Amante del Dilf Medio @obscurart - Tumblr Blog

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Keeping them under read more to help with clutter on the page.

At this point, Sebastian can't even muster any surprise when Stefano speaks of Theodore's Harbingers like they're a fashion trend. Stefano's priorities are... different, and at this point he thinks he's better off simply accepting them for what they are. I want to die beautiful because I'm not beautiful in life-- it's utterly illogical to him, but to Stefano, it's simply reality.

Sebastian considers his choices. He could be quiet and have Stefano become so frigid he simply stops moving. Or he could try and understand the fucked up version of reality in Stefano's fucked up little head-- he could keep him talking so he doesn't just pass out and fade away.

Pressing his lips together, Sebastian decides he's tired of people dying because he failed them. If nothing else, he at least owes Stefano for taking that hit for him.

"...what's 'beautiful' to you, anyway?"

Is this concept of ugliness why Stefano is so cold? Sebastian swallows, glances down at where the man's fingers have curled into his shirt, and then draws his arm up slightly so he can rub his bicep. The friction offers some warmth, but he's not sure how much; truthfully, Sebastian just needs something to do with his hands before the posiiton leaves him restless.

"I know it's not the Harbingers," he mumbles, his rubbing gradually slowing into something more akin to stroking, "and I know it's not the clothes I wear." He's gotten enough backhanded comments about his plain shirts and blue jeans to last a lifetime.

"I also know you showed me some of your work, but I was way too pissed off to get it." Obviously. Stefano probably already gathered as much, though-- that nothing else had mattered to Sebastian at the time of his battle than his daughter. "If it's technique, you got that in spades. But your subjects...

"Why death? What's in it that you can't get alive?"

obscurart

"It's not death," Stefano sighs, clearly exhausted, but primarily about how often people miss the purpose of his work at this point. "It's the moment of death. There's something so moving about a person's last moment alive, yet most see it as nothing more than macabre. People choose to focus on the sorrow that comes with that moment, rather than the beauty of what it means.

"People see the beauty in a life being born, and yet, when a life is lost, it is deemed nothing but a tragedy, regardless of how or who or why."

As Stefano presses his forehead against the side of Sebastian's neck and his fingers mindlessly begin to toy with the fabric of the shirt. Even if the warmth offered is limited, it's welcomed and helps him steady a good deal.

"The harbingers are nothing but shock fodder and your clothes are uninspired. But capturing the moment of someone's death... well, there's so much feeling in it, it..."

Stefano trails off with a sigh and his hand lowers from Sebastian's shirt to his own lap.

He's unsure of why Sebastian has taken a sudden interest in his art, but Stefano's all but certain he'll be met with the same judgement and baseless criticism for it, regardless.

"It doesn't matter."

He wishes he was strong enough to be able to pull away from the other, but he knows he's desperate for the warmth that the other is offering.

#antielevator #ae3

antielevator

Usually, getting to know someone is meant to inspire some kind of understanding. Maybe even empathy. But the past few days he's spent in Stefano's company traversing the fiery inferno of Theodore's version of STEM have been less enlightening and more... pitiful, almost.

"The one time you shut up," Sebastian mutters, "and you're acting like a cat."

But the other man is deathly cold. Perhaps more so than a typical person suffering blood loss would be. Is it a side-effect of Stefano's pessimism in survival, maybe?

Sebastian sighs, deciding that he'd rather not risk the possibility of Stefano killing himself on accident. The crossbow is removed from his back and leaned against the wall. "Enough. You're not gonna get anything out of a pose like that."

He slides lower, pushes Stefano down a little aggressively, and then makes it so that they're both lying on the carpeted floor. It isn't comfortable in the least, but there isn't much by way of comfort in this visitor centre, and Sebastian doesn't really want to figure out the logistics of doing this on a chair.

"C'mere," he mutters, pulling Stefano close with an arm around his shoulders. If Stefano'd been trying to cuddle his fingers earlier, he slots against Sebastian's side now like a human puzzle piece. It'd be horribly embarrassing in any other context.

Sebastian's other hand takes Stefano's wrists, guiding them up so he can huff warm breath against palms gone pale. Then he manoeuvres him so that callused fingers can rub at Stefano's hands with his arm still cradling him close.

"Stop thinking you're gonna die already..."

obscurart

Had Stefano been even remotely better, he'd have shoved Sebastian's hands off of him as they semi-roughly moved him onto the floor. At the least, he would have had a quip sent his way.

But he couldn't muster anything up other than a sigh of contentment as he begins to pull him in closely.

"I don't think I'm going to die, Sebastian. Not yet, at least," he admits in a soft voice, his tone wavering as his breath stutters minutely. "I am, however, very aware that I likely won't make it out of Union. I'm certain Theodore would have changed me into one of those tragically ugly harbingers."

He pauses once more to recollect himself, taking in several deep, long breaths as he huddles into the warmth Sebastian's body offers him. When he comes to a bit more, he knows he'll wonder why the man who so easily could have killed him fought so hard to keep him comfortable.

