#they should bring linh back if anything

[bronte-deserves-better]

Ancillary

New fic up y'all!

Title: Ancillary

Wordcount: 7064

Summary:

adjective: ancillary

providing necessary support to the primary activities or operation of an organization, institution, industry, or system.

-

“You’re giving up on Sophie because you think you’re not capable of helping.” Tiergan can taste bitter tea and sharp iron when he bites his lip. “You- fuck you. Fuck you, Bronte. You don’t get to give up.”

“To assume I could do anything is a fool’s hope.”

“Then let’s be fools. Let’s be fucking fools! I don’t care if it’s hopeless. I don’t care if you’ve never done it before. You owe it to Sophie to try.”

-

Or, Sophie shatters from guilt. Tiergan can't seem to accept this, so he begs Bronte for something that no one has ever tried before; to heal a mind with the inflictor separate from the telepath.

(Set in the same universe as Common Denominator, but you don't need to read that to understand this.)

-

Tags: @cogaytes @gay-otlc @you-have-been-frizzled

---------

Tiergan Alenefar is, before he is anything else, brave.

He’s lived through things that would shatter any lesser elf. He’s loved and lost time and time again. He’s struggled and fought and bled to rebel against this unjust system that has tried so hard to break him. Tiergan has held friends weeping for lost lovers, children with no one left to care for them, rebels bleeding out in his arms. He has raged and stormed against the injustices of the world. He has hidden his true self under cloaks and masks of darkness for years upon years, knowing the scorn he would face if it came to light.

It is not fair that he’s had to be so brave. But to live in this world as himself means being brave before anything else, brave before he is kind or gentle or any of the things he wishes he could be instead.

The point is, Tiergan is a grown elf, and a tough one at that. He’s weathered worse than this before.

But-

But Leto is so horribly calm about all of this, as if any of it is something that can be fixed. As if this isn’t a child they’re discussing, a child who carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, who is gone, far beyond their reach.

And Tiergan can’t seem to breathe.

Sophie is shattered. Like Prentice, only this time there’s not even a whisper of hope for her healing. There is no miracle to save the Moonlark, only the helpless grief of adults who should have protected her.

Sophie. His brave, brilliant prodigy, who endured far more than should ever have been asked of her. She was so young. So, so young. Younger than Wylie. Younger than even Tam and Linh. A child who they gave life, who they brought into this world, knowing it would be cruel to her. How can he be surprised that it was too much to endure?

“Tiergan?” Squall asks. She’s not supposed to use his real name in Collective meetings, but he can’t bring himself to care. “You look….”

“Bad,” Wraith finishes for her.

He almost laughs. It’s such a horrific understatement that it’s nearly funny. “I need-“ Sophie back, Prentice to remember me beyond fragments, to feel okay for once in my life- “I need a moment.”

“Okay, Tiergan.” Even cloaked in ice, Squall’s expression speaks so clearly of pity that it almost burns. He doesn’t need Squall’s sympathy. She has her own grief to worry about.

Forkle- Leto- nods, and Tiergan hurries out.

He’s Tiergan Alenefar, rebel, lover, father, mentor. He’s brave before he is anything else, and he doesn’t need anyone, not even Prentice.

And yet-

Bronte doesn’t answer his door when Tiergan bangs on it. Instead, it’s a tall elf he’s never met, their red hair pulled back into a sharp bun, mouth twisted into a frown.

“I need to see Councillor Bronte.” Desperation tastes bitter on his tongue, colors his words with fervor.

“Councillor Bronte is not taking visitors at the moment.”

“Please,” Tiergan half-begs. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, only that he has to do something. “It’s incredibly important.”

Her expression doesn’t change. “He is not taking visitors at the moment.”

“Tell him it’s about Sophie Foster.”

“Very well. Shall I tell him it’s you who is asking, Sir Alenefar?”

“Please,” he manages.

She nods. “Just a moment.”

It’s Bronte who throws the door open the second time, sharp blue eyes immediately fixing on Tiergan. His hair is mussed, his clothes wrinkled, and there are dark circles under his eyes, shadowed by grief. He looks exactly as wrecked as Tiergan feels.

“Come in,” is all he says.

Tiergan does. Stepping over the threshold of a Councillor’s castle should feel terrifying, or at least important, given his history with the Council, but he feels nothing at all crossing Bronte’s.

Bronte leads him through to a surprisingly plain kitchen, gesturing to one of the chairs. “Sit.”

He does.

Bronte sets the kettle on the stove. “What did you need to talk to me about so urgently? Elora mentioned Sophie.”

“I- I need you to try to heal her.”

Even from behind, it’s clear how Bronte stiffens. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Not alone. But no one ever said that the telepath and the inflictor had to be the same elf.”

“I cannot inflict positively.” His tone is flat.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know that better than any elf living. Would you question me on my own ability?”

“I would.”

“You would be wrong to do so.”

“I don’t care,” Tiergan snaps.

“You should.”

“I don’t.”

Bronte sighs deeply. “I know that you are grieving, but you’re asking me for something impossible. Having me attempt to heal Sophie’s mind would be an exercise in futility, Sir Tiergan.”

The title is a bit of carefully manufactured distance. Maybe it would have worked on any other elf, but Tiergan is burning with grief and rage and dangerous guilt, and he can’t bring himself to care. Before he hardly knows that he’s moved, he’s across the room, grabbing Bronte’s collar and yanking him around to face Tiergan. “You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to give up. Just because Sophie was only another subject to you doesn’t mean you get to just turn your back and refuse to try! I cared about her, even if you never did!” He spits accusations like knives, rending his own throat in the process.

Bronte doesn’t rage or shout back. He just looks…tired. “Tiergan-“

“I loved her!” Tiergan nearly shouts. “I was her mentor! I was supposed to protect her!”

“You can’t protect someone from their own guilt, Tiergan.”

The words hit like a knife to the gut, frissyn on the everblaze of Tiergan’s anger. He finds himself suddenly unsteady, grip slackening.

Bronte reaches up and pulls Tiergan’s hand away from his collar. His grip is achingly gentle as he leads Tiergan back to the table and sits him down again.

Tiergan hates him so, so much.

“Here.” He can hear the clink of a mug being set down in front of him, loud in the silence of his grief.

He doesn’t bother asking what’s in it. Bronte doesn’t elaborate, only tells him “Drink.”

It turns out to be tea with a hint of something stronger underneath. He swallows, and it scorches his throat. The burn is almost a relief; it isn’t as if the physical pain cancels out the ache in his heart, but it distracts him from it, if only for a second.

Across from him, Bronte sits with his own mug, staring into it as if a way out of this whole mess can be found at the bottom. For a long moment, that’s all there is: Bronte sat across from him, his throat burning from heat and alcohol, the handle of a mug clutched in his sweaty hand.

“I do wish I could help,” Bronte says finally. “I will not lie. Sophie was my prodigy as well, and- she did not deserve this. But I will not give you false hope. I was not made for anything but destruction.”

Tiergan wants to scream, but he lacks the energy. “You were.”

“I wasn’t.” His voice remains horribly calm.

“You were,” Tiergan insists. “No one is made only to destroy. No one. I don’t give a shit if you think you’re a monster. You don’t get to use that as an excuse to be one.”

“I’m not-“

“You’re giving up on Sophie because you think you’re not capable of helping.” He can taste bitter tea and sharp iron when he bites his lip. “You- fuck you. Fuck you, Bronte. You don’t get to give up.”

“To assume I could do anything is a fool’s hope.”

“Then let’s be fools. Let’s be fucking fools! I don’t care if it’s hopeless. I don’t care if you’ve never done it before. You owe it to Sophie to try.”

Bronte sighs.

Tiergan downs the rest of his drink. His chest burns with grief and alcohol. “You owe it to her. And you owe it to Oralie. Are you such a coward as to not even try and save your best friend’s daughter? The child your own brother tried to kill?” It’s cruel beyond reason to bring up Fintan and Oralie, to hurl the baseless accusation of cowardice. He can’t bring himself to care.

By all rights, Bronte should have thrown him out on his ass for that. Instead, he lets out a long breath, shoulders tight with repressed emotion, and dryly remarks “You aren’t pulling your punches.”

“As if you and I have ever pulled punches with each other.”

“As if.”

“You owe Sophie,” Tiergan repeats. “You owe Oralie. You owe me. You let Prentice’s mind be broken,” he reminds.

“And when I fail, what will you say then? Will you claim again that I don’t care for Sophie?”

He swallows hard. “No. I- I could forgive you for failing. I couldn’t forgive you if you didn’t try at all.”

“And what telepath will be willing to risk their sanity for this fool’s hope? Or have you forgotten that a broken mind can easily drag others down with it?”

“I will.” Tiergan cannot find it in himself to be afraid. He’s been taught his entire life that to read a broken mind is perhaps the most dangerous thing a telepath can do, and yet that is nothing in face of his desire to see Sophie healed.

Bronte sighs again. “You’re out of your mind.”

“I know.”

“This is idiotic in the extreme.”

“I know.”

“And I’m going to help you go through with this insane plan. Stars help me.”

Tiergan laughs, bitter and whiskey scented. “The stars can’t help us now. Have they ever been able to?”

An answering smile, bitter as hemlock and black coffee. “They’ve never smiled upon me. We can only hope that they do now.”

-

Tiergan doesn’t want to tell anyone what he’s doing, but Bronte pressures him into at least calling Wylie. “You’ll regret it if this goes wrong and you left him without a goodbye.”

“I won’t be sane enough to remember that if this goes wrong,” Tiergan says, but he hails Wylie anyways.

His son picks up instantly. “Dad? Are you alright? Leto told me that you left the meeting and no one had seen you since.”

“I’m-“ the words stick in his throat. He can’t lie to Wylie. “It’s been a hard day,” he settles on. “I’m safe, don’t worry. But Bronte and I have a plan to see if we can fix Sophie’s mind.”

“Dad, no.”

“Wylie-"

“I know how dangerous it is to attempt to read a broken mind. That’s why no one could heal Dad’s mind until Sophie.”

“I’ve done it before,” Tiergan admits. It’s something he’s never told anyone, the way he monitored the shattering of Prentice’s mind, watched the memories fragment smaller and smaller.

“There’s a difference between that and a mind healing though, right?”

“There is, but please just trust me on this one, okay?”

“Okay,” Wylie concedes. “I trust you.”

Tiergan’s heart aches. “Thank you. I love you so much. You know that, right?”

“I know. Be careful, Dad. Be safe.”

“I will,” he promises.

“Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you too.” He ends the call and turns to Bronte. “Let’s go.”

-

Grady doesn’t look happy at all to see them. Tiergan can’t blame him. He’s just as good as lost his second daughter, and here they are to stir up more grief.

“Lord Ruewen,” Bronte greets.

“What do you need?”

His tone is hostile, but Bronte doesn’t snap back. “Tiergan and I would like to attempt to help Sophie, with your permission.”

Grady says nothing for a long moment. Then, finally, “She’s in her room.”

They make their way up the stairs in silence.

Sophie is curled up in the center of her bed, rocking quietly back and forth. He could almost believe that everything is normal, that she’s just lost in thought, if it weren’t for her eyes. There’s no spark left behind them, brown eyes staring off into space with the same vacant expression Tiergan saw on Prentice’s face for over a decade.

He swallows bile at the back of his throat.

“How are we doing this?” Bronte asks.

“I think I need to be connected to your mind while I search into hers,” Tiergan answers after a moment’s thought. “That way I can signal you to inflict when we need.” He’s not sure how well this will work, if he’s honest. Connecting to an Ancient mind while probing another is…less than ideal. It would be easier if he had someone else to do this with. Easier with a cognate, like almost everything in telepathy. But Tiergan is stubborn and brave before he is loved or trusting, and he lost his only chance at a cognate years ago.

Bronte is kind enough not to point out how difficult and improbable every part of this is. If he did, Tiergan might have punched him. Here, with Sophie in front of him, it’s impossible to see how he could do anything but this. She was his prodigy, and he failed her. He has to make this work.

“Let’s give this a try, shall we?” Bronte manages to make it sound casual, but Tiergan knows him well enough to read tension in the set of his jaw and stiffness of his shoulders.

He nods. “Can I enter your mind?”

“Go ahead.”

Tiergan closes his eyes and pushes past Bronte’s barriers; his mind is a castle, thick walls of stone shutting out the world around him, but Tiergan is the sly fox creeping through the drainpipe, the bird slipping through an open window.

I’m not going to be able to do this is the first thought he catches.

You are. We have to.

Oh, hello, Tiergan.

We are going to do this.

If you say so.

I do say so.

Bronte’s mind falls quiet at that, and Tiergan takes the chance to throw himself headfirst into Sophie’s. Funny, that, how the only time an impenetrable mind can be read is when it’s broken.

Instantly, he’s caught in a storm of shards. He is no longer the fox or the bird, all guises stripped away in the maelstrom of Sophie’s mind. No cloak or gloves can shield him from this blizzard, the swirling chaos of a mind slowly tearing itself into pieces.

It hurts. Oh, how it hurts. Tiergan had forgotten the pain of a broken mind in the months since Prentice’s rescue and subsequent healing, but it all comes rushing back now. Sophie’s mind resembles Prentice’s in the very early days, large, jagged shards tearing gashes across Tiergan’s shields.

He forges onward, though he can feel himself bleeding away with every step. The nook. He has to find the nook. He has to heal Sophie.

He’s so cold. Her mind feels freezing to him, sapping away at his strength with every motion. He has to find that nook. He knows it will be here. He knows Sophie knows how the Black Swan train their Keepers. She’ll be there, hiding away in that nook. He’ll find her, and he’ll make this right.

He’s starting to go numb with cold, aching, draining, stealing away the warmth and life from him. He can’t feel his hands. Does he have hands here? They should sting with the chill, but they don’t.

He’s- he’s looking for something. Something warm, he thinks. It’s so cold.

It’s so cold, and so dark. He can’t find the way.

Bronte, he calls, and finds no response. Bronte! Bronte, please. Please.

He’s not sure he knows what he’s pleading for anymore.

Sophie. Bronte. Leto. Wylie. Prentice. Names float through his head, and none of them mean anything.

He’s so, so cold. Why is it so cold?

Around him, there’s something. A rush of warmth, a glimmer of light in the endless dark. It hits him like a wave, rocking him into its soft embrace. The shards around him coalesce for a brief moment, shielding him from the rush of wind. Sheltered. Safe.

He curls into the embrace for an infinitely long moment, then another, before he hears another voice.

Tiergan.

Tiergan. That’s his name.

Tiergan, come back to me.

He knows that voice.

He latches onto the thread of light, pulling himself towards that glimmer with all his strength.

Come back to me, the voice repeats. Come back, Tiergan. I still need you here.

He pulls and he pulls and he pulls, and the thread moves under his hands, and finally his head breaks the surface of the darkness.

-

The first thing he sees when he opens his eyes is Prentice’s face. Concern is written into every line of it, furrowing his brow and twisting his mouth into a frown. In his eyes, Tiergan thinks he catches a glimpse of something stronger than concern, something that he doesn’t dare put a name to.

It takes a moment after that, but eventually the scene resolves itself into something coherent. He’s laying on the floor, cradled in Prentice’s arms. Bronte is kneeling next to them both, expression unreadable. Sophie is still on the bed. Standing around the rest of the room are too many people for him to make sense of, though he does note that one of them is Wylie.

“Tiergan,” Prentice says softly.

“Hi.”

“Are you alright?”

He can’t answer that. He doesn’t try.

Livvy takes that moment to announce her presence by demanding “Are you fucking stupid?”

“I-“

“You tried to heal a broken mind by yourself,” Forkle says. He sounds disappointed, but Tiergan doesn’t dare look at him.

“I should point out that technically I was also here,” Bronte says. His voice is strangely raspy.

Forkle sighs “You are not a telepath, Councillor Bronte.”

“I never would have guessed,” Bronte deadpans back.

“Anyways!” Livvy waves a hand in dismissal of all that. “Tiergan! Are you fucking stupid?”

“He is,” Wraith says.

Tiergan tries to glare at him but can hardly muster the energy.

“Clearly,” Blur agrees. “What were you thinking trying this by yourself?”

“I doubt he was thinking at all,” Forkle says, and oh he’s angry. He never, ever takes that tone with Tiergan. “If he had been, he would not have attempted to enter a broken mind without even another telepath to serve as a guide.”

Tiergan winces. He…probably deserved that.

Prentice’s arms tighten around him slightly, and Tiergan can read forgiveness just from that gesture. “He meant well.”

“We did,” Bronte rasps.

The knowledge of his failure burns worse than the tea and whiskey earlier, and maybe that’s why he says, “I’m not sorry. I- if there was even a chance that we could help, I had to take it.”

Beside him, Bronte nods. It’s a drastic change from the Councillor who was telling him he was a fool for this hope not even an hour ago. He wonders if Bronte is willing to be a fool for a chance to heal Sophie just as much as he is.

He looks around the crowded room. “What are all of you doing here anyways?”

“Wylie hailed me and told me you were planning something foolish,” Forkle explains.

Tiergan looks at his son.

“I’m not sorry,” Wylie echoes his earlier words. “I knew you’d need help.”

“And he was right,” Prentice murmurs. “I barely got you back, Tierg. If we had been any later…” He lets that sentence trail off as if he can’t bear to finish it.

His eyes are stinging, and he turns to press his face into Prentice’s shoulder. Prentice curls a comforting arm around him, hand finding its place in his hair.

After a moment, he feels another set of arms encircle them both, a familiar presence at his back.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers.

“I forgive you,” Wylie says, so, so soft. “It’s alright, Dad.”

Silence, broken only by Sophie’s faint muttering and the creak of her bedframe.

Bronte’s voice cuts through the quiet. “Would now be a bad time to mention that my side of the arrangement seemed to work?”

“What?” Forkle sounds incredulous.

“I said, my side of the arrangement worked. I was able to inflict positively on Sophie.”

Tiergan sits up so fast that his head spins and Prentice has to steady him. “What?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, you were the one pushing me to try. But yes, I seem to have achieved what I could not for these past five thousand-odd years.”

He thinks back to his time in Sophie’s mind and quickly puts the pieces together. “You were the warmth I felt towards the end.”

“I assume so.”

Then-

“This is possible,” Tiergan breathes. “We could heal Sophie’s mind.”

“What are you talking about?” Forkle demands.

“When I was in Sophie’s mind, it was…freezing.” He shudders, remembering the bleak and infinite cold. “It grew warmer towards the end, soon before you arrived, and I felt sheltered. It was like I was shielded from the worst of the memory shards.”

“That’s not-“

“Anything is possible when it comes to Sophie,” Tiergan reminds him.

Prentice nods. “A shattered mind retains some level of consciousness for years after the break, particularly strong minds. I should know.” His voice is wry, and Tiergan reaches for his hand to give it a comforting squeeze. “It’s entirely possible for Sophie’s mind to instinctually protect Tiergan from the worst of the damage.”

Bronte clears his throat. “If this is helpful to your telepathic investigation, the emotion I was using was love.” He looks intensely embarrassed to be saying that, and Tiergan can’t help a faint snort at the idea of unbreakable, aloof Bronte being embarrassed about anything. Still-

“If Bronte’s inflicting and Sophie’s mind can shield me from the worst of it, then I could stay in her mind long enough to heal it. This is still possible.”

“I know you’re grieving,” Forkle starts, “but this is madness, Tiergan.”

“Don’t tell me what can and can’t be done!” Tiergan is burning again, grief dripping from his words like blood from an open wound. “Don’t you dare tell me to give up! I’ve done this song and dance before, Forkle. I waited. I was patient. I was all the things I should be. And I am tired of losing people!”

“I know, but-“

“No! You do not get to tell me what’s possible. You forget, Leto, that I am just as capable as you.”

“And you forget that I taught telepathy centuries before you were even born. I have seen more than you can imagine. Hard as it is for me to say this, and as hard as it is for you, it would be foolish to continue to pursue this.”

“Do not talk down to me. You think age means you’re wiser than all the rest of us,” Tiergan accuses. “You think you know best just because you’ve got a handful of centuries on us. All you are is a coward, afraid to fight for what you believe in.”

Forkle reels back, genuine hurt blooming on his face. “I am merely pointing out that you are putting your own life in danger for a false hope.”

Squall coughs, as if trying to intervene. Tiergan ignores her. “It’s not a false hope. And Sophie is worth it. I would risk my own mind a thousand times for her- for any of them! They’re children, Leto.”

“You would let your loved ones grieve you like you’ve grieved them for a mirage, a dream that cannot be?”

That was a low blow. “Don’t you dare use Prentice against me. I thought you were better than that.”

Prentice squeezes his hand tightly. He squeezes back.

Forkle sighs. “What I mean to say is that you won’t be the only one hurt if you risk yourself for this.”

“I know. But we all run that risk. Where is the Leto who asked me if I wanted to change the world even if it meant risking everything? Where is the elf who laughed as we ran from the Council’s emissaries? Where is he, Forkle? Have you grown old and afraid?”

“I’ve grown more cautious,” Forkle corrects.

“And I’ve grown tired of caution.”

“Fine! But do not expect me to approve of your insane schemes. I refuse to let you tear yourself apart over this.”

“As if this isn’t something worth tearing yourself apart for!” Tiergan tears himself free of Prentice’s arms, climbing to his feet to face Forkle. “You’ve asked me to risk myself for our cause again and again. You’ve asked me to be quiet and patient and let myself lose the most important person in my life, all for Sophie. And now you ask me to give up on her?”

“It is impossible for us to heal Sophie’s mind.”

“It isn’t! Which you would see if you could get your head out of your own ass for more than a few seconds at a time!”

Forkle raises an eyebrow. “Have we devolved into childish insults, then?”

“Being calm about this doesn’t make you better than me,” Tiergan hisses. “You don’t get to act superior because you care less.”

“I care more than you could ever know!”

“Then don’t try to tell me I shouldn’t try and help my prodigy!”

Forkle falls silent at that, and Tiergan does the same, only the sound of both their heavy breathing filling the quiet.

“Can I suggest something?” A quiet voice says from the door, and they both startle.

Edaline steps inside. Her eyes are shadowed by grief and sleeplessness, but she holds her back straight and her head high. “I admit I’m a bit on Tiergan’s side here. I want to see Sophie healed as well. And I’m not an expert on telepathy. But if Tiergan can’t do it alone, could he do it with a Cognate?”

Forkle is already shaking his head. “He doesn’t have one.”

Gnawing regret wraps itself around Tiergan’s chest, making it hard to breathe. He’s brave, and independent, and he’s never needed a Cognate, but-

But he never should have told Prentice no.

“I’d be willing to try,” Prentice says quietly. “We’re not- we weren’t ever Cognates, but we were compatible, once. And I managed to pull him back before.”

Tiergan turns, hardly believing his ears. “You would?”

“Of course. Sophie doesn’t deserve this. No one deserves a broken mind.” His voice softens. “And I love you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Oh. Tiergan has to cover his mouth, afraid that if he doesn’t, he might start sobbing.

“Touching as this is, can we all make a decision?” Bronte grumbles. “At some point the rest of the Council are going to start wondering where I’ve gone.”

“I still think this is foolishness,” Forkle sighs. “But I have also known you long enough to know there’s no dissuading you.” It’s as close to permission as he’s ever going to give.

“I don’t want you to do this,” Wylie admits. “I don’t want to lose you guys.”

“You won’t,” Prentice promises. “I won’t even enter her mind. I’ll just be here to guide Tiergan.”

“Your dad will pull me back if anything happens,” Tiergan agrees. It’s not a reassuring lie- he knows that Prentice will save him if he needs saving.

It takes a long moment, but Wylie finally nods. “I love you. Dad.”

“We love you too,” Prentice murmurs, opening his arms for a hug. We.

Tiergan tries not to overthink that too much as he, too, hugs Wylie, and then gets hugged in turn by every member of the Collective, Livvy, and even Edaline.

Forkle is the last to hug him, and when he touches their foreheads together, Tiergan receives a quiet transmission.

I’m sorry I made it sound as if I doubted your capabilities. I don’t. I simply worry that you take on more than you can handle.

I know, and I’m sorry I called you a coward. You aren’t, it just…frustrates me that we can do so little sometimes.

I know. Be careful.

I will.

He steps away, settling onto the bed. Prentice takes his hand- an unnecessary gesture, but it does make him feel better.

Bronte sits on the other side of the bed, grim determination written into every line of his face. “The plan is, Tiergan enters Sophie’s mind, and Prentice connects his and my mind, is that correct?”

They both nod.

“And you will tell me when to inflict?”

Tiergan nods again.

“Lovely. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

This time, it’s Prentice who nods. He reaches a hand out to Bronte’s forehead, closing his eyes as he does. Tiergan watches him, the concentration in his furrowed brow, the determination on his handsome face.

He hardly feels it when Prentice slips into his mind. Prentice is no probe, but Tiergan’s mind trusts him so absolutely that there’s hardly a barrier for him to cross anymore.

Can you both hear me? Prentice asks.

Yes, Bronte’s mental voice says, and it’s cold like steel and autumn wind.

Yes, Tiergan confirms.

Tiergan, I’m going to tether you like I did before, so I have something to hold onto if I need to pull you back.

Okay. Tell me when I can go.

A beat, and then that should be good. He can feel a bit of Prentice’s mind wrapped around him, strong like braided rope but not heavy.  

I’m going into Sophie’s mind.

He braces himself this time, but it still hurts. It always hurts. All those years of sneaking into Exile to read Prentice’s mind have taught him that. He can already feel himself being torn apart on the jagged edges of Sophie’s mind, that insidious cold stealing in and sapping his strength.

Maybe he should have waited until he was less exhausted to do this.

Oh well. He knows that if he asked, Prentice would be more than happy to pull him back. None of the others would judge him for wanting a day or two to rest. In fact, they would probably be glad for it. But this moment is so tenuous, so fragile, that he’s half-afraid that if he doesn’t take this chance, there will never be another. He has to do this now.

He forges onward.

Bronte, I need you to inflict just a little bit.

There’s a rush of warmth around him, and the storm of memories relents slightly. When the warmth fades, it leaves behind a trail leading further into Sophie’s mind.

He follows it deeper into the storm, though he knows his mind is starting to bleed strength. He has to get there. He has to.

He makes his way through the shards, through the storm, through the cold, occasionally transmitting a request for more inflicting if he loses the trail. All through it, Prentice’s strength holds him tightly, though the connection thins and grows more tenuous the deeper he goes. He has a feeling that he’s being pushed around by the currents of Sophie’s mind, guided one way or another. Whether there’s any real intent behind it is another question entirely. Prentice talks about having some level of awareness while his mind was shattered, but for all Tiergan knows it’s different for minds broken by guilt vs. by other elves.

He doesn’t know how long he walks for, strength bleeding away into the cold, pieces of memory tearing at him, the faint trail of warmth all he can focus on. His thread of connection to Prentice stretches thinner and thinner, and he’s afraid that it will break. Yet he presses on, and on, and-

He can hardly feel Prentice anymore.

It’s then, as he’s most afraid, that he stumbles over some sort of invisible threshold into a small, warm corner, sheltered from the gale. The nook! Tiergan has never actually been this far into a broken mind- he knew it was a fool’s errand to search in Prentice’s without an inflictor, and he’s not sure he could have managed it alone even if he had tried.

Sophie, he calls softly. Sophie, it’s me. I’m going to help you fix this, okay?

It’s a futile message, with no one to hear it, but he says it anyways.

Let’s collect some nice memories, alright?

He starts to pull and gather little scraps of happiness and love and pride around him, a tiny nest of good things. Though he’s too far swallowed in Sophie’s mind to hear Prentice or Bronte anymore, Bronte must be inflicting, because warmth swells around him and with it a swirl of memories. He pulls those in as well, tucking them safely into this sheltered little corner.

There we are. Come back, Sophie. It wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault. You did so well.

