In which I watch bad movies and make a meme vaguely based on them: my life in six parts

[weebsock]

YOU ARE NOT MY ENEMY
A slave/reluctant master romance(?) meme


The seed of the idea has existed for ages, perhaps as long as there has been the concept of enemies among humanity - so, a long time. It goes as follows:

You are in an unfamiliar and dangerous territory, most likely the home of your enemy. Whether there is a war raging in the background or just barely-bandaged hostility is irrelevant. Your safety does not depend on that. Instead, you are an example. Your freedom is forfeit. A prisoner is what you are...no, you're a slave. And you're given to someone for service or for entertainment.

You're prepared to hate your new "master." Who wouldn't? Slowly, however, you realize that things aren't as they seem. Your master is no cruel owner; in fact, they don't even want to own you. But they are as much of a pawn in this scheme as you are. Still, they show you kindness and their subtle rebellion fans the flames of your own. Over time, your feelings towards them begin to change. It may be some sort of Stockholm Syndrome or it may be a true emotion, yet either way, something fragile and perhaps even beautiful is growing between the the two of you. Could this be love? If it is or if it isn't, there's one certainty: if you are found out, it will be the end, most likely, of you both.

This is the situation your character finds themselves in. Are they master? Slave? How do they accept their fate? Their new feelings towards their "master"/"slave"? All of this is up to you, as well as how this all ends for the pair.

Of course, there's a precedent for it ending badly and bloody, for obvious reasons.

HOW TO PLAY

• Comment with your character, preferences, and other information like any character info, what position your character is likely to fill, or smut/lack thereof preferences.
• Reply to others.
• Feel free to use the below prompts and ideas.

POSITIONS

1. Slave
2. Reluctant Master

ATTITUDE

1. Willing: You'll take the past of least resistance and try to keep your head down.
2. Unwilling: Well, "unwilling" is sort of implied in general, but you are especially rebellious and refuse to be tamed. You throw any kindness you receive back in the giver's face. When you begin to feel something for your "master," you reject that as much as you possibly can.

ENDING

1. Good: The idealized, happy ending. You both get away from the system that keeps you chained and live freely together.
2. Bad: The realistic ending. Your little affair is unearthed and your heads end up on the chopping block.

Comments

Dr. Leonard McCoy - ST Reboot

[drlmccoy]

Reluctant Master
Annoyed Unwilling
Good

[barsoombamf]

((ooc: Up for having a Princess of Mars as an unwilling servant?))

[drlmccoy]

[ooc: perfect!]

Whoa wall of text,,,

[barsoombamf]

((Awesome!! Let me know if this isn't what you had in mind - editing can be a thing! Started with prose but we can do brackets, if you'd prefer.))

A princess of Mars, now a servant for a doctor. How in the name of Iss had this happened? The Jedak of Helium, one of the chief cities of Barsoom, had thought the safest thing for his daughter to avoid having her marry the Jedak of Zodanga, was to send her off-world for a bit with a trusted ally. The ally, however, had proved to be unworthy of the Jedak's trust. He had sold Dejah Thoris into the intergalactic slave ring - as she was a princess of Barsoom, she had fetched a fine profit indeed.

Dejah detested the idea of anyone who thought it acceptable to purchase another living person like an object. No matter if her new 'master' was indeed attractive, he had bought her as if she were a fine piece of gold or new form of weapon. Truth be told she had indeed hated him when she had first came here; more than once she contemplated poisoning his food before serving it.

But, she was glad she hadn't. It didn't take very long before she realized that, in purchasing her, Dr. McCoy had in his own way, been trying to save her. Now that the deed had been done, he needed to keep up the appearance that he had bought her simply as a slave, else it might attract unwanted attention. So Dejah's anger had dulled, even dissolved completely.

She found that she actually enjoyed being with Leonard. True, she preferred when they were alone and could let loose a bit; but even in public situations he was kind to her. They were both intellectuals by nature, and thus understood each other on a level that others did not.

Still, it didn't change the fact that Dejah was a slave. There was no getting around it; no amount of kindness would make up for it. She had been born and raised a princess, this life was not meant for her.

