#lifeforms

"that's just from wiping out on my bike when i was eight."

it's been there the whole time lana has known her. that's how she knows which one it is, among so many. how she knows where lana is, mapping out her back, while alice lies blind on her stomach and differentiates mostly by the way that sensation vanishes, becoming mere pressure.

traveling up from her ribs and the old scattering of sidewalk-gravel scars, the map grows easier to follow. discolored veins where the skin is thinner. scarab, legs rooted in tissue that still pulls and twinges. bite marks. with distinct teeth. gouged. bumpy. numb. shiny, faded, or oddly purple.

"that's—um..."

those are lana's fingertips tracing lightly, seeking out and finding something still tender. and that's her head bowing. her lips are warm.

" i don't know how you do it. " people tend to get mean when they're hurting. & if lana lang graces the emergency department with her presence, well, someone is definitely in a world of emotional pain – lost, in desperate need of someone to guide their next step. " trust me, when it comes to patients screaming until they're blue in the face, i've seen every shade of blue & still got the last word in, but this is... " different. worse. just four walls, a ton of processing & one of the most patient people she knows. " will it make you feel better if i tell you i got puked on twice today ? "

I drew Imogen (one of my original Twisted Wonderland characters) as Lifeforms from the Hongkai Star Rail.

" so – what are the chances missus district attorney makes it on the front page of the tabloids for drunkenly crashing into the chocolate fountain tonight ? "

" lana! tell tal that we clearly look alike ⸺ " she's standing next to the tv, wolf of wall street paused on the scene with naomi standing naked in the doorframe. yeah, that one. she's trying to prove a point here. desperate times, and all! tal, for his part, looks like he wants to kill himself. " dr. quinzel, " he pleads, " enough. lana ⸺ do not leave me here with her. " they're playing her favorite game: psychoanalysis. she just grins at lana, pouring her a glass of wine. " get drunk with me. it pisses him off that he has to suffer in sobriety. wah wah, poor little kryptonian. "

lana's  up  with  her.  watching  television.  she  barely  hears  @lifeforms  say  above  the  static,  "it's  natural  for  a  child  to  want  to  trust  their  parents."

kate  thinks  lana  only  joined  her  this  late  because  she's  worried  about  her.  the  bags  are  heavy  under  cyan  gaze.  she  doesn't  blink,  and  her  eyes  water.  “i'm  not  a  child  anymore,”  stupid,  stupid  girl,  she  finally  blinks.  it  streams  down  her  cheek.