It's possible that the concept of 'walking a mile in someone else's shoes' can be taken a tad too far.
Emotional Damages (Worm Alt-Power)
- Thread starter Junebugtwin
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Mile One
They'd wrapped a shock blanket around her, like she'd seen on TV. It was a bit surreal to be sitting on the curb in real life, ducked against the cold night air and trying to draw shapes in the dust with her shoes. This was crazy- watching as PRT officers close off the street, listening to Armsmasters revving bike approach, somehow surviving being in close proximity to a Lung fight.
It was completely fucking bonkers.
This sort of thing, Stacy knew it wasn't supposed to happen. Violent encounters with the leader of the ABB tended to only end with fire and destruction, with heavy causality counts. That was just common knowledge in Brockton Bay, especially if you lived on the edge of gang territory like she did.
And yet, here she was- sitting nervously, hair a bit ruffled but not a cut on her. The street was in a similar state- some ash and burn marks on the road, a stop sign twisted sideways, some loose junk tossed. And then nothing. No destroyed houses or smoldering cars. No bodies.
"Miss?" Stacy blinked, whipping her head upwards to stare in awe at the local Protectorate leader who had seemingly teleported in front of her. Oh god, hopefully she hadn't been spaced out for more than a few moments.
"Y-yes, uh sir?" Shit- should she call him sir? Was that a thing?? A good half of the man's face was covered so it was hard to read his expression, which was probably going to make this conversation harder, seeing as she apparently wasn't firing on all cylinders.
"Could you please explain to me your experience of tonight's events?" Stacy noticed that Armsmaster really didn't intone a lot while speaking- he didn't sound awkward or anything, he was too confident for that- maybe just a bit stiff. He seemed a lot smoother on television but she supposed he was probably coached for that sort of thing.
Oh shit, she was spacing out again, reply you fool- "W-well, um, I was walking back to my apartment, and uh, I saw a bunch of people in red and green and they were all Asian- and uh- that's not racist right? Well, maybe it is- but anyway, uh, I ducked behind uh that silver car-"She risked her arm to the frigid air to point for a moment before snatching it back into the sweet warmth of the blanket. "-because it was the closest hiding spot, and um, I didn't peek my head out or anything, but I was pretty sure I heard Lung- uh, he sounds…he's pretty loud even when he looks normal you know?" She stammered, aware she was babbling but not quite able to stop herself.
Armsmasters lips were starting to tense in a way that she suspected was hiding a scowl. She hurried to speak again.
"-Anyway, uh, he was talking to his…people? Grunts? Whatever- and he was saying all this crazy stuff about some rival gang, the u-uh, Underriders?" Armsmaster tilted his head slightly which she chose to interpret as interest.
"So I was freaking out because he was talking about killing them all, and he called them kids- dunno what that's about, a gang of children running around? I guess we are in Brockton Bay- uh, sorry- anyway, then he stopped, and I did peek this time because someone else started talking!"
The armored man motioned impatiently for Stacy to continue, not quite as flabbergasted as she was at the idea of someone purposefully facing down the dragon-guy one on one. She supposed he probably did it as well, not that it was any less crazy when he did it…
"A-and it was just some little dude in a shitty outfit!" Almost immediately, the hero interrupted her to ask a question, his voice as intense as it always seemed to be.
"What can you tell me about this person's exact appearance? Was the suit store bought? What color was it? How tall were they?" Stacy was kind of intimidated by how seriously this was all being taken- not that she thought that he should be like, irreverent or anything, it was just weird to have it directed at her. She wasn't used to serious; she still ate pudding cups and her brother wouldn't even let her drive his shitty car!
"Um, no- like you have the wrong idea- he wasn't in a superhero suit or anything. He was wearing a really shitty hoodie that was all stained and a pair of jeans that looked practically ancient. I tried to look at his face but he had sunglasses on and one of those bandana things like Miss Militia wears, except it had paws on it and he didn't pull it off nearly as well." She clarified; a little offended that the first hero she'd ever seen fight in person had been 'hoodie-boy'.
"He was pretty tall I guess? I wasn't really paying attention to that kind of stuff cus' he got in Lungs way and I was really afraid he was gonna be like smashed or flamethrowered into little pieces." It was funny how quickly you could get attached to someone- he'd spoken too quietly for her to hear and he looked vaguely homeless and silly but she'd kinda rooted for him instinctively.
