Linh Cinder is epileptic because I say so and because you dont have your brain completely switch off due to water damage and then repaired just like that without some form of lasting damage (not to mention the various other times she had to be jump started again throughout the series mainly by Thorne).
Anyway so Cinder has epilepsy and its generalized epilepsy meaning she has no auras, just random seizures whenever her wiring and neurons are being all funky. She discovers it after experiencing absence seizures on Luna and wonders if its just her processor working over time with all the responsibilities now being heaped on her as Queen. The first month after abdicating once she's back in New Beijing she blacks out and then wakes up two hours later to a splitting headache, half the Rampion crew around her and the remaining half on their way. Her cybernetics specialist and a neurologist are there with her too when she discovers she has been diagnosed with epilepsy.
Cinder's seisures aren't frequent but she occasionally forgets to take her meds and she occasionally just hates how they make her feel. Kai is the one who always sits with her and every time she wakes up from a seizure he's sitting right next to her, without fail. He'll be doing paperwork sitting in bed but he won't leave her side and his hand is comforting on her shoulder or head so when she wakes up she knows she's safe.
Her temples hurt because they do anyway post-seizures in epilepsy but her facial muscles stretch out and clash with the metal in her skull too so they hurt a little too much and her jaw is sensitive for weeks and so either Kai or Winter (if she's available) massage her forehead and temples for her to ease the muscles and reduce extra swelling. Its soothing for Cinder who's never been touched so lovingly while she's sick before.
Its very frustrating for Cinder knowing that despite all her modifications to "fix" the disabilities caused by the burns Levana gave her, the one thing that can never be "fixed" is her brain. No amount of wiring can replace whatever issue is in her neural circuitry so it's a condition she has to live with and take medicine for. Frustration aside though, she has friends and is grateful she found a family who will take care of her if she ever happens to convulse because Adri would have done so much worse to her had Cinder discovered she was epileptic under that heinous woman's roof.
Cress is the one who understands Cinder's highs and lows when it comes to her anti-epileptics the best because she has experience with anxiety and depression. Scarlet understands the frustration and mood swings the drugs cause and tries to call Cinder every time she hears from Kai that her medicine is making her irritable. Meanwhile, Winter understands the pain of a brain that just "isn't right" and the struggle that comes with accepting the fact that something is wrong at all. She is the one who is best able to help Cinder accept the help she needs.
Wolf and Cinder sometimes just sit in silence together and it helps that they both understand what its like to have a part of you that's not bad or even wrong but just... different in a way that can be a struggle sometimes. It helps to have someone to talk to who they don't need to explain the frustration to.
Thorne tries, bless his soul, to cheer Cinder up. He takes her crown shopping or something equally ridiculous when she's in a mood because he knows the one thing she needs to not do after she has a seizure is stay trapped in her head thinking about the setbacks to her prior progress or else she'll drive herself insane.
Anyway in conclusion: Cinder's epilepsy isn't debilitating but it can be frustrating and the Rampion crew especially her loving husband Kaito come together to help ease Cinder whenever she's feeling down on herself because of the random seizures she's prone to experiencing.
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The Fiery Girl
Scarlet and Wolf’s first meeting in Wolf’s perspective. Inspired by @zsysartsandfics recent Kaider one shot (go check it out!)
Word count: 913
Wolf found Rieux Tavern earlier that week. After a particularly difficult opponent the night before --but not impossible. Wolf was the champion, after all-- he was in desperate need of a good meal. His sharp ears and sharper nose brought him to a small tavern in the middle of Rieux. Before he could draw too much attention to himself he sat down in the nearest booth and thus, found himself in the same spot for the next few days.
Among other things, the bar was cozy. The people were loud and tactless, not unlike his fellow soldiers, but the food was good and the kind waitress never rushed him for his order. Rieux Tavern felt like a home. Not one he belonged in, but a home nevertheless.
Wolf fidgeted with his hands underneath the table as his legs bounced with them. He had three plates already but he wasn’t satisfied yet. He probably wouldn’t be until another three meals.
Wolf heard her footsteps coming before he smelt her, and then the glass plate scraped on the table, signalling her arrival.
“You had le croque, monsieur?”
The first thing he noticed about her was her scent. Her scent was a stark contrast to the mix of sweat and blood he was used to. She smelled like soil, grass, and other sweet things he couldn’t name. The second thing he noticed was her fiery red hair.
“Thank you,” he muttered. He tried not to lift his lips too much in fear that she might see his sharp teeth.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to just bring you the whole pig?” the girl stacked his empty plates in a neat pile. “It would save the servers the trouble of running back and forth from the kitchen,”
Wolf’s eyes widened. A whole pig to himself was something he could have never imagined on Luna. In his sector, they got measly rations that barely satisfied his growing body, and in his pack they fought for their meals. A whole pig to himself would be a luxury, but then he realized she was joking. He ducked his head down in embarrassment. “You have good food here,”
She seemed to hesitate, then she said, “Fighting must work up an appetite.”
He reached for the straw in his cup and began to fidget with it. He choked it like how he could have easily done to her, like how she was probably imagining him doing the night before.
“Well. Enjoy,” She paused. Wolf looked up. “Are you sure you don’t want the tomatoes? They’re the best part, and they were grown in my own garden. The lettuce too, actually, but it wasn’t wilted like this when I harvested it.”
Tomatoes and lettuce. Those must've been two of the many things he was smelling on her.
“Never mind, you don’t want the lettuce. But the tomatoes?
Wolf solemnly considered the tomatoes. Unlike the pig, they were a luxury he could really have. He hesitated, pinched the tomato slices in between his fingers, and stuck them in his mouth.
He suppressed a gasp as he froze. The sweet juices that filled his mouth with every bite were unlike anything he ever tasted. “Not what I expected,” he suddenly understood why produce was kept for those in Artemisia. “Not what I expected, but not horrible. I’ll order some more of those, if I could?”
“You know, I don’t actually work–”
“Here it comes!”
She looked behind her and Wolf followed her gaze. On the netscreen was the clip of Linh Cinder, the cyborg girl, for the umpteenth time since the night of the ball. He couldn’t help but feel bad for her. She had the burning hate of Earth, Luna, and the Queen herself all pounding down on her. While he also felt bad for her, he also condemned her for her ignorance. He couldn’t imagine what was so worth defying Queen Levana for. Whatever it was, he wondered if he’d find something like that.
His usual waitress, Emilie he thought her name was, joined the fiery girl at his table. “They say the one on the left is the queen,” she commented. She was right, but of course Wolf couldn’t tell her that.
“Swine,” the first girl said. Wolf bit back his amusement.
“I wouldn’t mind the chance to warm her up!” someone cheered.
The girl slammed Wolf’s plates back onto the table. Wolf watched in surprise as she stomped to the bar counter and climbed on top of it. A flash of metal glinted from the small of her back and Wolf wondered if she was going to start shooting her gun. Instead, she unplugged the tv screens. Wolf felt his heart surge with maybe pride or a deeper emotion.
“She’s only sixteen!” she said indignantly, planting her hands on her hips.
The angry shouts only built in the tavern, but Wolf could’ve smiled if he wasn’t so worried about showing his teeth implants. He didn’t know girls, but he knew they didn’t come that way on Luna.
Though after more back and forth bickering, Wolf’s mood was killed as the girl jumped off the counter and right-hooked the man who made the vile comment in the ear. He couldn’t defend the cyborg girl on the screen, but he could stop the snide remarks made about the fiery girl. So he did.
Table legs screeched against tile and then the fighter had one hand wrapped around Roland’s neck, lifting him clear off the floor.
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