post - trauma sentence starters
blood, death mention.
- “don’t do that. don’t shut me out.”
- “you’ve been crying. i can tell.”
- “we need to change those bandages and get some food in you.”
- “you want me to rub your back ’til you fall asleep?”
- “that was a brave thing you did today.”
- “shh, that’s okay, get everything out.”
- “there’s something on your shirt. you – that’s blood!”
- “need some space?”
- “you should lay down.”
- “there’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”
- “shh, shh. you were having a nightmare.”
- “we can talk through the door.”
- “let’s clean you up and get you to bed, okay?”
- “you almost died.”
- “i brought you a blanket.”
- “you’re home. you’re safe.”
- “i’m worried about you.”
- “is everything okay?”
- “tell me how to make it better.”
- “it’s been a tough few days. how are you holding up?”
- “you have to stay awake. come on, give my hand a squeeze.”
- “you’re in the hospital.”
- “think you can make it to the bathroom?”
- “no, no. don’t close your eyes.”
@valiantsword // [cont.]
being at xavier’s was surprisingly similar to the experiences of his early years. he wanted to provide knowledge without any of the students having to be exposed to bloodshed. unfortunately, the community was drowning in it. for a myriad of reasons. in that regard, politics hadn’t really changed in the past thousand years. the strong oppressed the weak. the rich oppressed the poor. people discovered new and terrible ways to step on each other. that in and of itself wasn’t why arthur stopped actively trying to live, he’d simply gotten to a point where it all felt incredibly redundant.
seeing emma in his dreams sparked something more than rage. well, not exactly rage. his fear let his anger run a little too freely until a simple act snapped him back out of it. she showed him a world where he could actually be useful. as he stared up at the glittering carbon it dawned on him that he wasn’t only fighting for the kids. he was fighting for her.
unfortunately, he’d always been terrible with communicating his own emotions. words on their own weren’t difficult. it was his heart. it was trying to convey just how much he needed this even if he didn’t quite understand why. feeling at home - comfortable - had become enough of a rarity in his long life that he was determined to make sure this materialistic home stood tall no matter how rational it would be to come back later and rebuild it. only the unreadable twist of her features pushes him forward. emma shifts back, yet still radiant as ever, and mindlessly following in her footsteps.
feeling her hand almost makes him trip over himself. luckily, there’s a corner close enough that he can play it off as he looked behind to throw out some cover fire. left. then right. only when they reached the basement did arthur take a moment to catch his breath. “ i feel like i should’ve asked this before i took the job but…does this happen often? i was bored before but…not that bored. “ arthur manages a smile at that. a tired, weak smile follows. just because he could heal didn’t mean the effects of blood loss weren’t an issue. “ okay. basement. “ blue gaze looks up and around. “ slightly more daunting when there’s giant robots walking around above my head. lead the way, my lady. “
she’d been a different person, almost, the next time she’d reached out to him. older, more mature, more cynical &&. somehow less bitter alongside that. xavier’s had been a new start for her, something she felt he needed more than anything else. &&. she’d been right - he’d taken to it better than she herself, &&. at the same time, he’d been the only social lifeline she maintained here. in a way, he understood more than anyone what it felt like to be an outsider. she couldn’t let him stay &&. die alone. if anything, she wouldn’t even let him fight alone.
in moments like these, she had regrets she’d never have thought of. the regret of not being more open, of telling him that to his face. of telling her students how much she cared. she had far too much to do, &&. although he’d most likely argue that he’d lived too long, she knew he wasn’t done either.
when he follows her, she’s filled with a palpable sense of relief that she’s almost certain is betrayed on her features. she knew better than anyone what it felt like to come home &&. find it changed so completely that there was no hope of getting it back. they wouldn’t let that happen, she already knew. her hand around his wrist, then, skin on skin, warmth, before she phased back made her think of how rarely she had ever touched him. it was the most inane though to have when one’s life was in risk. she could have laughed.
in turn, she played the amusement off at his words instead. “it happens more often that we’d life, i suppose. &&. don’t even lie - i was the most interesting call you’d gotten all decade.” she could recall the exact moment she’d first seen him. &&. then she noticed, the paleness, the slight stagger in his steps. he’d been wounded, &&. of course he hadn’t told her. her anger eclipsed the worry in an effort to stay focused. she shook her head. “ has anyone ever told you how careless you can be with your own life??? not a very attractive quality, good sir. ” there was no time to stop though. “i’ll lecture you later, ” she said, her grip imperceptibly tighter. “ xavier built the absement tunnels specifically with this scenario in mind. if nothing, you have a full body diamond shield to prevent any brain damage from falling concrete. ”
@choosesboth // call.
