forum Floating Cities Are All The Rage (OxO//Closed//Dystopian)

Started April 05, 2019 by @Toxic_Persephone group

tune

(Me: *doesn't post for almost a month
You: *dares to take a full day to respond and apologizes for the wait
Me: haha yeah,,,,,,
LOL jk bro it's totally fine u know i'd rather u take care of urself first:) )

Roger let out a saddened smile as he nodded at Atlas. Conflictions and frustrations twisted around his mind, but he wouldn't let them get to him.
"We've got enough firewood, right? Let's get back." Roger inhaled sharply, turning away before he allowed tears to fall.
Eddie dug his fingers into the dusty dirt as he sniffled, leaning heavily into Juniper's embrace. His breath shaky and his voice broken, he spoke in sobs.
"I never questioned my authority, or what they told me. I was confused all the time, and I didn't understand when people around me contradicted their words."
He wiped his nose, looking intently into space, eyes vacant, but constant.
"Jesse was the only person I understood. He was the only consistency in my life of confusion."

(XD XD Thanks man. The same goes out towards you. Make sure y’all take care of yourself!)

Atlas stood up straight and adjusted his jacket, nodding. He wouldn’t press. Roger had a lot going on. Atlas respected that.
“Yes we should have enough, let’s hurry back.” He replied in his usual rough, confident tone. It was almost sad to realize that it was all just a front.

Juniper ran her hands soothingly through his hair, hushing him softly. If the world would have been normal, Juniper would have made a really good comforter and caretaker. But they didn’t live in a normal world.
“He was very grounded. I noticed that too.” She murmured, closing her eyes.
“He acres rough and tough didnt he? But he was such a softie.”

(Ofc ofc! My friend and I have been marvelling at your response quality and speed and when you said u had college stuff I thought, "man I'm not even in college and it takes me weeks to respond,,,,,,," :') anyway hope ur doing well love u!)

Roger walked firmly as he found himself lost in thought. He'd had his suspicions against the people he was working for, but he was afraid of defying them because they had manipulated him to stay loyal. Even Eddie, under their control, made Roger feel like he was lucky to be alive, despite his awful circumstances.
Even now, he doesn't know why he decided to help Eddie. He knew Eddie was a victim, but he still said some nasty shit to Roger; why did he help Eddie?
After some time, Eddie had calmed down, but his eyes still swelled with tears, circles forming under them. Eddie sniffed, standing up slowly. Without making eye contact with anyone, he walked to the wall, murmuring something about wanting to be alone, but not caring if anyone heard him or not.
Astrid looked at Juniper, curious of many things but unable to find the words to bring them up.

(But y’all are forgetting your responses are super good too!!! Tho I am flattered you think so highly of my responses aha. And don’t worry about it! It’s okay to not answer if you’re not feeling it or if you’re busy.)

Atlas returned just as Eddie was walking off, his eyes following him carefully.
He glanced around to find Stephan, who was sorting through his medical supplies and items and making sure they were 100% in place. Stephan hated not knowing where things were.

June watched him walk off, frowning deeply. She stood not as defensive, and almost looked rather relaxed.
Her soft demeanor fell the moment she noticed Astrid looking at her, but she still had that caring and concerned light in her eyes.

( :') ur so amazing haha aawww thank u )

Roger dropped the pile of firewood onto the ground, huffing a relieved sigh as he gazes at Astrid, who looked lethargic.
"Alright, looks like we're set for the night. How are you guys holding up?" Roger suddenly noticed the absence in the group. "Where's Eddie?"
Astrid emptily pointed in the direction that Eddie disappeared, causing Roger to shoot a glance in Stephan and Atlas's direction. Despite only truly trusting one person in this group, Roger didn't know what to think about what may have happened while he was gone, and wanted to go after Eddie, but wasn't sure if he was okay with leaving Astrid.
He gave Astrid a worried glance, but she merely returned with a cold lack of eye contact.

