#wait. what's the mechanic that lets waking a sleeping heart and like. warping to other worlds. be the same power??

[plateauofmemories]

Me, playing Dream Drop Distance 12 years ago: okay yeah, I think I get this "power of waking" thing

Me now, crying with a Google tab open: no, wait, what the fuck was the power of waking supposed to be???

#plateau is khposting #'did you not have this question 5 years ago when you played khiii?' okay like i did probably sort of #but i also like... got the gist of what was going on. rewriting time which baby boy is not supposed to be doing. will have consequences #let me fight the next guy please #and now that i am looking back and trying tompick it apart in my mind it's like #wait. what's the mechanic that lets waking a sleeping heart and like. warping to other worlds. be the same power?? #reddit tells me it's because all hearts are in the soup and you can go between them and then also up and out of them #i feel like i get it and then i close the tab and then it doesn't make sense again #anyway

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

one inch from the edge of this bed

♛ 5x01: James dreams about Teresa. (1.6k words; rating Mature: language, violence, sexual situations) tags: james can have some magical realism as a treat, morphine is a helluva drug

 ➢ read on ao3 or below the cut:  

(note: I originally wrote this as part of a longer story about James’ journey to reunite with Teresa, so for the purpose of this drabble, morphine is making him forget he’s already seen her...cool? cool. thanks for reading!)

♛

James rarely sleeps deeply enough to dream. What starts as a coping mechanism in his childhood only gets cemented further by the military. Now no matter how tired he becomes, he can never quite turn off that last light in the back of his head. It’s for the best, probably. The things he’s seen—the shit he’s done. Who knows what nightmare would crawl out of the well of his subconscious if given half the chance.

The rare times he does dream, he’s usually able to wake himself up within a matter of seconds. It’s automatic now, like he’s rewired a shortcut in his brain. By the time he opens his eyes the dream is nothing more than a faint memory skipping across the surface of his mind without ever dropping an anchor.

The big, bad assassin and his built-in night light. He’d laugh if he didn’t count it as yet another valuable weapon in his arsenal.  It’s not like he doesn’t know this concession by his personal demons is only a layaway plan. Whatever he doesn’t pay for now will come due at least ten times over later.

Still, when he opens his eyes to see morning light filtered through breeze-stirred curtains, he doesn’t catch on right away. It’s not the sunshine that tips him off or the softness of the bed. It’s not the light breeze wafting through the open window, or even the dip of the mattress behind him.

It’s a sense of peace he hasn’t known in nearly a year. It’s the sound of her hushed voice, whispering his name.

“Don’t hide from me,” she says. “I know you’re awake.”

His heart leaps then plummets at the smile he hears in her words, sweet joy chased by sick panic. It’s not just the nightmares he’s been avoiding in his sleep. 

Dreaming of Teresa is an indulgence he can no longer afford.

When he left with Devon, he knew he’d need more than just physical distance between her and his new life, from what he’d have to do there and who he might have to become to do it. He couldn’t risk it warping his feelings for her.  He couldn’t let it twist his memories or cloud his purpose.

So in the last moments of his freedom, as Devon drove him away into the night, he allowed himself to hold close all that she meant to him: her innate goodness, her fierce bravery, how her eyes warmed whenever she smiled.

And then he built a room around those memories—built the wall brick by brick in his mind until they were shut away. He didn’t need a key. He didn’t even build a door. It was the only way of protecting both those memories and himself.

Leaving her meant leaving her behind.

One look at her now will undo all of his careful compartmentalization. One look at her, no matter if she’s real or imagined, will destroy those walls to dust.  He can’t get off mission, he has to stay on task, he has to—he can’t remember what exactly.  But it feels important, deathly so.

He closes his eyes and waits for the awareness of the dream to catapult him to consciousness but something is wrong. His mind refuses to obey the command.

Error: shortcut not found.

And with every passing second it’s harder to remember why it’s so important for him to resist, his urgency to awaken quickly replaced by an urgency of a different kind.  He can’t stop the hum in the back of his throat at the touch of her fingers brushing across his abdomen or how his body automatically angles itself toward the warmth of hers, inexorable like the tide.

She laughs and the sound of her joy hooks beneath his ribcage, turning him toward her.  They never had enough time.  Little things like lying in bed together, easing into the day with lazy touches and hushed sighs turned into something valuable, something to hold on to, something that’s supposed to be in a lockbox behind a fucking brick wall.

“Hmm, it’s like that is it?” she asks, voice like warm honey sending an anticipatory flare of heat up his spine. “Let’s see if I can’t wake you up.”

The drag of her hair across his chest is all the warning he needs before her lips find his and what’s left of his resistance falls away like tumblers in a lock.  There are no more walls left between them now. No air. Just heat, hands and skin so soft he can barely manage not to bruise it in his desperate need to get her even closer.

An alarm bell rings in some distant corner of his mind, but one hand has already buried itself in her hair, angling her head for better access to her mouth.  The other has slipped beneath her sleep worn shirt, fingers brushing up her ribs to the soft, warm weight of her breast.

This isn’t real.

He doesn’t fucking care.

The past year has been a brutally cold one, filled with blood-soaked ops and people he couldn’t trust.  He’s spent the last twelve months always on guard, either enacting violence, experiencing it or expecting it. To have Teresa here, tangibly safe in his arms, and so, so warm is almost more than he can take, let alone resist.

Her breath stutters against his lips and it feels like a hit of pure oxygen, like she’s reviving him from the dead.

He opens his eyes, pushing her hair back up and out of her face to take her in. She always smiled more freely in their quiet moments together, something that made him feel more powerful than any firearm ever had. Her lips curve now, soft and sweet, her eyes half lidded by pleasure and the knife that’s lodged in his heart tears a downward path, spilling all of his carefully contained emotions from the wound. His grip on her waist tightens too much to go unnoticed.

“What’s wrong?” Her eyes flicker quickly over his face, the ever present worry never too far from the surface of their lives.

He wants to reassure her, to hold onto the playfulness between them, but the ache of it makes him honest. “I miss you.”

“I’m right here,” she replies, voice barely a whisper, perhaps sensing the deadly seriousness of his words. He’s never missed anything half as much as her.  It used to scare him to think of what he’d be willing to do to have this once again. What lines he’d cross to get back to her, to this.

He no longer wonders anymore.  He knows.  The knowledge that he’d do it all over again if it kept her safe didn’t absolve his crimes.  It sure as hell didn’t silence the echo of screams in his head.

“Are you?” His voice is rough but he gentles his hand, smoothing it down her hip to lightly grip her thigh, relishing the strength he can feel beneath his fingertips. He forces a smirk, an attempt to salvage the lightheartedness, and though the slight narrowing of her eyes suggests she sees right through his façade, she concedes to his wishes with a soft smile, tossing her hair over one shoulder to lean down and nip his jawline.

“What do you miss?” she teases, biting gently at the tendon of his neck, sucking lightly at first then sharper.  “This?”

His breath catches in his throat and she hums her approval into his skin.  “Or maybe this?” she murmurs, shifting to run a flat palm down his belly, lower and lower until she’s cupping him through his boxer briefs.

He groans as she strokes him, and she smiles in delight as his hips reflexively rock up into her hand. Her eyes lock onto his, like she knows exactly what power she has over him, like she wants to see the exact moment he surrenders.  It won’t take long. It feels so fucking good that it’s only his pride that keeps him from panting.

Her eyes dance wickedly.  “Or maybe this?”

As quick as lightning, she releases him to grab at his waist, tickling in just the right spot to make him nearly levitate off the bed.

“Fuck,” he laughs, grabbing for her wrists to roll her underneath him, pinning her arms above her head. She’s breathless and beaming and so goddamned pleased with herself that he can’t take his eyes off of her.  She’s beautiful.

“This,” he murmurs, slotting himself between her legs, rolling his hips hard and slow, repeating the movement when her face goes slack with pleasure.

“This,” he breathes, as her heels dig into the back of his thighs, pressing him closer as he leans down to catch her moan with his mouth.

This, he thinks, losing himself in the hazy heat of her. This, this, this.

He senses it a split-second before it happens, like a sudden change in air pressure.  The distant urgency of his mission slamming into focus with the echo of a high powered rifle shot and the shattering glass of the window.

Fiery pain rips through his abdomen, but it's the soft cry beneath him that has him in agony.

He remembers now what was so important.  He remembers now what he was supposed to do.

“Teresa,” he chokes, slumping to the side to get himself fully between her and the window.  He's losing strength fast, barely able to prop himself up enough to assess the damage.  At first he thinks the blood covering her chest is his own, but then he sees it: the entry wound where the bullet passed through him into her.

Her eyes stare up at him in disbelief, words gurgling around the blood pooling in her throat. “James?”

He has to —

“James,” she repeats, blood trickling out the corner of her mouth, her voice growing faint.  

He has to —

“Save me.”

♛

ao3

#queen of the south #qots #qots fic #jeresa #*ficbyme #i figured everyone else put james Through It this week why not me too lol #i've always wanted an el santo james hallucination but a morphine dream will work #thanks for reading!!!

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Negligence.”

Sorry this is so late guys, was on a plane all day and didn’t have time to post. hope you like anyway.

He was lying in the dark, a soft light trickled in from the viewing window on the side of the wall. THe sound of the distant engines lulled him like the sweetest sort of lullaby rocking him gently to sleep, and shifting the covers of his bed so he was never quite still. It was neither hot nor cold at that moment, lying with a blanket half draped over his bare torso, though there was nothing on his shoulders, legs or feet.

It was a perfect inbetween.

Outside a glowing planet, bright white in the distance, almost seemed like the moon of earth when examined in the right light, not that he was examining anything at that moment.

His eyes were closed, his body still, and his mind no more than a blank pool of water, so still it may have been glass.

Time here had no beginning and no end.

A whisper came to him in this darkness. A sweet voice that didn’t startle him towards wakefulness, but brought him plunging deeper into the warm comfort of dreams. He could not hear what the voice was saying through the tones seemed familiar, warping in and out of of two familiar languages though never settling on just one.

The voice wove patterns through his reams, and at one moment they seemed to knit themselves into a shape, a familiar shape that lay beside him in the darkness, a shadow of a shadow.

He sighed deeply, and a warm presence brushed over his skin.

Tracing fingers, and a hand which ran up the side of his body making him shiver. The pressure grew more intense as the gaining pressure brushed over his skin coalescing into a hand, which slid to lay on his chest.

He sighed deeply into the darkness as the hand rested against his chest, a warm and comforting presence.

He reached up a hand, searching for this other figure somewhere in the darkness.

And was violently awoken as the ships mechanical alarms began to scream.

He bolted upright, alone in the Captain’s quarters, half dressed and being continually defined by the roaring of the sirens and the flashing red lights.

He stumbled to his feet, and immediately pitched hard to the floor as his body was suddenly and violently reminded that he did not have FEET but in fact a single FOOT. 

He scrambled beside the bed searching for the prosthetic, which he strapped on in record time clawing his way to his feet half dressed as he sprinted form the room, the sole of one foot bare and cold against the floor.

The administrative deck was mostly empty, but not completely, and bleary eyed officers, working over-night peered from their open doors as he ran past.

“GET TO THE EMERGENCY BAYS!” He shouted as he ran, and they did as ordered, hurrying after him with bleary expressions.

His heart hammered inside his chest as he ran cursing internally.

He didn’t want to loose his ship only a few days after having it. This was a disaster! If something happened he wasn’t afraid to admit that he would cry like a baby, like big ugly crying, there was definitely no stopping it.

Admiral Vir knew all of the alarms to his ship, he had to in order to fly one, but never in his life had he ever expected to hear an alarm for mechanical failure. The harbinger had never had any sort of problems, so why would this one?

He plowed down the stairs, nearly bowling over a two of their three resident tesraki, who squealed and hurled themselves into the wall on his passing. After that, he almost trod on a Celzex, and was ford to leap over them with a yelled apology as he raced downwards and towards the engine bay.

When he finally reached the engineering on deck seven, the alarms were off, and a crew of gathered engineers were already waiting. Some of them were dressed in their nightclothes, but many of them were still i their jumpsuits as the ship was constantly monitored in shifts.

“Whose job was this!”

THe room was silent!

“Whose job was this!” Nairobi was livid, and despite her dark skin covering the blood that must have rushed to her face, he didn’t need it to visualize the steam of absolute rage that must have built up inside her head.

“What is going on here!” He was almost surprised at the authority in his own voice as he marched up the deck and towards where Narobi was still stewing with rage.

From this vantage point, he could see one of the engineers holding his hand to his chest as two others had comforting hands on his shoulder

He looked remorseful and lowered his head, “Sir, I am so sorry sir…. I don’t know what happened.”

Admiral Vir took a deep breath and tried to calm his voice, “it’s alright, just tell me what you remember.”

He shook his head, “A pressure gasket blew on the coolant system, sir. I, my hand.”

He was cut off as one of the others stepped in front of him, a hand still resting on his shoulder, “It hit him in the hand pretty hard, sir. We think it might be broken.”

He frowned hands on hips only vaguely aware that he was shirtless in all of this, “A pressure gasket, don’t we have someone who checks those systems every day? How could a pressure gasket have been blown.”

Nairobi, still seething but actually calmer now that he was here interjected, “Yes we DO have someone who does that, sir, but whoever should have been doing it, hasn’t been doing it.”

Upon hearing those words, everything inside his head suddenly snapped into very clear focus. The bleary grogginess of his mind fell away, and he was left with his thoughts clear and unclouded.

He didn’t notice the room as it shifted nervously before him.

“Someone hasn’t been doing their job?”

His voice shot from his tongue like ice, and the room around them seemed to grow very cold very quickly.

On the other side of the room, there were a couple set of pattering footsteps as the Finnari came clattering onto the deck trailing behind Dr. krill and Dr. Katie, one in her pink pajamas and the other as bright and alert as usual.

All of them sensed something wrong almost immediately.

Dr. Krill dragged the finnari with him as he moved to the injured man, clearly holding his hand.

