#so we can go back to the unending fight now right? ^^

[shining-scion]

Can’t believe we’re getting a whole prequest. World? Prequest world expansion??? WHAT ARE WE CALLING THIS BESIDES A FEAST.

[paige1722]

An Offering | ch. 1 |

Pairing: Sleep Token x Reader

Summary: Cryptid, inhuman beings have spent their whole lives in Eden serving their deity, Sleep. What happens when one day you show up and no one can figure out why Sleep has delivered you to them. Should you stay with them or will you do whatever it takes to find your way back home?

Warnings: mention of drowning, brief mentions of death. Slowburn. (Please let me know if I missed any tags.)

Word count: 3.6k

masterlist | Chapter 2 | Ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch.5 |

iii has his red hair and hands because I feel like we moved on from that look way too fast.

Chapter One:

Why am I so cold you think to yourself. You’re beyond freezing to the point of it feeling like it is burning your skin. This is unlike anything you have ever felt before, the cold seeping into your very soul. All your other senses are numbed by the constant feeling of pins and needles stabbing into your skin. Every passing second only intensifies the agony.

It’s impossible to focus on anything, your thoughts are clouded, your mind moving so slow not yet grasping the situation you have found yourself in. Why is it so hard for you to think right now, your lungs are burning aching for oxygen, you don’t think you’ll be able to hold your breath for much longer. Your lungs fighting for air, that’s not coming.

You are going to die, you think to yourself in one of the worst ways you can possibly imagine. The thought of drowning forces your eyes to shoot open in a panic. You are suspended, floating weightlessly just beneath the surface, your arms hanging in front of you limply swaying in the water. Using what little energy you have, you look around as best as you can at your surroundings, there’s a bright light coming from above you from what you can only assume is the surface. All you have to do is make it and you’ll be out of this cold unending dark abyss. Willing your body to do something anything to save your life you try to swim to the surface.

Nothing you do seems to make a difference. Your body refuses to obey, and the realization hits: this is it. Your final moments, trapped in some unknown waters, in a place you can't even remember how you ended up. You feel yourself surrendering, smiling through the agony as your lungs burning for air at least you won’t have to suffer for much longer. Your eyes struggle to stay open as you feel yourself let go, as a last effort to save yourself your body forces you to take in a deep breath causing the water to fill your lungs.

Through your distorted vision, you watch as a hand stained with red paint breaks through the surface of the water. The hand reaches down into the abyss seemingly searching for something before eventually, their long fingers wrap around your floating hand pulling you out of the darkness and into their awaiting hold. Whispers of an unknown language fills your head but you’re no longer scared, oddly you feel at peace.

You're dragged above the surface of the water as what or whoever saved you wraps their arms around you putting your back against their chest as you both fall to the ground their warmth surrounding you. Your head lolls back against their shoulder the side of your cheek making contact with some kind of hard surface covering their face. Due to the blurriness still clouding your vision, you can’t make out any details except for a red aura covering the person's head making it look almost like a bright halo. As you succumb to the darkness the last thought that lingers in your head is at least now you won’t die alone.

Trying to act quickly iii places his index and middle finger underneath your jaw trying to find a heartbeat, panic filling his body as he feels your pulse becoming slower. Your unconscious body coughs as it tries to expel the water from your lungs, doing anything it can to try and save itself. iii immediately tries to help force the water out, using the gift given to him by Sleep, the salt water leaves your lungs pooling on the ground beside you both.

Slow staggering breaths leave you but at least you're still breathing even if it seems strained and painful. Iii delicately wipes his hand across your face removing all the water, bodily fluid, and hair that was sticking to your skin before letting out a relieved sigh. He was worried that he wasn’t going to be able to make it in time to save you. The moment he felt you appeared in his water, he started running to his sanctuary at that instant wanting to see what Sleep was bestowing upon him.

Worry began to consume him the longer it took to reach you as he could feel the life slowly leaving you, he is so relieved that he was able to make it just in time to pull you from the abyss. He is the only one of Sleep’s creations that is able to survive in the water, maybe that’s why you appeared there because Sleep knew he would be able to feel your presence there and save you though he will admit it was cutting it close.

It probably wouldn’t be good for you to travel right now, even though he could easily carry you through the garden to a more suitable shelter but for now, he supposes this will have to do. iii carefully turns your body so you're sitting sideways in his lap, before sliding one arm underneath your knees and the other around your shoulders curling your unconscious body to his chest as he stands. In his small sanctuary that he uses to connect with Sleep, he set up a stone table in the front of the cave that was usually reserved for offerings though in this instance iii doesn’t think that Sleep will mind if he lets you rest on it for a bit.

Once you were carefully positioned on the cold stone, he stepped back, his gaze lingering on your features. Goosebumps covering your exposed skin. The icy chill of the depths had already begun to take its toll—your lips started to take on a bluish hue. It dawned on him that leaving you there in soaking wet clothes is not the wisest decision. Perhaps he should try to find something dry for you to wear.

He let out a hum trying to think of what would be suitable for you to wear. iii and the other vessels didn’t exactly have a lot of options readily available to them, so an old ceremonial garb they used to wear for rituals would have to suffice. Kneeling down to the underside of the stone table, carefully folded with care laid four black robes with runes of worship inscribed down the thick fabric. Grabbing one of them, he stood, staring at your unconscious form, bathed in the soft light streaming through the opening of the cave and the narrow cracks in the ceiling. The sunlight made you look ethereal, as if you were a vision from another world.

iii hoped the sunlight would help warm you up a bit before you got sick, he wasn’t sure that he or any of the other vessels of Sleep were equipped to help someone who was ill-being as they do not have to worry about such things thanks to the way Sleep created each of his vessels. He just hopes that your nap and the sun will heal all wounds and illnesses you might have acquired since you’ve arrived here.

As iii gazes at your shivering form, a sense of urgency grips him. He knows he has to get you out of your wet clothes, but he’s torn, not wanting to overstep any boundaries or make you uncomfortable. Yet, if he doesn’t act, the risk of you getting sick—or worse—looms overhead. Trying to maintain respect while still doing what’s necessary, he carefully peels off your soaked shirt, tossing it aside for later. Swiftly, he slips a robe over your head, covering you as gently as possible. He removes your shoes and socks-then, using the robe to shield your lower body, he begins to remove your pants, careful to preserve your dignity as he works.

Once you were in dry clothes, he grabs the pile of wet clothes he had previously discarded and placed them just outside the entrance of the cave on a rock so that hopefully the sun would dry them quicker for you to wear once again. Though it will probably take at least a day for your shoes to dry completely.

He walks back over to where you lay, sitting down in front of you resting his back against the table closing his eyes wanting to stay close to you in case something happens. The need to keep watch over you in your fragile state is at the forefront of his mind. Waiting for you to wake up iii hopes that you will have some answers for him about what Sleep’s purpose is for bringing you here to them.

He really wishes that Vessel was here, he was always good at understanding the purpose behind Sleep’s actions. There had to be a reason for you being here, nothing Sleep ever did, was meaningless. Just like how they all had a purpose for being there, created in their own specific ways that would be of the best use to Sleep and his plans, even if that meant they sometimes had to suffer because of it in the process. It wasn’t always easy being the way he was, constantly needing to come back to his sanctuary and submerge beneath the water just for the small amount of reprieve the feeling of the water gave him.

iii preferred not to dwell on how everything had unfolded, as it only left him with more questions than answers. Hopefully, when you wake up, you can help him understand your purpose here. If he hadn’t arrived when he did, there was a good chance you would have drowned- though some part of him knows that Sleep wouldn’t have allowed that to happen, maybe to save you Sleep would have made you like him. In Eden, being a siren wasn’t exactly easy, but he supposed there were some benefits to it. Without his connection to the water, he might never have sensed you flailing beneath the surface of the abyss. Maybe Sleep had sent you to him as a reward for all his hard work—but what about the others? They have been just as devoted, sometimes even more so. With a sigh, he decided to stop overthinking and worrying about it until he was able to talk with Vessel. He would wait until you woke up, hoping that you could offer some insight into what was really going on. —--—————————— Am I dead? you wonder. No, if I were dead, I don’t think I’d feel like this. Isn’t heaven supposed to be pain-free or something? Unless I’m in… no, it’s too cold here. Your head was pounding, every part of your body ached feeling heavy and numb at the same time, and with every labored breath you took feels, as if it’s tearing your throat open.

You open your eyes squinting in the dark trying to make out your surroundings with difficulty. The neverending throbbing of your head not helping you in the slightest. Looking out through the entrance of the cave or whatever it is you find yourself in, you notice it is a lot brighter outside than it should be considering that it is in the middle of the night. The light from the moon illuminated almost everything in the cave, an uneasy feeling forms in the pit of your stomach this place doesn’t feel right, unnatural almost.

As you slowly sit up on the cold stone you were lying on, groaning at the dull pain coursing throughout your body made even more apparent by the movement. Wondering quietly to yourself where the hell you ended up, not remembering much after waking up in freezing cold waters. You look down at yourself realizing you are not in the same clothes you were in earlier you grab the sleeves of the material rubbing your thumb over the soft fabric furrowing your eyebrows in confusion.

“I didn't want you to get sick so I had to change you out of the wet clothes and that is all we had.” A voice from below where you sat said causing you to let out a small scream pushing yourself back as far as the table would let you go pressing your back against the moss-covered wall. The owner of the voice stood casting an ominous shadow over your cowering form.

The person, if you could even call them that, threw their red painted hands up in front of them trying to placate you.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe here.” said the man. Now in the moonlight, you could see him more clearly, his hair was blood red, a golden mask that looked like it was burnt or melting on the lower half of his face where his mouth would be. The mask he wears has the same symbol etched in the middle as the robes you now wear. His shirt was covered in swirling intricate designs paired with thick black pants.

Fear and adrenaline now coursing through your veins, your heart is pounding so hard you think this man in front of you can probably hear it and by the tilting of his head, you are led to believe that he most definitely can.

“Where am I? Who are you?” you croak out, your voice sounding hoarse each word feeling as if it was causing your throat to bleed. Everything about the situation you find yourself in overwhelming you immensely tears start brimming in your eyes waiting to fall.

iii takes a step back trying to put more distance between you both, hoping that it will make you less scared and allow you to calm down a little. He can practically taste the fear pouring off you in waves at this point, not liking the feeling as it was starting to make him nauseous.

“I am iii. Do you remember how you got here? I found you in there.” he says pointing towards the huge gaping hole of water that looks ten times more menacing in the dark with nothing but the moonlight illuminating it.

His question throws you off causing you to try and remember anything, how I got here? How did I get here? You try to think back to before waking up in the cold seemingly endless abyss in front of you. No matter how hard you tried you couldn’t think of anything, not your friends, family, or your job. Nothing about your life was coming to mind, it was like someone or something was blurring them out only the sense of hopelessness and sadness filled your mind.

Looking into the iii’s eyes you slowly shake your head as he lowers his hands letting them hang by his side. Again you ask him, “Where am I?”

He wished that he had water or something for you to drink to help soothe your aching throat, but at the moment the only option was the salt water from the abyss and he highly doubted that it would be of any help to you.

“We have come to call this place Eden.”

Your eyebrows raise in disbelief. Eden? As in the Garden of Eden from the Bible? Oh my god, you think to yourself, I’ve been kidnapped by some sort of cult, and they’re going to sacrifice me. You lean forward, burying your head in your hands. This is a nightmare, this isn’t real, it’s got to be a joke. You have no idea where you are or how you ended up here almost drowning. Looking at the man standing before you wearing the strange mask, painted with unsettling runes, insisting that you’re in the Garden of Eden, if this is a joke it’s an elaborate, one you’ll give it that. Maybe if you play along, you can figure out a way to escape, find help, or at the very least make sense of this twisted situation.

Pulling your head from your hands you make eye contact with the man, you now know as iii, who is already staring at you curiously from where he still stands a few steps away from the stone table.

“Okay.” you say slowly, “do you by any chance know how I can get back home from here?”

iii stands up straight at your question, he has never once thought about leaving this place. Why would he, Sleep created it for him and the others to stay and devote themselves wholly to Him. And if Sleep brought you here, then this must be where you are meant to be. You are probably just confused and don’t realize it yet. He just needs to take you to Vessel and explain things to him and then Vessel can help figure this all out. Now with a plan in mind, iii slowly walks closer to you and extends his hand out to you.

“Come with me and we can figure this all out together.”

You glance from his outstretched hand to his eyes trying to see any form of danger or deception but finding nothing but a pleading hopeful expression. You slowly place your hand in his as he helps you down off the stone table leading you towards the entrance to the cave.

Once you both reach the opening of the cave, he lets go of your hand pointing towards the rock where your now dry clothes sit.

He turns to look down at you, “You can get changed back into your clothes if you want. Wait here don’t move until I come back.” he says before jogging off into the trees before you can say anything in return.

You cautiously walk over to your clothes, picking up your pants you put them back on feeling better now that you are not as exposed. Picking up your shirt, you pause the shirt you were wearing was thin not the best option for the hike you were probably about to have to take through this garden. Plus the robe you wore was warm and one of the softest pieces of clothing you think you’ve ever worn. So, you decide to just keep the robe on instead hoping iii wouldn’t mind your decision.

Your socks have long since dried but you cannot say the same for your shoes. At this point you think they might be ruined forever, picking one up and squeezing it in your hold water pours out of your shoes, letting out a defeated sigh you toss the shoe back to the ground opting instead to just put your socks on as it was better than nothing you supposed.

You look in the direction iii went this could be my only chance you think to yourself, I could make a run for it. The pounding of your head and the ache in your limbs stops you, no I am in no shape to be running away right now. Plus, I don’t think I would be able to make it very far before he gets back, he knows this area way better than I do right now. And if he sees that I tried to run away it might make things worse for me in the long run, so it is probably better to try and gain his trust and think of a better plan.

Sitting back on the large rock you finally have a chance to catch your breath and look around properly at your environment. This place is beautiful you think to yourself, the plant life here giving off a phosphorescence glow in the moonlight. The flowers here are absolutely breathtaking, with soothing shades of pink and red everywhere you can see. In the back of your mind you actually began to wonder if this place was in fact Eden, the plants and environment was something you have never seen before.

The sound of footsteps breaks you out of your thoughts, looking to find the source of the sounds you see iii emerging from the bushes carefully holding a large leaf cupped in his hands. Cautious of his movements he stops in front of you extending the leaf out towards you.

“Drink this. You’ll feel better.”

You wearily eye the leaf before you that is filled with a light pink translucent liquid, looking back up to iii suspicion evident on your face. iii realizing that you are not fully trusting of him yet, brings the leaf up to his mouth taking a small sip to show you that it is okay to drink. Once done with his sip he brings the leaf back in front of you extending it closer to your face. You wait looking at him for any signs of the liquid affecting him and seeing none you slowly lean forward bringing your lips to the leaf and letting him pour the contents into your mouth.

The liquid was sweet and refreshing, the feeling of the cool liquid running down your throat helped ease the burning immensely. The throbbing of your head and ache in your body slowly started to dissipate the more you drank. Once you drank the last little bit, iii pulled the leaf away before tossing it to the side.

“Do you feel better?” He asked curiously tilting his head to the side waiting for your response.

Clearing your throat, “Yes, thank you.” Your voice sounded like your own now, no longer sounding strained or hurting with every word you spoke. You raised your hand up to your throat rubbing it confused wondering what the mysterious liquid you just consumed was.

Feeling pleased with himself that the sap actually worked in making you feel better, iii clapped his hands together in front of him in satisfaction. “We should get going and find Vessel before the effects wear off. He will know how to help you.”

You stand up next to iii nodding your head following his lead deeper into the garden. You are just hoping that this Vessel person will know how to help you get out of here and go back home. This place was really starting to mess with your head.

[promblums]

I know I haven't played a pokemon game in a while but god DAMN is the Scarlet/Violet final boss cool.

Like, you've known since like minute two that something is up with Professor Sada / Turo, but you get down to the bottom of this huge canyon expecting oh, the professor made a robot clone of their mind but it went cRaZy and the real professor is tied up somewhere. No.

The robot professor, it turns out, was the rational one of the two of them, watching as the person in whose image it was created slips further and further into obsession. It turns out that everything good you've seen in the AI Professor, THAT was the machine. The real Professor has been deeply bitter and increasingly misanthropic, extending way, way back into Arven's childhood, and maybe even before.

Said real professor is dead. Like, dead-dead. Real human dead. Not only that, they were murdered trying to protect one -raidon from another, one that attacked with full intent to kill. Was this a last, selfless act? Or was the professor so devoted to their work that they would die to protect it? We never get that context. It's gone. Have fun in therapy, Arven.

