modern animals

let us be merciful warwick kovacs animal manipulation

[applesandpears-global]

[violentwavesofemotion-deactivat]

Gustave Flaubert, from a notebook entry written c. February 1840

[fearhe]

judith lidell   /   dear friend.

all the roads and streets of this city are like her own, she knows every corner in this hell of a city. there isn’t a thing she wouldn’t do to see crystalline in flames. it isn’t any different than a kid who wants to burn down their own house, these streets were her home for so long – yet they couldn’t offer her warmth or protection of four walls. thirty-three years of her life spent in here, she wouldn’t feel remorse ; not even for a second, if this city was burned down to filthy ashes. she has nothing but spite for this city & the city has nothing but slaughter for judith lidell.

the moment she is approaching her friend’s apartment, she wonders if he has his eyes on her, watching her as she is taking the path to his home. after her arrival, she waits for him to greet her. she waits until she hears his words, torn and saddened. 

those words change the expression worn on her godly sculpted features. it’s the curve of her lips, shaped like the crescent moon. – to be cared, what a funny and unexpected thing it is for the intangible villain, it puts a half-cynical & half-broken smile on her face. who would care about a slayer’s safety anyway ? slowly, booted steps carry her lithe frame closer to her dear friend. icy orbs gazing at him, now jude is one more step closer. it is her way of showing how she trusts him, she gets closer despite his words. “ did you forget who you are talking to ? ” hands digging deeper in her raincoat’s pockets, the next string of words is what she always whispers before the spirit gets someone’s blood on her hands. 

“ fear the spirit. ”  she says it like it is a tongue twister, her tongue clicks against the roof of her mouth. it doesn’t sound anything like this when she says it as her eyes gleam in hysteria and her hands ready to shred the flesh and bone, it’s the last thing some people in crystalline heard before they died. “ i’m no angel, war. you are my familiar. ”

       THEY   ARE   FAR   TOO   ALIKE            and   warwick   finds   both   grief   and   solace   in   that.      they   both   craved   to   see   the   city   fracture   like   glass,      slicing   the   hands   of   the   heroes   as   they   tried   fruitlessly   to   retrieve   the   scattered   pieces.      yet   they   both   suffered,      entwined   and   frayed,      where   he   struggled   to   pull   up   any   semblance   of   emotion   (   and   when   they   crested,      like   a   long   forgotten   tempest,      it   was   chaos   ),      she   was   eternal,      viperous   volatility.

      HE   FAULTED   NEITHER   OF   THEM         for   their   flaws.      they   were   products   of   their   upbringing   and   the   only   thing   that   kept   them   alive   in   this   metropolis.         this   place   they   called   home   was   a   paradisiacal   mirage   stretched   poorly   over   the   bones   of   a   war-zone,      one   needed   to   feel   nothing   or   everything   to   survive.

               ‘      perhaps   i   did   forget,      ‘      he   confirmed,      her   defiant   rejection   of   his   wounded   venting   was   comforting,      as   if   they   were   normal   people,      normal   friends   relying   on   each   other.      and   sometimes   they   were;      she   was   the   one   person   who   could   claw   that   final,      wilting   bloom   of   happiness   from   his   harrowed   psyche.         

               ‘         you   may   be   the   spirit,            my   spirit,         ‘         it   is   almost   a   tease,      ‘      but   one   loses   fear   when   they   realize   they   can   pick   you   up   and   throw   you.         ‘      his   voice   softened,      ever   so   slightly,      and   perhaps   only   judith,      who   had   known   him   so   long,      though   all   his   strife,      would   be   able   to   detect   it,         ‘         thank   you,      though.      ‘

       HE   TURNED   TO   FACE   HER,         and   any   semblance   of   unbalance   or   disquietude   had   faded   from   cavernous   eyes.      ‘         why   are   you   here?         did   something   happen?      or…   ‘      was   she   seeking   his   company   again?      he   hoped   in   earnest   for   the   latter,      as   tonight   he   felt   isolated,      even   amidst   the   scrambling   feet   of   mice   in   the   walls,         or   beating   wings   of   both   birds   and   insects   alike.

