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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 30, 2021 12:21:40 GMT -5
L believed in this. He believed in them completely, he believed they would succeed, that the world wasn’t as impossible as it seemed. Countless possibilities pushed at his mind, things that could go wrong, things that could happen. Two people rather than one meant the chances for catastrophe were doubled. The fact that this was the House meant it was even higher. L looked into Orpheus’ eyes, and he felt his hand resting intertwined with Orpheus’ and he smiled. And for once in his life he ignored the chances that this could go wrong. He ignored the statistics. And he let himself believe in Orpheus’ words instead, he let his heart decide rather than his head. “I believe you.” He said it so softly, his voice almost escaping entirely. “I trust you.” He nodded just a little bit. “Well….” he amended after a moment. “They do in stories. I’ve never personally seen a ghost. I have no proof they exist. So, I suppose you know more than I do.” He didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know how this was going to go, or what was possible. They’d figure it out. He knew they would, he was so sure. He couldn’t stop looking at Orpheus, and he didn’t try. They had this, they had this time, this moment, no matter what happened, ans once again L found himself memorizing every inch of Orpheus’ face, every detail he’d memorized already over the years he had known him. Just in case…. “Okay,” he whispered back. Hand in hand. “We’ll make it work. We will.” He agreed, his voice soft. “Whatever comes, whatever is thrown at us, we’ll be together. I trust you. I know it’ll be okay.” Two people stretching a hand out across thousands of years. And somehow...somehow, they had reached each other. If that was possible, why shouldn’t L believe in Orpheus? Why shouldn’t be believe this would work?
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 30, 2021 15:03:21 GMT -5
“If there are ghosts, then,” Orpheus whispered, a small smile pulling at his face, “and if we’re from the same world, I’ll be there. Just wait for me, love.” Orpheus threaded the fingers of his free hand through L’s hair, relishing the peace of the moment. Relishing what they got to share, everything about being together. The blink had been… Orpheus didn’t have the words to describe it, which wasn’t a feeling he was used to. It had started out nice, and then it had completely flip flopped, but… never in a million years would Orpheus have imagined it ending here, like this. L’s head on his lap, their fingers intertwined, talking about something they had both tried to ignore for countless blinks. Or… perhaps not countless. L undoubtedly knew how many blinks he had loved Orpheus for. It was just Orpheus who didn’t know. “It’ll be-” the House pulled him out before he could finish his thought. - Orpheus blinked in again, his lyre on his lap this time as he absentmindedly plucked at a string. He reached down to write something down, only to find that his parchment had disappeared. Ah. That would also explain the sound. He ducked out of the way just in time as the tip of his sword went flying, very nearly severing one of the strings of the instrument. He heard a muffled ‘sorry,’ but didn’t deign to respond. At least the string hadn’t been broken. It would be a pain to find the proper materials to replace it. Especially because he wanted to keep working on his song, and he needed to keep his train of thought. Of course… most of his train of thought was just L. A side effect, he supposed, of having your love reciprocated. Fortunately, it worked for the song he was trying to write. Orpheus tried to filter out the friendly taunts and jeers, moving back a few feet to the corner of the room where he probably wouldn’t be disturbed by the sparring. Probably.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 30, 2021 15:14:05 GMT -5
When L blinked out, at the same moment Orpheus had, he went back to his own world and tried to work. He hadn’t succeeded. His mind wouldn’t cooperate. Eventually, he had instead talked to Watari for hours, told him everything he could remember, everything he hadn’t spoken of, down to the number of blinks he’d had since falling in love. It had felt good to finally speak of it. To make it real, in a way, even in his own world. And Watari had known of Orpheus, had known what a close relationship the two of them had, he just hadn’t known exactly how L felt. That was then. Now, when he blinked in, his eyes were closed, his expression peaceful. He lay as though he’d been crouching and fallen over, his arms splayed awkwardly under him, his legs folded towards his chest. His hair had fallen in his eyes , mostly covering them, and he was breathing steadily. He didn’t immediately wake at the sounds of thumps and quips tossed back and forth. He lay on the floor, unaware of where he was now.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 30, 2021 18:21:36 GMT -5
Orpheus saw L almost immediately, eyes narrowing just a bit at the sparring duo. If they got too close to L… he frowned, picking up his lyre and softly picking his way over to L. He sat in front of him, a human shield from the chaos of the sparring. L asleep wasn’t a sight he had seen often. He knew if L knew where he was, he wouldn’t want to be asleep, but Orpheus also knew how important it was for him to be able to. He needed as much rest as he could get. “Shh!” he hissed at Nico and Kelsier, eyes narrowing just a bit as they came too close. Very carefully, he picked up his lyre and began to play softly, hoping to drown out the sound of the fight. The notes were gentle and calming, and he dared not add his voice to the mix. Anything too harsh might wake L, and that was the exact opposite of what Orpheus wanted. Although… the others in the room were making it seem more and more unlikely that he would get what he wanted. The boy – Nico, if Orpheus remembered right – let out a triumphant cry as his sword (hopefully blunted for the purpose, but Orpheus couldn’t tell) struck Kelsier’s back.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 30, 2021 18:48:57 GMT -5
It wasn’t clear whether L would have woken up on his own or not. Sleeping was rare for him to begin with, and the amount of time he spent doing it was unreliable, anywhere from an hour to over a day. Some would have said he actually slept a normal amount, just in extremely strange ways and times. Others would have said he really shouldn’t still be functioning with how little he slept. Him? He’d never bothered to calculate whether the time he slept was anywhere near other people’s. He was usually aware of how long he’d gone without sleeping, and he technically knew that it wasn’t common, but there just didn’t seem to be a link in his mind between the two. If someone suggested he try to sleep like the rest of the majority of the human race, he would have stared at them for a full minute and then gone back to work. A cry cut through the air and suddenly he was awake and scrambling up, his eyes wide, his breath catching as he stared wildly around, his messy hair falling in his eyes as he tried to place where he was. He was too disoriented to immediately place his location and he didn’t see Orpheus immediately, didn’t see Kelsier as the Mistborn yelped and spun away. His brain was searching for danger before he was even fully awake.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 30, 2021 20:02:00 GMT -5
