of those blackholes & revelations

[capemods]

WHO: All imPorts.
WHERE: Atropos.
WHEN: January 7th to January 14th.
WARNINGS: Death and destruction.
SUMMARY: Atropos has risen in the night, and the inevitable has come: with her jaws she shears away the City from Earth and swallows it whole.

But the City is not yet dead.
FORMAT: Whatever you please.



The formless mass of metal haunting above, hovering like a lunar tombstone, begins to take shape. Asteroids plummet into the cheeks, the eyes, carving out bone structure. Her features howl with fury, with triumph, as she stares down below, savoring her conquest. A cavity opens. Metal swoops to form jagged, angry shears. Her teeth are born.

She waits as the world rotates, its spin more wobbly than it used to be.

And then she leans down to feast, her bite vampiric. She takes the City and then some, and all that it encompasses, so that every single imPort is captured. She takes the time to drink in any stragglers, any imPorts elusive to the City's thrall.

She holds the City on her tongue as she draws back her fist to punch the world.

And then teeth close to the shuddering, glass shattering vibration of a cosmic laugh. The jaws close, and there is no light for about an hour -- until Atropos begins to siphon solar energy from the sun into her veins. She is dissatisfied with its dying tint, or perhaps she cannot stand the redness of color, so once she injects this energy into her her body (her most intimate domain), she turns it bright yellow again. The universe within her is illuminated.

The City is a floating chunk of broken skyscrapers and puckered asphalt streets. The trauma of consumption has wrecked the usual infrastructure: buildings are half collapses, or skeletal, vehicles are flipped and strewn across the layout. Whatever vegetation that is still clinging onto life has rejoiced under the return of normal sunlight.

You can breathe. It isn't too hot, or too cold -- it's unusually pleasant, in fact. The sunshine veins that light your world are not overwhelming. There is no blue sky to complement the atmosphere, and whatever water still in the City will be constrained to the bottled kind found in shops.

But there are other floating pieces of worlds, and they might have water. Or food.

If you live in the City, your possessions should still be in the City. While about 76% of the natives have fled the City (which had gotten the brunt of focus over the past week), there are still some natives who were too sick, too sentimental or too stubborn to leave.

You'll find that your powers work normally, though you can't teleport within Atropos. You probably wouldn't want to teleport outside of her, anyway.

She swallows, and the City gentle glides down a slick throat. Dust and particles create stunning visuals, like the aurora borealis, except in warmer colors. Light reflects so easily from solar veins and starstrewn flesh.

While you can breathe easily, gravity is fickle. Physics is often defied. Atropos was never one to play by the rules.

Comments

[fronttowardenemy]

[ Nothing exists for a moment after she sets his second leg. His teeth grind into leather and his mind whites out. It'll pass, experience tells him that, but in that instant he knows absolutely nothing. Slowly, the world bleeds back into focus, and he drops the glove from his mouth. He's hazy, vision a bit blurred around the edges, but he can focus on her.

He sees that hand in her hair, and the smear of blood she leaves behind. It catches his attention: bright red in the mess of dust and her skin which has paled due to her nerves. He takes the pills in one hand, but the other reaches out, touching her face again. His thumb rubs against the bloodstain, but he ends up just spreading the mark further. ]

Hey. [ A quiet attempt to get her to look at him, the pills in his hand idly dismissed for the moment. His voice is still slurred when he speaks, made lazy from the pain in his legs. ] C'mere.

[glassbox]

[ his touch draws her attention, coaxing her to lift her head from her hands to his face when he speaks. there's a little festering anxiety in her face, making the space between her eyebrows knot and drawing tension into the shape of her mouth. she's strained with worry and tired now, worn down by the weight of her own feelings and the devastation around them.

still, she's surprisingly compliant for him, shifting closer.

quietly: ] What d'you need, hon?

[fronttowardenemy]

[ Even with his eyes weak, he can see the stress on her face. She's struggling and she must be afraid -- afraid for him, at least. She did admit worry, but not fear; he doubts it's at all like her to admit anything like that.

After all, that's what she always says: nothing can hurt her; she's Diamond Lil.

