#( verse: path of hope )

[oceanicxeyes]

Closed starter for: @theweredrifter

It was very late at night. The moon up above in the dark sky casting its silvery glow over the calm surface of the water – making everything that lingered underneath appear far more mysterious and dangerous than they actually were. The depths concealed many mysteries. Humankind had barely scratched the surface when it came to what existed underneath but rather than exploring and learning of all things nature had provide them with… they chose to destroy it. To pollute the once perfectly blue and clear waters with their oils, their plastic and trash – their radioactive components. It was so criminal to see what was once beautiful walls of colorful corals dry up and crack until they were lifeless. To see all those colored fish schools that swam together move away or simply die out because their sustenance had been destroyed. How could humans do something so CRUEL? Did they not understand what they were doing? How their actions would impact the very world they lived on? How many had died because of their hubris? And so Walter swam. He moved deeper, welcoming the darkness, the cold and the pressure of the world around him as he moved his tail side to side – his arms stretched in front of his face. It helped him focus. To leave the resentment and possible hate behind so that he could embrace that small sliver of hope that resided in his heart. Not all humans were monsters. Not all were determined in destroying the oceans. And once his fingertips touched the sea bed – algae and sand and rock – Walter swam back to the surface, feeling the difference in temperature on his scales, the pressure no longing threatening to crush his body like twigs. Warm, clean salt water flowed through the gills on his neck. There wasn’t contamination in that area. Not a single taste of trash or chemicals or other dangerous products. It…reminded him of home. Of a home long forgotten and abandoned. Walter looked up – the silvery light of the moon barely breaking the surface, specs of light dancing before his eyes as he allowed his body to finally stop and feel the movement of the currents. Left and right. Left and right. The siren closed his eyes, his scaled arms wrapping around his bare torso – now much lighter than the usual skin tone with several dark blue scales adorning his body in intricate patterns. It was time to go up. Time to return to land now that he had a moment for himself back home. There was no sounds there. Not even those belonging to the occasional fishing boat that would go on an excursion. Not even the creaking of dead wood and loud shouts from men urging others to keep it up. There was no vibration belonging to the mechanical engines that propelled the boats ahead. Just – SILENCE. Complete, absolute, all-encompassing… SILENCE.

[aspirant1598]

[massensterben]

for @witswords

There isn’t much to say about a room like this. It’s got everything a room ought to have: a closet, a bed, a desk, a door that locks, a window with shutters. You can look out at the lake through the window, watch it glisten in the night like a big beached animal that is slowly decomposing by the pallid, indifferent light of the moon. It spills like bleach, that light. Where it touches the fringes of solid matter, it abolishes color. 

He has forgotten what the world might look like, without this hungry void at its center. He is beaten bloody by that glare, and so his blood pools where he stands. His vigil is a nocturnal affair, reduces him to another man’s symptom. He is a dream that someone else is having. If the sleeper wakes, he disappears. Where to? Some other place, some vast and empty expanse, shifting sands and starless skies. Color, therefore, has been forgotten. He can only exist in shades of gray. When he stands here, he eats vibrancy, he vibrates with it. 

The tall shadow resembles a man on fire, constantly cracking open, constantly tearing at the seams. Blink once and you can see the way his skull splits. He vomits gore, his own soft tissue. He cries his own eyes out of their sockets. Blood oozes and crusts. He sweats it out. You wouldn’t recognize him by the way he is carved open, a constantly overturning cornucopia of flesh, a goblet of blood, running over. He pours himself over the bed when he stands too close and lets the red soak into Armin’s bedding, into Armin’s hair. 

If it were possible, if his body was more than bleached chips of bone in a landfill somewhere, garbage his final resting place, then he might reach out to touch the insomniac that stares back at him. He is weak, hungry, for such an abundance of life. If he could sink his ghostly fingers into Armin’s chest, pry open his throat and crawl inside of him again, he’d sink headfirst into the viscera. But like this, on the hazy edge of Armin’s sleep, he cannot touch him. He can only loom and hover, peer down at his murderer with his skull-holes for eyes. 

A hand, what resembles a hand, reaches. The mangled, broken and degloved fingers look to touch flesh. A death rattle splinters in the open throat, blood in his molars. He is out here and it is cold. Armin has a body and what is left of him is still in his stomach.