He'll also wonder why he enjoyed being so close to a man who would have killed him without a second thought if he remained the only obstacle between himself and Lily.

"I haven't been beautiful in quite some time."

He closes his eyes and lays his head upon Sebastian's shoulder, a hand raising to gently clutch at the front of the elder's shirt to keep him close.

"If I cannot be beautiful in life, I wish to be beautiful in death, at least."

#antielevator #ae3 #/GOOD YOU PROMISED IT

antielevator

Sebastian bares his teeth, ready to snarl that he had asked, and Lily had been terrified, but a little hand reaching for his forearm has him stilling. Looking down, he sees Lily shake her head at him, and his anger withers almost all the way through.

It takes everything in him to keep his mouth shut. He'll do it for her, though.

Seeing the way she hesitantly approaches Obscura, though, he understands now why it is Stefano was convinced his daughter wasn't scared out of her mind. Lily's trembling when she reaches her hand out to touch Obscura's camera head, and he can see the way her lip wibbles and her eyes start to fill with tears, but he's sure that all Stefano sees is a little girl making friends with his precious creations. The fear doesn't compute to him nearly as much as Lily's soft admission of "I'm glad you liked my drawing".

Jesus. Sebastian swallows. He has no fucking idea.

Everything makes so much sense suddenly that he can't help but feel anything except pissed off about it.

"You played with them, huh?" he asks, acknowledging Lily. She looks over her shoulder, nods once, and sniffles before saying, "Just Ms. Obscura... M-Ms. Guardian was out fighting with you."

I remember. "I see." Sebastian's arms cross over his chest. "I'm glad Ms. Obscura was so nice to you, then."

"Y-Yeah--" Lily flinches at a chirp that comes from Obscura, wrenches her hand back as if she were burned, and then steps back towards Sebastian's ready hands. He takes both her shoulders in them, squeezing in comfort.

"You okay?" he asks.

"She just--" Lily's only barely keeping herself from whimpering. "I got surprised..."

The ground beneath them trembles. Sebastian's thumb strokes the side of Lily's neck, feeling her pulse jackrabbiting in fear, and then dips his head to kiss the top of her head.

"It's okay, sweetheart. She's just excited." A beat. "Why don't we, uh... play a game or something? Maybe that'll help Ms. Obscura calm down, huh?

"What do you think, Stefano?"

obscurart

Stefano leers at Sebastian, naturally missing that it's his beautiful Obscura that is eliciting this fear in the small child, and, instead, gathering that it's because Sebastian's own feelings are beginning to sway Lily's. His jaw tightens and his fist clenches against his chest, opening his mouth to accuse the former detective of imposing his own ideals onto his child, eventually taking her from her friends.

Though, as a game is suggested, he falls silent.

A game he suggests? When was the last time he himself had played a game.

There's a sense of discomfort that settles into his bones as he attempts to hide the fact that it'd been so long since he'd played a game, he can't even remember when or what it was.

Still, there's a smile, albeit forced, as he nods in agreement.

Turning his attention to his saddened Obscura, he delicately strokes her neck with gloved fingers as he attempts to console her after Sebastian so rudely interrupted her time with her beloved comrade.

He knows better than to dwell on it, though.

It's best for Lily if he continues on.

"And what game do you think we should play?"

Guardian and Obscura also seem to be on board at the thought of a game.

After all, they're so young themselves, they've yet to play anything that the masses deem conventionally fun. It'll be interesting attempting to teach them one, regardless of what it is.

#antielevator #ae2 #/sorry it's short but I know you'd rather content over filler alksjf;laksdjf

antielevator

"What?" Sebastian says-- aloud, this time. Stefano talks like the main character of some Greek tragedy, like he really thinks this is the end. His kneejerk reaction is to tell the man to quit being so dramatic, but an errant thought cuts through his scepticism with a knife: if Stefano truly believes he's dying, then will his mind collapse and kill him in the dreamscape?

He's seen what happens to the people who die in this world. Connelly's scared, dead body, Jimenez' fucked up little corpse-- the thought of returning to the real world and finding Stefano's lifeless body in a container fills him with dread, and he's not sure if it's because that'd be someone else he failed to keep alive, or...

God, that he's afraid of losing him.

"Don't be stupid," he hisses. "I'm not letting you die." You're my only lead to Theodore is a reason he thinks of giving, but the logic falls apart even before the thought fully forms in his head. Kidman had provided far more intel than Stefano could-- in two minutes after he called her, no less.

Value is a peculiar subject. Without Lily's powers, Stefano's hardly the formidable man that he was when they first clashed. In terms of back-up, he doesn't know how to use anything well but his knife, and when he throws it he still has to get it back. In terms of everything else, the man's got a shitty attitude, they don't really get along, he scares his daughter like crazy, and...

He got hurt trying to protect him for some convoluted belief that Sebastian deserved to live more.

"We've come this far, Stefano," he says, tone softening some. With luck, maybe Stefano would think it was just exhaustion. "What, you get bit once and that's it for you?"

