Taylor, hi. I-- people at home called you Skitter, right?
When Taylor goes to leave at the end of the night, Tim comes up beside her with an easy grin.
"You mind if I walk you home?"
"You mind if I walk you home?"
I have a question for you, about healing your arm.
But I want to make sure you'll say no if you want to. You don't have to agree, because you being comfortable is the most important thing to me.
But I want to make sure you'll say no if you want to. You don't have to agree, because you being comfortable is the most important thing to me.
(deleted comment)
Did you see Kikimora's request for help? I have to go after her, she's my inmate this month, but someone needs to find out what happened to Hunter, too. She said he was eaten.
I'm sorry I can't be with you. Will you be alright? Can you get someone to help track him?
I'm sorry I can't be with you. Will you be alright? Can you get someone to help track him?
[Taylor was not alright. But it takes her just long enough to calm down and answer this that she's heard from Hunter in the meantime, so she's stiff and angry, but not collapsing.]
I'm talking to him. He doesn't want me coming after him.
Kikimora says she has Flapjack. If she doesn't still have him when you find her, I need to know immediately.
I'm talking to him. He doesn't want me coming after him.
Kikimora says she has Flapjack. If she doesn't still have him when you find her, I need to know immediately.
what are you doing?
[It's not unusual to receive random Hunter texts with zero context: sometimes he's just excited about his study, or wants to catch up when they're doing separate things.
It's less often he knows the answer, and is mostly messaging her to see what she says.]
[It's not unusual to receive random Hunter texts with zero context: sometimes he's just excited about his study, or wants to catch up when they're doing separate things.
It's less often he knows the answer, and is mostly messaging her to see what she says.]
[Taylor doesn't answer instantly, because she's having a frustrating moment trying to figure out how to make this look like a crest of feathers, and not a weird cone hat on a very blocky bird-thing. Carving is harder than she'd hoped.]
disappointing myself and my summer camp counselors. you?
disappointing myself and my summer camp counselors. you?
Hi. Taylor? I've been in a coma, which is why I've been out of touch - obviously, hahaha! But I wanted to check in and see how you're doing! How are you doing?
That she dreams of water after the river of Death is probably predictable. But it's far from the quiet, insistent current of that place.
It's impact, water as hard as stone, driving no breath from her body because she had none-
has-
she has-
she has no-
She's sinking, the water red as dawn, lit from above by gold so bright it's painful, hurts in all the places that water is intruding, pushing into her where it shouldn't-
Red tendrils tangle around her, like a creature pulling her down, and she has just one arm to fight it. No legs to kick, no air to scream, no bugs to call, just one hand.
Bodies in the water all around her. Familiar faces, no masks. Brian. Rags. Lisa. Kiryu. Shen Jiye. Dad. Hunter. Ulla. Jacobi. Jon. Shen Wei. Tim. Misty. Jedao. Rachel. B. Sweeney. Mom. Riley. Zhao Yunlan. Emma. Maggie. Dragon. Scraps. Iris. Jesus. Trevor. Shaw. Loki. Thomas. Amy. Rosita. Hilbert. Kepler. Trixie.
Everyone's in pieces. Legs and hands, eyes and guts, heads and bodies. Shattered and sinking into that boiling golden light. Just like her.
It's impact, water as hard as stone, driving no breath from her body because she had none-
has-
she has-
she has no-
She's sinking, the water red as dawn, lit from above by gold so bright it's painful, hurts in all the places that water is intruding, pushing into her where it shouldn't-
Red tendrils tangle around her, like a creature pulling her down, and she has just one arm to fight it. No legs to kick, no air to scream, no bugs to call, just one hand.
Bodies in the water all around her. Familiar faces, no masks. Brian. Rags. Lisa. Kiryu. Shen Jiye. Dad. Hunter. Ulla. Jacobi. Jon. Shen Wei. Tim. Misty. Jedao. Rachel. B. Sweeney. Mom. Riley. Zhao Yunlan. Emma. Maggie. Dragon. Scraps. Iris. Jesus. Trevor. Shaw. Loki. Thomas. Amy. Rosita. Hilbert. Kepler. Trixie.
Everyone's in pieces. Legs and hands, eyes and guts, heads and bodies. Shattered and sinking into that boiling golden light. Just like her.
Re: Dream - For the twins. [cw body horror, disembowelment]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brotherblack
2024-02-07 07:12 am (UTC)(link)
He sees Zhao Yunlan's sightless eyes, didi's long hair drifting around his severed head, the beautiful white of it stained with blood, a hand he knows is xiao Jedao's reaching towards him from the mass of mutilated bodies, and it takes him longer than it should to realize that it's a nightmare. That it's Taylor mei's nightmare.
He centers himself, pushes away the choking sense of fear and helplessness and tries to make himself a steady point of calm and safety, of reality amidst the horror.
