(open) crash into me

[whatsupcroc]

Date & Time: Mid-afternoon Sunday, May 5th
Location: The Hold and Housing Complex
Characters: All who wish to be in the vicinity!
Summary: The Initiative asked for the Housing Complex to be evacuated starting early morning on 5/5, in preparation for the expected landing of the spaceship stolen from the United Earth. The landing goes horribly wrong when an undiscovered bomb detonates onboard the ship, causing partial engine failure. The ship proceeds to be crash landed into the Housing Complex; no lives, however, are lost.

Warnings: Spaceship crash landings it's all horrible!
Notes: Respond in action tags or prose, as you please!

The ship breaks cloud-cover as a spot of light in the dreary skies, leaving behind the beauty of sunlight above the broken cloud layer as it continues to descend. With the Initiative having instigated an evacuation of the area ahead of time, just in case, those watching in the light drizzle may find it an interesting sight to behold.

Doubtlessly, the United Earth, from its great distance, may have also found it interesting.

The first sign of something going wrong is an explosion visible from the ground. People who hear it might startle; the ship itself goes from a smooth, controlled flight path to one wobbly and filled with dark, flaming smoke. The whine of its remaining engine is slower to reach the ground, though the ship itself seems to pick up a spiraling speed, still controlled to those familiar with watching things that fly come crashing down to the ground.

The Initiative members on the ground are calling for people to get back and take cover. Inside the main Hold, one man at the transport pads hears his radio blast to life and swallows past his own fear, glancing at the active pad waiting to pull in another unlucky soul.

When the ship hits the Housing Complex, it demolishes the upper levels, though the force with which it hits doesn't seem to be the same as what it should be. Combined telekinetic buffering and excellent piloting from a former Guardian of the Universe Galaxy keeps damage to a catastrophic minimum.

Welcome to the fallout. What will you do from here?

Comments

[flecks]

[ And when Oswald turns around, he'll find Leo standing there in tattered and bloodied native clothing, eyes wide and fearful.

He'd just been making his way through all the rubble when he caught sight of a familiar back and promptly froze in his tracks. With Lacie here, of course it's entirely possible that Oswald or anyone else from the past could be brought here too, but that's not the first thing that springs to Leo's mind.

He's seeing things again and maybe he's not as alone in his head as he thought are the thoughts that occur to him upon seeing Oswald's figure, irrational as they may be in the face of the things possible in Exsilium. It makes him unconsciously reach up and curl his fingers in his hair, gripping tight.

He should— move or something, but that's a thought that comes too late when Oswald has already turned and he finds he can't move even if he wants to, breath caught in his throat and his feet rooted to the spot as he stares. ]

[fraternize]

[oh, oh, darling heart, he wondered when leo would show with his eyes like his own, bright and dear. jabberwock's near and dear too, lingering with its face close to oswald's, looking about as unhinged as it usually does— and oswald's fine with that, reaching up behind him to idly run his hand along jabberwock's face, watching another fall to terror in his presence.

is this going to be a reoccuring thing? he doesn't remember his being this scared, staring back calm and clear.]

Leo— [he calls out, a greeting, as gentle as he's been and as tired as he feels.] Leo, what's wrong?

[come here, come here, he'd immediately comfort him if he didn't think he'd skitter away like a shy little black bird. oswald got too complacent there, too soft, too willing to open his arms to leo and oz and jack and everyone else that now he's left with knowledge of touch as comfort.]

[flecks]

[ Oswald knows him, that cinches it. It erases what little doubt and hope he had in the back of his mind that it might be Oswald from the past. Either it's all in his head or it's Oswald taken from his head and really, what difference does that make?

Both the gentle tone and Jabberwock throw him off though, because when he reaches for Jabberwock it's still there in his mind, stirring uneasily. It's all wrong. 'Everything' he wants to answer. Everything is all wrong, but he falters. ]

I just thought— [ That he could be normal. That his mere presence didn't cause misfortune to others because he wasn't Glen here. What a foolish thought that was. He couldn't stay by Elliot's side after all and he was already harboring terrible truths that could destroy what could be considered his only other friend.