Hence, one night, Dejah glanced up as she served him the dinner she'd prepared. Her teeth pinched her lower lip before she spoke.

"How long am I to stay like this?" It wasn't that she disliked being with him, Dejah disliked being unequal to him.

ORZ I only saw that movie once

[drlmccoy]

Dear Lord did he hate missions like that. Leonard knew he hated them, knew that Jim and Spock hated those missions probably more than he did. But that didn't solve the fact that he had a Martian princess at his beck and call. It was difficult. There was a strong difference between barking orders at new residencies and actually ordering a slave around. There was a fire in her eyes that befitted her former life and Leonard knew better than to give her demeaning jobs. Those were best for ensigns that got their asses in trouble planetside.

No, no, he gave her as much freedom as he could afford to give her as her captors wanted to see him at work. He asked her to do things at her leisure: fix up his quarters, drop off a nutrient bar during his long shifts so he didn't starve himself to death, make sure the ship didn't drop out of the sky (though that was more Sulu's job than Dejah's). When he discovered that she had an affinity for things like engineering, he let her hang around Scotty's neck of the woods just to pass her day in a much more stimulating environment. Hell, he was surprised as to why she wasn't given to Scotty in the first place.

So when she asked him one night after serving up dinner, he looked at her. Oh hell, it had been a long day with him treating lieutenants that got their unmentionables stuck in various jeffries tubes. Leonard gave a long sigh.

"Well, we're leavin' this sector in a few days. I imagine that, as soon as we get out of range and you and Scotty develop whatever that is that can locate the slave chip and extract it without any consequence to you, you're back to being a free woman," he paused, "your highness." He never forgot that she was a princess and always addressed her in private by her proper title, even canting his head as his mama taught him right. "We'll pass by Mars--Barsoom--on our way back to earth and drop you off there."

[barsoombamf]

Dejah never once took for-granted Leonard's kindness. The fact that he allowed and even encouraged his comrade to help her escape this vile situation just made Dejah that much happier to be around him; that much more thankful to Issus that she had been so fortunate.

Still, the idea of returning to Barsoom...did not make her as happy as she had thought it would. True, she would be ecstatic to see her father and Kantos Kan again. But that also made the possibility of not seeing Leonard ever again that much more likely. She didn't like being his slave, but she didn't want to be rid of him either...

"And what then?" She asks softly. Her gaze flickers up, knowing they are safe in their privacy that she does not have to avert her eyes. "Will I...will I ever get to see you again?"

Dejah was a skilled fighter, yes. But she could not foresee herself joining Starfleet. She was a princess. She would rule over Helium and keep Zodanga from crushing her culture, her people.

This was her duty, this was her goal.

But did that mean she had to give up that which brought her own happiness?

[drlmccoy]

"Then you go back to being a princess and a queen someday if your rules work like our rules." To her question of whether or not she'd see him again, Leonard hesitated. "Dejah, you won't need to see me because you are required to, you'll be your own woman again. Hell, you probably have a line out the door to your own beck and call."

[barsoombamf]

"That's all well and good, but I was not asking if I would see you because I was required to," Dejah sighed.

True enough, there had been men who sought to marry the Jedak's daughter. Either for diplomatic or personal reasons. Each one that she'd met, at least before her father had sent her off-world, had failed to raise even the tiniest feeling of affection from Dejah Thoris. To her father's frustration, she had sent them away, and had taken more to her research than anything.

"Leonard, I was asking if you would ever consider...coming back and seeing me again?"

She wanted to say 'would you ever consider staying with me?' - but Dejah knew the answer to that. The crew of the Enterprise needed him, and he was devoted to them enough that she could never ask him to make such a sacrifice and stay on Barsoom for her. Dejah was not so selfish as that.

[drlmccoy]

The question actually caught him by surprise. Leonard mumbled and played with his food a bit.

"Yes, I would."

He'd grown to enjoy having her around but knew there was no way they could keep spouses on the ships nor would he ever ask her to abandon her post as ruler of her land.

"If you don't mind, of course, your highness."