It's not real, xiao mei. If it's another flood then it's probably pointless to try and convince her of that, but if it's just a normal nightmare--as if this horror could ever be just anything, or at all normal--then perhaps they can ease her out of it. And Shen Jiye and I are here with you, alive and well. Because of course he can feel his twin's awareness there as well.
He centers himself, pushes away the choking sense of fear and helplessness and tries to make himself a steady point of calm and safety, of reality amidst the horror.
It's not real, xiao mei. If it's another flood then it's probably pointless to try and convince her of that, but if it's just a normal nightmare--as if this horror could ever be just anything, or at all normal--then perhaps they can ease her out of it. And Shen Jiye and I are here with you, alive and well. Because of course he can feel his twin's awareness there as well.
[After this thread!]
Ulla left Taylor that morning in human form, but she slithers back in dripping wet and grinning, smelling like sea salt. Her dress is stuffed in the satchel at her side, and Hjerte is clambering alongside her. Neither of them built for moving on land, but they manage.
"I'm having a good day."
Ulla left Taylor that morning in human form, but she slithers back in dripping wet and grinning, smelling like sea salt. Her dress is stuffed in the satchel at her side, and Hjerte is clambering alongside her. Neither of them built for moving on land, but they manage.
"I'm having a good day."
Taylor's on her porch when she comes in, grubby from yard-work and scrubbing dirt out of her nails, and she grins when she sees Ulla's. That she's switched forms always inspires a flicker of concern, but she's always glad to see Ulla in her own skin.
"Looks like it." She hops off the porch to sit in the grass so Ulla can sit with her, while Scraps makes a beeline to try to chase Hjerte's many legs.
"Looks like it." She hops off the porch to sit in the grass so Ulla can sit with her, while Scraps makes a beeline to try to chase Hjerte's many legs.
Ulla turns up at the Enclosure in a deep green gown with the engraved shell combs Warren gave her in her hair. She's happy to visit Kiryu's city as Taylor proposed; she's never seen it, and she's curious to see where Taylor plans to live someday.
She smiles as Taylor comes into sight. "Hello, sweetheart."
She smiles as Taylor comes into sight. "Hello, sweetheart."
[Hanna appears on screen without his chunky frames, all big blue eyes without them. He looks perfectly fine thanks to Aerith, which he hopes helps when Taylor inevitably asks him some more questions.]
Hey TK, I was trying to fix them myself but...I kind of broke my glasses? You think you can get me a new pair?
And I have no idea if the Admiral can figure out what my prescription is supposed to be but I haven't really had an eye exam in a while, you think he could give me an update?
Hey TK, I was trying to fix them myself but...I kind of broke my glasses? You think you can get me a new pair?
And I have no idea if the Admiral can figure out what my prescription is supposed to be but I haven't really had an eye exam in a while, you think he could give me an update?
[Hanna had waited until after they had left port to ask, because it was kind of weird, asking for your own birthday present. But, he had promised that when he asked he'd get one for Alan too, so it's really not just for him, makes him feel a little better about it.]
Hey TK, just wanted to drop a request on you.
Back on that island I found a colony of fire salamanders, I didn't take any with cause they were a little more feral and feisty than the ones I know back home, but you think you can ask the Admiral to get me a pair from my dimension?
They don't really need much seeing as they're animal spirits, but maybe a little wood to munch on to start? I'm still unsure if they have to eat to live, but they do like eating, so. Might as well?
Anyways, let me know! Fingers crossed he'll not be snooty about it.
Hey TK, just wanted to drop a request on you.
Back on that island I found a colony of fire salamanders, I didn't take any with cause they were a little more feral and feisty than the ones I know back home, but you think you can ask the Admiral to get me a pair from my dimension?
They don't really need much seeing as they're animal spirits, but maybe a little wood to munch on to start? I'm still unsure if they have to eat to live, but they do like eating, so. Might as well?
Anyways, let me know! Fingers crossed he'll not be snooty about it.
Hanna doesn't call or text before he comes in to Taylor's cabin, but he does knock on the door to her home because it would be weird to just barge in.
Fiddling nervously with a piece of paper in hand, he waits for an answer, though if it's longer than a few minutes, he will give her a call.
Fiddling nervously with a piece of paper in hand, he waits for an answer, though if it's longer than a few minutes, he will give her a call.
[Taylor is probably either getting used to or rather tired from the messages Hanna shoots off when he's about to do something questionable, or has just finished experiencing something unfortunate.]
Hey, just so just leaving a quick message to let you know a buddy of mine asked me to remove a teeny tiny little curse from his knife?
It'll probably be fine, but in the very slim chance it isn't, maybe just keep Sokie on speed dial until I'm done? I'm gonna be the most careful in the mean time though, cross my heart.
Hey, just so just leaving a quick message to let you know a buddy of mine asked me to remove a teeny tiny little curse from his knife?
It'll probably be fine, but in the very slim chance it isn't, maybe just keep Sokie on speed dial until I'm done? I'm gonna be the most careful in the mean time though, cross my heart.
