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riverviewlogs2018-06-16 12:43 am
volitaunt) wrote in riverviewlogs2018-06-16 12:43 am
Entry tags:
[ open ] If you were to kill me now right here
who: Poe, Laura, otherwise open!
what: Catch-all for June + kidnapping and fallout
when: June! And one trip back in time to Memoria.
where: All Around Riverview
warnings: Violence, probably torture, mourning/death/grief.
i. backdated to memoria
[ He needs this holiday.
Poe can admit that much to himself pretty easily. He needed Jim to find him in that bar, he needed Finn to drag him out of that last fight. He needs this holiday.
He's not sure how to express that at first. He hangs lanterns whenever he's asked or they're offered. He leaves small gifts for his friends. He realizes, with a pang of surprise, how few of them he has here.
But most importantly, at least to him, he goes to see the lanterns. He goes every time. At first just to watch, just to see the collective grief of Riverview being released onto the river. The different colors, the multitude of designs, the waterway transformed into a parade of ghosts in every hue and shape. It's beautiful. It hurts to watch, but it's beautiful.
After that first time, he crafts lanterns for every time after. One for Paige, one for her squadron. One for Holdo. One for D'Qar. One for Tallie, and one for every lost pilot whose name he can remember. One for each of the transports that got blown from the sky, and one for the dead of Crait. It takes him until the end of the month to craft lanterns for each of the planets and moons of the Hosnian system. The largest belongs to Hosnian Prime. In Poe's opinion it's also the most beautiful, a lantern painted black and perforated in webs of tiny dots to form the shapes of Hosnian Prime's cities. He did it himself over the span of weeks.
It's different lanterns every time. Sometimes many, sometimes only a few. But different lanterns every time. He has plenty of people to grieve. ]
ii. June 8th - closed to Laura
[ He's out for a jog. Unarmed, unwary, listening to music. Poe almost thinks, as he gets hit across the head from behind, that he sorta had it coming.
After how many fights he got into during April, he definitely kinda had it coming.
Then he realizes something else is going on. His attackers have masks on, have shackles in their hands, and one of them snaps a collar around his neck from behind as he starts to get his bearings back. He whips around and punches that one in the face before two more are on him, dragging him face-down toward the ground while a third--a fourth, really--tries to snap the shackles around his wrists and behind his back. ]
iii. kidnapping aftermath - hospital
[ Poe is getting entirely too used to the hospital.
The first day he just sleeps. Drifts in and out, peripherally aware of visitors, saying things he won't remember the next day that either make no sense or too much sense. Nonsense declarations, confessions, mumbled apologies.
The second day he finally stirs out of the shadows of his dreams, most of which involve being beaten in the dark, some of them morphing into bar brawls or dreams of crashing ships. All in all, waking up is something of a relief.
The doctor comes in long enough to tell him he can be released later that day, once they finish their follow-up testing. Poe eases himself upright, glad he can do it without shooting pains, even if he still aches all over.
Yeah, shit hurts. But he's still alive. He's starting to wonder if he's unnaturally lucky or just unnaturally hard to kill. ]
iv. returning home
[ It's Finn who brings him back from the hospital, no surprises there. But Poe is restless in their little apartment, and he feels well enough to go out. He doesn't just do it, he wouldn't do that to Finn so soon after an undesirable disappearance for a week, but he does tell Finn exactly where he's going and promise to call when he gets there.
Which doesn't preclude Finn following him, necessarily, but Poe can't blame him for that either if it happens. He would do it himself.
Where he goes is the Perimeter Guard. He runs the track there, slowly, as bruised and battered as he still is. He goes to their fitness center and takes it easy on himself, as much as he ever does. He gets in some target practice. And finally, finally, when people start coming off-shift and he can go to the shuttle bay without getting much attention, he goes back to his mother's ship.
At first he just walks around it, running his hand over the metal, still bumpy and chipped in places from its time in the jungle. He climbs up to touch every crack and fissure in the hood, to run his fingertip along one sharp edge even though it leaves a shallow cut.
He climbs inside and just sits there, going over the controls, touching every button and switch even though none of them have power right now.
