escordvi | [open] waste time with a masterpiece, don't waste time with a masterpiece

Entry tags:

[open] waste time with a masterpiece, don't waste time with a masterpiece

Who: Zack Fair & You
Status: Open
Where: Where these threads happen.
What: A catch-all log for closed threads for February! Includes a few Manta Board prompts as well. If you would like something specific please let me know.
Warnings: Tba.

[🐺 a. the edge of sleep: closed to crewmates & planned cr]

[Ever wonder what it's like to drown? It's a story of opposites. There’s peace in the water. Like it’s holding you. Whispering low tones to let it in. And every problem in the world will fade away... But then there's this thing. In your head. And it's raging. Lighting every nerve with madness. You have to fight. To survive. And all the while the question is before you. Have you had enough?

Zack can't breathe. He can't concentrate. All he can feel is the water cradling him like a vice and the strange invisable fingers around his throat that are both there and not there. He's drowning... He has to fight to breathe and swim. He has to fight to wake up.

This time he does manage to wake up. It's with a painful jolt, his body screaming in pain as he winces awake. His lungs gasping and his muscles screaming. The black mark on his hand pulsates with dirty murkiness, threatening to slide up his arm.

There can be a few places to find Zack when he wakes up. Either in his cabin aboard his crew's ship or on deck where he's failed to keep himself awake and has fallen asleep in a chair or even leaning against the wooden railing. Or at the worst passed out in some random storage room on the ship.]

[🐺 b. part of their world]

[When he's not suffering sleep deprivation Zack does manage to get some work done. Life goes on and he’s well enough during the day to go about his daily life. That means that Zack is getting back to work. And that means taking pictures of...]

Mermaids? Great, the last time I dealt with mermaids they wanted to drag me under the water.

[He sighs. But he clicks through his shellphone for the camera function and then nods.]

Let's just hope the mermaids we find today are a little less touchy-feely.

[🐺 c. wildcard]

[got something else? feel free to put that down here or find me at

michrure for some extra plotting.]

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[He's pretty sure no one has ever, essentially, Big Spooned him like this before. It's kind of amusing in a way although he just lets that light laugh fade off his lips once they settle down. What's even better than the purring noise is the gentle sound of G'raha's heartbeat too.]

I hope so. Sometimes I think my optimism is the best weapon I have.

[To deal with things too.

He shifts to turn his head to G'raha. And when he sees that bleeding heart expression on G'raha's face and the look in his pretty red eyes Zack can't help sighing a little. He cares about this man so much as well. More than he thought he could this fast. And thinking about either one of them dying because of this shit curse is just... unacceptable.]

I know we'll get through this somehow, and I mean together. Don't go thinking I won't be trying to find a solution for you too. Have your dreams been bad?

[ Just because he is small doesn't mean that he can't be a big spoon Zack! Goodness! But even so, Raha's thumb is stroking that man's cheek. Right under one of those yes. Along the cheekbone. Back and forth. Despite the things that Zack has told him, there is still a light there. This isn't someone who has succumbed to those circumstances and the darkness they bring.

And that, to G'raha, is one of the most admirable traits that one could have. ]

Aye, together. Any solution found will benefit us both.

[ He quiets for a moment, when talking about his own dreams. None of his tie in so closely to the sensation of drowning. Not like Zack's do. ]

I... I dream not of my own experiences in these moments. Rather, the Isle of Val. As I've mentioned, I belong to an order called the Students of Baldesion and I might have mentioned the island before. What I did not tell you was that the island was plunged into the Lifestream. Nearly all of the Students that day were lost and I had thought Krile amongst them at the time.

[ Thus does he dream of all of those lives - people that he had grown up with and adored - lost. ]

[Zack appreciates the touch, though! The cuddling and the gentle brush of fingertips on his face. He could turn around and kiss and scoop G'raha to him right now if he could. But he also enjoys being the little spoon right now! Amazing! It makes the breath return to his lungs, easy as that. For now.

It's a sombre little moment, though. Listening to G'raha recount such a scary time in his life. Almost losing friends... Actually losing friends. These nightmares are cruel.]

Damn... I'm sorry, Raha. Something like that, I can't imagine how long that would sit with a person. [He slides a hand to G'raha's leg, gives it an affectionate squeeze.] Your friend, Krile? She's okay?

[ Well Raha wouldn't tell Zack no if he would think to twist and turn in the embrace. It would mean that he could gaze upon the other more readily. Fully. And there is something powerful about that. Something that sends shivers up and down his spine at the sight of those enchanting eyes.

He sighs when Zack speaks, hugging him a little tighter. ]

I am not the one who suffered the experience thus I'm fairly sure 'tis I that should be spending time reassuring you. Not the other way around.

[ He feels the squeeze. Smiles sadly, grateful Zack can't see it. His tail wraps around Zack's arm. ]

Krile is well, though I didn't know it until after I had woken up two hundred years later.

Edited 2024-02-13 04:02 (UTC)

[Zack frowns for a moment. G'raha really is the type to try and brush off his trauma because he's too busy comforting someone else, huh? It's just like him.]

