Shock Mark (15) : Thunderstorms are common this time of year, but what’s not common is the number of people reported being struck by lightning. Strangely, people are surviving with only minor, if any, injuries at all. Being struck can feel like a static shock, or can feel like a sudden flash of heat, and targets are left with a strange lightning mark across their body. Though the marks will fade, for their duration–up to a full week after being struck, you might notice that you are more prone to static shocking yourself or others, and you may notice electronics charging or overcharging and malfunctioning. The marks can take longer to fade at player discretion, or players may choose for them to leave pale scars, but otherwise there are no lasting effects.
Faustite did not teleport into the bedroom; he walked up the stairs like a normal-a** adult. He had learned long ago that, if he teleported into his room, and there was a boy sleeping in his bed, it was the equivalent of throwing on a light. And while this light was well-loved, the act of being woken up in the middle of a deep sleep was not.
He was happy to leave the day behind. Axinite had explained that all the paperwork got easier over time, but Faustite didn't understand how that was possible. He spent the better part of an hour reading too far into the instructions, only to have to redo all the paperwork he managed in that hour. Not halfway through his day, he'd gotten far too restless to sit still, too, and neither pacing through the Citadel nor patrolling Destiny City had fully quelled the need to burn energy. He also set a stack of paperwork on fire by accident, when he'd forgotten that he took his cincher off. Overall, he was hoping his show of ineptitude would be convincing enough that the Negaverse might push a little less paperwork his way and let him go outside more often. Better to leave that paperwork to the professionals that wouldn't accidentally reduce it to ash.
When he reached the landing at the top of the turret, Faustite opened the door slowly. He watched his own light pour in, thin as a pencil, before he inched the door wider, wide enough to admit him to the room. He entered as slowly as he opened the door, and the band of his luminance angled wide before he finally filled the room with firelight.
The boy on his bed, at this early hours, was none other than Waru. Likely wearing nothing but that opal collar, too. Faustite smiled something soft and private. That boy knew how to sleep hard.
Faustite slipped off the majority of his uniform, tangling with buttons and belts and fingernails that were much too long to be helpful. What was deemed unnecessary was tossed onto the ground like so much rubbish, for it was far easier to refresh his uniform the next day than struggle into yesterday's clothes. He passed the railing and stepped onto the bed, grimacing at the way its softness pushed up on his overly long toenails, but the feeling was soon forgotten once he got down onto hands and knees.
Curling up next to Albite was then no mean feat. Once he got close enough to lay on his side, he stole his lover's hand and positioned it on his side, at an angle that Faustite thought was comfortable. Albite had already gotten his fingers caught in the grate enough times that Faustite learned to sleep with the cincher on; there would be no more bedtime mistakes of the sort.
Once he was sufficiently mashed into Albite's side, he shut his eyes, but he wasn't tired. He knew it would soon be time for Albite to wake, and all that thrumming restlessness under his skin would beg to be set to work on nearly anything at all, as long as he could spend it with a boy.
shiningamisgirl
Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2023 8:00 am
The sun didn't wake him like it used to; there were no cracks of light through broken blinds to squint against, no scorched summer rays to stretch away from in order to find a cooler part of the covers to bury himself in. The darkness was miasmatic, chaos hued; purplish inkwells and prismatic oils-pills of false-cast pseudo-shadows that came from the 'not sun'. The storms echoing quietly beyond their home, beyond the Rift, were otherworldly, and he'd learned that the lightning never preceded anything like true rain.
Albite loved it.
For all that the below he'd chosen was nothing at all like the above he'd been born into? Waru slept like a stone cast to the bottom of an oceanic trench; deep and blessedly dreamless. As if he'd spent all his energy on the day, the month, the year, and had none left to spare in sleep. No reason to cling to whatever alertness he could've used it for in so safe a space as this.
Safe, at least, for him.
The safest place in any world. For how he no longer woke to car horns, or shrill phone alarms, but instead woke to the presence of slender warmth. The full-bodied press of muted fire and the tingling's of an aura that only encouraged him to cling, however sleepily. To find some purchase with fingers leaden and clumsy, but searching still for that jut of sharp hip marred by new scars -- to feel out the form as though it were new -- instead of familiar. A sleepy frown surfaced and subsided for feeling the slide of leather instead of steel. Something Albite pawed at only briefly before he settled for petting at what he hadn't opened his eyes to see. He could lay there awhile longer, maybe even for as long as he liked. If anyone asked about it? He'd claim he had the Sovereign Kings permission, he'd spend the rest of his morning trying to convince said King to give that permission over like a blank check with his name on it.....
He thought he'd earned it. That *they* had earned it.