Another swirl of memories in response to his mental voice. He catches glimpses of several involving him and tucks those close to his heart.

You’re going to be alright. I promise, we’re going to make it alright.

His strength is slipping and fading, but he refuses to stop now. Not when he’s so close.

Tiergan was not made to be gentle or kind. The world has forged him into someone who is brave, who is stubborn, who is resilient before he is loved. But he is gentle now, as much as he remembers how to be, gathering up Sophie’s memories and tucking them around her like a blanket over a child, transmitting reassurances and praise and pleas to return. He is stubborn, and he is gentle in his stubbornness. He refuses to let Sophie’s story end like this, another empty bedroom in a too-quiet house, a teenager with vacant eyes that will never again hold light.

Something kindles at the center of his little nest, a single spark, and he feeds that with memories and warmth and reassurances. It grows, slowly at first and then quickly, and then turns to a tidal wave of warmth, sweeping him up and cradling him oh-so-softly. The wave bears him up, up, up, memories knitting together around him, a mind collecting itself again after being torn to pieces, and he’s swept away into the dark.

-

Tiergan, a voice calls, soft. Tiergan, come back to me.

He drifts, exhaustion dragging at his limbs and mind.

Tiergan, the voice calls again. You need to come back, Tiergan.

Another voice joins it, younger, more frantic. Tiergan! Tiergan, wake up!

The fear behind it jolts him into action, and Tiergan blinks his eyes open. What he intends to say is “Did it work?” but it comes out as more of an incoherent mumble.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Prentice says, and he’s smiling, but his eyes are lined with worry. Tiergan realizes that for the second time today, he’s laying across Prentice’s lap. It’s not a bad place to be, but-

“Did it work?”

“Tiergan!” Sophie cries, and he gets his answer. He sits up slowly, head spinning, and is immediately crashed into by a sixteen-year-old ball of blond hair and worry.

“It worked,” Bronte says dryly as Tiergan wraps his arms around Sophie and tries not to pass out. “You did faint immediately afterward though.”

Tiergan just glares at him, too exhausted to muster a snappy reply.

“I’m sorry,” Sophie whispers. Her face is buried in his shoulder, his ribs practically crushed in her embrace.

He could cry from relief. He’s been hurting so long and in so many different ways; having Sophie back is like having the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders, if only for a moment.

“It’s alright,” he whispers back. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

“You risked your sanity to do that for me.”

“And it was worth it. It was worth it a thousand times over.” Tiergan can still feel the ache of his mind, temples pulsing with a headache, but he would bear worse for Sophie. For any of the children, actually.

Sophie doesn’t answer, just clutches him tighter.

“You should go hug your parents,” he nudges gently.

“Thank you,” Sophie whispers, and then she’s gone across the room into Edaline’s arms.

Tiergan takes the moment to turn to Bronte, who looks a little lost. “Thank you.”

He waves a hand in dismissal. “You did the hard part.”

“And you did something you didn’t know you could do.”

“You were right. I owed it to Sophie to try. Besides, I’ve discovered something new about my ability and gotten my prodigy back. I would say both of those things are more than worth the effort.”

“Still. Thank you.” There’s so much more that Tiergan should say there, apologies that he owes for the bitter words he spat, but he’s so tired. He can’t seem to put his thoughts into words.

“I was cruel to you, and you still helped,” he manages finally.

Bronte blinks. “You say that as if you and I have ever been kind to each other.” Tiergan doesn’t answer, and he goes on. “You said cruel things to me, yes, but nothing I haven’t heard before, and certainly not the worst anyone has ever said. I think that’s something you can forgive yourself for.”

“That seems like a low bar.”

“It is.”

“Then- I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted. You care for Sophie, and I care for Sophie. That was all that we needed for this.” He glances at Prentice, and there’s something old and tired and very nearly guilty in his eyes. “Thank you as well, Mr. Endal. It cannot have been easy to work with me, but I respect that you were willing to.” Before Prentice can answer or Tiergan can tell him to fuck off, he gets up and walks over to where Sophie has just finished a tearful reunion with her parents.

Wylie chooses that moment to come sit by Tiergan, expression unreadable.

“Hi,” Tiergan offers.

“I’m furious with you,” Wylie informs him.

“…Fair.”

“I’m going to yell at you once you look like you aren’t going to fall to pieces.”

Tiergan winces a little. “I’m sorry, Wylie.”

“You promised you would be safe.”

“I know.”

“You lied.”

“I know.”

Wylie sighs, sounding impossibly old and exhausted for a kid of only twenty. “Can I have a hug?”

“Always.”

Wylie is taller than him now, but he still folds himself into Tiergan’s arms like so many times before. Tiergan feels Prentice wrap his arms around the both of them from behind, head leaning on Tiergan’s back.

We’re also going to talk about your tendency to throw yourself into danger at some point, his voice murmurs in Tiergan’s head.

To be fair, you supported me doing that this time.

I helped you because I knew you were going to do it with or without me.

I was, Tiergan admits. I wouldn’t have succeeded without you, though.

I know, Prentice teases. You need me.

I do.

Well, I’m here, and I’m never leaving you again.

Never?

Never. What kind of Cognate would that make me?

Tiergan’s breath catches. Do you think we still have a chance at that?

I don’t know. It seems like we do, though. His voice is suddenly hesitant. I know you had your reasons for saying no before, but I will always want to be your Cognate if you ever want to pursue that kind of bond. At the same time, I never want to pressure you into something you don’t want.

Tiergan is brave before he is loved, stubborn before he is gentle. But he can be gentle in his stubbornness, and maybe he can also be loved. Maybe, just maybe, he can set down his courage for a while and let himself be held.

I always wished that I hadn’t turned you down, he admits. I wasn’t ready. I’m…still not sure if I am. But I’d like to try.

Cognate Inquisition on Monday, then?

I hope it’s not so dire as that!

Prentice laughs aloud at that, drawing them some strange glances. “No, not at all. Not at all.”

“It’s rude to have all of your conversations telepathically, you know,” Wylie tells him.

“Sorry,” Prentice smiles.

“Your dads have always been like this,” Livvy laughs. “Dramatic idiots.” She says it with such raw fondness that Tiergan can’t even be mad about being called an idiot.

“I’m going to need some embarrassing stories about them when they were my age to make up for this.”

“And I’ll be happy to provide that!”

Prentice glances at Tiergan, eyes crinkling at the corners in that way Tiergan has always loved. “We’re in trouble, I see.”

“Oh, definitely. We’ll never know peace again.”

“I think I can live with that.”

“If it means we’re all together and alright, I can definitely live with that,” Tiergan agrees.

Prentice draws back slightly, only to lean forward again to rest their foreheads together. The gesture makes his heart skip and his breath catch in a way he’s sure Prentice can hear, but Prentice doesn’t pull away. Are you alright?

I will be, Tiergan promises. Every part of him feels raw, scraped thin, but he’ll heal. He has Sophie and Prentice and Wylie. He doesn’t have to be quite so brave anymore. Are you alright?

Nearly losing you scared me. But I’ll be alright too. We’re going to be okay.

We are. Wylie is still angry at him, he knows, and he owes him more than a few apologies for the events of today. He needs to talk things over with Leto, make sure he hasn’t damaged their friendship too far with his sharp words, and he still owes Bronte another apology. There’s also the matter of what caused Sophie to shatter in the first place and what they can do to help her, not to mention the Neverseen to fight and a world to change. But all of that can come later, and he knows he won’t be facing it alone.

For now, he leans his head on Prentice’s shoulder and listens to Livvy tell Wylie all about the incident involving Councillor Noland, several highly poisonous scorpions, and a sack of selkie dung, and in the background he can hear Sophie hailing her friends and Bronte and Leto commiserating about ‘kids these days’, and he knows he’s going to be okay. They're all going to be okay.

[booasaur]

The Wilds - 1x04 || 1x08 - requested by @theno1fangirl​

[ravs6709]

Won't You Shine With Me (Oh Distant Star Of Mine)- Hekster, Kam, Marelliana, Fedex

Act 1. Act 2. Act 3. Act 4. Act 5 (here). Act 6.

Or read on ao3 here!

Word count: 2.3k words

Act 5 to my revue starlight au! Main focus on hekster, not really on other ships, and this will continue for the next part too (also totally irrelevant but i've had constant polycule thoughts since the beginning. i do not confirm anything beyond the main ships but it is a thing that you can maybe sense if you squint really hard)

A short chapter, but it was necessary to end it off where I did (a lot has been working up to here). And the next chapter should be longer than usual since I need to conclude everything. I am so excited to write the next chapter, but it will take a bit to come out (i also need to focus on writing something else)

Warnings: censored swearing

•~•~•~•~•~•

ACT 5

SCENE 1

Stina woke up to Sophie staring at her.

"'s there something on my face?" Stina mumbled, half asleep. "How do you see in this dark?"

"It's nothing," Sophie replied.

Stina squinted. "You nervous 'bout the revues?"

"I can't not be. Everything rides on what happens next."

"Stop thinking too much, I told you that we'll make it through together," she mumbled, wrapping an arm around her to pull her closer. "I don't need you making me nervous."

"But—"

"Shh. Linh's sleeping."

Sophie closed her mouth.

"Foster?"

"What?"

"Why did you come to Foxfire?" It was something that Stina had to wonder. Why transfer schools? Why here? Why now? "You were surprised to see me, so it's not because of me."

"Well..."

"Did Silveny bring you here for the revues?"

It was the only explanation that Stina could think of. She didn't really understand the point, but Stina couldn't help but feel grateful anyways.

"Yeah," Sophie said.

Stina wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't awake enough yet, or if Sophie sounded a little odd. "Well, I'm glad you're here. So let's go back to sleep."

SCENE 2

"Excuse me?" Stina asked, walking into the mess that was her room.

"It's the final day of the revues," Linh said, "there's maybe two hours left until Silveny starts calling people down."

"That's why we should relax before!" Keefe declared, holding up a wine glass.

Stina narrowed her eyes.

"He's being dramatic," Tam explained. "I've already made sure."

"We're just drinking fruit punch," Dex added.

"We're minors, also I'm not doing the revues while drunk," Fitz chimed in.

"Where did you even get those?" Sophie asked.

Keefe smirked. "Stole them from the teachers. You'd be surprised what stuff teachers have in the staff room, you'd think they'd save the alcohol for at home."

"And nobody's gonna notice they're missing and think the students are illegally drinking alcohol?"

"Nah. It's not like I stole their actual alcohol, glasses are too innocuous."

"Well, alright," Stina said, sitting down beside Sophie.

Keefe pulled out more wine glasses, pouring in punch and giving them each a glass. "To fighting in revues, and not killing each other!"

Stina huffed out a laugh. All nine of them clinked their glasses together. They all made themselves comfortable, casually drinking their punch as they all just hung out in the room. Stina found herself really comfortable, and it wasn't just because Sophie had an arm over her shoulder. It'd been a bit, since she'd relaxed just like this. With the revues, the shining lights, the heart-pounding fights, it was so easy to get caught up on being on stage, fighting against the people she knew. 

But here they all were, just sitting on the floor in a bedroom, friends hanging out. Despite everything, despite the tension, despite the fact that they were all competing and many of them had lost to each other at some point of time, there were no hard feelings.

"What's up with this whole revue thing, by the way?" Stina asked. "We compete for the top, but what's the reward? Considering a talking alicorn exists, it'd be weird if it was just for the satisfaction of winning."

Everyone turned to look at her. 

Keefe snickered.

"You did join late," Marella murmured.

"You don't know?" Biana asked.

"You jumped on stage mid-revue and you didn't even know what they were for?" Tam asked.

"Stop laughing!" Stina huffed, taking a pencil off her desk and throwing it at Keefe. Then she turned to Sophie, "Tell me."

"Being the 'Top Star' means you can stand on the 'Stage of Destiny', you make your own destiny," Sophie explained.

"Weird," Stina said. "But okay, I guess. We're performing on a living stage that reacts to what we need, an alicorn hosts the revues, so it's not that weird."

"I'm gonna miss having a stage like that," Marella said.

"I totally agree with you, but don't catch Maruca hearing you say something like that," Biana chided, "she's been working hard backstage."

"It's just us in this room that know about the revues, right?"

"Yeah."

"I wonder if the teachers know."

"Oh yeah, because they always happen after school. Imagine if we had to leave during class. Or at 3 am. 3 am me singing would sound more like cackling."

"I wouldn't mind ditching."

"Of course you'd want to ditch class, Keefe."

"I'm just saying, besides, we'd be ditching acting to do more acting, I'm not sure what else I can say."

"The teachers don't know."

"It'd be crazy illegal to let nine fifteen year olds—"

"I'm sixteen."

"—thanks, Wonderboy. Eight fifteen year olds and a sixteen year old be unsupervised in a school's basement that is somehow larger than the entire top floor of said school. Also give them access to sharp weapons and whatever the stage decides to give us."

"Marella set the stage on fire."

"Hey, why not? If the school burns down isn't there some rule that says everyone passes all their classes?"

"I'm gonna kill it next time we have to do improv in class."

"Or maybe fighting for your life—"

"You make it sound like we're dying."

"—or fighting in general gets your brain working."

"Hey, Bangs Boy, let's buy our own swords and use them next time we do singing practice."

"That is a horrible idea."

"Are you turning down a chance to spend your parents' money?"

"...let's do it."

"Marella I am not letting you play with fire."

"Biana—I didn't even say anything! Stop laughing Linh, I'm not going to swim with you ever again if you're gonna make a face like that!"

Stina stayed quiet, relishing in this nice atmosphere. Just one more night, and then her and Sophie would shine as stars and... deal with whatever Stage of Destiny that was mentioned earlier, she supposed. She still didn't really know what that meant, but it was something to deal with later.

"Hey, Foster, don't look so gloomy," Keefe said. "Even if we lose to you, we're not gonna hate you."

Marella nodded. "You're one of us."

Stina turned to look at Sophie's reaction. She still looked nervous. Stina nudged her with an elbow again. "I told you not to overthink things."

Once they'd all finished their punch and they cleaned up a little bit, all of their phones rang.

"Let's go," Sophie said.

All smiles faded as they got up, because no matter how much they were friends with each other, they all knew that they weren't going to just let the other win.

SCENE 3

When five people arrived in the underground theatre, they were placed into the audience's seats.

"This is where Stina would have jumped in from," Tam remarked.

"Oh, probably," Linh replied.

"I guess that means we're not fighting anymore? Marella asked.

"I guess so," Biana answered.

Dex sat down. "I'm curious to see those four from afar, see what those four had that I didn't."

"It'll be fun, yeah. We'll get to see what they want as their Stage of Destiny."

Four spotlights shone on the stage, illuminating Keefe, Sophie, Stina and Fitz who were standing near a desk with two boxes on top.

As the five audience members all sat down, Silveny, who was beside them spoke. "Last day!"

Sophie looked confused. "Why are four of us on the stage?"

"Rules change!" Silveny said. "Top four! You four! Perform! Revue duets!"

"A... duet?"

Stina nudged her with an elbow. "Isn't that good for us?"

Sophie looked up at Silveny. "Yeah, it is."

"Keefe! Number one! Pick partner!"

Keefe strode up to the desk and picked up a box. He attached a golden button to his outfit, twirling a second on his finger. He grinned, looking at his three potential partners.

"Well, my partner will be, my dear F..."

His gaze landed on Sophie, and Stina worried that maybe her and Sophie would have to fight after all.

Keefe threw the button to his choice. "Fitzy!"

Fitz caught the button with ease. "Figured you'd choose me."

He pouted. "I didn't even surprise you with the fake-out?"

Sophie took the other box from the desk, handing a button to Stina. Stina attached it on.

The stage went dark again as they took their positions.

"In the darkness that makes up our stage, We shine like shooting stars! No matter the tragic events that come our way, We'll make it through every day! We are Foxfire students, Sophie Foster and Stina Heks! Our light will create the most dazzling night sky!"

"Us two stars shine brighter than all, Through song and dance will we enthrall. We've ascended all the way up here, We won't look back until we're in the clear! We are Foxfire students, Keefe Sencen and Fitz Vacker! We won't let our glimmer fade here!"

"One cloak fall on team! Whole team lose!"

"We need to be really careful then," Stina said to Sophie as she deciphered what Silveny meant by that. "But it's good that we don't have to beat them both to move on."

"Don't underestimate us!" Fitz said, starting his attack. 

Stina moved to defend. Sophie could deal with Keefe. It'd be better that way, the two people with polearms could go against each other, same with the two who used swords.

"Let this battle begin, no time to hesitate, A moment that will define our fate."

☆ REVUE OF DESTINY ☆

Stina blocked the attack, but she could feel the aggression that he came at her with. No wonder he'd been number one for so long. Even if she was above him at the moment in the leaderboards, she couldn't underestimate him. He'd only lost one. There was a reason his glimmer shone the brightest, but no matter, Stina hadn't come all this way for nothing.

She was forced back, and she could feel herself being backed towards where Sophie and Keefe were clashing.

"On this stage made up both you and me, Let us work towards our destiny."

The two boys sang that, trapping the girls.

"We're both standing here, look at how we've grown, On this grand stage I won't leave you alone."

Sophie and Stina sang next as they both spun, switching targets for a moment.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Linh asked.

Marella hummed. "Who do you want to win?"

"Well, we all have our biases. It'd be rude to admit who I want to see win."

"I want Keefe's *ss to be kicked, but I'd hate to see him lose too," Tam said.

Dex sighed. "Oh, I get you."

Keefe and Fitz jumped up into the air, avoiding the attacks, flipping as they aimed down at their opponents. Stina and Sophie moved outward, so now Keefe and Fitz were standing back to back.

"Not bad, Fitzy," Keefe said.

"We've known each other for a long time," Fitz replied.

The two linked hands as they spun around, swinging their weapons.

"Oh wow," Tam murmured.

"Childhood bonds, huh?" Stina mused.

"We've got that too!" Sophie added.

The stage began shifting to the will of the performers, and in turn, the performers adapted to it. The four actors all shined as their weapons clashed with each other.

"For the sake of those who chase after us!"

Keefe jumped onto Fitz's spear, and was launched into the air.

"For the sakeof our treasured promise!"

Sophie threw her sword into the wall they were running by, and Stina jumped onto it, pushing herself higher.

"We'll shine as bright as we possibly can!"

Stina and Keefe held their weapons out, prepared to swing. Once they were in range, they swung their weapons. A golden button flew in the air. They both landed. Keefe's jacket fell off his shoulder.

"Damn it," Fitz muttered, cutting off his own button.

Keefe sighed, head downcast. "Sorry, Fitz."

"It's fine... we did our best."

"Yeah..."

"Position Zero!" Stina and Sophie declared, stabbing their weapons into the ground. "We are Stina Heks and Sophie Foster!"

"Duet over!" Silveny announced, "Stina and Sophie win!"

Stina turned to Sophie. "See, Foster?" She took her by the hand and spun her around. "We're finally here."

The two started swaying gently as Stina led her through an easy dance; a dance with little flair, more hugging for contact to show the relief that she felt. Sophie didn't make the dance easy, looking at Stina with trembling eyes, her movements significantly less coordinated. The stage shook beneath them. The ground beneath them began to rise.

"What?" Stina asked.

"Last audition! Song! Dance! Compete! Shine! Brightest light! Become Top Star!" Silveny said.

☆ REVUE OF TRAGEDY ☆

Stina looked from Silveny, then back to Sophie, whose trembling eyes had hardened. "They never were that simple after all."

Sophie stepped closer to her, grabbed Stina by the sash and pulled her in for a kiss. In that moment, Stina's mind blanked as she returned the kiss, tight and desperate and not at all sweet, and oh, the revue said tragedy.

Stina pulled away. "Sophie, what does this mean?"

"I'm glad I got to see you again. That you remembered our promise. That your glimmer allowed me to shine on the stage once more. I won't let anything happen to you and your glimmer."

Stina could barely process the words, and by the time she did, a sword was swung at her, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards. As she fell, her aiguillette was cut off; the golden button sent flying.

"Thank you," were the last words that Stina heard as she fell off the stage.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Kotlc taglist: @keefeinnit , @my-swan-song , @impostertamsong , @subrosasteath , @when-wax-wings-melt

Want to be added/removed from the taglist? Just let me know!

[gay-otlc]

Empty Space

Oh? What's that? You were having a good day? Not anymore. Have some post-Flashback solreef family angst :D

Content warning for kidnapping, grief, cursing, can't really think of anything else?

Word count: 1497

Read on AO3 (if the link doesn't work this time I will commit a felony)

Linh is crying, and Wylie is aware that he should comfort her, but he doesn’t. Just sits there, perfectly still. Too stunned to move. Something’s not registering in his head, the words Tam and kidnapped are too incompatible. They absolutely can’t go in the same sentence, but they were definitely together when Sophie calmed down enough to explain what happened. And he knows that his life has been batshit, especially since Sophie came into it, but this… this is too much. Marella walks over and puts an arm around Linh, and Linh sinks into her girlfriend’s embrace like she'll die if she lets go. She whispers meaningless comforting words, well aware of how little they help.

Wylie's aware he should join in on the hug. He's too busy being numb to play the role of a caring older brother.

Maybe if he was better that this “brother” thing, he could have protected Tam.

In the distance, the Vackers are yelling at one another about Alvar. He can’t bring himself to care. The other three continue their argument as Biana storms over to Wylie, tears on aer cheeks, and sinks down next to him.

“This sucks,” ae mutters, picking up a twig from the ground and breaking it in half. Ae throws the pieces as far as they can go. Is ae angry? Ae doesn't even know right now. Ae just wants it to stop.

”This sucks,” Wylie agrees, and his voice sounds hollow. It’s the first time he’s spoken since he got the news.

Biana pulls out a fistful of grass. As ae shreds it, ae says “I’m sorry about Tam.” That's something ae hasn't even gotten around to grieving yet. After Alvar? It's just too much, so ae shoves it far away to deal with later. Ae'll miss Tam, though, the quiet boy who cared so much even if he isn't always the best at showing it. Even so, ae could tell he loved Wylie, and Wylie loved him, and- ae's sorry, that's all ae can say.

Wylie's surprised to hear himself say ”I’m sorry about Alvar.” It feels strange, offering condolences to a Vacker. Yesterday, he might have laughed at the thought. But right now? Ae isn't Alden Vacker's daughter, and he isn't Prentice Endal's son. Ae's just someone grieving aer brother and he's someone grieving his.

They sit there for... neither of them really knows how long, it could be two minutes or two hours, when Marella walks over, half carrying Linh. "Is it okay if she comes over to my house?" Linh won't leave her, won't risk losing another person.

Is it okay, what a stupid question. Nothing's okay. But Wylie nods.

"Bi, want to come?" Marella asks.

It's better than going back to Everglen, joining the rest of aer probably-still-fighting family, so ae nods and lets Marella pull aer to aer feet. Wylie watches them leap away before the thought crosses his mind that his dads must be worried and he can't just sit on the grass forever.

When he walks back into Solreef, Tiergan’s face lights up. Xe'd been trying to keep xyr mind off of the fact that xyr kids might be in danger, and utterly failing. Relief washes over him. "You're okay," xe says, and Wylie realizes that xe doesn't know. Of course he doesn’t, but until now, it hadn’t quite hit Wylie that he would have to tell his dads what happened to Tam. Tell them that he's not okay, that Tam is gone and of course it's not okay. But he's silent as Tiergan shakes Prentice, asleep on xem. “Wake up.” Not wanting to wake up, he holds up a middle finger. Tiergan chuckles. “Wylie’s back, wake up and say hello to your son.”

Prentice actually opens his eyes at that. He smiles and rushes over to hug Wylie. Somehow, the gesture makes him tear up, so he pulls back. “Linh went over to Marella’s house.”

His dads nod, glad for the explanation. “Tam’s with her?” Tiergan asks to confirm. Wylie looks down as he shakes his head, unable to make eye contact.

”Where is Tam?” Prentice asks. Judging by the look on Wylie's face, it can't be good. He reaches out to squeeze Tiergan's hand.

He opens his mouth, but instead of an explanation, a sob slips out. Then another. Then he’s finally crying and Prentice is wrapping him in a hug and Tiergan joins and his dads are here for him but it doesn’t matter because Tam’s not here and his family is still broken. He should probably explain, he knows, but he doesn’t say any of that. Tiergan shoots a panicked glance over Wylie’s head. Prentice, equally unsure as to what the hell is going on, transmits What? Xe only shrugs. Worst case scenarios swirl through his head, panic pulsing through his veins. "Wylie? What happened?" Prentice asks, voice unsteady.

Wylie steps back and takes a deep, shaky breath. Whatever Tiergan was expecting, it was not for him to say "Tam's with the Neverseen. He didn't- didn't have a choice."

Before the words even finish registering, xe laughs. Which is not the reaction he should have, he knows; who hears that their son got kidnapped and reacts by laughing? There's no humor in it, only bitterness, as xe drags xyr hand down xyr face. "Fuck!" He shakes his head as if that can expel the idea of Tam, gone. "This can't- this can’t be happening. Fuck." Weight settles on xyr shoulder, and xe's vaguely aware that it's Prentice's hand, but cannot bring himself to care.

He wraps xem into a hug and tries to say something, anything, but whatever bullshit condolences he was about to give die in his throat. Instead, he echoes Tiergan's sentiment. "Fuck."

"I can't keep doing this," he chokes out, voice muffled into the fabric of his shirt. "I cannot keep losing people!"

"I know, we've- haven't we been through enough already?" Fuck, just when Prentice thought he was about to catch a break. After having your sanity shattered, missing out on over half your son's life, learning said son had a band of murderers after him, who had already murdered your wife... one would think the universe would finally let you be happy with the family you'd cobbled together, but no. What they had, they were a fucking family, and now they had lost a part of it.

When Linh stumbles into Solreef, she half expects Tam to be curled up reading in his usual armchair. Which is stupid, and she knows it's stupid, but that doesn't stop her from hoping for it. Or from flinching when she realizes he's not there. Instead, Wylie is sitting there, knees curled to his chest, and Prentice is perched on the arm of the chair, an arm around his son. Tiergan is glaring at Forkle through his imparter and muttering, but Linh can't bring herself to care what exactly xe's saying. She walks over to Wylie instead, sitting on his other side.

Prentice blinks, only just processing that she's here. "Thank goodness you're safe," he says, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. She nods. It's nice to know he cares, but she's not quite as glad that she's safe. Even though it would also mean being with a group of murderers, she wishes she could be with her brother.

Tiergan is dangerously close to throwing his imparter across the room. "What is the point of being in charge if you're always gonna elect to never fucking do anything!? My son is with the Neverseen and your solution is to 'sit tight and assess the situation.' Any other fantastic advice? Gonna pull an Alden and tell me there's no reason to worry?" Before he can respond to that, xe hangs up.

"I imagine Forkle's being as helpful as ever?" Wylie mumbles, knowing the answer before Tiergan nods.

"Somehow even worse." He rubs xyr eyes. "Linh, I... it's good to have you back."

Unlike Tam. No one says it, but they're all thinking the words.

Eventually, Prentice insists they try to get some sleep, even though he knows full well it will not work for anyone. Linh's bedroom feels so damn empty without Tam. Their whole life, they've never not shared a room. When they moved into Solreef, Tiergan offered to give them separate rooms, but they both declined. And now he's... she doesn't even know where he is, could be on the other side of the fucking world, and Linh is here, and they've never felt further apart. Without Tam snoring, this room is too quiet, and all Linh can hear is her roaring thoughts, worrying what could have happened to him in the mere hours he's been gone, and would could happen the longer it takes to rescue him.

The house that was finally starting to feel like a home, people who were finally starting to feel like a family, now has a gaping hole in it. The empty space is suffocating.

[cudan2]

One Last Surgery

Spring Break Shadowing Part 5.1

Carlisle Cullen x Reader

Word Count: 2,043

Summary: You finally find out the reason for going to the children’s hospital, but you’re more distracted than usual today and Dr. Cullen can tell. 

