#woe main tags be upon ye

[tonguetyd]

Chemical Mess

A Sleep Token Gift Exchange present for @sleeptokenpuppy 🥰

"What's the point? If life is fleeting, should I just hang with my friends? Should I spend more time with the people I love instead of in my head?"

Tags: Sitcom AU, Inhuman Vessels, Not Platonic or Romantic But a Secret Third Thing (Bonded By An Eldritch Being), Winter Solstice, Minor Existential Crisis, But Friends and Tentacle God Help You Thru It :::)

IV hummed as he balanced another 3 sticks of butter on the precarious tower of supplies retrieved from the fridge. Sure, he could take multiple trips back to the counter with less food, but what was the fun of having super strength if you didn't use it to carry as much as possible?

Deciding he had everything he needed, he shut the door and turned slowly towards the counter, making sure none of his supplies would lose balance and fall do-

"MOOOOVE!!!!" yelled II as he bolted past the guitarist to grab a Red Bull can, knocking over every one of IV's carefully stacked items to the ground.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as to not yell at the drummer. "We really need to keep your caffeine in a separate part of the house."

"We shouldn't give him caffeine at all, he's already supersonic," chimed in III from the stovetop.

"Notmyfault, lotsathingstodotoday, needmyenergy, sorry, iiiwillhelpcleanup!" II said between gulps of his drink. "Oh! Happysolsticebytheway!" He scrunched up the empty can and tossed it to the bin.

"III will NOT help clean up, III has risotto on the stove thank you very much," the bassist sassed.

Huffing at his friends, IV began setting his supplies from the floor to the counter. "It's fine, leave it all for the non-flexible AND slow one, not a problem there..."

"Seeyougotit, dontevenneediiishelp, okaybye," II replied before running back off to wherever he had come from.

IV grumbled something about "rude motherfucker" while III walked over laughing. "Don't worry, we'll figure out some way to get revenge," the bassist said, stretching his arm to keep stirring the pot on the stove. "Little man won't know what hit him!"

An unnatural cloud of fog rumbled with amusement as Sleep watched His younger vessels prepare for His sacred night. He turned His attention to His First, expecting to see a similar sense of entertainment from his eldest.

Instead, Vessel's six eyes blinked joylessly at the wall, oblivious to his friends' antics.

The solstice was upon them once again. Another year had gone by. Were the years always so short? How was time continuing to slip away from him? It had just been summer yesterday. Was life passing him by? Should he be doing more by now? Accomplished more than what he already had? How much time did he even have left?

Futhermore, what was the point of having all this time anyway, if it was just going to fly by him? If he was constantly running out of time anyway, what was the purpose of filling them with...anything? The clock and calendar didn't care what he did to fill them. They marched steady onwards.

Emo shit. As IV would affectionally call it.

Vessel's brain spiral of Emo Shit continued as his friends worked around him to bring light on their shared sacred day.

Sleep was displeased at this. It would not do that His First should be melancholy on the Holiest of nights. His fog form swirled around III.

“Hey Sleep! If you’re looking to help I think IV needs it more,” the bassist said, affectionately twirling a finger in the mist.

The fog grew denser and lowered Itself to obstruct III’s vision.

III frowned and tried to fan the fog away with his hands. “Yeah yeah I know it’s your special day, I’m trying to fry stuff though and would rather not get burned because you’re blocking my sight!”

Frustrated, Sleep continued to His Second. If anyone would be in touch with His First’s emotions, it would be his oldest friend.

The mist descended upon II as he raced up the stairs. “SLEEPICANTSEE!” he exclaimed as he missed the top step, tumbling back down to the bottom.

He sat up and rubbed his head, glaring at the fog. “Thathurt! Becareful! Notallofusareimmortal!”

The fog continued to swim around him, forming an opening to direct II’s sight to Vessel.

II huffed when he saw his friend. “Ves. Talktoyourgodandtellhimtoleaveusbe!”

Vessel glanced up towards II and shrugged.

IV bellowed from the kitchen “OI, SLEEP, WE’RE BUSY! GIVE US A COUPLE HOURS!”

The ancient one’s frustration reached its peak. The fog condensed and shot over to Vessel before disappearing from sight.

Vessel suddenly didn’t feel so good.

His eyes grew blurry and his head heavy. His limbs began to move of their own accord, and suddenly he felt another presence in his mind.