"There's been no sign of injury or a corpse in the area." Armsmaster stated, and it was hard to tell if he was attempting to sooth her or if he was just stating a simple fact. Maybe both?
"No, yeah, that's what's crazy about this whole thing! He beat Lung!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up for emphasis and immediately regretting it. Back into the warmth cocoon.
Armsmaster was now laser focused on her, and she couldn't see his eyes but she was fairly sure he was staring straight through her pores and into her soul.
"How?" He asked sharply- his voice tinged with an emotion she couldn't quite place.
"I…don't really know? I'm not one of those cape nerds or whatever, um, but he didn't move or anything…but I felt it! It was like, um, a wave? An invisible wave, and it like, washed over everyone- and Lung was in the center so I think he got it the worst but I still felt it, and I think the gang-guys did also…Um. It's kind of weird to describe?" Stacy trailed off hesitantly, tapping her foot against the rough cement nervously.
Armsmaster nodded, and though he didn't smile his posture opened up and his hands relaxed. Stacy immediately felt herself loosen up a little bit, not having noticed how she was unconsciously mimicking his intensity.
"Just do your best- I won't judge you for the truth." Maybe not what some shiny hero on interview would say, but it felt honest in a way that made Stacy realize that she was starting to like this robot-man.
"Right. Okay. So…It was like…I just started feeling bad. Like- not like I was in pain physically or anything, but I started to feel kinda sick and nervous- more than I already was, uh, and I kept peering around my shoulder, like I remember feeling so sure that someone was about to sneak up behind me and like…hurt me?" Stacy shivered and took a breath, the memory of being so utterly certain that someone really wanted to torture her, was looking forward to harming her- and that no one, no one in the universe would help her if they caught her.
Stacy swallowed.
"I-it got worse too. I was like, really twitchy, but every time I moved I'd have like a panic attack about it, and I was so- so mean. Like- y'know when you do something really, really stupid but it's like actually important that you don't and you get that dropping sensation in your stomach and you can't help but beat yourself up over it?" She paused briefly, and to her surprise Armsmaster actually nodded, looking vaguely uncomfortable. She supposed even badass heroes had bad days and fuckups.
"It was like that but a thousand times worse and for everything I did. I was like, mad at myself for breathing too loud? It was really awful- I just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry I was so sad and uh, like disappointed? But even thinking that made me so angry at myself! I kept thinking it'd be better off if I wasn't…if I died. I- I've never felt that way before. It was bad."
There were a few moments of quiet where she had to take a couple of steadying breaths, with Armsmaster being respectfully silent while she tried to steady herself.
"…But as bad as it was for me, it must have been really bad for Lung. He was growing bigger before, when he first saw the hoodie guy, but he totally stopped once he was hit with the invisible wave-thingy, and he like shrunk back into his normal-man-mode…and then he just ran! He literally turned around and ran away! Like- it was so crazy! He bumped one of his guys on the way, and he looked like he'd kicked his own puppy! I've never met the guy personally, but I don't think that's typical Lung behavior."
Armsmaster looked fairly shocked, his mouth open slightly and his shoulders slack. That made the two of them honestly, she was still reeling. Was hoodie man's power super-depression?? Super-feeling bad? Fucking crazy!
Armsmaster recovered a lot faster than she had though, straightening up and keeping his features seriously blank like before. He probably had stupid good discipline; she couldn't even keep a straight face when she saw her neighbor's pug.
"I see. Thank you for your statement, others will help you now. Have a good night." And then he was off, pressing one hand up to his ear and talking quietly enough that she couldn't hear his words. Damn.
What a night. The excitement was a bit too much for Stacy though, as much as she normally liked it. Hopefully after she got cleared to go home she could just tell her brother everything and then go to sleep.
And then everything would go back to normal.
It was completely fucking bonkers.
This sort of thing, Stacy knew it wasn't supposed to happen. Violent encounters with the leader of the ABB tended to only end with fire and destruction, with heavy causality counts. That was just common knowledge in Brockton Bay, especially if you lived on the edge of gang territory like she did.
And yet, here she was- sitting nervously, hair a bit ruffled but not a cut on her. The street was in a similar state- some ash and burn marks on the road, a stop sign twisted sideways, some loose junk tossed. And then nothing. No destroyed houses or smoldering cars. No bodies.
