Entries tagged with *psl

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psl - jean-luc picard | beverly crusher ---> maybe we'll make it out alive

Life for the crew of the newly commissioned Enterprise-E has not been very calm. With the potential for war with the Cardassians an ever-present threat, not to mention the new one creeping up, the attack by the Borg could not have come at a more inopportune moment. Their orders had been clear and the captain and crew of the flagship had known what they would be doing even before they did it, yet they disobeyed those orders gladly, knowing Starfleet would have a more difficult time without the firepower of the new Enterprise and the priceless knowledge of her captain.

That assumption had proven quite correct and they were all instrumental in stopping the Borg from taking over Earth, though not in a way anyone could have predicted. The price had been high, the toll paid, and the Enterprise returned to her time and place of origin a little the worse for wear. More than a little. Facing the Borg always does damage, both physical and psychological, and both Beverly and Deanna Troi had their work cut out for them by the time it was all over. Beverly spent most of her time in sickbay, trying to be sure everyone was accounted for and that no one had suffered any severe damage. Or worse, had been assimilated late in the game with the potential to turn. She didn't think it would be possible, what with the Queen's death, but now that they were back in the right point in time, she had no idea and much preferred to be safe now rather than sorry later.

Even with her workload more than doubled, she knows she isn't the worst off with all of this. Troi is having a difficult time and though Beverly goes to her often for official therapy sessions, she also invites her friend over to her quarters for a little girl time or out to the holodeck so they both have an excuse to get away and relax as much as they possibly can. It's difficult for both of them, but they know that's why they have to try even harder now than they normally would.

Of course, it doesn't escape Beverly's notice that Jean-Luc, her captain and best friend, is having a difficult time with everything as well, perhaps more so than the rest of them. He's having to deal with not only what they recently went through, but also all of the memories such an encounter would bring back. While Beverly had been at Starfleet Medical during the year the Enterprise-D first met the Borg, she remembers well what it was like the year after when Jean-Luc had been kidnapped and assimilated. She remembers what happened afterwards, how she had feared so much for her best friend, someone she cared about in a capacity she wasn't yet ready to admit. The memories cloud her mind sometimes now, as though she's being forced to stay awake and relive a holonovel she hates. Now those memories are being substituted with memories of their most recent encounter, of how all of the stress and strain had affected Jean-Luc. If she's having this much trouble with everything, she can't imagine how he's doing.

So that's what has her finally setting aside their normal dinner time in her schedule to go check on him. Well aware that he's in his quarters and likely doesn't want to be disturbed, she walks down the corridor anyway and very firmly presses the alert to tell him that someone is outside his door and wants to be let in. Dressed very casually rather than in her uniform, she's chosen to tell him in every way possible that she isn't here as his Chief Medical Officer; she's here as his best friend and she damn well won't take no for an answer this time. He may as well let her in and get this over with.

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psl - cinna | beverly crusher ---> found the place to rest my head / never let me go

The kiss to Beverly's cheek had set off a chain reaction. It shouldn't have; by all rights, it should have just been a sweet gesture and if her feelings for Cinna hadn't been so strong, she likely would have taken it just as a sign of a close personal friendship. Except her feelings for him are stronger than she has wanted to admit, even to herself, and the kiss confuses her. Hayley's words echo in her ears, an encouragement even as everything she is balks at the idea. She doesn't want to hurt their friendship, wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened between them.

At the same time, Cinna isn't Jean-Luc. Their situations are vastly different and Beverly doesn't know if she can keep Cinna at arm's length like she did with Jean-Luc. Part of her doesn't even want to. Then again, there's the risk that one of them will lose the other and she doesn't know what she would do if that happened, if he were to leave and she to stay. But if she's to be completely honest with herself, a large part of her thinks that maybe Hayley's right: maybe it's better if he just knows. They don't have to do anything about it -- and besides, if he hasn't been snatched up already, she will be entirely too surprised, as that will mean the entire temple has been doing him a disservice. Perhaps they just need to address her feelings, get them out into the air between them, and then move forward. If something comes of it, all the better. If not, at least he'll know why she sometimes has a slightly larger gap between them than other times.

The only problem is finding the words to say what she means. Giving one of his hands a squeeze, hers still nestled firmly between both of his on his leg, she turns to face him. This will be tricky.

