Disclaimer: I wrote this when I was in a bad place mentally. I'm doing much better now, so pls don't ask if I'm okay, cause the answer is yes. I just reread this and realized I'm proud of it and wanted to show you cause I think I wrote it very well. It features two of my original characters, Leon and Joseph Costa, whom I use for practically everything.

Trigger warning: Eldritch abominations and s*ic*d*al implications. Please take care of yourselves first and foremost.

A creature emerges, and the world goes black. It's like its eyes are the only thing still in existence, making my stomach twist and knot as I stare. Bile rises to my throat and I feel like my knees are going to crumple out from under me at any moment. It's as though the longer I watch, the less form I have. My very molecules are falling apart and tumbling in the ether. And I'm home, pressed against the bosom of some comforting, thrumping heartbeat. Let me sink farther, farther into this sensation. Swallow me whole.

It moves toward my twin and cups his face in what should be its hands. I'm almost a little jealous, I notice from within my enrapturement. Leon writhes for a while, clutching at his head like it's going to implode. He's whimpering as it lightly squeezes him. I can see his eyes go blank as they stream with tears. His fearful expression melts away, leaving nothing in its wake. Its tendrils creep along and sink themselves into every pore, every little dip and crack in his body as he succumbs. Please. No. Take me, not him. I deserve it. He doesn't deserve anything.

"Take me!" I beg, running a hand along my face. Where I expect to find a smile of adoration, I feel only wet cheeks and a gaping mouth. "None of this is his fault," I squeak without my brain's consent. Some complex sound comprised of echoes long-gone and screeches from somewhere blares into my mind like a bundle of parasitic worms as the ever-glorious being gives me attention. Humbled. I am truly honored and humbled. Necrotic substance seeps into me, burning like a blissful acid rain after a hot summer. I am wholly and intimately violated.

"You can't," he whispers, quaking. "At least he has a future. Let him go." Before my eyelids can flutter shut from the excruciating joy, I tilt my head ever so slightly. His eyes look less empty now, and he's sobbing. I open a fist.

"Lee, just let me do this for you. You make people happy. That's more than I can say about myself."

"But I WANT this! I've wanted this for so long! It's just... a pity that now you have to love me when it happens. It would've been better if I could've just been overcome while you still hated me! I know it's selfish, and I hate myself for craving its embrace so badly, but I can't see anything else anymore! This thing has followed us around for years!" The creature detaches itself from me, slowly but surely, and starts to inhabit him once again. I shake my head vehemently, trying to hold onto every fragment I can to stop it, but it slips out of my fingers every time. The pleasurable ache vanishes. He smiles at me, that same smile that I never knew was screaming out for me to notice. And suddenly, all the blackness starts to rage like a storm, enveloping him and nearly blocking him from my sight.

"NO! I REFUSE!" I yell. His breathing shudders at my reaction. "If yelling is the only way I can get through to you, then dammit, I'll scream into the very fabric of reality! I know I'm nothing but an asshole, so for once, I'm gonna be an asshole for the right reasons! I WON'T LET YOU!" I take a breath to pant. "I— I just got you back. After all this time, I finally got you back. It's not fair to ask you to stay, because you've been selfless for so long. But I am getting you out of here."

He stirs a bit, curling up. "But Joe, I have no purpose. No ambitions, no passions. I've wasted all of my potential. You're going to do so much good. I can't let it have you, either."

"Then it won't have either of us!" I demand, defying my own body, which yearns for its affection again. I crouch down so that we're closer and start to reach out my hand.

He laughs, sounding exhausted. "It's hell-bent on claiming us. Do you really think we can do it?"

"Honestly... I don't know. But there can't be faith without doubt, Leon, and I have so much faith in us now." He's crumpled in on himself even further. "Hey. Hey, look at me. You need to understand something!"

"What?" he murmurs, eyelids fluttering. The tempest flares up in a roar.

