#stp confined minds

[salty-an-disco]

[saucy-mesothelioma]

got some stp questions for you!

10. (Explore) What's your favorite Vessel-Voice dynamic?

23. (Explore) Any first impressions regarding [Character]? How about now?

10. (Explore) What's your favorite Vessel-Voice dynamic? From what little I saw of it (wasn't able to do an extensive look through it due to getting physically sick from the "being eaten alive' part which basically left me unable to get through it), I really enjoy the dynamic between The Hunted and The Beast, or more accurately The Den when I ended up getting her. Since The Den is incapable of talking, completely becoming more animal than human, I'm going to focus primarily on The Voice of The Hunted then circle back around to both of them as a dynamic. Even though he's more instinct-based than many of the other voices, I liked how perceptive he was, such as when he realized that our eyes were deceiving us with the mirror because we can feel the wind coming up from where it should be; hell, he ever realizes that it doesn't belong in the world period, and that it's seeped in from "somewhere else"; I personally think he's one of the smartest voices in the whole game (only falling close behind The Paranoid in my eyes. Paranoid's my ride or die). Now put him up with The Den, and you'd get what you would think is a pretty clear-cut chase of predator vs prey. And although it is like that for some of The Den's route, it's the humanity he has towards the Den if you manage to trap her in the tunnel that make their dynamic so interesting to me. In nature if the predator was caught during a hunt, the prey would just keep running and not spare a second glance, but not The Hunted. He actively wants to help The Den, even after being so determined to keep us alive. This isn't an action that one would think to lead to a good ending: if we simply perceive The Den as "predator" and "animal", then the next logical conclusion would be that even if trapped, if her prey comes close enough she would still kill and devour us. But when The Player reaches out their hand towards her, both The Hunted and The Den have manage to overcome their instincts to flee and kill respectively. Despite their very nature, their very instincts, they manage to work together and free themselves from both their literal and figurative confines. And I think that's fucking beautiful.

23. (Explore) Any first impressions regarding [Character]? How about now? I'm assuming this is a "take your pick" question, so I'll go with the opinion of a character that's changed the most since The Pristine Cut came out, which is The Apotheosis. I honestly found her route to be pretty "meh" the first time I got it, which is expected since her route was so short. That being said, even though The Fury was just as short, it kinda made sense to me as to why it was so short: I got The Fury from The Tower and personally it made perfect sense that it would be so quick to end because of the rage she held toward the Player during The Tower's death; a wrathful god wouldn't bother with such trivial things as talk when there's a heretic to be slain. But with The Apotheosis, the original abrupt ending definitely felt like there needed to be more to it, because without the extension of her route she just felt sort've blank and boring. What really got me to change my mind on her was where you take your place at her side as she tries to fulfill her destiny, but Shifty catches her. To see one of the most powerful versions of The Princess so fucking scared as she's being taken hit harder than I expected, and when she lifted the Player up to spare us, the one she initially viewed as being worthless in comparison to her in a last-ditch attempt, my opinion on The Apotheosis changed immediately. In all honesty, that particular ending has become one of my favorite's in the entire game, not just because of how surprisingly emotional it was, but for also completely subverting my previous expectations on The Apotheosis and turning her into a Vessel I actually cared about.

[rational-mastermind]

It Doesn’t Hurt

Ch 2/5

--

 I woke up, but very slowly. The world, still dark as I tried to gather my senses. I knew I could hear voices, but they seemed far away and urgent. Yet the urgency didn’t even really seem to matter to me.

 I tried to breathe, but it came out as a forced cough. I realized with some shock that there was a sharp pain in my chest. There was also a dull ache in my head as I tried to think. I tried to recall what had happened, but that didn’t help. So instead I tried to focus on opening my eyes, at least, and that’s when I realized the sharper pain on my face.

 Something ice cold was pressed against one side, against my eye. The other side, there was something wet and soft. A disgusting combination and I tried to move away from it. My arms felt like lead pipes but I managed to force myself up, only for the urgent voices to become more frantic. I started to hazily realize what they were saying.

 “Trilby! Trilby, take it easy!”

 “Are you okay? Where does it hurt?”

