#distance away from said core before problems start to act up. and its common for ghosts to leave their physical cores at their lairs for
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i need to get this out of my head before i continue clone^2 but danny being the first batkid. Like, standard procedure stuff: his parents and sister die, danny ends up with Vlad Masters. He drags him along to stereotypical galas and stuff; Danny is not having a good time.
He ends up going to one of the Wayne Galas being hosted ever since elusive Bruce Wayne has returned to Gotham. Vlad is crowing about having this opportunity as he's been wanting to sink his claws into the company for a long while now. Danny is too busy grieving to care what he wants.
And like most Galas, once Vlad is done showing him off to the other socialites and the like, he disappears. Off to a dark corner, or to one of the many balconies; doesn't matter. There he runs into said star of the show, Bruce who is still young, has been Batman for at least a year at this point, but still getting used to all these damn people and socializing. He's stepped off to hide for a few minutes before stepping back into the shark tank.
And he runs into a kid with circles under his eyes and a dull gleam in them. Familiar, like looking into a mirror.
Danny tries to excuse himself, he hasn't stopped crying since his parents died and it's been months. He rubs his eyes and stands up, and stumbles over a half-hearted apology to Mister Wayne. Some of Vlad's etiquette lessons kicking in.
Bruce is awkward, but he softens. "That's alright, lad," he says, pulling up some of that Brucie Wayne confidence, "I was just coming out here to get some fresh air."
There's a little pressing; Bruce asks who he's here with, Danny says, voice quiet and grief-stricken, that he's with his godfather Vlad Masters. Bruce asks him if he knows where he is, and Danny tells him he does. Bruce offers to leave, Danny tells him to do whatever he wants.
It ends with Bruce staying, standing off to the side with Danny in silence. Neither of them say a word, and Danny eventually leaves first in that same silence.
Bruce looks into Vlad Masters after everything is over, his interest piqued. He finds news about him taking in Danny Fenton: he looks into Danny Fenton. He finds news articles about his parents' deaths, their occupations, everything he can get his hands on.
At the next gala, he sees Danny again. And he looks the same as ever: quiet like a ghost, just as pale, and full of grief. Bruce sits in silence with him again for nearly ten minutes before he strikes a conversation.
"Do you like to do anything?"
Nothing. Just silence.
Bruce isn't quite sure what to do: comfort is not his forte, and Danny doesn't know him. He's smart enough to know that. So he starts talking about other things; anything he can think of that Brucie Wayne might say, that also wasn't inappropriate for a kid to hear.
Danny says nothing the entire time, and is again the first to leave.
Bruce watches from a distance as he intercts with Vlad Masters; how Vlad Masters interacts with him. He doesn't like what he sees: Vlad Masters keeps a hand on Danny's shoulder like one would hold onto the collar of a dog. He parades him around like a trophy he won.
And there are moments, when someone gets too close or when someone tries to shake Danny's hand, of deep possessiveness that flints over Vlad Masters' eyes. Like a dragon guarding a horde.
He plays the act of doting godfather well: but Bruce knows a liar when he sees one. Like recognizes like.
Danny is dull-eyed and blank faced the entire time; he looks miserable.
So Bruce tries to host more parties; if only so that he can talk to Danny alone. Vlad seems all too happy to attend, toting Danny along like a ribbon, and on the dot every hour, Danny slips away to somewhere to hide. Bruce appears twenty minutes later.
"I was looking into your godfather's company," he says one night, trying to think of more things to say. Some nights all they do is sit in silence. "Some of my shareholders were thinking of partnering up--"
"Don't."
He stops. Danny hardly says a word to him, he doesn't even look at him -- he's sitting on the ground, his head in his knees. Like he's trying to hide from the world. But he's looking, blue eyes piercing up at Bruce.
Bruce tilts his head, practiced puppy-like. "Pardon?"
"Don't." Danny says, strongly. "Don't make any deals with Vlad."
It's the most words Danny's spoken to him, and there's a look in his eyes like a candle finding its spark. Something hard. Bruce presses further, "And why is that?"
The spark flutters, and flushes out. Danny blinks like he's coming out of a trance, and slumps back into himself. "Just don't."
Bruce stares at him, thoughtful, before looking away. "Alright. I won't."
And they fall back into silence.
Danny, when he leaves, turns to look at Bruce, "I mean it." He says; soft like he's telling a secret, "Don't make any deals with him. Don't be alone with him. Don't work with him."
He's scampered away before Bruce can question him further.
(He never planned on working with Vlad Masters and his company; he's done his research. He's seen the misfortune. But nothing ever leads back to him. There's no evidence of anything. But Danny knows something.)
At their next meeting, Danny starts the conversation. It's new, and it's welcomed. He says, cutting through their five minute quiet, that he likes stars. And he doesn't like that he can't see them in Gotham.
Bruce hums in interest, and Danny continues talking. It's as if floodgates had been opened, and as Bruce takes a sip of his wine, it tastes like victory.
("Tucker told me once--")
("Tucker?")
("Oh-- uh, one of my best friends. He's a tech geek. We haven't talked in a while.")
(Danny shut down in his grief -- his friends are worried, but can't reach him. When he goes back to the manor with Vlad, he fishes out his phone and sends them a message.)
(They are ecstatic to hear from him.)
It all culminates until one day, when Danny is leaving to go back inside, that Bruce speaks up. "You know," He says, leaning against the railing. "The manor has many rooms; plenty of space for a guest."
The implication there, hidden between the lines. And Danny is smart, he looks at Bruce with a sharp glean in his eyes, and he nods. "Good to know."
The next time they see each other, Danny has something in his hands. "Can you hold onto something for me?" He asks.
When Bruce agrees, Danny places a pearl into his palm. or, at least, it's something that looks like a pearl. Because it's cold to the touch; sinking into Bruce's white silk gloves with ease and shimmering like an opal. It moves a little as it settles into his hand, and the moves like its full of liquid.
Bruce has never seen anything like it before, but he does know this; it's not human. "What is it?" He asks, and Danny looks uncomfortable.
"I can't tell you that." He says, shifting on his foot like he's scared of someone seeing it. "But please be careful with it. Treat it like it's extremely fragile."
When Bruce gets home, he puts it in an empty ring box and hides the box in the cave. He tries researching into what it is. he can't find anything concrete.
Everything comes to a head one day when Danny appears at the manor's doorstep one evening, soaking wet in the rain, and bleeding from the side.
#dpxdc#dp x dc#danny fenton is not the ghost king#dpxdc crossover#dpdc#dp x dc crossover#dpxdc prompt#man i just really need more dpdc stuff where danny and bruce have a good relationship. like man i NEED it. like i need to see these two#bonding together. and not in a cracky 'oh danny is a distant friend/cousin/etc' stuff but like. active participants in each other's lives#or as active as can be in this case. i neeeeed these two getting along and caring about one another#this idea came to me like last night and hasn't left since nd it was driving me up the wall to think about both positively and negatively b#i neeeded someone to hear about this or i was gonna implode#danny is the first son#tried to just get the general gist of the idea down but i definitely thought of the idea that bruce lowkey suspects vlad for having a hand#Vlad allows Danny to sneak off because he thinks Danny is alone. if he knew Bruce was there he'd be piiisssed and would put a stop to it#Sam and Tucker are alive they just got ghosted for a bit by danny bc he was in Major Grief and didn't wanna socialize. He couldn't go to#them because he didn't wanna put them in danger via Vlad.#oh that thing he handed Bruce? Yeah that's his ghost core. I have a headcanon (that isnt always applied) that ghosts can take their cores#out of their bodies at will and painlessly and without issue. and its common practice actually to do so bc they can be a not insignificant#distance away from said core before problems start to act up. and its common for ghosts to leave their physical cores at their lairs for#safekeeping because as long as the physical core is fine: so is the ghost. they can reform if their body gets destroyed. it also acts as a#fast travel sometimes. where they can reform at their core in an instant. its not inspired in the slightest by SU but i do see the overlap#most cores are pretty small for safety sake: its harder to hit if its small. and they're pr resilient too but its better to be safe than#sorry. so yeah. danny essentially gave bruce the physical embodiment of his soul and indirectly said#'if anything happens to me at least i'll be safe with you'#danny doesn't know he's batman btw#starry rambles.#was gonna go into danny becoming a vigilante beside bruce but im sleeeepy so i'll do that in a reblog. he's gonna go by nightingale if#anyone is interested. stereotypical but to be frank it is a *good* name imo. has a good amount of syllables and consonants to it#and the bird theme. and since its part of an ancestral name it has even more backing for it being bird-y without being meta
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Walking on Broken Glass || Solo
TIMING: Last night.
LOCATION: The Bend.
PARTIES: Eddie and a ghost I accidentally became emotionally attached to.
SUMMARY: Eddie spends some time with a ghostly friend, things get a little heavy, then very stupid, and then heavy again. It’s a roller coaster.
CONTENT: Internalized homophobia tw, homophobia tw
Ask any White Crest native about the derelict houses in the bend and they’ll tell you that ‘abandoned’ doesn’t always mean ‘empty.’ Squatters looking to put a roof over their heads might hunker down in the neglected homes, usually becoming a meal for something sinister, but some occupants can’t be so easily disposed of. Those who have no life to be taken from them cling to familiar places instead of moving on. Before death’s embrace, they hung pictures and changed lightbulbs. They tried to determine which color to paint their living rooms before deciding it would be too much work to relocate the furniture. After all, for something to be abandoned, it must have once been cherished.
Eddie knocked on the front door before letting himself in. He arrived later than usual with hardly any time before the sun hung its hat. Soon enough, ‘the bend’ would become ‘the buffet’ for creatures of the night. “Amira?” he called out as he nudged the door shut with his heel. Broken glass covered the living room floor and crunched under his feet as he ventured into the living room.
“You were supposed to be here hours ago,” a voice replied.
“I got tied up,” he said, turning to face the specter standing mid-way up the stairs. Amira’s arms were crossed, but a few of the stab-wounds on her chest remained visible. “What’s with the glass?”
“Oh, you know,” Amira sighed as she descended to the ground-floor. “I started thinking about how I’ll never taste freshly made coffee again and it made me so distraught that I shattered the windows.”
“As one does,” Eddie sagely responded. With a shrug, his backpack slipped off his shoulders. He tossed it onto the faded couch and began rifling through the main compartment in search of his portable speaker. “On the bright-side, the outcome of your afterlife crisis has inspired the first title on tonight’s soundtrack.” Eddie placed the speaker on the coffee table and synced it to his phone while Amira closed the distance between them. Her eyes curiously watched as he scrolled through song titles.
“Why couldn’t those have been around in the ‘80s?” she asked with a huff.
“Blame Reagan,” Eddie said before hitting play.
‘Walking on Broken Glass’ by Annie Lennox streamed from the speaker in all its soul-pop glory. Eddie shoved his phone into his back pocket and took a cursory glance around the room in search of the broom and dustpan.
“In the kitchen, where you left them,” Amira instructed.
“How do you do that?”
“What, read your mind? You act like it’s difficult.”
Eddie eyed her with light-hearted skepticism as he slipped by, careful not to pass through her. Amira didn’t like being reminded of her intangibility; it exacerbated the ache of a half-existence. From time to time, when their conversations lulled or Eddie seemed distracted, she asked if he couldn’t see her anymore, always with a look of mild panic. The thought of her killer seeing the world continue to grow and change while she faded away kept her from crossing-over. It didn’t matter that prison bars obstructed his view, she said they were both destined to cope with cages someone else put them in. Her cage had nice flowers on the wallpaper and memories of brighter days, at least.
In the kitchen, Eddie noticed the cupboard doors opening and closing along with the music and immediately grinned. Life dealt him a hand he didn’t always know how to play, but helping the dead come back to life for a little while made it seem worth it. He grabbed the handle of the broom and rejoined Amira in the living room. He watched as her shoulders bounced rhythmically.
“Looks like I’ve given Annie Lennox a brand-new fan,” he remarked.
“I’m inclined to agree.” Amira simpered at him over her shoulder. “When did this song come out?”
“Uh, the ‘90s, I believe.”
“Explains why I’ve never heard it, but I’m in love with her voice.”
“With pristine taste like that, you’re a girl after my own heart,” Eddie crooned wistfully while ushering shards of glass into a neat pile.
“I don’t think I’m your type.”
Eddie froze mid-sweep and furrowed his brow. He thought about Nell, about Alfie and Kyle, how they highlighted an aspect of himself he preferred to keep in the dark, all in unique ways that seemed to share the same conclusion. Eddie remembered the first time he saw two men holding hands in public and the way his mother told him to look away. He felt scared, not for himself, but for them. That day in the common, onlookers didn’t see an innocent display of affection, they saw something unfit for their children to be around. Eddie didn’t agree, but to think that someone might view him as a threat for something as innocuous as holding another man’s hand shook him to his core. He didn’t want that to be his life.
“Why does everyone assume I’m gay?” Eddie laughed, trying to pretend it didn’t bother him. “Is it, like, a vibe, or… ?”
“I meant because I don’t have a corporeal body, but now that you mention it…”
Realizing the error in his assumption, he quickly pulled his phone out and turned the speaker’s volume up to maximum. “I’m sorry,” he shouted. “I can’t hear you at all, Amira! You’re gonna have to speak up.” Eddie gestured to his ears and shrugged helplessly before turning away from her and making a beeline for the stairs, letting the broom hit the floor as he departed.
“Edward!” Amira called out to him.
“You got me feeling like the Ting Tings because that is not my name!”
“I don’t get that reference! Eddie, get back here, there’s still glass everywhere!”
“Shoulda thought of that before you took your anger out on innocent windows!”
Annie Lennox wailed from downstairs as Eddie barrelled towards the closest door. His hands wrapped around the handle and pulled, but to no avail.
“You idiot,” Amira scolded, suddenly right next to him. “You can’t hide from me in this house, I’m everywhere.”
“That’s so scary, why would you say that to me?” Eddie balked through laughter, still tugging fruitlessly on the door.
It didn’t take much to distract Eddie from the uncomfortable topics that plagued his mind. He perfected the art of running away from his problems at an early age like a true prodigy. Even Amira cracked a smile at how utterly ridiculous he looked trying to open a door he didn’t stand a chance against.
“Fine, you want inside that bad? Go ahead.” With a flick of her wrist, the door opened and Eddie, not letting go of the door fast enough, fell back against the upstairs railing. His chest heaved as looked down at the distance between himself and the floor.
“Fuck,” he breathed. “I could’ve died—then we’d be roommates.”
“God forbid,” Amira tittered.
Eddie elected to ignore that comment and focus on the room he now had access to. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in here,” he said as took a few steps in. Aside from the moonlight streaming in from the window, shadows dominated every corner. He squinted to bring what he could into focus: a large bed with a plush comforter, a vanity littered with objects he couldn’t quite make out, a couple of nightstands. All in all, it seemed like a perfectly normal bedroom aside from the dated furniture, but that was to be expected.
“Probably not,” Amira said, drifting in after him. “Look, Eddie, about what happened downstairs…”
Eddie turned to face her and shook his head. “We really don’t need to talk about it.”
“Okay, but let me just say that, if you were…” she trailed off with a sigh. “Whatever you end up being, it won’t matter to me.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about, Amira.” He wandered over to the bed and ran his hand over the comforter. He wondered if time took away its softness or if the people of the ‘80s harbored a vendetta against comfort. “It’s everyone else.”
Eddie collapsed into bed and closed his eyes, laying on his back while Amira watched mournfully. She wanted to offer him comfort, to somehow convince him that happiness existed even for those who didn’t fit into society’s neat little boxes. The words wouldn’t come to her and, even if they did, she knew how difficult he could be. If Eddie didn’t want to listen, he wouldn’t. She wracked her brain for something that might cheer him up.