“Hey,” Orpheus murmured, gently reaching for L’s hand, trying to ground him and pull him back to where they were. There was no danger here, at least not now. Well… at least not for them. Orpheus couldn’t speak for Nico and Kelsier, they might be in danger very soon if they didn’t stop sparring and at the very least apologize. “Hey, love,” Orpheus said again, looking up and offering L a small smile. He’d be on his feet with L, if he had somewhere he felt safe putting the lyre. Or… guitar. Whatever it looked like to the others. He shook the thought away, focusing entirely on L. “You’re safe here,” he added, finally deciding to cast the lyre aside and stand up so he could be nearer to L. “You haven’t been here long,” he continued, knowing L would at least take comfort in that. “You blinked in about a minute or two ago. I was going to let you sleep, only…” he gestured at Nico and Kelsier, his frustration evident in the sharpness of his movement. A rare display, from Orpheus. If anything, it seemed Nico and Kelsier were only getting louder. Orpheus could hear Nico laugh – as annoyed as he was with them, he knew that was a rare sound – as he pushed after Kelsier, the two of them coming just a little too close for comfort, especially given that L was bound to still be at least a little bit disoriented.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 30, 2021 23:02:55 GMT -5
It was Orpheus’ voice that calmed L almost immediately. He looked down at the feeling of the other blinker’s hand slipping into his, and he took a breath, recognizing the living room enough to stop the panic from getting too far. He looked at Orpheus for a moment, meeting the other person’s eyes, the fear in his own bleeding away. As much as it had startled him, he was please to be back and even more pleased to be back with Orpheus. The House wasn’t planning on forcing them apart the moment they finally confessed, it seemed. He was unexpectedly grateful towards it. Orpheus was right, he was comforted to know it hadn’t been long. Sleeping was such a vulnerable position, and as grateful as he was to be here, he still would have preferred blinking in awake. At least Orpheus had been there. He would have hated to be in this position alone, even if he sort of knew the boy. Nico, was it? He didn’t know the man at all, but they seemed to be having a good time. If almost murdering each other counted as a good time, anyway. Which, judging by the grins on both their faces, it did. He flinched a little as they came too close and stepped back, still half in his dream. “It’s probably best I woke up.” He murmured, glancing sideways at Orpheus. “It’s not safe to sleep in the House. Even in the living room.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 31, 2021 2:36:45 GMT -5
Orpheus relaxed a little bit as he saw the panic bleed from L’s expression. Good. At least he knew where he was, at least he knew he was relatively safe. Orpheus sent another glare in Kelsier and Nico’s direction. Both of them ought to have known how terrible it was to be woken up by a sharp cry. It meant danger far more often than not, even Orpheus knew that. He’d been rudely awaked on the Argo more times than he could count, and for the most part it was because there was danger. Waking up fearing danger… that often made sleep feel far less restful than it actually had been. How dare they? L didn’t get enough sleep as it was. He clicked his tongue, very lightly squeezing L’s hand. “It’s safer when you have someone watching you,” Orpheus retorted, his voice as gentle as ever. “You would have been perfectly safe with me watching you, even in the living room.” He didn’t consider the possibility of blinking out and leaving L vulnerable. He had only just blinked in, and the House tended to draw blinks out more often than not instead of just having them stay for a second or two. At least… that was Orpheus’ experience. Nico and Kelsier hadn’t even seemed to notice what they had done. Orpheus scowled, the expression seemingly harsher on his face, if only because it was so unlike the expressions he wore most often. Determined, Orpheus picked up the lyre and strummed a chord loud and discordant enough to get even Kelsier and Nico’s attention (hopefully without putting L on edge). “You,” he said, crossing his arms and glaring at them both. He was incredibly unpracticed in glares, it probably wasn’t as intimidating as he had hoped it would be. “Apologize for waking him up.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 31, 2021 14:47:28 GMT -5
L would have woken up fearing danger even if he’d been woken up gently. To be shocked out of sleep by a sharp cry meant he’d been close to panic, awake before he knew where he was. It was alright now, though. He knew where he was and he wasn’t in danger, at least, not much. Not more than was usual for the House. He gave a tiny smile as Orpheus squeezed his hand and glared at the other two blinkers, an unusual expression for him. Nico and Kelsier didn’t seem to be paying attention, but still, the thought made L feel warm. “Mmm...perhaps.” The detective admitted, glancing at Orpheus. “As long as you didn’t blink out.” He had, of course, thought of that possibility. “I wonder whether the House would have let you stay if I had stayed asleep? It might have decided it would be amusing to let you see me and then blink you out before you could do anything about it.” He was grateful that that hadn’t happened. If Nico or Kelsier had come close enough to wake him up and Orpheus hadn’t been there to calm him? Things might have gone a lot worse. As in, someone might have gotten kicked in the face. The other two blinkers seemed completely absorbed in their match, the Mistborn dancing backward and shooting up into the air, kicking off walls and coming at the demigod at all angles. He was surprised, then, when the chord Orpheus played managed to throw Kelsier off enough that he missed Nico entirely and had to skid to a stop when he landed, barely catching his balance. “What?” Kelsier’s tone was surprised, as though he really hadn’t noticed what they’d done. He looked at the two of them for a moment, his expression surprised as he noticed Orpheus’ glare. It seemed even he realized how rare that was for him. L just stood there, holding Orpheus’ hand and waiting to see what would happen. He wasn’t overly invested in the result, but he did fully expect Orpheus to be able to convince them to apologize and the thought made him smile a little to himself. He wasn’t wrong. The other man shifted uncomfortably under Orpheus’ stare, then pointed at Nico. “Technically it’s his fault.” He pointed out, rather childishly, L thought. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 31, 2021 15:45:43 GMT -5
Orpheus frowned a little bit at that possibility. He hadn’t actually considered that he might have blinked out, leaving L alone. Still… it hadn’t happened, though Orpheus would be more careful of that next time L blinked in sleeping. It hadn’t happened very often, so Orpheus didn’t anticipate having to deal with it in the near future. Still… L deserved sleep. He deserved the chance to rest and be comfortable, the chance to exist somewhere safe where someone was watching over him so he could rest his eyes for a bit. Orpheus would never understand the draw of sparring. It looked terribly unpleasant to be attacked, even by someone you cared about. Perhaps that was just because he never really had to fight in his world. He’d been taught some self defense by L, of course, but… he couldn’t imagine spending most of his time with L sparring. He would much prefer to spend his time talking and learning even more about L. Even if he knew him better now than anyone in any world except perhaps Watari. He was grateful that his discordant sound had at least broken up the fight, even if Nico looked rather crestfallen about it. He kept his hands crossed over his chest, the lyre hanging limply from his fingertips. One eyebrow raised as he heard Kelsier’s excuse, then saw the way Nico elbowed Kelsier. “Sorry,” Nico echoed sheepishly, giving a shy smile. He didn’t know Orpheus well at all, but he did know that L didn’t sleep very often. He hadn’t really seen him there, he’d been too preoccupied by the fact Kelsier was attacking him. “I didn’t see you there,” he admitted, then added something quiet in a language Orpheus didn’t understand, which seemed to be some sort of dig at Kelsier. They were probably gonna start sparring again soon. Orpheus rolled his eyes, looking at L and tilting his head towards the hallway. Part of him wanted to put both Kelsier and Nico to sleep – and he knew he could, he had done it before to others with his music – but he wasn’t sure if L cared that much. Perhaps he could broach the subject once they were both in the hallway. He couldn’t deny that the thought seemed the smallest bit satisfying, though.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 31, 2021 17:06:01 GMT -5
