#haze deadlock

[noblish]

hey so i made some paradox x haze deadlock fanart -v-

ive had too much fun with this game

and obsessed with the lesbianism of these two

[theofficialtoast]

Haze and Wraith

[milesplayshu]

more Deadlock gameplay, mainly wanting to play Haze

[homiu-l]

insane women designs dropped from new valve MOBA shooter game rn

[francescamagali]

Happy Deadlock Conversation Embargo Lift Day.

[qiacord]

[uglycoal]

haze v1 from old deadlock artstyle

[replicafatale]

one cool thing I just noticed in deadlock: chars have situational lines for when they're low health & sound more frustrated/desperate trying to land their abilities. loooove that detail

[unfeltpleasures]

i lost

[benreyficial]

what r everyone’s favorite characters to play in deadlock i personally really like vindicta and wraith

[cozzzynook]

Something happens and Drift becomes Deadlock again. He's exploring the room he shares with Ratchet and notices what seems to be a third person either living there or visiting often. He can see stuff that's not his or Ratchets laying around. Also a lot of the photos he has are of him Ratchet and this other person.

Deadlock asks about it and Ratchet gets all flustered. They both had feelings for Rodimus but weren't sure if he felt the same way or if they both had feelings for Rodimus.

Deadlock pushes Ratchet to confess.

What Deadlock finds would probably be things like an abundance of fuel that has to be seasoned and cooked. Its an ingredient hab instead of a ready fuel hab. He knows he can’t cook worth slag and he knows Ratchet is too busy to cook daily like this.

So he figures there’s another bot living with them.

Even as Deadlock he wanted to conjunx Ratchet so he’s not surprised they’re conjunx and living together but what does surprise him is learning theres another thats always with them.

He feels like someone is missing when he wakes up and its just Ratchet with him.

When Ratchet tells him he’ll explain later and that he should rest, he keeps pushing it off until the two reach their hab and he sees the fuel. Sees things like art work he knows neither could create, along with lots of photos of a beautiful red mech with greats hips and a big chassis in photos with them.

He asks Ratchet about the mech and Ratchet’s response makes something tick in his spark and processor.

“He’s a really close friend of yours and he’s become a pretty close friend of mine too. His name is Rodimus,” Ratchet vaguely explains not looking Deadlock in the optics long enough for it to be the whole truth.

“And.”

“What do you mean and?”

“He’s more to us than that.”

He states it plainly, having no time for beating around the bush. He was already beaten up enough to need minor surgery on his internals he didn’t want to add anymore inconveniences, not even pertaining emotional matters.

“He’s just a friend,” Ratchet sighs looking in the kitchen for something to eat for the both of them. There’s three rows full of different fuels already made that just need to be heated up. Ratchet gives off the hint of a smile that reaches his optics and lights up his spark. Deadlock shifts a tad and sees the note attached to the fuel but can’t read it once its gripped in Ratchets servo as he pulls out fuel.

He raises an optic ridge at the doc who pointedly ignores his unspoken question.

Thats fine.

He could play this game.

Early morning comes and Deadlock wakes to the sound of pede steps that sound familiar but are foreign all the same and he curses getting knocked out by the slimy creature on the supposed desolate planet.

“Don’t even think about it kid, he’s still recharging so I can administer yer meds. Now hold still.”

That sounded interesting enough and he had nothing better to do. So with a quick set of motions Deadlock was quietly standing in the doorway to the living den where Ratchet was holding a syringe that was glowing dimly with deep bright tones at the end.

“You don’t have to do this Ratch, I’ve been doing this for millions of years,” the mech smiled trying not to move. The cmo raised his dermas to a slight snarl and the mech quieted.

Shifting his helm as he let Ratchet inject him directly next to his spark he sees Deadlock watching them from the doorway with a fearful expression.

He gives a soft smile to the cyber kitten like mech and waits until Ratchet takes the needle out to reassure him.

“Its just spark medicine, no biggie,” he softly relays, standing on his pedes to go over to the fridge and grab one of the few metals he left here.