[barsoombamf]

Just as she could not ask him to abandon his crew and join her on Barsoom. Dejah could not break up the camaraderie they had. Besides, it was too much to ask anyway.

Her father was unlikely to much approve of him anyway. He was a rather traditional man who expected his daughter to enjoy the company of a good, Barsoomian man. Dejah was not so interested in where a man came from so much as she enjoyed the caliber of a man.

Leonard was certainly of superb caliber, but this was not the time to be thinking such things.

"I would very much enjoy it, actually..." Dejah smiled almost sheepishly. "I imagine it will be rather lonely, without having you around. Especially after you've taken such good care of me."

[drlmccoy]

He gave her a small grin.

"Just means you need to take good care of me when we come to visit." He took another bite of his dinner. "Scotty might miss you, though. Been some time since someone of his "calibre" came onto the ship. Ought to be careful: think he's taking a shining to you."

[redheadedcaptain]

[Tauriel wasn't entirely sure of everything that was going on, here, although she'd pieced together a lot. Her planet had only newly developed the capability for space flight beyond its own moons, but that had been enough to put one of their new ships in contact with the Enterprise and the strangers it carried.

Now there were negotiations going on - primarily, according to rumor, negotiations about their planet joining an alliance of other planets. The newcomers seemed to have the promise of fresh resources to offer, but for some reason, the terms they were asking in exchange were unacceptable.

As a show of good faith, her world had offered the newcomers a handful of slaves to help them adjust to their stay on Mirkwood. As a sign of distrust, these slaves had been picked from the lower-court prisons - not violent offenders, but seditious, disruptive. It had been trusted that their relief at being out of the capital's overcrowded prisons would keep them compliant for their new owners, that relative freedom of movement would be seen as a step up in circumstances.

For some, this was proving to be the case.

Tauriel was withholding judgement. Not that she intended to stay, of course. But it might be a worthwhile position to hold while she judged her opportunities for a more complete escape. Right now, she was just trying to keep her head down and judge her new "master".

What she'd come up with so far was that he seemed to be a most irritable man.]

[drlmccoy]

-Leonard was a reasonable man. Unreasonable when it came to things like transporters and Jim Kirk. But somehow, his captain and the hobgoblin managed to get him on a shuttle down to Mirkwood, as part of their envoy to speak with the elders. Apparently, after Ensign Hartford opened his big mouth, they were now about to leave with a new planet for the Federation and a handful of slaves-

-Spock had a plan to being the slaves to the new Vulcan colony to assist with the rebuilding of their world. That was all fine and dandy until the redheaded girl was thrown in front of him, no questions asked and apparently an insult if he didn't keep her-

-his scowl only deepens, seeing already that she had been malnourished and hadn't been properly stretching for some time-

[redheadedcaptain]

She hadn't been, to the point that just moving is mildly painful. But it's a good sort of pain - satisfying, as she works out her cramped, sore, abused muscles for the first time in too long. As she sits, listening the best she can for the meeting to conclude, Tauriel nevertheless finds herself mildly engrossed in just stretching her legs out. Old warrior instincts mean that she goes about it efficiently and smoothly. She isn't chained up, mostly because even Tauriel can acknowledge it would be tantamount to suicide to try anything around all these people who would rather she didn't.

It's impossible to miss the fact that her owner (for the moment) is watching her. She tries, of course, but can't help her gaze from darting up to him periodically as well.

Finally, Tauriel bites back a sigh, forces herself to adopt what she hopes is a suitably charming smile, and asks in a whisper so as to hopefully avoid drawing even more attention to herself: "Is everything all right, my lord?"

[drlmccoy]

Doctor. I'm a doctor.

-He hauls her up and takes her away from prying eyes, scowling at anyone that came near them and barking that he wanted some time alone with his new slave. When they finally reach a place of true privacy, he doesn't reach for his belt, he reaches for his scanner and begins a a physical-

Anything hurt? Anything that feels wrong to you?

