#the last light of dawn

[porta-decumana]

The Last Light of Dawn - Chapter 55: Untitled Dark AU

“Hmm,” Tataru tapped her chin in thought.  “Ha!  Likely not at all since the formation of the Rebellion!  It will be a welcome change, I hope.  Though if all goes well, we’ll likely not be gone for long.  And the same to the squadron bound for Mor Dhona, I’d say.”  She looked to Gaius.  “Commander Baelsar, I’m quite shocked to see you still here.  When do you plan to depart?”

“As soon as Nero’s finished his business,” Gaius answered, gesturing in the blond’s direction.

Nero stood next to the sleek, ebon-scaled Faunehm, rubbing at his scruffy jawline in contemplation.  Attached to where the dragon had lost her wing was a prosthetic, made with black metal. Red magitek lights outlined its figure, almost skeletal in design.  Kaida noted the flap that had been constructed to mimic the leathery flesh of a dragon’s wing, made with a mesh that looked, at least to her amateur eyes, as though it would help her get and remain airborne.  The entire construct was a marvel, the Warrior of Light thought, pausing to take in the sight of it.  Faunehm tested the wing cautiously, apprehension in her ancient eyes.  But when the prosthetic moved to her will, her surprise could not be masked and Nero flashed a momentary grin of triumph.

“Thou hast done the impossible,” the dragon remarked, mighty neck swinging down so she could get a better look at the engineer.

He did not hide his satisfaction at the compliment.  “Would that I could see the test flight.  But it should serve you well enough.”

Faunehm’s head dipped slightly.  “Though mine heart still aches for the fate of mine children, that I may at least take flight once more… it doth bring a small amount of joy.  My thanks.”

“Nero.  We will be departing soon,” Gaius interrupted them and Nero gave a small shrug.

“Well, if it needs tweaks, you may feel ever free to pester Wedge over it. I will be away for a time, as it were,” said Nero as he ambled over to Gaius and the others.

“Thy words hath been committed to memory.  May the winds bear thee to and from thy destination unharmed,” Faunehm replied.   Nero did not reply but Kaida could see a small smile playing about his lips—proud yet uncharacteristically reserved.  

[eggcromancer]

Last Line Challenge

Rules:

In a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or however many as you like).

Tagged by @starriegalaxy Thanks jestie!! It's my first time doing a challenge, I'm excited! ✨

Last Line: "It was an accident" <- from the @daycarefriendpickup magma sesh! Sun may or may not have lost control and y/n may or may not be bleeding out as a result (oops...)

Last Art: I've roughly 20+ sketches ongoing and 0 motivation to complete any of them so take all these wips! HYAHHHH!! 💫💥

Agent Dusk from @lavenoon's amazing Accidentally Undercover AU 💕:

Colour studies on Agent Dawn (same AU as Dusk) and the most mentally sound™ Sun:

More scribbles....

And ..... this.... (why did I draw this)

This is an open invite for anyone to do the challenge! (because I'm have crippling social anxiety and I don't want to be imposing ajdhska) If you are looking for a sign to do the challenge, this is it!! Time to get to it!!! 👉👉 (Or don't! I'm not the boss of you!)

[mostlybirdsandphotos]

the sandhill cranes are back! I got to see some mating displays, which apparently involve tossing things in the air and hopping around (｡>ヮ< )

[daltoneering]

Significant colours in KinnPorsche: GOLD

the mafia

[columboscreens]

[enelo]

[causeitsagame]

UNTITLED ANGST PROMPTFIC THE THIRD (out of four, I am guessing)?

Sequel to this and this, and will make zero sense without them.

-----

"So as I have said, all this time," Peko quietly finished, "Fuyuhiko has not given up our location."

Hajime's heartbeat thudded irregularly in his chest. It was exactly two months later, and he'd demanded the long-promised explanation even before anyone could eat.

Since they'd left the islands, he'd settled on one awful outcome as the most likely path. Fuyuhiko had promised to distract their would-be captors; he'd do anything to protect the knowledge he held; he'd said a rescue would be pointless after two months. One week after fleeing, a horrifying potential explanation for all of that had erupted into Hajime, unbidden: a suicide pill.