L wasn’t sure whether he deserved sleep, he just knew he didn’t tend to get it. He didn’t seem to blink in asleep often enough for it to be a concern, though, so he wasn’t too worried about it in general, and he figured next time he would be woken up anyway, just in case. Unless the House decided to blink him in asleep without Orpheus. Which was possible. He hoped it wouldn’t do that. He wasn’t sure he couldn’t understand why they sparred, since he had learned much of what he knew of martial arts through practice, and wasn’t that all sparring really was? Still...he couldn’t quite imagine sparring with Orpheus. The idea didn’t quite work in his brain. It just wasn’t how they tended to interact, he supposed. He wouldn’t change a thing about how they interacted. He wouldn’t change a thing about their relationship. He raised his eyebrows at Nico’s expression. So he really had been having fun, then. A glance at Kelsier told him the older man had been, too, as he looked equally sad to have been interrupted. Well...they should have been more careful, then. “Apology accepted,” he said simply, tilting his head a little before narrowing his eyes at Kelsier. “Although...there’s no proof which one of you actually woke me up. Technically, it could have been either or both of you.” He didn’t see any reason for Kelsier to go pointing fingers like that. He glanced at Orpheus again at the same time Kelsier muttered some sort of reply, a sly grin coming over his hawk-like features. L nodded a little and turned, heading for the hallway, keeping close to the walls. He was glad he had a moment later as Kelsier attacked Nico, then spun away, clearly expecting to be attacked in return. He had to admit, it was good to hear Nico laugh, however he felt about being woken up that way, He glanced sideways at Orpheus once they reached the hall, head tilted and eyebrows raised. “I know little about Kelsier.” He said after a moment. “But I do know he doesn’t often apologize.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 31, 2021 17:22:33 GMT -5
The closest Orpheus had ever come to sparring with anyone was, admittedly, with L, when L had been teaching him a little bit of self defense. That had been entirely for learning purposes, however, and it wasn’t as though L had attacked him unannounced. That seemed to be par for the course for Kelsier and Nico’s sparring. Well.. whatever suited them, Orpheus supposed, though he couldn’t imagine himself partaking in the same activity. He had to hide his smile when L called Kelsier out for pointing fingers. It had, admittedly, been Nico’s cry that had woken L up, but Orpheus was the only one who had seen it happen, and therefore the only one who knew for sure. He wasn’t about to comment, however, especially as it seemed to add to the friendly competition they’d fostered during their match. It didn’t’ take long to make it to the hallway, and Orpheus had to admit, he was grateful for the relative quiet it afforded. He could still hear the sounds of sparring, but it was at least quiet enough that he could talk to L without worrying about his words being lost. “You’d be correct,” Orpheus replied, a ghost of a smile touching his ace. “Although I would say you undoubtedly deserved an apology for how rudely you were awoken.” He squeezed L’s hand gently once more, bumping him lightly with his shoulder. “Now that you’re awake,” he mused, glancing between the doors, “Should we choose a room, or should we see what happens the further we go down the hallway?” He had never tried to walk to the end. He figured it was probably endless, and thus both a boring and fruitless task. With L, though, it was difficult to imagine anything could be boring. They hd risked a room last time, and while Orpheus would generally have preferred to stay in the living room to have a bit of a break from the terrors of the House, that option wasn’t exactly open to them. He sighed, shifting his lyre to a more comfortable position on his back.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 31, 2021 17:45:34 GMT -5
L hadn’t intended to add to the competition, but it seemed that was all his words had done. That was okay, though, he wasn’t too concerned about it. They seemed to be having fun, and L couldn’t begrudge them that. Even if it wasn’t how he would have chosen to spend his time, and he had a hard time imagining why they would. He didn’t know who had woken him up. He didn’t think Kelsier did, either. Did Orpheus? If he did, he wasn’t telling. He watched Orpheus, smiling just a little at his words, and the feeling of their shoulders touching for a moment. “I suppose so.” He agreed thoughtfully. “Still, I’m surprised to have received one.” He hadn’t expected to get one, especially not from Kelsier, but he was grateful nonetheless that Orpheus had been so indignant at his treatment. L let himself bask in the feeling his their hands intertwined for a long moment, letting the troubles of his own world fade to the back of his brain for the moment. He was in the House, and he’d never been so glad to be there as he was then. “Mmm…” he considered the question, looking at the doors, then standing on his toes to try and see as far down the hall as he could, actually mostly straightening out his back for once, if only for a moment before he lowered himself back to his usual terrible posture. “We could walk for a bit, then choose a door.” He suggested. “The further we go, the less likely it is that that particular door will have been chosen before. Not that it probably matters, really, since rooms don’t seem to depend on doors, but…” he shrugged, more rambling than talking about anything in particular. Orpheus had a way of making him do that. Maybe it was just that he actually listened to the detective, even when his life didn’t depend on it.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 31, 2021 18:57:29 GMT -5
“You deserved one,” Orpheus said again, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. L had deserved an apology, so Orpheus had made Kelsier give him one. It didn’t seem like an option for Kelsier to refuse. Even if he knew it was unlikely Kelsier would have given the apology unprompted. He likely wouldn’t have even noticed he’d woken L up if Orpheus hadn’t pointed it out. Would Nico have noticed? Considering how focused they were on their fight… Orpheus figured the answer to that was probably no. Normally Orpheus would have asked L what was happening in his world, but for this blink it didn’t seemed to matter. They could be together how they both wanted to be for the first time, and nothing going on in either of their worlds was going to change that. And if something made L take a break from his work… who was Orpheus to question it? “That sounds nice,” Orpheus murmured, a small smile pulling at their features. They would never be able to have a long walk through fields of flowers without worrying that something was going to attack them. They were never going to be able to walk hand in hand through city streets, pointing at shops they might want to venture into. A walk down the hallway seemed like the closest they were ever likely to get. At least… while both of their hearts still beat. As far as Orpheus knew, nobody had ever been attacked in the hallway. The House let them have the hallway just like it let them have the living room, though the hallway was more a transient place than the living room was. “Maybe if we go far enough,” Orpheus replied softly, “We’ll reach a door nobody’s ever chosen. And maybe the House will be kind to us, having traversed that far.” He knew there wasn’t really a correlation between doors and rooms, but… he could hope. He could hope that maybe this time, the House would let them have something nice. Something that wasn’t quite as dangerous.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 31, 2021 20:10:50 GMT -5
