#neverendingdeath

The steadily dwindling embers are all that separate them. When Blade sits, he's not sure whether he expects the other man to draw Cloud Piercer or to simply leave all together.

His constitution dulled many things, so this was one of few consistent joys. Bare hands bask in the flames and golden light illuminates them both. There isn't much to be said in the first place and even less that hadn't been said before.

It's a rare moment of tranquility, though something pulls at his mind to tell him "rare" was not the right word for an occasion like this, at least once upon a time it wasn't. The warmth of the flame reminds him faintly that his arm has grown cold.

When he sensed Blade's presence nearby, even before he saw him, his first instinct, just like always, told him to flee. For a split second, the turbulent memories of all the previous times swirled through his mind, sending - or trying to send - him into a panic that would make the decision for him and set him on the run once more.

But even in spite of all the signs... he finds himself sensing little danger. Or, perhaps, his perception had changed, after his recent experiences allowed him to reconcile his past, present and future, and his understanding of all that happened - and why it happened - increased considerably. Of course, that need not mean that what once was Yingxing would share the sentiments, but...

though the old fear at the back of his mind continues to scream, he does not move.

It's a peculiar, special moment of silent coexistence that they share by the fire, resting and enjoying its inviting warmth. Whether this shall be a one time occurrence born of necessity, or Blade had also found a certain degree of peace for one reason or another, Dan Heng doesn't know, but nevertheless, it seems like, at least here and now, he has lost the reason to run for his life.

He has hoped and wished, truly and genuinely, for Blade to find some semblance of tranquility for himself; not because it would solve his own problems - or not anymore, at any rate - but also because, because...

because there once existed a reality when they were friends, and even if it now lies shattered, Dan Heng finds a truth within his heart as he closes his eyes and idles calmly and quietly for the first time in a long time:

he doesn't want Blade to suffer, plain and simple.

His hands are far from as dexterous as they once were. That fact is hardly a hurdle in his fingers' quest to tinker as best they can. Blade finds himself sitting and bending back canister that he unintentionally bent a mite too far.

It's best to leave the paper blank lest his mind fill with memories none, most especially himself, could handle.

"Why is it that one would write that which would never be seen?" He asks the man across from him as he takes a breath. If he didn't stop, he'd continue making a mess of their supplies.

"Have you ever had something you wanted to get off your chest, but feared the judgement of your peers?" A question for a question. Flins offers a mild smile from the other side of the table, from which he'd been surreptitiously observing Blade as he worked on his own half-finished lantern. These sorts of handicrafts weren't entirely out of his wheelhouse, but the artificiality of these lamps turned his interest toward his neighbors instead. He's in no hurry to finish his own, and twirls a red wire idly between his fingers.

"Some are also quite fond of 'manifesting,' the idea that bringing a wish into the physical realm in some form will effectuate one's fate. Often the power in these simple affirmations is in their grounding effects, focusing the mind on the future, or our own growth."

The other man appears to be the dour sort, whose life Flins can tell simply by watching him had been spent far from these delicate children's crafts. Yet, still a craftsman of some kind. His adroit fingers, despite their clumsiness with these flimsy canisters, still know their way around their tools.

Character Development Questions | accepting

What you see is what you get with Boothill. There might be some bravado around strangers, especially as he's feeling out their allegiances and whether or not he can work with them, but it's not different enough from how he acts around those he calls allies to be a "persona." He's frank and straightforward, but most of all, he's utterly shameless. There's nothing about himself that he feels the need to hide, and he'll even share things he ordinarily doesn't talk about - like his homeland - if someone just asks.

Boothill is simultaneously the fearless outlaw and the simple cowboy. He'll meet aggression with aggression, cow others with threats to achieve a goal, and aim to kill if it comes down to it. He isn't afraid of the blood on his hands, and he isn't afraid to show that blood to everyone else either, because he's justified all of it to himself - he'll never put a bullet in someone who doesn't deserve it. At the same time, he's affable and fun-loving, and warms right up to others pretty quickly without needing to know their life story. He takes things in stride, adapts easily to changing situations, and is openly willing to seek advice from all kinds of people. Just as enemies can become friends at the drop of a hat though, friends can also become enemies just as fast. However, the thing about Boothill is that you'll always know where you stand with him.

Despite the above, there are still a couple of layers to his social presentation, although they're pretty thin:

On the surface: He appears gruff, intimidating, and dangerous. You can tell he's a criminal without knowing for sure. With his tendency to swing his gun around at strangers, he also comes across as unpredictable and maybe even crazy.

