.
“N-None of you are getting any better, either… Even with Dante sending you to your rooms to rest… Doesn’t Captain Trips just worsen over time, Ellie?!” Sinclair asked, his voice beginning to panic.
“Uhh… I mean, yeah… Yeah it just gets worse… And the probability of it spreading uhh… It’s really high. Like really really high… There’s no way, though! Hah… Right…?”
No one sat next to Ryoshu, instead in someone’s place was a box of tissues that she kept pulling from. This wasn’t good at all.
<Alright… Hong Lu… Ok, no matter how you feel tomorrow, I think we’re going to have to have you sit with the infected Sinners… Since… You’re next to Faust.>
“Ahah, it’s no problem, Dante~!” Hong Lu gave me a thumbs up. Faust just blew her nose next to him. She was visibly embarrassed.
“Well ain’t this jus-UHh-st a dog’s dinner, ain’t it…” Heathcliff groaned, almost sneezing, arms crossed. His naturally parting hair was more messy than I’ve ever seen it.
“Hey uh, are we going to need to drop by H Corp to get some boluses to cure this uh… Thing? Hong Lu- bud, if this is Captain Trips, do you know if there’s a bolus for it?” Gregor asked, turning back to Hong Lu. A small drop of sweat rolled down his face, his eyes shifting from left to right. I could tell everyone was starting to get paranoid.
“I’m going to be honest, Gregor… I didn’t even know about this virus until Ellie brought it up in District 23…”
“Ahah… So… Wait, what uh… What happened to this virus, El…? There’s a cure, right…?” Rodya asked half-heartedly.
Ellie sighed heavily.
“No.”
I saw all of the Sinners grimace at her answer. I don’t think they minded much the fact that they could die, besides it being very painful, I think they were all just more concerned with me possibly catching it. Or Vegilius. Or Charon. Those that weren’t sick were the ones that were fighting to get more fuel for the bus, so we weren’t too concerned with that spreading… But just because they weren’t visibly sick didn’t mean that they couldn’t spread it…
As the days passed, more and more of the Sinners got sick. Not even the ones that were sick from the beginning seemed to be getting any better. Three days passed, and by then, the only ones that weren’t sick were Meursault, Sinclair, Rodya, and Ellie.
I felt like I was going to go crazy. Not a single second went by without hearing someone sneeze, cough, or blow their nose. We were all just waiting for one of the earlier sick Sinners to just start convulsing, or passing out, saying that they felt like they were somewhere else, at a different time, at a different place– which was one of the effects of the virus. The bus was mostly segregated between sick and non-sick, with the healthy ones staying at the back of the bus, as far away from the infected as possible.
The only shred of hope that we had that this wasn’t that virus was the fact that I hadn’t caught it yet. Neither had Vergilius nor Charon.
Fueling the bus had become increasingly difficult, only having the four Sinners with me. Sure they had strong IDs, but their morale was incredibly low. They were exhausted, and it got to a point where even just fighting Backstreets rats was a chore.
After the last fight for the day, and hefting the bodies into the grinder that was Mephistopheles, I just sat on the ground.
<Guys… What are we going to do…?>
“Hey, big guy, didn’tcha mom ever make ya soup when you were a kid? Why don’t we give that to everyone?” Ellie asked.
Meursault stood in deep thought.
“Perhaps, although the probability of the Sinners getting better just from mere soup alone is slim, especially if this sickness is indeed Captain Trips.”
“I think we just need to wait it out… And hope we don’t get sick…” said Sinclair.
<Haah… Alright, well, it’s already getting to be night… I guess we’ll all just retire to our rooms. I think I’m going to call off all of us gathering together in the morning…>
“I can’t believe we’re going to have to quarantine ourselves… This is just like when the outbreak happened…” Ellie sounded in shock.
<It’ll just be for a few days. I’ll be checking on everyone every now and then. At the very least… If you guys start dropping… Uh, we won’t be able to see it…>
“So that’s the plan…! Alright, quarantine it is! Who’s… Who’s going to tell Verg?” asked Rodya.
<Meursault, think you can translate for me?>
“It will be done, Manager.”
<I’ll be the only one at the front of the bus, Charon will be able to tell me we need fuel… And then I’ll come get you four so we can get more… Ellie, how… How long did the quarantine last when the outbreak happened?>
Ellie sighed.
“A while… Like, at least two years… I had to have been like… 10 years old?”
I dropped my head in defeat.
“B-but that’s an entire district, Tick-Tock…! This is just… Uh… Nine people…! Look, if they die, that’s it, rewind the clock for all of them and… Let’s just hope they come back healthy…”
<Dammit…>
“Just a few days, Dante… We can do that… R-right…?” Sinclair put his hand on my shoulder, he tried sounding optimistic. The other three stood next to him, surrounding me.