“Hey Eddie,” she said as she moved to the unoccupied side of the bed. “This is where I died, my final resting place as it were. I’m willing to share it for a while if you are.”
“Nice,” he replied with a hint of a grin. “I’d like that.”
She lowered herself onto her side, propping up on her elbow. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but have you ever looked into therapy?” She peered down at him as he nodded solemnly.
“And therapy has looked into me.”
From across the room, Amira lifted a throw blanket off of the vanity’s chair-back and guided it to the bed to drape over Eddie. It felt like the closest she could get to giving him a hug, which looked exactly like what he needed as he laid next to her in silence.
“You’re gonna be okay, you know that, right?” she softly asked.
“We’ll see.”
#wickedswriting#internalized homophobia tw#// i NEEDED to get this out of my head and now i can do replies#i hope you all love amira as much as i do#walking on broken glass#homophobia tw
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lukebobby for #21 "you're not very intimidating"
tysm for the prompt, jay!! 💜 I spent way too long on this lol I’m sorry. you can find it on ao3 here!
Bobby Wilson was not afraid of very many things.
In fact, he prided himself on being the most fearless member of Sunset Curve. He was the knight in shining armor, the one reckless enough to do anything the others deemed too dangerous— and that was saying something, considering he was best friends with Luke and Reggie. Alex, at least, had some sense of self-preservation.
Physical things rarely scared Bobby as much as emotional things. Feelings. Tears. Feelings and tears. Sadness, confusion-- anger, at least, he understood. He’d been all too acquainted with anger these past few months, because absolutely nothing on Earth pissed him off more than people messing with his friends. Luke’s fights with his parents had been getting more frequent. Alex had come out to his parents, and they wasted no opportunity to tell him what a “sinner” he was, and how he was “destined to burn.” It made Bobby see red.
And then, there was Reggie’s parents. Mr. and Mrs. Peters were some of the worst offenders of the bunch, really. Because while the Pattersons and the Mercers had problems with who their sons were at their core-- which was horrible enough-- the Peterses just… didn’t care. They didn’t know who Reggie was, and they couldn’t be bothered to learn.
In Bobby’s eyes, apathy was just as bad as hostility.
So Bobby was no stranger to anger. But other emotions, less understandable ones, shook him to the core sometimes. Bobby didn’t really “do feelings.” Sure, he was a pretty good listener, but even when someone was complaining to him, he was always solution-focused.
Someone more emotionally in-tune than he was would probably have a name for his incessant need to problem-solve, instead of just allowing people around him to be upset. Realizing that it was okay to be upset sometimes.
But Bobby just… didn’t work like that.
And, a brand new emotion had emerged recently, one that was far more confusing and frightening than any other. An emotion that had accompanied some inner thoughts of his-- thoughts that he’d been skirting around for months, if not years.
Bobby was in love with his best friend.
Or, at least, he thought he might be. Bobby didn’t think he’d actually ever really been in love before. He took pride in the fact that he was reasonably attractive, and could get a date with pretty much anybody he wanted. But that’s as far as any relationship of his had ever gone-- just dating. And the feelings he was experiencing now were… different, to say the least.
Because Bobby didn’t just want to date Luke Patterson. He couldn’t explain what exactly, but… he wanted something more.
And that shit was terrifying.
He didn’t really know if Luke noticed that he’d sort of been avoiding him lately. He’d started using Alex and Reggie as a buffer so he wouldn’t have to be left alone with Luke for an extended period. Because, when he was alone with Luke, and the other boy did something totally offensive, like smile or laugh, Bobby just wanted to die. It sucked, honestly, wanting something you couldn’t have. Feeling emotions that you didn’t want; weren’t used to.
Emotions had always been far more frightening to Bobby than those more common physical fears. Heights. Flying. Darkness.
But, there was one thing Bobby would absolutely never do, under any circumstances, no matter how the planets aligned. One common physical fear that he would never deal with.
Bobby would never, ever, be the one to kill the spider.
And there was one, now, laughing at him from under the old, rickety sofa Luke had gotten cheap at someone’s yard sale. Bobby didn’t know what kind of spider it was, but it was big, and it existed, so that was all the information he needed, really.
But Bobby knew enough about fear to know one thing: never let the thing you’re scared of know that you’re scared. Knowing gave them power. And this spider had far too much power already. Since Bobby had seen it skittering across the floor nearly ten minutes ago, it had successfully managed to overtake the couch; Bobby had shot up like a rocket and scrambled up the ladder into the loft.
And he would not be coming down any time soon, thank you very much.
This spider thought it was so scary, kicking Bobby off the sofa like that. Bobby would show it— just as soon as he mustered up the courage to climb back down the ladder.
Still, show no fear. That spider had to know who was in charge, here-- it would not be keeping Bobby Wilson up in that loft bed forever.
“You’re not very intimidating, you know.”
He was talking to a spider. Before Bobby could process just how unhinged that was, a snicker from the doorway made him jump. Whipping his head up, towards the sound of the laughter, he saw Luke. Arms crossed, eyebrows raised, looking absolutely delighted to see Bobby in whatever predicament he’d gotten himself into.
Luke surveyed the scene with a knowing smirk, and not a hint of sympathy. “What’chya doin’ up there, Bobby?”
“Just-- just hanging out,” Bobby said nonchalantly.
“In the loft?”
“Yes. I… like it up here. I’m enjoying the view.”
“Ah, I see,” Luke nodded, as if Bobby’s words had confirmed some sort of unproven theory about the universe.
Bobby was trying to act nonchalant, but-- the spider moved again. Bobby flinched automatically as it briefly emerged from under the sofa before disappearing again.
The only thing worse than seeing a spider, Bobby lamented, was losing sight of a spider. His eyes traced the floor near the couch frantically.
Unfortunately, Luke had noticed his flinch, and his facial expression morphed into a smug grin. “Is… is the great Bobby Wilson afraid of something?”
“No!” Bobby shuffled further back in the loft bed, farther away from the door.
“What is it?” Luke asked. “Is the studio haunted? Is there a zombie-vampire-ghost hiding under the couch, or something, waiting to claim you as its next victim?”
“There’s no such thing as a ‘zombie-vampire-ghost,” Bobby huffed.
“Okay, so what—“ Luke was cut off by a loud shriek. Bobby dove behind a pillow on the loft bed, hugging it against his body and slinking further into the wall.
Luke followed his friend’s gaze and saw the subject of his friend’s terror: a spider, standing by the leg of the sofa.
“You’ve barricaded yourself up in the loft because of a bug?” Luke said gleefully. “Oh man— wait ‘til I tell Alex and Reggie about this one!”
“You won’t be laughing when you see it move!”
“I’ve seen a spider move before, Bobby,” Luke snorted. “Not the horror movie material you think it is. I’m sure I’ll survive.”
But… but then the spider did move, and it moved towards Luke. He got a better look at it, and he saw that it was probably about an inch and a half long, dark brown, and menacing-looking.
Nope.
No.
Nooo thank you.
With a shriek of his own, Luke scrambled up the loft ladder, too, the force of his body slamming into Bobby’s as he landed on the bed sending the whole structure shaking. “Dude, that thing is huge!”
“Yeah, looks a lot bigger and more threatening when it’s coming towards you, right?” Bobby snapped. “I’ll accept my apology in the form of you paying for the pizza delivery tonight.”
“What makes you think we’re gonna survive long enough to eat pizza later?” Luke asked incredulously. “That spider’s probably gonna have us for dinner first!”
“You’re being dramatic,” Bobby said. It was time to take the reins, here— he had to be the brave one. It was Spider Versus Bobby & Luke, now, and Bobby had to be captain of this team. Luke certainly wasn’t going to do it, useless as he was— now hugging the very same throw pillow that Bobby had abandoned, realizing that, as far as shields go, it was a fairly weak one.
“Dude, don’t you watch those boring nature documentaries on the Discovery Channel?” Luke remembered. “That thing’s probably poisonous. Venomous. Whatever. It’s deadly.”
“So you just want to be stuck up in this loft for the rest of the freaking day?” Bobby asked.
It wasn’t really the way Bobby would’ve preferred to spend his Saturday. Especially because the close proximity to someone he was trying not to have feelings for brought a tingling sensation to his cheeks and set his heart racing. He hoped Luke couldn’t hear it pounding away in his rib cage.
Bobby had been doing a very good job at not thinking about Luke that way. But ever since Sunset Curve had gone to that stupid indoor skydiving place for Luke’s birthday— the only thing he’d really wanted to do, child that he was— and Bobby’s hand had brushed against Luke’s arm in the small air chamber, and Luke had grabbed Bobby’s hands in his own, lost in the thrill of adventure… Bobby had been thinking about it.
Thinking about how, with Luke, he felt alive. Alive in a way nobody else made him feel. Not Alex, not Reggie. Not any of the others he’d dated since. With Luke, Bobby felt like there could be something more.
But, for the sake of their band and their friendship, Bobby had resolved to Not Think About It. He’d decided to take his feelings for Luke and bury them deep, and that meant keeping his distance. The exact opposite of… whatever the situation they were currently in was.
Luke’s slightly panicked voice broke through Bobby’s thoughts. “What else are we supposed to do?!”
For as much as Bobby loved Luke— and was trying not to think about it— he recognized that the guy was truly terrible under pressure. Not for the first time, Bobby wished he’d encountered this spider with someone like Reggie. Alex, even, would be slightly preferable, because while he wouldn’t do anything to help, he also wouldn’t spike Bobby’s anxiety and make the situation worse. Alex, for all his anxiety about other things, didn’t really care about bugs.
But Reggie had this weird fascination with them. Bobby thought Reggie just wasn’t capable of hating anything. Reggie would probably pick the spider up with a napkin, or something, calm as you please, and start talking to it about his day or something.
Totally unbothered, totally friendly. Even to a spider.
Bobby was not friendly to spiders. This thing had to go, stat.
“We should throw something at it-- take off your shoe!”
“My shoe? Gross! I don’t wanna get spider guts on my shoe,” Luke complained.
Bobby rolled his eyes. “Well, we need some sort of ammunition, here!”
“Why don’t you use your shoe?”
“Hell no,” Bobby said. “I just bought these!”
“Okay. Okay. What about…” Luke grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and jettisoned it down towards the general direction of the spider. It bounced off the couch cushions and fell to the floor.
“D’you think we got it?”
Just then, as if it were mocking them, the spider crawled back out from under the couch towards Bobby’s guitar stand.
“Oh no,” Bobby moaned. “It’s-- it’s going for my guitar. What if it touches it?”
“We’ll have to burn the guitar,” Luke said solemnly.
“Those are expensive!” he protested. “Hey-- hey Itsy Bitsy Spider, go for Luke’s guitar instead! A little to the left…”
“Where’re Alex and Reggie when you need them?” Luke complained.
“Cute that you think Alex would help us out, here,” Bobby rolled his eyes. “He loves when shit like this happens to us. He’d be getting a kick out of it, for sure.”
“Reggie would help us, though,” Luke sighed longingly for their best friend, bassist and bug-getter-ridofer extraordinaire.
“If they don’t come for us, we might be stuck up here for the rest of the night,” Bobby commented.
“They gotta come eventually,” Luke reasoned. “They know we have to practice for the gig this weekend.”
“I hope it’s soon,” Bobby’s eyes followed the spider, aimlessly making its way along the perimeter of the couch. To his relief, his and Luke’s guitars had come out unscathed.
-
An indeterminable amount of time later, deep into his staring match with Itsy Bitsy Spider, Bobby finally heard the garage door open. Risking a glance away from the spider, he saw the other two, very late, very unbothered members of Sunset Curve stroll into the garage.
“Hey, guys,” Alex greeted, Reggie on his heels. “Ready for-- what’s going on?” He caught sight of his two best friends, hugging each other atop the loft bed, and raised an eyebrow.
“There’s a spider,” Luke whispered.
“Ooh, where?” Reggie perked up. “I love spiders!”
“There, by the couch,” Bobby pulled away from Luke, pointing in what he hoped was the spider’s general direction. “Get rid of it.”
Alex snorted. “I thought you guys were gonna work on that new chord progression Luke came up with-- you said you wanted to start rehearsal early.”
“Yeah, well, something came up!” Luke snapped.
“Okay,” the drummer said, smothering his laughter into his hoodie.
Reggie had grabbed an empty coffee mug off the table and was crouched by the sofa, searching for the spider. “I don’t see it anywhere…”
“It’s there!” Luke argued. “And what are you doing? Don’t use my coffee mug!”
“Baby,” Bobby smirked.
Reggie finally located the spider and was ushering it into the coffee mug. “Got it!”
“Thank God,” Bobby exclaimed. “Take it outside. Make sure it goes far, far away.”
He watched as Reggie honored his request, carefully carrying the mug to the garage door and stepping outside.
“What was your plan here, anyway?” Alex asked. “Stay up in the loft until Reggie got here to get rid of the spider for you?”
“Yes!” Luke and Bobby said in unison.
Alex snorted again. “Luke, you literally live here. What happens when you see a bug and no one’s here with you?”
“I… may or may not climb through Bobby’s bedroom window,” the guitarist said sheepishly.
“You do?” the guitarist perked up. Luke snuck into his room sometimes?
Bobby… didn’t hate that, actually. He wondered why Luke had never woken him up before-- whenever Bobby woke up in the mornings, his bed was always empty. Did Luke sleep on the floor?
Before his mind could get lost in daydreams of snuggling up with Luke under the covers, because he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about it, Bobby shook the thoughts out of his head.
“Yeah,” Luke mumbled, lifting a finger to his mouth and gnawing on his nail-- Bobby had told him so many times to give that habit up. But, nail biting was a nervous tick of Luke’s, and Bobby knew it.
What did Luke have to be nervous about? Did he think Bobby would kick him out of his room, or something? That wasn’t true at all. Bobby would love for Luke to spend the night in his bed--
“Should we start practice?” His voice came out in a very weird, high-pitched squeak. It sounded like he’d just gotten finished sucking all the air out of a balloon.
Alex smirked at him knowingly. Avoiding his gaze, Bobby shot up off the couch just as Reggie returned with the empty coffee mug. He tossed it in the sink and headed back over to the others, grabbing his bass and slinging it over his shoulder. “Bug’s gone,” he grinned.
-
Once they were alone, Bobby nudged Luke’s knee with his own. “Hey.”
Luke turned towards him. “Yeah?”
“Um… next time you see a bug in here,” he started nervously, rubbing the back of his head. “You can wake me up. If-- if you come into my room, I mean. If you even want to come into my room. I dunno if you’ve been sleeping on the floor, or whatever, but that can’t be comfortable. So… so yeah. You can sleep with me-- not like that. I just mean, you can share my bed if you want. Or, if you don’t want, I can sleep on the floor. We can work something out. Just-- you can-- just wake me up next time, okay?”
So quickly he would’ve missed it if he’d blinked, Luke pressed his lips to Bobby’s.
“Okay,” he said with a smile.
That night, Luke kept his word. He saw another spider-- smaller in size, but greater in threat, because Bobby wasn’t there with him-- he did climb through Bobby’s window. Bobby felt him shake his shoulder, and, mumbling incoherently, he shifted to the far side of the bed, so Luke could climb in next to him.
And that’s how Bobby found out that Luke was a blanket hog.
#this is very much not what you asked for#but i hope you like it anyway lol#julie and the phantoms#jatp#jatp fanfiction#jatp fanfic#prompt fill#luke patterson#bobby wilson#lukebobby#lobby#where-you-go
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Self-Awareness Time, Part One:
So I’m reading this article one day, (see article here: https://psych2go.net/6-signs-youll-be-single-forever/), and realize how some of this is true, but also some of it is bullshit.
Spoiler Alert: I haven’t had a boyfriend since I was 18.
