Subj: [ffml] [HD] Self-insertion Date: 01-03-07 21:29:04 EST From: raumkatze2@aol.com Reply-to: ffml@yahoogroups.com To: ffml@yahoogroups.com Aaron Ackerson sat at his computer, typing. He was writing a post for Hillion Dynasty, on the ffml. This post was about his only character in the story, Junior. It had been a long time since he had written a Hillion Dynasty post, and he needed to get it over with. After checking some of Pyxie's posts for reference, Aaron had started to write a post in which Junior brings Gage back to the harem party. After he wrote this post, Aaron wanted to write another one, in which he write himself into the story, making himself a character. But he decided not to. Maybe another time, but tonight he had to go to bed soon, since he had to get up early for school the next moring. He clicked 'Send' on the post he had just written, without checking it for spelling and grammar. Right after he clicked the mouse button, he felt something very strange. He felt some sort of energy coming from the monitor. When he started to feel this, he began to mentally panic, because getting sucked into the monitor is exactly what he was going to write about in his next post. Aaron considered that maybe his imagination was playing tricks on him, so he put his hand on the mouse again, to close America Online and shut down his computer. But when he did so, the feeling became stronger, and he actually felt compelled to to jump forward right into the monitor. Almost involuntarily he reached his hand forward, and just like in his writing plans, it went right into the screen. This caused Aaron to shake uncontroably, but he could not break free as he was pulled further into the screen. After he had been pulled all the way in, he saw around him a scene that was like a cross between 'Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite' from 2001: A Space Odessey, and the time travel scenes from Chrono Trigger. After a few moments of this, Aaron saw a pinpoint of bright light on the horizon. Before he knew it, he was consumed by the light. ----- As Aaron woke up, he reflected on the vivid and amusing dream he had just had. Then he realized that he was not in his bed. He was asleep on the cold ground. Jumping up with a start, he could see that he was not anywhere that he recognized. He shivered as he realized that what he had experienced before was not a dream. Then he spotted the bloody animal remains on the ground. "YAH!" he said, in reaction to this grotesque site. Then Aaron noticed something else. There was another man who had been sleeping nearby. Aaron's shout had awakened him. Spacecat instantly recognized the man. It was Aelis-Re's current incarnation, Scott. He looked exactly like Larathia had described him. He closely resembled the pictures of Larathia's husband that Aaron had seen, but there was also an undeniable likeness to Squall. Aaron probably would have chuckled at the product of Larathia's imagination if her were not so overwelmed by this whole situation. As a reflexive action, Scott had pulled his Gunblade out of the ground immediately after he woke up. "Whoa!" Aaron croaked, "I'm a friend, not a foe. Please don't hurt me." Scott didn't seem alarmed, even though he had gone for that sword awfully quick. He did not lower the blade after Aaron's comment, though. He said nothing, but Aaron could tell that he wanted him to explain himself. "Sorry to you up," said Aaron, "I just got freaked out by those snake pieces on the ground. If you want to know what I'm doing here, I uh... I lost my way." There was what seemed like a long pause after Scott waited for Aaron to explain more, and Aaron considered exactly what to say next. He wasn't sure if he should tell Scott the whole story. "Though as long as I'm here, I think I might be able to help you." "Help me with what?" asked Scott, lowering his sword. He could tell that this awkward young man was not threat to him. His tone of voice suggested that he needed more convicing that this person could be a help to him either. "I... I can help you, er, I might be able to help you find your wife." Scott raised an eyebrow. "How much do you know about my wife." "Um..." Aaron wondered how he should answer that. He was scared that Scott would get pissed off if Aaron told him that he knew a hell of a lot about Nighthawk and him, including their real names. He decided to tell the truth, but to be vague about it. "I know why you came here with her, and I know where she is right now. She... she's been kidnapped." Scott's expression became slightly more concerned. "I don't know the guy's name who did it, I remember it starts with an A though... Anyway, he took her because he wants the vortex crystal, which you have?" Aaron ended he sentence as if it were a question, because when he thought about it, he didn't