(NO UUU also, np np :D)

Juniper spoke up to explain the situation, her voice cracking a little.
Jesse's death had shaken everyone who had met him… And June felt somewhat responsible with his death. If she had made them them a different route, if she had only convinced them to stay away from large groups, maybe then he wouldn't have died…
But then again, they wouldn't have gotten Roger back or have met Eddie.
It was all too complicated and Juniper was overwhelmed with a flurry of new emotions and old habits come back from the grave.
"Eddie knew Jesse…" WAs all she managed to get out, closing her eyes.

Atlas looked over at the group and frowned deeply, folding his arms.
"Jesse was the one who died, correct? The brother? Eddie knew him? How?" Juniper shrugged and Stephan hit Atlas's shin angrily, growling a soft warning to 'be more considerate of other's feelings.'
It was ironic considering Stephan had literally no idea what others felt towards him.

(So uh i accidentally wrote a fat response,,,,,,i actually had to refrain from writing more bc i got too excited abt what i have planned,,,,,,,whoops,,,,)

Seeing Juniper's gentle but deep care for his siblings, Roger clenched his fist and began shuffling quickly in the direction of Eddie's trail. He knew he had to go fast, because he wasn't sure how far Eddie had gotten, and how much further he'll go. Fortunately, after a few minutes of running, Roger saw Eddie. As much as he wanted to call out to Eddie, Roger noticed that he was walking somewhere with intent. Curiosity overtake Roger as he kept quiet, following Eddie at a distance. After a few turns and twists, Eddie slowed down, reaching a field-no, as Roger got closer, he realized it was a cemetery.
Eddie walks down the rows until he pauses in front of one stone, turning to face it, and simply staring. Roger squinted his eyes to see better, and nothing could have prepared Roger for what Eddie did next.
Was he…talking to the gravestone?

Astrid found a spot to sit and curled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her left leg as she stared emptily at the ground. A repressed memory found it's way back to the front of her mind, replaying without her permission.
I was drawing at the time, a common coping mechanism after our parents were killed, and an easy, non-violent way to take out my frustrations, even if I did end up having another breakdown, scribbling madly, ripping the paper, and even breaking pencils, Roger told me it was okay to be mad, as long as I don't hurt anyone, including myself. In this moment, I was calm.
Roger shuffled in shakily, bending to his knees to be at eye level with me, who sat on the ground. He seemed in a rush, or maybe even distracted. I couldn't make eye contact with anyone at this point in my life, so I only looked up at his chest.
"Hey, Astrid, I need to talk to you." He muttered, getting a little close, but left enough distance for my comfort. He knew I wouldn't respond verbally, so he continued. "I need to leave for a few days."
This news sparked intense panic into my bones, and I squeezed my fist tightly, eyes widening as I started breathing quickly.
"Hey, hey, it's okay." He breathed, his voice calm and nurturing, "I'll come back, I promise. I just need to look into something about our parents, okay?"
I tried my best to slow my breathing, but my skin crawled and my chest tightened.
"Here, I'll even let you have my jacket as collateral. You know I'll come back for that."
Roger removed his army green jacket and placed it gingerly on my back. I grinned quietly, my heartrate slowing to a calm speed. Roger looks at me.
"I promised you something, so you have to promise me something in return, okay?"
I turn my head to look towards him, my eyes dancing everywhere but his face.
"Promise you'll take care of Jesse while I'm gone. I know he's taking this whole thing pretty hard, even if he doesn't show it, but I know you'll help him get through it. He respects you."
Back then, Astrid was so caught off guard by the idea that either of her brothers respected her that she didn't even realize that Roger asking Astrid for that promise was evidence of how much he respected Astrid too. She always assumed that everyone looked at her differently, like she was special in all the wrong ways.
Astrid blinked back into reality, realizing she had dug her fingers into the dirt below her. She relaxed her grip, sighing heavily.

(You’re okay! Write as much as you’d like!!)