"M'rnin," muffled sniff of letters, because it must've been morning since Faustite was there, right? Not that that mattered either. Not am's, pm's, sunrises, sunsets. Time was liquid, molten, burning away lazily as the suffused embers tucked behind his loves cincher. "Heh, yer highness..." pleased huff for managing syllables while finding purchase on actual flesh, the places youma became man became brackets of soft-bed-nest and quickly warming sheets. "Y'smell like a bakery." and he thought that Faustite woke him the same way, all sorts of good smells n toasty heat pulled perfectly close. Like maybe he was the bread to his boys sentient oven? The idea was utter nonsense, so random that he had to laugh at himself for how his thoughts wandered nowhere and everywhere all at once. For how he the idea made him want to bite -- something -- or maybe he was just hungry? "S'goodsmell...." hungry in a way he thought would take more than closeness n kisses to sate, but in this moment? He figure he could settle for closeness n kisses alone, a nice appetizer to start the day off with.
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Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 8:35 am
When he was made aware that Albite was awake, such a delighted giddiness filled him that his eyes brightened a margin with his hidden flame. Then came the goad about his promotion, and Faustite jabbed him in the side with a knuckle.
He understood it, that it was in Albite's nature to tease. The boy knew how to push and push and push, to grate on others and grind them down with his overwhelming being of Albite that they snapped or fought back. Albite thrived on that kind of friction, as if it was like having an argument and getting out any perceived pent-up feelings. Certainly, the better half of them getting to know each other consisted of fights and spats and brawls that ended with a new sizzling score mark somewhere on Albite's body and several new bruises for Faustite.
But that comment — it had an effect with which he wasn't familiar. It was strange to him to feel made more distant by it, but not by the implications of the title or rank. Saying those words exacerbated something that kept him stuck, like it was strengthened by the reminders of his new position. But how did he explain what he couldn't even identify? Better, then, to keep it to how they'd always bantered.
"Who put you away so full of bullshit?" He asked, breaking the quietude that often fell around their words. He was fully awake again, his body humming with the need to go despite having a full work day. A sense of energy of which he couldn't be divested. It begged for him to tell Albite that they were going out, while he still had the dew of sleep in his eyes, and they were going to burn an entire quarter of Destiny City to the ground just so Faustite would be tired enough to take a nap. Perhaps it was because he knew Albite would support such an impulsive affair that he knew not to voice it. He couldn't determine if that was the case, or if it was the inevitable consequence of being a PR nightmare for Infiltration to the point that Lepidolite may admonish him directly.
So he laid there for a moment, feeling oddly dissatisfied despite being so close to a boy. He wanted something, but he wasn't even sure what he wanted.
Faustite sat up enough that he could lay his head on Albite's chest. Searching under the covers, he finally found a cool hand that was far bigger than his own and wrapped it gently in needlepoint claws. "Forget I was promoted for now. For today," he amended.
"Want this to be like old times."
shiningamisgirl
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:09 am
“a**—“ the word wruffed as the tiredness in his soul gave way to a more true waking. The trade in touches deliciously familiar, whether easy or rough Waru loved them. Felt himself eager to get dragged up and close even as he flinched from the initial jab. The soreness was fair trade, his dues given in exchange for being able to feel up what parts of Faustite he could with the one hand. He cherished that, lived and died for the gentle prickle of embroidery sharp barbs caught around and then between his fingers; kept and caged and loving it, “—should pass down a decree, have someone ******** the shittiness outta me before dawn.”
He wondered if he could encourage his husband to summon him up so he could see it done personally! Waru was nothing if not a man who could dream impossibly grandiose things. Could let his own dreams give way to the thrum of need he felt flicker through Faustites like haptic feedback, hearing everything that went unsaid between them; all the words that weren’t, that lay quietly beneath all of his own that needn’t ever be.
“Anything for you Ei,” Albite purred, going over-easy as fresh eggs at breakfast. Said the words and meant them, found all sorts of joy in pressing Faustites face into the meat of his bosom like he could bury him there. “No—-mmm, how’s about? Anything for you, Boss. Yeah, I do miss that, n playing tag in the industrial parks, betting my soul…training just for fun….” the words trailed off wistful, full of longing, and Waru was unconsciously petting all the circlets round his husbands delicate fingers; feeling the differing heat between a band of Taenite, and of Faustite mixed with amethyst, and—he should’ve learned to count better the men in his husbands bed so he could keep track of them all. Could have known with certainty which bit of polished jewel belonged to which one of his beaus betrothed, and which bauble was simply that of an admirer.
Except it wouldn’tve been just any admirer…Faustite didn’t wear jewelry just for fun. He wasn’t the type for rings and bling, or the sorts of strung pearls that couldn’t be lapped up come nights end. If it didn’t have purpose? Why wear it at all. That thought in particular had Waru itching to ask his flame wrought, utilitarian love which new bit of hefty, shiny, clink belonged to whom.
Later— he’d absolutely ask later, but first!