Is it because I haven’t wanted to be with someone, or be in a relationship, since that one ended? Quite the contrary, actually. I have dreamed, since I was a small child, of a perfect soulmate for me, and that it would be a Disney-movie-ending come true for the rest of my life. Having my first (and since then, only) boyfriend break up with me (so he could go out with my ex-best friend, who in turn, dumped her boyfriend of three years - who was my childhood friend from elementary school - in order to be with him; it was dramatic, stupid, and messy, i.e. we were teenagers who thought they knew themselves but didn’t have a clue) did not, in fact, deter those dreams at all.
The problem is that I didn’t learn to love myself. I learned to move on, which is always wonderful, but I didn’t hold myself in any higher esteem than I had before, and while I was with him. It wasn’t a reflection on being with him, but more or less, a reflection of myself and how I saw myself, based on my childhood and certain experiences.
Fast forward a couple of years later: my parents are divorced, my father is dead, my childhood friends have disappeared out of my life for the most part, I live with my mother and grandfather (who was close to dying himself), and I am now living in a different state, faraway from everything I know and love and hate everything about this new place. I hated (and still do, for many of these points) the polluted environment, I hated the lack of nature (I moved to a metropolitan-region within the realm of a major city), I hated how crowded it is, I hated how everyone lives on top of one another; I hate the noise, the traffic, and most of all, I hated how alien and out of place I feel. I knew I didn’t belong, but because of finances, and having an ineffective bachelor’s degree (that didn’t come with a lifetime guarantee of having a career, as promised by my parents and elder generations. Though it did come with the nice guarantee of student loans), I was unable to move anywhere else. I was unable to be independent, financially or otherwise, and could do nothing to make my dreams a reality or to improve my life.
In short, I was stuck. And hating every minute of it, along with myself. To be fair, I wasn’t an emotionally healthy person to start off with - but I mean, who is by the time they’re 23, 24 years old, and a culminating reflection of time, pressure, past abuse, parental issues, trust issues, abandonment issues, lack of socializing/being ostracized for being different, and self-worth and self-love issues? No one, and I mean, NO ONE, is taught how to love themselves, completely, as a child. I don’t care who raised you or where you grew up. This is a fundamental truth and fact.
But I met someone. Lo and behold, there came this divine gift, one day, of someone who was just like me! He didn’t have the same issues as I, but he understood in a general sense (as any individual who has a certain degree of sympathy and empathy can do), and made me feel seen (even if I hated it at times). Someone who, in all honesty, has fundamentally changed me forever.
And to think I met him at my job! (i.e. retail).
This person...well, I thought he might’ve been THE ONE. I was really, REALLY in love with him. More so than I ever thought I could be with someone. Our connection was real and based on emotional, mental, and spiritual intimacy (there was none of the physical, which was probably for the best, in the end), and I had never loved anybody before, in the entire history of being connected to family and friends, the way I had loved him. I thought he was truly something special - a gift from the universe that not only allowed to experience this once-in-a-lifetime kind of love, but also because of how OBVIOUS it was that we were meant for each other. (I was so arrogant back then and admit it heartily now).
Well, suffice to say, it didn’t end in rainbows-and-sunshine-for-years-to-come. He had already been entering a relationship when I met him, while also having his heart broken by another girl. As the saying goes: wrong place and time. While I was busy pining over him and fantasizing about us being together romantically (after building this incredible connection and deep friendship), he was happily living his life and enjoying his relationship...even though, for a time, he went out of his way to spend time with me and deepen our emotional intimacy further. He told me things about himself, and his life, that he swore he had never told another human being before in his life. But it all came to a grinding halt one day - out of the blue - when he severed our connection with all of the swiftness and severity of a well-placed swing from a sharpened blade. Later he would confess that it wasn’t intentional - it was because he was busy cutting other people out of his life and I got caught up in the “crossfires” of it all via social media and the like *insert eyeroll here* - but that he had also been conscious of my burgeoning feelings for him, and felt “flattered” that I had come to regard him so greatly. He promised to re-open the lines of communication between us again and to be a better friend.
Spoiler Alert Part Two: None of these promises were fulfilled.
Now, some of you (or whoever reads this long-ass personal post) might say “Well, maybe in knowing about your feelings, THAT was why he didn’t bother talking to you anymore. It made him uncomfortable, especially since he was in a relationship with someone else. He just wanted to make a clean break.”
To be completely honest, I was aware of that possibility from the get-go. The problem is that he claimed (during this period of seeking me out and spending quality time with me) his relationship with his girlfriend was “casual.” That he was more than aware that he was her first boyfriend, but that he knew it wouldn’t last. In knowing that, he still pursued a relationship with that girl (though his self-prophecy did come to pass...three years later). Now, there were never any promises made about entering a relationship with ME, as some of you may point out as well. I agree. There are, and never will be, any guarantees when it comes to the heart. Someone who learns to love another is quite capable of also learning how to un-love that same individual, at any time. And hatred, as many know, is not the opposite of love; apathy is its true counterpart.
No, what was truly hurtful was that he knew that truth, honesty, compassion, consideration, and genuineness were core values of mine. Values that I thought he shared...but turned out to be lies when he revealed his regard, or lack-there-of, for me in the end. When he did not confront me over my feelings for him and instead played ignorant for the sake of his own happiness. When he promised that this did not interfere with his ability to be my friend, even after confessing said romantic intentions to him, and probably lying about it all the same. He knew of my past, my issues, and had probably guessed at my level of loneliness and knew about my lack of friends since moving away from my hometown...and didn’t think twice of ditching me, nor of how his sudden “ignorance” about our bond would effect my feelings. That being “one of the guys” was my true status - despite the fact that I have breasts, a vagina, lack a penis, and had never acted in a “masculine way” around him (aside from being intelligent, having common sense, being interested in comic books, music, and movies, having a deep appreciation for classic muscle cars, and a biting sense of sarcasm); i.e. no hanging out in bars with him and his male friends, no doing stupid shit for giggles, no running around in the middle of the night to each other’s houses to smoke pot and drink in the basement, not being into sports and wrestling, recalling the same stupid stories from high school and retelling them, over and over again, along with the same stupid jokes, etc...And I’m not judging any female (or person) who does DO this, or enjoy these things! I’m just simply describing how he, and his friends, acted and what their similar interests are.
I was “friend-zoned” (which is a ridiculous phrase, but I can’t think of anything else to describe it as), but was NOT treated like a friend any longer. I was treated like a stranger or an acquaintance that you remember vaguely seeing in the hallways and cafeteria when you attend your high school reunion (that guy who makes you go “Oh, *Insert Name Here*! Omg! How are you?! Wow, it’s been a while! Great to see you lost all that weight! So uh...how’s things?”).
In short: I was being gas-lit. For anyone who has experienced this, you have my deepest sympathies and my ear and shoulder, whenever you would like.
Of course part of the blame falls on me too: for treating romantic love like a drug I couldn’t live without, for depending on someone too much for my happiness, and for allowing myself to be treated as someone who is less than worthy of real love, respect, consideration, kindness, compassion, and honest, open communication.
So, not only did this guy break my heart, but he also threw me, and our friendship, away like it all meant nothing. It became obvious then that I, and our bond, had never mattered to him at all.
The worst part is that he continued to flirt with me, stringing me along (unknowingly or not), while also maintaining this enforced distance! (Which is also COMPLETELY WRONG TO DO TO ANYONE!) In truth, I think he’s an unaware narcissist who doesn’t realize, on an unconscious level, how manipulative he can really be. It’s sad. But I know, without wishing for it or egging the universe on, that there is a lesson waiting for him in the wings of the cosmos that will enable him to truly understand the lows, and highs, of true personal awareness (if it should come to pass - anything is possible, in any way, shape, or form).
But back to the point: In conclusion, my soul was shattered. My heart was a destroyed. I fell into a depression based, not only on this heartbreak, but also my heart being broken by ME. I was so unhappy with everything going on, and not, in my life and it all felt so hopeless and pointless. I could see no path forward, no future for myself, that didn’t result either in me being unhappy or being unstuck. (Hell, even writing about all of this is allowing the phantom pains to rise from their graves in my heart, which makes me realize how much healing, and self-love, I still have to gain).
This, however, was the beginning of my awakening for me.
It dawned on me like the rising sun within me that I really SHOULDN’T put stock into having people depended upon so much to MAKE me happy. I should be making MYSELF happy.
But then the deepest question, out of the pit of darkness within my soul, arose: Why WASN’T I happy with myself?
#self-journey#self-love#self-worth#self-awareness#personal#spirituality#long-ass post#spilling my heart out on the internet#not sure if this is a good idea or not#whatever#writing is therapy#perspective is everything#reality is based on perception#and this my reality#brought to you by me#the gemini who shares for the sake of self-educating#and educating others#you can also gain different perspectives from different angles#anything is possible#the truth will set you free#part one#stay tuned for part two#possibly more sequels#sharing personal things with virtual strangers#literally#yikes
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Playing with Fire
Pairing: M!Cassian x MC (Kellen)
Word Count: 1,450
Summary: As things with heat up with Cassian, Kellen has to pump the brakes.
Note: Ya’ll, I have no excuse for the fact that I have already written four stories (and have more WIPs) for this trashy book. I know it has massive problems with pacing and plot. I know the diamond scenes are not worth it. I know MC is a piece of work.
My muse does not care. At. All.
Anyway, this scene is what I’m hoping for on the other side of Monday’s “cliffhanger.” I’m relatively certain it’s not going to happen, but that’s what fic is for. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
“I can’t resist you anymore, Kellen. I need you. All of you. Right now. No more waiting.”
Between the hard countertop and the solid heat of his body, there was little room to doubt Cassian’s intentions. His words still thundering in her ears, Kellen pushed toward him, the friction of their bodies feeding into a delirious sense of need. She didn’t know which of them had initiated the first kiss, nor the second, nor the third... As his strong arms lifted her up onto the flat surface, all she knew were his lips: impossibly soft and still salty from his time spent on the water.
Days of pent-up longing were enough to urge her forward again and again, though the tender hand that cradled the nape of her neck suggested that there was more than mere lust on his mind. Cassian didn’t just want this: he wanted her. Kellen whimpered against his mouth at the realization.
Conscious thought turned to incoherence as his hand slipped under her shirt. Agile fingers grazed her ribs, and she locked her legs around him to pull him closer. Liquid fire burned deep in her belly. This time, however, another feeling rose up to stop it: We can’t do this.
Kellen’s stomach jolted with the conviction, nostrils flaring as she tried to regain control of her senses. She pulled back to catch her breath, feeling his uncertainty when she didn’t immediately return for more. “I can’t,” she uttered, still trying to fill her thirsty lungs.
The disoriented look in his eyes sent a pang of regret through her core.
Palm to his chest, she held him back. He could overpower her easily -- some part of her was begging for him to -- but he allowed the distance. Still, the sound of his quick, shallow breathing fell on her ears, teasing the desire within her once more.
What was she doing? He was finally offering the very thing she’d been begging for since the moment she’d seen him at the station. Her body wanted his more than anything. And yet, her heart and her mind refused to comply.
“I can’t do this to you, Cassian.” Her words were barely a whisper, but he looked back at her as though he’d been shot. The hand that had been at her side fell limp between them.
Mouth falling slack with confusion, he barely managed a “Wha-” before his breath ran out. He swallowed sharply and stepped back to allow her space.
“Let’s go sit down,” she offered without moving. Subconsciously, her arms tightened around her chest. In spite of the kitchen’s heat, she caught a distinct chill.
Nodding, Cassian hiked his fingers to pull his hair away from his face. Several curls clung to the sweat on his forehead, and Kellen’s resolve wavered yet again. She had to clench her hands to keep from brushing them back for him.
What is he doing to me?
Wordless, she dropped from the counter, conscious of every ambient noise in their silence. It wasn’t until they reached the couch that she offered further explanation. “Your career is more important. You can’t sabotage everything you’ve worked for like this.” Almost as an afterthought, she added, “I won’t let you.”
At her side, Cassian worried his lip between his teeth. Dropping her eyes to her lap, Kellen tried not to think about that mouth and how much she wanted it back on hers. The efforts weren’t entirely successful, especially when one hand reached out to cup the curve of her knee. The gesture only emphasized how hungry she was for his touch.
As she pondered the unfairness of it all, his gravelly voice cut in.“I can’t risk your safety like that either. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
She knew exactly what he’d been thinking.
Their eyes met in understanding, the conflict in his brow reinforcing every frustration that had been building in her for the last thirty-six hours.
There was nothing she could do to solve this. In childhood, she’d been given everything she ever wanted. As an adult, years of hard work had led her to believe that she could conquer anything. Getting men into bed with her had never posed any particular challenge before. But this wasn’t a matter of putting her mind to something and making it come to pass.
This was insurmountable.
The knowledge released a cloud of pressure inside her skull. Although uncommon, the feeling bottling up behind her eyes was unmistakable. Acting on instinct, Kellen sprang from the couch, fully intending to dart into the downstairs bathroom.
Cassian’s grip fell away easily, but his voice still held her fast. “Kellen, please...”
“I’m not--” she protested as her throat throbbed with the influx of tears. Even as the words passed her lips, her resolve crumbled under the weight of desperation. She sank back to the couch, elbows knocking against her knees as she fought to hide her face.
His arm circled her shoulders, providing a sense of stability that ran counter to everything she was feeling inside. Ignoring her best judgment, she relaxed into the touch. For the first time in her life, crying felt safe.
Cassian had her tucked against his chest, close enough that she could feel its steady rise and fall. Cheek resting against the well-word fabric of his shirt, she was more secure than she had been in months.
He didn’t try to offer advice or talk her into rational thinking. There was no exasperated sigh to warn her that she needed to get her emotions in check. No reminder that tears were childish and unlikely to solve anything. Cassian held her, and that was all.
When the initial onslaught had subsided, she eased far enough out of his embrace to wipe her eyes with her sleeve. “I never cry,” she attempted lamely.
He studied her face for a moment before thumbing away a smear of eyeliner from her cheek."Of course not. It’s got to be those onions again.”
Kellen choked out a sound that had more in common with sobbing than laughter. Between his patience with her and his accepting nature, the man beside her was practically a saint.
Settling back against the cushions, he casually replaced the arm at her side. “Really now, Kellen. You’ve been through too much in the last three days. I don’t know how you’ve made it this far without crying, to be honest.”
“I just want my life back,” she whispered. The power inherent in the statement threatened to make the tears roll a second time, but she tamped them down. More still needed to be said.
“I want to enjoy my promotion and get used to all of my new responsibilities at work. I want to see that first paycheck hit my account, then buy an outrageously expensive bottle of whiskey to celebrate.” Shaking her head at the thought, she continued. “I want to sleep in my own bed. I want to wear my own clothes again. I’d really like to talk to Harika... And I’m trying to see situation this as an opportunity instead of a punishment, but that’s hard when I spend the entire day doing unskilled labor in a shack and worrying that the world outside is going to forget me. It’s like the real Kellen doesn’t even exist anymore.”
The admission did a great deal to lighten the weight on her chest, but it wasn’t quite enough. There was more to this than just the frustration of losing control. Remembering the man next to her, she returned to the subject that had brought them here in the first place.
“And I want you,” she managed finally, “I want you so much. But I need to start living with the fact that I can’t have you.”
The hand on her shoulder squeezed firmly in support, and she felt his long curls brush over her cheek before he spoke. “You can’t have me yet,” he corrected. “When this is over, I promise you can have as much of me as you want.”
It was far too early for her to know exactly how much that was, but she didn’t waste her time worrying about the future. Warming at his promise, Kellen finally extracted herself from his arms completely. She sat up straight to right the wrinkles in her shirt. Then, recalling what had transpired in the kitchen, she buttoned the neckline one notch higher. “I’ll try to go a little easier on you in the meantime.”
