memed: (m u n c h)
a meme journal ([personal profile] memed) wrote in [community profile] bakerstreet2015-07-19 07:33 pm

(no subject)

The Rescue Me Meme



'Cause, sometimes, you just can’t save yourself.


→ Post with your character’s name, canon, and any preferences in the subject line
→ Those tagging, go to RNG and roll for a number between one and ten.
→ Alternatively, just pick the choice you’re interested in most.

1. A Bad Date - You get a text, a phone call, or maybe you can just see the other person floundering on what clearly must be the worst date of their life. Time to step in and save the day.

2. Prison - Maybe they've been wrongly convicted, or maybe you're an accomplice. Either way, it's jailbreak. Maybe the guards will fall for the old 'wounded prisoner' technique.

3. Taken Hostage - They're being held at gunpoint, either for money or for fun. Maybe you can talk down their captors, or maybe you are a captor, secretly working to help them.

4. Abuse/Neglect - Your body is damaged, your suffering taken it's toll. You can't save yourself anymore. You're wounded, you're starving, maybe even dying. Someone, help.

5. Addiction - Just one more. Nothing bad will happen if you just get one more. Either way, you can't save yourself from this downward spiral. Someone else is going to have to help.

6. Yourself - One bad choice after another, your self-destructive tendencies are going to get the best of you unless someone steps in, quick, to save the day.

7. Climactic Situation - You're hovering over an active volcano, a pit of sharks, about to fall off a cliff. Whatever it is, you've only got precious seconds of life left.

8. Loneliness - You've been secluded, locked away, and the emptiness is overwhelming. You need company, or you might just drown.

9. Unwanted Social Function - A family reunion, your three o'clock board meeting, whatever it is, you desperately don't want to go. Hopefully your good buddy can come up with a distraction.

10. A Bad Romance - You're trapped in a relationship that's headed south, and you can't seem to get away from the other person. Looks like you need a helping hand, maybe a prince charming.
deus_ex_phs: (Explain a thing)

[personal profile] deus_ex_phs 2015-08-17 11:50 am (UTC)(link)
For a second, Cloud looks like he might try to argue, but seeing something in Zack's face, or hearing it in his voice, eventually relinquishes his hold on the materia instead, letting Zack take it from him. "'Kay..."

Kunsel watches the exchange from the side while taking a moment to root through Zack's pack until he finds... There! He pulls out what he was looking for and hands each of them a ration bar. Best get some food into Cloud while he's still lucid, just in case this is only temporary.

"Thank goodness ShinRa makes these so they'll last a long time. Not that they could taste much worse," he cracks. Six months old or not, rations will always be fair game for insults. It's practically tradition at this point. "After that, you two probably ought to get some rest. We're not going to make it far in your state, and who knows if we'll find another shelter like this? I'll keep watch, just in case that search party notices our trail after all when they come back down from the reactor."
modulatingphase: (wolf puppy)

[personal profile] modulatingphase 2015-08-18 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
The materia is warm and smooth beneath his fingers, still glimmering even as Zack tucks it back into his pocket. A comment about taking shifts is swallowed down; Cloud needs to sleep, but so does he. Cures heal injury, not exhaustion. As much as it chafes at him, Kunsel's going to have to take watch for the whole of the dark night.

This is their life now, isn't it? Forever fleeing, forever hiding, never knowing what shadow is safe and which could hold a trap. They can't hide forever; not in this cave, not anywhere. Some life this is going to be, but...it is a life. And so Zack takes his bar with a sigh before busying his hands with getting Cloud's open enough that he can take a bite.

Six months on similar rations have done nothing to endear either of them to the taste, but nutrients are nutrients and they both need them. Once Cloud's wrapper is open, however, he turns a stern eyed look on his best friend.

"You wake me up at the first sign of trouble, got it? No handling them on your own."

He can't heft the Buster right now, but he can still throw what weight he's got left around. Can still throw a few punches. Desperation adds one hell of a lot of strength.
deus_ex_phs: (Heh)

[personal profile] deus_ex_phs 2015-08-18 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
Pulling an all night shift is never a fun thing, but it's hardly the first time Kunsel has done it. And really, of the three of them, he's in the best condition for it, so he just quirks the corner of his mouth up at Zack's admonishment.

"Trust me, if something happens, you'll hear about it." Even if it's just to tell Zack to take Cloud and get out of there. One way or another, Zack will know if there's an attack.

