::Powered/SOURCE
a sci-fi au meme
50 years ago, or 75 years ago,or 20 - it's hard to recall such precise numbers in the haze and hardship - the world almost ended. While the timing itself is remembered by few, the event serves as a sharp divide of before the Fall and after. The Fall, in all its terrible and explosive splendor, sent societies spinning on their heads, no matter if its intimate nature are unclear. Once again, humanity has had to claw its way out of the primordial pit, all its achievements sent to ruin in the face of a nuclear flare. What little governmental structure remain amongst the survivors is tyrannical, but astute. When those in charge noticed that offspring of those who hadn't been killed by the Fall were beginning to be born with unique abilities, they chose not to persecute this "new generation." Instead, they jumped at the chance to have a homegrown army to protect the fragile rebirth of man, learning little from the old mistakes.
These gifted individuals fall into two categories: those with psionic powers and abilities used for offense and those who have healing and rejuvenating properties. Apart, these are interesting parlor tricks, with psionics, called Powereds, being about to move items with their minds for a few inches or pick up heavier ones they shouldn't be able to or healers, called Sources, fixing up superficial wounds. The true potential lies in when a Powered and Source are brought together, however. Each Powered has a Source that is their match and vice versa, the lock to their key, right down to the very genetics. When the right pairing made, a Powered can move mountains or create energy weapons beyond compare, a Source can provide near infinite energy to their Powered or even bring living beings back from the brink of death. To belong to either of these groups is a high honor. So high, in fact, that as soon as a child shows promise, they are whisked away by higher authorities to be matched with their lifetime Powered or Sourced and begin their training, where, despite the risks, they will find better living conditions and more resources than they could have ever dreamed of out in the desolate, dying world.
This pair grows up together, becoming dependent on each other. Even if their personalities clash, the pull in their very nature evens things out; it is, after all, a psychic bond that connects Powered and Sourced. Without the presence of their Source, a Powered might find themselves enraged or worried or unsettled. On the other hand, a lonely Source may become listless or despaired. As two is where they find complete harmony, and their unity shows in the combat or espionage skills.
On record, romance between matched pairs is strictly forbidden. Off the books, though, it happens more times than not, with two people growing up together virtually since childhood who are programmed to be co-dependent, and it is highly encouraged by those higher up due to abilities being strengthened through both emotional connection and physical contact. There's no risk in it, in their eyes, only gain as they can terminate a pair quite easily. A Powered is useless without a Source, so the ultimate weapon has a kill-switch...and a useful weakness for blackmail purposes There are always whispers in barracks of someone who's doing a task because their Powered's or Source's life is at stake.
Once battle training is complete, each pair is assigned to an eight-man cell, comprised of four matched pairs like themselves. What these teams do depends upon their skill sets and training levels, with anything from peacekeeping to public relations to assassination being on the dossier. Yet the imperative is for those on front line is clear: protect your Powered or Sourced at all costs, even on the backs of the others on your team.
Without them, you are useless. Without them, there is no place for you in this world.
tl;dr sparknotes this because we want to get to the meme: Sentinels and guides had a baby with YA dystopian lit. After a near extinction level cataclysm, people began to develop abilities that fall into two categories: Powered (sentinel/warrior) and Source (guide/healer). Their true powers are only revealed when they find their one genetically compatible match. A shadow government kidnaps these individuals, puts them into lifebonds, trains them for combat, then sends them out in teams to do all the dirty work. Codependency, mind-bonding, unhealthy love, and bloody murder probably ensue.
- In the subject line, place your character name, canon, preferences, and whether your character will be a Powered, Source, or either.
- Reply to others!
- What will your character be doing? Being a late bloomer and only now meeting their partner? Training? On a mission? Enjoying some rare down time? Comforting their partner? Aftercare after the battle? Getting blackmailed? Climbing to the top of the ladder and infiltrating the government? Realizing their partner's getting a little too bloodthirsty? Falling in love with someone else's Powered or Source - absolute anathema. Facing certain death? It's up to you.
- Thread.
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bakerstreet2017-07-16 05:47 pm
jughead jones ♛ riverdale ♛ m/f
belle. beauty and the beast (2017). ota
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Bruce Banner | MCU | OTA
Re: Bruce Banner | MCU | OTA
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Sherlock Holmes | BBC's Sherlock
samuel "locus" ortez | red vs blue | ota
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And am probably being weird. Sorry.]no subject
cough felixand they're trying to assign him a new one ? ]no subject
I can see the two being veterans who have lost their partners, Locus much more recently than Kasen probably since they've been trying to assign her a new partner for awhile now.]