He spent the next weeks trying to think of absolutely anything besides that worst-case scenario. Over and over, he'd failed. When the day finally arrived, he'd grabbed Peko early as possible, wanting to collapse that quantum state of "dead" and "alive" into some known truth, whatever it was.

Never had he considered something even darker than Fuyuhiko offering himself up to die.

Hajime's jaw hung open at Peko's explanation, useless. No words came. It felt like his throat was swelling shut.

"And you did not stop him?" Sonia demanded, teary-eyed.

"Stop him?" Peko's eyes were just as glossy. "It was his idea. His choice to make. His decision that saved all of us."

Kazuichi looked lost, like some young child. "You both lied to me. I wouldn't… I wouldn't have sent the plane."

Peko's gaze drifted slowly downward. "It was the only way. He knew that, and so did I. If any of you pretend otherwise, you're diminishing his choice and his sacrifice. I won't allow you to dishonor him like that."

"Fuck that," Hajime spat. His blood surged hot as nightmarish memories crowded his mind. He remembered exactly what it had been like to be slowly sanded away to fit inside someone else. "And fuck you."

Peko looked back up and met his gaze with bloodshot, hollow eyes.

Hajime regretted the words as soon as they clawed out of him, but he swallowed hard and said nothing.

For a while, there was silence. A measured voice eventually broke it. "Ultimately, this was Fuyuhiko's decision. Peko is not his keeper. This has been a heavy burden for her to bear, I'm sure." The Imposter's face was solemn and determined. "But now, the rest of us can help. Hajime, it's fortunate that you negotiated that two month timeline. We'll put it to good use, now."

Sonia nodded slowly and lifted a shaking hand to her chest. "I'll start listening for any directions we might pursue. Kazuichi, can you please work on enhancing the ship's surveillance?"

He nodded, still bewildered and heartbroken over how he'd been used months earlier.

Inhaling, Sonia turned. "Ibuki, when I begin listening to those streams, will you help me work through the static?"

Ibuki looked up from where she gnawed on her thumbnail and nodded.

With clearly feigned confidence, Sonia forced a smile onto her face. "Then everyone, let us all do our very best with all of the tasks before us. Teruteru, I know you will have a wonderful meal for us to start our day. Let us do that first, and then get to work."

In silent unison, nearly everyone filtered out of the meeting room on the ship they'd adopted as their new home. The remaining duo took a while to say anything.

"I'm sorry," Hajime eventually mumbled.

"Perhaps I should have spoken up earlier." Peko gripped her wrist. "I am supposed to be making my own decisions, after all." After a heavy pause, she looked toward him. "You can't go."

Hajime's jaw set. "I have to."

"You were the main factor behind his decision. If we all only faced death, he might not have left. Simple death probably isn't worth these extreme measures."

It felt like the room's shadows abruptly deepened. For an instant, Hajime was back across the Pacific, feeling himself be stripped away. "So, if not for me, Fuyuhiko wouldn't have…"

"No. I really don't think so." Peko's gaze softened with understanding. "I know you want to help. But it's like he said, months ago: if you get captured, everything he's gone through will have been for nothing."

"But… I won't, they won't get me. But I'll get him."

"What do you think he'd do if you said that to him?"

Hajime tried imagining that, and could only picture soul-deep betrayal if he even made the attempt. "I just…" Biting his lip, he looked toward a porthole. Through it, he could see the cliff face that their ship was anchored along, helping to hide it in this small, tucked-away bay. "It's my fault. Something worse than death, and it's my fault."

"We'll get him back."

Hajime felt the ship tilt under his feet. They'd gotten used to living on the waves, but he was suddenly dizzy as it moved. He again remembered the unspeakable claustrophobia of feeling like his entire existence was closing in, followed by endless, useless freedom after that existence shattered. Will we?