In hindsight it's absurd that he would think he could run from it. A laughable idea and he does actually laugh, only it's not so much a laugh, but a miserable, broken sound. ]

[fraternize]

[oswald lets jabberwock rest its head on his shoulder, intimate thing between master and chain, eyes closing. he thought? oswald never called him 'glen' - he always called him leo, and he'll never stop calling him 'leo' because that's who he is.

it's a very small comfort, but it's one he can offer any vessel.

he's terse, now, as his jaw locks briefly. it... hurts to think about, admit, but as he thinks about it it's true. he knows: leo is going back and he's going to destroy lacie through and through, take her head from her shoulders so that she doesn't heal, possibly. there aren't many ways you can kill a baskerville, much less with something like oswald watching over the most precious one.

something, because he is not a person. jack is not here. oswald needs no validation of his worth. he never did, and he walks towards leo now, jabberwock a dark shadow that trails behind him and returns to his body.]

You thought—? [gentle still, like leo's a frightened rabbit. he never thought, personally, that leo would ever have a reason to look that way around him.

or is it something else, he asks himself gathering his coat and bleeding red shawl around himself (he brought it with him thank god, where would he be without it after the glen cloak burnt) and stopping somewhat in front of leo, looking down at him. he's actually met leo twice, believe it or not, and he reacted calmly after a moment both times. odd.]

[flecks]

[ It's fine. It's fine, he tells himself. It's just the way things are meant to be and there's no point in hoping for something else. He's better at hiding than running anyway.

Breathe in, breathe out.

He regains composure as he drops his arms back to his sides, a kind of defeated calm coming over him that keeps him from moving away when Oswald comes to a stop before him. It makes his gaze a steady one as he looks up at the former Glen, but the smile spreading across his lips hollow and without real meaning. ]

I thought I could be just Leo. [ He wants to say 'again' but he never really was just that, was he? The flecks of light and the voices, ghosts really, had been there from the start and they had only been absent for the first time in his life right here in Exsilium, giving him false hope. ]

It's silly, isn't it?

[fraternize]

[but is it really, he wants to know. is it really okay or is leo hiding under another veil again? (it... doesn't really matter though, does it? better to cover your eyes and ears and give up than get up and reach out for what you want yourself when it's going to be given to you at the end.)]

You're already 'Glen Baskerville'. [so he'll destroy that thought there by stating a very point blank fact. and then:] However, whether you use the title or not in a place like this doesn't matter— it doesn't change who you are.

[he can be 'leo' and 'glen baskerville' - oswald was never one for veiling the truth or pretending, but if leo wants to pretend he's leo, might as well let him do as he pleases, right? it wouldn't make a lick of sense to oswald that leo can't hear the glen baskervilles in his head - oswald still hear them loud and clear and lovely and damning - but—

he still calls himself 'oswald', too, if only because he's not quite 'glen baskerville' yet.]

Do as you please while you're here.

[the underlying for now is near the it's all you'll have until you go back home.]

[flecks]

[ Well, he can always count on Oswald to be as blunt and honest as possible. Harshly so, even. That hasn't changed and in a way, Leo can appreciate that. He's always been blunt himself and there's no point in sugarcoating things in his opinion so it would be hypocritical if he didn't. The answer he's given is one he expects. He is Glen Baskerville and he knows it, he's well aware his fate can't be changed.

But that doesn't mean he can't pretend for as long as his pretense holds up here in Exsilium where there is no Abyss and titles mean very little if not nothing at all.

"Do as you please while you're here."

Still, those words bring some relief even if the underlying tone doesn't go unnoticed. It makes the tense rigidness of his body slip away, his shoulders relaxing a little as he nods. There's no telling how much time he has here, he can only hope it's enough.

But that does beg the question: ]

What will you do?