A/N: Tell me why part 5 of SBS takes up over half of the whole series? I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for 5 months because I keep adding more to it smh. Now it’s too long so I’ve decided to split it up into 3 parts (in addition to parts 6 and 7). I’m making the final edits the rest of this part now - 5.2 should be posted in like two days.

Anyways, this is technically the beginning of  #1 and #2 on my headcanon list.

Masterlist

XXX

Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is only across the street from Doctor Cullen’s office, but it seems to take forever to get there. You trail the doctor like a lost puppy through a skyway and a series of corridors before eventually reaching the right building. Different is definitely an understatement.

Gone are the linoleum-tiled floors, the abstract paintings lining the hallways, and the stark white walls. Instead, there are bright colors everywhere you look. Artwork featuring various galaxies and planets scatter throughout the hospital, and giant stars are imprinted along the floors; even the whole atmosphere just feels different.

You don’t get much time to analyze the differences though. Doctor Cullen is wasting no time to reach the destination, and his long legs aren’t making it any easier to keep up.

“Not that I don’t like surprises, but any chance you can tell me what we’re doing in the children’s hospital now?”

“Impatient, are we?” Doctor Cullen chuckles. He stops at an elevator and pushes the up button, only giving into your question once he catches a glimpse of your pout. “Alright, you win. Are you familiar with a cleft palate or cleft lip?”

The elevator dings, the doors sliding open with it. You shake your head no and get on the elevator with him. He presses the button for the floor and then leans against the wall, arms outstretched on the handrail, and gives you an explanation. 

“A cleft is a gap or split occurring in the roof of the mouth, upper lip, or both. It is due to improper joining of the tissue during fetal development. There are no definitive known causes as of right now, but it’s believed that the environment and genetics can play a role.

The hospital has its own craniofacial team, but I was asked to join this particular case given its more complicated nature. Hanna became one of the first patients I treated when I came to Columbia,” Doctor Cullen finishes fondly, a smile gracing his lips.

“What makes this case complicated?” you ask.

“Hanna was born with a bilateral complete cleft lip and palate, meaning her lip cleft is two-sided and continues into her nose. It took quite a few surgeries to repair the lip, but now the next step is to repair the palate.”

The elevator reaches the floor and dings. You follow Doctor Cullen out and continue prodding him with more questions, which he is more than eager to answer. It’s incredible how knowledgeable he is. Granted, it is his job to know these things, but you couldn’t begin to imagine yourself being able to even scratch the surface of these topics, not to mention give a mini lecture on it.

You’re soon standing at the door to a patient room while the doctor asks Hanna’s parents if you can observe. They readily agree, and Doctor Cullen motions for you to come in.

Inside the room, you see an infant that can’t be more than a year old – Hanna.  She’s sitting upright on the bed, leaning against who you assume to be her father. You notice two fading scars going up into her nose above her lip. Her mother is waving a stuffed toy around her, but Hanna’s attention is fixated on the blonde doctor.

“Y/N, allow me to introduce you to Hanna’s parents, Anthony and Linh Pham. And this is Doctor Giselle Adamou, who will be working with me on the surgery,” Doctor Cullen gestures to the older doctor in the room.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” you say politely.

Pre-op goes differently than what you’ve gotten used to observing this week. There is no case presenting given the lack of residents on the case. If anything, this is what you would expect out of a non-teaching hospital.

Doctor Cullen re-explains the procedures to Hanna’s parents, but halfway through, Hanna crawls to the end of the bed where Doctor Cullen is and attempts to stand, arms outstretched as if to say, “Up! Up!” Bewilderment is not a word you would have associated with him, and yet you catch the brief widening of his eyes that betray his usually calm demeanor.

“I think she wants you to hold her,” Linh comments.

“I can see,” Doctor Cullen muses. “Do you mind?”

“She’s all yours.” Linh picks her daughter up from the bed and hands her to the doctor. The sound of Hanna’s elated laughter fills the room, and you can’t stop a small smile from appearing on your own face. A cute baby and a gorgeous doctor? You don’t know who to thank for the sight.

Meanwhile, Hanna starts playing with various pens in Doctor Cullen’s breast pocket while Doctor Adamou continues where her colleague left off. You try to pay attention, you really do. Like Hanna though, your attention lies on someone else, and that someone else happens to be Doctor Cullen.

The more you study him, the more the minute features you never noticed about him before seem to pop out to you. Under the bright fluorescent lighting of the hospital, the dark purple circles under his eyes are more apparent than ever. How ironic for the preacher of health to lack sleep himself. His eyes, which you normally consider to be a vivid golden, are darker than you initially thought them to be. They are liquid pools of dark amber, speckled with dustings of gold and flecks of black. There isn’t a single blemish on his face that you can see either, further confirming your belief that this man is truly the most attractive person you have ever met. Either that or he must have one hell of a skincare routine.

It’s unnerving how young his appearance is. Skincare and diet can only do so much for a person, right? Doctor Cullen has to be at least 35 at the minimum, yet he could easily pass off as someone from your own school.

“Any last minute questions?” you hear Doctor Adamou ask and snap back into reality. By missing nearly everything the older doctor talked about, you already know you’ll be so screwed if and when Doctor Cullen decides to interrogate you on this case.

Neither parent has anything left to say, so Doctor Cullen gives a reluctant Hanna back to her mother. She lets out a cry and his expression softens.

“I know, sweetheart. I’ll miss you too, but I need to get ready for your big surgery, okay? I promise you’ll see me again in a few hours.” His soothing voice does wonders for her. In an instant, Hanna quiets down and her frown is replaced with giggles and smiles again. She waves the two of you off, and you both take your leave with Doctor Adamou trailing behind you. You’re not even halfway out the door yet when Doctor Cullen starts testing your knowledge again.

“Y/N, what procedure will we be doing to repair Hanna’s cleft?” 

You do not have this one in the bag whatsoever. You wrack your brain for information that could help you, but Doctor Adamou interjects before you get a chance to say anything.

“Why does it not surprise me that you’re treating students like interns already, Carlisle?”

“I am merely advancing the education of next generation’s doctors,” he responds.

“Whatever you say,” she laughs. “Don’t scare off Y/N though, or we won’t have any doctors left in the next generation.” She turns to you after picking up files from a nearby counter and says, “You come running to me if he pushes you too hard, alright?”

You grin. “For sure.”

“Good. I look forward to seeing you both in the OR,” she says before heading off.

You like Doctor Adamou. Each surgeon you’ve met here so far has had such different personalities, yet each also has the charisma and confidence to take control of a room and command respect. You, on the other hand, could barely get your own friends to listen to your own words. How are you ever going to get on the level of all the amazing doctors around you?

“She saved you there,” Doctor Cullen comments, leafing through Hanna’s charts as he walks you into an empty elevator to the operating floor. Oops, it’s just your luck that he noticed your lack of attention during the pre-op. “It’s unlike you to be distracted. Penny for your thoughts?”

The elevator doors shut, and he looks up from the chart, his eyes falling onto yours. He has that twinkle in his eyes again – the one that brings warmth to your cheeks and could make anyone weak in their knees. You know it’s silly, but a single look from him could make you spill any of your deepest and darkest secrets, yet a part of you also knows that he would keep it. You’re not naïve – you know it’s dangerous to put so much faith into a man you only met this week – but there’s something about him that told your instincts to trust him from the very beginning.

Call it intuition, or maybe it’s just plain stupidity, but you sure as hell aren’t going to tell him about how you got distracted because of his pretty face.

You hesitate for a moment and let out a sigh. “How do you do it?” He quirks a brow, momentarily perplexed, and you attempt to find the right words. “How do you make all of this look so easy? How do you know what the right thing to say is? Or trust that what you’re doing is even right? How did you know if this was all meant for you? This is really dumb, but it seems like everyone here was born for this job, and then there’s... me.”

There’s a slight sense of dread starting to form in your stomach. You’re unsure if what you asked even made any sort of sense and wonder if you gave too much away. Giving any reason to second guess your abilities is like digging your own grave when it comes to this career. Expressing uncertainty is one of the biggest taboos of the cutthroat world that is pre-med because schools would not accept students that aren’t absolutely, totally, and completely sure about this path.

You’ve wanted this for so long, yet there’s still a part of you that doubts if you would be enough.

Rather than going straight to gowning and scrubbing in for the surgery, Doctor Cullen grabs your hand and leads you down to an abandoned hallway, only letting go once the two of you are hidden in an alcove away from any prying ears or eyes.

“What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for surgery?”

“We have a few minutes to spare. Y/N, please know that I understand how you feel,” he says softly. “There was a time when I questioned my own abilities as well… whether my perseverance could overcome adversity. It took quite some time to reach where I am today.  However, without enduring those trials and tribulations, I would not be here. With time comes experience, and it is that experience that allows me to perform my job the best I can.”

His voice reminds you of a gentle breeze, rustling the leaves of a tree on a cool summer night when he continues speaking in hushed tones. It brings a blanket of reassurance, a sense that things would eventually be alright.

“I have said this before, but I see enormous potential in you. You still have a great deal of time to grow and develop your skills. It’s easy to get caught up in comparing yourself with others, especially given today’s societal standards, but I believe you are much more capable than you may think you are. Everyone’s journey is different and yours may not necessarily be as linear as you would prefer. In due time though, I have faith that you will succeed.”

What he says is exactly what you needed to hear.

The swell of tears pricks at your eyes and start blurring your vision, but you blink them away quickly, fighting the urge to wrap your arms around the doctor. 

“Thank you, Doctor Cullen.” Your voice is barely above a whisper.

“You’re very welcome. Now, I believe there’s a little girl waiting on us.” 

XXX

Tag List - Message me to be added or removed to either this series or the rest of my fics!

@jelly-fishy-babie @notahappytree @anxiousgoldengirl

[appleciders]

Rachel + Leah + Water, the Director’s Cut!

Okay, so I made this gifset exploring Rachel and Leah and the ocean, but because there’s a ten gif limit and a major point of gifsets is for them to look nice, I had to sacrifice a lot of the behind the scenes thoughts and initial versions that came along the way. I still wanted to talk about them though, because I found a lot of them really cool, so I figured I’d stick all that in this post. It’s gonna get long, so you can find the rest under the cut!

So first up, we have Leah as we first see her in the water. (I’m using shitty screenshots because tumblr has a 2mb limit for gifs on text posts and I don’t feel like compressing these down lmao.) Here, she’s face-down, unconscious, floating on a fragment of the plane. This is the first time we see any of the girls in the water.

As Leah gives her dramatic speech talks to the detectives, we see flashbacks to the girl’s lives pre-island. There we see that one of them already has a very strong relationship with the water already, in her before-life: Rachel.

Rachel, as we know, is a diver. We see her take a magnificent tumble into the pool, but when she surfaces, her coach is sternly head-shaking. She corrects Rachel’s form, and after she walks away, Rachel echoes the correction, clearly frustrated with herself. 

Back to Leah. We next see Leah waking up on her lil chunk of flotsam. When she realizes what the hell’s going on, she does what we all would do and starts screaming in terror.

Her panic gets interrupted by Jeannette’s classic Raise Your Glass ringtone. (This was my alarm for two years in high school, and when I watched this for the first time I did have an out-of-body experience). She swims her way over to the Hello Kitty suitcase and—irrationally—unzips it, but we’ll cut her some slack because she’s in some serious shock. As she tries to get the phone, it slips through her fingers and starts spiraling down to the bottom of the ocean. She dives after it.

Unfortunately, she quickly runs out of air and has to give up. She then spots Jeannette floating nearby, checks her out, judges her to be “just a little roughed up,” and then sees land and has a big oh-thank-fuck moment. Because we saw Gretchen’s team placing all of the girls, we know that Linh and Leah were the only two that were put out in the open water. The other girls were put in the beach, or, in Martha’s case, near the shore. This was probably done to quell some of Leah’s suspicions about the crash, but it does give me a couple questions about how they got the other girls wet—did they hose them all down? Pour a couple buckets over their heads? Bob each of them up and down a couple times in a big net like fries in a fryer?? 

Anyway, not important. 

Next that we see, Leah has pulled Jeannette/Linh in from the water. (My Australian parents, who can never pass up an opportunity to give ocean safety tips, chimed in at this point in our first watch to say “See how she’s doing it! You always want to hold someone from behind and pull them in that way. Good job, well done.” So there’s some approval for you, Leah.) As Leah nears the shore, Dot and Toni come tearing in and they help pull the two of them out. 

The rest of the episode after that really only concerns fresh water—Toni and Shelby set out in search of it, to no avail, and Nora helpfully plugs Diet Coke reminds us multiple times that sugar’s heavier than water, so “sugar sinks.” We do set up a goal for the next couple episodes, though: Rachel says, “I'm gonna swim out to the plane tomorrow. See if I can find anything,” and Leah volunteers to come with. Rachel gives her a nod of respect.

Moving on to episode two, we have Rachel and Leah’s (iconic) first real conversation. Rachel says she’s still going out to the wreckage. Leah looks out and looks back at her, incredulous, and says, “Rachel, the water’s insane.” Here’s a big recurring association—the water and “insanity.” (I use insanity here because that’s the language they use, along with psycho/crazy. In no way does that reflect my actual beliefs about their behavior nor am I condoning the way they use those words.) Leah points out the rip current (“well done,” said my mum), and explains her very brief stint as a norcal surfer. Rachel still looks set on going, but then Leah says:

Turns out, Leah can be as ripe with foreshadowing as Fatin. This marks the appearance of their second main association with the ocean—death. After she says this, Leah turns Rachel’s attention inland, and the two agree to climb a big hill to scope out their situation.

Episode two is also obviously Rachel’s episode, so we see a lot of her relationship with diving. 

We see her plunge over and over and over again, drilling technique and form, but despite all her hard work, we learn her coach advised her to quit the team. Instead, Rachel throws herself in twice as hard, and ends up with an eating disorder. By the time the nationals come around, she’s too physically weak to dive safely, and she ends up hitting her head as she goes down. She surfaces in the pool with blood flowing around her.

She refuses to see that as the end of her diving career. She says she’s gonna “get back out there” and “be fucking great again” and she tells Nora at the end of the episode that she needs her to let her believe that.

In episode three, we finally see Leah and Rachel’s trip out to the plane! Nora comes along with them, her relationship with Rachel smoothed over after the events of ep two. “Nora’s a good swimmer,” Rachel explains as she invites her, “We were both water babies.” Water’s clearly been central to Nora and Rachel’s identities since they were really young. 

The three of them make their escape from the rest of the girls as the topic of building a shelter comes up. “Not interested in putting down roots!” Rachel calls. In keeping with the elements theme, Rachel isn’t looking to be grounded. She climbs super high into the air and she dives deep into the water, but earth isn’t her thing. (See: the quicksand scene. Whoops.)

Anyway, the three of them paddle out into the water. Rachel dives down, scopes out the plane, tells Nora she doesn’t expect her to “fucking free dive in open water,” and then looks to Leah and asks if she’s ready. Leah reluctantly agrees. 

We get our first shot Rachel swimming down into the ocean and our second shot of Leah (first the phone, second the plane). In the wreckage of the plane, they discover the black box, affixed to the wall. They keep trying to wrench it free, but it’s stuck, and Leah—who’s primary activity is, like, reading—keeps having to surface for air. Rachel gets frustrated and grabs her leg, holding her down. 

Leah screams and fights, but Rachel doesn’t let go. We cut away, and when we see them again, they’ve emerged victorious (Rachel) and drowned as dogs after a bath (Leah and Nora) with the black box in hand. Later, Leah mutters the above line to Fatin, calling Rachel a “psychopath.” For those keeping score at home, here’s where we refer back to the association between water and “insanity.”

In episode four, the ocean benevolently bestows a bag of takis upon Nora, and we have our whole shelter-building shebang. It’s all very land-based until Leah and Fatin go head to head, which ends with Fatin smearing her blood all over Leah’s face. Leah, with her usual flair, strips off her clothes as she walks into the ocean. She stays down there, passively letting the water wash the blood from her face.

This shot parallels a couple things. First, the drifting blood visually parallels Rachel in the pool after her diving injury. Second, we have Rachel staring out at the water where Leah’s disappeared and going, “Man, that is some real Virginia Woolf-type shit.” Dot has no fucking clue what she means, so Fatin interprets: “It means that bitch is crazy. She said you were the psychopath of the group.” Now it’s Leah who’s done something in the water that’s been deemed insane. The water and “insanity;” the water and accusations of insanity within their relationship. 

Those accusations pop up in episode five, but the episode is pretty focused on the inland search for Fatin, and revolves around fresh water, not salt water. (That could be a whole nother post lol.) It’s in episode six where we again see these two return to the ocean. 

Rachel is diving in the ocean! For fun! She’s picking up pretty shells (which granted isn’t the safest thing to do in the pacific, cone snails are not our friends), and she’s grinning, and she’s generally enjoying herself. With the, uh, finale situation, we’re probably not gonna get to see her smile for a bit, which is sad, because she should get to do this more often! This shot visually echoes her diving for the plane and Leah diving for the phone, except she can be in a better mood because there is no end goal. 

So she goes diving, ends up finding a bunch of mussels, gathers ‘em up, and brings ‘em back to camp. They all chow down, but wind up with serious food poisoning. Martha and Toni ring death’s doorbell a couple of times. Rachel blames herself—she’s the one that went swimming out there, she brought the mussels back. Again, we see that connection between the ocean and death.

And that association comes back bright an early in ep seven! The tide surges higher than they’ve ever seen, taking down their shelter and leaving them all scrambling. 

While Leah convinces Fatin that her life is more important than her suitcase, Rachel is left with a decision: help Nora, screaming to her from where she’s clinging to a rock for dear life, or grab the black box. In a move that contrasts Toni’s immediate and unquestioning aid of Martha, Rachel picks the black box. 

After, when they’re debriefing, Nora’s quick to bring it up. She doesn’t hide her hurt. “It happened so fast,” she says, “we all acted irrationally. Like Fatin, who jumped into a rip current to save her toothbrush. Or Rachel, who left me for fucking dead.” I think this counts as a double whammy for the “insanity” and death count—I think “acted irrationally” is as close as Nora gets to calling anyone crazy, and is honestly a better descriptor of all the other instances of “insanity” that we’ve seen, and the ocean was the source of the very real risk to Nora’s life. 

(Honestly, I think Rachel thought she was making a rational choice here—just with some grim fucking calculus. Still, given that nobody’d responded to the black box by then, I think it was a decision fueled by the need to keep hold of hope more than actual rationality.) In a fun contrast to the rest of the episode, it’s Leah that keeps a level head in this situation. 

The rest of the episode is low on water scenes, though Leah’s paranoia about Shelby is fueled by her sneaking off to the water, which could fall under the “insanity” category. It also marks where Nora begins to take an active role in breaking apart Rachel’s fantasy about diving again. 

Ep eight has one of the best montages in a series of great montages, with the playing in the water scene! A plane has seen them, they’re gonna be saved, and they all get to get high and act like kids. 

I have this lingering and probably irrational concern that the entire water play scene is choreographed and that it’s chock-full of foreshadowing. Like I know to some extent they likely were just like “yeah guys go goof off in the water,” but like...the wave pulling Rachel and Nora apart here...I mean.... (Rachel is probably gonna get more blood on Dot in the near future, too. ) That aside, their horseplay gets interrupted when Leah notices some blood on Dot, which Rachel realizes is her own period blood.  

Fatin then chimes in with her ever-gleeful foreshadowing: “Shark week for Rachel.” So while this whole encounter with the water actually seems mostly good for a change, it’s colored by the tie-in to what we know is coming.

In ep nine, reality has set in that rescue isn’t imminent. Everyone’s starving, Leah has started to spiral, and Rachel’s unusually skittish. By the tide’s edge, Nora asks for her help fishing, but Rachel refuses, saying that she’s weak. Nora flicks water at her, and Rachel flinches, clearly scared.

Starvation seems to have triggered Rachel’s trauma around the water leftover from her diving accident. In response, Nora reaches out a hand and says, “Let’s go for a walk.”

Meanwhile, Leah’s spiral has reached critical. She starts ranting about the ocean and the water and pushes past Dot, sprinting into the waves:

And so she’s taken to heart the way they think Jeannette’s body “escaped” the island—the tide—and it’s been spun like cotton candy in her head. She’s right, technically—Jeanette/Linh’s body was moved off the island by boat, and there’s definitely an argument that if they really did all swim out Gretchen’s team would save them, or at least try to. This is also a very real suicide attempt. So it’s kind of a culmination of the threats of death and mental health issues that’ve been wrapped up in the ocean since the start.

On Rachel’s end, Nora has taken her up to a cliff. Rachel calls the whole thing “borderline insane,” walking up when they’re so low on energy, but Nora tells her she needs to make a truce between herself and the water. 

“You’re afraid of it now,” she says, and Rachel replies that, “All it ever did was make me sick.” Nora immediately surges forward to say “That’s not true!” Rachel, incredulous, says, “Isn't this what you want? For me to hang it up? For me to forget the whole fucking diving game?” Nora says, “No. I don't know. I don't want you to forget you.” She then tells Rachel she should dive off the end of the cliff, that she marked it to make sure it’s safe. Rachel says she can’t.

There’s a lot here. First, there’s the first time we’ve seen of Rachel explicitly call herself sick. In episode two, even in a treatment center, she still denies it, says she’s just an athlete who knows what it takes. But now she’s reached a place where she acknowledges her eating disorder—and also probably her recent illness with the mussels—and ties it directly to the water. It’s the reason she’s sick.

Nora’s fear that Rachel will forget herself also just hammers home how central the water has always been to Rachel’s identity. Cutting herself off from the water would be cutting off a core part of herself. (...whoops) And we’ve seen that it does bring her actual joy, when she’s allowed to relax with it, but she’s had such traumatic associations rolled up into it now. Nora doesn’t want Rachel to do diving as a sport anymore, because of how badly it’s hurt her, but she does want Rachel to keep diving and swimming as like, a form of unevaluated personal expression.

At the moment that Rachel’s refusing to jump, she and Nora hear shouts from the mainland. They see Fatin and Dot screaming after Leah. Confused, Nora asks, “Where is she going?” but Rachel understands immediately, with absolute certainty, without needing to be told—“To fucking drown to death.” Seven episodes after Leah called heading into the water a death wish, she’s finally proving it true. Rachel squares her shoulders, takes a few deep breaths, and sprints into a dive. 

Unlike all her other dives high altitude dives we’ve seen her do, this dive isn’t qualified based on aesthetics. This dive matters because of what it will do, not on how it looks. And what it does do is bring her into the ocean, where she needs to be for her friend. So with strong strokes, she swims out towards Leah.

When she reaches her, she takes hold of her, pulls her into her chest from behind. She begins to swim with her back to shore. This rescue directly parallels Leah’s rescue of Linh that we talked about above. It also, as the Out in the Wilds podcast insightfully pointed out, really calls Rachel and Leah’s relationship back to the beginning. Whereas Rachel had initially held Leah down in the water, putting her in danger of drowning, Rachel here pulls her out of the water, saving her from drowning. Together, they make it all the way back to the shore.

Finally (and, like, if you’ve made it all the way down here? bless you. thank you), we have episode ten. The ocean doesn’t really figure into episode ten until the very end. Rachel has had a long episode of healing—she’s happy to be full and she’s in a good place with her sister and things seem to be going pretty okay. She decides to heal her relationship with the water, too. She heads out, telling Nora that she’s “Just gonna float, Nor. Just float.”

Just floating. After all the times we saw her plunging into the water, purposefully, with frustration, with drive, with so much to prove and with so much sacrifice and self-abuse to prove it with, Rachel finally just wants to float. She wants to let herself relax. She wants to let the water carry her.

Of course, that means there has to be, like, a massive marine carnivore waiting to mistake her for a seal.

Visually, this shot really parallels the opening shot of Leah on the fragment of plane. Instead of being face-down, though, she’s face-up, and she’s conscious, just not of the threat from below. 

The shark bites.

In a horrible parallel to Leah’s Virginia Woolf moment and Rachel’s diving accident, we see blood pool in the water. Rachel is pulled under. The girls on the land start screaming and running toward her. We know Rachel doesn’t die, but this is still a near-death experience, one that probably cost her her arm. Leah, covered in dirt and her own blood after crawling out of the pit Nora led her into, can only stand and watch, shocked and horrified.

So that got! Way longer than I meant it to! And honestly most of this was condensed into very concise tags in a post I made a few days ago! But if you made it all the way down here, you’ve now seen everything I wanted to fit into that gifset but couldn’t. Thanks for sticking with me, friend <3

[bookwyrminspiration]

Shortly after Tam and Linh’s introduction in Neverseen, Mr. Forkle brings up that Tam has broken multiple bones at the Exillium due to ‘careless risks’ and it bothers me to no end that this was never, to my memory, expanded upon or explained further. This is mostly because I feel like it implies that either A) Exillium was such a dangerous environment that students were easily seriously injured or B) Tam’s worryingly reckless. Honestly if it’s the exillium and it really was just that dangerous there, I feel like everyone on the council should be fired. I was just wondering what your thoughts were on this?

oo, i'd forgotten about this! broken bones--and just severe injuries in general--are pretty rare, so tam having a history of snapping his skeleton really does stand out.

i remember Forkle telling Tam he'd stopped applying himself to his studies/school when he got to Exillium, which was why his performance was subpar--especially compared to the stellar scores he got on the Foxfire entrance exam. This could be a part of that.

so! let's look at both the points you bring up:

1. Exillium is dangerous enough students were frequently hurt. Looking at it, I think it's less Exillium was outright dangerous and more they weren't supportive, if that makes sense. Like it was up to the students to make sure they were okay and to get through the lessons, so if Tam was injured that was on him. He was the one who didn't follow the directions/do the lesson right/listen properly. Which is dangerous in and of itself, just not in the same way.

There were three coaches to take care of an entire host of banished kids, they quite literally couldn't pay enough attention to everyone. Tam also had a bad reputation, so i doubt they wanted to deal with him any more than they absolutely had too. (note: curious if tam had a bad reputation only because he was a shade or if he did something else and people attributed it to him being a shade). I don't remember Linh having a history of injuries, so either she was extraordinarily careful (which I can see with her history with her ability), or Exillium wasn't dangerous enough to hurt students that frequently and the problem was with Tam.

2. Tam is worryingly reckless. I think this one is more plausible, him maybe even going out of him way to get hurt to prove that no one there cared about him or any of the other waywards. Or a part of it being that he really just didn't care. So what he broke a bone? He's out in the middle of nowhere attending a shitty school where everyone hates him, what's one more thing. Why try to be careful when everything else is already so bad? or maybe having a broken bone got him out of a certain activity at Exillium and it was a benefit, but the way it's structured I can't imagine they'd be that lenient and considerate to let an injured wayward rest.

But we've never seen him behave that recklessly or carelessly when we met him and throughout the later books. So, either he was just clumsy and grew out of it (unlikely as he was very skilled beforehand), it was the environment at Exillium and now that he's out he's not in that kind of danger anymore, or he was making a point and now he has a different point to make. I personally think it's a combination of him trying to prove a point and also just not giving a shit about anything he did. And now he has something to work towards, and real, concrete goal that he can focus on. he doesn't need to destroy his body to say what he wants anymore.

jumping back to the first point: i think regardless of what allowed Tam to break his body so frequently, the council should have consequences. Those are children that they've just sent out of their society to fend for themselves with one provided meal (not a single piece of fruit counts as a meal), falling apart tents, and undersupplied medicine. On top of that, I'm pretty sure they can just...stop showing up to Exillium; it was made a challenge to take the bead to come back tomorrow, but I think they could just not take it and never come back. That's a whole child just on their own in the world. Unsupported. The Council should be absolutely ashamed of that place. There's more I could say about this but I'll stop for now.

I'd forgotten about Tam breaking several bones, but I can think of several reasons how that might've happened. It's a very interesting opportunity to explore just how horrific the concept of Exillium is, even on the surface level, so thank you!!

