#i wish they'd touched more on this in the series fr

[spacewombatty]

The day Obi-Wan died, a piece of Anakin went with him.

He'd grieved him the way the Earth grieves the sun in winter, a more apt metaphor because like the sun, he came back. When the sun returns, the ground celebrates it, relishes in the warmth and light as consistent as it had been at the beginning of time.

But suns had been nothing but cruel to him. Anakin remembered a time when he craved that warmth compared to the chilled void that was space. He remembered crouching in the corner, back to the metal hull separating their cots to the ship's beating heart, until Obi-Wan had tugged at his sleeve and brought him back to bed.

The next time he'd return to Tatooine, it would be to deliver his mother's body home. He'd stopped associating himself with that desert wasteland soon after, didn't bother visiting his surviving relatives when they'd left her to rot. They could die there, for all he'd cared. They probably would.

The Knight hadn't felt a rage akin to that since the day Rako Hardeen shot a hole through his Master's chest. Anger came easier when the enemy was a stranger. Now, it just felt like punishment.

Heat. Hot. Cruel. Obi-Wan was alive, and Anakin's temperature ran a high as the sand under the desert sun.

The man's profile stood out strong against Coruscant's skyline, features prominent and doused in shadow as he recounted what he'd managed to find on his mission. It had been an overwhelming success. His death had been entirely convincing in attracting the attention of Moralo Eval, Obi-Wan's high-standing status as a senior Jedi a worthy enough wager to outweigh suspicious and favor respect in the Republic Prison. His Master had the Council's full approval, and that was a wager heavy enough to outweigh Anakin's.

"Your death was most convincing," Plo Koon commented, voice crackling through the holocom.

Obi-Wan paused. "I'm not the one to thank for that."

Anakin had left before he could be formally dismissed, and his Master hadn't stopped him.

Anakin wanted desperately to hate him. He wanted Obi-Wan to beg for his forgiveness, for ruining something perfect they'd had together. He wanted to hate him for lying, for letting him grieve, for using Anakin like a pawn and then pushing him to the side when he was no longer needed. He wanted to hate him for taking away the last piece of home the Knight felt he had left.

But the war would and did continue along without them, and the months after were akin to grieving a second death. Anakin grieved the way his Master's gaze made his skin crawl, the way it made him want to break. Obi-Wan was infuriatingly calm, as unshakable as a tree braving the wind of the storm, and Anakin wanted to grab him and make him scream just so he wasn't alone, just so he would admit he felt the distance between them as potently as the Knight did. He wanted to drag Obi-Wan into the guilt, the hurt, the loss that he'd left his best friend alone in. He wanted Obi-Wan to say he was sorry.

Time eventually eroded away the sharper edges of their broken halves. By the time their wounds had healed, they just didn't fit together anymore.

The day Obi-Wan died, a piece of Anakin went with him. It would be the only part of him his Master got to keep.

[cantfightmoonlight]

He was sure and yet the sense of relief those few words would normally bring her left her feeling empty and she couldn't pinpoint as to why. When his hand reached up to graze her cheek, her first instinct was to let her lashes flutter shut. But, while his touch felt warm against his skin, he stomach felt void of butterflies. "I feel... funny," She admitted. Her brows scrunched as the jet black eyes she was currently donning stared blankly up at him,

"I think you're perfectly sculpted," She replied. The answer coming easily and, yet, why did she feel so indifferent to him suddenly? "Though shouldn't you feel vain about it? While you can? Eventually you'll start to age, probably like fine wine, and will leave like everyone else does, won't you? So, we might as well enjoy this while we can?" She reasoned. A thought that would have left her feeling gutted, if she was capable of feeling that way over another at this precise moment. "A wall? How fast did you run at it?" She carefully reached up and brushed her fingers over the brim of his nose. Her lips falling into a frown as she told him in complete seriousness, "Which wall? We should tear it down." While she may not have felt the electricity buzzing just beneath her skin like she typically would whenever Ben was around, she still did know to some capacity that he was hers, just as she was his, and she wasn't about to let anyone get away with hurting him. Even if it was an inanimate object. "You should write a list," She decided, when he mentioned there was a series of them. That way it would make it easier for her to be able to cross out each one. "Wait, really?" Her eyes widened at the mention of a fire. "No, I didn't. Who? Was it Poppy? It seems like it would be Poppy," She reasoned, given how Poppy had seemed when they had bumped into each other and-

