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hadriel_logs2017-10-23 10:54 am
hadrielmods) wrote in hadriel_logs2017-10-23 10:54 am
Entry tags:
- !event,
- abigail hobbs,
- ann takamaki,
- aren brosca,
- atem,
- bakura,
- bianca,
- carlisle longinmouth,
- dr. lance sweets,
- dr. newton geiszler,
- dr. temperance brennan,
- ed grayson,
- ellie,
- george lass,
- gren,
- harlan halliday,
- ignis scientia,
- inquisitor trevelyan,
- jo harvelle,
- julie grigio,
- kravitz,
- laura palmer,
- lup,
- maketh tua,
- margaery tyrell,
- mello,
- merle highchurch,
- michael munroe,
- nathan drake,
- nick rivenna,
- nick valentine,
- nico di angelo,
- oscar,
- raidou kuzunoha,
- rey,
- saber,
- terrence ephemera/sharkface,
- trafalgar law,
- tucker,
- yehudit/ravine
Event Post: Dreamwalker the Second
Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the second half of the Dreamwalker Part Two event
Where: All over the city!
When: October 23rd-29th
Warnings: All different kinds of dreams falling under Fear, Love, Confusion, and Tranquility
What: The event log for the second half of the Dreamwalker Part Two event
Where: All over the city!
When: October 23rd-29th
Warnings: All different kinds of dreams falling under Fear, Love, Confusion, and Tranquility
It was over - at least, it seemed to be. The dreams stopped, and maybe you were a little disappointed, or maybe you were just relieved. Maybe, though, you noticed that only four of the gods had been influencing you. Sure, that might have been it, but was there really a chance of that? So, just for a few days, you slept (or didn't sleep) normally.
Until it started again. Those deep, unavoidable sleeps, taking you into vivid and emotional dreams. This time, the other four gods are getting in on the act. Expect some nightmares,
some embarrassingly schmoopy dreams - or dreams that don't make sense, or dreams that leave you calm and centered. You can't force these dreams to be anything but what they are,
so you might as well give in and enjoy the ride. Maybe it won't be so bad.
And of course, there are visitors this time, too. Just when you thought it might be safe to have a candy-colored dream about your secret crush, well... turn around and they might be standing right there, wondering what the hell is going on. By now, people know what to expect, but that doesn't give them any better control over things. Let's hope there's no good blackmail material in these dreams.► This log covers October 23rd-29th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you slept so terribly that you trip over a rock and die, please let us know here.
fear;
The woman takes in the scenery before her, the stage coach, the surprisingly familiar name blazoned on the side, the man running the show. It would be easy for her to slip up to the front of the crowd, to catch Taako's eye and maybe heckle him a little just to get the crowd laughing, but Lup stays back instead, content to just watch her brother work from afar. He looks completely in his element, every move he makes confident and practiced, his expression charming and sincerely happy.
After how pleasant his last dream turned out, Lup can barely keep her excitement in check to see where this one is going.]
no subject
Still, he continues the demonstration, working with ease as he finally plates the dish, the audience clapping as it comes out flawless. Two mage hands appear to cut them out into little sample-sized pieces, and Taako looks around for a moment before readdressing the audience.]
Well, there's supposed to be someone to pass this stuff out, but... guess he's slacking off. Oh well! Up close and personal with Taako it is!
[He grabs the tray with a flourish, and Lup may notice each of the pieces of chicken has a little berry alongside it, which Taako makes a big show of waving his hand over as they change color. The audience seems entirely wooed as he steps down from the stagecoach, ready to be absolutely adored.]
Alright, who's up first?
no subject
This kind of repetitive, relatively combat-free life isn't exactly what Lup is all about, but she could see it for Taako easy. They've all fought for too long as it is. They all were entitled to a nice, long break once the Hunger was taken care of.
