escordvi | [open] waste time with a masterpiece, don't waste time with a masterpiece

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[open] waste time with a masterpiece, don't waste time with a masterpiece

Who: Zack Fair & You
Status: Open
Where: Where these threads happen.
What: A catch-all log for closed threads for February! Includes a few Manta Board prompts as well. If you would like something specific please let me know.
Warnings: Tba.

[🐺 a. the edge of sleep: closed to crewmates & planned cr]

[Ever wonder what it's like to drown? It's a story of opposites. There’s peace in the water. Like it’s holding you. Whispering low tones to let it in. And every problem in the world will fade away... But then there's this thing. In your head. And it's raging. Lighting every nerve with madness. You have to fight. To survive. And all the while the question is before you. Have you had enough?

Zack can't breathe. He can't concentrate. All he can feel is the water cradling him like a vice and the strange invisable fingers around his throat that are both there and not there. He's drowning... He has to fight to breathe and swim. He has to fight to wake up.

This time he does manage to wake up. It's with a painful jolt, his body screaming in pain as he winces awake. His lungs gasping and his muscles screaming. The black mark on his hand pulsates with dirty murkiness, threatening to slide up his arm.

There can be a few places to find Zack when he wakes up. Either in his cabin aboard his crew's ship or on deck where he's failed to keep himself awake and has fallen asleep in a chair or even leaning against the wooden railing. Or at the worst passed out in some random storage room on the ship.]

[🐺 b. part of their world]

[When he's not suffering sleep deprivation Zack does manage to get some work done. Life goes on and he’s well enough during the day to go about his daily life. That means that Zack is getting back to work. And that means taking pictures of...]

Mermaids? Great, the last time I dealt with mermaids they wanted to drag me under the water.

[He sighs. But he clicks through his shellphone for the camera function and then nods.]

Let's just hope the mermaids we find today are a little less touchy-feely.

[🐺 c. wildcard]

[got something else? feel free to put that down here or find me at

michrure for some extra plotting.]

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[ A new month and still little more information has been found about the curse. Her efforts have shifted from looking for relics and tomes on the volcano to hunting the jellyfish for their eyes. Equally dangerous, but she never goes alone on those hunts. Also, she's not the one who's dying from a sleeping curse.

Ever since their little trip up the mountain weeks ago, she's been checking in on him. Today, she's here to deliver more of that angelic jellyfish salve. ]

Hello...?

[ Earlier, she'd sent a message that she was coming. He'd replied. Now that she's on the ship... she doesn't see him.

Rem begins walking to his cabin. ]

[Rem has been a life saver. She's been on the case since day one and Zack is grateful for that. And since that day in the mountains, it's been harder and harder for Zack to go out and do some searching of his own. With the lack of sleep catching up to him it's only getting worse too.

So when he fails to meet her on the deck like they discussed... Zack is too busy being passed out cold and face-first on the floor of his cabin with the door half open...

But at least he's not dead. Yet.]

[ Zack, as she's come to know, remains determined even in the bleakest of times-- as proved by their excursion up the mountain. But since remaining in contact then, she's realized that his resilience is but one facet of him, one that's overshadowed by the sheer friendliness the man exhibits. So, alarm bells are already ringing when he doesn't respond, and by the time she gets to his cabin and notices how the door only opens part way, those bells have all but turned into sirens. ]

...No. [ The first thing she thinks when she sees him collapsed is is it too late, and if it's not too late for how long has he been lying on the ground.

That he's not on his bed but on the floor immediately near the door tells her that he had tried to seek help, only to be overcome with the curse.

Rem drops to her knees next to him, hands going to his shoulders to turn him over, looking for breathing and feeling for his pulse-- weak, thready. ] Zack--... can you hear me? It's Rem.

[Luckily once he is turned over Zack lets out a wheeze. He seems to be breathing but it's haggard and weak. He coughs slightly and barely manages to ease his eyes open. His body feels heavy like it's waterlogged. And the bruise on his hand is turning darker and more purplish-blue.]

What ... Where... [Where is he? His eyesight is blurry.] Mom?

[......... WRONG.]

[ She'd laugh at being called "mom", if the situation weren't so dire.

As it is, Rem shakes her head, whispering a 'no' to him as she reaches for his other hand. Pressing a thumb to his palm, she spread out his fingers to better assess the area of the dark spot.

The mystery of this curse has vexed her for more than a month now, and little progress has been made. She's all but given up on attempting to explore the mountain for clues and information. Searching for angelic jellyfish to harest for their eyes is growing more difficult as the demand for them increases. The solution to the curse is a vague "black disk", but... what is it. Perhaps it's something she's been overlooking this entire time, a solution in plain sight.

...Sight?

As his eyes flutter open then close, she releases his hand to grasp his shoulder again. ] It's Rem. You know me, remember?

Hey, keep your eyes open. [ Like the last time she had assisted him, she props him up, as one would do for someone who's inhaled water. ] Look at me, I'm here, I am.

[He'll laugh about calling her mom later. Right now Zack is looking up at her with a bleary expression. As if he's still trying to wake up from his murky dream.

It's still so hard to breathe. He feels like he could slip back into that nightmare at any second. Floating... Down. Down.]

Forgot you were... coming out here...

[He tries to lightly joke. But it makes him wheeze again. All while trying to look at her. Wake up. But if she does look into his eyes she might notice something dark in his pupils. Like something is staring back at her and it's not him.]

I'm gonna pass out again...

[ Oh, yes, she notices something-- which immediately causes her alarm. Rem's free hand lifts to the side of his face, holding his head still as he struggles so she has a better look into his eyes. He can barely hold them open, though; and if she doesn't act quickly, then the brilliance of their blue-green color will be forever lost to the world, and his kindness will go with him.

But taking a second to look into them is all it takes to confirm that, indeed, a... creature is in there, hideous and inhuman, hide like shadow and teeth like razors, ready to devour all that is left of him. No wonder no one could find the demon before. It was with the victim all along, in a place close to their mind to manipulate their dream and have their presence masked by the victim's own soul. How is she going to get it out?

Perhaps she can attempt to harvest its soul, but would that cause damage to Zack's? What if she reaps the wrong one? Or what if doing so provokes the demon, making things worse? There's neither time nor saving grace of the sulfur from last time.

Her hand lips from his cheek, moving down to grasp his hand instead. Her fingers curl around his palm, tightly, securing the grasp when his own might fail. This time, instead of telling him to keep them open, she tells him, quietly: ] ...Close your eyes, Zack. [ Her voice is low and calm, tender in the way one might carry a promise. ] And think of... flowers.

[ The knowing tags of her world carry someone's name, but oftentimes, people would write other things upon their backs, such as the flowers with which they'd like to be buried. When all else about them is forgotten, they can rest in peace, assured that their name will be forever tied to a bloom that will live on beyond their time.

So many times, their wishes would never be fulfilled. Citizens who were burned would be buried with poppies to mask the scent of burnt flesh. Children would be in the shade of coral bells and lantern trees. Battlefields would be covered in spider lilies, making the great white wheat fields turn red.

Zack needn't answer her request for flowers-- it is merely something to give him to think about, if this is to be it. And even if he names a flower, she won't remember him saying it...

Rem dips her head. ] It'll be okay.

[Rem will be right when she manages to see the flicker of a demon's visage deep in his gaze. Black and withered and sneering at her for a brief second before Zack has to blink. Stranger still, Rem might feel a rumble of something like a clawed creature's roar that echoes inside of her ears just for a brief second. It's gone in an instant, replaced with Zack's laboured breathing.]

Flowers...?

[He tries to focus on that image in his mind instead of dark swirling waters. He thinks of the sweet fragrant flowers Aerith would attend to in her church. A field of wildflowers of all colours. And in turn, it makes him think of the peaceful feeling that used to give him when he visited her there.

It clears his mind enough for him to remember a detail...]

In my dreams... There's always something about a dark cloud hanging over the water. Or a thundercloud. I can't tell. But it's always there floating over the water like I can reach out and grab it or something.

[ Her eyes widen as she hears the roar within her mind, but she remains careful not to startle. No sudden movements, now. She doesn't want to jostle him. ]

Oh...? [ She inquires gently. Rem's hand takes his in hers, a touch neither too demanding nor too limp. All she wants for him is to feel secure. ] No chance of turning your dream into a sunset, is there. [ As she's not been cursed, she has no idea how lucid one is during these nightmares.

...It's not fair. The world doesn't deserve to lose him.

...

Class Zero's mother always judged that the world would not take her children before their time. And it was only her children that had that privilege.

But why not others? Why can't she use that same, exclusive power on a stranger from another world, in another world, away from her or any rule that forbids using it unless one is allowed? And even then, why only "mother", why only her children? Zack is no less deserving of this fate than any number of times they've died.

Does she dare-- she'll have to make a decision soon, it seems. ]

[She's a good person. Even now, without knowing Zack all that well she's doing her best to just be there for him. To help somehow, even if these nightmares feel so damn bleak. He hopes that if he makes it out of this he'll have the chance to get to know her better. Be a friend.]

Yeah. Looks like... No sunsets.

[Honestly, he'd rather die under a clear blue sky.

As he thinks about that Zack suddenly feels his eyes get heavy. His body feels weak again. His thoughts spin. A sharp pain jolts through his marked hand and feels his body want to give up. He suddenly feels himself drifting... His eyes roll to the back of his head. Passing out once more. The nightmare comes quickly this time. Blackness and the void of water surrounding him once again. He tries to swim. He tries to breathe. But he can't...

He's drowning. He's drowning!! And his body looks like it's doing just that. Twisting and thrashing, lungs unable to get air!]

[ On her end, she sees a man whose eyes slide shut, whose breathing becomes shallower and quieter with each passing moment. It's only because she's sat with victims and they've told her of their experiences before being brought back from the precipice with smelling salts that Rem knows what else he might be enduring.

And it's only because she's died before that she knows what it's like in general. A sense of loss. Of the world growing dark, of one's body growing cold, of not knowing anything else but that, and of things left undone, words left unsaid.

As he fades, she waits... And waits. And waits more, because she must time this just right. And if she times this just right, perhaps the demon will wish to leave because it's taken its victim, and if that happens, and maybe then she can extract it herself--

There's no going back from this.

Rem closes her eyes, beginning her spell, one that will ensure he returns to life. And when that's in effect, she'll begin her attempt at extracting the demon itself.

He'll awaken to her hand hovering over his face, fingers tense as if she's attempting to pull something from him. As soon as he blinks open, her hand retracts. ]

--Zack?!

[What is it like to drown? It's strange because there's peace in the water. Like it's holding you. Whispering low tones to let it in. And every problem in the world will fade away... It cradles you even if you're fighting for every breath you can grab. It's like it's gently asking you... Have you had enough?

Images flash in his eyes of a clear cloudless sky and blue as far as he can see. There's the sound of gunshots, maybe. That telltale echo of banging and explosions that are so familiar and far away. Then he sees faces that slowly flicker and fade. Sephiroth. Cloud. Aerith. Tseng. Mixed with new faces that do the same thing. Miriam. Freminet. Red. Nimona. Xenk. G'raha.

And then it's just ... nothing. It seems he's had enough. Zack's breath leaves his lungs. He can finally let go this time.

... Yet something pulls out of his chest like a searing dagger getting pulled out of a wound. He suddenly jerks painfully, his lungs seizing wide with painful air. Somehow he gets pulled back. From. Where? He makes a strangled noise.

Something is lashing in his chest. It feels like claws. Like it's getting pulled out of his body?!]

...?! Get it... Get it out?!

[ Relief at him living again gives her all the motivation she needs. By the time he speaks up, she's ready-- and she feels the demon as acutely as she can feel Zack's own soul. All she has to do is refine her grasp of it, make sure she pulls the demon's phantoma, and only the demon's--

Her fingers tense, then constrict one by one as if slowly grasping onto a braided rope. And then, inhaling sharply, she pulls as if tearing through the air.

