stardust shining

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always...

[teenixle-blog]

Rev Aesthetic; Kat

[evantaylcr-blog]

Evan’s brows knitted together with confusion. There was a tinge of fear to her words – a little stutter at their end that betrayed the suspicion that both of them had left unaddressed thus far. He resisted the impulse to really consider how many people suspected him of being the Chegual Killer; something told him the number wouldn’t quite be as low as he’d have liked. After all, following him were the swirling colours of something dark: hazy reds like old blood, midnight blue of night that hid actions too heinous for day. He carried this strange atmosphere with him – seeping from pores, trickling from sharp words like thick paint, staining whatever he came across. Sharp contrast to the pastel hues the other’s name conjured up from his memory. “Well, yeah, but I was finishing up, anyway,” he said, lying, mostly out of habit. A quick jut of his chin in her direction. “Think you’ve got a cut there.” 

[katerinarivera]

“Oh. Good.” She nods slightly, heart rate finally slowing as she moves past her fear. Of course Evan wasn’t the killer, of course, and suspecting every single person she ran into wasn’t going to help. The only way to move forward was with trust and positivity, and an open mind. She wipes her hands on her shorts, the October air bringing a chill to her spine as she begins to cool off, adrenaline waning. “I, uh, what? Oh. Crap.” A quick hand comes to her face as she winces, now aware of the gash across her cheek, and her fingers come away red with blood. “I must have...Caught it on a rock.” She gestures to the forest floor with a sigh before glancing around. “Where...are we, anyways?”

[katerinarivera]

text: kat

Jackson: Are you going to the party?

Katerina: I wasn't planning on it. Not really in the mood, y'know? Also not really much of a partier. What about you?

[katerinarivera]

text @ all contacts

Teagan: awwwww cmon kitkat

Teagan: it's just what this whole island needs, a little fun! and i seriously need to wingwoman for you girl

Katerina: Sorry!! I would probably just be a wet rag anyways. A total party pooper

Katerina: And noooooo way am I letting you wingwoman for me :O

[katerinarivera]

text @ all contacts

Teagan: who wants to pregame swindon’s party with me?

Teagan: pregame pregame pregame

Teagan: you know it'll be fun 🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿👌🏿👌🏿👌🏿

Katerina: ...I wasn't really planning on going :/ sorry Teags.

[ofkorku]

“If they had to make up their fucking stories about her, then they didn’t know her enough to love her. You think I should go around making up stories, pretend I knew my sister just so I can say that I loved her? Huh?” Maybe he was just jealous that a class full of five-year-olds at least knew Amy well enough to be able to reasonably make up stories about her. Maybe Noah wished that he had stories to tell about her himself, real stories from real memories. Or maybe poor sweet Kat was just an easy target for his anger.

[katerinarivera]

“I-I’m sorry.” She isn’t sure what else to say, backed frantically into a corner by Noah’s frustrations. Taking a deep breath, she blocks everything out for just a moment, bypasses her emotional response to reflect momentarily. To put herself in Noah’s shoes and call upon her compassion and understand. “I’m sorry, Noah.” A calmer apology, one rooted not in fear but in love, in a desire to reach out to him. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

[outofherelement-deactivated2021]

“Ah, but see, horror movie logic makes you either the Virginal Heroine, which technically you can be because of your faith even if, y’know. Or you’re the Jesus Freak that goes nuts and kills at least one person before dying, but I can’t really see that happening because those are mostly older women or pastors who want to blame everything on the Satan. Guess you’re surviving to the end of the movie, sister.”

[katerinarivera]

“Hey, I’m not a Jesus Freak.” She frowns slightly, reprimanding Teagan silently for her stereotype. “And it’s Satan, not ‘the Satan’” She has to laugh slightly at this, and almost even rolls her eyes. “I hope so...But also, not. There are some people - most people - I wouldn’t want to...Y’know...” 