THE LOOK in question sharpens. ❝ you ditched me with the children’s choir. let’s volunteer together, you said. it’ll be FUN, you said. ❞ a toss of her hair, no opportunity for miscommunication. ❝ they sang a censored kids-version of WAP, for fucks sake. ❞
@disdelusion // [cont. ]
emma apologizes and it’s not the ‘sorry’ he wants to hear. it doesn’t come from his father or the shadow king. and it’s not the apology he dreams about getting from the doctors and their needles. this ‘sorry’ comes from a person that hasn’t wronged him in any way, it’s unnecessary.
but it does make him feel better. one corner of his mouth jumps to form half of a smile.
“well, i just– well, revenge is bad, right?” ( spoken like a kindergartener ). david scowls on the inside or at least he thinks he does. “you know what i mean, every time i try to get a little bit of justice all i hear is ‘david, don’t do that!’… ‘david, you can’t hurt someone just because they made your life a living hell!’…” he sits up abruptly, holding up a finger. “for the record, i don’t really want to kill amahl– the shadow king, the, the guy who lived in my head –i just…” no, nevermind. there’s no way he can finish that sentence and still sound like he’s a relatively stable person. but that doesn’t matter, he’s thinking about something else already.
“ever since i’ve been told about my powers, i’ve only ever hear what i’m not allowed to do with them. don’t read people’s thoughts, don’t enter dreams, don’t spend too much time in the astral plane– it’s just don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t–” he pauses, looks at emma. “you get tired of that? i think i’m beginning to.”
and maybe it’s the fact that she hasn’t exactly been in his particular situation. but she knows; she knows what it’s like to feel alone, and forgotten, and to have the world against you, to be told over and over again that you’re in the WRONG. she also knows how badly you just want to hear someone apologize.
but like she expected, he smiles, a little bit, tempting her to make it fuller. she tilts her head, her voice softer than she’ll admit to. “ i know i didn’t do anything to you to apologize for. but i’ll do it because SOMEONE should.“
“people often restrict that which they don’t understand. when my powers started coming in, i was told to hide them. i didn’t even think about saying no. i didn’t even think about learning more of them, learning what i could do with them. i suffered from ignorance, for years.” she lets him see the wonder she has at herself for how honest she’s being.
she shrugs, hair spilling out, errant. uncrosses her legs. “ i won’t deign to lecture you on morality, david. but for all my faults, i do live by a certain code. for example, emotions aside, do you want to kill him ??? ” she’s approaching the crux of the issue here, more blunt than she’d usually be, but it’s open to him in a way that’s assuring in its honesty. he doesn’t need lies. “ do you think he deserves it ??? do you think the world will be happier if he’s gone ??? same rational for the other aspect. does the person you’re thinking of influencing deserve what you’re doing ??? ”
she lets that sit for a moment, sips her wine. “ david, darling, ” she says. “ i got tired a LONG TIME AGO.” flashes, errant manipulation, getting what she wants; a little bit of past history, living by rules; dancing with men, letting men think she was dancing with them. stealing, helping. she lets him have a brief look.
@genotypiic // [cont.]