I just nodded.
We set the plan into action.
I periodically checked in with the sick Sinners to make sure they were still alive.
As time progressed, I actually eventually started noticing them getting better. The first one was Hong Lu. He actually wasn’t sick for very long, compared to everyone else at least. He even sneezed the least, actually. I think at most I just heard him blow his nose a few times. At times I questioned if he was even sick…
After Hong Lu, it was Gregor… Then Outis… Then surprisingly Heathcliff… Yi Sang… Faust… Don Quixote… And finally Ryoshu and Ishmael got healthy around the same time.
We didn’t gather around each other again even if I just heard a single one of them sniffle or cough. It took more than a week for everyone to get better. These were some of the worst colds I had ever seen any of them catch. Everything eventually went back to normal… Almost as if nothing happened…
I am a horrible sickfic writer because I just end up trying to tell a normal-ass story.
Not only that but like. I also just suck at channeling my horniness. Like I could say some horny shit, but for whatever reason, I just want to move on to the next storybeats.
That being said: The ending is super fucking abrupt. And like... For a sickfic, the sneezing is pretty light.
I dunno. I tried. I'm bad at writing.
For context: Captain Trips is the virus that wipes out like 90-something % of the world's population in "The Stand".
I've included Ellie, my OC, into this story, as in another non-kink fic, she mentions this virus in passing. Why? Because I kind of tied a bunch of King stories and stuff into the Li//mbus universe (specifically District 23) just for the fun of it, and just to make Ellie a little more interesting.
That being said, she plays a pretty minor role in this story.
We're all adults here, but I think most people will "warn" or whatever that there's mentions of mess and contagion. Look, these characters get sick, it's what you probably expect.
I tried fitting this more into the universe as well, so it does get pretty grim with the concept of "paranoia"-- or at least I tried making it that way? Again. You're an adult, if you decide to read this, you know what you're getting into. Don't be a bitch.
Have fun!
I’ll be honest and say I can’t really remember when exactly this happened. I just remember this was some time after our experiences in District 23, after dealing with Ellie’s little brother in the Pet Sematary. Beyond that, I can’t really tell you how long after all of this happened. I mean, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Just… Really scary, I guess.
I’ll come out of the gates and say that the Sinners have all gotten sick at one point or another. Usually a cold, maybe a small virus, pneumonia, nothing too crazy. None of them certainly haven’t died from whatever sickness they’ve gotten. I think the earliest case of this was a few of the Sinners having some really bad sniffles after the events in the dungeon from District 10– if not mistaken it was Ishmael, Hong Lu, Yi Sang, and Gregor. Nothing really crazy happened besides needing to open a few tissue boxes here and there.
This case was worse than that, though. Far worse. And it wasn’t even because the Sinners all were incapacitated or dying, it was just the fear of it all. While we were in District 23, Ellie had told us all stories about something that infected the entire district. A virus called “Captain Trips”. Captain Trips started as a pretty average common cold, but then eventually just spiraled into painful swelling, delirium, and of course: death. Ever since we left the district, oftentimes when a Sinner would sneeze– or break out into a sneezing fit– there would always be the one person that would say: “Oh, looks like you’ve got Captain Trips!” It kind of just became a running joke amongst us, and we never really thought much of it.
I was sitting at my usual spot near the front of the bus. It was really early in the morning, and I was going to start doing the opening roll call to begin the day– which, at the time, I remember being a bit redundant as we weren’t really doing much besides just being in our seats waiting to get to the next destination. That’s when I heard the distinct sound of Heathcliff sneezing.
“Hiih– ITchYEAH!!!”
“Gah! Heathcliff, can you not be so close to me?” it was Ishmael, who he was sitting next to. He sniffed hard. He hadn’t said anything, but I could hear the congestion in his voice.
“Sorry, lass. My usual spot was taken.”
“You sound… Horrible.”
Rodya called from right behind, “Oh, looks like he finally got Trips, Ishy!”
“Don’t…! Don’t say that, Rodion, that’s not funny!”
Ishmael was one of the Sinners that most hated getting sick. Which was a bit ironic because if someone caught a cold, she would very very soon follow suit, despite her best efforts at keeping healthy.
Heathcliff blew his nose loudly into a handkerchief. Ishmael was very visibly shaken. Ever since Ellie told us all about the virus, Ishmael was always on-edge whenever someone would get sick, even though by that time we were far gone away from District 23, where the outbreak had hit hardest.
“Calm down, Ish, you always get like this, Captain Trips hasn’t been a thing for years!” Ellie laughed.
