at the mercy of fate and fortune

{ muselist | amy }

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 19:37:57 GMT

ACTIVE

daisy johnson / quake

{AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.}
chuju » open post

Daisy Johnson. Skye. Quake. After a lifetime of searching, she is finally certain of who she is. An agent of SHIELD, dedicated to protecting all who need it. An Inhuman with the power to manipulate and enhance vibrations to the point of even causing earthquakes and shockwaves. A strong, powerful woman who will keep running at brick walls until she solves whatever problem faces her. Daisy is all of these things, but she is also compassionate, curious, and more than a little stubborn. She's also pretty used to weird shit in her life: superpowers, robots, aliens, time travel, it's all just another day on the job.

She's had a lot of names over the years, but who she is has never really changed. She's a girl who grew up alone, wondering why no family ever wanted her, only to join one of the world's elite spy agencies and learn that the truth was so much more than she imagined. She's someone who cares deeply about people, who will fight to her dying breath to protect what she believes in, and who is stubborn enough to never let anyone stop her when she puts her mind to something. She's a woman who knows the value of family, be they by blood or by choice, and both because of and in spite of all she's been through, SHIELD will always be her family.

! Available for canon points after Season 3. Usually played during or post-s7.

julia wicker

{THE MAGICIANS}
ourladytrees » open post

Julia is a perfectionist and overachiever, a headstrong and passionate young woman who is used to getting what she wants and willing to attain it at any cost. Her high intelligence only makes her all the more dangerous, as she will often disregard her own safety (as well as those of others) to reach her goals. She has the ability to rationalize things with cold logic that has, at times, pitted her against her allies. But despite her ambition, she is a very kind and caring person whose empathy and compassion for others led her down the long, winding path from hedge-trained magician to becoming an actual goddess.

This canon and Julia's backstory, in particular, includes many subjects that may be sensitive to some. Please review these before playing with this character.

! Available for canon points during seasons 3-4 and post-s4 AU.

rogue / marie

{X-MEN FILMS}
theycalledmeacurse » open post

Rogue possesses the ability to absorb the memories, abilities, personality, and outward physical characteristics of other sentient beings through skin-to-skin contact. No upper limit has been determined for the number of beings she could simultaneously imprint. Upon absorbing another's memories, Rogue also gains any associated emotional responses. Rogue is typically able to control such emotions, however absorbing psyches more powerful than her own results in Rogue’s psyche being supplanted for a short time. After the immediate absorption wears off (generally for every 1 second she touches someone, she is able to use their abilities for 60 seconds), a copy of the other person's psyche is left in Rogue's mind; these psyches are fully formed, and Rogue is able to communicate with the ones who aren't hostile or overly resistant.

This southern belle is sassy, stubborn, and strong-willed, refusing to be pushed around or bullied by others. She’s fiercely protective of people she cares about, as well as those who just need protecting -- she will come to the aid of anyone in need, even if it looks to be a losing battle, because it's the right thing to do. She's a passionate person, willing to risk everything for her 'family' and those that need her help, and is most certainly the adventurous sort, willing to do things she’s never done before and go places on her own.

Rogue feels very guilty when people she cares about are hurt by her powers, and grieves greatly for those she was forced to kill during her years of captivity as part of the government's experimentation. She frequently has nightmares that have been 'inherited' from others, including Magneto from during his time in Auschwitz and Logan from his experiences at Alkali Lake. If she doesn't make an effort to stabilize herself mentally, these stressors can take a toll on her ability to keep the psyches in her mind at bay, leading to rare periods where the stronger psyches supersede her own.

She can be a little reckless, not fully considering all the repercussions of her actions, though this recklessness only extends to herself; she wouldn’t do anything to overtly put someone else in danger. Running is her first instinct when she feels unwelcome and unwanted. Given her history, it’s quite easy for her to fall into this state, and she’s no longer every fully assured she’s been accepted anywhere without proof through touch.

! Available in the Days of Future Past era or other canon points by request.

padmé amidala naberrie

{STAR WARS}
senateur » open post

"To those who act as agents of chaos, I say this: I stand resolute and unyielding. And if you strike my voice down, know that a chorus of thousands shall rise up in its place, for you have no dominion over the righteous. We are the defenders of truth."

Padmé Amidala Naberrie, commonly known as Padmé Amidala, is a human female politician who became a leading voice for peace and diplomacy during the final years of the Galactic Republic. Rising to galactic prominence after the Trade Federation invaded and occupied her homeworld of Naboo, she emerged as a leading member of the Galactic Senate during the Clone Wars.

Amidala was elected Queen of Naboo at the age of fourteen, soon after which she was forced to contend with the Trade Federation occupation. Her resolve to liberate her people led to the removal of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum from office, the election of Naboo's Senator Sheev Palpatine—secretly Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith—to the chancellery, and the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the unraveling of the Republic. Upon the conclusion of her two terms as queen, Amidala continued her career in public service as Naboo's representative in the Galactic Senate.

At the height of the Separatist Crisis, Amidala became the target of an assassination attempt due to her opposition to the Military Creation Act.

! Available primarily from post-Episode III AU.

REQUIRES REVIEW

alice abernathy

{RESIDENT EVIL FILMS}
alicefelldown » open post

Alice is a former security officer for the Umbrella Corporation, the largest and most powerful commercial entity in the world. As the head of security at a secret high-tech facility called The Hive, a giant underground laboratory developing experimental viral weaponry, she was present for an accident that unleashed the T-virus, which killed infected humans and revived them as the undead.

Since the T-Virus escaped the Hive, the world has been decimated by it, the vast majority of the world's population dying and the world following suit. She has tirelessly worked to take down Umbrella and find some way to stop the virus once and for all. Through this campaign, she has made a number of friends and allies, many of whom have died over the years. She misses each of them dearly.

In Apocalypse, Alice discovered that she had been genetically altered by exposure to the T-virus. Alice is explained to have adapted to the changes from the T-Virus, merging human characteristics and enhanced strength, speed, and agility as well as a limited degree of superhuman healing. These abilities are taken away years later in Afterlife and returned to her at the end of Retribution.

! Available for canon points between Apocalypse and Retribution.

buffy summers

{BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER}
first_summers » open post

Buffy Summers was called as a Vampire Slayer at age 15, and since then she has saved the world… a lot. She is a very unorthodox slayer; she was not trained by the Council to put her destiny before all else, and therefore refuses to give up her normal life. She uses her emotions to help her fight, and has friends who help her save the world, instead of depending on only herself. It is perhaps these differences from the typical slayer that has kept her alive for so long; in truth, she's one of the longest-lived slayers in history. But at the same time, she feels even more alone when she is with them, because none of them will ever understand what it’s like for her. That’s the price of being a Slayer.

She has always been very unlucky with the men in her life. Her father took himself out of her life when she was a teenager, Angel left her because their love was ultimately doomed, Parker used her for a one-night stand, Riley couldn't handle her being the Slayer, and Spike... Well, Spike was complicated. Because of this, she doesn't have the best confidence in her own ability to have a decent, healthy relationship, and she's somewhat wary of trusting men with her heart.

Buffy no longer feels as close to her friends after the events prior to the battle with the First, when even her sister chose to side against Buffy. She sees it as the ultimate betrayal; they turned their backs on her the moment she failed to be their perfect hero and it will take a lot for her to truly forgive them.

! Available during or after Season 7.

elena gilbert

{THE VAMPIRE DIARIES}
otrazhenie » open post

Elena is a Petrova doppelganger, and her blood has been and can be used in a variety of spells, as well as to transition werewolves into vampire hybrids. When Elena was 18, she died and was turned into a vampire against her will, and when she was 20 she took the Cure for Vampirism. Because of this, she is entirely human again but can no longer be healed by vampire blood, nor can she be turned back into a vampire.

Fiercely loyal to her friends and family, she will do anything to keep them safe – she’s traded her freedom and life away, betrayed allies she'd made deals with, and put her own wants and needs after theirs. It doesn't matter if she and her friends argue, she always makes an effort to reconnect and repair any damage, no matter how much it takes, and she stands by them through thick, thin, and all manner of supernatural transformations and incidents. Elena isn't the type to give up - on people or seemingly hopeless situations, especially if it involves someone she loves. She'll follow every course of action possible, even if she has to do it on her own, and she won't stop looking for new possibilities if the first options don't work. She's also stubborn and won't take crap from anyone, or be bullied or told what to do, even by a powerful supernatural creature. She'll argue and fight back and dig her heels in no matter who she's up against.

Elena has a tendency to make bad choices, especially in dangerous situations that involve the safety and well-being of her friends and family. She will disregard her own safety and even sacrifice her own life without a second thought if she believes it to be in the best interest of her loved ones. While it is a strength that she cares deeply for people, sometimes she cares too deeply. When the people who mean the most to her die, she absolutely falls apart. Guilt is another thing that Elena feels deeply – for her part in the suffering of others, for the people she killed while her humanity was turned off, for enjoying a summer of happiness while her best friend was (secretly) dead. The list goes on and on, and it can be easy for people to use that guilt against her.

! Available as Cured Human or Vampire.

Base layout by tookthestars

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psl.

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 04:02:28 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

...is only the beginning.

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psl.

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 02:42:12 GMT

Posted by: senateur

the queen's bounty.

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psl.

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 21:15:18 GMT

Posted by: otrazhenie

the vampire and the direwolf.

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psl.

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 16:21:20 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

both beautiful and broken.

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psl.

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 03:37:19 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

the mutant and the machine.

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{ open post | 2018 }

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 03:59:32 GMT

Posted by: taintedcrimson

{ m u s e l i s t }

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{ muselist | amy }

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 03:20:36 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

( I NEED A HERO TO SAVE ME )

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「 жулик 」

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 03:49:23 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

"Mission report."

