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richesse) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cultmirror2025-07-01 02:53 pm
richesse) wrote in cultmirror2025-07-01 02:53 pm
oo1 ✦ let’s begin.
[ There’s a whisper through the murmur, more a breath of feeling than a fully formed thought. It’s sweet, and warm, and laughing—though it is not gentle, nor kind.
A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]
Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?
[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]
You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?
What are you?
A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]
Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?
[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]
You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?
What are you?
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how awful. she’d meant to use this opportunity to dig into everyone else—not have her own feelings mined in turn. and she can’t help it—she can’t. the way he looked at her, thought of her…
there are whispers of anxiety, affection, and sharp refusal, followed swiftly by: ]
Where are you? I want to see you again. Show me where you are.
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[He leads her around the side of the building, down a set of concrete stairs, and in through a little space in one of the basement windows. One has to be awfully small to fit through.]
no subject
why is she feeling like this? for a boy she’s known for less than a day!
… then again … didn’t it feel a little like that with Ed, too?
with a purposeful stride she starts to walk, pulling up her hood as she goes. his (very literally) mental map guides her with surprising ease. he doesn’t seem to be far, which grants her a little relief. ]
You’re somewhere safe, aren’t you? [ a supposition; a hope. ]
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[He really, really wants to see her face. That's impressed through the murmur, but something else too; a soft touch of heartfelt concern - Be careful.]
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it’s not fair. it’s not. how is she supposed to remain in control of the discussion with the murmur betraying her every feeling? normally she’d be able to command this conversation. instead she feels controlled by it, deftly puppeteered by her heart—by their hearts. she can feel his too, after all. the murmur carries his steady heartbeat to her ears, and she sighs, some of the tension in her shoulders draining away.
Lortel leans forward and breaks into a light jog.
though most of her focus is on navigating this ruined city carefully, she spares a piece of mind to paint him a mental picture of her face: red red hair tumbling over her shoulder, clear green, keen, eyes, the cupid’s bow of her mouth quirking up in the tiniest smile. ]
Hide carefully. I’m coming.
no subject
[And he does as he's told. The library basement must have been used as a children's area, given the colorful murals painted on every wall, the waist-high bookshelves, tubs of games, and a corner carpet covered with pillows, all piled high up against the wall. This is where Sunny hides.
[With just one eye, he can see the window where she'll have to crawl in. His eager heart urges her to hurry.]
1/2
through the murmur, she holds onto him. impressions of fingers twined and soft breaths and warm skin. hold onto me. hold onto me, please, just a little longer. ]
no subject
[ there.
the window.
adrenaline and hope and expectation explode in her chest, a sensation so sharp and visceral her whole chest cavity aches. the anticipation is killing her.
she has to shove her jacket through, first. everything she was carrying, really, though “everything” isn’t much. she simply can’t fit through with it all at once.
then she drops in, feeling very self-conscious of her skirt catching on anything, for reasons she doesn’t want to think about.
sunny.
sunny…!
her heart screams at her to rush to him, a shrieking song of need that she knows and can’t care he will feel. a step. another step.
in just a moment she’s kneeling before him in his cocoon of pillows, and the smile on her face is so broken and gentle. ]
My Sunny.
Come here.
no subject
[My Sunny. It would make sense if the name were "Omori" instead. Everyone is always happy to see Omori, but Sunny, here, in real life (?)...
[He will be hers if that's what she wants, even if he can't pretend to know why she'd want it. He wiggles his way out of the pillows, still clinging to the way her heart begged him to hold on. He isn't sure how to touch, or where, or when, but he reaches, hands hovering just barely above where they'll touch her shoulders.
[If she wants a hug, then...he can at least give her that; gentle, the slow snaking of arms, a temple pressed against a temple.
[Hello again.]
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Lortel does not share his inhibitions. Without asking she reaches for him wholly, pulling him into her arms and settling into the pillows beside him. she’d all but forgotten her mask, a dark shimmering veil that hides half her face; all it is right now is a barrier. she unhooks it without a thought and lets it fall where it will. her lips brush his cheek; her forehead gently bumps his.
Sunny. Sunny. the boy who wants her. Sees her. needs her. Sunny.
she feels bound to him in a bone-deep way she neither understands nor can define, but for the first time since she woke up, her feeling of faint panic fades. it’s warm. they’re safe.
Lortel bites her lips together, trying, trying, but she can’t stop the murmur from hiccuping and beginning to cry in reaction to the terrified agitation of her heart; the sound is a soft susurrus in their ears, gentle as rain. ]
me also always forgetting the masks
[He tries to communicate without words, with just a look, that he understands, she's not alone anymore, he hated it too, he's glad to see her too. He thumbs away any tears from the corner of her eye.]
you understand me.
how strange.
how lovely.
Lortel turns her face into his touch, her smile shaking. though her eyes are wet, he keeps her tears from falling by brushing them away. still the murmur weeps, though the sound begins to fade.
she is just so scared, and no one can ever know. no one, except for the boy in her arms. ]
This isn’t like me at all. Still, as long as I’m here…
[ she kisses him, briefly, softly, letting him lavish her with his attention. it feels nice. receiving, without having to ask—or pay.
with a slow sigh she allows herself to relax, into him and the pillows both. her eyes scan the room, gaze flicking from this to that before returning to Sunny.]
You found a good place to hide. Will you stay here?
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[And then it's over, Sunny's heart thrumming in his chest like a motor revving up. He almost doesn't hear her question. All he can do is think about kissing her again.
[Will he stay here? He...shrugs, useless as ever, face flushed deep pink, even in the dim light. It's an alright place, he supposes, but...
[They have to wake up sometime, right?
[His hand comes down to rest on her shoulder instead, and Sunny lightly grips. He wants to ask her something, but he isn't sure what, or how. His eyebrows raise. He wants to be wherever she is. This bleeds through the murmur, intertwining with Lortel's overcome weeping. He doesn't want to be alone anymore. Neither does she.
[So, they shouldn't be. It's a dream. They don't have to be.]
1/2
then he reaches to her through the murmur, and she blushes even harder, startled.
… ]
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[ a smile, gentle.
she’s not scared he’ll say no. ]
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[He has no reason not to trust her. She hasn't led him astray yet.
[He nods his head, hand still resting lightly on her shoulder.]
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it is a good hiding place. useful. a plan has already put itself together in her mind.
… but she fwumps back onto the pillows and stares at the ceiling, instead, wondering where her motivation is. she suddenly feels exhausted, which she realizes after a moment is because this is the first time she’s begun to relax since the dream started. ]
… good, [ she instead smiles, folding her arms over her middle and shutting her eyes. ] Then, soon. For now, can we just … stay here?
feel free to wrap or continue ; v ;
[He...raises an arm to put just behind her head, just in case she wants it. It could rest around her shoulders. It would come so close to holding her, but of course, he couldn't be so presumptuous...
[At any rate, yes. Yes, they can stay here. They should. They should close their eyes. They should sleep while they can...]
WEHS I WANT … MORE THREADS …
is … he piling pillows on top of her? this is what she thinks after the second, and the third confirms it. she just watches him with wide, sparkling eyes.
…
surprise. heat. intense affection, with a hint of allure.
he’s so sweet to her.
she’ll take that arm without compunction. she wants to be held. tells him so, though through the murmur only, too embarrassed to fully give the desire voice. she leans in and kisses his cheek before curling up there with him.
a little sleep… wouldn’t hurt. ]