Rest
Guess what? I've got more Jamil x reader for y'all.
You can also find this on ao3.
No warnings, just 866 words of kinda fluffy(?) caretaking stuff with gender-neutral reader.
At this point, you know Jamil’s schedule almost as well as he does. So, when you have the chance, you head to Scarabia’s kitchen, hoping to spend some time with Jamil while he and the other students prepare dinner.
However, when you enter, it takes you but a moment to notice Jamil’s uncharacteristic fumbling and the tired look in his eyes. The way Jamil’s chopping the vegetables has you worried about him cutting himself with that knife he’s usually so adept with, and it seems it’s only force of habit that’s keeping him on track.
You frown, and when your eyes meet Jamil’s, you can already see him put his guard up.
So he knows what state he is in, huh? And still, here he is.
It seems Jamil is reading your thoughts, all of him telling you drop it before any words are even said.
At least he still lets you lean in and give a quick kiss to his cheek in greeting.
“Hello love. Do you still have a lot on your agenda for today?” you ask, keeping your tone low for at least some semblance of privacy in the busy kitchen.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” is the response you get.
Of course.
It takes a little more pestering before Jamil actually answers your question. Your lips purse. That list is far too long to your liking.
You take a moment to think, juggling your own plans and to-do list against the urgency of the things Jamil mentioned.
“Will Kalim be eating from that?” you ask, pointing at the food Jamil is preparing.
“Yes.”
“Alright, I won’t be touching that one, then. I’ve gotta do a few things but I’ll be back when you’re done here.”
“Don’t,” Jamil says with a glare, clearly aware of what you’re thinking.
Yet even his disapproving look doesn’t have the usual weight behind it.
“Yes. I will,” you say firmly, even as your heart curls inwards with another bout of concern.
Really, when did he get so tired?
And how did you not notice it earlier?
You leave the kitchen before Jamil can protest further, hurrying through the dorm corridors to find Kalim.
Soon you have an enthusiastic – and concerned – supporter for your plans. You have Kalim point out a few reliable Scarabia students to help with a few of the most urgent matters Jamil mentioned – cleaning up the common areas, delivering some paperwork to Crowley, preparing some dorm-wide notices – while you see to Kalim getting his school supplies in order for the following day. You even recruit a couple of third years to help Kalim with his homework.
You’ll see to the rest tomorrow – after all, you do also have a boyfriend to look after.
Your conversation over dinner can hardly be called anything else than an argument – despite Kalim’s best attempts at acting as a moderating force between you two. It is very tempting to ask Kalim to tell Jamil to take the rest of the day off – it’s not like Jamil would be willing to openly disobey a direct order. Still, you really don’t need to remind Jamil of his position on top of everything else that you’re already doing more or less against his wishes.
Eventually, however, Jamil’s had a square meal, the most urgent things on his to-do list are being taken care of, and you’ve managed to drag him to his bed.
“I really wish you wouldn’t push yourself so hard,” you murmur, your arms wrapped tightly around Jamil. You’re telling yourself you really do just want to cuddle, to offer some respite to Jamil. Still, there might also be a part of you worried that if you were to let go, he’d just jump up and get back to working himself to the bone.
Yet, for all his protestations, just the fact that you’ve gotten Jamil to lay down with you speaks volumes of his current exhaustion.
“I can’t just leave my duties, albi. You know this.”
“Making yourself too indispensable, is what you’re doing,” you protest.
Oh, you know it’s not so simple. Not with his background, not with all the expectations and assumptions.
But sometimes you really wish it would be.
Jamil merely scoffs in response to your words.
Still, it is undeniable that he is slowly beginning to relax in your arms, slowly bringing his head closer to yours. His eyes are starting to flutter, too.
“I will still need to help Kalim with his homework, at the very least.”
You wonder who he is trying to convince more, you or himself.
“Amin and Khalil are helping him. They’re basically top of their classes, aren’t they? I’m sure they’ve got it.”
Still, Jamil frowns.
You sigh. He really is not letting go, is he?
“Do you want me to go supervise?” you ask.
And leave you, unsaid yet hanging there right after your words.
“Don’t,” Jamil eventually says, the word barely more than a breath.
It seems he has accepted his fate.