-he asks quietly in case the walls had ears-

[redheadedcaptain]

Tauriel's eyes widen in alarm as McCoy suddenly moves in close and hauls her properly upright. Sluggish as she still is, she stumbles as she's towed along, and hates both herself for stumbling and McCoy for towing her along like this. His closing remark to his fellows hadn't been missed. She doesn't want that. Doesn't want him. Hopefully, if he is sufficiently determined, he'll wind up leading her to a sufficiently isolated location that she can demonstrate as much and get away without drawing the wrath of everyone who isn't her down on her head.

She isn't entirely confident that she can, as weak as she is now, but is quickly resolved to make a fight of it. In the meantime, the slave finds herself on her feet and being herded out of the meeting chamber, into the hallway, and just generally further away. By the time McCoy deems them sufficiently isolated, Tauriel is wound up to the point that she visibly flinches as the scanner is pulled out. She doesn't recognize it or what it's meant to do.

"No." She lies stubbornly on both counts. The scanner will show otherwise - some badly healed broken bones, muscles abused and neglected, the echoes of old infections that burned themselves out without treatment. Nothing in and of itself is life-threatening, but there's a lot of old damage, and it's lead to a lot of aches and pains she's learned to ignore.

In part, it's pride. In part, it's because the walls really do have ears.

[drlmccoy]

Just as he suspected. Leonard scowled.

"That's going to be a damn problem, then." He switched out his scanner for another pack. He put his hand underneath her arm and pulled out a hypospray loaded with a cocktail of antivirus and antibiotics and proteins that will set to work in repairing her muscles and infections properly. He pressed it against her neck and hit the trigger to quickly dispatch them so that they could get to work. The broken bones, however, will need to be taken cared of on ship. A quick scan let him know that his concoction was doing its work.

He hauled her up again, hoping the cocktail would make her pliant enough to follow along with him, before growling at others to let him on the shuttle to get back to the Enterprise.

He made himself sound as menacing as possible at anyone who dared to cross his path.

[redheadedcaptain]

Curiosity and, yes, a small spark of hope, kept Tauriel still as she was pulled forward and a strange device aimed at her neck. All the same, a momentary stab of pain made her snarl in shock more than anything, trying to pull sharply away. The world tilted a little crazily, and she found herself stumbling instead. One hand went to her neck. "What in the...?"

And then she was being hauled along again, too unsteady on her feet to do much of anything but follow while trying not to fall. But not too unsteady to demand, despite the tenuous situation: "What have you done?!" Her body was already starting to ache as the proteins went to work knitting her back together.

[drlmccoy]

"Try not to move so much, your body's repairing itself," Leonard said quietly. "Scotty, two to beam up. Send me directly to the med bay."

He hated it but they had to make a quick exit. When he materialized again on the pad, he hauled her, Tauriel, up onto her feet (damn amazon woman towering over him) and onto one of the biobeds so that he could get a proper scan.

"What the hell did they do to you down there?" he murmured. "We should be able to set you back to fighting shape in no time."

[hiddenkrayt]

Is it too late to offer another tag from that other Star movie soon to be JJ Abramsed thingy?

[drlmccoy]

Not too late :3 But quick! Before the lens flares come!

[hiddenkrayt]

- almost choked on my tea. Then I inadvisedly read it again and did. All right. Tell me if anything needs changing.

There's a fine line between freedom and slavery. Of course, that's an entirely metaphysical line of thought. Man is bound by the things he lets bind him and even freedom of choice is chained to self-imposed responsibility and destiny, putting limits on freedom and restricting choices. It's something, she thinks, Master Koon would have made into a lesson.

The thin seamless bracelets around her wrists might indicate there was a physical lesson in it as well.

She could use the Force to break them. Despite the very effective electric shocks they're capable of delivering to incapacitate her, she could bend that energy long enough to physically boost her strength and snap them. Probably. She hasn't tried it yet, though she's felt their bite. It comes back to those limited choices. She's not a free Jedi. In fact, hunted to the brink of extinction, there aren't supposed to be any Jedi left at all. None of her current captors are aware of what she is, her lightsaber long gone, her robes long ago traded for more subtle, simple garb. In a strange way, life has made her safer as a slave than it would free because no one ever looks at slaves. None of the enemies hounds go down to the slave pens to sniff out Force sensitives. What Jedi would ever let themselves be bound and abused, traded like meat?

