m a g n i f i c a t

ravka’s university did not approve of his butchering of their ancient, traditional language, but that is because next to tradition he scribbled ‘something to be destroyed and rebuilt’.

if it costs her nothing.

because otherwise, she has merely to wait until this little quest of theirs is over, until he abides by his earlier promise to return her to shore, and spirit the cat away with her. well, for that matter, she need only place him upon her shoulder as he now sits, and who upon the crew would dare approach to retrieve him? even sturmhond himself keeps his distance.

this little plan, she keeps to herself.

❛⠀⠀⠀sorry, i don't accept general insults. come back to me when you can assign me a monster-sona.⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀ ⠀ christine calls out, falling back on the bed, thinking it actually wasn't a bad idea to steal a minute or two more of sleep before their grand-day.

the pillow blocks her vision when she inches her head out of bed. she can ascertain that ellie's hair isn't a rats nest. progress. the pillow slips to her lap as she props herself up on her elbows to get a proper view, just in time to catch the face-splitting yawn wreck ellie's pretty face.

❛ then your dearest zombie requests that we go before she falls asleep on her feet. she also requests that we find an appropriately caffeinated beverage as soon as humanely possible so she can can be human instead of being a zombie. zombie life isn’t all it’s chocked up to be. ❜

❛⠀⠀ ⠀and what will i do with all that conquered land? play king, emperor? the problem with world domination is that you have to play administrator for the rest of your life. i would die of boredom, sitting pretty on a lacquered throne and reading about, oh, what do they even read about? crop rotations?⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜

he says the words as if they were poison, eyes wide with fear of this imaginary paperwork. in truth, prince nikolai could not get enough of it, reading everything he could get his hands on. a kingdom cannot feed itself on gold and glory.

the sight of her smile softens his features. nikolai is sill smirking, but it is filled with something new, something more amused than arrogant, roguish even.

preposterous, yet somehow probably still successful. somehow, the universe seems inclined to permit him to defy all its laws, uncontested. stolen luck, indeed.

❛ and, because you have conquered the world, who is there to tell you no, no matter how preposterous those solutions may be? no one would dare. but they also wouldn't, for even a moment, believe you. ❜

don’t get him wrong. he is a little bit miffed. he is an excellent storyteller, silver-tongued and talented at spinning words to create magic. and him? frustrated? that’s improbable. her character-building requires some work as well.

leaning against the railing, he crosses his arms over his chest, blonde fringe falling over his eyes as he tilts his head to the side expectantly.

her own fault, for believing. as if she should not have known better, as if she should believe a single word that comes from the lips of a man who not only has kidnapped her ( and refused to accept the designation ) but also refused to tell her why. elia is always too eager to believe the implausible. ❛ then I assume I may take whatever creative liberties I see fit? ❜

she will find some way to spin the story less than favorably for him, a just revenge, for all he has committed no actual crime.

as a prince, he can only have one love, ravka, and the seas already claimed their position as his mistress, when he dons his privateer garb. there shouldn’t be any space in his heart for her to worm her way into. and yet she is there all the same, with her twinkling eyes and spirited laugh, unbeknownst to him, she slipped past his defenses and claimed the land.

pesky girl.

his would-be defense of his crew earns him a look that is somewhere between feigned alarm and surprise, though she merely teases. ❛ aren't they? you don't mean that the fearsome sturmhond has a crew that is anything less than dangerous and cut-throat… careful, you’ll ruin your reputation — and theirs. ❜ or he would, if only anyone would believe him!

people share those things because they are good. no one, least of all her, wants to share problems. why spread misery when she can keep it safely contained within her?

they are both scientists, in their own way, through ellie’s own realm is that of society and not of biology. by nature, they are both always looking for answers: christine for the answers in their genetic codes, ellie for answers in the music they create.

feel free to adjust pronouns / names as needed !

quotes taken from random sources or tiktok. i claim no ownership whatsoever.