So then the AI Professor leads you to the time machine, looks you straight in the eye, and says, "Can I say 'you have to kill me' in a pokemon game? No? Aight, cool, so to shut down the time machine, I need you to 'not' kill me. Because I'm gonna try to 'not kill' you first."

And then they get lifted 200 feet into the air on a spire of glowing onyx beneath what I can only describe as a technological halo of malice, and they just start breaking the rules of pokemon. Like, they don't get down there and challenge you, ooh, I'm gonna fight ya for the future of poketmans. They stand on the prow of a pitch black heaven and drop living paradoxes on you. You typically get 1, maybe 2 master balls per game; Sada/Turo has an unending supply, perpetually pouring from the godseye above them. They don't even throw them. They just open their hand and let this rain of high-level pokemon fall out.

This is not a pokemon battle. This is you, an insect, being crushed by an uncaring god.

You get the feeling that, were it not hardcoded in by some earlier version of the professor who still had some respect for pokemon tradition, there's no way the possessed AI Professor would respect the 'only 6 pokemon' rule. And they don't! You somehow beat the odds, and you get all of five seconds to think you did something before the Paradise Protection Protocol kicks in and starts the battle right back up again.

And locks your pokeballs shut.

And sends out the -raidon that, as was previously established, has killed a human being before.

This is my favorite part of this fight, because up until now, we've been acclimating to the twist that the real Professor was deeply selfish, to the point of all but abandoning their own child.

Right before the fight, the AI Professor explains that they're going to get overpowered by the security system when you try to shut down the machine. Given the real Professor's obsessive nature, you're led to associate the security system with some remnant of the real professor, and once it takes over, the game starts getting fucky about the identity of the mind in the robot. Is this AI Turo/Sada, but with their free will turned off? Turo/Sada's mind imprinted over the robot's? Some weird emergent mind from the main computer?

Right after you beat the first fight, the 'fair' fight, you get this moment where the roboprofessor is glitching out hard, and its name changes from "AI Sada / AI Turo" to "Professor Sada / Turo?" RIGHT as it starts to express feelings, real feelings toward Arven, look how tall he's gotten, how proud of him they are. We can't know how the real professor felt about their son, but its all the things Arven always wanted to hear. Is it the robot, trying to be kind? Confused? Or is this a fragment of the real professor's mind bleeding through?

But at the same time, the Paradise Protection Protocol kicks in, which is also implied to be some sort of mind-imprint from the Professor, and tries to kill all four of the main kids to ensure the safety of the Professor's machine.

So, we've got two machines, both of incomprehensible power, fighting over the fate of time itself, and each one set up to be a reflection of a person we will never meet.

Which one do you think the professor was most like?

[niceminipotato]

I have written about 2.1k words for next chapter of Failing Grace. (I swear I’m going to get the new chapter out in June - fingers crossed-) Let us celebrate lol. I shall celebrate by telling you guys about these two different WIPs that just will not leave my brain at all. I’m fairly certain they’re the reason why I take so long to write chapters now. Can’t stop my brain from coming up with scenes for them.

Just in case you feel the following will be like a spoiler, I shall hide it

Anyway these are both Lady Dimitrescu x female OC.

First, I got this amnesia trope one. It begins when the game ends though it’s pretty cannon divergent because my silly bum refuses to play. (I don’t wanna kill my lady and her daughters-they get to be their murderous happy selves and live forever. Also I will never admit it but I get scared sometimes 🤣). Anyway, so the lords and Mother Miranda are dead. Our OC, Willa or Willow, had been married to Lady D for almost a year when everything happens. She knows the Duke has the essences the lords left behind. Willa is a witch and with all her witchiness she brings them back. Magic comes with a cost though and despite always being ok with the cost this time it’s different. See everyone knows Willa. They know she married Lady Dimitrescu. They know she’s family now. They all love her in their own way. However, there’s just one person who doesn’t know her at all because the cost of bringing her wife back was for said wife to have all memories of Willa be erased. DUN DUN DUNNNNN. Angst ensues. Hehe.

Now for the second WIP. This one takes place in a fantasy world, rather than the sci-fi’ness of Resident Evil. We are, however, taking all of the characters from the Village (as of now everyone who isn’t from the Village i.e. Ethan, Chris, Mia, etc. won’t be part of it). Anyway fantasy world. There are humans and “monsters” in this world. Most humans fear and despise monsters so they are stuck in an unending battle. As such there are Hunters in this world. They are a dedicated group made up of humans who have enhanced themselves by becoming the very things they hunt (very hypocritical, if you ask me). While the humans work to rid the world of monsters said “monsters” are beginning to unite under one banner, Mother Miranda’s (she’s not the villain in this story -gasp-). Our OC is Selene, who is one of the top Hunters in the order. Selene is tired of the order and of fighting and she finally has been given her final quest. She is to infiltrate Mother Miranda’s lands and bring down this growing evil. Selene is so very ready to do it but when she gets there things aren’t what they seem. In this new land there are humans and monsters and each group lives together in harmony. The humans there are happy. But still Selene investigates and keeps trying to infiltrate Mother Miranda’s circle. Then when she almost does she meets the lady vampire in charge of all vampires and seemingly Mother Miranda’s right hand. I won’t spoil much of the rest of this but just know when she meets Lady Dimitrescu this becomes the final straw and she switches allegiances (though she was already at the edge before getting to Mother Miranda’s lands). So this is a bit enemies to lovers trope but not really because Selene doesn’t really hate on Lady D and while Lady doesn’t trust her at the beginning she also isn’t hateful or completely hateful. Anyway as you can see this one has quite a bit more stuff because I’ve thought about this one the longest and I get to make this whole new world. Also because while the characters appear to be the same they aren’t actually evil evil so I have to write how they actually are here. Like, Lady D and Karl still fight like cats and dogs but they are both ride or die for each other. In addition, the personalities will sorta stay the same with the exception of Donna, because I’m sorta ready to write a self confident and quippy Lady Beneviento. Lady D and Lady B are the best sisters ever. Oh and Mother Miranda will also be different because she’s actually good and motherly 🧐.

So there ya have it sweet potatoes. What do we think about those two? When the moment comes to write them and put them out I know I’ll be super excited. Still not sure which will be first or if I’ll write them at the same time ( I think that would actually be a nightmare)

If you couldn’t tell I do love me some fantasy. Hence why my OC’s tend to be either witchy or “fantastical” ?? I say that because Selene isn’t exactly a witch. (Looks at Selene’s character sheet). Yeah she’s not really a witch. Then we have Nine who… (yeah no we won’t say much more of Failing Grace because Nine’s identity is part of the main plot, you thought I’d slip, didn’t you?). Oh and btw these WIPs are definitely subject to change as well as the OC names. Just in case for when I actually do write, take everything I said above with a grain of salt. 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Ok that’s that. I need to get some sleep before work in 4hrs and change hehe 😅 byeee tater tots, stay awesome!

[toadletthethird]

My friend just finished her first stp playthrough in which she kept saying the most opportunist-coded shit possible so here are some highlights:

• (when asked to explain her motivation in the first chapter) "Why would I take the blade? Killing the princess is.....not very gentlemanly....... I respect the code of street fighting - don't attack the unarmed"

"Didn't you return for the blade?"

"Well when I turned back, I was without it. And when I picked it up, she was in another room. Only when I returned I was fully armed and she was too! I mean, she cut her hand with something. So it's all fair"

• (first reaction to Opportunist) "yaay someone who'll agree with me on anything :D"

• She decided to leave the basement because the witch locked her in there and escaped in the previous chapter -> wild

• Was ok with Networked Wild until Witch's voice appeared ("noooo I don't like being yelled at :(") Still helped the Wounded Wild tho

• Then got Beast -> Den with Skeptic ("finally someone who tells me what to do :D"). Paid no attention to Hunted. In the end, it turned out she had forgotten about him altogether ("is that a new one??")

• She tried to save Den, but because she had a blade behind her back, Den injured her

• Then Stranger. (first reaction to Contrarian) "Finally, someone with my level of intelligence!" (said as a praise, apparently). Didn't allow contrarian to throw the blade away

• Then Prisoner. (about Skeptic) "Yep, he talks the talk!" (after a minute of his monologues) "wacky captain obvious...."

• Was ok with Prisoner's plan until she asked for the blade. Attempted to cut out Prisoner herself, and when was justly knocked down, she stabbed her

(after a few phrases into Grey's chapter) "shhhhit should've let her kill this dumbass.... I'm talking about myself btw"

• Was ok with Nightmare until the staircase, "Yeah, sure, like I can't come up with reasons for her to go first!"

Then near the door, "wawawait, let's play dumb! Mmmmm I think it's closed, but what do I know, I've never seen any doors before..... (Nightmare tells to actually try opening it) Well damn. Guess we have to kill her now" -> wraith

• She was happy to see Oppy again and stated that his arguments made sense.....but didn't like how bossy he was during wraith possession, so she jumped into the hole just to piss him off

• Got the New and Unending Dawn ending, which she liked a lot. After looking at other options, she still leaned towards her canonical choice

• Also some commentary about the good ending: "The narrator is guilty of naivety. Serves him right. Even if I agree with his plan, I wouldn't do it at my expense..... Wait are they applauding? :D Yeah maybe it's not so bad" (and no jokes.....we stayed in the titles for quite a time to discuss the playthrough. so it really wasn't so bad)

Ok ok it's getting long, so I'm putting her reaction to PATD under the cut

(after seeing the TLQ) "Wait he's so good at this... Is this Skeptic?"

"WAIT IS THIS OPPORTUNIST? OHH SO FEARLESS WITHOUT ME HUH?? WENT ALL WILD WITHOUT ME???"

"I like Hero, he has his subordination in check :D"

(about this scene)

"Yeah no way we're giving her the knife"

".....huh?"

"What? I don't need backstabbing. (*Opportunist says the same*) Well I can't disagree with that... I'm sure of this decision"

"🤨"

"What?"

"I'm saying this with all my love, but..... Do you remember how you killed the Prisoner because you didn't trust her with the blade, and how did it end?"

"WELL I'M NOT GOING TO SLAY THIS ONE"

"And do you remember how Den bit you because you couldn't throw the blade aside?"

"BUT I'LL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT NOW"

"🤨🤨"

"Wait I'm getting self continuous... Fine, you're right, let's give it to her..."

But we continued with the first choice because. time to learn the lesson.

Then we played through the escape together ending and she was SO stubborn with the idea that the princess will stab her. Even when she threw the blade away, she was like "ohhhh so what can she do without the blade huh? Strangle me??? Noo, I know — she'll lock me down here again, she can do that............" And she was genuinely surprised when nothing bad happened. And loved this ending so much. So. this adventure was definitely something to see.

[sarafinamk]

Fallen Angel (Reader Insert) Incorrect Quotes Part 3

The Smiling Critters Space Riders Au and the character "Z" belongs to @onyxonline

If you haven't checked out the Fallen Angel (Reader Insert) series, you can check it out here. The reader will be referred to as both (Y/n) and Archangel. Enjoy!

Warning: Cursing

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Bobby: Don't break someone's heart, they only have one.

Archangel: Break one of their bones instead, they have 206 of them.

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Crafty: Do you guys ever have a civilized conversation that doesn't require insulting each other every time you get a chance?

Z: No.

Archangel: No.

Crafty: Didn't think so.

----------

Archangel: I've invited you here because I crave the deadliest game...

Hoppy, nodding: Knife Monopoly.

Archangel: I was actually going to play Russian Roulette, but now I'm really interested in whatever knife Monopoly is.

----------

Archangel: I found a note in one of my old logs that said Note to self: Get revenge on Captain Dogday.

Archangel: Except I couldn't remember what I was supposed to get revenge for.

Archangel: But I trusted my own judgment, so I went with it.

Dogday: Hmm... I don't know what you were supposed to get revenge for, either.

Archangel: I can only assume you got what was coming to you. Not 100 percent sure, though.

Dogday: Well, whatever I did, I guess I deserved it.

Archangel: Let that possibly be a lesson to you.

----------

Archangel: The only thing keeping me from running away and hiding from society for the rest of my life is spite. I could disappear forever, but there are some bitches whose downfalls I have yet to witness, and I wanna be around when that happens.

----------

Poppy: Your archangel was in a fight.

Dogday: Oh no, that's terrible!

Catnap: Did they win?

----------

Dogday: Did Z just tell me he loved me for the first time?

Archangel: Yeah, he did.

Dogday: And did I just do finger guns back?

Archangel: Yeah, you did.

----------

Archangel, watching Hoppy do something stupid: Kickin, you're officially only the second highest risk here...

Kickin: Hell yeah! I'm gonna-

Archangel: Don't finish that sentence, you'll move back up.

----------

Archangel: How do ethical philosophers feel about murder?

Bubba: Well, it's frowned upon.

Archangel: Okay, but what if the reason you want to murder someone is to make your life easier?

Archangel: That's okay, right?

----------

Bobby: And now for a gay update with Captain Dogday and Z.

Dogday: Getting gayer.

Bobby: Thank you, Captain.

----------

Bubba to Archangel: We call that a traumatic experience.

Bubba, turning to Catnap: Not a "bruh moment."

Bubba, turning to Kickin: Not "sadge."

Bubba, turning to Hoppy: And DEFINITELY not an "oof LMAO."

----------

Archangel: Why do you look like that, Captain?

Dogday, laying face-first on the floor: Like what?

Archangel: Like you're dead.

Dogday: It's because I'm dying. Leave me here to perish.

Catnap: Dogday accidentally called Z "babe" in front of everyone today.

Dogday: *sobs into the floor*

----------

Archangel: What's this?

Bobby, hugging Archangel: Affection!

Archangel: Disgusting.

Archangel:... Do it again.

----------

Kickin: You know, (Y/n), when you generalize, you tell general... lies.

Archangel: ...

Archangel: Are you trying to teach me moral lessons through puns?

----------

*One of the many, MANY fights before the events of Fallen Angel*

Dogday: You tricked me!

Archangel: I deceived you. 'Trick' makes it sound like we have a friendly relationship.

----------

Archangel: Here's a fun Christmas idea. We hang mistletoe, but instead of kissing, you have to FIGHT whoever else is under it.

Dogday: (Y/n), no.

Hoppy and Catnap: Mistlefoe.

Dogday: Please stop encouraging them.

----------

Archangel: I have a plan.

Dogday: No murder!

Archangel: ...

Dogday: ...

Archangel: I no longer have a plan.

----------

Archangel: If I die, you can have what little I own.

Bobby: Wait. What do you mean "if" you die?

Archangel: My unending existence is fueled by pure spite, that of which the painful experiences of life have rendered me full.

Bobby:

Bubba, sighing: Let me call your therapist again.

----------

Archangel: I'm bored, any suggestions?

Catnap: Sleeping is nice.

Archangel: I acknowledge your suggestion, and I'm deciding to ignore it.

----------

Hoppy: You think you're smarter than everyone else.

Bubba: I don't think I'm smarter than everyone else. I know I am.

----------

Kickin: So, I MEANT to say: "Oh crap, I left my phone my car," but what I ALMOST said was "Oh no, I left my cone in my phar," and damn, wouldn't that have been embarrassing, but I caught myself, and what I ACTUALLY said was:

Kickin: "Ah, my fart cone."

Kickin: So, anyway...

----------

Archangel: I know you don't have to listen to me...

Z: Glad we agree on something.

----------

Dogday: Do you have any skeletons in your closet?

Archangel: You mean literally or figuratively?

Dogday: Honestly, the fact that I have to specify...

----------

Dogday: (Y/n), I am questioning your sanity...

Hoppy: I never questioned it. I knew their sanity was missing from the start.

----------

Catnap: Why is Hoppy rolling on the floor laughing? And what happened to Kickin's head?

Archangel, sighing: Kickin was about to hit his head on the door frame, so I told him to duck and he quacked at me.

Archangel: And then he hit his head.

Catnap: *wheezes*

[mariatakesover]

Night Unending - Crossroads

7k words | Caleb helps you to escape from him. Zayne and you talk about their shared childhood. Chapter 09 of Night Unending. And beyond. 2/3

First part

Tags: Angst, Semi-Canonical Character, Fluff and Angst, Hurt No Comfort, No Smut, Possessive Behavior, mc has a name, jealously, Semi-established relationship with Zayne, I'm Sorry, the fluff is for Zayne, the angst is for Caleb, Post-Canon, shared childhood, my take on MC x Caleb x Zayn childhood, the angst is for Caleb, no proofread.

You can read it on A03.

Caleb towers me winning and watching me struggle from his high up stance, with my arms aloft and imprisoned by his large hands. I don’t stop wrestle even if I don’t win, squirming with frustration that makes me want to scream.