“Ok, but do you know the numbers? A virus never truly goes away, y’know. I’ve heard stories– stories about viruses always surfacing even after centuries of being gone. There are some viruses even the Head can’t deal with. F-Faust. Faust, c’mon, I’m sure you know the numbers, right? The symptoms? Ellie lived through it, but you’re the genius here, right?”
Faust looked at Ishmael with a deadpan expression.
“Hm… Captain Trips was indeed most common in District 23. As Ellie had told us, it began as a common cold, with sneezing and nasal congestion, which eventually led to an increasingly worsening fever, among other symptoms.”
“HIH’TCHYE!!” it was Heathcliff again, muffled into his handkerchief.
Ishmael crossed her arms.
<Ishmael, calm down, I don’t think Heathcliff has Captain Trips.> I said.
“...I hate being next to sick people…”
A day passed, and the next morning came.
“Kh…Kh’CHssTtT…!” Ishmael sneezed into a folded-up tissue. She sounded equally as congested as Heathcliff did the previous day, who was now sitting next to Faust. Ishmael was sitting next to Ryoshu.
“Guh… Fuck…” Ishmael rested her elbow on the window of the bus, her fist against her forehead. She was very visibly angry.
“Orange hair. G.R.O.T.T.” Ryoshu pointed at Ishmael.
“Sinclair…?” Ishmael asked, annoyed.
“She said: ‘Get rid of that tissue’.” translated Sinclair.
Noticing the possible spread of a cold on the bus, as their manager, I took the time to bring it up:
<Remember, guys, if you’re feeling sick, do your best to keep it to yourselves…>
“That’s what I did, Clockhead, whatdya think I have this for?!” Heathcliff raised his handkerchief for me to see.
“Apparently you didn’t do a good job, H– HeaAth’TCHST!!” Ishmael was scolding, looking behind her, a sneeze interrupting her mid-sentence. She made sure to cover her sneeze with another tissue, as the previous one was already ruined.
“Ah… Mayhaps the sick should sit with the sick…?” proposed Yi Sang, raising his hand.
<That might be the best…>
After the proposal, Heathcliff and Ishmael were sitting together as they had the previous day, Ryoshu and Faust sitting next to each other.
The rest of the day continued as normal, mostly just the Sinners and I discussing our next steps in the coming district. It wasn’t till towards mid-day when I heard:
“TCHU!” It was sharp, sudden, and quick. It was Ryoshu. Faust side-eyed her.
“Haah… Y’know manager-bud, they say that smokers have worse immune systems, right? Do you think she caught it from the brief time with Ishmael?” asked Gregor.
<I mean… It’s just one sneeze, right? How do you feel, Ryoshu?>
“Tsk. Fine.”
She didn’t sound any bit congested, nor did she look any different from this morning. I figured she was fine as she said.
“Hh…HhTcH! HHTcH!! IhhTCH…!!!” A fit of three sneezes eventually erupted from Ryoshu. I saw Faust’s face turn visibly annoyed almost as if you shared an incorrect piece of information that she knew more about. Ryoshu sniffled with audible congestion. She continued to do so for several minutes, audibly getting worse.
Faust eventually just sighed. She took out a packet of tissues from her coat pocket and gave it to Ryoshu, not saying a word. Ryoshu loudly blew her nose. I could hear the snot shoot out of her nose and into the tissue. She sounded the worst of the three. It was pretty rare that I saw Ryoshu like this.
“Heeey, Dante, are we gonna have to separate the sides of the bus from sick to non-sick?” asked Rodya with the usual perkiness in her voice. Hong Lu, sitting next to her, let out a small giggle.
<I… I hope not.>
The next day came. The plan was to have Ishmael, Heathcliff, and Ryoshu sit next to each other. Alright, no big deal, they sit towards the front of the bus, their backs towards the people behind them, and they’ll be able to–
“Hih’tshu…!”
A very quiet, dainty sneeze came from the back of the bus, next to Hong Lu.
It was Faust.
<... Oh no…>
“Woaah, Faust are you OK?” Hong Lu asked in wonder. I don’t think we’ve ever heard her sneeze before. And if we did… we forgot.
Faust looked awful. Her nose was as red as her cheeks normally were. She didn’t look at Hong Lu.
“Faust is fine.”
<Uh, no, Faust is not fine. This… this isn’t good, guys. Four of you are sick now…>
“Could it really be Captain Trips…?” asked Don Quixote, audible nervousness in her voice.
“That’s highly improbable, as we are approx…imately… HIH’tCHuuU…!!!” Faust sneezed again into a tissue. Or at least, she tried to. I saw the mess come out of her nose, spilling onto her sweater.