The finnari, sensing danger in the air shifted back at first, but hurriedly followed the Doctor’s footsteps after a moment, coming up to where the injured human was grimacing and clutching his hand.

Krill had the man sit on the floor while the Finnari stayed out of his way, but still managed to squish up against the human their heads resting on either shoulder.

The human seemed surprised though not particularly displeased with the way things were turning out. Despite his pleasure, however, the rest of the room, well the rest of the room could not have said the same, and like the empaths they were, the Finnari could feel it.

The humans might have described the feeling as if the air had gone suddenly cold, but that was not really a good description. It was simply a secondary explanation of a primary fact: there was danger here, and everyone in the room could sense it.

Blood had drained from arms and legs and moved into the core. Sense had sharpened, hearing had improved and focus had been drawn in.

And that is why the room was cold.

The source of the cold?

The human standing at the center of the room.

Finnari huddled together at the back of the injured human watching the micro expressions on the lead humans’ face as he toggled through emotions in quick succession.

When he ended, he ended in a place that was suspended between rage and calm. His face grew relaxed, the muscles in his body released, but the sheer anger in his single green eye was enough to make them cower.

The power of the human’s unspoken rage washed over the crowd, until even Narobi the mechanic was silent with it.

“Let me see the evidence.” He said 

LIke the chill they were all feeling, his voice was clipped and soft. The edges unfeathered by slurs or mumbling, each word fell from the tongue like a shard of glass, sharp and precise with delicate cutting edges.

Nairobi came forward something held in the palm of her hand, “You see sir, these gaskets are supposed to be checked every day. This buildup around the head si something you only get when one of these has been left in for a while to allow it to accumulate. Judging from my experience, this gasket has not been checked for over a week.”

Silence in the room.

Another cold wave radiated from the man’s body, and the Finnari huddled even closer together.

A vein on his neck was clearly visible, pulsing along the side of his throat.

The delicate blue lines spidered under his pale skin in the unforgiving light of the engineering fluorescents  from above.

The human stalked forward, his feet nearly silent over the floor despite one being made of metal. He was even on his feet, with no hitch or pause despite his injury.

His mechanical eye remained uncovered and quizzes around the group, its appriture opening and closing and  whirring slightly in the silence as it turned on every face in the room.

They backed away.

He moved forward.

“Whose job was it?” He asked his voice as melodic as hissing wind through forest trees.

Narovi had to lean to the side snatching a clipboard from one of her subordinates before walking forward towards where the Admiral stood.

He glanced at the list, cheeks tightening imperceptibly as he did.

He glanced up

“And tell me, what is the worst case scenario for negligence like this.”

Krill, finished with his work, looked up at the Admiral, having never heard him sound like this before today.

His working green eye flashed with barely contained rage.

“Sir, worst case scenario might have caused a fire of some sort. Someone could have died, luckily we have warning and checks and pressure releases to keep that from happening, but if it had gone on any loner, or if that gasket hadn’t failed like it should have, than this man could have been killed.

Admiral vir paused thoughtfully for a moment before walking over towards the injured man.

The Finnari whimpered and backed away slightly as a hand came down to rest on the man’s shoulder.

“You alright?”

“Yes sir.”

“Head up to the infirmary and take a few days off.”

The man nodded and then paused, “I just need a day sir.”

“Whatever it is you need, you take.” He said, the coldness in his voice replaced by the hints of something warm. He glanced down at the finnari, “Go with him, and keep him company.”

They were only too pleased to leave, and did so without argument.

He waited until the last sounds of their footsteps had faded before turning to the crew.

“Corporal Ridger.” His voice had dropped downwards into ice again, and the entire engineering crew shivered 

No one moved for a moment until a soft set of footsteps came from the shadows and a single man walked onto deck his head down, “Yes sir.”

“You’re fired.”

The entire crew flinched in shock and surprise. The older members of the crew looked at each other in near abject horror having never heard something so definitive pass from the man’s lips before.

The man’s head snapped up, “But sir.”

“But NOTHING!” The Admiral roared. The man lept back in fear cowed by his sudden switch to aggression. When he was silenced, the Admiral switched back to quiet, “Your negligence could have killed someone.”

“I will do better, sir.”

The Admiral shook his head, “No, you won’t. You have already proven that you don’t care about your job. As an engineer I know you knew the potential consequences and yet decided to go through with your decision anyway, which means that a part of you does not care about the safety of this ship and the people on it. Therefore, I can only conclude that you cannot be trusted as a member of my crew.”

“But-”

“Fired!”

The crew sat in stunned silence, “Petty officer, take this man to the brig, and Lieutenant! Set a course for the Europa station.”

“Yes sir.” Two voices chorused in unison before running off.

The man was escorted protesting from the engineering floor.

Nairobi had lost all of her anger brom before and was now staring at Admiral Vir was incredulity.

“Sir, are you sure-” ‘Yes I am sure.” He turned around to the rest of the silent room, his voice calm again arms crossed over his chest, “I know that this may seem harsh to the vast majority of you, but I need you to understand something.”

He paced in a wide circle around the room making eye contact with each and every one of them as he passed.

“This ship relies on you to keep us in the air… you are the only people who stand between us, and death however much you would not like that to be true.”

Silence.

He paced hands behind his back now, “I need you to understand that I will not tolerate negligence. Everyone on this ship needs to be here 100% and dedicated to doing more than the job requires and nothing less than what is asked. Someone could have died today because of what he did, and I will make sure that that does not happen so help me god.”

Body stiff, back straight he turned to look at them one more time, “Now get back to work, or to bed, all of you.”

It was at these words that the group of them scampered away, rattling over the ground and out the door with great abandon.

At the corner of one of those hallways, conn turned to look at Sunny who leaned sideways against the wall.

The look on his face was annoyed.

“Please never think like that when you are around me, ever.” ANd then he floated off.

Admiral Vir waited till they were all gone and then sighed.

All of that just to ruin a nice dream.

[septnautical]

Sketchy Meetings

Marvin was tossing and turning in their cave- his mind spinning from the images plaguing him. He panted and whined in his sleep, eyes shut tight. He was so warm the water felt unnaturally cold…

It was following him- he had to swim faster- faster! He tried to glance behind, thinking for a second he lost it...but then, he smashes head first into a body. He screeches, bubbles flying out of his mouth and almost stealing his breath away. Blue glowing claws shoot out through the froth and tries to grab Marvin. But, the merman shot backwards- his heart was pounding so loud in his ears.

Two pairs of glowing pink eyes stare down at its prey- a sickly white mask on its face, long flowing green hair floating around its head like a seaweed halo. It swam almost mechanically- but still too fast for Marvin to predict. It lashed out and drove Marvin into the ground, digging claws into his shoulders. Marvin screamed and tried to wrap one of his tails around the creature, then both his tails. It wouldn’t budge- if anything it pressed up against him harder. Its face leaned down and a broken mechanical noise like a ruined receiver whispered to him.

“How long will it be till you fall again?” Marvin shook and blinked tears out of his eyes as they floated away to join the dark water. Even though he can’t see the bottom of its face- he feels like its smiling, enjoying his pain. It laughs then gets right in Marvin’s face, so they are touching nose to nose.

“When will you become me again, Marvin?” His controlled self cackled- and Marvin was shaking his head, trying to find his voice. But- it was being stolen from him again- the ringing and static starting to fill his head. He sobs, feeling that numbness he despised so much-

“P-Please-” He pleades to the clone, “I… I’m not like you-! I..I won’t be a w-weapon for them! I… I’m not a machine!”

The twisted version of him shakes its head and laughs harder, before increasing the pain yet again. All that Marvin could see was its eyes and that horrible, horrible mask.

“We can’t change what we are- this is inevitable.”

Pink and static filled Marvin’s vision as he screams-

With a jolt, Marvin sprang up in the cave, hardly able to catch his breath. His eyes were wide and he gripped a hand over his chest, as if he could claw that horrible awful feeling out again.

He started to hear something close to ringing- sending him into further panic as he searched around desperately for his mask. Marvin sees it just a bit from him and he snatches it up, hurriedly putting it on- not caring if it snagged on his hair. With the mask on, he started to relax some, sinking into the sand and holding himself. That… was one of the worst nightmares he’d been getting… but it kept happening- and each time he panicked in the same way. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, frustrated- exhausted.

The warper mer looked back to his brothers- Anti and Jameson were curled around each other. Jameson had a peaceful smile on his face- and Anti’s posture was actually relaxed. He was finally starting to trust them again- knowing that he didn’t have to hide or reject touch from his family anymore. It was a big step… and yet, Marvin couldn’t help but feel a weight on his chest.

...Why wasn’t he getting better?

Marvin snorted quietly to himself, anxiously balling up his fists and feeling restless. He would wake up the others if he tried to join them… and he wasn’t sure he could handle it either. That’s why he’d been sleeping on his own anyways… Henrik had started doing it too. But- he couldn't just stay in the cave… he was too agitated. He looked back out the mouth of the cave then back to his brothers. He swallowed stiffly, took his ribbon off his wrist and tied up his hair messily- then quietly and swiftly took off into the night sea.

Marvin knew he could warp away- but… it was nice to do something more natural. Like… he wasn’t just some… He tried to steer away from that thought. He wasn’t… he knew he wasn’t. He placed a hand over his heart as he swam, the rhythm of it a small comfort.

The path Marvin took was random- but it had drawn him to the Ocean Arm’s base. It made sense… even if they were keeping their distance because of those new white suits… Before that they had spent so much time there. Learning all new things, talking to the blue suits, playing with equipment. The blue suits… really cared about them all it seemed. They never tried to pull his brothers or him into random dark rooms for answers to their questions- knocking them out or taking random samples. They… just simply asked. And- it was nice to answer... who knew it was possible? The boys had never really seen compassion or patience with the white suits… they took answers and asked questions after (if at all). And if neither the blue suits or them knew- they could go look or find stuff… and it didn’t have to be painful if the boys were uncomfortable. It was nice… and they even taught them to make their cool machines!

It really made Marvin… feel something different. That he wasn’t some lab freak- that he was more than just- something fake… some creation- a machine. Some days it would make Marvin think…

Was this what it was like? To be human?

But, Marvin couldn’t let himself think like that. He knew what he was- or... at least he thought he did. Now, he wasn’t so sure. And it scared him.

Marvin swam over the base and looked down. Most of the lights were off, only the machines’ lights flickering below the surface. That made sense… it was night. But- Marvin saw one of the bubble like structures that was lit up bright. He didn’t want to be in the dark… or wake anyone else up by going into the base. So, without really thinking, he swam over to the bright place and looped over it for a second before he settled on the glass. He pulled his tails to his chest and then wrapped his cape around himself- kinda like he saw the blue suits do. It was actually kinda nice… warm in a way he didn’t expect. He was ready to just lay over the bright glass and drift back to sleep- but then the sound of a hatch opening had him startling up.

Over the side of the bubble glass- a female face popped up, goggles over what… looked like a second pair of goggles? Short cropped hair flew up with her momentum as she curiously peeked out.

Marvin had never seen this one- it couldn’t be a blue suit then. He quickly swam up, tails shaking as he stared at the white suit with wide eyes. He’d warp away- but she could have a weapon! He was scared- he was really scared- and he could feel his warp powers wavering. That wasn’t good- was she doing something to him??

The girl fully popped up and quickly held out a hand to the merman. “Wait!” She called, sounding just as panicked as Marvin. “I- didn’t mean to scare you! You… just scared me when I was working is all!”

The warper gave her a look, a laugh coming from him before he can stop it. “I scared you? How is that possible?”

The girl seemed to flush but she fully swam up to be a eye level with the merman. She had a glowing PDA in her hands- but… it wasn’t filled with the stuff Marvin usually saw on them. Instead of diagrams and long blocks of words- it was.. Drawings? He thinks that’s what they’re called? She had a pointy looking stick stuck behind her ear- but it didn’t look sharp, it was blunt. That would make an awful weapon…

“Oh well- I was working in this observation pod because i was… uh- studying the nighttime creatures. I wanted to look at their bioluminescence.” Marvin gave her a confused look and she quickly responded, “Glowing! The.. fish that can glow in the dark-” She giggled then gestured to Marvin. “Kinda like you!”

Marvin knit his eyebrows together and looked down at his tails- he was giving off a soft blue and purple glow. But, her just sitting here and watching… that didn’t sound right.

“Why don’t you go and catch one?” Marvin asks, a bit of venom in his voice. The girl now looked confused- and she pushed back her hair to keep it out of her face as she held her PDA close.

“Oh, I’m no hunter. I like to study them naturally! I don’t want to make any of the fish scared- they’re so much prettier to look at when they’re swimming and free-”

“What would you know about swimming free, white suit?!” Marvin suddenly growled, baring his fangs.

“W-What?” She stammered, swimming back a bit.

“Were you just- sitting there studying things in- in their tanks! Watching the ‘pretty’ fishes and- and my brothers trapped in there! Doing nothing but watching?!” He started to shout, feeling his anger rising almost painfully.

The girl looked scared (which she should be) but… she didn’t run. She tried to get a bit closer and Marvin growled, curling his tails up towards him and getting into a defensive position. The girl kept her distance but didn’t back away- her voice was gentle. Like.. Dr. Danan when she wanted them to calm down.

“I.. I think you’re confused-” She said, expression concerned. “T-the people that I came with.. N-none of us were part of the... The hybrid experiments. I.. I didn’t even know we had anything like that- i… I just studied and drew out in nature! Out in the ocean and provided visuals- I.. I had no idea about you… a-and your brothers.” She seems genuine, which has Marvin pausing and starting to uncurl.

“That… blonde one… and the d-dark haired one with goggles.. They said the same thing…” He muttered, remembering the day the crash happened. The girl cocks her head at his descriptions, then speaks up.

“O-oh yeah- I bet Stacy scared you… she can get intense. Especially when someone is hurt- that’s why she was a nurse-” The girl adds quietly, a sheepish look on her face. “And Goog- oh um… Tillman- he’s kinda scary. He takes charge very well- but he has a voice that kinda reminds me of a robot.” She giggles, “D-Don’t tell him I said that! He’s actually very kind… and can be funny.”