"Miss?" Stacy blinked, whipping her head upwards to stare in awe at the local Protectorate leader who had seemingly teleported in front of her. Oh god, hopefully she hadn't been spaced out for more than a few moments.
"Y-yes, uh sir?" Shit- should she call him sir? Was that a thing?? A good half of the man's face was covered so it was hard to read his expression, which was probably going to make this conversation harder, seeing as she apparently wasn't firing on all cylinders.
"Could you please explain to me your experience of tonight's events?" Stacy noticed that Armsmaster really didn't intone a lot while speaking- he didn't sound awkward or anything, he was too confident for that- maybe just a bit stiff. He seemed a lot smoother on television but she supposed he was probably coached for that sort of thing.
Oh shit, she was spacing out again, reply you fool- "W-well, um, I was walking back to my apartment, and uh, I saw a bunch of people in red and green and they were all Asian- and uh- that's not racist right? Well, maybe it is- but anyway, uh, I ducked behind uh that silver car-"She risked her arm to the frigid air to point for a moment before snatching it back into the sweet warmth of the blanket. "-because it was the closest hiding spot, and um, I didn't peek my head out or anything, but I was pretty sure I heard Lung- uh, he sounds…he's pretty loud even when he looks normal you know?" She stammered, aware she was babbling but not quite able to stop herself.
Armsmasters lips were starting to tense in a way that she suspected was hiding a scowl. She hurried to speak again.
"-Anyway, uh, he was talking to his…people? Grunts? Whatever- and he was saying all this crazy stuff about some rival gang, the u-uh, Underriders?" Armsmaster tilted his head slightly which she chose to interpret as interest.
"So I was freaking out because he was talking about killing them all, and he called them kids- dunno what that's about, a gang of children running around? I guess we are in Brockton Bay- uh, sorry- anyway, then he stopped, and I did peek this time because someone else started talking!"
The armored man motioned impatiently for Stacy to continue, not quite as flabbergasted as she was at the idea of someone purposefully facing down the dragon-guy one on one. She supposed he probably did it as well, not that it was any less crazy when he did it…
"A-and it was just some little dude in a shitty outfit!" Almost immediately, the hero interrupted her to ask a question, his voice as intense as it always seemed to be.
"What can you tell me about this person's exact appearance? Was the suit store bought? What color was it? How tall were they?" Stacy was kind of intimidated by how seriously this was all being taken- not that she thought that he should be like, irreverent or anything, it was just weird to have it directed at her. She wasn't used to serious; she still ate pudding cups and her brother wouldn't even let her drive his shitty car!
"Um, no- like you have the wrong idea- he wasn't in a superhero suit or anything. He was wearing a really shitty hoodie that was all stained and a pair of jeans that looked practically ancient. I tried to look at his face but he had sunglasses on and one of those bandana things like Miss Militia wears, except it had paws on it and he didn't pull it off nearly as well." She clarified; a little offended that the first hero she'd ever seen fight in person had been 'hoodie-boy'.
"He was pretty tall I guess? I wasn't really paying attention to that kind of stuff cus' he got in Lungs way and I was really afraid he was gonna be like smashed or flamethrowered into little pieces." It was funny how quickly you could get attached to someone- he'd spoken too quietly for her to hear and he looked vaguely homeless and silly but she'd kinda rooted for him instinctively.
"There's been no sign of injury or a corpse in the area." Armsmaster stated, and it was hard to tell if he was attempting to sooth her or if he was just stating a simple fact. Maybe both?
"No, yeah, that's what's crazy about this whole thing! He beat Lung!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up for emphasis and immediately regretting it. Back into the warmth cocoon.
Armsmaster was now laser focused on her, and she couldn't see his eyes but she was fairly sure he was staring straight through her pores and into her soul.
"How?" He asked sharply- his voice tinged with an emotion she couldn't quite place.
"I…don't really know? I'm not one of those cape nerds or whatever, um, but he didn't move or anything…but I felt it! It was like, um, a wave? An invisible wave, and it like, washed over everyone- and Lung was in the center so I think he got it the worst but I still felt it, and I think the gang-guys did also…Um. It's kind of weird to describe?" Stacy trailed off hesitantly, tapping her foot against the rough cement nervously.
Armsmaster nodded, and though he didn't smile his posture opened up and his hands relaxed. Stacy immediately felt herself loosen up a little bit, not having noticed how she was unconsciously mimicking his intensity.
