#Morello

[themusesof75]

Sppoky in Black& white

[saint-joie-sucre-violette]

"Oh... what can I... Do?

[regenerated-reedjumper]

You were born for a reason, raised for a role. Clemence they named you, a name so very close to mercy. Mercy, what they would have bought with your life. Mercy, that they never thought of showing to you. You were chosen for a greater purpose minutes after your birth, and they never let you forget it. There was love--oh, yes, you were loved--but you've always known how it will end.

Somehow, you didn't think the handcuffs would be this cold. They've been around your wrists for what seems like hours--long enough for you to be led up the endless stairs, docile and cooperative as you were directed to settle down out of the way. Long enough for them to bicker about the candles, whether the wax will burn slow enough to last until you are collected, long enough to set each one in place and light them one by one.

Long enough for them to leave you. You don't know if they even remember that they brought you, by the time they leave--no one looks at you, after you've been oh-so-gently nudged to sit against the wall. Not even a glance, not a whisper of your name. When they retreat down the long series of steps, you are left alone in weak candlelight, the stone behind your back warmer than the metal around your wrists.

It clinks when you move your hands. You close your eyes and try not to move them. Should you relax? Should you calm yourself? You're not sure that you're not calm. Are you calm? Are you ready? Are you resigned? Have you ever been anything other than resigned? Are--

Something touches your forehead and you jerk back from it, hitting the back of your head on the stone behind you hard enough that your vision goes blurry as your eyes snap open again. Or maybe it's not your vision--the child leaning over you isn't quite in focus, but it doesn't resolve into clarity once you blink a few times. The only clear thing about it is enormous green eyes, set in a face that won't resolve into one thing or another. It's young, you're sure of that, but other than that impression all you can see of it is a dark, child-shaped form. And teeth, once it grins at you.

"You smell like sacrifice," it says. The voice is soft, hissing on the sibilants, and you realize that this kid isn't normal. Something about the voice makes you certain--it's at least Shadetouched, and maybe worse. Is this what they buy safety from? "Are the priests coming back to do it themselves, or did they already wash their hands of you?"

"I don't--" You might have been ready to be collected, ready to die, but the idea of being consumed by Shade terrifies you. If your back weren't against the wall you'd be retreating. "Priests?"

"Priests, officiants, executioners--all the same." The Shade child flips one hand dismissively, green eyes still fixed on you. "Someone left you here, unless you chained yourself."

Right. The handcuffs. You look down as it mentions them, and up again just as quickly--it can probably take you just as quickly whether you're looking at it or not, but you still worry about it. "I'm not telling you anything."

"Oh, don't be like that." Those green eyes roll, and it steps over to plop down next to you in a move that's ungraceful enough to make you wonder if you're wrong and it's just a normal child for a moment. Just a moment, though. It's very close to you now, and you can almost feel the wrongness seeping out from it. "What, you want to protect them?"

"That's what I'm here for."

"Ooh. Extortion." The giggle is very normal too. "Kind of...unimaginative, if you ask me."

"...I'm not sure I did ask you."

"Yeah you did."

"I really didn't."

"Did too--"

"Flamecaller's favor, Hollowbeast, give the kid a break." That's a new voice, level and amused even though she's scolding a Shade-creature. You twist to look at the stairs and see her standing at the top of them, arms crossed as she scans everything--you, the candles, the old stains on the stone, and back to you again. Violet eyes, softer than shadow, antennae tucked into short red hair--one of the Arcanist's children, and a skydancer as well. She absolutely knows what you're thinking without your having to say it. Too bad your extra sense is so underdeveloped. "Hm. Actually...what did you do?"

"Nothing--" You and the shade child say it at the same time, look at each other, and come to the unspoken agreement that it's the one who gets to continue. "All I'm doing is exploring--"

"Snooping, you mean?"

"Fine, snooping." It has the art of the eye-roll down to a science. "Come on, Aunt, look at him. You want me to leave him up here?"

"Not really." She shrugs and moves to kneel at your other side, reaching down to grasp the chain connecting your handcuffs and pulling it up so she can examine them closer. "I didn't bring my picks."