Marvin turns to really study the girl now, just daring to get a bit closer. He sees- what looks like seaweed bandages wrapped over part of her head, and scratches on her cheeks and neck.

“...you were the one hurt… that day-” The merman mumbled.

The girl blinks and then laughs a bit, “Oh! You saw me then? I… guess I was-” She seems to nervously push back her hair to lightly massage the bandaged area. “I don’t remember much from the crash- I just remembered danger.. And scary lights- I remember seeing the kids and hurrying to do something… then it was black.” She giggles quietly, reserved, “I’m just glad they all got out alright… we may have only been neighbors… but I really like those kids.”

“...you talk a lot-” Marvin found himself saying. The girl’s face turned even redder.

“O-Oh? I.. I guess I do- I ramble.. I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to make you…”

Marvin got closer and shook his head. “No- it’s… okay. Just… weird.”

The girl cocks her head again, “Weird? Why is that?”

Marvin had trouble finding the words, “You.. don’t act like a white suit…”

The girl still looked confused. “Is that a compliment?” She laughs a bit nervously. Marvin nodded.

“Yeah… it is-” He found himself responding again without thinking. Then, he backs up a bit and messes with his mask- his hair.

“M-My brothers- w-we call… t-the people in HQ… they’re the white suits… because of-”

“-The white on the suits...!” They both end up saying, the girl realizing as Marvin spoke. She stopped and covered her mouth. She looks at her suit- it's the last intact one she had from home: white, orange and black.

“I.. I’m really sorry-” She warbled out, “I… I had no idea- If I knew there were creatures- …human-like things in our facility- I never would have stayed there!” She ends the sentence with a type of fire in her eyes, passion making her voice raise.

Marvin felt his chest tighten slightly. She- saw them- him… as human-like? That… used to scare him- but… right now it gives him some comfort. He gave the white suit a small timid smile. She paused then smiled back.

After a few seconds of silence, the girl seemed trouble by the quiet and quickly swam a bit closer and stuck out her hand. “I’m Lizzie! By the way- Elizabeth actually- but i don’t like Elizabeth… L-Lizzie Scott!” She still kept her distance but seemed to hold her hand out invitingly. Marvin hesitated, confused by the gesture… but then he remembered meeting Zara. This- is what Humans did when they meet someone. Slowly, the merman creeps a bit closer, the white yellow light from below lighting him up instead of the cold blues of his membrane. The girl seemed to suck in air in her mask at the sight, making Marvin’s stomach drop slightly. Did he scare her? Was it his mask?

She notices the hesitance and quickly bridges some of the distance again, “Oh no- I’m sorry! I… have just never gotten to see a Warper up close! Or… a-anything like you…” She sounds- starstruck. “You’re…like nothing I’ve ever seen before…” The phrasing of that almost has Marvin swimming back again. It reminds him too much of the white suits- they used to tell him how beautiful him and his brothers were…. But it was all a trick- used to placate them. But… coming from her- from Lizzie, it sounds different.

He finds himself repeating something she said earlier, a light but stressed laugh escaping him. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

Lizzie seems taken a back- but soon she’s laughing too, hiding her laugh behind her hand. “Y-Yes- it absolutely is!”

Marvin feels himself relax then and once again, he slowly advances. He offers his hand to her, a sheepish and unsure expression hidden behind his mask- showing in his eyes.

“...Marvin-” He whispers, feeling a rush of… some emotion he’s not sure of. “My name is Marvin.”

Lizzie is quickly smiling again, seeming overjoyed. She takes his hand then shakes it.

“It’s nice to meet you, Marvin!”

Marvin chuckles a bit uneasily, but he nods. “Um… s-same- .. i think.”

The refugee studies Marvin for a second before getting just a bit closer, hugging her pda to herself again.

“Hey… I know you’re probably anxious being around… people who are from the place you… got hurt from… but would you like to sit with me?” Her cheeks seem to flush again as she looks at the merman with a shy expression. “I… noticed you sitting on top of the bubble… and I figured it might have been just the light cuz its dark… but- you looked kinda lonely too…”

Marvin hesitated and looked away slightly. He… didn’t want to admit it. But he was a bit… he didn’t want to bother his brothers or wake anyone up. But.. he didn’t have a mama grim- or a scrap pile or favorite place to be. When he feels this way… He’s always so lost.

He finds himself nodding, “... y-yeah… i… think that could be nice…”

Lizzie’s eyes sparkled as she excitedly kicked up in the water with a grin. “G-Great! We can… just chill!”

Marvin knit his eyebrows together, “...like the cold boxes inside?” He asked with confusion. Lizzie erupted into bubbly laughter, bubbles flying up into her hair. “Kinda! Except we don’t have to be cold-” She gently took Marvin’s hand again and brought them back towards the glass bubble, settling on the top of it. As soon as she had sat she let his hand go then sat with her legs over each other, rocking slightly as she placed her pda in her lap. “We say chill to mean like… staying kinda still like something cold- but its just so we can stay in one place and chat!”

“Ohhh-” Marvin answered, settling next to Lizzie and folding one of his tails over the other. It.. felt kinda weird to be this close to someone, being friendly.. And not laying on top of each other. Guess he didn’t spend enough time away from his brothers.

Lizzie was still giggling to herself, “We have lots of silly words and phrases like that!”

Marvin nodded with a polite smile. Lizzie patted her legs kinda then pushed hair away from her face again. “I’m sorry! I’m talking too much again aren’t i?”

The warper shook his head, “No no… it’s okay-... it’s nice.” He looks out into the dark of the ocean around them. He whispered, almost to himself. “... it’s too quiet at night…”

“I think that too!” Lizzie exclaims, “Quiet is only good for sleeping- but I like staying up and… just listening to music or drawing.” She closes her eyes and smiles, “Night is peaceful- and its a cool kind of silence. Like the world is getting rest, and so you can too. Even if you’re not sleeping- it’s like rest for your soul-” She stops and bites her lip, “o-or heart, I should say.” Marvin hummed in thought.

“I… guess it is,” He mumbles, rubbing a hand over his own heart. It… wasn’t racing anymore… he was actually feeling calm even after that nightmare. He was almost feeling… better actually. He didn’t think he could feel like this when he wasn’t around his brothers…

Lizzie let the silence linger for a second, picking up that white stick and starting to push it to the pda’s surface. Lines followed after the point, creating lines that came together...and was forming into something. Marvin wasn’t sure what… but he was intrigued. He knelt a bit closer, watching Lizzie work. They sit there for a few, Lizzie’s eye flicking to look at Marvin every now and again. But, slowly she stops the stick and looks fully back up to the merman.

“Hey, Marvin? Can I ask you a question?” She inquires quietly.

Marvin tilts his head. Then, he smiles. “If I get to ask you one too-”

Lizzie giggles and nods- then pauses and adds back kinda nervously, “Oh- its kinda two! A-Actually…”

Marvin smirks, “Then that means two for me too, right?”

She chuckles and nods, “Yeah!” Then she hesitates before trying to ask. “I like your mask… why do you wear it?”

Marvin visibly flinches, and Lizzie almost immediately responds, “Y-You don’t have to say! I know there’s some things that people don’t like to talk about…”

Marvin touches a hand against his mask, “It’s okay… i-it’s a long story…” He digs some of his nails into the familiar grooves he’s made on its surface. “... it keeps me… as myself- in a way…” He shares just hardly above a whisper.

Lizzie looked confused, and a bit concerned. But, she didn’t push. And that made Marvin feel so much more at ease. “...second question?”

“Oh! Right!” She giggles a bit, then looks back at Marvin with gentle smile.

“Would you mind if I drew you?”

Marvin blinked and tilted his head, looking at the lines on her pda. They… kinda looked like how his cape looked… and his tails.

He looks back up to Lizzie. “...I think so- but can I ask first-?”

“Hm? Oh go ahead!

“...what’s drawing?”

Lizzie looked dumbfounded for a second- then she bursts into giggles and waves her hand. “Oh! Of course you guys don’t know- here! I can show you!”

She twists around then sits legs crossed in front of Marvin and fixes her gaze at him, picking up the white stick and going back to the surface, making marks a lot faster than she was before. Marvin watched in confusion and tried to tilt his head to look but, “hey! Stay still! I’m almost there-” Lizzie said. Marvin didn’t get it but he settles down and tries to watch from the opposite side.

After a few minutes, Lizzie perks up then grabs her PDA and turns it around so Marvin can see. “Ta-da”

On the blue surface of the PDA- the lines came together and made something that looked how Marvin looked. It wasn’t perfect like the cameras the white suits used… but somehow it was nicer. She… made that- without one of the fabricators or other weird gadgets they had. Just… her hands. That was amazing to Marvin.

He swims up closer and pokes at the PDA- expecting to feel the scratchy texture he sees. Lizzie is patient as he looks and traces his finger over the lines. “...that’s me- but… not a picture that your machine takes… right?”

Lizzie nods with a smile. “Yeah! I just take this stylus-” She holds up the stick, “And I use the lines on the surface to try to capture the likeness of things around me!”

“...don’t you have things that can already capture images like that?”

She hums in thought, “Yeah… we have lots of things for that. But. even if its long out of practice- art or well, drawing! Is an important skill- there’s always a need to communicate with drawings… and it’s a way of really understanding the things around us.” She finishes with a smile, but quickly blushes and hides behind the PDA again. “Or… at least I think so- I’m...kind of biased…”

Marvin’s face is looking at the drawing with a strange expression that Lizzie doesn’t know what to think of. Then, he meets her eyes, “...could you teach me?” He asks in a hushed whisper.

Lizzie looked so happy. “Oh! Of course! Ah… I’d have to see if they have extra PDAS like this! But- i’d love to teach you-!”

Marvin waits a second and swishes his tails against the glass before looking back up sheepishly. “...could we… tomorrow?”

Lizzie grins then points a finger at him, “oops! That’s another question!”

The merman’s face falls and he almost withdraws, but Lizzie quickly corrects herself. “Oh! I was teasing!! Of course I’m okay with that!”

He stares at her, then laughs a bit, nodding at Lizzie. She smiles in return. Marvin does still seem a bit nervous though- he looks like he wants to stay- but also like he wants to go.

Eventually he whispers out quietly, “I… should get back to my brothers…”

Lizzie nods and smiles gently, “That’s okay- I do need some sleep for tomorrow!” She giggles then rocks her PDA on her legs, blinking up at Marvin with soft green eyes. “I’m… excited to see you tomorrow…”

Marvin hesitates.. Then smiles. “I… think I am too.” He nods to her and then swims up into the open sea. “Tomorrow night- … I’ll- see you then.”

She giggles and returns the nod, “Okay- be careful getting home!”

The warper mer pauses at this, then gives Lizzie a lazy smirk. She hadn’t see a Warper before right? With a flick of his tail, a warp gate opens right behind him, the purple and blue making the water around them bright. Lizzie gasped then laughed in disbelief. Marvin grins at her, “I think I’ll get there just fine-” He then waves and slips through the gate. As it closes, Marvin sees the energetic white suit wave back.

#septnautical main story #refugees #refugee arc #lizzie scott #warper marvin #marvin’s mask #nightmares #meet cute fluff #another new white suit friend for the boys! #only like- 3-4 more to go |D

[celsidebottom]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan Sims Additional Tags: Spoilers for 161!, Nightmares, The Extinction, The Lonely

Summary: When Martin dreams of the Extinction and Lonely, Jon sees his nightmares so vividly, and wants nothing more than to stop Martin from suffering any longer.

“Jon, come to bed.”

“I’m not tired.  Not like that.”

Martin stood in the doorway to the bedroom, leaning against the frame as he watched Jon fumble with one of the many tape recorders that followed him around.

“I know, but… you could still use some rest, even if you don’t sleep.”

“I don’t think it works like that anymore.”

Jon was still running his fingers over the buttons when a gently lobbed pillow thudded into his side.  He dropped the recorder and looked up at Martin, aghast.

“Jon, come on, please..."

Martin had a pouty look on his face with sincere worry shimmering in his eyes, and Jon sighed, the faint upturn of a smile at the edge of his lips.

“Yeah, alright.  Fair enough.”

After changing into his pajamas, Jon crawled into bed beside Martin and draped an arm over his waist.  

“Good night,” Martin yawned.  “Thank you.”

“Of course.  Get some sleep.”

Martin gave Jon a quick kiss on the forehead before rolling in the other direction, adjusting his pillows, and starting to let sleep claim him.   Jon moved a little bit closer and rested his head into Martin’s back while his breath slowed.

It wasn’t that Jon didn’t need rest.  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to cuddle up beside Martin and hold him tight.  It was that he saw Martin’s dreams, if they could even be called that.

In the world he’d created, there were only nightmares.

La porte est la porte est la porte est la porte est la porte est la…

Martin’s subconscious raced through doors, some half-destroyed and others pristine, interspersed with dark, dilapidated streets.  And in those streets were corpses, mangled and decayed, mutated beyond recognition, embedded into the pavement, entombed in the walls.  Their hands almost reached out at Martin, begging him to save them, but there was no hope for them now.  Martin ran through one last, broken door, and there was only light.

Blinking, Martin, and by extension, Jon, stepped into a hot summer day, the heat casting up wavering lines around them.   Mechanical numbers buzzed in his ear and repeated themselves over and over and over and over.

 Three.  Zero.  Five.  Eight.  Three.  Nine.  Two.  Eight.  Four.  Six.

In the distance, Martin saw a house atop a small hill.  But the smoke that rose from it was not that of a chimney or a contained brushfire.  It is something else entirely, something unimaginable.

 Four.  Seven.  Four.  Nine.

Jon didn’t need to hear the whole sequence of numbers to know what the meaning was:

The World is Always Ending.

Martin’s subconscious faded away in the beeping of each number, their message both a revelation and a perpetually known truth at the same time.  When he looked again, he stood inside a hut that creaked and groaned like shifting metal, mixed with the sound of a distant scream that was ignored as something innocuous.  As Martin stepped toward the twisting statues made from refuse and forsaken objects, the block of concrete at his feet transformed and hissed.