“HiTHCH’YIIEA!!” It was Heathcliff, this time not into a handkerchief.
“This is ridiculous. How reckless are you all to get so sick with the Executive Manager so close to you all?!” Outis barked out, angrily.
“Shut it, ya git.”
“All of you just stop talking… I have a headache…” Ishmael rubbed her temples.
“This is the first time so many of us have gotten sick… In such a short time as well…” Yi Sang curled his hand under his chin, pondering deeply.
“N-None of you are getting any better, either… Even with Dante sending you to your rooms to rest… Doesn’t Captain Trips just worsen over time, Ellie?!” Sinclair asked, his voice beginning to panic.
“Uhh… I mean, yeah… Yeah it just gets worse… And the probability of it spreading uhh… It’s really high. Like really really high… There’s no way, though! Hah… Right…?”
No one sat next to Ryoshu, instead in someone’s place was a box of tissues that she kept pulling from. This wasn’t good at all.
<Alright… Hong Lu… Ok, no matter how you feel tomorrow, I think we’re going to have to have you sit with the infected Sinners… Since… You’re next to Faust.>
“Ahah, it’s no problem, Dante~!” Hong Lu gave me a thumbs up. Faust just blew her nose next to him. She was visibly embarrassed.
“Well ain’t this jus-UHh-st a dog’s dinner, ain’t it…” Heathcliff groaned, almost sneezing, arms crossed. His naturally parting hair was more messy than I’ve ever seen it.
“Hey uh, are we going to need to drop by H Corp to get some boluses to cure this uh… Thing? Hong Lu- bud, if this is Captain Trips, do you know if there’s a bolus for it?” Gregor asked, turning back to Hong Lu. A small drop of sweat rolled down his face, his eyes shifting from left to right. I could tell everyone was starting to get paranoid.
“I’m going to be honest, Gregor… I didn’t even know about this virus until Ellie brought it up in District 23…”
“Ahah… So… Wait, what uh… What happened to this virus, El…? There’s a cure, right…?” Rodya asked half-heartedly.
Ellie sighed heavily.
“No.”
I saw all of the Sinners grimace at her answer. I don’t think they minded much the fact that they could die, besides it being very painful, I think they were all just more concerned with me possibly catching it. Or Vegilius. Or Charon. Those that weren’t sick were the ones that were fighting to get more fuel for the bus, so we weren’t too concerned with that spreading… But just because they weren’t visibly sick didn’t mean that they couldn’t spread it…
As the days passed, more and more of the Sinners got sick. Not even the ones that were sick from the beginning seemed to be getting any better. Three days passed, and by then, the only ones that weren’t sick were Meursault, Sinclair, Rodya, and Ellie.
I felt like I was going to go crazy. Not a single second went by without hearing someone sneeze, cough, or blow their nose. We were all just waiting for one of the earlier sick Sinners to just start convulsing, or passing out, saying that they felt like they were somewhere else, at a different time, at a different place– which was one of the effects of the virus. The bus was mostly segregated between sick and non-sick, with the healthy ones staying at the back of the bus, as far away from the infected as possible.
The only shred of hope that we had that this wasn’t that virus was the fact that I hadn’t caught it yet. Neither had Vergilius nor Charon.
Fueling the bus had become increasingly difficult, only having the four Sinners with me. Sure they had strong IDs, but their morale was incredibly low. They were exhausted, and it got to a point where even just fighting Backstreets rats was a chore.
After the last fight for the day, and hefting the bodies into the grinder that was Mephistopheles, I just sat on the ground.
<Guys… What are we going to do…?>
“Hey, big guy, didn’tcha mom ever make ya soup when you were a kid? Why don’t we give that to everyone?” Ellie asked.
Meursault stood in deep thought.
“Perhaps, although the probability of the Sinners getting better just from mere soup alone is slim, especially if this sickness is indeed Captain Trips.”
“I think we just need to wait it out… And hope we don’t get sick…” said Sinclair.
<Haah… Alright, well, it’s already getting to be night… I guess we’ll all just retire to our rooms. I think I’m going to call off all of us gathering together in the morning…>
“I can’t believe we’re going to have to quarantine ourselves… This is just like when the outbreak happened…” Ellie sounded in shock.
<It’ll just be for a few days. I’ll be checking on everyone every now and then. At the very least… If you guys start dropping… Uh, we won’t be able to see it…>
“So that’s the plan…! Alright, quarantine it is! Who’s… Who’s going to tell Verg?” asked Rodya.
<Meursault, think you can translate for me?>
“It will be done, Manager.”
