#warning that this is kind of sad

[ccaptain]

   ' ━Ah, so that's your brand new hiding place. '

   A pair of familiar, inadvisable shoes seemingly materializes out of thin air. There's a grin on the man's face as he bends down to eye level, red hues exploring the hiding space his stray snuck in and slowly turning on the side of incredulous concern.

   ' How in the hell did ya managed to get in here? You're taller than me, and almost as bulk, too! Only someone like Brother Hanu could get cramped in here, and even he... '

   They both know how. the Enigma doesn't answer him, limiting himself into quietly staring at his adoptive father as the playfulness in his voice disappears.

   ' One of these days, huh? ' A sigh. ' Come on- scoot over, 'm coming in. '

   There's a long pause. Kaeya doesn't move- but he resumes speaking, a tad on the side of incredulous.

   ' Dad... It's too big for both of us, We'll both be stuck if you come in. '

   ' That so? ' The man named Gallagher sighs with relief, chuckling in the same breath. ' Right. Would have been worth a shot, though- look who's speaking again. '

   It rips a chuckle out of him, for the way it always works- his dad is never afraid to do something scandalously funny to shock him out of overthinking. This includes trying to reach for him in a small, battered metal closet.

   Sometimes, it's just a thing that needs to be done.

   There's a can of something similiar to SoulGlad in violet-hued fingers, the comfortable silence, and his father's leg pressed against his as they sit with their backs on the wall. 

   A drop of condensation comes in contact with his thumb, unfelt. This is where Enigma breaks the silence.

   ' Dad... '

   He hesitates, a million questions in his mind. He picks the closest one, reels the others in.

   ' This feeling of emptiness... when will it stop? I thought it was going to go away on his own, but it never did. Never does. '

   There's an awry sound coming from his side. ' Hard to say, ' he starts, the movement that turns his face into a small grimace of sympathy. ' 'm kinda afraid that you put yourself into a bad situation, kid. '

   ' I did? '

   ' Yup. This... ' He gestures at Kaeya entirely, careful, ' avatar that you took, the one you told me belongs to your friend... you're really not supposed to do that. Take his looks, I mean- it just makes everything more complicated than it needs to be. Adds a whole lot of weight where there shouldn't be. Kinda jumbles everything that should be simple... ' 

   His dad trails off, irises taking on the looks of his stray without the irony shining in his eyes.

   ' You still haven't told me why ya picked him, out of all traits you could have taken. Of the amalgamate you coulda been. '

   No- no, he has not. The reason only makes sense in his brain, only tie together when Kaeya Alberich has been in the life of someone for a while. And Kaeya Alberich never got to know his father at all.

   His mouth opens, words lost. Impostor closes it, opens it again, shakes his head almost helplessly, the faint buzz of confusion starting behind his eyes before a warm hand ruffles his hair, stays in place over mussled cobalt locks.

   ' Don't sweat it, ' the man that is his father tells him, a lopsided grin on his face. ' As long as it makes sense to you, it's alright. You gotta solve this emptiness thing yourself- I can't help you much, here. '

   A few pats on his dusty behind, and his dad is up and going again. Kaeya shakes his head at the hand being offered to him, signaling that he'd like to be alone and in here a little longer.

   ' You gotta be glad we have a lotta time to think about stuff, no? 'is the last thing he tells Kaeya before he's out, leaving a wink and the bark of a laughter behind.

   and a cold can of soda, untouched.

   The hut is empty. There's nobody else but him, and the unheartly silence of the abandoned planet hs picked as his residence.

   Kaeya's digits follow the jagged edges of his newest wound, a gaping hole where pale diamond should be. The skin has been broken like porcelaine, long cobalt strands trying to hide the lack of eye and the emptiness where skull and human gore should be.

   Gray materia floats around his head, trying to recompose him and shoo his fingers, foreign, cold objects, away from the problem. But the wound is fresh, terribly big, and the effort requires an addictional component to speed up the healing factor. 

   The surviving eye is as faulty as the one he took from Kaeya Alberich: all he sees are shadows dancing out of his reach, the blurry, darkened form of the table, the chairs, the kitchenette and the items he so loves to decorate having become hostile obstacles he has to avoid.

   In the corner of the main room, there are two big tanks of the liquid coming from the Misty Sea- it's what he needs to fix the missing side of his head.

   It's what he needs. A few steps ahead, and he'll close his digits around the neck of one. Feel around the tab in the bathub, plug it in, and pour.

   Simple actions to restore himself.

   But he thinks. And thinks. And he can't do this.

