the (post-)apocalyptic (shipping) meme.

[sockies]

(post-)apocalyptic.

the end of the world has come and gone. how did it happen? what do you do? who are you with? and how will you survive?



possible vague prompts:

1. zombie apocalypse
   
2. nuclear war
   
3. a virus
   
4. alien invasion
   
5. they came from the sea...
   
6. wildcard.

1. sex is life-affirming
   
2. huddling for warmth
   
3. lone survivors holding on for dear life
   
4. your relationship is as dysfunctional as the environment
   
5. enjoying this?
   
6. wildcard.

( originally posted by chatona )

Comments

River Song | Doctor Who | OTA

[riverborntorun]

4 and 2 and 3

[best_served_hot]

[it was like taking one of brian's stories and giving it life; terrifying life. he'd been in the capitol when the first wave it. he'd swore the distorted voices were the same ones that haunted his dreams; his nightmares.

nightmares that mimicked the same stories he told their son except toned down so that they wouldn't frighten a child. stories of that magnificent doctor fighting off all sorts of big, bad alien monsters. terrible dreams that river had to shake him out of in the middle of the night and that left him shaking for reasons he didn't understand. exterminate! war. fire. death. fear. run.

but this was real.

run!

he ran for home, hoping that the first waves hadn't reached the outskirts of the city where their house was, and burst into the door; frantic.]

River?! Brian?!

*flail flail flail*

[riverborntorun]

[A dish fell out of River's hands when explosions began to rock the capitol, the sound traveling all the way to the outskirts of the city. A jolt of fear surged through her, and as she tossed the shattered pieces into the sink, she began to worry for her husband in the capitol.

But the true panic didn't grip her heart until Malia, one of Brian's tutors from the city knocked at the back door, a box in her arms. 'We haven't much time,' the young woman had said, pushing the box into River's grasp. 'We are under attack, take this. Defend yourself and the boy. I will send for help.'

River protested, trying to inquire about the Master but Malia offered no answers. River stood at the window and watched Malia run back to the city, where smoke and fire began to emanate. She pulled the blinds shut and hurried up to Brian's bedroom where he was playing with little toy figures. Her son. Their son. He was already so smart, so sweet...he was practically her whole world.

River put down the box and scooped the six year old up into her arms. "We're going to play a game, okay sweetie? You're going to build a fort with mummy while we wait for...for daddy to come," she improvised. "But we have to be very, very quiet."]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who's there?!

[A voice calls out from the stairwell, descending slowly with a blaster in her hand. It's River, and the minute she steps into the dim light and sees him, she's running into his arms and throwing her own around his neck.]

Oh, it's you! I thought...oh god, I didn't know what to think!

/wails

[best_served_hot]

[he panics, not hearing an answer to his calls at first, and worries that they've gone into the capitol to go to the market or something. if they were there with those things they---

---only as he's sweeping through the kitchen, frantic, he hears her call out who it is, and runs towards the stairs of their home. when he sees her, blaster in hand, it's almost completely alien to him, but it doesn't matter now. what matters is that she and their son are safe. when she runs to him, he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her close, letting go a sigh of relief.]

God, you're all right. I thought maybe you'd gone---it doesn't matter. Look---[he pulls back enough to look her in the eye, fear and determination battling over his features.]---we can't stay here. We have to go, as quickly as possible. They're overrunning the capitol, it won't be long till they start making sweeps of the outskirts.

Pack a bag, two at most, just necessities, and get yourself and Brian ready.

[he didn't think it wise to tell her what he'd realized. that those were the things that left him gasping into wakefulness at night. the things that haunted his dreams with fire and blood.]

I'll take that. [he nods to the blaster in her hand.]

[riverborntorun]

[He's alive. He's alive and she's in his arms again and for a brief moment everything feels right again.] No, I was home all day. Malia was here, she warned us...she said she'd send help but that was ages ago. I-I don't think she...

[The implication is enough. She nods at his plan, swallowing against the lump of fear in her throat.] Okay. He's just upstairs. I already threw some things together in his fort-

[She arches a brow at that last bit and scoffs.] Like hell! It's the only thing I could figure out how to use.

[The box Malia had given to her so forcefully - it contained strange items, like someone's lost belongings. The first thing her eyes had gone to was a gold and silver...well, she wasn't sure what it was. A pen? A taser? Something phallic? It seemed familiar but somehow wrong. Whatever it was, if it was a weapon, she couldn't figure it out.

The blaster gun however...the minute she picked it up, it made sense. Like it had been hers all along and her muscles were remembering things that her brain couldn't.]

[best_served_hot]

[the master swallows thickly as her sentence trails off about malia. he'd only barely escaped the capitol himself, he couldn't imagine going back.

he looks upstairs where their son is, bright, brilliant, beautiful boy, and then frowns at river's statement.]

Well---did she bring anything else? I can't very well use a kitchen knife, dear.

Nevermind, it doesn't matter, just get yourself and Brian ready, I'll watch out for those things.