❛   i’m supposed to be the one who protects you from monsters. i’m not supposed to be one.  ❜  

❛   if i could make a deal with god, and i’d get him to swap our places.  ❜  

❛  no one heard our screams for a long time.  ❜  

❛   i know so many last words. but i’ll never know hers.  ❜  

❛   there is a home for every departed thing.  ❜  

❛   it reminded me that i will never truly know you.  ❜  

❛   i also buried a part of myself alongside them.  ❜  

❛   after you died i could no longer hold a funeral. so my life became the funeral.  ❜  

❛   you don’t have to be awake to cry.  ❜  

❛   forgive me, for all the things i did. but mostly the things i didn’t do.  ❜  

❛   the human eye is the loneliest creation of all.  ❜  

❛   fairness is for happy people.  ❜  

❛   the things we lost will always be heavier than the things that stayed.  ❜  

❛   perhaps it is the greater grief, to remain on the earth when another is gone.  ❜  

❛   you stain the pages with yourself.  ❜  

❛   tears will not wash away the sorrow.  ❜  

❛   beautiful things grow a certain height and then they fall and fade off.  ❜  

❛    who in all these centuries has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?  ❜  

❛   i have scars on my hands from touching certain people  ❜  

❛   despite everything, i believe that people are really good at heart.  ❜  

❛   you tried to change, didn’t you?  ❜

❛   you can’t make homes out of people. someone should have taught you that.  ❜  

❛   i hid my deepest feelings so well, i forgot where i placed them.  ❜  

❛   we have no scar to show for happiness. we learn so little from peace.  ❜  

❛   i didn’t leave because i stopped loving you. i left because the longer i stayed, the less i loved myself.  ❜  

❛   at every moment in our life, we have one foot in a fairytale & the other in the abyss.  ❜  

❛   there are too many sad eyes on happy faces.  ❜  

❛   it’s strange, i felt less lonely when i didn’t know you.  ❜  

❛   things change, friends leave. life doesn’t stop for anybody.  ❜  

❛   it takes a lifetime to die, and no time at all.  ❜  

❛   i am deathly afraid of almosts. of coming close to what i want and then falling just a little short.  ❜  

❛   i felt your absence.  ❜  

❛   what do we do now, now that we are happy?  ❜  

❛    you honestly thought anybody would love you? purely and truly love you?  ❜  

❛   don’t stop looking. he deserves to know someone saw his end, that someone noticed him.  ❜  

❛    i can bear my pain so long as it has meaning.  ❜  

❛   i dont have a single friend - not one.  ❜  

❛   i’ve had more than enough pain in my life, what’s a little more going to do?  ❜  

❛    it would have been you if i met you first.  ❜  

❛    i really thought he was going to be my forever.  ❜  

❛    maybe in the next life it would work.  ❜  

❛   in spite of everything, you’re still you.  ❜  

❛   the dead have it easy.  ❜  

❛   there’s an ocean of silence between us, and I’m drowning.    ❜  

❛   there have been countless times in my life when i thought i’d be better off dead.  ❜  

❛   what on earth… have i become?  ❜  

❛   don’t look at me! i don’t … i don’t want you seeing me like this.  ❜  

❛   i wish i could’ve been like you.  ❜  

❛   your fate was sweeping you away, like a flood.  ❜  

❛   the future should know the mistakes we made.  ❜  

❛   of course you have. you feel guilt. you want redemption.  ❜  

❛   i’m here because you can’t accept what you’ve done. it broke you.  ❜  

❛   even now, after all you’ve done, you can still go home.  lucky you . ❜  

❛   you’re all that’s left, and we can’t live this lie forever.  ❜  

❛    prometheus gave us light, and warmth, and eternal damnation.  ❜  

❛   take a gamble that love exists, and do a loving act.  ❜  

❛    i know i ruined your life. i suffer for it every day.  ❜  

❛   don’t let yourself get killed for… for pride. i’ve seen it kill too many folk.  ❜  