   He can't do this.

   He just can't do this.

   He can't move. 

   But he has to.

   The next minutes, perhaps hours, perhaps days, are a blur. All he knows is that, when he comes to some sort of consciousness again, his fingers are still tight around the plastic neck of a much lighter tank, the smell of the restoring liquid is right under his nose. His location seems to have changed.

   Kaeya doesn't remember doing all this. All that he knows is that the ceramic of the bathub is so wonderfully cold and grounding against his warm, cracked skin, and he doesn't want to move. He has no will to, but something in his body has reacted to try and make him fix himself.

   But he can't do it. His legs feel like lead, like cement.

   He can't do it.

   He wants to.

   But he just can't do it.

   Triumph and progress feeds people with some sort of frenzy, an injection of adrenaline putting them on top of the world, wanting to shout to look at them! They can accomplish ANYTHING!

   But he isn't a person. It makes sense that the little energy he had after completing his mission has oozed out of him from the gaping wound.

   An injury won't kill him- simply slow him down. His dad and mentor said that he has all the time in the world to do what he needs and wants to do, figure out when the emptiness ends.

   Today, it doesn't. It presses him against the cold surface, and he's happy to allow his heavy body to surrender, letting his warmth disperse over it.

   He can stay like this for a bit. He did what he had to do, and now it's time for him to give in to exhaustion. Just for a little bit of time, just for a small nap.

   With the part of his forehead that can still feel, Kaeya curls against the side of cold marble, and lets his eyelid fall shut over the mocking of shadows dancing just out of his reach.

   Maybe the emptiness never goes away. But I can rest for a bit... just for a little bit... and then I'll be good to go.

   Just for a little bit...

[egophiliac]

giving the people what they want (jokes about spreadsheets)

anyway, Twst continues to prove that it is aimed at me specifically by giving us not one, but now TWO extended scenes of characters being incredibly difficult about signing an NDA. you just don't get this anywhere else.

[ruporas]

the song of humanity will continue to be sung

[oddberryshortcake]

I think the Knight of Dawn being "a coward who is unable to stand up for what is right and does as he's ordered to" and "someone who cares deeply about his family and did everything he could so that Silver could live a happy and normal life in the future" are two statements that can coexist.

[treesaplingtwig]

His blood is on your hands.

[sysig]

Wuh oh (Patreon)

Bonus:

The novel experience of being crushed by a giant rock, a visual metaphor

[serpentface]

Hibrides and Brakul having the world’s saddest booze-fueled girl’s night, probably a few months before the start of the story.

Anyway here's an extensive rundown of their shared history.

Hibrides Uryashta was the eldest daughter of a chancellor of the imperial city-state of Erubinnos (his lordship Erub Uryashta). She was brought up with great privilege and security, but (like most daughters of noblemen) was destined to be used as a bargaining chip in a political marriage arrangement. She was taken from her friends and family and moved to the city of Wardin at the age of 16 to complete her pledged marriage with Janeys Haidamane, the failson of the trade magnate Haidamane family. Janeys spent about a week poorly attempting to behave like a husband, and then took the first excuse to flee and engage in a petty military campaign against raiders on the Yellowtail trade route. She found herself left alone in his villa for three years with only hired servants for company. She made a few attempts to break into the city's elite social scene, but was quite shy and failed to make any headway.

Brakul had just spent a year and a half in a bit of a whirlwind. He was brought into a skirmish at the behest of an allied clan, who had been raiding the Yellowtail route and now was under attack by combined forces of an enemy clan and Imperial Wardi mercenaries. He killed one of the mercenary commanders and was captured as a prisoner of war, but was spared at Janeys' behest (who fucking hated that guy thought it was awesome that he got killed with a rock) and was ultimately recruited into the group. He had a chance to go back home, but actively chose to deadbeat dad out on his wife and child to be with his newfound lovequest, Janeys. He spent a year and a half as a mercenary, bonded closely with Janeys and swore brotherhood with him, and was eventually brought home to the city of Wardin with him. He found himself in the odd position of being simultaneously scorned as a foreigner and 'heathen', and the legal kin of one of the richest families in the city (and effectively the secret male concubine of their only male heir).

It was in this context that the two of them met, with Hibrides now being 19 and Brakul turning 27.

The two were initially wary of each other (Hibrides was particularly put off by his 'heathen' status) but bonded very quickly, partly due to their mutual states of being unmoored from their old lives, but in large part being just a natural chemistry. They had a lot of common interests and enjoyed learning from each other. Hibrides introduced him to traditional verse poetry (of which she was very fond). Brakul taught her how to ride khait, and even gave her a gelding from his own collection as a gift. They became very close friends over the next couple of years and spent much of their free time together.

