bakerstreet | These Twists and Turns of Fate

These Twists and Turns of Fate

Fluff Meme

R U L E S:
1. Post your character with their name and series in the subject line.
2. Others respond using RNG. Roll 1 - 15 to pick a scenario.
3. Some scenarios have options (A - C). Pick any one from them or roll 1 - 3.
4. If there is no option that fits for you, then feel free to make one up!
5. And there you go, instant fluff~

Scenarios:

1. A little help, please?

A) Lost - You got lost somewhere, like a school or office building or even an unfamiliar city street, and it doesn't look like you can figure out the way back by yourself.

B) Bike/Car Trouble - Your mode of transportation has a flat tire and your cellphone battery is dead while you're in a middle of nowhere.

C) You Shrimp! - You’re just a short fry who can’t even reach the top shelf for an item. Or even if you’re tall enough, you STILL can’t reach it without a second hand. Like maybe, a ball that got stuck on a basketball’s ring.

2. Babysitting/Pet sitting

Your neighbor is going out of town for a few days. They ask you to take care of the pet (or the baby) for the time being. But you don't have to worry! Your neighbor hired someone to help you. You can only hope that person is reliable...

3. Playful Fight - The two of you are having such a nice time together, doing whatever it is you’re up to. Suddenly, one of you just can’t help but start teasing a little. Like maybe pick up the nearest object available and throw it to the other person's face.

A) Food Fight - Didn’t your mom always told you not to play with food?

B) Water Gun/Water Balloon Fight - Well, that’s one way to cool down.

C) Pillow Fight - Grab a pillow or two. It’s game time.

D) Tickle Fight - Who cares about objects! Your true weapon is your god hand!!

4. Hand to Hold - Something terrible just happened. It’s terrible enough to make you cry or flip a table. You don’t want to be alone right now with these feelings.

A) Shoulder to cry on - You’re not done crying and it just hurts to cry on your own hands.

B) Woke up from a bad dream - Did you get rickrolled in your sleep? Did you hear the trololo man’s song within your dreams? Sit up and tell that person to hold you right now!

C) Just had a bad day - Everybody’s against you today. Flop down that couch and start sulking.

5. Stuck/Stranded

A) Stuck in an elevator - You had places to go! People to see! But that can’t happen due a technical difficulty while you were riding the elevator. Fortunately ~~or unfortunately~~ you’re not alone.

B) Stuck due to rain - Just your luck, you forgot your umbrella. Do you wait it out or try to make a run for it?

C) Deserted Island - Due to a miracle, you survived the boat crash and even drifted ashore! Yay! Except... where the hell are you now? And, oh god, is that a dead body next to you? ~~Wait, it moved!~~

6. Sick/Injury

A) Stuck at Home - It’s your fault that you stayed out the rain too long. Or maybe you just overworked yourself too much. Be careful!

B) Infirmary - Looks like you got into a minor accident. Guess it was a good thing that someone was there to help you to the clinic.

C) Hospital - Still waiting on the results for that last medical exam? Maybe you're EXPECTING A BABY. Whatever it is, at least you've got some company to keep your occupied.

7. Confession

A) In Person - Nothing is more sincere than a direct confession!

B) Love Letter - You’re so traditional. Are you going to put heart stickers, too?

C) Phone call/Text/Email/IMs - Ahh, the wonders of technology. You can even say how you feel through emoticons. :D <3

8. Date

A) Dinner - Whether it’s in restaurant or take-out at home, enjoy a meal with that special someone.

B) Movie - Cozy up on the couch watching a DVD or head to the mall to watch latest blockbuster.

C) Picnic - Grab a basket, grab some food, and pray to god that whoever prepared it knows how to cook. Watch out for ants.

9. New Kid On The Block

You’re new to the neighborhood. Maybe you’re a new student or a newly hired worker. Maybe you even just literally moved in. Either way, you miss your old home and your friends. You’re so lonely. Aww. Don’t worry, maybe fate will be kind to you and reward you with a new friend very soon.