How many times has she listened to those succinct explanations of events, delivered dispassionately and with no sign of the man beneath the soldier. And if ever there was even the slightest hint... It wasn't until two years into her assignment that Rogue first encountered that particular Winter Soldier. There was something more together about him, a ghost of humanity in amongst the wreckage of a mind scrambled and taped back together with lies. He wasn't just a shell filled in with HYDRA's brainwashing, he was... broken.

Broken but not irreparable.

That was the first time she ever lied to her superiors. While every inch of her loathed HYDRA from the moment they recruited her, she had played her part to perfection, calling on every mental resource she had to evade their detection methods, to make them believe she was devoted to the cause. There was no other way to survive, and— She wanted to survive. She wanted to live, to somehow find the peace that had been taken from her. She wanted to have a home again. But the only way to do that was to become what they wanted.

Interrogation was her main role, along with occasional handler for some of the assets. Never the Winter Soldiers, they were far too volatile to be handled by anyone but the upper echelon, but when one of them fractured—

He was saying things unrelated to the mission. Pieces were falling that weren't part of the puzzle. Examine his mind, find the fissures, tell them what to fix. It should have been so easy. But when she'd touched him, there had been a faint, fuzzy memory of a scrawny kid with a thick New York accent, a friend lost long ago. Someone he would have died to protect.

It's that glimpse of humanity that is her downfall. There was no possible way she could have kept her distance from him after that. Someone she'd talked her way into working with him again, time after time, one mission after another, always peering into his mind to look for breaks in the facade. Unfortunately there was no way to avoid the wipes, not without drawing attention to what she was trying to do, and not when she couldn't be certain that he himself wouldn't notice that something strange was going on. But she did manage to skip a few, to let him linger in those memories a little longer, dredge up a few from the silt at the bottom of his mind. For each memory he found, she gathered up the pieces and kept them safe for him, biding her time and watching for any opportunity to get them out of this hell. To give him a chance at becoming himself again.

Fifteen years of being frozen and thawed every few weeks didn't make it easy.

And then Alexander Pierce had taken him to DC and everything had... accelerated. HYDRA exposed, the Soldier on the run, and the man who had once been that scrawny kid— She felt no remorse as she killed the agents who kept her prisoner, disappearing the way they'd taught the Soldier. She might never have been in the field in this world, but she didn't need that experience when she had the memories of others, imprinted psyches that were more killing machine than man. Half a decade of war was a hard thing to forget, at that.

It wasn't hard to find that kid from Brooklyn, the one who shouldn't be the way he is, who shouldn't be here now. But he is and he's the catalyst for all of this, so she watches him, waits for an opening, and then slips a folded piece of paper into his jacket pocket as she passes him on the street, so many weeks after the entire world changed.

I can help you find him. 2300, Central Park.

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{ Hold My Heart | Phil Coulson }

Mon, 26 Feb 2018 22:09:29 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

I don't need a man to hold my hand
I just want one to hold my heart

Agent Marie D'Ancanto.

She hasn't been able to stop looking at the badge since she get it three hours ago, the thing making so many trips to and from her pocket that she's surprised the case isn't showing more wear yet. It's silly, she keeps telling herself, it's the exact same thing every time, and yet... Each time she still reads the words with the same awe and fascination, unable to believe that the day she's worked so hard for is finally here. All those months of training, the long hours of evaluations, leading to this day.

Perhaps even more awe-inspiring at times is just how many people have welcomed and congratulated her. The family Coulson had talked about has truly welcomed her into the fold and she can't imagine her life without them now. She can't imagine her life without him and everything he's done for her.

Checking her reflection one last time in the mirror, she straightens out the skirt of the dress she's chosen for this special occasion before reverently slipping the badge into her purse and heading down the hall to a particular office door. With a light knock, she leans around the corner of the frame, hoping that her dinner companion isn't still buried under a pile of paperwork.

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{ That Southern Charm | Leonard McCoy }

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 06:36:23 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

Rogue could never have imagined this was how her life would turn out. She was supposed to have had a happy life after the Sentinel War - they'd reset the timeline, she was supposed to forget her years of government-sanctioned torture and have a chance to live again. Instead, that damn portal had picked her up and deposited her on a random planet that was apparently incredibly far away from Earth, and the locals had dropped her in a jail cell until they could decide what to do with her. (She was fairly certain the decision would have been swift death if her powers had been active, but as far as she could tell, the portal had knocked them out at least temporarily - a good thing, as she'd lost her gloves.)

Once the locals had figured out she wasn't going to rain terror and destruction down on them, they'd let her out of the cell at least, though she'd still been watched like a hawk. They'd tried to give her new clothes, but considering how... revealing their clothing was, she'd chosen to suffer through the heat and the memories the grey jumpsuit brought on rather than risk her powers acting up and hurting someone.

It had been sheer luck that the Enterprise had happened to stop by and caught wind of a woman falling from the sky. From what she'd been told, it wasn't the first time they'd encountered someone from another time, and while they were still a bit wary of her, she'd been offered a ride back to Earth. Eventually.