From his crouched position, Sebastian moves to sit by Stefano's side, sighing as he does. "Only because you finally asked me nicely-- fine, I'll kill you before anyone else can." He curves his palm over Stefano's shoulder, then finds himself surprised at the chill he can still feel even through the shirt. Jesus. "But we're not gonna get to that point, all right?

"I'm not letting you die," he says a second time. "You offered to come with me-- that makes us partners.

"And I take care of my own, even when they're annoying like you." (The memory of Joseph aches like a thorn in his chest. Sebastian deliberately pushes the thought as far away as possible.)

obscurart

Stefano truly attempts to listen to what Sebastian says as he moves closer to him, but the way the warmth of his hand permeates the shirt he wears and engulfs him in a sea of comfort, he finds remaining attentive is nearly impossible.

It's moments too late that he realizes he's beginning to curl into the comfort that Sebastian's touch brings. Though, even when he realizes that he's all but holding the detective's hand against himself, snuggling around it as if he were a child with his teddy, he makes no effort to undo his movement.

All thoughts of the point he was trying to make, why it was important that Sebastian kill him before anyone else has the chance, slips away as he huddles against as much of the warmth the appendage has to offer.

"Own," he repeats, unaware that the word left him at all as shivers begin to roll through his body.

While he wishes words brought as much warmth to himself as Sebastian's touch does, he can't help but cling to the way Sebastian acknowledges that they are now one. It's a sentiment he hasn't quite felt since the accident, and he wishes he could bask in it, perhaps, even tease Sebastian for finally seeing him for the catch that he is.

But he can't.

Not now, at least. Not when everything is frigid and hazy and his touch is going numb.

Stefano's so cold- colder than he's ever felt before. He just needs warmth.

How do I get warm?

#antielevator #ae3

antielevator

Lily seems to cower a little bit more behind him, fingers clutching his shirt tighter as she eyes what they've dubbed Stefano's "friends" with significant doubt. Sebastian has asked her here and there about what she's seen before he found her, but she'd been resolute about not wanting to describe them. Not wanting to force it out-- not when Lily's already had to deal with too much on her own to begin with-- he'd dropped the topic in the hopes of bringing it up again later.

Now, though, he's seeing for himself that whatever Lily had seen Stefano's creatures do must have terrified her. Which is why it surprises him when the first thing that comes out of her mouth is--

"It's b... been a while, Ms. Guardian."

What?

Looking behind him, Sebastian sees that Lily's body language is full of fear. She's tense, she's hiding, she's still holding onto him... and yet she bites her lip and greets not just one, but both of Stefano's girls.

"...and Ms. Obscura."

She even calls them "miss"!

"You've met?" Sebastian asks, doing his best to stifle his shock. Then again, Lily had been resolute about letting Stefano stay-- it shouldn't have surprised him that they'd spent enough time together for her to have seen the things he made.

"We... Mr. Valentini... sh-showed me his pretty art..."

Pretty? You said his art terrified you!

"...so I saw them before..." She swallows. "And I saw them fight you, too... when I thought you weren't... weren't real."

His poor daughter is shaking like a leaf, so Sebastian takes her hand and squeezes it firmly in an attempt to reassure her.

"We're friends now," he says, "so you don't have to worry about anything, okay, sweetheart?

"Right" -- he turns, brown eyes locking instantly on Stefano's visible blue one -- "Stefano?"

obscurart

With an absolute lack of social awareness, Stefano smirks proudly as Lily greets his creations so kindly. The Guardian's heads laugh in their joyously haunting chime and Obscura squeaks with excitement, turning about and dancing upon her pointed toes as she attempts to contain her elation.

Truthfully, it'd been quite some time since someone's been so appreciative of himself and his work, so much so that his own work even acknowledges it.

It's nice being appreciated, even by a child.

Though, as Sebastian all but warns him, a wave of irate exhaustion overcomes him, rolling his eye before meeting his gaze once more.

"The three of us were already friends with your daughter. Did you think to ask her at any point what she did while in my care? She had ample crayons and paper to color. While it may not be my preferred medium, I respect her choice."

He lackadaisically crosses his arms over his chest before he turns his attention to the young girl once more, a fond smile over his lips as he watches her, somehow unable to comprehend her fear.

"Obscura loved your drawing of the puppy so much she took many pictures of it." He turns his head to his more graceful creation. "Isn't that right, my beautiful?"

Obscura mimics what would be an eager nod had there been a head where it belongs on the body, and she begins to move towards Lily, as if to ask a question that no one has any means to translate.

#ae2 #antielevator

antielevator

Sebastian doesn't answer as far as "missing" anyone goes, choosing silence instead of any further incrimination. He's always had a problem with this, after all-- once he's gone through enough horrific experiences with someone, it becomes terribly difficult to pretend like he isn't capable of compassion for them. He hadn't been lying when he said Stefano wasn't far gone enough to be unreasonable, and perhaps that's the most dangerous thing of all.

