Mina Crow
Administrator
Maelstrom Synkkyys
Madness waits for some. It creeps up on others.
Posts: 686
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Post by Mina Crow on May 2, 2006 11:47:16 GMT 12
Blank out my mind? Freaking useless.
John walked slowly to Reason's room, musing about what he would tell her.
Hey Reason, know what? The kids are having nightmares about the army. They are frightened, terrified, their eyes look like huge white dishes every time they notice what I wear. And the great thing is, they are having my own nightmares, they are plucking things out of my mind. How does that sound to you?
John shrugged to himself. It was stupid to be sarcastic right now - he had no way to know when or how he would start shedding off thoughts to his surroundings again. Some things were best left hidden. With a deep breath, fighting to calm down that surge of unbidden emotions, he reached the Beta's quarters. He didn't knock, though. Instead, John leaned against the opposite wall to her door, without proffering a single word.
Reason, are you there?
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Seraphim
Administrator
King of Castle Smoke
Posts: 382
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Post by Seraphim on May 2, 2006 15:20:53 GMT 12
Yes, I’m here, Reason thought Where else would I be?, and she padded to the door, pushing it open with the tips of her long pale fingers. She smiled lightly and held the door open, motioning that John come inside. Her room was small, with what looked like part of a couch pressed into the corner as a bed. Two chairs and a rickety table comprised her desk, on which sheaves of paper waited, weighed down with lumps of metal molten from the support beams of the Chrysler building. One of the chairs was piled with clothing and other items of some value.
Reason was wearing her red dress without its customary crimson long coat, and she looked suddenly a lot les threatening. Her messy copper hair was tied out of her face so that she could see, and there was ink on her fingers – she’d been writing, probably a diary. So many of the Children of the Sandstorm wrote diaries, journals and blogs. She heard some of the online blogs had huge hit counts and had been mentioned by the media. It made her laugh, sometimes.
“Hey, John. Come in." She said.
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Mina Crow
Administrator
Maelstrom Synkkyys
Madness waits for some. It creeps up on others.
Posts: 686
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Post by Mina Crow on May 2, 2006 19:18:21 GMT 12
John nodded and followed her into the room. It was quite unusual for him to be at odds with something to say; whenever John spoke, he knew exactly what to say. What was the point of speaking but tell what you thought, anyway? But now he was completely at a loss. Those insights on her past the children were having, those visions of his own history - he was not one who liked to reveal much about himself, much less if it was done against his will. When he was awake, he could keep them shut on a corner of his mind, but it was useless against that ...broadcast. Just great. Mutation with no control. What more could I ask for? I'm a radio station, ho-ho. He stared absently at nothing, his eyes unfocused, perfectly aware his thoughts might be floating in the air. After all, Reason had heard him. This is so freaking weird. Incapable of doing more, John let down the barriers that kept all that frustration at bay, let it flood into his mind. He stared helplessly at Reason, looking for some reaction.
"New mutant in the zone", he muttered, shrugging.
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Seraphim
Administrator
King of Castle Smoke
Posts: 382
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Post by Seraphim on May 2, 2006 20:10:19 GMT 12
“Alexander was saying something about that,” Reason said, gathering her clothing in her arms and tossing it onto the decapitated couch. She indicated that John take the chair. She eased herself back into her own chair, a fragile thing of some light wood painted black with silver stars. She hadn’t yet manifested a mutation – she hoped she wouldn’t, although she expected she would find some odd ability somewhere one day. She hoped it was more passive than some of the mutations going on around her.
“I’ve been hearing that everyone is having the same nightmares lately – does that have anything to do with you? Don’t look at me like that, it’s my job to know everything, remember?” Reason wasn’t blaming him, but she was nervous about what it would to moral. Certainly, Alexander might be able to suck up some of the loose Psyche, or otherwise transmit a block, but it was highly unlikely.
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Mina Crow
Administrator
Maelstrom Synkkyys
Madness waits for some. It creeps up on others.
Posts: 686
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Post by Mina Crow on May 2, 2006 20:23:18 GMT 12
Repressing a sigh, he sat down on the chair, pointedly not looking at Reason.
"What else could it be? From what I hear, those are my dreams." John clenched his fists, shuffling uneasily with his booted feet and staring at his lap. Then, bracing himself, he raised his eyes to the Cigarettes' Beta. "I'm silent all day, I keep to myself, and for what? For what, if in a moment all my emotions pass out to those around me, Reason? I can't stop it. I'm not a stupid sattelite!" he exclaimed in irritation. "It's like I'm proclaiming my inner thoughts to every single person around me. I never asked for that! I don't need that..."
[Muse still asleep.]
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Seraphim
Administrator
King of Castle Smoke
Posts: 382
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Post by Seraphim on May 2, 2006 20:29:57 GMT 12
“I am – was – a firm non-believer in physic abilities until a few months ago, John, so I’m going to warn you I might not be able to help. But I’ll certainly try, okay?” Reason shuffled some of the paper on her desk and began methodically sorting the list of foods and other supplies stored under Castle Smoke. There were some worrying numbers in there – batteries and clean, whole clothing were running out. And fething tampons, although there were some re-usable brands. (Sorry, guys)
“Have you tried, well, blocking it? If it’s part of you, you can control it – no one can mess with your own mind, John, so maybe all you need is to take control of it? I can see the stress you’re under – I know I wouldn’t want some of my feelings out where people can read them.”
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Mina Crow
Administrator
Maelstrom Synkkyys
Madness waits for some. It creeps up on others.
Posts: 686
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Post by Mina Crow on May 2, 2006 20:43:15 GMT 12
Calm down. This is not you. Breathe. Cool it, John.
John took a deep breath, then sighed.
