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angelic-writer · 2 years

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For the headcanons: Victor

As established in Existentially Challenged, Victor is a very powerful pyrokinetic and is very resistant to Ifrig. The fact that he has a very strong resistance to him might've made Ifrig a little more interested in him. But I imagine there are points where he allowed himself to almost let him take over in times of high emotional stress and he uses his powers too much. For example, during one of their missions, Adam briefly dying causes Victor to be possessed by him for a moment.

Victor is a good singer, but he denies it every time someone compliments him, telling them that he’s tone deaf. Eventually, Adam got video evidence of him singing Nirvana at the Department’s Christmas party. He promised that he wouldn’t show the video to the others if Victor admits that he’s a good singer. He was promptly shut up with a kiss.

Victor is a natural cat magnet. And I don’t mean him flocking to cats. I mean cats flocking to him. Whenever a cat sees Victor, they always walk toward him. No matter how scary he tries to make himself look, there’s always a chance a cat would be nearby. There was an instance of a big group of cats chilling in the carpark, making it impossible for agents to park their cars. Eventually, the source was traced to Victor who just so happened to stumble upon the cats while he and Adam were on their way to work.

At first, Victor’s relationship with Adam was a friends with benefits thing. Just two guys getting together to blow off steam. They still called each other friends and such. As time went on, feelings started to get into the whole thing and they decided to become a real couple. Victor was pretty nervous when he decided to tell the others, worried that he and Adam are gonna be ostracized, but to his surprise, their reaction was largely positive. In fact, Elizabeth and Danvers already knew that the two had a thing for each other before they decided to come out. He would bring up his relationship with Philip, but he... disappeared.

Victor pretty much aced his first aid training when he was employed at the Ministry. His skills wouldn’t really be of much use at first since other agents tend to die. But when it became the Department of Extradimensional Affairs, his skills came in handy, saving the lives of a few agents. He can swiftly stem the bleeding, tell when someone’s going to shock, restart their hearts in just a few minutes, etc. The other agents like to affectionately say he has a “medic brain”, but Victor prefers not to be put on a pedestal like that. He likes to keep reality in mind. Brain damage is a thing.

Victor tends to be very nitpicky when he watches stuff. Some of the stuff he comments on are genuine criticisms, but sometimes, it’s stuff that irks him a bit. He tries not to do that as much.

#the deda files #victor casin #differently morphous #existentially challenged #chzo mythos

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danbensen · 1 month

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From my newsletter

Existentially Challenged by Yahtzee Croshaw - I enjoyed Differently Morphous, the first book in the series. Listening to this sequel, though, I was reminded of a Soviet-era publishing joke from Arkady Strugatsky: "what do you call a telephone pole? A well-edited pine tree." Existentially Challenged is well-edited indeed, stripped of any joke or plot element that might offend its publishers' political sensitivities. Either that or the author did a rushed and sloppy job.

#book review #existentially challenged #fantasy

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lokis-wager · 2 months

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Thinking about how Victor Casin heckles Adam Hesketh for only being his 'sniffer dog', then Adam tries to snipe back by saying he's a loose cannon, buuuuut Victor seems to embrace and accept that cannon moniker, claiming that the only thing he's good at is maiming and killing. When Danvers says that Adam and Victor aren't going to be field-partners anymore, Adam is the one who reacts viscerally while Victor makes fun of him for being so attached. Victor immediately rejected Ifrig as soon as it tried to be in his head.

But then as soon as Ifrig is in front of Victor (well, Leslie-Ifrig), he immediately starts blaming them for him being so isolated, and for having nothing in his life but being a loose cannon. He is the one who crumbles when Adam isn't his partner - he quits his job, nearly gets groomed into a cult, nearly gets killed, and pushes away everyone who could help him. Them getting separated as coworkers is treated as a breakup metaphor. Victor fighting Leslie-Ifrig is a dating metaphor. He only gets back to being partners with Adam when Leslie-Ifrig says 'It's not working out. I think we should kill other people'.