He grabs a soft zinc stick with sweet silver bits littered on it and takes a bite. He closes the fridge and turns only to jump at the mech being so close to him.

Large servos rest on his hip plating and he feels his spark haze.

“Dri-Deadlock?”

“You smell like me and the doc.”

He doesn’t back away when he says it. In fact he gets closer, finials twitching in the renowned cyber cat fashion he used to be so known for. Rodimus could feel his claws slipping out as they gently rubbed his sensitive biolights and that was his cue to escape Deadlocks grasp.

“I think i’ll head out now, thanks for my shot Ratchet. I’ll be on the bridge if you need me,” he gave a nervous smile as he moved to leave but Deadlock didn’t let him.

“I feel a lie on your glossa,” the smirk on his face plates was far too handsome to be fair and Rodimus looked to Ratchet for help.

“I need to get back to my hab,” Rodimus tried again but Deadlock still didn’t budge.

“Ah ah ah,” the mech purred, engine rumbling his frame as he twirled an imaginary tail, “this is your hab. After all, the spark medicine in the wash racks belongs to you and you’re the only Rodimus I see.”

The way he purred the captains designation left Rodimus weak in the knees and he was feeling his modesty panels slipping. His valve was growing hot and he knew this was definitely not the time nor place for this, especially since he was not their conjunx or partner.

“I..I spend a lot of time here but this isn’t my hab,” Rodimus spook truthfully, “you guys are conjunx,” Rodimus finally acknowledged, “i’m just a really cool third wheel,” he half joked, half somber.

“Third wheel?”

Deadlock was in disbelief at that but Rodimus was serious and looking at the doc nod on agreement he scowled.

“So I’ve become a coward as an autobot?”

“Huh?”

“And you doc? Just giving up? Still rolling over and taking it?”

Ratchet scowled fiercely at that but Deadlock was right. He never said a word of his feelings and neither did Drift. Always too busy dancing around the truth to even admit it aloud to themselves and each other.

“Whats going on?”

“Whats going on, flame princess, is that doc here and the valve sucker I’ve become are too scared to admit wanting you.”

“Say what?”

Rodimus had a dumbstruck look on his face plates that made Deadlock cock an optic ridge.

“Insecurity does not fit you princess.”

“Don’t call me princess,” Rodimus frowned.

“I’m callin it like I see it princess,” Deadlocks smirk was cut throat but Ratchet wasn’t letting him keep it for long.

“Oh really? So, since you’re callin it like ya see it, why not tell Rodimus here how much you really want him. If I’m remembering correctly we never said it but we sure did let our em fields.”

Deadlock grimaced at that and Rodimus was holding onto Deadlock like a lifeline until Ratchet came up to him and traced his cheek plating with a digit.

“We..we like ya kid, a lot, actually. We have for, we have for a long long time now.”

Ratchets optics were the softest he’d ever seen them.

He’s only ever looked at Drift with those optics but now, now he looked at Rodimus with those same optics and Rodimus couldn’t help but look back. Tears on the verge of dropping and spark on the brink of halting from shock.

“Before the war ended, when you came to check on us during our days on Cybertron and when we joined the Lost light. We’ve..we’ve loved you for a long time…”

“Even..even after..”

“Through everything,” Ratchet rested him helm agsinst Rodimus’s, leaving room for one more, “through everything,” he laid bare.

Claws retracted from his hips but the servos did not.

“We’re doing this now Ratty?”

“Drift!”

Rodimus hugged the both of them tightly making them smile.

He shifted to look at the both of them when Drift held his cheek in the palm of his servo, gazing into him trying to find his aura.

Rodimus let him have it.

And what he saw left Drift in tears.

“I didn’t think I could have you,” Rodimus mumbled, “so I was happy to have this. For as long as I could. Just being with you, that would be enough for me. But you…you both really?”

“I wish I’d been completely myself when we said it. But yeah Roddy. We love you. All of you.”

Resting their helms together didn’t feel hard.

It felt normal.

Like a thousand lifetimes had gone by with this exact moment happening on repeat. It warmed something within Rodimus spark and he slipped into them.