remember for sure whether or not Scott was currently in posession of the crystal. "What else do you know?" said Scott. "Not much," said Aaron, "I don't know where he's keeping her or anything... Oh! I do know that he is very powerful. He is able to kill lesser gods, but he is not a god himself." "Who are you, and how do you know all this? And how did you find me?" said Scott. Aaron drew a nervous breath. He had no choice but to tell Scott the whole truth. He didn't know whether he would be believed or not. But either way, he knew Scott wouldn't hurt him. From Larathia's description of him on the Hillion Dynasty mailing list, he remembered the Scott did not get angry easily, and did not act impulsively. "I'm... from another world," Aaron said, "In my world, you and your bond-mate are characters in a story that I read. I arrived in this world by accident. I really don't know how I got here, or how to get back. I... I'm hoping that maybe with your crystal, maybe you could help me, er, after you get Lara..., uh, Nighthawk back..." For the first time, Scott's face showed outward signs of emotion. He did not expect to ever hear anyone but himself or his wife utter one of their true names. Aaron scolded himself inwardly for not thinking about his words more carefully. He had no idea what Scott's reaction would be to hearing that. "How do we get her back," said Scott, with a slightly urgent tone of voice. "I don't know," said Aaron timidly, "We'll probably find out soon though. If that guy wants to get to you, he'll probably contact you somehow, some time soon. Though in the meantime..." Aaron paused again, wondering if he should tell Scott what just occured to him. He continued, "I don't think that you could beat him by yourself. Like I said, this guy killed a god. I have an idea... There's a sword, that I think I could use. I think it's near Wangland. I'm pretty sure it's near there. Could you take me there, I mean, if it's not too much out of your way, and, uh, if you think I could be of help to you. But this sword, I think, could make me really powerful, and I might be able to help you..." Aaron then felt some regret about what just came out of his mouth. Deets sword, or no Deets sword, he had just volunteered to fight an incredibly powerful, mysterious, evil being. But what was said was said. Correcting his slouch, and trying to appear confident yet humble, he awaited Scott's responce. [Your turn, Larathia.] Subj: Re: [ffml] [HD] Self-insertion Date: 01-03-07 23:21:25 EST From: larathia@mcs.net (Larathia) Reply-to: ffml@yahoogroups.com To: ffml@yahoogroups.com Aelis-Re was awakened to the sound of a panicked yell. He was *not* a morning person, so he presented even less of a friendly demeanor than he usually did. He yanked Zephyr out of its makeshift sheath in the ground and aimed it at the sound until his eyes focused. When he found out that his awakener was a severely spooked kid, dressed in (to him) normal clothes, he decided against attacking until he found out what the hell was going on. "Whoa!" croaked the kid in panic, "I'm a friend, not a foe. Please don't hurt me." Like he was going to assume a kid couldn't be an enemy, even if he *did* put on a damn good show of being terrified. He didn't move; the gunblade would be a powerful persuader and he wanted to know what the hell was going on *now*. "Sorry to wake you up," said the kid, "I just got freaked out by those snake pieces on the ground. If you want to know what I'm doing here, I uh... I lost my way." Like he would assume a kid would be waltzing around these woods, at night, alone, unarmed. Correction; *apparently* unarmed. Though he didn't think anyone wandering around on this planet in denim would be a good candidate for magehood. He waited; privately he was enjoying the effect his continued silence was having. It was inflicting the kid with verbal diarrhea. Sure enough, he went on, "Though as long as I'm here, I think I might be able to help you." Cute. "Help me with what?" he asked, lowering Zephyr. His arm was getting tired, and this kid was no threat. "I... I can help you, er, I might be able to help you find your wife." Aelis-Re raised an eyebrow. "How much do you know about my wife," he stated. His guess was, not much - or he would have known better than to volunteer to find Larathia when she didn't want to be found. "Um...I know why you came here with her, and I know where she is right now. She... she's been kidnapped." Someone had managed to kidnap Larathia? God help 'em, poor bastards. But then...she *was* still in the memory trance; he was still being hauled in to relive the past nightly. In that state...yes. She could have been taken; she wouldn't know anything of the real world until the potion wore off. But the strange kid kept talking. "I don't know the guy's name who did it, I remember