“I miss it being you n me alone sometimes. I miss—-“ tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, to the taste of another cotton candy syrup idea as it dissolved into a more exciting thought. “I misssss—-Getting caught in a summer storm! Oh, ********, we should go play in the rain!! Even if it’s just, like, the precursor to a thing! The lightning this time of years lovely….you can taste the buildup…you can feel it in the thunder...” his eyes alight and grin fathoms wide, he didn’t care if the monsoons that rocked the area were active or not this early. Eion had gotten him up, fed him full of feelings, the sorta things that could only be quenched with actions.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 5:26 pm
Oh, his boy woke up wistful. It softened his smile to hear it — all the ways he waxed nostalgic and parted with old memories that he could've had right then, right there, in the moment. He understood the feeling, for there were days when he would wake up and be stricken with a yearning to talk to his brother, bullshit with each other like they used to over cards or when visiting his brother at the gas station, but that wistfulness would be tempered with an old grief that was roused in tandem. They were difficult moments to weather, either alone or with someone like Albite. Oft he didn't talk about them, because putting words to his needs only exacerbated them and rendered them that much more difficult to dismiss.
But nothing about Albite's wants denied them from reality, in some capacity. It was just them now, and it would be just them if they went to Destiny City together. Likewise, there was nothing stopping them from playing in the industrial park or drumming up stupid races with suicidal bets attached or training for the sake of enjoying themselves. They were all wants that they could fulfill right then, so long as Albite was able to haul his thick a** out of bed and catch his one braincell long enough to ride out a teleport.
"Could do any of those things," Faustite pointed out while his fingers chased Albite's. He wanted to intertwine them, thin and atramentous in thick and dusky, just for the feel of it. For the closeness. "Would only be us. Could do anything we want."
Except they didn't have much control over getting caught in a summer storm. But Destiny City had been unusually blustery of late, with storms in spats over several days. He supposed it would've been just as easy to get caught in one as it was to stay dry, though Faustite was uncertain how long he could stay out in the rain without feeling it. It was the primary drawback of being part youma, he found: whether he wanted to or not, he drank all the rain that came in contact with his grate. And a city like DC was bound to have some questionable rain.
Of course, Albite was beginning to run his mouth again. Ever quick to put a stop to it, Faustite sat up and mashed his hands beneath his boy's himbo girth and began rolling him to the edge of the bed. "Get. Up," he urged, pushing all the while. "Make yourself some ******** coffee, then. We're going outside."
shiningamisgirl
Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2023 3:39 am
‘Anything we want’ — he could barely contain his lust for that, for everything that specific sort of promise held! All the wants Waru had that had gone on unfulfilled up until now. He wanted to see his mother again, to hug her, his sisters, and to have them meet his flaming husband! One, both? He wanted Faustite to snap his fingers and skip them across continents in a blink— skip the boat trip all together — or better yet? Summon up the most buoyant behemoth in the rift and ride it across the ocean till they met the northernmost point of his home!
There were a lot of things he wanted to have and hadn’t dared to ask for more than once. Like a proper honeymoon — a boat trip — or all of Eions firsts; first sneer, first kiss, first time!
*Absolutely ******** all of them.*
How he wanted to go back and have even those—how viciously possessive and greedy the massive organ tucked beneath his squishy chest was. He wanted to be selfish in ways he rarely ever said aloud, even if it was only sometimes…
Because sometimes? He wanted to say it aloud, and then? And then he’d watch Faustite do something about it. Till he was nothing more than a flashy curl of blinding starseed roasting safely within Fauatites grate. All consumed and all warm and always his forever!!! A loyal, collared thing. An object only of desire.
*The only object Faustite desired…*
But no, Faustite wasn’t supposed to be some all powerful, nigh godly King right now. He was just — boy, man, Agni encased in prettier wrappings! More brutally scarred and delicately hammered together. He was also strong! ******** was he strong now! All the pretending at playing lowborn and past-tense couldn’t undo that! Waru laughed like a low-struck bell as he was handled, shoved towards the edge of the ledge that dipped into the sacred and well used bed nest. Let himself play up at attempts to resist leaving the soft folds and strong hands and braving the still air beyond its stone circled borders.
Uhhhhggghh…leaving bed meant getting dressed…and getting dressed meant wearing clothes!!! At least some of them? Maybe *only* some of them!
“I’m going, I’m going! ******** who needs coffee when there’s you! ********, m’up! Jeez—us—Eeeiiiii—“ false griping and a hounds suffering whine, the image of complaining ruined by his dogged grin, killed by a laugh that settled in his eyes and wouldn’t leave them. “M’mah get you for this, yanno? Gonna show you who you’re messing with boss man.” Waru thought it was good too, to aim for the attainable, to ask for what could be easily and freely given! To leave the only chance to Mother Nature and the rest of the day entirely in their control. The path was theirs and up to them, the cities weather the singular roll of dice— He thought he liked that idea while he was climbing free of the pit and pulling on a bit more of his own Senshi-dom than he’d worn to bed; reaching back only to drag at the flames that wouldn’t burn *him* once he had them and their physical casings lovingly grasped.
They could get coffee on the go, could surprise Todd with a joint visit, could —-
“Leme show you how I teleport now boss—S’been a minute since I could drag you around! N’you’ve got three seconds to guess where we’ll end up — 1 - 2 - 3!”