"Just do your best- I won't judge you for the truth." Maybe not what some shiny hero on interview would say, but it felt honest in a way that made Stacy realize that she was starting to like this robot-man.
"Right. Okay. So…It was like…I just started feeling bad. Like- not like I was in pain physically or anything, but I started to feel kinda sick and nervous- more than I already was, uh, and I kept peering around my shoulder, like I remember feeling so sure that someone was about to sneak up behind me and like…hurt me?" Stacy shivered and took a breath, the memory of being so utterly certain that someone really wanted to torture her, was looking forward to harming her- and that no one, no one in the universe would help her if they caught her.
Stacy swallowed.
"I-it got worse too. I was like, really twitchy, but every time I moved I'd have like a panic attack about it, and I was so- so mean. Like- y'know when you do something really, really stupid but it's like actually important that you don't and you get that dropping sensation in your stomach and you can't help but beat yourself up over it?" She paused briefly, and to her surprise Armsmaster actually nodded, looking vaguely uncomfortable. She supposed even badass heroes had bad days and fuckups.
"It was like that but a thousand times worse and for everything I did. I was like, mad at myself for breathing too loud? It was really awful- I just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry I was so sad and uh, like disappointed? But even thinking that made me so angry at myself! I kept thinking it'd be better off if I wasn't…if I died. I- I've never felt that way before. It was bad."
There were a few moments of quiet where she had to take a couple of steadying breaths, with Armsmaster being respectfully silent while she tried to steady herself.
"…But as bad as it was for me, it must have been really bad for Lung. He was growing bigger before, when he first saw the hoodie guy, but he totally stopped once he was hit with the invisible wave-thingy, and he like shrunk back into his normal-man-mode…and then he just ran! He literally turned around and ran away! Like- it was so crazy! He bumped one of his guys on the way, and he looked like he'd kicked his own puppy! I've never met the guy personally, but I don't think that's typical Lung behavior."
Armsmaster looked fairly shocked, his mouth open slightly and his shoulders slack. That made the two of them honestly, she was still reeling. Was hoodie man's power super-depression?? Super-feeling bad? Fucking crazy!
Armsmaster recovered a lot faster than she had though, straightening up and keeping his features seriously blank like before. He probably had stupid good discipline; she couldn't even keep a straight face when she saw her neighbor's pug.
"I see. Thank you for your statement, others will help you now. Have a good night." And then he was off, pressing one hand up to his ear and talking quietly enough that she couldn't hear his words. Damn.
What a night. The excitement was a bit too much for Stacy though, as much as she normally liked it. Hopefully after she got cleared to go home she could just tell her brother everything and then go to sleep.
And then everything would go back to normal.
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Taylor has harvested the immense amounts of depression between her and Danny and has turned it into a highly concentrated WMD...
Also random lady thought she was a dude 😆
Also random lady thought she was a dude 😆
I think that it's basically an aoe version of Penance Stare, with the effects dialed way down. Possibly limited to emotional pain.
Kolarthecool
Hiding from the light of day.
- Location
- Calgary, Canada.
Dang, that's not the power I was expecting. Based off the summary and the first few paragraphs describing Armsmaster's behavior, I was expecting Stacy to actually be Lung 'taking a walk in someone else's shoes'. Like a master power that made him think he was this young girl scared of his own gang.
Aurora Raven
(Verified Bird)
- Location
- Surrey, UK
- Pronouns
- She/Her
JefLebowski
[Not Copaceptic]
- Location
- R'lyeh's Partner City
Ah yes, the super power to walk no mile at all in Ikari Shinji's shoes.
Wonder if Lung got hit with the special catatonia mix tape too.
Wonder if Lung got hit with the special catatonia mix tape too.
rip to Taylor 😔 that mood when a stranger misgenders you...
wow that would be really cool! I love how creative so many people in the Worm fandom are <3
ckesljfildjsfl good one 😆
Oh god. I can only dread how this is going to turn out.
First you turn Taylor into all the animals, then into a walking insect hive, and now into someone who can force people to feel shame, guilt, and revulsion for ALL their actions. And it's implied that this is because that's how Taylor herself feels. God, how badly did Emma shatter Taylor's psyche?
