guillotineroom | [BASILISK]

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!basilisk

[BASILISK]

[when you open your eyes, you find yourself in a pleasant greenhouse. the sweet scent of flowers surrounds you, and the sun shining through the glass ceiling invigorates you from within. there are stone benches on which you can sit, and if you're hungry, there's a garden table with some refreshing tea and scones available to you]

[the voice– the good voice– echoes in your head again]

YOUR DESIRES. . . CREATED THIS REALM. IT IS YOURS. . . IT IS NOT TYPHON'S! I CAN USE THOSE DESIRES TO GIVE YOU A SAFE PLACE. . . FROM WHICH TO FIGHT.

BUT I CANNOT DEFEAT HIM. . . ONLY YOU CAN. ONLY YOU– WITH YOUR OWN DESIRES!! YOU CAN. . . RESHAPE THIS WORLD. . . HOWEVER YOU'D LIKE!

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Time and space then, maybe.

[ the world. she huffs a small laugh, tipping her head towards him.

a thought compels her—reaches into her pocket, produces a single token with a Basilisk emblazoned upon one side. ]

I keep this, you know. From when we saved you.

--oh--you didn't use it?

[ lil headshake ] It was... special.

[ and now, she opens her phone, slides it towards him with the Prison Shop open. The Universe - one token. ]

I could buy this for you.

[ for him to use. for him to give away. ]

[he used all of his, before they went on one last trip. his eyes widen.]

Don't you want--?

[he's biting back the question even as he asks it. he's asked her this before, and she's answered.]

[ seeing that look on his face makes her heart thrum hard in her chest. ]

I am going to get everything I want, Wei Wuxian. Right down to this.

And how can I disagree with that? It's what Ms. Vaux deserves, after all.

[ ahh. she's still in love with him, and a part of her will probably always feel this way. but the feeling has gentled, a bit—no longer the crushing thing it was before.

now at least she can listen to him say this without succumbing to The Agonies ]

Let me do this, Wei Wuxian. I will not make you choose what you do with it.

I thank you, for that.

[it's agreement, even if he can't quite bring himself to say yes, please do this -- he's ever been bad at asking for things for himself when they really matter, after all.]

[ her hand shakes; she taps the phone screen once, twice before the transaction registers. her solitary Basilisk token whispers out of existence, and in the space between them appears... well, the entire universe. moldable, formable, susceptible to change.

another tight knot in her chest finally lets go. ]

Here. [ she speaks in a whisper, unlaces their fingers so she can press the card into his palm. ] Your new path... wherever it may go.

[the card is so small, between their hands. the power to change a world, caught in a piece of paper, bought in a dream. it could be laughable, but after what they've been through, it's too heavy with the weight of hope to not take entirely seriously.]

Wherever it might be...I can't imagine it won't cross yours again.

[it's a promise, even if it's not worded quite like one.]

[ even that is so different from the conversation they shared in his palace that her own heart feels like it stops for an instant.

...

she crawls forward again, to sling an arm around the back of his neck and hold him there. ]

Yes. Of course it will. I don't give out these things lightly. Blame my heritage.

[he's had some time to recover since then. maybe he's not all the way certain of his life yet--maybe it will be years more until he wakes up and thinks i want to keep on being alive, and i'm sure of that--but...enough, for now. enough to get by, if there are other people to lean on.

drops a kiss to the top of her head]

Mm. May it be sooner then we think, ah? I'd like to see where you go as well, when there's no prison walls to worry about.

[ it's enough. it's a victory.

crumpled against him, she makes a soft noise. a laugh? ]

Hopefully not downward spiral. Prospects seem... better, than they did before.

The idea of getting out of here will do that, ah?

I was always going to get out of here. Now... idea of who will be waiting for me once I do.

[why do people care about him being alive so much. he wants to throw himself on the ground and roll around like a child about it. doesn't, miraculously]

Not just me, ah? You've made so many friends here!

[ the mortifying ordeal of being known, and loved. ]

Lovers, also.

It's good to keep up those relationships, too!

[this is how Reverie ends: Basilisk talking about their sex lives]

[ come on, wwx. she's always been this way.

she does sober, though. ]

I feel that... part of me belongs to people, now. And I hold part of them, in turn. [ exhales a laugh, thumbing the back of his ear ] Isn't that scary?

...ah, I'm a bad person to ask about that, maybe.

I don't know how to live any other way.

What soft thing to say...

It's not. Most of that...wasn't love, or not exactly. But enough to understand.

[ ah, his ghosts. her expression twinges at the corners of her mouth ]

I mean... ah. Never mind. You understand.

My family was like that. Both of them, that I remember.

[ah; not just the ghosts, then, though it's true that dealing with them is that too. love and death, the only constants.]

I don't think it's scary forever -- not if it's worth it.

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velluminous - 2023-03-14 05:22 (UTC) - Expand

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laughitoff - 2023-03-17 03:38 (UTC) - Expand

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