"Cinna, I..." She huffs out a sigh, exasperated at herself, and shakes her head. "I need to tell you something, but..." She half expects for the lights to go out or one or the other of them to disappear or for some emergency to interrupt them. When nothing happens, she pushes forward. "I'm having a little trouble figuring out how. You'd think a woman my age would have all the words she would ever need to express herself, but I guess that doesn't always apply to situations like this."

She's being vague and she knows it, but she's trying to wrap her head around the many and yet few ways to say what she needs to. At this point, she would give almost anything not to have to say it at all; if only they were psychically connected like she and Jean-Luc were on Kesprytt. That would make this so much easier. Unfortunately, this time she has to do it the hard way and hard it sure is.

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psl - rebekah | helen magnus ---> goodbye to everything that i knew

[ helen had made her way over to rebekah's apartment as quickly as she could once she heard that matt had left. it seemed they were both destined to lose those whom they had come to care for. nikola, matt, jean-luc. it seemed to be a curse of this place. either way, she knew they both needed a chance to relax with someone close.

taking a deep breath, she knocks on the door, wine bottle and two glasses in hand. ]

Rebekah?

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psl - catherine halsey | helen magnus ---> so that makes it all your fault

[ helen had a sneaking suspicion the assistant she'd hired wasn't being entirely honest with her. they hadn't spoken much, having more contact via text and in writing than vocally, but what she did know was that dr. catherine halsey was extremely smart. helen would have to watch her steps with this one. of course, that was to be expected these days. several hundred years had passed since she had last trusted freely and that mindset seemed to be worked out for her. she didn't know much about dr. halsey going in, but she wanted to know much, much more. preferably before anything big happened.

so she was waiting for her new assistant to arrive at her small branch office on planet reach. from there, they would travel back to earth, where helen would show catherine the very secret way to her not-so-secret sanctuary. first, they would need to see if they could be compatible as workers. later would come everything else. the branch office wasn't even anything special. honestly, it was office only in name. it had no connection to the sanctuary outside of helen's good name and she suspected the only reason it existed at all was because oni wanted to spy on her. they didn't trust her at all and she didn't trust them.

entirely unsurprising, really. but beside the point. whatever the reason, helen was looking forward to her new assistant. hopefully this would be the inspiration and new blood her work needed to kick off again. ]

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PSL - James Watson | Helen Magnus ---> splinter of sadness

She'd been waiting for days.

Raven had long since gone, assuring her that he would do what he could. She'd wanted to go with him, wanted to find out what happened to her fiance, but with the Sanctuary needing her and her own emotional stability being what it was... She'd been convinced to remain behind.

If James didn't turn up soon, she would take that teleport pad and return, no matter the consequences. She couldn't just stay behind and wait. She wasn't a waiter, much preferring to be active. And if he needed her and she wasn't there.

Taking a deep breath and making certain the gun she'd taken was secured and hidden, she started for the teleport pad, intent on finding him. The only thing that would stop her now would be if he stepped through himself.

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PSL - Nepeta | Helen --> Chasing the fires of war

The planet wasn't much to look at, from above. Admittedly, the same could have be said of any planet, but it wasn't like it mattered. The reach of Alternia was long, and this planet was but one of many to fall under the sights of Her Imperial Condescension.

It was also the first one that what might have been called a resistance - if any of the members had so much as dared to say the word - had been able to do something about. It wasn't easy to to lay down enough of a groundwork to exchange the orders enough to give the proper amount of leeway despite the orders of Her Tyranny. They've had practice, but working within the framework of another tended to be a lot harder when traitors are shot first and questioned later. Worse when psychics were, in fact, very much a thing. Still, they've managed to work what some would call a miracle and that will do. Now all they have to do is hope that it's not a wasted effort. Either way, most would have been hard-pressed to spot the shuttle that slipped its way into Earth's atmosphere, even if the design was most distinctly alien. (That no one seemed to have managed anti-psychic technology on this particular world probably helped.)

It was probably only by a stroke of like that the little shuttle ended up making its way to subterranean tunnel that leads out to not far from the Sanctuary. Nepeta knew far better to assume that the inhabitants of every world were nocturnal.