It took another sixteen days until the question was answered. C O L L E C T E D, came each letter with agonizing slowness. The obscure data route was undetectable, but the speed meant that they hadn't been able to update everyone else on their progress.

Hajime's heart leapt as he saw Peko's transmission. Finding Fuyuhiko meant he'd been alive to find. And even better, she wouldn't have sent that until she, the Imposter, and their target were safely back on the helicopter they'd acquired. (From an abandoned Canadian base along the coast, and modified to remove absolutely all tracking elements.) "Mikan, get the infirmary ready."

The rest of the group was waiting behind him, unable to see the small communications screen. "For everyone?" Mikan risked asking in a tiny, tremulous voice. "Or did the mission… did things not go…?"

Hajime turned, grinning like he'd almost forgotten how to do. "For everyone."

Relief ran through them in a messy, joyous surge. They allowed themselves a few rounds of hugs before Mikan demanded to be let through, with the sort of confidence that only came to her for a patient's sake. Hajime's own relief practically felt like it had hollowed him out, and his hands shook as he moved to follow her there.

As the two of them worked on preparing the small infirmary, Hajime's mind skittered away from considering what state Fuyuhiko would be in when he arrived. His mind didn't allow him to view today as anything but amazing, and so every darker thought that piped up was quickly squelched. "He might hate how cold it is, up here," Hajime cheerfully said as he took inventory of their medical supplies. "Of course, he complained about how hot the islands could be."

"He might like it more here," Mikan agreed with a bright nod. The infirmary was on the other side of the ship, and its portholes looked out over water and onto the evergreen forest beyond. It might be Canada out there, or might be Alaska, but there were no still-living towns for a hundred miles in either direction. Unless someone knew exactly where to look, the Remnants were undetectable. There was food out there, too: berries and fish and meat and various other things that only Teruteru and Hajime could name.

It didn't feel like a home, but it had been okay. Maybe it would feel like home when all of them were together, again.

The two of them needn't have rushed. The helicopter had a long path to fly, and needed a stopover at an abandoned base in the Aleutians to refuel. Slow letters appeared again as the next dawn touched the trees: A L M O S T T H E R E.

"Stay in the infirmary!" Hajime ordered Mikan as he ran for the landing pad at the back of the boat. "I'll bring him in!"

The message had taken long enough to arrive that he could see the approaching helicopter when he ran outside. Hajime threw an arm halfway over his eyes to block the whipping gusts from its blades, but unlike the rest of their group, he kept walking forward against the wind. He could see the Imposter at the controls; Peko must be at the back of the craft with Fuyuhiko.

He's here, Hajime thought, and felt his eyes swim with sudden tears. We got him.

When he could finally slam the helicopter's door open and see inside, Hajime's heart twisted with mingled joy and fear. Yes, Peko was in the back of the aircraft, tenderly holding a slender figure wrapped in a blanket, but that figure was absolutely still. It took Hajime a moment to process that Peko's expression would look very different if she were holding a corpse, and he forced himself foward.

His heart twisted again; this time, only with agony.

Fuyuhiko's exposed skin was a mass of overlapping bruises and cuts, new and old and poorly healed. The scar over his bad eye had been further mutilated; there was probably no going without an eyepatch, now. And beneath everything, his skin was sallow and dry, with cavernous hollows under his eye sockets and cheekbones. One arm extended out of the blanket, and its wrist was awkwardly, painfully prominent. Fuyuhiko had never had weight to lose, but they'd stolen it from him, anyway.

Hajime looked at all that, and at the ragged red tips to all of Fuyuhiko's fingers, and felt a crimson wash pass over his vision. Focus on him, he thought, and balled his fists until they hurt. Think about them later. "I'll get him to the infirmary."

"Careful," Peko whispered. Her cheeks were marked with tear streaks, some fresh.

