Shadowed

Echo panics for a second and then regains composure. It’s just another colonist, being friendly. You should try talk to them. ”Echo. I mean, Echo is called - my name. That is to say, my name is called - Echo is name - “ They take a deep breath. “My name is Echo Lopez. Nice to meet you, Nable.” They decide they should probably get to know a few of their fellow crew members a bit, and, on the spur of the moment, add, “So what job do you do?” They immediately shrink back into the corner, cringing at their forwardness.

Echo Lopez looked furtively around before darting quietly into a shadowed corner, behind the chairs of the waiting area. A small, private smile graced their face as they considered the prospect of what was about to happen. They could soar among the stars, find freedom away from a place that only served as a constant reminder of… The smile vanished. Look what you’ve done. You’ve gone and ruined the moment for yourself, already.

This is so, so important. I’m not going to be able to say anything that people haven’t said already. I’m probably just going to sound like a malfunctioning cliché-machine. But, as someone who is currently in a pretty bad place with a lot of undiagnosed stuff and as someone who has a lot of friends in similar positions to mine, I can honestly say that no one, no one, deserves to go through any sort of mental health condition. There is no one on the planet that does not deserve the utmost happiness, joy and peace, all of the time. If you feel like this, amazing. Congratulations on building a great lifestyle. But if you don’t, that’s okay. That’s completely okay, because you will get there. I know it. I love you, and I believe in you. “I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth. I promise you Kaladin, you will be warm again.”

Earth ”Calano? What… what happened?” She laughed a little as she noticed wisps of Light curling off his skin - not making fun of him, but purely because she was so strained that anything that offered relief was welcome. “It’s like you’re a storming god now, or something.”

Tal’rin Without hesitation, Matra jumped straight through the gateway and landed on a strange green planet. She didn’t think she’d been here before, but was too rattled to care. “What in the storms was that?” @InfiniteInsanity @Edema Ruh @xinoehp512 @Being of Cacophony @Thaidakar the Ghostblood

Tal’rin “I’m going to go and see if I can spot Insa and Rue when they arrive.” Matra told the others, and tentatively stuck her head out of the trapdoor. Squinting, she could just make out two silhouetted figures on the horizon. Climbing out of the bunker and onto the surface, she waved madly to try and get their attention. “Insa, Rue! We’re over here!” @InfiniteInsanity @Edema Ruh

Alright. We’re in Tal’rin - you know that ruined place that you, me and Bookwyrm were in a while back? The place with the Ember? We’re camped in an underground bunker, so you two can work on getting here and I’ll explain to X, Platypus and Thaidakar what’s going on. Stay safe. Matra cut off the mental link and opened her eyes, turning to the others. “Insa and Rue are heading here. They should be able to help us go for the bind point, as well as update us on everything that’s happened.” @xinoehp512 @Thaidakar the Ghostblood @Being of Cacophony @InfiniteInsanity

Matra jumped as she felt a mental connection reaching out to her. Insa. Holding up her hand to the others, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She hadn’t done this for a while. I’m not sure if ‘safe’ is the right word… but we’re not in immediate danger, no. We were actually planning to meet up with you and the others to try and go for the next bind point - but none of us know where you are. How’s your end going? @InfiniteInsanity

ahhh yesss read it because it is the most hilarious book everrrrr and there are so many references in it that you can just say out loud to your friends and they’re like wut and you’re like hehehe lol. there’s 5 of them but imo they get progressively worse so enjoy the first read of the first book because it is a m a z i n g okay i’m going to stop going on about it now because i could literally talk all day haha.

yeah, i find writing much easier than talking. like i would never have been able to say that post out loud. i guess we all have our ways of coping, and they’re all equally valid. thank you :] i have music, which is basically the only thing holding me together, and yeah, it is helping. sort of. hey, i’m really sorry you have to go through that :/ and thank you for the advice, the ‘feeling bad about asking for help’ thing basically nailed the thing i’ve been lying to myself about and trying to avoid. thank you all again for the hugs :))

may I request some hugs? i had a panic attack today. i’ve never had one before. i’ve had spikes of anxiety and panic, but i thought that was normal. i thought everyone had it. i’ve been talking to some of my friends who have diagnosed anxiety disorders and turns out i’m experiencing most of the things that they are, and more. and i thought that was just how i was?? i thought i just had a slightly weird personality and that’s all?? our society is messed up that it let me think that for so long. i fell down a youtube/internet rabbit hole about mental health conditions/mental disorders and i also discovered i have literally all the symptoms of ocd. so that’s fun. so all of that has been unfolding for the past week or so, and the advice from my friend has been to talk to someone about it and get therapy or counselling of some sort, but what if you’re an introverted, socially phobic mess that physically can’t articulate their emotions, ever? like i swear there’s something wrong with me, i can’t even start to put into words how i’m feeling, even with someone i absolutely trust. like, me and my mother sat down because she wanted to ‘discuss my mental health’ and the most i managed was ‘sometimes i get sad’. that’s it. (i also realised i’m experiencing most of the symptoms of depression but this post is too long already and y’all probably don’t want to read me going on about my problems when you have enough of your own and okay i’m gonna shut up now because this is stressful and i’ve been trying to write this for weeks now) so, uhm, yeah. hugs would be appreciated. p.s. please don’t feel like you have to reply to this. i know therapists need therapy too, and i know it can be stressful to feel like you have to help all the time so please please don’t feel obliged to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing <3