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, clasping her hands over her lips as she gave his chest a light shrug in disbelief. "I forgot to tell you. I can't believe I didn't start with this! Poppy performed some dark spell on me, well actually multiple spells, and I have no idea if it worked or not, but it hurt like a bitch, like writhing in pain on the ground kind of felt like dying all over again sort of pain, so if It didn't work, I want a refund. But, anyhow, I think she broke the resurrected bond? That's what she said she it was for and I'm still alive now. There was some mention of consequences that I'll have to pay for it, which who knows what that will mean, which is actually now that I think about, is super odd for me not to ask. I never sign up for anything without reading the fine print, but-" Her brows scrunched once more. Her lips pressing together in a small pout as she scolded herself internally for making such a careless mistake. But, why did she exactly? As Ben's arms laced around her waist, she instinctually leaned in. She could use a hug right now and his embrace did feel warm and safe. "Am I okay? What's happening to me?" Her voice sounded so small as she curled into his side. Her chin resting lightly against his chest as her gaze lifted to meet his once more. "Do you wish you could do magic? So, if I hurt someone, even if they deserved it, you'd be mad at me?"

And what if they hadn't deserved it? Bri had only attacked two people tonight. One was some werewolf who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Poppy had just finished breaking Bri's resurrected bond and Bri wasn't even sure the details of what had exactly happened. One minute she was screaming out in pain from where she had fallen onto the ground and, the next, she was standing over a fainted wolf's body covered in their blood. They still had a heartbeat, however faint, and she was able to feed them her blood so that they'd be okay. But, she didn't want to dwell on the fact she had blacked out again. A thought that with empathy would have likely sent her into a tear filled spiral. So, she had carried on down the street, until she bumped into Dilan. Her best friend who stabbed her because of her jet black eyes before bringing up the fact that she and Ben had fucked, which together had just been a recipe for disaster.

"I can never be human again though, can I?" She asked, despite already knowing the answer. "And okay. If you're sure, then," She paused as the tips of her fingers trailed across his collarbone and up to the nape of his neck. "Can I? Please?" He really did smell so good.

"Yes, I'm sure," he breathed. He was happy to see her. He was relieved to see her, after worrying about her all night. He didn't care what she looked like, not really, not as long as she seemed whole. He reached out for her, his hand grazing her cheek, his touch soft. "I do not find you freakish, no. I've found that to be a rather silly word. Subjective. It means very little in the grand scheme of things. I don't find you freakish, nor do I find you terrifying. Not for the fangs, at least. Nor for the eyes." It was a bit terrifying how she made him feel, at times, but that had nothing to do with her being a vampire. What were strong emotions if not the most terrifying part of life?

He couldn't help the way he chuckled, shaking his head. "You think my nose is perfectly sculpted? You'll make me vain if you keep this up, you know." She didn't seem that much different. More confident, perhaps. Less anxious. "I ran into a wall, if you'd believe it. Careless, I know. It's a bit painful, but nothing to worry about." He debated his next words, careful to keep them truthful, simple. "It's been a long night, that's all. No one real stressor, person or thing, but a series of them. Did you know someone tried to set fire to the inn?" He raised an eyebrow. "Don't mean what? The magic part of it does sound fun. Interesting, at the very least. The power trip is decidedly less so, as well as the blood. I am morally against a lot of things, but I assure you that magic isn't one of them, as long as it's used in ways that don't destroy others." He didn't think she looked like someone that would hurt Bambi, even like this, and it was impressive that she refused to. She wasn't so changed as to be unrecognizable. Not to him. "I care for you no matter what way you are. Fast healing or not, human or not. You're still you." He let his arms wrap around her waist, wanting her close, liking her close. He wasn't afraid of her. Perhaps that was foolish, but he had always been a man who felt led by foolish pursuits. "You know how to flatter, my dearest darling," he murmured. "It doesn't freak me out." She wasn't the first vampire he'd dated. "You don't freak me out. You can ask, if you want."

[astarriscus]

❀ : ❝ COLD COMFORT ( kaeya, eula x reader ) . ❞

you'll never forget their touch, even if the years may stretch out and the warmness of their love turns to what seems like icy cold.

ft. kaeya alberich, eula lawrence (separately) x gender neutral reader. angst. references to their cryo vision, many ice-related metaphors & descriptions. wc ≈ 0.3 k.

WARNINGS ; themes of abandonment. they still love you, and you them, but you still have to part ways for whatever reasons. physical affection (hugs, kisses) mentioned.