it starts with an A though... Anyway, he took her because he wants the vortex crystal, which you have?" Vortex crystal. The kid must mean the crystal that had brought them to this godforsaken planet. But he asked as though he wasn't sure. If it was that important - so important some goddamned fool had taken Larathia - then Aelis-Re was not about to enlighten him as to its current hiding place. The fact that he knew Aelis-Re *might* have such a crystal told him very clearly that the kid did indeed have a weapon; knowledge. But knowledge can be shared... "What else do you know?" he asked. "Not much," said the kid, "I don't know where he's keeping her or anything... Oh! I do know that he is very powerful. He is able to kill lesser gods, but he is not a god himself." The creature that took Larathia can kill lesser gods. Almost, Aelis-Re was tempted to swear. Trust his wife to get taken by a creature that hunts gods. If he didn't already know beyond question she was suffering severe consequences for her actions, he'd be tempted to have a few words with her. His annoyance showed in his voice as he snapped, "Who are you, and how do you know all this? And how did you find me?" The kid drew a nervous breath. "I'm... from another world," he said, "In my world, you and your bond-mate are characters in a story that I read. I arrived in this world by accident. I really don't know how I got here, or how to get back. I... I'm hoping that maybe with your crystal, maybe you could help me, er, after you get Lara..., uh, Nighthawk back..." He had to be telling the truth; liars tried for more believable stories. And for him to utter Larathia's Name - the Name that neither of them ever said when another living being was around, the Name that could not be lifted from their minds by any magic...the name of her soul...he upgraded the kid from resource to actual danger. Using that Name - or his own - the kid held his life and Larathia's in his hands. And he was stupid enough to SAY the name. What if he said it in front of a mage? A person who knew how to conjure with truenames? Two options; he could kill the kid to make sure no harm came to either of them. Or he could guard the kid, and make sure he never uttered either Name again. Although he knew that killing the kid was probably the long-term wiser choice, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew very well what it was to be yanked from your home and dropped into the middle of insanity. The kid was panicky; probably never had had a weapon aimed at him before. And if he *did* truly come from an Alternate Prime where all the current events were being played out as a story - and Aelis-Re knew without question that stranger things could and often did happen - then right here before him was the answer to his search. This kid would know everything that had happened. He would know about the avariel that Aelis-Re hunted. About the local gods, about the crystal that had brought them here. All Aelis-Re had to do was make sure the kid didn't babble, and didn't die. Nothing's ever easy. But first things first. "How do we get her back," he asked. It was the best place to start. "I don't know," said the kid timidly, "We'll probably find out soon though. If that guy wants to get to you, he'll probably contact you somehow, some time soon. Though in the meantime...I don't think that you could beat him by yourself. Like I said, this guy killed a god. I have an idea... There's a sword, that I think I could use. I think it's near Wangland. I'm pretty sure it's near there. Could you take me there, I mean, if it's not too much out of your way, and, uh, if you think I could be of help to you. But this sword, I think, could make me really powerful, and I might be able to help you..." Aelis-Re eyed the boy critically. If this kid could wield a sword, then he, Aelis-Re, was top contender for the role of King Kong. Defeating Larathia's captor himself wasn't what Aelis-Re had had in mind, either. First he would wait for Larathia to awaken to the real world, and see if she could free herself. Aerdrie Faenya was a bubbleheaded ditz, but in choosing Lara for her proxy she'd made a damn good choice. It was *very* hard to hold an awake and alert Larathia when she didn't want to be held, godlike powers or no. But the kid tried to stand up straight and not look terrified, and it was all Aelis-Re could do to maintain his composure. He shrugged; if a magical sword helped, Aelis-Re had no problem with having help. The effect of a local weapon had just made itself very clear to him; the pieces of snake scattered around were clear testament to that. And Zephyr wasn't even enchanted - though on the other hand, Aelis-Re *was* trained with a sword. A magic sword could probably do wonders even in the hands of a newbie. And just maybe, Aelis-Re could teach