First you turn Taylor into all the animals, then into a walking insect hive, and now into someone who can force people to feel shame, guilt, and revulsion for ALL their actions. And it's implied that this is because that's how Taylor herself feels. God, how badly did Emma shatter Taylor's psyche?
Brightstone
Feral Goblin
Conqueror's Haki?
Instant Karma?
Picture of a woman in a fedora?
Instant Karma?
Picture of a woman in a fedora?
OH I GET IT NOW (I think). Taylor has had an entirely different Trigger Event, and with it, a new power. The title and description says it all; walking in someone's shoes. I think she's forcing the recipients (victims) of her power to feel everything she has ever felt, then multiply that onto their own guilt and past pain. The closer they are, the stronger the effect is on their psyche, but those farther away still feel a terrible gut feeling. The emotional range can go from feeling self-hatred & revulsion to extreme disgust and suicidal tendencies (Or is that a limitation?). What I do understand is that Taylor isn't creating new emotions, she's instead intensifying/multiplying their negative feelings, while possibly transplanting her own pain and depression unto them too. I probably said the same things twice, but I just felt like this could be Taylor's new changes and their cause. Though this theory has left me wondering... how far does the emotional sharing go? is Taylor also sharing her memories, or is it purely the emotional aspect of her memories?
also love that Stacy thought she was a homeless dude. the ancient jeans did me in.
also love that Stacy thought she was a homeless dude. the ancient jeans did me in.
Bing bing bing! Someone get ya a prize! Great commentary here, you got most of it right, or near the ballpark at least
Obviously I can't answer any of your questions but I will say that Taylors power does have a lethal side...lol rest in pieces Taylor- though technically it's better that she is perceived as a boy because then at least it protects her identity? Poor girl
Mile Two
self-hatred, suicidal thoughts/ideation, and bullying. God, you can really tell when the chapters from Taylors perspective huh?
Sunlight stained the cement ground harshly, a spear of intense light reflecting off of what was left of a shattered window, the beam stabbing ruthlessly through her eyelids.
Taylor groaned miserably, turning fruitlessly in her bundle of fabrics; teeth grit against the morning.
Unfortunately, trying really hard not to acknowledge the sun didn't seem to have any real effect on its existence. Grumbling moodily she slowly sat up, wincing at the stark cold of the morning once her makeshift blankets slid down her shoulders.
She slept in as many layers as she could, even going so far as to wear a jacket over top of her shirts- and it did help, but it didn't make sleeping in what was basically the outdoors any more comfortable.
Taylor's newest shelter wasn't really the greatest place to sleep- it might have been someone's shed once, though no one but people like her really used it anymore. Brockton Bay was full of abandoned warehouses and empty homes and dilapidated stores- it wasn't exactly hard to find a building to hole up in.
Unfortunately, the same reasons that produced so many places like Taylors also generated a lot of homeless people. Competition was fierce, and she'd been chased out of all the more decent locations she'd found.
So now she was stuck here, under the rusting tin roof and the sagging walls- the cement floors water stained and cracked, with nothing but a deflated soccer ball, broken shovel and plenty of bugs to keep her company.
When it rained she had to put any containers she could get her hands on under the biggest leaks and bail the shed out like it was a sinking ship.
It did feel like that sometimes, when the wind rattled the metal bones in the walls and the night's cold sunk its fingers deep into her skin. She would think of warm nights in her bedroom, listening to her mother and father laugh over wine while they thought she was asleep- and her breath would flee from her body, spiraling in bubbles up and away through the waves, her body crushed by the pressure of the sea and her eyes burning against the salt. Drowning.
'Will you just fucking kill yourself already Hebert, maybe then I can go five seconds without you whining.' Sophia snapped, lip pulled back in a dismissive sneer as she leaned against the tin wall. Emma laughed in reply, shifting as she did so to arrange her legs without flashing her skirt- a trick Taylor had never been able to quite figure out. Not that she was wearing a whole lot of skirts these days.
'God, I can't believe you just complained about drowning on land- dramatic much Tay? What are you gonna sign up for the local theatre club in rags? I don't think even they are that desperate.' Emma remarked with a smirk, staying put in her seated position even as her eyes followed Taylor as she got to her feet.