She'd been taken straight to medical to be looked over by the one the captain had affectionately referred to as "Bones", a man by the name of Leonard McCoy with a southern accent that reminded her of home. There was no fondness in her for doctors or biological scientists of any sort these days, but McCoy had set her at ease right away, calming her nerves over being in the medbay by regaling her with stories of his days studying at Ole Miss.

That must have been where it started, that growing fondness for the grumpy chief medical officer who could rant for days about all the reasons he hated space travel. She enjoyed it when he was grumpy, finding the same amusement that she had always found in Logan's sour moods, and she genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. He made her forget all the terrible things in her life and... he gave her hope for the future that was still so unclear. Because while he knew so many things about her -- her mutation, that she'd survived horrible circumstances during the war -- he didn't press her for information that she wasn't ready to share. He'd seen the scars on her back but hadn't demanded the story of their creation. He made her feel safe and accepted, and reminded her of what friendship could feel like.

So she'd started spending more of her time around him, in between learning more about this universe and time that were foreign to her and practicing with some of the security personnel to get back into shape. The latter was why she'd ended up in the medbay that morning, having fallen during a sparring match with a particularly large crew member and hurt her left wrist. She was sitting on one of the beds as a nurse scanned the injury, sleeve pulled up far enough to reveal the tattooed M4867 on her skin, and half dreaded when her favorite doctor would arrive and the scolding that was sure to follow.

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Gobble Gobble! 2017 Edition

Wed, 15 Nov 2017 22:58:01 GMT

Posted by: taintedcrimson

Happy Thanksgiving

It's that time of year! Whether you're from the United States or have just seen it in movies, everyone knows that Americans take Thanksgiving very seriously. We consume copious amounts of food, watch a lot of football, and kick off the insane shopping season with Black Friday. It's also a time of family and togetherness, which is better for some than others. What sort of holiday will your muse have?

Directions
1. Comment with your character, series, preferences, etc.
2. Roll a number between 1-12 for a prompt.
3. Reply to others and play out the scenario!

Prompts
1. Not Home for the Holidays – You’re stuck on the other side of the world, or on a different world altogether. Do you mope about it or make the best of the occasion?

2. Road Trip – The snacks are packed and you’re ready to go to grandma’s house. But what happens when you lose GPS signal and get lost in the middle of nowhere or the car breaks down?

3. Stuck in the Airport – You’re snowed in and the hotels are full of fellow delayed passengers. Why don’t they make these chairs more comfortable for sleeping in?

4. Meeting the Family – It’s your first time meeting your significant other’s family, be they biological or chosen, and you’re nervous as hell about it.

5. Avoiding the Family – You’re obligated to go home for the holiday, but there’s only so much you can take of your family. Go for a walk, stop by the bar, whatever it takes for a little peace and quiet.

6. Friendsgiving – You’re spending the holiday with your chosen family. Are you hosting the event, or just bringing an extra bottle of wine?

7. The Dinner – What’s on the table? Is it set for two or twelve? Can you make it through the meal without someone causing drama?

8. Slaving Over a Hot Stove – Do you have to make the entire meal yourself or have you enlisted someone’s help with the mashed potatoes?

9. Burned the Turkey – Well, the main course is a little blackened. Time for Chinese food, or is it pizza this year?

10. Game Time - Football is a Thanksgiving tradition. Are you watching the game on TV, or out playing one of your own?

11. Thanksgiving Day Parade - Who doesn't love a good parade? Are you in it or just watching from the sideline?

12. Black Friday – Are you out fighting the crowds for the best deals? Or are you behind one of the counters, stuck in the annual retail holiday hell?

13. Write-in Option – Is there something we missed? Is there another scenario you want to play out, or would you like to roll the dice again? Go for it!

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Taking the Chance [For Damon]

Wed, 28 Jun 2017 05:26:14 GMT

Posted by: otrazhenie

[ The smallest chance at the perfect life with you is infinitely better than an immortal one without you. Those words had stayed with her through everything, a proclamation that wrapped around her heart like a blanket and kept her strong through the long days and hard times. There had been a lot of those after Jo and Alaric's wedding, when she'd doubled up on courses and done everything possible to graduate college early. It hadn't been easy, but it'd been necessary - Stefan hadn't been wrong about them needing to get away for Damon's safety.

Leaving behind her friends hasn't been easy, the found family who meant the world to her. But with Jeremy and Ric no longer in Mystic Falls, and everyone else beginning new lives or finally picking up the pieces of their old ones, there really wouldn't be a better time. And medical school was the perfect excuse to take off and cut her ties with the town.

It's still hard to believe that things have fallen into place so... perfectly. She'd been accepted to her first choice of schools and Damon had taken care of finding them a place to live. It had come together so quickly, she was almost sure he'd planned it in advance, and when they pull up in front of a building that had a bar on the ground level-- ]

I can't believe you remembered this. [ That 'game' they'd played before she'd taken the cure, when he'd asked where she would be in five years. It isn't Tribeca, but it just might be better. ]

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Figuring out how to carry. [For Sam Wilson]

Sun, 11 Jun 2017 19:51:38 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

[ Eight months in this world and she's still trying to adjust. Still trying to come to terms with the fact that she's all alone here, that when she helped save her world and stop an apocalyptic war from ever starting, she didn't get the reprieve of starting over the way everyone else had. No, she'd been picked up and dropped into this world that is like her own but so completely different. No mutants, no X-Men, no one who remembers the war that haunts her every moment of every day.

