outlierdirector: ▮ <lj user="outlierdirector">. (door▸it's time.)
ᴊᴇssᴇ ғᴀᴅᴇɴ | ᵗʰᵉ ᵈᶦʳᵉᶜᵗᵒʳ. ([personal profile] outlierdirector) wrote in [community profile] synthneon2023-11-29 09:38 pm

oceanview (different path) || ❝ turn the page i need to see something new. ❞

a different path,
the same road.
When I thought that I fought this war alone
You were there by my side on the frontline
When I thought that I fought without a cause
You gave me a reason to try
CODE BY TESSISAMESS
crazyisinevitable: (030)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2023-12-31 08:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ The funny thing about that is that Alan would classify this whole thing as a bad B horror movie. He might even go as far as to label his books as something along those lines. They sell, sure, but pinnacles of brilliant writing they aren't. But then again, he's always been his own worst critic. ]

I don't know. It seems almost too weird or stupid to be a good plan, but maybe that's the plan: maybe it's so weird that no one would ever think to go sniffing around there.

Outside of town it is. And wouldn't the FBI just have more questions? You might be able to get away, but I don't like the idea of being hauled off by them, even if they gave us a ride.

So, what are we going to do? Break a window and steal- I mean borrow a car?

[ If the FBI and the police are already looking for me, it's not going to matter. ]
Edited 2023-12-31 08:43 (UTC)
crazyisinevitable: (038)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2023-12-31 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah. And considering I'm already on at least the police's radar already, which is a long story, by the way, I don't think tangling with the FBI is a good idea. Even if all they do is ask questions. It's one of those things best left alone, you know?

[ He's not interested in another encounter that gets him arrested. But he stops talking because he's noticed the shift in her attitude, and he asks: ]

Did I say something wrong? It's not a problem; how are we supposed to get around otherwise? Other than walking, I mean.
crazyisinevitable: (017)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2023-12-31 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Too late, it registers in his mind that she mentioned having involvement with government agents. Maybe he'll ask her about it, but weirdly, he feels like it's more important to let her know what kind of guy she's dealing with, even if he hasn't had an escapade like the one he's about to relate to her in some time. ]

Well, uh- You know I'm a writer, right? And my books kind of took off, even though I wasn't expecting them to. So that meant book signings, parties, stuff like that.

[ He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. ]

There was one party where I kind of had too much to drink, and a reporter just wouldn't back off, so I punched him and shoved his camera back into his eye.

[ And the rest of that probably speaks for itself. ]

If it helps at all, I don't usually work with others either. For obvious reasons. But I'm not going to punch you or anything, if that's what you're worried about.

[ He realizes that doesn't sound like a glowing endorsement of himself, but he's never pretended to be anything other than who he is. And who he is is a volatile asshole. ]
crazyisinevitable: (002)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2023-12-31 11:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Really? No lectures about not getting so upset? No telling me I probably deserved getting slapped with assault charges? A lot of people weren't too happy with me back then. [ He shrugs too. ] It's not for everyone. I just wanted to write books and tell stories.

[ The press and crowds and fans might be part of it, but that's not all that drew Alan to becoming an author in the first place. ]

If you're looking for a quiet life, being a writer isn't the way to go.

[ Alan just looks at Jesse for a moment, a thoughtful look taking his face. He hopes his gaze doesn't make her uncomfortable, and he eventually shifts to briefly looking at something ahead of them in the woods. But he says: ]

I don't know why, or what it is... writer's intuition, maybe. Something's telling me I can trust you, and believe what you say.

[ It could be because there's no one Alan really trusts, apart from Barry. The kidnapper is a kidnapper, and Rose drugged him. And the environment around here isn't really good for settling the nerves. There's something almost rock solid about Jesse, in a way. Alan can't explain where these brain waves are coming from, but something tells him he can trust her. Maybe even rely on her.

And if that's the case, he needs to be someone she can rely on in turn. ]


Hey, I forgot to ask... [ His gaze shifts again when she steps closer to him. ] Do you have a flashlight or a gun?
crazyisinevitable: (015)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2024-01-01 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ He just shrugs and rolls his eyes. ] Everyone lectures me for different reasons. Why not you too? [ Her being younger doesn't really strike him as significant, at least not in this situation. ]

Honestly? Not really. Maybe it started out that way, but now I just feel blocked. None of my ideas work.