[crymeariveronceagain]

Tiana(Tam/Biana) Headcanons

Tam and Biana hail each other at like 3 am. They’re both awake, 85% of the time. Neither of them need to ask why.

Biana kisses Tam more than Tam kisses Biana. Mostly because he always asks and Biana always takes that as an opportunity to kiss him first. 

The two of them are constantly holding hands. Like, literally. They’re going somewhere? Hand-holding. They’re on the battlefield? Hand-holding. Sitting on Grady and Edaline’s huge couch? Hand-holding. They’re not big on PDA, but they have absolutely no qualms on holding each other’s hands constantly. 

Tam is the kind of boyfriend who will bring you food when you’re having a bad day. No questions asked. Bad day? Food. The answer is always food.

Biana is the kind of girlfriend who will take you clothes shopping because “Honestly, Tam, you need some color in your wardrobe, and a dark blue or something would bring out your gorgeous eyes so much they could kill anyone in a seventy-foot radius.”

Alden doesn’t approve of the two of them. He’s never liked Tam. Biana knows this and flips her father off whenever she catches him quietly glaring at her boyfriend.

Biana does not like quite the same kind of music as her boyfriend, but she is always 100% willing to listen to his.(Mostly because he sings it, quietly, sometimes, and she just falls more and more in love with him.)

Tam’s parents love that he’s dating Biana. Honestly, any association with people in “such good standing” makes them ridiculously proud. It’s the only thing he’s ever done that they actually approve of. Tam hates it. But he decides if anyone is worth making his parents proud for, it’s Biana.

Tam lets Biana do his makeup, sometimes. She usually goes for that classic emo-boi look. He always loves it.

Tam knows how to braid hair. He learned how in Exilium, when Linh asked him for help. But now, he’ll do super intricate braids on Biana’s head. She literally will not take them out for days.

They only cuddle when they’re alone. They don’t like the idea of people watching them collapse into a pile of needing each other. 

But when they do cuddle…Neither of them are the little spoon. They’re a complete tangle of limbs, flung on top of each other, usually without adequate pillows, so someone ends up with an aching neck, but neither of them would complain, because it’s so warm and soft and good, even if someone’s back is a little achy in the morning.

Tam texts Biana when he’s half asleep. It’s always garbled messages that he sometimes rereads in the daylight and doesn’t know what he was even trying to say. Biana screenshots every single one. Her favorite reads, “French fries are just manicured potatoes. Humans eat potato toes.”

Biana likes drawing flowers on Tam. Like, whenever she’s got a pen, or eyeliner, or something, she’ll start drawing flowers on the nearest part of him she can find. And he won’t wash the drawings off for days. 

One day, he tells her that he’ll get her flowers tattooed on his arm. She flushes hot pink and tells him that he’ll definitely look emo.

His emo-ness is something Biana constantly lighthearted pokes fun at. He is emo, so emo, and she loves how over-dramatic he is, but she will always make jokes about it. He always rolls his eyes. 

Biana gets girly-girl jokes from him, too, but they’re so light-hearted that she can never find any reason to do anything but to huff or roll her eyes at him. She’d gotten teased and bullied at school, before, because  she isn’t… tough, not like people think tough girls should be. She wears dresses, she likes dresses, she wears makeup, and she loves it. She loves high heels and hairstyles, but people have told her she’s too girly. Tam jokes, once in a while, but he still calls her “Princess” with eyes that sparkle like her eye-glitter.

[author-luna]

Villain!Sokeefe/Ruewen family AU

Hi there everyone! A little while ago, a friend and I were talking about Sokeefe and what might happen in book 9, and then I had this idea for an AU where Sokeefe as well as the Ruewen family (Gardy, Edaline, Sophie and alive!Jolie) have been villains all along.

The idea couldn’t leave my mind so here I am.

Word count: 2.9k

Trigger/ Content warnings: mentions of nightmares

Please don’t hesitate to message me / tell me in the comments in case I should add any warnings!

My idea for it was that during Keefe’s time with the Neverseen, they were able to get him on their side

They make him work as a double agent, while thinking he is loyal to them

His joining is fueled by the fact that he feels like the Black Swan isn’t doing anything to help them nor are the utilizing them how they should

He knows that they could defeat the Neverseen in the bat of an eye, if only the Black Swan helped them reach their full potential by not sheltering them

But Keefe has his own agenda, which involves shattering both the Black Swan and the Neverseen

In his opinion, both organizations are hopeless and the best way to actually achieve what they want is a different approach

His plan is to get both the Neverseen and the Black Swan to destroy each other as well as the council, leaving the elvin world exposed

Then, in mits of all chaos, a new organization should take the position of power and work to redefine the elvin values and society

He has thought quite far ahead, but a lot of stuff is still up for debate and he doesn’t really mind because he knows he’ll come up with something in time

After he comes back, he finds it harder to play pretend than he originally thought it would

He can’t bring himself to think about the betrayal everyone would feel after they find out

Even worse, how Sophie would take it all in

After all they’ve been through and how she still trusted him, he can’t take any risks

One day though, when he and Sophie are both hanging out together and the topic of the Neverseen comes up, he can’t take it anymore

It slips out of him before he can even think about it

and suddenly it’s quite, too quiet and yet so unnervingly loud because the blood is rushing in his ears and the air is swirling and Sophie is just shocked

he scrambles to explain what he meant, cover up or anything

but then Sophie just starts shaking and oh god he really messed up didn’t he-

he is convinced that she hates him now but then the shaking turns into faint giggles and the giggling turns into soft laughter which then erupts into a laughing fit and he just wants to call Elwin so he can check on her

after a little while Sophie calms down and sits down, her hands in her lap and her eyes looking at him expectantly

at first our boy is just confused but the she tells him to sit down and explain

when he looks at her like she went insane she tells him that she knows him, he would never do that if he didn’t find value in it

so, he sits down and tells her all about it

from the very start, how he spend his stay to how they recruited him and about why he joined and his own plans

Keefe talks for a while, and when it all come to end, he is surprised by how much better he feels, almost like a weight has been lifted off him and he could finally breathe

Sophie stays quiet for a while, her eyes looking into the distance

Keefe stars fidgeting and pulling loose gras out of the ground because the silence is heavy and he thinks that she definitely hates him now

when Sophie finally looks at him, she is smiling, s m i l i n g and he thinks she finally went crazy

she seems to have read what he thought on his face because now shes pouting and she hit his arm in a playful manner, which leads Keefe to throw a handful of grass on her and suddenly they’re rolling around, chasing each other and laughing like normal people

when they finally stop to catch their breath and they find themselves under Calla’s tree which is ironic, Keefe thinks

the silence now isn’t heavy, it’s comfortable like they've came to a silent agreement

when Sophie speaks up, Keefe can’t help but feel nervous

he is expecting a lecture, a list of things he already knows, maybe even a screaming match because that’s what he deserves

instead, Sophie just whispers a single phrase

‘I trust you’

and it’s enough to bring tears to his eyes because she still trusts him, she isn’t going anywhere and she is still his friend

and then they talk for hours

it’s about everything and nothing in particular

they exchange stories and jokes, laughter echoes through the air followed by a light hearted silence and for the first time in ages Keefe feels like everything might turn out good and he dares to hold on that bit of hope he usually tries to suffocate

Sophie herself feels the same

she thought about yelling at him or scolding him, but deep down she knows that it doesn’t matter

and when she said she trust him, she meant it with each fiber of her body

a little voice in her head tells her that she’s laughing with the enemy and that she’s foolish for trusting him, that she’s a traitor herself for doing it but she snaps back saying that maybe she wants to be a traitor and that she doesn’t care, and the voice shuts up

for the next few days, the voice keeps whispering that she is the enemy as well because she’s trusting Leefe, but whenever she says that maybe she wants to be the enemy, the voice shuts up and that makes her think

Keefe made good points, his plan could use some improvement but the point still stands

her thoughts are constantly running and circling back to the same question ‘Where do I stand? What can I do?’

and at night, the overthinking gets to her

her dreams are haunted by what if’s, but one dream stand out to her

that night, she dreamt of her friends, her family, Keefe and herself in a future where there is no Neverseen

in her dreams, her friends and her were at the beach in San Diego, Linh is playing with the water and everyone is just having fun

when she turns around, she sees Grady and Edaline laughing with her human parents and she hears her human dad’s barking laugh echo as he retells a story from her childhood

she feels a hand on her shoulder and when she looks up, Keefe is standing besides her, looking fondly at the scene

he notices her staring at him and he looks down to her,a soft smile on his face as he whispers ‘We did it Foster’

she jerks up from sleep and she could swear that she can still hear the laughter, smell the water and feel the lingering touch of Keefe’s hand on her shoulder

that night she realizes that this is the future she wants, one where she doesn’t need to hide her human self

she lays awake for hours, and the next morning she finally makes a decision

in the night, when she lays awake, she mentally reaches out to Keefe, and when he opens his mind to hers, he is confused

but with an unbelievable determination she tells him that she is joining him

there is a lot of arguing from his side, but Sophie expected as much

she tells him that if he doesn’t want her to work with him she’ll join the Neverseen on her own so he gives up for now and tells her he will make arrangements for her to meet the others

after the meeting, they take Sophie in as part of them

obviously they don’t trust her from the start and she has to work very hard to earn their trust

they give a lot of assignments that involve morally questionable things that Sophie at first refuses to do but gives in

wherever she goes to these type of missions, she mentally seeks out the comfort of Keefe’s mind, who gladly will distract her, comfort her and talk to her until she feels better

it isn’t a pleasant thing for her to lie to her friends so openly, and she often struggles with hiding it, but Keefe is always right there to help her

they keep talking at night, just basking in the security of each other’s mental presence

because sometimes, things don’t seem that bad when you have a friend by your side

Sophie’s telepathy gets even stronger with the help of Gethen, who teaches her how to hide things securely from Fitz and Mr.Forkle

‘Gethen is okay I suppose’ Sophie begrudgingly admits one night during their nightly hangouts, after Keefe asked her about their training session

he teases her and laughs at her when she threatens to mentally slam a pillow at his head, but secretly she find that his laugh is quite adorable

after the Nightfall fiasco, Vespera and Gisela finally start trusting Sophie more because she kept up the facade so well

they call a meeting with her to ‘formally introduce her’ and during the meeting, she’s a bit nervous

of course, she has been kinda member all this time, but now being officially part of them was making her giddy with nerves

they do the protocol of introducing her to everyone, making her swear herself in, talk about her position yada yada, but the only thing she can focus on is Keefe's hand that intertwined itself with hers under the table and three familiar hooded people in the back

at some point during the meeting he had grabbed her hand to stop her from tugging on her eyelashes and to keep her grounded and steady, and to be fair, the soft circles his thumb kept tracing over her knuckles and the menatlly reassuring things he said to her were soothing and kept her from freaking out

but as much as she wanted to focus on the meeting, her attention kept going up to the three hooded figures in the back

she couldn’t help but feel like she had seen them before, their posture and presence so familiar

she was so distracted she barely noticed how everyone left the room, leaving only Gisela, Vespera, the hooded figures, Keefe and her in the room

when Keefe squeezed her hand, her attention snapped back to the room and she noticed that the figures came closer

Gisela suddenly asked her and Keefe to keep calm since they would now let them into the identities of three of their members

once the hooded figures let down the hoods, Sophie might have yelped in surprise and Keefe might have pulled her closer,just to put his arm around her and there is a tiny chance that Sophie buried herself deeper into his comforting side hug

in front her stood her parents, her elvin parents and with them their daughter she saw them mourn

it didn’t make sense to her how Edaline smiled at her and how Grady sheepishly scratched his neck and especially not how Jolie, the Jolie form the pictures and Prentice mind, shyley waved at her

Gisela and Vespra left them alone and told them to explain and sort it out

the moment they left, Keefe and Sophie started bombarding them with questions

finally, Grady and Edaline explained that Jolie had joined the Neverseen a while before she joined the Black Swan and how she recruited them

her death and all the mourning was just an act to keep everyone from questioning them when they try to get information or when they try to spy on the council

Jolie told her about how she was able to make herself a new identity under the name Trix

upon asking how she could be Trix if his ability was being a Guster and Jolie being a Conjurer jolie answered that she kept gusts of wind stored in the void that she could use and redirect to her liking

they tell them about their positions and how they actually always assisted them in some way, and Sophie feels abit betrayed for not knowing earlier

her and Jolie talk for a bit, getting to know each other and Sophie decides that Jolie is quite amazing

Edaline notes that they should go before someone notices their absence and Sophie takes her home crystal, leaping her and Keefe back to Havenfield

for a second they stand in the living room, hands intertwined and faces close

and before they could speak, they hear someone clear their throat and Sophie lets go of Keefe’s hand in embarrassment

Keefe is a bit upset, he already missed the way Sophie’s hand had fit into his own and the comforting feeling of rubbing his thumb against her knuckles

with a glare, Grady sends him home

after Gardy leaves him alone, he smirks to himself and makes it his mission to hold Sophie’s hand often

now time skip to Unlocked

at first, Keefe didn’t plan on telling Sophe where he’s going because he still was convinced that he is a danger for her

but 2 nights away from the lost cities and he suddenly found Sophie towering over him, hand on her hips and a glare so deadly he probably would have been 6 feet under

sheepishly, he asked her what she was doing here and she just punched his arm

cue an hour of lecturing about how they were in this together and he shouldn't have left without telling her

that’s when it dawned on him

why was she here, and if she was here with him, who was in the lost cities

she sat down besides him, setting down a backpack and saying that she was also a runaway

for the next month or so, they wandered around the world

with her teleporting, their birthfounds and Keefe’s new abilities, they had no problem at all with traveling and staying undercover

in the lost cities, Grady and Edaline helped keep the suspicions at bay

they covered for them and made sure no one found them

cue another showdown between the Neverseen and the Black Swan

this time, it’s a full force one and everyone instinctively knows that this battle is the last

all the intelligent species hold their breath as the war rages, gnomes and elves fighting on each side with all they’ve got

there are losses of course, but the biggest one is when Sophie and Keefe suddenly appear in the middle of everything

their friends stop and look at them with bewilderment, and it soons turns into shock when Keefe takes out a microphone like thing and tells everyone to freeze

as the battle stops, Sophie whistles a tune and Silveny descents from the sky

she lands in front of them and gently, Keefe helps her up and sits behind her

their friends would love to follow them with their eyes, but their gaze is fixed into the distance, and so, they don’t notice how Silveny flies them up to the middle and how Sophie starts expanding her mental grip on everyone

when she finally has everyone listening to her, she takes turns with Keefe to tell them about the future, how both the Neverseen and the Black Swan can’t guarantee a good life for them and the council even less

they end their little speech with them asking their friends to trust them, and Keefe sends everyone but Fitz,Biana,Linh,Tam,Dex,Marella,Wylie,Stina,Bronte Grady and Edaline to sleep

they land and talk with their friends, telling them everything that has happened, from them joining the Neverseen to their time in the human world

and as they stand there, all the stories told and feeling laid bare, they hold each others hands

they know that there is a high possibility of their friends not forgiving them or even not wanting them back

they also know that they might have to leave the elvin world behind forever

that's why they hold each other, because they know that as long as they have each other, the world can throw anything at them and they will get around it

because when Sophie lovingly whispered ‘As long as we have each other, we’re invincible’ after Keefe woke up from a nightmare, it was a promise

and as Keefe whispered a ‘It’s us against the world’ back, it was a mutual understanding,a promise and a reassurance that tells the world ‘We belong with each other, each a heart and a soul that is stronger together’

so when Biana breaks out into a sprint to hug them and everyone joins, hugs exchanged, laughter echoed and stories told, they don’t let go

the future might be uncertain, but it’s a bit better if you have friends with you to stand against the uncertainty

[shellyseashell]

GOLD RUSH

Chapter Three - Not As Bad

Note: @kotlc2021collab here’s the third chapter!

Masterlist

TIRED OF LINH and Marella and deciding to get some work done, Sophie had left the cafeteria after she finished her lunch. She had promptly gotten a text from Grady, saying that they needed to talk whenever she was available. Since she still had fifteen minutes until lunch ended, she decided to call him.

“What did you need to talk about?” Sophie asked once Grady had answered.

There was a silence on the other side, and for a minute Sophie thought Grady might not have heard her. But before she could repeat herself, there was a sigh and Grady said, “It’s about Iggy.”

Sophie froze. Iggy, her rabbit, had had health problems in the past, but they’d never been too serious. Still, bringing up Iggy and anything negative made her heart pound. She’d had Iggy for years, ever since she had been adopted. He’d been one of the things that had helped her adjust. Why she’d been allowed to get a rabbit and not a dog, she didn’t know. “What about Iggy?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“He’s sick again,” Grady said, confirming Sophie’s fears.

Taking a deep breath, Sophie leaned back on the shelf behind her. “How sick?”

A pause. Sophie’s heart felt like it was trying to escape her chest, and she was sure she’d get kicked out because of how loud it was pounding. The silence was too long. And then, “He’s probably not going to make it, Sophie.”

There it was. Her worst fear confirmed. Iggy was dying.

“I’m sorry I told you during school,” Grady said quietly.

“No, I’m the one who called you,” Sophie said. “Thanks — thanks for telling me. I’ll see you at home.”

She hung up. Sophie stifled a sob as she slid down the shelf and curled her knees up to her chest. The library was most definitely not the place to cry, but she didn’t have the energy to get up. Iggy was dying. Iggy was dying. It was the only thing she seemed able to think of, and she didn’t even hear the footsteps approaching her.

“Sophie?” Out of all people, it had to be her.

Wiping tears off her face, Sophie stood and leveled her glare at Biana. She was surprised to find the girl looking at her with concern. “What do you want?”

“Are you okay?” Biana ignored her question.

Sophie crossed her arms over her chest. “Like you care.”

Biana glared at her, but her expression quickly softened. “Look, you’re clearly upset about something. Better to tell someone what’s wrong, even if it's someone you hate.”

Sophie had a lot of arguments against that logic, but the fight had drained from her, and she slumped back down on the ground. “Iggy is dying.”

Biana sat down next to her. “Iggy is your rabbit, right? Fitz has told me about him.”

Sophie nodded. “I’ve had him since I was adopted. He’s had health problems in the past, but they’ve never been that bad. Now, though . . .”

Biana placed a hand on Sophie’s arm. “I’m sure your parents will do their best to help him.”

It was the only thing they could do.

Sophie let out a sob she muffled with her arm, and Biana did something unexpected. She hugged Sophie. Wrapping her arms around her and pulling her to her chest. Sophie stiffened, not expecting that sort of affection from Biana, but soon softened and started crying.

Biana let her cry. She let her cry and cry and cry some more. She wasn’t sure how long she lay there sobbing, but somehow, when her breathing was even and she could see again, Biana was still there. Though she hated Biana, there was something oddly comforting in curling up against the girl and letting her comfort her. She didn’t want to leave.

But she knew she had to, and she might as well not make this awkward.

She pulled away from Biana, ignoring how she looked disappointed. “What were you doing here anyway?”

“I was coming to do research,” Biana said with a small grin. “Guess you had the same idea, huh?”

“Yeah, until the whole ‘Iggy is probably going to die’ thing,” Sophie said, her eyes welling up again as she choked out the words. Sophie coughed and blinked away the tears. “But we should look for some books while we have time.”

Biana nodded, and so they got searching.

They didn’t talk the rest of the time, each girl absorbed in their task. As Sophie flipped through the various books, her mind wandered to both Iggy and Biana.

Iggy, because she didn’t know what she’d do without him. Of all the animals to die, it had to be him. Not that she wanted any of them to die — each death brought on a wave of grief, even if short lived. At this point, she should have been used to animals dying and not being able to do anything. It was a normal occurrence. Still, this was Iggy, and Iggy was different.

And so was Biana. Biana, her enemy, had seen her crying and hadn’t laughed. She had comforted her, and made sure she was okay. She didn’t know where the sentiment had come from. For as long as she could remember, it had always been a constant rivalry. Biana hated Sophie, and Sophie hated Biana. Neither had ever been bothered by it, and neither questioned their feud. But now, something about Biana felt different. She didn’t seem as bad. She almost seemed nice. Like they could be friends.

Sophie wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

———

THAT NIGHT, ONCE her homework was done and cross country was over and she had nothing to occupy her mind with, Biana found her thoughts wandering to Sophie. She’d never lost a pet, and the closest she’d come to losing someone was when her mother divorced Alden, and that hadn’t been awful.

Though she couldn’t sympathize with what she was going through, Biana knew Sophie holding in her feelings wouldn’t work out in the end.

She used to bottle her emotions when she lived with Alden. It often resulted in her snapping and letting her emotions out at once. Which usually meant yelling at someone and only rising the already high tension between the family. But when Alden was finally gone, she had finally let go of all her emotions, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She hoped Sophie wouldn’t do the same.

Biana sat leaning over the counter in the kitchen of their small apartment, that they had moved to to get away from the memories of Alden. Della cleaned the kitchen in front of her, and Fitz sprawled out on the couch behind her.

The apartment was only a few rooms. The kitchen and living room combined, one half of the room holding a couch, some chairs, and a TV. The rest held the table and kitchen, a counter with bar stools spreading the two. Down one hall was the front door, and down the other were four bedrooms — Fitz’s, Biana’s, Della’s, and a guest room, which would sometimes double as Livvy’s when she was spending the night and felt Fitz and Biana wouldn’t want her sleeping with their mother.

Tonight, though, Livvy wasn’t there. It was just the three of them.

Della looked over to her. “You alright, Biana?”

“Huh?” Biana said, snapping out of her thoughts. “Oh, yeah, fine, I guess.”

Della placed the dish in her hands down and turned her full attention to her daughter. “What’s up?”

Biana sighed, and explained what had happened today. Once she had, Fitz said, “I should go check on her,” and left to his room.

Biana stared at the counter in front of her, trying to sort out the knot in her stomach. She didn’t understand why she was so worried about Sophie. Sure, she knew grieving a pet couldn’t be easy, even if they hadn’t yet died. But she had never cared about what Sophie felt before, so why should she start now?

“You seem to have a lot of thoughts about this,” Della said.

Biana nodded. “Yeah. I guess — I’m just so worried about how Sophie is handling it, and I don’t know why. We’re not friends, we don’t get along, I hate her.”

“And why’s that?”

Biana sighed, ready to give the reasons she always did, but paused when she couldn’t remember what those reasons were. Clenching her jaw, she glared at the space in front of her.

“That’s what I thought,” said Della. “You don’t actually hate her. You just feel like you do because of some rivalry or something that happened when you were younger. But you don’t hate her.”

Biana considered this. Honestly, she couldn’t remember ever really, truly hating Sophie. And she knew what hate felt like. It was the blood boiling, gut clenching feeling she got even thinking about Alden. The one that made her want to punch something and run away. The one that had torn apart her family and stopped her from having a childhood.

She had never felt like that with Sophie. It was always a slight disliking — annoying, but something she could deal with.

Maybe she didn’t hate Sophie. Maybe she was so similar to Sophie, liked her more than she should, and didn’t know how to process that, so she channeled it into hate and anger. In the past, channeling her emotions that way had not gone well.

Biana nodded slowly. “I — I don’t think I hate her.”

“I didn’t think you did. You should try talking to her, being her friend.”

Biana nodded. Maybe she should.

As if Sophie had read her mind, she got a text from her then saying, Want to come to my house after practice tomorrow to work on the project?

Biana, a smile on her face, replied, Yes.

Taglist: @salt-warrior @pai-shodown @cinderswrench @shadymcsilverbangs @cindersassasin @healing-winston-pratt @just2bubbly let me know if you want to be added or removed!

[cadence-talle]

Dream of Endless Shadow

a dark!Tam AU, written to go along with @lemontarto‘s dark!Tam drawing. Make sure to go look at it if you haven’t seen it yet! 

Wordcount: 2,274 

Trigger warnings: Death, non-graphic violence 

Taglist: @everyonehasthoughts, @clearlykeefitz, @loverofallthingssmart, @a-lonely-tatertot, @enbies-and-felonies, @molly-sencen, @lemontarto, @appalyneinstitute1, @ruewen-and-rising, @silver-snow, @linhamon-roll, @hyperlollypop, @never-ever-too-many-fandoms, @keeper-of-the-lost-queers, @impostertamsong, @vibing-in-the-void, @yeetersofthelostcities, @mistythegirlfluxmess, @diamond-dreamerr, @we-have-no-bananas-today, @an-absolute-travesty

Laughter floats through the air and up a sweeping cliff, gathering around a pair of figures standing at the edge. Linh glances back at her brother, hair pulled back into a low ponytail. She’s smiling- she’s always smiling. Tam wonders sometimes how she can be so happy, looking at all they’ve lost. 

“Come on,” she says, holding out a hand. “You’ll be fine.” 

Tam quirks an eyebrow. “You can’t guarantee that.”

Linh raises a hand in the air, and the water below them rises with it, a huge shimmering bubble. She grins at Tam. 

“Yes I can. Just jump.”

The sun beats down on his back as Tam stares down at the ocean. It’s safe- he knows it’s safe, but he can’t stop his fear. Linh is always the brave one, anyway. 

She charges ahead while Tam stays behind, rushing around corners before he’s made sure it’s safe. He doesn’t understand, really- how she can be so happy, so fearless, so Linh. 

“Come on,” Linh says again, grabbing his hand. “On three, okay? One…”

She’s amazing. 

“Two…”

She’s powerful.

“Three!”

And Tam knows that they’ll be fine as long as she’s by his side. 

He takes a deep breath and jumps. 

-/-

Tam glares down at the dark streets of Atlantis, eyes tracking barely-visible figures on the ground below. He could probably see better if he dispersed the shadows, but that would blow his cover- and besides, he can see well enough. 

Well enough is pretty much all he’s getting, these days. He can see well enough, he can sleep well enough, he’s eating well enough. 

Well enough isn’t good, of course, but Tam doubts he’ll ever be good again. 

Finally, the person he’s looking for exits the shop underneath him. Tam was a little surprised when he found Ruy Ignis in a flower shop in Atlantis, but he supposes it makes sense; it’s not like anyone knows what he looks like. Tam only recognized him by his voice, and even that took a couple visits to figure out. 

Ruy turns the corner and enters an alleyway to the side of his shop, humming something under his breath. With a quiet grunt, Tam wraps shadows around the man and drops to the ground a few feet away. Ruy makes a sound of surprise and summons a forcefield.

“What-” 

Tam releases the shadowflux he’s been holding in his hands, and it slinks through the forcefield to wrap around Ruy’s neck, hovering just a few inches above the skin. The man’s eyes go wide as he scrambles to get away. Tam clenches a fist and it moves closer to Ruy, shrinking little by little until it’s a hair away from the skin. 

He chose shadowflux not because it was easy for him, but because it hurt. Tam wants this man- all of the Neverseen, really- to feel pain, to feel what he’s been feeling for days now. This hurt, this ache, always there but never healed. Not really. Tam forces the shadowflux closer, and-

“Tam!”

Sophie and Biana rush into the alley, both clad in dark tunics and capes. Biana has a throwing star in her hand, but she’s not looking at Ruy- she’s staring right at Tam. 

“What are you doing here?” Tam growls, relaxing his hands just enough to let Ruy breathe. Sophie narrows her eyes at him. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” she says. “Where have you been, Tam? We’ve been worried sick!”

“I’ve been out,” Tam replies. “I’m fine.”

“Right,” Biana says slowly. She turns to Sophie. “Can you bring Ruy back to the Black Swan? I’ll stay here.”

Sophie nods, shooting Biana a quick smile before grabbing Ruy’s arm and leaping away. Biana turns to Tam. 

“This is what you’re up to?” she asks. “Trying to kill people?”

“They deserve it,” Tam answers. Biana shakes her head. 