The jerky movement from Vessel’s body caught III’s eye first. “…Ves?”

Vessel’s head snapped to III’s, his six eyes glowing red.

“MY THIRD.”

“…oh. Shit. Not Ves.” III reared his head back, creating space between himself and his now-possessed friend. “UH…GUYS? I THINK WE MADE GOD MAD…”

II and IV made their way over to the other vessels. “Whatdoyoumeanwema-oh. Fuck.” II’s eyes grew when he saw the already looming presence of his friend expand to house a god.

“MY VESSELS. YOU SEEK MY FAVOR UPON THIS HOLY DAY, YET YOU IGNORE MY ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN YOUR ATTENTION. EXPLAIN.”

“Shit…we…we didn’t mean anything by it, honest,” III stammered out. “We just have to watch what we’re doing, or we’ll make a mess. We would never intentionally ignore you, Sleep.”

“YOU ARE IGNORING MY FIRST.”

IV tilted his head in confusion. “Ves has been sitting right there? He hasn’t said anything to ignore…”

“MY FIRST’S BRAIN IS RESTLESS. HE IS QUESTIONING HIS PURPOSE, FEELING AS IF HE HAS TOO MUCH YET NOT ENOUGH TIME.”

“…andstubbornasscouldnttellusthishimself?”

III elbowed II from across the room. “Oi, don’t be a prick.”

“HE IS SUFFERING IN SILENCE, AS HE OFTEN DOES, AS TO NOT BE A BURDEN ON YOU. I WILL NOT TOLERATE MY FIRST BEING UPSET WHILE SURROUNDED BY HAPPINESS. FIX HIM.”

With His command given, Sleep detached Himself from Vessel’s brain.

When Vessel blinked his eyes again, he felt more like himself. His three sets of eyes were met with another three sets.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were feeling badly?” II asked, deliberately slower than he had been all week.

Shame rose up in Vessel’s cheeks. “I…uh…well…you’re all busy…and I just…it’s stupid anyway.”

“It’s not stupid Ves, it’s something we all feel at times,” IV assured him.

“Yeah! Friendly Christmas existential dread!” III nodded.

Vessel huffed. “I just. You’d think if we all go through this that somebody would’ve figured it out by now.”

IV scoffed. “Yeah, yet here we all just fucking around anyway. Nobody’s got any idea what they’re doing.”

“Mmhmm. We’re bumbling around just trying to get…somewhere?” II offered.

“Or maybe not even go anywhere at all. Just enjoying the ride, wherever it takes us!” said III.

Vessel stared up at the ceiling as Sleep’s fog took shape once again. “I guess.”

“Listen Vee, yeah we don’t know if there’s a point to any of this, and yeah it might be over in the blink of an eye,” IV shrugged. “But instead of wasting that limited time we’ve got trying to figure it out, let’s just. Like. I dunno.” He gestured around their space.

“Eat rice balls!” III exclaimed.

Ves laughed for the first time all day. “Who needs a meaning in life when there’s rice balls?”

“Exactly!”

“III is right,” II said. “We’ve got rice balls, and more than that, you’ve got us!”

“If we’re to be submerged, let us be submerged together and all that shit, yknow?” IV joked.

And as Sleep watched his vessels pick their First’s spirits up, he hummed in agreement. Not even the ancient ones know what the future holds. All any being can do is enjoy time with those that make them feel less alone.

A part of a whole, no matter how messed up it may be.

Just a picture perfect, lovable, positively shitshow, chemical mess.

——————————

Matt’s song offers no answers, nor can I, nor can Sleep probably! There’s no right way to do the holidays or life. All we can do is try to be good to each other! This is my attempt to be good to y’all, and I hope you enjoyed it!! ❤️

[pixeldotgamer]

happy pride month

(full video this is from)

[drop--pop--candy]

indie rpgs if they were WOKE

TRANSGENDERTALE

GAY THE PRINCESS

WOKE SHOT

IN STARS AND TIME

[angelwinkteruhashi]

I had gone out to look for a new pair of boots today since mine had gotten a bit too worn down for my liking, and there was this absolutely beautiful dress for sale at the store I frequent! Luckily I had enough savings for both, so I splurged a bit and got myself a whole new outfit. I though it looked incredible, so I thought I'd show you all, as well! o(≧▽≦)o

Thank you very much to the kind employee that agreed to take a photo of me so I could show you all! She was very kind the whole time I was there. If you're seeing this, thank you so much again, Mrs. Suzuki!

