Quillheel - ROOTS.

Ritual Is Journey, Chris Abani

Ryuji's heart thundered in his ears.

As if a hundred careless nights of thunder that scarcely spooked him roiled in his blood instead, a retribution that choked his veins, momentum of adrenaline leaving him suddenly feeling too big for his body.

the glass from the street-light's shattered bulb spilled out when it crashed, all worn and bent metal of its holder that gleamed in the afternoon light, decorating the pavement with a glitter that would've been beautiful if not for the danger it posed; small shards angled towards Ryuji's shoes, as if the only thing between it and Naomi was him, and him alone. Perhaps not entirely true, but he finds himself kicking it away with a scraping sweep of his sole against the ground once or twice regardless, repelling it back & away to whence it came.

Ryuji brushes the small glass shards — almost dust-like — off of their uniform jacket, one he finds himself recognizing, but their ( understandable ) fear & shock is what brings his attention back, as if suddenly remembering the human language in a moment of all movement & adrenaline.

He doesn't even realize she's holding his hand until he finds himself aware of how it's climped awkwardly in position by theirs when he attempts to move it. He stiffens slightly, unexpecting it, but certainly not unwelcome. If you were attentive, you might be able to discern the distant attempt at a squeeze back despite the poise his fingers were caught in.

” What?! Hell no! I'd be freaking out way worse right now. you're pretty tame in response of almost getting damn guilotine'd by a light fixture-! “ Ryuji's response is an honest one, but perhaps not the most comforting in word-choice. He brushes the remains off her shoulders

” Jeez! Maitenance in Shibuya sucks. You could've gotten really hurt- Ah— “ the hand that'd been sweeping off the debris stalls itself, concern taking over his features

” You okay, by the way? No glass or metal shit hit you or anything? ”

@quillheel | SAFEGUARD : for one muse to save the other from being hit by a vehicle or from some other life-threatening event. // from ryuji! persona verse!

She felt a strong shove pushing her, what could have happened to her was that she could have been hit by a falling street light. This wasn’t an average moment in her life; this was different, seeing a serious injury could have happened to her.

Made her become stiff.

“I… give me a second.” Without even thinking, her first action was to hold Ryuji’s hand without a single thought in her mind and held it.

“Thank you… that was so dumb of me to not pay attention. Um… sorry I’m overreacting to this aren’t I?”

zomg..

RELATIONSHIP TYPES

Send one or more emojis ( + descriptions ) for the kind of ship/dynamic you’d like to write with my muse! ( for multimuses, please specify. )

ROMANTIC

❤️ committed, romantic relationship 💘 friends to lovers 💔 used to be together but broke up ❣️ skinny love 💗 slow burn 💌 one muse has a crush on the other muse 💕 mutual pining 💝 romantic relationship of convenience 🏫 highschool sweethearts 💒 arranged relationship ( dating, engagement, political, etc. ) 💋 one-sided romantic relationship ( specify which muse, Sender or Receiver ) 🖤  lovers to enemies 🤍 enemies to lovers

SEXUAL

💖 a sexual relationship that could turn romantic 🧡 friends with benefits 👄 a sexual, non-romantic relationship 🏩 sexual relationship of convenience 🔥 unresolved sexual tension 💟 developing sexual relationship ( may include romance ) 💞 one muse approaches the other out of convenience ( specify which muse, Sender or Receiver ) 🔪 enemies with sexual tension

FAMILIAL

👪 biological family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 adopted family 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 family by choice/found family 👩‍👧 older/younger siblings 👭  twins 👥 cousins or extended family 👣 estranged family/feuding family 👨‍🏫 one muse is a teacher/mentor for the other muse ( specify which muse, Sender or Receiver ) 🚸 coworkers like family 🟡 family out of circumstance ⚪ pretending to be family

PLATONIC

💜 friendship 💙 queerplatonic partners ( an intimate, non-romantic committed relationship ) 💚 friends like siblings 💛 childhood friends 💧 friends due to traumatic experiences 🤝 coworkers ⛔ reluctant friends ✅ enemies to friends 🌈 developing friendship ☀️ friends of circumstance 👔 strangers working together ☕ one muse works in service of the other ( specify which muse, Sender or Receiver ) 🕴 partners in illegal activities 👯partners in crime trope ⚡ sparring partners 🩹 friends forced to work against each other 🟥 one muse makes a deal or contract with the other ( magic or non-magic. ) ( specify which muse, Sender or Receiver )

ENEMIES

🦴 mortal enemies 💀 enemies ⚔️ rivalry  🗡️ one-sided rivalry/grudge ( specify which muse, Sender or Receiver ) 🧠 enemies as narrative foils 💬 enemies because of conflicting ideologies 🤫 one muse is secretly an enemy/traitor to the other muse ( specify which muse, Sender or Receiver ) 😨 one muse is using the other muse for their benefit ( specify which muse, Sender or Receiver ) ❌ guilty by association 🚫 friends to enemies 🪓 occupational enemies 🩸 enemies tolerating each other for a common goal ⚫ enemies using each other out of convenience ⬜ coworkers who hate each other

I don't want this feeling to be love anymore, I want it to be a secret between you and me