Either way, Taako's assistant seems to have disappeared (rude), so the man of the hour himself comes forward with his dish to serve to the crowd. A dish Lup can't say she's at all familiar with, it must be something new he's come up with and hasn't had the decency to make for her in Hadriel (doubly rude). Taako waves a hand and the berry changes colors, leaving everyone in the crowd but Lup oooohing in delight, though the moment he calls for first dibs, the woman is pushing her way through to the front of the crowd.]
Right here, chef! [Lup approaches Taako with a knowing grin and wink, expecting to catch his surprise at finding her here.] Lay it on me, my man.
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Hey, what the hell are you doing here? Shoulda let me know you were gonna be around, coulda done a wicked guest spot. Anyway, check it.
[He presents the tray to her, others already taking samples from him and starting to chat with each other, or waiting for their chance to talk to the star himself.]
I assume you saw the show so you know my thirty garlic clove chicken, but it's pretty fuckin' good, so.
no subject
He looks so happy in this moment, so at peace. After how long it had taken them to get to this place, to break free of the distrust and hurt of their childhood, Lup knows she'd do just about anything to keep him smiling like this for the rest of their lives. They deserve this.
Taako holds out the tray and Lup grabs one of the samples before they've all disappeared into the masses, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a practiced flick of her wrist. Well, you know me. Wouldn't have wanted to outshine the star of the show and stolen all of your adoring fans. Thought it was better to sit in the shadows and give you your moment. Be the better sibling. Oops, I mean bigger sibling.
[But there's nothing worse than a cold free sample of thirty garlic clove chicken, so Lup pops it into her mouth and chews, faking a grimace when it hits her tongue.] Uh, babe, I think you forgot to make it, like, good?
no subject
Taako rolls his eyes when she starts giving him the ever-practiced shit, grinning the whole way through.]
Oh shut up, it's fuckin' great and you know it. A real chef doesn't have to taste test.
[As they're chatting, he gets relieved of the tray, the samples making their way around the crowd. He moves to grab one, but it goes out of his reach, and he shrugs. Who is he to deprive his wanting public?]
Or do you think I need your approval for everything I do? I'm a great chef. Just--
[The crowd's chatter starts to dull, and someone stumbles and coughs.
Taako's head tilts up, suddenly distracted, the rest of the sentence falling on his lips.]
What's--
[It moves like a wave across the crowd. Some people clutching their stomachs, others stumbling into one another, faces going pale. Someone vomits and Taako steps backwards, hands shaking, until he hits the wood of the wagon, eyes wide as he scans the crowd and--
And sees Lup, again. And suddenly, he's reaching for her, breaths coming in gasps, everything about him unsteady.]
No, no no no, c-come on, don't-- you can't--
no subject
[If how quickly the samples were eaten up and the excited murmur through the crowd means anything, the twins both know that Taako's chicken was a complete success. Lup's already figuring out how best to get the recipe out of him while still bypassing having to admit that his food was actually good. In fact, Lup's just opening her mouth to casually inquire about the real necessity of thirty cloves of garlic, when the murmuring around them abruptly stops.
Someone in the crowd coughs and Taako's focus immediately shifts away from her. It's a little strange, her brother's attention while speaking to her usually isn't so flighty. More than anyone else in the world, they always take the time to give each other their full, undivided attention. But Taako's gaze lands over her shoulder, so Lup turns, watching a gnome woman suddenly fall to the ground, a human nearby doubling over to vomit. Coughing turns into gagging turns into retching and crying, a girl's sharp cries echoing above the noise, piercing right through the elf.
In the blink of an eye, one victim turns into forty.
Lup takes half a step forward but freezes, suddenly all too aware of the trembling in her own limbs. Her vision blurs as an uncomfortable heat travels slowly up her back. She barely manages to turn back to her brother before her knees give out, but she makes it just in time to see him backing away, shaking all over.]