“ i brought you here on the grounds that you’d help, miss frost, ” his voice is firm and disapproving, a tone often reserved for his students. his expression is equally as unmoving. “ don’t play me for a fool. ”
“ &&. i have fulfilled all the duties that my job asks of me, mr. xavier, ” her cadence is chilling, an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. she’s never called him by his last name. “ i never hid my proclivity for my continued acquaintance with the hellfire club. this isn’t as serious as you’re making it out to be. ”
@prfxxor // [ cont. ]
‘i always try to give the people in front of me my undivided attention.’ try being the operative word. he accepted, implicitly, emma’s claim that her presence saved him from some unwanted interactions, although he couldn’t bring himself to admit, explicitly, that there were interactions he didn’t want.
charles rolled himself to a velvet armchair near the bed, where he usually kept his next day’s clothing. it was empty this morning. ‘—ties are in the top drawer, shirts in the middle, pants and socks are in the bottom drawer,’ he said, nodding at the wooden dresser drawer on the other side of the room. ‘you can look and judge for yourself.’
she can’t help but roll her eyes, because the truth is charles does try to give his full attention to whoever’s in front of him. he’s far more cynical than he used to be, but even then, he hasn’t quite reached her level of curated indifference. perhaps it was that particular brand of implicit understanding that had spawed this strange friendship.
his clothes were of pristine quality; she would give due credit. she hesistated only briefly in choosing. “the blue silk button down that matches your eyes. business casual, so let’s use the dark blue denim, &&. i’m assuming the finding nemo socks were a present ??? ” an almost smile, thrown casually in his direction. “ if i wasn’t so adamant on wearing white, we could have matched. ”
@disdelusion // [ cont. ]
he shouldn’t snort at the images of emma cutting through an ikea like an explorer in a jungle– but he does. david quickly covers his mouth and tries not to show his grin because it doesn’t match the ruined surroundings. but if really he wanted to hide his smile, he should have pressed his other hand over his eyes as well.
“okay, i’m sorry, but that was– really funny.”
he appreciates emma showing him that memory. he likes her. he likes her a lot. but sometimes he forgets that he doesn’t need to put her up on a pedestal. she’s more than the diamonds in her skin and turning her into a statue would be– reductive. he doesn’t want to make her into something as distant as perfection, he wants to stay close.
“a walk? uh, yeah, sure.” it’s not like he has plans for today. and walks are therapeutic or so he has been told. david carefully steps over a shattered bedframe and doesn’t wobble at all which makes him unreasonably proud.
he joins emma’s side and as he does so he cannot stop a very breezy question accompanied by his eyes crinkling up again: “hey, if you had to make a quick guess– how much do you think a frozen pizza costs?”
if anyone had predicted this is what she’d be doing on her weekends, she’d have never believed them. she’s genuinely enjoying herself far too much to even think too much about what it all means.
she grins, can’t help but laugh at his hesitation. “ don’t be like that, ” she says, teasing “i hadn’t really thought it through. even after searching through people’s memories, i was TERRIFIED. ”
she’s better around him, softer in a way that she isn’t with anyone else. maybe it’s how honest he’s been with her; there’s something quite EASY about being with another telepath, at least one who isn’t distrustful enough to shut off. emma’s ever really done easy before, and it confuses her with david. she’s had to remind herself that perhaps she’s not the only one who doesn’t know which step to move forward with; he’s on the same boat with her.
which makes her wonder, if he’s ever been sailing. a grin carves itself onto her features, a light snort, so trypically uncharacteristic. she lets the image float over to him, what she’s expect him to be like if she asked him to man the yacht for a few minutes.
“i was briefly poor, you know. i know what a frozen pizza costs. still haven’t been to taco bell, though,” she says, taking his arm. she wouldn’t want to assume, but they’ve been comfortable with casual touching so far. as they leave the room behind and cross out from the hallway, she briefly pauses, wondering which way to go. fountains it is.
“you like fountains? i like fountains,“ she says. then, far too casual, but as blunt as she is, only with him, she says. “ you’re allowed to laugh, david. i hope you know that. “
ooc | alright so i’ve got a queue set up till thursday yay me!!!! i work all day thursday so i’ll probably work on the tag tracker friday night or so - on the other hand, if someone wants to come plot, slide into my DM’s pls
ooc | so i know i havent been around as much this past week (mostly because it was midterm season &&. i had hella work to do) but hopefully i’ll be better in terms of activity this week. i’m trying to still figure out a good time to write (i certainly don’t want to compromise on the quality of my responses bec i’m trying to rush stuff out - i think that’s a disservice to people) BUT i will be making a reply tracker this weekend bec tumblr is sus af and i don’t trust it.