*starts jumping up and down because i finally found some more HGTTG fans :D* maybe some of y’all will get the reference in my member rank

oooooooooooo i LOVE the night/day ideas in this!! also the lore mmm yesyes ahhh i just want to hug both of themmmm *offers rep*

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Matra sighed. She wasn’t usually this rash, but recent events were beginning to take their toll. She turned to X. “Do you think you could take us to one? We can pick up some of the survivors on the way - there’s a group that followed me around last time we were here, so they’d probably be loyal.” @xinoehp512 @Being of Cacophony @Thaidakar the Ghostblood

“Maybe we should go for the bind points, while we have the chance. We’ve got nothing to lose, right?”

*goes onto duolingo and follows everyone* (my username is _shadowed_ btw)

Riam was scribbling in her notebook again, but didn’t say anything. Anyone who walked past her would have seen a page titled “The Dor to Sel”, under which was a sprawling mindmap of messy notes. It looked suspiciously like she was formulating a plan - and one that involved the sword concealed in her pack. She thought she had hidden it well, but if one of the others looked closely, they may have seen a tendril of black smoke curling away from a strangely long and thin package, labelled DO NOT OPEN.

yayyy a chapter with nya and dahlien!! i really like how you can see the differences in character when they’re placed side by side like that. and dahlien is still adorable

Riam began scribbling in her notebook, oblivious to the events taking place approximately three metres from her face. ”Scadrial? I don’t believe I have ever heard of that land.” She ignored Lady Ruther’s enquiry as to her own identity - she most likely wouldn’t notice.

that made me want to give Dahlien a giant hug because he’s so sweet and kind and i love it I agree with Cinnamon on the storms thing, it makes sense to people on a Cosmere fansite but wouldn’t necessarily be seen as a curse by a wider audience and could come across a bit random. Otherwise, this is a m a z i n g as usual

“While we are waiting for more who wish to accompany us, would it be possible for me to ask of you some questions around this…” she glanced at Eveni, “Shadesmar. You see, we arrived here unintentionally, but as a Truthwatcher it is my solemn duty to record all unfamiliar experiences in order to properly document the truth.” The words had the ring of having been repeated many times. “I suppose I had better get to know you all, before I interrogate you. What are your names, and which land are you from?” She thought the man in charge had a Veden look about him, and the lady sketching had to be Alethi.

Chanariam Khediv thought she knew what fear was. She knew it was a response in the brain triggered by external or internal stimuli, and that most people experienced it when faced with triggers such as dangerous animals or the prospect of their own mortality. She could describe it; she could quote verbatim from a number of texts written by acclaimed scholars the varying ‘definitions’ they provided on the true meaning of fear. None of them came close to what she was experiencing now. A myriad spheres rushed up to meet her. They seemed to be made of some sort of black glass - obsidian, perhaps? Anyhow, they were pressing down on her like a writhing mass of bestial fury, dragging her down, down, down until her head vanished under the surface of the… ocean? It seemed unimportant what she termed it at the present, considering it was moments away from drowning her. She tried to breathe in but the strange spheres rushed up into her nose and mouth, choking her, swallowing her, consuming her until they were her and she was them. A cold ball of something welled up in her chest - she supposed this was what fear was. The knowledge that you were going to die, and could do absolutely nothing about it. Just as she had come to that conclusion, Riam felt strong arms round her shoulders, pulling her up and out of the terrible, terrible depths. “Eveni?!” “I am here, Miss Chanariam.” The deep, sonorous tones of her mistspren almost made her collapse in relief. “What - what is this place?” Eveni’s eyes grew large and concerned. Riam never stuttered unless something was very wrong. “This is my home, Miss Chanariam. Shadesmar, or the Cognitive Realm. Land of spren and souls.” “Shadesmar? The land from children’s tales?” “The very same.” Eveni nodded. “Often, even the wildest stories are based in fact.” Riam shook her head, attempting to arrange the facts in her mind. “So, if I am correct, we are in a strange, unknown parallel universe inhabited by living ideas and the non-physical aspects of everything to ever exist?” At Eveni’s solemn nod, she gave a rare smile. “Then we had better document it thoroughly, to present to the other Truthwatchers.” “I agree, Miss Chanariam, but perhaps it would be wiser to seek other humans who may be able to serve as guides?” That seemed to Riam to be a more prudent course of action. “Do we have any clues as to the location of other humans?” “Well, no, but they’re so few and far between here that I am sure we will locate at least one band of humans if we ask around a little.” Riam held her head a little higher, pleased to have a purpose. “Then let us do that.” *** After asking at the nearest town, the pair drew closer to a figure on the horizon with distinctly human proportions. Perhaps they could help me? Riam jogged clumsily towards the figure, Eveni striding gracefully at her side. “Excuse me, sir!” she called out in her best Alethi. @TheAlpha929

*happy noises* i worked out a thing!