[radioactivelingerie]

[fearhe]

WHEN   HE   EXAMINED   THE   CITY,         truly,      with   both   it’s   vices   and   virtues   splayed   out   in   front   of   him,      he   understood   in   entirety   the   dichotomy   between   humans   and   mutants,      if   just   for   a   moment.         he   saw   death   in   pluriform,      that   these   streets   and   storefronts   were   a   skin,         poorly   stretched   over   the   bones   of   something   dark   and   unapproachable.      it   was   a   nest   of   bones   and   suffering   on   both   sides.

PERHAPS   THE   ENTIRE   WORLD   WAS      exactly   like   this   place,      the   crystalline   city   serving   as   the   one   true   microcosm   of   all   the   earth’s   immorality.      warwick   could   never   know   for   sure,      for   his   crimes   had   beget   misgivings   that   followed   him   wherever   he   went,      barring   him   from   any   mortal   nirvana   or   peace.

TONGUE   FLICKED   ACROSS   VANILLA   AND      chocolate   swirl,      ankles   crossed   as   he   sat   in   the   park.      he   covered   as   much   of   his   skin   as   possible,      woolen   sweaters   acted   as   his   armour   for   the   modern   world,      but   the   heat   had   him   craving   something   cool.      and   so,      the   surrogate   leader   of   the   kovacs   patriarch   ate   ice   cream   alone.

OR,      AS   ALONE   AS   ONE      can   be,      in   a   bustling   park,         with   a   rusty   golden   retriever   at   his   feet.      passersby   would   beg,      with   their   eyes   and   their   simpering   actions,      for   the   dogs   attention,      and   warwick   would   pretend   he   saw   nothing.      in   turn,      his   companion   would   never   react.

ALMOST   NEVER,      AS   IT   TURNED      out,         the   animal   standing   up   and   bolting   halfway   through   his   cone.      it   had   eyes   for   one   person,      and   warwick   was   forced   to   rise,      trailing   after   it   as   it   sat   down   abruptly,      right   in   the   other’s   path.

‘      i’m   sorry,      ‘         he   offered,      passively,      descending   to   his   haunches   to   attach   the   leash   he’d   stashed   in   his   pocket,         ‘      she   usually   doesn’t   do   that,      but…      dogs   will   be   dogs,      ‘      he   found   them   too   wily   to   control   at   times,      unless   he   truly   concentrated,         ‘      are   you   okay?   ‘

[summersblood]

It’s gonna be so much more exciting.

[barackobamas]

@ people who aren’t afraid of spiders how does it feel to be gods among mere mortals

[zooophagous]

Feels bad because now I’m in a position to protect every spider I ever meet from the room full of jerks who don’t appreciate her beautiful legs or useful webs and I have to catch her and put her outside and it’s a lot of responsibility to have shunted onto you

[lovesuggestion-deactivated20200]

Visit Original Link

[platycryptus]

spicies

[fearhe]

c:// demoneuq

        she    HATED   it,   he shouldn’t have to deal with this.   he was too kind to her   -   from the very beginning…   who helps you kill someone without immediately going to the law   ?   not that she wasn’t   GLAD   .   that someone understood her,   well,   tried his best.   it was hard to understand,   she knew.

she kept her gaze at the floor for now,   best not to give them a target.   “   we   -   we are not done here,   i thought   ?   “   she questioned   ;   words were almost choked out.   still gathering the   PIECES   of her soul.   she didn’t understand dorian,   least of all when he proclaimed he cared for her,   would let nobody hurt her   -   then lashed out like this.   energy wasn’t directed at her…   she knew,   but she bore the brunt of his anger.

finally,   after long moment,   she found her hand grasping fauna’s own.  she blinked again,   then looked toward him.   her expression had softened,   it felt like her own,   now.   but she couldn’t remember what,   if anything,   had happened where she knew she’d lost control.   (   IF ONLY TO STOP THE PAIN   )   .