Hajime's arms shook as he slowly picked up Fuyuhiko. Despite his care, Fuyuhiko hissed as soon as his torso twisted even a bit. Probably broken ribs, Hajime thought, and began cataloguing the injuries as he walked forward. Limited movement prescribed for that. Significant dehydration; IV fluids. And…

The group split as he approached. Gasps and soft cries welcomed Fuyuhiko back to them, but everyone had more sense than to make any noise louder than a whisper. If he hadn't needed to limit the jostling that Fuyuhiko's ribs received, Hajime's arms would have shook by the time he stepped back into the ship's interior.

As he walked into the infirmary, Hajime whispered, "We got him."

Mikan's eyes filled with tears, and she moved for her supplies.

Fuyuhiko still hadn't come to, but faint groans and uncharacteristic whimpers suggested that consciousness was just below the surface. At one of those soft, vulnerable sounds, Hajime's heart seized anew. He couldn't help but kneel next to Fuyuhiko's shoulder, so their faces were close. "Hey. It's okay. You're safe."

That seemed to work, at least a little, so Hajime tried again. "It's okay. You're back with us. I'm right here and I'm going to help you. It's okay."

Fuyuhiko's good eye slit open. His gaze roamed slowly around the infirmary and eventually settled on Hajime, though he seemed to have trouble focusing. "Where's Peko?" The question came out as a cracked, tired sigh.

"We'll get her," Hajime promised, and nodded to Mikan. She nodded back and darted out of the infirmary. If Peko had been the one to actually carry Fuyuhiko to safety, he could only imagine what a relief she must be to see. They should have thought of that and insisted that she come along right away, despite the infirmary's tight quarters.

Fuyuhiko tried to run his gaze around the infirmary, again, but even that appeared to exhaust him. "Who're you?"

Hajime's heart skipped a beat. The optimism he'd used to brick off Peko's explanation of Fuyuhiko's horrifying plan began to develop thick cracks. "It's Hajime. Remember me?"

Fuyuhiko stared back at him, still unable to focus his vision. "You…"

Hajime barely kept himself from grabbing Fuyuhiko's hand to try to encourage him. Mikan hadn't bandaged the many, many wounds there, yet. "Yeah. Me."

"You must be all sorts of fucked-up," Fuyuhiko managed. "Looking at you feels like a whole burnt-out library."

Hajime's arms felt to weigh a ton apiece, suddenly. They hung heavy.

For the first time, Fuyuhiko's eye managed to focus, but he wasn't looking at Hajime. The relief and trust he'd hoped to see directed at him were finally there, but aimed only for the woman walking through the infirmary door. "So. What's the situation?"

"You're safe, young master," Peko whispered.

Hajime shook his head. Young master? He'd gotten her to stop saying that soon after waking up.

Fuyuhiko studied Hajime as critically as his barely-there energy stores would allow. "You mind?"

This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be as bad as Peko had described. It couldn't be that bad, not really. Not when he was back and alive. "Mind?" Hajime dumbly echoed.

"Private conversation."

"I. Sure. Okay." Numb, Hajime stood and stepped past Peko. She brushed down his arm with quick sympathy, but then stepped in to take the spot he'd vacated at Fuyuhiko's bedside.

Perhaps Peko didn't realize that he could still hear from there, or perhaps she didn't care. Maybe she even wanted him to hear. "Young master, these are the people I mentioned. You can trust them all."

"…You sure about that?"

"Yes. I am."

"'Cause I must've burned them out for a reason."

"You did. You were protecting them all, because you care very much. You even went back to memories of meeting them, it appears. Doing so much was very." Peko's calm wobbled momentarily, as did her voice. "Very brave."

"I get that. But." Fuyuhiko took a long pause. "I didn't burn out a chunk of stuff that was just about me. That way, I'd still know what year it was, and shit like that."

"That makes sense."

Fuyuhiko took a longer pause. "So I remember what I did."

Peko was silent for a while, in return. "Things are different, now. Very different."

"If these people know me… did they do that kind of shit, too?"

More silence. "Things are different, now."

"What about the guy who just left?"

Holding his breath, Hajime flattened himself more against the wall, like they'd somehow notice him eavesdropping.

"Hajime? What do you mean?"