“Maria, I’ve always held myself back and endured. Day after day, after day. It was suffocating” the rain quickly has become a storm and a lightning strikes the sky, framing one side of Caleb’s face. “But now, I’m tired of playing these games”

The storm rumble in the living room, a sharp sound caused by the striking lighting catches the attention of Caleb for a moment and I take my opportunity to free from his grip. With all the force I gather I push him down onto the coffee table, using my foot as leverage to kick his tight between my legs making his balance to falter. His limbs are longer than mine, so I move quickly away from his reach.

I stumble while running away from the living room into my room and I grab my travel bag. There’s no time to think about Caleb monitoring my phone or not as I text Zayne the location of the building we are and make sure to pack something to protect me from the pouring rain outside. I’m hoping that Zayne hasn’t left Skyheaven by the time I’m sending the first message in days. I don’t waste time waiting for the small ‘read’ notice because I can hear Caleb’s loud steps towards my room, his room.

I can’t let him to catch me again so I maintain a large distance between us when I leave his room, moving quickly to the side when his arms are extended to reach me. Caleb may be stronger but I’m faster than him.

My guns are in the living room and it’s the only thing left I need to leave his home, so I sprint towards the center of the house, frantically searching every surface. If they're not in the living room, where they could be? Caleb won't—

“Are you looking for something?” he asks me in a cheerful tone behind my back, so fucking smug about it too. I put my bag over my shoulder, tightening the traps to my body as I slowly turn to face him. “I guess you reaaally want to leave, uh?”

I create a big gap between us, trying to remember how the furniture behind me is placed, so I won't be cornered. There's a buzz on my phone but I make my best to ignore it, never leaving my eyes from Caleb’s arms and face. I can't check the response right now; I just need a little bit of luck.

“Where did you put my guns?” I sneer at him, using the small question to search the surroundings behind Caleb, but the darkness makes it impossible to look.

“It’s pouring outside, pip-squeak” he ignores my question and cross his arms over his chest, tilting his head to the side, “Where are you gonna go? I’m the only person you know in all Skyheaven”

“You’re not”

His smile drops so fast that I’m a little amused by it; he didn't expect it and now I can fight back. Caleb's face frowns, not quite sure if he listened correctly. One of the high cards he held against me was the fact that I was utterly alone in Skyheaven, except for him. Colonel or not, he must've taken pride in being the only person I could ever rely on.

That may be truth before, when I used to tell him things Grandma shouldn't know, or when all the friends I managed to made stopped talking to me and invited me to their houses. When kids bullied me or when I had bad grades in high-school. Or when I told him how bad I wanted to be friends with the quiet kid with glasses who often ignored me when Josephine's friends came over for dinner.

“Who could you possibly run to?”

His expression was utterly out of himself, even when he laughed at the ridiculous idea of me having people in my life. His brows were fused together but his eyes were black and impossible to decipher in the darkness of the room. His body went completely stiff, his wide shoulders squared and his chin went higher, trying to keep the composure and pretending my response didn't affected the way it was affecting him right now.

Towering over me, he walks in my direction as I walk backwards with long steps. Even if he is watching me from above, it doesn't affect me anymore.

I’ve always hated how tall he grew up compared to me, with a whole gap of forty centimeters and his body the double size of mine. But, in the last few years things changed for me, I was no longer intimidated by taller people, let alone men, and my body kept developed until I end up being taller than the rest of the girls at the Academy. As a Hunter, I snatched a few centimeters extra the last two years and I also wore platform boots with the uniform.

My body also grew wider because of the constant training and now I have strong muscles and enough strength to have beaten some male collages at the last work-related dinner. It doesn't matter if Caleb was stronger, what matters is making enough time to Zayne to arrive.

Walking backwards towards the kitchen, I check the last message notification I have received. Zayne’s message is short and precise: ‘I’m on my way.’ I must've spent too much time reading it, to make sure I wasn't reading it wrong, because my back is against the isle counter. The next thing I know, my phone jumps out of my hand, suspended in midair and floats towards Caleb.

He keeps walking towards me with a predatory gaze, black eyes and obscured body frame. With the stupid uniform or without it, it was undeniable his strong and authoritarian aura. Not intimidated but certainly alert at his behavior, I've refrained from running at him for my phone. It was of no use anyways. I was counting on running in circles as long I could, making sure the predator was busy enough to forget about his own ability.

My phone floated directly towards his extended hand. Caleb grabbed it and read the same message I read. He became even more infuriated than what already was, I was able to see his eyes perfectly under the suddenly brightness of a new lighting striking the sky. The deep pools of purple were almost nonexistent, full blown shiny pupils were looking at me with the same madness and the same threating way they looked at the interrogation room. But this time, I am no longer pressed by the confused feelings I felt the first time I saw him after his own death.

I notice some strange shape on the side of his all-black sweat pants, I could swear it looks like a gun hostler. Caleb’s signature weapon is also a double wielded pistol, just like my hunter firearms. If I don’t find mines, I could use his instead.

“Oh, I see. So, this is what’d you been doing, uh?” he mutters with a large smile on his lips, half of his face is covered by my phone as he reads Zayne’s previous messages with his extended arm. He tilts his head to the side to give me some fake impressions of the incredible sweet messages I’ve received from Zayne the last few days, teasing me. “And here I thought you were out for a super-secret mission from the Hunter’s Association. You got me worried! I spent too much resources following you to make sure you were safe, but I guess it wasn’t necessary since you weren’t running to danger… you were running to a man”

His slip makes me curious about what resources he used for tracking me down every time I got out. Specially since I went numerous times to the place of the explosion to look out for Kevi and to the Hospital to keep an eye on Mia. If the Fleet had me followed, that means I guided them to Kevi. In other words, even if I didn’t meet Kevi that night and took him to Zayne, it was still my fault how he ended up living with that “Professor”. And the chip on Kevi’s body, that my fault too.

In the end, Caleb wasn’t monitoring my phone like I suspected him to do, he didn’t know about the messages Zayne sent me these days, judging from his voice raised an octave every time he read another message. He was monitoring all of my whereabouts every time I put a step out of his home, which makes me less guilty about the tracker I put on his necklace.

The situation makes me crackle.

“That’s what you been worried about?” I tease him with my arms crossed, even with our distance and smaller high difference than previous years, I look down on him like he was some fly. I muster a bit courage as I walk towards him, my new route being the door at the entrance of the house, couple of meters next to him. “That I was out with him? He was working at the Hospital, you know? It was easy to run into him every time”

His jaw clutches, the muscle on his jaw pumps under the faint light provided by the storm. The grip on my phone is so tight that I’m worried Caleb ends up breaking it in half. I’m amused by how worked up he looks, rabid like a dog, his chest raising up and down. Surely his face must’ve flushed by now, the heat flowing from his chest and neck. All of it… because I ran into Zayne a couple times? How protective he can be when I’m not longer a child, but an adult who makes her own choices? It was endearing when we were kids and some boys teased him about me, Grandma Josephine and I laughed about it every single time. In high-school, he got so mad when some guy asked me to be his date for prom. He even got mad at me for taking too much time to turn down his offer.

But I’ve never been mad at him when girls followed home after the basketball practices, or when they’d waited outside of his classroom, making it hard for other people to walk in the corridor. I’d never asked nor expected for Caleb to reject every girl’s approach to be their date for prom and instead asked me to be his date.

Never paid too much attention to it since we were always together, living under the same roof and spending almost every minute of our childhood together too. But that was a long time ago.

We aren’t kids anymore.

“What did you expect? For us to play house forever, gege?” I use the term the same way I used when we were younger, but this time he doesn’t smile and hugs me like he used to. I’m a few meters from the door and a few centimeters from him, if I raise my arm, I may be able to touch him. However, he filches at my words.

“Don’t call me that”

I take the last steps in his direction, looking at him with big eyes and my arms behind my back. I’m walking over the edge to see if he falls into my small trap. We are closer now, yet there’s a small gap between us that it needs to be closed.

His evol wraps around my body only to drag me in front of him, my arms are stiff behind my back but as I still can move my hands. I’m not fully immobilized by him. My feet slip onto the floor, my shoes making chirring sounds as I’m being moved forward until I stop in front of him. Our chests are touching and I can feel the breeze of his agitated breath in my face. Up close I can see more of his face and the dark pink on his cheeks, his mouth is open a little and the tendons of his neck are visible under the faint light.

Caleb holds my face with both of his large hands, looking down at my eyes with so many emotions in his face. He drops a long sigh before speaking.

“I keep myself for you, Maria. All those years I protected you from everyone who wanted to mistreat you” he shakes his head with disbelief, his fingers grab my face a little tighter. “I needed to keep you safe. I managed to send away everyone who wanted you, so why? Why you choose him? Of all the people you could rely on, why him?”

I place one of my hands on his larger one, stroking with my thumb his knuckles. I could feel the power of his evol slipping away from my body as I move even closer to him, wrapping on arm around his waist. It pains me so much what I’m about to do, my resolution faltering as I swallow the lump in my throat.

I have to remind myself that this isn’t a safe space.

Exploring his lower back, I caress the hard muscles softly. His eyes are still looking for an answer of me, I but I can’t come with something that won’t break him more than he already looks. Maybe the truth is the only weapon I should be wielding. My fingers seize what I’m looking for and I get ready to respond, using all the oxygen in my lungs to admit something deeply guarded in my heart for years.

“I lov— “

I hiss in pain, the hold in my face became quickly an iron grip and it hurts when I’m tossed to the side. I may have stumble, but I recover instantly with his firearm now in my hand. It seems like something’s really wrong with Caleb, even with his extremely jealous behavior there’s a strange look in his eyes I barely catch as he puts his hands on both sides of his head, grunting in pain. He shakes his head and his hair shuffles with the intensity of his movements; I put away in my belt his firearm and look at the door, now the escape route is clear.

Should I’d have been running towards the exit.

Why am I running towards him?

His strong legs seem to quiver, his knees are buckling a bit and his body trembles as he’s been electrocuted. I place one of my hands on his shoulder, unsure what to do and what to say. I called for him, almost yelling his name but he didn’t seem to listen at all. He keeps murmuring muffled things at himself that I couldn’t understand. I realized he is walking backwards too so I try to chase after him, raising my hand again to touch his face.

That seems to distract him from the pain he is enduring because snaps the moment my hand reaches his. There is a nasty change in his eyes, at first, he looked so afraid but now all I see is a murderous gaze. He uses one hand to lift me in the air, his evol is pressing down my throat and as I try to breath, gasping desperately for air while my feet are moving farther from the floor. Both of my hands are on my neck urgently making efforts to break free with from this grip but there’s nothing I can hold to.

“No—please” he cries, my vision goes hazy and I can barely see him struggle with himself. “Stay back, please”

I left out a chocked sob.

My head feels so heavy right now, I can’t keep my eyes open no matter how much I try and even my legs and arms feel numb. I don’t have any energy left to breath anymore or to unloose the deathly grasp. I could’ve use my evol to fight back, but its no use anymore and I couldn’t bear the very real danger of hurting him, since I’ve never used my own ability to shut down another evolver’s. I may not even be powerful enough to do that.

My plan was just stealing his gun and pointed at him, just in a threating way enough show him I’m serious business and to leave with something to defend myself in case I encounter new Wanderers. I never planned on actually hurting him, just I just wanted to leave.

His voice is utterly broken and raspy, like he is making a magnanimous effort to communicate with me. I’m somewhat dropped on the ground and my knees hurt at the sudden contact, gasping for air in a crazed manner, both of my hands touching my throat in reflex. I cough violently, my eyes are all watery and my neck hurts like it’s on fire. I’m so shaken by it that I stare at the ground for solid minutes while I hear he anguish sounds Caleb’s making while walking in the opposite direction of me.

I managed to sit down and start my way to him again, walking in all fours as he stumbles against one of the living cabinets. He’s moaning in pain, his eyes squeeze shut and I want to cry in despair; I’ve never seen him so damaged. But his evol pushes my far away, sliding near the door.

Looks like he is attempting to send me out of here.

Butt seeing him like this, how could I?

“Caleb…” I mutter; tears had formed in my eyes. “What’s happening?”

He tosses my phone followed by both of my Hunter firearms; hidden in the cabinet he is against and his expression changes from utterly dangerous to complete agonizing in seconds. In a split of a second, the look in his eyes truly looks like he wants to… kill me, his body reacts too attempting to stand still. But then, grunts in pain and his intense gaze changes. I recognize that part of him, because part of my Caleb is still inside him, I can see that now.

I need to reach for that Caleb.

As I stand up, with my head still heavy from the momentarily lack of air, I make one step towards him again, way more unstable I would like to. But a hand stops me.

It’s no longer Caleb’s evol the one who is pushing me away from him and in direction to the exit. Cold hands keep me in place, hugging my torso from failing and I hardly hear my own cries. I’m by the door with the deafening sound of the storm crashing the sky when Zayne gives Caleb a nod and guides me outside the building. I’m crying with such a violence that my body shakes between Zayne’s arms by the time I’m seated in his car.

My hair is all wet from the pouring rain, I’m making a mess with constant droplets falling from my drenched clothes into the leather of the car but I can’t stop crying. I’m also soaking Zayne’s clothes too, but he doesn’t seem to mind as he stokes my hair in silence.

“I need to go back” I weep, “something is wrong with Caleb, I need to help him”

“He struggling right now, if you go back, you may be in danger” Zayne argues, his voice is soft and low next to my temple. I can’t receive any type of comfort right now; I don’t deserve it. Not when he is out there suffering because of me. His own cries replay on my mind.

“We need to help him, Zayne!” I remove myself from his embrace to look at him with pleading eyes. His hazel eyes look at me with such a worried look, I don’t think I’ve ever been so affected by anything in my life. His cold fingertips reach for my shaken hands and brushes my knuckles affectionally. I can see that he is trying to negotiate with me, knowing I won’t budge easily.

“And we will. But you are in no condition to help anyone at the moment, and any further plans will endanger him too” I don’t know what Zayne means by that and he looks at my confused expression thought my tears. “If he attacks you one more time, I won’t stand aside and watch. I’ll kill him myself” he responds, ever calmly through his soft voice.

I don’t say a word of protest when he takes me away from Caleb’s home, but I do try to spy from the inside of his house with hopes of catching him by the window. It’s of no use anyways, he must’ve still been on the same spot I left him. His painful image makes me want to puke my intestines out. I do accept Zayne’s offer of coming back tomorrow with his company to see Caleb, and he adds the promise of check Caleb’s vitals to make sure he’s okay before leaving. Because tomorrow will be the last day I would be able to see him before he goes in another Deepspace mission. Knowing what I know now, even if he lied about a chip controlling him, I can’t leave him just like that.

No, I will come back tomorrow morning.

We arrived to the hotel Zayne’s staying and I get out of the in silence. He guides me to his room with short directions and opens the door for me. Inside I drop my firearms and leave my travel bag by the door before I make another mess. I walk to the bathroom and Zayne’s prepares the bathtub with steamy water, since apparently my own temperature had dropped. Lends me a dry change of clothes in the toilet and leaves me alone with my thoughts.

I don’t cry anymore, my mind is racing with all the things I’ve experimented in this short period of time, trying to make sense of all. When the water starts to get cold, I get out the tub and put warmer clothes than mine while leaving the bathroom without glancing not even one time around me. Zayne just sits in front of me, checks my pulse and my temperature, he doesn’t pry. I briefly remember about the wristband and I tell him about it, so he uses to check my wound too. He also pays extra attention to my neck, since I keep coughing from time to time and I can’t hide the pain it causes me. The skin is sore and very pink. Zayne doesn’t ask about it.

His closeness reminds me of the night when Caleb took me to his home and disinfected my wound. I want to move away from it, everything too fresh in my memory. Also, the pain.

However, his hands are complete opposites and when he touches my knee as a non-verbal confirmation that everything in my body is okay before getting up and give me space, I stop him.  I hold onto his sleeve and give him a pleading look. Zayne cups my cheek, ice cold in his fingertips and caress my chin with an affectionate but small smile. He waits. Waits for me to do something. I can push him aside, I can ask him to leave me alone, even yell at him and that won’t erupt any harsh reaction as he waits until I’m ready for the next step. Whatever that step may be.

I breath through my nose and settle the turmoil inside me for a moment as I get up and look at his green eyes, reaching for his own cheek and he melts under my touch with closed eyes and long dark eyelashes. He whines slightly in pain and I know is evol is acting up right now, making small snowflakes into his skin. I take his hand and kiss his scarred fingers melting some of those little daggers into his skin before speak.

