revivalproject | [Event] The Messes We Get Into

Entry tags:

[Event] The Messes We Get Into

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, Alec Lightwood, Open
WHERE: Warren Gathering Area, Warren Maze Route
WHAT: Some Pre-Exploration Fretting, and some Maze Exploration
WHEN: November
WARNINGS: Dangerous traps in Maze thread

1. Touching Bases (Since Grass Is Unavailable) | Open

Octobers suck. Which of course went without saying. That had been true of this place since just short of the beginning of being the captive of aliens. They left Tommy's skin itching with nervousness.

He just wasn't used to it rolling over into the next month. He wasn't used to being forced to stay underground so long (okay maybe he was). He sure as hell wasn't ready for being down here and feeling so off and on sluggish (another lie, he was very used to it).

Okay, if he was honest, he was just mopey and annoyed and missing his brother and his boyfriend and his mentors and his list going on and on. Which was probably why, just about once every day, Tommy did his rounds. Literally running as fast as his unstable powers would allow so he could check in. Especially after his boyfriend disappeared on an adventure like an ass.

"Hey," he says, jogging up behind a familiar face probably not for the first time since they had come down here. He reaches out to pat a shoulder, not bothered if he got dodged either. "How you doing today? I'm thinking about making a stir fry from supplies. Rice or noodles your preference?"

2. Desperately Seeking Boyfriend and Failing In Style | Closed to Alec

The news comes on the network. There are doors open. Maybe. A chance to find someone important to him. Tommy doesn't even hesitate to make his plans. He doesn't check in with his brother, he doesn't let other people know that he's going. He just gathers what supplies he feels he needs and runs off full speed down the corridor. Bolts off at a jog, then a blurring blare of speed.

The problem is that he doesn't know the right way to got to find his missing friend, his missing boyfriend. Frustrated Tommy ends up sticking his head in a few different paths before running back to check the next. To look for any sign that the people he cared about had gone down one path or another. It's frustrating and his lingering fear and concern makes him indecisive.

Which leaves him freaking out when he hears something heavy and metal slamming back up the corridor. Cursing he races back up the path, past a figure standing there, and to the now closed bulkhead. Which he pounds on.

"Come on! What the fuck! Open up!"

Which of course it wans't going to do. And so Tommy just cursed again in frustration.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It isn't even just a preferred term for his brother. It's an accurate description compared to calling him anything else. But Tommy wasn't going to get into the discussion on it because honestly, he didn't pay full attention to it all.

But for a Minimoff, well, 'just language' is never that simple.

"Down and left. Down and left," Tommy mumbles to himself. Yeah, that sounded like something they could pay attention to.

"Come on then, let's see if we can find that!"

Good thing they don't really need to have that discussion. Or maybe any discussion really; they've got a pretty clear direction now. Or as clear as Alec's tracking can determine, and the tunnel they're in doesn't have any branches — as far as he's able to see anyway. But they're still near the entrance so maybe they just need to explore a little more.

"Yeah." Alec nods; movement is almost always better than standing around. "Let's go."

Too bad the tunnel right now doesn't seem eager to give them the chance to choose their directions. But damn, Tommy is buzzing with energy. He should just run this whole thing, but he can't leave the guy alone. Fuck.

"Yeah, going. Just... I don't know. You know any good paces to move quickly? I'll try and keep to your speed, but you can't keep up with me so it's going to be a whole thing. At least I can scout ahead."

Is that bad, or good? No choices also mean that there's no wrong choice, that they have to proceed as they can simply because they can't leave the path. That might not be bad, all things considered.

"I can move faster than you think." Faster than a human anyway, though nothing like a living lightning bolt. Alec stretches his arms overhead, shoulders rolling back as he lowers them again and pulls out his stele. The speed rune is relatively simple to draw, one Alec uses fairly often. He doesn't flinch when he burns it into his skin and stows his stele again. Caution is probably the better bet, in his mind, but he doesn't think anything he tries to say is going to make a difference to Tommy.

"Let's go."

Can he? Tommy will be the judge of that. He keeps walking.

"Show me what you've got, handsome."

Because he's going to modulate his own speed based on other people.

What is it with people on this planet and weird flirting-adjacent comments? Alec looks away at the whole handsome thing, uncomfortable. He doesn't know that he'll ever get used to it, and he doesn't know how to feel purple to stop without treading too close to things he doesn't want to talk about.

At least they have a task to focus on; that should help. He sets off at a rune-enhanced jog, a pace that he can sustain for a while. It won't be as fast as Tommy might be able to go but it's certainly faster than a regular person.

It's just Tommy and who he is. Is that really such a problem? And Tony he supposes. Maybe that Eddie guy. Billy. okay, so some of them just do it.

"Well damn, pretty boy, you're fast," Tommy says as he speeds up to keep pace with the Shadowhunter. "Useful magic that."

Maybe it's not a problem for most people. But Alec's not most people, and he's not going to explain that he's not most people either. Nothing good at all will come from that conversation. Better to just be uncomfortable, and hope Tommy gets distracted by something else. Considering that they have something of a goal, distraction shouldn't be too hard to accomplish.

"I know I am." Could move faster, but Alec doesn't want to tire out. A slower but sustainable pace is smarter. "It's not really magic."

"Oh come on. You drew something on your skin and now you're running pretty Olympic level and don't seem winded. So yeah, it's a form of magic, even if it's not your normal term for it. Maybe your world just has different sorts of magic."

And if it's not explanable by science (and sometimes if it is), it's magic to Tommy.