"I look at you, and I know I burned out a lot of big memories starting in high school. I looked at that fat guy, and I burned out anything big, too. But that guy just now… everything. I burned out every goddamn thing I know about him. Why?"

Hajime's knees weakened, and he barely kept himself from collapsing where he stood. It took him a second to realize that Mikan, unable to hear the quiet conversation inside the room, was asking if he was all right. He ignored her.

"He was who you were most concerned about. You found it absolutely unacceptable for him to be at any risk of capture."

"He's who got me all fucked up, then? That guy?"

"Young master, that's not… the situation is very complicated. It is not Hajime's fault."

"Sounds like it is. Heh." The soft noise earned a hiss of pain.

That, Mikan was able to hear. With an apologetic look toward Hajime, she murmured something about needing to interrupt them and walked into the infirmary.

After a moment, Hajime walked away with slow, heavy steps, again feeling like his existence had been shattered.

His mind spiraled, veering between Fuyuhiko's horrific injuries, those dismissive words, and his own memories of existence burning away. With each such cycle, he spiraled tighter and lower, and everything began to overlap into a screaming, endless chorus. Soon, the doctors who'd stolen his own memories were the faces torturing Fuyuhiko, and they thanked Hajime for showing them the way.

Hajime started running. He barely made it back outside and to the ship's railing before he doubled over and coughed up a stream of bile. A large, strong hand gripped one shoulder while a metal one gripped the other, and both men asked if Hajime was all right.

"No," Hajime said dully, staring into the distance. He wasn't.

Because Fuyuhiko was right. And he'd been right, when he said it to Peko.

This was his fault.

[acourtofquestions]

Overhead, the stars shone clear and bright, and though Mala had only once appeared to him at dawn, on the foothills across this very city, though she might be little more than a strange, mighty being from another world, he offered up a prayer anyway.

Then, he had begged Mala to protect Aelin from Maeve when they entered Doranelle, to give her strength and guidance, and to let her walk out alive. Then, he had begged Mala to let him remain with Aelin, the woman he loved. The goddess had been little more than a sunbeam in the rising dawn, and yet he had felt her smile at him.

Tonight, with only the cold fire of the stars for company, he begged her once more.

A curl of wind sent his prayer drifting to those stars, to the waxing moon silvering the camp, the river, the mountains.

He had killed his way across the world; he had gone to war and back more times than he cared to remember. And despite it all, despite the rage and despair and ice he'd wrapped around his heart, he'd still found Aelin. Every horizon he'd gazed toward, unable and unwilling to rest during those centuries, every mountain and ocean he'd seen and wondered what lay beyond... It had been her. It had been Aelin, the silent call of the mating bond driving him, even when he could not feel it.

They'd walked this dark path together back to the light. He would not let the road end here.

[gentlyrowan]

I set myself a fanfic challenge to see if I could get into Nil's head.

How'd it turn out? You be the judge...

and/or see a few reviews below!

This Thrill Sang

AO3 COMMENTS

*chefs kiss* That's all I could do while reading this fic, throw little chefs kisses into the air each and every time a gorgeous line of prose crossed my path. [...] You perrrfectly capture Nil's particular cadence and flair for flourishes, and I simply can't get enough. Thanks so, so much for sharing this one with all of us out here in ReaderLand, because genuinely this is one of my fav things I've read in a hot minute! -- @queenofbaws

augsghssggs this is great i love it. it's so hard to get into the head of a character like nil and you've done a wonderful job. -- AO3 member

And the action here??? Don't even get me started, omg. Literally on the edge of my seat the whole time. Nothing in here dragged - everything felt taut, FRAUGHT, and [...] quintessentially Nil. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. -- @queenofbaws

What a great story of Nil and all his (to me anyway) staggering complexity! -- @arbee999

119

5,835 words, 3 chapters, completed

[lunaetis]