“   it’s sera.   “   she confirms.   CAREFUL   ,    STILL   .   he may yet change his mind about that.   “   i’m okay,   are you okay   -   i don’t remember if anything happened.   i know he forced me aside,   “   she murmurs.   for a second,   she considers the medication,   looking towards his bag.   then,   she shakes her head: 

“   no,   i   -   if it happens again.   force me to take it,   okay   ?   “   using the support he offers,   she forces herself to her feet.   it feels like a lot of effort.   she supposed the   ILLNESS   would be taking effect.   but,   she would not let it show to warwick.

took in her surroundings again,   she had not seemed to alert anyone.   “   i’m sorry,   fauna.   i know it’s a pain.   i feel as if resisting makes it worse,   “

HE   SLIPPED   SO   OFTEN,      DROPPING      code   names   easily.         it   seemed   so   childish,      but   he   humoured   it.      ‘      sera.      ‘      he   affirmed,      nearly   apologetic,      running   fingers   through   his   own   dark   hair,         gaze   softer   than   he   was   reputed   for.   

‘      only   a   little   unfinished,      ‘      he   could   draw   in   all   of   his   strength   and   eliminate   everyone   in   this   building   with   or   without   her,      but   he   voiced   none   of   that   sentiment.      killing   on   his   own   drew   something   from   his   bones   and   polluted   his   mindset,      reminded   him   that   the   floors,      walls   and   bodies   were   teeming   with   life   he   could   usurp   control   of,         and   never   relinquish,         ‘      you   can   rest,      if   you   need   it.      ‘

WHEN   SHE   LEANED   ON   HIM,         he   makes   a   column   of   himself,         ‘      i’ll   do   my   best,      ‘      both   knew   dorian   could   tear   through   him   as   easily   as   he   did   her,      though   with   less   consideration   for   the   body   he   occupied.      that   was   why   he   never   made   sure   promises   to   her,         he   knew   the   biting   sting   of   disappointment   far   too   well.

HE   NEITHER   CONFIRMED   NOR   DENIED         wounds   caused   by   sera,         never   sure   if   dorian   functioned   as   a   miasma   that   would   bring   him   to   his   knees   given   time,         but   offered   his   ready   focus   as   evidence   of   his   being.      ‘      it’s   no   pain   to   me,      ‘      at   least,      not   compared   to   what   it   was   to   her.      the   reflex   to   tell   her   not   to   resist   was   there,         but   he   swallowed   it,      knew   the   dangers   shallowly   and   even   then   he   feared.

‘      we   can   keep   going,      ‘         insects   attracted   by   the   promise   of   rot   were   already   stilled,      his   dominion,      ‘      or   i   can   go,         you   can   rest,      ‘      he   estimated   five   or   more   were   still   alive,      scouring   the   upper   levels   of   the   building   would   bring   them   out   of   hiding,      ‘      you   tell   me.      ‘

[catasters]

[fearhe]

c:// demoneuq

        IT WASN’T RIGHT   .   the expression wasn’t hers   ;   she couldn’t see,   but she knew.   she knew.  fuck   -   FUCK   !   had she gone too far   ?   she was seeing through her own eyes,   but yet the world felt wrong.   he now felt wrong…

she blinked,   once,   twice.   then the voice came,   low in her mind.   he’ll betray you…   he’ll want to separate us,   little one.   she kept her eyes on her companion,   nonetheless,   would he do such a thing   ?   believe me.   he whispers,   like the snake tempted eve;   or as the story goes.   her mind wanders for a second.   dorian would never lie to her…   he had never done so,   they’d been together for so long.

but he   ;   he’d put his neck on the line,   right   ?   with that thought,   she pushed back.   she trusted dorian,    yes,   but there were times when she counted her judgement for more. 

she approached warwick then,   hand placed on his arm.   “   what do we do now   ?   “   she questioned.   you’re weak.   came the voice again,   and the smile she had given him faded to fear.   pain streaked her body,   a strangled whimper came from her,   hands reached for her head,   but they instead hovered just above.   as if the pain was too great to even touch the skin. 

