The Shimmer Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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theshimmer2020-08-08 11:35 pm
shimmermods) wrote in theshimmer2020-08-08 11:35 pm
WEEK FOUR
FOURTH WEEK
The Shimmer may have left you physically, but it's always with you; it's something it had insisted on yesterday, and it's something that continues to be pervasive even now, both in thoughts and within you in other, perhaps more noticeable ways. The statements that have been made weigh heavily; your surroundings continue to be influenced by something or other - plants you recognize are still present here, even as the trees themselves continue to crystallize, growing glassy white and transparent around mechanical insides - and the changes to your physical bodies are becoming more evident and difficult to ignore.
Perhaps more disturbingly, when you went to sleep in the clearing there were sixteen of you.
When you wake up, there are fifteen.
No matter how many headcounts you take, you keep coming up one short; the fact of the matter is that Rean Schwarzer is no longer among you. There's no visible evidence of where he's gone, and all of his belongings are still here; perhaps in some part of your mind, the possibility registers itself - maybe he's not with you because he went to the Shimmer. Not in the same way the cultists went, and not in the same way the ring of bodies seems to have gone, but maybe...
The thought is difficult to shake; the fact of the matter is that he isn't here, and you probably don't want to stay here. After all, your options are currently either to do what you set out to do, to return to the base and very possibly be killed for your efforts, or to remain here with the corpses.
The hike uphill is steep; perhaps it's fortunate that you're no longer tiring out like you used to. It's easier to keep going nowadays, even if it feels somewhat mechanical in doing so; your limbs know what they're doing, even if there's some reason for your mind to disagree. You seem to be making good time in moving toward the site of the initial impact of the meteorite; perhaps it won't be much longer before you find your objective.
That is, if all goes according to plan.
SUNDAY | MONDAY |
TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY
Perhaps more disturbingly, when you went to sleep in the clearing there were sixteen of you.
When you wake up, there are fifteen.
No matter how many headcounts you take, you keep coming up one short; the fact of the matter is that Rean Schwarzer is no longer among you. There's no visible evidence of where he's gone, and all of his belongings are still here; perhaps in some part of your mind, the possibility registers itself - maybe he's not with you because he went to the Shimmer. Not in the same way the cultists went, and not in the same way the ring of bodies seems to have gone, but maybe...
The thought is difficult to shake; the fact of the matter is that he isn't here, and you probably don't want to stay here. After all, your options are currently either to do what you set out to do, to return to the base and very possibly be killed for your efforts, or to remain here with the corpses.
The hike uphill is steep; perhaps it's fortunate that you're no longer tiring out like you used to. It's easier to keep going nowadays, even if it feels somewhat mechanical in doing so; your limbs know what they're doing, even if there's some reason for your mind to disagree. You seem to be making good time in moving toward the site of the initial impact of the meteorite; perhaps it won't be much longer before you find your objective.
That is, if all goes according to plan.
cool kids up the back!
[...seriously, she's kind of concerned they're absolutely going to learn, soon, why that sign was placed out the front and she'd be lying if she said she was ready-]
I don't see you sharing, either.
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[So, yeah.]
Nothing sad or miserable, in my case. Just messed up.
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[At least the other members of the group can have a pleasant chat. Page envies them. Admittedly, she'd been trying to think of something nice to share, but all she can come up with is...
...absolutely nothing! God, what a mess.]
...more or less messed up than this balls-up of a mission, then? I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have just stayed at home, miserable as it is.
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I was in prison before this. Death row, for ten years.
So I'm not too thrilled about sitting around in the dark waiting to die, for obvious reasons. But the rest of it hasn't been too bad.
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there is ALSO a lot to unpack here...you and Gabriel are about to stress her out, aren't you-]
....well. I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking something dreadful is going to happen in here.
[Like. It kind of goes without saying. They were warned.....]
Do I want to know why you were in prison for ten years...?
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Very well. Let's hear it.
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I joined the military as soon as I was able to. I was sent to the front lines of a war we had going on when I was still pretty young. It didn't take too long for me to figure out that war was about all I was good for.
Eventually it came to an end, and I no longer cared what happened to me. Next thing I was really all that aware of was that the people who tried to rein me in were dead, I was going to be executed, and I really didn't care about that, either.
Like I said. Not sad, not miserable. Just fucked up.
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[...to be honest, though, that actually isn't as bad as it could have been, in the grand scheme of things. Killing allies doesn't bode well, but at least it sounds like it was fellow soldiers rather than innocents. Or children.
...]
At least you're in the right place, although I'm starting to have my doubts about whether this is a war we will win.
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[Which is. fine by him, from the sound of it.]
I don't know if "winning" matters as much as "not dying" to most of the others here. I tried to talk to Felicia a bit, though. To try to make her feel a little better about taking the Shimmer out if we need to. We don't need people arguing against that at the eleventh hour.
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[...you don't have to be so calm about it, it's a little weird. But that seems to be par for the course with you, doesn't it...]
I also intend to take care of the Shimmer in a similar manner, so I'm glad to hear you spoke with Felicia. She seemed....bothered, after our encounter the other day. This thing does not deserve our sympathy and we need to destroy it as soon as we get the chance.
[....
should she be concerned she's vibing with Mr Solitary Confinement over here]
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You taking any bets on what's going to happen when we destroy it?
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[Interesting question, and admittedly one she hadn't thought about.]
It's not like we'll be able to do anything about it if things go south, but I'm hoping it will just result in that bizarre light dissipating. Assuming we're actually able to kill it.
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[...]
...Or we don't kill it at all and it's just really, really mad now, I guess, but it didn't really seem thrilled with us before, so it's not like that'll change too much.
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[....]
If it's going to kill us, I just want it to be quick. But judging by the townsfolk and their flower growths, the chances of that aren't particularly high.
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[jesus, kimbley, can you not- ]
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I think I'd prefer that to slowly turning into a tree. At least they looked comfortable. I'm not holding hands with you, though, after your alchemy stories.
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