And then he closes his eyes and leans back in the chair and starts singing a Yavini lullaby. ]
v. wildcard
[ If Poe isn't training at the PG or jogging around town, he can usually be found running errands (very exciting), or visiting parks around Riverview. He's also joined the birdwatching and hiking clubs, though he's more of a solitary birder and goes out into the jungle around Riverview by himself to spot local critters he's never seen before. ]
what: Catch-all for June + kidnapping and fallout
when: June! And one trip back in time to Memoria.
where: All Around Riverview
warnings: Violence, probably torture, mourning/death/grief.
i. backdated to memoria
[ He needs this holiday.
Poe can admit that much to himself pretty easily. He needed Jim to find him in that bar, he needed Finn to drag him out of that last fight. He needs this holiday.
He's not sure how to express that at first. He hangs lanterns whenever he's asked or they're offered. He leaves small gifts for his friends. He realizes, with a pang of surprise, how few of them he has here.
But most importantly, at least to him, he goes to see the lanterns. He goes every time. At first just to watch, just to see the collective grief of Riverview being released onto the river. The different colors, the multitude of designs, the waterway transformed into a parade of ghosts in every hue and shape. It's beautiful. It hurts to watch, but it's beautiful.
After that first time, he crafts lanterns for every time after. One for Paige, one for her squadron. One for Holdo. One for D'Qar. One for Tallie, and one for every lost pilot whose name he can remember. One for each of the transports that got blown from the sky, and one for the dead of Crait. It takes him until the end of the month to craft lanterns for each of the planets and moons of the Hosnian system. The largest belongs to Hosnian Prime. In Poe's opinion it's also the most beautiful, a lantern painted black and perforated in webs of tiny dots to form the shapes of Hosnian Prime's cities. He did it himself over the span of weeks.
It's different lanterns every time. Sometimes many, sometimes only a few. But different lanterns every time. He has plenty of people to grieve. ]
ii. June 8th - closed to Laura
[ He's out for a jog. Unarmed, unwary, listening to music. Poe almost thinks, as he gets hit across the head from behind, that he sorta had it coming.
After how many fights he got into during April, he definitely kinda had it coming.
Then he realizes something else is going on. His attackers have masks on, have shackles in their hands, and one of them snaps a collar around his neck from behind as he starts to get his bearings back. He whips around and punches that one in the face before two more are on him, dragging him face-down toward the ground while a third--a fourth, really--tries to snap the shackles around his wrists and behind his back. ]
iii. kidnapping aftermath - hospital
[ Poe is getting entirely too used to the hospital.
The first day he just sleeps. Drifts in and out, peripherally aware of visitors, saying things he won't remember the next day that either make no sense or too much sense. Nonsense declarations, confessions, mumbled apologies.
The second day he finally stirs out of the shadows of his dreams, most of which involve being beaten in the dark, some of them morphing into bar brawls or dreams of crashing ships. All in all, waking up is something of a relief.
The doctor comes in long enough to tell him he can be released later that day, once they finish their follow-up testing. Poe eases himself upright, glad he can do it without shooting pains, even if he still aches all over.
Yeah, shit hurts. But he's still alive. He's starting to wonder if he's unnaturally lucky or just unnaturally hard to kill. ]
iv. returning home
[ It's Finn who brings him back from the hospital, no surprises there. But Poe is restless in their little apartment, and he feels well enough to go out. He doesn't just do it, he wouldn't do that to Finn so soon after an undesirable disappearance for a week, but he does tell Finn exactly where he's going and promise to call when he gets there.
Which doesn't preclude Finn following him, necessarily, but Poe can't blame him for that either if it happens. He would do it himself.
Where he goes is the Perimeter Guard. He runs the track there, slowly, as bruised and battered as he still is. He goes to their fitness center and takes it easy on himself, as much as he ever does. He gets in some target practice. And finally, finally, when people start coming off-shift and he can go to the shuttle bay without getting much attention, he goes back to his mother's ship.
At first he just walks around it, running his hand over the metal, still bumpy and chipped in places from its time in the jungle. He climbs up to touch every crack and fissure in the hood, to run his fingertip along one sharp edge even though it leaves a shallow cut.
He climbs inside and just sits there, going over the controls, touching every button and switch even though none of them have power right now.
