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[deathsdeserters]

“Ни хуя́ себе́!”

Vasily-23 isn’t known for having the most poetic manner of speech, so his shout of, “What the fuck!” can be forgiven.

He’s seen a fair number of things over the course of his twenty-third life but this? This is new.

It feels vaguely reminiscent of the way in which the Awoken shimmer their way about. It reminds the Exo of auroras and the trails left by so-called shooting stars.

The effects that slowly leave his vision are not what gives him cause to curse in Russian. Rather it’s the more permanent, corporeal remainder. It’s a person. It’s a bloody person.

Vasily-23 stretches from a partial crouch to his full height, his Ghost, Kandinsky, materializing from transmat space to hover over his shoulder. “Eh...hello? Can I help you?” Vasily says to his visitor. If nothing else the Titan might as well be friendly to start.

Open Starter

The pull of the universe around the rift jumper as it rips itself apart into a neat rupture before them always makes their soul shake. The hot and cold plumes of star dust that reform with upmost haste to take care of the effect it may hold on reality would certainly bring forth some sort of attention. Yet, the vacuum of space keeps the rift anomaly from being heard. Ever thankful for the universes hushed silence taking part of the creation of this new doorway, Parallax steps in with their left foot first into the unknown. A thin film like substances suffocates them for a moment as it blankets them in new atoms. This stars sewn film rewrites their DNA to fit the new universe at hand.

At first they attempt to draw breath, but the reality of their form prevents them from doing so. Regardless of how many times they enter a new world, their inner self is always a machine. As sudden as the rift came and they stepped through, the world behind them shut to a close with a small flash of starlight fading behind them. Parallax blinks themself into existence as they dust off any unwanted residue from the trip. With a sigh they step forward and attempt to ease themselves into this new domain.

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Auguste VIMAR

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@ofhivemagic

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Toland could not help but let his smirk fade into a stupid grin as she laughed. There was something magical about the way it filled the room like music seemed to do. He had no intentions of going further other than a few idle kisses and cheeky petting here and there. Yuè’s company was more than enough. Besides, he was still too tired from doing that long jump to do anything more than just lay about and be pampered to a degree.

The hand that was given permission to touch her breasts gave a proper squeeze to them as he felt the welcoming kisses warm his face from the cold abyss. “Your company has been far too long over due.” The Warlock snickered and purred at the kiss against his ear with a hint of blush coloring his cheeks as he thought about sneaking his hands underneath her shirt. “I know you don’t, but one cannot help but ask. And tea sounds lovely.”

Being moved about he took her cozy spot and made it his own while he finished settling in this reality. “Green tea, if you don’t mind. I grow bored of bitter tastes.” Toland looked mighty comfortable on his girlfriend’s spot. Hmm. He wanted to change that title for her. In due time…

It never ceased to amaze Yuè how different Toland was in a physical form. While it made sense intellectually that he was more...human when not casting about as a hissing orb of paracausality, there was more to it than that.

The grin was one such thing, not merely being able to see it, but the knowledge that one Toland the Shattered could be reduced to a most basic, most humanizing emotion made him real.

He wasn't some scrap of myth or a disembodied voice from the Ascendant Plane mocking errant Guardians. He was simply Toland.

That was perhaps what ultimately won her over, had her believing that he really had romantic intentions and wasn't merely finding a way to stop the boredom. She still didn't know exactly how far or how deep his intentions ran, however; Yuè hadn't had the best run of relationships over her many years and had come to distrust her instincts on such things.

(She was afraid to admit that she had come to love him as her love over the centuries had been fleeting, either due to said feelings being firmly unrequited or the the recipient having no such depth of feeling.)"Jasmine green tea, then?" she called to him, as she watched Toland completely come to phase and set about nesting himself. "I'll bring all of the sweetener I have so you can load it for bear." She said that with a cheeky grin.

Yuè filled an electric kettle and set the water to boil as she began pulling pieces of a clay Chinese tea service from a cupboard. There was no way in hell she wasn't going to make her boyfriend a traditional cup of tea after him being away for so long.

The thought of Toland as being something so personal made her grin again.

She made ready the loose leaf green tea and jasmine petals, closing her eyes briefly to enjoy the scent. It was, to her, an indulgence. It was also difficult to procure, something she and her fireteam would literally hunt down with unauthorized sorties into the East Asian Dead Zone.

"Do you want something to eat with your tea? You're looking pretty well settled over there." Yuè smirked over her shoulder at Toland as she waited for the water to heat up. She was half tempted to use her Solar ability to push it along.