10. A little extra help with work or school

A) Study partner - The exams are coming up! You thought of calling up someone to study with, hoping that it will increase your focus and all those other benefits.

B) Homework pain - You have an extremely difficult homework. You’re at the point where you want to throw it out the window.

C) Overtime at work - It’s shit-o-clock. You’ll never finish these on time. You might as well pull off an overnight at the office, unless a kind soul decides to assist you with work.

11. Hanging Out

A) Shopping - Maybe your ~~victim~~ date doesn't mind shopping with you. Maybe they did. Well, they're here now and they're not getting away from you that easily!

B) At a coffee shop - Maybe it's your first date and the two of you are testing the waters, maybe you bumped into each other. Whatever the reason was, there's nothing like two people just talking over a cup of coffee.

C) At a playground - Nothing wrong with reliving your childhood here. Last one to the swings is a rotten egg!

12. Somebody Save Me!

A) Drowning - Wow, you didn’t even bother checking if your life ring had enough air in it?

B) FIRE! - Good job. You burnt your kitchen and now there’s a forest fire in there.

C) Defending your honor - How dare you forget your rape whistle at home! Maybe screaming will send someone to your aid! KYAAA~

13. Couldn't Make It To Bed

A) Drunk passed out - Looks like you had too much to drink. Think you can still make it to bed by yourself?

B) Slept on the Couch - You’re ridiculously tired and that short nap on the couch became longer than you planned.

C) Fell asleep in the car - Not exactly the ideal place to fall asleep in (carbon monoxide poisoning and all). Luckily, someone’s coming to your rescue.

14. Outdoorsy stuff

A) Stargazing - Maybe you two just enjoy the sight of the sea of stars. Maybe either of you believe in the legend of the wishing star. Either way, the evening sky is shining down for the two of you.

B) Camping - Screw the city! Nature is truly the best! Grab your partner ~~or be dragged off by them~~ and explore to your heart’s content. Watch out for snakes or bears.

C) Field Trip - It’s a class field trip or a work’s group outing! What will you do? Explore every nook of the location you’re in? Stay in your room and play board games? Sneak out each other’s rooms to meet up tonight?

15. Wild card - Roll again, pick anything you’d like, or create your own scene.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

[Any preferences? Happy to try just about anything!]

[ Tbh, there are too many I like to narrow it down. I'm happy to run with anything, if you have an idea, or just roll for it. ]

[Rolled a 4. Serious times ahoy.]

The dream isn't really a dream at all. His last memories before dying are vivid in a way that make life seem pale and shallow. His entire existence is red. Painful. Desperate. Some elements remain constant. Always the barrier is between them. He can't reach her. Other aspects are twisted. Sometimes the warp core just can't be fixed, no matter how many times or how forceful he kicks. The whole crew dies due to his failure. Sometimes he doesn't have the strength to make the descent to reach her. On other occasions, he can't speak at all. One time her face remained cold and dispassionate, condemnation on her lips. When he places his hand on the glass, she doesn't reach back. Tonight leads him down another lonely path before dying.

In his dreams, she doesn't come at all.

Jim bolts up in bed, gasping for air.

[ Let me know if this doesn't work, happy to alter it. ]

They're still grounded, likely to be grounded for months yet - between repairs and the trials, the media mess around Starfleet and Marcus, the need to reaffirm what Starfleet stands for, and attempting to figure out what to do with Khan and the rest of the individuals they had found in the cyro chambers, there was enough to keep them in San Francisco and not out in space. And though Jim had mostly recovered, McCoy had insisted upon some supervision, which meant Jim is staying with Spock.

Spock is familiar enough with dreams. She is not sure if other Vulcans dreamed, only knew she did on occasion. And she had heard sounds from Jim other evenings, though taken no action, mostly because he would settle back and she was unsure of his welcome. But tonight, she she is still awake, and his gasps are eerily familiar, reminding her of his last breaths, his last words.

Spock crosses the hall to his room, standing in the door. "Jim?" she says, tentative as she rarely is. "Were you dreaming?"