L shook his head a little, but he didn’t argue. Just because you deserved an apology, didn’t mean you always got one. Orpheus knew that, too. Maybe that was why he’d been so insistent L receive one this time, when it could be accomplished. He smiled a little, pleased regardless of the reason. It was nice, not thinking about their worlds for a bit. Just existing together, the way they’d both wanted to for so long, the way they hadn’t been able to until now. The House was being unusually kind to them, L thought, allowing them this happiness, this fragile thing they dared own. How long it would last, he couldn’t say, but he found himself not thinking of the future at all, only of the present. Having this in the House meant that they didn’t get all the things they might have otherwise, but maybe that was okay, maybe it was okay that this walk down the hallway together was the most peace they were likely to get. Maybe it was okay that this was never going to be normal. What was normal, anyway? Of all the things L had been called in his life, that term had never been one of them. Why should they try for some nebulous concept no one ever achieved when it was so much easeir to simply be together and have whatever this was instead? He looked at Orpheus as the other blinker spoke. And he couldn’t have hidden his smile even if he’d wanted to. Which he didn’t. The only ones who could see him here were Orpheus and the House itself, and the House didn’t count. It could see in his head. “Maybe.” He agreed, thoughtful. “It’s been strangely kind lately. Aside from the part where it killed me, anyway. Still, I would say my temporary death was worth it, in the end.” He smiled a little, squeezing Orpheus’ hand a tiny bit as they walked. The noise of sparring faded to nothing behind them, and L was no longer thinking of anyone but them. “I wonder if it ever reuses rooms for people who haven’t been in them yet.” He thought out loud, tilting his head. “It reuses the Lodge a lot, after all. I know Arlo is the oldest blinker we know of, but...still, it seems possible that there were many blinkers before her. Could it blink people in bunches? Or do they filter in and out? Was there a time when the House didn’t know how to make rooms? Were there people brought here accidentally at first?” Yes, Orpheus definitely had a tendency to make L ramble. These were all things he thought about all the time, this was how his thought process worked, but he didn’t usually voice it.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 1, 2021 0:16:58 GMT -5
Orpheus knew that whatever happened, they were going to make this okay. It wasn’t ideal, and he knew that, and he knew he would always want the chance to be with L without having to fear death or worse at every turn, but… he was grateful for what they had. Not to the House, exactly, because the House had done as much to tear them apart as it had to bring them together, but… for whatever force in the universe had pulled them together and tied the knot between them. Perhaps that invisible force was just… the power of two souls who needed to find each other. Who saw through the loneliness of their worlds and knew that there was someone else reaching out. They’d gotten very lucky to meet each other, but he wouldn’t contribute that luck to the House. “I suppose the fact it’s been nice lately means we should probably be getting ready for it to switch on us very quickly,” Orpheus mused, though he didn’t like that thought much. If he had known the saying ‘knock on wood,’ he might have chosen one of the doors they were passing to knock on. Which, technically, could have created a whole host of other problems. “I would rather you not have died,” he added after a long moment, shaking his head. He wouldn’t attribute his confession to L’s death. Yes, perhaps he would never have met Elpis if L hadn’t died, but that didn’t make his death worth it. Not when he didn’t know if L’s body had fully recovered from it, not when he didn’t know for sure L wouldn’t have dreams of dying that way again. Not when there was a possibility that he would die again if he didn’t tell Orpheus about the danger. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, instead choosing to listen to L as he rambled. It was interesting to him, the pattern of thoughts that ran through L’s head. He knew it was a constant internal monologue, he knew that very few people were privileged to actually hear it out loud. It was, in a way, proof of how much smarter L was than Orpheus. The things he considered… they were thoughts Orpheus would never have considered in thousands of years. The reminder of L’s intelligence pulled a smile onto Orpheus’ face. This was the man he loved, the man who somehow loved him back, who had these sorts of brilliant ideas. How had he been foolish enough to fall for Orpheus? Orpheus would consider it luck, for now. “Before is a relative concept here,” Orpheus murmured, considering. “I mean… when I first blinked in, nobody knew where we were. Do we have proof that Arlo blinked in before all of us blinked in that once? It’s possible years in the House stretched between my first blink and when I met you, right?” There was something about hearing L’s thought process that made his own mind wander down paths it would otherwise never have tread.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 1, 2021 0:45:39 GMT -5
L trusted Orpheus. He trusted him, he trusted him that it would be okay, even if L himself would never have believed it on his own. He would never have trusted this could be okay without Orpheus’ word. But he believed in Orpheus, more than anyone or anything. And if he said they would make it work, then they would. Were they lucky? Had the House somehow brought them together on purpose? He shook his head a little. He didn’t think this had been planned, somehow, though he couldn’t pinpoint why exactly. Maybe he just thought that it would have been difficult to predict. “Yes, exactly.” He agreed, pleased that Orpheus had understood his meaning. He may have started influencing the other blinker just a little bit, it seemed. “The longer it’s nice to us, the more likely it is that it’ll hurt us somehow. It’s sort of like when you flip a coin. The first time it’s equally likely to be either heads or tails, but the more times it’s heads, the more improbable it is to stay that way.” That was how it looked in his head, anyway. He hesitated, glancing at Orpheus, his expression shifting to something a little more serious. “I would rather I not have died, too.” He replied quietly. “It was unpleasant.” He didn’t mention he had already had nightmares of that death. Of walking along, as they were now, and suddenly finding he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t mention how hard it had been to convince himself he had enough air afterwards. He could have. But he didn’t. He would rather focus on his theories of the House, anyway. L would never have said he was smarter than Orpheus. He would never consider this proof of any such thing, and he would have chided Orpheus if he could have read his mind. But he couldn’t, so he just kept thinking about the House instead. He nodded, eager as Orpheus expanded on his thoughts. “Yes, that’s a good point.” He mused, tapping his fingers on his legs as he walked. He didn’t intend for it to mean anything, but sometimes he found himself tapping his thoughts out without intending to. “But then, we seem to experience time in some sort of normal fashion while we’re here. So, if someone is always here...how does time pass in the House as opposed to our worlds? I know that time between worlds is different (though, our two seem to be relatively in sync?) but I don’t hear people mentioning time in the House as much. If you were really before Arlo...but I met Arlo before your first blink…” he frowned a little. “But then, I don’t know that.” He amended. “Having not met you yet. If there is always someone here and they all experience time the same way, then it had to move through time in some sort of linear fashion, correct? And, if no one is in the House, it might not exist then.” He took a breath, finally. “It depends on whether this is the House or whether this is one of the House’s creations.” He decided, looking at Orpheus, a serious look in his dark eyes.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 1, 2021 1:18:50 GMT -5
