Stuck In The Wrong Place

[dammitmasa]

Same Old People, Wrong Destination

Today you get a message from the Malnosso. They’ve found a way to send you home. You’ll remember Luceti, but it’s a one way trip. You’ve said your tearful goodbyes and prepared yourself for the inevitable return home. One moment you’re in Luceti, the next you’re not.

But nobody ever said the Malnosso ever got everything right. Sure, you’re not in Luceti anymore. Yes, you’ve lost your wings and barcode. But this isn’t your world. It’s some other world and now that you’re cut off from the Malnosso, you have no hope of ever getting back home. Which means that wherever you’ve ended up, you’ll be spending the rest of your life there.

On the up-side, you’re not the only one stuck here. Someone else from Luceti, also alien to this world, is stuck with you. With the common bond of being strangers to this brave new world, it’s inevitable you’ll stick together. But for how long?

Considerations

1. You can go to any other world you want! It just can’t be one either of your characters are from. You can make up something like a fantasy world, something from a sci fi, or something just like the modern world. Or you can pick a canon neither of your characters belong to.
2. Ideally they should both be from different canons altogether. But this isn’t required!
3. There’s supposed to be no way back. Even genius characters ought to find it impossible. But does that mean all hope has to be lost? For those who have been gone from Luceti a long time, it might be fun if they were given a chance to go back to Luceti and be trapped again.
4. For an optional extra level of complexity, give consideration to your character’s appearance or to their abilities. Will they stand out in this new world? Will they have to hide what they can do? Or will they even be able to use their powers if the source of their powers is gone?


Prompts

1. Day One - You’ve both just arrived on this world and by chance, you run into each other. Two heads are better than one. Now you just have to figure out what to do next.

2. One Week Later - You’ve been in this world a week. Things are starting to sink in. So is the idea of being stuck here. It’s time to start thinking about the long term.

3. One Month Later - Now that you’ve both been here awhile, you’ve learned the ins and outs of your new home. You’re making a living and getting by, but you still think of home.

4. Six Months Later - It may not be home, but you’ve learned to be comfortable. By now, your relationship with your fellow Lucetian has certainly evolved as well.

5. One Year Later - It’s been long enough that you sometimes wonder if you ever did live in a place like Luceti. So what’s life for you like in this whole new world?

6. Other - Don’t be limited by the above. This could be two weeks later or twenty years later! Of course, you can always time skip once you’ve established what you want to do at one time period.

Comments

[generalflirt]

The way I figure it- [He says, as he unloads some phanny packs and little pouches/satchels onto the bed] I've got two days, so I can stay a day and a half, if that's alright by you.

[As he explained earlier, there's takeoff to be had not entirely long from now, and he needs to buy himself time to fly back too. He considers leaving any of his weapons in this room... he doesn't need more than one on him on this moon, but he'd feel awkward to leave either of the two guns on his person here. In the end, he puts his knives on the bed to lighten his load.]

[calmbeforethe]

[Really, part of the reason why this moon appeals to her is that it's quiet. He wouldn't need a weapon at all, and even if they did run into trouble - as unlikely as that is - she was more than ready to deal with that herself.

Still, she picks up the knives he lay down with a curious little smile.]

That's perfectly fine, yes. And I didn't know you still carried these knives with you. They look like they've seen quite a bit of action.

[generalflirt]

It's a rough 'verse out there, and maybe I just like the idea of your spirit saving my hide. [With a bit of a sideways grin. After all, she was just in the doorway, and now with one drop she's in his room and looking over a shared bit of nostalgia for them.]

[calmbeforethe]

[She carries the one she's holding with ease, spins it casually over her fingertips for a few seconds before she sets it back down.]

Well, I'm glad you put those lessons to good use. And perhaps carrying a part of me will remind you not to get into too much trouble while you are out there.

[generalflirt]

Oh, but of course. I can hear you scolding me through it at nights, sometimes.

[He folds his arms behind his head again, tilting a bit to one side with a smirk. If that's sarcasm or not, it's unclear]

[calmbeforethe]

As it should. [She nods in satisfaction, almost-smirking back.]

Now, are you hungry? Perhaps we can get some dinner, have a few drinks? [He was old enough for them, at least.]

[generalflirt]

[He walks closer to her, getting up right in front of her with a smile - an emboldened smile, even - and a nod, but then holds up a finger] Yes and yes, but one thing, first.

[calmbeforethe]

[He's grown taller, over the years, and that's not lost on her. But she's still got an inch or so over him, and that was if she wasn't wearing her beloved shoes. Currently she's in stylish black, heeled boots. She smiles down at him, amused.]

And what might that be?

[generalflirt]

[He laments having to go on tip-toes to do this - it makes him feel far less masculine than he'd like - but he does go up on tip toes to lean up and kiss her. Not really something demanding or passionate, just something as an outlet for the fixation he still has on her - something inevitable with her being the one closest to him in this verse. He's waited a few months to be with her, so he might as well go in quickly for something light]

[calmbeforethe]

[A distant part of her expected this; he'd been growing steadily affectionate as time passed, and he did have to tiptoe to reach her - which should have given her time to avoid the kiss. But it had still surprised her - which is why, after a beat, she's drawing back from him with a measure of caution.]

... Masaomi?

[generalflirt]

Ororo. [Oh balls. He knows that she feels a great affection for him, he'd just always sort of hoped she sensed his own sentiment and, well, at least went with it. Maybe returned it, he can't help but have hoped and maybe, just maybe, assumed. A little, on some level. To his credit, he keeps smiling as he lowers himself down to flat footed, but he looks sheepish.