“Maybe so, but we don’t do that, Tam. We don’t kill. If we do-” her voice breaks slightly, and Tam can tell they’re remembering the same thing. “We’re just as bad as them.”

“Then I guess I’m bad.” Tam responds, curling the shadowflux back into his palms. He sighs. “I just want to avenge her, Bi. I want to- to destroy them as much as they destroyed me. As much as they destroyed her.”

“Linh wouldn’t want-”

“Don’t pretend like you know her!” 

Biana takes a step back, eyes wide. Tam only realizes how loud he’s shouted after the fact. “You didn’t know her,” he adds more quietly. “No one knew her like I did.”

“Maybe not,” Biana says slowly. “But I still loved her. She was amazing. Kind, talented, fierce.” She looks at Tam, staring straight into his eyes. “She wouldn’t have wanted you to be sad. She would have wanted you to keep living, not take other lives away.”

“I-” Tam shakes his head. “No. I can’t. I have to- to do this.” To do anything, he adds in his head. Biana lets out a long breath. 

“Okay. Just- promise me you’ll be safe, okay? You shouldn’t have to die for her.”

“I know,” Tam says, because he does. “I promise.”

It might not be a promise he can keep. 

-/-

This was supposed to be standard. 

They’d received word of trolls being attacked in the woods off Brackendale- and while, of course, no one had gotten hurt, Sophie had decided to check it out anyway. Something’s been shifting lately, some sour wind sweeping into the Lost Cities and bringing with it the smell of death. The Neverseen are braver, now, and they need to be careful. 

They weren’t careful enough. 

They’re ambushed almost immediately when they move into the woods. Black-cloaked figures drop down from the trees, surrounding them on all sides. Next to him, Tam hears Linh growl, pulling water from the air and forming it into a ball, ready to attack. Marella summons fire, Keefe and Fitz grasp throwing stars, Dex readies his newest gadgets and Sophie gets ready to inflict. 

This time, they’re not going to lose. Not again. 

And for a moment, it seems like they’re winning. Most of the Neverseen are already on the ground, unconscious or held down. Tam can’t recognize most of them- he thinks one of the only ones left standing is Gethen, but he can’t be sure. 

It’s odd, for the Neverseen to be taken down so easily, but Tam chalks it up to their little group simply being stronger now. He turns to watch Linh, swinging water in a sweeping arc and knocking a woman to the grass beneath their feet, and smiles slightly. 

And then-

It doesn’t happen in slow motion. Tam doesn’t see the throwing star coming, doesn’t hold out a hand to try and stop it. Linh is upright, and then she’s not- she’s fighting, and then she’s lying on the ground with a piece of silver metal embedded in her neck. 

Linh is alive, and then she’s not. 

Tam doesn’t even get to say goodbye. 

-/-

The first few days were the worst. 

He didn’t do anything but sit on the couch in Tiergan’s living room, staring blankly at the wall as he relived that moment over and over again. 

A flash of silver, a small cry cut off too soon. Blood staining the grass and getting on Tam’s hands as he rushes to her, too late. 

Too late. He’s always too late. 

Nightmares and sleepless nights bleed into empty days, and Tam doesn’t care. He feels time slipping away, feels himself get weaker (he’s not eating. what’s the point, when she’s gone), feels shadows wrap around him. 

They’re shockingly cold, but at least feeling cold is feeling something. 

So he falls backwards into the shadows, letting them surround him, crush him out of the half-dead state he’s been in and back into his own body. And slowly, the sadness recedes. It’s not gone, it’ll never be gone, but Tam has managed to cover it up with something else. 

Anger. 

Rage is what gets him off of the couch, what gets him to eat, what gets him out of the house. Anger is what makes him track down each and every member of the Neverseen and kill them. 

Or, try to. Someone always shows up to stop him. 

At this point, Tam is sure they’re tracking him somehow. Sophie, Biana, Keefe, Dex- someone is always there, telling him to slow down. 

Stop, they’ll say. You’re going to hurt yourself. This isn’t safe. 

And Tam knows it’s not. He can feel the shadowflux creeping through his veins; a cold, tingling sensation. It doesn’t hurt, not yet, but it will eventually. 

It’ll take over, eventually. 

Tam doesn’t care. 

He’s standing on the edge of the cliff again, the one he and Linh used to come to when they went swimming. It’s clouded, today, the water below gray and upset. No more sunny blue days. 

Sunny blue days disappeared a long time ago. 

Tam came here to find some long-lost part of Linh, to remember, but all it does is hurt. Hurt and hurt and hurt again, and it never stops. 

It never stops. It’s never going to stop. The only way is-

The water below is dark. It won’t catch him this time. 

Tam takes a shaky step forward. 

A flash of silver, a small cry cut off too soon. Blood staining the grass and getting on Tam’s hands as he rushes to her, too late. 

And a laugh. High and cackling. Tam knows that laugh. 

“Gethen.” 

And he turns away from the cliff. 

-/-

They’re at a human picnic spot, sharing a piece of fruit the gnomes gave them for lunch. Linh’s laughing at something Tam says when a screech echoes through the air. 

A hawk has just picked up a mouse in its talons, carrying it through the air and towards a tree branch. Linh gasps and stands up, but the humans on the other side of the clearing are faster- one grabs a rock and hits the hawk in the wing. It goes crashing to the ground, and the mouse scurries away. 

The humans leave, laughing, as Linh rushes over to the bird. 

“It’s hurt,” she says, gently lifting a wing that is bent in a way no wing should ever be. “We need to help it.”

“It was going to kill that mouse,” Tam points out. “You didn’t want it to do that. Why are you helping it now?”

“Because it’s hurt,” Linh says, glaring at him, “and it was just trying to find food. And even if it wasn’t-” she shakes her head- “it’s a living thing. If you can help a living thing, you should.

“If you just leave it, it could die. No one deserves that, no matter what they’ve done.” 

Tam sighs, crouching down next to her. “Fine. How can I help?”

-/-

The security at Gethen’s prison cell isn’t very good. 

The goblins at the door didn’t even give him a second glance as Tam moved through the door- although, to their credit, Tam is pretty sure he still has a reputation as “Sophie Foster’s friend.” 

Still, he doesn’t get any questions as he moves through the stone-lined walls and stops in front of a chilly cell. The man inside gives him a sharp smile. 

“Tam Song,” he says. “I’ve been wondering when you would come to visit. Last time we talked you seemed a bit… unstable.”

“Last time we talked I tried to kill you,” Tam says bluntly. “Now I’m here to finish that.” 

He summons shadowflux, ignoring the chill that runs through his whole body. He’ll deal with that later. Right now, all that matters is his sister’s murderer. 

Gethen laughs. “You always were stronger than the rest of them,” he shrugs. “I’m not surprised to see you’re the one who went insane.”

“I’m not insane,” Tam growls, pushing the shadowflux closer to the man. “You killed my sister. Now you’re going to pay.”

Gethen’s eyes glint and he starts to say something, but Tam pushes the shadowflux into his skin and whatever he was going to speak is lost in a scream.

A flash of silver, a small cry cut off too soon. 

 Tam narrows his eyes and forces the shadowflux closer, pushing it into the man’s brain. 

Blood staining the grass and getting on Tam’s hands as he rushes to her, too late. 

Gethen’s body goes limp, but his eyes are wild and Tam knows he’s still in pain. 

A laugh. High and cackling. And-

Gethen falls to the floor, his chest no longer heaving. He’s gone. 

He’s gone, and Tam should be happy. Linh is avenged. She can move on now. She can be satisfied.

Linh wouldn’t want this, Biana’s voice whispers in his brain. It wasn’t for her. It was for you. 

“No,” Tam bites his lip so hard he tastes blood, falling against the cold stone wall. He’s so cold- everything is so cold. “No, no, this was for her. This was for revenge.”

But he can see Linh, leaning over that wounded hawk. She looks up at him, straight at Tam, and her brow furrows. 

No one deserves to die, no matter what they’ve done. She says, shaking her head. She stands up, moving toward Tam. What have you done, Tam?

“I just wanted them to hurt,” Tam whispers. “I wanted them to die.”

Linh frowns sadly and the memory dissipates. Tam sinks to the floor, head in his hands. The floor is cold, the walls are cold, he’s so cold- 

Shadowflux moves toward him, burrowing under his skin. Tam lets it, lets it move through his bloodstream and into his heart. 

Everything is cold. 

[theunmappedstar]

I'm genuinely angry with the people who've spammed her comments, especially the ones calling her a hypocrite??

people will not like to hear this, but this is more than spamming: this is harassment. let me explain before you get angry and scroll or consider debating me on this, please. 

laura and shannon are two separate adults with two separate occupations and two separate minds and no link to the other whatsoever except for the fact that laura’s work was recently commissioned for the series by S&S. any actions or comments that laura has made are entirely on her. this mistake was not made by shannon, but rather laura. shannon has no way of dealing with it because she cannot mend something she didn’t break in the first place. no one has gone to laura’s page and recreated the actions that are happening on shannon’s page - and honestly, i’m not asking you to, because the way that a large part of the fandom is approaching this is truthfully immature and disrespectful.

bringing up concerns such as this should be direct messages or emails to the person or the company under which they work. in this case, laura is self-employed and does not work underneath any other boss than herself, so something would have to brought directly to her if anyone wanted a statement or anything further from her.

now, i’m queer. we know this. i’m not in any way saying i speak for all gay people when i say this: but i personally don’t care that laura was used as an artist. reason being? she isn’t harassing queer people, she isn’t using any platform to spread this hateful view, she isn’t using her money to donate to anti-lgbtq organizations, and the action of blocking fans who had queer content, while hurtful, was better than what most homophobes would do in a situation like that. laura took that path because people began bringing up solinh to her after the sophie/linh flashback art was released, and were curious as to if she would draw other lgbtq couples. laura’s response was simple: to block the corresponding pages from her feed because she did not like the content. 

let’s compare this to another issue we see today: JKR. JKR is using her platform to publicly spread these hateful views - laura has never made homophobic posts to try and sway followers. JKR harasses those who do not agree with her, and laura hasn’t engaged in these debates. JKR has written and released a transphobic book, while laura hasn’t made anti-lgbtq art. JKR has created and sold homophobic merchandise under her name and given the profits to anti-lgbtq organizations, whereas laura has made no such content.

the difference between these two actions, while both are fueled by homophobia, is that one was done in a manner that was meant to only affect the person taking the action in the first place (laura), whereas the other is pushed to the public and meant to create division (JKR).

JKR is a homophobic creator. laura is a creator who is homophobic.

i’m not defending laura’s views. it is shitty that she’s homophobic, period - but i’ve personally learned as a queer person that i cannot change everyone and that sometimes, if they aren’t fucking with me, i can let them live. they don’t want to listen to my words and be swayed by them, just as i don’t want to listen to theirs and be swayed - so, we’re not talking. we’re not touching one another: and that’s cool. it’s better that she block content she doesn’t personally want to see, rather than, say, her using her income from these commissions to support anti-lgbtq organizations. 

now that we’ve got all that out, back to the beginning of this: laura and shannon are two separate adults. just because S&S hired her does not mean that S&S shares laura’s beliefs nor does it mean that shannon herself shares those beliefs - in fact, there is confirmation directly from shannon that she doesn’t. she said it herself. “i want to be clear that i want everyone to feel welcome and supported in this community, including LGBTQIA+ fans”.

the actions you are angered by were taken by laura. yet somehow people have managed to ricochet another adult woman’s problems onto shannon. i’m genuinely confused on how we got to the conclusion that shannon has to somehow make laura apologize... when shannon in no way dictates the actions of or even speaks to laura.

the way that these comments are being created and published is just... irresponsible. because shannon had nothing to do with laura’s actions and she should not even be apart of the equation that has been created.

shannon herself has said enough. she has addressed what she needed to and affirmed that she supports us. she does not need to address the issue because the issue was not created by her. if you want a response to the issue, that is on laura and laura alone.

[a-lonely-tatertot]

Finding Home

A/N: HIIIIIII IM BACK BOIS! Anyways this is a shorter chapter I didn’t wanna mess with outline so you get tiny chapter. sooo woot woot for like barely 2k words? But like the doc im writing this on is at like 19k and 29 pages i am in shock. trying to get back a consistent updating with this so uh yeah dont keep your hopes up tho- working on ch. 7 rn hope you enjoy! As always betaed by the glorious @bookwyrminspiration

words: 2208

tw: none

wattpad ao3

Chapter 6: These Secrets Stain Us Red

They had gotten off the bus at the last stop before Kull, stepping out into the cold air. Sophie glanced at the trees in the distance turning orange and yellow. Distantly, she remembered when she was younger this was her favorite season, how the leaves would fall and crunch at her feet, and how it was actually somewhat bearable to be outside. She smiled at the memory as she held Linh’s hand, walking quickly to the gas station, her stomach already grumbling.

“Linh?” a voice called from behind them as they stood in line. Linh swung around, trying to find the source of who called her, nearly startling Sophie into almost dropping her water. The mystery person stepped out from behind a small cluster of people with an overly energetic wave. “Linh! It is you!” he called.

Sophie watched as Linh’s eyes landed on the man and her whole expression shifted. As opposed to the man’s own happiness, Linh seemed to put a wall between her real emotions and the rest of the world, her face betraying nothing. “Hey, Sameul!” Linh said in pretend excitement; Sophie knew that her words carried an undertone of malice.

This Sameul was not the man Sophie had seen in the memories, but from Linh’s reaction, he seemed to probably be involved in whatever Linh was in.

“That’s me,” Sameul responded, clearly not getting Linh’s annoyance like Sophie was. “Geez, it’s been what, how many months since I last saw you?”

“Yeah it’s been a while,” Linh said, her shoulders rigid and her jaw set. Who the heck is this guy? she thought. Their name was called and Sameul followed them to go pick up their food. Sophie tried not to feel trapped with the way Linh’s eyes darted.

Sameul smiled ruefully, “Last time I saw you you had a little backpack and were running out the door in the middle of the night.” Linh took in a sharp breath and stuttering to a halt, her tray of food almost dropping. Sophie raised her eyebrows, more confused than ever. There was a beat then a sharp ring interrupted the weighted silence and Linh’s eyes widened with relief.

“Oh Sam, I’m sorry, that’s her sister calling. She’s really gotta take that. Why don’t you come with me?” Linh asked, more of a command than a suggestion. Reluctantly, Sophie pressed accept on her phone, ready to unleash the crazy whirlwind of shit that she had found out on one completely unprepared Amy. “What up checking in blame Tina she was worried,” Amy said, boredom concealing her concern.

“Uhuh sure Tina was worried,” Sophie chuckled. “Anyways, Linh is being super suspicious.”

Amy made a startled noise, “O-okay then so not well.” 

Sophie nodded even though Amy couldn’t see her, “Yup, also uh side note, totally did not watch another one of her memories.” “Sophie! It’s like you’re trying to do it on purpose!”

“It was an accident I swear!”

“Mhm, yeah, definitely.”

Sophie grumbled, “Oh screw off. Anyway, I was in this bathroom and her knuckles were all bloody like she had punched something. And then this guy came in and said that she wasn’t allowed to be reckless anymore, but from what I saw it was like she was living with some other runaway people I guess?”

Amy was silent for a moment. “Well damn.”

“Yeah,” Sophie agreed. “You shoulda seen her when this guy recognized her while we were getting food; she got like scary tense and for a moment I thought she was gonna water power him.” “Water power him? Really? That’s what you’re calling it?” Amy said. Sophie could practically hear her raising her eyebrow. “At that point just call it water bending.”

“I refuse to call it that.”

“How dare you; you’ve disrespected our childhood.” Sophie laughed. “But seriously,” Amy continued, and she knew she wasn’t going to like what she was going to say next, “Soph, what happened to telling her about the memories? Instead, you just spied more.” “She’s the one with the sketchy past!”

“That you don’t have any right to!”

“She’s been weird and I need to figure out why. Once I do I’ll tell her everything.”

“No, you don’t need to figure it out yourself! You need to talk to her and she will tell you if she’s ready to.” “Don’t tell me what to do Amy. She lied to me. The first night we were together we talked about how we got here and she lied to me like it never happened.”

“This isn’t war Sophie. Just because you’re scared, just because she lied doesn’t mean you get to invade her privacy. She’s not the enemy Sophie, she’s your girlfriend.”

Sophie hung up and her phone buzzed twice more while she watched Linh walk back over to her. This wasn’t Amy’s problem, this wasn’t Amy’s life, so screw her for trying to tell her what to do. She had the abilities and she was sure as hell going to use them. “Sam left,” Linh said with a clearly fake smile. “Said he should probably get back on the bus and didn’t want to intrude.”

At that Sophie raised an eyebrow, she didn’t need to use her telepathy to know it was a lie.

Stepping on the bus felt like placing the weight of the world on her shoulders. She knew that man was something to Linh, or Linh was something to him; maybe he was what Linh was running from. She didn’t have regrets when she reached carefully out to Sameul’s mind and glanced at what he said to Linh. Maybe she should’ve regretted it, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She needed to know, when she had left the Lost Cities it was her way of saying “I will not be lied to even if it seems better that way”. So much had been kept from her and here she was, getting things from the source instead of waiting for someone to tell her.

The words, “You haven’t changed Linh,” rang in her ears as she pulled back, not letting any emotions show on her face as Linh followed behind her. Linh didn’t say anything so Sophie didn’t say anything and they settled into a tense silence as the bus around them buzzed with noise. Sophie tried to think of something to say as the words played on repeat in her head but Linh beat her to it.

“You never told me much about Mari, about what she means to you,” Linh said. Each word seemed rehearsed as if she had said it in her head a thousand times before speaking the words into existence. “I didn’t know you cared,” Sophie responded quickly before she could think it through.

“Tell me about Mari?” Linh asked softly.

Despite what Sophie was hiding from Linh and what Linh was hiding from her, she couldn’t stop herself from talking. The words may have meant nothing as she rambled on about her life there, only meant to be a distraction, but she let them spill from her lips without hesitation. She talked of Tommy, Angie, and Mari, of her weekly game nights, of the regulars at the diner. The people she had come to love yet when the time came she didn’t hesitate to leave ‘cause she was scared. Scared of the permanence of it, scared she’d lose herself in the dream of it. And how when she burned those bridges all she felt was a gaping hole in herself. As she talked she thought of the people she had left in the Lost Cities; how she burned it all like she had when she was young and reckless and angry burning her mark, the moonlark, into the ground desperate to prove something, desperate to mean something. But now she was afraid of that, tearing everything to shreds, burning it to ashes because she didn’t know how to mean something to someone. She thought of what Amy had said and briefly wondered if she would ever be able to just talk about something instead of treating everything as a mystery she was destined to solve. Eventually, her words lulled Linh to sleep and she let out a soft sigh of contentment as she laid her head on Sophie’s shoulder. Sophie glanced at Linh, only allowing herself a quick look at her girlfriend’s soft and relaxed face before staring out the window watching the gravel pass, not allowing herself time for her guilt and sadness to rise. She wasn’t allowed those feelings. With every fiber of herself Sophie dreaded and couldn’t wait for the moment they stepped off of the bus into Kull, the town with as weird of a name as people.

An hour later, as the sun started to fall behind the trees and the sky began to turn dark, that moment came and Sophie found her entire body filled with anxiety. They made their way to the front, Sophie in front of Linh, her hand stretched behind her holding Linh’s hand like a lifeline.

They were the only ones getting off and within seconds they were left standing on the dirt road, the bus was long gone. The air was cold, and the wind blew lightly, tossing around Sophie’s ponytail. Neither spoke to the other, standing in silence, staring at the buildings in front of them. It felt like they’d break a spell if they moved, if they talked, so Sophie didn’t. But Linh did (a spell didn’t need to last an eternity in her mind, just for the moment that it was intended for). Linh squeezed Sophie’s hand three times, dragging her out of her haze to stare at Linh confused.

“It’s a human thing,” Linh said sheepishly. Distantly Sophie remembered Amy teaching her, three squeezes, “I love you”. Four squeezes back and Sophie had said, “I love you too.” She didn’t have time to think if it was a lie because with that she started walking, entirely on autopilot, the familiar route to Mari’s house ingrained in her mind. It was after hours, so there’d be no point going to the diner. So she dragged Linh down main street, taking a left about halfway down, and then it was another block til she found herself outside the door on the white porch of the bright mobile home with her whole body buzzing. It was almost too much to be there; staring at it again it was like nothing had changed. But something had, because she didn’t have a key, and so she knocked with all of the impulsive courage she had left.

Three rapid knocks.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five seconds.

The door opened with a creak.

It wasn’t Mari.

There was a man, about her height, hair pulled in a bun and silver bangs over glasses. He was familiar, why was he familiar? Linh drew in a harsh breath of air and squeezed Sophie’s hand as tight as she could. That was when the puzzle pieces fell into place. That’s when it all made sense. The man standing in front of her was someone she hadn’t seen in two years other than in the memories she had unrightfully stolen from him. The man standing in front of her, still with his signature silver, was Tam Song.

Amy’s phone buzzed next to her, pulling her away from rereading her homework question for the eight time. Ever since Sophie’s call and her following silence Amy couldn’t focus; she tried to distract herself, and pulled herself away from texting Linh and telling her everything Sophie had told her. It’s not my place, she would think. It’s not part of the plan. Her phone unlocked and she slowly processed the photo and message. It was a picture of Sophie leaning her back against the gas station with her hand holding her phone to her ear. It was just like her co-conspirators to be that dramatic they had to send a photo too.

-Operation Collect the Dumbasses-

Braincell Holder: You know we heard that call. Pure of Heart Dumb of Ass: I thought we said that I would start this conversation? No Thoughts Head Empty: Yeah well you took too long. Braincell Holder: Not the Point. The Mental Stability: And the Point? This felt too pointed, Amy thought. Way too pointed and directed at her. Her phone buzzed again. Braincell Holder: Having second thoughts? Only slightly, Amy thought, but no no this needed to happen. The Mental Stability: No Pure of Heart Dumb of Ass: Thank the fucking ancients we can move on No Thoughts Head Empty: We’ve got a Phase 3 to begin

Phase 3, which they already had planned, would be the hardest to set up. Everything had to be just the right timing and just the right place.

Incoming call from Braincell Holder

Amy smiled as she accepted the call and long red hair popped into the frame. “Where is she?” Amy asked.

The redhead grinned, “She’ll be here in a minute, you know how Mrs. Sparkly Justice is; she’s got meetings but she said she’s got a friend who wants to help.”

Amy smiled, their little band of conspirators and their plan was working better than she could’ve imagined.

“So,” Amy said, “Where do we start?”

[ravs6709]

Set My Heart Alight- Marellinh (Part 2)

Part 1. Part 2 (here).

Read on ao3 here! (its another 13k words, so you prolly should use it)

Another addition to Open Up My Heart (And Let My Feelings Fly Free), aka my Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint au!

Help this fic got to like 26k words but at least I finally finished it

Warnings: violence, some of the warnings from prev chapter but way tamer, temporary main character death, struggling to determine what is real (unreality, ig?)

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Hey, how'd your talk go with Tam?" Marella asked as Linh found her and sat beside her.

"It was fine," Linh replied. As fine as it could be, at least.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says that ve is lying.]

"Hey!" ve said, then realized that there were constellations that had been listening in to ver conversation with Tam. "It didn't even go that badly, I got myself answers, and he gave me a hug."

"Hugs are good," Marella said, nodding. "Guess it's not as bad as your sponsor says."

"I think she has a stronger sense of justice. Though, it wasn't like she said anything at all while he explained his situation."

"Are you satisfied with his answers? Or do I need to beat some more out of him?"

Linh laughed. "I've learned enough, maybe too much. It's been established that things will never be like they were in the past, but I think he knows now that he can come talk to me if he feels burdened."

"That's good," she said. "And you know… I hope you feel the same way. You can always come to me if you feel overwhelmed. I don't know how you managed the aftermath of the first scenario."

Ve flinched. So ve was going to have that conversation, wasn't ve?

"I don't mean that in a judging way, I promise," she quickly added. "It had to have felt awful. You grieved on your own, didn't you?"

"This wasn't really something I could just tell someone," ve said. 

"I know. But none of us would have blamed you, you know that. I don't think you're a bad person."

How sure can you be? How can you hear something like this and think good of me?

[The character, Marella Redek has activated the skill Hour of Judgement. ]

[Majority of the Absolute Good constellations do not agree with the judgement.]

[ Hour of Judgement has been cancelled!]

Linh stared at those messages in shock.

"Maybe it doesn't say anything about my own personal beliefs, because I don't have any say when it comes to the activation of this skill, but most of the constellations don't think you're evil. And those are the constellations, who enable the dokkaebi's games. Do you think you can believe me now?"

Marella looked at ver with shining eyes, her mouth pursed into a determined line. Ve wanted to believe her, when she stared at ver like that.

(Ve couldn't figure out why she stared at ver like that. Like she… like she loved ver or something.)

"You didn't sound happy when you heard that Tam was the sole survivor in his subway car," Linh pointed out, "In his case, it's a subway car, in mine, an entire aquarium. What's the difference between him and I?"

"Was his case an accident too?"

When Linh didn't reply, Marella continued on.

"I think that's what makes the difference for me. And I get it, he had to make a kill, so did I, I've also willingly killed people. But…"

"He grieves, just like you and I. He doesn't show it, he doesn't cry, but it weighs down on him. I've seen the effect that it has on him."

There must have been something about the look in ver eyes because she slumped. "I'm sorry, I know I said I'll trust him, I shouldn't have said anything."

"I can't blame you for doubting him, I understand. You care for justice, you care for the people who suffered."

"You do too," Marella said, bringing the conversation back to ver. "If you can tell me why you'd support him, it's the same reason why I'll support you. You don’t have to hold yourself to these double standards. You have regret, and you want to make things right, and that's what matters."

"Thank you," Linh said, even though ve couldn't quite understand this. Couldn't understand her.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths asks if it felt good to speak your mind to each other?]

"Was that why you lied to Marella?"

[The constellation, Creator Of The Eternal Flame wonders if it was really a lie.]

•~•~•~•~•~•

If there was one thing that was good about Tam being a Regressor, it was that ve felt less stressed when it came to the scenarios. And maybe it was because ve now knew the truth, but Tam was more willing to tell ver what his plans were.

"I'm going to go get an item that will make the scenario easier," Tam said.

"Y'know, Bangs Boy, there's a better item, right? It's even less risky," Keefe cut in.

"Really?"

Keefe began rambling about some kind of support item—honestly, ve had no idea what he was talking about, but at least Tam did.

"You can't possibly think something like that will actually work."

Keefe smirked. "It definitely does."

Tam crossed his arms, glaring at Keefe. Keefe didn't even flinch. It was kind of impressive, someone who was able to speak to Tam like that, even ve felt intimidated by his glares.

"Fine," Tam conceded, and Linh could see the way Keefe's eyes brightened. "Go with your plan. If it fails, we go with mine."

"I'll get going then!"

And moments like those happened quite frequently. Tam would have a plan, based on his experience from his past, and Keefe would shoot it down with a grin on his face, always making suggestions that Tam would follow through. Every once in a while, the idea that Keefe suggested would leave Tam wide-eyed, he'd be genuinely shocked.

The thing was, why was Tam, the Regressor, able to be shocked? He talked with Keefe almost as much as he did with ver, it was clear that they had some sort of familiarity with each other. If Tam knew Keefe from his previous regression, then he should have been aware of his plans. Why did Keefe even have plans?

During one of their more peaceful moments, when they were waiting for the next scenario to start, Linh decided to ask.

"Ever since my brother told me about his… regressions," Linh began, and Keefe’s lazy posture stiffened. He definitely knew about them. "I've wanted to ask if you've known him in a previous one."

It would certainly explain why Keefe seemed to know the future just like Tam.

“I haven’t met him before,” Keefe replied. “I am… I’m aware of his regressions, but I’d never met him before.”

“Did you know about me then?” Another person, but ve couldn’t really be as angry at him, they barely knew each other. 