“I’m not sure the House always follows that rule,” Orpheus admitted, frowning a little bit. “Comparing it to a coin implies that… well… it implies that in the long run it does good things about the same amount of times as it does bad. But if that were the case… if that were the case then I wouldn’t still be fighting to make it even, would I?” He gave a small smile, squeezing L’s hand. He didn’t have as much practice thinking along those lines, but he certainly got more practice when he was with L. He would never be as good at it as L was, just as L would likely never be as good at music as Orpheus was. It was hard to beat an entire lifetime of practice at something. Especially when that something came easily to the person you were comparing yourself to, and not to yourself. He fell silent as L spoke of his death. He would never know about the dreams unless L told him, but he still… hated the idea of L dying. Hated the thought of what that could do to him, even if it hadn’t been permanent. “Sometimes,” he tapped on L’s wrist, not wanting to say it out loud for fear the House would hear it and take him immediately up on it, “I wish that I would die instead of you. To spare you the pain of it. You’ve died… you’ve died so many times. I can’t imagine what even one death does, let alone three, and if… if I could take any of that burden, I would.” He was silent for several long seconds as he tapped, well aware it was complicated enough that getting the whole message across was going to take perhaps a little bit longer than he had anticipated. He knew L wouldn’t appreciate the words, but that didn’t change the fact that they were true. Orpheus would suffer a thousand lifetimes of pain just to save L a few minutes of it. Perhaps that was part of love. Perhaps it was just knowing that L’s world wasn’t fair, and even though Orpheus’ wasn’t any more fair, he was at least safer in his than L was. His gaze drifted down to L’s leg, smiling a bit at the thought fragments he saw tapped there. He had the same habit. Little bits of thoughts that slipped free without him even thinking about it. “I’ve always found it interesting that our worlds line up more than most others seem to,” he admitted, giving a tiny shrug. Even if their seasons didn’t always line up, even if Orpheus’ calendar was very different from L’s, they seemed to age at about the same rate. Orpheus couldn’t say the same for most of the blinkers he met. Either they hadn’t aged at all in the three and a half years he’d been blinking in, or they’d aged far more quickly than he had. “I’m grateful for it,” he added quietly, glancing down at their clasped hands. It certainly made their relationship easier when neither had to worry too much about the other experiencing things over a very different time scale. “What do you mean by that?” Orpheus asked after a moment, one brow raising. “That… we might not be in the House, but instead something the House created?”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 1, 2021 2:24:56 GMT -5
“Mm….” L had to admit that was a good point. He supposed it wasn’t like a coin, then, though the could still see the resemblance in certain ways. “A weighted coin, then.” He suggested. “The chances are always higher that it will be bad. But the more it lands on one side, the better the chances of it landing on the other side” He liked being able to just talk sometimes. Orpheus was easy to talk to, easier than pretty much anyone else he’d ever met. He was grateful to him, so grateful to him for everything he’d done, for everything he was and continued to be even after everything he had been through. His eyes widened as he felt the words on his skin, and he looked sharply at Orpheus his expression startled. He hadn’t see that coming at all, though he supposed now he should have. Of course Orpheus would want to take this weight for himself, of course he would want to make it easier. That was who he was, and L loved him for it even if he didn’t like the implication this time. “Do you remember when I told you about the first arena room?” He tapped back, gentle but firm, his expression serious. “When I told you what Myrnin did? He did it to stop others from becoming killers, but I think he didn’t quite think it through.” He didn’t want to continue, almost, but he did anyway. It was a good thing they were very good at this code by now. “My death there haunted me. It still does, in dreams. When I died in our last room, I thought of it. It was...similar. The House seems to enjoy depriving me of air.” The words weren’t as bitter as they could have been. They were blunt, matter-of-fact. “The point is...dying, even temporarily, changes you. It stays with you. You were there for the second arena room. There, it was different, because I didn’t know it was coming and didn’t have time to dread it. But it still shook me. It made me feel fragile.” He met Orpheus’ eyes. “The point is I would never want that to happen to you.” He tapped gently. “I would rather die a thousand more times in a thousand more ways, than have you experience death even once.” He shook his head a little. He hadn’t intended to say all that, but...well. Orpheus had said his part and L couldn’t just accept that, he couldn’t just leave it be. “Me too,” he agreed out loud, brightening a little at the lighter topic. “I wonder why that is? The House might just find us entertaining enough to keep us aging at a similar rate.” He wasn’t sure he had quite as many theories about that one as he had about someone the others. He paused, considering a moment, then nodding. “That’s exactly what I mean.” He told him, raising a finger, “it could be that this is just a place the House has the power to create. In which case, this place might not exist at all when there are no blinkers in it. It also means that if this place were destroyed somehow, the being or beings might survive.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 1, 2021 2:43:36 GMT -5
“A weighted coin?” Orpheus asked, unfamiliar with the concept. Perhaps it was because he’d never really thought about coin construction before, or perhaps because he’d never played any sort of game that required coins to land a certain way. He didn’t actually know it was even possible to weight a coin. If it were, though… he supposed it was a decent enough analogy. “If only the House were as easy to balance as a coin like that,” he murmured, glancing down at their hands and giving L’s a light squeeze. It was a reminder that he was there, that they were together, that… that they had nothing to be afraid of right now. That as long as they were together, they could make it very difficult for anything – even the House – to tear the two of them apart. He swallowed, holding L’s gaze for a very long time. He only looked way to make sure they were walking in a straight line, to make sure they weren’t likely to run into a wall. He felt L’s words, the gentle tapping of L’s finger on his skin. It wasn’t the sort of answer he wanted, but it was the only sort of answer he imagined L capable of giving. Because as much as others claimed that L didn’t care, Orpheus knew he cared more deeply than most others could ever imagine. He was selfless in ways others didn’t recognize. He didn’t hurt others, he put himself in the line of danger when he had to, even when the line of danger was invisible and others thought he was hiding. L was braver than anyone gave him credit for. “All I wish,” Orpheus tapped