<I’ll be the only one at the front of the bus, Charon will be able to tell me we need fuel… And then I’ll come get you four so we can get more… Ellie, how… How long did the quarantine last when the outbreak happened?>
Ellie sighed.
“A while… Like, at least two years… I had to have been like… 10 years old?”
I dropped my head in defeat.
“B-but that’s an entire district, Tick-Tock…! This is just… Uh… Nine people…! Look, if they die, that’s it, rewind the clock for all of them and… Let’s just hope they come back healthy…”
<Dammit…>
“Just a few days, Dante… We can do that… R-right…?” Sinclair put his hand on my shoulder, he tried sounding optimistic. The other three stood next to him, surrounding me.
I just nodded.
We set the plan into action.
I periodically checked in with the sick Sinners to make sure they were still alive.
As time progressed, I actually eventually started noticing them getting better. The first one was Hong Lu. He actually wasn’t sick for very long, compared to everyone else at least. He even sneezed the least, actually. I think at most I just heard him blow his nose a few times. At times I questioned if he was even sick…
After Hong Lu, it was Gregor… Then Outis… Then surprisingly Heathcliff… Yi Sang… Faust… Don Quixote… And finally Ryoshu and Ishmael got healthy around the same time.
We didn’t gather around each other again even if I just heard a single one of them sniffle or cough. It took more than a week for everyone to get better. These were some of the worst colds I had ever seen any of them catch. Everything eventually went back to normal… Almost as if nothing happened…
Do people on here still want to see my kink art? Like genuinely?
I haven't drawn any of it in a while it feels.
Browsing Snzblr got kinda boring cuz everyone draws the same characters.
I have been focusing on my actual art stuff, mostly Li//mbus related. I'm actually kind of growing a nice little following on Tw//itter, so that's cool.
Alright, first thing's first: I am not a writer. I am not good at writing.
Second thing: This really isn't intended as a kink fic. Although I feel it has enough elements to it to where I think some people might enjoy it if I posted it here.
For context, this is during the 8.5 event for Li//m//bus, where I inserted my character, Ellie, into the story, where she has to give a lesson to Sin//clair and Xi//chun that will help make them stronger in one way or another.
There's going to be some things here and there that you might not understand if you have no idea who my character is or what the hell this game even is about, but if you just want something relatively quick to read (maybe) then by all means, feel free to critique my writing style and execution.
I don't usually do content warnings because we're all adults here, but just a heads up the """kink""" aspects of this story is mostly just nose blowing and like... idk, nose wiping/rubbing. THERE IS NO SNEEZING. YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE THE BODIES IN THE WATER.
I'm hesitant to post this anywhere else, so PLEASE let me know if y'all think it's vanilla enough to post it publicly, because I've asked some other friends and they said it's fine, but at this point, I don't know.
Anyway. Story below break. Hope you enjoy!
It was relatively late in the afternoon when Ellie Creed’s class was supposed to begin. I just stood against the wall that faced the entrance as the three of us waited for her to step in. Jia Xichun and Sinclair had just arrived in the next room where Ellie was supposed to host her class. Before the class began I could hear the two whispering to each other, curious as to what exactly this next class could potentially be. I just let them talk it out. Besides Xichun not being able to understand me in the slightest, it was just nice to see Sinclair socializing with her by himself. I could tell they were warming up to each other pretty decently, which was great, because having someone that was potentially going to be the next head of a Wing would make for a pretty good ally.
I didn’t really catch what the two were talking about, however. I think I overheard something about Xichun asking about Church, and her commenting that she didn’t think the class was going to be anything too serious, which I guess I could understand. Ellie never took herself too seriously to begin with, unless she was talking about Ludlow, her time in the Index, or especially her brother. Otherwise if you were talking to her about literally anything else, she was usually pretty nonchalant (unless you made clear you were being serious… Usually).
That’s kind of why I think the three of us were pretty surprised when she quietly stepped into the room. Usually Ellie had a certain stride to her step that wasn’t present as she walked up to the desk that was at the front of the room. I think we were all a bit confused because of what she was carrying: a box of tissues and a very large bag of… something… that rested on top of the box. Church followed behind her, as he normally did.
Usually Ellie kind of just chucked stuff onto surfaces. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen the girl just take off her oversized coat and just chuck it next to wherever she’s sitting. Which is why I had to tilt my head a bit when I saw her gently set the box on the desk as she sat next to it. Church jumped onto the desk and sat next to the box, his body contorting in an awkward way. I thought he wasn’t even going to make it up the desk, but he of course proved me wrong, as he usually does. I saw Xichun kind of cringe a bit at the sight of Church getting on the desk. I could tell she was kind of creeped out by the cat as she hasn’t really interacted with Ellie much, if at all.