[wazzappp]

I am a woman of weak will with no excuse for this @moosemonstrous thank you for being my most trusted enabler advisor and @cicada-candy thank you for your encouragement <3

WOE. GHOST RIDER MAGICAL GIRL AU HELLFIRE GALA FITS BE UPON YE.

Ok so the first genre is High fashion/Familiar themed!

Robbie is in something edgy and asymmetrical. Lots of variations in texture with solid, glitter and mesh areas. A fun grungy makeup style that I thought would suit him well. The more solid areas have a snakeskin texture that I'm not sure came through in the image export sorry lol. Delicate silver pieces help to balance out the harshness of the general aesthetic of the dress. Overall tried to mimic the slithering motion of a snake with the twisting pattern of his dress materials and made it a little more obvious with the snake bracelet.

Danny's focuses on layered sheer materials. Lots of feather and wing embroidery to connect him to his familiar. Nice silver chain around the waist to give the dress some shape and structure and help separate the top and bottom areas. Leg slit to create some interest so things aren't too symmetrical and boring (also you have moose to thank for the boob window lmao). A fun little wing pendant for the back detail ties it together pretty well I think.

JOHNNYYYYYYYYYY pulled a LOT of Avril Lavigne vibes and I'm honestly not sure why. I guess I just really wanted to see in some 'trashy' Y2K fashion (trashy in quotation marks cause I think it's COOL actually) and she's the first person that came into mind. Fur at the top of the dress contrasts with the shiny/glitter material on the rest of it. White tips on the ends of his boots and gloves because of Zaradogs lil sock feet <3. A fun ponytail with some black chain necklaces finishes everything pretty well.

FRANK. DIFFICULT AS ALWAYS. HAD to include fur I had to connect him to Cat-stle somehow. Other than that his look is very Matrix inspired. Very slick and fairly practical. SPIKY ass boots and a fun laceup back add some detail to the otherwise very simple fit. Some mesh areas on the jacket also include just a little bit of variation in texture.

BALLROOM LOOKS!! We getting FANCY.

Something light and fun for Robbie with LOTS of gradient chiffon. A more solid waist wrap to help eccentuate a more solid shape for the more drifting ends of the dress. I'm a sucker for sheer sleeves brother I have no excuse.

EEEEEE PRINCESS DANNY COMING THROUGH!! I LOVE how this one came out! Fun off the shoulder moment with gloves to make sure his arms don't look too plain. Faux silver corset that dissolves into layers of sheer glittery material to form a full length ballgown with lots of nice volume.

JOHNNY YOU GAVE ME TROUBLE. Wanted to include lots of geometric shapes (moose and I looked at QUITE A FEW reference images) so I was able to fit that in with the tessellation patterns on the sleeves and mesh sides, as well as the triangular shape of the top area of the dress. Tried not to overdo the gold glitter by limiting it to a strip down the middle with longer black panels on the sides.

Frank with a VERY classic look I'm a sucker for a square top. He's also got the fun mesh sleeves, this time with some lace patterns. Layered skirt with a bit of volume and glitter ends (I'm a SUCKER for glitter ends). Vibrant red top to show off his signature color with some ribbing to mimic a corset.

AFTER PARTY DRESSES. Fuckin. Euphoria lookin ass dresses. Idk man I just love these kinds of dresses and thought I would go ham at the end for one final nonsense fun look.

[svturn-exe]

posting this at 11:52 pm lmao happy gay sex sunday to those who observe. wesker is nasty

[pierswife]

This is the most on-model you will ever catch me drawing of this man

[clumio]

Currently trying and failing to fall asleep but the hotel room fridge (and presumably vent or something??) is making mechanical noises which fit perfectly into a 6/8 rhythm—one noise on the eight notes, one on the 1 and 4 beats, and another one taking up the first 1-2-3-4 beats of the bar. And since my brain is infected my immediate thought is that now I know how my good bitch The “The Master” “Missy” “Tremas” “O” “Koschei” Master felt because quite frankly at this point it’s been a good half hour and I think if this goes on for longer I’ll start killing too

[riacte]

HAPPY BLUE BATS ANNOUNCEMENT DAY!! Also Happy Birthday to Fruit :] (the announcement might be a different day based on timezones but it’s the same day in my timezone so—)