[there was a pain in is head. like a noise. tap-tap tap-tap. he's heard it before, but just ignored it, like a migraine that wouldn't go away. tap-tap tap-tap. he lets go of her waist and steps back, heading back towards the kitchen. where he finds the box sitting on the table.

he sees the gold and silver pen-looking thing and picks it up, turning it over in his hands. he's not sure what it is, but it feels right. he tucks it into his suit pocket, and starts packing up what foodstuffs he can get his hands on quickly.]

[riverborntorun]

I don't know, check the box.

[She gives him one final squeeze before they separate, and she bounds upstairs. Brian's laying on his stomach in their fort, feet kicking up and down in the air as he reads.] Sweetie, Daddy's home and-

[Her son's eyes lit up as he looked at her.]

Daddy, Daddy, Dadd-! [River quickly leans in and plants her hand over her son's mouth.] Shh! I'm sorry, Brian, I know you're excited, but... [How can she explain this to him?] Something's happened. Something very bad, and we need to get away from the city.

Izzitt monsters, mummy?

[She sighs, moving her hand to let him speak properly.] I don't know. All I know is we are in very serious danger and we need to go, now. Help me pack.

["Necessities, necessities," she thought, her mind moving as frantically as her hands were. She handled Brian's backpack first; extra clothes and a jacket for him while talking him out of trying to bring books and toys. She allowed him two books and one toy just to sate his frustration.

Perhaps fifteen minutes later, Brian was bounds down the stairs, still not fully comprehending the gravity of the situation. River pulls him to a stop by gripping his backpack, shaking her head with that severe look of hers that told him quite clearly 'No.' She adjusts the bag she has slung over one shoulder, guiding their son to the kitchen. Brian hugs his father's legs while she asks quietly.]

Any sign of...whatever they are?

[best_served_hot]

Right.

[he packs a bag with something to open the canned foods, a few containers to keep what they don't eat, some silverware, and some of brian's preferred foods. he finishes packing the food just as soon as he hears their steps on the stairs and then feels their son's little arms wrap round his legs.

the master, for his part, doesn't answer at first. he's rooted to the spot, staring out at the ruined city and flames reaching into the sky. there's a ship, disc like and huge, hovering over the city.

he can't help but think he's seen them before. he simultaneously wants to run in fear with his family and get violently ill. he hears something, in his mind, like a memory.

I was there when the dalek emperor took control of the cruciform. i saw it. i ran. i ran so far.

he pulls in a shuddering breath at the realization of what they are, and when he looks to river he can't hide the unadulterated terror in his eyes.]

Daleks. That's---it's what they are. Those are Daleks.

[But they were supposed to just be stories. Not real. Never real.]

[riverborntorun]

...What?

[Her grip on the bag goes slack and it falls to the floor with a dull thump. A sickly feeling swells up in her stomach and she finds herself grappling for her husband's arm.]

But it...they can't be, love. They're just a story.

[Her voice is tight and frightened; she doesn't want to believe him, doesn't want to believe that such terrible things exist. But the terror in his eyes, she can't deny that. Her eyes flash across the view of the city.] Oh god...all those people...

How...how is this happening?

[best_served_hot]

[his hands are shaking, sending tremors up his arms, and the sounds of battle are beginning to be heard as far out as their house. exterminate! exterminate!!! he grips her arm back with a trembling hand, and reaches down with his other to keep brian held close to them both.

men. women. children. all dying. he knows it's happening because those things have no regard for any life that isn't their own kind. women like his wife, river. children like their son, brian. it makes him sick. it also makes him so very angry.

let them come after them, he'll kill them all. he's not sure how, but he will. then brian's voice comes and pulls him out of his darker thoughts.]

Is the Doctor going to come save us?

[something in him wants to believe that all of the stories are true then. that the doctor, oh that famous doctor, will come save them all from the monsters. but his thoughts turn darker for reasons he can't explain, and he feels alone and abandoned. no. no, the doctor won't come, it's left up to him.

he has to protect his family.]

I don't know, Brian. [he'll allow their son to cling to that hope, but he won't. he refuses to, and he's not even certain why.]

We need to move. Out to forests. Caves there. We should be safe.

[riverborntorun]

[She gasps, the battle cries finally reaching her ears. That frightening staccato voice has pulse quickening and the fingers of her other hand itching to grab her gun. A cold burn takes over her heart, and she's torn beween crying and running out to stare one of the creatures down.]

But they're not...they're not supposed to be...

[Their son's question wrangles a choked sob from River, and she puts a hand to her mouth. Waves of fear keep rushing over her and subsiding, each time worse than the last. A flash of a dark hallway, bare feet running from some nameless monster... Stories were all well and good, but they couldn't save you in times of need. The only one she could depend on was herself. She had to be her own hero. She had to be brave.

She looks down at her sun and back to her husband. Her boys. She had to be brave for her boys. She bends down and kisses Brian's forehead.] Your father's right. We need to get out of here. Stay quiet, listen to us, and if anything...if anything goes wrong - You run, Brian. You run as fast as you can.

[She gets back up and gives her husband's arm a squeeze.] Just in case... remember I love you.