[evantaylcr-blog]

A cold silence had hung in the air since news came forth about a second death on their small, suddenly deadly island. As quick as he would have been to clamp teeth together to stop the chill of fear running through his mind from verbalising itself, he couldn’t deny there was a kicking feeling at the base of his neck that was hard to gulp down, as much as he tried. Each morning he woke with a stirring worry that they had caught up with him; that either karma or the universe (not God, for he had long since given up on Alexei) or someone with something to avenge had finally seen the faint footprints following him that he had worked so hard to bury and was working their way to him. To kill him, or punish him. To cause him an unimaginable pain for every small flame he had extinguished with something cold and metal in his short life. Not much scared Evan, but the thought of this (confessional, penance for sins he tried so hard to run from) pulled the beating sensation from his heart until it, too, was begging for its breath in short gasps. Thus, on his daily runs, he paid more attention to his surroundings – tried to cultivate that same alertness that had served him so well, so sinfully, for years. The soft crunching of twigs and drying leaves under his weight was the only noise he took with him, but now, feeling as though he was being followed, he found the small voice inside himself repeating to go faster, faster, faster, until, eyes still panning around him,  he reached the clearing and, at its base, a small crumpled blonde. Something like relief poured through him as he looked down at her. “Y’alright?”

[katerinarivera]

She looks up through a mess of blonde curls, unknown figure initially drawing fear to her heart in the form of wide eyes and slightly parted lips. With a quick hand, she drags her hair back from her face, Evan’s features immediately presenting themselves and bringing her some relief. Unless...? Even as she sighs in relief, even as her eyes flutter shut and she swallows and pushes herself up into a sitting position, a small flicker in the back of her mind reminds her that they didn’t know who the killer was, that it could be anyone. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. Thanks.” She shakes her head, mind still made hazy by her fear from before. Pushing herself off the ground, she stands, brushing dirt from her body with even dirtier palms before wrapping her arms around herself and looking up at Evan somewhat warily. “I didn’t, um, interrupt your...run, did I?”

[miiissanna-blog]

             Welcome to Chegual Island. We hope you have a killer time.

[outofherelement-deactivated2021]

“It’s really starting to feel like the set of a horror movie around here. My chances already look pretty bad, but maybe party girl is slightly above party girl who sleeps around on the scale of Who Dies First logic? I know, I know, it’s not very politically correct, but the scale was a product of the late eighties and early nineties. We were settling nicely into the age of harmful stereotypes.”

[katerinarivera]

“The scale? Oh - oh. ‘M pretty sure Boring Christian Girl is pretty on the list. We don’t make for good entertainment, really, not unless we’re secretly sleeping around or secretly psycho killers. Which I’m not. Either.”

[invmaya-deactivated20160629]

Walking had always been a sure-fire way to clear her head. Or, at least, to distract herself long enough to sort her thoughts into some semblance of order. It was Maya’s go-to method of wasting away her time when her insomnia struck. But recently, with a killer on the loose and everything turning on its head, Maya had taken to spending a significant chunk of her free time wandering the island. It helped, sometimes. Other times it just allowed her to dwell on the anxiety in her stomach and the fear that clouded her brain. She attempted to tell herself that there was something more to this than some human killer. Aliens, the government snatching people away…but it didn’t help. Sure, aliens and the government were responsible for a ton of mysterious shit. But this wasn’t like those things–there were bodies. People were dead. The whole thing left a taste like metal in Maya’s mouth–it was enough to make her nervous enough to not want to leave her apartment. But then her brain repeated the details over and over, along with a bunch of other thoughts she’d rather not entertain. So Maya walked. The one paranoid concession she allowed herself was the tiny pistol that currently rested in its holster on her hip. It had been a going-away present from her father, who had always been a bit odd about making sure his children could protect themselves. The thought of using the thing made Maya’s stomach twist–she wasn’t sure if she could actually shoot someone, but she kept it with her all the same. The young woman sighed as she brushed her fingers against the leather of the holster. She’d come to the island for adventure. And this whole investigation was exciting, sure–and she was still determined to find out who hurt Amy–but it was terrifying, too. Maya’s thoughts were far from her surroundings as she walked, paying little attention to her surroundings. It wasn’t until she heard the crash of something hitting the ground and some mumbled words that she broke out of her thoughts. The sound sent a sliver of fear straight through her chest, but when she glanced up she saw that it was Kat sprawled out on the ground. “Oh my God, are you alright?” Maya questioned as she rushed over.