“I’m so sorry, Zayne. Were you busy at this hour? I haven’t even asked”

“I was asleep. I have to return to Arko Hospital tomorrow, my trip got delayed because of the lockdown.” I nod, feeling guilty about mingled him in this mess. I should’ve really asked him first, or at least, replayed to some of his messages the last few days. But after I failed Kevi and Mia, I just didn’t have the energy to feel anything else than my own charged emotions and the days happened in a blur. I can barely recall what I did the days previous to the lockdown. “But, if I were on Linkon by the time you messaged me, I would’ve taken the Coelum Express in the middle of the night to fetch you”

A smile sits on my lips, tiny and shy. I nod again, but this time what I want to say is thank you.

He strokes my forehead swiftly, passing his fingers between my entangled hair and holds me by the back of my neck with such tenderness that makes me want to cry again. His thumbs draw circles onto my skin with feather-light touches. I recognize these lovely administrations like the palm of my hand, countless times he comforted me like this without utter a single word. Without demanding answers about my nightmares that got me covered in sweat and scared of my own shadow and my untamed behavior when I’m too overwhelmed.

“I’m sorry for ignoring you and out of the sudden, drag you into the weirdest family reunion ever” my useless try to humor this situation makes me feel even worse. “I just… I had none else” 

“I reckon being close with your family since we were children, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Must’ve been quite a shock for you”

I know what he means by that, and he is right. But I didn’t have much time to process Caleb’s presence at all, let alone been shocked because I got my undercover identity blown up and got sent to the interrogation room with him withing the same day, a couple minutes between both of those very dangerous situations. I still remember how scared I was, how infuriated and how confused when he was telling me what I should answer while checking for the cameras in the interrogation room.

Looking back, it seems like the Fleet knew more about me than I previously thought. Caleb mentioned about me going to the N109 Zone which also means, Operation Aether Ordeal’s information was incomplete and put me in danger the second I stepped in Skyheaven. I never stood a chance against them, maybe the Association is truly powerless under the military force of the Fleet. I should tell Captain Jenna about this when I get back to Linkon.

Super-secret missions, Spatium Core and even Ever aside, I need to see Caleb one last time before he goes into the Deepspace Tunnel for who knows how long. But the prospect of seeing him makes me sink in my place. Is truly the right decision? What if everything gets worse? What if he gets worse because I’m there?

“It was. It still is, I mean” I concede, suddenly feeling anxious.

I need to talk about this with someone.

Someone able to see my pain and sorrow for Caleb with the same value as Caleb’s own actions as Colonel of the Fleet and powerful evolver involved in something potentially more dangerous than the authoritarian military force. Seems like all the people I know would side on one thing over the other except for…

“Come, sit on the bed” Zayne guides me through the room and I obey, sitting in the border on the bed with my legs crossed. He let go my hand for a moment and comes back with a wholly blanket and places it on my shoulders, kneeling in front of me and stroking my scrapped knew with affectional touch. I take a look at his hands, the hard-working callouses and small scars in his fingers. There’s cold every time he is around, that’s what he says, but I’ve never felt warmer.

I start talking, spurting words after words without keeping vital information about what I saw except for the secret intel from the Operation Aether Ordeal, and that’s just because it has nothing to do with what worries me. I tell Zayne about the interrogation, about the man who confronted Caleb the first time he arrived to Skyheaven, about the chip on Kevi, about the “Professor” and his weird snake-looking guy who tried to kill me; I also detailed all the things I’ve noticed about Caleb’s behavior the past days, specially that reluctant force that controls him from time to time, like he was out of himself and fighting to take the control of his own body.

There’re details that won’t add to the story, so I kept it with me, like his fantasy world in where none could ever find me while he’s by my side, and his intense gaze accompanied with his dangerous threats to put a collar with a bell on my neck. I remember his hand caressing my calf and a shiver runs through my spine.

Zayne nods here and there while listening to my rant, questions will be asked at the end and I know, since doesn’t have a notepad to keep track of all the revelations, he’s paying extra attention and making metal notes. There are a couple times I noticed his expression changing from a relaxed and neutral one to a surprised and worried, but he doesn’t say anything. Probably just waiting for the right moment to leave some comments about certain topics, but his stance is a professional one and not the truly relaxed and calm he uses with me. So, that means is Dr. Zayne the one listening to all the small details about Caleb’s condition from my memory.

At the end, I feel extremely worn out and all the muscles around my mouth are sore from the constant chatter. I glimpse Zayne’s amused smile at my experimental stretches and massages on my jaw and I stop dead in my tracks. He may be a cardiologist and no a physio, but I’m pretty sure I’m doing something wrong with my face and he knows it but doesn’t want to say it. The heat flows and sits on my cheeks as I look down; I vaguely think with pride on my chest that his smile isn’t something the professional doctor would do, so I managed to break past his walls and found him in the end.

“From what I gather, he does seem to be in a complex and frail mental state. Do you know what happened to Caleb from the explosion to the moment you saw him again?” I shake my head and he hums. “Its not wise to allude directly to a chip controlling him since we don’t have tangible evidence or know how it works. However, I do think it can be the cause for this erratic behavior. He must’ve been in a lot of pain to hurt you, out of himself even”

“Have you seen some of this possession and obsessive behavior when we were children?”

He lets a small laugh.

“If you are asking me if I think a younger Caleb would so any of those things, I answer is no. But I’m not exactly surprised to lean about his devoted care for you and your safety”

“What do you mean?” Caleb used to be my favorite person in the world back when we were kids, but I never thought of him as my ultimate protector since he spent a lot of time around too many people, always the center of attention.

His charm was undeniable and he often held conversation with a lot of kids younger and older than him, specially when he became the basketball star in middle school. I’ve always tried to walk home by myself to avoid making him wait for me outside class or talk to me too much after his games cause girls often bullied me for his attention. So, when we were at home, I become much happier with being by his side.

We used to be friends, Caleb, Zayne and I before Zayne went to middle school earlier than us and stopped coming home to visit with his parents. After that, my teens years blend into a blur of responsibilities and extra-curriculum activities as president of my class every single year. Caleb and I spent most our free time watching movies and playing together, he often helped me with my homework since he was smarter and older than me. I remember feeling so dumb around him and knowing that Zayne was even further in his education, studying to become a doctor while I was struck on algebra and calculus.

“Caleb was always open to make friends and because of it, he had tons of different social circles. But none compared to you” I roll my eyes at the remark; I vividly remember how many social circles he had every time we walked to the school. People gather around him, in awe of his spectacular presence and charming personality, fighting for a space by his side. It made it difficult to walk, literally.

For me at least, since I wasn’t the center of attention, people pushed me out and I often stumble my way to class. Always got Caleb worried and he offered me to beat the shit out of the people who mistreated me, but I turned him down every time. I didn’t want to see someone hurting him, let alone for me. The outstanding student involved in fights wasn’t something Granma would approve either. And I would be my fault, even if Caleb didn’t say a word.

I guess I was the only one standing in the way of him becoming my ultimate protector.

“I think that’s why we tolerate each other so much, even after parting ways. He used to talk about you all the time, but didn’t let anybody go near you” Zayne’s voice dragged me out of my memories and I got a little startle by it. It also surprised me to know that they keep in touch. “He used to lie about you not being at home and Josephine scolded him for it. He often tried to discouraged me to be friends with you since I was much older”

“I thought you were friends with each other too” Zayne lets out a small chuckle, my statement sounded like a joke to him and I can’t help to wonder why. Both of them always seemed to be good friends in front of my eyes, at Zayne’s standards at least. Which is saying a lot.

“At first, yeah. But, as a child, making friends wasn’t a priority in my life. I was perfectly content by being at my own. I ignored him most of the time. However, you…” there is a light blush in his cheeks and his ears are red at the confession, he cannot see me directly anymore. “You kept coming back. I think you won me over with your silently approach and my parents loved you instantly. Caleb used to rant hours about you I would just… listen”

I smile briefly at the memory, at Zayne’s memory of our short-shared childhood. He was indeed older than us, he is older than Caleb too, but never took any particular interest that I couldn’t be part of. We liked to draw together and he used to read a lot, so I sit next to him in silence. That’s I used to be fond of, the calm and collected little Zayne with his glasses and extremely short answers. The adults were boring as they talked about things kids weren’t allowed to know and Caleb was very popular with the kids on the block, so he was outside playing basketball with them; even when he invited me to play, the others kids didn’t really like the prospect of playing with a little girl.

So, Zayne was the best option. He didn’t pay me too much attention at first, always focused on a different book but there were times when I asked things out loud and he responded. He had a lot of patience with me, specially when I asked topics where the response was way more serious and complex than expected. If I didn’t understand at first, I got really upset.

“I didn’t know you had a soft spot for me, Dr. Zayne” I playfully elbow his side.

“You can be very oblivious sometimes”

I nod, it’s not the first time he calls out my unawareness and borderline silliness. Sounds like a joke, but I know it’s true. If I’ve paid more attention to the things around me, maybe I would avoid certain major events from happen. Maybe I could’ve recalled all of those memories when Caleb was alongside me and when he left me alone so others kids won’t disturb me or got near me. Coming to think of, he was very protective of me, even with Granda or Zayne. I think I just didn’t mind it, having to grow so accustomed by it; it was like a second nature for both of us.

It's certainly a huge difference his overprotective self when he was young, but older than me, than now. I trusted his judgement since he was my most reliable and only friend. But know, it’s due past my time to make my own decisions and come up with my own conclusions. Ever since he started to be part of the DAA, he often kept things from me. Even the harmless ones. I barely know anything about him prior his official death.

What happened that day, why he insisted on accompanied me when I left the house, why he wanted to go to the convenience store for vinegar but came empty handed. Why he entered first to our house and what happened afterwards. How he was officially recorded as deceased when no body was to be found since he is very much alive. What happened to Grandma, why she died and I didn’t. How he became Colonel and how long he has been in the Deepsapce Tunnel with the Fleet. What’s with his erratic and frankly scary behavior, his over-the-top obsession with keeping me safe, his authoritarian façade and his alliance with shady people like the “Professor” who keeps a child kidnapped and brainwashed.

Most importantly, what happened to him? To my childhood best friend, my shoulder to lean on and my most loyal family member? I know he is in there, but I can’t reach out for him. There’s layers and walls protecting him from my grasp. And when I was sure I saw in those eyes something similar to the expressions he used to have with me, even if I was making him crazy about implying my non-existent relationship with Zayne in the process, he went over the rails and choked me.

But also begged me to leave.

I hardly recall Zayne rising from the bed and looking for something in the room, near the entrance. When he comes back and sits again next to me, he lends me my phone.

The glass is still wet from the heavy rain and there’s a crack in the screen. Other than that, works perfectly well as lights up and shows me Zayne’s messages. Caleb read some of them with such rage and mockery, practically ridiculing me for having those texts.

A new text-bubble draws my attention, I don’t recall send him a double message.

“Caleb sent me the password of main door, I believe he wanted you to go before something worse would happen” Zayne murmurs solemn. The last message sent to Zayne was a rushed combination of numbers and the exact floor of Caleb’s house. Something I didn’t thought I would’ve important to mention I the heat of the moment. I also don’t think I would’ve been able to recall with precision. “That’s why I’m sure he’s beyond of himself. Even as a little kid, he would give his right arm instead of hurting you”

I absent-mindedly caress the cracked screen with my thumb and I gasp in pain. A small bristle of glass cuts through my skin in one of the corners of my phone. It stings, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t draw blood.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by my attentive doctor as he inspects my thumb and uses the flash of his own phone to check on me. Feeling the torment of my commotional state, the tears are about to fall again.

“I need to see him”

“I know” he doesn’t seem surprised at my words.

“Would you take to him?”

“Yes”

I breath in profound relief. With the heavy storm outside, it would be very hard to find a cab willing to take me to Caleb’s house. The wait time would’ve risen up to an hour minimum for a normal ride and the fee would’ve also grown higher.

It’s also in the middle of the night.

But I won’t be able to sleep at all if I don’t see him one last time before he goes into that mission. I can’t leave him like that. He can’t go first this time. I won’t let him to do the same twice.

I won’t let him sacrifice himself again.

Zayne holds my hands; his big hand almost covers both of mine. I turn my body to face him entirely and his lovely hazel eyes meet mine. I stare at him for a while, his ears redden as time passes and I smile fondly at his shy conduct so different from his stoic demeanor. Without giving him time to process, I close the distance between us and I give him a small kiss on his cheek. My nose brushes against the side of his face, freshly shaved and always soft.

“Thank you, Zayne”

[emmitaaa4]

“A woman is not written in braille, you don’t have to touch her to know her.”

I'm tearing up. The comment below is how Azriel would speak of Elain when xyz happens and he lets his heart pour out (and I have the evidence of course).

She doesn’t like change and loves to love the world around her.

“Beautiful.” / “After all of this, the world needs more gardens.”

“In celebrating the traditions, even through the presents, we honor those who fought for its very existence, for the peace this city now has.”

She loves so hard she hurts herself at times and doesn't let me pick up the pieces, even though I always do it anyway.

So Elain silently cried, the tears so unending that I wondered if it was some sign of her heart bleeding out. Some sliver of hope that had shattered today--that love would trump even a mating bond.

(...)

Azriel carried Elain down, my sister silent and unresponsive in his arms. (...) Azriel, graceful as any courtier, offered her an arm (...) and led my sister toward the back doors into the garden, sunlight bathing them.

"What if" - I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden. “That is what she needs?

“I didn’t hear you.” Azriel stepped forward. “But you heard something else."

“Azriel’s hazel eyes churned as he studied my sister, her too-thin body.”

“I can help her,” said Azriel, stepping to the table as Elain silently rose.

“A seer,” he said, more to himself than us. “The Cauldron made you a seer.” / It made sense, I supposed, that Azriel alone had listened to her. / Elain blinked and blinked, eyes clearing again. As if the understanding had freed her from whatever murky realm she’d been in.

“What about Elain?” / “I’m getting her back” “Are you hurt?” She shook her head, devouring the sight of him as if not quite believing it. “You came for me.” 

Azriel still cradling Elain to his chest. (...) Rhys lunged for Azriel, taking Elain from him and gently setting my sister down. Azriel rasped, swaying on his feet, “We need Helion to get these chains off her.”

 

He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. “It will serve you well.” (...) I have never once seen Azriel let another person touch that knife.

Az said nothing. No, he just moved toward her. “Sit. I’ll take care of it.”

 “Wait,” Azriel said, nothing but command in his voice. (...) Azriel didn’t let go. “Wait until everyone is seated before eating.”

“I’d feel bad for the mice,” Azriel muttered. (...) earning a grateful smile from Elain. (...) the light that returned to Elain’s eyes.

“Because of the shit with Elain?” Azriel stilled. “What happened to Elain?” (...) A fight with Nesta. don’t bring it up,” he warned when Azriel’s eyes darkened. Cassian surveyed the shadows gathered around Az. “You all right?” His brother nodded. “Fine.” But shadows still swarmed him. Cassian knew it was a lie, but didn’t push it. Az would speak when he was ready”

Nesta saw the blow land, like a physical impact, in Elain’s face, her posture. No one spoke, though shadows gathered in the corners of the room, like snakes preparing to strike.

“We won’t allow any harm to come to Elain. Rhys warded her this morning, and we have eyes on her at all times.” “Eyes can be blinded,” Nesta said. “Not the ones under my command,” Azriel said with a soft menace. Nesta met his stare, knowing he was the only one aside from Feyre who could truly understand her hesitation.

She’s stubborn like a mule but as delicate as a flower, always sad but never beaten.

“It’s already ended badly. Now it’s just a matter of how we meet the consequences.”

“Why wouldn’t I be all right?” she asked, a smile lighting up her face. I’d seen those same smiles before, on my own damn face. / Elain, it seemed, was as sleepless as me.

“Shall I tend to my little garden forever? You can’t have it both ways. You cannot resent my decision to live a small, quiet life, while refusing to let me do anything greater.”

I love the way she understand what I'm trying to say without needing to hear me say it, when I can't seem to formulate anything at all.

Elain looked up at Azriel, their eyes meeting, his hand still lingering on the hilt of the blade.

Then his gaze shifted to Elain, and though it was utterly neutral, something charged went through it. Between them. Elain’s breath caught slightly.

He left the rest unspoken. (…) Elain's large brown eyes flickered, well aware of all that. Just as he knew she was well aware of why Azriel so rarely came to family dinners these days.

"Yes," Elain breathed, like she read the decision.

She's probably the best thing that's happened to me.

“It’s for the headaches everyone always gives you. since you rub your temples so often.” (...) Then Azriel tipped his head back and laughed. I’d never heard such a sound, deep and joyous. Elain smiled again, ducking her head. Azriel mastered himself enough to say, “Thank you.” I’d never seen his hazel eyes so bright, the hues of green amid the brown and gray like veins of emerald. “This will be invaluable.”

It was three by the time the others went to bed. Azriel and Elain remained in the sitting room.

