thinking about a proper Richard-Asbel role swap (since 2hcb1 is more of a Sophie-Lambda swap) in which Lambda latches onto Asbel in the catacombs instead, but specifically focusing my lens on how he feels when Sophie comes back. Presumably Richard would be the one to have Sophie's sparkles alongside Cheria and Hubert, so her reappearance would have to occur at a different place (possibly in the catacombs, if say Cheria left Lhant w Asbel out of concern for him). But god the angst potential of Asbel wanting to be happy she's back yet instead filled with fear and dread every time he looks at or touches her... he'd probably justify it to himself that this can't possibly be the same Sophie because he never felt this way about her before. Or maybe he feels so scared of her because admitting he's regained the person he lost means that he could lose her again... it's certainly not because her mortal nemesis is now living inside his head
cackling again at the nesting doll situation of Fodra -> Lambda -> Asbel. It's like putting a nuclear weapon inside of a pipe bomb inside of a golden retriever. Go have fun playing outside boy just try not to eat any live fireworks
I will always wish we got to see more of Barona Castle than just hallways and storage rooms 😩 like it's gotta have kitchens and dungeons and barracks and other castle-y rooms right?? Surely this would have been a good use of the game dev's time and not just convenient to me who is terrible at inventing rooms but keeps setting fics in Richard's bedroom for um. Reasons
Hello hi it is Dolphin 🐬 I thought I might start indulging in this trend a little, even though I usually prefer not to post wips because i sometimes lose motivation to actually finish them if i do 😅 But I have a fairly large number of wips that will probably never see the light of day, and rather than letting them stagnate in my folders forever, I thought I might start throwing excerpts on tumblr. I might also occasionally post things from ongoing wips too, especially if it's a longfic whose later chapters will probably not be out for another 5 years (looking at you Two Hearts Could Be One 😩). And who knows, maybe I'll actually finish some of them and provide the rest of the context on ao3 someday ^^
For now though, it's probably just going to be snippets of prose or dialogue, and maybe titles/summaries if I have them too. I'm not exactly expecting people to care but I can probably answer any questions about these stories if you have them ^^ Some of these abandoned wips have rather complex backgrounds/lore/premises and I might not always have the time/energy to explain them clearly enough in the posts. But excerpts will always go under a cut, just in case they get long or have sensitive content. So I guess for today's wip:
This one doesn't exactly have a title or summary, or rather the title and summary it had describe the rest of the story better because this was a premise that plot bunnied into a completely different premise. But this particular portion was meant to be a more angsty mid-Lineage and Legacies canon divergence (while the guys are in Strahta), where Lambda takes advantage of Asbel's distress about Sophie and temporary isolation from the others in order to convince him that killing Sophie is okay, actually. Roughly 600 words of angst follows:
Protos Heis fears the pain of separation you will inflict upon her at the time of your demise. She cannot accept this inevitability, and so she will be left behind to suffer forever.
The growl of his final word seemed to reverberate in Asbel's chest like the tremors before an earthquake. To suffer forever, forced to live without death… it was difficult for a mortal like himself to grasp, one whose time was finite and memory ephemeral. But Sophie would never forget. She would never move on. He would be the source of pain for the rest of her unending existence, all because of something that he simply couldn't help.
You are correct. There is nothing you can do to prevent your eventual parting. But why allow her to feel such pain when you could bear it for her?
"What… What do you mean?" Asbel gasped. It must have been the heat making his head feel weak, like a wick about to be snuffed. "I'm the one who's going to go away when I die... I can't stay with her forever, though I wish I could..."
The desert air seemed to be collapsing upon him now, the hungry sky merging with the parched sand. One by one his limbs succumbed to its weary weight until he found himself on his knees.
It is simple, Lambda's voice pierced through his hazy mind, embedded within like a splinter of broken glass. If life without you will only bring her pain, then you must ensure she never feels it. End her life of eternal solitude. You must kill her yourself.
Something in those words felt wrong, Asbel thought numbly, but nothing felt right anymore. His head was pounding, his stomach lurching, an icy hand dragging him by the base of his spine. Pain, pain. It flashed in his mind, not just his own but what would become hers. He'd give anything to spare her from this. Wouldn't he?
"But— but I don't want her to die," Asbel pushed through uncertainly, lips trembling as if frostbitten. "I don't want to hurt her…"
Were you not listening? Lambda growled. It is inevitable. But we can make it easier on her by ending it quickly. It is kinder to deliver her death at the hands of the one she loves, rather than leave her behind with nothing but misery.
Something damp was traveling along Asbel's cheek, the word for which he could not recall. Pain, pain. It would hurt so much, to be alone forevermore.
But we can bear it better than she, Lambda assured him. We deserve it. We will bear that burden in her place, and live as she would have wished us to. Come, human. It is time for us to present our answer.
Asbel staggered to his feet, sand trickling from his clothes, and began to walk. The others weren't watching, were they? Good, they could be spared the pain as well. This was something he alone must shoulder.
That's right, Lambda cackled. Why was he laughing? Maybe it was funny somewhere, the irony of their fates. Maybe one day Asbel could shake off this numbness and laugh again too.
No one made to stop him as he traipsed his way back to the shuttle parked nearby. The controls weren't too familiar to him, but all he needed was coordinates for the ship to fly itself. It roared to life at the turn of a key, sand dunes blasted away from the gusts of the ignition. Asbel saw the others' heads turn towards him too late, mouths agape as he rose beyond their reach.
At last Asbel slumped into the pilot's seat. Back to the Enclave, then. To bring an end to Sophie's pain, and her life.
working on the next chapter (9) for Two Hearts Could Be One which involves Hubert's return to Lhant, but I keep cracking up at Asbel's dialogue which basically goes "Wait, what?" "Wait, what??" "Wait, WHAT??!" until Hubert kicks him out of town 😂