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2023 4:25 pm
If there was nothing else he gained by being a General-Sovereign of the Negaverse, Faustite hoped that he now had the power to give Albite all of his easy wants. He should have had the power to secure his boys their freedom to simply enjoy themselves, powered or not, without the worry of the White Moon coming down on them. Without the worry of the world ending, or their world destabilizing with no one left to help them come out of it alive. They'd all been through enough.
Faustite smiled, pleased with himself, when all that rustling got Albite up and moving, even complaining at him like he was the thorn in Albite's a** rather than the other way around. "Show me who I'm messing with, then," he goaded as he crawled up and out of the recessed bed himself. He stretched his arms upward, popped his spine and his shoulders with a few efficient twists. "Want to see what you got. If you can tell me no and mean it." Not that he believed Albite could; the boy was so indulgent, almost too indulgent for Faustite's many whims. He never faulted Albite for it, though, as he was the one to teach Faustite that, sometimes, it was okay to want something. It was okay to have that something sometimes, too. And thus, Faustite now had more than a sheet of metal to his name. More than a few rings, too.
Albite had more energy than he led Faustite to believe, however, and he was soon getting snatched out of his stretch and folded into a thick, unyielding arm while Albite hammered on with his word vomit. Faustite was about to protest that it hadn't been that long since Albite was teleporting him around — Albite had been doing exactly that prior to his promotion — but the frustrating boy already changed the subject!
Now flustered, Faustite didn't have his wits together enough to start guessing. And it didn't sound like Albite intended to give him those seconds to guess, either, for he talked through all of them. All that Faustite managed to get out was a flaming you ********> before they were both gone, with only a few stray cinders to mark their passing.
shiningamisgirl
Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 9:51 am
He pulled them out into midmorning haze, the air hot, heavy, tinged with the orange/brown highlights of a city facing an oncoming downpour. Where everything surrounding them was humid enough to feel cool only when a breeze blew by and caught them, where the steadily thickening clouds didn't make anything less muggy. Their slowly shadowing presence only adding to the pressure that blanketed the city below. He pulled his husband along--gracelessly--with strength, and youthful joy. Skidded to a stop up against the edge of a ledge atop one of his favorite buildings. Pretending Faustite couldn'tve stopped him -- pretending they were equals in all ways.
Just him n his boss -- him n his husband.
From up here? Everything below looked like ants, like a caricature of a city maps game. From up here? Albite felt like he could fly--like the falling wouldn't kill him, because it'd be like falling forever. Not that there was any point in jumping, not when they were all cuddled up amongst the stately towers scraping the edge of human achievement, nestled between artistic stonework and lightning rods that screamed of ancient age even though Waru knew the building wasn't anywhere near that old...
It was nice to pretend, though.
"Would you lookit all of that? S'just---okay it's a little nauseating--but also? Isn't it gorgeous from up here, you can see the whole skyline, on you can see your own reflection in the stained glass! The ******** they put it up this high, who knows---" on with sounds, on with the way he felt the need to cling if only by his fingertips.
"We should spit off the ledge.." it was the most childish damn thought, and Albite laughed at himself for saying it aloud, tilted his bedraggled head to aim that same said grin in Faustites direction. Cause he wore no crown, only rings, and he wasn't a king here -- could totally spit off a ledge like they were both thirteen; even as the distant rumblings of thunder spoke of oncoming rain.
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 7:59 am
Teleporting with Albite was an experience that Faustite would have happily forgotten. While teleportation was, by nature, instantaneous and not necessarily up to the person being dragged around, there were nuances to it that were attributed by the individual doing the teleporting. Albite's manner of teleporting followed the manner by which he did anything — messily, but with character. And even for all the years that Faustite was teleporting himself, even minutes after landing on that rooftop? His head was still spinning.
So all that dragging Albite did, like Faustite wasn't a General-Sovereign at this point? It was terribly necessary, for the boy was doubled over and desperate to keep from dry retching all over his own shoes. "You're so ******** bad at this," he choked out between thick swallows.
Then Albite stopped, but the world hadn't, and Faustite clutched his head and shut his eyes to it. After a few breaths through his mouth, shedding wisps of smoke in the air, he was able to watch the world come to a stop. Sure enough, Albite brought them to a vertigo-inducing state with the dumbass standing on the very edge of the parapet like he could ******** fly with those minuscule bat wings stuck to his thick a**. Faustite wanted to slap him for it hard enough to cause his cheeks to ripple, but with the himbo's luck, he'd send himself straight off the building.
It'd be deserved, but Faustite still had s**t for him to do.