A big part of the dynamic was that both of them are gay in a cultural context where there is no concept of Being gay, marriages are usually arranged and always between a man and a woman, and having children is a societal expectation. Each of them began to see the other as an ideal husband/wife, ie "if I had to marry why couldn't it have been him/her?". For Hibrides' part, Brakul had all the traits she would want in a husband: he was a pretty good friend and easy to get along with, he seemed like he'd do an excellent job of fulfilling expected roles as a husband and father (she didn't know about the wife and kid for a while), he treated her as an equal, and, most of all, had no interest whatsoever in fucking her. They were both in a sort of platonic emotional affair, and grew to love each other deeply.

Hibrides was pretty quick to catch on that something was going on between Brakul and Janeys, and found it strange and offputting but ultimately none of her concern. Her husband only being interested in his sworn brother and leaving her to her own devices suited Hibrides just fine, and Brakul always just kinda being There meant she was living with what had become her closest friend.

The stable state of this Feelings Triangle began to change in the wake of the brilliant plan to get Janeys (gay) (probably infertile) children he could pass off as legitimate via a Brakul/Hibrides pregnancy. It was something all three agreed to as a necessity; it was already drawing scrutiny that Janeys and Hibrides had been married for several years without a pregnancy, and producing heirs is a societal expectation and a central point of an arranged marriage between wealthy elites.

It was especially critical in this case, given Janeys was his family's only male child and only hope of continuing the family line, given both his golden-child sister Faiza and black sheep half sister Couya were Odonii, and thus sworn virgins and would never marry. (There's also a level to this that Janeys was regarded as a complete disappointment by his parents, and his mother made damn sure he knew that his only value at this point was to produce a better male heir to inherit the business. So this was a big fucking deal to him, and to Brakul by extension).

This was also not a route any of them wanted to take on any personal level, least of all Hibrides. She consented to the pregnancy and everything it entailed, but it was inevitably a painful and distressing experience all around. She had never wanted to be a mother to begin with (though had long accepted it as an inevitability), and now found herself with an infant daughter, which only meant it would have to happen again (they needed a male heir after all). And it would be utter social suicide and a profound shame upon her if the child's illegitimacy was discovered, which only added to the stress.

To make things worse, her first pregnancy shifted the entire dynamic with her husband and brother-in-law/best friend. Janeys changed from completely indifferent to actively spiteful and hostile towards her, and things had become extremely uncomfortable between Hibrides and Brakul. It only got worse with Brakul (the only one of them who actually WANTS kids) (kind of haunted by skipping out on his first child) finding it unbearable to be so close to HIS daughter and having to keep up an act that she was not his own, having no direct role in the kids life. He desperately wanted to be a father.

Hibrides, who was going through a fucking lot, started to become vindictive towards him for his role in things. She resented him more than Janeys, because Brakul insisted he cared about her and would desperately try to pretend things were normal, while consistently siding with Janeys against her wishes, including in preventing her from getting a divorce. (His excuse is that the children's legitimacy would be interrogated in a legal setting, which Is likely and Would be absolute social suicide with very real consequences. But the real reason on his part is that if she got out of the marriage, he might never see her or the children again). Hibrides began to do everything in her power to prevent him from having any relationship with his bastard children, even in secret or under the guise of a relative. Sort of an “if I have to suffer to keep up this facade so should you” thing.

They had two children in a span of three years, two girls (ruh roh!) named Erubi and Livya. By this point, Hibrides and Brakul were both experiencing what we would now call Clinical Depression and Alcohol Use Disorder (especially in the latter's case). Hibrides started to have affairs with both men and women, which she was sure to be very obvious about to insult Janeys and Brakul, but was mostly out of loneliness. Brakul turned his complete focus to Janeys and started avoiding Hibrides entirely, in hopes that she would become desperate enough to be willing to make amends (shockingly, this did not happen, and the rift only deepened).

In the present, their relationship status is: fucked. Both of them do still love each other on some level, but this is probably beyond repair. What little time they've spent with each other in the past year is sitting around being miserable and getting plastered. And now Hibrides, Janeys, and Brakul are all forced into the public eye on the pilgrimage together, and with a third child on the way. So that's probably going to be everyone's problem.

[skyshroom]

Would Lucy reviving the rats have taken away the XP the Rat Grinders got for killing them is that anything I’m not sure of the rules/mechanics? Like was she trying to weaken them or was it strictly an act of mercy on her behalf? or a mixture of both?