T-Taako? [She tries to push out more but suddenly can't breathe, can't do anything but gasp before falling forward to the ground.]
no subject
Because he's not running. He can't, when she's falling in front of him, with the crushing weight of this falling on his shoulders like a cave in. Everything feels blurry, whether it's from the strain of what's happening versus the truth, or because the panic has taken him so fully, and he swears he can almost hear the voice of someone he can't place, whispering the people of this town died all the same, and you fed them their death.
He hits his knees hard as he falls, grabbing at her shoulders, trying to keep her upright as he pulls one arm around him. He'll bring her with him. They'll solve this. He can't do this, he can't watch her--]
Come on, don't-- just hold on, I've got you, don't-- you don't have to talk. Just keep breathing, okay? Please.
[He doesn't beg. He never begs, and doesn't shake, doesn't let fear overtake him to the point where tears are already pricking at his eyes, because he won't believe the future and simultaneously knows what happens in this scene.
All this time, to worry about losing a sister. When he'll be the reason she's lost.]
no subject
The crowd is in chaos behind them, but it quickly fades into the background for Lup, who feels her sharp senses dimming second by second, barely able to recognize the familiar arms holding her. Her throat burns, soft uncomfortable tingles that quickly turn into real measured pain, the feeling slowly spreading downwards to her torso, the tingling continuing outwards to her limbs. Taako holds her upright and Lup realizes she's lost all feeling in her fingertips and toes. She tries to move, but her body just isn't responding. Everything is just shutting down, every breath is harder to take.
So there's nothing for her to do but watch him from below, wide eyes trying to focus in on her brother's face, a mix of fear and confusion trapped there in her gaze. Lup wants nothing more than to put a hand to Taako's cheek, to make sure that he's fine, but the words don't come. Her mouth opens and nothing comes out.
She never would have thought being trapped within her own body would be so much worse than her years trapped in the umbrella.]
no subject
His legs give out in one, two steps, and he hits his knees hard in supporting her weight so she doesn't fall when they go. He can't carry her. This version of him is suspended between time, simultaneously knowing this answer and his spells and their future and knowing nothing, just enough magic to be dangerous. And dangerous he is, because he can't seem to leave this behind him. This thing that isn't his fault, he says, that he doesn't care about.
He barely even cares what's going on around him, if someone might be calling the cops, if he might be locked up for the rest of his life. All he cares about is Lup in his arms. He needs to keep feeling her breath against his chest, gripping her too tight and sloppy and so unlike him. If she can still feel or see still, she'll be able to tell he's crying, a mess in a way he hasn't been in years and years, whispering only for her.]
Stay alive, stay alive, please, I can't have killed you, I can't, you're all I have, please, don't fucking do this, please, Lup, gods, say something, I'm sorry, I'm so fucking sorry.
[He presses their chests together, her head over his shoulder and vice versa, and sobs into her neck, arms pressing their hearts as close as they can be.
He needs to feel it keep beating. He needs to know.
He needs to take responsibility for this when she slips away.]
no subject
Lup is left with nothing but the feeling of herself fading away with Taako's voice begging her to stay in her ear. She's only vaguely aware of the tears streaming down her own cheeks, blurring her vision of the man who means absolutely everything to her. Her throat is on fire and she can't feel her tongue, but she tries with all her might to scream at him, to tell Taako this isn't his fault, that she'll be back with him after a few more agonizing moments.
But the heartbeat that she'd only just gotten back slows and slows before stopping completely.]
no subject
Taako doesn't know how long he sits there trembling, doesn't look up from her until he hears something move. His head snaps up in a panic, still gripping to her body tightly as he finally surveys the scene.
The ground is littered with bodies, further out than his vision takes him. He doesn't remember where they fell, but he's surrounded now, the two of them at the epicenter of a wave of destruction. There's nothing he can see, but the sound persists, a shuffle of footsteps on stone, and Taako finally turns his head. His posture is crumpled, clutching Lup's body with everything he has, but this almost pulls him back.