I saw Ellie fiddle with her thumbs a bit and take a few deep breaths before hefting the large bag onto her lap. She rummaged through it for a few seconds and then suddenly under-hand tossed whatever she was looking for towards Sinclair, who was able to catch it in his hands pretty reflexively. He examined whatever was in his hand. I was about to ask him what it was until Ellie finally spoke up:
“Uhh… Xichun, what kind of candy do you like…? Do you like the fruity stuff or chocolate more? Or do you like uh… Water buffalo flavor?”
Candy.
I just let her do her thing, knowing she was probably going to explain why she had these things with her.
“I really don’t eat candy all that often. I’m more partial to green tea flavors, though,” replied Xichun, her tone full of confusion.
“Oh, cool, this bag has a ton of that,” Ellie confidently reached into the bag and once again tossed the candy towards Xichun.
<Did you get that bag from Rodya?>
Ellie eyed me.
“...No…”
<Ellie…>
“Ok look, I wanted a bag of assorted candy so that it’s not boring. All I found around the neighborhood was bags of candy that weren’t, and I knew Ma liked to keep huge bags of the stuff. So I kindly asked her if she wanted to trade one of her bags of cheap, assorted candy for a bag of expensive candy. I’m not that mean, Tick-Tock, I would never deny Ma of her snack time,” explained Ellie. I was expecting her tone to be a little more annoyed, but she was pretty calm, although she had been much less annoyed with me after our experiences in District 23.
“How… Expensive was the bag you gave her, Ellie?” asked Sinclair.
“Ehm…” she didn’t face any of us, “It was like… half my monthly salary.”
<WHAT?!>
Sinclair and Xichun went wide-eyed.
“Look, I wanted to get Ma something nice for taking this huge-ass bag, OK?! Don’t tell her how much I spent on it, I don’t want her to feel bad! Don’t eat those yet, by the way!”
After she said that, she got up from the desk with a piece of chalk in her hand and began writing something on the blackboard.
“OK, so that doesn’t explain what this is for. Also, what’s with the box of tissues?” Xichun pointed at the tissue box Church was sitting next to. Right when Ellie was about to finish writing on the blackboard, I looked over at Sinclair who broke out into a light, cold sweat. I saw his Adam’s apple move up and down his neck as we all read what she had written:
“The Finality of Death”
Ellie walked back to the desk and just leaned against it. She wasn’t facing anybody. Church just continued to glare at her.
“How many people have we killed?” Ellie asked, her voice cracking a little as she spoke, “I think about that… A lot. Y’know… Pops and Granny, they’ve probably talked your guys’s ears off about the Smoke War. And how many people died, and how many people they killed. All of that feels… On a larger scale. It was personal to them, right? All their comrades? People they probably spent time with? I heard about Pops’ lesson. I actually walked up to him while he was smoking his pack, thinking of what exactly I wanted to talk about today. I felt bad for him. He looked like he needed a hug, so. I gave him one. And that’s what these lessons are going to be about. Except we’re not going to go grand.”
Ellie rummaged through the bag again. I saw her anxiously shake her leg. She pulled out a red lollipop from the bag, unwrapped it and put it in her mouth. Her eyes were closed, her breath was hitching.
“We’re going to get personal. We’re going to talk about the people we loved, and how our actions affect them. How it could lead to them getting hurt… Or killed. Xichun… You’re going to be the next head of a Wing. You’re probably going to need to take everyone’s lives… Personally. If you want to make Hongyuan a better place.”
The two students were silent.
“I understand, Ellie… If you want to talk–”
“No… Not yet. This is for you two,” Ellie pointed her index and middle fingers at Sinclair and Xichun.
I saw Sinclair tense up. I was not sure if this was going to be a good idea, as all of us have really been through the ringer. All of the Sinners have their story. Hell, as far as I know, everyone in the City has their own story.
“I want you two to open up to me. We’re all going to be friends here. What’s said in this room stays in this room. I’m playing therapist while I'm here. I don’t know everybody’s lecture topics, but here, with me, we’re going to get personal, and we’re going to use that to make us all stronger. Besides…” Ellie let out a hitched chuckle and sniffled. She was already beginning to tear up, “When’s the next time you’re going to be able to let out a good cry, Xichun?”
Xichun made a face. I could tell she wasn’t really all for this. I don’t know if it was pride, or just a cultural thing, but I could tell she wasn’t really ready to cry.
“So, that’s it? We’re just going to talk about our feelings?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, you could say that. How about you hear something from your buddy? Maybe that’ll help put things into perspective,” Ellie nodded towards Sinclair.