"Fine. We'll call it magic." Easier than getting into the semantics of it, and as far as he knows Alec's the only one from his home here anyway. With no one to criticize the incorrect term, should he care if it makes it easier for others?

Probably he should, says that little inner awareness that speaks with his parents' voices. Probably he shouldn't show off his runes either, or associate with Mundanes. He knows he's screwing up, and Alec pushes himself to jog a little faster. He knows he can't outrun that voice, but he can at least quiet it a little bit.

"Weird that this passage hasn't had any turn offs. Wonder what these tunnels are for in the first place."

As if there was anything Mundane about Tommy. Hell, from the point of view of some people in Alec's life, he might be considered a form of Warlock.

"I've wondered about that for a while," Tommy says. "The metal here, it can't be cut by normal means, or scratched. Only the Funfronds have tools to do it. It's super suspicious if you ask me. I suppose I could try breaking it with explosions, but I'm not sure I want to try that right now."

"No, I don't think an explosion in a closed space is a smart idea." Alec isn't even sure that he likes the idea of an explosion in an open space either. No, they know far too little to risk the reaction, especially with no easy route to escape. "I wonder though what made the door close behind us. Was it coincidence or by design?"

"Knowing the captors of our captors, design," Tommy grumbles in annoyance. "Atroma like to trap us. Though I don't know if they're consciously involved here. Not if Tony is doing shit with computers."

Because Tony is fucking bad ass like that.

"Hmmm..." Alec certainly doesn't have the depth of history of this place, but it still doesn't sit well with him. Especially if the door closing is by design. The question he doesn't want to ask is whether that design is to keep people out or to keep something else in — and in that latter case, are they now trapped in here with it, whatever it could be? It's not the most pleasant thought.

If only they knew why the tunnels were here! But it doesn't seem like they'll get an answer to that any time soon.

Who knew, maybe the thing they were trapped in here with was each other.

"Real vocal type, aren't you? Brooding. You'll fight right in."

It's a light joke because of course Tommy's a gabber. So it's going to be awkward while they're down here.

"Not much to talk about." Not that Alec was much for talking anyway. Tommy might call it brooding but really it was just introversion. Alec had been dropped into this strange world all alone; opening up to others wasn't his strong suit.

Especially not when he couldn't be himself anyway.

Jace would be better at this, his thoughts scream. He tries to push them away. Jace is better at everything; it's not a surprise by now.

Would he though? Can anyone say for certain that someone else would be better at the mess they were in? Who knew.

And then, of course, there wasn't time to consider that. There was a corner and...

"Door," Tommy observes as they approach it.

Alec, if asked, would absolutely say that he knew for certain. Fortunately — and thankfully — they'll avoid that unpleasant musing due to the inability to read each other's thoughts.

And, you know, the very real distraction of the door.

"That's weird." No real turns or branches in the tunnel, but a door. There could be a dozen reasons for it but it still makes Alec frown thoughtfully. Something about this entire tunnel experience seemed off. "I hope this one isn't locked like the one behind us. That'd lead to a grim end."

"The grimmest," Tommy agrees, slowing to a stop to consider. Then he takes a step forward.

The door slides open and with it he staggers a step. He can feel it go, suddenly. His powers, just gone. He gasps, hand to his chest.

"Fuckers."

Edited 2025-01-31 14:58 (UTC)

"Could be worse." Just dying? In the grand scheme of things, Alec thinks that'd be easy. But he probably has a unique viewpoint with the undead, and he doesn't think it's worth sharing.

What catches his attention though is how Tommy staggers. Alec is there in an instant, a hand hovering near his elbow to steady him if needed. "You okay?"

"Shit," Tommy hisses out as he pushes back to standing straight. "They took my powers out. Something about this area, it inhibits them. I'm just a normal guy right now."

With slightly less understanding of his limitations of course.

"Oh. That's... disturbing. That they can just do that."

Judging from Tommy's lack of complete panic though, Alec assumes its something that's happened before. And that it's not permanent, which means they just need to push through to the other side of whatever this is. Of course that's oversimplification of the situation, but sometimes the simplified view adds the most clarity.

"Well, I guess we should see why they wanted to give you a taste of normalcy, right?" The sooner they get through this, the better. Probably.

"Oh trust me, it's maddening," Tommy grits out between clenched teeth. He hates this part. Hates losing what makes him special.

"I hate these so called tastes, but yeah, we gotta go on," Tommy agrees, starting forward again. "When I meet whoever set these power dampening things up, I'm going to punch them SO hard."

"I wonder..." Alec pulls out his stele and activates the rune for soundless movement on his forearm. It flares with light as it always does, and his next step forward — deliberately hard — makes not a whisper of sound. He frowns. "You'd think it would affect both of us though, not just you."

Why would they just inhibit Tommy? Do the aliens maybe not want them moving so quickly through the underground space? Or is there something else at work here? Alec hates having so many unanswered questions but a glance at his companion tells him that asking will probably just annoy Tommy further. "Okay. We'll just move a little slower but as long as we're moving forward, then we're making progress. And getting you closer to your people."

Okay, no, that's weird. Tommy's eyes go wide. What the fuck? That isn't fair. Thankfully he doesn't whine over that fact.

"Such bullshit," he sighs. "I guess you're leading now. My reaction time is not amazing when I'm suppressed like this. I don't know how people manage to think so slowly and not get bored."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

test time?

works for me

Alec first? he'd still have any abilities and all that. just tommy hit by a no no wave

Guess I'll have to figure out what his challenge is going to be

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject