firstofitskind | MHA #6 to the Beach Near Chimera Court, Wednesday Morning

MHA #6 to the Beach Near Chimera Court, Wednesday Morning

Liam's day had started when he got out of bed and tripped over a valise labelled 'Destiny' and nearly faceplanted into a steamer trunk labelled 'Survivor's Guilt'.

It really didn't take him long to figure out what was going on. Once again, Fandom had taken a metaphor and gone the distressingly literal route, it seemed. And sure, most people would've taken this as a hint to stay hidden inside their apartments, but most people didn't live with a colony of pathologically religious mice who remembered everything. His trauma was already manifesting in literal form here, he didn't need the creation of a religious ritual to mark the occasion as well.

So, out for a run it was, and then stopping to sit for a while at his favorite spot near his old place and ~~sulk~~ ~~brood~~ just be alone with his thoughts for a while. Well, alone with his thoughts and his damned emotional baggage.

[ooc: expecting one but could also be open if you want to catch him beforehand!]

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Oh wow, you know what Annie had not needed this morning? A bunch of clearly-labeled bags. She had alresdy woken up puffy-eyed and miserable, and almost tripping over a backpack that read 'FAITH' in all-caps was not helping.

But when life gave you lemons - or the island gave you heavy bags, in this case - you made the most of it. And so Annie, too, had strapped on her cleats and gone out to run, very deliberately choosing a different route than usual, and wearing not only that backpack but a pair of duffle bags ("Mommy Issues" and "Daddy Issues" respectively) as well as a fanny pack that simply read "BODY."

She had left behind the coin purse, partially because she didn't have a means to carry it and partially because, like, she did not need to think about the whole Michael thing while she was already really upset about Diego.

But she hadn't actually anticipated running across anyone - again, deliberate unusual route including the beach in February - and so she slowed to a stop when she spotted Liam. "Hey. Morning."

"It certainly is," Liam agreed, looking over at Annie with a wan smile gracing his features. "I see it got you too," he commented.

Not that Liam had literally carried his. But it followed anyway.

Like that 'Destiny' valise that dropped out of nowhere to crush the delicate-looking little handbag marked 'Free Will'.

"I'm gonna bet it got everyone," Annie told him, taking the opportunity to take a little break and drop her bags. And yeah, raise an eyebrow at that valise crushing the little bag, because that seemed a little...on the nose.

And then, you know, she was going to just feel a little guilty for reading what they'd said, because damn it, Annie, stop reading things. "Gotta love the island being the island."

Look, they were already taking metaphors and making it literal here, why not go that extra step.

“Most of the time I love this place,” Liam admitted. “Which is, I suppose, why it likes to remind us not to get too comfortable.”

Oh, look, there were now not one but two suitcases with ‘Daddy Issues’ printed on them. Liam scowled and kicked them both over into the sand. Maturely.

Annie smiled a little, kicking her own similarly-labeled duffle bag in solidarity. "At least we don't have to, like, fight it," she offered. "Though honestly that might be better."

She at least could use the distraction.

“Well,” Liam said drily, “If they start running around and shooting lasers I’ll know who to blame,” he told her.

"Honestly, I'd take it," Annie told him. "It'd be kind of cathartic."

And that was when a crossbody bag fell down and nearly hit her on the head, reading, "Starlight versus Annie." Oh, sure, mention fighting, get nearly literally hit with her hero identity issues, sure, island.

Liam raised an eyebrow at that, and then glanced at his own Destiny/Free Will duo on the ground beside him. He might not be a superhero, but he could certainly identify with the struggle between duty and having a life of one’s own.

“You may have a point there.”

Edited 2021-02-10 18:52 (UTC)

"So destiny, huh?" Annie asked, going to sit by him. "Wanna talk about it? I don't know if I know anyone else with a destiny."

She did; they just, you know, didn't talk about it. Like how Liam didn't, until there was a valise letting everyone know.

“Had,” Liam corrected softly. “I had a destiny. That’s- it’s done now.”