Meanwhile Adam deeply resents being called Victor's targeting system, wishes that he had a relationship with Arlgheen, and while he does make a lot of missteps as an investigator (and isn't very bright generally tbh) he manages to help figure out the case, save Rava and even gets her to respect him, and grows as a person. His resentment at being known only as Victor's sniffer dog is getting stronger as Victor is beginning to see his own reliance on Adam, but refuses to admit it. Adam is genuinely happy that he gets to work with Victor again after Danvers pairs them up - but he has more self-respect now. I'm so genuinely curious about what their relationship is going to develop into in the future, especially since 1. they're going to have a teenage sidekick and it's totally gonna be a parenting metaphor, and 2. it is only going to get more dangerous as the stakes ramp up and if they cannot trust each other and work together perfectly, they are going to die.

Adam just got given two possible future love interests (Allison, if you squint, and Rava more explicitly) while Victor immediately blew up his chance at having a love interest despite Leslie-Ifrig literally calling it a date when they hung out together, leaving him with nothing and no one but Adam. Victor is going to make himself miserable and Adam is either going to follow him down into the codependent yaoi or become a better person and that is so fucking fascinating.

#deda files #differently morphous #existentially challenged #spoilers #deda files spoilers #victor casin #adam hesketh #i genuinely genuinely genuinely hope they end up dating in canon because there has been. so. many. hints #at the very LEAST i hope it gets addressed because i can understand if Victor doesnt want to date anyone #cuz his pyrokinesis would be almost unbearable to manage if he was dating someone who wasnt fireproof #but like. the text casually compares them to a fighting couple at least 3 times in differently morphous #and there's the entire 'breakup/rebound/makeup' arc they just fucking went on #Victor is like a wet cat to me #there are so many things wrong with him and i want him to be dragged kicking and screaming into being happy #casketh #long post

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grassanticipatinglightning · 2 years

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cw/ monotheistic & universalist religion

talking to God “like your best friend” is out,

talking to God “like this rando you accidentally befriended when they were added to one of your other friend’s discord servers the year after you graduated, and you’ve never met and you’re almost never online at the same time, but you have the exact same meme sense. you did have one 6.5-hour call where you talked about their dad’s persistent cancer and your mom’s elusive approval, but that was a year and a half ago and you haven’t called since. you don’t know their real name but you do dm a lot for two ppl who couldn’t even confirm under oath if the other has hair” is in,

consider:

you can theoretically blame them for every conceivable thing. next time your phone dies in the middle of a text just, literally you are being so rude rn. or like, when the frozen yogurt place happens to have that one blackberry fudge flavor that’s so delicious you’re not sure should be humanly possible, just do a little internal *hover, XD* instead of *thumbs up* which we all know is the universal code for, u usually bring good shit, Dave, but today you are really bringing the heat and I see you. Or like, if you’ve ever been in this inscrutable situation,

Someone named Deborah: anyway, please uplift my family’s struggles in your prayers this week

Me, before the Personal Relationship With God, Digital Edition: shit i wasn’t paying attention. shit, uh... “uplift”? tf is that even supposed to mean?? ?

Me, now: @God

... or like,

Some dude: Being gay hurts God’s heart

Me: lmao rip

... see also,

the anatomy of the platypus: <exists>

Me: dude tf

“persistent prayer” and “cursing God” are out, spamming her divine inbox with mental screenshots of that one homoerotic Thor post and inappropriate uses of “pog” are in,

TL;DR I am not evangelizing or advocating for any religion over another, I am just composing a PSA that, assuming the presence of any omnipresent existential force, there is nothing stopping you from rickrolling it at all times, and I feel like more of us should be taking advantage of this power

#secondpost #god #digitalage #existentially challenged #growingupevangelical #religion #exvangelical

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graphicpolicy · 2 years

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Yahtzee Croshaw returns to the Department of Extradimensional Affairs

Yahtzee Croshaw returns to the Department of Extradimensional Affairs #books

From Yahtzee Croshaw, the creator of the Zero Punctuation gaming review series, comes Existentially Challenged! Originally available as an audiobook, Dark Horse Books presents Existentially Challenged in print for the first time, featuring a new cover by Ethan Kimberling. With magic declassified in the UK, fake psychics and fraudulent healers are running amok, so it’s up to the Department of…

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#dark horse #dark horse books #ethan kimberling #existentially challenged #yahtzee crowshaw

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aheathen-conceivably · 3 months

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“Good morning, birthday boy.”

Both Antoine and Zelda were now well used to rising at sunrise, so the words hadn’t woken him; but they did pull him out of the nebulous ether between sleep and wakefulness, so he moved closer to the woman curled around his back, “Oh, is that today?”