LIVES WERE CHANGED 🔥🔥🔥 THIS WAS THE TEAM THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING 🔥🔥🔥 THEY PAVED THE WAY 🔥🔥🔥

[tonguetyd]

The funny thing about you and Tonee comparing Caramel to Bo Burnham, to me, is that not even a day before Caramel started rolling out, I was thinking about the Inside special and how much of a cultural impact it had. Then, Bo's also tall British masked counterpart on the piano gives us Caramel, and then I see y'all connecting dots between the two, hahah ☕🌿

I have JUST finished watching All Eyes On Me again, PERFECT timing! But also like. Was not even the song I had on my radar even tho it lines up PERFECTLY and is absolutely the vibe.

Vessel if you’re reading this, have your preshow music end with All Eyes On Me before yall hit the stage. What Green Day does with Bohemian Rhapsody or what Fall Out Boy has been doing with We Didn’t Start The Fire like!!!! It would go SO HARD a fucking ARENA of people dancing to Bo. He deserves it. Yall deserve it. Please!

Anyway again asking if we have ever seen Bo and Ves in the same room bc like. From the little we publically know about Ves. He was a kid that was stuck in his room, there isn’t much more to say about it, well well look who’s inside again. Yk? And who is Bo, but a kid that was stuck in his room. Both using music to paint a web of storytelling around their like. Severe mental health issues (mood.)

No wonder us millennials love them so much - we see them in us.

Inside and its impact and TMBTE and probably this record as well and THEIR impact…cornerstones of millennial and gen z culture tbh

[cuteniaarts]

Digitalised + coloured + redesigned version of my Suiren and Vaatu sketch from two days ago, as promised!!

Coming up with Suiren’s design was a very long process of trying and failing because after you’ve drawn 9+ different versions of one character, the creativity starts to run a little dry, but I’m actually really proud of this one, she looks absolutely adorable <3

(Also yeah I did mostly just scribble Vaatu’s pattern because who has the energy to draw the all out accurately. Not me, that’s who, I’m chronically tired. People who draw him on the regular have my utmost respect. He’s still a funky little guy though :D)

Bonus, Raava incessantly screaming inside Suiren (and being completely ignored because Suiren is tired of her) while all this is happening:

[apothecarywormcrud]

the power of one piece is such that for once i produce actual oc references. calico is honestly just vibing. woodall's dream is to have their heart put in a jar and theyre like, SO normal about it.

[bugswapau]

@wusstunes You are my creative muse

[transflynnscifo]

Tell me about ur Flynn Scifo thoughts

HI sorry for taking a bit! I decided to take the tangent I caused in my friend's DM's and structure it more coherently

Choc's original question: “Do you think Flynn might get touch starved while hes in the knights? […] I don’t have context, I was just thinking about how Yuri probably gets to casually touch ppl all the time, but Flynn has duties.”

DISCLAIMER this is headcanon-y and self-indulgent. While I give specific examples to support certain ideas, I by no mean intend to act like this is gospel.

This has spoilers for the game too

I assume that because Flynn and Yuri grew up together, they definitely were able to hold hands/hug/nap (and obviously sparred together). The former things probably got dropped as they entered adolescence as a lot of teens tend to be mortified over showing they have any feelings. This is to establish that they have likely always been comfortable around each other. Regardless of how much one may consider side content canon, it is enough to infer from in-game that Yuri’s leaving the knights resulted in their relationship becoming strained. Though Flynn pre-game is stated to have dropped by often enough in the lower quarter, it still shows that they probably barely interacted normally until Capua Nor in Act 1. (and even Capua Nor interactions are something, to say the least)

In my opinion, by the start of the game, Flynn had become good at suppressing a lot of different thoughts and feelings. I’ve already mentioned it in a previous post, but Flynn has a tendency to be quieter in group skits where he isn’t the topic of discussion. Though there is a subtle characterization I enjoy there-- he does react with his portrait changing even whilst not speaking. But even when prompted for an opinion, he struggles to express it, defaulting to saying a general statement that ultimately results in a non-answer on at least one occasion.

This suppression would behave like a sleeper agent. As the game progresses, the player is able to see more of Flynn. His banters get more known, his flaws stick out more, he becomes more closer to a regular man VS the knight paragon that he is expected to be. Those walls could have subtly started crashing around the time he and Yuri started speaking again. Now, I also look at it through a fluri lens. After not having spoken for years, feelings would naturally reignite, and Flynn would become stuck with feelings of longing for more.

