#nguyetvan

grace  stretches  from  his  place  on  his  chair  ,      hip  rested  on  the  seat  and  shoulder  rested  at  the  back  ,      arms  forward  and  the  side  of  one  foot  on  the  floor  so  he  doesn't  lose  his  balance  .      even  the  kitchen  ,      delicately  made  by  the  eridians  from  their  observations  of  human  life      (  and  many  ,      many  questions  for  grace  )  ,      is  worth  boasting  about  .      the  xenonite-glass  window  spans  across  the  wall  ,      granting  a  stunning  view  of  the  beach  .      the  electronics  mirror  the  hail  mary's  ,      rerouted  into  the  stove  and  oven  .      they  work  as  intended  ,      as  far  as  he's  concerned  .      the  whole  room  is  filled  with  the  scent  of  her  cooking  .      her  homemade  cooking  .      he  hasn't  had  anything  made  by  anyone  else  in      …      years  .

@nguyetvan . "Grace, I think we've made them think all humans are asexual."

his  eyes  prickle  and  he  sniffs  .      quickly  ,      he  bends  an  elbow  up  to  act  as  a  pillow  against  the  back  of  his  chair  ,      pressing  the  side  of  his  eye  against  the  skin  of  his  forearm  .        ❝        us  ?      we  made  them  think  that  ?      no  ,      no  no  .      i'm  sure  they  don't  think  all  of  us  are  asexual  .        ❞        do  eridians  even  know  what  that  term  is  ?      deep  down  ,      humans  are  primitive  creatures  .      ultimately  ,      they  seek  out  their  own  pleasure  .      including  sex  .      but  he's  never  attained  even  a  hint  that  the  eridians  would  pursue  anything  like  that  ,      and  considering  the  only  two  humans  who  have  ever  visited  40  eridani  a  b  aren't  predisposed  like  most  other  human  beings      …      oops  .

❝        they're  funny  little  things  .      you  know  ,      they  don't  actually  do      …        ❞        there  are  seconds  of  silence  between  his  words  .      he's  trying  so  hard  to  drop  his  junior  high  filter  .      for  nothing  .        ❝        …      it  .        ❞        nice  .      nailed  it  .        ❝        i  mean  ,      they're  creatures  just  like  us  .      they  don't  have  the  brains  like  us  ,      but            well  ,      get  this  .      their  species  lay  eggs  .      two  of  them  lay  their  eggs  together  ,      and  those  eggs  fertilize  each  other  .      i  guess  you  could  call  it  hermaphroditic  reproduction  .      it's  not  exactly  like  that  .      not  that  i've  done  much  research  ,      but  i  assume  the  mixture  of  ammonia  and  microbes  in  their  atmosphere    and  whatever  their  cells  are  made  out  of            are  what  drive  their  eggs  into  dividing  into  each  other  .      then  the  zygote  forms  from  there  ,      and      …      bam  ,      a  new  rock  pops  out  way  later  .        ❞        in  all  actuality  ,      this  is  way  past  his  pay  grade  .      it's  difficult  to  theorize  on  a  process  he'll  never  get  to  observe  or  test  .

with  a  strained  groan  ,      grace  finally  stands  from  his  chair  .        ❝        did  cooking  make  you  think  of  that  ?        ❞

 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪ ㅤ*ㅤUNPROMPTED .  /   𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜  𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 .

how many times must she go around it    ?    if she hasn’t lost her soul,    it’ll surely be nicely wrapped for a goblin to decimate over drinks.    there is no chance for her salvation,    for she’s fled the punishment of her violence.    she once believed those that harmed her would see no peaceful transfer into the afterlife ( she hadn’t quite honed in to her mother’s beliefs,    but it felt logical that bad people met bad ends ) … so why would it be different for her    ?    all she must do is slow down death from claiming her,    live either as virtuously or as selfishly as she can,    and hope for whatever fate has stored for her.    of course,    she’s chosen the latter behavior,    she fails to see how she can be good again without a real face.    it’s why vân’s ways trouble her so.    pushed aside the scents and teas,    she’s never seen magic with superstition,    only transaction.   