That said, she also wasn't above exploring the tunnels of the cave she'd landed in. There had to be something of interest down here, after all.

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PSL - Aqua | Helen Magnus ---> weary traveler rest your head

Life had not been kind to any of them lately. Having just returned from a trip that had gone horribly wrong -- and yet could have been even worse -- Helen was not quite up to her normal self yet. Will had his own suspicions now, especially about what she was hiding and how much it was, but she couldn't say anything about it. Not yet.

She was just doing what she normally did: Avoiding people and doing her best to keep completely busy. The last thing she needed was to spend too much time thinking while her ribs healed. She hadn't gotten as addicted to the water as Will had, but neither had she gotten out unscathed. Things were difficult, tense even, at the moment. She had faith they could make it through; she just didn't know how long it would last.

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PSL - James Watson | Jenna Sommers ---> won't someone make my heavy heart light

The aliens had never really done her any favors. Jenna had long ago resigned herself to that knowledge. Whatever existence this was, she wouldn't be happy often or for long.

The most recent example was her second return home and the events that followed. She'd been sent back to experience a few months at home this time and they were the least pleasant in a long string of not happy ones. What she'd discovered there was knowledge she'd had in Taxon, things Elena had told her over a year ago, but the way in which she learned them was far worse. The aliens didn't even have the decency to let her stay long enough to get over what she'd learned and move on from it. No, they had to yank her right back in the middle of her crying fit in the Salvatore Boarding House. To top it all off, they'd had the audacity to tell her about her future. It was some sort of experiment going on when she'd returned -- something about learning the future whether the person in question wanted to or not -- and through that, she'd learned that the worst would happen.

She was going to die, be unable to protect Elena, and there was nothing she could do about it.

So that was why she'd holed herself away in her room when she'd returned to the city. Thank god the house was still there or she wasn't sure what she would do. She hadn't had the presence of mind to ask if anyone she knew was still around, her tablet lying forgotten in her dresser where it couldn't turn on randomly and record her in her worst moment. If she were being honest, she wouldn't have minded one specific visitor, but at the same time, she didn't want anyone to worry about her. This was something she thought she would need to work through alone.

That was just how it would always be: alone.

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PSL - Kathryn Janeway | Chakotay ---> And use my head alongside my heart

If he never saw the Borg again, it would be too soon.

Chakotay was fairly certain Kathryn had expected his call while on the bridge after their argument before it all began, but what he knew was that she hadn't approved of it. She never would because of the importance of that alliance. He hadn't approved of the alliance to begin with and thus their argument had begun. Now that it was all over, Chakotay wasn't sure what to do next. They had an ex-drone in sick bay, the ship now had Borg components all over it, and he felt out of place. The two top officers had united once again, but their disagreement would always be there.

He wasn't even sure it could be dealt with fully or that they would even want to.

And so that was why he was sitting cross-legged on the floor of his quarters at the moment, having a discussion with his animal guide. Things were complicated, and with that ex-drone they would only get more complicated, but at least they could agree that they'd made it out alive and were working on moving forward. They could agree to disagree on the subject and it wouldn't mean much of anything in the long run.

Or so he hoped.

Sighing, he leaned back a little and let his arms rest on his legs. He wasn't sure he could do with many more complications. Closing his eyes, he focused and tried again. What he needed was a little peace to sort things out.

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PSL - Will Zimmerman | Abby Corrigan ---> For the rest of our lives

Abby had spent the last two days resting in one of the guest rooms in the Sanctuary. It still felt so strange to think of this place as the enemy's lair when she had never known anything but kindness from Magnus or her staff. Especially Will. In a way, Abby couldn't think of the Sanctuary as anything but what its name would suggest. That was just what her job thought of it as, never what she would.

She woke up slowly, her mind still barely on anything but what had happened a few days ago. She was still in a lot of pain, but it was slowly dissipating and Magnus said she'd be able to go back to work within the week. Or at least home. The more she thought about it, the less appealing going home sounded. Abby thought staying here with Will was much nicer, but she did have a job and it wasn't here. Somedays she wished she could work here, but the offer had never come. Maybe it was better that way.

Rolling over on the bed, she closed her eyes again and willed the pain to go away. She could really do with a cup of coffee or something to do, but there as nothing other than resting. Always resting.