“Ellie… I–” Sinclair looked surprised to be put on the spot. I could also tell he wasn’t really ready for this.
“Emmy. Tell us about your family. You have a lot to say about them, right?” Ellie tilted her head to the side, her eyebrows raising, questioningly.
“Ellie, I don’t… I don’t know if I’d want…To…” Sinclair looked to Xichun, I could tell he was starting to get a little embarrassed. He then looked to me, possibly looking for some sort of answer? Did he want me to stop this? As their manager, and for the sake of making them stronger… I said:
<Sinclair… This might be what you need. It’s going to hurt. You’re going to feel a lot of pain. We’re all here for you, and you know that Ellie will keep her word. My uh… lips will be sealed.>
Sinclair’s tense body started relaxing. He gulped. I could see Xichun’s interest start peaking. Sinclair turned to her, and she gave him a nod. He looked to Ellie, who he knew loved him more than any of the other Sinners, and she gave a firm nod, tears starting to well in her eyes. I could see her face starting to get a little red.
Sinclair started talking to Xichun about his family, and his relationship with them. He talked about everything that led to the events the Sinners and I went through in Calw. He talked about that bloody Christmas Eve, and the woman that ruined his life. He started to reminisce about all of the memories he had with his mother, father, and sister. He talked about his anxieties of gaining full prosthetics, and he talked about how he felt about his family fully transitioning into full prosthetics, feeling that their deaths were all his fault, and how at times he felt like he’d be better off dead, knowing that he caused them all to suffer at the hands of Kromer.
By the end of his tale Sinclair was a mess. He held his head in one of his gloved hands. While I had seen him cry before, I don’t think I had ever seen him cry this hard. Xichun kind of just looked at him in disbelief, saying, “It’s… Disturbing how such a long distance away all of that was happening, while I was probably just… Here, or somewhere else with someone I knew just enjoying the holiday. I’m sorry, Sinclair… I really am.”
At this point Ellie had walked up to Sinclair, offering him the tissue box she had brought with her. He pulled out two and blew his nose. He took out another and wiped away his tears. Afterwards he still kept his head in his hands. He was still sobbing, softly this time. Church just stared unmoving, unblinking, at the trio, until he looked at me.
‘It wasn’t his fault, you know? They still love him. With all their hearts. Their mechanical, pulsing hearts.’
A chill went down my spine as it usually does when Church ‘talks’ to me. I lightly nodded my head. I was surprised to hear him say something so positive about Sinclair. After I nodded, he returned his stare to the teacher and students. Ellie was comforting Sinclair as best as she could, rubbing his back. She had set the tissue box on his desk, the hand that had been holding it now on his arm. Xichun didn’t touch Sinclair, but I could tell she was doing her best to comfort him with her presence.
Ellie left the box on Sinclair’s desk and went back to the one in the front of the room, leaning against it again. She was lightly crying. She sniffled and turned her attention to Xichun, who was still leaning towards Sinclair, “Your turn.”
“My turn…?” she asked, somewhat hesitantly.
“Sinclair’s not going to be the only one to share the pain here, Xichun. This is going to be for your own growth.”
“I don’t…Know what exactly to say…” I saw her take a small glance at me.
Ellie snorted, although somewhat congested from the crying, “Don’t give me that crap. I know your family is huge. Or at least, what you call your family. C’mon, I’m sure you’ve got a lot to say about your relatives? Your uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, cousins? How many people have you lost, Xichun?”
“I…”
“What would you do if you lost Wei? He’s pretty close to you, right?”
Xichun made a noise with her throat.
“What about Hong Lu, big brother Jia Bayou?”
Xichun fell silent.
“It’s time you opened up about them all, Xichun. How many times have you wanted to cry all this time that he’s been back? Wei was pretty close to dying, how did you feel about that? To the hands of that piece of shit Lei Heng? Xichun… When he’s gone, that’s it. There’s no turning back the clock for him. With Hong Lu? We can rewind it as much as we want, but even then… Time’s going to catch up with the man.”
I could see Xichun’s lips start curling. Ellie was getting to her in all the ways she wanted. I could see Xichun’s eyes well, and she started sniffling.
“Alright. I’ll tell you,” she said finally, with a sigh.
‘I let out all my feelings to my friends! It felt… Good!’