“Don’t play coy with me. That’s my job.”

Her hand wrapped around his waist, down his chest and to his drawstring, “I’m an old man now, my love, how could you possibly want someone with such wrinkles? I do believe I even found a gray hair yesterday.” A light laugh sounded in his ear, prompting him to turn and face her, “You can be so dramatic for a stoic. Thirty-six is not old.”

It was getting harder to answer her, to keep his tone measured as one of her hands wrapped around his neck and the other grazed up and down his arm. He brought his hand to her thigh, just below the lace of her silk shorts, “Oh you don’t believe me, do you? You should have heard the creak my knee made yesterday. I think it even scared off one of the horses.”

This time she did laugh aloud, shaking his hand off her thigh by throwing her leg onto the other side of his waist and sinking her weight down onto him. Her tone was as close to mocking as it ever came, “Yet not a peep from mine. Thank God at least one of us is still young enough for this.”

“Oh you’ll see one day, young lady. It’s tough to get old…” But by that point he had all but given up trying to speak without his voice descending into sighs. Her lips were trailing down his stomach, just slowly enough to answer him with a smile he had to look down to catch, “Sounds terrible. You poor thing. I suppose I’ll have to take care of you from now on, won’t I?”

Antoine took another glance out the window, where the day had already somehow grown brighter than he realized; but still he didn’t hurry Zelda with the last of his buttons. She caught his glance and finished the final one, “Don’t worry. You’ll barely be late.”

He pulled her close to him before grabbing his hat from the hook on the wall, “I know. And Mabel’s bakin’ a cake for lunch, so I doubt it’ll be much of a hard day.”

“Oh, so you did know.”

“You don’t have a market on coy, my dear.” He pulled his arm away and returned her wide smile, placing the hat on his head before grabbing her hand one final time, “How ‘bout you bring Violette over after you and Gio finish up work? She can have some cake and you and Mabel can enjoy yourselves.”

She answered with a quick kiss before turning to dress in her own work clothes, “Sounds great, old man.”

After their morning tasks, Antoine was standing in the stables with Silver. Before his daughter got there or he got another minute older, there was one thing he knew he wanted to do; and if he didn’t have the confidence to do it today he knew he never would.

She had been friendly with him for weeks now, and he kept hearing Abe’s words in his mind tempting him like a daydream, “You get her to let you ride her and you’re welcome to, anytime you like.” Only she wasn’t some trained horse, she was wild and distrustful. Sometimes her nostrils still flared menacingly in his presence and he thought that maybe, despite all their time together, she still even hated him. But as he ran his hand along her shining black coat, she blinked slowly, trustingly, and he knew that it was the day.

He went to the front of the barn, where he grabbed the riding gear that had sat tempting him every day. First he set the blanket atop her, then the saddle. He stopped periodically as he adjusted it, listening and looking for any sign of her anger, but she stayed patient with him each step. Finally he placed the bridle on her face and buckled the strap in front of her chest. It was like she understood that the movement had fully encircled her in some sort of trap, and she kicked her legs angrily as her eyes went dark.

Any other day he might have walked away, or undone the buckle around her chest, but today he knelt down in front of her so he could look her in the eyes. “Hey old girl, hey,” the words were half spoken, half whistled, “it’s me, okay? Just me. You can trust me.”

Her kicking stopped and her eyes seemed to settle on him, blinking slower and slower as he ran his hand along the side of her neck.

He walked beside her, letting out a shaky breath and putting a hand on her thigh. Alright, Antoine. Now or never. Don’t think about her throwing you in the sand. Don’t think about her breaking your back with one kick. He grabbed onto the horn and hoisted himself up onto the saddle. In the movement his knee let out a low creak and he laughed aloud, louder than he intended to, “Old man.”

Only his voice seemed to stir something in Silver, and she immediately turned to trot out of the stables. He grabbed the reins immediately and went over everything Abe had told him. Don’t pull too tightly. Stay calm. Your feet matter just as much as your hands. Talk to them with every move you make. Stay fucking calm.

Out in the desert sunshine, he passed Abe in his favorite spot next to the fire where he had sat to eat his cake. Antoine didn’t dare fully turn to face him, but out of the corner of his eye he could see his eyebrows raised impressively and a small approving smile on his face.

