five | voice

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

Okay. The Queen's latest mess has been cleaned up. Nobody's dead. Some of us have medals. [ Not that Batgirl got a medal, despite nearly being eaten by half a dozen vampire plants. Vampants? Planpires? Lame. This is why they should've been Frankenplants. ] That's fantastic. Seriously, thanks to everyone who helped out through healing, fighting, and defence strategies. It's great to know that if we never need to stage an emergency barbecue, apparently, we have the fire power to pull it off.

Of course, now that we're in the calm-after-the-last-storm-but-before-the-next-one-that's-gonna-suck-even-more, there's not much to do but sit and reflect. Y'know, on how we're trapped in another world, and everyone back home either thinks we're dead or missing or worse. I mean, me being here just proves everyone right about me – that I can't see anything through, blah blah, failure – and I've even let Babs down.

Not that I'm looking for free therapy or anything. I just want everyone to know that I hate the downtime as much as the almost-eaten-by-Eldritch-horrors time.

Comments

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Although frankly, I'll take unexciting kidnapped-for-someone's-terrible-singles-cruise time over kidnapped-for-someone's-terrible-singles-cruise-plus-things-want-to-kill-us time.

By the way, technically I don't think the whole kidnapping thing can count as a black mark specifically against you, failure wise, barring someone who's really passive-aggressive or something. Not unless you had some way of being aware of it and fighting back.

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

Okay, while you make a good point with that second bit – thanks, by the way – I kinda feel like pointing out that I've nearly died here. Twice. And I broke my arm.

Even if it's all an accident, and the Queen's not actively trying to kill us, something bad's gonna happen sooner or later. Something she won't be able to take back.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, but as long as I'm not being attacked right this moment I'm totally cool with that.

I think this just drives home the point that I need to figure out how to make a good fortress...

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

'cause the impending threat of death is totally a comfortable feeling.

Seriously, just use the magic dirt. It'll take you ten seconds, if that.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

There is that, but it's still vastly more comfortable than the certainty of injury or death. Of course, I'm more the type to lose myself in projects than focus on things that make me nervous, I guess, so...

Yeah, I'm planning on using the dirt. I just want to make sure I have a good, thorough design in mind first. Because it'd kind of suck to have something that doesn't work when you need it, or just falls over like some sort of Godzilla reenactment. I'm not really an architect, and the library here is sort of the opposite of helpful.

Wow, I'm babbling today.

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

You are putting waaaay more thought into this than anyone else does. Thinking about it that much is probably just gonna cause it to backfire.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Story of my life. I guess I'll just deal with any backfiring when it comes, because I'm not really the spontaneous type.

...I totally just realized, I have no idea who you are. Um, I'm Jessica Boyette. I'm pretty new here, so yeah.

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

Hey, I just don't want your fort looking like it was designed by M. C. Escher.

It's cool. I'm Stephanie Brown, and I guess I'm veteran by this place's standards.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

...I think that would be a level of engineering kind of beyond my capabilities. Mostly I just want to make sure everything, y'know, works.

Veteran, huh? So it's usually like this? With the murderplants and all?

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

Murderplants are new, but it's usually something along those lines. That's probably the least obscure thing we've dealt with so far.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

What else has happened? I heard about being trapped in a blizzard with someone, which seems... creepy, but slightly less terrifying, all told.

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

That's not the worst of it. There were creatures out in the snow storm, made from shadow and light. I don't know what they were, but as soon as they got hold of you, I swear to god, they sucked your soul right out.

And we went through this phase where everyone was transforming into monsters. That was fun.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Transforming... into monsters.

Wow, okay. And this is all this Queen's doing?

She really is a terrifyingly powerful five-year-old. Only, like, older.

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

The last part wasn't her fault – or so she says – which is even more troubling. I mean, if there's two of 'em, and they don't get on, we're really screwed.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

shit.

So there's someone else? Who's against her and also us, I guess?

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

Something like that. We wandered into her caves, and she was really, really pissed off.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhhhh. That's why I was told not to go in the monster cave. Not that I needed a warning for that.

At least that sounds like a one-time punishment? I mean, hopefully if we leave her alone, she'll leave us alone? (Though given this place...)

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

You're a little more optimistic than I'd feel comfortable being, but here's to hoping.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

I guess I just don't worry about problems until I need to. It'd be cool if I could predict them better, but I'm not psychic, so I'll just have to stick with fixing what I know about.

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

I'm not usually too into the whole mind-reading thing, but we could use a couple of psychics around here.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hear that. Maybe Her Highness will decide she needs to kidnap one.

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

Actually, someone here has already offered to go inside my head. Wonder if she knows how to look into the future.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Whoa, really? I didn't think that kind of thing existed. Although here, I shouldn't be surprised.

[gravityfists.livejournal.com]

Oh, boy, you're in for a lot of surprises.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's been kind of interesting, when I'm not busy fearing for life and limb. Kind of nice seeing weird things everyone else can see.