always just a little ways off the beaten path.

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:12:20 GMT

Title: Color
Fandom: DOGS: Bullets & Carnage
Pairing(s): N/A
Chapter(s): One-shot.
Description: The world they live in is pretty bleak.

There aren’t as many real shops in the underground as there are markets; both legal ones to passers-by and the black ones that no one should hear of but everyone undoubtedly does. After all, the world they live in is one that’s pretty bleak. Though, it could be said that, for them, there really are telephone wires stretched tight and then coiling behind the painted-on acidic stars that they call their sky. It could be said, but those who know and who’ve lived in the underground themselves say that it’s nothing near poetic.

The only kind of paintings that are seen within the streets are not skies (which have started to rot over the years; the only kind of snow they experience is when the paint flecks and comes down in a downpour of chalky dust) but taggings and spray paint; occasional billboards and colorful words that more than just every-so-often exit the mouths of inhabitants.

Obviously, thinks the albino grimly, they live in a pretty cultured society.

It’s not as though Haine hasn’t contributed, though – he’s seen more than his fair share of crimson splatters smudged thickly against pavement; dripping down between cracks in what-would-be sidewalks and melting into carpets in the form of off-color stains in Badou’s apartment. Red is a color he’s not sure whether or not he’s partial to – either way, though, it’s evident that it’s pretty partial to him.

However, color does remain in the church that he could call his home – he lives there, it’s true, but he’s in and out so often that it’s less like a place to live in and more like a place to stop, breathe, maybe appreciate the stain-glass windows and march right back out the door again. 'Maybe' is the key-word here; after all, the building will never know a spark of admiration – its keeper is a Bishop who’s blind, and its other occupant girl who will never live to see a day she can compliment it with a voice to call her own. The most Nill can do is keep it clean, tidied and full of enough life to ensure that, every time Haine comes back, he can feel at peace awash with colors spread across the pews from the outside artificial light.

Despite the fact that those from the surface can look down (and they do look down; sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally) on the inhabitants of the underground, it has a type of unappreciated art found in the recesses of grungy alleyways; from flickering streetlamps forming shadows drawn long across brick and battered walls, to smoke drifting as though from chimneys from the mouths of tongue-in-cheek redheads to the tune of jangling chains walking alongside. The city is far from bleak, and it’s a shame that the citizens of have long-forgotten how to see it.

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:34:38 GMT

Title: Self-Inspection
Fandom: DOGS: Bullets & Carnage
Pairing(s): N/A
Chapter(s): One-shot.
Description: Maybe there is something behind how he looks.

He sounds like chains when he walks. They bounce off his knees and jangle loudly and obstructively no matter where he goes or where he thinks he can escape to – it’s a second collar; another leash – another warning.

He smells of gun-smoke, cigarettes, and copper. From need, from association, and from boredom. He has a pile of clothing that once could’ve been laundry – it’s all stained with blood and filled with more holes than even his partner could ever repair; they have more holes than there is material left behind. The smell of cigarette smoke imbedded in his skin is from none other than his partner – a silent reminder that he will always stick with him, no matter how much the albino tries to leave him behind with flurries of dial tone responses and nights where he won’t come home. The scent of copper is what he feels is the most self-explanatory – it stains every article of clothing he has ever had and ever will own; most of the blood belongs to him, as he’s grown careless over the years knowing that no matter how much he wants to, no matter how close he gets to it, and no matter how many people he hurts or hurt him, he will never die.

He looks like deceit when he smiles. He survives on illusion and nothing more; she’s a replacement, he’s undependable, and he’s the worst of them all for believing in them.

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:45:11 GMT

Title: N/A
Fandom: Odin Sphere
Pairing(s): Oswald/Gwendolyn
Chapter(s): 50 sentences.
Description: 50 Prompts from 1sentence for Oswald/Gwendolyn.

#01 - Ring
It was sometime over the month or so that it had been absent (and her husband, Oswald, with it) that she had begun to notice the way her finger somehow felt barren without Titrel there - however, the guilt that had begun to creep up on her would not make her take back her actions for the world; she would stand by for the sake of her father, for he was always first in her mind, before even herself.

#02 - Hero
He was no hero in her eyes for sparing her life - he had given her the exact opposite impression, leaving her shamed and bitterly alive - promptly afterwards, she requested permission to begin the second attack against Ringford.

#03 - Memory
She has no recollection of the days she spent sleeping, not knowing who she was destined (or to her, doomed) to spend the rest of her life in the company of, but she likes to think back that maybe, those fleeting moments of clarity in her dreams, where she thought she felt fingertips trail softly down her cheek - tentative, as though they didn't know what to expect upon finally touching skin - belonged to his hand, and she wonders if she will ever have the courage to ask him, one day.