“I did know who you were.” He sounded awkward, saying this, awkward in the way he was unless he was with Tam.

“How much do you know about me?”

Just how much did he know about ver? Was he also aware of ver fate in the other rounds?

…did he know who ver parents were?

"I… know more about your future than I do about your past."

Oh. But still, Keefe knew something , even if wasn’t about ver unknown past. He was here, and he was with Tam.

"Can I ask something of you?"

"What is it?"

"Can you please protect Tam? I mean, I think I can trust you to do that, you protected him from the Disaster of Floods. I just want him to have a life that he can look back on and feel happy." Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to ask, Keefe didn’t seem like he was a Regressor. Maybe it wasn’t good to ask this of him, but it was the only thing that ve could do to help Tam.

"I won't let him die,” Keefe promised, his expression uncharacteristically serious.

[The constellation, One Who Seeks The End is confused as to Keefe Sencen’s relationship with incarnation Tam Song. ]

Keefe looked up at the stars. "That's a surprise, can't go around spoiling you all yet."

[The constellation, Moonlark That Soars Through The Sky both agrees and is annoyed by that statement.]

•~•~•~•~•~•

◇◇◇◇◇

[Personal Information]

Name: Linh Hai Song.

Pronouns: Ve/ver.

Age: 24.

Constellation Support: Lady Of The Darkest Depths.

Attribute(s): One Who Controls The Floods (Rare).

Skill(s): Hydrokinesis (Level 5), Diverse Communication (Level 3).

Stigma(s): Great Wave (Level 3).

Overall Stats: Stamina (Level 36), Strength (Level 32), Agility (Level 40), Magic Power (Level 45).]

◇◇◇◇◇

I'm the One Who Controls The Floods, ve thought, staring down the waves. I controlled the water and went head to head against the Disaster Of Floods, a stronger version of myself. If ve was able to become that strong, so can I.

That was something that ve was able to realize long after that fight, after a long time of reflection. Was there a point where Linh Song was able to move on? There had to be, if that Disaster could control the water so effortlessly.

I have to become that strong.

Linh stared down the water, listened to the roar—the song that came from it. Ve closed ver eyes and listened carefully, listened to the timbre and harmony, heard the turbulent dissonance that would normally give ver a headache. But Linh was the conductor of this orchestra, the one in charge; ve needed to set a rhythm for the waves to follow.

Ve opened ver eyes and looked forward. 

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths knows you can do this.]

Linh nodded. A wave of ver hand; the water followed. A wave of the other hand and more water swirled. When both of ver hands moved, the two streams of water followed as if they were extensions of ver own self. The melody began to sync in unity, and it was—

"Beautiful."

The word was just a whisper, but it was enough for Linh to drop everything in shock, the water landing on the waves caused it to splash on ver. Ve whirled around and found that it was just Marella standing there. Instinctively, ve relaxed, even though ve was soaked in cold water.

"Sh*t, sorry, I didn't mean to distract you," he said, walking right up to ver. "You're drenched."

"Well," ve hummed, "may you use your fire to dry me off?"

"You aren't afraid of the flames?"

Linh took a step closer. "No. I know you'd never burn me. Not on purpose."

It was only when Marella's face flushed red when ve realized that ve was right in his face. Ve couldn't help but think that he really did look beautiful. With the yellows, reds, and pinks from the sunset lighting up his face, he looked even more so. He was always supporting ver, even when ve didn't think ve deserved it. Always cared so fiercely.

"God, you're so beautiful," Marella murmured, and ver eyes trailed down to the lips that uttered those words.

Linh traced a finger up his arm, and his breath hitched, even though ve wasn't touching skin. "You're bright," ve told him. "You're like a fire, warm and you've set my heart ablaze."

The finger reached his neck, then his face, and ve cupped his face. His skin was really warm in ver hand, and ve leaned ver head forward so that ver forehead touched his.

"Can I kiss you?" Linh asked.

A few heartbeats passed by. Whether it was vers, Marella's, or both, ve didn't know, but that didn't matter.

"Yeah," he whispered.

Linh brought Marella's face over and closed the gap, placing ver other hand on his waist. Ver eyes fluttered shut. He was so warm, and it was enough to make ver forget that ve had just been drenched in water. All ve could think about was Marella , and how good this felt. Ver heart was pounding; set alight, burning, and ve had never felt this alive in a long time. 

It felt like an eternity had passed before they pulled apart.

"I don't know why you like me," ve admitted, "but I'm really glad you do."

"Oh, don't even get me started," Marella said, "I have so much I can say."

"Tell me later tonight," ve said, and ve should probably feel more bad about blatantly asking for compliments like this, but ve wanted to know, wanted to see what Marella saw in a person like ver.

"Yeah, of course," he said with a smile. "You have to compliment me too though."

"Of course I will,” ve said, and then kissed him again.

Later that night, the group camped outside under the stars. With the apocalypse, Linh saw the stars differently. From interesting patterns now became cruel, divine beings. Still though, the light that those stars casted was heavenly, lighting up Marella's face.

"I often wish that this is all just one long nightmare, that I'll wake up one day and know that there was never a scenario, never an apocalypse," he said.

"I've heard that every face in your dreams is the face of someone who you've seen in real life," Linh said, "it's impossible to make up a face in your dream."

"I think I'd remember seeing a face like yours," Marella said, turning towards ver. "Is it selfish to also not want this to be a dream?"

"I don't think it would be," ve replied. "I'm glad you're here."

"Yeah," he agreed, rolling over to wrap an arm around ver, nestling his head under ver chin. "I'm glad I'm here with you."

And in ver arms like this, he whispered all the things that he loved about ver. Kindness, being willing to help—when all ve saw it as was an attempt to repent—being hardworking—because ve was afraid of being useless, ve needed to do something , because ve was still living—ver determination to believe in people, and he went on and on and as Linh listened, ve tried to imagine this version of a Linh Song that he saw ver to be.

Thinking of someone like that, that was someone who Linh wanted to be.

Ve returned the favour, taking delight in the blush on his cheeks as ve admired his intolerance for injustice, the way he could speak his mind yet was never mean, his strength, the way that he too, wanted nothing more than to help people. He laughed when ve admitted that ve found him attractive when he would glow orange from the activation of Hour Of Judgement ,  when his eyes glinted and he held his sword, casting his judgement upon those who deserved it. 

"I'm not going to lie," he said, "but when we fought the Disaster Of Floods and you walked right up to ver and gave that speech, my brain was flooded with how gorgeous you looked, even though that was not the time to be thinking of that."

Ve laughed. "It's about confidence, I guess. You, knowing that what you're doing is right; me, standing up for what I believed in."

He snorted. "I was just gonna say something about us being disaster gays or something, but that works too, I guess."

Ve grinned. "Your explanation makes sense too."

•~•~•~•~•~•

Their group had just finished the seventh scenario—out of so many, at least forty six, based on what Tam had said—when they received the contents of the eighth.

◇◇◇◇◇

[Main Scenario #8- A Necessary Sacrifice]

Category: Main

Difficulty: S

Clear Conditions: It's believed that the incarnations of the area have grown too strong. 

An incarnation within the top 20 must take on the role of the Demon King by wearing the crown.

Time Limit: 7 days.

Reward: ???

Penalty For Failure: Death

*There are additional clear conditions

◇◇◇◇◇

"Already?" Biana asked. "Didn't we just come out of one?"

"How many of these are there?" Dex asked. "Will there ever be an end to them?"

Linh wanted to know the answer to that. There were at least forty six, but who could tell if there were more? Fifty? Seventy? A hundred? And what about that debt the dokkaebi talked about in the very beginning? It had still never been mentioned again. Were the scenarios going to stop when everyone who was still living paid off their debt? How much did they even owe? Would the dokkaebi even stop the scenarios if they actually did pay off their debt to the Star Stream?

…did that mean they could be stuck in life-threatening scenarios for the rest of their lives?

No one noticed ver panic though, everyone too focused on the additional clear conditions.

◇◇◇◇◇

Additional Clear Conditions (Pick One):

The death of the Demon King.

The deaths of fifteen incarnations within the top 20.

◇◇◇◇◇

"Wait, what is this?" Sophie—who had joined them during the fifth scenario—asked. "This isn't the normal eighth scenario! There's no way the dokkaebi allowed for something like this!"

Like Keefe, Sophie also seemed to know a little bit of what was going on, though, not as much as he did. Ve didn't feel close enough with her though to ask.

The dokkaebi who had been watching over them just shrugged. ["I'm not in the higher up department, don't complain to me. Besides, I think this will make things more fun, it's not fun when you're too strong."]

Keefe grabbed Tam by the arm and dragged him off somewhere, leaving the rest of them to take in the clear conditions.

"So, what, we adapt to this stupid system and they kill us off because 'we're too strong?'" Marella asked. "Bullsh*t!"

"This is stupid!” Sophie continued yelling, “Even if the higher up dokkaebi allow this, you can't be telling me the Star Stream itself allows this!"

"What about the constellations?" Dex asked. "If they approve, would that mean anything?"

[The constellation, One Who Seeks The End says that the vast majority of constellations are not fond of what goes on in this area.]

"Is there no other way to clear the scenario?" Fitz asked.

Sophie shook her head. "It's either one person, fifteen, or everyone."

Linh reread the scenario over and over again. Sophie said it wasn't the normal scenario, but was this the type of decision that Tam needed to make time and time again? Did he ever have to choose to sacrifice a person?

"We have seven days," Biana said. "We have… we have seven days to think about this."

•~•~•~•~•~•

Keefe came back from his talk with Tam and told them all about the Demon King that they would have to fight. Keefe acted out as the Demon King and taught them how to fight it. It was so tiring.

In the moments between sessions, Linh walked around the area with Marella. The area around ver was less destroyed compared to other parts of the city. It was early fall now, the leaves were changing colours, and ve felt like taking a walk under the trees with Marella, just to bring a sense of normalcy, even if for a moment.

But then there were weird noises, and both of them were on guard in case there was a creature wandering. As they approached the sound, they noticed the lighting of the area change slightly, and they were soon able to find the source of it.

"What are you doing?" Linh asked.

Tam whirled around and faced ver with wide eyes. He had to have not noticed ver coming, if he was shocked. He was really deeply concentrated, ve guessed, if he had let his guard down.

"I was… de-stressing," he replied, and ve caught sight of the camera that was in his hand.

Ve hadn't seen the camera at all since the scenarios had started a couple months ago, and they'd only brought up the camera once. Linh had hoped that Tam would use it again, but knowing what ve now knew, ve didn't expect to see it.

⸢"But there's nothing worth taking pictures of anymore."⸥ 

Knowing that the world would inevitably be ruined, there was little to value. Restarting life all over again erased the value of life. Knowing that all possessions and memories of the previous life would never exist again meant there was no point. 

"How long has it been?" Linh asked.

Tam sent a questioning glance to beside ver, and Linh had to remember that Marella was also there. 

Did you tell her?

Ve shook ver head. I didn't. 

The words were unspoken, but they reached each other anyway.

"Have you just been carrying an expensive camera on you the entire time? Like, in your pocket?" Marella asked, oblivious to the situation.

"I bought myself the Inventory skill from the Shop," Tam replied.

"What the f*ck? That skill's expensive as hell! Stop hogging all the coins!"

"You should ask Keefe how many coins he has," Tam said.

[The constellation, Creator Of The Eternal Flame admits to having sponsored incarnation Keefe Sencen a large number of coins.]

"I thought you were my sponsor what the hell—"

As Marella started arguing with her sponsor, Linh moved closer to Tam.

"How long has it been?" ve asked.

"Not since my first round," he replied. "A few decades, at least, but I've lost count."

"It took decades to reach that far?"

He shook his head. "There are places in the world where time runs differently. When I lost you for the second time, I spent a long time training."

"Then why now?"

"I thought that… Keefe told me that I should focus on the present." His face was kind of like a scowl, but there was something soft about his tone that ve rarely got to hear from him.

Those two were constantly at odds with each other, but clearly they harbored some kind of affection for each other, if Keefe could tell him something like that, and Tam was willing to listen.

"I've lost too much of myself, I want to take back some of who I was. Learn to cherish what I have."

"Even if you're afraid of losing it all?"

Something flashed in his eyes, too quick for ver to figure out what. "Then it would mean that I should learn to cherish what I currently have."

Ve nodded. "I'm glad. Oh, and Tam?"

"Yeah?"

Linh hadn't mentioned it to anyone in ver group yet, so ve figured that ve should tell Tam. "Marella and I are dating."

To ver confusion, he looked surprised. Ve would have figured that he would have been able to expect it.

"Congratulations," he said. "I'm happy for you."

"You're surprised," ve pointed out.

"Marella was never in my previous regressions, and while I know your orientation, you’ve never shown interest in anyone."

"I'm Linh Song, your sister, but don't forget that I'm not the same Linh Song from your past." And that's why you can't ignore the people you have, because there will always be something new to learn about them. 

Tam nodded, understanding those unspoken words. "Do you want me to take a picture of the two of you?"

"Marella!" Ve called out, and she seemed to finally be done arguing with her sponsor. "Come here, Tam will take a photo!"

Marella grinned and came over, draping an arm around Linh's shoulder.

Tam held the camera with the focus he had when he was in a fight. He took a few pictures, using his shadows to play around with the lighting around them. Linh abruptly lifted Marella in ver arms—with a high strength stat, it became so easy—giggling at her shrieks, and Tam, without ver needing to ask, took a few pictures of that too.

When he was done, he fiddled with the camera, and then there was a large hologram of a book, pages turning, until it stopped on a page where the photos that he had just taken were displayed.

"Don't tell me you bought a skill for this too?" Marella asked in disbelief.

"That's just my attribute. I'm a Professional Photographer ."

"I'd say lame name, but whatever the hell you just did was cool."

[Incarnation Tam Song has given you access to add pictures to the scrapbook!]

"What's this?" ve asked.

"I was thinking… if something ever happened to me, you and everyone else should also be able to have this. The photos you take won't be as good as mine—for obvious reasons—and you won't be able to allow others to edit it either, but you can add photos to the scrapbook."

"Why do you think that—"

"Do you think I should tell the rest of our companions the truth, Linh?" He interrupted. "About what I am?"

"Um, what you are? I think we all know at this point what you did in the first scenario," Marella pointed out. "Unless you're going to tell me that somehow you know the future or something like Keefe does or some sh*t like that."

That last part was clearly meant to be a joke, but…

"You know that Keefe knows the future?" Linh asked.

"Well, yeah, he told me. Why else did I have to pretend to threaten you?" she asked. "Wait, he told you too?"

"Well, no, I had my suspicions and I asked him about it."

"Oh. Hold on, does Tam actually know the future?"

"I'm right here," he said, "and yes, I do."

Linh glanced at her to observe her reaction. 

She didn't say much, probably taking it in. Not just one person in the group knew information about the scenarios. Keefe, Tam (and ve suspected that Sophie did too).

"Tell everyone at the same time," she said, then turned on her heel and made her way back.

"She won't be mad for long," ve told Tam, then went to go follow her.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"I have something I need to tell you all," Tam said.

Keefe and Sophie traded a look, both a little wide-eyed.

"I know the future," Tam announced. "One of my attributes is called Regressor , and it allows me to relive the apocalypse every time I die in it."

"You do what?"

He explained everything, and based on the reactions, only Fitz, Biana and Marella didn't know anything.

"While we're admitting this kind of thing," Sophie said, "I know the future too. Do you remember that Apostle group that attacked your station back during the fourth scenario?"

They all nodded, most of them hesitantly.

Sophie took a breath. "Well, I was the one who led the group."

Everyone stayed silent, but it seemed like both Tam and Keefe already knew.

"That was you?" Marella asked.

All eyes turned to him. Ve knew that with his attribute, he was most likely to punish the people who committed bad actions.

"Well," he continued. "it's… a shock. And I'm maybe a little upset. But it feels like so long ago, and you didn't actually tried to kill any of us, did you?"

Sophie shook her head. "I wanted to join forces with Tam."

Linh looked to Keefe next, wondering if he'd say anything. Sophie, Marella and Tam looked at him too, but Keefe kept silent. Was he not going to say anything? Fitz and Biana looked at him too, except they had confused looks on their faces. Weren't those the two who had known Keefe the longest? Weren't they his friends from before the scenarios? Though, he only revealed it to Tam, a Regressor, Marella, who was necessary for his plan, and Linh, who had asked him. If it weren’t necessary to talk about it, would he have mentioned his knowledge to anyone?

"Does that mean you can find a solution to this scenario if you know the future?" Fitz asked.

"We'll try, but it's not that easy," Sophie replied. "The Star Stream doesn't really leave that many loopholes."

"What if Keefe uses that King Of No Killing attribute that he used earlier? Won't that make him come back to life?" Biana asked.

"No," Tam said immediately. "If he dies as the Demon King , that is how he will resurrect. That's if that would even work in the first place, since it would be too easy."

"Oh. Well, Sophie, if you're the leader of that Apostle group, doesn't that mean that you can do that weird thing with fake bodies or whatever?"

Linh remembered the talking head, and how horrifying it was.

"It'd have to be my true body," Sophie explained. "A false body means nothing if I'm still alive. We'll spend the next few days thinking, we don't have to do this yet," Sophie said. "Let's take a break from this meeting."

•~•~•~•~•~•

While their whole group was included in the top twenty strongest incarnations of the city, there were other people too who were included. They went around and talked to some of those incarnations, but as expected, no one were willing to step up for the role. And why should they? Every single person who managed to get this far in the scenarios had to fight to live, why should ve expect them to sacrifice their lives?

(But who, then, would take up the role of the Demon King? If it was earlier, then Linh might have done it without hesitation, but there were people that ve wanted to live for. There was Tam, who would break should something happen to ver, but there was also Marella, and ve didn't want to put her through the pain that was having to grieve for someone. 

But if it really came down to it, then maybe ve would, because ve refused to let the others die for this.)

•~•~•~•~•~•

It turned out that there was someone who was willing to take on the role. The problem was, nobody had actually agreed on it, their group was in the middle of a meeting when they all received a message.

[The Demon King is being chosen. The transformation has begun!]

Everyone froze. It was Fitz who reacted first, saying that they needed to hurry. They all ran to the arena where the Demon King's crown was, and Linh was met with a sight that ve hadn't expected to see.

Tam and Keefe—when did either of them leave the meeting?—were wrestling on the ground, flailing and hitting each other, the Demon King's crown in between them.

"That doesn't matter to me! I'm going to die anyway!" Keefe yelled.

"What!?" Sophie yelled, the only one able to react. "What is happening?"

"He's trying to become the Demon King !" Keefe said, tossing the crown towards Sophie.

The only he Keefe could be talking about was Tam. Tam… trying to become the Demon King?

⸢I was thinking… if something ever happened to me…⸥ 

No. He couldn't—

"What do you mean you're going to die anyway?" Biana asked.

"The incarnation, Keefe Sencen will be killed by the person he loves most," Fitz said, his voice more of a strangle than anything else.

" What?"

In the blink of an eye, Keefe kicked Tam and got up, while Fitz grabbed the crown from Sophie.

"I'm sorry," Fitz said, before throwing the crown at Keefe. Keefe caught it and put it on his head.

[The Demon King is being chosen. The transformation has begun!] 

Purple aura began to surround Keefe menacingly, his bright eyes burning dark and no no no what was this?

"Fitz, you—" Biana cried out. "How could you?"

How could Fitz allow Keefe to do that?

"I'd rather see one of my friends die than two," Fitz replied, voice low, and head downturned as if trying to hide his face.

"Did you know?" Tam asked, looking torn between throttling either Keefe or Fitz, shadows darkening the room.

"You knew about this?" Sophie asked Fitz, and now Linh was remembering what Fitz had said, about Keefe and being killed , "You should have said something!"

Ve had no idea what Fitz meant, but ve knew that ve couldn't allow this to happen. Ve swung a stream of water at Keefe's head to knock off the crown, but he ducked. 

"I told him not to tell anyone," Keefe said. "It's not like any of you had a plan in the first place."

And it was—it was true , but that didn't mean that he could just…

[ Demon King transformation is complete!]

Keefe grew in size, taller than everyone in the group now. Black horns and wings emerged from him, a stark contrast to the rest of his colourful attire. That purple aura stayed, and when he grinned, ve could make out fangs. 

"C'mon now, kill me!" Keefe declared, his arms spread wide.

"F*ck you," Marella said, but still, he began fighting.

[The character Marella Redek has activated the skill Hour of Judgement. ]

[The Absolute Good constellations agree with the judgement.]

[ Hour of Judgement has been activated.]

They all fought and fought, falling into the pattern that they'd been practicing all week. Even with that practice though, it wasn't easy, the Demon King— Keefe was so strong, and it took all of their energy in order to fight him.

"So, here we are, Bangs Boy," Keefe grinned. "It's the epic showdown that everyone who's aware of our stories has been waiting for. I gave you the chance to kill me last time, but you never took it. You better take it this time."

"Why?" Tam asked. "This isn't just about fulfilling your fate, you would have done this regardless. This is about protecting me, and why would you do that?"

This conversation between them felt so personal, but all Linh could do was catch ver breath and watch those two in action, as if the world was made up of those two and those two alone.

"I made a promise once," Keefe said, "I promised Linh that I'd protect you."

The words were soft, but soft as they were, they were enough to pierce ver heart and drag ver back into the moment.

No. No no no this couldn't be… did Keefe do this all because ve had him make a promise? Ve couldn't even tell what happened next, until Keefe's sword was knocked out of his hand. Tam's sword pierced his chest, and he laughed, laughed, even as he was interrupted by a coughing fit.

Keefe lost his balance and fell backwards, but Tam caught him and lowered him to the ground. Tam cradled him in his arms, and oh , was that how he looked whenever he lost Linh in the past? Was this the expression on his face? Was this how he looked like when he was losing everything dear to him?

(Was this the expression on ver own face, watching as everything went so, so wrong?)

"Why me?" Tam rasped, the careful mask of apathy he wore shattering like glass, tears bursting through the cracks. "Why was it me?"

⸢"Incarnation Keefe Sencen will be killed by the person he loves most."⸥ That was what Fitz had said in the midst of all the chaos.

"You've saved my life more times than I could count. It's my turn now to save you," Keefe said.

Linh closed ver eyes and looked away, not daring to intrude on this moment between the two any longer.

"But I never—"

"I'll see you again, Tam," he promised. "One way or another."

"Keefe, Keefe please!" Tam cried out.

A sob was ripped out from ver own throat, and ve only absently realized that ve had collapsed, and ve opened ver eyes to see Keefe fading into blue particles. Linh dragged verself to Tam, who was still kneeling. Ve grabbed onto him like a lifeline, squeezing tighter than ve ever had before.

"How?" Tam whispered.

How? ve thought, how could things come to this?

"We—" Fitz began, choking on his tears. "We have to keep going. It's what Keefe wanted from us."

In a blur of black, Tam had pried himself out of ver hold, gotten up and grabbed the collar of Fitz's shirt, shoving him until he was slammed against the nearest wall. Ve couldn’t find the energy to tell him to stop it, ve was tired, and ve was angry at Fitz for saying something like that.

"You knew," Tam seethed.

"I'm sorry," Fitz whispered, looking away. "I had to. He told me not to tell anyone."

"I don't f*cking care what he thinks! He's dead! If you told me, I would have found a solution!"

"Do you think I didn't try and find a solution? Keefe, who knows more about the Star Stream than even you do, knew that the prophecy that he received couldn't be prevented! What makes you think that you can do something? Are you stupid enough to think that you could have changed things?" Fitz shot back, his grief mirroring Tam's rage. “I didn’t f*cking want this to happen either!”

"Wait wait wait—what prophecy?" Biana cut in.

"The incarnation, Keefe Sencen will be killed by the person he loves most," both Fitz and Tam said.

Even though Tam had only heard it once in the middle of fighting, he seemed to have already memorized it.

"He received it after the previous scenario," Fitz explained. "The constellations wanted him to die."

"So what, the dokkaebi making this scenario because they want us dead wasn't bad enough?" Marella asked. "The constellations had to force it to happen?"

"The prophecy came first. The scenario is probably to make sure that the prophecy comes true as soon as possible. He was going to die anyway, so Keefe took it upon himself to make sure no one else had to."

"Prophecies can be overcome," Tam glared up at Fitz. "And I have extra lives, I'd still live."

"In a different worldline!" Fitz snapped, his hands landing on Tam's. "You'd regress! And Keefe knew that! Keefe knows more than you! He saved your life!"

Tam continued glaring at him, but all the weight behind it vanished and he slumped.

"How does he know so much?" Tam asked. "How can he know more than I? Not even the Prophet could know this much."

"If he knows the future," Linh said, "then he'll have to come back."

•~•~•~•~•~•

The next main scenario wouldn't come for a week, but not a single one of them could enjoy that small reprieve. Linh spent a long time crying alone, and when ve ran out of tears, ve went around seeing how ve could help anyone. Drown verself in tasks, so ve wouldn't be useless. Save more people to make up for who ve couldn't save.

Tam did a similar thing. The difference though was that he pushed himself through hidden scenarios, threw himself into danger until he made a careless mistake and got injured.

"Tam," ve whispered, tending to a bad wound on his shoulder for the nth time. Ve was pretty sure that supplies Lady Of The Darkest Depths had gifted ver were meant to be used on ver, and definitely were supposed to last ver longer than a week. "You have to take the time to recover."

"I need to get stronger," he said, and ve heard the unspoken words. I should have been strong enough to save Keefe.

"Who is he to you?"

"He is my companion."

⸢Who even are they? I've never seen them in my life!"

Tam glared at the Disaster Of Floods. "His name is Keefe Sencen, and he is my companion."⸥ 

"But who is he to you?"

"I don't know," he whispered.

"Do you love him?" ve asked.

"Yes," he said without hesitation, "I love him. I don't know the nature of my feelings towards him, but I love him."

And he loved you back , based on the prophecy that Keefe had received.

"I haven't… I don't think I've loved someone this much before, other than you. Without him, I would have never wanted to tell you anything, I would have kept my distance if he didn't worm his way into my heart. I wanted him to stay."

"I'm sorry," ve whispered, despairing for all the struggles that he'd gone through.

"I want to regress," he said, and ve looked at him, alarmed, "I want to regress and do things right, but I can't  because it means I'll leave you and this world, and I can't leave this world for the potential of something better, not when I'll be losing out on this. And he made me promise I wouldn't leave, no matter how much I want to leave, I can't do that to his last wish to me."

"Things will be better," ve said, resting ver forehead against his. "Things will become better. You have me, okay? So please stay, because I won't know what to do if you leave. Tam, if you willingly regress, if you willingly leave , I will personally find a way to cross worldlines, just as the Disaster had done—"

"No, you shouldn't, you'll become a Disaster—"

"Then don't leave, so I won't have to," ve said. Ve was only half-serious, but ve could see verself going through with that threat. "If Keefe has taught you how to live, then you are going to use that knowledge and you are going to live , whether you like it or not."

(And then ve would use him as a reason to keep going too.)

Eyes wide, Tam nodded.

•~•~•~•~•~•

They all waited for Keefe to come back.

Days passed.

Weeks passed.

Months passed.

A year passed.

They didn't know if he would come back, but they all held on to hope.

•~•~•~•~•~•

The scenarios were a little more difficult without Keefe around. Sure, Tam and Sophie knew information, but not like Keefe did. At least though, he seemed to have left Fitz with some instructions. Still, it was difficult, they were not as cohesive without Keefe's guidance, and making light of the situations they were in.

They'd make it though, they'd have to.

•~•~•~•~•~•

On the second anniversary of Keefe's death, a picture was added to the scrapbook for the first time in two years.

(Keefe's grave. That was what the picture was. The image had already been engraved into ver mind; ve visited whenever ve could, but no less than once a month.

But if Tam was taking pictures again, that meant he was finding hope, and if he could do it, then so could Linh.)