 “What happened?” I tried to asked, instead ending up with only managing a terrible slur.

 Finally I managed to lift my eyelids enough to look. The world was blurry at first, but it swam into focus soon. I saw Siobhan and Claire staring back at me worriedly. It was then that I realized the ice cold thing was gone, but my eye refused to open. On the other side of my face, the wetness remained. There was a foul smell around me and it took me a moment of only half-hearing their worried questions before realizing, with some shock, that I was smelling blood. But… from where?

 “Trilby!” Siobhan took hold of my shoulder and I was forced to focus on her. Hazel green eyes stared back into mine. “Trilby, come on, stay with me.”

 Finally, I managed to gain enough sense to properly speak.

 “S...Siobhan..” I felt like I had to work hard to force any air in or out of me. “Wha… Wha’ happened...?”

 “You were attacked by the ghost.” Siobhan explained. “It knocked you unconscious and kept pummeling you. I managed to get you out and into the hallway behind the counter.”

 “You, you did?” I asked, and finally looked around.

 I was sitting on a couch in a very small living room. Claire was standing behind Siobhan, who was sitting on a stepping stool in front of me. I could only assume I was in a small apartment, based on how compact and cluttered everything was.

 “Yeah. After that, I think it stopped?” Siobhan shrugged.

 My head was still spinning, trying to take everything in at once. I tried to rub the dull ache out, only for my hand to be met with something wet and sticky, matting my hair. I flinch and pull back, finding dark red blood, coagulating, on my palm.

 “Careful!” Claire flinched. “You uh.. You’re kind of... Well I mean, he got you real good a few times.”

 “I see…” I grimaced at the sight.

 “Are you okay?”

 “Sore.” I replied flatly, not really finding the strength to mask it with any semblance of composure. “My head’s throbbing… You said the ghost stopped?”

 “Yeah. I managed to pull you away. After that, everything settled and I ran to get Claire. We hauled you upstairs, into my apartment.”

 “How long was I out?”

 “A few hours, at least.” Claire replied.

 I finally got a good look at Claire and I couldn’t tell which of us was worse. She had dark bags under her eyes. Her face was flushed and pale, there was a sheen of sweat, and she seemed exhausted. She tried to smile at me, reassuringly, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Looking closely, I could vaguely tell she was shaking, and her eyes were a touch bloodshot.

 “You look awful.” I dumbly stated.

 “There’s… a lot.” she said, sounding as tired as she looked. “A lot of… emotions.. Anguish. Distress. Rage. It was all so muddled together and strong I couldn’t like… tell what was really a ghost or not.”

 “Yikes…” I grimaced.

 “Are you going to be okay?” Siobhan asked. “Yes.. I think so.” I nodded. “That just.. I was really blindsided by that ghost.”

 “I think we should call it a day, pick back up tomorrow.” Claire suggested.

 “I agree. We’ll do more research and find a way to narrow down exactly what we’re dealing with.”

 “Alright. Then I guess we better get going. See you tomorrow, Siobhan..” Claire started to make her way to the door.

 “Wait just a minute.” I snapped, causing her to flinch. “Aren’t we forgetting something?”

 “What?” Siobhan asked.

 I looked back at her, honestly wondering if I would have to be the one to spell it out.

 “...Well you’re not staying here by yourself again.” I explained.

 “What? Trilby, it hasn’t attacked me.” Siobhan started to argue.

 “I think it’s only confined to the shop and basement.” Claire shrugged a little.

 “No, no no. If this is what it does?” I gesture to the work done on myself. “Then who knows what it could do to HER? And worse yet, we don’t need the police blaming her for any future incident.”

 “Mmm..” Siobhan bit her lip and looked away, defeated.

 Claire sighed a little. She already knew this was going to be a problem.

 “Well.. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Siobhan. I like you. But I’m on the other side of town and I have family coming over.” Claire shrugged. “Or did you just want me to know you’re taking her home?”

 “What?! No! I just thought we’d make sure she was safe in a hotel.” I argued.

 “Actually um… I don’t wanna be a bother? But..” Siobhan rubbed her arms and began to blush slightly. “I’d...rather not stay at a hotel? Not since…”

 I sighed. I couldn’t blame her.