[ And that's probably ironic, given the situation that they're in right now. ]

Why? If we get surrounded or cornered, you're going to need one. It's dangerous out there. [ Without hesitation, he hands over his own flashlight. If she's never fired a gun before, he figures he should keep it and let her handle the flashlight part of things. ]
crazyisinevitable: (029)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2024-01-01 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ He just fixes her with a look that's a poor attempt at being serious; he has to work at keeping a straight face as he replies: ]

That's another thing I forgot to mention: I'm the worst person when it comes to making plans. Which you've already figured out, but at least I can admit it. [ And then his expression sobers again. ] Why do you think my intuition's broken? You're still here, aren't you? You didn't run or push me away when you learned what's happening. If anything, you seemed even more determined to stick around.

[ And that counts as reliable in Alan's book. ]

So far, I haven't seen anything that counts as inspiration. [ Except for maybe her, but if I tell her that right now, won't she just run away? No, I think I need to keep that to myself. ] I do have some ideas, though.

[ He watches her to make sure she has the flashlight and that she's following along with him. ]

It's in the pages: they're apparently called Taken. They were people once, before something got them. [ Darkness, the devil, doesn't it all come down to the same thing? ] The gun is obvious, but the flashlight helps make the gun work. I know it doesn't make sense.
crazyisinevitable: (delete 7)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2024-01-01 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ He notices that look in her eyes and it makes a smile come to his face, lighting up his eyes for the first time since he came to her door. He knows he doesn't understand it, and part of him feels like he shouldn't be feeling any particular connection to her, but... What was that dream he had? He can't seem to forget it either, and maybe it's that dream that makes him feel he doesn't want to let her go whenever this insane story comes to an end.

If it ever does. ]


You haven't let me down so far, and somehow, I don't think you will. I couldn't tell you why; I just have this feeling that you're not going to let me down. Now, I might let you down, 'cause I've done it before, to other people, but-

[ I believe in her. Is it because of that dream? I don't know. I just can't shake this feeling. ]

No, it's just weird. [ If anything around here is a potential inspiration, I'd say it's her. But that would definitely turn her off. ]

As far as I can tell. They don't like the light anyway, so it makes sense they just stay hidden when it's light out. Well, it doesn't make sense, but you know what I mean.
crazyisinevitable: (023)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2024-01-01 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, it's a start. Her smile makes him smile too, even if he thinks it looks too sad still. He'd like to make her smile a happier one. But that can't happen until he figures this whole thing out. ]

No, they don't hiss. Sometimes they say things, or shout them. They don't always make sense. You can understand what they're saying, but it's why they're saying it that's not clear. [ He already has a sinking feeling about them, but he doesn't want to be proven right.

He doesn't have much time to talk more about the Taken, because it seems as though they've stumbled upon one. Or several. The axe goes flying above them, and then seems to vanish. Alan's crouched down after Jesse pulled him down with her, but he's looking around. If there's one, there could be more. ]


That was a Taken. Your first one. [ He's still peering around, looking back over his shoulder and then looking in front of them again. ]

There might be more where that one came from. And that's why we need to get you a weapon.
crazyisinevitable: (delete 6)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2024-01-01 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ Too late, Alan realizes that maybe he's made a mistake in telling her about the Taken using the terms that he has. Of course, she had to know about them, but it's clear to him that telling her has unsettled her, if not outright scared her. She tugs on his sleeve, telling him to follow after her, and he starts moving again. ]

Maybe I shouldn't have told you, but... at the same time, you needed to know. To be ready. If- if you want, I'll show you how to use a gun. I learned how when I was doing research for my books.

[ He's still following along with her, but when her fingers curl again into his sleeve, that's when he says: ]

Are you sure you still want to do this? You could leave now and pretend you never got involved. You never met me, you never saw any of this. But yeah, we can outrun them. I've done it before. They're fast, but there's things that can slow them down. Fallen trees. Rocks. Hiding works too.