Em fields becoming one, all three stood in each others arms.

Drift couldn’t help but thank the other half of himself.

He doesn’t think they’d be here without him.

-

Idk how this turned out but I tried.

[shuttershocky]

People in my friend group are weirdly hostile about Deadlock, its nice (and a bit relieving lol) to see you enjoy it and reblog fanart... most of them haven't even played it, I really don't understand where the beef came from... 😓 Sucks cause I got into HD2 to play on the hype train with friends but funny moba shooter is a bridge too far or too silly

This might read as a little mean-spirited or uncharitable, but it's because most PVP gamers are casuals who are scared of a hero shooter being a real MOBA for once with actual macro strategy instead of Team Fortress 2/Counterstrike with marketable waifus.

Which is a shame, because Deadlock's actually a great first time MOBA. I've seen a ton of Overwatch / Valorant players get into it and actually adjust to MOBA strategy fairly easily, what with items and lanes being color coded, map objectives being in straight lines, and characters being designed around intuitive ideas (Haze does more damage the more she hits you, Wraith makes every 1v1 unfair, Bebop moves enemies and allies around, etc).

Because it's in an alpha state and therefore has prototype/placeholder art, there's no comics or finished designs or outside media to get people hooked in without playing the game itself, so it won't really convince anyone who isn't ready to give the genre a try.

But it's good! You know the gameplay rules because even the waifu hunters are playing this game and the second most popular girl, Ivy, looks like this

They make forum posts on the daily begging for waifu redesigns such as for Yamato

but they're still playing even when they think everyone (and everything) is ugly. That's how you know this shit is fun.

[reflective-leaf]

The Climate Movement Needs Your Creativity, Not Your Guilt

(This is an annotated transcript of the TEDx talk I gave in April 2023. It’s 10 minutes long. I’d suggest watching it first and then coming here for supporting materials.)

Does climate action feel impossible?

When I was a kid, I was interested in everything. I’d need about 10 careers to do it all. So I got out my green and blue markers and made a calendar to keep track of which job I’d have on which day of the week. On Monday, I’d be a scientist, on Tuesday, a painter. Friday — some kind of explorer, because I loved nature documentaries. I related to how animals seemed fascinated by whatever was right in front of them.

Every documentary ended with a reminder that these animals needed our help, and all the ways they were threatened by human activity. I couldn’t believe no one had managed to do something about this. But I figured I would know how when I grew up.

So, though I kept changing my mind about what I would be, the one constant was that it would have something to do with climate and conservation.

Years later, I was working as an engineer and plugging away at my art and writing. I didn’t tell anyone about my master plan to connect it all to climate, but I hadn’t forgotten it. I kept looking for ways to make my engineering work overlap with climate science or renewables.

Still, I avoided climate news. I didn’t need to hear over and over that climate change REALLY WAS real to motivate me to take action. I didn’t need to see a picture of an animal choking on plastic; I already had the master plan. Meanwhile, I kept circling climate action from a distance without taking the plunge.

But that changed in 2020. The United Nations issued a report giving us a deadline of 2030 to make steep emissions cuts.

Taking action couldn’t stay theoretical and future tense any longer. So I dove into the research to catch up on what I had missed. And I started — tentatively — talking to people about climate change and my intentions.

And I got wave after wave of bad news. It wasn’t just the tight deadlines, scale of changes needed, and years of deadlock.

It was also the confusing responses I was getting in my conversations about climate change. I’d bring up something I found fascinating, people’s faces would drop. The’d say “Yeah… I should be doing more.” And the conversation stopped there.

We’d all finally grown up! and I was ready to jump into the master plan, but I hadn’t factored in when I was 10 that no one would want to jump with me.

And it was 2020, and the air in California was full of wildfire smoke — a constant reminder of what was at stake.

Defeatism had hijacked the climate conversation and it was everywhere.

Eventually, the gloom shifted just enough for me to start wondering. Maybe we were all so bummed because we couldn’t see through the haze. We’ve all been peppered with directives — reduce, reuse, recycle. Drive less. Fly less. Turn off lights. Don’t buy plastic.