Taylor didn't comment, and tried to absorb herself with looking through her ragged backpack, fingers shifting swiftly through her supplies. She still had a good amount of food, but she still needed to get more, especially if Frankie was hard up on resources-
'Are you stupid enough to actually believe 'Frankie' is really her real name? She's forgotten it more times than you have pimples.' Emma interrupted unhelpfully, and Taylor hunched her shoulders, resisting the urge to reach up and feel her own face. She looked bad, but she knew that already. She'd been the ugly duckling for years, it wasn't exactly surprising homelessness didn't do her any favors.
'You have enough on your plate trying to deal with your own…situation. You're really being quite stubborn; if you were smart you'd just go back to Lacy and Kurt. I don't want to ruffle your feathers but I think you might be doing this out of some sort of twisted enjoyment? It must be really hard not to have anything that you can control, you know I-' Taylor snapped her head around, interrupting Mr.Gladly's stupidly smug know-it-all voice with a frustrated shout.
"Shut up! J-just shut the fuck up!" She huffed, wishing- as she had more than once- that she could actually harm her visions.
Emma tittered in the background and Sophia grinned like a shark, like Taylor snapping had meant she'd won. It pretty much had. She tried to ignore them most of the time, but every moment rubbed at her patience like sandpaper and left her raw and anxious in a way that was incredibly hard to weather stoically.
"You're not here." She mumbled- more to herself than anything, an affirmation of a sense of reality that she now sorely lacked.
Emma pouted cutely, tipping her head to the side and pressing her arms to her chest like she was offended.
'How hurtful! Is that anyway to talk to your dead best friend?' Taylor grit her teeth, jaw aching with the pressure, before swinging her bag around to her back.
"You're not Emma." She ground out- fully aware she'd be better off keeping her stupid mouth shut but unable to help herself. Her visions began to get up and walk behind and alongside her, the fainter ones simply floating through the walls instead of filling out the rusted door like Taylor and the more present ones.
'Maybe, maybe not! Maybe you're going crazy and this has nothing to do with your pathetic little powers- ooh or maybe I'm a ghost! That's what you thought at first right? That I was back to haunt my killer?' Emma cackled, red hair reflecting the morning light and smile as wide as it had been back when they'd drawn cats and birds and dragons on her driveway with chalk. She was beautiful as she'd always been.
She'd probably even been a pretty corpse.
Taylor looked away, blinking back tears and letting the sharp stab of pain settle achingly into her chest.
She was getting distracted.
---
Taylor made it to Frankie's with plenty of time to spare, her legs slightly sore from all the walking she was constantly doing. She used to run, but these days she felt like she exercised twice as much simply trying to get around without the aid of a vehicle. It was actually kind of a problem- her diet was unsteady and unfilling, and on bad weeks she went without a meal for days- she was seriously getting underweight. Not enough that she could count her ribs or anything, but she'd get there eventually if she didn't figure out a solution.
'I knew you had some sort of eating disorder, but this is just pathetic!' Madison this time.
"Hey Frankie." Taylor called out, voice hoarse with the chill of the air. The dark skinned girl was sitting on their usual picnic table, legs swinging back and forth agitatedly as her dark eyes carefully looked over the parks nearby inhabitants.
They'd been meeting here for a while- it was quicker than trying to find out where the other person was every time they got metaphorically kicked out of somewhere because of the weather or literally kicked out because of the police.
The spot was nice too, secluded on a bit of a hill and surrounded by overgrown shrubbery and trees; it didn't see much foot traffic partly because it was a bit of a steep hill and partly because most people simply forgot it was there.
Usually Frankie was here first and would hear her stumbling up the hill, but she made sure to call out to announce her presence ever since the unfortunate instance where, startled, Frankie had nearly stabbed her with her electric green pocket knife.
Frankie half turned, giving Taylor a friendly smirk as she finally made it to the top of the slope.
"Hey Twigs, enjoy last night's temperature?" She asked- somewhat rhetorically- and Taylor rolled her eyes but stopped herself from smiling. She looked ugly when she smiled; it brought too much attention to her too-wide mouth.
"No. Somehow I never have enough blankets to cover my whole body. You?" Taylor asked politely, sitting across from Frankie and heaving her bag onto the ground beside her, her back aching from the weight.
Frankie grimaced, see-sawing her hand back and forth in a 'so-so' type of way.
"It's pretty warm at Lays but the guy wouldn't stop spouting his usual bullshit preacher shit, like, all night long." She grumbled, her arms moving exaggeratedly as she talked, something that Taylor now knew was just part of how she expressed herself.