❛    you and me, we ain’t decent… but those folk… they were.  ❜  

❛   we’re more ghosts than people.  ❜  

❛   despite my best efforts to the contrary… it turns out i’ve won.  ❜  

❛   i gave you all i had … i did.  ❜  

❛   this whole time, I’ve blamed myself for that decision.  ❜  

❛   do you think even the worst person can change…? That everybody can be a good person, if they just try? ❜  

❛   i don’t want to break their hearts all over again. it’s better if they never see me.  ❜  

❛   please leave me alone. i can’t come back. i just … can’t, okay?  ❜  

❛   no matter the struggles or hardships you faced… you strived to do the right thing, you refused to hurt anyone. ❜  

❛    people like you don’t ever want to be happy.  ❜  

❛⠀⠀⠀someone boring who shore stays instead of shore leaves.⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀ ⠀ protests fall on deaf ears. once they are out of this ship and taking in the beautiful vistas, actual sunlight warming their skins, ellie is going to thank her for getting her out of bed before the morning rush turns the transporter room into a war zone.

until then, she is okay guiding a bleary-eyed zombie through the ship.

but she is expecting that her thank you be profuse and heartfelt. hopefully accompanied by a box of chocolates or a rendition of her favorite song, definitely one of ellie’s best smiles. if she is guaranteed all of that, she is okay operating in less than optimal conditions for a while.

with a sigh that is meant to be heard, christine stands up and moves to the bottom of the bed, clutching the blanket, and the sheet for good measure, and gives them both a good hard tug.

and one of ellie's best friends. unfortunately. fortunately.

ellie operates half on autopilot as she pulls clothes from hangers and shelves in the closet — a bright outfit, and not merely because she pays less attention to whether it matches than she perhaps ought. ( ellie's always been able to pull off unique color choices, though. ) hair combed, the briefest ghost of make-up applied, and she rummages in her bag ( which she had, miraculously, thought to pack the night before ) as if to ascertain that she hasn't forgotten anything. not that she can think clearly enough to recognize if anything is missing.

with half a shrug, she slings it across her shoulder and with dramatic flare presents herself before her friend. ❛ do I have the christine stamp of approval? ❜

ellie’s words peak through the fog, sneaking in between the shadows of her mind, boldly stepping through the forest of guilt she’s built around herself to find an opening, making her listen to something other than her own tempestuous thoughts for the first time in almost a day.

carefully built walls are no match for the tiny musician.

⠀❛⠀⠀⠀these are my problems,⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀ ⠀ christine points out, eyes lifting for a second from her hands to catch ellie's gaze, still not fully giving up her pretense, before returning to where they twist and turn, knuckles red from the scritch-scratch of her nails.⠀ ⠀ ⠀❛⠀⠀⠀and believe me, they aren't worth it. i'm full of funny little problems, nothing worth your time.⠀ ⠀ ❜

she pokes christine in the shoulder pointedly, though the levity of the gesture is far too at odds with her friend's clear distress. ❛ so, spill. 'cause I'm not budging otherwise. my time's wasted either way. ❜

❛⠀since i was a small child! my parents taught me to bow properly, compliment pretty ladies and stab my friends in the back when they least expect it.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀there is a short beat before he adds, ⠀⠀ ⠀❛⠀⠀i changed it to enemies.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀ his ridiculous little speech has the unexpected benefit of being the truth. he can preen and smile without worrying if he is going to step over a lie.

and elia does not for a moment believe that he does not know it.

but though her fingers should perhaps not be trusted with anything but her music, to suggest as much would be to admit her error, and to him she cannot. when his crew demands to know what she was thinking, she may humbly apologize and confess that she herself does not know. but to him, instead, she laughs.