And we try, pushing against a system that wasn’t set up for any of that. But we don’t have a clear picture of how this helps.

We may have a vague idea of our individual reductions adding up to collective reductions — but then, every single one of us would have to cut our individual emissions by over half, and then to zero. We can’t imagine the effort it would take to scale up our reductions by that much. And convincing every single human to do the same? Impossible.

This picture doesn’t add up because it requires us all to be perfect. And worse, it makes us feel like we are failing, every single day.

But let me paint you a different picture. If change could only happen with 100% participation and perfection, change would never happen. But I think we can all agree that sometimes change does happen, even positive change. So — how?

For one thing, you can move society in a positive direction without being perfect. Think of it like electric current. We are the electrons.

When we imagine current flowing through a wire, we might imagine an orderly stream of electrons all moving in the same direction.

But actually, even before the current starts, the electrons are moving — randomly, at high speeds, in all directions.

And when we apply a voltage to create current, it still looks like they’re moving at random, except there’s a change you can only see when you look at the wire as a whole.

Each electron shifts its velocity a tiny bit, all in the same direction. You don’t need perfect electrons to create current.

Society is a bit more complicated than electric current. Still, it doesn’t matter that we aren’t each moving in a perfectly sustainable direction as long as our changes line up. And more importantly, pick up speed.

So what’s the voltage that directs us? I called it “the system,” and what I mean is the way all the organizations that touch our lives are set up — what they prioritize and where they get their materials.

We are constantly pushing against the system while trying to influence “our” consumption. What if we tried influencing the system instead?

So how do systems change? I found the answer in one of my math textbooks. Transformation builds under the surface as ideas brew, minds change, and small clusters of supporters gather — all while progress appears to be slow or non-existent, until suddenly, the support reaches a critical mass, and the system transforms rapidly in an emergent process.

Nearly every social movement that succeeded followed this pattern of slow, then all at once. To get to that point, a certain percentage of people need to participate (estimated variously as 3.5%, to 25%), but importantly, it’s not 100%.

So don’t think of the climate movement as something you’re guilted into. You can choose to be one of the 25% who become early adopters of change.

And you don’t have to worry about the people you can’t convince. They will change when the system changes because that comes first.

Changing the system requires creativity. The first act of creativity is to imagine the possible paths to transformation.

The second act of creativity is to imagine where you can fit into that picture. Old ideas need to be replaced by new ones — about everything from technology to our day-to-day lives. The new ideas spread through you.

To make that happen, ask yourself these three questions.

One. What is a movement you want to throw your weight behind? Pick a trend or organization that’s already building, and that you can help accelerate. You can be another piece of its critical mass.

Two. What’s a practical obstacle that’s been keeping you from participating? Anything from not knowing what a word means, to having trouble deciding where to volunteer.

If you have this obstacle, others do too. So brainstorming a solution will help more than just you. That obstacle doesn’t stand a chance against your formidable skills at creative problem solving!

Question Three. What social circles that you’re already a part of, can you share your solutions and experiences with? Sharing in the circles where you can be heard is how your solutions amplify and ripple outward.

We’re facing unprecedented challenges, so our imaginations need to be nimble — zipping like a hummingbird — from the big picture, to our immediate surroundings. From where we’re starting from — to where we want to get to.

We can’t be nimble like this if we’re stuck in guilt and perfectionism, and gazing endlessly within our own homes and wallets at all the things we’re doing wrong.

No movement in history has been made up of perfect people, so stop worrying about the ways you’re not perfect. Perfect people are not required.

Instead, think of all the ways your creativity could accelerate us in the right direction.

If you haven’t already, check out the recording of my TEDx talk! And you can hit ‘like’ on the video if you want to help get the YouTube algorithm to distribute it.

[annelidist]

in case you're wondering why i'm posting a lot lately the last few days have been a deadlocked haze of depression so this is basically all i've got in me rn

[igglemouse]

Deadlock

Just a random post! Would any mutuals like an invitation to this game?

There's not trailer as the game isn't out yet. Valve did this kind of brilliant kinda not at all secret release where only people invited can invite others and I was invited and forgot I can invite others.

It's a hero shooter game like Overwatch or Valorant BUT it's also very much a Moba like league of legends. It's a moba first really just one where you shoot and it will be free to play when it releases but its in early access, really early access (Like Haze is supposed to be made of smoke but you can see they haven't finished her textures and stuff), but lots are playing it because it does what it does well!

Any ways, if you'd like an invitation, message me with your steam friends code! I'll have to have you as a friend on steam (its only on Steam as it is a valve game) so I'll send a friend request (sometime within the day) and you should also get a steam notification of being invited to the alpha for Deadlock it can take a few minutes or up to 2 days. Once you have it, you are free to remove me as friend if you want and hopefully enjoy it!

I don't think I'll be that into the game because I actually go crazy with PVP games like...I'm secretly very competitive...I am not the best to play with when it comes to things like this lol so I have semi-retired from competitive PVP games but I did give this a casual try and its VERY fun!

Edit: BTW no time limit on this offer unless Valve changes the invite system!

[noisydiary]

coming clean

☾ | a lil 2.8k nightlock ramble- trying to ramble out the start of the transition from their relationship being physical to being romantic + new update has been rotating in my brain. more or less pressing into deadlock's mental state/ptsd and how she's Processing (she's Not) ------

Sunset was… Tough.

'Tough', meaning, that was the best Iselin could do to put her thoughts into words. She'd thought- or rather hoped- that vindication would feel so much better. Then again, she'd hoped to do more. That she could hurt Kingdom much like they did in their ignorance. Instead, all she got was the truth she already knew. That their corporation was corrupt.

To have this hope that her issues would be solved. That she could go through, prove to Brimstone, and remove what she thought to be the source of her trouble- only to find herself still staring at her ceiling. That the seconds, the minutes, the hours- the time wasted staring at that damned ceiling, knowing time was being wasted. That she couldn't do anything. That she still laid there, her mind so full of what felt like nothing. Nothing she could describe, anyway. That it felt so stuffed she couldn't think past it, and yet she couldn't put it to sleep. All of the gears were turning, making so much noise, and doing nothing.

The easy way out to it was one she'd taken more than once by now… To crawl her way to the one person who still was awake and 3AM- to the dreamseer who couldn't sleep from the noise that filled her own mind. Unfortunately, that would mean caving. Fade had made her stance quite clear the last time Iselin laid in her bed.

"Deadlock?"

"Mm…?"

"You know, as much as these are nice… You can't rely on this forever."

"And what does that mean."

"I can put you to sleep this way, but you've offered me your nightmares. I can take them, but that won't stop them forever. You can't keep running away from your fears."

Iselin didn't respond, but Fades words still found their way through the haze in her mind. She'd not made her way back there since- seeing as she never had a good response. As far as Iselin was concerned, feeling nothing was better than clearing the haze. It sucked, laying alone- but feeling like she did at Kingdom's base… that was worse.

Thinking on that, though, broke the radio silence. Her mind wandered to the mission, to Gekko and Wingman, the facility. Thinking of the beasts, the machines and the technicians- all of the people working with things they didn't understand-- That they had no idea what they were creating, these people making weapons of destruction. It wasn't a far leap for her thoughts to start rushing through everything else she'd pushed out of her mind. Running through Sunset- through the forgotten facility- the idiot they sent with her and her team- the lack of information they gave them- how little they gave to prepare- how small a team they sent in knowing they would die- that they never came for her beacon- the knowledge that if Sova did not find her distress signal, she would have been left for dead- maybe she was better off dead- maybe-- Nei- Nei-!!

Shooting up to sit upright, she grit her teeth and shut her eyes, taking deep breaths as she pulled her knees up to her chest and held herself together- holding her knees with her real arm as her nub tried doing the same, feeling the phantom following suit. It wasn't much to stop herself from hearing everything buzz inside, her heartbeat in her ears and the whispers that lingered along with everything else. What else would you expect in opening the floodgates?