#04 - Box
As Gwendolyn softly presses her mother's dress into the great, old chest in the late Queen's forgotten room, she sighs as she realizes that not even wearing her mother's dress can coax some semblance of affection from her father's cold heart - however, unbeknown to her, she did manage to capture the eye of a particular intruder, in his stead.

#05 - Run
There were no confrontations that she had ever run from, she thought, facing the man who was now her husband - but it was not until she heard such kind words spoken from the man she thought to be her enemy that she realized she had never felt so uncomfortable and lost for words in her life.

#06 - Hurricane
He had brought her through a whirlwind of emotions - at first, she had fervently despised him and wanted revenge; later on, she was married to him against her will, and still could not forgive him - later still, she began to let her guard down, and began to honestly, genuinely care for his well being - and finally, she went through Hell itself to get Oswald back again, for a life without him was no life at all.

#07 - Wings
The days since she had woken up were ones where he found himself wrestling with his conscience - he did not wish to let her go; nor she did attempt to flee, and he felt as though she was slowly, reluctantly starting to care for him - however, all the same, he could not help but feel as though the wings of his beloved, blue bird had been clipped with nothing other than his own two hands.

#08 - Cold
He has always heard murmurings and rumors of 'Odin's Witch' on the wind; that she is a cold and ruthless weapon at the disposal of her father - Oswald, however, knows differently - for he has seen a side of her that even her own father overlooks, and he wishes he could know it, himself, one day.

#09 - Red
It was a familiar color to see the battlefield awash with; it had dragged on long enough to see the same from her own sister, Griselda - but the reason it had stuck with her most, that time, was when she peered into his eyes and demanded death - a fate that not even he decided he would let her suffer.

#10 - Drink
There were times between the battles where Oswald would come home; Gwendolyn sitting quietly on their bed, while he would watch her from afar - simply drinking in the image of her; how beautiful she was, how seemingly delicate at a first glance, and he can't but help it when the thought comes to mind that he truly doesn't deserve her.

#11 - Midnight
He had come home late that night, and it looked as though he had somehow been careless during his latest mission - the Valkyrie fretted over him, voluntarily dressing wounds, and with soft, but stern words assuring him that no, it was not a dream; that even as the clock stuck midnight she would still be there to care for him, despite whatever fairytale he felt their life together had so far been.

#12 - Temptation
He knew that, in the same way Onyx did, she always had a choice; not once did he set boundaries on where the Valkyrie could go, and originally, he half-expected her to simply leave, himself - however, it hurt him more when he realized that possibly, just possibly, she could still be staying for no other reason than for the idea that she was obeying her father's spell - his final command.

#13 - View
The view from the terrace had always been something spectacular - that was something that Gwendolyn could not deny - however, she thought that on that particular night, she had liked it best; it was when they had sat together in comfortable silence gazing calmly at the stars.

#14 - Music
With how she had grown up, Gwendolyn was never one to know how to fully appreciate music - the last songs she had heard were the ones her mother would sing to her, and that was from a long time past - but there was one night when Oswald thought she was asleep, and he began to sing; there was a brief moment where she thought that, maybe - but still reluctantly pushing it away, as no, she had never been worth it - he was singing for her.

#15 - Silk
Silk had always seemed like the kind of luxury Oswald would forgo - however, it was only once Gwendolyn came into his life that he seemed to have so much of it around him; the sheets of the bed, the material from her dress, and the feel of her skin - all so impossibly soft to the touch.

#16 - Cover
There were no times where she so strongly wished she could cover her face with her hands in order to hide the blush that spread across her cheeks - her shame, as a Valkyrie - as when he came home; flattering her with words too sweet to accept, for half the time she tried to reluctantly convince herself they were lies, and that no person could ever love her truly as much as he proclaimed.

#17 - Promise
It could have been any other promise the Demon King could break - giving Oswald the castle, for instance - but the thing that upset the Shadow Knight most was that he did not uphold the deal of giving him his own daughter, for that was the only thing in the world that had any worth in his eyes.

#18 - Dream
There were some nights where Oswald would wake up, thinking everything - her saying that she loved him, too - was all a dream; but then, he would take the time to calm down and open his eyes, watching as she slept, safe, in his arms.

#19 - Candle
With all the time he spent apart from the castle he could now call his own, there were times at night where he would lose his way, and become lost - thankfully, the one time it happened, Gwendolyn was up and about, herself; a wax candle held carefully in her hands as she explained shyly she was looking for her husband.