With his hands steadfast in their bandaging of Stefano's wounds, the way the man trembles is terribly obvious. It's not bad enough to affect Sebastian's work (he's grateful he hadn't started shaking when he was sewing him up, at least), but is still something to take note of.

His head snaps up when Stefano whimpers, though. The surprise on his face is unmistakable, even as he hurries to wipe the look away.

"Theodore isn't changing anything, Stefano," he says, not to scold but to clarify. After the bandages are done up, he buttons the man's shirt up again, then takes a moment to look around the visitor centre. "...but I think you might have lost enough blood to fuck with your pressure."

As the man's still capable of rambling, Sebastian doubts the whole ordeal is life threatening. He stands up, first moving to turn up the heat with the thermostat, then retrieving a t-shirt most certainly reserved for tourists (which makes him wonder in turn if Union could even get tourists). He brings this back to where Stefano is sat on the floor.

"Come here," Sebastian says, but he doesn't wait for consent before he's undoing Stefano's shirt again. This time he pulls it off all the way, then tosses it aside; the damn thing's ruined, anyway. "A dry shirt should do you some good.

"This was the only one they had, though. Sorry."

SOMEONE WHO LOVES ME VERY MUCH WENT TO UNION AND GOT ME THIS T-SHIRT, the bright blue shirt says. It even has a heart and everything.

obscurart

As Sebastian removes his shirt once more and fixes him up again, Stefano doesn't fixate on how disgustingly designed it is. He doesn't focus on the fact that, had he been alone, he likely would have died.

Well, that last part he does focus on, but rather, not the part one normally would.

"Sebastian, may I ask something of you?"

His voices is soft and low, almost as if he's nervous his request will be denied for one reason or another. Stefano's not so foolish to think Sebastian would ever truly understand him or his motivations, but maybe he'll respect the wishes of what would be a dying man.

"If someone in this hellscape is to kill me, please, make certain it's you. I only trust you with my death. I've seen your work, and it truly is a work of art that I would never be able to achieve."

There's an honesty in the way he kills the lost that Stefano isn't sure he'll ever be capable of. It's not death for the sake of it, nor is it even death for the sake of survival- it's death to save his daughter. The desperation of a parten protecting his kin is something he's unable to recreate as he's not felt such anguish before.

Perhaps the lonesomeness of his life is a tragedy in a sense, but nothing compared to the fear of losing one's own child. Stefano may not understand the normal family dynamics, but even he's not so foolish to question it.

#antielevator #ae3

antielevator

Sebastian could claim Stefano was delirious, but it isn't the first time the man's spoken of him like this. Granted, when they first met, Sebastian had been too consumed with his anger to think about anything other than killing him, but now-- with Stefano so small, and weak, and wounded-- it all feels different. Feels contextualised, even, after Stefano had admitted he'd rather Lily's father survive over himself.

He remembers what Hoffman said about his profile: that, generally speaking, Stefano didn't care for any interests but his own. But in that case, what did this mean? And why is it that Sebastian's heart tightens when he's called beautiful?

"If tragedy makes something beautiful to you, Stefano," Sebastian starts, "then I think you got it made."

The stitching's finished, and Sebastian dips his head to cut the thread with his teeth. He grabs medicine from the kit, pretending the back of his neck isn't still warm in a mix of confusion and...

God. With how the cut by his eye tingles after Stefano touched it so delicately, Sebastian could choke on the word pleasure before he thinks it.

He changes the subject, scowling as he rubs medicine over Stefano's ghastly looking wound. "If you died back there, what would I tell your girls, huh?

"And what about our plan to get Theodore together? Some fucking backup you'd be, getting eaten by one of these freaks before we even get there."

With the medicine spread evenly on Stefano's wound, Sebastian's hand cups the side of his neck, guiding him so Stefano's weary gaze can meet his own. "You're not dying here." It's spoken almost like a command, domineering and firm. "I still have to cuss you out in the real world, you know."

obscurart

As a laugh attempts to leave him, Stefano begins to sputter and cough, wincing as his body jerks against the wounds that were only just patched up. Despite the pain that causes him to grit his teeth as he desperately tries to still his body as best he can, he manages a small and sincere smile as he looks back into Sebastian's eyes.

"Detective, is this your way of telling me you'd miss me should I perish?"

Stefano's only teasing, of course. He's not so disillusioned to think that there are any genuine feelings towards himself from Sebastian. The man has made it quite clear that he's nothing more than a murderer and a monster on multiple occasions. It would make sense that the only reason he's demonstrating any kindness towards him is because they have a mutual enemy.

As there's mention of the real world, the artist parts his lips to ask if Sebastian intends to turn him in to the authorities for the crimes he's committed out there, but the words flee his mouth as a shudder rolls through his body.

Unable to help the way his body trembles and the way he whimpers as he grows colder, he forces his eyelids open to look around.

"How is he making everything colder now? Was fire not enough for the bastard?" he grumbles as his hand moves towards where he believes his knife is laying so he's prepared for whatever threat comes next, completely convinced it's Theodore doing this and not sheer amount of bloodloss he's undergone.