"Still think it's risky to be in a big group like that." Taylor stated seriously, ignoring Sophia's mocking 'like you know anything about survival' in the background.
Frankie snorted, "Yeah okay, and I bet its sooo safe living by yourself in the bad part of Brockton fucking Bay."
Taylor shrugged uncomfortably. The truth was, it really wasn't safe. She'd been approached by Merchants a couple of times- once when one guy tried to sell her something and the other time…well, she'd had to move pretty quickly after that. But her own safety wasn't really what she was worried about.
Frankie paused, before subtly looking around to make sure there was no one nearby- which, unsurprisingly, there wasn't- before leaning in towards her. Taylor mimicked her cautiously, cheeks reddening at the juvenileness of it all.
Frankie had such nice cheekbones, god, she probably hated having to stare into Taylors face.
'She has my deepest sympathies.' Emma pronounced, mock somberly. Taylor didn't let her eyes flick her way, because at this close Frankie would probably notice- she was more perceptive than she let on.
"Soooo..? How'd you do it! Laser his brain with invisible tinker tech? Puppet him with just a flick of your fingers??" Frankie whispered excitedly, miming casting some sort of spell with her wiggling fingers.
Taylor shifted, glancing away and back, shoulders tense.
"Didn't do much. Just got him to leave." She replied uncomfortably, flinching slightly as Frankie pulled back suddenly, looking at Taylor with an odd expression. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her head titled, facial features disbelieving at best.
"Uuuhh, dude, first of all- that was fucking Lung with a capital L, he doesn't even run from endbringers! So the fact that he pussied out from fighting you? That's like major!" Frankie raised her arms expressively, grinning wickedly at her own explanation.
Taylor smiled shakily, a mixture of warmth and guilt swimming unsettlingly in her stomach. That was really nice of Frankie to say but… 'He was probably repulsed by your smell Hebert. His senses might be better than a humans right? You already stink enough to push most normal people away..' Sophia growled, leaning over her shoulder- arm propped up on the bench and mouth next to her ear.
Taylor hunched.
"-And two, it wasn't like making him run was all you did!" Frankie laughed, twirling a strand of her messy hair, the once bright pink streaks now almost faded back to dark brown.
Taylor cocked her head, blinking with confusion.
"What do you mean?" She asked, a sense of dread crawling up her back like fingers despite herself. Frankie gaped at her with surprise, before shaking her head with a crazed laugh.
"Christ, I forgot what a total loner you are! Dude, it's all over the streets!"
Taylor clenched her hands into fists underneath the park table, nails pushing harshly into her own skin. Oh god- she'd tried to do less, but he was so terrifying, and wasn't he supposed to be tough? And-
Frankie smiled fiercely, eyes sparkling with a brutal sort of satisfaction.
"Lung killed himself last night!"
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Oof... I 'hate' these well written, depressing ones. It's hard to stay away, but reading them is an exercise in masochism.
oh man I feel you there, I'm guilty of that as well! Like, 'time to relax and read Worm fic!' *Proceeds to make myself extremely distressed.*
Also thank you for calling this well written, knowing people like stuff I write makes me incredibly happy!
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- Location
- NC
Oof, I'm sure whether Lisa would hate Taylor or pity her or something else. I am, however, fairly certain that Lisa would be deeply disturbed and not want Taylor anywhere near anyone she even vaguely liked. Alec probably wouldn't be too thrilled about living in the same town as an emotional manipulator who can and will drive people to suicide either.
thank you!! That's really nice of you to say! I do have a bad habit of starting multiple stories at the same time, but sometimes it works for me-when I get tired of writing one of them I just move to the other. Thanks for commenting! <3Yeah this would be a literal nightmare for Alec I think, like he'd probably just skip town if he knew the exact details of Taylors power. I don't think Lisa would necessarily hate Taylor, but she'd probably have some complex emotions about her...
The contrast between what observers saw and what Taylor thinks has happened is amazing. She sees it as Lung being so disgusted with her that he won't even bother with her. That bystander saw it as it actually was. Lung ran away scared and guilty. And then he killed himself because he couldn't handle those feelings.
I do wonder why she doesn't realize that she has powers.
I do wonder why she doesn't realize that she has powers.
She does actually know she has powers, she just doesn't quite understand their effect. Taylors perception of reality, her visions, and the actual events are all slightly different. She's very much not the most reliable narrator.