BETRAY   him before he may   BETRAY   you   //   no.   no.    no.    NO.    became her personal mantra.   he’d looked at her like she was a person,   she wouldn’t listen.   “   i   -   i can’t breathe…   war.   “   words were choked out,   in between her own mangled sobs;   trying to contain her pain before attracting attention.

she looked up at him,   eyes were covered black,   none of the familiar blue shone through.   faint black…   it seemed like smoke,   came from her body.   inhuman grin spread across her face.   for that moment,   it was silent.   then,   he spoke:   it was guttural at best,   not her lilt,   not how soft spoken she was.   “   this…   world.   mine.   “   was all the entity uttered before her body lurched forward. 

eyes remained closed for a moment,   gasping for air as her knees hit the ground.   faint smoke still wreathed her body,   hands came finally to pull against her hair.   “   stop…   stop doing that.   “

HE   BARELY   HAD   ANY   WARNING,         as   was   typical   with   sera’s   trembling   instabilities.

CONCERN   CONSUMED   HIM   WHOLE,         A      complicated   and   unhinged   experience,         spread   outward   through   his   body,         her   touch   the   epicentre,         that   he   had   to   smother   before   it   clouded   his   judgement.      ‘      hase?      ‘      he   queried,         quietly,      whatever   their   purpose   had   been,         whatever   their   surroundings,         faded   from   his   mind.

IT   WAS   CAUSTIC,      IMMEDIATE   WHIPLASH         and   he   watched   it   unfurl   in   her,      body   a   battleground   and   mind   a   waste,         ‘      alex,   ‘      he   said,      more   firmly,      hand   found   hers   as   they   were   poised   above   her   head.         an   awful   sensation,         memory,         taste,      permeated   his   being,      in   this   moment   she   was   so   much   like-

      ‘      alex,         you’re   safe,      it’s   okay,         ‘      he   offered   himself   to   her,      a   stable,      physical   pillar   for   her   worn   frame   to   lean   in   to,      but   did   not   force   her   into   his   arms.      in   his   work   bag,      which   had   been   strewn   across   the   ground   in   the   commotion   prior,         there   was   medication,      but   he   didn’t   dare   relinquish   his   grip.      even   his   most   well   intentioned   actions   were   scribed   as   threats   by   dorian,      he   followed   the   demon’s   writs   so   as   to   minimize   damage.

GRASP   LESSENED   GRADUALLY   AS   HER         posture   shifted,         ultimately   dropped   as   dorian   consumed   what   little   was   left   of   alex’s   restraint   and   seemed   to   wield   her   body   as   a   weapon.      ‘      yours?      ‘   he   responded,      almost   snarled,      ‘   you   don’t   even   have   a   body   to   call   your   own.   ‘

AND   THEN   HE   WAS   GONE,         and   there   was   just   the   two   of   them.         he   used   that   moment   to   stretch   over,         palm   sought   out   the   strap   of   his   bag   and   dragged   it   closer,      ‘      hase,      ‘      he   whispered,      again,      ‘      i   can…      give   you   something,      if   you   need.         so   we   can   get   home,      where   you’ll   be…      more   protected.      ‘

[diiscotechjuliet]

Visit Original Link

[fearhe]

c:// demoneuq

             BUT   a moment should pass between,   perhaps barely noticeable,   first came the flinching motion thus followed by eyes flickering,  striking blue to covered black.   as such to walking in the dark,   you   CATCH   something   -   then it’s gone before you may face it.   a commonality was this for the girl,   and for her companion.   for a long moment between words;   she remained silent.

           all day it had felt like the edges had   BLURRED TERRIBLY   between what was her and what was him.   was there anything at all   ?   there must be something…   else the whole world would already be burning.   even as he kept talking to her,   these thoughts pounded against the constraints of her skull.   shut up,   SHUT UP   ,   shut up   !   was screamed by herself within her own mind. 

         at some point,   hand came to rest against her forehead.   “   sorry   -   “   she rasped.   moment later,   hand dropped from her forehead.   she couldn’t say how long it had been since he had questioned her.

