bakerstreet | But it's worth it every time

Entry tags:

[meme] shipping

But it's worth it every time

The Bittersweet Love Meme

Happy endings are what we crave, right? If we see a couple we like in movies or in real life, we root for them to make it. Why, then, is there such a desire to see love that's tragic, doomed, or bittersweet? People watch sad movies like Titanic, and they know what will happen, but somehow that makes it more poignant. This goes all the way back to tales like Romeo and Juliet. There's just something about a good cry that makes us feel that much more human and even more receptive of beauty.

This meme is equal parts tragedy and beauty, sweet and bitter. Some prompts may be triggering, so tread with caution.

How to Play
- Comment with your character, preferences, etc.
- Comment to others.
- Roll the RNG to determine which scenario to play out.

Prompts

Romeo and Juliet: The classic starcrossed lovers. You can't be together because of warring factions, and you're at the end of your rope. You have to do something.
Not the Same: Angel and demon. Human and god. Whatever the combination, you're not of the same kind. This probably won't end well, especially if one of you is immortal and the other's not, or there's some kind of power difference.
Past Wounds: One of you was hurt in the past, and it was so bad that it's hurting your relationship. Can you be healed by love, or is this something that can't ever be fixed?
Bad Things: This bad thing isn't in the past. This happened when you were together, and now it's affecting how your lover behaves toward you.
Loss: Perhaps it's a loss only one of you suffered, like a family member. Or it's something the both of you share, like the loss of a child. Sometimes, together you can pull through. Other times, it's just too much to bare.
I Can't Live Without You: Whether it be through injury, curse, terminal illness, one of you is dying. There's only a limited time left. Will you spend your last days with the person you love, or will you end it for their own good, so they don't have to watch you die?
Unfaithful: One of you has been unfaithful, even if you still love your significant other. Can this wrong ever be forgiven?
Gone Away: You're being torn apart by location and distance.
A New Start: The sweet part of bitter. Where one relationship ends, another begins. But is your heart too hurt to accept new love?
WILDCARD

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( Since Disney gave the mermaid from Hans Christian Andersen's tale a happy ending, I'm now cribbing Ariel and sticking her back into a story of ultimately doomed love.

Also, let's put the part about every step with her newfound feet feeling like knife stabs back in, sure. That's fun for the whole family. )

[No man so treasures his own heartbreak as Basil Hallward does.]

[This is pretty much par for the course when you're immortal.]

[Voicetesting! /ooc]

Edited 2019-01-22 11:13 (UTC)

{ this is basically the only kind of love for him. mortal guys please apply within, fellow vampires, or any other kind of supernatural creature of folklore you have. to have someone with a beating heart that pulls at his instinct to kill and consume, or mortal human who wants to be turned by him for that whole ~eternal love~ thing that would leave him in terrible conflict, as well as the obvious 1, 2, and 4 befitting what is listed, also open to 6, 8, and 9 (especially if yours is the one with the troubled prior relationship, because while Ambrose fits this to a T, I'm very happy to not have him hog all of the tragic backstory.) while he struggles much with himself, I am in particular very keen to have him come into all the unfortunate truths of being a vampire, so any openness to dark themes and being a catalyst for that kind of character growth would make me very happy. (as a bonus, dubious or fully consented feeding off your character of choice is always applicable to a thread with Am, please let me know if that's something of interest to you! }

[ ooc: Want to do something with this sad boy? They can share the tragic backstory role. So many of these prompts come part and parcel with Belimai. It could be interesting to do something with Am being the one in need of help for once, and 6 either way would be suitably dramatic. ~~You better believe Belimai will be snarling like a wildcat and shoving his bleeding wrist at his vampire friend if he's mortally wounded.~~ ]