"Armin... Let me back inside."

[universestreasures]

The Lockets (Drabble)

Expansion/Spin Off From This Thread With @shacchou (Hope you like this Ani <3)

The young boy didn't expect her to come, if he's being honest. Since Gozaboru Kaiba passed away, Mokuba had cut off all contact with Lady Suzuha. It wasn't because he was grieving over the abusive man. No, it was because his focus had...shifted. He didn't want her to see him like this, to see him do what he thought he had to in order to regain what he lost...

His big brother's love...

Now that the puzzle of his big brother's heart had been broken due to the Penalty Game he suffered at Yugi Muto's hands, and his brother left in a coma for weeks now, everything had shifted. Mokuba was starting to act like himself again, as if he too had been consumed by the demon of games just like his older brother for the last half of a year. That was why he reached out to, really, his closest friend, to one of the only good things that being adopted by his stepfather had given him. And thankfully, she responded and hurried over quickly, overwhelmed with concern and worry herself after having heard the news about his brother's condition.

The two were in one of the many living spaces inside the mansion, arts and craft supplies spread all over the massive table in the middle. The two children often did this activity when they met up, this time being no different. He had something specific in mind that he wanted to do, something that had his immediate focus as he worked diligently on his project.

"M-Mokuba, dear?" The voice of the young lady pulled the youngest Kaiba out of his focus, purple hues staring at hers that could be seen above her signature pink fan. "Are you sure...this is what you called me over for? I-I mean, making arts and crafts with you is certainly a delight and one I rather missed. However, considering...recent events, I...I thought...I thought you called me over so that you could...have a trusted ear to talk about what happened..."

Her inquiry causes him to freeze in place, almost dropping the rope he had been working with. He should have figured this would happen. His friend was rather perceptive, not that Mokuba was any good at hiding his emotions to begin with. Unlike his older brother, he wore his heart on his sleeve for all to see, and she had seen right through him.

"I...I..."

"It's alright if you'd rather not discuss it. I...I know things are hard for you as it is right now. I simply wanted to express my own thoughts. If you simply want my company as we make artistic creations together like we always do, then that is alright. I am here for you today. No one else."

"...Thanks, Suzuha." Mokuba gives her a weak smile. He appreciates her understanding. It was true he did want to talk about it, but...not right now. Not when he had something he needed to finish first and his own thoughts and feelings together.

The room is filled again with silence as the two return to their work. While he worked on his project, she seemed to be painting a tea set of some sort. Perhaps it was a gift for Lord Amanosuzu. If that was the case, then they both had a similar idea in terms of what the purpose of making their crafts was.

As soon as he is about to put the finishing touches on his twin creations, he looks up as he notices Suzuha had gotten out of her chair and was above his shoulder, examining his work closely. "My, my! These are quite lovely, Mokuba dear! Are these for...you and your brother?"

"That's the idea...but I'm not sure if he will-" His words are cut short by the gentle gloved hand of the older young lady being placed on his shoulder, Suzuha's reassuring smile providing a comfort he had been lacking in his life for so long now; the smile of someone who cared about him deeply.

"Of course, he will like it! No, he'll love it! It's a handmade gift from you, his dear little brother! What sibling wouldn't adore such a thing filled with one's true feelings of brotherly love?"

"L-Love...?"

The word sounded so foreign escaping his lips, as if it was the first time he'd ever heard such a concept. His brother had told him brotherly love was a waste, something that only held one back. Those words stuck with him, even as he desperately tried anything and everything to get it from the older Kaiba since his spiral. That's why he had doubted even doing this in the first place, but yet he persisted anyway, creating something with his whole heart that was broken into many pieces by the events that had transpired.

Seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?

Before he can continue his response, he and she are both directed to the door. It then opens, revealing both one of the mansion staff and someone that caused both Suzuha and Mokuba's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Master Mokuba, Sorry to interrupt, but Officer Ryuenji is here to see you."

"Hey. Sorry for dropping in like this. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright, Mokuba."

Before Mokuba can attempt to comment on the other's words, the ruby hues of the other focus on the other individual in the room. A hand goes over Tasuku chest as Mokuba watches him do a slight bow, like a prince would greeting a princess. "Lady Suzuha? Is that you? What a surprise! I did not expect to see you here today. I was not aware you and Mokuba knew each other."