Below that: He's reasonable, willing to hear people out and cooperate for mutual benefit. The bravado act doesn't go very deep, so underneath that, you'll find a man who feels his feelings fully and completely, whether it be anger or joy. He's also unafraid of (loudly) showing his respect and awe for anyone with skills or knowledge he doesn't have. Not as frightening or unpredictable as he might seem at a glance, and willing to admit when he's got something wrong or when his idea might not be the best course of action. He loves having a good time, and he loves showing others how to have a good time, too.

And at the deepest layer: He's a sentimental, nostalgic person. You'd see this side of Boothill during quiet, secluded moments, because there's a time and place for this kind of vulnerability and most of his life doesn't account for it. Still, it comes out in his actions (how he treats Rappa), the kinds of things he gravitates toward (certain malts carry certain memories), and his storytelling. Boothill regularly calls himself a dead man - even embodies it with his name - but at his core, he's still quite human, and letting others see that side of him is a way to keep it cultivated and alive.

⁀➴ 42 character development questions!

As much as I would love to say that somewhere down the line there’s potential for a bad ending where Sara ends up betraying Inazuma or defecting, I’m inclined to believe that Sara’s loyalty to her Shogun will always remain true and unchanging, be it yesterday, today, and forever.

Now, before I begin putting out the scenarios let me preface by saying that for all of Sara’s life ever since she was taken in by the Kujou Clan, she’s known very little outside of her duty as the adopted child of Kujou Takayuki, purposely made to be isolated so that she would do nothing but train. According to her Character Story 5, Takayuki himself said this: "Not following military law and neglecting your training... I did not take you in just to have you do such pointless things.”

Her story began with her loyalty the Shogun—from her believing that it was the Shogun who saved her from her fall, to the Kujou Clan taking her in for them to mould into their perfect tool. And so, it is her destiny, then, to end with that same loyalty—there is no what else could they become in the future. Kujou Sara will always be Inazuma's General.

As to what I think would be her best scenario:

To put simply, the best development path for Sara would be one where she finally finds out the truth.

That the Shogun is more than just that—that there is an Ei, that the Shogun is a puppet, that the fact that she survived wasn’t by the Shogun’s will but likely out of pure dumb luck, and that she devoted her life to nothing but lies and false beliefs she had made up as a child.

Yet, despite it all, she’ll find a way to push through

And I truly do think Sara would be able to, because she’s resilient like that. She might need to take time to reflect, perhaps even take a long journey to search for herself, but in the end, she’ll return to find that her loyalty still lies with Inazuma, because at this point, it’s no longer a mere duty, but simply a part of her now. And she’s content with that.

For the worst:

The worst would be one where she’s unable to pull herself up from all that dilemma.

Still, I don’t think it would result to her betraying Inazuma, but I do think Sara bottle things up so much that she’s just a few bad days away from breaking. And who knows, maybe when she finally does, she’ll find herself irreparable.

She isn’t exactly a very open person. I think, if she finds herself more troubled over the truth than I think she would, then she would be left instead at a standstill. Because what else can she do? All of her truths turned out to be a lie. She had, ultimately, devoted herself to a stranger. And she knows no one who she can approach to ask for advice.

The Guuji? She, more than anyone else, only speaks in half-truths. She knew everything yet chose to keep them from Sara. Then again, she never had any obligation to reveal the truth to Sara in the first place.

The Watatsumi Priestess? She may very well be just as unaware of the truth as Sara is. And why should she trouble someone she once stood against as an enemy? Even with peace treaties in place, Sara still bears the heavy burden of having led the war against the Resistance.

The Shirasagi Himegimi? No. They are more like strangers outside of duty. To suddenly approach her because of this would be too sudden. Too selfish.

And the same goes for everybody else.

In the end, Sara is undeniably alone, and perhaps, finally, the weight of all these unspoken heartaches will become too much to bear.

As for what is most likely, however…

Sara will most likely remain clueless.

She’ll carry on as an unwitting fool, firmly holding onto the belief that it was the Shogun who saved her, still oblivious to Ei’s existence, never realizing that the Shogun she has devoted her life to is nothing more than a puppet.

She will continue to fight for Inazuma and for the Shogun, and perhaps, she’ll at least be granted a heroic ending where she dies for the land and the god she so devoutly worships.

It sounds bittersweet, but the truth is, Sara has never dreamed for more. All she has ever wanted is the chance to live her life in service to the god she believes saved her—the one who, in her eyes, gave her the breath she still draws today.

kiss roulette (6/8 collected) 6. a gentle peck

Caelus is known for his mischievous, gremlin like antics. What can he say, the boy just likes to have fun, and it's always nice to have a ( possibly reluctant ) participant to go along with him. One who can "match his vibe" so to say. Caelus has to assume the man at least tolerates it, because there is no way such a sharp swordsman like Blade would allow Caelus to "sneak up" on him.