That’s where it gets trickier for Flynn. Though he shows signs of opening to the other party members, we are dealing with years’ worth of repression. Though Flynn’s primary character conflict is about where one would draw the lie between crime and justice, there is another that is strongly related to another important theme of the game: choices, and being able to make them on one’s own. This part of Flynn’s character development is most apparent in the second act of the game, especially notable during the part of the game where Estelle is absent. It’s about what he wants to do himself, as opposed to what he should do as a knight. I won’t go too much into it, but the Baction and Heracles dungeons, as well as the scenes before Zaphias castle exemplify what Flynn ends up operating on. Ultimately, he is stuck doing the job he has vowed to take up, as there is no one else to do it. (Much like Yuri choosing things of his own volition, but only because no one else wants to.)

But going back to touch starvation and yearning, this would all come to a head for Flynn until, I presume, post-game. This is because by Aurnion, Yuri and Flynn are finally able to patch things through. The game strongly implies in certain ways that their repaired bond (regardless of whether one sees it as romantic or not) would be stronger than ever, and harder to damage. But even as they become on good terms again, they aren’t able to often see each other. This part is apparent even throughout the game, as Flynn and Yuri are pulled in different directions until their paths cross again. This could be like an odd repeat of the few years they barely interacted, but this would be not because they would be avoiding each other. Rather, this is because they’re finally maintaining the promise over protecting the smiles of people, and making the world a better place.

It could make the times they spend together both a relief and an incredible pain for Flynn, who is able to spend time with his best friend, but the nature of their roles now means that they are ever so slightly out of reach from one another. Flynn would be happy to be in Yuri’s life again, but would he allow himself the selfish wish of having Yuri around always? When he has knights to lead, and Yuri is free to travel and do as he pleases? (in the “Feelings regarding the knights” skit, Flynn, albeit jokingly, wishes Yuri could still be in the knights, while acknowledging that the freedom he has now suits him better.)

And Flynn’s duties matter too much, that much is true. However, Yuri matters even more. Remember how he used his knightly authority to use ships to look for Yuri’s body post-Zaude?

The worst part of Flynn’s touch starvation is if he is actively pining for Yuri in the romantic sense. Imagine wanting to take Yuri’s hand in the same way like you used to, except you are both too busy and important as people to indulge so simply. That isn’t even acknowledging Yuri’s complexes against Flynn and the manner of which he puts Flynn on a pedestal by the end of the game. I don’t think Flynn would worry that he doesn’t deserve Yuri, though I myself like to entertain the idea that if Flynn had insecurities about being good for Yuri, they would definitely manifest differently. The issue for Flynn would be essentially choosing between his happiness as a person or to jeopardize that because he is the Commandant. And Flynn tends to be characterized as a workaholic due to how serious and dedicated he is to his tasks.

Interestingly, Baction (which is the earliest dungeon of the three), has Flynn behave selfishly in his wish to help save Estelle and inquire Alexei for his motifs. But when Flynn wanted to go with Yuri and the others in Heracles and Deidon hold, he went against those wishes in order to lead the knights who needed a leader. Ultimately, it all ties back to the fact that his duties as a knight, and as a leader, mean that he has to jeopardize his desires. He expresses that he missed traveling in the “Battle maniacs” skit. He enjoys fighting, but he also doesn’t get to do it as much when he isn’t in the party. By extension, he would also miss spending time with Yuri like how they used to. He would be biting down leather with his teeth over this, in private. Unable to have time for what he loves.

Though there is warranted criticisms over certain aspects over Vesperia’s comedy, Flynn is, admittedly, definitely repressing certain thoughts. In skits, if a dialogue/topic with a more suggestive tone comes on, Flynn tends to become embarrassed and quiet about it. Though this is intended with a humorous effect, given Flynn is the designated “spoilsport” in many aspects, it does leave an interesting implication: the one most against suggestive topics gets the most embarrassed about them. I tend to see it as Flynn’s imagination running rampant enough to go down the gutter by itself. So it’s worth to assume that Flynn’s self-imposed repression isn’t even doing that well, given it is fairly easy to generally fluster him. Applying that to the fact he already is strongly guarded, he would probably short-circuit if he received a hug from anyone (and for the sake of this post, likely from Yuri too). It’s a metaphorical imagining of Flynn’s very armor. Does it protect him from attacks? Yes. Does it make it harder to see him under the bulk and to touch the skin of his hand? Absolutely.