 “Since what? OH! Oh the Clanbronwyn- oh yeah, okay never mind..” Claire quickly agreed.

 “Any family you can call?” I offered.

 “They’re all over in Ireland. It’d take me too long to get back and forth and I’d rather stay close to know what’s going on with my shop.” Siobhan explained. “Besides, it wouldn’t really look good to them, me coming here to open shop, only to go back to Mummy and Daddy with no real explanation other than ghosts, right?”

 “Granted.” I nodded and then sighed again, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Friends? Boyfriend?” “Ah… N.. no.. No boyfriend.” Siobhan shrugged a little. “There’s not really anybody here for me to stay with. Certainly no boy.”

 For some reason, a part of me felt relieved to hear that, but I ignored it for now.

 “...Alright.” I finally agreed.

 “I’m sorry Tril-”

 “Siobhan, it’s okay.” I waved it aside. “I’m closest to here, anyway. I’m sorry for the hesitance. I just… Wasn’t expecting company.”

 Siobhan shrugged. Claire was smiling to herself.

 “Well, now that we’ve got sleeping arrangements made...”

 “I’ll go pack something for the night.” Siobhan quickly hurried off, up a small flight of stairs, which I could only assume would lead her to her bedroom.

 “We’ll be outside.” I told her.

 Claire and I headed back towards the shop. Once out of earshot I glared at her.

 “I’m calling your bluff. You don’t have family coming over.”

 “You don’t know that.” Claire smirked a little.

 “You’re not that great a liar.”

 “Trilby, after today, I really need some alone time.” Claire finally explained, her grin becoming more soured. “You’ve no idea what it’s like to be empathetic to so many different voices, all at the same time. I can not have another human being with me tonight.”

 It must be a psychic ability, but suddenly a wave of anger and heat seemed to surround her. I shivered under her influence and stepped back a little. When we got to the door, Claire glanced back at me.

 “And for the record, I do have family visiting.” she explained.

 I genuinely felt bad for her. Siobhan caught up and we headed to the car. Claire was dropped off by the nearest pay phone. It was strictly against code to bring outside civilians near the STP, let alone the parking lot where Claire’s car was. Fortunately, she had a few options for carpooling. After that, I made my way home.

 I live in a modest apartment near the city. There isn’t much I can say about it. Third floor. Middle of the complex. A good deterrent for most thieves. It’s nothing classy. Nothing poor, either. But regardless, Siobhan seemed somewhat excited to be seeing it.

 “Alright, can I ask the stupid questions?”, she started, on the way up the stairs.

 “I’ll permit one.” I smiled a little, amused by her enthusiasm.

 “Alright, so um..” she thought for a moment, choosing carefully. “...Do you stay in one place for..very long? Like.. Is this some kind of..”

 “If you say hideout, you can sleep on the couch.” I teased. “And no, it’s not. Remember, I gave up that life.”

 “Have you ever...?”

 “No. That would be ridiculous.” I rolled my eyes. “But even now, I do prefer to move from time to time. I’m not one for staying still for too long.”

 “So how long have you stayed here?”

 “I said only one question.” I reached my door and fumbled with my keys. “The only rules are, no ice cream after 8, no rifling through my belongings, and no questioning of my tastes.”

 I opened the door and we stepped in.

 I hung my hat on the rack beside the door, along with my tie, and slipped out of my waistcoat, while Siobhan looked around. Unlike most apartments, the kitchen and dining room was more segregated from the living room, and the two rooms and bathroom where behind another door near the back. It was tastefully decorated. A few trophies from past adventures. Mostly a monochromatic scheme. Of course, I had my own collection of books and such though, it was somewhat of a mess. Books and papers were sloppily piled in a few places. Drawers pulled out and rummaged through.

 “Pardon the mess.” I quickly said. “I was in a bit of a rush this morning. But other than that, make yourself at home.”

 “This is...actually a lot nicer than mine.” Siobhan chuckled.

 “One small benefit from paranormal investigations.” I smiled a little.

 “Well I mean, I suppose it would have to come with some.” Siobhan smiled back.

 I shrugged. In all truth, I meant what I said earlier. I shall always be a gentleman thief at heart. Working alongside the government was not my ideal career, regardless of benefits.