[katerinarivera]

Katerina considers remaining on the ground for a moment. The dirt is cool and soothing against her sweaty skin, and the temptation to simply close her eyes and rest pulls at her as relentlessly as her heart pounds in her chest. She hears someone approaching, however, and turns her head sharply, mind immediately rushing to the worst possible conclusion and sending a fearful chill down her spine. At the sight of Maya, she relaxes, almost smiling as her muscles release their tension and she props herself up on her elbows. “I’m fine, yeah, I just...tripped.” She pulls herself up to a sitting position, bending her knees and brushing the dirt off her arms. “Got a little... carried away on my run.” 

[ofbruiises]

With a sigh, his eyes ran across her familiar face, staying away from her palms and the truth written there. He wouldn’t allow himself to focus on anything but the silver shimmer around her, the bright but subtle glow reflected in her eyes. “I’m sure I wanna get fuckin…trashed.”

[katerinarivera]

Arguing with him is pointless, this she realizes. Different people have different coping mechanisms, and while she certainly didn’t think alcohol would solve anything, she supposed she could recognize that it helped him, in one way or another. After a moment’s hesitation, she gives him a small nod before turning to the bartender and ordering him another drink, almost stumbling over the unfamiliar words and scrambling to pull out her ID. Once the deed is done, she pulls herself awkwardly onto the bar stool beside him, looking over at him as she waits for the drink to be made. “That bad, huh? That’s redundant, of course it is. I’m sorry.”

[ofbruiises]

It was still in his head, echoing and bouncing around in his skull like a wasp trapped between the palms of his hands. It hurt, just like it always did, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Just like Amy, there would be no purpose to it. Running across the island searching for the location he has seen earned him nothing but exhaustion. He could feel it in the air; Fawn was dead and there was nothing left he could do to change that. One more drink, just one more drink and maybe he could wash the taste of failure of his mouth. 

“If you’re not…here to get me another drink, then you can fuck off.”

[katerinarivera]

She watches him silently for a moment, understanding immediately the source of his pain and wishing there was something she could do to alleviate it. “Are you sure?” 

[miiissanna-blog]

“I swear to God, if you talk about Amy one more time, I’m going to lose it.”.

[katerinarivera]

“I, but...She deserves to be remembered, don’t you think?” 

[domashford]

                                                     Drip.                                                                   Drip.                                                                               Drip.

The inevitable plop of the IV was the one steadiness, the one certainty in a cruel, uncertain world.

Fawn’s head was pounding. Squinting her eyes at the brightness of it all, from what she could see it looked white and clean — too clean. A low, muffled sound leaving her lips, she shifted a few times before opening her eyes fully. Home? She thought. No. No — it couldn’t be home. It didn’t look like home. Everything was tiled, the whole layout was horribly — medical. Running a hand down the side of her body, she concluded that she wasn’t in her normal everyday clothes, but a hospital gown marred ever so slightly with traces b l o o d most likely derived from “The I n c i d e n t”. So it was a hospital then and she was alive, or….so she thought because just then, Fawn’s eyes were met with those of another, the adjacent pair expectant and wide eyed, seated faithfully at her bedside and looking more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen before. Fawn had never been religious, no, but she thought then, if even just for a moment, she might be because this person next to her, teeming so effortlessly with that unrivaled ethereal beauty must have been an a n g e l. 

Perhaps she was dead after all. 

Still, unafraid, she beamed radiantly at whatever dreamlike entity knelt next to her, speaking in a weak, but overwhelmingly kind voice. 

“Oh, the windows…the windows are all closed but…..there’s so much sunshine, I….“ She paused like she might really die from happiness, the girl delirious and whimsical in tone and demeanor from the head wound and coupious amount of medicine she was on. 

"Remind me to donate generously to this place for taking such good care of me; they knew I couldn’t go outside so they brought the sun inside for me. How l o v e l y…” She trailed off, her words smiling, laughing, the loveliest melody in the world and warmer than any embrace despite the horribly cold way in which she was previously delt. Reaching out, Fawn took the hand of the person next to her, her own hand fragile like the wing of a baby bird as she rubbed small circles into the flesh of the other.