And then he closes his eyes and leans back in the chair and starts singing a Yavini lullaby. ]
v. wildcard
[ If Poe isn't training at the PG or jogging around town, he can usually be found running errands (very exciting), or visiting parks around Riverview. He's also joined the birdwatching and hiking clubs, though he's more of a solitary birder and goes out into the jungle around Riverview by himself to spot local critters he's never seen before. ]
no subject
That's Poe, and they're trying to kidnap him. And she's well-aware there have been issues recently about kidnappings, about children suddenly vanishing. It makes her blood boil, and she climbs up the nearest tree as they try to wrangle him, carefully crawling to stand above them on a branch.
When she leaps down, she lops a man's arm off in the process, and he screams and collapses and writhes from the perfect wound. Laura doesn't lunge yet for the others, because they're in a perfect position to hurt Poe further, but she's hoping it was enough of a surprise for Poe to push them off.]
Leave him.
no subject
Two of them go for Laura.
That gets Poe back into motion. He gets one leg under himself and launches into a tackle, smashing into one guy's back and wrapping his arms around the guy's waist, bringing him down to the ground.
The one with the shackles still in hand lets out a piercing whistle, and Poe can't help thinking things are about to get a lot worse. ]
no subject
Which is all clearly terrifying for the kidnappers; nobody wants to deal with a feral weaponized child with claws in her fists. The only other logical option is for two of them to drag Poe off of their friend and press the cold steel of a blade against his neck.
"Stop now, or I'll slit his throat!"
Laura stops mid-step-to-launch, her eyes flicking in uncertainty from the captor's face to Poe's.
If Transigen's weapons program had worked, she would just keep going, keep killing without any concern for Poe's life. But the program did not work. And her hesitation is long enough for one of the men to lunge from behind her, snapping some sort of collar right onto her neck.
... Her blades immediately draw back into her hands.
The sensation of something being wrong in her body is immediate.]
no subject
(Do Cassian and Jyn know this kid? An odd thought to have in the moment.) ]
Let her go.
[ The knife is pressed hard enough against his throat that he can feel it cut into his skin as he speaks. Blood wells against his neck. He doesn't care. ]
You've got me, I'll go quiet, just let her leave.
[ He knows the odds aren't great. She took down one of their number. The others are trying to stop the flow of blood from the other man's shoulder.
The knife presses harder against his neck, and the well of blood turns into a trickle.
"We've got you both. We'll take you both."
He shoves Poe away and down onto his knees, as two of the cultists move to snap shackles around his wrists and Laura's, behind their backs. This time Poe doesn't fight it. He doesn't want to know what they'll do to Laura if he does. ]
no subject
Someone is performing some sort of last rite over the fresh corpse before they wrap him up and haul him after. Someone who must've been his friend spits at Laura, enraged by the loss. And all the while, Laura does what she can think to do — screams, thrashes, and causes a ruckus as loud as she can manage. They're being taken, and if someone can hear, can rush to help—
But then something hard swings and hits her upside the head, this time unavoidable, impossible to heal, and her bell is rung violently enough that it steals the air and voice from her. Something warm rolls down the side of her head, across her cheek. She blinks and struggles to stay conscious from it. The person almost goes for another swing, but the one in charge puts a hand out.
"Don't kill her, we need all the bodies we can get."
Laura sways in their grasp, looks to Poe, brow furrowed.
Looks bad, huh?]
no subject
[ "She's a fucking murderer," says one of his own guards. "Did you miss that part?"
Poe grits his teeth and lunges backward instead, cracking his skull against the speaker's nose. He sees stars, but it gets the guy to loosen his grip--
And this time a knife gets held against Laura's throat. Poe stills.
Definitely looks bad.
"You both come with us, now, quietly," says the one who gave the order to take care of Samuel.
"Do we really need them both, Michael?" The speaker is Poe's victim, nasal and congested, and Poe hopes fiercely that he broke the guy's nose.
"We need them both," Michael says, and Poe feels something slam against his jaw and knock him into darkness.
He comes around slowly, cold stone under his cheek, head pounding arrhythmically against the beating of his heart. His arms are still shackled against his back, and when he moves them he feels the tug of his collar tightening. ]
Laura....