Hvorfor gjorde jeg ikke nok… Hvorfor tenker jeg fortsatt på dette- hvorfor blir jeg ikke bedre. Hvorfor sitter jeg fast- Hvorfor døde jeg ikke? Hvorfor måtte de dø- hvorfor advarte de oss ikke?

Questions she'd ask herself, having no good answer to any of them, really. Questions she wanted answers to, and some that she didn't. Some that she wished were buried with the rest of that damned Vault-- or that she could tear apart until nothing remained.

Asking them, though, gave nothing- as she sat on her bed, shaking. Every question poked another hole in the veil, leaving her breath uneasy, her pulse heavy as it drummed through the silence of headquarters. It took more effort to stop asking, and to leave things as they were- finding no solace in herself. She still had no answer, but… There was a little part of her that didn't want to be alone.

No matter how much she'd kept her distance from everyone, that she'd made certain not to make ties, an ache still remained. Hell, even with Fade and their nights-- a part of the controller ached for the lavender incense she burned, even if her presence meant little to the dreamseer. If all that remained there was the physical nature of their 'relationship', then damn it, she wanted it. If just not to be alone with herself- even if she didn't have the answer Fade wanted… if she wanted it at all.

Taking a longer breath, Iselin stretched herself out of the ball she'd curled into, easing herself out of her mind and into the world once more. She glanced through her barren room to her prosthetic, sitting on her desk as it charged through the night. With a small huff, she got up, focusing on one task at a time. Walking to the desk, grabbing her arm- breathe. In, out. Attaching the arm, she turned on her heel and made her way out of the room, shutting the door behind her as she walked through headquarter's halls.

By this point, the doors of most every other agent sat closed- as the other agents settled in for sleep. Even if they didn't, they were respectful- keeping quiet. The walls were thin, as Skye had told her once before. "Brim and Breach have a tendency to go at one another if ya leave 'em alone too long, you can hear em all the way down in the bloomin' basement-!" as far as Iselin recalled.

The memory caught her for a moment, as a light smile came to her- if only a brief respite from everything else swimming around in there. That, and her nerves pricking up as she came to the door in question, seeing it open just enough for light and air to come through; the air carrying warmth along with it, as the light flickered. Iselin paused before the door, knowing it'd be easy enough to push the door open. Fade kept the door open, in case anyone stopped by- though no one did. "They're afraid of öcü- me."

Iselin took that moment to focus again, letting the nerves building in her quiet, knowing damn well they wouldn't. She took a long breath in, biting her lip as she reached out to the door with her prosthetic, knocking gently enough that the metal didn't echo. Following the knock, she called inside, keeping her voice low as she controlled herself, "Fade?"

In the moments that passed, Iselin pulled her hand back from the door, rubbing the skin on her palm with her thumb. Flighty as she felt, a half thought came to her- that Fade didn't hear, that she could run away and forget it.

Instead, she heard a simple, "Ya?"

Dritbra-- Silencing the thought, Iselin let go of her real hand and reached for the door, pressing it open just enough to peer inside.

Fade sat on her bed, her attention focused to the door as she sipped from her mug, moving to place it on the bedside as her eyes clocked Iselin. "Ah- Deadlock. Can't sleep?"

Her words had a lightness to them, as if she'd meant to laugh- Not cruel, though, not as far as Iselin could tell. Just that she'd grown that predictable, it seems. However, as Iselin pushed the door open fully, Fade's smile fell. Her eyes traced over Deadlock, though Iselin did what she could to avoid her gaze. Her eyes drifted to the candles Fade had lit, knowing Fade was looking over her. She- wasn't in the best condition, if just for lack of trying. A lot of it didn't… really matter. Not when there were other things she could be doing. Part of it, though, was the way she'd held herself. A lot of it was the honest fact- she wasn't exactly in the mood to be stiff, to be upright and steady. In all honesty, she felt small. Weak, just standing there, being gazed at.