•~•~•~•~•~•

◇◇◇◇◇

[Main Scenario #30- Meet 'n Greet]

Category: Main

Difficulty: D

Clear Conditions: You've finally been deemed worthy to meet your dearest sponsors! Come to the Banquet Hall and mingle with them! 

Time Limit: 24 hours.

Reward: ???

Penalty For Failure: ???

◇◇◇◇◇

"Our sponsors?" Linh asked.

"We're going to meet the constellations?" Biana asked. "Like… the constellations?"

[The constellation, Ghost In The Darkness nods his head.]

"We'll have to look dignified," Sophie said.

"What if we didn't," Dex mused. "What if I don't want to dress up for them?"

Tam cracked a smile. "I'm going just as I am."

"Of course you will, you and that coat you refuse to get rid of," Sophie muttered.

"Is there a problem with my trenchcoat?"

"I like it more than I should!" she complained, hands flailing wildly. "When I saw you for the first time I thought you looked stupid with that fancy black coat that's always fluttering in some non-existent wind"—for emphasis, she gestured to his coat, which was currently fluttering—"but it makes you actually look cool and it bothers me because ■■■ ■■■■■■■ did not do you justice! Even I can do better than that!"

"What was that?" Tam asked, raising an eyebrow.

At the same time, Marella asked how Sophie "made that noise with her mouth."

"I… was not supposed to say that—wait, you didn't hear what I said?"

"That was filtered information," Tam said, and Linh had no idea what that meant.

"Oh, wow, okay then, I guess it makes sense, actually. You all don't know."

"Is the knowledge of the future that you and Keefe"—everyone's expression turned pained at the mention of Keefe—"that extensive that the Star Stream censored you?"

[The constellation, One Who Seeks The End is curious as to what incarnation Sophie Foster said.]

Tam and Sophie looked annoyed at the message, maybe worrying that the constellation was one of their enemies, before recognizing the name as one of their few supporters.

"I don't know what you two are talking about," Linh said, "but how about we make an entrance?"

Biana grinned. "Damn the apocalypse for making all the good clothes so expensive, but no matter, we'll go in with a bang."

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Oh, it's huge," Linh remarked as they found the Banquet Hall.

"Just follow me," Tam said, and they all nodded.

When they entered the Banquet Hall, Linh realized that there were way more constellations than what the messages had been letting on. It was almost overwhelming just how many of these beings there were. The other thing though was that… many of them looked human? Or humanoid, at least. Some dressed in clothing that would've been worn centuries ago, while others were in modern-day clothing.

…ve was not prepared for these cruel, anonymous beings to look so similar to verself.

Of course though, looking at them, you could immediately tell that they weren't truly human. There was a faint glow that radiated from each of them, just like the starlight they all casted upon the Earth.

As they sat down, various constellations passed by their table. They all took close-up looks at what Keefe and Tam's—because they were easily the two most popular of their group, both for their knowledge and their personalities—group looked like.

The first constellation that struck a conversation with their group was a woman with black hair in a hair net.

"You've come quite far considering the circumstances," she said.

Tam narrowed his eyes. "Vespera."

[The constellation, One Who Lost Her Heart is interested by the reaction.]

Fitz stood up in an instant, and before ve could realize it, Vespera was reeling back, a hand on her face, eyes narrowed in anger.

All surrounding constellations stopped their chatter, staring at their group and Vespera, who had just been punched.

"That's one way to make an impact!" Biana cheered.

After ve got over ver shock, ve had to admit, Fitz punching a constellation was an incredibly satisfying thing to watch. Even Tam looked impressed.

"I'll let that slide this time," Vespera said through gritted teeth. "Only for the sake of her son."

She turned and left.

"Oh god, Fitz, did you have to do that?" Sophie asked.

"It felt good to do that," Fitz replied, looking at his hand.

"Who is she?" Linh asked.

"That's the Prophet's second in command!" Sophie said.

Linh vaguely remembered a mention of a Prophet. "The one that betrayed Tam in his previous regression? I can't see a constellation being allied with an incarnation like that so… the Prophet's a constellation? Then why was she involved with your scenarios?"

"Constellations have their own scenarios to clear," Tam replied, "Minette becomes a constellation earlier than most, but she still has the scenarios to clear too."

"Minette?"

"The Prophet's name. Or at least, what she told me her name was. I don't think it's her real name."

"Wait, so ordinary people can become constellations?" Dex asked.

Sophie nodded. "A lot of them are. All you need to do is make a grand, noteable Story , and not have any constellations that sponsor you. It's harder than it sounds."

Oh. So that was why some of the constellations looked like humans. It was because they were once humans.

Then why be so willing to hurt other people? Why encourage the dokkaebi to kill humanity—both physically and mentally?

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths asks if something is wrong.]

Ve blinked, dazed, and looked around for ver sponsor. There was a figure in a red dress staring, a pleasant smile on their face. The constellation nodded.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths introduces herself as Mazu.]

"Mazu? You're Mazu?" Linh asked incredulously.

Mazu—the Lady Of The Darkest Depths nodded.

"Uh, who?" Marella murmured, seeming to not want to be offensive in front of one of the few constellations who unconditionally supported them.

"Chinese Goddess of the sea and protector of seafarers," Linh replied, "I'm not Chinese, but I've heard a little about her."

Ver head felt fuzzy and ve realized that this was another one of those things that ve had no recollection of ever learning. No matter how hard ve tried, ve couldn't remember anything from the times before ve was twenty two.

Sometimes… sometimes it felt like ve only began to exist at that age, as if ve was some kind of character, or something like that.

"I'm really glad to meet you," ve said to ver sponsor.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says she is also glad to meet you in person.]

Ve smiled.

Some of the group's sponsors also came: Creator Of The Eternal Flame (Fintan Pyren, Marella's sponsor), Ghost In The Darkness (he went by Wraith, Biana's sponsor), Great Tinkerer (Tinker, Dex's sponsor), and One With The Body Of Stone (Tiergan Alenefar, Fitz's sponsor).

"What about yours?" Fitz asked Sophie.

"Oh, mine won't come. Not that it's ungrateful, but because it's too strong to participate in a scenario like this."

"What about yours, Tam?" Dex asked.

Linh, Sophie and Tam all flinched.

⸢"I don't know who my sponsor is, their name is marked as '???' but because of them, I'm now a Regressor."⸥ 

⸢"Does your sponsor really never talk to you?" Linh asked, around six months after Keefe's death.

Tam shook his head. "Only once," he admitted.

"Really? When?"

"They confirmed that my death would have no impact on the world. Before that, I was unsure."

"When you planned to sacrifice yourself."

"It figures that the one time my sponsor talked to me, it was so I would die." There was a deep, bitter resentment in his words, and ve couldn't blame him. He had every right to hate his sponsor.

"Do you…" ve felt stupid for saying this, but ve wanted to hear his answer, "do you think your sponsor never talks to you because they regret it?"

"If they regretted it, they should have just cut ties with me. Even if they couldn’t do that much, they should have done everything in their power to keep you and everyone I care about alive."

Ve had to restrain a smile at his words, at the way he'd come so far from who he had been at the very beginning. But smiling would be cruel at this moment.

"Even if they did regret it," he continued, "I could never forgive them. They've lost that right after damning me to live lifetime after lifetime of this hell. I could never wish that fate upon my enemies, not even the Prophet.  And all my sponsor ever does is watch it all happen. A being who merely views someone's life as a story is someone I could not forgive."

His glare was directed to the stars, to the many constellations who did that very thing. Not all were guilty, but many were.

Only one message was sent.

[The constellation, One Who Seeks The End is listening carefully.]

Ve thought that this constellation was a strange one. They were a supporter of them, but only sometimes sent messages. And every message that they sent felt like they knew something, yet seeming like they wanted to know more. Maybe that was how they got their title.

Linh nodded at Tam's words.⸥

"Tam's situation is… complicated," Sophie answered.

Maybe they remembered that a person's stigma could only be given to them by a constellation. They surely would remember Tam's stigma, Regression.

"Oh, by the way, where's One Who Seeks The End?" Sophie asked.

The constellations at their table all traded a look.

"We don't know their identity," Ghost In The Darkness said, after a few seconds. "We don't know anything about them."

"I've never seen them in my previous regressions," Tam said.

"Nor have I seen them in ■■■■■," Sophie added. "I have a suspicion, but it hardly narrows things down even if I am right, so I won't say anything for now."

Someone then said something that changed the topic, and Linh was able to relax again. Ve could eat food with the people ve knew—and some ve didn't—and it could almost feel like things were well.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"That's new," Biana remarked. "Silver looks good on you."

Linh smiled, running a hand through ver hair. It turned out that dyeing one's hair in the apocalypse was fairly easy.

"It makes you look like…" Fitz trailed off.

"The Disaster Of Floods from the fifth scenario?" Linh asked, "I know."

That fight had been over two years ago, and while Linh couldn't remember all the details anymore, ve remembered the Linh Song with silver-tipped hair. Ve chose to change things up a little, and also dyed the front silver too.

Doing so felt right. While ve might not have thought of doing this without seeing the Disaster with it, ve still felt that this was ver own choice. And in the Star Stream , making your own choices became so much more difficult. Life or death? Morality or survival? 

So this, this was something ve didn't have to be forced into doing. And based on the way Tam's eyes lingered on ver hair, this was a choice that Linh Song was making for the first time.

•~•~•~•~•~•

◇◇◇◇◇

[Main Scenario #39- Cherished Memories]

Category: Main

Difficulty: S

Clear Conditions: Relive those beloved (or loathed) childhood memories. Differentiate between past and present.

Time Limit: 1 week

Reward: ???

Penalty For Failure: 

◇◇◇◇◇ 

"God, it's so annoying when I can't figure out if it's changed or if I ■■■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■," Sophie groaned.

"You shouldn't be saying things like this so openly," Tam warned, "what if the filtering disappears?"

"I honestly want it to. At least I won't have to choose my words carefully."

Tam hummed. "This scenario is familiar, but a little different, I think. I can't remember everything."

Before they could do anything else, blue lights shone down on each of them, as everyone began to teleport to wherever the scenario would take them.

[There is an error in the scenario!]

Everyone but Linh and Tam had been transported away.

[Childhood memories not found.]

Ve and Tam locked eyes, confused expressions on both of their faces.

"The Star Stream is good at unearthing hidden secrets," he said, "so why is it that…"

"Either there's some greater power that's restricting our memories, or we never had a childhood?" Ve guessed.

"We existed before the Star Stream," Tam pointed out.

"To what extent?" Honestly, ve wasn't really sure what ve was trying to say, but ve needed to consider all of the options. "Your sponsor has to have a lot of power to give you your stigma, maybe our childhood is related to the sponsor in some way. And the reason you can't remember your sponsor is the same reason we can't remember our memories."

"Are you saying that my sponsor could be one of our parents?"

That was weird to think about. If a parent made their child live through the eternal hell that was regressing, they had to be the cruelest parent to ever exist. "That's not what I meant, but don't you think that it's more likely than us popping into existence randomly?"

[The constellation, One Who Seeks The End wonders what you two will do next once you receive the answer.]

Tam opened his mouth. "I will—"

[Scenario has been modified to account for the error.]

◇◇◇◇◇

[Main Scenario #39- Heart's Greatest Wish]

Category: Main

Difficulty: S

Clear Conditions: Your greatest wishes will come true… 

◇◇◇◇◇ 

Ve was teleported away before ve could read the rest of what the conditions were.

When Linh opened ver eyes, ve was in a soft, warm embrace.

"Morning," Marella murmured into ver neck.

"Is the scenario over?" ve asked. "I don't remember clearing it."

The hands wrapped around ver waist tightened briefly, then relaxed. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"What?"

She pressed a soft kiss onto the back of ver neck. "There's no more scenarios."

Ve turned around to face her. "What are you talking about?"

Marella cupped ver cheek. "They've been over for a year now. I know it's hard to believe, my fight response keeps getting triggered by my own dreams, so I don't blame you. Remember when I punched you in my sleep, right here?" She put a hand on ver arm, and when she pressed down, there was a very dull ache.

…ve didn't remember getting injured there.

Ve tried pulling up the scenario window, but there was nothing there. She was telling the truth then?

"Is everything alright?" Marella asked.

"I'm fine," Linh replied. Ve trusted Marella not to lie to ver, but ve needed to know what was going on. "Just a really convincing dream."

"You're okay," Marella whispered, slowly rubbing ver back. "We're all okay. I promise."

The words were so, so comforting, and paired with that gentle touch and soothing embrace, Linh drifted off to sleep.

When ve woke up again, ve and Marella went to check on how breakfast was doing. They were in an unfamiliar house, but somehow, ve knew exactly where ve needed to go. Tam and Fitz were still preparing breakfast, and Keefe was there, attempting to distract Tam.

"Bangs Boy," he called out playfully.

How long had it been since ve had heard his voice? They weren't even that close, but he was close with Tam, and he had led them all through the scenarios safely, and that was enough for ver to care about him deeply.

"Hey, you okay?" Marella asked. "Is it about your nightmare earlier?" She followed ver gaze to Keefe. "Oh, yeah, sometimes I can't believe that he managed to make his way back to us. Remember Tam's reaction?"

Linh thought about it, but could not remember any of that happening.

Tam turned to glare at her, but ve could tell that there was little weight behind it. "Linh had a nightmare?"

"I'm fine," ve said. Ve remembered Marella's words from earlier that day. "I'm okay."

As breakfast was finished and they all began eating together, Linh couldn't help but be on edge. No day had ever been safe, every day was a day that they were uncertain whether they would live or not. Most days were spent either clearing the scenario, or when there wasn't one to clear, they all spent their time training in preparation for the next one.

But Marella said that there were no more scenarios, and even Tam looked more at peace. There was an ease in his steps, every movement didn't look practiced, and he didn't have his sword on him either.

…if the scenarios had been over for a year, why couldn't ve remember anything? First ver childhood, now this?

Linh kept quiet though, because things were okay, they were all okay, and if currently not remembering was the price for their happy lives, then ve would accept it.

Ve would have to.

It seemed though that ver unease was apparent, because both Marella and Tam would ask if ve was okay. Marella offered comfort, and Tam offered to talk about what was troubling ver.

Ve thought about that last one, surprised. Things had gotten better during the scenarios after he finally laid his heart bare to ver, but it wasn't like things had magically repaired themselves. Back then, and even now, it was Linh who had to take the initiative when it came to affection. Ve knew he couldn't help having a wall around his heart, and ve was thankful that he was learning how to chip away at that wall, but something so simple as an "are you okay" meant so much to ver, and ve never got to hear it enough.

Yes, ve knew that a lot of what ve had gone through was the same as what the Linh of the second or first regression had gone through. He knew ver trauma, knew that ve would be able to recover because that was what the other Linhs did. And clearly at least one future Linh was able to live, even without ver brother's support. And with his own trauma, he found it hard to care for people because he was always at risk of losing them.

Still though, ve was Linh Song, Tam's twin sister, and ve was struggling through a world that was determined to break ver. Ve had survived this far, and ve was only human, wanting for the people ve loved to acknowledge ver pain, even if it was a common one.

"Are you okay," a question that Tam only rarely asked, only when they'd all cleared a really tough scenario. When ve might have suffered a gruesome injury, and he would tend to the wound. In their group, he was one of their best healers—second only to verself, who had learned through Mazu's guidance.

That question was only asked when it was obvious that nobody was. So it felt nice when Tam asked it, when there was no danger and ve could so easily hear the concern in his voice when he had always fought so hard to restrain it.

"I'm okay," ve replied.

"Are you sure?" He pressed.

"I'm okay," ve insisted.

"If there's anything wrong, you can always tell me, okay?"

"I know."

A few days passed peacefully, and Linh learned a few new things about ver surroundings. The world outside was beginning to go through repairs. There was still so much rubble, remnants of the destruction that had happened previously, but looking at the clearer skies and buildings that were slowly being repaired filled ver with hope. Because this world that had been torn apart and broken down for over three years was still going on. So many people died and many more were injured, yet there were still so many survivors who worked so hard to make it where they were now.

Linh went out for a few walks, and realized the area felt familiar to ver.

⸢A small street, but not too isolated; connected to various large neighbourhoods. Children ran around at the nearby park, on the playground and the field playing various different sports. A large house stood out amongst the other houses in the street.

This neighbourhood is nice , Linh thought to verself.

The house that stood out to ver was big, but it looked like it would be nice to live in. It was unlikely that ve would live in the area—buying a house was expensive, the house was large and ve didn't know if ve would continue living with Tam, nor if ve would move in with a spouse.

Still, Linh looked up the area on a website, because it didn't hurt to fantasize. And after closing the tab on ver laptop, ve never looked up the page again, never brought it up with Tam, and only briefly allowed lingering glances at the house that ve would have liked to live in.⸥ 

With the scenarios happening, Linh never really got the chance to think of staying in a permanent home again. They were always on the move around the city, travelling to wherever the scenario needed them to be. Most of the time they camped outside, but sometimes there was a run-down house that still stood that they would take shelter in.

Ve wondered when ve would have thought about this house enough that ve could ask ver friends—ver family— to live with ver.

The bright green grass with flowers blooming, the children— children! There had not been many children—laughing, the scent of home-made meals, the colourful walls of ver house painted exactly the way ve would have loved to see, it made ver heart ache with longing.

Personalized touches were added to the walls: little doodles that Linh could recognize as Sophie's, fancy decorations courtesy of Biana, devices used to make life easier created by Dex, a hallway filled with photographs taken by Tam, and oh, why couldn't Linh remember these moments? Ve wished to remember how these moments had happened, wished ve could remember their smiles and jokes when these moments would have happened. 

"You good?" Marella asked, catching ver staring.

Linh instinctively opened ver mouth to say that ve was okay again, that she didn't need to worry, but Linh closed ver mouth. This was something so major, and ve needed to tell someone.

They won't be able to do anything, ve thought.

But wouldn't it be nice to know what had happened in the first place? ve argued back.

“I can’t remember anything that happened within the past year,” ve admitted. “I can’t remember when Keefe came back, I can’t remember when the scenarios ended, I can’t remember when I told you about the house that I wanted to live in—”

“Hey, hey,” she soothed, “it’s okay. You want me to bring Tam and the others?”

“No, don’t, I don’t want to worry them” ve said. Then after a few moments, ve said, “you can call Tam.”

“Okay, I’ll be back,” she said.

As she left, Linh stared at the photographs some more. Casual, domestic moments were being depicted, ver heart felt warm but it began to give ver a headache, like ve shouldn’t be looking at these. As if they were all wrong.

No, that couldn’t be right. Marella said the scenarios were over, and the scenario windows wouldn’t open. Ver powers weren’t working, and Tam was relaxed. Even if Marella was hiding something, ve knew Tam wouldn’t be able to fool ver. Even back during the beginning of the scenarios, when he’d hidden the fact that he was a Regressor , he had always been on guard, had stayed distant. The Tam that ve has seen for the past few days has been nothing like that, more open than ve had seen him in… ever. It felt like ver wish—

“Marella told me something happened,” Tam said.

Ve turned to face him. “Did you ever find out who your sponsor is?”

He nodded. “It’s ■■■■■■■■■■■■.”

“What? It’s filtered.”

“Filtered?” Marella asked. “The Star Stream doesn’t exist anymore, and I heard him just fine.”

But only the Star Stream could filter words…

“What about our parents?”

“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■,” Tam answered. “Linh, what’s wrong?”

“Something isn’t right,” ve murmured, “I can’t understand what you said again.” It felt like… it felt like ve was about to come to epiphany, but ve wasn’t sure what it was about. “Tell me what happened in these pictures.”

Tam and Marella both looked confused, but Marella indulged ver. “So we went out to ■■■■■■■■■■■ and ■■■■■■■■■■■■■…”

Linh stared at the picture that she was pointing at, and while ve had no idea what she was saying, ve could tell a little based on the setting. But the more ve looked, the less ve could see, and ver head hurt more. The faces in the picture began to blur until ve could no longer tell who was who anymore.”

“Hey, Linh, are you okay?”

Oh, ver entire vision was blurring and hands held ver waist to keep ver standing. “Linh, it’s okay,” Tam whispered, “it’s okay.”

It’s okay … god, Linh had really wanted to hear those words every day for over two years, and ve wanted to sink into the embrace. A moment like this, it was all that ve could have ever wished for, it felt so unreal—

⸢◇◇◇◇◇

[Main Scenario #39- Heart's Greatest Wish]

Category: Main

Difficulty: S

Clear Conditions: Your greatest wishes will come true… 

◇◇◇◇◇⸥

Oh, that was why.

“This isn’t real,” ve murmured.

No wonder why things were this pleasant.

“What are you talking about, of course this is real!”

“This moment is a delusion.”

Keefe was still gone, the scenarios still existed, the world was still ruined and they were still fighting—

“Linh, would we lie to you?” Tam asked, a his eyes flashing with hurt. No, ve could not fall for this.

“I’m in a scenario right now. I trust you, and that is why I’ve been happy here. But this is not my life.”

“Even if it’s not, can’t you stay?”

Oh, ve wished that things could be like this. But that was the issue, wasn’t it? Ve could stay in this ideal world where nothing would go wrong, because everything that ve wished in this world would come true.

Except that ve would always miss out on those memories, because ve could wish for many things, but ve could not plan out the entirety of ver own life. That was why things were filtered, because ve didn’t know what ve wanted. Ve didn’t know who ve wanted Tam’s sponsor to be. A villain that they could kill so Tam could be set free, or a person forced into this situation. Who were ver parents? How did they look like? Were they still living? Did ve even want to meet them? If ver heart couldn’t decide on those things, then there would always be a gaping hole in ver memories.

There was a reality waiting for ver, waiting for ver to make memories verself. A reality that consisted of the people that ve knew, and not these perfect versions that ve wanted to be. There were people waiting for Linh, and who knew how long they’d been waiting for ver to finish ver scenario?

“I reject this reality,” ve declared. “Take me back to the scenarios.”

[Are you sure that this is what you want?]

"Yes."

•~•~•~•~•~•

In the forty fifth scenario, things changed once more. It was a fight against Disasters who were attempting to attack the area. To ver surprise, the Disasters didn't fight immediately. Ve kept ver guard up.

But then Tam froze.

"What happened?" Sophie asked.

"Keefe…" he breathed.

What?

"That's Keefe?" Biana asked, asking the question that nobody else dared to ask.

They'd all held on to hope, and hope kept fighting, but three years of fighting was enough to wear them all down. They all wanted him back, but after three years, they began to no longer exist. The return of Keefe was something that could only happen in their fantasies.

Tam wasn't the type of person to say something like this without any reason. If this gulon-shaped Disaster really was Keefe…

The Disaster stood still, almost like it was trying to convince that it was really him.

"It is, it has to be him," Fitz said. "I believe it's him."

Ve and ver friends all stood still for a moment, until Fitz took a step closer. As he carefully approached the Disaster, the others—save for the newcomers Maruca, Stina, and Jensi who were understandably wary, and Tam, who was still frozen—stepped closer too. Fitz slowly put his hand on the Disaster's head, and it began to glow a bright yellow, and once it faded, there was a blond haired man looking at them with relief in his eyes.

"Everyone, back down," Keefe said, and both ver group and the other Disasters relaxed.

[You have cleared the 45th scenario!]

Ve stared at him. Was this real, and not a dream? Had their hope truly been worth it?

Keefe was… Keefe was back, after three long, excruciating years. 

Fitz practically tackled Keefe, then Biana, and Linh couldn't help but join the tackle-hug pile, because things were going okay , ver heart was so filled with warmth and gratitude.

"How?" Tam asked from afar, one of the few to not join their little pile.

"I told you Bangs Boy, I'll see you again," Keefe replied, and Linh smiled at the nickname that ve hadn't heard in a long time. "Besides, what's the point in knowing the future if I was just gonna let myself die?" Then, his voice went softer. "I never meant to take this long to return, you can blame the Star Stream for that."

"You're back, like, for good, right?" Marella asked.

"That's the hope, yeah."

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths is relieved!]

[The constellation, Creator Of The Eternal Flame welcomes Keefe Sencen back.]

[The constellation, One Who Seeks The End nods.]

•~•~•~•~•~•

They all spent a long time with Keefe, catching him up on all the things that had happened in his absence, but he and Tam were practically inseparable. With the way they constantly sat next to each other, Keefe laughing at Tam's expense and Tam rolling his eyes and hiding a fond smile, ve would have assumed that they talked out their feelings.

Then abruptly, he closed himself off again. Keefe tried to get his attention, but Tam brushed him off with curt replies and his posture was really stiff compared to how it had been recently.

"I didn't think you were the type to handle a rejection so badly," Linh told him. "I thought you loved him enough that whether his feelings were romantic or not didn't matter."

Tam closed his eyes, let out a breath, then opened them again. His fists were clenched. "It's not—I still don't know what I feel towards him. But right now, I'm angry, and I'd rather not lash out at anyone. I already know what I need to do."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Not until I have all the answers."

"But you're mad at Keefe." Not a question, but a statement.

"Yes," he said, and ve wondered what happened between the two of them that made Tam like this. "Once the next scenario is over, everything will be resolved."

It sounded almost like a promise, and ve was afraid to know what he meant by that.

•~•~•~•~•~•

The next scenario had to have been one of the easiest scenarios that Linh had ever done. Vaguely, Linh remembered that this was the scenario that had caused Tam to regress last round. But after Keefe said to not touch the Star, ve and Marella just sat in the room they had been teleported in to for three hours.

When they were let out, the other groups were teleported to their meeting point, and Linh saw how calm Tam looked, he was smiling and holding on to Keefe's hand. Keefe wasn't smiling though.

"Tam, I should tell them. I don't think they'll react any worse than you did."

"I was justified in my reaction, and you know it."

"You almost—"

"Tell us what?" Ve cut in, because ve knew that they would just argue and whatever they wanted to say wouldn't be said.

The two traded a look and went quiet. "We should sit down for this."

Keefe sounded uncharacteristically serious, and the others recognized it too, so they all followed him go an area that they could sit down.

"Ugh, Bangs Boy, how do I even say it?" Keefe muttered. "I wasn't even the one to tell you."

"Just say it."

"Most of the people in this group are characters from a comic I read called Knowledge Of Techniques to Live in a Calamity."

"Wait, you're actually telling them?" Sophie asked. "The filtering wore off too?"

Tam turned to glare at her. "You also read it?"

Sophie pursed her lips. "Yeah, just not all the way like Keefe did."

"What are you talking about?" Marella asked. "Characters— what?"

"There's this comic I read before the scenarios started," Keefe explained, "and in this comic, there was the Star Stream and a lot of you in it."

"So you're saying…" the words caught in Linh's throat, and surely ve was hearing things. "We're… fictional characters?"

Keefe nodded sagely. "Everyone her except for me, Sophie, Biana and Fitz."

"Fictional characters," Dex repeated, "what the f*ck."

Linh didn't believe what ve was hearing. "Is this some kind of joke?"

But Tam wasn't saying anything, he wasn't shocked like the rest of them.

"Tam, you knew too?"

"I learned just a few days ago," he explained.

"Can we go back to the fictional characters part?" Marella asked, running a hand through his hair. "You're telling us that everything that has happened is from some comic? The entire Star Stream , the scenarios, everything that has happened?"

Keefe nodded.

Linh's mind was spinning. "What does that mean for us? Who are we in this supposed comic? What is it about?"

"It's about me," Tam replied. "I am the main character, and it's about my regressions."

Linh took a deep breath, ve was shaking, and ve wasn't sure from what emotion it was. "So we're just characters? You read the story and allied with us because we're characters?"

Keefe closed his eyes. "At first, yeah."

"So you saved my life solely because I was a character?" Marella asked, dangerously calm.

"No, you were never in the comic."

Everyone kept firing questions at him, his plans, if everything was intentional, why certain decisions were made. There was one question that Linh wanted to ask.