The closer they got to the edge of the farmyard, the more Silver seemed to remember exactly what she was doing, and perhaps even exactly where she was going. Her feet moved slowly at first, and then faster and faster as Antoine’s guidance grew more comfortable and confident. As the hills opened up and the flowers parted for them, it was like he forgot to be afraid or to wish that this moment was everything he had ever dreamed of, simply because it was.

#alert alert Antoine is now an adult #did I give him the most subtle wrinkles possible because I’m having an existential crisis about it?#…..maybe #but he’s back baby Yeehaw Antoine is BACK #1932 #sims 4 historical #ts4 decades challenge #ts4 historical #sims 4 decades challenge #the darlingtons #sims 4 legacy #ts4 legacy #sims 4 story #ts4 story #1930s #Antoine Duplanchier #Zelda darlington #Abraham Hines #sim spice

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sapphire-mage · 2 years

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Posting this on Tumblr, because I couldn't find it anywhere here. By far, one of my favorite jokes in a movie (Top Secret 1984). Not because it's particularly hilarious, but because I relate to it so much and think of it often.

#Top Secret #1984 #Val Kilmer #I'll wake up from a nightmare and be like #'Oh thank god I'm just living the existential dread of being an adult in a morally challenged world. I'll take that over school.'

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cartoonartistpng · 1 year

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“Imagine that every time you see your friends, it’s to bring a bad omen.”

“…”

“What if… What if, one day, I won’t have a reason to return?”

(Sonictober2022 Day 11: Future)

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chiricat · 2 years

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day 5 - moonlight🌙

#yeah i know it was supposed to be akito’s song moonlight but i wanted to play around with that #also i just wanted to have alternating song title theme vs word theme because i just realized that my posts have been alternating prompts #akitoya week #akitoya #shinonome akito #aoyagi touya #prsk #prsk fa #vivid bad squad #vbs #pjsk #colorful stage #project sekai #cat’s art #anyways i have been not so great these past few days #half of these pieces were prepared way in advance.. while the rest were made like the day before LMFAO #ahhh idk how but i feel like i burnt myself out on akitoya just a little!#my fault for trying to do every day i guess but i saw it as a Challenge….#and now i am at an existential crisis (from an fanartist point) and i am not livin the life #ignore my rambles LMAO

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rainymoodlet · 1 year

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Kiss Me in Komorebi+ 🌸

[Episode Five] One Last Push!

Starting off our one-on-one time tonight is the sweet and lovable Jasper Hartley! Dan finally opened up to him about his life on the road, and it seemed to get our lil Jasper quite thoughtful. Daniel admires the guy for being able to voice his doubts so freely - it takes a lot to admit you don’t know what the next step is!

[ Part 8/?? ] 🌹

@2013trait

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pencilofawesomeness · 4 months

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I got a new art program so I tested it out with a color palette challenge for my new favorite blorbo. (Thanks @creaticare for the suggestion!)

Lineless painting is wild lol

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #gojo satoru #color palete challenge #this was meant to be a quick time messing around #but I messed around too close to the sun #the painting mechanics of rebelle 7 is really fun though #been a while since I've properly painted #decided to draw satoru existential because shibuya is continuing to mess me up #he's going through it

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angelic-writer · 2 years

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Ice (DEDA Files)

(Warnings: Rescue attempt, falling through ice, drowning, hypothermia, CPR, Major Character Death (?))

Thanks to @serickswrites for the whump plot. ;)

“Alison! Girl, be careful!” Dr. Diablerie called from across the icy expanse of the lake. “Go around. We’ll find a way to get to you. It’s not worth it.”

Alison shook her head violently. “N-No! I-I’m not waiting a-any l-l-longer! C-Cold. D-D-Doctor-” Another shiver wracked her thinly clothed body.

Seeing her like this - Barely clothed, her rubbing her arms to desperately keep warm - He didn’t know why, but his heart ached at the sight of her. The memory of the vampire that kidnapped her and stripped her almost naked to perform her blood ritual made the Doctor seethe with anger. She was lucky that he merely knocked her out and not driven a stake through her heart. He shouldn’t be doing this. The ice was much too dangerous for him to go across, but if he didn’t do something now, Alison will try to get across and run the risk of drowning. With a deep breath, he stepped forward, feeling the ice crackle under his shoes. He won’t let it happen again. He won’t let his bluebird fly away.