The demon's soul rips from his chest...

...Well. A part of it, but ~a win is a win~, and she grasps it in her hand, taking half of it for herself!! Rem doesn't know exactly what it might feel like to have half your soul torn from you, but, Crystals, she hopes it hurts the demon. She hopes it hurts it enough to scream. ]

[And there is a scream- A loud curdling unknown one that sounds entirely inhuman. The sleeping demon curls and yanks in her grasp and tries to sink its jagged claws back into whatever it can of Zack's body and soul. Yet, the following snap is gone as fast as it comes. The demon snaps in half like a piece of shredded cloth.

Zack instantly gasps like a fish out of water and cannot get air in his lungs for a fraction of a second. He slides back on the ground until his back slams against the wall of the cabin and he grabs his chest at his heart like he's just been stabbed.]

What the hell did you-

[He's not angry. He is just confused and unsure what just happened to him. He can barely tell where he is right now, it's like standing between a cloud and nothingness and something real. Was he just ... Was he dead? Again? And revived again?]

Rem? You did something, what did you do?

[ There it is, his gasp for air, signifying that it worked, that he's alive, and Rem doesn't know whether to laugh or cry that it worked, that she timed it right--

That he's not dead, that he can be remembered, that today will not be the day that his friends and loved one will say goodbye. ]

I-- you-- [ Ignore the mist in her eyes, she's actually really relieved! There had been a part of her that worried about how that particular power of hers might be limited in this one. ] Zack, you...were gone. I brought you back. [ She fumbles over her words, looking over him worriedly.] Are you okay? Are you tired? The demon-- I think half of it's gone.

How...?!

[That's the word that spills from his mouth first. It's confusing because this isn't like being knocked out and brought back by the burn of a phoenix down. This is something else. It's like he was gone for a second only to be pulled back.

It takes him a moment to cool down, his breathing evening out before he shakes his head gently.]

You seriously brought me back. Whatever you did, Rem... It must have worked somehow.

[Or partially. He can still feel something sick and heavy inside of him. But this is already an improvement. Death aside-]

Thanks... I think I'm okay. Or at least, this has bought me some time.

It's an ability I have. [ She answers helplessly, because she doesn't have any other better explanation other than "I have this power". And, Crystals, is she grateful that she still has it, even in this world. That's a good thing. She can... she can use this. She can help people. She must help people.

Rem brings a hand up to wipe at the corner of her eye, giving him one last, clinical look. Is he fine? Really? Dying can't be easy-- even for a short amount of time. Brushing against oblivion is a terrifying concept to experience. ]

Don't move too quickly, okay? When I found you, you were already collapsed. We should find someone to stay with you.

[Zack shakes his head weakly.]

Whatever that ability is... I'm glad you were in the right place at the right time with it. I owe you.

[There's a sad gratitude in Zack's tone because he's been here once already. Walking a thin line with death isn't fun and doing it again leaves him feeling strange. All the things he could leave behind, all the people he could hurt if he died again... No, can't let that happen again. He really owes Rem for this.

He sits straight, trying to ease the weak feeling form his shoulders.]

I feel like I just got hit by a truck but I think I'll be okay. I'll grab Cloud.

[And tell absolutely no one what happened.]

[ She's helped someone.

She's actually helped someone live. It seems she has power that is worth something in this world. ]

Wh-- hey, hey. [ He's just come back to life and he wants to stand up and go get someone?! NO SIR, NOT NOW. Rem reaches out to his shoulder. While she's wary of telling him to rest given the nature of the curse, she wishes to at least keep him sitting. ]

He's on this ship? We've met. I'll get him.

[At least Zack knows when he shouldn't argue with a small girl that's telling him to sit the heck down. So, he does.]

Alright, alright. Okay. Thanks.

[And with that Rem will head out to grab Cloud. Zack will be able to rest peacefully for the first time in a while tonight. The nightmares will be fewer and far between. But that's a blessing to him right now.]

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[open] waste time with a masterpiece, don't waste time with a masterpiece

wildcard as discussed, dated to whenever

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