"O-Oh! Y-Yes!" Mokuba's eyes widen just a bit at the sudden stammering in her voice, something he has never seen before from his friend. Suzuha whips out her fan, quickly covering the light blush forming in her cheeks with it. "We've been friends for years, T-Tasuku! Our fathers...were acquainted, and that's how we got introduced. My being here today is just one of many I've had with Mokuba dear over the years. I was not aware you were acquainted with him as well, but considering the celebrity that you are, I guess it's no surprise."

Mokuba and Tasuku both take a sigh of relief at her conclusion,both seemingly deciding to go along with it. Considering all the work Tasuku and the Buddy Police had done to keep the Death-T incident from going public, Suzuha becoming privy to it would put that in jeopardy. Not only that, Mokuba didn't want his friend to know his part of it, a part he felt like he had to do as a last-ditch effort to get the older Kaiba's attention at the time.

"Thanks for coming to check on me, Officer Ryuenji. I appreciate it."

"Please, just call me Tasuku. I think you and I are well acquainted enough to not speak so formally to one another."

Tasuku then took a seat, watching the two go back to their crafts as he did not want to intrude it seemed. It was a new thing for Mokuba to have 'friends over' like this, people who actively wanted to see him and were not trying to get anything out of him. It was...nice.

Was this...the feeling that comes from true friendship and unity with others? The very thing that Yugi seemed to have harnessed to beat his brother?

Mokuba then picks up the last part, the last piece, to his creation, the one item from the past he's treasured and preserved throughout the years. It was something he had clung to, a spark of hope he always held onto despite the darkness that came into his life. It was important to him, more than anyone including his brother, knew..until today that is.

"Mokuba? Is that...?" Tasuku questions, looking over along with Suzuha at the item the youngest in the room now held in his hands.

"Mhmm...It's an old picture of me and Seto before we were adopted by Gozaboru. We looked pretty different back then, huh?"

"You look the same to me, dear Mokuba. It is your brother who is the different one here. I..I have never seen Seto Kaiba...smile with such heart before. Not even during events we've both attended or any promotions I've seen. It's... polarizing, to put it mildly."

"Yeah...It was...a different time, a time before...all of this. That's why this picture is very dear to me, probably the most important thing I own now. And..."

Mokuba begins to do the unthinkable next, slowly starting to rip the photograph in two. His actions shock the other two in the room, both almost going to say something before he continues on and starts to place half of the picture into one of the lockets, precisely the half of the photograph he is featured in.

"I'm going to share it with him, share with Seto my most treasured memory, so that he will...come back to me someday."

Once he finishes the process with the other locket, the boy moves to leave the room, telling his guests he needs to do something. With that, he runs down the long corridors of the Kaiba Mansion, not stopping until he reaches the most guarded part of the house: his brother's chambers.

The maid moves aside to let him in, bringing Mokuba face-to-face with his brother for the first time in weeks. Just looking at him like this, in a coma and stuck in a wheelchair like a lifeless husk, pained him like nothing else. However, he pressed forward anyway, for he had something important to do.

"Big Brother...I...I don't know if you can hear me, but...I...I want to give you something, something to help guide you back to me...A piece of my heart..."

Mokuba then places one of the lockets he created, the one containing his own picture, around his brother's neck. He then puts the remaining one, the one containing Seto's picture, around his own neck, the boy then clenching it protectively like he was a dragon protecting a treasured gem. He can feel his heart start to ache and his body start to quake along with it, his emotions that he had been trying so hard to manage in order to stay strong finally taking over him.

Before he can realize it, his knees buckle, sending him down to the floor and his face into Seto's lap. Water flows from his eyes and land on the white fabric of his brother's clothing, his cries starting to echo throughout the mansion. His friends, immediately upon hearing it spring into action, both stopping in their tracks upon meeting the maid when having reached the entrance. The woman told them to leave the young master on his own for now, to allow him his feelings he's been holding in to come out freely without judgment.

"Mokuba..."

"Mokuba..."