“My sunshine…” She rasped in a barely audible song. “Thank you for shining on through this dark time and casting your blessed rays on me; I feel better already.”

[katerinarivera]

Katerina has lost track of the minutes which have passed. They’ve all faded into a blur of incessant beeping and murmured prayer, her eyes falling shut for long stretches of time as her small hands grow white from being clasped too tightly. Maybe it’s selfish, but she needs the girl to be okay, needs her to survive, if only as a sign from God that there is hope. The past few days have been a torrential downpour of unlucky events, and though Kat has always believed there is a reason for everything, she can’t help but feel the chill of fear which seems to permeate the air. The whole town needed a positive turn of events, if only to celebrate some small victory amid the darkness. 

The sweet sound of life, the gentlest of voices from the injured girl, and Kat raises her head hopefully. Meeting Fawn’s eyes, her heart lurches, face immediately relaxing into an expression of euphoric relief, tension leaving her body. For a moment, she thinks she might cry, eyes prickling ominously, but she manages to hold back, instead offering a smile as bright as she can muster. The girl’s words are even enough to bring forth a giggle from her lips, every emotion seemingly heightened simply by her gratitude. “Hello, my sweet.” She accepts the show of affection from the other, heart hurting at how weak her hand seems. Though they had never been the closest of friends, Kat had always appreciated Fawn’s presence, and she thought the current events of the island bonded them all in some way, entwining them in a web of intrigue and danger that would irrevocably link them.

“No need for thanks, I’m just glad you’re alright. Focus on healing so you can get out of here.”

[katerinarivera]

She hasn’t quite processed the news of James’ death yet, and isn’t quite sure she wants to. Because doing so meant acknowledging the fact that Amy’s killer hadn’t been satisfied with just one victim, and that there were likely more to come. She focuses her mind on prayer, though, on well wishes for the deceased and for those still living, on positivity and peace. She calls these thoughts to the forefront of her mind now as she runs through the forest, fog seeming to seep from the cracks in the trees surrounding her, engulfing her and hiding her in its shadow. A chill runs down her spine as an animal shifts behind her and causes a branch to snap. She stops, removing an earbud and letting it dangle as she cautiously peers over her shoulder, goosebumps dotting her skin and heart racing. A beat passes in which the silence seems to surround her, hissing with the electric buzz of fear and crackling with expectation until she turns with a shudder and forces herself to continue.  What was once a jog now becomes a frantic run, palms clenching anxiously and skin crawling as she picks up speed against her well, desperate to be anywhere else, desperate to emerge from the forest and the fog, desperate for this all to end. The road comes into sight, framed by the last few branches of fading green, and just as she’s about to reach the pavement, her toe catches a gnarled root and she comes crashing down with a yelp, body falling to the ground much like she imagined Amy and Fawn’s had. “Shoot.” 

[ofbruiises]

Of all the powers he could have been stuck with, why did he have to end up with the one that caused nothing but pain? Why couldn’t he have been given the ability to heal, to turn back time, to smooth over scars and make things the way they used to be? He could have been a hero, but instead he was forced to sit and watch as the people he loved suffered over and over again. At least he still had Kat. At least she forgave him, even if he couldn’t forgive himself. 

At her request, he didn’t speak. He just stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck, clinging to her like an anchor For a moment, only a brief moment when all he could feel was her, he thought maybe things would be okay after all.

[katerinarivera]

She collapses into him, all tension previously held tight by her muscles erased simply by the comfort of his touch. She isn’t sure he knows how essential he is to her well-being, how even long after he’d pushed her away she’d missed his presence in her life. He had a habit of putting himself down, of blaming himself for every terrible thing he’d endured, yet he failed to recognize all the good he had done, no matter how many times Kat tried to remind him, and, more than anything, she was just relieved he was back and still okay. Or, as okay as he could be. They were both just doing the best they could. 

She stands no chance against her tears now, too many emotions pressing against the floodgates for her to hold back, and for the first time she lets everything out, allows everything bad thing to find safety in his arms as she clings tight to him. “I missed you so much.”