improvise. adapt. overcome →

[earthshine]

Who: Takashi Shirogane +
What: Surviving
When: Permanent Log for all (mis)adventures
Where: Town + Nearby Areas

Content Warnings:

‘ghost’ horror; hauntings; death of npcs; (wild) animal attacks; character injury; themes of suicide; themes of depression; feelings of isolation; potential attempted suicide; PTSD triggers; mention of imprisonment; physical violence; body dysmorphia

Comments

YES THEY CAN.

[marmoron]

[ shiro squeezes him in close, and keith draws in a deep breath and holds it for the duration, face scrunched and jaw clenched tight. whatever's going on, the situation is dire, potentially world-ending and whatever time they have left is not time keith should be spending on tormenting himself over a loss that happened nearly a decade ago. there's a word for what keith is feeling right now and it's pathetic. staying sharp through whatever the fuck is happening if not for himself, then a least to keep the last, living, breathing family keith has safe is the only thing that matters now.

compartmentalizing comes shockingly easily, in a way that it never did during his early years as a garrison cadet. back then, every insult and dirty look thrown his way would have soured his mood for hours upon hours. evidently a short stint in a space war where a slip up in focus could mean life or death really has done something to his head. but even that isn't worth dwelling on. shiro's grip relaxes and keith finally lets that suspended breath go, expression hardening as he lifts his face. ]

Yes, sir. You got it.

[ sir. a weird slip up, considering shiro hadn't ordered keith to pull himself together. come to think of it, this shiro's never really done any leading or commanding, huh? it's a weird thought, but keith pushes that aside, too. his own stride picks up, eyes alert as and surveying their surroundings for threats as they hurriedly march back towards base.

but perhaps keith hasn't fully compartmentalized everything going on. if the world is unraveling around them, then there's one thing that needs to be said. to keith's credit, he says it in a tone that's surprisingly stoic and stripped of emotion. ]

Whatever this is, Shiro? I'm with you to the end.

are you sure about that

[earthshine]

[ it’s not as though that’s the first time he’s heard keith call him that. sir. he quickly became shiro to keith at galaxy garrison, but there were appearances to keep up. so when they weren’t sneaking to the roof, drag racing in the desert or holing up somewhere to review concepts for upcoming tests, sir and salutes got tossed around far more often. still, the word catches him off guard, making him feel – odd. it’s a callback to a lifetime ago or at least, a time that feels like a past life. altogether, it hasn’t been that long. it’s just… so much has changed that none of it feels as though it belongs to him anymore. not even the memories in his head. the driving force behind all of this, he supposes, is that it comes back to that feeling he can’t shake: he feels like an imposter.

even this continued friendship with keith. neither of them are the versions that they last knew and yet, they pretend that they are still best friends. shiro wonders if or when that will come to a head. at some point, it has to, doesn’t it?

whatever this is, shiro? i’m with you to the end.

this isn’t the time to laugh; shiro almost does, though. he almost does because for every time he tells himself he isn’t enough and that keith isn’t the keith he left behind and that there is something irrevocably mismatched between them… there’s a moment, a comment, or a feeling that reinforces the fact that they are still as in sync with each other as they’ve always been. either way, just as this isn’t the time to laugh, it isn’t the time for deep reflection on the state of their friendship, and so, shiro takes that cue to offer a final: ]

You and me… let’s see this through. Come on.

[ and so they do. together, they survey and avoid the strange happenings through town and make their way to their – thankfully still standing – cabin. there is, however, a very obvious difference. ]

The lights are on.

[ perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised. electricity hasn’t been accessible to them since arrival, but as of now, various homes have been lit up, often with lights flicking on and off. their lights are, amazingly, stable – for now – and so, when shiro gets the door open and walks inside, every bit of the cabin is bathed in light.

it’s eerie.

he pauses just past the threshold, frowning and on edge as he glances around, as though anticipating the catch to this otherwise fortunate turn of events. ]

If the lights work… [ for all his hesitance, he does start walking though. ] I wonder if that means the radio works, too.

[ there are two, actually. whoever lived here was a low-grade hoarder. there are two radios stacked on top of each other in the far corner and unfortunately for them, neither of them bring in anything but static as shiro fiddles with the nobs. well, except for one station that comes in relatively clear. ]

Not what I was going for.

[ he was hoping for news and chatter; anything related to the world outside this snowy wilderness. ]