"Wake me up, too," Cloud murmurs, the most coherent sentence he's managed since he came out of his stupor. Not that he has any idea what he'll do if there's a fight, but he doesn't like the idea of sitting, helpless and unconscious, if there's any chance of someone capturing them.

"Right, right," Kunsel says, waving their concern off with the hand that's holding his own ration bar. "I'll wake you both up, but only if you go to sleep first."

Go ahead, try to figure out the logic in that.
modulatingphase: (wolf puppy)

[personal profile] modulatingphase 2015-08-18 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
As if Zack would run and abandon anyone to ShinRa. He grumbles, tearing into his bar and chewing angrily. Grateful as he is for the initial rescue? Like hell is going to let Kunsel sacrifice himself for them. Not after everything else that's happened. He'll fight. No more hiding. Not tonight, at least.

"Eat first, Cloud." He says after swallowing a bite, chalky bits clinging to his teeth. They're not rancid, but these things never fail to taste horrible. Blech. "Then sleep. Give your stomach something to chew on."

That isn't itself. The first weeks were horrible for that. What he'd give for a Behemoth steak right now...he still grumbles, pointing at Kunsel with his free hand. If he's gonna have to watch you both, battered state or otherwise, he will. Don't think he won't!

"No stunts, you hear me? We're all getting off this mountain alive and free."
deus_ex_phs: (Glad)

[personal profile] deus_ex_phs 2015-08-18 11:15 am (UTC)(link)
"Look who's talking. Don't make me tell Cloud about all the stunts you've pulled, Mr. I'll-make-First-Class-in-no-time." Kunsel even manages to pull off a semblance of Zack's cocky voice from back then. Is he teasing? Yes, he's teasing.

Hey, anything to distract them all from the saw dust and wood chips they're shoving into their mouths. Kunsel may be used to these things - heck, they probably all are - but that doesn't make it any easier to chew and swallow.

Cloud's mouth twitches. "I could... tell stories, too. About his stunts." Look at that. Another coherent thought expressed. He really is doing better, even if he's stumbling on words a little bit.

Kunsel grins. "Oh really."
modulatingphase: (wolf in the headlights)

[personal profile] modulatingphase 2015-08-18 11:47 am (UTC)(link)
"Hey, I made it through those!" He pauses, then sinks back and chews almost petulantly. "Just needed a Cure once or twice."

Or to run off the time he got almost hyper off ether fumes. Angeal had almost laughed when he came down from that tree, though, so it wasn't all bad! You know. Almost. He turns that petulant look on Cloud, though. Don't you dare, Spike.

No, really. Dare. Keep talking. Please keep talking.

"Hey, my stunts are nothing like that time in the woods, man."

If he can fish that memory out of the green, Cloud will know exactly what incident Zack is referring to, and will likely try to stop Zack from continuing to speak. Though, to be fair--and he usually is--that was nothing like what he got up to.

it was much tamer.
deus_ex_phs: (Heh)

1/2

[personal profile] deus_ex_phs 2015-08-19 12:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Keeping Cloud talking is definitely a good thing, at least until it's time for them to sleep. Kunsel's glad that Zack caught onto his plan without him having to spell it out.

Though really, it's not like he needs much incentive to give Zack a hard time about things.

"What time in the woods?" he asks. It sounds like this story might be more at Cloud's expense, but that's okay. If it gets Cloud talking...
Edited 2015-08-19 12:15 (UTC)
for_them_both: (Brooding)

[personal profile] for_them_both 2015-08-19 12:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"The woods..." At first Cloud's expression is utterly blank, devoid of any recognition of the hint. Trying to dig the memory up feels like swimming to the bottom of a pond, darker and greener the farther he goes. Something's down there, he knows, but...

He makes a frustrated noise, crumpling his empty wrapper. "What happened-?" he starts to ask, before fumbling the words. He stops and starts again. "What happened in the woods?"

There. He at least managed that.
modulatingphase: (dwelling)

[personal profile] modulatingphase 2015-08-19 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, Cloud. The hope that had been bubbling in Zack's chest pops, and he swallows the last bite of his bar harder than he should have to. The woods wasn't that long ago, and that he can't remember it...the wrapper crumples in his hand, thin foil destroyed beneath his grip. Gods. They're really messed up, aren't they? He sighs.

"Well, a buncha guys he was grouped with decided to prank him. Threw us both outta the jeep we were in without our supplies so we'd have to walk through this forest back to camp. It wasn't that hard, but..." He leans back on his hands, blowing a lock of hair out of his face. "We ran into this family of chocobos. They kinda took us under their wings for a while."