And so the two listened and waited outside the door as Mokuba's cries continued for what seemed like forever, the cries being some of the most painful they'd ever heard. Little did they knew that this was not even close to displaying the amount of anguish the young boy felt, an anguish that had been building up for years upon years that all just spilled over the second his brother went into that coma. For he had been through so much, seen so much, all since that fateful day that changed everything for him and his older brother...

"Seto...Come back...Come back to me...Big brother...I...I miss you...I...I need you...I need you here with me...I don't know who I am without you...So, please...Please I'm begging you...Come home soon..."

[quietlyblooms]

going insane bc of lore's reply, and it's also made me think about how after the explosion in her lads verse, that " hand of fate " chiyo used to feel throughout her life is suddenly gone. she doesn't feel it trying to guide her anymore. why? bc chiyo isn't struggling against it anymore. her dreams and passion for art are the furthest things from her mind -- the life she thinks she should be leading and the desire to break free from her circumstances are the furthest things from her mind.

she's consumed by grief and her need for answers, so chiyo does what she always does in response to major stressors. she throws herself into her work. she fully commits to hunting wanderers and then to getting into the n109 zone, and that's exactly what fate wants. those actions will lead her to where she needs to be and the people she needs to meet. fate no longer pushes her along because chiyo is already pushing herself plenty and likely will not stop until she figures out what happened to josephine and caleb.

[kuratm]

confused? yes, but that'd be an understatement. while sayu isn't exactly sure what happened, she knew one thing that might help cheer the trailblazer.

❛ um...hey, caelus... ❜ the dark-winged halovian speaks up, fidgeting hands gently pressing to the taller male's shoulder as amethyst eyes keep a close eye on him - not wanting to anger him more than he already was. ❛ would you like to get a meal...? erm, my treat...maybe that'll help calm your mind down, even if a bit. ❜

@astrxlfinale / continued from this

[ouraniatm]

if you asked cora frankly, these missions and highly specific biddings for someone else were bunch of crazy talk. elio this, elio that... the green haired criminal grew tired of those lines being thrown around, over and over again, like a mantra. she didn't think much of it in the beginning - back when the world seemed to truly turn it's back on her - and even played along in order to survive, but now only annoyed her. perhaps it's the arrogance of their leader to believe destiny could be predicted and planned through, like he's playing a strategic role-play game, or just the fact cora does not like being told what to do ... it didn't matter. her opinion wouldn't make a change, nor would her situation get any better should she do the foolish act and oppose elio, himself. better survive on your own than to get in more danger than she's ever been in her life.

then again...who would give a damn should their underdog hunter get caught by IPC? nobody knew anything about her, not even the highest authorities had much information on her...she was just a black sheep.

well, not that she'd just up and say these thoughts out loud...especially not to spider lady, over here. hollow, icy eyes roll at kafka's comments while back is turned to her, mostly preoccupied with fixing her ice launchers before scoffing. ❛ heh...you were definitely the spoiled rich kid in previous life. ❜ she pauses to reload said launchers with ice-cased rockets, clicking her tongue and moving the goggles on top of her head. ❛ sure, bashing skulls is fun and all...only after i've taken everything i needed and made them watch it all, so they know they got duped on. ❜ cora grins devilishly as jaded eyes look back to kafka. ❛ but, eh... it's not like i give too much thought into my methods...i just find an opening. least i'm not a petty loser like our resident hacker. ❜

cora moves one hand to hip while other swings her weapon across the shoulder, finally having the decency to fully turn to kafka. ❛ so, you here to brag 'bout your criminal record or to fix your shit, again? you know i don't do chit-chat. ❜

@crownshattered ... continued from here!

[talesofourworlds]

@unborderedreflection liked for a Xillia anniversary starter!

She wasn't his Milla, but... she was still a Milla. No matter how odd it was to be around her, he had seen Jude spending time with her. Surely Ivar could do the same. It helped that she seemed to be on her own that day, as was he. With Spirius having no orders for him and no reason to go anywhere else, Ivar had chosen to linger around Marksburg for a time. Doing so seemed to have benefited him, as she was there too. Doing what? Well, Ivar didn't know. Maybe Marksburg being something of a middle ground between Rieze Maxia and Elympios made it appealing somehow?