Juniper frowned deeply when Roger went off after Eddie. She didn’t want the two to get caught… she couldn’t handle losing more of her new group, of her new friends.
Yeah.
Friends.
People she felt comfortable around. People who she wanted to be with.
It was all so foreign but she was enjoying it far too mich even if the ache of losing one of them was enough to send her over the edge.
She missed Jesse terribly, but she still had Astrid and the others to look out for.

So she sat next to Astrid and closed her eyes, fiddling with her clothes as she thought back on her life.
June was still young and yet she had witnessed so many horrible things already…
The writhing mass of limbs and bone and body was the first to come to her mind, churning her stomach as she recalled how it smelled as it burned. The shrieking voices got to her the most; their wailing and shrill voices far too pained to make out.
Juniper never went back to the labs and their territory after that, vowing to stay away from the area forever.
She couldn’t handle the elimination of so many like her, and yet that seemed to be what the labs were doing…
Maybe the whole upper world wanted the lower cities dead… maybe that was the plan all along: kill the rats that lived below in muck and filth and sadness and poverty.

It was the sound of Astrid releasing the dirt that brought Juniper back into the land of reality, landing her right back where she was seated, in the dust surrounded by the dead.
“Do you need to talk about it?” She asked suddenly, looking Astrid in the face.
“I can tell something’s bothering you.”

(I love how I’m rpint as Juniper but I’m getting super excited to see what Eddie and Roger are you to)

(Haha thanks! Also lol here we go>;) )

Roger watched Eddie closely, noticing his softened face. As much as the curiosity ate Roger up inside, he wanted to let Eddie do his thing. That is, until he saw Eddie reach behind him-
No, I didn't know he-
Roger watched in horror as Eddie revealed the handgun he had, and as Eddie pointed the gun upward, his chin resting on the barrel, Roger's heart dropped.
"Eddie?" He began, stepping closer, eyes widening as the pieces fell together and he realized what was about to happen, "Eddie!!" He shouted, thankfully causing Eddie to drop the gun and turn to Roger, even hiding the gun, and pretending like he wasn't doing what he was doing.
"Eddie, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you-" Roger turned to the gravestone he stood in front of, confusion manifesting in his expression as he turned to face Eddie. Eddie's eyes were puffy from crying as he spoke.
"I don't know if you have the luxury of restoring all of your memories," he began, struggling to speak through his rough sobs, "but I only have the ones that hurt."
Roger furrowed a brow, inhaling deeply. "Eddie, who is this?" He uttered, gesturing to the gravestone.
Eddie shook his head, attempting to blink the tears from his eyes.
"Remember when I told you that I don't have dreams?"
Roger nodded at his question. Eddie continued.
"I was lying. Everytime I closed my eyes I'd see this fucking name on this rock. Even back then, even when I was under their control, I'd see this, and it would hurt. And I didn't know why."
Roger, confused, gazed at the years engraved on the stone. It was at that moment, he did the math, and realized.
"Eddie…"
"My entire childhood has been robbed from me. The moment I broke out of their control, I remembered this name. But it doesn't even matter. I don't have any of my memories of my father, so why do I have to remember his name?"

Astrid looked up at Juniper, a sad smile escaping her troubled face. She inhaled shakily, giving away any attempt at hiding her pain as she shrugged her shoulders.
"I…I couldn't…" she began, unable to get her words out. "I promised Roger. I promised him I'd protect Jesse."

(:0 EDDIE NOOOO BBY!!!!!!!!)

Juniper offered her hand for comfort, a pained look in her eyes. "And you did, for as long as you could." She murmured, clenching her teeth to keep from crying or breaking down.
"I-I'm sorry…" The words were near a whisper.
"I should have made you guys go the other way… I should have done something to stop it. I-I should have left instead of stayed with you two… If I wasn't here none of that would have happened." She leaned into Astrid, her head aching from the pressure of tears held back.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Jesse deserved better! He shouldn't have died! Why wasn't it me instead!?"