{ aaaAAHH you KNOW i would LOVE THIS

yes please my dear darling friend make me cry with these boys

gosh you tell me, would the Inquisition have any concerns about a vampire like they do Prodigals? especially if we really do play with the theme that vampires are a subset of demons perhaps. I mean it could rather be the matter of other things like a run in with his sire who's gone a bit stir-crazy and jealous after watching these two together (he would, that asshole), or just some faceless attacker of the week, but I recall the terrible no good Inquisition and was like 'oh, well I mean'

also god GOD can there be this sort of overarching tension from their carefully measured relationship hinging on demure where they've not been outright just yet and now on the edge of fatality do they finally act on how much they care for each other, because I love dramatic trash?? }

[ ooc: YES to all of this. I left things fairly open here so you can choose who attacked Ambrose, but I am totally okay with it being any of the above. Extra awful: Belimai would just assume the Inquisition came looking for him and found Ambrose instead if they're the culprits. Later Ambrose will need to stop the idiot before he decides the right thing to do is sacrifice himself by turning himself in.

[ He was wrong to lash out at Ambrose. Belimai knows that and he feels the shame burning in his chest. The vampire had never been anything but kind to him, and in all honesty, that had played a part in why when his companion had expressed concern for his well being that the Prodigal had become so angry.

He still doesn't understand why Ambrose cares. He's done nothing to deserve the regard the immortal holds him in. He can't imagine what he had seen in him when they met, almost one year ago to the day. Him, a pathetic junkie in the throes of withdrawal. At the time he had been too weak to turn away any help. He's certain that he would have died without Ambrose's intervention. He thinks often that he should have.

It had taken Belimai time to accept the kindness that Ambrose offered, and even now he did so mostly reluctantly, shying away when the care threatened to overwhelm him. He thinks that he could lose himself in the warmth of Ambrose's rich brown eyes, and it frightens him. He's lost too much already to take what he offers, Belimai thinks, and when he is honest with himself, he knows that he is a coward.

But even if he hates himself, Belimai can't bring himself to hate Ambrose. The vampire has been his savior, and lifeline, and he reminds himself with a pang of guilt, he has never thanked him for that. That isn't what keeps him by the vampire's side though. The truth of the matter is that Ambrose has become a friend and a dear one. He can deny it to himself all he wants, but he knows the truth.

They had come a long way, but now it seemed they were back to where they started, like the earliest days when any sympathy had done nothing but enrage Belimai. Stupid, he thinks, disgusted with himself as he turns toward home, and the forgiveness he doesn't deserve. Perhaps then he should do something to earn it, and he tentatively resolves to try to be more honest with his friend. He owes him that much.

Belimai comes in through the window, the same way that he'd left, and he knows something is wrong before he sees him. He can smell the blood. Not the faintest hint of the scent that remains some nights after Ambrose has fed. Nothing like that. ]

Ambrose? [ He calls out, fear rising in his voice, and not for himself. ]

{ Ambrose had told himself that he needed to stay conscious, until Belimai returned. because he knew he would. that was the thing the had built so much faith in, more than a hope for miracles: Belimai and he always came back to one another, eventually.

if he could have seen it, Belimai returning back in through the window, Ambrose's mournful air would have been helpless to his fond amusement at it, a glowing orange sunrise to cut through an oppressive fog in the dead of night. instead, the vampire cannot see his friend return from his spot on the floor — he can only hear it.

he tries to call his name, but he grunts instead, a hitch kicking up in his throat. being undead doesn't mean he doesn't feel the pain when a blade cuts his body.

Ambrose is bloodier than he really warrants, and it's not all of his blood. Belimai will find him quickly by the sizable pool of it, some of it darker — blood of the dead, drained from corpses. it coats his torso and arms as he lies curled on the floor in the hall — he had hoped to escape through the bedroom window, but hadn't made it — where a large cut has been made. gutted, very much literally. the dead blood poisons him, has soaked well into the garish and messy incision into his abdomen, impossible to tell what his his torn up shirt, or pieces of him from within. }

Bel— { the sound is pathetic, strained like an out-of-tune string wound too tight, and what's worse, the syllable comes out like his little pet-name, the name Ambrose uses so rarely, and in only their most private, comfortable moments. Bel. beautiful. only in the moments Belimai has stood his strongest, has emerged the highest from his depths of self-hate. but in Ambrose's eyes, he's never not been those things, never once. }