Cautious, careful steps were taken closer to join the 'fractured' Milla. He didn't like thinking of her that way, he decided. Would she even want him around, though? Surely she had had her own Ivar back in her world before...

Don't think about it, he decided. When he got close enough to her, to see what she was doing, Ivar prepared himself. All he had to do was give her a chance.

"Lady Milla...?"

[kotaerukoto]

You guys have no idea how annoying I am going to become about Id once I finish it and put down all of my thoughts of which I have Many

[oceanicxeyes]

Closed starter for: @cxncordia Pairing: Walter && Amir It was dark once more. The sun had disappeared and in its place, the moon stood silent on the sky, accompanied only by a few stars. It appeared to the cloudy. Perhaps it would rain within the next day or so. Regardless of how volatile the weather presented itself to be, Walter sat on the sandy beach, his bare feet casually digging the sand as he kept his arms wrapped tightly over his legs, knees pressed against his chest as he contemplated how quickly things had change within mere weeks. If there were any deities in a different plane, any Gods – were they mocking him now? Did his own hubris proved to be his downfall? But was it really hubris to come to the sea every now and then, to be home once more? Those thoughts met no answer – divine or not. Only the casual sound of the waves caressing the sand bore witness to Walter’s internal turmoil as a chilly breeze brushed away his hair from his face. He had been amidst the land dwellers for a century. Ever since his own kind realized that they were on the path to extinction and decided to seek protection in the deepest corners of the sea. Walter never wanted that. To just… HIDE. It was the equivalent of admitting defeat. Was there really no hope to save his home? Back in the day, they didn’t have a word to what was happening. All they believed was that humans were the harbingers of their destruction. But with more and more incursions to land – watching humans build something that they called factories and make little care of the damage they caused to nature, it was clear that the paradigm was shifting. The seas were becoming hotter. The water level was slowly rising. Nowadays, people called that phenomena global warming. Humans in their pride and greed and need to evolve, had destroyed what had been there for longer than any of them dared to contemplate. And for a century, he had been careful. Walter had learned from humans how to behave and how to be one of them. The goal was easy – find some way – any way - to prevent the extinction of his kind. To save the oceans which were also the birth of life. And he had been so careful… for a century, he had successfully remained hidden and invisible to other beings of the night. Walter had heard about them: vampires and werewolves and witches and the likes. He wanted no part on their issues. He had his own mission and quite frankly – he was scared of all those other things concealed in the night. He was scared of humans too. What would they do if they found out what he really ways? Knowing how others viewed individuals with potential… he would either be locked in a lab and studied or turned into a weapon. Kept away from the sea – from his own true home.

It’s been weeks since his secret was exposed. Was it hubris? He had gone to the same beach he did for the past year – he had made sure that there was no one around. His human appearance turned into his real form: a tail, scales and gills. His skin became as bright as a pearl as his scales glistened under the pale moonlight. Then how did those… what was the word he used…? KINDRED? How they found him was not something Walter had planned. If not for someone else to guarantee his safety – to protect him… who knows where he would be now? And after a century, Walter found himself indebted to someone else. To a Kindred. A VAMPIRE. But this particular individual didn’t seem like the stories he read from books or the monsters he saw in the movies. He appeared… kind. Respectful. Walter even dared to conceive the concept of… safety. Maybe not all vampires were bad. Not all humans were monsters too.

“I will repay you for your kindness.” Blue eyes once fixated on the steady motion of the ocean glance over the siren’s shoulder to the man nearby. Amir was… unlike anything Walter had met before. He was a mystery wrapped in a enigma. Kindred or not – vicious or not – he had done nothing to make him fear him. He was still a predator but Walter believed – maybe because he was naïve when it came to other creatures – that this particular man truly wished him no harm. “I was so careful. I never used the same entry point twice.” It didn’t matter. He was spotted and almost captured if not for Amir. And that had been weeks ago. “I don’t understand what use I’d have to your people.” To vampires. Kindred. Not like he had told Amir about his ability to control and manipulate water or the eerie singing that became stuff of legends from days past. As far as the kindred was concerned – he was merely a siren. A man with the ability to transform into a fish hybrid and live underwater. What use would he be to those that could live forever? “But I am grateful to you. And no matter how long it takes – I plan to repay you for keeping me safe. It’s… the least I can do.”