[unordinary-diary]

Blyke in Season 3.

This is my prediction. With the way Season 2 ended, I think they’ll find Blyke months later looking something like this.

Shit happens to people in prison. Terrence was murdered in his cell, Rein was worried about being killed by other inmates, hell, Blyke’s already pretty banged up in the finale and he’s been there for 2.5 seconds. Not to mention that the Authorities seem to have no problem torturing kids *COUgh* Keon.

Perhaps it’s a bit pessimistic, but the story’s been getting a lot darker lately. I doubt Blyke’s getting out of prison without a little extra trauma at least.

Latest Chapter as of Prediction: Side Story — Triple Threat (1)

[ntj2pj]

[efverse]

some ampharos backstory thoughts...

(cw csa; Child Sexual Abuse)

so i think her and slowbro had fucked each other. at least once...amph was slowbro's first time and she was embarrassed bc she was like 20 something yknow so she asked amph about her first time and amph just casually says that she was around. 10.

slowbros like oh. huh... before it fully clicks w her and its just like...what does she say to that...

ampharos doesnt seem that. bothered talking about it at all so slowbro kind of asks her about it a little more?...she says that she was trying to get money doing simple jobs around ecruteak. this furret lady asked her to clean around the house and then offered some extra poke if he helped her w "something else". and... yeah.

but then amph says how the lady didnt want her to say anything about it to anyone and that the next time her husband was there instead and how he had aggressively pushed mareep away...

ampharos doesnt seem too bothered by this... slowbro tries to kind of make sense of it but...ampharos says that "its Not a big deal." so..

...they dont really talk about it after that night.

---

and later while slowbro was in ecruteak after the tower burned she met that womans daughter when she was hanging out with some of the kimono girls and the topic of seeing an ampharos in ecruteak the day of the fire came up...

she heard how a lot of them talked about a dirty little mareep digging thru their trash and stuff like that. "i heard even ho oh didnt accept them." and then that ladies daughter said how her mom "tried to give her a chance to help around the house and she just ended up stealing some of her money!"

[vaguely-concerned]

just going about my day idly contemplating how some of the ways hawke can interact with a romanced anders are not at all unlike how they interact with leandra (and a bit of carver too, especially with a purple hawke), and then thought about my hawke in the timeline where he romances anders and was hit straight in the face with 'was he ever actually in love, or was he just desperately trying to renegotiate with his mother's ghost in any way he could' and now i need to lie down. this is the power of dragon age 2

[k1ttnz]

In honor of homeward bound almost finishing (which btw im definitely gonna cry when that happens) i decided to draw as much fanart as i could for it while i listen to it in text to speech. For @thompsborn thank you so much for writing this amazing masterpiece ily like actually

based on this excerpt

also i now realize that maybe college people dont wear backpacks or maybe they do idk hopefully they do because its too late to change the pose 😥 okay im gonna yap in the tags cause its gonna be too long of a post

[philomisia]

this is really horrible, i get maybe the website wasnt designed to be a bunch of shitposting 14 yr olds but its rlly shitty to just remove that without notice; people made friends on there, u literally added groups back not long ago too; rp is writing

[sualne]

Sualne: ofc they know each other, otherwise it'd be too sad

Also Sualne: Makes Ace suffer alone

Btwww it's not a hate comment or anything I just found it very funny, the duality of Sualne ✨️✨️✨️

ace IS a very sad character! :'D he says something in his light novel (that i havent read but really need to (law's too)) about how he probably would've killed himself if it hadn't been for sabo and luffy, im forcing him to survive till he can meet luffy in the au, but i have to keep that passive suicidality of his in there! ace even in canon was not doing fine at all!!

the duality of sualne, lol, i havent even started the angst yet.

here a lil ace ive drawn for concepts art and planning reasons:

[rainydaydally]

Noah of the waters.

When Cody finds Noah.

This is an island of the slaughtered fanfiction (original island of the slaughtered by @/Eavee-ry

---------------------------

WARNING: This fanfiction contains major character d3ath, descriptive mentions of bl00d, d3ath, dr0wning, ch0king/str@ngling, and kind of body h0rror.

You have been warned !!

When the rest of the contestants of the supposed show (who are still… alive…) arrive to the dock a bit behind Cody, they stop in their tracks.

“Noah?” Cody asks shakily, looking into the water and seeing the lifeless body of the boy he once loved. Noah’s eyes had gone almost completely white, and Cody could swear he heard him humming almost like a siren, luring him to join him.