No. [ The denial is quiet, shocked, and Belimai stands stricken, completely still for a moment, unable to accept what he sees before him. ]

No, [ he says again, voice cracking, and then he’s at the vampire’s side, on his knees, heedless of the blood and the gore, his hands moving frantically over his wounds, horror growing as he takes in the severity of his injuries. He tries, without thinking, to apply pressure, forgetting the futility of such a gesture. The cuts are too wide and too deep for him to cover. He can’t even be sure where they are exactly in what left of Ambrose’s shirt, and when remembers that it doesn’t matter, that Ambrose isn’t human, and it won’t work anyway, he gives a strangled cry of frustration and fear.

He’s so afraid as he looks down at his friend. In all the time they’ve known each other, Belimai has done a lot of opening up, but he’s never looked at Ambrose like this, no walls, no distance, not even the slightest pretense of hiding what he feels.

His hands shake as he reaches for Ambrose’s face, bloody fingers only making a bigger mess as he tenderly brushes the hair from his eyes. ]

Tell me how to fix this.

{ being a vampire, immortal and resistant to injury, doesn't mean being immune to pain. it all hurts, no matter how fleeting the injury. staggeringly enough, the tone of Belimai's voice manages to wring out an even higher searing note of pain in Ambrose's gut than the blade had sung in him. he pulls his head up and stares with a twisted expression, and the way the other man's pulse ticks up nearly feels like the lashing of a whip on his chest.

he shuts his eyes and forces himself to relax again, through the coiling anger that Belimai lets loose, and it's in that release that pink-tinged tears slip down to his hairline. of course, in a situation like this, Ambrose feels a ball of guilt well in his throat, a dwelling bundle of apology. perhaps all built up from the moment Belimai had launched himself out of the window earlier this evening.

Belimai holds him now, frighteningly-warm fingers grazing against his skin, and leave little tracks of blood that cools in their wake. he steels himself and looks at the Prodigal again. his hazel eyes look even greener in his petal-stained tears, and it's a marvel that he has any blood left in him to waste on tears. }

I don't... { does he not know how, or does he not...think that is possible, now?

Ambrose lifts a red-drenched hand up, but his limb sways like a plant stem, too tall and too thin to keep upright. he bumps his knuckles into the front of Belimai's throat, but his fingers crawl the rest of the way to rest against the side of his neck.

he isn't important right now, not Ambrose, not when — } The Inquisition... They came for you. Looking.

They've...learned, it seems. About... { learned enough about vampires to have figured out how to make one die this slowly. the dead blood stings in his wounds, soaks deep into his core. Ambrose can feel it. it feels cold.

Ambrose doesn't know it, but he stares with heavy lids, blinking drunkenly. he has to force them open when they seem more keen to stay shut. even more difficult is keeping his thoughts on track. } They're looking for you, darling...you can't. You can't let... { pain and that sinking chill has him racking under Belimai a moment, and it has him curling closer into his hands like an animal eager for warmth. }

[ Belimai isn’t thinking clearly. The sight of Ambrose lying there bloodied and broken has stolen away his better judgment, and he reacts purely on instinct, drawing close to his injured friend in a desperate attempt to make things better. The obvious solution escapes him, but he remembers when Ambrose’s fingers come to rest at his neck.

He’s ready to demand the vampire feed from him when Ambrose explains the rest of it, and all the breath seems to go out of his lungs as he’s instantly transported back to that sterile white room, the Inquistors with their crisp high collars and polite questions, the interminable progress of the prayer machine and his own screams. He tenses as if to flee, then locks gazes with the vampire.

No. ]

I can’t let you die. [ Belimai finishes the sentence for him and while his voice shakes, the look on his face is determined. It’s not what Ambrose would have said he knows. He knows the vampire well enough to be sure that he would insist Belimai leave him to his fate and save himself instead. A low growl issues from his throat and he slashes at his own throat with black claws, easily slicing through skin and veins. He pulls Ambrose to him roughly with strength born of desperation pressing his face against the column of his neck. ]

Drink, goddamn you, [ he snarls, then adds in a whisper, too soft for human ears, ] I won’t let them take you away too.