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PSL - Ashley Magnus | Helen Magnus ---> stay in this moment for the rest of my life

She wasn't supposed to be there. Helen knew she needed to stay as far away from Old City as she could, especially now. If any of her staff saw her -- if Ashley saw her -- she couldn't guarantee what would happen. The way her actions here might tug at the timeline... It was a risk she shouldn't be taking.

And yet, there she was, tracking a particularly difficult Abnormal, one that had been captured while she was off in a Sanctuary meeting. She'd never really been told who had captured it, but as long as the creature had been captured alive and well, she hadn't particularly cared back then. She'd just assumed Ashley had done it. Now that she was here again, and on the other side of it, she was beginning to wonder if the future Helen Magnus of her time had been the one to do it.

If so, that meant she had to do it this time. Which was entirely why she was there now, tracking it. She'd already spent time steeling herself against the possibility of seeing Ashley. She'd stolen glimpses of her daughter's life once before, from a long way off, but she hadn't risked anything closer and that had been difficult enough. Now, she was risking running into her daughter head-on and Helen had no idea what that might to do her.

At least she'd had the presence of mind to dye her hair red again before she made her way to start this mission. Hopefully if she did run into Ashley, she could pretend to be Helen Bancroft a little easier.

Taking a deep breath and making sure her gun was fully loaded with tranq rounds, Helen headed into the warehouse, crossing her gun over her flashlight and pointing both in front of her. With luck, she could get this done and over without incident.

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PSL - Dante | Helen Magnus ---> An encounter, symbolic, yet truthful

Without James to tell her she had turned into a lonely, bitter old woman, that was exactly what Helen continued to be. Adopting Rydia had been the best thing for her, but she was cut off from adult company, from those who understood how difficult it was to live as long as she had and experience the losses she had. Helen Magnus didn't get attached very often anymore, but when she did, she attached hard, in spite of her best efforts to the contrary.

Rydia and Dante were prime examples of this.

She wasn't even certain what was going on with the latter, only that she actually enjoyed his company and wanted to keep an eye on him. While they hadn't exactly seen perfectly eye-to-eye in the past, Helen was confident that they'd weathered the worst storms. For now, at least. Though with how closely he resembled Nikola Tesla, she doubted their current calm would last much longer. Still, she had wanted to extend the peace offering, make certain he understood that she was willing to overlook the past. As long as he didn't make the past into the future.

So, she'd invited him to tea in her office. He had access to the Sanctuary - oddly enough, she'd entrusted him with a passcode to the gates and front door early on - and so she was waiting in her office to see if he would take her up on her offer.

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PSL - Balthier | Celes Chere ---> Somebody that I used to know

Locke was back, but he was still dealing Rachel. He wasn't ready for her and Celes knew it. To be honest, she wasn't so sure she was ready for him, not after everything that had happened with Balthier. She was in the Library of the Ancients to the north of the Outer Continent and had been there for a while. Recently, she'd asked Balthier to meet her here and she could only hope that he would do so.

She turned her hands over on the page she'd been staring at for the last hour. Somehow time seemed to be slowing down and she didn't like it. With a sigh, she turned the page over to the next one. She was giving him the day. After that, she would return to Figaro and call it a lost cause.

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PSL - Elena Gilbert | Helen Magnus --> If I just breathe

[ Elena hadnt really been at the hospital in a long time.

Truth be told, she wasn't actually sure where she's been. Drifting around the city, maybe. She fell asleep for what seemed to be days, and yet has been tired for most of the time, if the dark circles under her eyes were any proof of that.

She's even taken a page from Helen's book and has been avoiding most interaction with her flat mates. Barely even talked to Caroline.

It's just been strange. She wasn't trying to find an explanation for it. Maybe she was thinking about the things back home too much. And there was a hope that Helen wouldn't inquire the reasons, in light of Nikola's disappearance.

So essentially, finally, she peers into Helen's lab, arms crossed over chest, back pressing against one of the doors. ]

I'm sorry. [ what else can she say right now? ]

But he's back home now, isn't he?

( If I just breathe )

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PSL - John Druitt | Helen Magnus ---> Would you mind if I hurt you?