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ofhivemagic‌:

The warmth of his love was far too addictive for him to focus on anything else. She was saying things but he could barely even register half the syllables that came from her mouth. It was not an intentional part on his end, he always adored to hear her talk, but he just needed a moment. Silence was something that even alone was too loud to bear but with her around, all of the loud thoughts were kept at bay. Bright eyes accompanied with a calm gaze caught hers as she said something again. This time her voice was soft.

The run of fingers against his skin and hair caused a pleased hum to rumble deep in his chest. Now he repositioned himself as she in turn moved him about to how she wanted to better embrace him. He spoke quietly against her skin, “We can talk about it later.” He moved heavy palms onto her in such a way that they now rested on her hips. All the while his face was selectively hidden against her neck. Eventually one hand rested on the small of her back while his left hand began to roam about the inviting body pressed against him.

“Yue,” he sighed out and began to kiss her neck. “I’ve missed you.” Toland physically relaxed in her touches as if saying a fragment of her name was a way to help him unwind and let go of a few things. “Tell me,” he spoke again and kissed her neck some more before moving to her jawline. An attempt to hide his smirk was futile as he was certain Yue could feel the sharp prickle of his stubble scratch against her smooth cheeks. He wanted to say something else but all he could do was let out a light laugh almost as if he was embarrassed to finish his statement.

“Are you wearing-” another smirk and laugh before he finally let his hand rest on her shoulder, shifting around for a moment to feel for a strap of some kind.

The Titan laughed, loudly at that, when she heard Toland’s question. She knew it was truly a matter of time before his keen mind turned to something sexual. She didn’t mind it; at least, not now, not at this stage of their relationship. Yuè had no doubts as to how the Warlock felt about her. While he notoriously enjoyed being abstruse, even recondite with his speech, with her Toland had only ever been straightforward.

Such as his asking if she were wearing a bra.

She grinned and kissed his earlobe as she answered, guiding his wandering hand over her t-shirt. “No, and you know full well I don’t wear one when I’m just laying about.” She kept hold of Toland’s hand and slowly led him down from her shoulder to the current object of his desire, a slight smile upon her face.

“I’ve missed you too,” she murmured, plying the side of his neck with a kiss. She sighed into his skin, thankful that his corporeal form never smelled...well, Hivey. He always carried the scent of bergamot, vetiver, frankensences, and sandalwood about him. She moved to look at him, wanting to see his eyes. “Get comfortable and I’ll make you some tea, okay?” Yuè stole a kiss from his surprisingly soft lips as she pulled away to the kitchen area.

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ofhivemagic‌:

It was just supposed to be a temporary truce, but that of course changes when feelings and other, what he used to declare as, “nonsensical emotions got in the way.”

Toland was preoccupied for so long in the distant shores of Luna that his mind was wrapped in the confined of Hive magics and other pests of the Deep. Eris had returned. Uldren was slain but missing from his open tomb. The Dreaming City still rotted away each day with the loop resetting itself into the endless algorithm that Quaria took place upon the that star born home.

And he had enough.

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He was always so cold when he came in from his wanderings. It was a fortunate coincidence for both of them that Yuè enjoyed the chill.

But she knew that Toland missed all manner of warmth, from the Traveler to the solar brilliance that had been his Warlock calling. As he held onto her, she closed her eyes and sighed, willing her Sunbreaker skills to radiate even more.

She reached a hand up to gently stroke his hair, slowly turning her body in his embrace to face him. Yuè stretched in order to place a chaste kiss to his forehead and wrapped her arms around Toland for a proper embrace. He had murmured something in response to her question but it was so softly spoken she had no guess as to what he said.

She could, however, tell that he was tired. It was more than the stresses of the journey. Toland had well explained the mental and metaphysical strain it placed on him. This was another layer of fatigue, something more...she couldn’t immediately think of the Common term for it. She could only think of the Chinese: 恩努伊

Ēn nǔ yī. Ennui. That was it. It seemed like ennui or some languor.

She held him tighter, hands slowly making small circles on his back. She could only just feel the scars of Hive runes through his robes.

“You should probably sit down,” she suggested in a hushed tone. "I can make you something, if you’d like. Something warm and simple.” One hand traced a path up his spine, along the back of his neck, and to his hair. Yuè let her fingers gently massage his scalp. It never failed to surprise her how soft Toland’s hair was.

“It seems like something has you more fatigued than usual,” she continued, worry on her features now.