Azriel stood in the doorway, monitoring them. As if he’d heard Elain’s sharp laugh and wondered what had caused it.

Shadows darkened his eyes, full of enough pain that (...) she understood why he stood near the doorway, why he wouldn’t go near the fire. His secret to tell, never hers.

There she was. The faelights gilded Elain’s unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn.

A headache powder he kept on his nightstand at the HoW. Not to use, but just to look at. Which he'd done every night he'd slept there. Or attempted to sleep there.

He chuckled, unable to suppress the impulse. (...) Elain's mouth twitched into a smile (...) He offered a smile back.

His head went quiet.

There is lust. There is tension. But there is also so much more.

[haroldhearsawho]

maybe this is too much for like . a random tuesday. but what about dick and nix getting married at their kitchen table. like it’s when they’re still living in jersey and they had a huge fight about their future and nix picks up rings when he’s in the city and they don’t have anything official and no witnesses but they exchange vows at their kitchen table where they eat dinner together every night. you see the themes

YES I LOVE THIS SO MUCH OMG

The fight about their future was definitely Nix lashing out due to his insecurities that he’s never going to be good enough for Dick and someday he’ll come to his senses and leave him, and realize that of course he wants to be a father and have children and a family and he’ll find a nice perfect little wife without the alcoholism or the family drama or all the trauma or secrecy or religious guilt or societal intolerance who can give him all of that like Nix can’t. And he yells that all at Dick who is just appalled that Nix would ever think any of that or ever think so little of himself or Dick’s feelings or commitment and devotion to him. How wonderful and precious he is or how much Dick loves and treasures and cherishes him and how lucky Dick is to have him. How Dick could never want anyone else, could never even dream of it. How Dick couldn’t ever live without him. Can’t ever imagine life without him.

And Dick tells this all to Nix not realizing that maybe he’s never really told him so in as many words, thought it went without saying but apparently not and he needs to fix that right now because he can’t ever have Nix having these doubts about him or them or himself ever again. And Nix absolutely melts, is speechless for a few minutes just staring at Dick almost taken aback at the magnitude of what he just said and how uncommon it is for Dick to bear his heart and feelings out on the table like that so openly and vulnerably. And then Nix pounces on him kissing him hard and it’s all teeth and tongue but it’s perfect and he only breaks apart to breathe into Dick’s mouth “Say it again” “Say what again?” ��All of it” And Dick laughs and says “I’m never going to leave you Lew. No matter what. I love you. You’re it for me. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives, however that may look like or wherever that may be, if you’ll have me” and then Nix blurts out “Let’s get married. Marry me. Right now.” And Dick kinda looks confused and shocked but also so so happy and before he can ask how that’s even possible Nix says “Remember how once we both said that we’d marry each other if we could? If it were legal to do so? Well fuck the law. Fuck it all. All that matters is that we make vows to one another. We’ll be married in our own eyes and hearts. We can get each other rings and no one has to know what they mean to one another but us. But they’ll be a sign of our commitment to each other, that we’ll never leave one another. We’ll sign a pledge, an oath that we’ll stay together forever.”

And then they go into the city and pick out rings for each other not giving a single fuck what it might look like to everyone else around them or the jeweler. Nix tries to pay for his own ring too but Dick absolutely won’t stand for that, he’s absolutely going to pay for the ring he puts on Nix’s finger that stands for his unending love and devotion and commitment to the love of his life. And he tells Nix that and Nix melts again and can’t argue against it. Then they get back home and each get out a paper and pen and go sit in separate rooms and spend a few hours writing down their vows to one another. When they’re both finished they meet again at the kitchen table and write out a sort of marriage certificate that they each sign and date as an oath that cannot be broken, pledging their commitment to one another. Then they stand in front of each other and read their vows to one another which results in both of them happy crying and take turns putting their rings on each other’s fingers while asking the other if they will take them as their “lawfully” wedded spouse and each answering a teary eyed “yes.” And maybe first they both get down on one knee for the other with their rings held out and ask if the other will marry them, and then they both end up on their knees together face to face embracing.

(Or maybe they had talked about getting “married” like this before and had already picked out and bought each other rings and wrote their vows but didn’t know that the other had done so until then when they both go upstairs to their bedroom to their respective nightstands and pull them out where they had both hidden them.)*

Then Dick takes Nix on top of the kitchen table, both of them fully clothed, because they can’t wait to go upstairs, they need to consummate their marriage RIGHT NOW and Dick needs to have Nix, now his spouse, his HUSBAND, NOW and they can’t stop staring at their rings and they’re both smiling and giggling during it and it’s rushed and fast and clumsy but so, so good. And then once they’ve recovered and are ready to go at it again they go upstairs and make love properly and slowly in their bed, taking their time and getting each other fully naked and worshipping one another’s bodies, whispering sweet promises and declarations of love in one another’s ears.

*The scene of them reading their hand written vows to one another makes me think of the heart wrenching scene in the brilliant fic A Spell of Riot by churchkey where they both write and read apology letters to each other while Nix is going through a recovery program for alcoholism

[dancingundermoonlight101]

hiiii I love all your little blurbs that show on my fyp your angst stuff hits so well…could I ask for something following Megs’ “death” after the TFP premiere and Optimus struggling to mourn, due to them being enemies and having to keep a brave face? Again, luv your stuff. Have an awesome day.

Optimus had to smile. Pretend he was as glad as everyone else. Had to ignore the bitterness he felt as his teammates, in their own ways, expressed how glad they were over Megatron's death. Feel unending guilt at the fact that he even feels bitter about it. He cares about his teammates. He knows each and everybody has lost something precious at Megatron's, Decepticon's, or at the war's hand. The war they all believe Megatron had started.

They don't know. They don't see. They don't realize what brought uppon this war, and now what Optimus will have to fight alone towards. Megatron represented hope. Hope for a better future, hope for equal treatment to all that the previous system ignored and abused. Hope.. Even so, Optimus doesn't regret disagreeing with the way Megatron wanted to go about things. He just regrets that he and Megatron couldn't have come to a compromise. Couldn't find common ground.

'Now he's dead.'

"He could be alive." Optimus comments out loud.

"Who?" Ratchet asks. Probably hoping to Primus that Optimus doesn't mean-

"Megatron?" Bumblebee beeps out, making everyone else stop in their tracks

"You don't seriously think he's still alive, do you?" Bulkhead adds

"Well," Arcee begins. "Even though it feels like there is no way he could be alive. You have to admit, he has survived worse." She scowls.

The mood of the base drops. Optimus already feels an argument brewing. He decides to stop it before it begins. "We do not know if he is alive or not. Arce is right, Megatron has survived worse. But even so, we must remain alert. We do not know what Decepticons will do with the loss of their leader. Only time will tell if this loss is temporary.. or permanent."

His team nods their helms with serious expressions. All except Ratchet, who is looking at Optimus with a look that says they will have a word about this later.

Optimus can only internally sigh as he walks off after a few more reassuring words. His team also dispersed after that. Ratchet followed after him.

"Optimus! Surely you can't be hoping he's alive! You of all mechs know of all the evil deeds he has done!" Ratchet begins once Optimus stops walking.

"I know all too well, old friend. I still wish things could have gone differently." Optimus admits this small bit to Ratchet. Hoping he of all bots could understand...

Ratchet only scoffs, crossing his arms. "Well, they didn't. Megatron made his choice, and he chose genocide. He chose to continue this war even after what happened to Cybertron! So many were killed because of his choices, Optimus.. You should stop being a bleeding spark for mechs that don't deserve it. Especially for a monster."

Optimus felt a part of his spark break. The small hope he had about trusting anyone with his thoughts was gone, just like that. It's fine. His field is still pulled tightly against his frame. Ratchet won't be able to feel how deeply those words hurt him. Optimus sighs. Trying to regain his composure. "Once again, you are right. Perhaps it is for the best that things ended up like this." The words felt like lead to his tongue. He had to force them out anyway.

"Damn right I am," Ratchet mutters, nodding. About to say something more. But Optimus tunes him out.

...

The Prime finds himself out at night, staring up at the singular moon. Why is he here? He should be back at base recharging. Rarely does Optimus come out at night. But when he does, he likes to drive to a secluded place. A place only he knows of.

"A place that reminds me of you.."

'Megatron.'

"My sworn brother turned enemy. How did things end up like this?"

'You betrayed him. You became a Prime.'

"I didn't wish to become a Prime!"

'A Prime shouldn't think about not wanting to be one. You are a fake. A failure as one. It is an honor and a privilege to fight for the people of Cybertron.'

"There is no Cybertron left to fight for.."

'And for the people?'

"They will always be worth fighting for."

'Then why are you here?'

"Megatron."

'He's dead.'

"He could be alive."

'It would be better if he wasn't.'

"Perhaps.."

'Why do you want him to be alive?'

"I do not know."

'You don't wish to admit it.'

"I wish things could have gone differently. That me and him could have rebuilt Cybertron side by side."

'Why?'

"He was my sworn brother. The Decepticons follow his lead, and I know with his help, no unfair laws could have ever been put in place."

'He was more than your sworn brother. You wished he was more than-'

"He shouldn't have been. That was a mistake on both our ends. We were both foolish -"

'You still love him. You still wished you both were more than enemies. Now he's dead.'

Optimus remains silent. Covering his optics with a servo. "This is ridiculous. I am a Prime. A protector of all life. If these feelings and thoughts are going to cloud my processor. It would be best if I didn't have them at all."

'Are you going to hide from your feelings? Your thoughts? Your memories? What you truthly long for? How many times will you do this, Optimus?'

Optimus paused when his processor conjured up Megatron's voice the moment he opened the folder he had been searching for. Shocked by the sheer amount of data he was hiding in it. One small folder he always forgot about. Was curious over. And always regretted opening again and again. It was all Megatron. Every memory, every thought, every feeling, it was all too overwealming. Optimus felt overpowering grief—

Optimus Prime did what needed to be done, closed, and hid the small, unassuming folder. "For however long I continue to be a leader."

Then he stood. The moon now hidden by clouds. Rain already beginning to pour.

And with that, Optimus Prime drove back to base. To the place that he knew could never replace home.

[sweethoneyrose83]

Dialogue prompts inspired by Vampire: The Masquerade

1. Political Intrigue

"Do you truly believe the Prince holds power? We are puppets, each of us, tangled in strings far older than any of us care to admit."

"The Toreador smile as they paint the city in blood. Art, they call it. Madness is more fitting."

2. Supernatural Tension

"I can feel the pulse of the city… It's more alive than you or me."

"You think the shadows hide the truth? Trust me, it’s the light that blinds you."

3. Clan Rivalry

"A Ventrue thinks their gold can buy anything, but what happens when they realize their currency holds no value in the eyes of death?"

"The Tremere meddle with powers they barely comprehend. One day, their hubris will tear this world apart."

4. Personal Conflict

"How long has it been since you felt the warmth of a sunrise, or heard your own heartbeat? Or did you lose those memories when you sold your soul?"

"You don’t even remember what it feels like to be human anymore, do you?"

5. The Beast Within

"Every night, I fight it, and every night, it grows louder. One day, the Beast will win."

"The hunger is never sated. It’s a gnawing void, and I’m not sure how much longer I can pretend I control it."

6. Deception and Manipulation

"The truth is a lie we tell ourselves to sleep easier. Reality? That’s much harder to swallow."

"Trust me? In this city, trust is a knife waiting for your back."

7. Secrets and Knowledge

"There are things buried deep in this city’s history that not even the elders whisper about."

"Do you ever wonder why the Nosferatu stay underground? It's because they've seen what crawls beneath the surface."

8. Love and Tragedy

"I remember the night you turned. You were so full of hope. What happened to that hope?"

"Immortality has a way of warping love. What was once eternal passion is now an unending curse."

9. The Camarilla vs. The Anarchs

"The Camarilla chains you with promises of order, but at what cost? Freedom, or should I say, the illusion of it, is priceless."

"Anarchy isn't chaos; it's survival. And when the night comes, survival is all that matters."

10. A Sire's Wisdom (or Warning)

"This life, fledgling, is not what you think it is. Immortality is a lie we tell ourselves while we rot from the inside."

"One piece of advice before you go: Never trust an elder. They've survived centuries for a reason, and it's not because they play nice."

Dialogue Prompts

The Toreador's Temptation:

"You see art where others see ruin. What does that say about your soul, I wonder?"

The Ventrue's Ambition:

"Power is like blood. Once tasted, you'll crave it until the thirst consumes you."

The Nosferatu's Warning:

"The shadows know secrets even the dead have forgotten. Tread lightly, or they may speak to you."

The Tremere's Ritual:

"You think magic is about spells and words? No, it's about sacrifice—and you have much to offer."

The Brujah's Rage:

"I’ve fought for centuries, bled for causes that never mattered. What makes you think your revolution is any different?"

The Malkavian's Madness:

"Time is a spiral, and we're all just walking circles. How many times will you die tonight?"

The Gangrel's Wilderness:

"Cities are cages. We’re animals pretending to be civilized. I prefer the honesty of the hunt."

The Lasombra's Darkness:

"Light casts shadows, but shadows devour light. Do you truly know which side you're on?"

The Giovanni's Deal:

"Death is just another transaction. The trick is making sure you're on the right side of the bargain."

The Setite's Seduction:

"Your faith in gods and kings is misplaced. Let me show you a different kind of devotion."

Political Intrigue

The Prince's Gambit:

"Every Kindred has their price. Tell me, what’s yours?"

The Primogen's Powerplay:

"Your loyalty is an investment. Be sure you place it wisely, or someone will collect on it."

The Harpy's Gossip:

"Whispers build empires and topple kingdoms. Care to know what they’re saying about you?"

The Anarch's Challenge:

"Freedom isn't free. Are you willing to bleed for it, or are you just another puppet?"

Personal Reflection

The Kindred's Lament:

"Immortality isn't a gift; it's a curse wrapped in pretty lies. Do you regret it yet?"

The Beast's Hunger:

"You think you control the Beast, but it’s already taken more than you realize. What will it demand next?"

The Clanless' Struggle:

"Out here, you're nothing. No clan, no title, just prey waiting for the fangs. How do you survive?"

The Lover's Farewell:

"We could’ve had eternity, but even forever wasn't enough for us, was it?"

The New Embrace:

"You were mortal once. Does that memory still haunt you, or have you finally let it rot?"

The Sire's Lesson:

"I gave you immortality, but what you do with it? That is where the real test begins."

[ask-the-critters-survival-au]

Static dances into the air... hopefully before tragedy befalls these poor souls. The sender knows not when their message will arrive... they can only hope it will be heard at least.

"I see you've arrived Picky... to where the nexus of this connection resides. I... do not know when you will hear this. Maybe by the time this message is sent it will be far too late. I wish not to think that but I know it too be true... that is the nature of our communication."

"Just as more of my fellows begin to offer their aid as well no less... Well let us not let gloom taint out minds... Hello Kickin. We who are connected here to you 8 shining stars know not of you yet... but it is a pleasure to meet you. I wished for you too remeet Hoppy when we could discuss your perceptive in earnest child.... but more pressing matters require attention."

"That matter is... this... I believe I have mentioned it before, but more information has made itself present, so I think it wise to discuss this first. Your Memories are known to us Children. When you all recollect, we see those stories as well. We have see Picky choose Bubba as the first victim of her starvation. We have seen Hopscotch yell at her, push her away and tell her never to follow-"

"We have seen your perspective children... and there is no kind way to say this..."

"All of you bear fault on your hands."

"And that is Okay."

"Children... you have suffered. You have wronged each other. You have hurt each other. You have grown to hate each other."

"And that's okay. Who could Blame you? Who could say that you cannot be forgiven for being trapped within a hell you cannot leave- forced into bodies that can only eat the flesh of others. Who must do acts of crimes unspeakable to live..."

"But there is love. There is always Love. Because there is a part of you all- I know there is that yearns for days gone by. Your memories are painted bright children. You cannot hide that from us... I am sorry to invade your space this way... but it is true."

"This... I know not if you are fight now but PLEASE... This cannot be allowed or continue- no matter what may happen before my voice reaches you all!"

"To make each other bleed- to harm each other- to maim and even kill!"

"If this continues... can you say you won't regret it? To not scream out those thoughts buried? To tell them your starving- what could you do? What could you have done?! That your afraid of being hurt, of being harmed and eaten- don't you have a right to be afraid?! That your scared to trust, to trust because if you do you'll be abandoned again- left alone- left behind!!!"

"Voice it- Scream it!- Yell it out!!! PLEASE!"

"This isn't my place children... it isn't and I'm sorry... but you can talk- you can scream out and be screamed back at- to voice all and UNDERSTAND. There is care- there is care and love here- you have to see that! That it isn't too late. You may never go back to before, but there can be a now! That you all can leave here! That all of you can see the SUN!"