Even acknowledging that mentally was enough for her to avoid Fade's eyes, which felt more like they peered into her soul rather than just her body. With a beat, Iselin pulled her prosthetic back, holding her wrist as she realised Fade was waiting for an answer. That little hurdle got Iselin to speak, her words softer, "I-… You were right."

Iselin bowed her head in that, feeling weight in her chest as it felt harder to even speak- as guilt and shame started to mesh with the panic from earlier. Too late to backpedal, she continued, shaking her head softly, "…I don't think I am okay."

Saying it out loud, as much as she hated the thought, felt as a relief. As if the pressure of saying the words was more than the words themselves… And much like removing a plug from a drain, she continued- "I keep staying awake at night, because when I sleep, I have nightmares. I keep losing focus- or my temper, or anything else. I feel like I am losing my mind at times, when I feel I should be fine. I should be fine- Herregud! I should be fine, and I don't think I am- I don't know how to fix this. It… sounds ridiculous out loud…"

As much as Iselin's voice grew, she quieted as she realised what drained, and what little relief she'd gotten from her first statement was quickly replaced with embarrassment, anxiety. She tried to stammer out something else- her hands moving as she floundered for words, trying to make her mind think of something- an apology for dumping this on a bunk bunny, or anything to better explain herself.

Instead, what came was silence, as Iselin stopped her anxious movements. Fade stayed quiet- suspiciously so. Enough that Iselin lifted her head from the items around Fade's room to actually look at her, seeing that she had put away her laptop at some point, having moved from the centre of her bed to the side. Her lips were pursed, though her eyes were soft- meeting Iselin's when she finally looked. At that point, Fade gently patted the space she'd made, giving a calm response back. "Tesekkuler- thank you for telling me."

At a loss for words, Iselin's eyes watered at the response- her lips parting before a little smile came to her, seeing as Fade pat the space again. "Sit. If you're willing to talk, I will listen."

Iselin followed her direction, moving and sitting in the space allotted. She brought her legs up to sit criss-cross, letting her hands fall into her lap- looking to Fade again once she was settled in, seeing her lean forward and tilt her head as she looked Iselin over again. She then pulled back, giving Iselin space as she spoke, "You are still mourning, kar tanesi."

Easy as the words were out of Fade's mouth, hearing someone else say it- to have it said so simply and true, it hit like a truck. So much so that Iselin let off a scoff, as she looked off to one of the tapestries hanging on the walls. Aldri…

Noting her response, Fade leaned forward- moving and taking Iselin's real hand in hers, her touch light, hesitant. Iselin turned her attention to Fade once more, seeing as she waited. Iselin turned her hand and took Fade's grip, listening as she spoke, "Ya, I know- that sounds stupid to you, doesn't it?"

"…A little." Iselin nodded, trying to better form something of value instead of simply nodding along. "I- simply thought I would be done by now. We knew what we walked into- to be upset now, it's…"

"Alright." Fade finished Iselin's thought, firm in her answer as she gave a tight squeeze to Iselin's hand. "It is alright. Being upset, being afraid, it is okay. It is not a sign of weakness that you still carry this. It is, however, a sign that you haven't let yourself grieve."

The best Iselin could muster in return was a soft hum, as her gaze drifted off, her mind starting to wander again. Thinking of Amalie, of Tora, and of the researcher they lost. Not to mention the ache in her own body, as what could best be described as a stump ached it's own loss.

Once again, Fade's voice brought her back- if just a little. "You haven't, have you?"

Iselin let off a soft chuckle back- one almost pitiful as she shook her head, "Death was always an outcome."

"Boş yapmayin- that is not what I am asking."

Fade's voice stayed firm as she pressed, causing Iselin to wince as she shook her head once more, stronger this time as her hand tightened around Fade's. "It was something I should have expected-"

"That is not the question, kar tanesi. You have not let yourself grieve- you are still carrying all of this shit with you, playing strong."

"I don't need to--" Iselin hissed back, feeling her muscles tense as her heart started racing once more.

Fade pulled back on Iselin's hand, her expression softening as she let go. "Breathe."