She knew that Luna was in a terrible way, worse than when Crota was at his might. His daughters, in concert with whatever lay in that damned Pyramid, laid more waste to the moon’s landscape. Worse still, the phantoms...she had her own thoughts as to what they were. Who they were. Yuè hadn’t mentioned it to Toland as yet. She hadn’t seen him, not in the physical realm, for quite some time, only speaking to him in passing while patrolling Luna.

But the Warlock hadn’t come through bitter hell to talk shop. “You don’t have to speak about it,” she told him, giving him a squeeze. Yuè pressed herself against Toland. “I just...well, you know how I am.”

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She wasn’t certain of exactly when it happened. And yet...as improbable and impossible and frankly insane the situation was, Yuè Qīan Shuǎng found herself actually fond of the vaguely corporeal ball of Ascendant energy who was Toland the Shattered.

It had started out as a matter of pure curiosity. She was trying to make the abandoned tower she and her fireteam were currently calling home into a better condition. The floors that they had co-opted as their living space were comfortable; there were, however, some levels immediately below that needed tending to. So Yuè and her officially killed in action but dimensionally displaced fireteam got to work on improving their isolation.

It was complicated.

At least they had somewhere to stay. Rather, somewhere they could be hidden away, along with A Slight Vanguard Problem that was forbidden to be named. Or at least referred to.

Yuè hadn’t anticipated that Toland, of all people, would also consider the tower as a home of sorts.

She’d always been fascinated by Toland’s writings and his research into the Hive. Her own interests aligned with his, for the most part. Going against type she had conducted her own research into the Hive. She was the unofficial expert on her fireteam. Whereas it was generally the Warlocks who gravitated toward learning about Hive esotericism while Titans looked to the Vex for greater understanding, the cliche was flipped as far as her team was concerned.

When she first encountered Toland in their adopted home, she wasn’t nonplussed. She’d met him before, in a far different time and place, so seeing the heretical Warlock suddenly step out of the shadows didn’t take her by surprise.

Yuè wondered if her reaction to him was what piqued Toland’s interest in her. She had simply spoken to him as she would anyone else. Asked questions. Listened to his answers.

What could have been a one-off, a chance meeting, gradually turned into more conversations, and increased visitations, until the former Guardian was more or less living in the tower with her and her team.

The flirtations were what caught her off guard. Not his being Ascendant, his being as close to a Deathsinger as a Lightbearer could be, not the fact that half the time he was that shuddering orb of corrupted Light. Hell, not even the long whispered rumors of his causing his fireteam to fall to ruin in the Hellmouth didn’t give her pause.

It was Toland being such a goddamn flirt.

For whatever subconscious reason, be it a sense of self-preservation after decades of failed relationships or a distrust in his intentions being anything more than having a laugh at her expense, Yuè met his professed attraction with annoyance.

And a Titan punch on more than one overly familiar occasion.

But at some point...Yuè stopped trying to punch Toland.

She somehow didn’t want to summon a hammer of solar flame to bonk him on the head with.

He took her rebuffs in stride. if anything, he seemed amused by it. As if it were a challenge, a new form of Hive cipher for him to decode.

That was probably one of the reasons why she wanted to hit him.

But as the days passed the slow to materialize realization that Toland, despite his penchant for being cryptic and derisive, was being...well, himself with her. And she liked it.

So, when she heard the now comforting hiss of his non-corporeal Ascendant form shift into the physical plane, Yuè smiled. When Toland assumed his former shape and wrapped his arms around her from behind, she didn’t flip him over and slam him to the ground. Instead, she gradually increased the solar energy her Light possessed so as to warm the forever cold Warlock.

She felt his chin rest on her shoulder. She leaned her head against his, feeling his soft hair against her skin. Yuè was working on lines of code for a project that was something she did not want the Vanguard to know about. But Toland was a far from the Vanguard as you could get, and she had come to trust him. So she wasn’t worried about him watching her work.

“Hi,” she murmured softly, continuing to type at her keyboard. “What brings you here?”

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Asher Mir Gensym Scribe ; faceless

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“Alak-Hul. He is hunting you.”

Favourite Destiny boss: Darkblade, the Sunless Cell

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A lovely Smallsword, attributed to John Bland, London, England, ca. 1780-1785, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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I must have two sides,  two mouths, two minds,  two lives: one that worries about the future  while the other  sleepwalks through the fire.

David Hernandez, “Water Soluble Dreams” Memorius (no. 26, June 2016)

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All those reboots might have finally gotten to him…

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First shots of M31 Andromeda Galaxy with M110 & M32 just visible 24-06-2015

ASO

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// ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇʀᴇʟɪᴄᴛ

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