The shade-child--Hollowbeast--smiles. Their teeth are very white and too sharp for a nocturne. "You know I can fix it faster than you could, if you let me."

You're not sure you like that. "Hey--"

The skydancer shrugs, patting your shoulder and speaking over you. Out of habit, you shut up. "Alright, alright, but it's permission for just this, okay?"

"Just because I snuck out doesn't mean I'm not behaving." Hollowbeast rolls its eyes and leans over to grab the chain, giving it one hard jerk upwards. You don't feel the pull, though--when they touch the metal, it simply melts away into dripping shadows. Into Shade. You scramble up once you realize what it is, brushing frantically at your hands.

"Calm down." The skydancer catches your shoulder, pulling you around to face her even when you resist. She's stronger than you, even though you're taller and stockier--you couldn't pull away even if you wanted to. "It's not going to hurt you--Hollowbeast knows better than that. I'm Morello, alright?"

"Nice to meet you." That's automatic, as is giving your name. "Clemence."

"Clemence. Alright." She frowns, studying you for a moment. "What brought you up here, Clemence?"

"Priests," Hollowbeast hisses, while you're still trying to format an answer. You look over and see that it's rearranging the candles. The flames lean away from its hands. "Old blood. Promises."

Morello's eyes narrow. "Your kind?"

"Of course not." It shakes itself, the edges of its form blurring slightly. "I wouldn't come near true Shade, not...like this. Khubee would be upset."

The idea that the thing you've been left for might be the Shade isn't a nice thought. You can probably come to terms with dying, but you're not sure that you could handle whatever Shade might do to you. "You know who's coming for me?"

Hollowbeast looks over at you for a moment, then to Morello. It gets a signal from her that you don't catch, and shows teeth in a grin as it looks back to you. "No one's coming for you but us, don't worry. Aunt's taking you home."

"Wait, what?" As you open your mouth to expand on that question, Morello takes your hand and pulls you towards the edge of the flat space, away from the stairs and towards what you know is a sheer drop. She lets you go once you're moving in the correct direction, and you follow her as she steps closer to the edge, shifting from bipedal to all fours, wings unfurling from her back and body shape rearranging itself for flight before she launches off the edge.

You could step back. You could change your mind. You could go back to your family, to what you were born for. To be...

...sacrificed.

Again.

No. No, you can't.

You've only flown a handful of times in your life, but the change is as instinctual as breathing, and the air beneath your wings feels safer than the ground has ever been under your feet. You don't know where you're going as you follow Morello, but you already know that, eventually, you will get home.

[kernelhabit]

I shifted my study focus to faces right after drawing this but I do still like this one

[morganmerylhodgepodge]

Morello Brothers

[wonder-music]

Tom Morello - Hold The Line

[lectronyx]

GOD i love drawing Morello

[huh-huhyourself]

"How did you fix the car?"

"Better ask Sam."

"Why ain't you a mechanic, Sam?"

"That work's too dirty for me."

Everyone knows Morello's another ending except me. Now I've known.

It's too bad that Hanger13 simplified this mission (and others like Lucas Bertone's sub quests e.g. that Big Dick one), the car fix thing of Sammy, the mission failed scene and ending2. So I uploaded these videos about mission 16 Crème De La Crème.

Ending 1 Secceed

Ending 1 Failed

Ending 2 (Sorry I'm a bad driver...)

And idk, it just finished.

[lesgourmetsbakery]

Morello Cherry Chocolate Cake

[walvitswordsandpoems]

A quote by T. Morello - system fixed.

[archoptical]

Morello Quarter, Croydon

[artificialsilkgirl]

Yogurt my mom made

Cherries I picked yesterday

Green plum from home

Honeycomb from dad’s bees

[pinelopik]

Straight up changing it up 💋 #morello (at Charlotte, North Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckd5cv0uilj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wally-b-feed]

Anthony Fineran (B 1981), Team In Morello Caen, 2022

[zegalba]

Frankie Morello