With a shock, Jon pulled himself from the vision.  It was so easy to fall into Martin’s dreams, to see that fear right there inside him, but how much was he going to let Martin bear?  He could feel Martin’s pulse pounding beneath his embrace and the way his breath caught in his throat as the newly manifested snake lashed out at him and the statues turned toward him, liquid concrete pouring from what should have been their eyes and mouths.

Consciously, Jon tried to look away.  It took all his strength to do so, to reach out and shake Martin, to try and wake him from his nightmares.

“Martin, Martin, wake up, please.  Wake up.”

It was no use.  And he knew that when he tried.  It wasn’t the first time Jon had attempted to wake Martin when the fear of his nightmares caused his body to convulse in the night.  Or whatever passed as night anymore.

But Jon could never wake him.  Instead, all he could do was hold Martin a little tighter.

Instantly, Jon was thrust back into Martin’s dreams and the faint hum of carnival music sent a shiver up both their spines.  The people at the game stalls were gaunt and thin, prying apart bones before descending on their injured companion before the life even left his limbs.  And then, when their appetites were only just whetted, they turned toward Martin.

Just as the crowd descended, the scene shifted and changed.  The gentle sound of waves crashing on a shore came first, followed by an image of a beach, but all the colors were desaturated and empty.

It wasn’t the first time Martin dreamt of the Lonely; he’d had visions of it even before the world ended.

Same as before, Martin’s body shuddered under Jon’s embrace and faint, mumbled words escaped his lips in the waking world.

“No… I can’t go back.  I won’t.  Don’t… don’t make me.  Please…”

A quiet sob broke from Jon as he heard Martin beg.  The weakness in his voice, the frailty…

“Wake up, Martin, please.  You’re not there.  It’s not real,” Jon pleaded even though he knew it wouldn’t help.

He’d seen enough terror replayed in his mind, he knew that such platitudes, even if spoken during the consciousness of day, did little to help allay the fear.  Every statement he’d ever read used to show itself in his dreams, but now they didn’t need to – there was enough fear in the air to sate his monstrous appetite at all hours.

It made sense that Martin would dream of the Extinction.  Especially when the world around them was so warped from the way it had been just a few days ago.

And even Jon used to dream of the Lonely, before he no longer needed to sleep.  Visions of fog, the din of static, the sight of Martin turning away from him and disappearing into the void…

Feeling Martin beside him was the only thing that got him through such nightmares.  So, as Jon was unable to wake him, he held onto Martin even tighter, hoping that his presence would be some small comfort when Martin awoke.

They didn’t have to eat anymore, he didn’t have to sleep, why did they still have to dream?  Why did Martin still have to suffer?  He’d been through so much, and yet he was still hurt again and again…

The tears blurred Jon’s vision and he became acutely aware of how closely he held Martin, how his heart raced and his limbs twitched as he tried to find some escape from the Lonely in his mind.  Jon pressed his forehead against Martin’s back and let himself cry, because there was nothing more that he could do, except watch and wait.

“Jon?  Jon, are you okay?”

Martin extracted himself from Jon’s grip and rolled over to face him.  His eyes were alert even though he’d just awoken from a terrible, terrible dream, and he pulled Jon into a firm embrace, before letting go only slightly, his leg gently draped over Jon’s as he brushed away his tears.

“What happened?”

“I’m sorry, Martin, I’m so, so sorry.  You’ve been through so much and I can’t help, I can’t make it better.  I did all this; it’s all my fault, I’m sorry…”

“Jon, please…”  Martin cradled Jon’s head with one hand while the other gently rubbed his shoulder.  A soothing motion, even if it did little to take away the pain.  “I’m guessing you, uh, saw my dreams again?  Bad stuff, huh?”

“You really don’t remember them?”

Martin shook his head.

“You’re lucky.  The other fear I see from everything happening now, the thing that scares me most about it is that it doesn’t scare me.  But with you… I don’t want you to suffer anymore.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Martin insisted softly as Jon let out another heavy sob, even as a tear fell from his own eye.  “The dreams might be bad, but at least I get to wake up and see you here.  For a few moments, then, everything is okay – except when you’re crying, of course, but you know.”

Jon choked out a chuckle and couldn’t help but smile.

“When I wake up and see you, or just feel you beside me, there’s a second where none of the pain matters and I can forget that the world is in such a messed-up state.  I just… I wish that you could find a reprieve like that.  Even for the smallest moment.”

“It doesn’t all go away,” Jon muttered.  “It doesn’t ever stop entirely.  But… it gets quieter when I hold you.”

Martin pulled Jon in tight and wrapped his arms around him, and Jon pressed himself into Martin’s chest.

In a soft whisper, Martin urged, “Then don’t ever let go.”

#the magnus archives #tma #tma spoilers #tma 161 #jonmartin #tma5 #martin blackwood #jonathan sims #I was just thinking about how Jon sees the statement givers in his dreams #and Martin was in many ways an archivist for the extinction #so what if he sees those statements when he dreams in this new world? #my fic #tma fic

[spoon-writes]

Ends of the Earth | Chapter 5

Fandom: The Mandalorian

Pairing: Mando x OC

Read on FFN or AO3

Summary: When Sinead's husband is ripped from her, she escapes the Hutt Empire and goes on a quest to find him. Since being a runaway slave in the Outer Rim isn't exactly easy, she makes the Mandalorian an offer he can't refuse and soon they travel across the galaxy, looking for her missing husband.

Chapter index

Chapter 5 - Tatooine

Sinead turned the memory bank over and over, the metal warming up between her hands. Most of her life she'd found herself in close proximity to a mechanic, so learning proper droid maintenance had never been a priority, something she regretted now, looking down at the lifeless box.

A pleasant and familiar hum surrounded her as the ship hurtled through the dark void, lulling her into a sense of calm she hadn’t felt since leaving the ruins. Even now, hours later, she felt the presence of it lurking in the back of her mind.

Suddenly, the world tilted, and Sinead crashed to the floor. The memory bank few out of her hands and skipped across the floor. She pushed herself up on her hands and knees, when the ship rocked violently, making her cling to the bunk to keep from being thrown clean across the ship.

Two alarms started wailing in tandem.

She gritted her teeth and grabbed hold of a rung on the ladder, climbing into the cockpit before the ship shook and tipped wildly.

The Mandalorian was in the pilot’s seat, his hands flying across the dashboard, flicking switches and trying to stabilize the ship. The kid was strapped into his seat, his head swirling around to look at all the light coming to life.

Sinead sat down and pulled the safety harness over her shoulders.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Company."

The Mandalorian jerked the steering handles and the ship spun away, a volley of blaster bolts whizzing past the window.

According to a screen on the console, a small starfighter flew directly behind them, firing every time the Razor Crest was still for long enough. They'd never be able to outrun or outmaneuver it.

Cold dread expanded from the base of her spine, making her muscles twitch and tense. Every sound seemed dull, like she was hearing it from inside a vacuum.

The starboard turbine was hit, showering the cockpit in sparks as the shock traveled into the main engine. A third alarm joined the cacophony.

Sinead swallowed hard and found her voice. "Doesn't this hunk of metal have any shields?" She grabbed the armrests so hard her knuckles turned white.

The stars turned into streaks as the ship careened to the side, another round of lasers streaking past the window.

It had to be pirates, not many were brazen enough to attack a gunship, even out in the Outer Rim. Maybe this time she’d die instead of-

A shadowy figure flickered to life above the dashboard. "Give us the child, Mando," it said, its voice clipping in and out. "I might let you live."

Sinead looked at the child, who gurgling nervously to himself. She wanted to reach over and reassure him, but the harness was too tight. Why would anyone want the kid badly enough to attack them for it?

And explosion rocked through the ship, and underneath there was a sound of metal groaning.

Flashing lights danced on the Mandalorian’s helmet.

“Hold on.” Mando sent them into a wild spin, the stars turning into white streaks as all sense of direction spun away as quickly as the ship.

It felt like Sinead had been dropped down a bottomless well.

The hologram warped as power redirected. “I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold,” it said before cutting out completely.

There was no way the other ship wouldn’t blast them to smithereens the first chance it got.

Mando hit the brakes, and the ship hung unmoving in the air, before the starfighter screamed past it, scraping against the Crest with a sound like an old hovercart in a trash compactor.

Mando fired once, and the laser ripped through the small vessel before it had a chance to spin around and attack. The ship exploded, leaving glittering debris like stardust in its wake.

Sinead sat back in her seat. Her entire midsection felt bruised from the harness, but the alternative was being a smear on the window so she couldn’t complain.

“Nice flying.” She didn’t mean for it to come out sounding so sarcastic, but fear and adrenaline still coursed through her veins, making the blood rush in her ears.

The Mandalorian either didn’t hear or ignored her, as he checked the status of the ship.

“Losing fuel,” he mumbled mostly to himself.

Sinead undid her safety harness and reached over to the child. “Are you okay there?”

The kid laughed as the power went out and they found themselves in complete darkness.

“I think he’s okay,” Sinead said, gently booping him on the nose. “Please say we’re not stranded out here.”

“I think I can redirect the power,” the Mandalorian said, getting up and flicking a switch at the back of the cockpit.

The ship came to life, a sad, sputtering one that wouldn’t last long, but enough so that Mando could propel it towards the nearest planet, an orange dust ball hanging in the void.

“Are you gonna tell me who’s after the kid?”

Mando glanced at her over his shoulder.

“You know, this whole silence thing is getting old. At least come up with a lie like the rest of us.”

Mando glared at her, and Sinead offered him a sharp smile.

The planet was getting closer and closer when Sinead leaned forward. “What is this place even? Or are you not going to answer that either?”

“Tatooine.”

“Oh, that’s just great.”

The Mandalorian adjusted their course toward a small smidge on the planet’s surface. “The Hutt’s been dead for years, and he hasn’t been replaced yet.”

Sinead made an uncertain sound. “Yet, but I’m sure the clan’s just waiting until the region is stable again. They’re not exactly the type to give up a planet without a fight.”

“You been here before?”

“No, but I’ve heard it’s a desolate hellhole.”

Gold-orange crags and sand dunes took form as they cruised over the surface, the ship groaning with the effort it took to keep them in one piece.

Sand. She really hated sand.

The comm came to life and a scratchy voice filled the cockpit.

“This is Mos Eisley tower, we’re tracking you. Head for bay 3-5. Over.”

“Copy that. Locked in for 3-5.”

Mos Eisley was nearly impossible to see, a sandstone city poking up through the sand which piled up at the walls making the squat houses look like igloos in the desert. A communication tower rose from the center of the city, its blinking lights the only reason most travelers spotted the city from the air.

The ship wobbled as it made ready for landing, and new alarm blared. The Mandalorian turned it off with an irritated slap on the console.

The kid had fallen asleep sometime after the excitement of the dogfight died down, and the Mandalorian left him sleeping on the bunk, while Sinead retrieved the memory bank, which had ended up on the other side of the ship and stowing it away in the nearest compartment.

Mando looked at her. “Maybe you should stay in the ship.”

Sinead blew out a deep breath. “As you said, the Hutt’s long dead. I can take a look around his old palace, see if there’s something we can use.”

“Just be careful.”

Sinead snuck a glance at the Mandalorian. He wasn’t looking at her.

“Sure.”

Even before the ramp was down, Sinead felt the hot, unyielding fingers of the desert close around her throat. Dry heat snuck under her clothes, making her mouth feel as dry as the surroundings. Cold, unwanted memories pushed to the forefront and she took a second to put them back where they belonged, a dark and unused corner of her mind where they wouldn’t get in the way.

Three pit droids hurried toward the ship the second the ramp touch down, their rusty bodies bouncing over dusty ground like springs.

The Mandalorian pulled his blaster and shot once at the ground in front of the droids, who screeched and collapsed into small heaps, cowering in f-ear.

Sinead yelped and pressed a hand to her racing heart. “Fuck, Mando! What is it with you and droids?”

“Hey!” A shout rang out from inside a cluttered garage, and a short human woman wearing greasy overalls stormed out from behind a safety barrier. Her short stature was almost made up by her rather gravity defying hair. “You damage one of my droids, you pay for it!” The way she was brandishing a heavy wrench left exactly how he’d pay for it up to interpretation.

“Just keep them away from my ship,” Mando ground out, shooting a look at the droids who scurried away.

The mechanic gave him an unimpressed look. “Yeah? Do you think that’s a good idea, do ya? Let’s take a look at your ship.”

She walked around it, noting every dent and scratch on her datapad. “Look at that,” she said, holding a scanner up to the ship. “You gotta lotta carbon scorching building up top. If I didn’t know better, think you were in a shootout.”

Sinead stepped forward before the Mandalorian had a chance to reply. “We ran into a meteor shower out by the Torq. Barely made it planet-side, to tell you the truth.”

“Uh-huh,” the mechanic lifted an eyebrow, but she stopped asking questions, turning around to continue her inspection. “… a special tool for that one. Oh yeah, I’m gonna have to rotate that.”

The Mandalorian rolled his shoulders, and Sinead bit the inside of her cheek. That all sounded very expensive.

“You got a fuel leak! Look at this, this is a mess. How did you even land?”

“Like I said, just barely.” Sinead shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “How much for it?”

“The repairs you need ain’t exactly cheap-”

“I’ve got five hundred Imperial credits,” the Mandalorian said.

The mechanic grabbed the credits and have them a good look. “That’s all you got?” When the Mandalorian didn’t magically procure more money, she looked at the droids. “Well, what do you guys think?”

The droids tittered in unison, and the mechanic shrugged. “That should at least cover the hangar.”

“We’ll get you your money.”

“Mm, I’ve heard that before.” She gave both Sinead and the Mandalorian a skeptical look.

“Just remember- “

“Yeah, no droids. I heard ya’. You don’t have to say it twice.”

Sinead looked back at the ship as they left the hangar, a thin pillar of smoke was rising from the turbine and the mechanic had already started banging around underneath it.