[flamepledge]

❝ i must admit, i'm somewhat envious that you are so well travelled. ❞ there's a playful lilt when she speaks to @trailstrike. gloved fingers idly stroke the handle of her tea mug. edelgard tilts her head curiously at the other. ❝ is there anything from any of the worlds you visited that you miss? ❞ / sc!

[pepperpixel]

2 more aberration odium character playlists!!!! Finally!!!!! This time for Tetack and Somnix! Two angsty trolls struggling to be true to themselves and each other, while under the pressure of forces beyond their understanding..

“Lemon Boy” - Tetack Whyoul’s Playlist

“Like A Dog” - Somnix Avyurn’s Playlist

Just like with all the other playlists these 2 have songs that are in both of them! … considerably more this time then there were on the other mixes.. the songs shared in these 2 are generally indicative of when both Tetack and Somnix are feeling the same thing about there relationship!

You might have noticed there’s also more songs in general in these mixes!!! That’s cuz… I had a lot of songs for Somnix and Tetack ghghgh- idk man! turns out a lot of songs fit w edgy relationship drama and being seduced by dark and terrible forces!!! Idk what to tell u!!

Once again the mixes are in chronological order! The songs progress in the same way the characters progress! Most of these I feel like. Paint a pretty clear picture? Like. Obviously we haven’t told you exactly what happens w these two yet but you can get the vibes here! The edgy edgy angsty vibes…. But! Neither of them end edgy and angsty! They sort themselves out eventually! That’s what matters lol

[frozcnhearts]

@rageagaiinst liked for a starter - Sehun & Annaleigh

Nights like this were the cause for the dark circles underneath his eyes. The exhausted medicine student stared at the empty glass, as he idly traced its edge with his index finger. Since hours he hadn’t dared to look at the time. It wasn’t like he feared the time - but he would surely regret that he hadn’t walked home earlier. Hadn’t gone sleep earlier. Just to repeat every day again and again, like an endless circle with no way to escape.

What a frustrating life.

“Could I get another cocktail?”, he asked with clear tiredness in his voice after just doing the same, idly tracing for almost ten minutes - maybe even longer. Amber eyes staring at the female bartender. He didn’t know her, hadn’t talked with most people here anyway if he was being honest. Mostly they were just people of no big importance to him anyway.

[universestreasures]

Shadow Checkmate (Drabble)

For @shachou

Chess. It was the first game Nii-sama ever taught me, the one that made me really love gaming. I'm not very good at it. Nowhere near as good as my brother. But...when I play it with him, it makes me so happy! It's a lot of fun to try and beat him, even if I always lose.

It used to be something we'd do every day, with other kids at the orphanage watching us. But...we don't play chess anymore. We haven't since we moved into this house.

Our stepfather says Nii-sama has more important things to do than to play with me, something about needing to work hard. That's why I don't see him most days. I only see him at dinner once in a while or at a fancy party I get to go to. Other times, I'm told he's too busy studying with his teachers, even if I ask nicely.

I miss him. I miss him a lot. I miss the days when he read me stories about dragons and wizards. I miss the days when he'd tuck me into bed. I miss the days when we played chess for fun all day. I miss the days we were together.

With him not around, I've gotten lonely and bored. That means I've had to make new ways to have fun, like Nii-sama and I always used to do. That's why I made a new game, a new game I can play that makes me feel like I'm playing it with him.

It's called Shadow Checkmate.

The rules are the same as regular chess, except you don't need a second person to play. All you need is yourself and your shadow. Though, I don't have any chess pieces. I've had to use things in my room, like buttons or pencils, instead. I drew the board out on a piece of paper, one side for the 'white' pieces and one side for the 'black'. I use the black ones like I always do, and my shadow uses the white.

I take my turns, and then I move my shadow's pieces for it. Though, when I play, I don't see or hear my shadow playing with me. I hear and see my brother. For he is always by my side, like a shadow, even if he isn't here.

"Good move, Mokie!" I'd hear him say, my brother's voice echoing in my head.

"Better luck next time, kiddo." He'd tell me after he'd win, like he always does.

"Let's play again!" That is what he'd say after each game, always wanting to play more.