There were plenty of things Taako doesn't remember because of magic, but there were others that simply dripped out from the passage of time. Things that seemed unimportant until they absolutely were. Unmistakably, Sazed stands behind him, but nothing about his features seems right. His face is unreadable, like Taako can't focus on it long enough to understand past recognizing that it's him, the fine details blurring and seeming to move every time he looks. He reaches forward for him, and Taako tenses when his hands come close, until he realizes Sazed isn't touching him- he's grabbing at Lup, starting to pull her out of his arms, and he screams, inarticulate and wordless. He's strong, stronger than Taako remembers, and he starts to pry Taako's arms off her, open him up, and he has no strength to fight back as his grip is forcibly released, as she's lifted and taken and gone gone gone--
He wakes up already screaming. He doesn't know that he has been since before Lup died in his arms, his face feeling drenched and his entire body wrung out. He still feels like he's holding something, and only blearily realizes it's just himself, nails digging into their opposite arms almost deeply enough to bleed in multiple, strong strokes. He's shaking, sweat intermingling with the tears on his face, breath hoarse from a sore throat and coming in loud, heaving noises.
It's over. He's awake. But the panic hasn't stopped, and another sob retches out of him, as if he has anything else left to give.]
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Which is disorienting enough because sleep isn't something she's been able to do in well over a decade, not since she lost her corporeal form, not since she'd been sucked up into the staff and trapped there to live like a shadow. But the lich startles awake from her faux slumber, shaking her hooded head against the onslaught of images and emotions from the dream she'd just experienced.
Because it hadn't been real. It was just a dream. A dream about forty people suddenly falling ill and dying after trying out her brother's cooking.
It had been Taako's nightmare.
On the other side of the room, her twin screams and Lup floats from the bed she'd been hovering over to his, a spectral hand moving to her brother's shaking frame immediately. It phases right through him, but she has to do something, even if she can't drag him close to her like she wishes she could.]
Taako! Hey, hey! Taako, I'm here. I'm right here. [Not alive exactly, but she wasn't gone. Never again.]
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Worse so as Lup's hand goes right through him, and he grips himself tighter, blood pricking at the scratches from his nails where they've raked down his arms.]
Fuck... damnit.
[His voice is shaking, and he hacks a wet cough, trying to get his bearings, but his heart is still pounding. Maybe it's better Lup can't touch him, because everything feels electric, like he's grabbed a live wire and there's nowhere to discharge.
His knees draw closer to his stomach, and he finally untangles an arm from himself to wipe at his face.]
Don't... don't stop talking, alright? If I can't feel you, just... say something, alright, just say something.
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[This is the nightmare scenario. If Lup had her body, she could at least wrap him up, drag her brother's head to her chest where he could hear her heartbeat and feel how incredibly real and alive she was. But as things were now, her bony hands pass right through him, her ghostly presence impossible to feel. She's barely real like this, more magic than a person, and for the first time since she'd become a lich thirty-some years ago, Lup feels the weight of her decision.
It's not much, it's barely anything really, but Lup casts mage hand to grab one of Taako's pillows and push it right into his chest, forcing him to hold onto it. Once he has a secure hold on it, the disembodied hand floats to his back, rubbing soothing circles there.]
Remember when we first came to Auntie's house? We didn't know who she was, no way were we going to trust her. So we decided to fuck with her, like we did with everyone back then. We did our hair up the same, swapped clothes, the whole shebang. [Her real hand can't touch him, but Lup presses it against his cheek anyway.] And that old witch saw right through us. She was the first one to ever call us on our shit.
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He blindly takes the pillow when it's offered, crushing it into his chest and eliciting another wheeze and heave of his breath. It'll end. It'll-- it'll end. He just needs to make it there.]
Kind of. Yeah. She'd-- we didn't switch our hair up. Nobody else had ever noticed. Nobody'd cared enough to.
