#and i can't currently speak aloud. despite being perfectly able to form sentences by typing.

[crimeronan]

self-indulgent because i'm having a Riotously terrible evening pain-wise but i'm very fond of hunter being a waify little chronic illness/pain boy post-canon and like. for a while, just. no one.... notices.....?

not even because he's actively Hiding it, like. he would 100% tell people he's in pain if they asked. it just. doesn't occur to him to share. he'll sometimes quietly withdraw and lay down in the dark to conserve his energy and the others very reasonably assume it's a grief thing.

so they'll sometimes like. knock gently on the door and ask if he wants company, to which sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes it's no. "no" when hunter is in a significant enough amount of pain that he really can't move much & "yes" when he wants to curl up with bad TV shows as a distraction

it could be anyone in the squad who figures out what's going on but i'm gonna go with my bias and say it's luz, on a day when she's having some bad depression/grief/survivor's guilt feelings herself. bc she's still coming to terms with her own death and the loss of her glyph magic and sometimes she is. Sad

hunter having one of those Catastrophic pain days where he's planning to be an unmoving lump under 7 blankets for the entire day. n luz coming in and softly asking if she can lay down with him. which is different from asking if he wants company. hunter would say no to company bc he can't really Perform Friendship right now but he doesn't mind luz being here.

luz climbing under the 7 blankets too. n snuggling up to hunter and wrapping an arm around him. and hunter just like. goes Stiff. like beyond "hm this is mild discomfort" stiffness, his muscles completely lock up and go rigid like he's just been Shot. he doesn't make any sound or protest or flinch away or anything, he just kind of. stops breathing

luz pulls away immediately bc she recognizes that Something Is Very Wrong, i'm guessing she assumes it's a panic response bc hunter has plenty of reason to have issues with physical touch. but then she sees the expression on his face and it clicks and she's like.

hunter. dude. hey. hey. hunter.

do your scars HURT??????

#hunter: [blankly] y.... yes??? of course??? #luz: DDDD: !!!!!!!!111shiftone!!1eleven!!!! #luz is like BUT THAT'S 80% OF YOUR BODY and hunter's like well. yes that is true. what is the point being made here. #luz: theres PAIN MEDICINE theres HEALERS theres DOCTORS FOR NEUROPATHY #hunter: oh. i forgot tbh. i just kind of figured i'd live like this #this post brought to you by oh my fucking god my hip and side hurt SO bad right now. #and i can't currently speak aloud. despite being perfectly able to form sentences by typing. #my brain isnt without speech but my body is too busy devoting all its energy to quietly trying not to die #more characters who dont scream or cry or anything when theyre in pain. little dudes who just breathe quietly and stare blankly #autoimmune tag #toh #horrible mindscape trauma pals #hunter toh #luz noceda