back, his own touch gentle but consistent, “Is to be able to take some of the load from your shoulders. If that means dying for you, then I’ll do it. If it means helping you with cases, if it means reminding you that you’re safe here, if it means lying if someone from your world ever appears here, if it means taking on the House and telling it that I won’t back down, that you’re worth too much to back down for…” his finger rested on L’s wrist for a very long moment as he tried to figure out how to end his thought. “If that’s what I have to do, I’ll do it. Anything, love. Anything to take the weight from you.” Orpheus glanced up at the hallway, gaze catching on some of the doors. He had once thought them all identical, but he could tell now that they weren’t. The wood had different knots, it varied in color slightly… the doorknobs were just a little bit different, too. How had he never noticed? “I hope it keeps us blinking in at the same rate,” he admitted softly, a small smile pulling at his lips. It wasn’t as bold as many of his smiles – this one was reserved just for L. “Beings,” Orpheus echoed, tilting his head ever so slightly. “You think there’s more than one being behind this?” It wasn’t a possibility Orpheus had ever considered before, but he supposed it was possible. He wondered if they would ever find out. Something told him that if they ever did, it would signal the very end. And the end meant not seeing L anymore… he could handle the mystery as long as there was hope of still seeing L at least occasionally when he blinked.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 2, 2021 16:21:05 GMT -5
“If only.” L agreed quietly. A weighted coin. An unfair game. Yes, he knew the House was like that, he knew the House didn’t follow their rules. Orpheus had promised to make it even. And L had believed him, believed him for so long. Since their early blinks, he had chosen to believe in him, to take that risk. He hadn’t yet come to regret it even once. He felt Orpheus’ hand squeeze his just a little and he smiled, basking in the moment. They were safe, they were together, and L never wanted to blink out again. He meant what he’s said. He meant the words he’d tapped out, the words he’d said. He didn’t look away from the other blinker, his expression serious, his gaze unblinking. He wanted to tell him that he meant it. That he would rather die a thousand more times than see Orpheus die even once, but he knew Orpheus already believed him, he knew he didn’t have to convince him. So he just watched instead. Listened as Orpheus spoke. He didn’t doubt what he said. He knew Orpheus meant it, he knew Orpheus would do all that and more, and how could he tell him not to? How could he explain that he wanted more than anything to keep Orpheus safe, at any cost to himself? He hesitated, watching him, trying to think what to say, his finger resting against Orpheus’ skin as he thought. “You’ve already done so much,” he managed at last, his touch light. “You’ve done so much for me. You can’t possibly know how much I owe you.” He followed the other person’s gaze to the hall, to the endless doors and the gentle light and the stained green carpet. “Interesting that there are stains, even here.” He mused. “Does that indicate that something happened here? Or is the carpet just stained by default?” He shook his head a little, unsure. Not that it probably mattered. Still, it was interesting. He looked up, meeting Orpheus’ eyes as he considered the question. “No.” He answered, shaking his head a little. “But I do think it’s possible. I think there is a lot we don’t know and making any assumptions is very dangerous, so I try not to do it. There’s no proof that there’s more than one being, but there’s also no proof that there isn’t, so it’s best not to assume.” He shrugged a little. “It could be either way.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 2, 2021 17:23:43 GMT -5
Orpheus gave a tiny smile, allowing himself to bask in the feeling of being with L, in the feeling of existing in the same space, of having this time even though logic would have decreed it impossible. They were from very different times, possibly from different worlds, but here they were, holding hands. Both of them sharing something they had never expected. L had never expected such a feeling to happen to him, and Orpheus had never imagined he’d be lucky enough to feel it twice. And yet. And yet they defied logic, defied even Orpheus’ wildest hopes. What they had… it couldn’t be explained. Perhaps that was part of what Orpheus loved so much about it. The truth was that Orpheus was still trying to make it even. He didn’t know if it would ever work, he didn’t know if it was possible, but how could he give up? Did L still believe he could do it? Did L still hope that he could? Did he know he was still trying? It was interesting, he considered, how differently they thought of things. How they had the same thoughts about each other, but those thoughts tended to be mutually exclusive. They couldn’t both not deserve each other. They couldn’t both owe each other world. But… perhaps they could. Perhaps that was what it meant to be in love. Owing each other everything and spending your life falling deeper and deeper in debt to each other, never knowing you were repaying them all the while. “I’ve not done nearly as much as you have for me,” Orpheus tapped lightly, his grip on L’s hand tightening just a little bit. They could keep telling each other that into eternity, both absolutely certain that they were in the right. Perhaps he would let the subject drop for now. “I can’t imagine that every inch of this carpet has been stained by actual things that happened,” he murmured, but the truth was, he didn’t know. Perhaps there had been thousands of people here they had never met, people who had walked this far. Perhaps there were doors that led to other living rooms, other safe places that people knew as their house, and they never met the set of people who appeared in what Orpheus and L knew as the living room. “No, I don’t imagine we’ll ever find out,” Orpheus murmured, glancing down at their hands as they kept walking. “I wonder if the House is pleased by your theories,” he added after a moment, gaze flicking up to meet L’s eyes.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 2, 2021 21:12:25 GMT -5
Different times. Different worlds. L knew how unlikely it was that they had met, that they had happened to run into each other and speak to each other and come to know each other. He knew how improbable it was that they would have met at all, let alone fallen in love, let alone both managed to feel the same. That L could have fallen at all shocked him, but being loved back? That was what he had really never expected, that was what he had really never thought possible. Did L still believe in Orpheus? Without hesitation. He believed Orpheus would make it even. He believed Orpheus could, that if anyone at all could do it, it was him. Orpheus did the impossible, that was his life, and L knew he couldn’t ever hope to do the same. They were so different. But...maybe that was part of why they loved each other so much. Maybe they loved those differences, maybe they loved every way they were different as much as every way they were the same. It wasn’t true, he thought, that he’d done more. Orpheus had been there through everything. Orpheus had been there for him no matter what, had been by his sofe through everything. Orpheus had done more for him than he could ever hope to repay. “Oh, it might be.” L mused, tilting his head. “If this has existed for long enough, it’s possible these are all real stains. It’s possible that every one of them tells a different story.” How likely was that? It depended on so many variables, he knew, like how old the House was and the number of blinkers and the type of blinkers and what they were likely to do. He took a moment to calculate the odds. “37%.” He decided out loud. He looked up at Orpheus, surprised by the idea. The thought of the House enjoying listening to him was...odd, he had to admit. He considered it quietly for a very long moment. “It might be.” He said finally, watching Orpheus. “It might think it amusing. It probably does, since it keeps blinking me in, and I keep making theories.” He shook his head a little. “I have to wonder how close to the truth I am.” He added wryly.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 3, 2021 0:08:11 GMT -5