Finally, Faustite stepped up to join him on the ledge. He spared Albite a brief look, then spat a wad of sour-tasting black bile at the street far below. Then he looked at Albite again, expectant. "Ever thought about not hitting the ground like a ******** meteor when you teleport? Or is that part of your style?"
shiningamisgirl
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 10:46 am
Eww---but also? So ******** cool! Albite followed suit, spat unto the world below a thick, childish, loogie. Snickering in the aftermath of it all as he scrubbed a piece of half-glove over the corner of his mouth, it was too much fun not to indulge in something so utterly, pointlessly gross just because. Wasn't likely anyone of importance would see them there, he wasn't sure if there were even any doors up to the tippiest-top of the place that didn't require a mass amount of keys n badges to get through---
"You've got style enough for the whole world, Ei. M'just trying not to steal your thunder----besides we can't have all your husbands being wealthy, flawless models. Some of them've gotta be 'me'---" tossed the verbal ball back into Faustites court, as he gave any and all expectations of him a broad middle finger, two middle fingers, in fact. If he came in like a wrecking ball and cracked the pavement with it? All the better! He'd call it tactical advantage that his landings were rough enough to make him a difficult target and jostle any ride-alongs into letting him have his way.
"Speaking of husbands--you've got more accessories n' before. Who should I be counting into the crew now? Trey---Val---" speaking nonsense and he knew it, still spoke it all the same while the storm built up like background noise, encroaching ever closer like a slow moving threat -- like the ocean waves Albite so loved to chase; ever admiring the way clouds roiled n rolled over places so beautifully
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 8:01 pm
Rolled his eyes for how hard Albite was blowing smoke up his a**. His boy understood that Faustite had a degree of control over his own smoke, right? He didn't need to add to it, certainly not with something as so obnoxiously incorrect as Faustite having style. The difference between them was Faustite knew how to teleport without looking like a lunatic or revoking people's lunches in the process. Albite, on the other hand, had no interest in being that precise with it.
But Faustite would let him run his mouth nonetheless. There was no stopping him once he started; if Faustite wanted a margin of quiet, he'd have to get it by sewing the boy's mouth shut.
"Only one of them's a wealthy, flawless model," Faustite complained back at the boy. Taking up Albite's hand, he took to hauling the boy away from the edge and in the direction of something marginally closer to Albite's original plans, which were likely forgotten by the selfsame boy who came up with them. Albite's three brain cells must have been working in overdrive that morning, for they ricocheted off each other so many times that even Faustite was having difficulties sorting out what Albite wanted to do that day. First he was reminiscent and wistful, and now he was making up new accessories whole cloth.
Faustite huffed as he dragged the piece of meat known as his first husband. "You're so full of it that it's a ******** wonder you're not a s**t pile in a skin bag." He rolled his eyes to the sky, watched the clouds darken. He paid for it by stumbling over an HVAC vent that he swore had jumped into his path. "Don't ******** tease me.
"You know I've been after them both. Haven't gotten ********. Too ******** inept to get what I want anymore, Albite. Got promoted to the point where I'm ******** worthless at everything. So let's get you your ******** training — have you dodge the ******** water droplets — get soaked and I'm burning your ******** lips off."
shiningamisgirl
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 4:30 am
Oh, wow, we really are getting nostalgic up here, aren't we?
How long had it been since he'd felt whiplash quite like this -- a year ago now? Longer? The memory fresh as the moment they'd shared, tucked away in his much shittier kitchen, asking Faustite to teach him how to make tea, not because he cared to learn the craft, but because he wanted to watch his boy do something familiar and alive.
The General at the time wasn't even 'his boy' yet, they hadn't ever done more than kiss, Faustite was still just his Boss---Except that'd been a lie of the heart Waru couldn't stand to continue telling himself. So he married the man. If Faustite n him never did anything but hold hands and make tea? He would've married him, all the sex in the world some secondary afterthought that he willingly allowed a pause to be put on even if it pained him at his core. Elex was more important -- worth the Risk -- his health and wellness in all things, his scary little smiles that Waru found adorable as ********, hey, ********>" an AC unit to the shin hurt just as much when he saw it as it did when he didn't see it coming; cursing the feeling of being a waif bit of meat, easily dragged along by Faustites unbreakable grip. So much ******** stronger now, even with all the pretending in the world, Waru could feel it -- couldn't tell himself he didn't feel it. Faustites grip strength and the filthy thoughts that knowledge evoked, though it meant naught at ******** all when Waru remembered his boys mind hadn't changed nearly as much as his body had....
"Let's get some pecking in order before you have me waxing anything on or off Oh, Great Burning One---- First of all, up here? You're only title is General Husband the First -- aka Faustite -- It's not much of a promotion, but it's the only one I care about acknowledging right now. Second? You're gonna have to specify *how* you wanna burn my lips off if I fail to pull an umbrella outta my a** to stand under. Otherwise I get ideas, you don't want me getting ideas..." he wanted to point out, that to him? All of Faustites husbands were models, maybe not in a traditional sense, but? Realized it was pointless to waste his breath over, not when soon he'd find himself shouting over fresh bursts of thunder -- dry, echoing booms that set Albite hunching up closer to his love. It gave him a good excuse, didn't it? The impending threat of rain was the perfect reason to turn to Faustite and loom a bit while trying to catch his loves eyes; an overcast of dreads and wall-like stature."And third, but not least! I'm not trying to tease you, Ei. M'sorry--I just now noticed the new ring, n you've been busy, and I've been busy...." the words so much softer now, his all caps dropped from a size twenty-eight to a size seven in font, because as all over the place as he felt, and ******** did he feel it! Right now? He had a thing to focus on--a thing he could touch--could kiss--that he wanted to put new names to, like the glint of new accessories.