SHIELD picked her up shortly after her arrival, the portal not exactly unnoticeable to people who knew what to look for. They offered her help, a job, and she'd taken them up on one but not the other. She was still being watched by the organization, by a specific set of folks there, and she wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that -- but the help they'd given her was appreciated nonetheless. (Not that she didn't wonder if they might want something later in return for that help.)

A made-up history and the credentials to back it up were the most useful part of the package. With them, she was able to find a job, rent an apartment, start a life... But there was help she needed that they couldn't give her. That fake history included a brief military career so she could have access to VA services - fighting in a war that didn't exist here didn't exactly get her through the door. But with that record she could walk through the door and take a seat among others who had been through similar experiences, who are still haunted by their memories. The only difference is that she has to be vague in any responses she gives, as few and far between as they are, but still. Even listening helps her to feel like she's not so alone, if only for a little while. ]

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Finding a new way. [For Phil Coulson]

Sun, 11 Jun 2017 19:01:53 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

Keep your head down. Blend in. Don't draw attention. Don't let anyone find out what you are. Those are the tenants she'd lived by in the weeks since being dropped into this universe, and she did her best to follow her own damn advice. But try as she might, accidents happen, they always do.

There were little incidents here and there, brushes of bare skin with people on the street, a nudge from a coworker at the bar. The brief touches left people disoriented and nothing more. But when a drunk customer grabbed her, expecting more than she would ever be willing to give? There was no easy way to explain why the man ended up unconscious.

So she ran. There was no point in staying in NYC, it was too crowded and there were too many memories of a world that didn't exist anymore. She made her way to the train station and picked a destination at random - somewhere cold, to help explain all the layers. Somewhere quiet, so maybe she could find her way again.

Somewhere that could possibly feel like home one day? Doubtful.

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If Things Had Been Different... [For Elijah]

Sun, 28 May 2017 20:22:23 GMT

Posted by: otrazhenie

After her parents died, Elena Gilbert's life changed.

That was the easiest point to trace it back to, the place where she could say it had all started. Where she had changed from an innocent teenager to someone who knew what true pain felt like. But at least she'd had Jeremy. And Jenna. And eventually John had come back into her life and secrets had been revealed... So many secrets. Perhaps not enough though, and not revealed the way they should have been. Her birth turned out to be the least startling in the end, despite it being so shocking in the moment, but at least she'd understood then why John had come back into her life.

Learning of the existence of vampires had changed her life even further, and in no ways for the better. Strange things happened sometimes in Mystic Falls, but she'd never felt unsafe in the town where she'd grown up. It was heartbreaking to learn that she was a danger to everyone she cared about, that for some reason a group of vampires wanted her and the only way she could keep her loved ones safe was to leave.

College had been the perfect excuse. As much as she'd dreamed of going to the same college as Caroline and Bonnie, of sharing a dorm room and having those normal college experiences with her best friends, she couldn't put them at risk. If someone found her... She believed John when he told her that if vampires wanted her, they would have no problem going through her family and friends. If it had only been her own life at stake, she would have stayed and fought, stood her ground and tried to find some way around all of this -- but she couldn't risk the lives of others like that.

It was in her sophomore year that the animal attacks started around campus. Elena had been told about what to watch for, and the four dead bodies screamed vampires. She'd claimed family emergency and left, finishing the last weeks of classes on her own thanks to the kindness of her professors, and then she'd transferred to a school on the other side of the country. There was no way for her to know if those attacks were anything more than coincidence, but she didn't take chances.

Med school went by without any major incidents, miraculously. She completed her internship at a small hospital in the middle of nowhere, and was matched to a residency program also in the middle of nowhere. Staying away from bigger cities felt safer, with fewer people who might recognize her. Whether that worked she would never really know, because during her third year another series of attacked happened, and again she ran. It took a great deal of time and effort to find another program that would take her, but eventually one did and she was able to complete her training as a general surgeon.

Working in the ER wasn't the life she would have wanted, exactly, but it was the easiest thing to get when she might need to leave at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately there was usually quite a bit of turnover in the area, and as much as she hated to think that she would eventually just add to that problem, it was her only choice. The safest choice, the one that would let her at least try to live her life as much as she could.

The downfall of moving around so much and constantly being steadily focused on her career? An aching loneliness. As often as she spoke with her family, on the phone or via Skype, it just wasn't the same when she couldn't have one of Jeremy's solid hugs or lean her head on Jenna's shoulder. Going home for major events like weddings helped, but it wasn't enough, and three months into her new job saw nothing change except for a higher tally of Really Bad First Dates. But at least she was trying... Right?