Which sometimes left him floundering in regards to what he was supposed to be doing with his life, because... living hadn’t originally been part of the plan.

"I didn't think those went away," Annie commented lightly. "Kinda thought it was a lifelong thing."

Fandom seemed determined to keep up with its on-the-nose commentary here, because that's when that 'Survivor's Guilt' steamer trunk made a reappearance.

"No," Liam agreed. "You're right. Generally speaking."

Annie eyed the steamer trunk, sighing out a soft breath. "Was this an exception that ties in with that?" she guessed quietly, nodding to the trunk.

"Yeah, I-"

And there were two identical suitcases, one emblazoned with 'First Of Its Kind', and the other with 'Last Of Its Kind'.

Liam scowled at them for a moment. And then decided he might as well just explain, because the cat was out of the bag (heh), sort of, and though he knew he didn't owe her an explanation, just saying it would probably be fine, right?

"So. I'm not entirely human." A pause, almost as if he was expecting some more baggage to appear. For once, it didn't. Maybe because he'd actually dealt with that issue. Or maybe because the gag lost some of its impact if it happened every time. One of those.

"Not entirely?" Annie echoed, eyeing those suitcases. "Could've fooled me."

But then again, Annie knew a few other people who could pass as human without question, so she didn't really doubt him at all. "So what are you? If you don't mind saying. That seems like a rude thing to ask, I don't know."

Once again, Fandom had handed her a situation where she wasn't sure what the etiquette was.

“Two-thirds human, one-third an alien species that was known as the Kimera,” Liam told her. “And I know, the math doesn’t check out. The Kimera were energy-based, and my father used a human host to, uh. Create me.” Which was such a nicely clinical way to put it! But at least it sort of explained the two ‘Daddy Issues’ luggage pieces.

"You have three parents?" Yeah, Annie had heard him and understood, but that was - just, like, so weird. So, so weird. This was like when Stark had told her that his ship had given birth to a baby ship - it was so outside of Annie's own frame of reference that she had to take a second. "So...okay, forgive me if I'm interpreting this wrong, but it sounds like you were...created, um, with intent?"

Between this, and the destiny thing, and what she remembered about his prior bodyguard-esque position...it sounded likely.

“Mmmhmm.”

But not, technically speaking, consent, at least when it came to his human father. And his mother’s willingness was... also dubious.

“A long time ago, he made a choice that caused a major rift in the development of another species. Caused it to split into two evolutionary lines, one of which would become the Taelons.” Also known as those aliens Liam had worked for. “Fast forward a few million years, and now both of those species were dying out. I was meant to heal that rift.”

"Like a...hybrid?" Annie asked slowly, and if she'd been just a little more up on her genetic terminology, the Kimera thing might have helped her come to that conclusion a little faster. "Were the two species going to stay distinct, or be like you?"

“A hybrid,” Liam nodded, absently rubbing at one palm with the thumb of his other hand. “They would’ve become- something new. What they might have been, if their evolution had been allowed to proceed naturally.”

"So you were meant to fix his mistake," Annie supplied, frowning. "And reunite a species, and...like, wow, no pressure."

"But it was my purpose, you know? I knew what I was supposed to do."

Oh, look, the commentary-via-luggage-arrival was back, what with a crate of 'Needs to be useful' that plopped into the sand.

Annie smiled a little at that one, because she certainly could relate.

"I tend to think we all have a lot of purposes," Annie offered. "No matter what reason we're created." It helped that she truly believed she had been divinely gifted with superpowers, so she got the impulse - but that didn't mean it was the only reason she was on Earth.

And the same went for Liam.

"Hmm," Liam hummed in something like agreement. "Maybe. But most people don't come in to the world knowing what that purpose is."

"I mean," Annie considered, "there's the whole thing with like, birthright, but most kids aren't aware of that until they're older, I guess. Are you saying you've known this since you were born?"

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NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!

Re: NFB, please!