( AAAHHHHHH I'D BEEN ANTICIPATING THAT MOMENT SO LONG AHHAHA :')))) )

Roger closed his eyes, knowing his options, but wanting to allow Eddie to continue speaking.
"Coming back here, it unlocked something more. I used to come here almost every day before they took me. I'd talk to him about my problems, my everyday life, my thoughts. As if he'd even hear me."
Roger opened his eyes and placed a comforting hand on Eddie's shoulder.
"I used to go to my dad's grave, too. While I could still remember my parents, of course. The memories with him are still fuzzy as well, but I know he was a good father. My mother and him were a perfect pair. They were unstoppable together, but their moral strength was their inevitable downfall."
Eddie looked up at Roger with a pained expression, gesturing to the gravestone with a shaky hand as he spoke through sniffles.
"I told him about Jesse. I told him about General John. Why do I feel like something's missing?"
Roger looks down, allowing a sad smile to escape his expression.
"If it makes you feel any better, Astrid told me that we have a pet dog, but I don't remember any dog in the slightest. I'm pretty sure she came up with that part herself."
Eddie's lips twitch upward for a moment, but the less than half a chuckle didn't last.
"C'mon Eddie, we should get back to the group anyway. We need to protect Astrid and her friends. I at least know that's what Jesse would want."
Eddie sighed heavily, running a hand through his sweaty hair as he nods.
"Plus, on the way there, you can tell me how you know Jesse."
Eddie's eyes widen in potential fear as he follows Roger.

Astrid shook her head as she placed a gentle hand on Juniper.
"There's no way you could have known. They could have been on the other path for all we know. There's officials everywhere in the streets, and you didn't know Jesse would have pickpocketed. I'm glad that we at least found Roger."

(AHHHH I WANNA HUG HIM SO BAD)

Juniper didn’t seem like she believed the words but she nodded along to them. She felt guilty, responsible. Death followed her like storm clouds ready to burst.
It didn’t matter which group she was in, where she was, what she was doing; they all ended the same way, someone near her died.
At first the groups she was in brushed it off as coincidence, as just the tragedy of living in a ruined world, but soon they grew suspicious.
Many claimed she was a murderer, causing the death of their friends.
It couldn’t be farther from the truth.
She didn’t murder anyone, she never planned for them to die. No, the truth was that she was weak and people died trying to keep her alive.
It’s survival of the fittest out in this world and the only reason Juniper hadn’t died yet was because she took advantage of the strong. They didn’t deserve it. Not one bit. She should have been the one to die because she was the one who made mistakes.

But then again, the Jesse case was different. This whole group was different. Everything about it was different. Jesse died to the hands of authority over pickpocketing. This wasn’t a survival of the fittest setting. This was a murder given a pass because it was an ‘authority versus criminal’ situation.
It was an abuse of power.

“I’m going to make sure I personally have a hand in the downfall of this government.” She snarled suddenly, fists clenching. “I’ll do it for Jesse, for Roger and Eddie. I’ll kill every last one of those government officials if I have to.”

( HAHAHA AAWWW I WANNA HUG JUNIPPEERRR )

Astrid nodded, a determined grin escaping her expression as Juniper spoke.
"I've been wanting to take them down for killing my parents all these years, I can't wait until they pay." She snickers, turning to see Roger and Eddie walking back. Roger's face seemed to possess nothing but awkward embarassment as Eddie chuckles, finishing his stories about Jesse.
"Alright, alright, I'm very happy that…uh, Jesse was that close to you." Roger muttered, earning another giggle from Eddie.
"Okay, head count, everyone's still here, right?" Roger announced, trying to distract himself as he looked around. "I think we're set for the night. Eddie, can you help us start a campfire?"

(We love torturing characters 😂)

“Then let’s do it, Astrid. For the people we’ve lost.” Juniper looked over when Astrid did, tilting her head at the two returning.
When Roger asked for a head count, Juniper immediately looked for Atlas and Stephan, finding them building a makeshift fire pit for the night.
Juniper eyed them for a little bit, catching Stephan’s happy expression when Atlas nudged him.
Those two were always idiots.
Atlas was a drunkard mess who liked to tease her with obvious flirting attempts that weren’t serious. She knew he liked Stephan.
“Well, they have the pit ready. So let’s start it there.”