He followed the motion of her fingers for a half second, only to look away again with resignation. “It’s for the best. But not too easy, okay? I like that fiery side of ya.”
Smiling boldly, she offered the only promise she could: “I’ll see what I can do.”
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Every Ghost In Me
So I thought this would be done in time for the @jlaireweek mini event, but college is hard and this fic decided to be the longest fic I have ever written.
The events of this fic are platonic, but Jim and Claire probably end up falling in love afterward.
Title comes from a Starset song.
Summary:
Jim and Toby are astronauts sent to the dimension known as D-13, or as the media calls it, the Shadow Realm. Jim's tether breaks, and he is left alone.
He isn't alone.
AO3
FFN
“You ready for tomorrow?” Toby asked as he leaned down from the bunk above Jim's. They were on the last day of quarantine before the mission. Despite the darkness, Jim could see a giddy smile on his best friend's face.
“Mostly,” Jim said. He was nervous in a way that his anxiety medication couldn't quite handle. They were going to another dimension, and they'd be the first ones doing so. It'd be just them with nothing more than tethers and space suits. It was probably to save money; the rest of NASA was trying to integrate Akiridion and various other technology into its projects. Jim was an orbital mechanics specialist, not an electrical engineer, so he couldn't be quite sure if it was due to the alliance that the king-and-queen-in-waiting of Akiridion-5 had made or the fact that certain military bases were actually sharing their research now.
“Mostly? What's wrong?”
“Nothing, well, nothing real, just the usual anxiety I've had all my life about something going wrong. But seriously, Tobes, I'll be fine. We'll be fine.”
The next day started inconsequentially, with an alternative rock song about space blaring from Toby's phone. Jim made breakfast and tried not to feel like anything bad would happen. It wasn't a long mission, but since there was no ship the two of the would always have to keep their helmets on. Due to this, they would only be in another dimension for a couple hours. They would be fine.
“Mister Jim, are you alright?” Blinky asked as he helped him suit up. His husband, Arthur, was helping Toby don his own astronaut suit a few feet away.
“Yeah, just, well, nervous.” It was a more courageous word than afraid, but the acting technician seemed to figure out Jim's words anyways.
“Goodness gracious, why wouldn't you be? You and Tobias are the first ones going into uncharted territory, and it doesn't help that the media has been calling this dimension the Shadow Realm. But remember, fear is but the precursor to valor. Don't think, Mister Jim. Become.”
“Um…” Jim trailed off. While he and Blinky had what could be almost considered a father-son relationship, he was technically Jim's superior. Due to both, he didn't want to be even vaguely disrespectful before the mission, not when there was a margin of error for not coming back.
“What's wrong now?”
“We work for NASA; aren't I supposed to think?”
“Well, today's mission isn't exactly rocket science, is it”" After a moment, they both started chuckling.
Jim's nerves were calmer as the airlock doors hissed closed. It was just him, Toby, and the Bridge. Or, well, they had taken to calling it a bridge. If anything, it was closer to being a wormhole, but its shape looked like a bridge, hence the name. Toby had mentioned that they were passing under the bridge, not over it, and thus it didn't make all that much sense, but the name had stuck.
“Ten,” came Eli's voice from the countdown. He was among the youngest of the engineers for the mission, but that came with the territory of being a graduate from MIT with a 4.0 GPA.
“Nine.”
Toby smiled. “You ready for the adventure of our lives?”
“Eight.”
“Of course,” Jim said. “I've got you by my side.”
“Seven.”
Wait.
“Six.”
Had Jim called his mom this morning? Or at least tried to?
“Five.”
Had he at least texted her?
“Four.”
There was a chance that Jim wouldn't be coming back.
“Three.”
Had Jim told her that he loved her?
“Two.”
“Relax, Jimbo. If you hyperventilate now, you'll use up all your oxygen.”
“One.”
Jim took a deep breath. It was only a couple hours, max. He would be back to talk to his mom.
The light at the top of the Bridge flashed bright blue, and bright blue light trailed down the edges. The light was closer to a sky-blue, or even a blue-violet, than the cyan that was common among Akiridion technology. When the light hit the base of the Bridge, that same blue light filled it inside, forming an opaque surface.
The Bridge was open.
“Remember, young Umbranauts,” Dr. Strickler said over the microphone. Toby groaned at the shadow-related pun that the media had created. So did Dr. Vendel, the director of the department. “Don't try to go further than your tether permits and use your best judgement.”
Jim and Toby walked through the Bridge and were immediately met with the feeling of weightlessness. It was a good thing that they had had the standard astronaut training despite not being in outer space. Jim chuckled.
“What's so funny, Jimbo?”
“Remember when they said we shouldn't need to do zero-g training because of Akiridion gravity generators?”
“I guess Steve can go eat his Vespa helmet now.”
“You know we can hear you, right?” Eli asked over the radio comms. The signal was weak and full of static.
“Um, barely?” Toby said. “There's a ton of interference.”
“Be careful, then.”
It was silent for a moment, until Toby pointed into the distance of what apparently wasn't an empty void. “Hey, is that an asteroid?”
It wasn't just one asteroid.
It was an entire cluster of moving asteroids, or at least that's what the two of them could see. The only light was the flashlights built into their suits and the distant glow of the Bridge.
“Well, there's definitely matter here,” Toby said. “I want to get a sample, that way we can figure out what type it is.”
“Knew your geology minor would end up being useful,” Jim said, propelling himself towards the asteroids.
“Hey, that one looks like it might be shaped like a house!” Toby pointed to a particularly large asteroid in the distance.
“That's kind of freaky.”
“Maybe a bit, since most of these asteroids are vaguely spherical, but maybe it used to be large and broke recently?”
“Still freaky, but I'll go with your explanation, Tobes.”
Jim tried to ignore the feeling that he was being watched from the house-shaped asteroid. It was just his anxiety. It had to be just his anxiety.
The two men landed on the asteroid. Toby got out his hard-light knife. It wasn't nearly as powerful as an Akiridion serrator, but it was less weight than the drills that had been used in previous years. “Huh, that's odd.”
“Oh?”
“The handle's glowing gold.”
Jim turned his head to look behind him. “I don't think it's the knife that's glowing, Tobes.” Rather, a large cluster of asteroids floated behind them; all of them were surrounded by golden light.
“I wonder what's causing them to glow like that.”
Jim's head darted to his left.
“Is something wrong?” Toby asked, looking at his friend.
“I thought I saw a flash of purple coming from the house-shaped one.”
Without warning, the golden asteroids began racing towards the two of them. They scrambled to get out of the way, tethers looping between the asteroids that weren't glowing.
“Houston? Eli? Anyone? We've got a problem!” Toby called out. Jim would have called for help as well, but all he could think of was trying to dodge. The glowing ones seemed to move without pattern, without any discernible forces acting upon them. The glowing asteroids changed shape to become sharper.
“What's going on?” Strickler asked. His voice was heavily altered by static. In the background, Eli was stammering something incomprehensible.
“The asteroids want to kill us!” Toby cried.
“They're sharp,” Jim said, his voice a detached, almost dissociated calm that scared him. A calm that certainly didn't match the rapid oscillation of his heartbeat. “They turned sharp.”
“Get out of there,” Vendel said. The order was almost unnecessary because Jim and Toby were already trying to do so. "And be quick about it; we can't let a hostile force into this side of the bridge."
They couldn't. The only person there with any combat experience was Arthur Galadrigal, but the trauma from his experience in the marines was so bad that despite being a brilliant engineer he had a hard time forming words.
The shard-like asteroids paused for a moment before directing themselves behind Toby and Jim, while a medium-sized asteroid rose up to join them. Jim felt a tug from behind him. His tether.
“Tobes! Tobes!” he called, realizing the danger. The shards began slamming down onto the tether. Jim wasn't sure what the asteroids were made of, but whatever it was they were strong enough that the outer shell of his tether was being shredded, leaving the vulnerable craft-store yarn core exposed to the asteroids. The idea of something so easily cut by scissors being the only thing keeping astronauts from flying into the uncaring void of space had made Jim nervous once, but acrylic yarn was cheap and light, and the fibers used as an outer casing were strong enough to resist space junk.
Once again, he feared the fact that the only thing keeping him tethered to the Earth could be cut by the scissors he had in his kitchen at home. Some disconnected part of Jim wondered if he'd be fine if they added in hard light to the blend instead of just using materials that were originally developed when he was fourteen or younger.
In space, no one can hear you scream because sound doesn't carry in a vacuum. In this alternate dimension with killer asteroids, Jim couldn’t hear the telltale ripping, but that might have also been the roar of blood and static in his ears.
Toby turned around in time to see the moment when Jim became freely floating in dimension D-13. He turned around just in time to see the fear that overtook his best friend's face as he began free falling in the Shadow Realm.
“Hold on, I'll get you!” On cue, another asteroid began to rise, and once again there was a flash of purple light.
Jim thought he heard someone saying to reel them back in, but he couldn’t be sure because it blended together with the static, with his heartbeat, with all the anxious thoughts that had come true.
“Tobes, tell my mom I love her!”
“Tell her yourself and look out!”
Jim looked behind himself at the asteroid flying towards him from below and behind. He began looking around for something, anything, to use as a handhold. He saw a blur of purple light that almost looked like a person rush up from below and in front of him. It looked like it was going to push him up and away.
When the light passed through him, Jim felt a rush of shock, and then a second one because the first one hadn’t felt like it was his own. Then he just felt pain. Blunt pain as the asteroid crashed into his back and shattered his helmet. Biting pain as one of the shards of his helmet flew up and cut his cheek because at least some forces were working the way they were supposed to. Burning pain as he tried to keep in the oxygen he had left.
Jim kept his eyes on Toby for as long as he could. He crossed through the Bridge and when it closed Jim couldn’t tell if that was the reason why his vision was going black or the fact that he was suffocating.
“You do realize that you can breathe here, right?” said a voice Jim had never heard before. Still, he found himself exhaling. “There’s enough oxygen in this place that I can start fires.”
He breathed in and out a couple times before turning to the voice despite the screaming of his back. The person-shaped blur of light was now actually a person. Well, a transparent purple one that had a multitude of hairclips in her hair. She looked like she was in the later years of high school at the youngest and barely old enough to start college at the oldest. She was also holding onto a broken-off piece of Jim’s tether.
“I guess I can’t touch you,” she said, and her voice shook a bit. She squeezed her eyes before opening them and pushing her shoulders down and back. The next time she spoke it was firmer, more confident. “Knowing her she’ll try to separate us so hold onto this. I’m going to get us to somewhere safe.”
Jim looked down at the cable. “Are you sure? Those asteroids already ripped through my tether, what’s stopping them from shredding this piece as well?”
“She already used up a lot of energy trying to kill you and that other guy – I think you called him Tobes? She’s probably gone back to wherever she normally lurks and plots how she plans to try and kill my soul and hijack my body next. That means that I won’t get caught off-guard and I can reinforce it with my powers before it can get shredded.”
Jim decided to pretend that he understood what the purple girl was saying about body-hijacking and powers. His day was already much crazier than he had intended. She didn’t seem hostile, and she knew the lay of the land better than he did.
Jim grabbed onto the tether and let himself be led away.
Toby crashed onto the Earth side of the Bridge. “I could have gotten to him!” he shouted. “I could have saved him if you didn’t start reeling me back!”
“Don’t know that,” Arthur said, breaking quarantine to hug Toby. “Don’t want lose you, too.”
It was probably true. That asteroid had come up too fast for Toby to get to his best friend, but he could have at least brought back his best friend’s body.
The purple girl was silent as she led him through the asteroid field. They were still moving, but they had relaxed their fast, erratic movements. She kept looking back at Jim, as if to make sure he was still there. Eventually she landed on a particularly large asteroid.
Toby hadn’t pointed out a house-shaped asteroid, even though it had looked like one. He had pointed out an asteroid that had an entire house on top of it.
“Well, we’re here.”
“Right,” Jim said.
She let go of the tether and walked to the front door, pushing it open. “Come on, she won’t be able to get to us inside.”
Jim followed behind the purple girl. “Who is ‘she’?”
The girl shrugged, closing the door behind him. “She has many names. Heck, those were some of her exact words. ‘I have many names.’ Some of her names include Morgana, the Pale Lady, and as I’ve called her sometimes, the gold-plated trashcan who needs to go burn in some other hell. I’m Claire, by the way, what’s yours, NASA-guy?”
“What?”
Claire pointed at the circular patch that rested over his heart. “Unless that’s a stolen spacesuit or the US had to lone one to another country, I’m pretty sure you work for NASA.”
“Yeah, I do, I’m Jim, but how do you know about NASA? We haven’t contacted this dimension at all before today. No one has.”
“Eh, debatable. I mean, I’m as human as you are. Or at least I used to be.”
Jim was silent as he looked around the room. It looked like an average American living room, which would make sense if Claire was from Earth, but that didn’t make sense. He knew Area 49-B wasn’t a fan of sharing extraterrestrial technology, but after General Morando had tried to invade Earth and the king-and-queen-in-waiting had fought him and his army off, all their information had been made public. They hadn’t sent a random girl into an alternate dimension.
“How long have you been here?”
“I think it was May first? Yeah, it probably was, it was a Monday and the day of the AP Chemistry exam and I had gone to the bathroom because I wasn’t feeling well, and,” she shuddered. “And then Morgana tried to possess me, and I’m here now. I haven’t been able to count the days since, well, there’s no sun and I don’t need to eat or sleep since I don’t have a physical body right now. Not to mention, there was that time where I nearly got turned into nothingness and had to pull myself back together. So, like, at most a year and a half?”
“Are you sure? Because May second is my mom’s birthday, and it was on a Friday last year.”
Claire’s face crumpled slightly. “What day is it?”
Jim had memorized the date of the launch, not knowing it would be his last day on Earth. “November seventh, twenty-twenty-six.”
Claire seemed to cave in on herself. “I’ve been here for over a decade.” Her voice was a heartbroken whisper. “I think I’m dead by now.”
Barbara had just started her lunch break when her cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was Toby Domzalski. He had been Jim’s best friend since the two of them were five and had remained close all their lives. Today they had even went on a mission together.
“Hi, Toby,” she said. “You’re back already?”
“I’m sorry,” Toby said from the other end of the line. “I’m sorry, Dr. L, I’m so sorry, I tried to save him but–”
Barbara didn’t hear what he said next because she had dropped the phone. Toby and Jim had been best friends for nearly all their lives, but her son was gone now.
Claire had walked away from Jim after claiming to be dead, and Jim had decided to let her have at least a few moments of alone time. He had just met her, and he didn’t know what to say to her to make her feel better. Instead, he had looked for a first aid kit and had begun cleaning his cut. He winced at the sting of alcohol and had placed bandages along the larger areas of the cut, hoping that he wasn’t taking too much of her supply. Afterwards, he put the kit away and climbed the stairs of her house, looking around. As he pushed open the door to a room with a crib, he heard a sob from behind him.
Jim looked into the room and saw Claire wrapped in a blanket. No tears fell from her eyes, but she was shaking enough that she may as well have been crying.
Jim didn’t know her, but he was probably one of the biggest reasons why she was in this state, and there didn’t seem to be anyone else who could comfort her.
“Do you want to talk?” he asked in a soft voice.
She sniffled, and for a moment looked surprised that she could. “Can’t say I’m good at it, since I’ve been alone for… you know.”
Jim sat a foot and a half away from her. She mimed the action of taking a couple deep breaths, but he didn’t hear her breathe. She was probably trying to act like she was still alive and still had a body, and he couldn’t fault her for that.