him enough so that the magic sword could do even more. There was always the old katana in its sheath on the Bear. If Larathia turned out to be a captive in truth, well...any port in a storm. He nodded, once. "All right," he said, and watched the boy try to decide between sagging in relief and punching the air in excitement. "You got a name, or do you prefer 'hey you'?" "Whoops," said the kid. "Sorry - it's Aaron." "Aaron," Aelis-Re repeated. "Right. You can come with me, and I'll help you find your sword. But," and here he raised a hand against Aaron's happy grin, "if you mention my true name, or Nighthawk's true name, out loud again - you're dead. I'm going to assume you slipped out of ignorance - but if you can't keep those two words from coming out of your mouth, I don't care how much you know: you'll be too much of a risk." Wow. This guy was nothing if not responsive. Perhaps he had read up on Aelis-Re, in the world where this was a story. It felt strange, very strange, to be in the presence of someone who knew exactly how honest Aelis-Re was being. He'd have to be more careful about that; the boy would be no good if he couldn't focus on the problems at hand. It begged the question; if the kid knew so much of him, and probably Larathia...why had he said the Name? What gaps existed in his knowledge - and how important were they? "I'm going to assume you know the way to Wangland," he continued. "If it involves a boat, it'll wait till morning. For now - pick a spot without too much blood on it and get some sleep. Tomorrow we find out how well you handle a sword." Larathia Subj: [ffml] [HD] Fish out of Water Date: 01-03-09 16:48:31 EST From: raumkatze2@aol.com Reply-to: ffml@yahoogroups.com To: ffml@yahoogroups.com, hilliondynasty@egroups.com As Aaron lay down, under the stars, he pondered his situation. Many questions and concerns were racing through his mind. Was this really happening? Had he gone insane? Was this some sort of dream? It didn't feel like a dream, but I didn't really feel like real life either. Since this world seemed to be just like Hillion Dynasty so far, he wondered whether it was affected by what was written in the story, or whether it was just a huge coincidence that it was similar to the story. He wondered what Junior was doing right now, because if he wasn't back in the real world to write for Junior, would Junior still exist in this world? It occured to him that he probably looks more or less the same as his Spacecat character from Moogle War II. If someone who was around during that time, and had seen Spacecat at some point, met Aaron, they might just mistake him for Spacecat. The only characters he could think of who fit into this catagory were Thanatos and Drugga, but Thanatos would probably be able to sense that he was a different person, and he couldn't remember it ever being written the Drugga and Spacecat ever met each other. Two things tha Scott had said haunted Aaron's thoughts. [if you mention my true name, or Nighthawk's true name, out loud again - you're dead.] Aaron remembered how Larathia said that she didn't want any other characters saying her characters' true names, but she never said why. Aaron wondered exactly why it was bad for him to say that, and he was very ashamed to have offended. The last thing he wanted to do in this strange world was to get off on the wrong foot with the only person who could help him stay alive. [Tomorrow we find out how well you handle a sword.] Aaron had no sword skills to speak of, short of a Bokken kata he learned when he was about 16 that he only halfway remembered now. What would Scott do when the moment of truth came? Aaron also wondered if Scott would test his skills with a fight. Aaron did not want to get hurt. He wondered if Scott assumed that he had some sort of sword skills when he said that he needed a sword. He also wondered if the Deets sword would actually embue him with the power he thought it might. Aaron tried to put all these thoughts out of his head so that he could get to sleep, but the combination of sleeping on the ground with no covers, and being in this outrageous situation made it hard for him. Subj: Re: [ffml] [HD] Fish out of Water Date: 01-03-09 17:05:44 EST From: larathia@mcs.net (Larathia) Reply-to: ffml@yahoogroups.com To: ffml@yahoogroups.com Been far and wide But that hole inside Never really leaves I went away What I really left Left behind was me It's telling me To be on my way Home A million miles away... Larathia http://www.mcs.net/~larathia ICQ: 22170253 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- So I walk upon high, and I step to the edge To see my world below And I laugh at myself while the tears roll down 'Cause it's the world I know. -- Collective Soul "The World I Know" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------