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and that totally works for me! people who have been a bit broken by losing their partners trying to work together. and maybe not really wanted to work together and finding common ground in that~
ALSO about to head to bed so lack of response is not indicative of lack of interest just. sleeping. ]
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No prob take your time. Also just a heads up, Kasen's previous partner was named Suika Ibuki.Upon returning from the mission, Kasen immediately ducks into her quarters, retrieves a bundle of cloth containing a bottle-shape, and leaves the base in silence. Their link isn't that strong yet, but its strong enough for Locus to get a general idea of what direction she wandered off in. He will find her sitting on the top stairs old, dilapidated hill-top temple, watching the sun set over the wasteland, where seems to be drinking from a rather sizable bottle of what is clearly not water.
While soldiers, especially the Powered and the Sources, are by law prohibited from using such substances outside of emergency situations, its no proper secret that there's a small trading ring amongst the ranks. Another thing to know is that there are some Sources who leave their healing abilities on for so long that they are literally incapable of getting drunk. Judging from the size of the bottle and the amount of liquid missing, Kasen seems to be one of them.
She calls out towards no particular direction.]
I know your there. There is no need to hide from me. We are partners now, after all. [The word "Partners" is given a rather heavy emphasis.
She's calmly waiting there at the steps, just now retrieving a pair of old ceramic cups from the bundle of cloth the bottle came in.]
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it is the first mission he has been officially able to do, with his new source. the burgeoning bond with kasen, formed more out of a necessity for both of them, it feels like, than the idealized life-long bond.
they have both lost their partners. or for locus' case, a degree of loss. a change he didn't realize was happening until it was too late, and almost took him as well.
felix had a proclivity for abusing his healing powers to drink and having to drink more as well. somehow, he isn't surprised when he follows the faint pull of their b ond to this - an abandoned temple, and the drink besides.
he isn't disgusted, just... not surprised.
he seemingly melts out of the shadows, expression impassive. ]
I was not hiding. I was merely observing.
Sorry if I write a lot.
Her eyes fall upon the Powered, and she nods in understanding. Regardless of what he was doing, it doesn't really matter to her.]
Then you can cease observing and join me. We aren't in the field at the moment, and I think we can both use some unwinding after that mess.
[ It had been successful mess, but still a mess regardless. Charged with clearing out and claiming an enemy base, the two had been sent with a company of soldiers, and found themselves ambushed. Yet they had soon found that their bullets did little more in the face of her healing skills. And, as it turned out, Locus was really good at making people terrified enough to run for their lives. And shooting them regardless of how far they had gotten. She grimaces at that last image, never having really learned to turn off that bit of humanity.
Kasen isn't really...sure, how to feel about her new partner by now. Then again, up until a few months ago she had been reluctant to find a new partner. She'd never fully agreed with the government she served, never really liked what kind of system was in place, but made due with it, for it was all she had at the moment. Oftentimes she made it a point to lessen the chances of ever getting paired up, becoming a sort of hermit in the process.
Yet then Samuel, cold and hardened as a glacier, had proven a decent match for her, and she was put back into training. They didn't form their bond out of that intimate that sense of trust and familiarity, but out of a sense of necessity and understanding. Far from the ideal, but as proven by earlier, just as effective.]
I heard from your previous team that you aren't one for conversation, and I can understand that. Yet I feel like it would be the best for the both of us if we sat and had a conversation, without the officers and doctors and scientists constantly watching.
[ Its ironic that the only place where they could possibly get a private conversation was in a warzone. From sneaking looks at his files, listening to rumors that floated about the ranks, and her new experiences, she was starting to understand the man before her. Yet this was an ideal moment to finally have an actual conversation, supervisors be damned.]
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[What's your thoughts on that? /chin in hands/]
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i'm about to tuck in fyi! ]
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Edit: Hopefully that works as a set up.]
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[When one fight went bad, he lost his arm, but instead of losing their Champion, they refit him with a new one. Somewhere between then and escaping, his hair turned shock white in front, his face and body scarred up, and his memory was faulty. There were holes and gaps in it.]
[He remembered the base. He remembered the government he was trained in, to serve and protect. To help... help... to help his partner. His partner, who he remembered but didn't. Figure and shapes, names and such were there, but details were lacking. Just for the moment.]
