‧₊ ꒷꒦ ˚⊹

@illnessichor 
            
            Intro 

♤《 @theamericandream 》
            
            rue snapped back from out of her own mind , she stepped a bit closer before swallowing thickly . ` ` what about the other guy ? what if he says something ? he ' s gonna know his friends dead if he wakes up and he ' s not — ` ` 
            
            she took a deep breath shaky breathe . ` ` okay .. okay . ` ` she ran her sleeve across her face a few times to get rid of the blood coming from her nose . if her family didn ' t know the press wouldn ' t know . she ' d stay the cities forever flower . no petals ripped off . good .. good — wait no . what about this guy ? what about his family ? no he did this to himself . 
            
            she watched the other scoop up the limp man . the deep . the supe . right . she slowly crossed her arms and nodded . ` ` okay .. ` ` she took a deep breathe and released it . ` ` tha .. thank you . ` `

  “  dead.  as  dead  as  can  be.  you  killed  him.  ”  the  blonde  circled  around  his  cape  flowing  as  he  stood  in  front  of  the  deceased  individual.  no  fingers  needed  to  reach  down  to  press  to  his  pulse  point  all  he  needed  were  his  ears.  it  was eerily  silent.  “  it  was  self  defense.  nobody  saw  anything  but  you  and  me.  ill  get  rid  of  him.  waste  of  space  anyway.  ”
            
            his  way  of  thinking  didn't  always  make  sense,  he  didn't  think  of  who'd  be  affected  by  the  death.  friends,  family,  a  significant  other.  none  of  that  mattered  anyways.  if  he  was  low  enough  to  attack  a  woman  for  being  different  he  was  low  enough  to  be  six  feet  under.  “  ill  dump  him  in  the  sea.  if  the  deep  has  anything  to  say  about  it  we  can  have  a  friendly  little  chat.  ”
            
             it  was  like  clockwork,  he  knelt  down  and  scooped  the  man  up  in  his  arms.  there  he  hung  limp  but  homelander  didn't  seem  the  slightest  bit  bothered  by  it.  it  was  almost  like  a  routine.  
            
            @illnessichor 

♤《 @theamericandream 》
            
            rue couldn ' t help but follow him like a lost puppy as he walked closer to the two men . she watched him kick up the mans arm and she seemed to cringe in on herself . yet that cringe turned into a look of horror the moment he mentioned the other man , her eyes darting from him to the man below .
            
            ` ` he ' s — ` ` her mouth went dry and if she wasn ' t pale before , she was now . that heart of hers gunned back to life . she killed someone ? her ? that couldn ' t be right — sure it was in self defense but she never meant to kill anybody — she just wanted to protect herself — is that so wrong ? what else was she suppose to do ?
            
            she was stuck spiraling in her own mind that even the blood that trickled down her nose and over her lip didn ' t even seem to faze her . her hands slowly moving to intertwine together , what was she going to do ? her mother was going to kill her — what amount of money was gonna hide this away ? 

♤《 but beneath the designer dresses and flawless reputation , rue felt trapped . every room she entered felt like a display case . every compliment felt like another set of hands pressing against the glass . people loved the image of her , not the girl herself . the perfect flower . the golden child . the rosécrest princess . meanwhile , inside her veins flowed enough power to turn a ballroom into a slaughterhouse if she lost control for even a moment . she often imagined herself as the bunny her brothers used to call her — small , soft , and trapped beneath watchful eyes . everyone wanted something from her . her parents wanted ownership . the city wanted perfection . the family wanted obedience . and somewhere beneath all of it , hidden under years of lies and expectations , rue quietly wondered if there was anything left that truly belonged to her at all . as even her own blood , sweat and tears came at a price .

♤《 her mother ' s lessons only made things worse . she taught rue that kindness was weakness . that beauty was currency . that every person smiling at her wanted something . " hurt people or be hurt . " she would whisper whenever rue questioned the family ' s methods . " the world only respects predators . " eventually rue stopped arguing . she learned how to smile exactly the way her mother smiled . learned how to charm politicians , investors , and socialites . she became the beautiful face of the rosécrest legacy , attending galas , opening hospitals , and winning over the wealthy districts one elegant appearance at a time . newspapers adored her . old women sent her letters . children asked for photographs . she became everything the city wanted her to be .
            

♤《 her mutation surfaced when she was thirteen . a nosebleed during a charity gala should have been embarrassing . instead , the blood froze in midair . dozens of crimson droplets hovered around her before twisting and moving as if attached to invisible strings . panic sent them crashing into walls , furniture , and guests . afterward , the family spent millions burying the incident . over time , rue learned that she could manipulate blood cells itself . she could pull it from wounds , harden it into blades , stop bleeding , accelerate clotting , or rupture vessels beneath skin with a thought , yet all that was to herself . the power terrified her . blood was everywhere . inside every person she met was a weapon waiting for her to lose control . every handshake became dangerous . every crowded room became a nightmare. she spent years learning restraint because she feared what might happen if she ever stopped holding herself back . if she no longer stayed the meek bunny .