The second she stepped out into the blaring sunlight, her face stung with sand being blasted through the street. If she never had to step foot in the desert again, she'd die a happy woman.

"So, what's the plan?" She asked the Mandalorian, who didn't look bothered in the heat. Of course, since she couldn't see his face he might be dying underneath the helmet. The T-visor seemed completely black in the sunlight.

"I’ll head to the cantina, see if I can find work. Don't get too close to the palace, the Hutt's guards might still be around."

Sinead gritted her teeth. "Right, I have been in these kinds of situations before you know: I'm not helpless."

"That's not-" the Mandalorian blew out a sharp breath and shook his head. "Never mind."

Sinead made her way to the Hutt's palace alone, reminding herself to breathe regularly, not too deep and not too shallow. She was just a tourist walking alone, not a runaway slave from the very clan that until recently had an iron grip on the planet. The people walking past her weren't staring, they didn't recognize her at all.

She clenched her hands so they'd stop fidgeting. It felt like someone was watching her, a burning spike to the back of her head.

A market had been raised in a big square, rows and rows of hastily put together stalls crisscrossed in a confusing jumble. Shouts from the many vendors mingled in the air into an incomprehensible wall of sound. A Besalisk was grilling sweet meats over an open fire, holding a skewer in each of his four hands. The meat sizzled as Sinead walked past.

Two Jawas screamed in unison at everyone who came close enough to their stall, doing little to entice anyone to stop. Piles of scrap spilled into the street, and the Jawas screeched in indignation whenever anyone accidentally stepped on it.

Sinead ambled down the rows, trying to look like she was browsing the goods without attracting so much attention that anyone would talk to her. Most of the wares being sold were practical, tools and dried food, spare parts for droids. Under a moth-eaten pavilion that offered little in the way of shade, she found a small booth filled with trinkets that looked like they had been ripped straight out of the bowels of a ship. There were brooches made of twisted metal and rings that doubled as lug nuts.

An old woman sat on the other side of the stall. She wore ragged clothes that at first glance made her look like a scarecrow left out in the sun for too long, and it wasn't until she moved that Sinead noticed her. Her face was disproportionately small for her body, resembling a walnut someone left on top of a pile of old laundry.

"See anything you like?" Her voice sounded like a trash compacter filled with rocks. "I make 'em myself."

That wasn't hard to believe. Sinead hummed politely and picked up a brooch made from cogs and a rubber binding. "I’m afraid jewelry isn't that high of a priority right now."

Her wrinkles deepened as she pursed her lips. "Meh, people don't even know what they need until it's right in front of ‘em. Tell ya’ what, I'll give you a good deal, okay? The earrings for fifty creds."

Sinead couldn’t help but snort. The earrings in question were made from old circuitry, the hooks so rusty that wearing them was a surefire way of getting a nasty infection. "Fifty is a bit steep, don't you think?"

The old woman grinned, showing her one snaggletooth poking over her lower lip. “Low price to pay for beauty, innit?”

Tapping on the table Sinead though for a second before saying, "tell you what, I'll buy one of your-" she gestured to the assorted jewelry- "wares … if you can give me some information in return."

The old lady grinned again, her tooth a terrible distraction, looking like a broken roof shingle. "Let's hear it then. What'ya want?"

"Oh no, information first, then the sale."

A shadow fell across the woman's face as she glared Sinead, her watery eyes studying her face. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you didn’t trust me."

Sinead kept her face carefully neutral. "Past experiences have taught me to hold payment until after I get what I want. I’m sure you understand, right?"

There was a cruel glint in the old woman's eyes. "You bet I do. Ask away, dear."

For one long moment, Sinead blanked on what to ask her. She wanted to talk about the Hutt, but the old crone had done nothing to inspire trust.

"The entire galaxy was turned upside down when the Empire fell. How was it here?"

The old woman cackled and folded her wizened hands over her stomach. "You haven't seen our little art project out by the wall, have ya’? A little parting gift from us to the Empire."

"Who controls the planet now? The New Republic-"

The old woman spat on the sand.

"... right."

"We control ourselves, dearie." Sinead had never heard a term of endearment used with so much venom. "We ain't need anyone come here and tell us how to run our own damn home. After they got the message, most of the bucketheads left. The ones who didn't, well, they make a good decoration, don't they?"

"A place outside the grip of the Empire and the Republic sounds nice."

"Sounds like you have something to hide."

Sinead shrugged. "I don't like tyrants or bureaucracy."

"We got rid of our old tyrant years ago, ain't ever looked back since," the old woman sneered,

There we go.

Sinead shifted her weight and leaned closer. "Heard about that on the subspace, that's nasty business. Any chance the Hutt's head is hanging with the others? I'd like to go give my goodbyes in person."

The old woman peered at Sinead. "Sounds personal."

"As far as I'm concerned, hating the Hutt clan is everyone's business, and those who don't are either terminally stupid or, well, part of the Hutt clan.”

"That kriffin' piece of blubber is probably still out in the Dune Sea somewhere. I doubt even the bloatflies'll touch his stinking corpse."

"He was killed in his palace? I heard that place is a fortress."

"My boy went out with some of the others, just to have a little lookie-loo at the place, but the slaves didn't wanna let nobody in. Said they’ve taken over. Been coming in from all over the galaxy, the buggers."

"They still out there?"

The old woman seemed to remember herself. "You ask an awful lot of question, dearie. Maybe it's time you hold up your end of the bargain, hmm?"

Sinead opened her mouth to protest. If Tatooine had managed to rid themselves completely of Hutt control, then maybe other systems would follow suit. The dangerous look in the old woman's eyes told her, however, that pressing on would be a bad idea.

"Sure," she said, looking earnestly at the merchandise. "Uh, yeah … how much for the necklace?" It was the only thing that, if you squinted and stood five meters away on a foggy day might resemble jewelry. It looked like an old optic unit ripped from a droid and attached to a leather string.

"Hundred creds."

"You're joking."

"My information doesn't come cheap, girl. I can always call the guards, say you robbed me of my hard-earned knowledge."

For once, Sinead was momentarily lost for words. "That doesn't-"

"Since the Empire left, we've had to handle justice ourselves, you see, and sometimes the new guards can be a little rough."

Sinead bared her teeth in a smile. "I'll give you twenty."

"Eighty."

"Thirty."

"Seventy-five."

"Thirty-five."

"Seventy-five."

Sinead tossed some credits on the table. "Forty. That's literally the last credits I own."

The old woman snatched the credits with remarkable speed, squirreling them away in her dirty cowl.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Sinead said, stuffing the necklace into her pocket before moving on from the stall.

When she got back to the hangar, the suns had reached the top of the sky and it had impossibly gotten even hotter.

Mando came walking from the other side, his gleaming armor standing out between the bedraggled denizens of Tatooine. He sped up when he saw Sinead.

"You should stay in the ship," he said, when they reached the door to the hangar at the same time.

"You know, people usually greet each other before starting to bark commands, you should really try it."

The Mandalorian shook his head, grumbling under his breath.

“Did you manage to find work, or do we have to go back empty handed? I have a feeling that won’t go over too well with the mechanic.”

“I did, but look … does the name Fennec Shand mean anything to you?”

The color drained from Sinead's face.

"She's hiding out in the Dune Sea with a bounty on her head. I have to bring her back."

"Alive?"

"Yes."

"What a shame."

Fennec Shand’s name brought with it a very special kind of dread. Every Hutt slave had heard stories of Shard bringing back runaway slaves in a condition where they wished they were dead.

“I’ll stay in the ship.” Sinead looked around, like she expected Shand to jump out from behind the nearest hover-cart. “How long will it take?”

“I don’t know. I’m bringing this kid … it doesn’t matter.”

Sinead bit her lips. “Just make sure you get her. I don’t want her coming to Mos Eisley in a murderous rage.”

The Mandalorian moved towards the entrance to the hangar, and when the door opened, the smell of oil and metal hit them.

She wanted to get off this planet, doubly so now she knew that a vicious killer for hire had made this her home. There was nothing to do but wait.

<- Previous chapter - Next chapter ->

#the mandalorian #din djarin #the mandalorian x oc #mando x oc #din x oc #din djarin x oc #fanfiction #ends of the earth #oc: sinead

[septic-dr-schneep]

JSE Fanfiction - Dissolution [Part 2]

Summary: Chase wakes up from Marvin’s nightmare. 

[Part 1]

Taglist:  @viostormcaller  @spicy-spedicey  @miishae  @athenafg26  @nebula-starlight  @faithissometimesnice  @obsidiancreates  @storm337  @canehdiennobody  @stormcrawler75  @kisstheashes  @gamingbookworm  @phantomschild  @plutoandpolaris  @bribrifeefee  @the-kit-kate  @thesinginggal  @themightiestspoon  @pixelenchanter  @illyriashade56  @jacksinsanity  @thealyssa4life  @skepticeye  @rogue-of-light-analyzed

Chase woke up.

It was a gradual, painful transition from the deep darkness holding him down, but when his thoughts started surfacing from the still black pool within him, his eyes began to flutter, searching for any trace of light. When he found the strength to blink, he was blinded by it, flinching as much as he was able and hurriedly reclosing them. He could still see it through his eyelids, though. It seemed to be a constant, unwavering, and it was coming no closer. Swallowing through a dry, tight mouth, he gingerly risked it, peeking out at the world.

Fluorescent lights in a white ceiling…This wasn’t the studio. Now that his other senses were starting to stir, his nose was stinging with the clinical smell of cleanser and disinfectant and every steady blip of the heart monitor thumped simultaneously in his ears. He was in the lab. He was home.

As his eyes opened farther, they panned dazedly around the farther reaches of the room, searching for Schneep. He wasn’t anywhere in sight and the door to what he called his “cot closet”, a small offset room holding nothing but his cot, was closed. He must be sleeping, but Chase knew that if he made any noise the doctor would wake from his naturally light doze and hurry out to see what was wrong.

The longer Chase stared off into the distance, the harder his head began hammering, he realized with a grimace, hissing through his teeth. There was a dull pressure against his skull, malleable but tight: bandages. He was more familiar with that sensation than he cared to admit. Heaving a nauseated breath, he steered his eyes sideways, away from the overbearing lights, and then froze, heart monitor skipping with a burst of startled anxiety.

Marvin was in the chair by his bedside, but it looked all wrong. His impeccable posture had been abandoned; he was slumped uncomfortably low, at risk of sliding too far and tumbling to the floor, and his breathing was slow, deep and heavy. He was asleep, he realized belatedly, allowing himself a shaky sigh as he impulsively shifted a few inches away. He didn’t take his eyes off him as he moved; he knew he couldn’t afford to.

It was…rare to see him with his guard down like this. The more closely Chase looked, however, the more he began to notice how haggard the older Ego was. Hair matted and tangled, unmasked face a pale contrast to the bruise-like rings under his eyes and rumpled clothing that looked like it was three days old…This didn’t look like the man who had hunted him.

It was just…Marvin. How long had he been sitting here by Chase’s bedside, agonizing over him until he couldn’t stand to be conscious anymore? The thought of it made the vlogger’s heart ache, but there was still fear lingering in that pain. It had been Marvin’s face twisted in that ugly grin, Marvin’s voice and his eyes and his magic trying to destroy him.

Dare he risk it? Was this Marvin, his predator, or Marvin, his best friend?

Again Chase swallowed hard, licking his lips nervously to find traction for his voice. “Marv…” It cracked on the syllable from lack of use and he flushed, closing his eyes briefly. “Marv…”

Twitching faintly and mumbling something unintelligible, the magician stirred. As soon as he slid a few more inches out of the chair, he lurched and snatched at the armrests, stretching his legs out to recover his balance. “I’m awake,” he managed, glancing around in confusion to see who had spoken.

“Hi,” Chase whispered.

Any color left in Marvin’s face drained away as his wide eyes locked onto Chase’s for the first time in three days. “Chase,” he rasped hoarsely. “You’re—you’re gonna be okay. I found you—” Without warning he reeled back farther in his chair, shaking his head in dismay as his bloodshot, glassy eyes dimmed. “I s-shouldn’t be near you. I only came because Schneep’s sleeping and you…I didn’t want you to be alone while you were… I’m not supposed to be here. I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”

“Wait—” Chase protested in a croak as the older Ego scrambled to his feet, nearly knocking his chair over entirely in his haste. “Marv! Wait!”

Marvin’s beeline for the door across the way ended as quickly as it began, Chase’s call tugging him to a stop. He didn’t turn, however, hunching into himself and clenching his shaking hands at his sides.

“W-Why’re you leaving?” Chase’s voice held real, earnest confusion—even concern; it only turned Marvin’s stomach in knots. “You don’t have to go…”

I can’t be near him. I can’t, I can’t. What if I hurt him again?

“Yeah,” he breathed thickly. “Yeah, I do. You s-should be afraid of me, Chase. Petrified. Everything I did to you…” A faint whimper very nearly escaped as he ducked his head, half-tilted as if he was going to look back. The fresh tear-streaks forming were hidden by the curtain of his hair.

“But it…” Chase faltered, gaze falling to the blankets draped over his knees for a moment as his brows furrowed. Straining this way brought waves of pain to his skull and made his eyes ache, but he persisted. “I don’t…think it was you. Not really.”

Marvin’s breath audibly shuddered and his head and shoulders slumped, back tightening in tandem. “I don’t know what happened to me!” he whispered, his mind drifting back to the ringing that had drowned out any care for his brother. “I don’t want it to happen again. I could’ve—!” The words stuck in his throat.

This wasn’t the man he’d run from; Chase knew that for certain now. With a pained grunt, he lifted his heavy head from its pillow and squirmed minutely to straighten, entreating softly, “Come back, bro. Please?”

As if mechanically, Marvin’s leg shifted to pivot back, but his upper body didn’t move with it. “Chase. I just want you safe.”

Chase’s heart sank at the despair in those words. His own voice came out much smaller than he intended as he pointed out humbly, “I’m safer with you than I am alone…We both know that.”

History hung behind those words, and Marvin remembered. He remembered much more than what he had seen three days ago.