I'd play Shadow Checkmate for hours and hours. I'd play so much to the point I'd fall asleep right there on the floor. It was fun and made me feel like, even just for a while, that I wasn't trapped in this stupid house. When I was back home with Nii-sama, smiling and playing together like we always did.

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

I find myself coming back to that little game I made rather recently, playing it wherever Nii-sama happens to be. In his hospital room. In his bedroom. Even outside in the mansion's garden when the doctors allow me to take him out. Wherever he is, and we'd have a moment, we'd play, just like we used to.

I'd set up the pieces, proper chess pieces his time. His were white, and mine were black. And since I long since memorized all of his moves, I gently guide his hands to the pieces, helping him move them into place. Of course, I always lose. But...unlike the last time I lost a game, I don't get yelled at or punished for losing, even if I somehow always get a little shaken when his voice in my mind echos "checkmate."

It was nice to have him here, not looking at me so coldly, at least physically. For he can't move or can't talk right now. Like this, he really had become my shadow, always there next to me, but unable to react to anything I say, outside of what I make up in my head. The real him was off rebuilding the puzzle of his heart, according to Yugi, whatever that meant.

But I promised to wait for him, and wait for him I did. Each and every day for over half a year. I played many games with him, maybe in hopes that by doing so he'd come back, but nothing had changed. And unlike when I was little, I wasn't smiling as much during these games. It didn't help ease my loneliness. If anything, it made me feel sadder. For my Nii-sama was right in front of me, and yet...it still wasn't who I was waiting for. It wasn't who I wanted to be with more than anything. It wasn't who I wanted to say "I love you, Mokuba" for real instead of in my head.

It wasn't my big brother, the person I wanted to play chess for real with.

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

I played a lot of chess with my friends while I've been at Tasuku's place. All four of them took turns playing with me, me winning against Gao and Akatsuki and me losing to Suzuha and Tasuku. I tried my best to put my all into these games, but...my heart just wasn't in. It was like I was zoning out most of the time, stuck in my own head and unable to focus on what was in front of me.

Whoever I played against, I would always see Nii-sama instead. Instead of their voices, I'd hear his, encouraging me or congratulating me on a win. It was no different than playing Shadow Checkmate all over again, except this time I didn't have to move the other pieces.

The more we played as the weeks went on, the more I kept thinking. Will I get to play chess with the real Nii-sama ever again? Will I get to ever see him again? Will he ever want to see me again? Will he...will he send me back to the orphanage, since I liked it there so much? Will I be forced to play with shadows of him made by my mind, something i did when I had no choice, forever?

My fears engulfed my shadows, transforming the images of my brother I saw during these games now, just like how he appeared in my nightmares. His voice changed too, encouraging words now distorted into the anger-filled rage he experienced that night that had been echoing in my mind since they happened as if they'd never shut up.

"I will not entertain this nonsense any longer!"

"You want no part of this ? Fine. Do as you wish."

" This conversation is over."

I put my hands over my ears as they get louder, dropping my chess pieces in the process as my eyes shut tight and tears start to flow. Tasuku and my friends come to my side to comfort me, but I can't hear them. All I can hear and see is my shadow growing into my brother, towering over me like his dragon, before detaching himself from me and leaving me alone.

All alone.

Forever.

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

Here I am. Sitting alone inside a room in this mansion, this time my brother's room, playing Shadow Checkmate once again with the makeshift pieces I made when I was five. I know I don't have to play this anymore. I had friends I could play with. I had employees I could play with. Hell, if I wanted to, I could make an AI version of my brother to play with.

But...for some reason, I chose this way instead. Maybe it was because it felt nostalgic. Maybe it was because it had worked in the past into fooling myself he was actually here. For unlike all the other times before, my brother isn't here in this dimension. He's off somewhere I can't get to. Somewhere, I don't know if he'll ever return from.

As I move my pieces into place, following suit by moving my shadows, I try to not think so hard. I want to lose myself in my fantasies. I want to escape for even just a moment, to remind myself that everything is okay and that my brother is still with me!

And yet...this time, there was nothing. No voice. No sound. No image. It was just me. Me, myself, and I. The reality of it all was too real to suppress, for no trace of my brother was left in this world other than his cards, his possessions, and my memories and mementos. I wasn't a little kid anymore who could distract myself with self-made images of what I wanted to see.