#20 - Talent
It was a talent of hers, really - the way that with a single glance, a soft word, a subtle movement, she could make Oswald feel complete again, and he would smile; it made him feel as though he could go on like this for the rest of his life, and be happy.

#21 - Silence
Their silence was one of the things that - despite how people like Myris thought it must be awkward - was when the two felt completely at peace; words were never necessary between Gwendolyn and Oswald, for they always knew what the other felt.

#22 - Journey
He had spent so long fumbling around blindly in the darkness, that when Gwendolyn was finally, safely in his arms, it felt as though his world had never been so bright.

#23 - Fire
In that instant where she was finally reunited with Oswald - only to have Onyx offer her husband's life in exchange for marrying him, instead - she decided she had never felt such burning hatred for someone in her life; had she been a person with a much looser tongue (and perhaps, temper) then her spear truly would have taken his hand.

#24 - Strength
Her strength was no illusion, and Oswald knew that best – after all, their first meeting had been on the battlefield, and they had both waged individual wars of conflicting emotion ever since.

#25 - Mask
She was convinced that the day when her mask would fall would never come – however, she did not know that he had seen the truth behind it long ago.

#26 - Ice
It was truly a cold castle, he thought – every word to her within its walls had to be carefully thought out and preformed, for he knew that if he said the wrong thing now, he may scare her off – the idea of treading on thin ice had never seemed so frightening.

#27 - Fall
She had always thought it was simply the spell put on her by her father – that no, there could never be any other natural reason why she would stay with this man – but when she realized how she had herself so wholly deceived for so long, she finally saw how completely and utterly she had fallen in love with Oswald.

#28 - Forgotten
It was definitely a drastic change for the Valkyrie – she had gone from being unimportant, unconsidered, and ignored to being another person’s entire world overnight, and had no idea how to react.

#29 - Dance
In one of the moments of peace (which always tended to be far and few between) there was an occasion where Myris took it upon herself to teach the two to dance – neither of them had much co-ordination at first, and Oswald found himself accidentally treading on Gwendolyn’s toes – meanwhile, the Valkyrie found herself more pre-occupied with the notion that they were holding hands, and for once, her face wasn’t the color of scarlet when they touched skin.

#30 - Body
The former state of disrepair of Oswald’s body had not been an issue since Gwendolyn’s confession – after all, he now knew that whenever the weight of the world began to feel heavy on his shoulders, the Princess would be there to support him, standing by.

#31 - Sacred
Gwendolyn knew first hand that what happened in most fairytales was absolute rubbish – after all, there was nothing sacred about her marriage – but the way her story unfolded afterwards made her reconsider.

#32 - Farewells
Gwendolyn was never fond of farewells – however, when Oswald had given up and let the Halja take him, she decided that this was one time she would have to refuse to accept it.

#33 - World
Sometimes, Oswald thought, Gwendolyn would never understand just how much he needed her – she was his world, whether she knew it or not.

#34 - Formal
Around the castle, Gwendolyn was always dressed up; wearing her mother’s old gown – Oswald, however, lounged about in a crisp (but partially unbuttoned) white dress shirt and black pinstripe pants – obviously, the two of them had different opinions of what ‘formal’ meant.

#35 - Fever
There was one occasion where Oswald had taken ill – an after-effect of the wound he had sustained the day before – he was feverish, and sometimes when thinking back he wondered if he was simply being delirious when he recalled Gwendolyn had not once left his side throughout it.

#36 - Laugh
Although he has yet to hear Gwendolyn's laughter, Oswald has been lucky enough to fulfill at least one promise - to make the Valkyrie smile.

#37 - Lies
For Oswald, it was worse than any lie the Princess could have told when he found out that she had given Titrel – the first thing he had ever given her – to her father; it was a betrayal that hurt like no other.

#38 - Forever
Since Oswald had first heard of her, he had become strangely partial to stars – the one time they sat together and watched them, Gwendolyn’s face was upturned, looking gracefully to the sky – Oswald, however, spent the time admiring how she looked in the moonlight.

#39 - Overwhelmed
The moment where Gwendolyn had first been held in his arms had been one where she had no idea what to do – she was so overwhelmed with emotion (and newfound happiness) that she simply could not find words fitting for expressing herself; instead, she only returned the embrace – it was all the response Oswald could have asked for.

#40 - Whisper
It was the perfect word to describe her, he decided – fleeting, shy, gentle, but still strong enough to get the point across without sounding harsh – and so, he told her once; she responded, quiet as she always seemed to be, that she thought it was fitting, too.

#41 - Wait
He always did come and go at odd hours, and sometimes would not come back from anywhere from hours to weeks – however, the wait was always worth it; no matter how tired he was when he finally arrived back at the castle, upon seeing Gwendolyn he always felt like he could breathe a little easier again.

