[212] Toasts
Dec. 26th, 2009 10:28 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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kh_drabbleTitle: Toasts
Wordcount: 308
Notes: Axel is a character I've always struggled to write for, and I CAN TAKE CONCRIT I SWEAR. [flails]
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
When Xigbar walks in on Axel’s drinking binge, he hesitates under a load of crashing notes and the soft sound of the sea. He can see that Axel’s fire is dimming – even his hair seems to be drooping as he stares into a tumbler of something golden – and is wise enough to know that he, too, is tired.
“Hey dude.” Xigbar seizes a glass from a nearby cupboard and sinks into a chair opposite Axel. “Top me off.”
Axel stares blankly at the cup for a little longer and then raises his eyes to meet Xigbar’s. He gets a good long look at those eyes and can tell that they are searching for something they’ve never had to worry about before. Xigbar decides to give him a gentle shove. “Gonna leave me hanging, man?”
Axel’s face seems to crumple and crease a little, buckling under a familiar weight, and picks up a bottle at random, filling Xigbar’s cup to the brim.
“Cheers,” he says. Before Xigbar can down it, Axel adds, “To Demyx.” Xigbar nods and raises his glass. “To Roxas.”
The passage of time is marked by the flow of alcohol and then Axel puts down his tumbler. “Feelings,” mumbles Axel, slouching so his chin rests on his forearm. “Sight. Sound. ‘N… feeling.” He wiggles a hand. “Ya know?”
“Yeah.” “And taste.” “Yeah.” He nods and returns to nursing the drink. “It never tasted bitter before,” he says suddenly mid-sip, slopping the liquid over his cloak. “It was always… sour, or salty and sweet, kinda nice.” Xigbar grunts an affirmative. “Some people…”
“When they left,” interrupts Xigbar, feeling the weight of the ocean between his shoulders, “they just left the bitterness.”
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
I will lay me down…
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no subject
Date: 2009-12-27 07:10 am (UTC)Oh, this is wonderful! Both Xigbar and Axel are very well-written here--such a poignant piece. ^_^
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Date: 2009-12-28 03:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-27 11:20 pm (UTC)He hesitates under a load of crashing notes and the soft sound of the sea.
This was an image I really liked, very beautiful!
I also think you managed to capture Axel very well here- even though his despair isn't overly dramatic, it's very striking and all the more poignant for it. Good work!
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Date: 2009-12-31 04:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-29 09:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-31 04:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-29 10:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-31 04:17 am (UTC)I love Demyx! He's such a basket case. It's very easy to see him getting attached to others and vice versa, which is always fun for fic.
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Date: 2009-12-31 05:31 am (UTC)he is he really is >w< and you wrote it that way very well~♥♥♥
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Date: 2010-01-01 11:34 pm (UTC)I can't form a coherent sentence right now... I think you've killed me dead. I hope my adding this to mems and my multiple rereadings relay the message I'm trying to give you, which is that this is simply wonderful!
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Date: 2010-01-02 12:35 am (UTC)...And you added my Zexion-Namine drabble, too? Have an internet hug!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-02 10:03 pm (UTC)The line about the weight of the ocean was really, really nice, and it conveys what they're going through.
I want to hug them. ._.
I think you wrote Axel wonderfully! And the whole piece is basically made of awesome. <3 Lovely piece!
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Date: 2010-01-05 11:00 am (UTC)