Heaving him out of the corner booth in the pub, supporting him around the back and encouraging him to lean however much he needed as he stumbled and slurred. Holding him as he cried so hard he nearly gave himself whiplash. Talking him down through the dread and anxiety that told him he was about to die. Finding him in that other pool of blood, the one that almost snatched him away. Prying the gun out of his hands whenever he was tempted to try again.

He could never turn his back on him, Marvin realized as he glanced tremulously over his shoulder and saw Chase’s hand outstretched. It broke him. Before he could even register that he was moving, he was again at the side of the bed, Chase’s bandaged arms wrapped tight around his neck as he half-lifted him from the bed in a fierce hug.

“I never meant to hurt you,” he pleaded raggedly, his voice muffled as he buried his face in Chase’s hair. “I never—I didn’t know what I was doing!”

“I know. I know, it wasn’t you. We’ll figure it out,” Chase murmured, more focused on leaning into him than on offering reassurances. Yes, Marvin was trembling, but he was still warm and solid around him and that was exactly how Chase wanted him. That was the friend he knew.

Marvin let him be as close as he wanted, clenching his eyes tightly against the remaining tears. As he did so, he became more and more aware of the creeping sensation up his back and the strained, warped sounds echoing from beyond the room—whispers through glass, water, yet right against his ears.

When he lifted his head and began drawing back from Chase, they were gone. The vlogger blinked up at him, looking decidedly sleepier than before. Chuckling weakly, Marvin released him entirely.

“You’re tired,” he stated the obvious, gesturing for him to lie back down. “You should get some sleep before Schneep comes out to check on you.”

“Mm-hmm…Don’t go, Marv, okay?” he mumbled as he slumped back into the pillow, his eyes already drooping. “Don’t go just cos I’m…” The rest of his sentence trailed off into the soft, snuffly breaths Marvin immediately recognized from the precious moments when Chase felt comfortable enough to fall asleep against him on the couch.

He genuinely trusted, believed he was safe with him, despite…everything. Taking a hurried breath, Marvin nodded, wiping the back of his hands over his wet cheeks and then looking back for his chair. It didn’t seem particularly appealing anymore.

With the most careful of maneuvers and only a creak or two from the bedsprings, the magician settled down beside him with an arm pillowing his head. The other hand slid lower, finding Chase’s by instinct and squeezing faintly.

At any moment, whatever it was that had taken his mind could strike again. It was a terrifying thought.

I shouldn’t be near him.

Even so, he didn’t move.

#youtube #jacksepticeye #fanfiction #youtube fanfiction #marvin the magnificent #chase brody #whump #major character injury #angst #feels for days #corruption #possession #hurt comfort #yes there is comfort! #and i remembered to use the taglist for once! #hooray #i made a promise and i kept it #enjoy

[thelonewriter1998-blog]

Our Story Chapter 2

 Taryn woke up to the ding of a notification from Writer’s Cafe. It was only about seven in the morning. She was tired but once she woke up it was near impossible for her to get back to sleep. She groaned and dragged herself out of bed grabbing her phone off the nightstand and opening the Writer’s Cafe app.

Story shared with you by @LadyLake

She read through Lake’s work quickly. She loved reading her stuff. She opened her messaging.

To @LadyLake: I really like where you’re going with this. I have just the idea for this ;) Should be updated soon.

She loved how easy it was to talk to Lake. She had a few friends in real life but Lake was her best friend.  They had been friends for almost a year now. Their friendship had started when she had commented on what Taryn now considered a really embarrassing piece of fan fiction about her favorite characters in the sci-fi show Time Warped. She had left an idea about what she thought should happen next and Taryn loved the way she thought so much she used it. From there they left more comments on each other’s stories. One day Taryn sent Lake a message asking her thoughts about an idea she had. Lake finally worked up the courage to message her back. Taryn asked if she would be interested in co-authoring the story because she had such great ideas and they’d been chatting and writing together ever since. They usually wrote short stories but this time they decided they wanted to try to make a full length book.

She closed the messaging and started getting ready to work on her additions to the story. She laid out the fresh journal she had bought specifically for when they started this new story. She always liked using journals with different designs on them. This one was pink with gold polka dots and a picture of a typewriter on the front cover. She also set out a couple pens to write things down with. She wrote down everything from ideas to things she felt she needed to keep record of like names of characters and details about their lives. It always came in handy when Lake couldn't remember things and came to her with questions. Taryn also didn’t like working in silence. She found it much easier to focus when listening to music. She turned on some Panic! At the Disco to help herself fully wake up.

While Sebastian Penrose’s bravery was being treated like the most amazing thing ever in Carina just past the edge of the city in what was known as the Shadow Lands Absinth was up in her tower hating his guts. It had been her big chance. She was finally going to make her father proud. She had spent weeks practicing her spell work to conjure that huge mechanical dragon. He had admitted he was impressed by the large metal fire breathing death machine. He was absolutely delighted as it swept over Carina burning down buildings and wreaking havoc.

Then the stupid Royal Guard just had to come fight it. They led it away from the city into the woods where it couldn’t destroy anything except trees. It had knocked a couple of them out. Absinth had relished in the way her father’s face had lit up in excitement. They thought they might actually win this time. All the stories she loves to read had been right though, evil never prevails. That all changed very quickly though as they both watched on her father's crystal ball as Sebastian rode up on a hoverboard with his laser sword in hand and slaid her dragon. All her hard work destroyed in an afternoon. Even worse the boy wasn’t even a knight, just a lowly squire.Her father just waved his hand silently dismissing her. It could’ve been worse she supposed. At least she hadn’t gotten the whole ‘I found you abandoned as baby in the middle of a warzone where you could’ve been killed and I could’ve been killed if I got caught with you. I took you in and this is how you repay me?’ lecture. She was startled by a knock on her door. Her thoughts of being the worst witch on the entire planet of Far Far Away were interrupted.

“Imbecile, you’re the only witch on the entire planet of far far away,” Her father said opening the door without waiting for an answer.

“Would you quit reading my mind it’s-”

“A breach of your privacy? Yes, yes I know, whatever. I just wanted to come check on you.”

“You mean you’re not mad?”

“Not anymore. I had been furious. I blasted some holes in the wall and our couch is a little singed. But I’m calm now,” He paused sighing. “You’re so weak anyways that I've  realized  I can’t expect that much from you.”

That was was the closest her father ever got to apologizing. She smiled at him almost wanting to hug him but knowing his disdain for physical contact she held herself back.

“Besides we’ve been going about this the wrong way. Destroying Carina doesn’t quite meet my goals of making them all suffer,” Her father added.

She silently waited for him to continue knowing interruptions had been met in the past with a slap to the face. Her relationship with her father wasn’t perfect but he was the only one who had bothered to care about her.

“All of our past attempts have been stopped. So who is it that is standing in my way?”

Again she stayed silent knowing the question was entirely rhetorical.

“The royal family. We must destroy the royal family and take over Carina. Under my iron clad rule all of them will finally pay for what they’ve done.”

She hated their way her father laughed. It was such a deep and evil sound. She wondered what it would've sounded like if he were happy.  She realized he was staring at her. She didn't like the look he was giving her.  She knew that look all too well. His tone would become sickeningly sweet and he'd give her that devilish smile. He wanted something from her and she was almost afraid to know what.

“Absinth darling, I have a new absolutely brilliant plan and I know just how you can help me. The only way we're going to be able to get close enough to the royal family to kill them is from the inside,” he began explaining his plan.

Absinth wasn't quite sure where he was going with this yet but she didn't like it.

“The only problem is that I cannot go to Carina. If I somehow even managed to get through the forcefield I would be killed on sight. You wouldn't want me to die would you? You on the other hand my dear, despite your special heritage look very human.”

He wasn't wrong. The only thing about her that wasn’t human was her magical abilities and the marking on her left shoulder.  All the people of her father’s kind were born with one even the half-bloods. To humans it would probably just look like a tattoo but it was a symbol of their power. Hers was a pair of wings one black and one white folded together in the shape of a heart. Everybody’s symbol meant something special. There were many stories of how your symbol told of your destiny. There was even one such story that when you found your soulmate your symbol would tingle and if your love was powerful enough it would even glow. Her father had dismissed all of it as nonsense but Absinth still dreamed that her symbol meant something good and longed for the day that it would lead her to her destiny.

“Absinth were you listening to me?!”

“I- yes. No I zoned out,” She admitted wincing.

“Well you’d better pay attention this time. You’re leaving for Carina in the morning. Your mission is to “befriend” their bratty little princess, get close to her, and destroy her. I don’t care how you do it. The less merciful the better but it’s up to you. Once she’s dead poor old mommy and daddy will be grief stricken and weak. You leave those two to me. Understood?”

Absinth was unsure. She hated the idea of manipulating someone much less killing them. She knew not to take too long to answer though and feared the consequences of saying no.

“Yes father.”

“That’s my good girl,” He told her with what was almost a smile and a ruffle of her hair.

For a moment she forgot all about the burden of what she must do. She would do anything for more moments like this. She’d kill every citizen in Carina if her father asked her to just for more of these moments where she felt loved.

“You’d better get packed and then get some rest. You have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow,” Her father said exiting the room.

Absinth was scared. She'd never even left the tower. Her father had forbid her from leaving for her protection.  He knew humans would kill either one of them the first chance they got. But now that she was older she had learned to control her powers. It would be so easy to pretend to be one of them. Her father had taught her that humans were simple minded creatures who relied on their silly feelings more than their brains and had heads full of irrational fear that of irrational fear Pretending to be one couldn't be so hard, could it?

After trying to convince herself everything would be alright, though she was still not quite sure she believed it, she started packing her things. She had never had a friend before, except for maybe Raven, but Raven was a human corpse her father had reanimated to help take care of her and act as his minion so she didn’t think that really counted. She had no idea how to make a friend or how long it took. She decided since she didn't know how long she was going to be gone to just pack a lot of clothes. After cramming nearly her entire closet in her suitcase and jumping up and down on top of it to force it shut she went to bed like her father had instructed her

The only problem was she couldn't fall asleep. Her head was full of conflicting thoughts and emotions that swirled around like a tornado and refused to let her rest. She was nervous but excited. She wondered if Carina was as beautiful as she'd read. She hoped it was everything she'd imagined. The Shadow Lands were an awful ugly place as vile looking as the hearts of the evil people who inhabited it. The Shadow Lands were also known as The Land of the Exiled. She also wondered what the princess was like. Was she kind? Would she even want to be friends with her? Her thoughts turned negative as she began to wonder if this plan would even work? What would her father do if she failed? What if she got caught? She could feel her heart rate speeding up and started humming a song from her childhood that she wasn't quite sure the name of.  Before she knew it she was being hit in the face with the bright sunlight. Perhaps she’d be able to sleep better once she arrived in Carina.

She got dressed in her black cloak that stopped a few inches before her knees and a pair of grey leggings and a thick black choker. She completed the outfit with a pair of short black boots that had a slight heel.  She’d seen an outfit similar to that in a Carinan fashion magazine once and hoped it fit in enough. Once she was ready she grabbed her suitcase and walked downstairs. She once again tried to convince herself that everything would be okay as she entered the kitchen where her father was waiting for her.

“Good morning Absinth. I made you some pancakes from an old earthen recipe. I know you expressed interest in wanting to try some before,” Her father told her.

She felt like she was in a parallel universe. Her father hadn’t been this nice to her in years. Knowing better than to question anything though she sat down and drizzled syrup on her pancakes. She took her first bite hesitantly it was so good she began shoveling the rest into her mouth.

“Those good?” Raven entered the kitchen giggling a little at how fast Absinth was wolfing down her pancakes.

Absinth swallowed before answering. “Yeah, actually. What are you doing down here so early?”

“Didn’t your father tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m coming with you.”

A wave of relief swept through Absinth. She was so glad she didn’t have to do this alone after all.  

“I’m sending Raven to keep an eye on you. I can’t afford for you to fail this mission.  I’m also sending you with this.”

He conjured up a very old looking hand mirror and handed it to her.

“It’s a magic mirror. You’ll be able to communicate to me with it. I want progress reports every few days at the least, understood?”

“Yes Sir.”

Her father’s little act had been nice while it lasted but she knew things would return to normal sooner rather than later. Suddenly she felt Raven pulling her outside. She was probably just as excited to be able to leave the tower as Absinth was. Her father followed them out yelling at Raven to be careful before she ripped Absinth’s arm off.

“Guess what! Guess what!” Raven shouted jumping up and down excitedly like a small child on Christmas morning.

“What?” Absinth asked slightly annoyed that the other was still tugging on her arm.

“Your dad’s letting us take Jax!”

Absinth had only gotten to ride Jax a few times with her father when she was younger so she was actually kind of excited about that. Raven ran over to the griffin petting it’s head before mounting it. Absinth followed getting on behind her.

“I know you won’t fail me,” was all her father said before commanding Jax to take flight. She knew he probably meant them as words of encouragement in his own odd way but they came out more like a threat.

The wind whipped in their faces as they climbed higher and higher. For the first time in her life Absinth felt free and it was the most amazing thing she’d ever felt.

Taryn felt like that was a good place to end Absinth’s part of the story. She looked at the clock. It was nearing three  o’clock in the afternoon and she still hadn’t been down for breakfast. She heard a knock on her door. It was probably her brother or Greyson.

“Come in!”

Jackson opened the door and saw her sitting her computer. No wonder she missed breakfast she’d been writing again. Jackson one hundred percent supported his sister’s creative outlet but he really wished she wouldn’t get so wrapped up in it she forgot to eat.

“You need to take a break and go eat something.”

“I just finished. Give me just one more minute to send it to Lake real quick.”

“Okay but I expect you in the kitchen to eat something in exactly five minutes.”

“Fine, dad.”

“I’ve been your legal guardian for seven years that doesn’t bother me anymore,” Jackson said heading back downstairs.

Story Shared with @LadyLake

Taryn turned her laptop off and met her brother in the kitchen.

“Do you want me to make you something?”