Even if he took Yuri’s hand, he wouldn’t feel it under his glove, and Yuri, in turn, wouldn’t feel Flynn through it either.

Yuri acting skittish about his insecurities wouldn’t help either. And that’s what makes it even more compelling for me! In many pairings where one character is a knight, it’s usually the other party that wants to push the knight to accept selfishness. In fluri’s case, Yuri first has to stop thinking he’s going to hell in order to consider wanting to push Flynn into indulging his own wishes!

And then Choc told me they meant general touch deprivation, like even with friends, to which I put my clown nose and honked.

[tazmilygray]

thing💥💥💥

[svturn-exe]

happy pride! here's a code veronica chrisker drabble

content warnings for blood, violence, & mentioned past character death

Chris sits with his eyes shut and back pressed against metal, hissing through his teeth as each breath aggravates his newly bruised ribs. Body slamming a metal lever with his full weight wasn’t his brightest idea, but it got the job done. Squinting his eyes open - just barely - against the cloud of dust dropping the I-beams kicked up, Chris studies the pile. Wesker’s body is in there, somewhere, buried under a few hundred pounds of steel. He shifts, intending to get up, groaning at the handful of new aches that make themselves known. Chris settles back down with a huff. He won, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. At least he avenged the others. Chris allows his eyes to slip shut again. Then, Chris registers the sound of scraping metal, and his eyes snap back open. He watches, in a daze of awe and fear, as the pile shifts and heaves. A couple of the more precariously perched I-beams slide out of place, falling to the floor with a thunderous crash. Then, in a motion that looks a bit more deliberate, a couple others are shoved aside, violently. They hit the floor and Chris feels the vibration in his clenched teeth. He squints his eyes against the assault of newly kicked up dust, but doesn’t dare let them close. A gloved hand comes up, gripping the edge of a beam hard enough that Chris swears he hears the solid metal of it creak. With a hand braced on the coil of chains behind him, Chris gathers his legs under him and pushes himself to stand, as quickly as his tired and aching body will allow, cold dread pooling in his stomach. He isn’t sure he can hold out for another round up against Wesker.

Piercing red eyes shine through the slowly settling dust. Chris draws a shaky breath. Wesker steps forward, and the only signs that he was hurt at all are the way he stumbles, and the blood streaked across his face. Eyes narrowed, teeth bared in a furious snarl, Wesker looks nothing like the calm, collected, and poised villain he was a mere few minutes ago, yet still just as dangerous. Hunched over and muscles tensed, like a big cat prepared to strike. Chris holds the other man’s poisonous glare, breath catching in his throat, hair-thin feline pupils practically burning a hole through his head. “I don’t suppose we can call it a draw?” Chris asks, half-seriously, stepping around the crank on the floor and slowly backing away from the furious man.

It’s seriously unfair just how God-damned fast Wesker can move. Chris barely has any time to react, throwing up an arm to shield his chest and shouting in pain when something sharp tears through skin. Chris’ gaze flicks downward, and his eyes widen when he spots Wesker’s bloodied hand. He can’t recall when the gloves came off, or since when Wesker had fucking claws, but if the stinging pain in his left forearm is any indication, Chris cannot afford to let himself get sliced up. Hissing a breath out through gritted teeth, Chris draws his combat knife. He was never all that great with the thing - guns and fists are where he really shines - but he’s going to have to hope it’s good enough.

The ensuing fight can’t exactly be called a dance - it’s less of a graceful trading of blows and more a messy, bloody brawl - but Chris finds himself settling into a sort of rhythm anyway. Wesker slices a shallow cut across his shoulder, so Chris ducks low and uses a leg to sweep the other’s legs out from under him. Wesker bloodies Chris’ nose with the heel of his palm, so Chris slashes him across the bridge of his nose. But for every wound Wesker gives him, one Chris inflicted on Wesker mere moments ago is already closing up.