[ His angry bravado is just that. Inappropriate and false. Belimai is terrified, but not for himself. Chief among his emotions is the fear of losing another loved one, and the fierce desire to save him. ]

{ if it helps, neither of them is thinking very clearly in this dire moment. he hears the words fall from Belimai's tongue — 'I can't let you die' — and were Ambrose a little stronger, he might weep. the last man to hold him did more than let him die, he took the life out of him. a very opposed sentiment from the Prodigal so warm around him, sharp and dark like raw obsidian, but not cold. so, so warm.

he smells it before he realizes. Ambrose's eyes open round, pale hazel swallowed by widening pupils. the vampire is so limp as he is lifted, but his head turns into the other's chest on instinct alone, lips peeling back.

blood is everywhere, all over the both of them, but it's all cold except for what flows out of Belimai. Ambrose moans, almost a little embarrassingly, unreigned in his weakness as he's curled into his friend's neck. he shivers as it soaks against his lips. Belimai has shared himself plenty of times before, small measured drinks of potent blood given so graciously, but Ambrose has never been this hungry, this pained, this weak. the emptiness the Inquisition bore through him could drink every bit of Belimai, and more.

but Ambrose doesn't have the strength to kill anyone, only to open his jaw and wrap his mouth over the wound in the side of his throat. Belimai burns all around him, and it feels like a cleansing fire. he can fight gravity and his own drained muscles to lift one red-coated hand to his dear friend's front, palm pressing softly to his chest, to feel his incredible heartbeat. Ambrose feels a little ashamed that he doesn't have full faith in Belimai's sacrifice, can't be sure that this will save him, but it still wouldn't sadden him if it didn't. if this were to be one of his last moments with Belimai, with anyone, this would be a beautiful thing to experience as his last.

the blood just about hurts to drink, this much and this fast. it aches in his limbs and cuts him anew in his gut. perhaps Belimai can tell, with the way Ambrose flinches, curling in tensely, his legs scraping against wood and blood.

struck with staggering suddenness, Ambrose jerks back, gasping, his mouth obscene with gore. he has to leave Belimai with strength to flee, to live — but moreover, an instinct that the vampire can scarcely comprehend is hitting him like train. his arms and legs curl up, as if elbows and knees were want to meet in the middle of him. his eyes aren't on Belimai — they are nearly delirious as they stare up to the ceiling. }

...earth. { said so softly, so slow on a low hiss, that it nearly comes unintelligibly. he repeats it again, after a beat. } I need...to be— —n...the earth. { could he, Ambrose still couldn't explain it wholly. he feels like everything Belimai has just bled for him will tumble out of the terrible hole in his abdomen and be gone, with himself, forever. his skin feels strange and tense. he can practically smell damp dirt in his nose like a childhood memory, and it stirs an animal's desperation. he needs to be in the earth, cocooned by dirt. he needs it, and that's all that he knows. }

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

But it's worth it every time

kylo ren ( STAR WARS ) ota

ariel ♆ tlm (darker fantasy au) ♆ ota

kurt hummel. glee. m/m.

albus percival wulfric brian dumbledore [harry potter] m/m

Stella Rogers | MCU (Rule 63) | OTA

Julian Devorak | The Arcana | OTA

Charlie McGee | Firestarter

Mercutio || Shakespeare AU

Angela "Mercy" Ziegler | Overwatch | ota

Basil Hallward || The Picture of Dorian Gray || M/M

Methos | Highlander | OTA

Merlin | Merlin | OTA

Noe Archiviste | Book of Vanitas | OTA and gen

Jane Foster | MCU | F/M and OTA gen

ambrose sinclair + original (vampire) + m/m

o/

BAE

lmk if you want anything changed

omg i love you thank you for making me feel this pain

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Jyn Erso ;; Rogue One ;; OTA

Nico Acosta ;; OC ;; M/F

Evie Montgomery ;; OC ;; F/M

Blake Belladonna| RWBY| ota