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Roll Call: Amy ver.2

Sat, 13 May 2017 02:19:37 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

( i need a hero to save me )

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At the Starting Point [For Logan]

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 03:51:43 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

"I saved your life!"
"No, you didn't."

Standing there, in the middle of a snowy road in Nowhere, Canada, feeling the cold seep through her too thin layers of clothing, Rogue had to wonder how her life had come to this. Her mutation, her parents, running out of money halfway to Alaska and ending up hitchhiking with truck drivers and random strangers. She was supposed to finish school, do something with her life. Get married, have kids, live in a house with a wrap-around porch where she could drink sweet tea and watch the sun set.

That perfect life had been left behind in Mississippi and now any hope she had of a new one in Alaska was driving away.

But then he stopped and suddenly there was hope again.

"You don't have anything to eat, do you? ...I'm Rogue."
"Were you in the army? Doesn't, doesn't that mean you were in the army?"
"Wow."
"What?"
"It's just that, suddenly my life doesn't look that bad."
"Well, if you prefer the road..."
"No, it looks great. Looks cozy."
"Put your hands on the heater. ...I'm not gonna hurt you kid."
"It's nothing personal. It's just that, when people touch my skin, something happens."
"What?"
"I don't know, they just get hurt."
"Fair enough. So, what kind of name is Rogue?"
"I don't know. What kind of name is Wolverine?"
"My name is Logan."
"Marie."

People would probably think she was crazy, getting a ride from some guy she'd just seen beat the tar out of someone else, who had metal claws and a definite anger problem. But she didn't really have many other options. Whoever he was, whatever it was he could do, she had to believe that he wouldn't hurt her. They were alike, both of them mutants, and that had to mean something, right?

There was a bit of silence in the cab, more comfortable now that they at least knew each other's names properly, and Rogue let it be for a few minutes, her nervous social chatter taking a backseat as she considered what she would do after this. That probably depended on how far he would take her, what direction they were even going in.

"Where are you headed?" she asked him, glancing over with open curiosity and a bit of worry.

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Those Who Wander [for Rogue]

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 06:56:29 GMT

Posted by: godsmistake

After it was all over, after the dust had settled, the dead were mourned and the school was back in motion, Logan had taken off. He couldn't stand to be there anymore, seeing ghosts in every hallway and classroom. Jean, the Professor... hell, he even missed that insufferable dick Scott.

It seemed like perverse justice that he steal Scott's motorcycle one last time to make his get-away - he wasn't gonna be using it anymore, and was it really stealing if it no longer belonged to anyone? He figured maybe Scott would understand; he'd liked the bike, and would want it to be ridden and cared for. Logan could do that. It was about the only thing he could care for, these days.

So the miles stretched on, as did the days, until it turned into weeks, then months, then years. He never stayed in one place for long - usually because he couldn't keep the asshole comments in his head from coming out of his mouth, and wound up in fights, which inevitably lead to people realizing he was a mutant. It was a useful mutation, but by itself not even that inherently dangerous. The adamantium claws and his military training, however... that was dangerous. And without the Cure available any longer, there were rumblings about "other methods" being used to help "tame" the mutant population. "Just the dangerous ones." Yeah, sure. It'd be just his luck for some nutjob to report him to the authorities and he'd wind up on some Top Ten Most Wanted list in a post office. He didn't want that, not least of which because he didn't photograph well.

So he kept moving. Minded his own business, but other people kept making their problems his business, which was a pain in the ass. He had enough problems of his own, he didn't need yours, thanks anyway.

Riding through the desert one evening, he came across an oasis - literally. He rolled into a city and realized as he stared up at the large neon sign with undulating lights around the word "Oasis" that he'd somehow hit Las Vegas without even realizing it. He wasn't even sure he realized he was in Nevada before this, which was probably a sign that he should stop driving, at least for the night. (Truthfully, if it hadn't been for the heat, he wouldn't even be sure he was in the U.S., which even his stubborn brain realized was not a good sign.)

He parked his bike a ways off, not wanting the valet boys to get a load of the customizations on it and decide for a joy-ride (probably wrap it around a tree and break their damn fool necks, and you know he'd somehow get blamed for it), then wandered into the casino. He desperately needed a drink, and then maybe he'd find a game to buy into. He was running a little low on cash, and he was good at picking up other people's tells with his enhanced senses.

The bar was nicely dim, but clean and well-kept. He patted his jeans to get some of the dust off, before making a face. Screw it. I just got in, I'm tired - oh, and also I don't give a fuck. He moved over and selected a table that afforded him visuals on the bar and the entrance, then raised a hand to signal for a waitress.

When was the last time he'd even had a drink? No wonder he felt like shit, he was completely sober, even more than his healing ability usually made him while actively drinking.

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Searching for Home [For Logan]

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 06:15:56 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. They'd reset the timeline so the would could be better, so they could have happier lives in a world that didn't hate and fear them. That was what she'd been told when Erik and Charles had taken her from the mansion to that temple in China - they'd given her hope, the only thing she had left to keep her going.