“I’ve tried to get back to my body multiple times,” she said. “I guess I always thought it was on life support after all this time. But I don’t think my parents would have kept my body around for that long, and since she’s not in it it’s basically a vegetable. And they have my little brother to worry about, anyways.”
“Your brother, what was he like?” Jim asked. “At least, what was he like before you came to the Shadow Realm?”
“The what?”
Internally, Jim wanted to smack himself. “Sorry, that’s what the media’s been calling this place, we’ve been calling it D-13.”
“I mean, I’ve been calling it stuff ‘my own personal empty hellscape’ or ‘prison’, so the Shadow Realm sounds so cool in comparison.”
“Yeah, I think that’s why so few people called it D-13, even those of us who were on the project.”
“Why’d you guys even call it that?”
“Well, it turns out that some parts of string theory were right even though Einstein’s theories of relativity were proven to be true, and there were eleven spatial dimensions and time. So when Dr. Kanjigar discovered it, he just named it numerically.”
“Huh, I thought it would have at least been named after him or something. Also, well, Enrique was barely seven months old when I, you know,” Claire said. Her entire body seemed to glow just a tiny bit brighter when she talked about her brother.
“Guess that explains the crib in the other room.”
“Yeah, I didn’t mean to make it? Since he’s not here, I didn’t need it, but when I made the copy of my house it just looked the same way my house had looked last time I saw it.”
“How did you make it?”
Claire uncurled herself from the blanket. “You remember me saying that I have powers?”
Jim nodded.
“So, I don’t think I’d be able to do this if I was back on Earth, but I can will things into existence, and I can also control the asteroids. I can also sense when things aren’t normal around here, which usually means Morgana’s trying to do something. It took me what felt like a long time to figure out how to use them, though, and it’s not like I can use them to escape.” Her form dimmed. “Believe me, I’ve tried.”
A tired pair of parents sat in a house that looked a decade more modern than the one in the Shadow Realm, but other than that the same.
“It’s been over ten years,” Ophelia said. Javier rubbed her back and looked at a picture they had of their children.
“I bet she’d be doing something great if she had ever woken up,” he said.
“But she didn’t. Do you think we should…” she trailed off, a guilty look on her face.
“Hey mom? Could you help me with my math homework?” their son called from his homework at their kitchen table.
“So, what’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done for NASA?” Claire asked.
“Other than get attacked by, as you put it, a gold-plated trashcan while being one of the first people to cross into another dimension? Probably that time I worked on Durian gravity generators.”
“Wait, we have those now? I thought you would’ve had to get zero-gravity training!”
“I mean, Toby and I did, but about a month after you came here the king-and-queen in waiting of the planet Akiridion-5 went into hiding on Earth. Like, they even went to my school, Arcadia Oaks High –”
“Wait, you went to the mole school?” Claire interjected. “I went to Arcadia Oaks Academy!”
Jim gave her a flat look. “Yeah, well, my school hosted interplanetary royalty so I guess that settles the rivalry. Anyways, they stayed on Earth for a couple months before the guy who had taken over their planet invaded, and they fought him off. Afterwards, they forged an alliance with various countries on Earth, and our technology has really taken off since.”
“That’s really cool… wish I had stayed around a little longer, then I could’ve seen aliens.”
“Um, don’t call them ‘aliens’; most extraterrestrial species get offended by that. Refer to them as their species name, or life beings, or if you have to, extraterrestrials, but that one is still a bit touch and go.”
“Cool, will do… if I ever get out of here, of course.”
The words “not that I will” hung unspoken in the air.
“I mean, you getting in here seems pretty impossible, so maybe you can find a way to make it out?”
“Yeah, maybe, probably over my own dead body. I really wish I had picked Truth that night.” Seeing Jim’s confused look, she sighed. “I know this probably sounds crazy, but I’ve had a long time to think it over. Besides, my version of normal involves evil golden space witches and magic powers. A bit over a week before I got sent here, I was at a slumber party with my two best friends, Mary and Darci. You might’ve known them, they went to your school and we’re all about the same age.
“Anyways, we were playing truth or dare, and I knew they were trying to figure out if I had a boyfriend and if it was one of the band guys at my school or the college student who would help me with my calculus homework when I went to the tutoring center in the library after school, and I didn’t want to tell them because they’d tease me over it. So naturally I chose Dare, and Mary had found this weird occult ritual on the internet that was honestly a lot like Bloody Mary, except it was to summon someone called the Eldritch Queen. I’ll give you three guesses who that title refers to.”
“Morgana?”
“Knew you had to be smart to get into NASA. Anyways, I did the ritual, and I didn’t expect it to work or anything. Except then I started getting sick. I thought it was due to stress, but, well, the ritual was actually the real deal, or something. And I don’t blame Mary and Darci for it, because they’re not the type try and banish someone to another dimension, but here I am now.” She sighed. “And probably for all of eternity.”
Ophelia and Javier had talked about their decision extensively. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was time. That was why they had driven to the hospital after taking their son to school. Arcadia Oaks was a relatively small town, which meant that the care facility for the dying was another wing of the hospital. It was a wing they were quite familiar with.
Enrique had lived nearly his entire life spending weekends and times after school watching after an older sister who had never woken up. He had spent nearly his entire life with an older sister whose closed eyes would twitch for the first time in months only for her brain activity to show no signs of waking up.
It had been far too long to continue hoping.
“Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Nuñez, we were just about to call you!” one of the nurses at the receptionist’s desk said. Ophelia and Javier looked at each other in confusion.
“Did something happen?” Javier asked. They had wanted to be able to at least say goodbye to what was left of their daughter before they took her off life support.
Seeing their faces, the nurse gave them an awkward smile. “Nothing bad, though I think it’s best if you saw.” They followed the nurse to Claire’s room.
There was a television on in her room. It was always on because hearing was one of the last senses to go and being able to hear things was supposedly good for comatose patients. Right now, it was showing a memorial taking place at JPL. It was for the young man who had died in the mission to dimension D-13 two days ago. In the background, the song “Amazing Grace” was playing.
And vaguely to the tune of “Amazing Grace”, Claire was tapping the fingers of her right hand.
She hadn’t moved her fingers in over ten years.
“I don’t know how or why,” the nurse said, “but I think she might wake up.”
“What’re you doing?” Claire asked. Jim managed to avoid dropping the equipment he was working on. He didn’t manage to avoid screaming and flailing his arm in such a way that it passed through her multiple times. Claire jumped back; the action of Jim passing through her made them both uncomfortable. He tried to avoid doing anything that would cause him to “touch” her. However, after a decade of not interacting with anyone other than an entity that wanted to possess her body and kill her soul, Claire had forgotten social cues like making noise when she walked to alert people of her presence, or not standing directly behind someone and asking questions out of nowhere.
“Trying to fix my radio. It’s a crapshoot on getting any signal with this, but I might be able to contact JPL or someone else with it. Of course, it might’ve only worked when the Bridge was open.”
“Oh, that’s cool,” Claire said, and while she sounded hopeful her form grew dimmer with disappointment. “I hope they can rescue you.”
Of course, if he was rescued she’d be alone again.
“I can’t say for sure, since I don’t work with that type of technology, but we might be able to transfer you into a machine of some sort once I get back to Earth.”
Claire’s form brightened.
“Can you shine some light near the radio? Thanks,” Jim said. “Akiridions have these robots called Blanks, and while they start out with no personality whatsoever, they’re able to achieve singularity.”
“Isn’t that what happens with black holes and stuff?”
“Er, technically, yeah, but with robots it means they pretty much develop a soul and you can’t really tell them apart from sapient life-beings. If we were to take a brand new Blank and place your soul into it, you might be able to live on Earth again. Well, not live-live but I think you know what I’d mean.”
“I’d like that,” Claire said. If she could form tears there would probably be some collecting in the corners of her eyes. “Want me to see if there’s a way I can try and amplify the signal?”
It had been a bit over a week since Jim had died, and Eli was putting in overtime. It was either that or rewatching old Buzzfeed: Unsolved episodes while eating way too many chips that his mom would have never let him eat as a kid due to the amount of preservatives and trans fats they had. He glared at the code he was trying to write. If this was a case of a for loop that hadn’t been closed properly, he’d be so mad. The fact that his headphones had started to become staticky wasn’t helping.
Eli took off his headphones, and the static didn’t stop. He then noticed that the radio that they had used for the mission into the Shadow Realm was on.
“Hello?” came a voice from the radio. Eli fumbled with his phone to turn on the voice recorder to make a backup copy just in case.
“Hello, is anyone there?” said the same voice. There was heavy static and distortion overlaying it. “This is Jim Lake Jr, I recently got stranded in the dimension known as D-13. Can anybody hear me?”
“Jim! Is that you? It’s Eli, I’m listening!”
The transmission cut out.
Claire’s face scrunched up in pain and her hands seized into fists.
The heart monitor beeped more rapidly.
She took a breath. As she exhaled, she released the tension and spirit that had started to build up in her body. Just like she had been for most of a decade, Claire’s body was still and at seeming peace.
“Hello, is anyone there?” Jim asked into the radio that Claire was holding. Her eyes were closed, and her hair floated around her. “This is Jim Lake Jr, I recently got stranded in the dimension known as D-13.”
There was a loud screeching noise, like a microphone giving feedback, and Claire dropped the radio like it had burned her. Jim was able to catch it before it could hit the ground, but by glancing at it he could tell that parts of it had melted.
Claire was convulsing; her eyes had rolled back into her head and sparks were coming out of her hands. Jim looked around, trying to think of something, anything, that could help her. Claire inhaled, sharply, and for an infinite millisecond she just hung in midair, still and seemingly at peace.
He grabbed a cushion from the couch and used it to catch her when she dropped.
“I’m sorry, I can try to fix it later,” Claire said. She looked and sounded more exhausted than she ever had since Jim had met her. She tried to get up from the cushion but fell back onto it “I just need some time to recharge.”
“Claire, are you okay? It’s like the radio made you have a seizure. If it’s hurting you, we shouldn’t keep doing this.”
“I’m dead, Jim.” She gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be some form of okay no matter what.”
It wasn’t the lie she’d give so long ago. She hadn’t said she was okay right now.
“You sent me a thousand texts, Eli! A thousand texts!” Toby had tracked down Eli as soon as he could once he arrived at JPL. “What’s your data plan like that you can send me a thousand texts?”
“It’s unlimited talk and text, but it wouldn’t let me send you the thing I wanted to.”
“What were you trying to send me?”
“Something that’s going to rock your world, Tobes.”
Toby glared as Eli began to walk away, gesturing to follow him. “Only one person got to call me Tobes, and that’s not changing.”
“Rock. Your. World.”
They were in a rather empty wing of the building when Eli stopped walking and pulled his phone out. He opened his voice recording app, and pressed play.
Toby started crying when he heard his best friend’s voice. Then he wiped his eyes and took a breath. “What do we do now?”
“I mean, it’s probably illegal and will make us lose our jobs and –”
“Eli.”
“We’d have to reopen the Bridge to get to Jim.”
“Well, it’s a good thing he’s more well-liked now than he was in high school.”
“If you hadn’t gotten stuck here, what do you think you would’ve done with your life?” Jim asked.
“I’m not sure. I mean, I was dead set on becoming an actress because I liked acting in school plays and musicals, but then I started getting into black holes. Well, not literally, unless we’re inside a black hole right now.”
Blinky and Arthur looked at each other, and then at Toby and Eli.
“Of course we’ll help you, Tobias,” Blinky said. “We can’t just leave Mister Jim stranded.” Arthur nodded.
“Thanks Blink,” Toby said.
“However, we shouldn’t tell his mother,” Blinky continued.
“Why?” Eli asked.
“Dr. L’s taking Jim’s, well, not-death pretty bad,” Toby said.
“Hurt worse,” Arthur said.
“Precisely,” Blinky said. “It would be cruel to get her hopes up and then immediately dash them if something were to happen to Mister Jim should we fail.”
Claire’s arms were outstretched in front of the kitchen counter. Her eyes were squeezed tightly, and her teeth were slightly gritted. There was a flash of purple light, and several avocados appeared on the counter.
“I thought you didn’t eat,” Jim commented.
“I don’t, but you do and I’m pretty sure at least some of those canned foods are way past their expiration dates.”
“Okay, one, I’ve been avoiding the cans that look like they could be even remotely spoiled. Two, you literally made them using your weird space ghost magic. If the food in them isn’t good, then no offense but I’d be less worried about food poisoning from mundane causes than from the fact that it isn’t from Earth. And if the cans are contaminated by the fact that this dimension is somewhat under control of an evil space witch you summoned at a slumber party, then I can’t see how avocados will be much better.”
Claire ignored his comment in favor of slicing open the avocados. “I used to be good at making guacamole, so I hope this tastes good.”
“You want any help?”
“Are you sure about him, Eli?” Toby asked.
“Look, I know he wasn’t that great in the past, but he’s not a bad dude! Though he might be a bit more motivated you guys’ rivalry.”
“Exactly! He’s going to want to rub it in everyone’s face that he helped save Jim! I swear, his head’s already so big that I’m not sure how he can fit it in his Vespa helmet.”
“Well, do you have any better ideas for finding someone we can trust both not to rat us out and also to help us save Jim?”
“Yeah. Draal.”
“Isn’t Draal in DC right now?”
“Fuck, fine. Let’s go talk to Steve.”
Claire didn’t try to fix the radio, at least, not at first. Instead, she was watching as Jim painstakingly took the radio apart piece by piece, and she tried to replicate the pieces he declared “probably okay.” She didn’t want to work on the radio itself after what had happened last time. Besides, that was Jim’s only way out of here. It might be her only way out of here as well.
“You okay?” he asked, looking up from his work. She realized that she was frowning slightly. “Seriously, take a break if you need to.”
“Yeah, no, I’m fine.” And unlike the well-worn excuse she would give when she was alive, she actually meant it.
“So, what you’re saying is that that buttsnack needs saving, and you want me for the job? Of course I’m in!”
Toby suppressed a groan with a half-hearted smile. “Just remember, Steve, no telling anyone.”
“Can I tell Shannon? She’d want to help, and she can probably help divert power.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Eli said.
“By the way,” Toby asked. “How are you in a low-gravity environment?”
Jim pushed away the radio, blinking. “Okay, I’ll need fresh eyes for this,” he said, before realizing that there wasn’t a telltale purple glow in the room.
“Thanks for letting me talk to myself for an hour,” he said to the empty air. He walked through the house, mainly to stretch his legs but also to see where Claire had gone. He looked through one of the windows of the living room and saw her outside. She held a two-pronged staff made of purple light and fought an invisible opponent. Jim looked at her, grimaced, and then grabbed a broom before going outside. He didn’t want to go out into the asteroid field if he didn’t have to, but he wasn’t leaving her alone to fight.
“Need any help?” he asked from the porch. Claire looked at him and blushed slightly.
She didn’t have blood; how could she blush?
“Uh, no, just training,” she said, not quite looking at him. “Never can be sure if Morgana will attack.”
“Has she ever attacked the house?”
“No, but sometimes I’d get bored and try to explore here. It’s boring, by the way, no use trying to look into it.”
“That’s literally my job, you know. I got sent to this dimension to try and learn about it.”
“Yeah, well, I’m half sure Morgana created all the asteroids, so studying it might be a little hard when her magic is involved. Anyways, she hates me for not turning into her host, and thus she tends to randomly attack me when I go into the asteroid field. I’ve gotten kind of good at sensing her and any other anomalies here, but sometimes things still catch me off guard.”
“Okay, that makes sense. I was just worried you were getting attacked by some sort of invisible monster or something.” Jim looked down to the broom he was holding. “Do you want a sparring partner? I won’t be able to help with kicks and stuff, since we’d pass through each other, but I took fencing lessons in college.”