#antielevator #ae3

antielevator

Sebastian is so used to being the one that charges headfirst that Stefano's attempt to take a hit for him stuns him. The shock lasts only a moment, but that had been enough-- in his inability to move, the Lost had dug its teeth into Stefano's shoulder and pulled. The sight of it was sickening: the skin, the muscle, the gush of blood, but even before any of it had fallen to the road, Sebastian had come forward to stab the creature in the skull.

It falls, of course, with the way the knife passes through bone and brain. Sebastian grabs its corpse before it collapses on Stefano's fallen form, then throws it bodily aside (he fails to notice that he throws it a little too far, and a little too strong to be normal).

"What the fuck," is the first thing he says, pressing his palm to Stefano's shoulder and another against the artery on his arm. He isn't bleeding exaggeratedly, thank God (thank God?), but it's enough to be worried (worried?).

"Why did you take that for me?" Never mind the fact they'd been surrounded. Never mind the fact that Sebastian had just fended off two at a time and didn't see the third coming for him.

"We gotta move."

He has enough in his pack to wrap cloth around Stefano's wound for pressure, but Sebastian takes him to a nearby information centre nevertheless. It's here that he sets Stefano down on a cushioned couch, scouring the area for the inevitable emergency first-aid kit and bringing that back with him. Once he gets Stefano's shirt off, Sebastian starts work on him methodically, calm despite the ugliness of the wound.

That's when Stefano speaks, quiet and soft--

❝ there’s no touch that feels like yours. ❞ ( x )

And Sebastian, lifting his head to meet @obscurart's visible eye, mutters a dry, "If you wanted that you could've come up with a better plan than this one."

Still, a bloody knuckle taps at the corner of Stefano's jaw in something like appreciation. Sebastian almost smiles, even, if not for the furrow of his brows.

"Don't move too much. I gotta stitch you up."

obscurart

There's something almost affectionate in the way Sebastian's knuckle brushes against his jaw as he speaks, and a slight arrest causes pause in Stefano's ability to respond.

"It's better something happens to me than you, Sebastian. Theodore needs to be stopped, and Lily needs her father."

The words are serious, too much so for him to usually be able to stomach, but he'll chalk it up as nothing more than the blood loss skewing his cognitive abilities.

Truthfully, though, whatever removes his inhibitions, Stefano's almost grateful for. As Sebastian sews him up, the hand nearest the former detective lifts up and delicately strokes the back of a finger along the healing wound he himself had caused.

It would make sense, he's certain, seeing as how he's begun to numb to the point he can barely feel Sebastian working on him.

"You're so magnificent. A stunning creation without anyone needing to mold you into it.

"And yet, life itself molded you into such a specimen, didn't it? There's a sadness in your eyes that I've always attempted to capture in my art. So beautiful. So moving..."

Stefano trails off as he feels himself slip out of consciousness for but a moment.

As he comes to once more, his hand falls to his side and he allows a low sigh to flutter between his lips.

"I hope I can be so beautiful one day."

#antielevator #ae3 #track

antielevator

@obscurart // plotted starter.

"I remember Mr. Valentini's friends, Dad," Lily says, looking at him in the mirror as Sebastian brushes her hair. "They were really scary..." Her lip quivers some as she says it, but then goes firm once more as she does her best to be brave. "But if you say they're gonna be nice to me, then... then it's okay."

"They get excited, that's all," Sebastian says, placing clips in to hold her bangs out of her face. "I promise-- they're gonna protect you while we find the bad man that made Union like this."

"And then things'll be normal again?" Lily murmurs.

"And then things'll be normal again," Sebastian agrees, dipping his head to kiss the top of her hair once it's all fixed. "Or at least less scary."

Hopping off her chair, Lily straightens her dress, then takes Sebastian's hand in her little one. "I'd like that."

"Me too." He squeezes Lily's hand gently. "You ready to go?"

With his daughter's nod of approval, Sebastian takes her out of her bedroom and down the stairs of the house. Stefano ought to be in the backyard with his girls, and the thought that this is the most fucked up playdate he's ever taken his daughter to comes to mind without warning. Sebastian would snort if he wasn't trying to be positive for her sake.

"Hey, Stefano," Sebastian calls as he pushes the door to the backyard open, "everything good out here?"

obscurart

As the voices begin to grow closer, it's clear that Stefano is not the only one to notice this. Guardian begins to move her weight between her feet as an excitement begins to settle into, just as Obscura begins to dance in place and her camera begins to peak around the corner, hoping to see them first.

"Mie bellissime creazioni," Stefano begins in a tender voice, the affection he feels for the two works of art before him apparent on his features as he cradles Obscura's lens in one hand and one of Guardian's heads in his other. "I know we are very excited for more friends to care for and appreciate us, but we must remain polite.

"Remember, as she is young, she doesn't understand the world as it truly is. She will likely be unable to understand us, and it is important that Lily grows to appreciate us the way we do her."

As he pulls away, he moves to meet Sebastian at the door to the yard, uttering a light but sincere, "Best behavior, mi amors."