In a world without the House, in a situation where they only one of them had started blinking in, or one where neither of them had… would they have ever found each other? Would they have ever bumped into each other in Elysium and introduced themselves and fallen for each other? That seemed… unlikely. First of all, it relied on them both making Elysium. Orpheus highly doubted he would manage that – Hades didn’t like him very much, and Hades was part of the decision process for who deserved it. L would make it. But… what would L do when he got there? Would he live in paradise for the rest of his life, or would he decide to go back to Earth to try to make change as best he could with a second life? That was also assuming that L would end up in the Greek version of the afterlife, which he had no reason to. Orpheus figured he might now, knowing someone who had been there. If people went to the afterlife they believed in, then… it seemed more likely that L would believe in the Underworld than any other version of death. But without Orpheus’ influence? No… the only chance they had ever had for meeting and falling for each other was the House. He shook his head of the thought. They were both too alive to be thinking about death at this moment. He turned his attention back to the carpet, considering it as L did. He would never understand how L came up with his calculations. He had asked about some of them in the past, and though he’d loved the way L walked him through every variable he considered, sometimes it was best to just accept the percentages L gave. They weren’t always accurate, but… perhaps that was just because life wasn’t always predictable. And just because something went against the odds didn’t mean that L’s calculation had been wrong. “It’s possible some of these stains were made by people we’ve met,” Orpheus considered. He wasn’t eager to choose a door, yet. He wanted to keep walking, keep basking in L’s company, where the only potential danger was of another blinker – and even that seemed unlikely. “I find you amusing,” Orpheus whispered, lightly nudging L with his shoulder. “And I don’t mean that in the way the House would. I mean I like to listen to your theories and hear about what you think. It makes me fall a little more in love with you.” A small smile touched his lips, everything about it genuine. “If anyone’s likely to guess the truth,” he added after a long moment, “it’s you.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 3, 2021 9:57:38 GMT -5
L didn’t think he would make Elysium. Especially if Orpheus didn’t. At least...he didn’t plan on going anywhere Orpheus couldn’t follow, even when he died. If Hades said Orpheus couldn’t come, then L would walk right back out and take Orpheus’ hand and they would walk away. He would rather wander the earth as a ghost with Orpheus than spend his death in whatever Hades thought equaled paradise. Besides, if he were honest, death sounded boring. He didn’t want to spend forever doing nothing, he wanted to stay busy and keep doing cases. Could he do that as a ghost? He frowned a little, just a bit of worry showing through in his eyes, readable to anyone who knew him well enough. He did believe the Underworld probably existed, at least, that it had once. He wasn’t sure he knew how likely it was that it still did. It depended on a lot of variables, things L might not know to consider, things he wasn’t that familiar with. He supposed he could talk Orpheus into explaining sometime...but not right now, he decided. He would rather not think of death right now. He would rather think of the carpet, the way it looked, the stains they would never quite understand. Or...maybe they would, someday. L liked to imagine all the secrets had answers, and that one day he would crack the code and have all the answers he wanted. If he was feeling just a little bit competitive about it and wanted to be the one to figure it out, was that really that surprising? He would have said they were accurate, just not conclusive. Things could and did go against the odds, as evidenced by the way Orpheus was holding his hand now. Percentages were not meant to be hard rules. It was also possible he still thought the chances of being loved in return were extremely low, even if he knew Orpheus would never agree. “Yes, possibly.” L agreed, watching the stains go by. “I’ve tried to take samples back to examine before. They always disappear when I blink back.” He sounded just a touch annoyed by this fact, because he would have liked to know whether the stains were actually anything at all, or just...there to make the House look old. He looked up, and a small, shy smile slipped over his expression, the smile no one but Orpheus could ever bring out. “That’s good,” he whispered back, giving the other blinker’s hand a light squeeze. “Since I talk about it a lot. I’d hate to think you were ever annoyed by my theories, especially when I can’t prove any of them. Not yet, at least.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 3, 2021 15:23:27 GMT -5
Orpheus was absolutely confident that L would make Elysium. If he didn’t, then the system was absolutely broken, and Orpheus would have to have a nice long word with Hades. Or maybe more than a long word. What he didn’t know, however, was that L wouldn’t accept a place in Elysium if Orpheus wasn’t with him. That seemed like a kindness that Orpheus didn’t quite deserve. He managed to catch L’s gaze, catching sight of the worry there. He squeezed L’s hand lightly, tilting his head just a little bit. “What’s wrong, Λ?” he asked, slowing his pace in case L wanted to stop to talk about it. Whatever L was worried about… Orpheus wanted to be there to support him through it. He didn’t know their minds had drifted onto very similar topics. Was it because of their last conversation, or was it because of something else? Orpheus doubted they would have the answers. The House liked to keep them in the dark about most things, there were a lot of things they were unlikely to ever find out. But… L was smart enough that Orpheus had a feeling he might be able to figure out more than the average person would. “Maybe you can bring the stuff you need to test it here. It would be… difficult, I imagine… but it might be possible. At least it would give you some answers.” Orpheus gave a tiny smile. The truth was that he didn’t know what sorts of supplies L would need in order to test the carpet. He didn’t even know what tests he would need to run. If L managed to bring the supplies here… Orpheus would ask how it worked. He wasn’t too worried about that, now. If he could help L get his answers he would, but it wasn’t his primary concern. What he really wanted to do was have a little bit of time with L, wanted to hear what he was thinking and walk with him and just… discover what it meant for the both of them to be together. It meant something large and intangible, something Orpheus didn’t have the words for. Something he could write thousands of songs about and still not come close to touching. “I could never be bored by your theories,” Orpheus replied softly, not quite looking where he was going. He had been pulled in by L’s eyes, by the smile that touched his features, the one Orpheus had never seen L give anyone else. “Even if you aren’t able to prove them. The proof is…” his brow furrowed as he considered the words. “The proof is important, but… I could do without it. I just like hearing you think. And talk.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur🦇 on Feb 3, 2021 15:51:23 GMT -5
(//dumps frogs in the chat// Oh dear! Whatever shall we do???)