For like. Ten minutes. It's funnier than he's making it sound, but...he smiles just a little.

"They had this chick, probably a year old...and it really liked Cloud. Started grooming him and everything. We barely got away."
deus_ex_phs: (Surprise)

[personal profile] deus_ex_phs 2015-08-24 12:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Wild chocobos?" Kunsel whistles. "Those are rare. And even rarer if they approached you guys. Usually they just run unless you bait them with greens, and sometimes even that isn't enough." He's taking his cue from Zack, keeping the conversation light, partly because he doesn't know enough to know what questions to ask.

But also partly because he can see Cloud's face screwed up with frustration and something almost like pain, like he's trying to remember but can't. The blond hunches over, fingers pressing into his temples.

"I don't..." he says. "I don't remember. Who... Who would prank two SOLDIERs?"

Kunsel blinks. Two? He casts a questioning look at Zack, not certain how to interpret that question.
modulatingphase: (don't make me do this)

[personal profile] modulatingphase 2015-08-25 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
For his part, Zack is just as confused. He opens his mouth to try and correct Cloud, but then he stops. Blinks once, twice, then pales and stares sightless at the wall beside Cloud's head. The lessons they got on mako addiction all those years ago are buried in his brain, next to magic exhaustion and potion overdose, but they're there.

They're there and they're surfacing now, leaving him to stare at the top of Cloud's head. Confusion was a symptom, yes, but at the same time...he turns to look at Kunsel, then shakes his head again. This isn't right. Something is very wrong with what Cloud is saying, but trying to correct him...Ifrit. Rock and a hard place.

They need to keep him talking for now. They can handle the rest later. He swallows hard, then forces himself to breathe as he leans back on his hands to keep them from trembling. Breathe, Fair. No good to him if you pass out now.

One thing's for sure: If he ever sees Hojo again, he will murder the man.

"Couple of idiots, that's who." His voice catches. He clears his throat, continues, "They surprised us, but ended up on latrine duty for almost a month afterwards."

Sephiroth had been amused, in his own way, but chain of command had to be respected. Zack honestly felt a little sorry for those two. They'd been reassigned, if he remembered right. At least they weren't around the next time he'd seen Cloud.
deus_ex_phs: (Just talking)

[personal profile] deus_ex_phs 2015-08-27 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Kunsel catches the confusion on Zack's face, then watches it melt into something distinctly more disturbed before he very obviously and very deliberately pushes it away. Breathing exercises, even, and a subtle shifting of his posture that Kunsel only understands the meaning behind because he knows Zack so well. Whatever that comment about two SOLDIERs means, Zack's alarmed and trying not to show it.

Unfortunately, without asking, Kunsel can only guess at why - but Zack's made it clear that now's not the time. Kunsel represses the urge to sigh - he's never liked being in the dark - but resolves to ask him later.

"Sounds like they earned it," he remarks instead. "You just don't do that kind of thing with upper command."
for_them_both: (Default)

[personal profile] for_them_both 2015-08-27 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah..."

None of it rings any bells in Cloud's head. Not the chocobos, not the prank, not the results. Frustration wells up in him, but he has no outlet for it. No outlet but to drag a rough breath in and shove it back out while digging his fingers into his head.

Damn it, what's wrong with him?

"I think I'm... ready to sleep," he says haltingly. Maybe this is all just leftovers from the dip in the mako tank and he'll feel better once he's sleep and had a chance to let the mako fade. Maybe his brain will clear up then, too. "Just make sure you wake us up if... if something happens."
modulatingphase: (it'll all be okay)

[personal profile] modulatingphase 2015-08-27 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
There's a lot left to tell Kunsel. To guess at and try to explain. He's already mentioned that Cloud isn't SOLDIER. For him to think that he is, memories caught on that one lie....something's wrong. Really wrong.

"Don't worry," is what he finally says, though who he's trying to convince is the real question. "He will. Get some sleep, man."

He'll join his friend as soon as his heart stops pounding in his throat, the implications of what's going on sinking in and making his stomach churn. The weight of the ration bar is almost lead, but he still reaches forward to help Cloud lay down in case he needs it...and to ruffle blond spikes, as is his habit.

That it serves to remind him Cloud is still alive and that they escaped is just a bonus. They made it this far. They can make it further, whatever's going on in that head of his.