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

it's a wonderful icon that deserves more play

[earthshine]

[ it's not entirely true to say that shiro doesn't hear everything that keith is shouting. he does, of course he does, but pain and panic have a way of drowning out the world around him, blurring it into muted grays as all his attention turns inward on a steady, i'm going to die.

maybe, maybe not. maybe not in the way he assumes, either. all signs point to him being butchered in this chair, his blood destined to amass on the already painted floor, but perhaps it will be by hypothermia, instead. because with no warning whatsoever, binds come off and the area opens up to white and cold, their predicament seemingly evaporating into thin air, like a fucking nightmare. unfortunately, one nightmare feeds into a second and together, they have to race on unsteady legs back to the cabin.

shiro attributes the strength in his body to adrenaline. he knows he's not out of the woods yet, even with him now inside the safety of their cabin, laid out on a couch that has already been the go-to spot of injury. is this what it's going to be like? the two of them taking turns on who gets to be dying on this couch?

his fingers are bloody when he pulls them away for keith, leaving his wound exposed. he swings his gaze away as he does so, finding it far easier to look at the ceiling than keith's fear-pulled face. remember how it isn't entirely true to say shiro didn't hear keith? it comes to him now as he hisses through the sting, compounding the pain radiating from split skin. the words themselves are clear-cut, as is the desperation that had colored every syllable. there is plenty to pick apart in keith's rushed confessions, but it's the last bit that has shiro circling over and over.

so keith tells lies to himself to see shiro in a better light?

shiro can't even bring himself to feel sorry for himself in the moment. he's sickened and disappointed, more so with his own inability to navigate the terror of what they just went through. it had been some sort of sick game, one that required certain honesties and certain willingnesses. shiro failed on all fronts. ]

I'm sorry that I put it all on you.

[ it's a struggle to talk, honestly. while the cut is not so deep as to sever vocal cords, between the separation in his throat and the pressure of keith's handiwork, this is not the best time to attempt a conversation. nonetheless, even with his voice strained, he thinks it's important enough to say: ]

You said what I couldn't.