Jia Xichun has grown!(Zhi: +7, Yong: +19, Ren: +7)
Sinclair has grown!(Zhi: +7, Yong: +19, Ren: +7)
Jia Xichun sat at her desk, similarly to Sinclair, who had moments prior been sobbing uncontrollably. I would honestly probably say that her crying was much worse than Sinclair's. While I had seen Sinclair cry a handful of times, I at least knew he had done it some-what recently. I have no idea how long it’s been since Xichun had a good cry. The poor woman was struggling to breathe. Ellie, similarly to Sinclair, put her hand on Xichun’s back. Sinclair nudged the tissue box in Xichun’s direction. I had noticed that she had somewhat hesitated in taking it, almost as if taking it would solidify “defeat” that she cried. She ended up taking the box, setting it on her desk. She blew her nose for a while, taking several tissues from the box at a time as well as to wipe the tears from her eyes, which never seemed to end.
Ellie went back to the desk. Xichun just stared down at her own, her hands full of used tissues. Sinclair looked concerned at his school buddy.
“You guys can eat your candies now.”
The two students slowly looked up to Ellie, who was smirking confidently.
“What? Don’t look at me like that…” she sighed, “When I was a little kid, my dad would give me small pieces of candy for times when we needed to calm down from going through something rough. I remember one time when Church was just a little kitten he was stuck outside during Night in the Backstreets while we were in Derry. He said it was to calm the adrenaline down momentarily. It had to be small, though. And that’s kind of why I wanted Ma’s stash, she had all sorts of small candies.”
She stroked Church’s fur as she said this.
Xichun let out a small chuckle, lifting a wadded up tissue to her nose.
“And you?”
Ellie turned from Church to look at Xichun.
“Isn’t it time to hear your part, teacher?” she continued.
“Right…” Ellie sighed. She crossed her arms.
Ellie still had her red lollipop in her mouth all this time. She took it out of her mouth, and you could visibly see that it had mostly dissolved as time passed.
“Xichun, I can’t stress enough how… Wrong it feels to have so much control over a person’s life. And I’m not just talking about deciding whether you’re going to kill them or not during a fight. I mean… Passively. As I said earlier: your actions could affect the people around you, including the ones you love,” Ellie glanced at Sinclair, whose face was still flushed from crying. Him and I already knew where Ellie was going with this.
“It’s my fault my brother is dead, Xichun.”
Xichun’s lips separated momentarily, almost as if she was going to say something.
“My little twin brother, Gage Creed. We had… An argument that was beyond the both of us, and it was for something so stupid in hindsight. He got hit by a train. Right after yelling at me, telling me that he hated me. His words… Still ring in my ear. But I didn’t let that be the end, Xichun. I brought him back. Or at least, I tried to.”
Xichun just stared at Ellie in disbelief. I could tell she was wondering if Ellie wanted to do what Jia Mu was wanting. Immortality? The resurrection of life?
Ellie continued,“Sinclair, and Tick-Tock, and the other Sinners, we had to work together to put him to rest. My actions, not accepting the finality of death, for messing with the natural order of things, led to my little brother coming back as a distortion. And my actions, in more ways than one, caused the deaths of so many people in Ludlow. And that’s not the end of it. Because I ran away from it all. I became a member of the Index. And I… Continued to try to control the livelihood of people whose lives I didn’t even know. And if they didn’t obey the orders I gave them… They’d pay with their lives.”
Xichun remained silent.
“Let this be the first and main lesson that you learn from my mistakes, Xichun. You’re going to have to do and say things that will lead to the compromise of prosperity for Hongyuan. I know you can do great things, because I know you’re a good person. I know you have a… Beautiful heart and soul. My little brother wanted to be the manager, hell, even the head of a Wing, not just stopping at being a feather. For Hongyuan, do what my little brother probably would’ve wanted you to do.”
I could hear and see Xichun starting to cry again.
Ellie walked up to her, standing in front of her desk.
She brushed loose hair away from Xichun’s face.
“Keep your hopes up high and your head down low. Alright?” Ellie smiled at Xichun.
“Thank you, Ellie,” Xichun sniffled, wiping her nose.
Ellie set two more pieces of candy on Sinclair and Xichun’s desks.
“Take these before your next class. We’ll talk again another time, alright guys?”
Xichun and Sinclair just nodded at Ellie.
<You guys might want to wash your faces in the restroom before your last class of the day.>
Xichun looked to Sinclair for translation, who said, “They just wanted us to wash our faces, eh-heh. I’ve never seen your face so red, Xichun…!”
“Ehh?? You look like a tomato, Sinclair!”
The two of them continued to banter as they walked out the door.
Ellie stayed leaning against her own desk. She started breaking down after a few minutes. I didn’t know if I should leave her be, or say anything, so instead I just took the tissue box and just offered it to her, silently.
She sniffled, “Thanks, Tick-Tock.”
She wiped her eyes and blew her nose.
<Are you gonna be OK?>
“Yeah, thanks. You don’t mind us all crying our eyes out, do you?”