When she'd traded again, a ceremonial gift exchange, one of many slaves, for a strange ship's safe passage through a disputed sector of the galaxy, she looks the part. She's worn and dirty and hungry beyond even her own Force ability to ignore and she hasn't healed the signs of hard use. But she feels the tug of the Force, or perhaps just the absence of its growing darkness and the ship is going the direction she wants. She thinks it's another link in the chain, because where do you escape to on a ship in the middle of airless emptiness? But enough links can give you a chain long enough to climb with and Jedi are ever patient. Her face is as defeated and empty as the rest of her companions but she watches from the tops of her dark tipped eyes through the ceremony and, as she has before, she finds the one she's looking for. This one is like breaking carbonite against her mind, cracked armor, rock shards from the Greel ocean. It's confusing, but he can be what she needs. So when it's time, when she's herded forward like the others, like so many falumpaset, she reaches out with the Force and she touches him. Her hands stay loose at her sides. She will not compel him. But he has to chose one of them and with the Force she silently tugs at the edge of him 'here. this one. something's there. here.' There's no Force in the gesture, it's much older and more basic than even that when she turns her hand, still by her side, to him, palm almost hidden by the tattered sleeve of her robe and her fingers just barely curl for him.

[drlmccoy]

Leonard had boredom written all over his face. He could tell it from how Jim was giggling behind his hand and Spock was blatantly ignoring him. Why the hell was he brought on this again?

Refugees hiding in plain sight and how they need to get them to safer places or something like that. It was almost imperceptible to anyone else's eye but Spock suddenly was a lot more rigid than he normally was. Oh good, maybe this whole shindig would be over quicker than they would like it to be. Jim walked up to the slave trader and began his bargain for that one for "his friend."

The doctor wanted to roll his eyes. But if he were to keep up the pretence of a foreign dignitary, he had to resist. He looked over at the rows of slaves and saw one that caught his eye. This must've been the one Spock was eyeing. She was in plain sight of him.

Soon, she was selected and thrown before Leonard for his approval.

[hiddenkrayt]

She's getting better at hiding in plain sight. She doesn't use the Force to help her balance the rough exchange and she stumbles the way anyone tired and over used or cramped too long in small quarters would. It's not as hard to do as it once was because she truly is tired and cramped and ill used. But she's still warrior trained, for all she doesn't look it, and her feet and her balance never fail her, keeping her from pitching forward too hard, keeping her from going over. A new master. Not at all like the ones she had growing up but the general idea is the same. He doesn't get a bow. That's too arcane a tradition, she does it too formally, it's recognizable. Instead she lowers her head, hand folding in front of her - and looks up at him from the tops of her eyes.

She's rarely seen anyone look so ill tempered. It's not encouraging. But he doesn't feel... cruel in the Force, despite the sharp edges he radiates. It gives her some measure of stability. The other slaves are assigned rather quickly, a show of efficiency - and how often this has been done before. The small, thumb sized devices that control the bracelets on each of them are given over. And - something... the strangest something whispers out through the Force at her as her ownership changes hands, or maybe it's just the electric shock device but, it's something strange and strange enough that, for just a moment, she breaks her charade and, voice low and quiet under the overriding buzz of exchanges and shuffling feet, asks the man in front of her:

"Are you sure?"

[drlmccoy]

Leonard stared her down, all gruff and ornery as the day he stepped onto that goddamn shuttle with Jim.

"Very sure."

As soon as those words left his lips, there was an explosion nearby, knocking slave transmitters offline. Shouts came from everywhere and Jim, the pointy eared bastard, and Leonard were quickly guiding the slaves into transports to be taken up to the ship. More and more of Starfleet transports appeared in the sky as the attack continued from both sides.

Leonard got onto the medical shuttle with his "new slave" and a handful of the younger ones. Quickly, he tore off the damn disguise to reveal his Starfleet uniform.