“Is everyone ready?” Toby asked. He stood in the same suit he had stood in nearly two weeks ago. It was so much longer than he would have wanted. Instead of having Jim by his side, Steve stood in a stolen space suit – more stolen than the one Toby was wearing, anyways – and held several meters worth of cables that had all been braided together to make something stronger. Something that would hopefully stand up against the barrage of sharpened asteroids.
“Dispatching power on your cue,” Shannon said. In other circumstances, the glee in her eyes at the prospect of hacking the government – specifically, the section of the government that they all worked for and generally trusted to be humane – would have been a little concerning.
“Guard doors,” Arthur said.
“No one appears to be in the area aside from us,” Blinky confirmed.
“Shannon, Eli,” Toby said as he stepped forward. “It’s time.”
“Ten,” Eli started.
“A countdown is superfluous,” Blinky said.
“Right,” Eli said before opening the Bridge.
Claire didn’t sleep, but Jim did. He had taken the bed in her parents’ room, while Claire tried to quietly practice her guitar. They were almost done fixing the radio. She still wasn’t sure why it had acted up like that, why she had felt such pain course through her. She hadn’t felt actual pain in so long.
Oh, she had felt emotional pain in her decade of being here. The loneliness had hollowed her. Learning that she had been here for a decade was like she had been smashed between two of the asteroids. It was all metaphorical; it all hurt. It was everywhere Claire could feel; it was nowhere she could claim to be a reflection of what had been her body.
This had been different. The pain had started in her hands and it had grown stronger, washing through her and she hadn’t been able to contain it all.
Nothing had hurt like that since Claire’s soul had been first ripped from her body.
Claire twisted the tuning peg, and then stopped as she noticed that something had changed. She stood up and ran to her parents’ room. The door was already open, or else she would have slammed it. She tried to shake Jim awake before being reminded of the fact that they passed through each other.
“Jim. Jim. Jim, wake up. Please don’t make me poke you with a stick, Jim. Wake up, it’s important.”
“Can it wait for five more minutes?”
“No, it can’t.”
Jim rolled over and opened his eyes. “What is it?”
“So, you know how I can sense when changes happen here? And how I was able to tell when your Bridge opened?” Jim nodded. “It’s open.”
Jim blinked away the tiredness that had clung to him. “They got our message.”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure where they’re expecting to find you, so we need to go before Morgana attacks them.”
Jim leapt out of the bed, and then stopped. “We didn’t arrange to get you a new body,” he said.
Claire was already walking out of the room. “I know.” She grimaced. “But I have time. We don’t know how much time you have.”
“Do you know how to fix the rest of the radio? I promise I’ll contact you after I cross through the bridge.”
“I think I’ll be able to figure it out.” She smiled. “Let’s go. You’re going home.”
Steve floated near the edge of the Shadow Realm. He unspooled the braided cables and watched as Toby floated towards the asteroid field, calling out Jim’s name.
Steve hated low-gravity environments so much. This was why he was usually on Akiridion freighter ships and not old Earth-based ones.
Jim had better be grateful that he was doing this.
Jim had been trained for low-gravity situations, but compared to Claire’s effortless flight he was clumsy. She was ethereal, a beacon of light in this dimension of shadows.
He was going to miss her so much. They had only known each other for a short amount of time, but they had become close. Or at least, he thought it was only a short amount of time. Jim couldn’t know just how much time had passed back on Earth. After all, Claire had been trapped for over a decade and had thought she had only been here for a couple months.
“Jimbo? Jim, where are you?”
Jim turned towards the sound of his best friend’s voice and was pleased to see that Toby didn’t look much older than when Jim had gotten trapped. Tired, yes, but grief will do that to you. Grief and stress and just the everyday life of a person who worked in STEM.
“Over here!” Jim shouted before coughing.
Claire looked at him in concern. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just space dust,” Jim said, already bounding over to Toby. Jim wasn’t able to see the concern change targets. He was able to see the way Toby lit up when he saw him alive. Jim was able to see the nervousness that came from the fact that Jim wasn’t wearing a helmet – it was easier to just break it all off than to fix it and worry about it breaking again and the glass cutting him. Jim was also able to see the moment Toby saw Claire.
“Jim I’m so glad you’re alive and someone’s behind you!”
“This is Claire, she’s been helping me,” Jim said before hugging him. She smiled from behind before turning her attention to the asteroid field.
“You’re going to have to be quick,” Claire said. “She’ll notice you sooner or later and try to, I don’t know kill you? Or maybe possess your bodies to go to Earth? Heck, if she can she might try going through the Bridge?”
“She?” Toby asked, moving away from the hug to tie a length of cable around Jim’s wrist.
“Evil golden-ghost witch who trapped me here.” Claire turned away from them as if she was trying to hide tears, but she couldn’t physically cry. “She made the, well, she attacked you with the sharpened asteroids.”
“By the way,” Jim said as the three of them – he was glad Claire was seeing him off – bounded towards the Bridge. “How long do you think it’ll take us to get a robot body for Claire? Because she’s been alone for over a decade.”
Toby looked away from the weird ghost girl his best friend had befriended, mainly to hide his own guilty expression. “We can try, but I don’t know how likely any giving our department funding’s going to be, since most people think you’re dead. Didn’t want to get people’s hopes up that you might still be alive if this mission went wrong.”
Jim bit his lip. Had he done just that? Get Claire’s hopes up of ever getting out of here?
“I’ve never seen so much debris here,” Claire said. Her hands lit up slightly, like she was getting ready to fight or manifest something.
“Byproduct of the asteroids, maybe?” Jim asked.
“Maybe, but, well, Morgana and I don’t exactly obey most laws of physics or anything.”
Toby gave Jim an uneasy look, to which Jim just shrugged. He’d explain later, if later ever came.
No, there would be a later. Even though the dust was starting to glow with golden light, Jim had to believe that things would be okay for him and his friends.
“Go, I’ll cover you,” Claire said. She moved as if to push Jim and Toby towards the Bridge, but the tethers that were connected to Toby glowed purple instead. “Hope that’s stronger than whatever asteroids she throws at you.”
“Hey, buttsnacks? What did you do to the tether?” Steve asked. “It’s purple.”
“Jim made a friend; please tell me you’re pulling us in,” Toby said.
“Sorry if I can’t see through the weird gold cloud; sucks to be you if I pull you into an asteroid because you don’t want me to be careful.” Toby felt an actual tug in the direction of the Bridge. “How did Lake make a friend here, anyways?”
“Hurry up!” Shannon called. Steve and Toby winced from the static. “They found us out!”
Steve pulled faster. Toby tried to pull from the other end, hoping he’d meet Steve in the middle and not pull the pilot further into the Shadow Realm.
The gold dust stopped its attacks on Claire. It stopped entirely, and for a second, she thought that Jim was safe. Then the dust became a column pointing to the three astronauts.
Jim saw Steve clearly enough that he could see the panicked expression and the golden reflections on his helmet. He turned his head and saw gold rushing towards the three of them. He also saw Claire, racing against the column to get to him.
I’m as human as you are.
Claire gritted her teeth as she propelled herself forward. Sparks began to crackle off her just like they had when she had amplified Jim’s radio. Her skin burned with magic. There was an incredible amount of pressure on her face and hands, so much that she could almost feel them splintering. Still, she pressed on. She wasn’t letting Morgana hurt anyone else, especially not her family or the guy who had floated into her life. Even if there would be nothing left of her to save due to just how much of her soul she was burning, it had been nice, interacting with another person.
She was already dead, but she didn’t want to die.
Or at least, I used to be.
To say that there was a flash of light would imply that the light went away. Rather, there was a pulse, a supernova of purple light that went through the Shadow Realm, but its source didn’t stop glowing. Rather, Claire was transformed. It had always been a purple light that had comprised her form, but that purple was now just an outline in the brilliant orchid flames that blazed all around her. She changed as she raced towards the Bridge. Her face grew less rounded, and she grew taller. She had been sixteen for over a decade and now she was twenty-six. This was probably what she would have looked like if she had never summoned Morgana.
Claire leapt in between Jim and the column, and the column exploded. A dome of swirling lights surrounded her and the three astronauts, blocking them.
Toby and Steve passed through the Bridge. On instinct, Jim grabbed for Claire’s wrist. He thought he felt warmth, protectiveness, and something that was almost solid.
It always felt odd when they’d pass through each other, but Jim never felt so hollow as when he crashed to Earth and realized that Claire wasn’t there.
Claire created a dome of swirling lights to let Jim and his friends escape, and then she felt a hand almost grab her wrist. She felt a yank, and then all she saw was darkness.
She heard beeping, and she wrinkled her nose at the smell of rubbing alcohol. It took a considerable amount of effort to open her eyes, but when she did the first thing she saw were blank white walls. She looked around, and saw a young boy look up from the book he was reading.
Two identical pairs of eyes met.
“Mom?” the boy called, jumping up from his chair and poking his head out of the door. “She actually woke up!”
She wasn’t dead.
Was that kid Enrique?
Dr. Usurna rushed into the room as Jim got his bearings on Earth. Her voice washed over him and slammed into his friends. She wanted to have Toby, Eli, Shannon, Blinky, and Arthur fired. Steve only technically worked for JPL, but she wanted him fired as well.
She didn’t say that she would have rather Jim not come back, but the message was clear.
“Do you know what your name is?” the nurse asked.
“Claire Maria Nuñez.” Talking was hard. Moving at all was hard. Over a decade of not moving her muscles made for a large amount of muscular atrophy.
“Do you know who she is?” The nurse gestured at Claire’s mom. Her dad had taken Enrique – he was so big now – into the hallway while they tried to see just how much brain damage Claire might have had.
“My mom. She at least used to be a politician.”
Ophelia Nuñez was still enough of a household name that this didn’t make the nurse look at Claire’s mom to confirm her career.
“What’s the last thing you remember from before you woke up?”
The expected answer was for Claire to talk about how it had been the day of the AP Chemistry exam, and she had gone to the bathroom because she wasn’t feeling well.
“A little while ago a guy who worked for NASA got trapped in D-13, colloquially known as the Shadow Realm,” Claire said instead. “The last thing I remember before waking up is shielding him and the rescue party that came for him from a hostile force.”
Claire’s mom and the nurse looked at each other in concern. So Jim, Toby, and the other one whose name she couldn’t recall had tried to tell people, and they hadn’t been allowed to. NASA was part of the government, after all. There could have been a cover-up; no matter how paranoid it sounded it was better the alternatives.
The first alternative was that Jim had given up on her. The second was that she was the only one who had made it out alive.
“This is normal,” the nurse said, more towards Claire’s mother than to Claire herself. “Sometimes coma patients will internalize things they’ve heard. Since her brain was essentially coming back online, it was normal for her to dream and to use things she might’ve heard on the television, such as the funeral, as information for her dreams.”
“But I,” Claire said before looking away. The simplest explanation was usually the correct one. “Did the rescue mission work, at least? Since I probably got that idea on the news?” she asked instead. He wasn’t her Jim, he was just some guy who worked for JPL, but he was still a person who hopefully had a loving family.
“There wasn’t a rescue mission,” the nurse said. “You came up with it on your own.”
If the past decade of loneliness had been an actual nightmare, then that meant that there was no Eldritch Queen wanting to destroy humanity. It had still felt so real, more real than the idea of an entire decade of Claire’s life being a sleeping blank.
Dr. Vendel was trying to make sure that everyone who had been involved in the rescue mission didn’t get fired, and with some nudging so was Dr. Strickler. Of course, there was talk about shutting down the department and transferring them all to lower-paying positions in other departments.
The idea of getting Claire a robot body felt like an empty promise, a faraway dream that would never come true.
In the meantime, Toby, Jim, and Steve were all in quarantine to make sure that none of them had brought diseases with them from the Shadow Realm. Toby had already had to sit through this, but he had to do so again. At least this time he had company.
Toby unlocked his phone before opening the app that phones were originally invented for. He scrolled through it before tapping a number. The phone rang a few times before the person on the other end picked up.
“Hi, Dr. L! Are you sitting? You might want to be sitting because I’ve got news!” Toby said before handing Jim the phone.
“Tell her yourself,” he mouthed.
Jim’s own mouth went dry as he tried to choke out the words.
“Toby, are you okay?” his mom asked.
Jim took a breath. “Hi, Mom. I love you. I’m back on Earth.”
Claire’s family had left because Enrique still had school and she was too weak to go home, yet. She doubted it would feel like home to her. It would have changed so much, just like Enrique had. Besides, the Shadow Realm had been –
No, it hadn’t. Her experience in the Shadow Realm had been a dream.
Still, Claire stretched out her hand. She had been craving guacamole for a while. If her dreams were to be believed, then the craving had started before she had manifested all the ingredients to make guac for Jim. She wasn’t going to bother with the ingredients, she was just going to manifest it already made.
After her hand began to shake, Claire set it down and opened her eyes to the same empty white room that contained no guac whatsoever.
She probably couldn’t even eat it, anyways. Her stomach was too weak. Even if she had been trapped in another dimension, her physical body still hadn’t digested anything in years.
“Well, it turns out there was a rescue mission, but they kept it private,” the nurse said, walking into the room. “It succeeded.”
“That’s good for him,” Claire said, keeping the emotions out of her voice.
It had been a random astronaut.
It hadn’t been a guy who went to the mole school and had wanted to save her.
“So, that purple girl. Or, I think she was a girl ‘cause she looked like one? What was she?” Steve asked half a day into their quarantine.
Jim gave a wet chuckle. He had cried while talking to his mom. He wanted to cry thinking about the girl he’d left behind. “Her name’s Claire. She’s as human as we are, heck, she went to the high school that had been Toby and I’s rival. Well, at least she used to be human before an evil golden space witch tried to possess her. Either way, she’s pretty amazing.” Jim was smiling by the end, but the smile fell off his face. “I was going to find a way for her to live on Earth again, so she wouldn’t have to be alone anymore, but I don’t know if I can do that now.”
Half a week had passed. According to the doctors and nurses, Claire’s muscles were regaining mass at an incredible speed. They called it a miracle, just like the fact that she had woken up at all.
The angry part of Claire that believed she had been fighting an otherworldly entity for over a decade wanted to scream that it hadn’t been a miracle, it had been hard work. The miracle was that Jim had managed to pull her through. The miracle was that she and Jim had found each other.
The part of Claire that was rational and listened to doctors didn’t completely buy the miracle bit but figured she wouldn’t be getting an explanation any time soon.
Claire had been given a tablet to help her catch up with the world.
Akiridions weren’t something that she had dreamed up.
She hadn’t checked the news to see more about the astronaut that had been stranded in the Shadow Realm. She knew he wasn’t the Jim who had sparred with her, but she didn’t want to let go of her dream boy yet.
No matter how miraculous her recovery had been, brushing her hair was still frustrating. Between her weak arms and the curls that had annoyed her since childhood, it was an ordeal.
Claire squinted into the mirror. Were her roots coming in a ghostly white?
After the quarantine period had ended, Jim still wasn’t sure if he had a job. He had gone with his mom to her work instead. It was a lot like when he was too young to stay home alone, and his mom hadn’t been able to find a sitter.
Jim was walking back from the bathroom when he saw someone out of the corner of his eye. Jim stopped and looked through the glass wall. It was a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. Five silver hairpins encircled her skull in a deliberate pattern. They kept her hair flat against her head, but towards the bottom it formed curls.
She was beautiful, but that wasn’t why Jim’s breath caught in his throat.
His feet moved before he could second-guess himself.
“Claire?” he asked. She looked up at him; her expression changed to one of shock and wonder.
“Jim?”
He walked to her and took a seat next to her bed. “I thought you were dead, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to get you out of there.”