[Looks great!]

He's breathing so hard his chest aches. Unable to answer verbally, he just nods, not awake enough to realize his gesture won't be seen in the near darkness. He wraps an arm around his ribs, willing longer breaths.

Spock, despite her keen senses, cannot see in the dark, only hears the rustle of the bed clothes and can make out Jim's figure shifting. So she steps inside, ordering the lights to 5%, and sits on the edge of the bed.

"I have discovered that humans often benefit from discussing their dreams," she says. "Should you wish to talk, I am at your service."

Discussing will help eventually but right now there's only an overwhelming urge to touch her. He couldn't reach her then. But he can reach her now. If he were more awake, he'd probably talk himself out of it. But he's not. So he doesn't. He throws his arms around her and tries to pull her close.

His face is wet from tears.

There are, perhaps, worse individuals who Jim could turn to for comfort. Many Vulcans. A Klingon. The Romulans. But among the people he knows, Spock is the worst. She immediately stiffens when he throws his arms around her, but she doesn't pull back or resist when he pulls her closer.

Her hands come up to awkwardly pat his shoulder, waiting for him to calm.

She may not be a natural when it comes to providing comfort, but in this instance, there's no one who can take her place. It has to be her. Jim seems oblivious to her body language at first as he holds her. He needs to hold her. As the anxiety dissipates and the tears begin to dry, the reality of their closeness dawns on him. He slowly unfurls his arms, as if letting go of her is painful, but he knows she must find the embrace uncomfortable. "I'm sorry," he offers pitifully, his voice barely a whispers.

"There is no need to apologize, Jim." She attempts for soft and almost manages it, though she is no longer patting his shoulder. "You do not need to let go if you do not wish to, this is acceptable." There are few people Spock would say that to, and it is only because it's late and Jim sounds distinctly pitiful.

"Do you wish to discuss your dream?"

Both her tone and her words are reassuring and he'd like nothing more than to just sit here with her body close to his. To know that she's solid and present and reachable. To know her presence means he's really alive and not lying dead at the heart of his ship.

But he does let her go. Once he does, he has to fight the urge to keep going. To keep distancing himself. To run. From everyone and everything. It's a cycle he's battled on many levels ever since regaining his life. Both she and Bones have stuck by his side, for both physical and emotional support. It's exactly what he needs. And simultaneously can't stand.

"No, I-" he starts but falls silent. "I'm sorry I woke you."

Once he lets her go, Spock shifts so she is sitting slightly further away, but still within arm's distance. She rests her hands on the edge of the bed, fingers curling into the sheets.

"You did not wake me," she assures him. "I was browsing through scientific journals and only beginning to prepare for sleep." She pauses for a second, untangling her fingers from the sheet to set her hand on Jim's arm. "Even were you to wake me, it would be no concern. Your mental health is important."

His mental health. His physical health. Spock and Bones both spend a lot of time discussing it lately. He's both a part of that conversation and awkwardly an outsider. It's painful all in itself. The voluntary placement of her hand on his bare arm is perhaps the greatest gift she could give him right now. It provides what the desperate embrace just moments before could not. Bones isn't the only one with a healing touch.

He rubs at an eye with the palm of his hand. Sleep is difficult to come by and what he gets is always interrupted. Bones has told him it'll get better. He's starting to wonder when. "It was the same dream," he finally admits.

It is their duty to discuss his health, as it is important to them not only in their roles as CMO and First Officer, but also as his friends. Spock remembers from her childhood how awkward it can be to listen to others discuss one's personal health, but even attempts to make sure he is a part of the conversation can seem forced. So she waits for moments like this, when it is easier to ask question.

"About the warp core and radiation chamber?" she asks, for clarification. Though there is little else it could be about. "Jim, it is just a dream. You saved the ship and Dr. McCoy, Lieutenant Uhura, and I managed -" her voices breaks slightly, unnoticeable to anyone who did not know her '-to save you." Barely, and it is still something Spock dislikes thinking of, but he is there. "Was there something else that occurred in this dream?"