Gritting her teeth, Iselin took a beat, following Fade's command and breathing. Once she'd calmed, she bit her lip and looked back up to Fade, feeling a touch of guilt eating its way through her once more. "No, I haven't."

"Do you know why?"

"Nei." Her response was immediate, almost sharp in the way she spat it.

Fade took her answer and pulled back, nodding. "That's- about what I expected. You haven't processed what happened, either."

"Ja, I know…"

Iselin let off a sigh as she shut her eyes, feeling as the adrenaline in her system ebbed out- leaving exhaustion in it's place. Her head swayed as she leaned her arms onto her knees, "You'd said that before, about my dreams."

"I did, ya. Your nightmares stem from something, and as much as I know what they come from, I can't stop it from tormenting you while you're awake. But, I also said I am here to listen. If you want me to be a voice of reason, then I'll be a voice of reason… You simply don't seem up for discussing much."

As Fade's bluntness settled, Iselin felt her grab onto her shoulder, gently pulling her backwards. "You'll fall over at this rate."

With another little huff, Iselin followed her motion, laying back onto her bed. She let her eyes open at that point, as she looked to Fade sitting above her- seeing the softer expression she wore. That in and of itself had a different vein of thoughts in Iselin's mind- the kind that weren't… particularly relevant given the current setting. Even though she was still beautiful with the deep colour under her eyes- her expression mixed with her own exhaustion. And yet, here she was, listening. Somehow, a bit of Iselin thought she wouldn't. That she was offering to be polite, and yet, here they were- leaving Iselin with the muddle of emotions that was.

Instead of managing that, though, she gave back a thin smile, one more of kindness than anything else. "Thank you- for listening."

"Of course." Once again, her simple response chimed back, as she pulled her hands to herself, "Though I'm certain anyone would listen if you need it."

A laugh came from Iselin as she shook her head, "Really- I doubt that…"

"Deadlock." Fade's eyes darkened as she scowled. "I know for a fact I am not the only one at Protocol that knows you have been through something. Sikiş aşkına, your physical wounds haven't healed, how would your mind have healed faster? I know for certain that if you would rather someone else, Skye would always listen. The same extends to Sage, or Sova if you would rather someone who knew your situation better. No one expects you to be alright by now- no one except yourself, but that will come with time."

As Fade finished her lecture, she paused for a moment, before pulling back, "Now, I assume you're going to try to rest again, ya? You seemed to tire yourself out more than I ever could~"

Iselin scowled right back, moving to smack Fade's arm with her real one- not trusting her strength at the moment with her prosthetic. Her hit was met with laughter from Fade, who pulled back, "Sleep, then. Or try to. If you give up, I'll have a cup waiting."

Nodding, Iselin's eyes fluttered as she settled in. "Thank you."

Humming back, Fade stayed there on the bed- staying as long as Iselin could remember before she fell asleep, finding some sense of ease in the comfort of company. ------ translations in order of appearance (i am Not an expert in either of these languages orz): [Nei] (Nor.) - 'no' [Hvorfor gjorde jeg (...) hvorfor advarte de oss ikke?] (Nor.) - basically a stream of conscious thoughts, roughly translating to "Why didn't I do enough... Why am I still thinking about this- why am I not getting better. Why am I stuck- Why didn't I die? Why did they have to die- Why didn't they warn us?" [öcü] (Turk.) - loosely 'Boogeyman' [Ya] (Turk.)/[Ja] (Nor.) - both mean 'yes', though i think its funny they are pronounced the same way- neither would realise they weren't saying the other's language for just a moment. [Herregud] (Nor.) - generally an exclamation- best translated to 'damn it' or 'oh my god' [Tesekkuler] (Turk.) - 'Thank you' [Aldri] (Nor.) - 'No way' [Boş yapmayin] (Turk.) - 'Cut it out' [Kar tanesi] (Turk.) - 'Snowflake', meant more endearingly than as an insult [Sikiş aşkına] (Turk.) - 'For fucks sake' i did Not remember putting this many things in oops.