Sometimes he was a pile of s**t in a skinbag, sometimes? It took a lot of time to catch on and catch up. What with how he hyper-focused on one task or another, left spoons in the bed, and bedding in the kitchen, and was trying to wrap himself around the completion of ten-thousand other tasks when people were peopling all over the place! When the team went supernova the same time Faustite did, and making sure they all got pulled back in from the hundred different directions they'd ricocheted off to was enough of a chore. Hardly a chore at all, really, the people deserved to be prioritized above all else! But ******** would it've been nice to just -- not -- sometimes. If Faustites hospital stint hadn't been followed immediately by training and then immediately after that by *more* training...
Things that went well beyond training.
"I don't ever ask you what's going on in anything like a normal way, but that doesn't mean I don't wanna know," nothing about what they had was normal, Waru saw that in the Rift on the night those crystals swallowed Faustite up and spat him back out. He realized right then and there that all of two people in the world might follow Faustite wherever he went, no matter what, till death and parting and all that lay in between. He saw it in Kama, he saw it in himself. For all that the world would weep n wail on behalf of a youma who'd once been a man, Albite thought only he would stay married to one. He would never have been a widowed man, but instead a man married to someone a little more monster than some were comfortable with. He thought too, that maybe if he pushed hard enough? Kama would propose to that same slightly more monstrous version of a the person Albite thought the other Senshi saw beneath all the metal n fire..
He was grateful he'd never have to actually find out the answers to those things in real time, that it'd only ever be speculation on his part.
"That I don't wanna congratulate you for what you do have -- n'see you get what you don't have yet." these words softer still, gentler, just because direct praise got blown up and blowback didn't mean he'd stop giving it. Didn't mean he wouldn't support his boys endeavors, even if he knew too that some men, women, people? Weren't meant to wear rings. Hard facts and sharp truths of the heart to swallow, because Faustite would not always get what he wanted and it had nothing to do with the poison-barbed words he blamed himself with.
Those were something to deal with later. The sharpness pointed inwards, the way Albite viewed his own damn ring. He knew the promise it was for Faustite to give such a thing, an expression of devotion, a token of love, the protection of a General King wrapped in a slender, claiming, piece of metal, bone, mineral on a chain, or a finger, or--- Things scrimshawed, carved, and painted into life. Like Alkmene's tattoo that he'd never once asked after with any depth or detail, but saw clear as day -- it hadn't been there before -- it was there after -- it had meaning deeper n he deserved to peer into without some serious prodding. Albite let his husband do as he wished, and do who he wished, and marry whoever he wished without complaint--
So long as people were happy in their hearts? The ******** was it any of his business, except to occasionally ask for a name and a pleasant mental picture to go along with that name. Except Faustite hardly seemed happy, all the energy he'd figured was just his boy needing to get up n go and get outta doge of the underdark felt a whole ******** of a lot more raw n grating now.
Faustite doesn't seem happy---
That? That thought suddenly had his whole entire attention span.
"So--whose the new ring? How'd it happen? Details firebrand, I can jump off this building dry and listen to details at the same time--if you give 'em to me quick enough."
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:25 am
Albite was so uniquely good at scrambling Faustite's thoughts for all his obtuse mentions that he was beginning to think that Albite did it on purpose. Faustite paused in his step, whipped around incredulously, and fixed the boy with a bemused stare. "What the ******** have titles got to do with anything? You trying to say being promoted's gone to my head?" Which it well could have, but that Faustite hadn't caught it at all was deeply concerning to him —
His leg hurt, though, and he rubbed his shin while Albite blustered on, full steam. That he'd go that far — "Damn it, Albite, you horny sack of s**t…" No threat worked on him, for they were all promises of a good time.
Faustite remembered the last time he pressed someone to his grate. It was that redhead that Jet killed a while back — Umber's brother. Getting all up his a** about Umber's death, and he wouldn't accept any response that Faustite had for him as truth. He wanted that whole affair to be coldly calculated, preplanned and ready to dispose of every last ounce of his brother while expertly getting away with it. He couldn't accept that the whole thing was a ******** on all sides, that Faustite was already being punished by the fact that he was stuck under Schörl now, and there was nothing more to do for what was truly an accident. So they'd fought about it, in his office, and Faustite got enough of an upper hand to press his grate to that boy's stomach. The stench of burnt flesh didn't leave his office for a week.