The other teens slowly walk their way to the end of the dock that Cody was standing at. He looks completely pale, as if he should be the one in the water too. His knees buckle beneath him and he falls, as the rest of the group slowly appears behind him.

Duncan sighs, and he gently puts his hand on Cody’s shoulder. “Let go of me, Duncan! It’s your fault.” He yells, throwing Duncan’s hand off of his shoulder. “Guys, come on. Maybe we can still save him.” Cody pleades desperately, turning around to everybody else to try and convince them.

Duncan hesitates but thinks for a moment.“It is my fault this happened. The least I could do for the kid is to try and help Noah..” Duncan thinks, and begins to help Cody pull Noah out of the water. Gwen crouches down to help them too, and everyone else just kind of… watches. Too tired to completely realize that the killer has claimed another victim from their group.

When the three of them pull Noah out of the water, they carry him to the beach and place him on the sand. The sand sticks to his wet skin as Cody really takes it all in. Theres a small line of rope burn around Noah’s neck, and Cody gently traces his fingers on it.

If it was an alive person, they would have winced. He didn’t.

When Cody places his hand on Noah’s chest to maybe feel a heartbeat, he notices the kitchen knife stabbed right below his collar bone. Cody hesitates, but lays his hand on his chest to feel the familiar beat of his heart. He couldn’t feel it.

Katie walks over to the shivering boy. “Cody…” Katie says softly, rubbing his back. Cody somehow got even more pale than he was before. His eyes begin to water, not just due to crying but also from them being so open and wide because of the utter shock.

Cody places his hands on Noah’s heart and begins preforming CPR. He tries and tries and tries. Nothing. Not even a movement or a single beating from his pulse.

“He’s gone, Cody.” Heather says after a long amount of silence. Duncan feels his stomach drop. “How could I let this happen to Noah? To Cody? To-“ Duncan thinks for a moment on who was friends with the boy, and his eyes dart to Owen.

Owen is watching the whole ordeal from a few feet away, his kind and funny demeanor disintegrating- it’s visibly on his face. His eyes begin to water but he quickly wipes them and heads to Noah.

Cody almost throws up as his body begins wracking ugly sobs. He grabs Noah and holds his body close to him and hugs him tightly. Owen sits down next to where Gwen, Duncan, Katie, and Cody are sitting on the beach and he leans his head on Cody’s shoulder, closing his eyes a bit.

“I’m sorry, Cody. You know I didn’t intend for him to die when I-“

“What? When you and your little group abandoned him?!” Cody interrupts Duncan, looking into his eyes as his expression and… well… everything looks like a crazy mess.

Cody continues with his spiel. “Yeah, sure. You didnt MEAN for him to get killed. But he DID get killed, Duncan. And We’re all here and alive right now, and HE’S NOT. AND IT’S BECAUSE OF YOU.”

“Stop it! It’s not his fault!” Courtney interjects, looking at Cody and then to Duncan. Duncan just shakes his head and mouths to her. “Stop. I’d be mad at myself too.” Courtney eye rolls at Duncan and goes back to digging small holes with her fingers next to her in the sand.

Bridgette scooches closer to Cody. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re allowed to be mad at everyone you want to in this position..” She says softly, gesturing to him. Cody just nods, looking at the body he’s holding, Noah’s soaked hair dripping onto his arms. His sobs begin to die out, but he’s still sniffling and tears are pouring out of his eyes.

Heather kicks at the sand. “Fuck! We need to find out who the hell this disgusting killer guy is before it get’s too late. Who would even be out here?!”

“Yeah dude, I was wondering that too.” Geoff says, wrapping his arms around Bridgette. “They would have to be crazier than Izzy to be out here for no reason other than to… hurt innocent teenagers..” Courtney states. She was atleast very careful of her wording to not upset Cody or Owen.

“I cant believe he’s…” Cody can’t even bring himself to finish the sentence. Not yet. He couldn’t have been gone so early in his life. Sixteen? Sixteen years old? That’s not enough time to do… anything with your life.

Cody gently touches the knife that’s stabbed into Noah. There’s almost no blood on him (visibly) due to his usual many layers of clothes. He changes his view to Noah’s formally deep brown eyes. They are now pure white, staring right into the center of Cody’s soul. He wonders a moment how they lost all of their color.

Cody gently closes the other boy’s eyes with his fingers, deciding to let him rest peacefully. He pretends for a moment that Noah is just resting on his lap again. He knows that isn’t true.

----

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