Three years she'd spent in that lab, being tortured in the name of science meant to destroy mutantkind. Three years she'd hoped and prayed that someone would come to get her out, or that she would finally just be allowed to die. But then she'd been given the chance to start over, to forget all of that pain and try again. It had been hard to accept the idea of losing the good memories along with all the rest, accept the possibility of never being born or never meeting the people she'd loved, but when it was the choice of saving the world or leaving it to truly destroy itself, there really wasn't a choice. She had to take the risk and simply hope.

Hope. How the universe laughed at her for it.

She'd closed her eyes in those final moments in the temple, holding on with Kitty's power for every second she could to give Logan just that much more time in the past-- And then she'd opened them again to find herself somewhere else entirely. A small city in a world where mutants were no longer being born, and most had died out or gone into hiding. And those years of terrible memories, accompanied by the psyches of hundreds of people she'd used her power on in that time? All still there, haunting her with guilt and grief.

The first thing she'd done was try to track down her family, the friends who had taken her in all those years ago. It had been devastating to learn of the state of the world, and of the incident in Westchester. Every lead she tried to follow was met with sorrow or came to a dead end, so finally she just... gave up. Resigned herself to the weary loneliness that had become her constant companion and decided to try to find somewhere where she could possibly find some peace, if nothing else. New York wouldn't give her that, Mississippi hadn't been home in over a decade, and New Orleans...

Canada. It appealed to the side of her that was influenced by Logan's presence in her mind, and it had been where she'd started her life over before. Where she'd first met Logan, where the X-Men had found them. Perhaps she could find a cabin somewhere and try to remember what it was like to be a person again.

It wasn't difficult to get a car, not when she'd learned from one of the best gamblers and thieves in the country, and so she'd set off, taking back roads and just seeing where the wind took her as she made her way north. Enjoying the scenery of a world that hadn't been burned to ash.

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The Drums of War [For Logan]

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 06:13:50 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

The Mutant Registration Act had finally passed. Rogue stared at the television from the back of the room, as far away from her fellow teachers and X-Men as she could get while she watched the White House press conference. There were rapid-fire questions being asked and answered, the law having taken so long to pass that it was now a very solid and terrifying piece of legislation. When would it go into effect? What was the government going to do with the information? Would measures be taken against mutations with 'dangerous' abilities?

Like her.

She felt sick, like the bottom had just dropped out of her stomach and her entire world. Erik's voice was there at the back of her mind, reminding her that this was how it started last time, with a list of names and putting people into categories. Except they weren't people anymore, were they? They were things.

Turning, she slipped out of the room, dodging a few of the students who were clearly oblivious to this new development. What were they going to tell them? How were they going to keep them safe now? They were children and they deserved to grow up in safety, surrounded by people who cared about them, not watching over their shoulder at every turn because the government had decided they were monsters.

Her feet took her down to the garage, following an instinctive need to run and be anywhere else in that moment. And maybe somewhere in there was the realization that she really needed a drink and she sure as hell wasn't going to find the good stuff on school grounds.

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Rebuilding [For Remy LeBeau]

Sun, 26 Feb 2017 20:00:36 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

A different universe. It kept Rogue up at night, thinking of all it represented. A fresh start, she’d been assured, a chance for her to have a life unravaged by war. But it wasn't really a fresh start for her, not when everyone she had ever known was different in countless ways and had no idea what she’d been through. She was stuck here, left to remember everything that had happened and somehow find a way to cope and move on.

She had ended up at the mansion purely because she had nowhere else to go. Xavier's had been her home before it had become her prison, and there were few places for a mutant as 'dangerous' as her to safely live, not when she had never fully mastered control over her powers. And the staff had welcomed her. She'd explained what she could, and then she had begged the telepaths not to look into her mind, as much as they were able to keep from doing so anyway. She didn't want these people to see what had been done to her, what she had been made to do, or the horrible minds that now shared space with her own. And she didn't talk about it, just pretended that she was okay, that it was nothing to resume a normal life in a world that wasn't war-torn and as broken as she was. That seeing the students roaming the halls didn't remind her of all the children who had died on her watch, that it didn't kill her inside to spend her days surrounded by people who didn’t know her, just this universe’s version of her.

Before long, she had started to break from it all. Every night she’d roamed the mansion halls, checking on the secret passages, making sure windows were secure, remembering what had been changed when those monsters had taken her home away from them. And she was so angry and in so much pain. Her emotional state was starting to echo Logan's and Erik's, and she didn't hold to any illusion that the others would ignore it forever. But she had decided to let it go as long as possible.

She should have known that there would be a plan. A project to help her, give her a purpose again and a chance to get away from this place that was familiar but haunting. So three weeks into the new universe, she was presented with an opportunity – to help oversee the founding of a new school for mutants. Find the best location, oversee the construction and design, gather a staff… It would take time, but time was all she had now. And she would have a chance to literally build a new life for herself.

Only she couldn’t do it alone. It was a monumental task ahead of her and she didn’t know quite where to start.