Because the silver does just that, somehow creeping up behind the man before outstretching his hands to cover over the man's eyes. Yes, Caelus may have to get on his tip toes to reach around properly, but well worth it.

❛ Boo. Gotcha good, didn't I? ❜

With a highly amused tint to his voice, the lad retracts his hands off the navy haired man's face. Though they don't go too far, stopping to rest on his shoulders momentarily. He feels the man move his arm, likely pinching at his nose in exasperation at Caelus' actions. The silver can only chuckle a little to himself before Blade turns around to face him directly, Caelus' hands sliding off his shoulders as a result.

Even if the man was peeved, he didn't say anything about or, nor do anything to push the smaller man away. Caelus' smile displays a growing fondness as he carefully holds the sides of the man's face, lightly tugging on him until Blade leaned down far enough for Caelus' liking.

It's a quick press of warm lips against the other's, so gentle of a gesture one might not even have noticed it had Caelus not kept their faces close together afterward. Loving hands trace a thumb along Blade's cheeks before giving it a gentle squish, just for fun.

also sent in by @neverendingdeath :)

Sleep schedule? No such thing for a Stellaron Hunter. When Silver Wolf was tired, she would snack or nap, disregarding entirely what time of day (or night) it was. Unsurprisingly, she was often up in the early morning, when the majority of life around her went to sleep.

Tonight was restless, and unbearably so. She'd given a chance to a few unpromising games that ended up meeting her expectations - boring and full of bugs, and not fleshed out enough to offer any real challenge. Why even publish a game if you're not finished with it? She huffed, having cycled through her cell phone, her desktop computer, and handheld devices - nothing was keeping her attention for longer than a half hour.

Silver Wolf kicks both of her feet away from her desktop setup, pivoting to the wires and casings that housed Prome's neural network.

"Hello, Silver Wolf," the module boots up with a familiar voice, although far more robotic than Silver Wolf's own tone. "Another night of no fun?"

"Hmm? If I turn that screw just a few more times, I can probably turn off that attitude of yours," she mutters, her fingers tapping idly upon her desk.

"Although this is true, the likelihood of your threat actually coming to fruition is extremely low," Prome chirps in response, in the same monotonous voice, though you could almost hear a sing-song mocking in it.

"Hey, Prome, I have a question for you. Once I've played all the games in the world…" Silver Wolf holds the thought, her cheek resting in her hand, humming as she thinks of a way to word her thoughts. "What else is there?"

"You have not played all the games in the world, and there will be infinitely more games to be developed, even if they don't meet your standards for 'fun,'" Prome responds matter-of-factly. "Are you asking me for the meaning of life? I have calculated the answer to be 42."

Silver Wolf scoffs and shuts off the voice module for the time being. Her computer chair spins again so she's facing the dark wall of her room.

Life was all fun and games to Silver Wolf, but lulls like this were almost unbearable. She knew the next day would come, along with another adventure, but times like this, when nothing brought her enjoyment, when nobody was even up to entertain her thoughts, not even the version of herself she'd programmed for that exact reason…

An intimate sound, only the most noticeable as life slips away. Fu Hua has experienced the sound of her own hearts beat many times, her final moments often lingering upon that beat before darkness envelops her. Yet it is not unsettling in death. The warmth of blood pooling beneath her, or steel warming whilst buried amidst muscle and sinew were usually more stunning than the slipping beat.

Boulders of rubble having previously trapped Garuda are shattered and discarded into vastness. Breaths so deep, as if unable to collect enough air. No other sound registers. Arrhythmic, not enough oxygen can be taken in, a quick ignition. Exhaling burns, trembling as each muscle and joint strain, unable to relax.

Rising up, breaths settle, growing used to his old form. Even in the past, the only noise to find solace in is the quick pace of her heart. Perhaps it is the weight of this battle that keeps her shaken, perhaps this form simply demands such acuteness, or perhaps it is the drums beating in her ears that urge her forward.

Before, there was no control. The last time she was like this, there was only one order. To purge the Honkai, let no inkling of remain. Deliverance and Decimation restraining rampage that spared not even herself.

This time, there was no attempt to burn away flesh and bone. This time, she could feel humanity amidst the energy empowering her. Amidst the Honkai. Thumping guides her, too calm for the power trying to escape her. This Active Honkai Reaction; Garuda, a base desire to burn away the enemy.