 “I’m going to go wash up.” I made my way to the bathroom in the hallway. “Bedroom’s at the far end.”

 “Bedroom?” Siobhan questioned, following after me.

 “Yes, you’ll take the bed, naturally.” I explained. “I’ll be fine taking the couch.”

 “Trilby…” Siobhan started to argue.

 “No.” I insisted, opening the door to the restroom and turning on the sink. “I won’t have you sleeping on the couch. You’re my guest. Ergo, you take the bed.”

 I hazarded a glance in the mirror and internally cringed. My eye had noticeably bruised. Fortunately it hadn’t swelled so badly, and I was reminded of the ice pack I felt when I first woke up. My nose was bleeding, and there was a notable amount blood dripping from under my hair, which I started to scrub off. Shower was definitely in order for the next morning.

 “Thank you Trilby.” Siobhan smiled, standing in the doorway. “Always a gentleman.”

 I smiled back and she went to the bedroom. After washing up, I walked back to the living room and began to clean up. The rest of the evening was calm. We ate and settled into a quiet evening of reading. I was hoping going back over some books on folklore would help me better understand what we're facing. Apparently, I was so engrossed with reading that I didn't notice what Siobhan was doing until she handed me a cup of tea.

 "Oh." I blinked and took the cup. "Thank you."

 She smiled and sat with her own.

 "You said you wanted some."

 "Did I? I didn't even hear the kettle."

 Siobhan chuckled.

 "Are you always so deep into studying?"

 "Sometimes." I smiled a little. "Are you?"

 "Heh. No. I hate studying." She grinned. "I love history, but I'm really more of a hands-on type. I feel I could tell more from physically seeing an object rather than simply reading about it."

 “Sounds like college was really hard, then.”

 “Well.. Abed helped a lot with that.” Siobhan shrugged, staring into her cup.

 “Mm. I see.” I took a sip of my drink. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

 “Heh. It’s bound to happen.” Siobhan smiled back at me, albeit somewhat sadly. “Really, it’s okay.”

 I nodded and Siobhan looked back at her own book. Only now did I realize that she had brought a book of her own to read. I glanced at the cover.

 “‘69 Days in the Slammer‘?” I ask, curious. “I’ve uh.. Never heard of that one.”

 “Oh! Um..” Siobhan became visibly uncomfortable. “Isn’t it just the silliest title? I saw it in the library and picked it up.”

 I was suspicious of her nervous grin.

 “....What.. Well what’s it about? It’s fictional, I presume.”

 “Uh, Well.. Y-yes. It is.” Siobhan thought for a moment, as if trying to choose her next words carefully. “..Well it’s um.. W-well it’s about a man who uh. W-well, he had a falling out with the missus.. And now another woman tries to win him over. It’s a romance.”

 “Ah. Yes. I.. Don’t often indulge in that..” I commented, more concerned with trying to solve what it was she was hiding, rather than offer a more genuine reply.

 Siobhan’s face flushed a dark red. She refused to meet my gaze. She bit her lip, opening and closing her mouth a few times, before finally laughing and shaking her head. I was utterly confused.

 “Siobhan? What? What is it??”

 “Oh gosh, nothing, Trilby..” She buried her head in her hand and chuckled a little. “It’s just...really silly. I’m reading something that’s really silly and dumb and no, I wouldn’t ever, ever, expect you to read something as horrible as this.”

 “Well I doubt it could be all that horrible.” I shrugged and held out my hand. “Here. Let me see.”

 “No!”

 She quickly stood up and headed to the bedroom with a hurried “Good night!” and left me sitting there, dumbfounded. I decided to let it drop supposing if it was really anything worthwhile, she’d let me know. After she let me back into my bedroom to fetch appropriate sleepwear, we went to sleep, and none too surprisingly, I fell asleep rather quickly.

 Until I heard Siobhan screaming.

 I jerked awake and immediately got to my feet. Faster than ever, I reached my bedroom only to find Siobhan scrambling in the bedsheets in the fits of a nightmare. I quickly turned on the lights and came over to the bed, pulling away the sheets.

 “Siobhan! Siobhan, wake up!”