Alison noticed him walking towards her and tried to speak “Doctor, what are you doing?! The ice- Y-You said we should go around! A-Alright! I-I’ll go around, okay?! I’m sorry-” Her protests were cut off when Diablerie took off his cloak and wrapped it around her, enveloping her with warmth. All too quickly, he picked her up in his arms and started walking back the way he came.

“Sometimes, you are so difficult, girl. You’re lucky Diablerie is bound by the contract that is your life. It would be wise not to defy Diablerie or else the contract would be broken.” His movements were swift, gracefully sliding across like a figure skater. He danced his lithe body through snow piles on the ice. Alison snuggled her head in Diablerie’s chest. She was in a cold, dark place, tied to a stone monument a few minutes ago. Now, she was in safety. In warmth. They were almost there.

“You know, I’ve never gone ice skating before.” She said, taking a moment to look up at the sky. The inky blackness of the moonless sky made the stars all the brighter. “When I was with mum, she wouldn’t let me do anything outside of the house. I always have to be home at a certain time and she always told me not to show off.” She sighed. “She practically threatened to disown me if I stayed a nanosecond past 8 PM.”

Diablerie grimaced. “How strict of her to do that.”

“Strict doesn’t even cut it.” Her eyes glanced down to the ice. “Y’know, I thought of taking ice skating lessons, but I don’t really know anyone who ice skates. For some reason, you’re the first person that came to mind.”

“Foolish.” Diablerie interjected.

“From the looks of it, you’re doing so well. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a secret figure skater.”

“Don’t try to indulge in Diablerie’s secrets, girl. It’s only going to hurt you.”

Alison closed her eyes, feeling the cold wind on her face. “After this is over, maybe you can teach me. Maybe with time, I’ll be as graceful as you.”

Diablerie bit his lip, then slowly nodded. “Yeah. We can do that. Now, come on. Let’s get off the ice. The land is solid and safe. We can talk more about this later-”

The words cut off in Diablerie’s throat as the ice shuddered beneath them. His mouth went dry as a loud crack sounded in his ears. For a brief moment, he caught a glimpse of Alison’s horrified face. Thinking quickly, he threw Alison towards the shore. He saw her body soaring through the air and only managed to glimpse her hitting the snowy ground before he was swallowed up by the dark, icy abyss.

Alison’s world was a disorienting mess of black and white. While she was in the air, she caught the sight of the ice cracking beneath Dr. Diablerie and the inky blackness swallowing him whole before she hit the ground. Her body wracked with the sudden impact, only softened somewhat by the snow. All too quickly, she scrambled to her feet, untangling herself from Diablerie’s cloak.

“DOCTOR!!” Alison screamed as she ran onto the ice.

But Diablerie couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t respond. The biting cold of the water had sucked the air from his lungs and rendered his body into a state of shock. He was confused, not knowing which way was up or down. He thrashed his limbs about, trying to find his way to the ice. He barely made any progress as he felt the water go down his throat. His body spasmed as he tried his damnedest to at least swim up so he could see the ice, but there was barely any light to guide him.

In the end, he didn’t have the energy to swim back up anymore. His vision was fading. He drifted further away from Alison as the darkness consumed him. A calm feeling washed over him. He didn’t want to leave this world so soon. He still had a job to do. He still needed to fulfill his mission.

But as long as Alison is safe, he didn’t care about any of that. He let a small smile form on his face.

Alison frantically cleared the thin layer of snow from the top of the ice surrounding the hole. She tried to spy any evidence of Diablerie, anything so that she could break through and grab him. But there was nothing. Not even the sight of his top hat or red scarf.

Alison screamed her frustration and anger into the cold night, slamming her fist down onto the ice. The ice cracked, but it didn’t break. She did it again and again, her frustration mounting, feeling the bones in her hands splintering with the force. Just when Diablerie had her, he was lost. Slipping right through her fingers in his efforts to protect her. Forever.

As the young woman beat the ice, she imagined the fear and pain Diablerie’s last moments were. She imagined her and the other agents having to return in the spring, after the thaw, to collect Diablerie’s waterlogged and bloated corpse. No! She had to get the Doctor now!

The ice cracked once more and gave way beneath Alison’s swollen and bloodied knuckles. She thrust her arm all the way up to her shoulder into the freezing water. Her fingers cast about, hoping to touch, hoping to feel Diablerie. Soft fabric met her searching fingers.