[ That's right. They collared her, they hit her, they need bodies-- ]
Laura!
[ Poe lurches upright and half-strangles himself against the tether they've stretched from his bound hands to his throat. ]
no subject
"Apologies, my child, but we needed to make sure the power dampeners were in full effect for the likes of you." The guard says it, apparently softer than the others (but still too invested in the ridiculous notion of hosts to reside in). "The man you maimed will survive, if you're curious."
Laura ignores the guard, crawling as best she can. She meets the man's eyes, her angry panic dimming into a calmer, more controlled focus.]
Poe.
no subject
When he sees them bringing Laura in, he starts to get to his feet and gets them kicked out from under him.
"Don't be so soft," says Poe's guard to Laura's. "They need to be taught submission before they'll be ready to be hosts."
Poe glares up at the man before walking on his knees to Laura's side, caring less about dignity than about the fact that she's hurt. ]
Are you okay? [ Stupid question, good one Poe. ] What did they do to you?
no subject
They took me to a room and asked questions about me.
I did not answer any.
[So one of them smacked her across the cheek and sent her on her way.
Not the worst thing she's dealt with in life, but unpleasant.]
no subject
[ Still, he tries to get a better look at her head injury. There's bleeding, but not a huge amount. What he's more worried about is what's going on internally. He doesn't think these people would go through all the trouble of taking Laura alive just to kill her by accident, but he can't get the thought out of his head--that's what it would be. An accident. ] They feed you anything?
no subject
As she leans against the wall for support, closing her eyes for a moment to focus on not letting the room sway. When she opens them again, she seems at ease — or as at ease as one can be, when they're a cornered child made to be a weapon. She just wishes she could use her claws, just long enough...
She doesn't want to kill so many people. But if she has to, to protect herself and the people here...
She shakes her head at the inquiry.]
Not yet... They offered, if I answered.
no subject
We'll share, if they do later. How's that sound.
[ Meaning: If they feed me I'm giving it to you no take backsies. ]
What kind of questions did they ask you, anyway?
no subject
Age... Where I am from... My family...
I think they want to know what kind of people are — in our bodies.
no subject
In our bodies? You mean what kind of people we are?
no subject
They said we are vessels.
[She repeats with perfect word-for-word clarity:]
"The spirits of the First People will use us to inhabit the moon again. We would like to know the worthiness of the people we plan to give over to the spirits — so answer our questions, or we may find you dispensible."
no subject
Also, they didn't try to like. Sacrifice him to their egg or anything. ]
Well, that's great.
[ Be reassuring, Poe. ] We won't be here for long. We've got people on the outside who will worry about us.
[ Being helpless: his favorite thing. Poe tries to get more comfortable, but that's nigh impossible with the way he's tied up. ] Finn will know when I don't come home, and he won't stop until he finds us.
no subject
But the people out there, they know them. They care about them. She thinks, anyway.
She offers another tidbit of hope.]
... Linda will know, too.
no subject
Linda--that's the woman that takes care of you, right? Your social worker?
[ The title is new to him, but the purpose isn't. It's one of those things that is fairly universal. Go to a world without slavery, and you're going to need someone to watch out for the stray kids.
(He tries not to think about the worlds with slavery, the children like Rey or Finn or Cassian.) ]
See, we've already got a two-person army on our side.
no subject
Laura supposes she was incredibly lucky to have someone as kind as her.]
There will be more. There will be others looking...
[And as an example as to why, she glances out at the other frightened children curled up. There — aren't very many adults here. It's clear they've only just started dragging in older people, likely because... it was easier at first to take kids.]
no subject
[ Poe goes a little more grim as he follows her look, taking in the other kids here. There are so many kids here. He wants to help. He wants to bust them all out, or at least try and comfort them, but he's not really in a position to do it. He can't answer the questions they'll ask. He won't lie to them. And if he was a kid, trapped down here, taken and cuffed and beaten, the only thing he'd want to know is when he'd be going home. ]
These fuckers-- uh. These guys can't stay hidden forever.
[ And he can put himself in the way of any harm they plan to do to these kids. He can do that much for them. ]