He greets the two Castellanos, his hands folded politely behind his back and offers a cheery grin. "We most certainly are."

#antielevator #track #ae2

sxnedmemes

SEND ‘ BRED FULL ‘ TO BREED MY MUSE

#make love art and war

antielevator

"I doubt the fucker'll convince me to let him use my daughter," Sebastian says plainly, almost bitingly, "so I have nothing to worry about."

Head dipped, Sebastian shuts his eyes as he processes this new information. It's cruel that everyone wants his little girl. It's even crueller that there's nothing she can do about it, terrified as she already is by this unstable world.

With the things that Ruvik could make people do simply by controlling STEM, he can't imagine what someone with genuine charm might be able to get away with. Was Theodore why the world wasn't fixed as soon as Lily was brought somewhere safe? And if he knew Lily was the Core, did that mean he was Mobius too?

As his eyes open once more, Sebastian knows there's no use thinking aimlessly about it. More important than his own paranoia is making sure he has conclusive information, and with luck Theodore'll be the kind of asshole who underestimates him the whole way before he shoots a bolt between his eyes. He'll call Kidman as soon as Stefano is gone, then see about the rest of the agents still in Union.

Speaking of Stefano, though, the moment of calm affords enough clarity for Sebastian to say, "For what it's worth, I don't think you're beyond reason." But he doesn't look over his shoulder, not wanting to see the look on Stefano's face as he speaks. "You're not a monster, just an asshole. But so am I.

"Now get going. I'll leave your clothes in the guest room when they're done."

obscurart

Stefano's lips part as he attempts to clarify that Theodore won't attempt to convince him out of his daughter, but rather, that he may have far more followers at this point than he had when Stefano had last seen the man. Though, it doesn't come out as the artist acknowledges that the words will fall upon deaf ears, just as everything else he's attempted to share with the other has.

So instead, he just offers a curt nod and folds his hands behind his back.

"Understood." There's almost a hesitance to himself as he eyes the door then Sebastian once more. For some reason, he finds it almost difficult to look him in the eye as he moves to gather his knife, walkie-talkie, and bottle of water.

He begins to look for his camera, but is quickly reminded that Sebastian's confiscated it.

How is he expected to work efficiently and collect materials without his camera?

Though, he doesn't dwell on it. With a sigh, he approaches the door to the hellscape that now is Union.

"I'll attempt to keep as quiet as possible while I gather supplies and resurrect my works. Please let me know if I'm making too much noise, though. If we're attempting to keep Lily as calm as possible, perhaps her inadvertently seeing them before they're ready will be counterproductive."

And with that, he leaves into the eerily quiet evening.

#antielevator #ae1 #/sounds like a plan to me!#/God Obscura is going to be so excited for a new friend I cannot #/and guardian takes care of food while the parents are away #/she make-a da pizza #/I s2g if anyone comes at me for that joke imma fight them with the wooden spoon my Italian family yields like fucking champs

antielevator

The immediate shift in Stefano's demeanour is stark and, out of context, may even be described as incredible. He goes from this attempt at standing his ground to... Sebastian doesn't even know how to describe it in a way that doesn't remind him of girls and their beloved pop stars.

He's blinking as Stefano rambles, and somewhere in the middle of that the washing machine beeps with a reminder of the clothes inside. He doesn't turn away, though, in some attempt at respecting the conventions of polite conversation.

"Uh..." Is that enough time? Stefano asks him. Sebastian wants to ask in turn how long it'll take him to retrieve "parts", especially without Lily's power backing him up, but swallows the curiosity back. "Yeah. Sure. Gives me some time to do some research of my own."

And by that, he means Kidman is doing research, but he imagines she ought to have profiles for everyone that's been brought into this damn place, anyway. (He'll check in with Hoffman and O'Neal too, just in case.)

Sebastian turns back to the machine, transferring Stefano's clothes from the wash to the dryer.

"One last thing," he says, hand pressing flat to the top of the rumbling machine. "When you met with this Theodore... did he want Lily, too?"

Sebastian's sure he already knows the answer, but he needs the confirmation for his own peace of mind, if nothing else.

obscurart

The joy at being allowed to create by the one who had so sincerely attempted to stifle his art is overflowing, radiating from within and seeping out of his pores in a way that he's almost certain he's glowing from the sheer enthusiasm.

Of course, knowing his two greatest creations and the things that were the closest thing he's had to a family in quite some time will come to life once more is an exciting moment.

He's about ready to head out and begin assembling pieces once more when Sebastian speaks up. With a soft sigh, he looks at him gently.

"Caro," Stefano begins, tone lower and emulating something along the lines of sorrow and empathy. "He was the reason I was after her in the first place. Before him, I hadn't the slightest clue that the core was a physical being."

Without thought, his eye shifts to the direction he's certain Lily's in.

"I know you think me a monster, but Theodore... he's already so powerful, likely more so since I've last seen him. It's why we need to crush him before he gets even remotely close to her. He's... convincing, to an annoying degree."