@aniimvs // [ cont. ]
assumptions kept him alive. the assumption that no other was allowed to be stronger, that failure was unacceptable, and that any punishment at the hands of his master would be intolerable. or how a snide tongue, a whispered word were all marks of a blossoming enemy and kylo ren left those ruinous enough as maimed flesh in his wake.
when the woman spoke aloud, ren decided he hated her voice. its cold charisma was grotesque and reminded him of the sniveling imperials that wielded decorum like divine weaponry. but then to sense her thrill at the danger of him, to see the part of her that was as much a hunter as he, was intoxicating.
for a moment, the young man wondered if he should snap her neck now. give her fitting end to that piqued interest, but she did something the sith did not expect. the stranger was nearly upon him, her skin hovered an increment away from the dense metal of his helm. she gazed into him and for a moment he felt unmasked when suddenly the chaos around them subsided.
kylo ren glanced around as he felt a yawn of power slide off the woman and into the crowd. the stimuli that vexed him was replaced by a malleable silence that closed in like a curtain. intrigued, the young man studied the dispersing herd as if he could glean her technique from the way they drunkenly stumbled away.
❝ very persuasive, ❞ there was recognition in his tone but also mockery. whether it was for her or the weak-willed patrons remained to be seen.
placated by his curiosity, kylo ren allowed for his arms to cross over his chest. his guard remained a pulsating malevolence enveloping the very air around him, but his thoughts were no longer fixated on how painful he’d make her death.
❝ i do not make threats. i make promises, ❞ the knight said, his head tilted hungrily, ❝ and i’m a man of my word. i would hate for you to cross me. ❞
when she offered the bottle, he dismissed her gesture with a derisive scoff. kylo ren’s paranoia was too ingrained to allow such frivolity and spare him a moment of dulled senses. he was no fool to think a single breath of weakness wasn’t enough to end his reign.
ren peeled away and stalked a circle around her. his arms no longer resting against his chest but at his sides, ready to strike. ❝ tell me, who do you seek? the merciless enforcer of the inevitable first order? ❞ the shadow of a man leaned into her ear as he passed and hissed, ❝ or the sith? ❞
she was too much of a pragmatic to not empathize with that one. she knew the ruthlessness of life; embodied it. there was no way for compassion to thrive when it came to learning how to survive. she had spent a decade on the streets, learning the hard way, and still the best lesson was NO TRUST. she didn’t need him to trust her, &&. she was far too smart to ever trust a word from him.
still, no man, or woman, was an island. she could feel his anger, his constant simmering rage, his penchance for violence dripping down, tarry &&. black &&. willing to rot away any betraying emotions. still, all those years of learning the enemy came in handy; although she was almost pleased in admitting she’d never met someone so readily accepting of her challenge.
there was something about him that was almost intoxicating. some part of her reacted to his passion, so violent &&. caustic, with a similar thrill, lined with pain &&. adrenaline, something yearning to consume away.
❝ thank you, ❞ she said, eyebrows raised, one side of her mouth lifting. an implication: i know what you mean to say &&. i know why you say it. she wouldn’t bet money on it, but he was intrigued. he’d also, perhaps, underestimated her. both were good. she kept herself ready, each atom ready to phase; her motions as she sipped her drink were conversely almost musical in their flow.
she took the bottle away in a second, placed it to the side. a brief glance at the now empty place they occupied. he was still on edge, but that would never stop - she had discerned that in seconds. his constant suspicion was his burden, but one she continued to share, if not as openly express. ❝ some would call that honor. ❞ she says, a similar intonation to his double-edged compliment. ❝ but, then again, i consider myself to be a woman of my word. so let me give you one: i have no concern with your first order proclivities, or with the doctrine that you follow. ❞
she won’t move away from him. that much she knows. everything is a game. ❝ everything is at stake in your world, so i understand your consistent promises. if anything, you should realize by now that you &&. i live by the same rules of nature. ❞ she looks at him again, looks straight at him. ❝ so you see, i am not here for the enforcer or the sith. i seek he who exists beyond the constrictions of the two choices, i am here for he who is behind the mask. ❞