He wasn't sure how Albite could see something like that as a turn-on, but it did not surprise him that the boy did. Irksome was what it was, for there was nothing, then, to curb the boy's staggering impulses.
They were back to moving again, and Albite was onto his last point. It was a reality check, for Faustite had been so sucked into his own duties and responsibilities and training that he hadn't thought about what Albite did or didn't know about his personal life. Unlike Heliodor, Albite wanted to be filled in on who to expect and how to expect them. That was one of the many responsibilities that Faustite was supposed to juggle, yet he seemed to have found ways to singularly fail all of them. It was frustrating, it left him tense, and he transferred that tension to his boy in the strength of his grip.
Thunder echoed out like the weather was disappointed in him, too. Faustite sighed to himself as he tried to gather his thoughts together, tried to think back to when they last talked and what had changed since. He unclenched his grip on Albite's hand enough to display his own rings and point to each. "Albite, Alkmene, Taenite, Heliodor." It was enough to keep his thoughts a margin clearer. "Wanted to exchange rings the night before the mission. You know, the mission." He tilted his head toward Albite, as if to say, he's been in a way ever since. But that was nothing that Faustite could solve, it seemed, and he had been trying to put it from his mind.
He had let go of Albite, and it seemed better to leave it that way. Let the boy roam and play and dodge water droplets as if that was a thing that anyone can do. Albite was right in that nothing about him was normal.
It wasn't normal to love a man on fire, but there were five who did. Nothing about his life was normal, yet they were all okay with it. They all wanted to be a part of it, as if there was something golden in all that smog that was worth being a part of, that was worth pursuing. But Faustite couldn't speak to any of that — he found it just as maddeningly perplexing as Albite's speech, even though he adored the boys and adored their love all the same.
It was strange, being two opposing ideas at once, but it was a state he had grown accustomed to over years. Nothing was changing it now; that opportunity had already passed and Heliodor was still kicking himself for it.
"It was… Hard. The whole damn thing. Only got harder afterward." Then Faustite didn't want to give any details, for all the things that the people around him didn't ask him about were the things that were worth talking about, and the things he got asked were every bad memory he wanted to squirrel away and forget about. But there was no way to explain that without sounding callous — without implying that Albite loved him and wanted everything to do with him because so much of his life was thorny and sour and only worth ogling for the shock value. Especially when he had just asked about the ring, thinking that these were only ever wholesome affairs. He didn't know that he would be getting bittersweet by the end of it.
"Talk about something else. Said you've been busy — with what?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 11:07 am
Wait what?!
Albite let the joy that overtook his face, widening eyes and widening smile be genuinely loud and big an expression as he wanted it to be! Practically vibrating where he was held, nearly missing the tension in the air for all that he easily mistook Faustite's clench of steely fingers for little more n his boys increased strength showing itself---
He'd married Helio!! FINALLY!
He wanted to cheer, caught the look on Faustites face and faltered in his crowing because something was missing, seemed all the way off in a place he couldn't quite touch upon. He felt for a moment like he should be apologizing all over again. Though this time he wasn't sure what he should be apologizing for--knew it'd come to him eventually, it always did! Until it did? He swallowed his cheering and shoved it into his need to move, to dance away now freed, tuck himself around a spike of ventilation shafts and pop back out again with a much more subdued grin---
One had become four, Heliodor gleamed on the finger of what Albite had been sure was the mans first true love, and Faustite was wed as anyone really ever could be to the boy of his dreams! Soulmates, finally paired!
So why don't you seem happy, Firebrand?
"If things ever get too hard? Don't forget I'm here---in sickness, health, eternity n'all that jazz," the offer soft and skipped out into the world without strings. A simple little reminder that he was there even if Faustite thought he wasn't. That he would always be there; to have, cherish, hold, help-- their vows had been much more than that, the things of eternity and stardust, promises laced with deadly pit-traps carved by one another's desires. Waru knew himself greedy for Faustite, liked knowing Faustite was greedy for him in turn, that they would hold each other accountable -- bodily -- for every transgression, even the accidental ones, that there would be no quarter to their love, and they would only find true peace buried in each others arms.
"Ohshit, me? Well--firstoff, Taenite proposed! I-I-honestly can't remember if I mentioned that before or not? Before feels like years ago, yanno? But he did propose, and then I made him wait! M'hoping he won't take it back now, but back then? I needed him to wait, and he did. He always surprises me...." he should've figured Faustite had true north abilities for picking boys to hand rings out to. He'd known Taenite as long as Faustite now, and only Kamacite rivaled that -- course that was just a damn years n changes worth of knowing! Some of it felt surface level, too finely polished and shiny, but Waru knew there was more beneath all that champagne lacquer n dollar signs.