You softly caress Jamil’s hair, listening to his softening breathing.
And when you wake up, wholly unaware of having been lulled to sleep in the first place, it’s to the lightest of touches from Jamil’s fingers.
Tagging @diodellet @twstgo @crystallizsch @jamilvapologist @jamilsimpno69 as per request
If you'd like to be tagged for any future works, let me know!
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Some over analysis of the poses in this TS promotional art, because I can (I think)
(Also, this turned out sooo damn long, so be warned)
Okay, so I had this thought about their hand positionings alluding to a general idea of their (initial) intentions.
There seems to be a pattern with the general placements of the Lis hands that splits pretty evenly. Said placements are: holding out their hand (Ais and Kuras), having their hand on the side of their face/head region (Vere and Leander), and hands that aren't really doing much (Mhin).
Holding out your hand tends to have a more welcoming and helpful association and feeling to it. So, Ais and Kuras holding out a hand could signify an actual sense of wanting to help MC find a cure. This makes a lot of sense for the two of them since they do seem like the least toxic ones from what we’ve been able to get from the demo (of course, Mhin doesn’t seem very toxic either, but their situation is a little different). Also, I did take into consideration that Kuras is kinda…suspicious in a way, but I think that that could be conveyed by his hand not being held out directly toward the viewer. This might mean that he isn’t necessarily as genuine about it as Ais in some way, but he is for the most part.
Putting your hand(s) on the side of your face/head when posing tends to bring more attention to your face. You’re bringing interest to that area by having your hand do something that could enhances how your face region looks. So Vere and Leander on the other hand (pun intended), having a hand placed in said area could represent how they’re planning on “helping you” in a way that prioritizes benefiting them. Vere wants to be free from his magic-bound leash, and he sees that MC is very determined to get involved with the Senobium. He thinks that if he plays his cards right, then MC’s empathy could bring them to help him break free. Promising guidance for MC’s mission is the first step to playing his cards right. Leander’s route though, is clearly going to end in betrayal that would cause some sort of benefit for him. It’s just not as clear when it comes to what it is exactly.
With Mhin’s pose, there’s a clear difference from the others. They’re not doing anything extra with their hands. They’re not posing in a way that purposefully tries to grab your attention, which could represent how they don’t have any particular intentions toward MC at this point in the game. Mhin doesn’t want help, and they don’t want anything from MC either. I don’t even think that they know about MC’s curse yet (unless I’m forgetting something), Mhin truly doesn’t have much of a reason to interact with them again unless MC approaches them first. Mhin could likely not be the one who starts an interaction between the two for a good while in their route. MC is the one that has to try and get Mhin's attention if they want to romance them, not the other way around like the other Lis. MC has to convince Mhin to come with them, as there's no willingness from them (yet).
Another thing I've noticed is that Mhin's pose is compact compared to the rest of the group (all shoulders back, one arm up in one way or another). Of course, it's a fairly casual compactness. They're not completely hugging their knees to their chest or anything. But looking at the image altogether, Mhin does seem to be an outlier of sorts. I mean, they're the only one sitting, they're the most compact, they're the only one who's not being attention seeking to any degree. All of this conveys their closed-off personality very well, yes (it's like they didn't wanna be there and just wanted to quickly get it over with), but maybe this says something about their route too. Like I mentioned before, MC will have to try extra hard for Mhin to gain a sense of fondness toward them. So, the lack of fondness and desire to be around MC at the start could also be a reason that they barely fit in with the pre-established posing conventions (is that a phrase?). No other Li has shown signs of this except for Mhin, possibly making a big difference in how you play their route (as opposed to the rest).
I feel like this is most likely the only actual intentional symbolism that I mentioned so far, but I do want to point out that the mini Eridia at the bottom is heavily scooched to the left so that it barely touches Mhin. I just like this little detail because it's quite a clever way to sneakily remind you that they're an outsider too (if that was intentional). But the fact that we needed to be reminded of that, especially in such a sneaky way. It's almost as if it's emphasizing the fact. I haven't thought of a possible reason for it, but I feel like there could be something in there.
Okay, this was all that I could find and think of. If anything else comes to me, I may do another part. But I think this is enough hidden stuff for an image of Lis to promote a visual novel.....right?
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