 Siobhan’s eyes flew open and when she first saw me, she immediately tried to scramble away.

 “AH! NO!” she shrieked, until she realized she was awake.

 She looked at me for a moment, trying to ground herself in reality.

 “Tr.. Trilby?”

 “Siobhan, it’s me.” I reassured her. “You were just-”

 She flung herself into my arms and held tightly. I could feel the tears stream down on her face. I held her close.

 “It’s okay.. It was just a nightmare.” I tried to reassure her. “It was just a nightmare.”

 “I know.. I know..” she shook her head. “But it… I…. I...”

 She gave a muted sob and shuddered..

 “It’s okay. Don’t have to talk about it. You’re safe.”

 After a few minutes, she started to calm down. She pulled back and wiped away her tears.

 “I'm ... sorry..” She said between hiccups. She offered a shaky smile. “That’s silly of me, isn’t it? Crying over a nightmare like a child.”

 “It’s not silly.” I brushed aside some of her hair from her flushed face. “Everyone does. Not just children…”

 She tried to smile, but it quivered and eventually fell again. Her eyes, becoming distant, likely thinking about the dream again. I was surprised to find myself entranced by their color. They stood out against the bloodshot red and sparkled like emeralds. Deep and rich. With just a tinge of brown, and a few streaks of the same color. Like an endless forest, one could find themselves wandering into and being lost in, for eternity.

 “Oh… Trilby.”

 “Hm?” I pulled myself out of my thoughts, mentally berating myself for behaving like a love-sick school boy.

 Siobhan was looking worriedly at my scar, only barely visible through the undershirt I was wearing. She gently brushed the hem aside and touched the raised red tissue around where the knife had dug in. Dead skin continued to flake and peel around the wound, a good sign of healing actually. There were still marks from the stitches I had to have there as well. I flushed slightly and gently took her hand and pulled it away.

 “Don’t worry about that.” I reassured her. “It’s okay. Almost completely healed up now.”

 “..Then why do I feel so bad about it?”

 “Probably just sympathy.”

 She sat in silence, still fretful and chewing away at whatever thoughts she had.

 “Do you want to try to go back to sleep?” I offered. “Oh. Um…!” She immediately became worried at the thought and jumped out of bed. “Actually! Y’know what? I think I need a walk!”

 “Wh-?”

 Siobhan hurried through the apartment, faster than I could react.

 “Yeah, actually. I um.. Kinda don’t wanna go back to sleep just yet.”

 “Siobhan, it’s freezing out!” I called after her.

 “Perfect!” she called back and by the time I got to the living room she had already closed the door.

 I hurried to find my overcoat and get dressed. Just as I threw on my shirt, the door opened again and Siobhan quickly stepped back inside, rubbing at her bare arms and closing the door behind her.

 “Actually.. It..is pretty cold out there.” she gave a sheepish grin.

 “....Yes. Yes it is.” I chuckled and began to button up. “Wish to explain why you ran out?”

 “S...sorry.. I.. I just.. Can’t go back to sleep… Not yet...” she moved back to the bedroom and came back with a sweater over the original tank top she wore and shoes.

 “Well, may I accompany you this time?” I offered. “After we properly get dressed, of course.”

 Siobhan smiled again, warm and genuine this time.

 “I… would actually really like that.”

 We got dressed and I was waiting by the door. I offered my overcoat.

 “Trilby, really, that’s sweet of you but-”

 “Siobhan, I’m just trying to look out for you.” I insisted. “It’s freezing and you hadn’t packed a proper coat. Now please. Take it.”

 She caved, easily, and slipped it on with a small smile. It was obviously too big, but for a small walkabout, it would do. We headed out. Fortunately for me, my blazer was enough to keep the worst of the chill off as we stepped outside. Our breaths ghosted against the lights that adorned the apartments, swirling and mingling together in the dark air. Siobhan smiled up at the moon.

 “It’s always so...quiet and peaceful at night.”

 “I couldn’t agree more.” I looked up as well and we began walking down the sidewalk. “Under a full moon, even the most abhorrent of things seem more beautiful.”

 “That’s awfully poetic.” Siobhan chuckled.