"M'gonna push on Cryolite, stubborn son of a b***h has been buried in work n books. Heh, and his boyfriend, but I wanna shove him at things now that I've got the mental bandwidth to be annoying about it. Being a basic Senshi is too dangerous with everything that's going on--ohshit--I never mentioned ******** General that I got into it with! Like, months ago now? Pre-The-Missoin, and I think--uh--I think I should have you meet Aramis sometime? On fire, in person, you'd like her with her tits on --- you'd like him with'm off --- I think he's going by Mirabilite now? Gotta--gotta actually check back in on how alluvthat'sgoing...." he'd told the blue hatted, purple haired, double bladed douche of a General to take responsibility and take charge. He'd never intended for Aramis to fall into things, not like this, he was supposed to remain outside of it all!!! Then s**t had hit the literal fan -- and Albite had to admit to himself that he couldn't have one more friend in so direct a line of fire. Needed separation to a degree, even if it was just 'here take this and nurture it' -- if his best boy become girl would thrive n vibe under a different sort of leadership? All for the better, especially since he could admit how poorly of a leader he was at times....
That? And Aramis would *never* follow orders from him. What they had didn't work that way, and he couldn't have any more people under him who thought they were above him still! Not anymore, not ever again, maybe? He needed his rank more now n ever, shield and sword to fend off fresh threats -- to hold place and peace with. There was the smell of rain---he didn't see it yet--didn't hear it either, noticed only the darkening wall of what could've been water coming in from a far distance, like what he sometimes saw back home, the way it swept like torrents and took everything over clean and harsh in it's passing. He opened his mouth to the first slash of lightning, watched with all to human awe as it forked the sky some miles off, following the thunders cue.
He looked to Faustite with amusement in his eyes, finding some new piece of modern meets ancient attempts to tramp his boots all over in a poorly balanced weaving act.
"Course then there was the team---zuzu--such a daddy's girl, gonna ask the plant man to wind her down a bit n seed the idea for her hunting out an Eternal status; our girls so ******** loyal. Oh! Tell me how the office is coming along? No, wait, how much you's gonna be in this new one? You've got all these ******** talents and --- and I'd really love to see something done with Radon's claw; it'd be an amazing project piece, right? The ******** not dying anytime soon -- you could turn it into a real piece of art, instead of just something with my teethmarks in it."
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He wondered if he would ever recognize 'too hard'. What would it look like? How would he know? And if it was too hard for Faustite, would it not be so for Albite as well? Maybe not — but it would certainly spell Faustite's ineptitude. As if he needed more reminders of it.
It was galling that he didn't know what to call on Albite for, what to ask him to take on and what to keep for himself. Navigating an army was far simpler than that — it was a matter of knowing a soldier's strengths, their weaknesses, their interests and applying them in the areas where they would see the highest chance of success. It was all business until a soldier brought their feelings into the matter, and even then, enough violence would cow anyone into falling in line. But in a relationship? Faustite didn't know what to do. He certainly knew how to make eyes at his boy and delight in his company, but sharing burdens? Sharing the ghosts that long haunted him? It seemed so ill a task to foist onto anyone around him, especially someone he loved.
It was easier, then, to not respond. To make as if he never heard Albite's assurance, for what good was it if Faustite lacked the creativity to put it to use?
And when Albite obliged him and changed the subject, Faustite listened with interest when he heard that Taenite proposed. That was a curious move, though likely just as whimsical and indolent as Taenite liked to be at times. Delighting, nonetheless, that his boys were finding each other just as approachable as Faustite. Better that Albite and Taenite had more to lean on than just himself, especially when he was found wanting all too often of late.
"Congratulations," he offered, and though the words themselves were oft lacking, he leveraged that with a squeeze of Albite's hand. He always deserved more happiness, for all that he's done and all that he would do. It was easy to wish that for him, just as it was easy to wish for the death of the world. Seemed the boy had a penchant for fire.
But Albite quickly lost him in his menagerie of occurrences that ran together like a muddled stew. Then Faustite was left trying to weed through it all for a span of sense — he didn't know how a General related to Aramis, whoever that was, maybe the two were related? Faustite's brows furrowed shortly before he gave up on disentangling Albite's verbal runoff. "One thing at a time. Who's Aramis? Why should I know them?" The pronoun changes with tits that were apparently removable — Faustite didn't know how to process that, where to start or what to think of it. Maybe it was the manner in which Albite blasted through the whole damn thing.
But there was no denying that these conversations, however frustrating, were easier. Safer. There was nothing to confront but small changes to Albite's domestic life, or news that was generally good news. Then the sky opened up, of course, and Faustite was caught unawares enough that he was immediately darting for shelter beneath the flimsy overhand of a roof access point.
He huffed, and just as quickly as the weather gave way, his mood plummeted with it. Faustite glowered up at the muddy nightscape.
"Albite. Albite. ******** stop for a minute." The burning boy rubbed his temples, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by it all. Overwhelmed at the thought of Mizuki making her way to eternal, of having to meet more officers and potentially take them on, of having to describe the plans for his office and how Taenite was footing the bill for him, or the youma from the first Rift mission — he needed it to stop. All the reminders, the turning of the world, the changing of the guard.