He's sure this won't ruin them - they're both uniquely special to each other - but it's possible his bold step did make their two days more awkward depending on where this goes. Oh well.]

[calmbeforethe]

[She lets out a little sigh, but at least she's smiling. Even if it's a little bit confused, a little bit curious, a little bit hesitant, all at once.

She takes a step back, just to put some distance between them before speaking up,]

What was that for?

[generalflirt]

Nothing in particular, that I recall.

[of course, that can't be *all*]

[calmbeforethe]

You aren't one to do things without reason. [She gives him a meaningful look as if to say, try again and with the truth, this time.]

[generalflirt]

[He curses something under his breath before shaking his head. When he speaks next, it's with the sort of honesty he could only pull off with her, of anyone else in this 'verse (the sort of honesty which made him miss his best friends from Luceti, just a little)]

Been years since we've been here, Ororo. Been years since we've gotten all close, and there's no one in this whole, wide universe I love more than you. And really, I think I can say the reverse for you, hmm? [A beat] I've been getting bolder by months and years, and there's no way you haven't noticed me steeling my nerve until now.

[calmbeforethe]

[Well, he's got her there. She has noticed, though she had brushed it off more as one of his little quirks, the friendly teasing, the lighthearted flirting. She never thought more of it because, well, he had been - and still was, in some ways, - just a child to her. Apparently he wasn't, anymore.

The look she gives him next is one vaguely of apology, but also one of seriousness. He wanted to be treated like a grown man, then she was going to treat him like one.]

Oh, Masaomi. You know that there's no one in this universe that I love more than you. [She holds his cheek gently, smiling fondly, a little sadly.] But I believe you might have confused those feelings a little. You are very dear to me, yes, and there is no one who understands me the way you do, but I'm afraid I do not feel for you the way you think you feel for me.

[generalflirt]

[Oh, he figured that. Oh, he saw that one coming. To his credit, he doesn't immediately descend into being sarcastic or passive-aggressive, the way even two years ago he might still have. It's grown and matured by bounds if you ask him, and instead just just keeps a sobered smile on his face. That much sticks, because there's no smile which isn't isn't easier to do (even a light lie) than showing hurt.

Because it does hurt, even when you see it coming.

He puts his hand over hers, and with composure and that smile on his face, he considers for a moment how to respond for a spell before it comes to him]

This scene lacks poetry, don't you think? Things would be easier for the both of us if it just worked like that.

[calmbeforethe]

[Ororo's shoulders rise and fall with the sigh she releases. But she's got a sobered smile of her own, if only because the last thing she wants is for this whole thing to cause a rift between them. She meant it when she said he was the most important person to her right now, and it still hurt her to know that she was hurting him.

She glances out the window, at the softly falling snow and then back around the subtle, warm glow of the lights in his room. Seemed poetical enough to her.]

That depends on how you look at things, I suppose. [She glances back at him and speaks sincerely:] I am sorry, you know. Hurting you like this is the last thing I want to do.

[generalflirt]

A man like me, twice displaced, does get used to some measure of hurt. [and his grin does turn a bit more genuinely and he runs his thumb over the hand he's got his own on top of. Gently. Maybe there is poetry here, but it's just not the sort he'd love to have come to pass.] You, on the other hand, have only ever really brought me joy. [Sort of. Comfort, to be sure.]

Still, we are both young, we'll see what time brings, eeeh?

[And really, if this topic turns into drama and apologies more than this, he's not sure he can handle it without spoiling their reunion, and those don't happen enough]

[calmbeforethe]

The last thing I want is for you to get your hopes up, my dear. You've brought me nothing but comfort these last years. [She pauses and mirrors his grin a little bit - really, seeing him smile like that was a relief. She'd been (and still is) afraid that this would come between them.]

... But, you're right. We are young yet - at the very least, you are - and we shall see what time brings us. [She leans in to press a kiss to his forehead, gives his cheek one final, gentle pat before drawing away.]

[generalflirt]

You shouldn't oversell your age like that. [It's a light, chiding remark made with a smile, and a old hat. He lets her draw back, his arms falling to his sides with the smile still on his face. It does reach his eyes, even, surprisingly. It's his call if his gets his hopes up, and he decides he would like to]

[calmbeforethe]

[She's beginning to think she should say it more often, as if to remind him just how much older than him she was. But for now she just chuckles and starts for the door, but not before linking her arm with his - a familiar gesture, by now. And not one she's willing to drop, just because of this new thing between them.]

Well, then. It is a good thing I have you to remind me of that, yes?

[generalflirt]

[Quickly, he fetches the room's knob and then tosses a blanket over hsi stuff on the bed] Mmmhm. [He lets her lead him, keeping himself close and appreciating that she hasn't dropped this beloved gesture of theirs. Now he sort of regrets keeping both of his guns on him. It feels weirdly distant... Oh well]

Someone's got to, anyway.

[calmbeforethe]

[She gives him an indulgent smile while they head out of the room, down the hall. There's a quiet collection of shops and restaurants not far from the hotel, one where she decides to lead them to for the dinner she promised him.]

Now, what do you feel like tonight? Feel free to choose anything, bao bei, it will be my treat.

/replies with my new Older Masaomi Account...

[stillflirts]

[Quiet collection, but none of them impressive. General store, some sort of off world supplies place, and a few other places. still, she's treating, he's with her, and she just called him a very pleasant word he can remember he needed to ask someone to explain to him the first time he heard it.]

God's honest, what I wouldn't give for seafood. Bu kuh nuhn... I swear, when they were making these worlds, they forgot water.

[Or at least Oceans.

...Out here, anyway. There's probably straight up seafood on the central planets]