"What does it all mean? Did our struggle ever mean anything if it was all just a story?"

The first scenario when Linh killed so many, struggling to live on until ve was forced to confront the Disaster Of Floods. Were they all just plot points? Ve twirled a stray lock of silver hair around ver finger, wondering if this choice that ve had decided on ver own was ever actually ver own choice. Did anything they did ever matter? Did their choices mean anything when they were living a life written by pictures and words displayed on a screen?

"Every single one of my regressions has been in that story," Tam said. "But not this one. Even then, we are all here living, we are breathing at this moment. Even if this moment now is just another set of words to a story, we are here, and this is our life. Our lives shouldn't need to have any meaning to someone else, the only person they should matter to are ourselves, because we are the only ones living it out."

"If it helps," Keefe murmured, "your lives did mean something to me. Without you, I wouldn't be here. And you all… you all are different from the comic."

"Are we different, or are you learning to see past the label of a character?" Tam mused. "We act differently according to the circumstances, I know this better than anyone. I'm not stupid enough to think that this much is enough for me to understand them completely."

"I'm so not going to get used to this," Marella muttered. "Wait, Tam, how did you even find out if Keefe wasn't the one to tell you?"

Tam looked up at the sky. " One Who Seeks The End told me. I don't know how they know, but I know they wanted to create a rift in the group."

"I thought they supported us?" Dex asked, confused.

Linh was just as confused. There had to be more to it than that.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"I want to ask you both something," Linh said.

"Is it about the whole character thing?" Keefe asked, scratching his neck. "I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if you really were mad at me for keeping it a secret. But uh, why bring Bangs Boy?"

Tam looked at ver silently, and ve wondered if he figured out what ve wanted to ask.

"Is this why Tam and I can't remember our past? Is it because we were created as characters? Tam was created to be a Regressor , I'm assuming, and because I'm his twin, I share that lack of memory issue."

"I guess it would be," Keefe replied.

"And there's nothing about my time before I was a Regressor , during the original turn of the scenarios?" Tam asked.

Keefe shook his head. "Nope, nothing. Nothing about your sponsor and original life."

It felt like there should have been more, something more to explain the blankness that came from thinking of a childhood, but… that was it. There was that answer that ve had wanted, even if it wasn't the one that would leave ver satisfied. 

There were still too many things to figure out. Why was the comic made? How did the creator predict everything? Or was it more complicated than that, and the author wasn't prophesying everything, but recounting it to those who were willing to read it? Who even was the creator? They had to know more of the answers to Tam's regressions, because they wrote the story.

They wrote down every struggle that had broken each of them down time and time again, the author had written their deaths, but in this one, in this unwritten chapter of their lives, they were still living and breathing.

"We've got a long way to go, right?" Linh asked.

Both Tam and Keefe nodded.

"We just need to keep going then."

Keep going until they found the answers. Until they found the ending to the scenarios and the apocalypse. For that, they could continue living, continue making their choices. Linh prepared verself for what was to come next.

•~•~•~•~•~•

KOTLC Taglist: @keefeinnit @impostertamsong @my-swan-song @subrosasteath

Want to be added/removed from the taglist? Just let me know!

[an-absolute-travesty]

Royal Screw-Ups

It’s time, the final chapter is here 

*Sobbing*

I won’t get too sappy on you guys here, since I got pretty sappy at the end of thing on Wattpad

But yeah. Thanks if you’ve been reading this long. I have more plans for this world (i have some plans for a few oneshots) but for this moment, we are closing out this story

If you’re looking for the rest of the story, it can be found on my wattpad @ohwowhatethis, under the tags “kotlc fic” and “keefex” on my blog, or under the cut on my pinned post

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or removed, just for this story or as a whole): @you-are-the-vacker-legacy @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlykeefitz @percabetn @vibing-in-the-void @sewersewersewercouch @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @enbies-and-felonies @blxckh0les42​ @rainbowtay-11 @callas-starkflower-stew @impostertamsong @appalyneinstitute1 @stars-and-splendor @anna-without-an-e

Chapter 8:

Word count: 3,677

Warnings: swearing, cassi-ass being an ass, destruction, fire, chaos, etc.

Three months of planning later, servants scurried around the property in preparation for the ceremony the next day. A glass dome had been built in the center of the property to house it.

Tam and Linh had arrived soon after they had their first meeting, luckily Tam and Fitz weren’t as lovey-dovey in real life as they were in their letters. However, Marella and Linh very much made up for it. The moment they met the guard and the princess had a connection, the sweet talk was almost too much to bear.  

In fact, all of them had grown quite close over the past months. Who knew low-level treason could bring people together so. 

Of course, not nearly as close as he’d like with a certain person, but closer for sure. Every week they met back up at the library to work out bumps in their plan, clean up the absurd amount of paper Keefe used in drawing out his first plan, or just sit and talk. Today would be their last before the big day. 

Keefe watched over Dex’s shoulder as he made his final tinkers on the device he had been working on.  

“How’s it looking Techmaster?”

“Eh, having more metal makes everything easier but...it’s one use only, so I can’t test it. We just have to hope for the best.”

“Well, I have faith in you. Your genius brain could make anything.”

Dex rolled his eyes. Keefe wanted to subtly touch him to see if his blatant flirting had been noticed, but it felt wrong to. He had been stuck in the dark for the last 3 months. 

Everyone else ran their lines around the room. Everyone besides Sophie who, as typical of her, looked half way sick in the corner. 

Keefe sat down next to her on the floor.

“Alright, what’s up Foster, have you acquired a stomach bug?” 

She giggled. “No...it’s just…” She sighed. “It feels wrong, y’know? I mean...I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

“You’re really doing the opposite of hurting people though, I mean you’re making them happy.”

“Not happy, hysterical. Yeah it can be happy, but not in the way we’re doing it. Trust me, it’s not fun to watch.”

Keefe thought for a moment.

“Hey...your parents have that griffin, right?”

~*~

The sound of a wedding march echoed through the castle lawn as Sophie was led down the isle by her father. Keefe guessed she looked quite lovely in her dress, Biana, who stood as her maid of honor, was looking at her more like a husband would than him. He stood frozen at the alter, Fitz beside him as his best man and everyone else interspersed within the crowd for optimal dramatic effect. 

Sophie reached him at long last. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t look sickly this time. Her face steeled with determination gave him confidence. 

The guy marrying them together was one of Cassius’ officials. Keefe didn’t bother to remember most names anymore, but this one was a...Moland? Noland? Something like that. 

Everyone winced in unison as the man started talking, Keefe’s ears began to ring a bit at the volume.

“Lords and Ladies, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous union of our young Prince Keefe Sencen and the lovely Miss Sophie Foster-Ruewen.”

Keefe only realized he was fidgeting when Fitz subtly reached out and held his hand down from where it had been tapping on his leg.

“We are honored to be joined by so many friends and family. The Goom and Bride are overjoyed you all could be here to participate in this most important occasion.

“There are few greater joys in life than finding someone we truly connect with. Creatives have many names for this, a spark, clicking, but let us say today what it truly is: love.”

Keefe looked out into the crowd, he caught the eye of Dex. The redhead’s brow was crinkled and his cheeks flushed slightly. He pat the pocket of his coat in confirmation. 

“Love is what these two young souls have found in each other. In love, our truest selves are revealed. We open ourselves up and break down our walls. The veil we present to the public is lifted so we can be loved for who we are, not who we pretend to be.”

Keefe struggled to not roll his eyes. He took a final look around the room, each person nodding as he met eyes with them.

“Over these months, our Bride and Groom have developed a strong bond. This bond will only get stronger throughout the course of their marriage. Let us revel in the joy and love displayed in front of us today. May we treasure these memories as Prince Keefe and Miss Sophie get set to begin their new life together.”

Keefe took a deep breath, knowing the next words out of his mouth.

“If anyone has cause to object the forming of this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

3, 2, 1…

“I object!” 

0.

Stina first. “This marriage was meant to be mine! She’s just a dirty commoner!”

“How dare you!” Fitz cut in before anyone else could. “I object because I love her! Sophie is meant to be with me. Maruca has admitted her love to Keefe, let her marry him!”

Biana gasped dramatically. “Maruca you snake! You knew I loved him.”

“You only loved his title!” She screamed, standing up to match the rest. “And Fitz, if you’re so concerned with what Stina has to say about Sophie, you should hear what Wylie has to say.”

Fitz walked in Wylie’s direction and he stood. “Why you little-”

Just then, Keefe heard it. 

Beep. Beep. Beep. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.

BOOM.

An explosion burst a small part of the glass dome’s ceiling. Sophie let out an ear-splitting whistle and the griffin flew straight through the hole as the glass fell. Screams erupted through the room as the animal landed on chairs and destroyed the alter. 

The screams only got louder as the room was lit up as bright as the sun before swiftly being plunged into darkness. Those involved in the plan used the opportunity to gather themselves at the exit. With the exception of Biana and Marella who, if all went as planned, stood prepared by the very flammable reception tables. 

The darkness lifted and people quickly ran out, some of the more stuck up nobles guided by guards. Once everyone was out safely, Keefe watched as a red glow started and grew. Marella wasn’t visible, but anyone paying attention could see the two sets of footprints forming in the grass.

People ran farther from the dome swiftly filling with fire. It spread quickly, but before it could reach the outside, Linh yelled. 

“Everyone back up!”

She pulled water from a nearby pond, making a large wave that, while it put out the fires, crushed the dome in its entirety. 

~*~

Two hours later, the guests sat huddled in the ballroom of the castle, many wrapped in blankets and eating soup the kitchen served to recover from what they had been through. Through the window, Keefe saw the Ruewen parents attempting to calm their griffin after taking a long time to wrangle it. 

They were good at keeping secrets, they brought the animal here in the first place. 

Just as he started crossing the room to go talk to Dex, he felt a heavy hand grip his shoulder.

Cassius looked at him with a glare that could kill ten men. He wordlessly guided Keefe in the direction of his office and the prince obliged. 

When Keefe walked in the door, it was messier than he had ever seen it. Even his father himself was disheveled, his typically slick-backed hair uncharacteristically sloppy and his tunic smudged with soot. He sat down at his desk and heaved a sigh.  

“Do you know why I brought you in here?” 

“Because my wedding was destroyed?”

“Because we are going to plan a new one. I need you to collect everyone who had objections to get this idiotic drama cleared for the records. I’ve sent for Councillor Bronte, he can officiate you. You will have a wedding today, whether you get the ceremony or not.”

“One problem with that, Biana and Marella haven’t been found.”

Technically the truth. They were to hide in the Queen’s Gardens until further notice, but the Guard Force didn’t know that. 

Cassius was silent for a moment, his face hidden in his hands.

Then he started convulsing.

No, not convulsing.

Laughing.

“Of course!” He got up from his chair in one movement. “Of course they haven’t been found! Why am I even surprised anymore.” He threw his hands in the air. “Nothing ever goes right!” He spoke through his teeth as he pushed everything off of his desk.

“MY MARRIAGE” He cleared a bookshelf with one arm, dumping the junk to the ground. 

“MY LEADERSHIP!” He knocked over his chair.

“MY SON!” He grabbed the painting from the wall and threw it down. 

“ALL DISAPPOINTMENTS!” He pushed over his desk, it landed with a loud crash.

“And now this too? Nothing ever goes right! No matter how hard I try! No matter how much work I put in! Everything ends in failure!”

“It’s a good thing this was my wedding and not yours then.”

The door behind them opened without a knock. 

“King Cassius, is this a bad time?” Bronte looked at the office with contempt. 

“No, now works.”

Despite not being formally invited in, Bronte sat down on the overturned desk and pulled out a folder of paperwork. 

“So...we’re trying to do an emergency wedding, yes?”

Cassius nodded.

“And from my understanding, there were 1,2...4 objections that haven’t been cleared?”

Cassius nodded again.

“Then I’m afraid I can’t perform a wedding. Legally or morally considering the fact that fate itself seems against this union. It is traditional, when a wedding goes so badly, to accept that something in the universe is not accepting of the marriage and call it off.”

“I understand, Councillor. However, I am the goddamned king and you will do as I say!

Bronte was unfazed.

“Actually sir, with only a month until the coronation you have resigned some of your duties, as is customary. You don’t have full control over the law at the moment, you signed a contract.”

He pulled said contract out of his pocket, displaying the signature, before putting it back in.

“Prince Keefe and you now have split control, as you had when you had a spouse. You both must agree if you are to override a law.”

Cassius hid his face once again.

“Go. Get out of my sight.”

Keefe turned to leave but his father grabbed him.

“Just Bronte.”

The man shrugged and closed the door behind him.

“Keefe...do you know why I was so eager to get you in as king?”

Keefe said nothing. That was one thing he couldn’t figure out himself. 

“I am a shitty, shitty, king. I was never made to rule. Your mother? Yes. Yes she was. Me? No. Not at all. I thought I could do this job, I thought it would be cushy, I thought I’d have all the power in the kingdom as well as riches upon riches without having to work. I was wrong.

“I wanted to train you to do this better than I ever could. I wanted to make sure you were going to be prepared.”

“No.” Keefe’s eyes started to water in anger. “You wanted to train me up to take your job as soon as possible. You didn’t want the responsibility so you decided to hand it off to your child. It’s just like...it’s just like Mom. You were the judge and the jury but you were too much of a coward to be the executioner or even a mourner. You hand off all your problems for someone else to deal with. You’re a fucking coward and nothing else.”

“I cared Keefe!-”

“NO YOU DIDN’T.” Tears streamed down his face. “You never cared about me, you never cared about Mom, you never cared for anything or anybody but yourself. 

“I don’t love Sophie and I never will, but you tried to make me marry her because you loved the idea of the strong son with a quiet woman. That shows how much you care.”

“It was what I thought was best.”

“WELL YOU WERE WRONG.”

Keefe walked out and slammed the door. 

~*~

Keefe went to his room and sobbed. He rarely indulged himself in crying but today was one of the days he let himself. It was maybe an hour later, when he was out of tears and just laid staring up at his ceiling, that he heard a knock on the door.

When he opened it, no one stood there. Just a small note in scratchy handwriting. 

“Meet us at the library, midnight”

~*~

Keefe carefully sneaked through the castle halls, only the candle he held lit his way. He slowly cracked open the library door.

“SURPRISE!”

Suddenly a whole group of people attacked him in a hug, rainbow lights filled the normally dull room. 

“W-what is all this?”

“It’s a surprise party silly!” For the first time since he’d seen her, Sophie looked truly happy. “We don’t have to get married! And we got out of it without any serious injuries.”

Fitz pulled him over to a table. “C’mon, Bi stole some leftover cake no one ate from the kitchens.”

He looked around for Dex hoping to see his beaming smile and instead saw him sitting solemnly in the corner. He didn’t look Keefe’s way. 

“Hey Fee, are you okay?” Apparently Fitz just now noticed his still puffy face.

“Yeah um...just my dad being a jerk again. Don’t worry about it.”

Fitz shrugged it off, he knew about jerky dads.

Or he used to, anyway. That bastard Alden ran away a long time ago. 

Keefe tried to partake in the festivities but he found it hard. He was going to be king in a month, and hopefully a good one at that. Just about anything was better than Cassius. He should be celebrating right now. But...there was still something bothering him. 

It was approaching the wee hours of the morning as people slowly trickled out. Wylie had long since dropped the rainbow lights. They had been celebrating for hours, Dex was silent nearly the whole time. 

“Alright.” Fitz said through a yawn. “I’m tapping out. Night Fee. Last one standing has to clean everything up.”

Keefe nodded. When he finally left the room and they were all alone, he approached Dex. Still silent in the corner.

“Okay, what’s going on Techmaster? You seem down.”

“No it’s just...it’s hard to explain.”

“Take your time, if you’d like.” Keefe sat down criss cross in front of him.

His lips went pouty in a way that made Keefe realize he was staring at his lips.

“You’ll think I’m weird. And clingy. And jealous. Honestly I shouldn’t even be saying any of this right now but I make bad decisions at 3 A.M. I guess.”

“Hey, you can tell me anything.” Keefe started to reach his hand out to Dex before remembering he shouldn’t read his emotions. Dex grabbed it before he could pull away. A lot of sadness and hurt there. He quickly stopped reading, though their hands stayed locked. 

“It’s just...there’s this person. This guy. And...and I thought maybe he liked me but now I think he has a boyfriend. I’m not sure though.”

Keefe’s heart dropped. “Well...boyfriend status can be changed.”

Dex chuckled. “I don’t know, they have nicknames for each other and everything.”

“Sounds serious.”

“Looks serious.”

It was silent for a moment, then Dex spoke.

“Look...don’t worry about it, alright? It’s really no big deal. I’ll get over it, I guess.”

“Maybe he likes you back.”

“I highly doubt it. I’m...I’m not good enough for him. I’m just a servant. He deserves someone better.”

“Why does being a servant mean you’re bad? I’ve met some nobles that are real assholes. You’re way better than all of those fuckers.”

Dex laughed again, wow Keefe could listen to that forever. 

Dex sighed. “You know what? Screw it.”

He seemed to steel himself before saying his next sentence. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. 

“Are you dating Fitz?”

“What?” Keefe laughed awkwardly. “No, no, no. He’s just a friend.”

“Oh. Then...who were you talking about at the gardens? I- I thought it was Fitz and you guys got together and-”

“No, goodness no. Fitz is great and all but...well he’s just not my type. And he’s been dating Tam for a while now.”

“Oh I uh...I didn’t notice.” Dex’s face flushed furiously. “Who were you talking about then?”

Keefe met his eyes. “Depends, who were you talking about?”

He didn’t answer but his silence spoke more than any words could.

Keefe scooted closer and cupped Dex’s face in his hand. He looked into the boys periwinkle eyes.

“Dex, can I kiss you?”

“Please?”

And they did.

When Keefe heard descriptions of kissing the same gender, they always said that it felt wrong somehow. But this...this only felt right. Like he had been waiting his whole life for the moment when he met the gardener boy’s cracked lips. They weren’t soft, and the kiss was a bit awkward, but it just felt...correct. Keefe chased the kiss slightly when they finally had to pull away. 

A shy smile spread across Dex’s face.

Keefe leaned back in.

~*~

Keefe walked out onto the newly-built stage in front of the castle and looked upon his people. His ceremonial robe was itchy and too large for him.

Cassius was no where to be seen. He had just...run away. The day of the wedding was the day he broke. The kingdom had been sovereignless for the last month, coronations couldn't be rushed. 

Typically the previous king would place the crown upon the head of the new ruler. Because Cassius seemed to run away in the night with nothing more than a clump of riches, Keefe got to choose who would crown him. 

“Friends and subjects of the Kingdom of Eternalia,” Oralie started. “Today, we crown a new ruler. A ruler to put the people first. A ruler who will not sleep until every one of his people is fed. A ruler to unite us.”

Keefe never realized how long winded Oralie was. Looking into the crowd, he spotted Sophie. She wore a sour expression.

Sophie never was a fan of Oralie, she wouldn’t tell him why. 

“Prince Keefe has shown a care for his people deeper than any king before him.”

She could say that again. Keefe found Dex in the crowd, absolutely beaming.

“In the time I have had the honor of teaching him in my lessons, he has shown a willingness to learn. An ability to adapt. And a knowledge of the system as well as its successes and failures deeper than anyone else his age.

And yes, it is truly a shame that a king must be crowned this young, but I have no doubt that in time he will do right by our great kingdom.”

Oralie walked over to him, her pink flowy dress trailing behind her. She picked up the ceremonial crown off the pillow that a servant was holding.

“Prince Keefe of Eternalia, do you promise to uphold the law and do what is right for your people to the best of you abilities?”

“I do.”

“And do you promise to preserve the honor of our nation?”

“I do.”

A loud voice came from the crowd.

“AND DO YOU PROMISE TO NOT LET CASSI-ASS BACK INTO THE THRONE ROOM?” Keefe could tell it was Marella, but no one else had to know that.

He cracked a smile. “I do.”

Oralie chuckled too.

“In that case, Keefe Sencen of Eternalia, with this crown I deem you King of Eternalia. May you have a long and peaceful reign.”

The heavy crown was placed upon his head. The crowd cheered and chanted, his friends yelled the loudest. Keefe saw as Fitz lifted Biana on his shoulders, they all hugged and screamed excitedly. 

Who he noticed most of all was Dex. His bright smile in that moment was worth everything he’d been through. 

Maybe he had found someone he didn’t mind being with.

~*~

Like most days, it was a somewhat quiet day at the castle. 

Keefe looked up from his painting to study the gardens, once called the Queen’s Gardens, but that was ages ago. The wall that once surrounded the beautiful landscape was knocked down a very long time ago. 

Keefe smiled as he spotted Dex tending to some ivy that had grown on one of the ancient statues. Even being a king couldn’t keep his husband from assisting the gardeners. 

Tomorrow, some old friends were visiting. That in itself wasn’t particularly special, as they visited at least twice a year (usually more), but tomorrow was special because it was the anniversary of the Great Wedding Destruction as historians had come to call it. 

How many years had it been? 300? 400? One tends to forget. 

After 50 years or so, they admitted to planning the whole event. By then, Keefe had already convened with the councillors to pass same gender marriage and gotten married to Dex. The law couldn’t exactly do much, it had been a while and no one was injured so any fear of being charged with treason was history.

A few minutes later, Dex trudged into Keefe’s art studio. 

“Hey lovey, do you know where I put the high-power garden clippers?”

“I hope in your lab, but you might want to check the kitchens.”

“Why would they be in the kitchens?”

“Heard some buzzing coming from there and last time I saw the nieces they had frosting all over their faces.”

Chaos ran in the Dizznee family. 

Dex sighed as they heard a loud bang followed by an “Oops.” from downstairs. 

“Gosh if Rex doesn’t pick up his children soon...I won’t do anything but I’ll be sour about it.”

Keefe chuckled. “You might want to go check on them, wouldn’t want them to break your invention. If they haven’t already.”

Dex hummed noncommittally. “Whatcha drawing?”  

“Just a boring landscape...that happens to include a dragon.”

Dex leaned over the easel. “It’s a very pretty boring landscape that happens to include a dragon.”

“Thank you very much, dearest.” Keefe leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “Now you may want to actually check on the girls. I don’t think Elwin can heal severed fingers.”

“Yeah, okay.”

As he walked from the room that used to be Cassius’ office he yelled, “Emily! Leah! Please don’t be killing each other-”

Keefe just smiled. He did that a lot nowadays. 

He hoped these days would last forever.

[stellarune]

(Part 2. Please let me know if you want more because these are really fun to make, but I don’t want to take up your time/askbox if you don’t like them.)

Tam wakes up slowly and even then he isn’t really sure he’s quite awake. His head’s a bit foggy and wherever he is doesn’t feel farmiliar... then again, he hasn’t quite opened his eyes yet, so maybe it’s just his head playing tricks on him.

And while he certainly doesn’t want to open his eyes quite yet, the way his right arm is draped over a foreign object is making him too curious to resist.

It takes a few blinks for the fuzzy shapes to become solid ones.

Slowly, Tam’s eyes follow his elbow up to where his forearm and hand lay rested in... someone’s lap?

“I slept on the floor, if that’s why you’re hitting me with all that wonder, Bangs Boy.”

Following the torso up with his eyes, Tam is greeted with the sight of Keefe who, no doubt given how grumpy he looks, isn’t lying. His eyes are still looking at the book in his hands and he’s leaned back against the headboard. It’s almost like Tam isn’t even there.

Tam clears his throat, trying to remember what exactly happened last ni- oh.

Keefe turns to him- which Tam hates because not only has he realized he probably made an idiot of himself last night, but there’s zero question that he definitely has a raging bedhead. And morning breath. Oh no.

“You good, dude?” Keefe questions.

Holy shit please stop looking at me.

Tam’s embarrassment is only worsened by how awake and out together Keefe seems to be. He can feel his cheeks turning pinker.

Tam clears his throat and nods before realizing he should probably apologize or something. “Yeah- uh-“ he clears his throat again- “and I’m sorry for... uhm, last night.”

Keefe’s face doesn’t change from his blank expression and already wide eyes. He shrugs. “All good. Better you came here instead of lost your shit without anyone around to help. How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” It’s at this point that Tam is realizing he should probably either sit up or, at the very least, take his arm off of Keefe. But he doesn’t exactly have anywhere else to put it and he knows the second he sits up he’s going to get a head rush. He doesn’t move yet.

“Your fingers?”

“Huh?”

Keefe grumbles and sets his book beside him- probably on a nightstand- before gently picking Tam’s right hand up. He holds it like if he makes one wrong move the bones will shatter into a million pieces.

Tam forces himself for focus on his still purpleish-black fingers. They look like the have no blood in them, but they feel normal. He tells Keefe the former.

“That’s good.” Keefe puts Tam’s hand back down, but doesn’t let go of his fingers and it takes all of Tam’s mental strength not to stare at the way Keefe is almost holding his hand.

It takes so much mental strain, in fact, that he almost misses when Keefe starts talking again.

“Elwin said that they seemed fine. All the blood is circulating fine.” Keefe is playing with them now. “But, he’s wondering if you have any shadowflux stored in them? He said that’s probably why yiur nails turned black- you stored shadowflux in your fingers too long- or, that’s what he thinks, at least.”

Tam thinks for a moment before answering. “I don’t think so... it should’ve all gotten out the last time I did it.”

Granted, the last time he’d let the shadowflux into his hands so he could use it easier was when they were fighting over Keefe with Gisela so he’d needed a lot. Still... he was pretty sure he’s used it all up.

“You’re sure?” Keefe asks. Stupid Empaths.

“I said I think.” Tam huffs, before slowly taking his hand away from a Keefe’s and pushing himself into a seated position.

As expected, everything goes dark and he can’t see for a minute. Thankfully, the boy next to him doesn’t say anything. He can probably feel the dizziness.

“What time is it?” Tam changes the subject in hopes of forgetting about the night before.

Keefe looks to his side. “Almost 12.”

“Fuck. Linh’s probably freaking out.” He reaches into the pockets of yesterday’s pants, but they come back up empty handed.

“She knows you’re here.” Keefe chuckles before Tam can completely lose his mind. “Elwin called Tiergan just after you took the sedative, remember? And she called me not that long ago to ask how you were doing.”

Tam isn’t sure how to respond to that. “Oh.”

Keefe snorts before reaching a hand over to Tam’s hair.

Right...

“Damn, Tam-Tam. I didn’t know you had such a serious bedhead. Your bangs aren’t even in your eyes.” He’s laughing now. Like he thinks it’s funny that he can see Tam’s forehead.

Tam’s face gets hot again, but he’s already intruding enough, so instead of asking for a brush or comb he reaches up to his head and attempts to smooth down the hair.

“You’re gonna scratch your scalp off if you keep trying to brush your hair with your creepy Shade hands like that.” Keefe comments, however he makes no move to give Tam an alternative option.

Tam stays silent and is saved from having to come up with a response thanks to the door being kicked open. The sound it makes when it hits the wall is so loud he practically jumps out of his skin.

“Not that I don’t enjoy listening to you two get along for once,” Ro sounds bored, “but Elwin just made lunch and he wants to know if he should bring it up here or if you two wanna come down and eat at the table- which he won’t be at because he has to continue making Bangs Boy’s medicine.”

Tam isn’t sure what to be more shocked at- the fact that Elwin made him lunch, Ro calls him nicknames too, or that he needs medicine for... something.

“I’ll bring it up.” Keefe answers before Tam can really get a grip on everything. He swings his legs over the side of the bed and his stride is so long that he’s at the door within a minute.

Before he leaves however, he turns back to Tam. “Bathroom is two doors down and my hairbrush is by the sink, on the far left.”

And then he and Ro are gone.

(yes, i love them p l e a s e keep them coming i am l i v i n g for this)

this is. adorable ?? and also keefe just stopping his teasing bc he knows scary powers ??? y e s  i love that sm

@a-lonely-tatertot