[He's starting to feel the sting on his arms, but he still feels a million miles away, and he grabs for a memory but all of it's just too jumbled. What does he remember. Does he remember anything?]
Do you remember the first time we ran that con to get us on the road? Just to get to the next town over. We had to switch halfway through dinner because I burned myself on the cooking fire and we almost got caught.
[And he remembers two versions of that. One, with her in it, hands grasping gently as he stowed away behind a bag of potatoes, pressing his sweaty hands against it and having to be quiet. And another, where he was alone, where he had to wrap it hastily, had to get over it, had to keep it in.
She helped him wrap it later, when everyone was asleep. He only remembered that now.
Taako grips the pillow tighter, if he can, still feeling like the wind is knocked from his ribs.]
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The past isn't something the two ever choose to talk about. Outside of the memories of each other that Lup's always held close to her heart, there's nothing very pleasant from their childhood to drag up and relive. A few fond memories of their aunt and a handful of moments during their journey across the land learning magic together, but the rest is better forgotten. Even with all that she's told him over decades of being together, Lup hadn't completely opened up to all of the details of the twins' past to Barry. Her responses were generally vague and quickly waved away.
She'd just always felt there wasn't anything more to say.
But considering what Lucretia had taken from her brother, Lup doesn't hesitate in delving into old memories if it helps to ground Taako when he needs it most. She can't quite understand the disconnect there, how the two sets of memories plagues him, but she can see him hurting.]
Like I could ever forget. [She's silent, but only for a second, focusing hard on that particular memory. Even if it's been ages since she ever recalled it, the imagery is surprisingly vivid in her mind. Taako burned and shaking while she'd shoved him into the shadows, her having to play the role while trying not to let her worry for him show. It had been the most scared Lup had ever felt in her whole short life, her heart thudding so loud in her chest she'd been certain they'd be discovered.]
That first caravan was the worst. The big guy always tugged at our ears. What a fuckface. I always wished we'd cross paths again, but someone else probs took him out before we ever could.
no subject
He tries to draw her closer, arms feeling sore, but his hand just goes through her. His other fist clenches a little tighter, trying to stop more tears from leaking out of his eyes.
This is stupid. She's right there and he's being stupid. Why can't he just be thankful to have her at all?]
Yeah, there were... a lot like that.
[He struggles for something specific, trying to reach back through years and years.]
Remember when-- we were first learning magic, and. I... no, it was you. You caught one of the supplies on fire.
[Shit, it was her, it wasn't him messing around with a little fire in his hands. She gave it to him, and-- he didn't drop it, he threw it back at her and missed, why did he think he dropped it, shit. Everything ends up too messy for him to continue, and he just tries to breathe.]
I don't remember what we did. I thought I-- I thought I just kind of ran, but now I don't know.
[Why is he doing this to himself. Why is he trying to pull this out? Does he think it will make her more real? Because all it's doing is making him feel more fake by the second, like he's the ghost slipping away into the sunrise, forever haunting her for some vestiges of what he was.]
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All the while she speaks as casually as ever, saying nothing about his small injuries.
Lup snorts at that, tipping her head as her dark, hooded expression watches his face.] Not exactly my best moment, but yeah, that was all me.
[Fucking around and nearly killing them both. Looking back on their childhood now, with nearly two centuries experience since then, it's easy to wonder just how the fuck they ever managed to get through half of the shit they pulled off alive. Maybe elf twins really were impossibly lucky.]
Taako, [she moves the cool cloth from one arm to the other, pressing the clean side carefully against his scratches.] I've got you. I told you I wasn't going anywhere and I mean it. You trust me, right?
no subject
But he doesn't have the energy to fight. He's just too wrung out. So he lets her dab away the blood, lay motionless as she speaks, want to find some pocket of fight in him that he just doesn't have.]
Of course I do, but it doesn't-- it doesn't matter, Lup. Someone could take you. Something could kill me. I could-- I could fucking kill you.