A/N ; happy start of december! here's a little mini-series i kind of have for winter season fr cryo characters <3 so far this is only fr kaeya & eula but expect fr ayaka, ganyu, and rosaria sometime soon maybe 👁✨ dedicated to @noxtivagus my beloved twin! >:D kaeya and eula kissers, sorry fr breaking yalls hearts ;c /lh ——— m.list.

cold comfort. only such a word could describe what you were feeling, as kaeya's slender hands left yours for the last time—traces of the freezing touch of his cryo vision lingering on your fingers. and, if one were to go closer, they'd see it too in your hair (that he loved to touch), your lips (which he loved to kiss), and even smack in the middle of your chest. for that was where your heart sat, and he had encased it with his love—love so quiet yet thrilling, but you knew anyways it was genuine. it always was.

so, why did he have to leave, then? your eyes shut close, and your mind repeated his words over and over again. excuses, excuses, and excuses—just a whole bunch of excuses and you just wish it were different, that it were better, and that he instead make excuses so the two of you could be together, not apart.

alas, such dreams are far too naive for this icy world, and he leaves you. the comfortable cold he brings about leaves a chilling numbness in your heart with bitterness in your mouth and on your lips which he used to kiss oh so filled with his love.

"i love you." he said, but he let go of you seemingly so easily that it's hard to believe he really did. but he still does and always will—his world is merely far too dangerous for you, so he thinks, and he doesn't want you to be hurt. even, if it costs him the happiness he had when loving you. thus do you leave each other, until the touch of his slender hands in yours feels like a faraway dream—a dream far too encased in ice to ever be revived, though it will always still stay dormant, somewhere there in the deepest pits of the heart.

eula thinks to herself, sometimes, as to why she had allowed to let you go—you, the one person whom she felt she could truly trust, with her heart that she stubbornly cages within her cold chest that refuses to ever give up until she has rightfully done her duty.

the winter in mondstadt feels colder than ever, but she's used to it. she likes the cold—though she sees you from the corner of her eye, and her breath hitches, and suddenly the shivers up her spine feel colder than if she hypothetically threw her cryo vision into freezing water in dragonspine. it hurts. oh, it's you. she steps back in caution and panic stirs in her mind when you notice her gaze, but you seemingly can do nothing more than stare as well.

"i miss you." is all she ever wanted to yell out. to stop caring, to finally live the life free of the burdens she was born with, to be with you—you, who when you both were younger, would comfort her with a warm hug. you, who she felt so at home and at peace and accepted by... but it was never meant to be. she didn't want them to see you the same way all the others did to her.

she misses that warmth. but, she let you go, didn't she? and she hates the way you both still catch each others glances in the street of mondstadt, only for her to force her gaze away and act as if she never knew you.

eula wonders, sometimes, if you still feel the same. for even after all that time, she still longs for the warmth you gave her that tore down her icy walls and melted her cold exterior, short as her time with you was. you opened up the real eula—not as a lawrence or the spindrift knight—but eula. though, those days are long gone now, only staying alive in the encases of her memories as cold comfort, which she hopes she will never forget, even if you may one day do.

© astarriscus. please do not plagarize, repost, edit, translate, heavily reference, or profit from any of my works !!

[offscreendeath]

I'm loving Paper Girls so far! I was not expecting it to be as funny and sweet as it is. and the soundtrack? 👌

the cgi leaves something to be desired, though, it's par the course for most tv, which is to say not particularly amazing. the dialogue can feel a bit awkwardly timed, sluggish, and infodumpy on occasion.

I want the camera angles, framing and lighting to be a bit more visually stimulating, somehow. it could stand to be a bit flashier and moodier in its presentation, I think. the set doesn't really get as much love as I'd like to see, either. I wish they'd show it off more, it looks great.

the actors are by far the best part of the show. shout out to the casting director. I got invested in the kids very quickly. it absolutely helps that they're all very distinct, well-rounded characters with their own ways of seeing the world and ways of doing stuff.

they emote and carry themselves like real people, not caricatures. the interactions between the main cast are superbly subtle and touching at their very best.

the jokes don't feel forced, there's not too many of them too quickly, and its nostalgia isn't overindulgent or obnoxious. I'm always left wanting to see more, and at an hour long, nothing feels too rushed.

the way the show handles its social commentary doesn't feel dishonest and cheap. I don't get the impression that it's trying to score points or preach anything, it's just there.

the plot feels kinda silly at times, but not too silly for its own good. it reminds me a bit of the end of the f*****g world, which was also apparently a comic series before it got turned into a tv show. that this process of graphic novel to tv is such a regular occurrence now is still kinda brazy to me, but when it works, it works.

and god i love the villain, she's so trill. it's great to see her in a more menacing role. the last thing i saw her in was true blood, and she acts her ass off here as well. she knew the assignment fr.

I'm not finished but I'm excited for how this twist on episode 5 is going to resolve.