        NONETHELESS,   forced lips to curl upwards as her eyes focused on him.   he’d always seemed to steady her;   it would be noted her silent companion had finally gone silent.   “   tough day,   is all.   a little demanding up there,   “   she joked,   lilted inflection obvious.   “   i’d have asked you the same thing;   but i’m   GLAD   you happen to still be here.   won’t you sit with me ‘till it passes;   talking helps.   “   her expression turned genuine then. 

there was no healing from this for her   ;   but there was helping for both of them. 

SVELTE   FINGERS   HOVER,         BARELY   MOVE         to   touch   her   shoulder.         he   cannot,         with   confidence,      see   clearly   within   her   as   he   can   with   some.      at   times   they   are   both   chasms,      staring   endlessly   with   bloodstained   palms,         and   he   cannot   sew   quietude   into   her   tall,      slender   frame   just   as   he   cannot   sing   calmness   into   his   own   bones.      his   grasp   squeezes   gently,         sought   to   ground   her.

‘      s’okay,      ‘      he   murmured,         lets   her   voice   rent   the   space   in   the   forefront   of   his   mind.         perhaps   the   chaos   that   borrowed   both   of   their   bodies   and   made   a   home   of   their   psyches   cancelled   each   other   out   in   the   slightest   way,         warwick   was   unsure.         in   spite   of   all   rationality   that   would   drag   him   back,      recoiling,      from   alexandria,      here   he   was.   

GAZE   TRAILED,         CAUGHT   A   BRIEF      sight   of   the   skyline   from   the   adjacent   window   as   he   guided   them   both   towards   chairs,      ‘   i   would   ask   if   something   in   particular   was…      enlivening   him,      but…   ‘         did   she   truly   know   herself?         a   companion   did   not   a   code-breaker   make,         and   dorian   was   an   enigma.

ANKLES   CROSSED,         THAT   ETERNAL   UNREST         had   him   bobbing   his   leg   ever   so   slightly,      but   his   expression   was   nothing   other   than   complacent,         calm.         where   he’d   left   his   drink,      a   small   gathering   had   grown,      tiny   legs   and   tiny   bodies   hoisting   the   porcelain   to   the   sink   in   his   stead.      unhindered   by   distractions,      now,      he   was   reminded   how   keenly   her   features   resembled   someone   just   on   the   cusp   of   his   memory,         unobtainable.

‘      have   you   been   getting   enough—      ‘      he   broke   off,         to   amend   the   question,      ‘      any   sleep?        ‘

[fearhe]

c:// @demoneuq     FORTIS   FORTUNA   ADIUVAT         —         fortune   will   save   the   strong.      it   was   what   he   had   marred   his   skin   with,      a   credo   he’d   attempted   to   keep   alive   within   himself,      yet,      fortune,      or   perhaps   god,      if   there   was   such   a   being,            had   cut   both   of   them   down,         unthinking.      he   did   not   often   think   in   plurals,         did   not   bind   himself   to   others   whimsically,         but   he   saw   a   cornered   beast   in   the   other   that   mirrored   the   one   that   had   been   worn   and   broken   within   himself.         when   he   looked   into   her   eyes,         whether   he   saw   dorian   or   alex   or   perhaps   the   merger   of   both,         he   saw   fragments   of   something,         someone,         he   could   sympathise   with.       WHETHER   THEY   WOULD   CLAW   BACK         their   future,      together   or   separately,      warwick   could   not   discern,         but   they   were   intertwined   now,         and   he   would   defend   her   as   if   she   was   his   own   flesh   and   blood.         everything   else   had   been   taken   from   him.       ‘      hey,      hase,      ‘      he   greeted   when   he   was   close   enough   that   even   his   quiet   voice   could   adjourn   the   distance   between   them.         day   had   dragged   on   far   too   long,         as   summer   was   inclined   to   do,      but   now   that   night   had   settled   in,      the   syndicate   base   felt   far   more   familiar.         ‘      i   thought   you   would’ve   head   home   by   now,      ‘      he   rested   his   mug   on   the   closest   flat   surface,      ‘      something   keeping   you?      ‘

[mostexcellentkeanugifs]

The Matrix Reloaded, 2003 (x)

[fearhe]

warwick moodboard.