Alison cried in delight as she grabbed the fabric and pulled. She hauled a limp and blue Diablerie onto the ice. His eyes were closed and he didn’t sputter or cough. He remained still, unmoving, and completely boneless in Alison’s arms.

“Doctor...?” Quietly, with bated breath, Alison put her cold, ruined fingers to Diablerie’s even colder throat, searching for the lub dub of his heart. There was nothing. “Doctor! O-Oh god! No!!” Alison cried out, but she wasn’t giving up. They were so close. Diablerie saved her at the last second so she’ll do the same for him. She immediately laid the magician flat on the ice and, after giving him five breaths, started pumping on his chest. “Come on now... Not like this... Please, Doctor, please!”

Diablerie moved with each chest compression, but no choking breath came. No coughing out clear fluid from his lungs. Nothing. Diablerie remained ever so silent, his face peaceful from his watery grave.

“Please! Doctor, come ON!” Alison shouted into the snowy night as she pressed harder, not caring if a rib was broken, not caring that she was ruining her broken fingers more, only stopping to breathe into his lungs. His lips were so cold against hers, but the only thing that was on her mind was getting Diablerie to breathe.

And still, Dr. Diablerie remained silent. Soon enough, she could hear voices from somewhere.

“Alison!” Adam shouted as he, Victor and the rest of the agents ran across the snow-covered ground to her. They could see her leaning over something. Someone.

Diablerie.

Alison didn’t respond to Adam’s call. She was too focused on the compressions. How long had it been? It didn’t matter. She would keep going until Diablerie came back. She was getting her Doctor back.

Diablerie moved each time Alison pressed on his chest, head lolling with each movement. He was pale, lips blue and completely still beneath her.

“Oh god!” Black’s voice came from behind her. Alison didn’t turn around. Didn’t respond. She heard him dialing someone. Probably the paramedics. Good. That should give Diablerie some time before they arrive.

She heard boots behind her crunching in the snow. A warm hand gripped her shoulder. “How long?” Victor murmured quietly.

“It doesn’t matter. He’s coming back.” Alison panted, never stopping compressions.

Victor gripped Alison’s shoulder a little harder. “How long?”

“I-I don’t know. A-A few minutes, maybe?” She didn’t want to think the worst. She refused to believe that he’s gone.

Victor glanced at Diablerie’s still body. Judging by how he looked, he’d been under for quite a while. He didn’t know how long Alison was trying to revive him for. For all he knew, she could be trying to revive a corpse. His eyes caught sight of Alison’s hands which were bloody and bruised. “Oh Christ...” He muttered. He motioned Alison to step back. Once she reluctantly did so, he grabbed Diablerie by the arm and pulled him up. “Help me get him on the ground!” He shouted to Adam. The red head nodded and grabbed his other arm. They both dragged him off the ice and onto solid ground where they proceeded to lay him down. He felt so stiff under their touch. Victor began to fear the worst. That he was under for too long.

Too long. Too long. Diablerie was gone. Had been gone for too long. And now that Alison had him in her arms, she couldn’t keep him here. He shook his head.

No. He fell into an icy river. His body had already gone into hypothermia. He’d heard stories of people coming back to life when their body temperature went down to a certain level. He still has a chance. He can still be saved.

Alison moved toward the still man, but Victor barked at her “We got this!” before he started compressions.

Now that the adrenaline had mostly faded, it began to register in her mind how much her hands hurt. She hung her head with a cry, falling to her knees and gritting her teeth. She stared down at Diablerie, at her friends trying to bring him back, knowing that she had failed him so terribly.

Black had to turn away as he continued to talk to the operator. He couldn’t watch his coworkers work to bring back what was essentially a dead body.

Rawlins crouched down next to Alison, putting his hand on her shoulder. They would grieve later. Right now, they had to be there for Alison. Later, they would mourn their fallen comrade that had worked so tirelessly to find her. To save her. He came so far and him tossing her to shore was his last act of heroism.

“I-I should’ve listened to him!” Alison howled. “He was right there. I was right there in his arms. He risked his life to save me... And I wasn’t fast enough...”