But Jim does know her and the break in her voice is just another reminder that this has been hard on them all. Continues to be hard. They've all been pushed to their limits. Perhaps even beyond.

He almost doesn't reply. To save her the awkwardness of replying. To not lay any more worry upon her shoulders. The latest reiteration is one of the worst yet. Dying alone. He always knew he would die alone. "You didn't come."

This might have pushed them to their limits, or beyond, but they've come out of it, even if none of them like to remember those two weeks where Jim was recovering. And Spock can at least reassure Jim that his dream had not come to pass.

"No one would not let you die alone." He is too important to the crew, and as Spock had been forced to realize, too important to Spock. "I will always come, if it is my power to do so. You are not alone, Jim."

He knows himself well enough to realize his fears are a product of life. More specifically, his childhood. Fighting for himself against his environment, protecting himself from the people who should have "cared", and fending for himself at an early age. Even in a crowd, he was always alone.

Honest friendship was a foreign concept. Until Bones. Until Spock. Along with it came trust. It's not something he does easily. "I know, Spock. I know you will," he replies with quiet conviction.

That is one thing they have in common, something Spock little expects. Jim, charming and popular, to feel so alone. It's something she experienced daily on Vulcan, and even among the humans she came to know when attending Starfleet.

Spock trusts people to act in their nature, but she trusts them little beyond that. There are few she trusts with something like her friendship, but Jim is one of them. Though it does not come easy to her, she reaches out and wraps her arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a hug. "Know they are only dreams."

It's a little awkward at first, an odd reversal of earlier. But he recognizes even in his half awake state that she's going out on an emotional limb and he isn't about to turn her or the gesture away. He wraps his arms around her again and relaxes into her. Hugs. Hugs are good. He'll take hugs. He should take as many as he can get right now.

"Stopping soon would be good," he mumbles into her shoulder. Then he huffs something close to a chuckle and clarifies, "The dreams. Not the hug. You can hold me all night."

Hugs are among the oddities to which Spock had to adjust when she moved to Earth, though very few people initiated hugs with her. Simply seeing so many people who did hug in public had been startling.

But she has gotten used to them to an extent, at least when it comes to those she considers friends. Though still difficult, she was the one to initiate it, and can relax slightly.

"If that is your need, then I shall do so," she tells him, her other arm coming up to wrap around him. "Should you require more assistance with the dreams, it is possible to see a mind healer."

He's about to tell he was only half joking about being held all night when she drops the additional statement. His reaction is visceral. Every muscle in his body tightens and if her arms weren't encircling him, he'd have likely scurried away. The idea of having someone unfamiliar up in his business frightens him. His only experience with a mind meld wasn't exactly emotionally pleasant.

"S'not gunna happen," he states with no room for argument.

Spock can feel him stiffen at her suggestion and she is curious as to what could possibly make him dislike that idea so fiercely. But rather than questioning, as the middle of the night when trying to provide comfort is not the appropriate time and even Spock knows that, she simply nods.

"Of course, Jim. Dr. McCoy might have something to help you sleep, then."

He relaxes noticeably, relieved she hasn't pursued any details. He shakes his head at the suggestion. "Don't wake him up. He hasn't been sleeping any better than I have."

It doesn't make sense to have one of them exchange sleep for the other. If Bones comes over and gives him something to help him sleep, he knows Bones will be up the rest of the night worrying.

"He would rather be disturbed at your behest than not at all," she informs him. "In fact, he is always quite insistent on that point." She has been forced to endure his lectures multiple times, despite the fact that she has an eidetic memory, in addition to written instructions. Not that she protested, not when it comes to Jim's health.

"However, I will not wake him now. In the morning, we shall procure sleeping aids for future complications. Is there another method of achieving sleep that you are familiar with and in which I might assist?" She lets her arms fall from around his shoulders, though she does place a hand on his forearm, simply for reassurance.

spock (rule!63) | star trek aos

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