#42 - Talk
As much as they loved the other, talking was always an issue; neither of them were social creatures, so they opted out for knowing glances, soft smiles, and the occasional gentle caress, instead.

#43 - Search
When Griselda had died, Gwendolyn had fervently sought out death – however, it seemed as though her search was quite misguided; she found a very different fate for herself, instead.

#44 - Hope
As Oswald crawled throughout the Netherworld, body heavy with the regret of having no worth to anyone, not even his own ‘father’ – she appeared before him for the first time – hope was no dove; it was a small, blue bird on the horizon.

#45 - Eclipse
It was as though there was an eclipse in his world when he found Titrel was given away – all light, all hope had gone from it, and he soon found himself wrestling with an onslaught of despair.

#46 - Gravity
When Gwendolyn refused to give the ring back to her father, saying that it represented all that she was worth anymore, Odin thought that she obviously didn’t understand the gravity of the situation – however, the fact that she disobeyed even her father’s word made Oswald realize just how dedicated to the Shadow Knight she had become.

#47 - Highway
There were no shortcuts along the path to seeking out Oswald – for it seemed that he always went in the most spiraling, complicated routes that would leave any other person dizzied and frustrated; Gwendolyn, however, simply pushed onwards – her goal not once slipping from her mind.

#48 - Unknown
As she peered into the world of the Netherworld Endelphia for the first time, she could feel her hands shaking in anticipation and worry – she knew naught what was there but the husband she so desired to save, and in truth, that was all that mattered – the rest she could find out about later.

#49 - Lock
Oswald could not stand listening to Onyx, and how he planned on keeping Gwendolyn – it was like watching her be kept under lock and key, and she was the kind of person who did not deserve to be caged – after all, she had been like that her entire life, and the Shadow Knight wished for nothing more than to set her free.

#50 – Breathe
As he comes back home, at last, Gwendolyn lets exhale a breath she never realized she was holding – it was such a relief to see him safe, and the smile on his lips when she caught his attention only made her all that much happier.

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:41:11 GMT

Title: Power
Fandom: DOGS: Bullets & Carnage
Pairing(s): N/A (Haine/Lily if you squint.)
Chapter(s): One-shot.
Description: The relationship between Lily and Haine had always been something special.

“Power”

In the moments between Einstellsehn’s ‘exercises’ and ‘experiments’, there were times where Lily would huddle close – finding her only form of solace in the company of the boy she deemed familiar enough to be her older brother. Truth be told, he did not mind – however, there were still fleeting moments where he remembered when they had first woken up; the monsters, the bleeding – her smile. Haine tried to convince himself that it was like there were two different people – after all, he was no different. However, when the battles had ended, instead of standing, numb, above all those who failed to kill – who he killed – she had sat, broken and crying out in innocence that no one was waking up. It was within that moment Haine felt compelled to protect her, and she readily accepted that assurance. After all, being what they were, there was not much time for emotion; there was only time to act.

Their personalities when not possessed by Cerberus were what had always been what set the two apart – they were both deadly while at work, but that aside, Lily had always been the more peaceful one. Despite not knowing her past, she would laugh, and she was always such a cheery child; something that her counterpart, Haine, most definitely was not. He had always been more reclusive, and not much of his antisocial nature had diminished over the time she knew him. However, he had always allowed her to be the closest to him – there was something special about her. After all, her reactions were what made him remember that they were still human, and that kind of grounding was a blessing in the day-to-day hell they lived through.

However, perhaps the girl had been too gentle; even when she was out of control there was always something that refused to do battle with Haine – refused to fight back, and refused to injure the person who cared so much for her. She was always the strongest out of all of them, really – Lily was always the one who ensured that they would not break, that one day, the experiments and trials would end, and they would be free.

And maybe, in that way, it was only right for her to die in his arms; without fighting back – but then, it was that same total and utter lack of power to harm Haine that ended up breaking his own heart.

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:10:32 GMT

Title: Sternness
Fandom: DOGS: Bullets & Carnage
Pairing(s): N/A
Chapter(s): One-shot.
Description: On occasion, the Bishop could get fed up with the inhabitants of his church.

“Sternness”

The Bishop was never exactly known for being stubborn – in fact, most of the time he was somewhat of a pushover. Particularly if there was a certain angel in the room, and that was no secret of his.

However, others did not get the same treatment that Nill did.