“Grilled cheese please.”

“Okay. But one of these days Greyson and I are showing you how to cook.”

“Are you sure you two won’t just make out the whole time?”

Jackson sighed clearly done with his sister’s antics. “I can’t wait until you have a girlfriend and I get to tease you.”

It was nice that they could joke about things like this. It was nice that they could openly talk about things like this at all. Their parents certainly wouldn’t have approved of any of it. Taryn didn’t care what they thought anymore. She’d been happier in the seven years they weren’t in her life than she ever had in the ten they were. Before her thoughts could turn too dark Jackson set a plate in front of her. The scent of melted cheese and perfectly toasted bread hit her nostrils she realized just how hungry she was. She devoured the grilled cheese in a matter of minutes.

“Still hungry? I can make you another one.”

She didn’t want to bother Jackson for another one but her stomach was still growling.

“Yes please,” she finally said after having a mini-debate in her head about whether she should take the second sandwich or not.

Her thoughts wandered to Lake. She wondered if she’d started reading the new part yet. She hoped she liked it. Had she written too much? She really wished she was talking to Lake right now. She was just so nice to talk to. She hoped that someday they could meet and she’d be able to talk to her in real life. Once again her thoughts were interrupted by another gooey masterpiece being set in front of her.

“Hey babe I’m home!” Greyson called as he came in the front door. He’d just gotten home from the craft store. He’d had to run out get a new set of colored pencils. He wore his old ones down to nearly nothing with doing a commission and had some drawings for an animating job he was applying for due soon.

“I’m in the kitchen!” Jackson called back.

Greyson walked into the kitchen hugging Jackson from behind and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Come on you guys I’m trying to eat,” Taryn teased.

“Quiet you! I can kiss my boyfriend whenever I want,” Greyson protested giving Jackson another kiss on the lips this time.

Jackson just laughed as Taryn made a fake disgusted noise and Greyson stuck his tongue out at her. Exchanges like that between the two of them were a common occurrence. Taryn finished her sandwich and went back to her room. She opened her laptop seeing she had a new message from Lake,

LayLake: Woah you wrote a lot! Someone got a little carried away didn’t they? lol

Taryndactly:Sorry friendo. Did you read it yet?

LadyLake:I’ve read through some of it. It’ll probably take me a little longer than normal to get the next part out. I want it to be longer so we can introduce Star more but I’m also going out of town on Tuesday and won’t be back til Thursday. We might be moving soon so I have to go house hunting with my dad on Wednesday.

Taryndactyl: Oh that’s cool! Where are you moving to?

LadyLake: We might be moving to Washington because my dad got a promotion. I’m actually pretty nervous about moving.

Taryn felt so happy she could scream. Maybe her dreams of meeting Lake in real life would come true after all.

Taryndactly: No way! I live in Washington. Maybe we could meet up sometime.

LadyLake: Maybe. I’m really lame in real life though.

Taryndactyl: Don’t say that! I bet you’re awesome :)

LadyLake:Whatever you say. How’s the public school life treatin ya?

They talked for two hours about everything from Taryn’s week at school and Lake’s own adventures with her online schooling to an anxiety attack Lake had had that morning and all of that was just them catching up. They’d had conversations that floated through all sorts of random topics that had lasted much longer. It was so easy for Taryn to lose track of time whenever she was talking to Lake.She felt like she could talk to her about anything and hoped that Lake felt the same way about her. Eventually though it was nearly seven o’clock, and apparently around four wherever Lake was, so Lake had to sign off for the night to help her dad start dinner because the man couldn’t cook to save his life. The pair said their reluctant goodbyes and promised to talk again soon.

“Hey we’re about to leave soon,” Greyson said entering her room without knocking.

“Holy shit! Knock much?” Taryn shouted nearly having a heart attack at the sound of Greyson’s voice. She hadn’t even heard him come in.

“Language! Anyways, you know the drill. Saturday is date night. We left you some money for pizza on the counter. Please don’t forget to eat again.”

“I won’t.”

“You want to come tell your brother goodbye before we head off?”

“Yeah. I was going to head downstairs anyways. With you two gone it means I get the big TV all to myself without any interruptions.”

She followed Greyson downstairs. Her brother was already by the front door waiting for him and dressed in a nice long sleeved dark blue button up with flowers on it and white jeans. They shared one last display of public affection that Taryn pretended made her gag,but really she thought they were adorable, before heading out the door.

“Don’t wait up!” Her brother called out as an afterthought.

Taryn turned on the TV sitting on the couch and pulling a big fluffy blanket over her. She opened Netflix and looked for something to watch. When Time Warped popped up in her suggestions she couldn’t resist the urge to rewatch it for what must’ve been the hundredth time. A few episodes in she was hungry again and decided to call and order the pizza. She got a plain pepperoni pizza. It may have been simple but it was her favorite. It was the perfect Saturday night in. 

#original story #lgbt #chapter 2 #fiction

[perfect-corroscience]

Chapter 32: The Bridgehead

“It seems there’s no longer any way to stop Animata’s rampage.”

In the last chapter, the crew got warped to yet another strange planet. They fought alien creatures, ran into a robot soldier, and were led to his king - who turns out to be 54B2. Needless to say, everyone is... very confused.

32-1 We never imagined we would really find survivors.

“You are kindred, fellow citizens of this world. To us, you are a beacon of hope.”

Concluding thus, the Oxsecian king welcomes you with open arms.

Not long ago the Oxsecians were bitter enemies. Now they surround you – but they’re disarmingly friendly. Eerily so.

Still, here you can finally settle down and rest. Unable to resist that temptation, you decide to stay a while.

So the god of the planet turns out to be a sentient technological lifeform, the party has traveled to several other worlds, but time travel? 

Pfffffft, that’s only in stories

              “A supply run to the bridgehead…”

              According to Proto, the troops stationed there are setting up a critical operation as a foothold in the campaign against Animata.

              “Well, no point in just sitting around here, after all. Let’s lend a hand.”

              And so you join the Oxsecian ranks.

 Someone in one of the irc channels noted it was weird that nobody was saying a thing about supposedly joining the king’s army and destroying Animata. I think the general gist is that the party is still very bewildered about what just happened, only just able to begin recouping, nobody beyond the wildlife are attacking, and it’d be good to find out more. 

And how better than to help Proto and the king?

The first battle introduces this enemy, whose notable for its de-leveling skill. It has a fairly large range, and basically means taking it out ASAP is a priority. Otherwise, stay out of their AOE. 

It’s worth noting that they’re quite vulnerable to being confused… that being said, the only units who can cause confusion are Kana, R’zonand, and Yukken(^); of the three I can see people using Yukken, though the confusion comes from her Chaos Arrows skill(s). I guess you could use Kana or R’zonand if you really wanted to use their confusion inducing skills while being so extraordinarily unlucky you never managed to pull any adventurer that specialized in healing?

The next four battles introduce these two goblin enemies. Their skills are self-explanatory and all but say that this chapter mainly has sword enemies in the same way chapter 31 had spear enemies.

My team for this chapter was Olber/Bajanna/Ma’curi/Koko/Sorman/Odin. Olber provides some damage while being a tank/support for the team, while Bajanna, Ma’curi, and Odin dish out the damage. Koko is probably the one unit I personally could take or leave for this team. I took her mainly because I hadn’t invested in a lot of spear users – I’d have otherwise taken Djugan or Clara if I bothered with Vengeful Heart.

Other possible units:

·        Kem and Djugan (or, since it’s now at update 5.5.x, their recodes) can be brought along, as they provide the same function for spear units as Pahrl/Korin and Ka’pori/Manmer, respectively.

·        Suoh in his third job gets Phys Attack x1.2, which makes him a pretty good damage dealer. Camellia(^) is a decent spear unit, and you could probably make an interesting team with her and a bunch of male units to take advantage of her Femme Fatale equip skills. Clara is free from Vengeful Heart and seriously useful + her recode gives her some good range.

·        If you don’t have a ton of these units, it’s perfectly viable to recode Odin, then recruit and SB/level another one, then put both in the party.

·        Jaguna^ makes a fairly interesting spear user while being able to provide healing – which can come in handy for 32-10, and like Suoh and Camellia she can be SB’d using PoF.

·        Beyond that I guess if you’re lacking in spear units just ply on any good sword units you have.

 32-2 The scars of battle are everywhere.

Four battles. These two are introduced. I like how the Kirusk is a Gnorusk except with frickin’ laser beams. As an anon on the Terra Battle wiki sums it up:

I didn’t bother setting up for the last floor, which is unfortunate since I can’t really make any good pincers that chain everyone together. Nor would I have enough time to.

Ow. Olber’s Self-Sacrifice skill (he takes all damage inflicted upon allies until he’s at 1HP) is a bit of a blessing and curse. Still, he’s amazingly tanky – and he’ll become even more of a tank when recoded.

32-3 You trek all day and night, yet your destination is still a long way off.

              You trek all day and night, yet your destination is still a long way off. The remains of wrecked and ruined machines litter your path.

This stage has only three battles. In each we see a bunch of sleeping Bloblins. Naturally, they’re asleep until a couple turns pass or they’re attacked.

If you maneuver carefully, you can pincer them in smaller groups and not have to worry about waking them up. This picture was after I took out the Bloblins in a column, then the upper row.

The last floor is interesting in that it throws a pair of Sands of Time at you. I prioritized taking them out, waking up the Blobins be damned, and pincered them with Odin (85+ SB%) and Ma’curi (100%) to ensure I killed them. Spear units sure get a lot of good AOE in their attacks.

32-4 Not a soul in sight…

It must’ve been quite disheartening to King 54B2 and the Oxsecians to go about, day after day, seeing their land destroyed and decimated…

First enemy medic of the chapter! The tried and true method of going for the healer first will be useful.

32-5 You’re already surrounded.

              As the sun sinks towards the horizon, the alien beasts’ madness only grows with the darkness. A rank odor arises as well.

              Proto keeps a sharp lookout. An unsettling presence looms.

              “It feels like we’re being cornered…”

              Taking the lead, Proto forges ahead in an attempt to dispel the air of unease. The rest of you trail behind like magnets.

              But you’re already surrounded.

Three battles, the last of which is against a boss. There’s Carrion Cutters, and this thing,

…a greener and more poisonous version of the Mudcrawler. Same mechanics apply; it leaves behind a space of toxic slime that poisons any non-levitating unit that goes over it. The slime won’t disappear immediately when it’s killed.

Maybe it’s just me, but that green shade makes it look more adorable.

The boss of the stage, who is accompanied by two Toxicrawlers and Carrion Cutters each (he can occasionally resummon the latter). His noteworthy skill is One-Eyed Counter. Its description says it all – any unit that he can “see” will be hit with a counterattack. This can make double pincers (he’s a 2x2 boss) dangerous, especially with weak units and bow units. Rake will ruin their day.

It’s a good idea to put bulkier (ideally non-bow) units on his right side so they can sponge the counter, and keep HP topped off. Olber’s Evasive Arts, Chain came in handy for me.

Units can/will be displaced during counters, but on the bright side, if they were positioned to pincer, said pincer will still fire off. Wouldn’t it be annoying if that weren’t the case?

I wonder how he got that scar.

32-6 The alien beasts prowl even the most roundabout paths.

              No matter how many you sweep away, they keep coming like endlessly propagating dust. No matter how many fall, more rise to take their place.

              There’s no avoiding them, either. The alien beasts prowl even the most roundabout paths, patiently waiting.

 That’s a good simile.

So, before I started this stage, I tossed on a partially leveled Shadowy Rod (an A-class companion I got from using a Companion Ticket a while back; passively grants +20% HP and +20 Def/MDef at max level) onto Olber. At level 84, his HP is 4897.

Almost 1000 HP! That’s very nice. Though I’d gotten it from the CoT, it’s worth noting this otomo can be obtained from evolving a Twilight Wand (D-class and dropped from a few stages – 9-4/12-8/15-7/25-3) and/or a Darkling Wand (evo of the former, dropped from 14-5 and 31-6). The evo path goes Twilight Wand > Darkling Wand > Gloomy Wand > Shadowy Rod.

Anyway, this stage has four battles against Slash Goblins.

32-7 You’ve come across a perfect hiding place.

I’m not surprised the party has gotten lost. They’ve been hounded all the way since they left, they probably had to detour at some point.

The last battle is notable for having a pair of Revivers, safely hidden in a ring of Goblins. Luckily, everyone is strong enough that I can pincer each part of the ring and, with the aid of a Powered Point, clear them out.  

From there, the Revivers are easy pickings. It helps that you have four turns to kill them.

32-8 Everyone is distracted by the same thought.

The Sands of Time make a return, and that’s about all that’s notable for this stage. The story’s more interesting. How come we never hear about Oxsecian mothers?

32-9 The horizon blazes red, bleeding crimson into the atmosphere.

There’s a question that goes unasked: just who or what was capable of reducing a camp to smoking ruins? Not only quickly, but to the point that the party doesn’t notice anything?

Snoozing, or genuinely sleeping, since it’s dark?

There’s a few different approaches that can be done here – I prioritized the Bloblins since there’s no harm in Ma’curi’s and Odin’s AOE Spear skills hitting the Kirusks and those horizontal laser attacks won’t hit the party. Since Bajanna’s closer to the Bloblins, I kept her out of the pincer chain (though if I could’ve she’d be beside Odin or at the very bottom) and had Olber and Sorman lead the pincers.

One of the battles sticks a bunch of these guys together. Vertical pincers are the way to go. Finally, it’s in this stage, but there’s some slightly higher-leveled version that have a chance of dropping a Stalwart Sword.

32-10 That lovely gradient fractures, splitting straight down the middle!

It’s not a bad idea to bring two healers for this battle, or otherwise someone with decent healing abilities. Olber was really useful here, his Lambda form would be moreso, Jaguna^ as mentioned is another possible choice, and there’s a ton of healing otomos. The other slots are packed with your hardest-hitting units.  

I kind of wish there’d be a change in the background to reflect what the party’s seeing, but this is a relatively inoffensive example of the background not really showing much. I’ve... got a lot of gripes with the backgrounds for chapter 37...