[ And at that moment, another Taken lumbers into view, and this time, Alan grabs at Jesse's hand, intending to pull her further into some trees to hide. ]
crazyisinevitable: (018)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2024-01-01 09:45 am (UTC)(link)
Your friend is smart. Probably a hell of a lot smarter than me. [ Because he keeps running around at night and getting in trouble along the way. But he's made it this far, right? ] I don't think anyone has a choice here about anything. It's either try and shoot as much as you can and run from everything else or... Well.

[ Alan's gaze shifts to meet hers, and if she's looking, she'll be able to see that there's fear in his expression. He's not a fighter, not really; he's just a writer whose experience with guns comes from shooting them at a firing range. Shooting actual moving targets that are armed with axes and other weapons is a whole other can of worms.

So if she's afraid, then so is he. ]


No, we definitely can't stay here. [ His hand tightens on hers, in something that's equal parts protective and afraid. ] The problem is, I don't know where we can go.

[ He doesn't have time to think about that, though, because he's interrupted by the Taken's exclamation, and yet another axe sailing through the air. And this time, Jesse takes off running, and since they're holding hands, he has no choice but to follow after her. He's not about to stay behind and leave her to fend for herself. He brought her into this, so he's going to stick with her, even if he has no idea where the hell she's going.

He might not be able to see Polaris in her entirety, but he can see a faint shimmer that's so faint, part of him thinks it's in his head. But Jesse seems to be running in that direction, and well... Maybe it's time for Alan to show her that he really does believe her, and trusts her too.

He keeps running along after her, doing his best to keep from being too loud; he's really not the most in shape, and he gets winded too easily (almost embarrassingly easily), but he doesn't want to be the reason they get killed by a Taken. He thinks he spots a glimmer of light up ahead and he wants to tell Jesse to stop there, but he has to catch his breath first. Maybe if he tugs at her hand, she'll get the message: the message that's about something else other than his inability to run long distances. ]
crazyisinevitable: (delete 7)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2024-01-01 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Alan just has the feeling that he's made a mess of this since the beginning. Maybe it can become less of a mess with Jesse's help, but he does feel some amount of guilt for dragging her in at all. But at the same time, it seems clear enough that this is something bigger than just one person. ]

Yeah. More or less. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be held captive by anything, forget about some evil dark force. [ He huffs out a humorless laugh. ] That sounds like something from a bad movie, but it's too real.

[ He's trying his best to not just be dead weight that she has to drag along, but he knows all too well that he's not accustomed to this. Maybe he will be if this constant running to escape keeps happening. It's a mixed bag, really; he doesn't want them to keep running for their lives, but he does want to stop feeling winded after just a few minutes of running.

I really should have worked out more.

He starts to move closer to the lamppost when they finally reach it, but he changes his mind at the last minute when he sees Jesse fall against it. He keeps back from it, but not far enough that he's outside the light it's casting. He can catch his breath here and let her use the post to support her, if that's what she needs.

But he's still close enough to keep holding her hand, and although her grip is like a vise on his, he squeezes her hand, hoping to reassure her. They might have been thrown together by his actions or by the story or whatever, but they're doing this together. That means it shouldn't feel out of place to try and offer whatever support he can give.

And right now, it looks like she needs that. He can't tell what's going on in her head, but he's not backing away either. ]
Edited 2024-01-01 21:45 (UTC)
crazyisinevitable: (039)

[personal profile] crazyisinevitable 2024-01-02 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ So maybe now I get to learn a little more about her... as much as she's willing to tell me, anyway. ]

Trapped? [ He tilts his head to one side. ] Who tr- Never mind. I shouldn't dig around into things that aren't my business. But- for whatever it's worth, as long as we're working together on this, I'll do what I can to keep you from being trapped again.

[ And then he smirks a wider one this time. ] That's not saying much since I can't even go three feet without sounding like a deflating balloon.

[ Throwing his better judgment to the winds, he steps up behind her, moving in a little closer and puts his free hand on her shoulder. If she jerks away, he'll know to back off. ]

.... Dung Munkeys? That's a name. [ He doesn't sound disbelieving or dismissive, just curious. ] So... this seems familiar to you, then. In a not good way.

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