[He has that power more than anyone, doesn't he? To be cruel? To destabilize her, to wipe her from existence? Isn't he the linchpin of it all?
He heaves another breath, and hates that he even has to breathe for the noise it makes.]
How the fuck can you even trust me? We're one fuckup away from the end of all of it. And I know, that's-- stupid. This whole thing is stupid and fake and it sucks.
[Another small pause, for just a moment, once again hating the sound of air in his own mouth.]
Shouldn't've seen that. It wasn't-- it wasn't me, it was fucking Sazed, Sazed and his stupid, jealous bullshit. And you shouldn't've been there.
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She does the same thing now, trying to distract however she can while she tends to his wounds. But when the conversation begins to spiral downwards at an alarming rate, Lup quickly raises her mage hand and smacks her brother upside the head instead. She's cutting this off as fast as possible.]
Taako, don't be a fucking dumbass. [Her tone is much harsher than she was going for, but maybe that's what her brother needs. A good kick in the ass to knock him out of this dangerous state of mind.] We've done this song and dance for over thirty years. You aren't going to fuck this up and you sure as hell aren't going to kill me. Knock it off.
[Her touch returns to his arms, eyeless gaze following downwards. The mere mention of Sazed makes everything within her want to convulse, like she's going to physically crumble away until nothing but hot flame and raw electricity remain, but Taako's presence keeps her grounded. Keeps her lich form from losing control. Taako doesn't need her to explode right now. She may not have lungs to breathe in air, but Lup follows through with the motions anyway, focusing her attention on his arm.]
You've gotta stop thinking that way, babe. We've survived the actual end of the world a hundred times over. What the hell makes you think we can't survive through this all of this too?
no subject
Don’t fuckin’ hit me, like your damn ghost shit is immortality. Fuck.
[He did... look at her, though. Somewhere other than the inside of his eyelids or a place he was looking and not focusing, and it seems like it works on at least one front. He’s becoming aware of the pain in his legs from holding everything so curled, his arms from the scratches and the cooling balm of the towel. It’s not relaxed, but it’s coming down in increments, in the flex of his toes and the crack of a knee as they move further towards the end of the bed.]
It’s just... different when it happens. We can’t just be lucky forever. I know we’re, uh, the cheating masters of this and a hundred other planes, but it’s...
[He doesn’t really want to talk about this, but if it doesn’t leave him, he’ll never survive. There’s only so much of your own poison that you can swallow before it burns and must be spit.]
It was so easy to lose you. Two hundred years and I lost everything in two minutes. Couldn’t do anything about it, couldn’t fight it, couldn’t even break it on my own. If it wasn’t for Barry I might not’ve ever remembered before Lucretia had done her even stupider thing and I never would’ve known you. I’d have died alone, and fucked up, and done nothing to show for it.
[All of it’s true, in a sense. But there’s a shining memory through it all. He remembers, months and months ago now, standing in the bottom of the diamond mine in Refuge. Seeing something unknowable, and coming for them, and death on the horizon. It wasn’t going to be the end- they knew that much- but there was nothing they could do.
And still, Magnus and Merle reached out, each took one hand. And as the fire engulfed them, they died together. Not alone.]
‘Ss just... hard to find hope in that. Especially when I guess I’m just a killer person on my own.
[At least he’s coming back in to making jokes.]
no subject
It's a start. Even if he can't feel her while she's trapped in this non-body, at least he'll be able to both hear and see her. Lup refuses to let herself be forgotten for a second time.]
You were never alone, dingus. I was right there with you the whole time. I know it's... [If she had a face, Taako can likely imagine her lips pressing tightly together, like they always do when she's deep in thought. A skeletal finger taps noiselessly against his leg.] Look, I know it's different cause you didn't exactly know, but that doesn't change the fact you fucking found me. Bar and Luce had an extra ten years on you and didn't even come close. And you found me without even knowing what you were looking for.