Meet Apirath.

It starts by teleporting the units you have in slots 4-6 away and fleeing.

I apparently didn’t have screencaps of these guys when I first did this, so I went back and redid the stage to grab some. You’ll see these Magic/Power Amps in each battle (there’s just one Amp in each fight, but not 1 Magic Amp and 1 Power Amp). You have two turns to take them out before they retreat, and you will want to do that ASAP.

Battle two and four bring you to whatever weird warphole your other units got transported to, where some mini-Apiraths accompany the Amp.

What potentially makes this stage tricky is that you have half a team, with one slot likely dedicated toward a Healing character. If your units have low SB, that could be annoying too.

On the bright side, you’re evenly matched.

The party rejoins for the final battle, and the boss shows itself. If there were any Amps left alive, they will buff Apirath’s relevant stat by 50%. This is a permanent boost; if too many Amps were left alive, then it’s pretty much a total party kill whenever it attacks – and its other skills are pretty annoying too.

Goes without saying it’s good to clear the mooks first.

When it does the customary glowing-to-signify-it’s-charging-up, it’s preparing to use Breath Attack. Horizontal double pincers are the best way to handle it. It’s got beefy defenses, but with time it goes down.

              Your companions are all back and all accounted for. The bizarre phenomenon you experienced is new even to Proto. He relates all that has happened to the king.

              The king listens with a look of agony. It seems there’s no longer any way to stop Animata’s rampage. There are few options left. The Oxsecian king must make a choice.

              “Gather the people.”

              “You’ve decided to tell the people, then, sire?” The royal advisor’s voice is a mixture of chagrin and resignation.

              “Aye. This world has no place for us anymore. We’ve lost.”

              The Oxsecian king grits his teeth, steeling himself. Then…

And on that bittersweet note, so ends chapter 32. I don’t think anyone really knows what the hell Apirath even is. 

#casually terra battling

[frankensteinproj]

A Kind Gentleman

A dull ache pounding through my head roused me back to consciousness. The pain resonated throughout my head, making the simple act of moving a laborious task. I attempted to open my eyes, only managing to get a glimpse of my surroundings. The midday light blinded me at first, acting as a white curtain that shielded the world from me. I should have savored that ignorance of what lay before me, instead of being so hasty and trying to blink it away. As the veil lifted, I instinctively recoiled as I beheld the remains of the horrors I had witnessed.

               My precious Emmeline lay beside me, splayed out on the atrocity I had created. Her face was ashen, and her eyes were dark and sunken. Flies crawled on her cheeks, flying in and out of the hole through her head as they made a home in the festering flesh. Just the sight of it was more than I could take, but the smell! It was enough to make my stomach crawl, and even thinking of it now makes my knees weak. In terror, I leapt to my feet, intensifying the growing pain ripping through my head. The combination of pain and stench left my head reeling as I tried to steady myself on my feet.

               It was as the world came into sight that I realized it; the sheer wall of black that dominated the right side of my vision. I didn’t understand it at the time; couldn’t understand it. I tried lifting a hand to rub my eye but my fingers met nothing. I froze, and dread filled my being.  I took shaky steps toward a stack of windows, pushing my face close to the glass.  A black void stared back at me where my right eye should have been. The skin around the socket had warped back into the inside of my head, as if a black hole had opened within, consuming what used to be my eye whilst trying to do the same with the rest of me. A pool of half dried blood was caked on the side of my face, connected to the hole by a thin line. A new stream had already begun running down my cheek.

               I felt weak. It took all of my willpower to keep myself from spilling out what little contents my stomach contained. I stood up shakily, and gathered the courage to look at Emmeline again. She lay right as I left her, waiting for an eternal happiness that would never come. I knew I couldn’t leave her here; no one could know what happened at that site, and she deserved better to be left to rot out in the open. With a heavy heart, I retrieved my weapon from where it lay discarded on the ground, carefully lifted her body in my arms, and began the journey back to my makeshift home. She was so stiff as I held her; so cold. It became hard to believe that this corpse was once the lively, sweet Emmeline. I reached the house at sunset and held her burial in the growing twilight.

               I spent the next weeks living in the wake of my despair. Jeb had disappeared once again, but I hadn’t the heart to try and track him down. I focused my waking hours on treating the hole in my head, keeping it wrapped in bandages to control the bleeding and to keep myself from staring into it all day. Other than that, I could not bring myself to care for my well-being anymore. I hardly ate anything. My days passed in long silences and loneliness. At night, my sleep was plagued with nightmares that followed me into consciousness. They would always place me back in my hometown under the gallows, in the shadow of my father shrouding me. Sometimes Prynne would be at the base, with the scorch marks on her neck sizzling as she looked up at me. She might try and reach up to me, like she did when she was younger, and try to tell me something only for it to come out as raspy whines. Whenever I tried to run out from under the shadow, I would always stumble and fall to my knees at Emmeline’s grave. She would always come to meet me, her skin deteriorated and the hole in her head filled with maggots. Those nights, the last image I saw was Emmeline’s smile as she reached out to me.

               A morning after one such dream I was awoken by the light rap of knocking at my door, sending shockwaves that reverberated throughout the frames of my house. I didn’t want to answer; I didn’t want to be bothered. I tried to ignore the knocking as I convinced myself that opening the door would only lead to more despair.

A soft voice drifted through the cracks in the walls.

“…Ray?”

I sat up.  There was no mistaking that voice.

“Ray, are you in there?”

I sprinted to the entrance, practically pulling the flimsy door out of its frame. Standing in utter shock before me in mid-knock was my dear mother. We spent a moment simply staring at each other, until she finally dropped her guard, her face spread into one of her famous smiles, and she held out her arms to me.

I could feel tears forming in my eye as I fell into her embrace. All my loneliness poured out in that one moment; my mother seemed shocked at first, but soon moved to holding my back and running her fingers through my hair. It reminded me of those times in my early childhood when I would come home from being taunted for my heritage, and she would comfort me as I cried. I didn’t realize until that moment how much I needed to be reassured that I wasn’t alone.

When I finally pulled away, I was not spared from an inquisition.

“So this is where you’ve been all this time; why did you leave so suddenly?

Why didn’t you ever let me know you were okay?

What happened to your head? Are you hurt?

You look famished; have you been eating?”

               I chuckled at her relentless questions. I gave her an explanation that I had secluded myself in my research and that one of my experiments had gotten out of hand, and I hit myself in the head. Half of it wasn’t technically a lie, but I could tell from the look my mother gave me that she wasn’t buying that it was the whole truth. I never could get anything past her. I wasn’t ready to tell her the whole story yet; she was my ray of sunshine in my eye, and I didn’t want it to dim.

“Well, never mind; I’ve been staying in Lawrence for a few days now. I insist you come into town with me. You looked absolutely starved, let me take you out for a meal.”

               Of course, I ended up going with her. There was no other alternative, my mother was determined to bring me out and I was just pleased to be in her presence. We ended up eating lunch at the inn she had been staying at, making light conversation as we ate. I wasn’t ready to talk about what had been going on in my life, so I just steered the conversation toward my mother. She didn’t seem to mind, talking happily about anything and everything with me.

               As we talked, I took note of the town. It was quite lively; people were bustling around going from stores to saloons, or to the barber’s. Mechanical horses stood next to live ones outside the inn. I still couldn’t believe that one of my inventions had become so internationally popular. Despite what Jeb is now, when he was at the university, he was quite influential with colleagues from all points of the globe. It was strange seeing that influence after everything that had happened. There were even some new creations strewn throughout the town that sparked my interest in a way that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Mechanical workers did small labors around a store front: sweeping the porch and carrying crates; and the lights in the inn were powered by what looked like a new model of steam engine, though it seemed to be oddly faulty, as the man who looked to be the owner kept complaining to a mechanic about its fire flickering.

“I hear ya, already! I’ll try relightin’ it again, but I might need to jimmy with it a little more.”

I found it odd; it looked to be in perfectly functioning order. At the time, I thought nothing of it; it seemed like all of these new things were familiar in some way but I hadn’t been practicing my mechanics and I had been secluded for so long that I had pushed it to the back of my mind, thinking that I had no authority on such matters as it stood. I turned to my mother, studying her face before I addressed what I really wanted to know:

“Mother… how have you been coping lately?”

My mother’s face became downcast.

“Ray. You know I haven’t been myself since… what happened; you witnessed that firsthand. I still don’t feel like I’ve fully recovered, and I think you’ve noticed. What had happened put me under such distress; and your departure didn’t exactly do wonders for my emotional state either.”

I had to look away.

“I know mother, I’m so sorry. I was selfish and tried to run away from reality. I didn’t even think about what kind of state is was leaving you in.”

At this my mother smirked.

“I think not. You were always like that though, weren’t you? So secluded and concerned with how you could disturb or hurt people with your mere presence. My, what a silly son I have. When you left, I felt like I had lost you; like I had lost the last of my family. Seeing you now; it’s as though my life has been given new light.”

I stared at my mother. She didn’t even realize how much the opposite was true; how much her presence here had breathed life into me. I smiled as I put money on the table.  We both rose to leave, when a thought occurred to me:

“Mother, how did you know where I was? I know I told you I was going to America, but I don’t remember telling you exactly where I was heading.”

“Oh yes!” my mother chirped as we walked outside, “Only a short time after you left, Emmeline and I started receiving letters from a kind gentleman from your university. He was a great comfort to us, though his penmanship made his words almost illegible at times; I suppose that’s why you inventors aren’t writers. He offered us such solace in those times of despair and his kind heart really came through in his writings. Honestly, he… he reminded me of you. Anyway, eventually he asked Emmeline to meet and travel with him to America to meet you, and she wouldn’t tell me any details, but she said she’d send for me when she had found you.”

I froze in my tracks.

“Speaking of which, where is Emmeline? I haven’t seen her around town, and she didn’t seem to be around your little… erm… house?”

I turned to face my mother, my eye wide.

“After she’d been gone for so long, I received another letter from him telling me that they had found you and that I should come to this town. He even recommended this inn. It’s a shame, he said he had important business to take care of and couldn’t meet us.”

My voice wavered as I addressed her.

“Mother, who sent you those letters?”

“Hmm?” she turned toward me, her mouth drawn into a slight frown, “He never gave his name. He said he was an old colleague of yours.”

Before I could say anything, her eyes widened, and she suddenly started pacing back towards the inn. She called over her shoulder:

“You need some proper rest. I’ll get you another room at the inn so you won’t have to stay in that old shack while I’m here.”

I turned and tried to reach out to her.

“Moth-“

“Well if it isn’t Mr. Wellington, ain’t this a surprise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen ya in town ‘fore.”

I turned to see the man who had appeared at my doorstep not too long ago. He wore a cheery smile on his face as he continued to speak.

“This is pretty convenient. ‘Nother letter ‘rived for ya just today. ‘avin ya here means I ain’t gotta make the treck up to your old place. Here ya go.”

               With a shaking hand, I took the letter from him and thanked him quietly. He waved as he walked away. My hand trembled as I held the letter. I already knew who it was from. A shiver of terror ran down my spine at the ideas of what the letter could contain, with my only solace being the thought that my mother was in my sights and that he couldn’t enter a public place without easily being spotted. I thought he couldn’t possibly do anything to either of us in this town.

               Just as I was about to tear open the envelope, the sound of a woman screaming filled my ear. It was coming from the general store a little down to the right. Cautiously, I moved closer as the screams and sounds of struggle came closer. In a flash, a lady ran out of the front of the store, and her neck was caught in the grasp of one the mechanical workers. I watched in terrified silence as the woman was brought to the ground, and her life left her eyes as she struggled for one last breath. The woman went limp. The worker’s gears whirred and it began to smoke as it fell off the corpse of the young woman.

                I stared at the victim’s neck; mechanical burns scarred her skin where the worker’s grip had once been. Images of Prynne came to my mind; a reminder of the evidence against my father that sentenced him to hang.

               Suddenly the pages of my journal flooded back to me; those sections where I had written down all those devices from my wildest nightmares. I remembered one was a mechanical man. One that could pass itself off as harmless and only useful for small menial tasks until a pulse is sent out to signal the start their real purpose: attack and kill any human they encountered until their inevitable breakdown from overheating. What a wonderful idea from my mind.

               More screams sprang up from other stores. Some people had gathered in the streets; some were trying fruitlessly to help the victims, and others simply looked on in horror.

               I stared at my hands as I recalled more. Another plan in the journal was a device that looked and acted like an ordinary steam engine, but when properly set, it would give off signs of malfunction. This would prompt anyone working on it to fiddle with the valves, but doing so on the device would take this as the command to cease pressure control, leading to a buildup of pressure until the device could no longer contain it. Thus, a deadly explosion; another great idea.

I turned on my heel and started sprinting back to the inn.

The explosion went off just as I got within earshot.  The blast that engulfed the entire building sent debris and glass flying. Panicked screams rang through the air. The town was in chaos as people ran about trying to escape while the blaze quickly spread. I ran out of town, moving in the opposite direction the other civilians were heading. I ran until the fire was only an orange dot in the distance. I looked on in disbelief at what was once the town of Lawrence, a town that once held so many lives within it; a town that once held my mother’s life within it.

Rage consumed me. My mind screamed and reeled as it began to process this new tragedy before me. As I curled my hands into fists, I realized I was still holding onto the letter. I tore it open and tried to make out the sloppy writing through my tears.

My dear colleague Ray,

An eye for an eye, my friend.

You took away my ability to go home. I took your happy home away from you in exchange.

You took away my only chance at companionship in this world. Soon I will take the only companion you have left.

You stole any peace I could have ever hoped for in this life. Now, I will steal the peace within your refuge. These “United States” balance on a thin wire of unrest, slowly teetering toward war. It simply needs an ignition to push it over.

I’ve heard of many failed attempts of such an ignition made by attacking passenger cars on railways. I wonder what would happen if an entire station was to be destroyed.

You have eight days.

Come find me,

Your friend Jeb

#ch6