"Keep them open! Stay awake!" I urge. He rouses, and the creature's essence settles ever so slightly. "Leon, we are NOT our pain. We've let it define us for so long, but we can't keep doing this to ourselves! You're not going to be like this forever, no matter how bleak it may seem, I promise! A few days ago, I never would've thought we could ever forgive each other. But look where we are! We're at the center, facing it together, after all of this time! It's never too late to find your way again! We're going to get better!"

He inches his arm ever so slightly. "How? I'm so hopeless."

"Are your friends hopeless?"

"Of course not!"

"Then neither are you! You've always been the one to help, so let everyone support you for once! Cause, goddammit, we love you! Aloha kakou ia 'oe, just like you always used to tell me!"

"Really? Even you...?" he pleads, stretching his hand out. He hits the torrent and gasps in pain, retracting his hand.

"Yes. I love you. You're my twin, and I'm never gonna leave you again!" I affirm. I reach in a little further, letting my fingertips linger in it. It feels like it's gonna strip my skin clean off, but I can't stop.

He grimaces weakly and shifts away a bit. The energy flares up and I immediately feel like I'm fucking burning. "How? Seriously, how am I ever going to get better?! I've denied so many chances. The world doesn't want people like me. The reason I keep saying I have no future is because, based on what's happened, I have no shot of being a successful adult. Even if I come back home with you, it'll be for nothing!"

"I... I don't know that, either. And I know it's not the answer you want, but I swear I'll support you for as long as you need! So will our parents! Because you are so ridiculously loved, everyone will be behind you to help! I know it's hard to believe, but you can make it through life even if you don't feel ready for college. Just... think about it, Lee. When have I ever been optimistic?"

He gives a weak laugh. "Never in your life."

"Exactly. And if I'm telling you that your life isn't a smoking heap of ruin, then it's not. And we'll be there to make sure it never turns out that way."

"...I trust you. I... I deserve a chance to heal! If I don't believe it now, then I'll just keep fighting until I can say it with confidence!" He grits his teeth and grabs my hand, screaming out but only holding on tighter. Our grip is desperate, but it feels like a tornado is going to rip us back apart. We squeeze so hard that it feels like my fingers are going to shatter into a million pieces. I pull back with all my strength, taking small steps at a time. As the substance passes through each part of his body, he cries out in agony. The being screams in our minds, a horrifying, haunting melody that I'll never forget for as long as I live. I grab his arm with my other hand and shut my eyes.

And then suddenly the pain ends, and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion overcomes me. But it's different than what Lee used to feel. It's a relief and a tingle in my legs, like we just fought a legion of soldiers and survived. He starts to laugh breathlessly, and I can't help but join in. He throws his arms around me in a hug, and I reciprocate, and we laugh uproariously until we can't breathe. When our last gasps of breath have passed, our legs buckle, and we both fall, too little energy left in us to keep us standing. "Ow," I murmur.

"Ah, shit. Sorry, I know I'm heavy," he giggles, forcing himself off me.

"Shut the fuck up, you dork!" I laugh, trying to give him a playful shove. But I can't pry myself off the ground.

"Keep doing that," he sighs. "I'm trusting you to catch it when I start to say shit like that. I know you aren't very vocal about your problems, but I'll do my best to catch you, too."

"I promise." I turn my head slightly and find him reaching out his pinky. "Ah, you're such a kid."

"C'mon, indulge me. Makemake au!"

"How are we the same age?" I tease as I pinky swear with him.

"You know... I think we could go home now. Gut instinct, I don't know," he points out. And I think he's right; my heart senses a distinct lack of restriction.

"Can we just wait here a bit longer? I'll be ready soon."

"I was kind of hoping you'd feel that way."

The blackness fades away, and we're on the beach. The waves lap at the shore and at the tips of our toes. Clouds pass by, and the sun warms us. The creature's still around, coating our peripheries and tracing the fabric of our realities. I don't know if we can ever get rid of it fully. But for today, we've done enough.