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antielevator

Sebastian's kneejerk reaction is to ask why?, but he knows the answer even before he tries to say it. If he's getting rid of Theodore, it benefits Stefano greatly-- the old adage of how the enemy of the enemy is my friend is true even here, and he's not arrogant nor fool enough to refuse the obvious olive branch Stefano is offering.

"...fine."

And then: "You're coming with me."

To most people, perhaps leaving one's daughter in the care of two monsters would be an incredibly questionable decision. Already, Sebastian anticipates Kidman's shock as soon as he speaks with her next. But for as long as Stefano finds Sebastian's services useful, he won't order his pets to do anything to his little girl-- besides, grim though it might be, Sebastian knows that her being alive would be a bigger benefit should be die along the way. If Lily lived and he died, Stefano would have full access to her powers, and that's exactly what he wanted in the first place.

Lily will be fine. He can't imagine it'll take him more than a few days to locate Theodore, anyway.

"I'll let her spend time with..." He can't believe what he's saying, honestly. "...Obscura, at least."

The admission makes Sebastian want to swallow salt.

"Your Guardian's a little too much visually." And Lily's only just starting to get better, as far as coping with her fear of the place goes. "But she needs a friend while we're gone."

Obscura hadn't been nearly as violent as the Guardian was, even if the latter might have been fuelled by Stefano's own desire to cut Sebastian down. All Obscura really cared about was photographs; foolishly, he'd been unable to hurt her because of it, but he's tired enough of all this violence that the opportunity to use smoke bolts and move on proved too tempting.

"Can you have them ready by tomorrow? We'll introduce her to them together."

obscurart

An overly eager grin pulls at Stefano's lips and it takes everything with him to not giggle with joy at the other's acceptance of his proposal. He attempts to regain his composure, but the excitement is permeating in his demeanor.

"Fortunately, my Obscura only needs some touch-ups from what you did to her. She'll be ready within an hour. As for Guardian, she'll require some more... supplies. It'll likely take the whole night to piece her back together, but as for gathering parts, I'm unsure how long that will take."

He pats the tip of his pointer finger against his chin repeatedly in thought.

"I may also need to adapt her design a bit. I may add a third arm to utilize a secondary weapon. The saw, naturally, is going to remain, but perhaps something that offers range, even along the lines of a catapult, will serve useful.

"Ugh, but I worry it'll make her too busy and unappealing- visually speaking, of course."

As Stefano's rambling begins, so does his pacing, and he all but forgets who it is he's sharing his process with. Granted, it doesn't matter, in a sense, as he knows Sebastian doesn't care enough about his art to attempt to recreate it himself.

Finally, after what felt like only seconds, but was, in fact, far longer, he finally stops and looks back at the other.

"She'll be done by noon tomorrow. Is that enough time?"

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antielevator

Sebastian takes Stefano's declaration-- that he, too, is a killer-- in stride. What he's done in this nightmare world is something he doesn't dwell on for a reason. The moment he humanises the monsters he sees outside; the moment he imagines their comatose bodies in the real world and their minds lost to the endless depths; the moment he acknowledges that his knife has flatlined far too many monitors to say… he'll be lost in the conundrums of his own morality, and he knows it.

You don't argue with insane, anyway, his rationality offers. Someone who kills for art wouldn't understand killing for self-defence.

(Never mind that he's gotten so good at killing these things he can take groups of them out from afar.)

"Theodore." The name isn't familiar to him, but Kidman might have something to say about it. At the very least she'd be able to research in the real world in a way Sebastian couldn't here. "Thank you for finally giving me something to work with."

The washing machine keeps running behind him, and likely will for the next few minutes. Stefano's clothes were soaked through with blood, after all. Still, Sebastian pushes himself off of it, brings one hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose in exhaustion, then drops it to slide into his pocket.

"Look… I can take a lot of shit, Stefano." That's an understatement, considering. "I don't even care about having to compromise.

"The only non-negotiable thing in this whole situation to me is Lily and her safety, and if you don't want to understand why I can't agree with what you need her to do, then there's no point discussing it."

Sebastian's steps forward, standing toe to toe with the other man, and meets his one blue eye with a resolute look. "If I go track this Theodore down on my own, though, you have to promise me you won't use her powers any more. I think you owe me that much for getting rid of your batshit employer.

"Because I will."

obscurart

"You won't be getting rid of him on your own. Even without the power of the core, Theodore is far stronger than any of us, especially on our own."

Despite how close Sebastian is, he doesn't waiver. The man insults him at every turn he possibly can, how could he possibly back down from such a blatant attempt at intimidation.

"Tell me, why do you think I'd create something with a name such as Guardian that was capable of such defense? While she was a work of art, she also served a purpose. You saw how easily I handled the Mobius agents on my own- their deaths, I admit, were more... personally driven- why would I need Guardian to protect me from them?

"No, amore mio dolce, she wasn't for Mobius, and she certainly wasn't for you, despite how much joy you brought her as you played with her. She was to keep Theodore distracted long enough for me to acquire all the power I could get."