Oddly, the idea of that being arrogance has never really stood out to him.

When she comes closer, he leans forward as much as he can to meet her, his forehead resting against hers. ]

Worrying too much.

[ He mutters it and his lips ghost over hers. ]

[glassbox]

[ she stills when his mouth brushes against hers, eyelashes fluttering as something breaks in her expression, overwhelmed by a swell of emotions that starts in the pit of her stomach and catches itself in her throat.

she doesn't know how she became so attached to him -- enough that the idea of losing him wrecks her inside. she wasn't even sure she could feel anything like that for another person anymore. madison had left her emotions so broken. it feels like parts of herself and her sanity are always seeping through the cracks. some days she hardly recognizes herself anymore.

this small gesture of affection is almost too much to bear.

her breath comes out unsteady against his mouth before she's tilting her head, pressing those bloodied hands to his face as she gives him a fervent kiss. it lingers, flush with her feelings, until she pulls away. her voice comes hushed, her words trying to sound stronger than she really feels: ]

Whose goddamn fault is that?

[fronttowardenemy]

[ When she pulls back, he raises his hand (the one not clutching loosely onto pills) to cup the back of her head, keeping contact.

It's easier to allow this now. He has given her hell, but it was all with the intent of keeping her out of harm's way. Now, that same caution is pointless and misplaced. She is a woman who has endured enough abuse, and she doesn't deserve any more -- not like this.

Her reply actually gets his mouth to twitch into something nearly resembling a smirk. It's brief and flickers out fast, fading in and out like his hazy mind.]

Didn't cause the end of the world. If that's what you mean.

[glassbox]

[ the noise lil makes is a soft surprised breath of a laugh, like she's caught off guard by what she suspects is frank castle very nearly making a joke with her. it makes for a strange expression, a little incredulous and a little pleased, wrapped up in weary, worn out affection. she can't help herself -- she has to kiss him again. it's a warm press of her mouth against the corner of his, almost sweet in the way her hands linger on his face before she withdraws.

her voice is quiet and wry when she responds: ]

If y'could do somethin' like that, y'might've done a better job gettin' rid of me.

[ her attention falls back to the supplies with a light sigh. it would help if they had something for splints. she'll have to go looking again, won't she? ]

Too bad the goddamn world's endin'. For once, you're not actin' like y'hate me.

[fronttowardenemy]

[ That corner she kisses remains upturned when she withdraws. He covers it up soon enough with his hand, as he finally takes his pills now that she's withdrawn from him. He swallows them down, clearing his throat. ]

I don't hate you.

[ The response is immediate. He would have thought better of it before, but not like this. Even so, he can justify it: he can admit this much to her now. It's the least that he can manage in exchange. ]

Thank you.

[glassbox]

[ she hesitates when he says those last two words. it's hard to say what makes her stop exactly, except that it's unexpected and, like most small gestures of kindness, moves her more than it probably should. ]

Don't thank me. [ she finally answers, rubbing a bit of dirt from her nose with the back of her hand. ] I was bein' selfish. I didn't wanna lose you.

[fronttowardenemy]

Mh. [ It's a thoughtful sound, tired as he leans back. His eyes close and his words come with a sigh of an exhale. ] You won't.

Not going anywhere.

[glassbox]

[ it hurts her heart a little for him to say that to her. it's better than his eyes are closed and he can't see the expression on her face. they're only words -- she knows that, but they carry a weight with her that she can't help. nobody had ever reassured her that way and meant it. she'd become used to the leaving and losses.

she half-reaches towards him as if to touch him, maybe to brush his hair back from his face, but she hesitates instead before letting her hand drop back into her lap. he looks so tired. ]

...Y'should rest. Sleep a little. I'll take care of you.

[fronttowardenemy]

[ It's good his eyes are shut and his mind is drifting. He misses her expression, and the aborted reach towards him. ]

Yeah. [ He sighs, his voice quieting. He hadn't thought much of it, when he saved her life all those months ago, and now it's rewarded with her fierce loyalty, as she offers him the same -- even more, really, than what he had done.

He voices the thought before drifting asleep. ]

Even now.