 “Just my personal opinion.” I shrugged. “I prefer the night. The darkness. It’s calmer and easier to think.”

 “Really? Who would’ve thought.” Siobhan teased.

 I grinned back and shook my head. We walked in silence for the most part. It was nice, for once, hearing a second set of footsteps and not having to worry about it. I also found it amusing, how I never actually paid attention to what kind of neighborhood I was living in. It wasn’t the slums, that much I knew for sure. But it was quaint. The kind of neighborhood with trees lining the streets, outside of the nicer looking apartment complexes. The kind of trees that actually do turn colors in September.

 “That tree looks like it’s blushing.” Sioban pointed out, one across the street.

 The top was yellowing while only the leaves on the sides were turning red. I chuckled.

 “So it is.”

 I looked down the street and pointed out another that was mostly yellow already..

 “And that one is jaundiced.”

 Siobhan giggled.

 “Do you like Autumn, Trilby?” She asked.

 “I never really gave it much thought. It is eye-catching to be certain.” I replied. “I think that of the seasons, I prefer Winter.”

 “Really?”

 “In December, everyone’s moved to their holiday homes. Glorious opportunity for burglars. And February is personally special.” I smiled fondly. “Also, I can’t stand Summer.”

 “Cause of the heat?”

 “Among other things.” I frowned slightly as some distant thought echoed in the back of my head, ever so faintly.

 ‘And he knew the name of the king..’

 “I’m sorry for dragging you out here.” Siobhan glanced back at me.

 “I don’t mind.” I smiled back. “Do you always do this for nightmares?”

 “Yeah, ever since I was young.” Siobhan chuckled. “That ‘warm glass of milk’ stuff never really worked on me. So me dad took me out for a drive. It was a long one and I ended up falling asleep before we got home. After that, he always took me out when I had a nightmare. When I got older, I just started taking walks around the neighborhood instead.”

 “I might have to start doing it myself.” I chuckled. “If it helps you so much.”

 “Do you have a lot of nightmares?” “Well.. I didn’t use to.” I frowned a little. “They’ve kind of become more and more frequent as of late.”

 “...Same.”, a depressed look swept over her.

 “Would it be rude of me to ask what happened?” I asked. “...Sometimes it helps me. Keeps me um… grounded in reality a bit more.”

 Siobhan sighed and looked back up at the pitch black sky. We had stopped underneath a street light. Trying to be comforting, I placed an arm around her shoulders.

 “...I was back at the hotel..” She started. “Except it was the wrong one. The...the darker one. I saw that tall man and he was chasing after me...”, she held herself in fear. “And I knew he was going to kill me. I saw that other man stab you, like before, except suddenly it wasn’t you, it was me. I kept seeing so much blood gushing out and it was so vivid, I could actually feel it..”

 “Oh Siobhan…”

 “And then I saw a woman.. She kind of looked like Simone Taylor. But She was sprawled out on the floor, dead. And it was my fault. But I wasn’t scared. I was just... angry.” I frowned slightly. Simone Taylor? Where did this come from? Siobhan shook her head a little. “These kinds of nightmares started not long after Abed and I started collecting pieces from Defoe Manor. Angry, vicious nightmares of killing random people.”

 My brows furrowed further with confusion.

 "Siobhan with the way you're phrasing it, it almost makes it sound like you…"

 "I didn't! I was over in Ireland!" Siobhan sighed, equally confused and somewhat scared. "And she was already dead by the time we had the artifacts. But I.. I dunno.. I kept having these horrible dreams.. I'd hope they'd just go away by now but… I think it's stress…"

 "It’s very likely the culprit." I confessed. "I've had similar nightmares. A part may have been influenced by the artifacts and trauma but.. after some well induced stress, fear, resurgence of certain memories, similar situations, why wouldn't we have nightmares about such things?"

 A part of me felt guilty, actually. For while I was quoting actual psychological facts, I didn't sincerely believe it myself. A part of me would always be paranoid that there was… More. Much more to these nightmares, and the Defoes, and the Blessed Agonies. I just… couldn't put it into words.

 But more importantly, I felt horrible because I didn't want Siobhan to experience the same trauma. The same guilt and fear that gnawed at the back of my mind almost every single day.