Astrid's eyes trailed upward toward the night sky, twinkling as the faded memory of stars wished to shine. Not only were the floating cities such a huge block in the sky to see anything interesting, but the air was already so thick and polluted as it was from the surface that Astrid could barely see as far as her own personal vision allowed. Regardless, she felt safe with Roger and Juniper, and she heaved a much needed sigh of relief for the time being.
Comfortable, and slowly getting more warm as the fire grew, Astrid already started to feel sleepy, and absentmindedly leaned over, resting her head on Juniper's shoulder as she watched the boys discuss what's the most efficient way to keep the fire ablaze.
"Trust me, if we blow on it, it'll actually feed the flames. I know this, I was in Boy Scouts." Eddie reassured everyone.
"You don't even remember half of your childhood, Eddie." Roger chimed, squinting a pair of suspicious, but friendly eyes at Eddie, who failed to defend himself.

Juniper tensed up at the unfamiliar weight on her shoulder. She glanced at Astrid, smiling softly before she let herself relax against the other girl.
For once she felt like she belonged. Like this wasn’t going to end bad.
She rested her head against Astrid’s, laughing softly at the boys.
“They’re a handful. It’ll be up to us to make sure they don’t do anything stupid.” She murmured, shaking her head.
“If we blow on it we might put it out! I think it needs more uh… what’s that called? Kindling?” Stephan argued, though he seemed just as clueless as the rest.

(queue me stumbling in and tripping on my own feet and crashing: hey,,,,,)

Astrid smiled warmly, nodding gently on Juniper's shoulder.
"We really are the only thing keeping these boys alive, aren't we?" She hums, as much as the subtext stung her chest, she refused to acknowledge it for the time being; he would want her to be happy. She closed her eyes, allowing the darkness of the night to persuade her into sleep.

(Queue me, half dead in my dorm room cuz midterms: Hiiiiiii and: XD you’re okay, I’ve been dead myself XD XD. How’s life??! You doing good?)

“Call it ‘the feminine touch’.” She joked, cracking a smile and laughing softly. “We’ll look out for each other. It’s rough out there but we have each other… it’s our best bet.” Juniper watched as the flames finally flickered into life, her smile fading as she watched the flames lick and eat at the wood provided.
She didn’t close her eyes. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She’d let Astrid rest and watch over the small camp they created.

(I then proceed to disappear under mysterious circumstances for another month,,,,,,,, anyway i been good!! we've been completely renovating my house so i have been busy for the past few weekss,,,, that's my excuse lol. we moved my room so i was able to throw away a lot of junk i never needed. i managed to get rid of about half of my clothes which is a Good Thing bc i had too many clothes……and we painted the room so now it's a color i love and vibe with ! we're still in the process of working things out so my windowsills need to be painted, i need to get my outlets and lights replaced, and that's just MY bedroom, we're doing the rest of the house too. it's been QUITE the past two weeks lmfaaooo. how about you! how are midterms:') )

Though Astrid finally reached the closest sense of peace that she could ever obtain in the past few days, Roger still watched closely. He and Eddie both knew what the organization that held them were capable of, and the idea that they finally escaped, not only their physical hold on them but also the manipulation on them, was something to comprehend. Roger gazed at Eddie as the boys watched the fire, wondering what could possibly be going through Eddie's mind at the moment. Especially considering what Roger saw in Eddie's memory earlier.
Sure enough, Eddie had a lot on his mind. He wanted to get back at the organization for all of the lies and manipulation they got away with, but also for somehow managing to maneuver their way around being responsible for several people's deaths. He wanted to know if he's even worth saving, after all the people he himself killed under their control, but most of all, he wanted his memories back. He didn't have too many, everything was fuzzy, but he knew he had a life before this, and he wants to know what it was.