"That things can get better!"

"You are allowed to hate each other! You are allowed to love each other! That both don't exist in a vacuum- that you can feel both! Experiencing both along with joy, anger, tears, and regret!"

"Things won't get better right away... you won't just reach a perfect solution. There will be relapses, there will be tension and sorrow. That there will be hardship, there will be fighting, yelling as you speak words you don't mean but have to get out of your skulls lest they consume your weary minds..."

"And that's okay... but you have to try. To Trust. To be okay with being Loved and Loving back. To open your hearts again to pain... to share everything you've carried for so long..."

"For the sake of your fellow who remains trapped in a nightmare unending."

"For the sake of the one bound and fed lies as hope fades from his eyes."

"For the sake... of maybe breaking through to him. The one who has been made a slave."

"For the Sake of you 8 wonderous Stars, you 8 who deserve none of this- who should have never been forced to suffer! You 8 who can still find freedom!"

"Please... I beg of you..."

"...Don't do this..."

Static cuts from the air... after a few drops are heard from those old speakers... May these children choose to open their hearts- and take the first step towards the SUN.

I got the belts-

Hoppy, I-I…I don’t want to be mad at you. I’m sorry-

No…um…I guess I shouldn’t have lied to you. I just…I just didn’t want her to hurt you guys.

It’s alright, Hoppy. I hope you know how many times this happens, I’ll still care about you. I’m sorry for being mean earlier.

Eh, it was kind of deserved. I was being a dum-dum.

No more secrets, alright?

Alright.

[onestopanime]

Lucanis helping Iris relax after a very unprecedented day. 18+

Based on the prompt of let me run you a bath

———————————————————————

They said this was a quick fight to clear some darkspawn. Oh the cave has a couple of darkspawns roaming around and it’s an easy fight. I’m personally going to ring the neck of Neve’s informant because this is not a-little fix with a bandaid issue!

The moment Bellara, Darvin and I entered that blasted cave the amount of blight taken root was bone chilling. I felt Bellara’s hand gripping my shoulder as a shocked gasp left her silent. While Darvin was already branding his blade just hungry for a good fight. The amount of darkspawn rising from the black pools of blood was staggering but sadly a contract is a contract.

“Come on let’s finish this fast.” I spoke coldly to my companions with each of my words dripping in annoyance.

I sheathed my spellblade behind me seeing how tight the spaces it was not going to help me. Placing my hands together and summoning my staff from the fade before quickly taking a running leap towards the horde. The moment I landed my magic burst around the ground in a blaze. Ghouls around me screaming in anguish burning into a crisp. I moved my focus to aim towards the pustules hanging from the ceiling to control the blight. Trying to keep my distance and push back whatever came my way.

“AGHH!” Davrin screamed as his blade lobbed off another hurlock head before chuckling off in a sigh, “Come on is that all you got!”

“Don’t get to cocky Warden!” I teased as I quickly shot a fireball at a greater hurlok that rose behind him.

“It’s not cockiness if you know you’ll win!” He smirked as he continued striking each blighted that stepped before him. Black blood dripping of his blade with each swing.

“To your right Iris!” Bellara yelled readying her bow taking down two darkspawns.

In quick succession I moved out of range of an incoming ball of blight. The hoard of darkspawns unending as more blight boils kept popping up. Bellara was preoccupied with the swarm of ghouls rising from the blight pools, using her magic to pull them together making easy pickings for her.

“Fuck… it’s unending!” I growled in frustration feeling myself slipping in character.

“God I’ve never seen so many in one place!” Bellara commented as she quickly took three shots in succession as she rushed to my side.

“Bell I need you to cover me!” My eyes set on the last couple of blight boils behind another new horde of darkspawns.

I take off before I can let her say anything and quickly abandoning my staff to return to the fade for my more direct blade. I ran past Darvin giving him a knowing nod before fade stepping farther. Each toss of my orb incinerating each enemy in the way. Each slice of my blade dripping with the tainted black ooze getting me closer. I kept running destroying all in my path finally before slicing up the last boil in sight. I was so focused I didn’t notice Darvin or Bellara finishing off the stragglers.

I let out a sigh of relief and exhausting as I slow backed up to the cave wall and sliding down to take a sit. I could see the ragged expression on Bellara face as she readjusted a few loose hairs back into place. Darvin was trying to place this mask of satisfaction but after years of being taught to read people well I could easily call out his exhaustion as well. It felt like a trap and I was still dead set on punching that informant.

“Iris are you okay?” Bellara’s soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah… yeah sorry about that.” I groaned as I lifted myself off the floor.

I instantly feeling like cringing from the feeling dried blood and viscera on my hands. Looking down and just seeing the carnage left on my clothes and hands just fueled my annoyance ever more. Blood has always been apart of the job but this much could have been avoided.

“Maybe we should head back to the lighthouse… like now..” Bellara awkwardly chuckled as she looked me up and down.

“Bellara right you look like you freed yourself from inside an orge.” Davrin teased at me before walking about towards the entrance.

“Wow… Thanks guys feeling very loved right now..” My voice was as monotone and level as possible while trying to hold back a sarcastic laugh.

—————————————————

The moment we walked back into the lighthouse, I just felt the crust layer over my body. Parts of my curls I knew were matted against me from dried blood. The once wet, viscera caked on my hands, falling every so often in dry flakes with each movement of my fingers. And the little comments from my little peanut gallery was not making it any better. I know they were only trying to joke and brighten up my spirits, but it was not helping the level of annoyance. I had building inside of me.

“Oh you guys are bac… Oh sweet maker what happened to you?!” Harding’s words came up faster than she realized. Her face already scrambling trying to think of a way to soften that jab but coming up short.

“Look it’s a long story..” I sighed began to rub the bridge of my nose and annoyance trying not to pay attention to Darvin’s soft chuckles behind me.

“Oh welcome ba… Iris why do you look like you escaped from inside a dragon.” Neve’s voice joining in dripping in slight enjoyment of the situation. A smirk threatening to break onto her face.

“Oh at least you guys didn’t have to deal with the smell at first.” Darvin smirked finding great humor in the situation.

“Oh.. Come on it wasn’t.. that bad..” Bellara tried to find her words in between little giggles.

“Ok I get!” I exclaimed in annoyance before heading to the main hall. Ignoring my teammates as I raced back to my study.

I could’ve handled that so much better but my patience for once was at the bottom of the barrel. I’m gonna have to talk to each of them later just as an apology but right now I’m just done with the day. I slowly start unbuckling my blade and my medicine pouch from my hip. Gingerly placing them right next to the shaving mirror Varric gave me before planting my hands on the table leaning forward, allowing my eyes to finally close and join the silence.

Thud.. Thud… Thud. Thud…

“Luca please not right now…” I sighed exhaustively already knowing Lucanis’ footsteps.

“Yo sé pero la forma que lo cara de los otros miró sabía que necesitaba chequear a ti.”

“I’m fine!” my voice rose higher than I thought it would, my own emotions breaking and having to pick my words next very carefully. “Look I’m fine I… I just need to clean up..”

“Flor…” Lucanis voice softened as I felt his hand grabbing my arm turning my body towards him.

“Luca no me toca estoy asquerosa..” I complained feeling defeated.

“Shhh mi Flor.. sígame.” His voice calming and gentle as he led me down the hall.

I followed him with no fight left in me. Matching his slow pace from behind just wanting to not have to be in control for once. My own vision feels unfocused, not even realizing the change in the hallway itself till Lucanis open the door. Instead of opening up to the main hall, somehow it opened up to the bathhouse’s mudroom.

“I know I’m extremely tired… but did I blackout for a moment?” my voice obviously showing my confusion as I squint my eyes looking around.

“Umm.. maybe the lighthouse just wanted to make this easier for you.” Lucanis mumbled in confusion before pulling us towards the cubbies lining the wall.

My body goes into autopilot as my hands go to start unbuttoning my -once mauve now almost plum in color from all the blood- blouse. After struggling with the top button I just felt frustration within me building up as growled quietly to myself. Just like that my hands were removed and replaced by Lucanis’. Before I could complain to him that I was able to do it he’s just shot me a look that made me shut up.

“Deja que una vez alguien te ayude a ti como tú ayuda a nosotros.” His voice came out as a gentle rasp calming my body.

My voice became silent as I focused on his hands at work. Each finger skillfully unbuttoning each blood caked button before landing on my overwaist corset. The way he was able the ease out each cord was mesmerizing as little by little I felt my breathe able to deepen again. The soft thud of my corset hitting the floor felt like a weight lifted off me. My eyes fluttered close finding assemblance quietude as I let his hands finish with the rest of my blouse.

Heh

The silence was broken and my eyes shot back to Lucanis has an obvious look of amusement painted his face. My shirt already long gone, his hands caressing my shoulders so gently playing with my bra strap. I shoot him up a look to shut him up, not very convincingly if I’m honest. Instead of waiting for him I muscle memory beat him to it, reaching behind me and unclipping my bra with ease. I sighed contently once it falls off my body. For me wearing a bra was more of a chore than anything else and never care to wear one once back in the lighthouse.

I feel Lucanis’ lips gently on my forehead before he slowly went down on one knee before me. Taking his time to unlace my knee-high boots and slipping them off. Giving my calves a gentle squeeze relieving the stress from my legs and dragging out a sigh of ease passing my lips. His hands caressed the fullness of my hips gently, bring his nimble callous fingers to the front of my pants unbuttoning them. His eyes stayed locked onto mine, warm and caring as he dragged both my pants and panties down my hips agonizingly slow. Never once did his eyes break his gaze from mine.

The way he was treating me like a fragile piece of art had me melting in his hands. I was struggling just keeping my eyes open as I leaned against the wall looking down at his eyes. Watching how his hands went to work his own shirt off before finding back around my hips. The warmth of his hands heating me to my core, that knowing gleam in his eyes knowing what he’s really doing. Lucanis leaned in pressing his lips so gingerly on my soft belly that alone made my brain go fuzzy.

The motions of the moment faded fast between my fluttering eyes. I didn’t realize the moment that he stood up only coming to the moment I felt his hand caressing my cheek, making me look up at him. I watched his mouth move, but his words didn’t register.

I just nodded.

I just let him lead me out of this room into the bathhouse. The minute we entered I just felt the warmth surround me. I just felt at peace letting everything that happened today just released from my shoulders. And still with each flutter of my eyes, it felt like time was moving too fast. One second we were walking in the next moment I’m sitting on one of the stools as he’s pouring water over my head.

His fingers scratching and massaging my scalp wringing out a deep sigh out of me. All I could do is tilt my head back, trying to feel his touch on my head even more. I was melting in his hands fully at this moment. And in my moment of pure bless, I felt his hand grip me by the chin tilting my head back slowly poured water over my hair. All the exhaustion, all the blood, all of the mishaps of the day leaving strand by strand, but all I can focus on was the warmth of his hand holding my chin so gently just to make sure that no soap got in my eyes.

Lucanis took this opportunity of my neck being so open in vulnerable place just kiss leading down to my shoulder. I felt boneless in his hands, allowing my head tilt back even more feeling my head against his own shoulder. My eyes closed altogether allowing Lucanis full control.

His callous hands ran down my body fluidly. Each caress and scrub dedicated on solely trying to remove the days grime from my skin. The way he caused my body to react on an instant with goosebumps, following his touches instantly. Those quick rough touches to my breasts every so often almost to keep me on my toes had me panting. The way his fingers trail down my waist causing me to arch my back. Lucanis gripping onto my hip while his other hand was coaxing my thigh up for him.

“Luca…” I mumbled out intoxicated off of his touch.

“Shhh.. Just relax.” His voice coming out closer to a whisper than anything else easing me to lean more into him.

I felt almost as if my body was vibrating from the small little circles his fingers were drawing against my thigh. Ever so close to where I needed him but oh so tantalizingly far. My breathe becoming more ragged with each passing second.

I tilt my head slightly towards him from my comfortable position in the crook of his neck watching his eyes darkened with lust. Trying to calm myself down was almost impossible. The way his gentle touches were playing my body like an instrument, coaxing out soft groans and moans one after the other was a lot. The point of no return hit me hard the moment his thumb circled around my clit suddenly.

“Ahhh!”

“Shh Flor yo sé que tú puedes aguantarlo.” Lucanis whispered to me with his lips pressed against my temple.

With each movement, each time increase in pressure, each flick of his damn dreaded thumb I feel my body being set on fire. Those damn little tight circles being drawn on my clit and those damn fingers of his working me out. I don’t know whether to cry out his praises or curse him out in my agony. My back ache as his left hand kept me steady against him as he played with my sanity.

“Flor… just let go. Relájate para mí.” I can hear him smirk out his words doubling his efforts.

I tried focusing on my breath, trying to relax, trying to breathe just feeling myself be brought closer and closer to the edge. Just needing to grab onto some things to view myself tethered onto anything my hand grabbed out to his wrist as I held on for dear life. Each time he curled his fingers hitting that spot that makes those stars appear behind my eyes. I couldn’t keep myself steady. Even behind close eyes I know the smirk painted on his face knowing that he is breaking down my wall. The fact my back arches for him, my thighs shake for him, how my moans sing a song for him just makes him crave my self-destruction even more.

“Por.. por favor nomás..” I cried in broken moans, feeling tears welling up in my eyes.

“Tú puedes.” His voice was direct and unwavering.

His fingers worked fast in breaking me down. My body didn’t feel like my own no longer the closer to the edge Lucanis dragged me to. I know I was dripping off of his fingers. And if that damn hand of his wasn’t gripping my hip holding me back I would’ve rode my way to climax instead of having to wait for him to bring me to it.

Just so close…

“Está haciendo también.” Lucanis groaned

“Pleasee…” I cried out, tears finally falling from my eyes.

“Please what… Usa tus palabras.”

“Please let me come Luca! Please I can’t anymore!”

“Entonces relájate para mí flor.” Lucanis purred as his lips traveled down my neck adding to the pleasure.

I close my eyes letting the feeling take over me. Feeling his lips leave a burning hot trail down my neck just activated the one part of the puzzle I was missing. My world felt like it was completely absorbed by this hot white light. My breathe vanished from my lungs for a second, and with my next breath I felt all the way to the world off my body for once.

I didn’t realize Lucanis was even talking to me once I came down. Maker I didn’t even realize he was gently carrying me to the hotspring I felt him gently placed me in the water, allowing the warmth to take over my boneless body. I drunkenly tilt in my head to look at his face, just seeing the amount of love, warmth and adoration filling his eyes. Allowing that stupid little smile to tug on my lips before he leaned in and kissed me sweetly as my eyes fluttered closed once more in relief.

[mariatakesover]

Night Unending - Captive bird

6k words | Caleb's sure he can protect you from everything because that's what you need, doesn't matter if that's not want you want. Chapter 09 of Night Unending. And beyond. 1/3

Second part

Tags: Angst, Semi-Canonical Character, Fluff and Angst, Hurt No Comfort, No Smut, Possessive Behavior, mc has a name, jealously, Semi-established relationship with Zayne, I'm Sorry, the fluff is for Zayne, the angst is for Caleb, no beta reader.

You can read it on A03.

“Come here. Playing hide-and-seek now? Did you really think you wouldn’t be noticed?” Caleb’s eyes look like he’s expecting something, probably for me to stick to his side the moment he asked me to and closing our distance. I don’t think this ship has enough space for the distance I want to put between us. He speaks again “there are eyes in every nook and cranny. Does it look like you can escape?”

I have to bite my response right away. When I’m outnumbered like right now, I can’t really say want I want, specially not in front of the Colonel of the Farspace Fleet. He’s not Caleb anymore. He’s not my Caleb at least. My eyes aren’t my mouth so I can glare at him all I want. But this fight won’t be victorious for my silence, so bite a response.

“You were brave to enough to bring me to HQ. That means no matter how’s suspicious of me…” I take one step further to his direction, looking at this face for a reaction “You’ll have my back, right?”

Flashbacks of our shared childhood are threating me with its weight and installs a lump in my throat. I can’t afford showing how much this is affecting me. I can’t think of the pain this is causing me, not when I’m still in enemy territory. He stares at me for a long time. And then, he laughs. For some reason, an ominous feeling washes over me. I open my eyes in surprise gasping for the freedom in my body that I don’t have since Caleb’s evol is griping my body still.

“Let go of me!” I yell from the top of my lungs, the fear and anxiety that his evol in my body gives me makes my breathing erratic and I can feel my blood rushing hot in my veins.

The noise of my words doesn’t make anyone suspicious enough to pluck their heads and watch the scene, there’s none in this aisle, and if there were none will interfere. Enemy territory.

“You wanna go home, right? I’ll take you there now” Caleb’s voice sounds exactly like I remember but lacks the warmth in his tone.