 "I'm sorry you have to endure all this, Siobhan.." I apologized. "I wish more than anything that I could help in some way. That I could just take back everything that’s happened to you.”

 Siobhan looked up and gently smiled at me.

 “That’s sweet of you Trilby.” she said. “But you can’t. And it’s not like it was your fault anyway.”

 "But isn't it? Isn't it why you've been having nightmares? Because I'm here, bringing up those memories?"

 "Well… maybe. But… I don't know. I actually kinda feel safer with you around." She smiled more. "It's.. Nice."

 I smiled back and we continued walking. I started to feel better. In all honesty, being with Siobhan, I was a little nervous. I was worried about reliving those memories again. But being here now, really taking in this quiet, peaceful, cold night. Seeing the way the street lights catch our breaths and make her long soft red hair shine with so many hues. Taking solace in knowing that, for once, I don't have to be alone. Knowing that we can talk about what happened and relate to each other. I start to feel… Lighter. Happier. Happier than when I was alone. Left to face whatever darkness by myself. It helps to know there's someone with me. To know I wouldn't have to suffer alone.

 “Hey, Trilby?” Siobhan glanced at me, a little curious. A little nervous.

 “Yes?”

 “Um… Do I… bring back bad memories? Am.. Am I making things hard on you?”

 “What? No. Of course not.” Siobhan sighed and rolled her eyes.

 “For a thief, you’re not very good at lying.” was the disapproving answer. “That, or I can actually read you better than most.”

 I frowned a little but decided to answer honestly.

 “...Yes. You do bring up memories. Of course you do. I’m surprised I haven’t had panic attacks yet.” Siobhan winced and as she opened her mouth to apologize I, for once, was very rude and spoke over her. “However… I have these problems every day. With or without you around. And yet, I still very much appreciate your company.. Because even though those were bad times, at least there’s someone else who understands. Someone who… can help me feel a little less insane.”

 Siobhan smiles and relaxes. I suddenly felt her pull on my arm and she hugged it.

 “I’m glad I could be that for you.”

 I smiled back and wrap my arm around hers in return.

 “I’m glad I could do the same for you.”

 Oddly enough, right then, I didn’t notice how cold it was. All I could focus on was Siobhan, this small act of affection, and this warmth inside me. A warmth that radiated from my core outward, making me smile. And it carried on until we rounded the neighborhood and made our way back to my apartment.

 We got in and only then realized exactly how cold we were. The heat of the apartment stinging with the cold on my face as we took off our coats.

 “Thanks for coming with me, Trilby.” Siobhan looked back and she did look more tired out. “It’s just what I needed.”

 “Well I’m glad I could help.” I chuckled, feeling worn myself. “But we are going to have to get up soon. It’s after 4.”

 “Sorry.”

 “It’s alright.” I chuckled, coming over and making my bed again on the couch.

 Siobhan stood in the door to the way. I smiled at her and she smiled back.

 “..Good night.” she said.

 “Good night, Siobhan.”

 Then suddenly, without warning, she leaned up and kissed me.

 It was done and over with in the span of a second, before she retreated back into the bedroom, but it felt like time had slowed only long enough for me to register her soft lips brushing against mine. And that was enough to shut everything down within.

 I tried to think, tried to make some sense of what happened. Some sense of what I was feeling. But I couldn’t seem to find words. I couldn’t form thoughts. Just stuck in a delighted but horribly bewildered place.

 Before I could fully comprehend a thought, I ended up falling asleep, confused, and in serious need of self reflection.

[salty-an-disco]

trick or trinket :3

they're dressed as Sherlock and Columbo respectively :3

[salty-an-disco]

can't decide how to draw Pris' hair, so I'll take it to mean they should be always changing it up

Skeptic helps her with the make up

[salty-an-disco]

sighs. thinking about Prisoner and Skeptic………

[salty-an-disco]

could I perhaps req prisoner in B5 and skeptic in C5,,

Got drained and procrastinated getting to this for a week, but here they are!!

Just a pair of emos <3

Ref from this outfit meme

[deconstructthesoup]

You and me both Salty

sighs. thinking about Prisoner and Skeptic………