(Eeeyyy!!! That’s exciting!! I love it when you can redo stuff and get rid of things you don’t need. And y’all are goood. I’ve been living the college student during a pandemic vibe. Tired and dead and overwhelmed. So that’s my excuse if I get slow 😂 and as for midterms? I’m dead. They killed me. Finished the last like two days ago and I’m still burnt out)

Juniper herself turned her eyes on the two boys they’d ‘rescued’ - if it could be called that. She didn’t know what was happening with them. She trusted them both - having seen what the government did first hand - but she didn’t trust the government machinery the two boys sported.
Stephan was the same, she had seen the look in his eyes after he had removed that chip from Roger. They’d both thought it. What if that wasn’t the only part of Roger that was traceable? What if Eddie had the same? His chip was removed too. But was it enough?
She tried to shake the thoughts out of her head, but it wasn’t until an unearthly cry filled the air did she finally break free of the torment of ‘what if’s.’
Her eyes turned to the land beyond Sire, beyond the Wall. Those creatures were out. They were lucky those things were nocturnal. It was easy to wait out the night and avoid the beasts completely.
That didn’t make them any less terrifying. Juniper hated the creatures with everything she had in her body. They gave her the wound she sported, the one Jesse had bandaged for her. They killed her past groups, her past friends, and everything else she had ever had out there.
And yet they weren’t entirely wrong in their anger. Those creatures lived because of what the fallout did to the earth. They lived because humans thought they could win over one another using nuclear weapons and still live on a planet that was beautiful and safe. Their existence was cursed and not because of anything they had did.
It reminded Juniper a little too much of herself.

(Oh man oh boi I hear college during pandemic is an absolute tragedy :') hope things get better soon though!)

Though Roger smiled and enjoyed his time with the other boys, the lingering reminder still scratched at the back of his head. At some point, the organization is going to come looking for Eddie. He was their most valuable asset, after all. But what he saw in Eddie's memories threatened to throw his suspicions out the window. They weren't Eddie's memories, so how did Eddie get them? And who was the person that looked like Eddie?
Roger sighed, gazing at Eddie a bit longer, trying to study his face. Unfortunately, he knew Eddie was trained in holding a straight face during times of stress or crisis; he knew because he was trained the same way.
Though Astrid managed to doze off for a little while, the cry in the distance gently awoke her. Since she hasn't ever slept outside of her room until now, and she's been through quite a lot in the past few hours, she's become a light sleeper. She lifted her head, eyes a little fuzzy, as she looks around at the silence that grew around the group. They all heard it, too.

The first cry ended before another, deeper, one followed. A call and an answer. Probably for food, some poor soul who didn’t make it past the broken buildings beyond the wall.
It was Atlas who finally broke the silence around them. “Kinda a lonely sound isn’t it?” He murmured, glancing at Eddie and Roger with a small smile. Stephan elbowed him.
“Its not a good one.” He huffed.
Juniper looked over Astrid, laughing softly.
“You look a little tired.” She hummed, trying to lighten the fear that settled in her own stomach. “We’ll be alright, though… they won’t be able to smell us with the fire and the… bodies. And they can’t see. They don’t have eyes.”

( Hoboi! It's a painful mixture of staying safe but making things more difficult, good luck :') )

Astrid subtly nodded in response to Juniper, resting her head back down as she closed her eyes. She almost didn't want to wake up completely in order to avoid becoming more aware of the potential danger; she just wanted to sleep. She could feel Roger's eyes on her as consciousness slipped away once more.
As she grew peacefully still, Roger stood up and stretched.
"Alright, it's time the rest of you sleep, too. I'll keep watch." He announced, heaving a sigh as the stretch finishes.

(Thank youuuu! It went well, we good we good.)

Juniper watched Astrid for a moment before her eyes settled in Roger. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke suddenly, her eyes going wide and her hand immediately to the jagged knife hidden at her hip.
“Are you sure? Do you need rest too?” Stephan asked, though he himself was almost asleep, clutching his medical bag close to his chest. He sat next to the fire, staring into it with tired and closing eyes.
Atlas was already lying in the dirt with his arms thrown over his eyes.