As I am taking away from the aisle without having the strength to protest, which won’t be of use since I can’t really move aside from my head to look at the sides, I think of his words. Home? His empty and lonely house is not a home. It’s not my home. My home is in Linkon now, my apartment. Since the only home I knew blew up in pieces.

From the Farspace Fleet’s headquarters to his home, Caleb remains silent. I can bear to look at his profile while he drives so I close my eyes hoping this would make the drive shorter. At some moment while we are heading towards his house, he lets go of me and I bit back the desire to run away the moment the lock in the door of his car is lifted.

As I walk towards his department, I pay attention to my surroundings just in case I need to escape and hide for a moment. I can’t hide close to the building since his evol would help him to locate me in an instant. I need my phone; I need to bear this enough to get back to Linkon and never go back. The moment we enter his house; my stomach drops in fear. Click. The door is now locked. Just like when the door of my room was locked as well. The anger sits on my stomach and replaces the fear.

“This is what you mean by ‘safe and sound’?” I can’t help the bitterness in my tone.

Caleb is quickly in front me, as usual I try to study his expressions at my words but I find it harder this time. Sometimes it feels like his eyes are truly empty. Lowering his gaze, he says nothing. Following his gaze, I find the wound on my knee has reopened.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

I’m not in tune with my body right now, I don’t think I feel pain at the moment. But I keep quiet.

He’s approaching me and I panic. I look at his face, his beautiful face with concerned expression for me even though he is also mad at me. I try to cling to his care and concern for me, the same care he always showed me when we were children. However, being close to him now makes me sink in fear.

“Answer my question first, Caleb!”

He suddenly picks me up and walks into the living room. I try to escape from his grip, from his worried purple eyes, furrow eyebrows, from him. We fight a little; he doesn’t want me to let me go and I can’t help to think that this small fight looks exactly like my current situation in Skyheaven. When we were children, he often let me win and do whatever I please as long I wasn’t putting myself in danger, all I needed to do was look at his eyes with pleading expression. There’s no time for that anymore.

I put a hand on his wrist, trying to remove his warm hand from me. Even now, taller and stronger than I am ever will, he surpasses me easily. I’m still wearing the nurse uniform and makes me feel extremely uncomfortable under his intense gaze. I need my gun, my uniform, something powerful enough to make me feel safe.

“Sit first. We need to tend to your wound” as he reaches the first aid kit I bark a response.

“Is the Colonel ordering me around? Or is Caleb worried about me?” he kneels in front of me.

Sometimes I feel like if I keep talking, I will burst in tears from the frustration but I just can’t shut up.

Caleb ignores my words as if I’m talking nonsense, as I’m just saying things to rail him up. When he doesn’t respond I move my knee and try to stand up pushing my hands under the sofa. That gives him a reaction has he puts his big hand under my kneecap only to keep me there so he can inspect the wound. But I don’t have time for this.

I try to move my leg again, now with more force and he pins me by my knee with his hand. I can feel the strength of his holding through the slight strain in my muscles as I keep fighting silently to break free, forgetting the nuisance of his evol if I do break free at some point. I manage to lift my foot and raise again my leg before he puts me in place again and speaks.

“Do you remember that injured cat you brought back home? Back when we were kids” the sound of the first aid kit being unlocked reaches my ears and I absent-mindedly think how hard I would need to hit him on his jaw for he to leave me alone. Caleb places gauze and a small batch of Iodine on the sofa next to my thigh and in a quick movement unclasp it and dips the gauze onto the liquid. “We keep it in the backyard. But that cat always kept trying to run away before it fully recovered” he has the gauze ready on a clipper to apply it on my wound.

It may seem like he was talking about the cat, reminiscing old shared memories but the tone of his voice as well the intense look in his eyes made me burst into red hot anger once more. He waits for a moment before speak again. I feel like I’m being reprimanded and I hate every second of it. This time, I was the injured cat.

“I don’t want to listen to this”

Aggressively, I smack his hand away and lift my leg to stand up.

This cat would keep trying to run away.

Takes half of a second, his evol embraces my body and keeps me freeze in the air, my leg is still raised in the tenth attempt to leave. Caleb’s gaze is stern and dangerous as he leans over my body in his kneel position, my knee bumps against his hard chest and for a moment seems like he forgot about my wound in the rush of his own anger. The embroidery on his uniform jacket stings on my injury.

“Do you want to know what I did in response?” No. I don’t want to listen to this person. My Caleb’s gone, and this image in front of me has little traces of him. Not enough for me to trust, not enough for me to believe in him. Caleb’s smile is on his lips but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Then he treats my wound with soft strokes. “I got a collar with a bell. I put it on the cat. That way, it couldn’t escape without being nosy”.

His intense eyes and the way the words linger in the silence of the room made me want to shiver in response. I could see it in those purple eyes, this is a threat. I am the noisy cat. But I don’t have a collar on my neck, I’m completely paralyzed by a gravitational evol that keeps me in place. Even when he’s done treating my wound I still can’t move. For some reason, seems like I can’t speak either, even tough his not holding my tongue, all my body becomes rigid, waiting for the next move.

Caleb drops the gauze next to me.

“If I had that kind of bell right now…” his hand is running on my leg. I can feel the callouses on his fingers, and the roughness of his thumb on my skin. The heat of his own skin is too much for me. Almost suffocating. I haven’t felt a hand this warm on my body in a while, only the coolness of powerful and skilled hands over me. Some organ in my body reacts to it, the goosebumps are all over the place. This could’ve been a soft stroke, like when we were kids and I needed the sweet comfort of my stepbrother best friend every time we fought. Caleb’s fingers clasp my ankle placing my foot on the floor and then looks at me with a powerful gaze “I should make you wear it, right?”, he asks.

This touch feels different. This is wrong. I don’t want to be here. I am scared. Theres so much danger out there, but right now this place feels the most threating one.

My lungs remember to function and the oxygen fills my chest as a try to say something in response, anything really. Just to keep him happy, or a least content so his evol is off my body soon. I can’t think any response on any world where I would agree with him.

“Is this how’ll you “protect” me? I just need to be glued by your side?” I clench my fist and respond with gritted teeth. He releases my body from his evol and the weight of my own muscles being stiff for a too long moment drops onto me.

Don’t run. No yet.

“I know. It’s unfair, but…”

Caleb takes my hand and puts a wristband on my wrist. He doesn’t seem regretted at all. With a faint click the wristband locks and starts analyzing my body with its scan, showing the display in its little screenless display. On it appears the words “Infection Risks” in white caps and there is highlighted different parts of my body with important information as well recommendations and records of the number of things on my blood. “Because of that monster, your wound is infected”.

I think of the girl who attacked me. How scared she was. How reluctant was to even come close to me in case she would end up attacking me, which she did. But it doesn’t seem like she was there anymore. Similar to a Wanderer, every person who chase me didn’t seem like they want to hurt me. I remember small glimpses of their faces in pain, regret, sorrow and something powerful enough to disfigure them.

And the Farspace Fleet killed them. They’ve been doing that for gods know how long. While others were trying to help them, to prevent the loss of their humanity, the Fleet took the matter in their own hands and just killed them all. And the order was given by… by their Colonel.

I can’t help to think about Mia. About Kevi. I know what the report said, but I can’t help to think that Caleb has something to do with the death of a child. And Kevi’s suspicious adoption with the “Professor”, his erractic behavior. The chip device on him. Even if Caleb himself has a chip on him too, my Caleb will never hurt a child. Let alone arrange her death and cover the tracks, and put another child in danger.

The image of Caleb playing dumb at Mia’s funeral and making a sign peace on his own grave replays on my mind. I have to remember myself every time I think about my Caleb, that person is gone. All I have left is this uneasy feeling of guilt. Should I’ve have done something different? Make him wait for me outside the house? I could’ve saved him. Not Granma Josephine though. The explosion was more likely to happen anyways, but I can’t accept it. Maybe I it should’ve been me who died at the explosion.

That way, the aether core in my heart won’t cause trouble around me, everyone would’ve been happier…

His hand still on my wrist yanks me back to reality, “is there truly a way for you to run around without getting injured?”

His playful demeanor is long gone. I can’t imagine his lovely and carefree face with his sweet eyes now. All I see is this steely stare, his furrow chestnut brows and his stupid Colonel uniform. Nothings seems like him anymore. I wonder if that another Caleb that I’ve loved and I’ve known was actually there to being with.

I break free from his grip, the anger I was trying to keep cool starts to boil again.

“Are you still the Caleb who confronted danger with me?”

I know the answer, why I’m still asking the same questions?

He lets a low grunt at my remark, unable to came up with a response. Seems like I’m winning over here but I can’t look at him anymore.

“I’ve had enough of your ‘protection’” I tsk in annoyance.

For some reason, my words seem to hit home. The hands that previously held me in place against the sofa are now clenched. He lets a small sound of surrender and lower his head, thinking about all I said with tight jaw, and the muscle there bumps slightly over the skin. With a big exhale, Caleb gives up even when he’s not agreeing with it. And I know he doesn’t agree with it.

Maybe the Colonel realized he won’t keep the cat in his backyard for long.

Closing his eyes, and accepting the defeat, lets a long exhale before speaking again, “If being with me only brings you pain, the just put up with this for three more days”, and with that he gets up, carrying the first aid kit with him.

“What are you going to do?” I can hear my own voice flatter.

His stance is a powerful one, the perfect posture and his stupid uniform against the dark exterior in his gigantic windows makes me squirm.

“Tie up some loose ends” He doesn’t turn around, only the darkened side of his face is what he offers me. “And then… All of this will be over. I just need three more days”.

Caleb exits the living room without looking back before I can inquiry the reason why he would need three days. Always keeping me in the dark, I fear for his new orders. I’m not used to fear someone who once I love so deeply and the feeling sits on my stomach like a black hole. But I can’t fight against it and win.

He will let me go back to Linkon in three days, it’s not soon enough for me but I’ll make it work.

It has to work.

The last three days in Skyheaven, its citizens were in total lockdown. I also made a lockdown myself by staying in my room all day with the door locked. Caleb tried to enter a few times but I never unlocked the door, so he just stood there, outside my room trying to talk with me about anything. His voice friendly and warm at times, and stern and serious at others. He grew fond of my silence, the only indicator that I was inside the room was the fucking tacker I had in my wristband and the constant monitoring of my body with its scan. At one point, he just accepted my cold shoulder and stopped only in the afternoon with a heavy food tray, leaving it by my doorstep.

I didn’t want to eat it at first, too prideful to even recognize that I was starving. But I had no longer the vial in my arm and my stomach grumble quite often in the silence of the room, so the wisest decision was to eat what Caleb had prepared for me. Wasn’t an easy choice, to be honest. I’ve always loved his food; he usually baked goods for Grandma and I, specially on our birthdays. With him, every special occasion came with delicious food and a wonderful smell enough to wake up the stomachs of the whole neighborhood as soon he learned how to cook. And he loved to make my favorite dishes almost every day, knowing that I won’t grow bored of it.

Eating now my favorite dishes felt like a chore, like a punishment.

The night I was supposed to meet Kevi and take him back to safety, the night I failed Mia and Kevi, I had fever and slept the whole night, but I’m not longer sure that was the only reason for my mistake. Afterall, Caleb gave me medicine for the cold and advised me not to interfere anymore. Knowing what I know now, there is a real chance of those meds made me dozed off my mission and ignoring all the calls in my phone.

Every bite of my food made me wary of my own behavior, afraid of closing my eyes and be knock out for the rest of the lockdown. So I used the wristband to check my vitals with frantic rhytm.

My body wasn’t on tune with my head, wanting to eat more as I taste the plates. I needed to be strong enough to leave this place and be ready to fight if something goes wrong, but I also felt an immense weight on my shoulders every time I woke up. Like I was already giving up before the duel.

Inside the room, I didn’t sleep on the bed. It was his bed after all and I couldn’t bear the feeling of being close to him anymore. The floor became more and more easy to sleep the more I spend lying there with all the bedding and blankets I put. The nights in Skyheaven were cold, and the room often felt humid and chilly, making me sweat even when the temperatures had dropped. I was used to the cold, I liked it. Linkon had a warmer climate and I often struggle with the heat the buildings around mine expel at night, but I never have so many issues with it when he was around. His cold hands and body always neutralized my own heat, and his arms were comfortable enough to sleep countless of hours without guilt.

How much I miss my doctor.

I didn’t respond to his messages, suspicious of Caleb monitoring my phone. He called a few times, but I couldn’t find the courage to pick up with my hoarse voice and the prominent tears about to fall like a dam the moment I hear his voice. Probably thinking I was still busy with the mission, even if there was nothing to recover now, no Kevi, no spatio protocore, Zayne sent me photos if his day and small messages about Grayson and Yvonne asking him about me or his encounters with the pediatric patients, the cats he met on his way home and the small gadgets I gifted him on his desk. I read all of them with heavy heart.

Hazel eyes and small smiles only for me, the beautiful snowflakes on his hands when he gets excited, the cold tips of his fingers when he touches my cheeks, his unbelieve sweet tooth and the crisp feeling of his lips against my skin. My chest ached every night thinking about him.

I should’ve called Zayne. Asked him to help me to escape of Skyheaven, but then Caleb would know about our close relationship, if he didn’t knew already monitoring my phone, and I may put him in danger. A doctor, no matter how good at fighting Wanderers and how powerful his evol was, was no match for the Farspace Fleet and his Colonel.

So I endure the days, convincing myself that Caleb won’t turn back onto his word.

I heard the news playing in the living room, the faint sound of the reporters talking about the lockdown and how the Farspace Fleet took care of everything, assuring to the public that the explosion in the Cascade District won’t happen again. I can’t help to think they were the direct responsible for that explosion and the deaths of Kevi’s parents, and then, Mia too. But my suspicious were only ideas without the proper evidence, so when I get back to Linkon maybe I should tell Captain Jenna the truth. I wonder how much should I tell her, the only person who knew about this mission and the spatio protocore… which I lost.

I’ll suck it up, this is already over. It’s been three days; I will manage when I got back to work. Even if I have to come up with a tremendous story about my vacations in Skyheaven to not raise suspicions.

The solitary confinement seems to made me loose some of my resolve, as I pace into the living room where Caleb is, wearing his casual outfit and not his stupid uniform. He lowers the volume of the tv when he hears me coming.

“After all this is over… The Fleet will return to the Deepspace tunnel. You’ll be safe. For now.”

“In other words, you’ll just disappear again? And not even say anything?” I hate how desperate I sound, pleading for something. I don’t know what I want, what I want to hear? An apology? Some reason for his erratic, mysterious and scary behavior?

Maybe I don’t want to lose him again.

But then again, who is the person in front of me?

“I’ll be gone” he says, “aren’t you happy that you won’t have to see me then?” I can hear him groan at his own words. Like I’m just a child too stubborn to hear reasons and this is a completely normal situation where he is correct and I’m wrong. But I’m not the one with shady prospects.

For some reason he thinks that because I’m standing in front of him and I asked some question everything is fine once more, because he reaches for my arm and tries to take me with him to the kitchen, “I’m about to leave. It’d be nice if we had a meal together”.

I don’t think I could bear eat something by his side, with every bite heavy on my stomach as I wonder if my plate has some drug on it. I don’t want to raise suspicious that I know that, playing dumb is the safe option for me, but I can’t pretend that nothing is wrong. Caleb could easily read my face. I don’t want him to see how afraid truly am.

I yank my arm from him.

“So, I have to listen to the Colonel even when it comes to eating and drinking now?”

Caleb’s face drops, my words have hurt him. It stings me too, no matter how mad I am at him, no matter how dangerous he is now, his face looks like the kid who always defended me from bullies and hugged me when something made me cry.

How deceitful that look can be.

What baffles me too is how surprised is about my reaction, like for three days he wasn’t able to at my face for some miraculous reason that has nothing to do with him. I sit down in the sofa, creating a space between us that I desperately need.

He’s quick in front of me like three days ago, this time Caleb sits on the small table. I don’t look at his face, I don’t think I can keep doing it feeling like my heart breaks every time I do it. “You can be mad, but don’t let it affect your health” his right hand has a big red apple he offers me silently.

“I’m not mad”

I hear him drop a long sigh.

Does he think I’m a rebellious teenager? Why he keeps pretending to care about my safety, like he wasn’t one of the biggest threats?

I don’t need a serious talk. I’m not a child anymore, and our age difference is null now.

“Growing up, we knew each other so well. Better than most, even” the sweet tone in his voice is just like I remember. The safe, secretly, just for me, type of tone he used in the interrogation room; the first moment we have together since his death. “I could see through your lies when you’d blink. Bite your lip, and I could tell you were upset”.

How come I can’t see through his now?