❛ you'll deny anything and anyone, when it suits you. ❜ and therein lies the whole problem, for it doesn't suit him to relinquish the damn hat. he may act chivalrous all he wishes, but she knows better.

not even the open-ended, oh-so-dangerous promise of something better had tempted him from the hat, yet still she changes tactics once more. placing her hands upon his chest, she pretends to consider the hat. ❛ while you and I appreciate it properly, I think your crew is going to hate me for it. I'd rather they not decide I'm their enemy and take a page out of your book when it comes to stabbing enemies in the back the next time I'm on the ship. ❜

stardust the isopod!! 🌌⭐️🪲

perched on the edge of ellie’s bed, as obnoxiously bright and warm as the afternoon sun, christine doesn’t make the best alarm clock. she doesn’t try waking up ellie by slowly turning on the lights, mimicking the pattern of the rising sun, making the room warmer incrementally until her body feels ready to get on with the day. she could, she recommends her patients to program the environmental controls of their rooms to mimic their planet’s day. it is the best way to wake up.

it is not, however, the quickest way to wake up. and this morning (what others might still consider night) christine is going for speed, not gentleness. the room’s lights turned up the maximum, and her voice resembles a more general’s command than a hummingbird’s chirp.

❛     yeah. it’s five thirty in the morning. we’re already late. shore leave started 5 am, and i let you sleep in for thirty minutes. get dressed. chop chop. time is a-wasting.     ❜     she says tugging the blankets away from ellie.

despite ellie's knowledge of her friend's plans for a bright and early departure ( though, ellie had been imagining something closer to a reasonable hour. say, seven-thirty ), last night had been one of those nights, as the collection of mugs and data padds scattered across her small table and escaping across the floor can attest. ellie isn't sure she's even been in bed for an hour.

❛⠀⠀ ⠀ not my friend. me. i fancy myself a bit of an amateur collector. i always had an eye for the best in life. i ran into an old man a few years back, spouting the same impossible tale and he said he had something no one else had and he was willing to sell it to me. oh, i didn’t believe him. such a flatterer, saying he’d only sell it to me — you can’t believe a man who smiles while holding a dagger at his back. it’s bad for business, you know?⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀ the story was only half the truth. the man existed. he had the right coordinates. he had a dagger. ⠀⠀ ⠀ ❛⠀⠀ ⠀ i decided to take a risk. go with my gut. if it was fake, well, i’d sell it to the next fool for a fortune. if it wasn’t, i’d get my fortune.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜

and he did. it was very well invested in his ship-yard; though, if anyone asked, he lost it all playing a game of chance in shu han.

she will believe the most preposterous of tales and yet challenge the logic of another in the next breath. perhaps it is the most incredible of stories that she will accept without hesitation, while the closer one verges toward reality, the greater her expectations of credibility.

or, perhaps the difference lies in the storytelling — legends have a pacing to them, an age-old pull, a rhythm that makes them nearly impossible to ruin.

❛ you don't know how to tell a story, do you know that? you ought to have started there: the amateur collector offered something unique yet incomplete. the frustrating years while you held onto it, searching. the fortuitous request from your friend, who, though oblivious to its importance, offers you the map in the fjerdan's possession in exchange for your assistance. the heist itself, the danger, the success. the later revelation that the map was your missing piece... ❜

besides, in the long term, for the world, it was a better long-term investment to concentrate the luck in his capable hands. when he wasted it on frivolous things, it was with a plan, already thinking five steps ahead. when they did, it was with cards. or worse, love.

is there a worst waste? love is not luck, it relies on something far bigger than mere chance.

hard-work, charm and trading secret words with a brown-haired girl under the stars. that is love. trading in all your chips in order to stay with them for one more night because you can't imagine saying goodbye, that is what exists inside his heart when he is near her. if he was relying on luck to get one of her smiles, they'd still be bickering about his use of the word guest ( not that they don't do it now, but where before there was a challenge, now the words are wrapped in warm familiarity, a soft teasing that softened his eyes and mouth into a boyish grin that he completely skipped over in his teenage years. )

elia had not been insinuating anything, truly; she had not thought fully through what the eventually she described would look like. yet, his interpretation will suffice.

❛ I mean, what greater impossible battle is there? I wouldn't think you'd be satisfied with anything less. what else will you do when you run out of legends and treasure troves to chase? you'd be bored without some ridiculous project to use your stolen luck on. ❜