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 3, 2021 16:23:54 GMT -5
L wouldn’t have considered it a kindness. That implied he was doing it for Orpheus. L knew he couldn’t get Orpheus to Elysium if Hades refused. L knew his own refusal wouldn’t do anything to help that. It was for himself that he knew he wouldn’t go where Orpheus couldn’t. It was his desire to be close with him, no matter what that meant. He hesitated, looking at Orpheus, unsure how to voice his concern. He wasn’t sure he wanted to bring up death when they were both so very alive, but then, it would be difficult to talk about once they were dead. “I was just thinking,” he began, pausing to meet Orpheus’ eyes, expression worried. “About what will happen when I die. And I was wondering whether I’ll still have cases or not. I imagine being dead will be very boring, with nothing to do. It’s supposed to be a vacation, I suppose, but I don’t think I’ve ever been very good at taking those.” He looked at the floor again, considering the stains, wondering whether that would work. He tilted his head a little, imagining it might. If he had answers...he wanted answers. He wanted to know everything he could. He would have to try that, he mused, as soon as he blinked out again. The thing about blinking was how unpredictable it was...the moment he let go, he blinked in and missed his chance. He would try, but that was when he blinked out. Not now. He wanted to stay in this moment for now, he warned to just exist with Orpheus and be together and feel so close. He couldn’t have described it, he didn’t have a chance if Orpheus couldn’t. Orpheus, who could make stones weep and flowers bloom with his music. L couldn’t do any of that, his mind was his strongest talent, stronger than his heart some would say. And maybe, sometimes, they were right. He kept walking, hand in hand with Orpheus, enjoying his company more than anything else. He was still thinking, but he was too absorbed in watching the way Orpheus’ hair moved as he walked, in the gentle curve of his lips as he smiled, to really talk much. “I’m glad.” He murmured after a moment, leaning his head against the other blinker’s shoulder for just a moment as they walked. “I like hearing you think and talk, too.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 3, 2021 17:19:54 GMT -5
“Oh,” Orpheus murmured, his voice soft and more than a little bit uncertain. He didn’t know if the Underworld had changed since he had been there. He didn’t know what Elysium was like, didn’t know much beyond the small part of Hadestown he had seen. He didn’t know if people were allowed to do their jobs when they died. Maybe… maybe they were allowed to, if they made Elysium… “We’ll figure it out. I’m sure we can find you cases… I mean, people are still people, even when they die. There are probably crimes to solve in the Underworld, and… maybe if I can make it out of the Underworld to haunt you, then you’ll be able to stay out with me and solve cases for as long as you want. Hopefully. I think… well, I’ve already defied Hades once. I’ll do it again if it means you can keep solving cases.” He gave a small smile, squeezing L’s hand. “It’ll be a very long time before we both have to worry about that,” he added, “And I’m going to die thousands of years before you. Which means I have plenty of time to figure out how to get to you, and make sure you get to do what you want to do, even after you die.” He didn’t think that was an impossible promise. It helped to have an ‘in’ with the queen of the Underworld. As upset as Hades was with him, he knew Persephone was still on his side. If she could give him any happiness at all… then she would do her best. Still… he felt that L deserved some sort of break from his work, if only for a little bit. An eternity of it would probably kill L a second time, but he still deserved a break. And the chance to solve cases without having to worry about dying. Orpheus practically melted at the feeling of L resting his head on his shoulder, but he managed to keep walking. It may not have been a walk at sunset through a field of flowers, but… it was just as special. This, what they had… they couldn’t have ever had it like this anywhere else. I love you, he thought, relishing the feeling that he could say it out loud, if he wanted to. He didn’t, though. Not right now. He thought they were telling each other that well enough that there was no need to undermine it with the words. The words… they lacked the poetry touch had. They weren’t quite so eloquent as the gentle nudges and soft squeezing of the other’s hand.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 3, 2021 23:17:05 GMT -5
L considered that carefully, imagining solving cases as a ghost, no longer in danger of dying. No longer at any risk at all. He couldn’t imagine it, being safe, being in a position where he couldn’t be harmed somehow. He supposed there would probably still be crimes in the Underworld. How was the Underworld different, anyway? It seemed odd that death was viewed as such a terrible thing when really it was just...moving from one place to another. Only it meant being separated from the people you loved. And if the afterlife didn’t exist, he could understand. Maybe it was just that it was unknown. That it was walking behind a door and never coming back. “I suppose that makes sense.” He answered after a moment, looking at Orpheus, his expression still a shade worried, but less than before. “I don’t want to be trapped with nothing to do...I’d probably lose my mind if that were the case, and I don’t want to do that. Still...don’t get in trouble for me. I’ll find a way.” The truth was that he didn’t like thinking of death because he worried it wouldn’t be what Orpheus thought. Okay, so Orpheus had been there, but that was thousands of years ago. How could either of them know for sure whether it was still there? “I suppose we’ll figure it out as we go.” He decided out loud, pushing the thoughts back. He didn’t want to ruin this walk with morbid wondering, no matter how important it might have been. His work was so much of how he thought of himself. He was a detective at heart, and he always would be, even if somehow he was prevented from solving his cases, but...that didn’t mean he liked the idea. Yes, sometimes Watari tried to get him to take breaks, and once in a blue moon he succeeded. Yes, Orpheus could usually convince him to sleep, and if he couldn’t he always had the power to make him in the form of the lyre he carried with him. The two people who loved L most and who he loved back, the only ones who were capable of making him take care of himself even when he didn’t think of it, who cared enough to try...L sometimes wondered what he’d done to deserve such good people in his life. Now, his thoughts rested with Orpheus, quiet for once in the knowledge of safety, and more than that, of shared love. They had each other. They had each other. They were together and that was more than everything to L.
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