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A Whole New World [For Steve Rogers]

Sun, 29 Jan 2017 06:56:05 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

It had been one year almost to the day since she'd arrived in this universe that wasn't her own. Well, it was hers, she supposed, just not the one she'd always known, and not one where she necessarily belonged. When the timeline had reset, the war had been erased from history and lives changed beyond imagine. Some people had been born who had never existed, and some who had been born were now...

Perhaps that's why she had come into the new world as she had. While the others in that mountain temple had simply woken up in new bodies with no memory of their previous lives, she had no body to go into. There had been no Marie born in this alternate universe, no Rogue had joined the X-Men and fought for mutant rights. So here she was, in the scarred body she'd had in her original timeline, full of memories of all the atrocities humanity had committed against itself. She'd tried to step back into her old life with the X-Men, sharing with Charles more of what had happened in her world so he and the others might be more aware of the dangerous possibilities ahead, but in the end it had just been too painful to stay in the mansion. Once it had been her home, but those monsters had turned it into a prison and she would never be able to escape those memories.

It was when she'd spoken with Charles of her decision to leave that he had offered her an opportunity that she hadn't been able to refuse -- the chance to help establish a new school for mutants on the west coast. For years now, the mutant population had been growing exponentially, and there was a great need for another school to accommodate all the children who needed safety and training. The foundations were already being laid for the building, all she would have to do was supervise the construction and security plans. As the months had passed and the project progressed, though, she found herself more involved than just that, adding her own design touches and recruiting teachers and other staff for when the school opened. They were less than a year out now from receiving their first cohort of students, and she was surprised to find that she was genuinely excited about it.

She'd missed feeling that way. About anything.

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Beginning Again [For Leonard McCoy]

Fri, 20 Jan 2017 20:05:54 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

It had been one year almost to the day since she'd arrived in this universe that wasn't her own. Well, it was hers, she supposed, just not the one she'd always known, and not one where she necessarily belonged. When the timeline had reset, the war had been erased from history and lives changed beyond imagine. Some people had been born who had never existed, and some who had been born were now...

Perhaps that's why she had come into the new world as she had. While the others in that mountain temple had simply woken up in new bodies with no memory of their previous lives, she had no body to go into. There had been no Marie born in this alternate universe, no Rogue had joined the X-Men and fought for mutant rights. So here she was, in the scarred body she'd had in her original timeline, full of memories of all the atrocities humanity had committed against itself. She'd tried to step back into her old life with the X-Men, sharing with Charles more of what had happened in her world so he and the others might be more aware of the dangerous possibilities ahead, but in the end it had just been too painful to stay in the mansion. Once it had been her home, but those monsters had turned it into a prison and she would never be able to escape those memories.

It was when she'd spoken with Charles of her decision to leave that he had offered her an opportunity that she hadn't been able to refuse -- the chance to help establish a new school for mutants on the west coast. For years now, the mutant population had been growing exponentially, and there was a great need for another school to accommodate all the children who needed safety and training. The foundations were already being laid for the building, all she would have to do was supervise the construction and security plans. As the months had passed and the project progressed, though, she found herself more involved than just that, adding her own design touches and recruiting teachers and other staff for when the school opened. They were six months out now from receiving their first cohort of students, and she was surprised to find that she was genuinely excited about it.

She'd missed feeling that way. About anything.

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A New Start [For Remy LeBeau]

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 02:43:37 GMT

Posted by: theycalledmeacurse

It had been an extremely eventful twenty-four hours in Rogue’s life. Possibly the most so since her mutation manifested over a decade earlier. She’d been rescued from the lab by Erik and Bobby, helped to reset the timeline and stop the Sentinel War from ever happening, and she’d been dropped into the middle of... an apartment?

It didn't make sense. She'd shut her eyes against the heat of the Sentinels' blasts, hoping and praying to whatever might be listening that this would work, that they would have this second chance-- And then she'd opened her eyes to this place. The apartment wasn't one she recognized, but there was something about it that was almost familiar. Maybe it was the decor, or the general state of it, but some part of her felt oddly at home there.

Someone else was at home too, though, based on the sound of the shower running in the other room. Carefully climbing off the floor, Rogue looked around the room she was in, taking in the assortment of objects until her gaze settled on the desk. She moved closer, picked up a few of the papers scattered across it, and frowned at the scribbles of students that looked to be half-graded. The sight of them churned up a wave of painful nostalgia and homesickness and she had to set them down before she really began to lose it.

A buzzing from a cellphone caught her attention. After half a second's hesitation, she picked it up, noticing the preview of the message that left her feeling cold. Thanks for listening. From "Rogue". From... herself?

No. No, that didn't make sense. If their plan had worked, she wasn't supposed to remember anything of her old life. They were all supposed to just wake up and be in their new lives, in a hopefully much better world than the one they'd left. And if the plan hadn't worked, then why wasn't she dead? And where the hell was she?

It was without any conscious thought that she moved over to the window, leaning in to peer at the world outside. A world that was whole, with buildings still standing tall and people walking on the streets as they went about their daily lives. It was a normal world that wasn't full of death and destruction. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

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