The Rocky Bits, By the Troll Cave, Thursday morning

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Belle was meant to be clever. Her parents had always praised her for being so and so had her tutors. A truly clever girl would not be outside in these conditions. She would not be wandering around the island alone. She would know that walking unprepared into dangerous situations was foolish rather than brave. Or maybe cleverness was just no substitute for common sense. She was still teenager.

At least she had the sense to avoid the mirrors. You couldn’t grow up where Belle had without a healthy respect for magic mirrors and those were clearly magical. Evil magic, she was sure, but magic nonetheless. She gave those as wide a berth as she could manage.

Of course, Belle ought to have had a healthy respect for trolls as well. But her home had been plagued with ogres. Other large, aggressive monsters weren’t discussed as often there as they might have been in other corners of the realm. Too bad for Belle. If she’d known a little more about trolls she might not have wandered so close to that cave over there.


[expecting one! But there could be more? I'm not the boss of you! Work disclaimer applies.]

Fandom High Castle, Thursday Morning

[weirderthanthou]

The crystal had fed. It was still feeding, but it had fed enough to make the school itself part of its body. Vines threaded through every room and hallway, thorns pushing into the brick.

The island would follow soon enough.

There was a cracking noise here, a shattering there. Vines pushed through a broken window, an opened door, and spilled out onto the grounds. One particularly large vine worked its way around the tower, a loud proclamation of the crystal's ownership.

Throughout the day, they kept creeping.

The unexplored wooded area, Thursday morning

[designateddadfriend]

An island full of weird didn't stop every day accidents from happening. In fact, as was the case for the rickshaw collision Travis was called to by the woods in town, the weirdness sometimes contributed. Near as he could tell from the two drivers' bickering, one had been distracted by the mist and had swerved right into the other.

Both checked out fine in a cursory roadside exam, and while Travis made them promise to go straight to the clinic if they decided at any point they weren't feeling okay, he let them head off on their way without any further complaint.

Honestly, it was just nice to work a straight forward, human motor vehicle accident for once.

Nice work, probie.

The voice from the woods sent a shiver down Travis's back. He spun on his heel and peered through the fog. A familiar shape looked back.

"Michael?"

This island was full of weird, inexplicable magic. Stark had had a kid show up that he'd never gotten to have with a dead loved one. Why couldn't the weird, inexplicable magic bring Travis's husband back, too?

"Michael!"

He ran into the mist and the woods as the Michael shaped figure opened its arms. Travis didn't hesitate for a moment before flinging himself into them. "Michael. Michael, I --"

The thing that looked like Michael didn't hesitate for a moment before dragging Travis down into the mud.

[Open! I'M BREAKING THE NEWBIE. Obviously he'll be fine either way, but why not show up for the dramatic part?]

Along Loon Drive, Thursday Afternoon

[weirderthanthou]

Jesse should have spent the past few days getting a team together, figuring out a plan. But whatever had settled in her bones, the absence of Polaris, it... made her feel like she had again, on the run, alone. Trust no one. They're after you.

It had taken her until now to drag herself out of her office, where she'd piled reports and radio read-outs tall around herself. The reason was simple: she had stared at the piles on her desk and the thought had come to her unbidden-- Is this what Trench did?

So she'd spent some time walking along the shoreline, putting up warning signs for tentacle beasts. And then she'd drifted ever slowly towards the school. Something was coming out of the windows, wrapping around the tower. It had to be related, didn't it?

She didn't notice the mirror until she was standing right in front of it, bare steps from the school gates.

She didn't notice the mirror until she watched something red-headed and mute walk into view, deliberate. Challenging. Eerie, her brow dark. (Shadows of Trench.)

Jesse stared back at her.

"Haven't we done this before?" she asked, reaching out to run her fingers gingerly along her double's features.

Essej lunged at her. As the adrenaline shot through her, as she dashed to the side, something inside of her came free.

Right. I'm the one who handles things.

She fired a shot at Essej, who darted to the left, but look, there was another shot, straight through her shoulder--

"I am in control," Jesse muttered to herself. And kept shooting.

[[ open, if sp! ]]