I had grown up, meaning this game...was no longer what I needed it to be anymore.

I threw all of the game pieces to the side in a swipe, gritting my teeth in frustration as I huffed and puffed. I hate this! Why wasn't it working anymore? Can't I just have a moment, even just a second of peace? The peace I thought would always be there?!

We promised each other we wouldn't ever be separated. We promised we'd always stick together. We promised we'd always be a team. And yet, just like in my visions from the past, he's left my side, my shadow seemingly nonexistent as I turn my back to look.

For there was no light to guide me. No light to warm me. No light to guide me. Nii-sama is my light. He always has been, and without him...I feel...

I feel incomplete, like part of my soul is missing; a part I need to live lest I be cast down back into the sea of despair that had almost drowned me so many times again and again. I feel worthless, knowing I can never fill his shoes. I feel numb, knowing I might never get to play another game with him....ever again.

It was suffocating as I cried my eyes out over him, left in nothing but the rubble of my childhood escape that could no longer stop me from drowning...

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

It was a miracle. A miracle I thought one day might never come. But it did. The light that protects my brother's soul, his dragons, along with a priest who resembled him, led me back to my brother. We were together at last, his light returning my shadow to me after a painful two months of separation.

Naturally, everyone celebrated his return. Kaiba Corporation was glad to have him back, a weight being taken off my shoulders. Despite doing my best, no one ran the company quite like my brother. He had a light that lead everyone to doing their jobs well and to the best of their ability, a light I sadly don't have just yet but that I hope I one day will have!

However, that wasn't what I was concerned about. I was worried about one thing and one thing only: spending time with him, good quality time outside of work. I wasn't about to let him become a workaholic again. At least...not right away. For there was something important I just had to do, a thought that had been on my mind since he first left.

I come into his lab with a box under my arms, one I had to dig around in Seto's room for. My entrance gets his attention, him turning his chair to face me. I greet him with a smile, as I always do, before I do what I have been wanting to do for so long; finally putting a nail in the coffin to my old game

"Niisama...?" I ask, holding up a box containing his personal set of a certain game, a game we haven't played together in ages that I was ready to play with him for real this time.

"Can we...play some chess? I think...I think I'm finally ready to beat you!"

[kamipyre]

𝟓 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄.

i. beyond the boundary – minori chihara. solitude soaks, and soaks my cheeks,but the presence of dawn quietly rises, / inviting me up, into the sky. / hope awaits me in the distance, that's right - i'm on my way! 

ii. souvenir – bump of chicken.  placing a ribbon on each of the scenes my eyes picked out / i continue on my way home, collecting them like souvenirs / the seasons greeted me and i even picked up a few tears / how should I begin to describe this way home you’ve given me?

iii. tsuki to taiyou dake – kiro akiyama. constantly feel the changing seasons / even if you don’t like it, it will flow even though you can’t move yet / today is already blurred with indelible feelings / words that we can’t say show a little bud

iv. hello, world! – bump of chicken. surrounded by a world painted with the colors I chose, / i wonder where the meaning is in the wounds i can’t choose / thinking i’m the only hero, constantly standing on stage / in the center of the world until it’s over / what can i do? i can’t even pretend i’m empty inside / hello, greetings, i’m right here

v. daisy – stereo dive foundation. to overwrite the accumulated sins, / you've got as many times as you need, from the repeating start line. / painting a tomorrow different from the past, / painting hope for just the two of us, there's the start line.

dragged in by: @bloodxhound :'D /  tagging: @rippleofwords @velvetineblue @jeoseungsaja ( hyuk!! or who ever you use music for Inspo for most for :D ) @mythvoiced ( for....odyessus?? ) @uroborosymphony ( I'd say Quinn but choose whoever you use music the most for for inspo &lt;3 ) @eternasci and you!! bc I think cyan probably tagged everyone else I know <3

[quiiscnt]

@freedthedark // ♡'d

☂ ❚❙❘ ❝Oh hello!❞ Juvia spoke her greeting with a bit of surprise and confusion. Head turning to pan the guild hall looking for the rest of his usual companions.❝Juvia heard you guys took on a quest recently. Finished already?❞