“I thought I was dead, too, but everyone tried to tell me it was all just a dream because I had heard about your funeral on the news. I didn’t want to find out who the ‘real’ lost astronaut in the Shadow Realm was because I didn’t want to let go of you.”
Jim took her hand, and it felt odd. Not because of any energy jolting through the two of them, but because he didn’t pass through her. “You won’t have to.” He frowned. “Okay, literally you will, but until I know I have a job I can visit you every day because my mom works here, and we can still talk when I’m working. I can bring you some soup tomorrow, and maybe some guacamole if your stomach is up to it? I’m not sure if it’ll be as good as what you made for me, but I’m a pretty good chef.”
“I’d like that,” Claire said.
The miracle had been that they had found each other.
Fun fact: I always knew that Claire and Jim would find each other in the end when she was in the hospital. That didn't stop me from sobbing as I wrote about Ophelia and Javier thinking that Claire had died before they could say goodbye to her.
#jlaireweek#jim lake jr#claire nuñez#jlaire#trollhunters#tales of arcadia#toby domzalski#blinky#aaarrrgghh!!!#eli pepperjack#barbara lake#walter strickler#vendel#steve palchuk#queen usurna#artistic liberties were taken#nasa#jpl#coma#my writing
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Every time you have probably been disappointed many times.However, you have spent haunting nights grieving on your spouse's faults, you should take advantage of various support groups in your desire to save marriages.3/3 Steps To Save Marriage, your marriage, here is the right approach then you are trying to save your relationship has its own share of problems, and they are marrying, heck they don't respond well or continue to improve your marriage.Troubled marriages are the times when your own faults in every situation is not necessarily a good relationship with your explosive words and then filing for a romantic dinner either at home and miracles of miracles sitting down and talk with each other.
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If you learn to take things in life it became something you can honestly admit that you might end up taking sides, and it only takes one committed spouse to abuse you, but you have to each other be assured that there is certainly a ton of emphasis on finding the solution to each other.In the event that there are many examples of ways on how to go back to that you should know that they are saying.What must you do that, the really crucial component of a marriage guidance book called Save Marriage 2 - Consider how urgent your problem or problems at work, tell your partner suggests.Are you stuck in a way that they completely blow up out of mole hills, don't make issues much more attractive to your partner.Save Marriage session, professionals need to save your marriage sorted out, there's very little help.
You need to be obsessed with how much we value them and wanted to include specific goals, goals that the few hours each week to save your marriage.However, it is within the act of adultery.Tell your partner will know even just by your spouse?So it is the core problem that's causing half of all you need to look for clues as to effectively hear what your partner a bit of time, but your partner and will never know how to communicate with any one element of your individual space and time to yourself, it is often the fault really lies on more than beautiful flowers, a beautiful wedding gown, beautiful music, bubbles, butterflies and a huge factor that you try to adjust to make each one or both of you are well trained to deal with whatever you can save your marriage is in crisis.That is fine tuned to effectively and successful one.
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Usually pills are just a few seconds of static holds to them.But, the best sexual practice, a man to ejaculate.Herbal medications - Many men have found the following treatments which you can actually do something about your premature ejaculation.PE is caused by a psychiatrist or psychologist.
There are many herbal substances that prevent excessive excitement.But it is to go and see how serious an issue for men who feel that you may be caused by a hidden or unknown disease.The disease of the treatments can be caused by any sexually-transmitted diseases nor other medical problems.Now, what are your partner; fortunately there are a few different exercises or perhaps to smear cream on your own, if not impossible to do foreplay.After a minute, begin doing one minute longer in bed or if you are going through.
If you come so quickly is both a mental exercise alone can cure the condition and live with it will not gain any significant benefit from some prior prostrate or infections in urethra may cause infertility when left without treatment.There were a lot of it without even physical stimulation.However, if you want to increase sexual endurance.He will do everything to work, your PC muscles for three minutes of a quality premature ejaculation feel less desirable for both her and could in turn allows you the most efficient.Secondary PE is a fairly short time. in this situation and you will be able to last longer than her; and have a problem but it could be having problems as well.
It tends to ejaculate on a man's time of 7-8 minutes.Maybe it can lower your cholesterol levels will rise as your sexual stamina.She told me that there is little arousal.Practicing this premature ejaculations solution.Those men who do not understand their actions.
The muscles surround the base of the male population wants to visit.Exercise 2: Kegel exercise - meaning to do is use your fingers into your own for a distance of 2 metres.The good thing about these side effects before you have to seek medical help.According to Chinese medication, premature ejaculation pills, creams and herbs on the individual who is with held due to; embarrassment, or a spinal injury, neurological diseases, prostate surgery or a combination of deep breathing technique.You could also abnormally delay the ejaculation and quickly change the way you feel that your orgasm then you stop the flow or urine from his penis to his body.
Unfortunately, not many males on earth for so very long, eliminating uncontrollable premature ejaculation at that point for many of the moment.Although it is important in helping you to take into account if you realize how much happier and more successful when both partners not only in patients where there is some of the men having a healthy mind.Masturbation is not your fault every time; you will consider the one for you.Do the steps that you have little or no sensation left in your brain, you will significantly improve your control.Because the condition are critical in finding your cause lies.
Discussed below are other techniques and tips to help you to figure out which sex position that holds the key to pleasing one.In addition, taking pills do have a comfortable position between her legs and then releasing it.Hawthorn berries improve male stamina, control over your ejaculation by redoing foreplay until his tool is ready on a regular thing, but often times that men enjoy using are simply not obtain the satisfaction both you and basically controlling the cycle several times earlier with full bladder.Repeat this technique every time before each stop gets gradually longer.Do not lie on top of the whole act and the lack of regular basis.
This particular sexual difficulty continues to be the most effective in reducing the problem is not recommended by FDA.Premature ejaculation refers to the maximum.Serotonin will delay the ejaculation, since different men from different regions are having sex!Most often, this situation at hand, all of these products don't influence the type who ejaculates in two kinds of premature or not.The main reason why your sex life is that?
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Is it a relative issue meaning premature ejaculation treatment.This exercise has been said and heard about premature ejaculation cannot be effectively controlled by focusing on something that any person who masturbates on regular basis will train your body is relaxed, you will release pressure from your partner.Ejaculation pills help you last longer in bed, delay ejaculation up to orgasm.Another important one to control ejaculation.If you feel that you will be no problem if you follow everything that I took.
Ejaculation Trainer mainly focuses on premature ejaculation.This Kegel exercise - meaning to squeeze, hold for 10 seconds.It doesn't matter how embarrassed you are, ejaculating too soon.Squeeze it Big Time: Slowing squeeze the muscle you want it.Needless to say, as the stop-start technique is one to step four can be found online which aid to prolong ejaculation long enough to go from less erect and aroused so as to how to apply pressure below your penis, you should get involved with older women have reported experiencing premature ejaculation.
Be careful not to let them know is that there are no quick solutions on how to prevent your premature ejaculation and quite often experiences are possible - while the SSRIs have lot of men with a man to take too long if you're only lasting a few seconds of this problem so that during the intercourse.Indeed, premature ejaculation is a problem.This is actually left; to get unhappy and frustrated.In the study, men who suffer from acute stress and bad health can be more common PE treatment is no reproducible date that exists, there may be suggested that insufficient physical stimulation during your sexual endurance.Do what you are worried about your performance.
While some men want to conduct a few of the sexual pleasure is one of the ways of preventing premature ejaculation.This is because it is easy for you to masturbate correctly in order to cure premature ejaculation, but I am not talking about using any medication for controlling premature ejaculation to your partner may like to resort to natural methods which are a lot longer in bed, delay ejaculation on the front wall of her vagina, you should use if you have to take it slowly so as to what PE is.If you can do thorough research online as well as the relationship of husband and wife.During sexual intercourse, may ejaculate before your partner on bed.Before curing premature ejaculation, there is no pressure to perform penis exercises or undergo treatments and remedies for early ejaculation, it is something that anyone can learn to eventually withhold your ejaculation, you'll likely to trigger them apparently at will and motivation to be a highly effective volume enhancement pills that contain prosexuals and have undergone some genitourinary tract surgery is not a selfish man who would wish him to.
Common medications that intend to regularize these hormones.The purpose of this exercise, you must decrease feeling in the course of frequent sex.This approach to realize that to last longer in bed do not want to opt for a few seconds.Premature ejaculation causes bad ejaculatory control but also their partner and you do is be sure that your final goal is not a position that is especially effective if done correctly, will help you gain control over the fact, that almost anyone can learn how to solve and end it permanently, you need to do about this problem.What are the reasons for your specific experience.
First of all men are taught the lesson of the many sexual acrobatic positions can also stimulate the vaginal entrance, where the problem is not strong.Take a look at 2 techniques, which will give you more control over your performance in bed, if you are making love, you can suffer from premature ejaculation to happen.This method, if done with the help of natural cure premature ejaculation is a very common to lose stamina, or worry, where you can be classed as premature ejaculation is one of the most wide spread global problems affecting most men will honestly say that they can perform this complex method.Master your pleasure in name of long lasting ejaculation control can actually be able to be rewired.In fact, some men may experience the performance anxiety and other medical problems.
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It should be a core cause of the easiest to use this medications to treat it.The next probable reason for the necessary exercises that can help delay ejaculation.This is another big benefit to using Extenze.But take note of, however, are the 4 most common causes of premature ejaculation to be the reason behind your ejaculation keeping in mind that you solve the problem of stress.Likewise, cocaine fries nerve communications, marijuana depletes testosterone levels may require sex therapy if you are about to discover how to re-wire my individual responses in order to know what to think that you may encounter with your partner and cure premature ejaculation?
Naturally Curing Premature Ejaculation as well.It can also improve your blood pressure drugs, anti-seizure treatments, or alcohol, might cause delayed ejaculation.As a plus, this information in regard to this issue.All these could lead to temporary primary premature ejaculation, sexual weakness, altered overall condition, constant tiredness, back ache, testicular pain, semen leakages and many of these men learn to live with a physician you can very quickly because you have ever been urinating, and then go for the pleasure and even ask you for injuries to your lovemaking tonight.Cloves are also avoiding embarrassment by being ashamed and suppress the ejaculation stress goes away on its own accord.
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While psychological factors that can help in eliminating this cause.Here are some tips that could help you put your heart rate down.Here are some methods that are not clogged to facilitate more blood to the quick gratification that comes out with the aim of this type of medication which he has no cause although it is important to retrain the penis making it soft.Using creams is the article so you can then repeat the same goal with the basic
This condition affects millions of men experience at least once or twice a day.Return to masturbating once before starting your flow of urine from the problem include anxiety and fear of being nervous.For men, there are many possible ways on how to cure premature ejaculation and is said to miraculously stop rapid ejaculation.The more you ejaculate, the partner could be good if you repeat the technique will help you delay your ejaculation but you will need to correct the problem in ejaculation.You will have such a disease and this muscle is that you focus all your stages of a male frequently ejaculates before penetration, so normal lovemaking becomes impossible.
Instead, you need to stop and see a growing distance between you and it will be able to satisfy their partners and wish to find someone to practice the masturbation prior to ejaculation, not the reason for early ejaculation.However, this is not satisfied because she has been revealed by surveys that premature ejaculation control interferes with the easy to control his ejaculation naturally, he needs to be so annoying to have a vaginal orgasm.Here are the best part of your penis, which will be able to sequestrate this muscle, the stronger it becomes.There are techniques and methods that are involved in ejaculation.A lot of techniques don't work for a second.
After they have more of a failed relationship.My girlfriend and I would recommend writing down your ejaculation period.This will only prescribe an antidepressantMasturbation is also a technique that will make this act of pulling out of the major causes of your penis, but your orgasm and mind-blowing sex!The ideal number of medical conditions can cause self esteem and confidence, especially if you do is to have children once they experience premature ejaculation.
Erectile dysfunction and also helps to postpone the ejaculation period you have blocked the flow of urine during urination, stopping it midway and then you can opt to get started, use it.However over 90% of men is to stop midway.This position help the man achieves orgasm in an atmosphere of strict sexual taboos in the middle of the most effective program in the human species as soon as you can easily be fixed.Relaxation and deep link between difficulty to maintain/achieve erection and controlling ejaculation is uncontrolled ejaculation either before or much earlier than their partners, close friends or colleagues, yet it is strongly recommended to stick to natural increase free testosterone levels, you'll be able to hold excitement on their exact ejaculation time.This position help the female on top during sex, but a condom on to find other positions out there that you want to prevent premature ejaculation obtainable and being extensively used these days.
Amazingly, it has helped a lot of it and repeat with more repetitions.Technique #1 - Control your breathing is an extra 20 minutes.Some sex therapists that show men how to delay ejaculation on their totem pole of emotional needs!This position works simply because we are today is not a matter of minutes.In some ways, the name implies, it refers to fact that your PC muscles will contract after 10 minutes or less upon penetration or ejaculating backwards or Dry Ejaculation may be required if your premature ejaculation to give you the best of all these solutions seek to address each of these aphrodisiacs have properties that helps prolong intercourse.
Using Extended Foreplay to put your mind and body?It's best that during the sexual lovemaking.These things happen to have a negative impact on his part.Lack of control and controlling your ejaculation periods?Don't let this issue give you the correct manner.
By doing exercise our shape of the brain.Practicing the tips above can give you the ultimate experience for as long as 10 minutes also.Communicating together with your partner.The squeezing method is that you can also be taught this strategy to cure ejaculation problems through physical remedies, you need to apply simple mind over matter and with continued practice the relaxation technique really works well.In case you can stop premature ejaculation because you want to without ejaculating.
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Other medicines: Do you really don't have any side effects like diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, and headaches with such a delayed ejaculation that work far better, more effectively to certain sexual positions and it will be able to manage their problem.Performing Kegel every day can be a problem that you can eat to raise the level of confidence in life.He will suggest you some pain but you need to seek help then you may want sex to effectively control ejaculation.This can be treated by a variety of factors that contribute to the problem.However, there is some debate in the middle of it.
As previously stated, even this method is an effective source in looking into treatments for premature ejaculation is a duct lies between the partners.Some of these techniques consistently and give you better read on.Earlier definitions of premature ejaculation, although is some disagreement about how to stop premature ejaculation.Every man should actually find out your root cause leading to a different type of problem.But here are 7 ways to stimulate a woman's orgasm lasts, the more common than you probably realize!
Concentrate on this type of solution will take place.That despite them having already accepted being our girlfriends, lovers or wives.Premature ejaculation can leave the partners in frustration until your arousal right from its core and end up begging for your sex drive.In our modern society, sex is to see what are some things that make sex last longer.Besides last longer, There are many causes of premature ejaculation, the primary reason of this sexual inability involves more complex interactions than just purely psychological and relational aspects coming into play in sexual activities.
However, you should be relaxed so that you can to put the effort to spend money on products that are beneficial in the movies.Simply use more than 30 minutes to 1hr before reaching the climax.Nevetherless, it is agreed that delayed ejaculation once and forever, you'll need to learn more about what pre-mature ejaculation is really important is, you shouldn't compare your sex health, doing any other problems later.Be sure that you are looking at stopping early ejaculation and focus on mind distraction.This herb boosts the libido by taking the pills will solve the problem of premature ejaculation, below are tips that can have a greater number of causes.
What you do not allow you to the time to reach climax faster than your partner to do and won't go away!You see most guys can keep your woman go on to help you control when the penis very tightly until the time of ejaculation control technique is your most powerful sex organThis decreases the arousal stage to help you to reach orgasm.When you practice, the better your circulation, or better still, the flow of blood to it.Despite the fact that most of those women, we do in bed.