Rawlins rubbed small circles onto her back, eyes never leaving his coworker’s medic brain efforts. “You did everything you could. Sometimes-”

“I didn’t! I didn’t! I couldn’t wait to find a way across the ice. Because of that, Dr. Diablerie had to come over and try to carry me across and-” She sobbed harder the more she spoke. She pressed her broken hands on her chest, feeling her heart hammering in her ribcage.

Rawlins glanced at his friends, two of them living, warm and breathing, the other cold, still, breathless... dead. His heart sunk as he realized that Alison couldn’t have waited. She had to get away from the vampire. Diablerie went out of his way to take her to safety despite the risk of the ice breaking. Despite his villainous persona, his actions that night displayed the complete opposite. “He saved you, you know. Diablerie’s not the villain he said he was.” He took a deep breath. “He’s a hero.”

Alison sobbed harder. Black passed the phone to Rawlins before he pulled her into his arms as she continued to sob into the dark and snowy night, feeling the void that Diablerie left in her life. She was consumed by grief and the realization that she had failed. All of the agents failed him. It didn’t matter how long Victor kept pumping his chest for. It didn’t matter how many breaths Adam breathed into him.

Diablerie was gone. And he was never coming back.

To be continued...?

#differently morphous #existentially challenged #the deda files #alison arkin #dr. diablerie #victor casin #adam hesketh #agent rawlins #agent black

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patricktsao · 1 year

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Brandeis - fan art for the Red Strings Club. Never heard of it? I’d check it out. Cyberpunk, revolution, AI, empathy, all across glorious pixel art and a beautiful soundtrack.

#red strings club #fanart #cyberpunk #dailydrawing #drawing challenge #march art #brandeis #fate #existentialism

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lokis-wager · 3 months

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it is incredibly funny to me that the very first thing that Victor Casin did upon meeting someone who he could touch without accidentally giving them third degree burns was try to beat the shit out of them.

On the one hand, he's much stronger than me because I could not imagine being forced into celibacy due to having magic powers that could easily kill people, and rejecting the one person who both wants you and won't get hurt by you. On the other hand, if my ADHD manifested into a physical person, you would not be able to stop me from beating its head in with a pipe, no matter how much it was flirting with me.

#existentially challenged #deda files #ive got two or three more deda posts in me so lets just get em all out now

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larissa-the-scribe · 1 month

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Terrarium Lights, Pt. 3.7

Previously on Terrarium Lights: so they know who the ghost is. What now? (Next part >>here)

Gail considered heading back to the lighthouse the next day, but, despite her seeming abundance of free time, she did, in fact, have duties to attend to.

She waffled about it over breakfast before deciding that Jonathon knew where to find her. Presumably, he wouldn’t have trouble coming here, since he had been here before and overall seemed in a decent state to travel.

It still all felt like a bit much, a dream where inexplicably you know all the answers but don't know why, and you’re stuck moving in accordance with it all until you wake up and go “what on earth?” She felt that she was moving like she should in this dream, as much as she knew how, but it was all rather disorienting. Maybe a day of cleaning and gardening and being in her own home would help her feel more grounded.

"I suppose other worlds are a little grander, beyond my thoughts," she said to the Lord as she prepared to sweep the house from top to bottom. "I don't quite know as I understand all that was told me yesterday, but, then again, I don't see as that I fully have to."

Half-way through sweeping the second floor, she leaned on her broom and chuckled to herself. "I suppose it is odd that I'd be right fine with the concept of a ghost, showing up in my own garden at that, but then balk at the idea of somewhere I didn't know of. Why, most of this world is a place I don't know, and I can't say that I properly know my own tiny little corner of it. You made all of the knowns and unknowns, and You know, and I'd say that's what matters in the end."

That satisfied her, mostly.

By the end of the day, she felt much better. More awake, and more content with the answers belonging to a dream. Sometimes you just had to accept things as they were. Perhaps she might know more some day, but that day hadn’t come yet. She’d just have to wait for it and keep her eyes open.

For now, she was helping a ghost that God had sent her, one who needed to get back into his body after he'd been lost in another world. Simple enough, in a way.

She didn't know how much she was truly helping, but Samuel—Jonathon, now—did seem to appreciate being able to talk to someone. At the very least, she was involved in the goings on, if only for emotional support.

At the end of the day, she was more tired than she anticipated being. Scrapping her plans of baking that evening, she contented herself with a simple egg sandwich, and once again headed to bed early.

***

She was awoken by insistent, though faint, knocking at her bedroom door.