@apocryphis asked :

there is a scribe laying with his head in eden's lap while absorbed in a book. when her hand, grazing the edges of his jaw, comes near enough, he momentarily takes his eyes off the page to leave a kiss in the cusp of her hand. and maybe follows up with the lightest of nibbles at her thumb. her fondness for teeth has not gone forgotten -

unprompted. || always accepting

─「エデン」─  it was a foreign but tender feeling to be the one whose lap was borrowed as a makeshift cushion instead of being the one doing it to him. the TRAILBLAZER found the angle to be quite pleasant, however, as it allowed her to openly gazed at him in a moderate proximity, watching the way his long lashes draped over his jade hues while they were fixated on the BOOK in front of him. other than the starry night sky and countless constellations dotting the ebony canvas of the GALAXY, he was the sight she found herself being completely fascinated by. it was calming, watching him. his presence made her feel peaceful and content. like home.

                it was a rare time that her hand wasn't covered with the dark glove she usually wore. her digits slowly tread themselves through his hair, the feel of his silvery gray locks against her skin a rare sensation she had grown to like each time she got a chance to experience. his attention was impeccable as usual, barely flickering despite how she was playing with his hair. they were so soft and well-cared for, while her AMBER HUES watched him with a kind of adoration one did not see from the usually chaotic trailblazer.

                almost curiously, she traced down the line of his cheek, down to his jaw. perhaps, the movement of her hand might've partially obstructed his view and broke his unwavering concentration. the STELLARON VESSEL watched in awe as his line of vision shifted from written words to her hand, so smoothly guided it towards his lips. amber optics burned the sight of those long lashes draping over his beautiful hues, causing her breath to HITCH in her lungs as she felt the softest of kiss within her palm.

                " altair ... " her heart skipped a beat, and for a moment there, the TRAILBLAZER felt a rush of warmth bubbling up from within, threatening to overwhelm her entirely. the sound of heart pulse echoed dully at the back of her mind, aureate orbs imprinting the sensation she had given countless of times but had never received. it came naturally for her to do so with him, to close her eyes and pressed her lips onto his palm or his pulse in promise, in utter devotion. it was like that ... she was to give her entirety to him who became not only her home but her reason of living.

                her star ... her altair ...

                her cheeks burned. it flushed, pink and then red, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. eden wondered if he felt something like this whenever she kissed his palm, too. if he experienced his entire body being engulfed in a sensation so foreign to have someone kiss him like he was EVERYTHING GOOD in the world. to have someone placing a kiss on her scarred and calloused palm from countless battles she had been in like she was the most fragile and precious thing to him.

                the nameless could still hear the sound of her HEART thudding against her ribcage even as he slowly opened her eyes. their gaze met when he playfully grazed his teeth in soft nibbles on the skin of her thumb. the adoring act to placate her penchant for biting earned him an airy laugh. it was light and refreshing, softening her expression as she couldn't help it developing into an affectionate chuckle. slowly, she finally leaned in, taking both their connected hands to the side as her lips hovered over his own in a breathy whisper just before their lips finally met.

                " ... only you. "

                no one else would do.                 for me ... there's only you.

[cubepusher3000]

Making orange chicken at midnight.. this is what god had in mind when he wrote the bill of rights

[hopeinthebox]

tagged by loml @cordiallyfuturedwight for the monthly breakdown. i might like you less now that you know me so well. tagging some crushes @aprylynn @thvinyl @monismochi @kimtaegis @banghwa @eoieopda @pauls-mccharmly @letmelovekoo @visionsofgideontheninth @kimchokejin if you feel so inclined 💜

[mybreadsmybutters]

pros of majoring in creative writing:

i would be happier

i actually enjoy and am pretty good at it

could actually gain the qualifications to go into my dream field

would have better grades and therefore better career prospects, maximizing my time at university by actually connecting with professors and finding job opportunities

cons:

would like to make a liveable wage at some point in my future

[humblewonderer]

My fandom is so profoundly niche that I can find NO fanart, NO fanfics, ZERO fan content whatsoever. But that is no matter. I shall become the first

[columboscreens]

[thecodeveronica]

Uh oh, I'm at the "thinking about scenarios with this character while listening to music" stage

I've reached a terminal level too quickly, this wasn't supposed to happen