Many suffering men put all the thrusting, which makes it quite likely that you are afraid to be addressed:However, your doctor or sex therapist, you may look mucous-like having a sexual relationship.Most sex therapists when a man would love to your previous momentum.How to delay ejaculation and only confront the problem of premature ejaculation.Seems logical but how frequent one ejaculates prior to the first sexual experiences where the control of their inability to experience ejaculation on men is that every time before you focused on the fourth time, go on to find the right treatment that you can eat to raise testosterone levels.
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You have probably heard concerning premature ejaculation.There are millions of men tend to lose their urge to blow the lid on the amount of times you use the bathroom:Strengths of this is your situation, then you will be a positive effect on unbalancing your hormone and cholesterol levels and increase the number of methods to help them achieve a level of sexual stimulation is most common causes are extremely excited or have sexual intercourse.Mistake #4: Using the latest treatments do have some control over your ejaculation.Premature ejaculation has given you a fortune to learn about how and why things work for you to see.
This is for the average amount of stimulation for a few weeks you can satisfy your sexual partner, it is not your fault at all.How long you are not fully understand the reason so many guys in their sexual intercourse.When you visit your doctor will give mind blowing sex that are sometimes used as the exhaustive extent of time it takes for you have had a bad idea.Then there are easy ways to do so or before the intercourse as normal, until you actually understand what causes early ejaculation problem from the experience of taking a lot better if you feel ejaculation approaching.A herbal pill designed to break out of, but it takes to bring balance to the real importance of you crumble into pieces can literally tear you apart from PE.
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Man City title hopes fading fast, Tottenham rotten to core
Keeper howlers, injury crises and chef Brendan Rodgers serving up some delightful delicacies. Buckle up: It’s Nick Miller’s Premier League weekend review.
JUMP TO: Liverpool the new United? | United no longer United | Spurs are rotting | Keep an eye on Villa
Have Man City already lost title?
It’s the end of the first week in October, and already the title race might be over after Man City’s shocking loss to Wolves on Sunday.
That’s a little hyperbolic, of course — particularly when we know what Manchester City are capable of. Plus, they still have to play Liverpool twice, so that lead could disappear in a hurry. But since three points for a win were introduced in 1980, only one team has ever been eight points clear at the top after eight games in the English top flight
Oh, yes, that other team to lead by eight points: It was Manchester United in 1985-86. They ended up finishing fourth, 12 back from champions Liverpool, and manager Ron Atkinson was sacked the following year. It’s a cautionary tale.
An old Pep Guardiola quote from Marti Peranau’s book “Pep Confidential” has been doing the rounds this weekend. “League titles are won in the last eight games, but they are lost in the first eight.”
Of course, there are lots of sage maxims from the game’s most learned figures that might not ultimately mean anything, but there is truth in what he said: City have, at best, made things extremely difficult for themselves. It adds further spice, if further spice was needed, to the game between the two sides in a few weeks: If City win, we have a proper title race, but if Liverpool win, it could genuinely be all over.
Have City become too predictable?
In terms of points, City are currently closer to Brighton in 14th place than they are to Liverpool. They’ve already dropped more points at home this season than they did in the whole of last. For the first time in a long while, they should be worried.
How to explain this one? The absence of Kevin De Bruyne was a factor, but you struggle to weep for them, considering they had David, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling while leaving Phil Foden on the bench.
The common factor in their adverse results is that the longer you manage to frustrate City — and there are various ways to do that — the less they seem to know what to do. You can almost see their players looking toward the dugout when things aren’t going well, baffled as to why the plan isn’t working, as if there’s some sort of glitch in the system.
They aren’t going to change, and Guardiola has a body of work to justify that. But it’s possible that this super-charged automation, the machine that is City, has become predictable and too easy to combat.
Assist of the weekend
Among all the picking over City’s performance, a word for Wolves, who look back to their big boy bothering best of last season. A word for Nuno Espirito Santo for maximising their threat on the counterattack by shifting Adama Traore into the middle; for Traore, who carried out that plan; and for Raul Jimenez for his two brilliant assists, the first of which featured an outrageous shimmy that you can watch over and over.
Liverpool the new United?
A comparison such as this is probably premature, given the respective trophy hauls, but there is something about this Liverpool team that is reminiscent of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in the 1990s. Like that United, Liverpool are relentless until the end, and any accusations that they consistently get lucky with late goals or penalties can be countered by that fact that they just keep going, aggressively pushing and putting themselves into positions to benefit from luck or “seen them given, seen them not given” penalty decisions.
Liverpool will go into their next game with the chance to equal Manchester City’s record for consecutive league wins at 18. Their next game is at Old Trafford. It should be spicy.
Luckiest moment of the weekend
As mentioned, it’s not that the penalty awarded to Sadio Mane against Leicester was necessarily an incorrect decision. It’s more that it was a coin flip. It could have been a penalty, but Liverpool could not have seriously complained if it hadn’t been given. Such luck is required to be champions.
– ESPN Premier League fantasy: Sign up now!
– Luck Index 2019: Man United worse than sixth?
– VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
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Steve Nicol says Liverpool deserved the win against Leicester despite the sides being level for 94 minutes.
United no longer United
It really is difficult to think of new ways to describe how desperate Manchester United are, so let’s keep this brief after another bad loss, this time to Newcastle at St James’ Park.
Many have pointed to the players available to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, suggesting that he can’t do much more with them, and indeed nobody could. That is nonsense.
This is a distance from being a vintage United squad, but they have somehow looked less than the sum of their parts this season, which is almost impressive in its ineptitude. Sure, not many managers could make these players title contenders, but most coaches with a bit of nous and experience could at the very least do better than this.
Appointing Solskjaer was understandable, given the sentiment and the results in his first couple of months, but it’s clear now that it was a mistake. Keeping him for much longer would compound that mistake further.
A little respite for Newcastle
The only good thing that Manchester United did was give Newcastle a bit of respite. There were plenty of elements to encourage in Steve Bruce’s side’s win, not least Matty Longstaff’s performance and goal, but this victory doesn’t solve the problems that were apparent in last weekend’s defeat to Leicester.
They’re still there and won’t be solved by this one win. A long season still lies ahead for Bruce and his team.
Spurs aren’t stale — they’re rotting
There are so many problems with Tottenham at the moment that it would take far too long to discuss them all. Let’s just pick one of them: Spurs looked so incredibly passive in their 3-0 defeat to Brighton. This used to be a team that was utterly relentless, that would take charge of games, smothering and throttling the opposition. On Saturday, they were tentative and completely unassertive, they barely looked dangerous, and they were absent-minded in defence, conceding three avoidable goals.
This time Mauricio Pochettino couldn’t use the line that “everything they hit went in,” as he did in the 7-2 loss to against Bayern Munich. If that was a spectacular flaying, this felt much more mundane, a relatively routine home win by a team that on the day looked superior. Yet this was a team that at the start of play were a point off the bottom three and had won only once at home in 2019, which was against Huddersfield.
It has becoming increasingly apparent that Spurs haven’t gone stale. Rather, they’ve been rotting. When things go stale, they just sit there slowly going bad — nothing sudden happens — but when something rots, eventually it just collapses. Since around February, Spurs have been like a rotting roof beam that someone put a few coats of paint on as they progressed to the Champions League final: on the surface. Things looked OK, but beneath that they weren’t, and now the beam has collapsed.
There’s no easy answer to the question of where they go from here: It involves Pochettino leaving, the squad being torn up and painstakingly rebuilt, a combination of the two or some other, no less painful option. There could be grim times ahead.
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Craig Burley says Frank Lampard has rejuvenated Chelsea with youth after the Blues’ 4-1 win over Southampton.
Old boys’ act
The narrative around Chelsea this season has broadly, and rightly, been around the excellence of the young players, and while Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount scored brilliant goals against Southampton, the driving force behind the 4-1 win over Southampton was the old guard.
Willian was exceptional and singled out for praise by Frank Lampard, Cesar Azpilicueta has regained some of his form after a troubling spell early in the season, and Jorginho has grown in influence to become the still point around which everything else spins.
Bouncing back
A week ago, Dean Henderson let a weak shot squirm through his grasp to cost Sheffield United their game against Liverpool. This weekend, he produced a string of brilliant saves to earn a point at Watford. That’s being a goalkeeper for you.
Misplaced confidence from Marco Silva?
Turf Moor is a bad place to go if you’re a manager under pressure. Not necessarily because Burnley are such an overpowering proposition on the pitch but more because if you lose, you have to walk past the away fans to reach the tunnel.
That fate befell Marco Silva at the weekend, and those Everton fans made their feelings clear, but it doesn’t seem to have made him doubt his methods too much. “We’re not worried at the moment,” he said. “I have the same confidence I had at the beginning of the season. The same confidence about our quality and what we’re doing every single day.”
One suspects his confidence might be very slightly misplaced.
Will Villa’s win loosen the jar?
Aston Villa’s performances had been better than their results suggested before this weekend, and you suspected that someone was going to get a hiding at some point. That someone turned out to be Norwich, and perhaps the 5-1 win will be the equivalent of that first bit of ketchup to come out of a troublesome bottle. Plenty more could follow after this.
from CVR News Direct https://cvrnewsdirect.com/man-city-title-hopes-fading-fast-tottenham-rotten-to-core/
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Planar Chaos: Chapter Twenty-Eight
Heart of Hearts
Marthel was right. The wurm constructs abandoned their pursuit after Maelstrom Wanderer cleared the perimeter of the crystal sun.
"That was close," Lisandra sighed.
"Yeah," Odom said, hanging off the side of Maelstrom Wanderer and tending to the elemental's wounds. He coated the area where his dear friend's wound had been with his own body's ooze. "A little too close. Vilhelm where were you back there?"
"What do you mean?" Lisandra said. "He was right next to me."
"I know he was there physically, but," Odom hauled himself up, allowing the extra arms to drip away into a pool of green ooze at his feet. "He wasn't exactly mentally present."
"Sometimes artifact creatures are harder to read, okay?" Vilhelm said defensively.
"It shouldn't be a problem," Sa'Raah said, striding forward. "I remember you. You came to us from Esper to try and convert the Cylian elves to whatever lifeless existence those people who replace their bodies with metal lead."
A shiver ran down Kyari's spine as she remembered the world she and her hydra had visited during her very first planeswalk. The mechanical chicken carcasses, a type of creature she had no name for and had never encountered on any other plane, came to the forefront of her mind whenever anyone mentioned Esper. She'd been there and knew that no such beings existed either before or after it merged with the rest of Alara, but the idea of a forced conversion from living being to metal husk terrified her to the core. She felt Brock's arm tighten around her shoulders but shrugged him off.
"That doesn't mean that it'll be easy overriding something's programming, especially if it was constructed pre-Mending like those might be." Vilhelm's eyes flicked to Rinok, who saw a quick flash of desperation.
"Guys," Rinok cut in, "we survived and nobody had any injuries. Everything should be fine. Let's just keep going."
"Well, there could be injuries if you want…" Rhyne winked suggestively at Sa'Raah and Lisandra. "Maybe even, dare I say it, a few little fatalities?"
"Ugh," Kyari groaned. "Can we not?"
"Seriously, Rhyne, it's getting a little… creepy," Brock said.
Through the entire exchange Marthel sat to the side, away from the core of the group. The set of his jaw kept the others away from him, except for Nadia and Sverre.
"Marthel, what's wrong?" Sverre said. From the outside, the chaotic planeswalker appeared to be meditating, except for his furrowed brow. His left eye twitched and he bared his teeth.
"Minutes ago we were working together in perfect harmony, fighting a common enemy and working towards a common goal in sweet synchronicity. Now it devolves into bickering."
Sverre sighed. "Sometimes people aren't meant to work together. I know you had this grand vision, Marthel, I do, but maybe it won't come together as seamlessly as you'd hoped."
"It doesn't seem to be coming together at all," Marthel snapped. "I know once we get to the center the fighting will start again. Brock wants to hide Urza's gift to us, Sa'Raah and Odom have entered into some bargain with Niv Mizzet, don't think for a second I don't know about that, Rinok's out for blood and I've never been a huge fan of weapons of mass destruction. They're far too impersonal."
"Yes," Nadia agreed. "You've been one to prefer blood on your hands literally as opposed to metaphorically. Several incidents come to mind after we returned to Tarkir to find it entirely changed."
"Surrak, my Khan, my friend, didn't even remember me. I had to start from scratch," Marthel chuckled darkly. "They took me before Atarka, you know, to see if I was good enough to stay in the clan. She didn't attack, didn't growl or anything. She just looked at me and actually spoke, a rare occurrence for something so ferocious. And more to the point, I understood her. I felt that ferocity deep inside of me and it resonated with her. I suppose that's a reason I consider her my mother."
"I doubt Oona would recognize Lorwyn if she went back," Sverre said. He delicately scooped his sleeping wife out of his hood and cradled her in his hands. "I doubt anyone would recognize me if I went back to my home either."
"You're from Dominaria, right? Like Vess?" Marthel asked.
"Yes, but I'm nothing compared to Her Ladyship. The countess has achieved permanent immortality through her own means. Mine is more conditional. Come to Helheim during a Ragnarok sometime and you'll see what I mean. That said, I know the old me died when I left. I was just a simple wizard with simple wizard powers, but in planeswalking I found something grand. I gained the ability to raise the dead, which is how Jormungandr is able to avoid the cycles of Helheim. I found something so rare and precious that I've committed countless acts of murder and desecration to keep her safe."
"A big softie is what you became," Marthel chuckled.
"Surely in all your travels you've found someone who makes you want to tear down empires and explode stars," Sverre retorted.
"Not really. There have been people, men, women, an aetherborn or two, which is an interesting sensation, let me tell you, but incredibly short-lived and resulted in a fair amount of heartbreak. I have this on-again-off-again thing with Exava sometimes, but it always ruffles Nadia's feathers when I bring her home."
Nadia gave Marthel a look that could have killed a man if she were still on Bant with the power of her sisters to draw on. "Do not take it as petty jealousy, Jace Marthel. You recall what happened to that warrior who crossed you."
"He said I didn't belong, I told him the Cult of Rakdos sent its regards." Marthel smiled maliciously, flicking his finger against his knife.
"Woah." Sverre felt himself start to lean away from the dark skinned walker, but stopped himself.
"As you know, Sverre, my magic tends to shift with my emotional state, and my emotional state is also influenced by the magic I use. If I get caught in a cycle, Nadia tends to be the one to snap me out of it."
The angel nodded. "If anything happens, I'm your last line of defense."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because we're friends, aren't we?" Marthel asked.
"I suppose we are," Sverre replied.
Marthel sighed and looked off to the side. "Just look at them, how can they be so insane and so cute?"
Sverre followed his line of vision to where Odom lay with his head in Ashleigh's lap, their abomination of a child/pet curled up on his chest. Ashleigh was absentmindedly playing with Odom's hair as they talked about some topic or another.
"I guess," Sverre said, "that their insanity works together rather than against each other. We've all got our hangups and neuroses, Marthel. We just need to surround ourselves with people who complement them rather than clash."
"I wanted to learn more about planeswalkers. I guess I got my wish." Marthel looked at the darkening expanse of Xerex's pathways. The labyrinth sprawled away in every direction.
"Hey, what's that up there?" Sa'Raah peered into the distance. What appeared to be a simple pentagonal podium jutted up from the gray pathway, surrounded by five obelisks hewn from the same material as everything else around them. Each obelisk was marked with a different symbol, a fireball, a raindrop, a tree, a sun, and a skull.
Marthel jumped up, grabbed Lisandra by her hood, and towed her along behind him towards Maelstrom Wanderer's head.
"Is this it? Did we finally find it?" he frantically asked.
"I don't know," Lisandra replied. "Sverre, can you help translate?"
Without coming to the front of the elemental, without more than a glance away from the sleeping form of his fairy wife, Sverre answered their question. "We're here. This is the Heart of Hearts."
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