Specific Lines Tag
i was tagged by @cat-esper for this [find theirs here], and i'm tagging in return @lizardperson @firesidefantasy @elkieselkiewrites and @ace-malarky, plus open tag for whoever wants in
your lines are:
A line you're proud of
A line inspired by a friend
A line showing off your world
A line with double implications
my lines are:
A line that's a lie
A line that's a confession
A line that's funny
A line that's painful
have some passages from the old draft of Elegy to the Desperate Stars (the new one is still in prep phase TwT)
a line that's a lie
Eleonora huffs and flicks her arm harshly enough that Aira feels it through the jacket. «Good enough. But you need to tell me these things. Or one of these days you’re going to land yourself in big trouble with no help.» Aira chuckles, even though her mind is going right to the Lanthorn. «Right, yeah. Can’t have that.» Gods, Ele’s gaze nearly burns as she narrows it on her. «Yeah,» she says, and Aira can hear the suspiciusness in her voice. «Which is why we’re telling the others as soon as we can.» «What, no,» Aira exclaims, startling a couple of nearby pigeons. She whirls around, only to find Ele with an impressive glare. She shivers. «I’m not saying we don’t tell them at all, I’m just saying… Look, Zhan and Krin and the others I’ve talked to have all been nice and really helpful and it’s not like we tell each other private stuff, y’know? And it’s not like I think they’re idefexi. I just wanted a way to check, yeah?» she says, sending a hopeful look at Ele. Ele doesn’t budge. If anything, she looks even more skeptical. «Oh really? Would you let me stay in the room while you talk to them then?» Aira opens her mouth, but interrupts herself without a sound. She grimaces.
a line that's a confession
The silence hangs. Leo raises a hand and tucks a stray hairlock behind her ear. His eyes land on the marks on her cheek. «What woke you up?» «That’s complicated.» «Then…» Leo trails off, looking towards the window that faces the forest. He sighs. «What did vie show you?» Aira looks at him. His gaze is both far away and right on her. She gulps. «Vie was trapped. There was a sigil, and I copied it to free viem. I…» she shakes her head, clutches at the highlighter. «I did magic, Leo. I actually did it.» Leo smiles and gently ruffles her hair. «And it freed viem?» Aira’s voice is breathy in her throat. «Yeah. Vie showed me… some things. I didn’t understand them. But she made me feel the sigil again, and she showed me this, and then everything collapsed. And I know this is important. There’s… a clue here. I just don’t know what it is.» «It will probably come to you easier if you get some rest,» Leo says. Aira looks at him. She shakes her head. «No. No, I don’t think I can go back to sleep. I… It’s all– Fuck,» she interrupts herself, looking away. The mana from the forest reaches out, brushing over her. She shivers. Her eyes land back on Leo. «Can you feel it?» she whispers. Leo looks confused for a second, but then his shoulders slump. «I can.» Aira sucks in a breath. She forces her shoulders to lower, but the tension doesn’t leave her spine. «How long?» «A while.» «Leo…» Leo looks at her. His eyes are so sad. Framed by slowly whitening hair, he looks older than he is. «Twelve years.»
a line that's funny
Despite the gray and humid atmosphere, the place is really pretty. And busy too, with plenty of people moving along the main street both in groups and on their own. It’s not as busy as back in July, on that one occasion that Aira destroyed her sense of taste on some skewers, but it’s still enough to liven the mood by a lot. It's made way different by Sonia at her side, brushing close the way she does in university, with quiet suggestions and giggled commentary. It's unusual but... nice? Though, Aira has seen Ele glance back with furrowed brows multiple times. It’s Daniele, who for all that he acts posh and classy has the manners of a brute, that snaps his fingers right in Aira’s face while Sonia is whispering something about a cat cafe. «Bet you you can’t handle a bowl of tteokbokki.» Aira immediately whirls around to face him, Sonia completely forgotten. «You know what, fuck you. Bet you you can’t.» «Oh yeah?» he says, completely impassible. No. No, almost lazily, with his hands carelessly in the coat pockets as they’ve been since he threw the empty bubble tea cup in the trash. He’s so infuriating. «Yeah. Put your money where your mouth is, bitch.»
a line that's painful
A little ways away, under the noise of the crowd, a voice whispers. «Oh Tahila.» Aleji turns to glance a little ways behind where Aira came from and freezes. It shouldn’t surprise them, but Leonardo feels older. He doesn’t look much older, though there’s specks of gray in his hair and crow’s feet at the edge of his eyes. But though he may look in his mid thirties, Aleji just gets caught into the man’s eyes. They’re nearly ancient, heavy with something like fear and sadness and something Aleji can’t tell, and that’s terrifying. Never has Aleji not been able to read people’s emotions. Not since thirteen years ago. But then Leonardo is walking closer, and Aira and Ele are still talking to each other and Aleji can’t ask for help. They can just freeze, because there’s magic surrounding Leonardo that they’re sure wasn’t there last time, and he has a large black umbrella that shouldn’t make him seem as intimidating as he does. Leonardo stops in front of them, just a step away. He’s shorter than them, though that doesn’t take away from his presence. Aleji can barely meet his eyes, a warm brown so dark that it’s nearly black. That doesn’t stop Leonardo. «It’s really you,» he whispers. He reaches out with a hand, and stops an inch from Aleji’s face. Aleji doesn’t move. They meet Leonardo’s eyes. They’re watery, and filled with grief and hope, and he lays his hand on their cheek. His thumb is exactly over the scar that crosses his eye under the glamour. «What did they do to you?»
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