It would take only one slip for Chris to end up gutted like a fish, but he can already feel himself gradually starting to slow down, the mountain of aches and pains weighing him down. A kick connects with Chris’ side and nearly sends him sprawling onto the floor - add a few more bruised ribs to the ever growing list of injuries. Wesker swings low, the tips of claws catching on Chris’ pants as he hurriedly backs out of range, eyes frantically searching for an opening to counter-attack. If Chris ignores the pain, Wesker’s claws and eyes, and the very real stakes, he can almost pretend they’re back in the RPD building. Holed up in some empty room in a wing of the absurdly large police station that no one ever goes to, sparring late into the night. At any moment, Enrico will be peering in through the door, ordering them to go home and rest. Enrico is dead, murdered in cold blood by the man Chris is currently fighting for his life against. Chris grits his teeth, eyes narrowing as he focuses back in on the present. But that moment of distraction was enough for Wesker to dart forward into Chris’ space, slicing through his glove as he knocks the knife from his hand.

It’s not that Wesker didn’t already have the advantage, but Chris being disarmed gives the other man an edge up bordering on comically unfair. Absurdly, Chris finds himself missing the meager couple inches of extra reach the knife afforded him, of all things.

Chris has a mean right hook, but it doesn’t do him a lot of good when Wesker refuses to concede any distance, forcing Chris to back up instead. Then, suddenly, the world is upended as Chris topples backwards, his already bruised shoulder knocking painfully against the floor. A brief glance down the length of his body tells him it’s the fucking crank that tripped him up - the same one he’d used to dump a bundle of I-beams onto Wesker’s head.

Chris doesn’t have much time to curse God for his misfortune before there’s an unreasonably warm clawed hand smearing his own blood across his throat, and blazing feline eyes boring down into his own. Chris’ breath stutters - he can feel Wesker’s fanning out across his face. He tries to push himself up - lift up onto his elbows, roll away, anything - but the hand pinning Chris to the ground by his throat may as well be stone. Even now, Wesker’s strength is nothing short of impressive. “We can still call it a draw,” he croaks, more to break the silence than anything. Wesker’s eyes dart down to Chris’ mouth. It’s kind of amazing, how expressive Wesker actually is once the sunglasses are off. It’s also kind of amazing how huge Wesker’s pupils can get, smothering the brilliant flame of his irises until each eye is a tiny, localized solar eclipse. “Oh,” he breathes, unable to tear his gaze from the unexpectedly beautiful sight, before immediately mentally berating himself. This is the man that had nearly their entire unit killed. He killed Enrico with his own two filthy hands. The same two hands that are now gently cradling Chris’ face, stained with his blood. With Wesker’s hand off his throat, Chris reckons he could roll over and dislodge Wesker that way - get back on his feet, make a run for his dropped combat knife. He can’t find much of a justification for why he simply tilts his head and allows his eyes to slip shut when Wesker leans down.

In stark contrast to Wesker’s usual demeanor, the man kisses like he’s starving, and doing his level best to eat Chris alive. He swallows down the twinge of guilt - S.T.A.R.S. will just have to forgive him - and lifts his hands to settle around Wesker’s waist. Chris tastes blood, and he’s not sure whose it is. Chris grunts as Wesker bites down, hard, bloodying his bottom lip. One of Wesker’s hands migrates upward, clawed fingers grasping at short strands, and Chris finds himself grateful for his dark hair, or else he might’ve looked even more like a murder victim than he already does. One of his own hands finds the back of Wesker’s head, trying to pull him impossibly closer into the already bruising kiss. His lips open on a groan, and Wesker wastes no time in exploring the opportunity.

Something explodes, shaking the world violently, and Chris startles, grunting as their teeth knock together painfully. The weight settled over his body suddenly vanishes, a wave of heat replacing it. Hurriedly, Chris snaps open his eyes and rolls onto his front, searching for the source of the explosion - and for Wesker. His eyes find both at once. Now standing on the other side of a heap of broken, burning machinery, Wesker’s piercing feline eyes somehow shine brighter than the flames, narrowed and glaring at Chris. “Today is your lucky day,” he snarls, the sudden change in tone giving Chris whiplash. “The next time we meet, don’t count on another.” Chris blinks, tongue prodding his bruised, bleeding lip. “Next time,” he parrots dumbly, still dazed from the kiss. Something else explodes, and Chris scrambles to his feet, frantically glancing around for an exit, and finds one easily enough. By the time he looks back, Wesker has already gone. “Next time,” he repeats to the empty space. As Chris runs for the exit, leaving the collapsing machinery behind, he finds himself looking forward to the next time he and Wesker meet.

But how is he going to explain the state he’s in to Claire?