Rot of Stars by Plaguedboar (Pathologic, Burakhvosky)

╰┈• He was not a noble man, he was a man in love.

✒⸻ September

Yearz by ElapsedSpiral (Gorillaz, 2doc)

╰┈• 2D's hand settles on Murdoc's chest, fingers splayed. “Forever’s a long time to be cruel.”

Murdoc’s hand settles on 2D's back, fingers spread over the bumps of his spine and ribs. The bunk feels like it's contracting around Murdoc, like the air’s being forced out to make room for 2D.

“Then I’m off to a fine start.”

╰┈• “I've been working on Broken and On Melancholy Hill,” 2D says eventually.

Murdoc pulls his attention away from the sea and meets 2D’s eyes. The man looks devastated.

“How many more songs.” 2D pauses, swallows, starts over. “How many times are you going to make me sing songs about myself?”

Murdoc's frozen with horror for a split second. He tries to scramble to his feet but 2D holds him down with ease.

“I'm not stupid!” 2D says and it's the angriest Murdoc's ever heard him sound. “If I was that stupid why would you be so fucking in love with me?”

“No, no, no," Murdoc croaks. He tries to shake 2D’s hands off but the man just yanks him down.

“Because it's one thing for you to do this stuff.” 2D gestures with his free hand to the island. “Which somehow makes sense in your fucked up brain or something, but that." His grip tightens on Murdoc's shoulder. “It's torture, it's weird and cruel and...”

Murdoc wonders if he fell while walking down the lighthouse steps after all because his face feels wet. He reaches out to rub the blood away and is horrified to find it's tears. He's crying. He can't stop crying. He holds the bottom of face in one hand, terrified, and 2D watches, stunned.

“I can’t stop. I can’t stop any of this. I’m stuck. I can’t stop.”

“I know,” 2D says softly.

“When I bought this place, the pictures looked great,” Murdoc says, voice edged with mania. “All pink sands and palm trees… and then I got here… and it’s rotten. It’s dying and… fake and, everything’s just speeding up, y’know? It’s speeding up and I can’t stop it. And and I’m, I’m, I'm so angry, I'm always angry and I can't stop.”

He gives up before he runs out of breath and does his best to scrub the tears from his face. They just keep coming.

“This is the worst gift anyone’s ever gotten me,” 2D says as he looks out over the beach.

It should be funny but it’s just sad and tired.

╰┈• Murdoc leans toward the microphone, expression overly serious. “Hi, we're Coldplay.”

2D bursts into tears of laughter, gripping Murdoc’s arm for support. The crowd looks on, baffled. 2D catches his breath enough to say, “no, no, we're just two blokes.”

“Absolutely, just some blokes,” Murdoc agrees around laughter.

╰┈• They shares an amused smile before he carries on with the song.

“See,” Murdoc says and it's soft and it's fond. It's so fucking fond 2D really doesn't fucking know what to do with himself. “You know me after all.”