[Shiro has been in quarantine for a week now. Locus would have felt his return, just as Shiro felt something come alive in him when he crashed, but until now, they haven't let the two interact. The tech of the mans arm was now alien and never seen before. More advanced then their own tech, which was fairly advanced. Instead of being congratulated on surviving and being brought back into the fold, Shiro sat in a white room, alone and uncomfortable, flesh hand running through his hair, tugging at it.]
Please. Please just let me out. Let me see Locus. He's on base. I know that much.
[He mumbled, more to himself as he's realized his voice falls on deaf ears. He's tired, worn out, uncomfortable and feeling far too alone for his liking. Shiro and Locus. Both code names. Even with the holes in his memory he knows to use his code name first.]
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he was supposed to be a good fighter, one who obeyed. but when shiro disappeared... well, locus had not taken it well. they said they didn't know what had happened, and he did not believe them. they said he must have disappeared, must have died, but locus could still feel him.
it's an echo, they had said. a grieving mind can create things that don't exist.
he knows they are lying. or that they must be lying about something they do know.
he is no longer, quite so perfect. a year without shiro and he has become withdrawn. he rejects any healer they try to connect him with - not cruelly but flatly. he seems to lack drive but he has his convictions. he is disillusioned with the government, but he does not actively work against them. his desire is to find shiro.
and then he is proven right. the bond comes alive again one week ago, but they won't tell him anything. they won't admit that they were wrong - up until it seems that locus may finally do the thing they were worried about, actually break and begin hurting others.
only then do they finally allow him to see shiro. they aren't sure about the alien tech but - if he is so determined, let him be a guinea pig.
locus is dressed not in uniform but down, black pants and a long-sleeved shirt. a familiar look for one who hated being exposed often. the scars on his face are new - the results of an ill-fated mission post-shiro. his hair is still tied behind his head, though.
to see shiro, though - that is a relief. something that he can feel from both sides as he moves forward.
his hand reaches up, comes to rest on shiro's shoulder. ]
Shiro.
[ you're alive. you're here. ]
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[So he's tired. Leaning forward on his knees, head down, hand gripped into his hair. He's been sitting here for at least a hour pleading to bring the other here, or to let him out to him. Giving promises to be good. To submit to tests, just make this year long thrumming and dull panic leave at last. Let him relax, just for a moment.]
[It was strange, to need someone so badly that it was all you could think about. Before, that didn't feel like the case, but they had mostly been close. It wasn't spending a year separated. His captors said the other was dead, but he had never trusted that. The desperate need to find him was still there, pulling in the back of his mind.]
[As that need started to die down though, he seemed to miss it. He'd forgotten what it was like for his head to stop spinning. The relief that washed over him while he sat, cross legged on the bed in the room, head down and mumbling.]
[The closer Locus got the better it felt, until it felt as if his head had never been so silent in his life. It wasn't until he felt the others hand reach out to rest on his shoulder that he realized this wasn't another sedation drug.]
[A look of dawning crossed his face as he picked his head up, looking up to see Samuel there. His eyes stared a moment too long, mouth falling open, as if he couldn't believe it for some reason.]
Locus?
[Is it really you?]
i need face icons aaaa
in the end, takashi returned to him, and locus needn't have made his plans. although they are still there, in the back of his head.
for once, his mind is clear. there is only this and there is takashi.
his hand shifts, squeezes the shoulder like he can feel the metal under it before he moves it to cup takashi's jaw. he looks shocked and... locus can relate. he doesn't know how to put how he feels. it's like getting water after being in a desert for a year.
he finally kneels down, to be level. ]
Yes. [ like he knows why shiro doubts: ] I am here... I have missed you.
[ words can't express it, really, which is why locus tugs shiro forward, into him. he was never very demonstrative before. ]
Meanwhile i was complaining that I needed helmet icons the other way...
[He used to be the skinny one. The small one still growing into his body. In the time he was gone it was like his shoulders stretched an extra mile and his body toned up. Oh, and the metal arm, but he hadn't moved that yet. But now he didn't look your standard Source part. They should be glad he's bulked up, instead of leaving him here alone.]
[Not alone now. He leaned into the other as he was tugged forward. His flesh arm moved to wrap around the larger guys shoulder and neck, fingers grasping at his back a moment, as if to make sure he's really there. Not some witches trick.]
I found you. [He said with the smallest of ha'd laugh. Like he couldn't believe it, but he did, because right now he had never felt this clear.] I thought I'd never see you again.
Kasen "Ibarakasen" Ibaraki | Touhou Project | ota
Other Ideas:
- Defector. Hides her abilities and lives as a hermit. Old partner/comrade tracking her down maybe?]