Was this his attempt to calm my nerves, to sooth my fears?

I look up, directly to his purple eyes, darkened by the low lights in the living room. His hand is still toying with the apple. When we make eye contact, there isn’t any animosity nor sternness in his eyes. Caleb truly feels what he’s saying, reminiscing about the past. About our past, our childhood. His brows aren’t furrow like they used to be, his expression is soft… and sad.

There’s a hint of a smile in the corner of his lips. But it’s not a happy smile, but a nostalgic and sorrow one.

Feels like I’m being laughed at, with this constant mood changes. I won’t let him to manipulate me.

“In that case. Tell me, what am I thinking right now?” my words are sour against my tongue, but I can’t stop now. “I wonder. How did you turn into someone I hardly recognize?”

He laughs at my implications.

“Oh, I know. You’re thinking some chip got put into my brain, right? And now, I’m no longer who I used to be” Caleb scoffs. I see a fucking smile on his lips, laughing at the insinuation. Drops the apple again on the table he sits and looks at me so goddamn smug about what I need a ton of courage to put into words.

I don’t remember mentioning my suspicious about the chip on Kevi with him, but his half-mock response I what I need to confirm it. I mean, I’ve seen Kevi struggling to even remember her sister, but I just didn’t want to believe it. A chip can do that, alter someone’s personality and memories onto whatever the one pushing the bottoms want. I also try to ignore the fact I’ve seen Caleb on that mansion, talking with the Professor. And with the snake-looking man too, the one who tried to kill me.

My brother Caleb wouldn’t laugh at something that brings me so much pain. At something that is hurting me. Then again, that person is in the graveyard with his name on stone. Even if they look similar, I have to remind myself time and time again, he is gone.

“What if I told you I was always like this?”

The tears reach my eyes.

His hand cups my check and I choke on a shaky breath.

This can’t be.

No.

My chest feels so heavy right now, I don’t think I’m breathing correctly as my chest rises with such force I might be having a panic attack.

I’ve been convincing myself that those unspeakable things Caleb did or order to do was because he was no longer who he used to be, that this was another person, with the same voice, the same eyes and the same body. That the explosion changed him completely, his own death didn’t bring back his old-self but create a new one under different circumstances. That maybe Ever got him under its power, and create someone horrible but capable of enduring what it needed to be done. Or the Farspace Fleet was shadier than I previously thought, corrupted and essentially evil, as they wield power over the Deepspace Tunnel without asking for permission or offering explanations of their own plans.

That maybe, Caleb’s actions were justified because he was out of himself, because they brain-washed him, controlled him, put a chip on him…

He rises up on an instant, ignoring the way I’m losing my mind at this revelation and towering myself with his body. Seemly to know I would try to escape from his grasp, he places his hand on the backrest of the sofa, his arm is next to my face, caging my body with his, “your life has threats around every corner”.

I look for his eyes, for lies on them. I need to see that he doesn’t mean what he just said.

“The people who are after your power, who wanna hurt you—they should all just… disappear” there’s such a looming darkness in his eyes when he says that, madly committed to it. In the blink of an eye, the expression has changed into something utterly different; he smiles at me, his gaze softens as he was trying to consoling me. “You’re only safe when you are by my side”

Tears make my vision go hazy as I try to fight them from falling.

“I’d rather face danger head-on than “safely” live like this! I don’t need you—” even caged between his arms, I raise my back straight and tilt my chin up as I hollo with gritted teeth. I put a hand on his chest and try my best to push him away from me.

Caleb doesn’t look concerned at all by my words as he finds the situation funny enough to slip a sneering laugh.

“You don’t need me? Is that what you think?” he scoffs. I can’t find the right words because my mind goes blank the moment he grabs me by the hand that was trying to push him off. His strength surpasses mine with ease but I don’t stop wrestling his willpower over me even when he locks my arm above my head. “All right. What do you need? You can tell me”

His knee is between my legs and his left arm is placed onto the sofa next to me, his full body weight is being used to restrain me. I hit his left arm with my free hand but I don’t have the energy to actually hurt him in an attempt of breaking free. I can’t stop the tears as they fall from my cheeks, leaving small, but full of desperation, sobs. I gave up on my fruitless attempt to move his arm from me and now my hand rest on his bicep.

“We can return to Linkon if that’s what you want” he continues, “if you want to return to the past, we’ll rebuild our old house and move in together. And if one house isn’t enough, I’ll build you a whole maze”

I hear the faint sound of the rain outside, the low rumble of lighting.

And the charged plea on his lips.

“I’ll decorate it with everything you could ever want. It will be the most beautiful, stunning garden you’ve ever seen” he cups my wet cheek, utterly lost in his impossible fantasy. I try to resist to look at his eyes, feeling the pain of knowing I can’t give what he wants, I can’t fulfill his fantasy; but his force wins me at the end when he guides my head and bumps his forehead with mine. “No one will be able to find you ever again. I’ll protect you forever”

I try to push him once more, barely making the effort. His face… he truly believes what’s he’s saying. His eyes are too soft, too glazed in daydreams.

I need to put a stop to this.

This is not real.

And his dream for me… Is not what I want.

It breaks my heart. I feel a massive ache as I try to keep the composure I need to end this wild fantasy, and seems like I have carved a hole in my heart with it. It’s like I’m bleeding, losing blood and losing him. Again.

“Caleb” I mutter softly, “you can’t just…”

I take a big breath before speak again, but even the way I inhale shakes. I close my hand over his heart, on his chest. “You are very important to me. And no one could ever replace you…” I find myself mumbling an apology for something I don’t even know it existed.

I’m rejecting his dream with me even if it destroys me.

I don’t want to hurt him, can’t bear become the reason for his hatred. But this dream sounds like a nightmare to me.

Hopefully, Caleb scoffs and doesn’t look as sorrowful I was expecting him to look.

“Really?” ask sardonic, seizing my left arm with a force I didn’t think he would’ve able to use with me. His fingers wrap around my wrist and inflict numb pain making me groan in anguish; I struggle to stand up, his full body weight fighting back to keep me on the sofa. Caleb’s movements are so harsh that he ends up kick the small table and all the apples fall from the plate above the surface, bouncing slightly onto the carpet floor.

Caleb towers me winning and watching me struggle from his high up stance, with my arms aloft and imprisoned by his large hands. I don’t stop wrestle even if I don’t win, squirming with frustration that makes me want to scream.

“Maria, I’ve always held myself back and endured. Day after day, after day. It was suffocating” the rain quickly has become a storm and a lightning strikes the sky, framing one side of Caleb’s face. “But now, I’m tired of playing these games”

[howlingday]

I am a man of my word.

Dark knight soul stone Au

The bridge between realms, how quickly it changed for people's hope to escape to a trap. Ruby, Yang, and Blake got launched off. Even Neo fell, and Jaune almost lost himself when he saw her first. However, it was the request of Penny that sent him over the edge. Cinder had ambushed them, and Weiss was holding her back but failing. He didn't want to, he swore, but her request....with a heavy heart fulfilled her last request and let out a blood curdling yell as dark energy explodes from him.

Hearing the yell Cinder would knock Weiss away and try to reach Penny's body only to be met by a slash of energy and a distorted voice: "We meet again, false maiden....and this time I promise you won't survive" said 'Jaune' (Fray) giving her a deep cold look that promised unending pain.

First / Previously

---------------------------------------------

The battle grew silent, if only for an instant, as a cry of anguish erupted in the center of the battlefield. Eyes fell to the young paladin holding a blade coated in blood over a very still Winter Maiden. Jaune had killed Penny, and it was in this act that he shut himself out. If it were anyone else, this would have been a resignation of his life that would only end in, well, his end.

"How sad." A dark voice said through the lips of a kind man. "Guess it was too much for him. But don't you worry, Cinder," red eyes burned with dark glee at the Fall Maiden, "I'll be more than happy to fill in." He broke into a sprint towards her, blade and shield at the ready. "And there's no way in hell I'm going to let Jaune stop me this time!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Winter was still reeling from her interaction with Penny in her mind before coming to. Thankfully, Cinder was just a woman show and she was already engaged with Jaune Arc, leader of the technically fugitive team. Still, there was something different about him, like the man fighting the enemy Maiden wasn't the same man she fought with before. Swooping in, she provided backup to the huntsman already involved. However, she was met with a sword clashing with hers.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jaune asked with fury in his voice and indignation in his eyes. "This is MY fight! MINE! Stick to your damn job if you wanna keep your life!"

Rather than argue, Winter swallowed her pride and continued with the evacuation. Landing next to Weiss, who was kneeling next to Penny, she places a hand on her shoulder.

"She's gone, Weiss."

"I know." Weiss murmured. "And I shouldn't be distracted. Not when someone so dangerous in still active."

"It seems Cinder is distracted, however." Winter nodded. "But I don't think we can get to the relic without angering Jaune."

"I'm not worried about Cinder." Weiss stood, turning from Penny's lifeless form to the fight above them. "As of right now, she isn't the most dangerous opponent."

"No?" Winter followed Weiss' gaze to Jaune, whose sword had been shattered. However, this did nothing to deter the dark paladin. She gulped. "What should we do?"

Weiss gave a chuckle. "I never thought I'd hear you ask me that."

"I've never been in this scenario. Have you?"

"This will be the third time." Weiss admitted. "And I still don't know how to bring Jaune back."

At this, Jaune rocketed down to their level, knocking the two aside and causing Penny to roll off the edge. Smoke hissing from his body, but his aura still shimmering, he pushed himself to his knees with a feral growl. Cinder readied a huge fireball above and was ready to launch it.

"Even like this, you're still no match for me!" Suddenly the fireball died as her Grimm arm twitched violently. She let out a scream, unaware that Winter was now closing the distance. Jaune was about to join her when he felt something hold him down.

"Get the hell off of me!" He roared.

"Jaune, snap out of it! This isn't you!" Weiss pleaded.

"Of course not!" He tried to break free. "I'm not Jaune! I'm BETTER than Jaune! I'm the reason Jaune is still alive!"

"But you're not Jaune!" She argued. "And throwing yourself at Cinder isn't going to help you win this! You need to stop and think!"

"STOPPING AND THINKING GOT YOUR FRIENDS KILLED!" He finally broke free, horrible red eyes wide and directed on her prone form. "And I'M not going to stand around and get beaten by that-"

"LOOK OUT!"

In a blink, everything went white. In an instant, everything changed. Taking the full brunt of the attack to his side, Jaune fell unconscious on the floor and the last thing he saw was Weiss flying over the edge and a voice screaming her name.

And then everything fell to black.

[flowerandthesongstress]

"Orion and the Dark" is about writing. It’s like "Adaptation." 2.0 This Time For All Audiences, whoah.

I mean, of course it is an allegory of writing. Kaufman makes movies about making movies, Kaufman writes about writing, and that is all that Kaufman does. Even "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is about creativity. Y’all think it’s a love story? Sure, on the surface it is. But ju-ust below the surface it is an allegory too. It's about letting go of unwritten ideas, whether because you're not ready or not equipped to write them and give them justice or they're just too out-there for the Current You; it's about killing your darlings — and about putting them to sleep, as well. About how these ideas fade from your life and your memory, and how soul-crushing it is when they do, and yet keeping them in your memory is soul-crushing, too, because their presence is unhealthy right now, it's a torment, it impedes you from moving on and paralyzes your creative progress and your growth as a writer and a human being.

Anyway, “Orion and the Dark” is about writing. Nope, it's not about generalized anxiety, it's not about overcoming your existential fears. At its core, “Orion and the Dark” is about one specific fear: losing your integrity and authenticity as a person and as a writer via stepping out into the spotlight.

Truly writing 'for yourself' means writing for an audience of one. The ruthless beast that is capitalism, and the devaluing and self-hatred it brings upon each of us, is what pushes so many people into asking the heartbreaking question: "what even is the pOinT of creatiViTy without an audiEnCe?!" I.e. in the context of the movie "what is the point of the Dark?!" The not-straightforward answer is in this movie. The very-very personal and exasperated — and straightforward — answer is: Creativity itself. Keeping one’s mind sharp. Learning a language. Processing trauma. Celebrating a memory. Savoring a memory. Cementing a memory. Honoring a friend’s memory. Fighting back the tide of existential dread. Making peace with yourself, your past, or your future. Debating a moral dilemma with yourself. Comforting your inner child. Soothing your inner teenager. Bleaching your brain. Introspection. Self-compassion. Self-actualization. Building a structural-support frame around yourself to brace against a crippling fear; for instance, the fear of death, or the fear of losing a loved one — by creating stories or worlds where we could be together forever and nobody gets sick or dies, because we can do magic there.

Dark has many quirky, industrious, and unique companions. They are his companions. They do not belong with the Light, they are distorted in the light. Fear of the Dark (in the movie, super cleverly ‘the Fear that Dark Experiences’ and not only ‘the fear that Orion experiences as a stand-in for The Author’) is: ‘Am I truly a writer if my voice will never be heard and my word will never be read?’ (psst, spoilers: yes) but also ‘Will I be able to retain my true self, the love I hold for my creativity, and the internal benefits I reap from my creativity if/when I share the result of my creativity with others?’ and ‘Will I burn to cinders / fade into nothing / lose the drive to create when/if my creativity is rejected or misunderstood?’ and ‘If I am misunderstood, will this misunderstanding inflict lasting harm? Will the responsibility of doing this harm be my burden to bear? And just how guilty will I feel for what I did?’

The unending tug-o-war between creativity for the sake of creativity, for the sake of you — and the desire to have your voice heard. The inner conflict between your yearning for an audience — and hating your yearning for an audience (or even hating the audience itself/the audience that you get, but welp, that's often projection, albeit no-o-ot always). The conflict between looking for a genuine connection with other like-minded humans — and the desire to be admired, borne long ago in a sandbox on a playground. Between striving to keep your integrity and self-respect, to stay true to yourself — and the learned urge to please, conform and placate, because you want to fit in and/or because you can see that popularity often equals conformity and that you may never get your voice heard in any capacity if you don't conform.

Sometimes it feels like the healthy balance between the two can’t ever be achieved, that they can never overlap, should not; that it should be either one or the other.  

Btw you know who else recently expressed this inner fight super well while also hiding the subtext under a whole pile of distracting 'entertaining' and 'comedic' text? Bo Burnham in his exquisite and poignant and heart-wrenching Kanye Rant. 🙏 🌯

The truth is frighteningly simple, and the truth is frighteningly hard to remember, and the truth is simply hard to stay true to, because the glimmer of the spotlight somewhere far ahead is too blinding, and its veneer is too distracting and enticing. The truth is: separate your damn laundry the purpose of writing should be Writing. That's it. Creativity is about creativity. Writing should be in the moment. Writing should not take into account anyone else other than the writer themself. The purpose of writing is the writing; this process should be free of any and all outside influences. Night and Day, Dark and Light should remain apart at all times. Writing is not about/for sharing that writing. Not about obtaining the strangers' praise for that writing. Not about placating and pleasing an ephemeral 'reader'. Not about the junkie rush to obtain some dopamine hits through getting patted on the head by strangers via pleasing them 'correctly'. None of these things are related to writing, none of these things should matter, and it's tragic that they do matter so much and to so many, and it's tragic that they have taken over so many minds so fully and so quickly, replacing and pushing out the bliss of the Simple Truth. Well... Capitalism is tragic. Every aspect and consequence of it, direct or indirect. At times, capitalism and its reach and scope feel like a void of hopelessness.

Even before consciously realizing the metaphor, I was bawling my eyes out when Orion was fighting to save the Dark, when he was grieving the Dark. This is one of my biggest fears too: losing my authentic self by succumbing to the enticing brightness of daylight. In the fight against this fear, I was doing, and continue doing, all of the irrational and oftentimes harmful things Orion does, and more: hole up, bristle up and snarl, push away, erect defenses, withdraw, and even fawn, etc. Mostly withdraw.

Only when we embrace the essence, the joy of sheer creativity — embrace the Dark, make the Dark our friend — when we discard everything superficial, when we forgive ourselves for our weaknesses and learn self-compassion, only then can we remember why we're writing, why we started writing, what we write for, and only then can we create unimpeded. The struggle itself towards the heights There's so much peace in the Dark. Truth is, this balance can rarely be achieved in reality; life is not a story, and humans are infinitely flawed. Truth is, the fight remains a constant fight, with good and bad moments, with losses and wins, and the fight persists for decades, throughout our lives. But that's why fairy tales exist, right? Why children's stories exist. In them, there's magic and blasters and time machines and everything is simple and everything is always resolved.

I love every manifestation of Kaufman’s creative mind and I loved this movie. The script is based on a picture book of the same name that is a thing on its own.

P.S. In light of the above, might I also suggest "Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise" by Katherine Rundell.