His own tenant, Haine, would disobey him frequently – going in and out at odd hours and then disappearing from anywhere to an hour to a few weeks with no word of warning. It was no wonder that he didn’t think to hike his prices – after all, it was as though he had no tenant at all. However, on the occasion that Haine would come back to the church dripping blood across the floor and wiping it over pews (which was rare, as usually the genetically enhanced male had healed by then), only to then store his beloved Mausers in a weapons locker the Bishop had no idea he maintained, he sometimes had to get his two cents in.

Unfortunately for the Bishop, to Haine, his two cents were not worth much.

Badou was another story altogether. The smoker would loiter about aimlessly for hours (possibly because of his partner’s untimely disappearing acts) and the blonde was convinced he could disobey every single commandment within that time slot had he only the motivation to try. Needless to say, despite the fact that the Bishop rarely had visitors, Badou was not one that he looked forward to. He did not treat his angel with much respect, either, most of the time, and that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

There was one day, however, when Haine had come back into the church looking somewhat perplexed – not that the Bishop could tell, but he could hear it in the male’s voice regardless.

“Badou says you won’t let him in.” The Bishop looked contemplative for a moment, looking up towards what may have been for some spiritual guidance (for if he answered this wrong, he may have needed it – he was dealing with Haine, after all) before tapping his cane against the ground once; leaning his weight onto the handle of it.

“Hmm? Yes, I think I did tell him that.”

“Why.” It wasn’t a question, it was a command.

“He tested my patience, Haine!” The assassin furrowed his brow in response, not quite seeing how Badou could have done that.

“He didn’t like Nill’s latest outfit,” he grumbled; Haine groaned when he realized, that for the Bishop, that was a legitimate reason. “And so, I told him that he could stay outside until he thought otherwise. Or, perhaps, you would like to defend him?”

“No. I’ll keep my room, thanks,” he muttered in response – striding past the Bishop and to his room. Obviously it was no real concern of his.

“Well,” the Bishop declared once Haine was out of earshot, feeling somewhat smug, “That settles that.”

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:53:43 GMT

Title: Asserted
Fandom: DOGS: Bullets & Carnage
Pairing(s): N/A (Haine/Nill if you squint.)
Chapter(s): One-shot.
Description: Nill tries to remedy Haine's falling mood.

“Asserted”

Haine knew that it wasn’t often the girl who had come to be an icon of the church ever tried to force something on him – it was only in times, like these, where he felt somewhat down, that she would end up knocking on his door and would peer, curiously, into his room.

That day wasn’t any different; he had been sprawled out on the sofa having a staring contest with the ceiling, and the company was – for once – a nice change. Nill knew that the albino wasn’t social, and despite the fact that it seemed she was the only girl (and one of the few people) he could actually get along with, she was always somewhat timid in his presence. She looked at him from the door frame, somewhat flustered, and the expression on his face softened. Slowly, he sat up – arms draped comfortably over his thighs as he told the girl to come in. He could see even as she finally pushed the door open the rest of the way that her wings were fluttering vigorously; she always did get excited to see him, after all. It wasn’t often he was there, anyway. However, instead of sitting down next to him, she ended up walking over and taking his hands in hers. Haine didn’t know quite to do in response, and looked at her curiously.

“Nill?” She was biting her lip, a small flush spreading over her cheeks – the only way she could reply was in tugging him gently towards her, and eventually he began to guess what she was getting at. “Do you want me to come with you?” She nodded, then; smiling brightly, as she always did. He sighed, giving in – it was always just so hard to refuse her, after all. It was adorable when she tried to set her mind to something. Finally, he stood up, watching as she pointed towards the door and began to walk – one hand still firmly clasped on his own. He followed after her, clumsily – he had to shorten his strides in order to ensure he wouldn’t step on the back of her heels, but she didn’t notice. Nill was always so very petite, after all.

Finally, only stopping once she got out into the hallway before her room, she turned and looked back to him – holding up a single finger while looking at him sternly. Haine chuckled, and told her that yes, he would wait for her, and she smiled in return before disappearing into her room for a moment. When she emerged, she came out with a scarf knitted in black and white – most definitely homemade, as Haine could see where her clumsy fingers had allowed a stitch to drop every so often, and the small, occasional imperfections that made it so distinctly Nill’s. He couldn’t help but smile for her – he knew she must’ve been working on this for awhile already, and asked her, “Is that for me?” She nodded, embarrassed, and he took it gingerly from her hands, wrapping it slowly around his neck. She seemed pleased when he did, and the white-haired male told her he liked it – her wings fluttered momentarily once more in response.

If the scarf were from any other person, he wouldn’t have worn it – but that night, when he went out to lurk about the city again, it was wrapped comfortably around his neck. He knew it would break her heart if he did otherwise, and he had no intention of refusing a request from Nill.