"I've tried. I'm not exactly comfortable with this... thing. I've tried to block it, to make it stop, to keep my mind blank, all those stupid things they teach on the books. Nothing seems to work. Meditation? Might work, if it didn't imply I have to open my mind for that. How can I open it more than it is already? I don't think Budha ever had to deal with Telepathy broadcasting issues. I'm afraid for myself, afraid for you", he made a circular motion with his right hand, indicating the tribe. "Those dreams are scary enough, and there are things I'd prefer to keep to myself. It seems I can't do it anymore, though."
Fething mutant. Freak. Life any better on this side of the Fence= Not if you bring this legacy with you.
[Feel free to "hear" any of his thoughts.]
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Seraphim
Administrator
King of Castle Smoke
Posts: 382
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Post by Seraphim on May 2, 2006 20:54:28 GMT 12
Reason is notoriously closed-minded. She heard none of the thoughts in John’s head, and would only have done so if they were directed at her or were particularly distressing. She nodded slowly, her eyes not on her restless shifting of paper sheets. Her eyes were somewhere near John, politely not looking at him but still focused on him. She was good at this – better than Seraphim would ever be.
“Meditation is bullshi.t,” She said, not quite as diplomatically as might have been wise. “Have you tried talking to Alexander. Maybe he can try blocking the transmitting part of your psyche?”
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Mina Crow
Administrator
Maelstrom Synkkyys
Madness waits for some. It creeps up on others.
Posts: 686
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Post by Mina Crow on May 2, 2006 21:07:05 GMT 12
John snorted, in spite of himself. "I prefer to keep away from him. He's already overwhelmed with emotions because of Empathy, I don't know what would happen if I got near him now. They are too many people already delving into my thoughts without intending it, don't you think?" He couldn't hide a drop of sarcasm. Of all the things that could have happened to me, it would have to be this one. Typical. Axel gets acrobatic moves, Qwerty's a genius, Alexander's our Empath, Reason and Lucifer stay normal, but I had to turn into a broadcasting radio station. So typical. Welcome to Late Night Terror Show, featuring Commando's dreams, whoot. Exhaling audibly, he stared at the wall beyond Reason. Heck, calm down.
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Seraphim
Administrator
King of Castle Smoke
Posts: 382
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Post by Seraphim on May 4, 2006 15:38:59 GMT 12
Reason bit back a sharp retort and stacked her paper, putting it into the miniature filing cabinet she’d scavenged. She replaced her pens and pencils in the blackened tin on the desk and glared over the their tips at John, steeping her fingers under her chin and resting her head on them. She pushed a other thoughts out of her head; thoughts of Seraphim and Dancer and Rattlesnake, of Axel’s disappointment in her actions. She carefully stored them away for another time, in the same mental folder that contained her last memories of Serenity.
“Who exactly has been responding to your thoughts? Maybe they have something in common that might make them susceptible. Alexander, I understand – and who else? Dai or Axel?”
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Mina Crow
Administrator
Maelstrom Synkkyys
Madness waits for some. It creeps up on others.
Posts: 686
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Post by Mina Crow on May 5, 2006 0:23:56 GMT 12
John sighed before answering.
Take a deep breath. A temper won't help you here, John. You. Need. To. Cool. It.
He was silent for a few minutes, struggling with himself and trying to find the right words. It was not that he disliked Alexander - he just had to keep clear from him, for the sake of them both, especially of the Russian boy. There were already too many nightmares spreading in the tribe; if the only person who might be able to stop them was affected - what then?
"I told you, I don't know about Alexander", he said in a mild tone. "But Daisuke was the first to react. Axel's been looking at me in a strange way, but then, he's always done that. Shooter notices nothing, or pretends not to. Vox's the same. Maybe it has something to do with the other mutations, I don't know. Emotions seem to spread around without that kind of distinction, though. It's hard to tell."
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Seraphim
Administrator
King of Castle Smoke
Posts: 382
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Post by Seraphim on May 17, 2006 20:07:35 GMT 12
Reason brought a pen up to her lips and chewed the lid for a moment before realizing what she was doing and putting the pen back. She was stressed, like someone was trying to pull her to bits with a rack. Seraphim was something she would have to deal with later – as far as she knew, there were already four hundred different plots within the Cigarettes to get him out. Reason could count on his reputation to get him out of there – she was much more worried about the Tribe at home.
“Well, Daisuke’s a Cyberpath – things imprint on his mind like photo film, so it’s no surprise he’d pick something up. Shooter’s too violent to notice anything but fear, and I figure that Axel’s a diagnosed psycho.” It was a joke within the Tribe, the way Reason and Axel repelled each other like magnets of the same pole.
“I’ll put some thought to it, but I can’t guarantee anything will inspire me,” Reason continued. “Maybe I’ll have to pull a Professor Xavier here and tell you the mind is a box that must be opened from inside.”
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Mina Crow
Administrator
Maelstrom Synkkyys
Madness waits for some. It creeps up on others.
Posts: 686
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Post by Mina Crow on May 22, 2006 22:40:14 GMT 12
"Yeah, I guess so..."
Refraining a sigh, John stared intently at his knuckles for a while, then faced Reason again. A smile dawned on his lips, faint yet true. That was something quite rare, coming from him, breaking the solemn frame he wore most of the time.
"Thanks, Reason. For helping me."
He tended to stay away from most people, and that kind of behavior usually kept him from making friends or any other complex social interaction. Therefore gratitude surfaced every time someone managed to overcome the barrier he had built around himself. Not through reckless intrusion, but with tact. Reason was remarkable on that subject, even if she was Impulse made flesh.
"Er... I've been wanting to talk with you about something - someone. Seraphim. What are we going to do?" He knitted his eyebrows on an attentive, pensive frown.
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