[the hand against his leg brushes across his cheek, careful to not phase right through] That's how unbreakable you and I are, babe. She tried to keep us apart and you stumbled right across me like it was nothing. That has to mean something. And I've been with you for all of it. No way you would have survived as long as you did without me watching your ass.
[All of this hurts so much more than the loneliness of her time in the Umbra Staff. Lup would give anything to have a solid answer for Taako, to hand him physical proof that no one would ever rip them apart together. But all she has is her word.]
Have a little more faith in me, Taako. If I was gonna destabilize, it woulda been years ago. I'm good. And so are you. We're both gonna be fine. You're acting like the Hunger is going to drop down any minute or Lucretia's gonna magic up another Voidfish to gobble up my name. Neither is gonna happen here.
You've got to stop fighting, hun. We've got nothing to run from anymore.
no subject
He tilts his head a bit into her touch, wanting to envelop his hand over hers, press that warmth close through nicks and cuts from their years alone together. It's so, so infrequent that he lets anyone be gentle with him, but he needs it now. He needs her. And the ugly part of him wants to shove it all away, to yell you're better off alone, and people will disappoint you, and no one has ever really cared. But if he lets that take him, Lucretia won. If he gives in to those fake memories, that knowledge that guided him through years of confusion, he's lost.
And he won't lose to her. He won't lose his god damn sister again, even if he's fighting his own issues every step of the way.
Maybe that's just it, in the end. He's just so used to fighting, and so, so hates giving up.]
I do trust you. It's you and like, six other people, ever, which isn't a great track record, but... y'know.
[It's just been so volatile. He wishes someone was far enough ahead that they could come in and just tell him everything is okay. But he doesn't know. She doesn't, either. And he's just so bad at hope.
He closes his eyes for just a moment, letting a deep breath wash through him. He's breathing. It's one breath at a time, and it's all he can do.]
Kinda hard to stop goin' after it all when it keeps finding me. Besides, even when stuff was good with us, it's... mm waiting for it to go wrong. Everything else did.
[Eventually he'll have to cut and run, right? They'll have to leave this and everything behind and this nice thing was never, ever permanent. How could it? How could something so good really happen to them, and keep?]
How do we just decide... it's over, this time? This is the time we finally win?
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Hey, [the conversation may be heavy, like a physical weight pushing down against Lup's spectral form, but she can't help the soft tease in her tone.] Six other people is a hell of a lot better than we used to be. What's that, six hundred percent increase? I'd say that's pretty good, babe.
[No matter how far behind they might have been in comparison to their other friends and family, the advances they'd made in the last century were still significant and still real. They hadn't really been alone with just each other in a very long time.]
I think-- [Her empty eyes dance across Taako's face, watching as he draws in a breath, listening for the steady sound of his heartbeat.] I think we just have to decide that for ourselves. It's up to us to say when we're done. Before it was always pretty easy to drop everything and run when we never had shit to tie us down. Pick ourselves up and just leave. It was nothing. [The instincts are still there within her, a lifetime of that behavior doesn't just disappear no matter what bonds she's made, but the thought of just up and leaving now makes her feel sick.]
But now we both kinda have crap we want to keep with us. So, I guess we have to decide if it's important enough to hang onto. Enough to want to stick around.
[They have a family now. A real family, not just two lonely kids clinging together and fighting against the world alone. Now they have other people who want to be around them, who want to fight the world at their side. Stubborn people with stupid big hearts who keep forgiving them for all of their shortcomings and their endless insecurities. Who just keep accepting them for who they are over and over and over again.
Lup hates all of it, absolutely, but she's also never been happier.
Her hands finally fall away, drifting back down to the bed, but she stays there hovering in front of Taako, not shifting away. She's there with him as long as he'll have her.] You know they'd all fight for us. We really up for letting those saps down?
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