He was still in the Sanctuary. She knew he was and her jaw tightened in anger at the thought of what he'd done to that poor woman. The whole thing just reeked of Whitechapel and she hated it, hated the memories this incident was bringing up. She'd never expected him to get over his bloodlust, not fully and especially not after what he'd done to the Cabal, but somewhere deep inside her, she'd hoped anyway. She couldn't help but let her heart destroy itself with the hope she still had for him.

"John?" she called out confidently through the halls, clicking the ammo rounds in place as she walked and then aiming her gun in front of her. No tranquilizer rounds this time. She was aiming to seriously injure him because she would never be able to kill him. At least, she knew she could try, but actually going through with it? Who knew?

"I know you're still here. Come out and make this easier on both of us."

But John never made things easy. He certainly hadn't during the first Ripper case and he wouldn't start now. Helen didn't expect him to. She could only hope.

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PSL - Noel Kreiss | Oerba Dia Vanille ---> If I knew there was a chance

Vanille had long ago lost count of how long she'd been in that crystal pillar, holding Cocoon up in the sky. It probably didn't even matter anymore, not after Noel and Serah had jumped around the timeline so much recently. Time was such a relative term anyway. Nothing mattered but that it be straightened out.

She'd lived in a dream-like state again, a familiar feeling, one that wasn't particularly pleasant. So was the sensation of waking up, the crystal fading away piece by piece to leave her lying on the ground. And for the first time in a length of time only Etro knew of, Vanille started to wake up.

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PSL - Will Zimmerman | Helen Magnus ---> I can feel your sorrow

After nearly a day of being stranded in the Gulf, Helen and Will were finally rescued and taken back to the Sanctuary. Helen had spent most of the remaining travel time very quiet. Coming up with a believable lie as to what they were doing so far off their flight plan and how they'd gotten down there in the first place, she'd had to deal with the helicopter rental place. Those encounters had taken her remaining strength and stability. She no longer had it in her to converse.

She barely even paid attention to what Will was doing during their plane ride back to New City. Her Old Friend picked them up at the airport and soon enough, they were back in the Sanctuary. Helen didn't even say more than a handful of words to anyone, telling them all that she needed to rest before she turned and strode for her office.

That had been two days ago. Ashley's birthday was two days from now and the closer that day came, the more Helen felt her heart tearing itself out of her chest. So much had happened in such a short period of time. She'd asked Will to stay with her for this and she knew that her seclusion would worry him. If Will knew her at all, and if she knew him, he would soon come to poke at her and that was likely for the best. She needed a friendly, supportive, and unbiased face as her own was none of these things.

And the memories hurt too much to endure alone.

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PSL - Anders | Helen Magnus ---> Rumor has it

[ continued from here! ]

[ she notices the past tense but doesn't comment on it. that's a wound she won't touch. ]

Ah.

[ her eyebrows rise in appreciation and she offers a smile in return for his demonstration. impressive. and quite different from what she's used to. ]

Anything you'd like to tell me would greatly enhance our understanding of what my patient is experiencing.

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PSL RP continuation - DG | Willow Rosenberg ---> I want my tears back

[ continued from this thread! ]

Willow took as short a time as she could. It was a dire enough situation that she considered trying to teleport, but as she didn't know how that would work out and didn't want to risk it, she decided against it. Instead, she sprinted as much as she could, arriving with a side-stitch as she hurried to where DG was, while keeping an eye out for any remnants of the witch's army. With any luck, they'd be gone with the glitch.

"DG?"

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PSL - James Watson | Helen Magnus ---> We're glad for what we've got

It had been a long day for Helen, a very long day indeed, and she was exhausted after everything that had happened, the emotional toll of finally ending the Ripper case and dealing with Adam. She'd taken her time the next day, spent a lot of it downstairs or in the library, trying to keep herself occupied. But eventually, it became too much and she sought out the only other person she could: James.

Wherever he was, she needed to talk to him. Much as she wanted to deal with it herself, she knew she couldn't. He'd been helping her deal with John first and then the Ripper case, and so she knew, despite everything else, that she could rely on him.

Her footsteps were quiet, her skirts barely rustling as she approached his study first. If he wasn't there, she would check the library next. And if he wasn't there, she'd bury herself in the books. She could use the distraction.