@nguyetvan sent in " things must be really bad if you're trying to say i was your best chance at being helped. " 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥

our emperor-king stood perfectly idle. a man made of patience—not the passive kind groomed from politeness, but the deep, ancestral kind. the long centuries of monarchs who listened with their souls before their ears. so, when he responded, his tone did not lean into judgment.

it was honeyed, smooth, gentle, and still meant to stick. a great cat's curiosity without a demand. authority without intrusion.

    ❝ ah, if that is so, then perhaps you are not going anywhere at all? perhaps... you are only walking. ❞

the way they stood. the defiance defining her poise. it reminded him of black water. still only at the surface. but below it—tumultuous currents. refusal.

t’challa's gaze fell in synch with hers, following her brief glance toward the window, and then it returned to her. he sensed rebellion in her words, only world-weary fatigue. no indecision, only a reticent sovereignty that had gone unrecognized too many times.

    ❝ we are not meant to name every step. freedom and aimlessness are not the same. one is chosen, a path walked with intention. the other is inherited—what's left after direction is stripped from you. i do not believe you are aimless, even if you do not know the name of the direction yet. ❞

he does not speak to her like a monarch to a subject, but like a son of survival who can understand the language of another survivor. she is someone who has outlived the expectations meant to define her. this space may offer some level of discomfort, but he gives silent respect to her effort for giving herself the grace to be among others.

t'challa takes a considerate single step closer. it was enough to narrow the space between her aloneness and his quiet offer of presence, not enough to make her feel suffocated.

he  had  endured  it  that  last  wait  .      ten  minutes  of  pure  agony  ,      or  so  he  suddenly  deemed  it  once  he'd  really  begun  to  feel  out  how  groggy  all  his  limbs  seem  to  be  .      all  atmospheric  pressure  weighing  his  limbs  down  ,      and  even  with  the  little  hospital  room's  lights  dimmed  to  help  with  his  aching  head  and  the  blooming  pain  still  behind  his  eyes  and  down  the  sides  of  his  jaw  ,      he  still  felt  as  though  he's  been  practically decapitated  again  .

it's  louise's  arrival  that  brings  him  a  great  amount  of  joy        and  relief  ,      when  she  digs  the  earplugs  and  eye  mask  out  ,      drops  two  plugs  and  unwraps  the  mask  for  him  .      their  quick  exchange  of  words  is  cut  short  when  she  insists  on  his  rest  .      he  won't  complain  about  that  :    he  really  wants  some  rest  .      even  three  minutes  would  be  enough  for  him  ,      though  he  ends  up  sleeping  for  a  couple  hours  without  knowing  it  .      without  hearing  anyone  come  in  .

@nguyetvan  .      "  Did  you  sleep  well?  "    As  she  heard  some  faint  rustling  of  fabric  on  the  hospital  bed  ,      Louise  ended  her  impromptu  self-revision  session  and  closed  the  notebook  on  her  lap  .      She  had  started  to  think  perhaps  he  wouldn't  wake  up  before  visiting  hours  ended  ,      but  it  fortunately  turned  out  not  to  be  the  case  (waking  up  alone  in  the  hospital  wasn't  something  pleasant  ,      she  would  know)  .      Oh  ,      right  ,      the  earplugs  and  the  eye  mask  .      He  probably  didn't  know  she  was  still  here  .      It  had  been  hours  ,      after  all  .

he's  groggy  still  ,      and  can  just  make  out  the  muffled  garble  of  a  voice  .      assuming  it's  a  nurse  or  a  doctor  here  to  check  on  him  ,      he  lifts  the  mask  off  ,      squinting  to  slits  against  the  sudden  light  .      there's  no  nurse  in  sight  ,      but  he  does  spot  louise  immediately  out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye  .

a  gentle  smile  tugs  at  his  lips  ,      and  he  plucks  the  earplugs  from  his  ears  ,      closing  his  fingers  around  them  to  hold  them  for  now  .        ❝        hi  .      did  you  say  somethin' just  now  ?        ❞

╰ ゜SEMI-PROMPTED .  /  𝙰𝙻𝚆𝙰𝚈𝚂 𝙰𝙲𝙲𝙴𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 .