It took her brain several seconds to realize, through a haze of sleep, what she was hearing, and that it wasn't any of her children—seeing as they had all grown up and moved out—and her husband wasn't there.

Gail sat bolt upright and reached for the double-barreled plasmagun Michael kept loaded and primed for her.

"Hello?" She asked, sleepiness blunting the tough edge she'd been going for.

"Um, hi," said Jonathon's voice from the other side. "I'm sorry if I startled you. Are you… um… awake?"

Gail shook her head to clear some of the cobwebs from them. Wrapping a shawl about her, she tumbled her way to the door. "Well, I am now," she mumbled, tugging the door open.

As her senses caught up with her and she could better see the windows in the stairwell, she could tell that it wouldn't be long before dawn broke.

"Ah… I… I may be a bit early," Jonathon said apologetically, gesturing in a vague manner with his hands. "It’s occurring to me now that I… don't really remember what sleep schedules are."

"Well, I usually sleep longer than dawn," she said, "but I suppose I'm awake now. How can I help you?"

"Oh, um. Well. I didn't want to go into your bedroom, so I wasn't really sure if you were awake. I… can come back later?"

Gail could feel aches in her bone, and a gust of cold threatening her from beyond her blanket. "I believe we may have to set some boundaries in the future," she said with a sigh. "But, as I said, I am awake now. I would have been in an hour or so, anyway. So, what's been eating at you?"

Jonathon looked down at the floorboards, shoulders pulled up to his ears. "Well… I found Samuel."

There was a haggard look in his eyes. Gail guessed that he may have been out searching for the past two nights. Ghosts—or Jonathons, at least— apparently didn’t need sleep, but whatever he’d been doing had taken a toll on him. She drummed her fingers against the edge of the doorframe. "Go sit down in the dining area, and I'll be dressed and down there in a tad."

Perhaps Gail should have been thinking more about the situation, but she was still foggy from sleep. Automatically, she dressed herself and washed her face and arranged her hair, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders to ward off the early morning chill.

She found Jonathon sitting on the table, his legs dangling and swaying ever so slightly as he stared into nothingness, shoulders hunched over.

It occurred to her that his eyes had been staying consistently colored lately. Hopefully that was a good thing.

Gail came down and half-sat, half-leaned on the table beside him.

"It's… um… it wasn’t a very nice sight." He said quietly.

"I see." Gail pulled her shawl closer.

"He's about half-way between here and the lighthouse," he said, “if you go along the coast. I found him this morning."

"How do you know it was him?" Gail asked.

"He was still there."

"Ah."

His shoulders hunched further into themselves. "I… I didn't know what to do. I ran away before he saw me. But… I think I heard him calling after me. And then I found myself here again. So I went to see if you were awake, and then…." He trailed off.

Gail chuckled. "And then, here we are."

"Sorry. I didn't know what else to do."

"It's fine," Gail patted his knee as best she could. "My children have often woken me far earlier with far less reason."

He gave a half-smile response that was more attempt than success.

"So, now that you've found him, what would you like to do?"

"I don't know." Jonathon buried his face in his hands. "I don't know if I can face him. I don't remember hardly anything, and I left him for several weeks, and I don't even know what our relationship ended up being like. What if I did something bad, and now he hates me, and I have no idea? If… if he's still here, is it because of that? Is he… is he dead, because of me?"

"You have only had positive things to say and remember about him," Gail pointed out. "Besides, consistently you’ve grasped ideas and feelings behind your memories, even if you don’t know the actual memories themselves. Hypothetically, that would indicate you would have far more negative feelings associated with your friend if something had gone wrong. So if you don't have any solid reason to assume something horrible happened, I'd say your fears are just working against you right now."

“That’s true,” he admitted glumly. “But also, there’s just… I don’t know. Even that aside, even knowing where he is… that should be a good thing. But it’s… not? It still is, but it doesn’t make me feel better. Which is a selfish way of looking at it, but… I don’t know. I can’t face him. I can’t go talk to him."

#wakey wakey eggs and an existential child #gail goffrey #the ghost #terrarium lights #inklingschallenge #inklings challenge #inklings challenge 2023 #team: lewis #genre: portal fantasy #theme: burial #theme: visiting the sick #story: finished #salt and light #scribe writes #scribe does inklings #first draft

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