Finding out two hundred years later? I'd still say you went through something traumatic from that alone.

[He went four years not knowing if his friends were dead or alive- he can barely imagine two hundred. But they're not here to compare they're here to support.]

Come here.

[He'll turn around in G'raha's embrace then. Scooping his arms around G'raha's torso. Tugging him in so they're touching and close once more. And he hugs him tightly and firmly.]

I was in stasis for nearly all of that time, Zack. Honestly, I wasn't even aware of the passage of time.

[ That's why it's not really comparable. Zack seems to have been able to come in and out of awareness. G'raha... It had been like going to sleep and then just waking up.

But he's not given a chance to argue. Instead Zack turns. Sweeps Raha up in an embrace and seeks to hold him. It's a tight thing. One that makes Raha's chest want to burst in warmth and a blend of emotions. Many, many emotions.

He can't help himself. Raha bumps his forehead against what he can get to of Zack. A feline instinct that he just can control at the moment. And he embraces the other just as tightly. ]

Edited 2024-02-15 20:05 (UTC)

[G'raha will forehead bump the top of Zack's head because he's still lower on the bed enough to be the little spoon right now. Even if Zack's arms are all-encompassing G'raha is a big tight hug.]

Still. I'm sorry, anyway.

[He lets out an easier sigh. His breathing seems to be evening out now. The remnants of the nightmare slowly ebbing away. He inhales slowly, enjoying G'raha's body close to his. Letting that feeling ache through him.]

This makes it better. Makes the nightmares feel farther away. Thanks for being here.

[ His tail is going to shift again. This time it is going to wrap about Zack's waist. Or at least drape there, the tip of it twitching. Raha hums into Zack's hair, accepting the sentiments without pushing them away further. Instead he closes his eyes and nuzzles into it more. Feels Zack's breath. Listens for the heartbeat that continues to slow down to normal. ]

You may have this whenever you need and even time when you do not.

[ In other words, Zack is allowed to have this from Raha. It's something he can have. Can request. ]

We are together in this as well as other things. Thanks is not needed.

[This is bliss. Using G'raha like a pillow and hugging him like one too. He can entirely forget that nightmare now. He has... cat boyfriend.]

How did I get so damn lucky...

[A sentiment he's been wondering for a while now. Actually.]

[ G'raha chuckles and holds Zack tighter. ]

Are we about to get into another argument over those sorts of statements? I feel as though to say that quite often. It is debatable, of course, who is more fortunate here.

[He chuckles in return. Even turns his face to G'raha's skin and blows a very mature raspberry on it.]

Agree to ... agree then. [Yeah.] We both are.

[ WOW YES SO MATURE OF YOU!? G'raha yelps and laughs, tail smacking against Zack.

This is not what you do in order to sleep, sir! ]

To think it all it took was sitting at the wrong table one random evening.

[Listen, this is therapy. Zack grins against G'raha's skin and then kisses the spot just below his collarbone.]

Well, that and you wearing a pretty dress.

[Don't forget that's when Zack completely wanted to ask him out on a date.]

[ He hums, amused and touched by the kiss. G'raha scratches at the back of Zack's head. Right were the neck starts - the hairline. ]

Is this a poor time to tell you that I still have that dress? 'Tis kept with my things in my room.

[Head scratches feel the best... He's a content man right now. Nightmares completely forgotten for now.]

You're telling me this now? Are you going to wear it for me again sometime?

That might depend entirely upon your behavior. It really would be sort of your eyes only at this point.

[ As silly as it is. Raha doesn't really get the appeal himself but if it appeals to Zack? Well then that makes it worth it. ]

Maybe after we are cured.

[Don't underestimate the power of lace and stockings.]

Hah. Alright, that's fair.

[He can be good and wait.]

I'm surprised you kept it, though.

It... Well. It was the payment for going through with all of that nonsense. I suppose I could have just sold it, in hindsight.

[ So why didn't he...? ]

[Zack looks curious.]

No harm in keeping it, I guess? Maybe you could use it in another job sometime.

[You know, sneaky corsair things. Or something.]

Ah... I don't think I'll need to go undercover like that again? Rather, I am going to actively try to avoid that.

[ At least in the sense of being fooled into it. ]

That's fair too. Do you want to sell it then? Or keep it?

After seeing the expression on your face? How could I possibly think of selling it?

[ Because he is a brat and wants to see Zack fall apart. ]

[Oh, he'll fall apart, alright!! He grins...]

So you're keeping it just for me? I'm flattered.

Not sure why this is so surprising. I allowed you to convince me to accept a gift of yours.

[ His nose brushes Zack's brow. Then he presses a kiss there with a content sigh. ]

Truthfully, there is quite a bit that I would do just to continue to see that smile of yours.

[Zack snorts at first, the laugh contently rumbling through his chest. Then he's hugging G'raha just a little more. Like he's the perfect cat body pillow.]

To be honest, I didn't think you'd let me give you gifts at first. You could barely take my honest compliments.

[He looks up at G'raha and gives that very smile.]

There isn't much you need to do to make me smile, though. Just let me call you cute anytime I want.

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