There's a slight smile that spreads across his features as he comes to a sense of compromise. Warped as it may be, he knows his creations were strong. Theodore has a great mental fortitude and a wonderful affinity for persuasion, but outside of the power he gets from others, he's essentially weak.

Though, there's always the chance he's found his footing already in STEM, but Stefano ignores that inkling that perhaps things could be worse than when he last saw the zealot.

"Allow me to recreate her and my Obscura, if you don't trust me with you or with my camera. They'll aid in keeping you safe. Alternatively, they could stay behind and protect Lily. A last line of defense, if you will. She doesn't have to meet them, but they can stand guard and protect her should we fail."

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antielevator

Sebastian's expression is unchanging, as firm as it had been when this all started even with the change in proximity. "She's still afraid, Stefano. Of course the world's still gone to hell.

"And once people get Lost, you can't bring them back-- that's how this works."

Briefly, the image of Joseph struggling not to succumb to STEM's natural breakdown of personalities comes to mind. The own struggle he had, however brief, is another memory, and Sebastian ignores the phantom sensation of an itch in his brain. As long as he doesn't pay attention to it, it shouldn't harm him.

"You're a serial killer and you mangle bodies for art-- that's dangerous, and honestly insane, but not on the same level as what I've dealt with before. Even if you keep trying to scare my daughter."

Stefano isn't like Ruvik, who was fuelled by more than his own personal passions. He isn't consumed by the desire for revenge nor the desire to be with family, and while he'd created nightmare creatures and even manipulated the world when he had Lily, Stefano's perspectives were... different. Ruvik enjoyed the experimentation, the dehumanisation. Stefano created pictures out of bodies that came for him because Sebastian was trying to kill their creator.

"If you were the most dangerous thing here, I wouldn't be letting you in my house." Sebastian snorts. "I know there's some reason we can't be pulled out of the system, and I also know it can't be you because you don't have Lily any more. If something is keeping us here even without STEM's Core, that means whatever's doing it is a powerful son of a bitch.

"I'm pissed at you because you keep making my little girl cry, stupid. I stopped thinking you were a serious threat a long time ago."

obscurart

For the first time, Stefano's resolve begins to crack. The accusation of insanity and being nothing more than a serial killer creates a fury in his gut, and he bites out, "They lived their life, striving to be a canvas for other's art. I achieved that for them. It's no fault of mine that you heathens lack any sense of creative vision."

He draws in a deep breath through his nostrils, attempting to regain his composure as he stands upright once more.

"You also seem to forget, your body count is likely higher than mine.

"Besides, it's not like death is necessary for all of my art. I didn't kill you, after all." His eyes move to the long cut along the side of his face and smiles fondly as he remembers the firm yet delicate slice he used to create it. "No, you were already so full of emotion, you just needed something more physical to depict it."

Folding his arms over his chest, he raises a hand and delicately sets the knuckle of his pointer finger against his chin as he deliberates everything else Sebastian had stated. He doubts the other would believe him that it's not his goal to scare Lily, and that the only reason he needed to do it before was to increase the volatility of her power.

No, of course he wouldn't believe this. He's no more than a mad man in Sebastian's eyes.

There were moments that he wondered if he was the man at the coffee shop all of those years ago, but he knows well enough that, while the resemblance is striking, someone who lacks as much vision as Sebastian simply couldn't be him.

"Theodore. The name may not be... daunting in and of itself, but he's perhaps the greatest threat you'll face. While I sincerely hope we never cross paths with him, should it happen, you'll be grateful that I'm the one who found Lily."

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antielevator

"Tell me, then."

Sebastian's back remains leaned against the washing machine. His arms cross over his chest, albeit more loosely than anyone who was truly upset would do it.

"Tell me about this 'thing' you're trying to 'sever ties from'. Instead of taking Lily out to see nightmares she doesn't want to see" -- why couldn't Stefano just make normal pictures, and not little dioramas with dead men and bullet wounds?-- "tell me what this monster is and I'll take it down.

"She's only six, Stefano." Twelve, offers some logical voice in the back of his mind, but when the Lily in STEM presents herself as a little girl, doesn't that mean that's the way she perceives herself? It's all too complicated for Sebastian to really contemplate, and he's already sad enough about what happened to her while he was away, so for now he settles for the age she believes she is.

"You don't ask a six year old to keep you safe. That's an adult's job."

obscurart

"You do when that six year old is the only thing that can keep you safe. If you were able to take her place as the core, I'd be more than happy to use you instead. Alas, that is not an option for us at this time," Stefano states bluntly as he stands up straight.

Though, as he returns to the initial question posed to himself, Stefano lets out a humorless huff of breath.

"Why should I waste the breath to explain Him to you? Would you honestly believe me?" The photographer steps towards the former detective, hands folded behind his back as he leans in and meets his gaze. "Would you truly believe that I am not the biggest monster in here?"

His eyes flicker across the other's, admittedly handsome, features before leaning back.

"While you contemplate that, do take into account that you've stripped of any hold I had on the core's power, and yet, the world outside our doors is still a dystopia."

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