On the back of the clearly hand-drawn card, he has printed the date (Dec 28) and time, as well as the location - the Enclosure.
[Hanna arrives unannounced, hands shoved in his pockets, and oddly a pair of salamanders on his shoulders instead of just the one. While they seem to be chugging along just fine being back together, Hanna is very clearly not having a good time and has just sat himself on her porch because coming inside feels like too much.
He'll just sit out here until she inevitably comes out seeing as she's got bugs, this is her room, she probably knew the minute he walked in.]
He'll just sit out here until she inevitably comes out seeing as she's got bugs, this is her room, she probably knew the minute he walked in.]
[She did, but since he didn't make himself known, she gives him a few minutes. When she does come out, she brings two mugs on a tray, and sets it down on the porch with the one full of coffee turned towards him.
She sits beside him, sipping her own tea, waiting for him.]
She sits beside him, sipping her own tea, waiting for him.]
[following this thread. Hanna sounds ridiculous, it's the broken nose and his whole face is starting to swell, but he talks through it despite that.]
Hey, uh... to begin with, technically, I didn't start it. We'll, depending on how you look at it, maybe I did, but...I was just trying to do a wellness check and it kind if fell apart.
Hey, uh... to begin with, technically, I didn't start it. We'll, depending on how you look at it, maybe I did, but...I was just trying to do a wellness check and it kind if fell apart.
Ulla dresses appropriately for their greenhouse date, in her ivy-green gown, the shell combs Warren carved with a forest scene pulling her hair back from her face. And her contribution is dessert, thin pineapple slices and cloudberries arranged mosaic-like on a curved shell tray in the shape of flowers.
She gives Taylor a warm smile as she steps through the door. Hugs will have to wait a moment, though, till the fruit is safely set down.
She gives Taylor a warm smile as she steps through the door. Hugs will have to wait a moment, though, till the fruit is safely set down.
Taylor offers to take the beautiful dessert, leading Ulla towards the back of the greenhouse, to the quiet corner where the hives are surrounded by flowers. Because if she's holding something, her hands won't shake. She can't even send her nervous jitters out into the bees - Ulla knows her well enough she'd know something was up from the change of their sound. And besides, she wants to feel this entire afternoon.
She's in her blue dress today, her special dress, with the butterfly jewelry that Rags and Kiryu gave her. She has a closet-full of delicate, impossible gowns sung for her, but this dress is what she wears when she wants to feel her family with her. And this dress has a pocket. Very important.
She's spread a picnic blanket among the flowers, with a tray for a table, comfortable cushions, and the sorts of snacks they both like. The sort of date picnic they've had before, but Taylor's put so much nervous attention into each detail.
She's in her blue dress today, her special dress, with the butterfly jewelry that Rags and Kiryu gave her. She has a closet-full of delicate, impossible gowns sung for her, but this dress is what she wears when she wants to feel her family with her. And this dress has a pocket. Very important.
She's spread a picnic blanket among the flowers, with a tray for a table, comfortable cushions, and the sorts of snacks they both like. The sort of date picnic they've had before, but Taylor's put so much nervous attention into each detail.
Well, if you're going to be Angel's warden then I suppose we're gonna have to meet and talk at some point or another. Considering he's basically living with me and all at this point.
Ulla came back in one piece, fretting more over Aerith than herself. With more than enough energy to transform before she goes to sleep.
But that night she jolts awake from dreams of Signy's voice, long tail thrashing slightly in their bed, not easy to hide when Taylor is curled against her.
But that night she jolts awake from dreams of Signy's voice, long tail thrashing slightly in their bed, not easy to hide when Taylor is curled against her.
Taylor’s awake the moment Ulla’s movements go from sleepy to upset, and she half-sits, a swarm suddenly filling the air above them as she puts a hand on Ulla’s shoulder. Her thousand senses tell her nothing has changed in the cabin before she even has time to exhale, and so she eases back down, squeezes her arm lightly. “Hey, it’s okay…”
Video | Backdated to Angel's announcement about Husk's disappearance
notthatkindoforion
2025-05-12 02:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, Taylor?
I'm going to be sitting with Angel a while. Um, probably fairly regularly over the next few days. Or weeks. You know, in case he freaks out or needs medical intervention.
[Not 'in case he uses again', that's just a given. She's being a trip-sitter and she knows it.]
I just wanted you to know it's as his friend, not as a warden. I'm not trying to step on any toes, I just want to... make sure he's as safe as he can be, you know?
I'm going to be sitting with Angel a while. Um, probably fairly regularly over the next few days. Or weeks. You know, in case he freaks out or needs medical intervention.
[Not 'in case he uses again', that's just a given. She's being a trip-sitter and she knows it.]
I just wanted you to know it's as his friend, not as a warden. I'm not trying to step on any toes, I just want to... make sure he's as safe as he can be, you know?
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