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The Emerald City



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Tue Apr 14, 2020 2:33 pm
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Mageheart says...



Wren had been clinging to the hope that hearing her say how they met would jog Amy's memory, but the hope had come crashing to the ground the moment the door was slammed in her face.

"I'm...I'm sorry," she managed to get out, knowing that they probably couldn't hear her through the door. She sniffled, fought back another fresh wave of tears, and decided the best thing she could do was get something to eat. Her stomach was grumbling, and she still had some money on her.

Wren never thought she'd be so grateful to see a Subway. The food was a little different than what she was used to, but she was still able to get something she liked. She ate it as she walked around town. She had to start thinking of how she was going to get home, but she didn't even know where to begin.

She couldn't even call up her parents. She didn't exist yet, and they had no reason to believe that she was their daughter. That was assuming they even lived here - maybe the Carters didn't exist in this reality. If it was another reality. Wren wasn't really sure how she was supposed to tell the difference.

When she was about halfway done with her sandwich - and still nowhere closer to figuring out what she was going to do - she found herself back outside of Amy's apartment. Not right in front of it, but near enough. Close enough that if Amy looked out her window, she'd see Wren looking lost and confused.

It wasn't intentional. Wren hadn't been thinking when she was walking - she just let her feet lead her to wherever she was going to go. But now she was back again, and she knew it looked bad. She sighed, took another sorrowful bite of her sandwich, and went to sit down on conveniently placed bench a few feet away from where she had been standing.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Wed Apr 15, 2020 3:48 am
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Elinor says...



Scott had looked for a moment at the girl sitting on the bench, eating a sandwich. It was such a normal thing for one to do on a warm and sunny day like today. She was probably having a better day than her. He'd thought about buying flowers but decided on the way over that was too much. One step at a time.

He saw rang the buzzer.

"It's Scott," he said. "Please, just come down. Two minutes, okay?"

Just then, he waited anxiously as Amy reappeared and opened the door.

"Hello," Amy said in a clipped tone. This was the last development this morning needed. Scott looked like a sad puppy dog, and she almost kind of felt sorry for him.

"Lauren and I broke up," he explained.

"Do you want me to play you a sad song, Scott?"

"Amy, I made a mess of everything," he said. He reached for her hand, and she didn't let it go. "You're the love of my life."

Amy felt her heart pounding, and she didn't know what to say. He looked good, he really did. She missed him. But he had cheated on her. Still, he had apologized and told her what a horrific mistake he'd made from the beginning, and she hadn't wanted to listen. Maybe there wouldn't be any harm in just talking.

"Look, Melissa's here, okay?" Amy said. "Come back in like two hours?"

"You got it," Scott said. He smiled slightly at her as he walked back toward his car. This was progress.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Wed Apr 15, 2020 7:39 am
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Mageheart says...



This was awkward.

Wren ducked her head down as the man - Scott? - went back to his car. Amy had mentioned having an ex, back when they first met. Maybe this was him? It sounded like it from the conversation she had accidentally overheard.

It also sounded like he had cheated on her. Wren had never been in a relationship - she tried not to think about her most recent crush, who was definitely more unrealistic than Amy was - but she knew the tropes. That sounded like a cheating lover trying to make amends.

She didn't want to jump to assumptions. She didn't know anything about how their relationship ended, or what Amy's ex was like. But if that meeting in two hours didn't go well, wasn't it a good idea to stick around?

She shook the thought of her head. That was definitely stalking. She wasn't even dressed in her Actor costume. But maybe if she walked around for a bit again and just ended up at her apartment by mistake, it would be okay? Even if Amy didn't remember her and hadn't liked her too much the first time she met, Wren still saw her as a potential friend. She couldn't let something happen to her when she saw the possible warning signs.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Wed Apr 15, 2020 7:15 pm
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Elinor says...



The next two hours felt like two years.

She evidently wasn't going to be able to catch a break this morning. When she went back up the apartment, she told Melissa everything.

"I don't know about you seeing him again," Melissa said.

"He's not going to hurt me," Amy said. "Maybe it'll just be closure, you know?"

"I guess," Melissa replied. "Just know that you can do so much better."

"I'll let you know how it goes on Monday," Amy said.

They changed the subject then, and eventually turned on the TV. Not much was on, so they talked over it, and then it was time for Melissa to leave.

When she did, Scott was already waiting outside with flowers. Melissa gave him a slight nod and walked back to her car.

"These are for you," he said.

Amy took them cautiously. But it was hard to resist him, it really was. And she kept having to remind herself of why their relationship ended. "I should put these upstairs," Amy said.

"Or you could take them with us," Scott replied. "So everyone knows I got them for you."

"But then I'll have to carry them," Amy said. "And I don't want to."

So eventually they resolved to go upstairs.

"You are so fucking gorgeous," Scott told her.

"But not as gorgeous as Lauren?" Amy said, somewhat sarcastically.She didn't like the way he was looking at her, at least not right now. Still, she didn't put up much a fight when he kissed her. And she didn't pull away until he tried to unbutton her shirt. "We're not doing this right now," she said.

"Amy," Scott said. "I wanted to marry you. And I still do. Whatever I have to do to get you to forgive me, I will."

"You can take me to lunch," Amy said. She let him kiss her again as she got her purse and she descended the stairs. She really did miss him. Miss being with him.

She and Scott walked side by side, and he tried to make small talk with her but it went in one ear and out the other. The next happened fast.

They were pushed into alleyway by two men wearing masks. Two men pointing guns in their faces. Amy screamed, and Scott dropped his wallet. She was not about to get shot today.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:59 pm
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Mageheart says...



Wren heard the scream before she saw the mugger.

Her instincts had been honed over the past three years. The first thing she did was find somewhere where she could hide and change her form. She knew she couldn't do The Actor here and now. If she really was in the past in her own world, it would probably have some horrible effect on the timeline. Or, at least, she'd look really stupid, and Wren had already been mortified enough today.

But The Actor had the muscles, height and intimidation that Wren didn't, so she did the next best thing: Adrian Black. She slipped into the darkness on the other side of the alleyway. When she saw the right moment, she attacked.

She gave the first mugger a swift kick to the groin, followed by a knee to the chin. He collapsed moments later. Then she turned to the second mugger. He had only just noticed her; it was too late for him, too. All it took was her palm to his chin for him to fall next to his partner.

She grabbed the wallet from the ground and gave it back to the man it had to belong to. She could barely make out the two would-be victims in the shadows of the alleyway.

"Here you go," she said, giving an almost shy smile.

Then she crouched down below the two and took their guns from their hands. It wasn't long before she had unloaded their guns and stuffed the bullets in her pockets. She'd get rid of those somewhere a little farther away.

She did all of this with the ease and speed of someone who had done this countless times before - she had lost count of how many muggings she had stopped.

Wren wasn't a superhero here, though. She was just some random person on the street. She didn't want to stick around long enough to be recognized if she ran into the two before she got back home.

"You should probably call the police before they wake up," Wren said, stepping back into the shadows she had emerged from earlier. "They'll be like that for awhile, but it's a good idea to be one step ahead of them."

And then she was back out on the street. She found her hiding spot from before - a very conveniently placed large sign that no one could see behind on the road beyond - and took a deep breath.

Her heart was still racing, even though she had already finished the rescue attempt. Leaning up against the wall of the storefront, Wren waited a little bit before changing back. The combination of trying to be secretive and beating two men with guns was giving her an adrenaline rush unlike the ones she usually got - she really needed to catch her breath.

When she finally felt a little calmer, she changed back - overall pockets still full of bullets.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Wed Apr 15, 2020 11:13 pm
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Elinor says...



It all happened so fast that Amy had a delayed reaction in processing it all. They'd barely caught a glimpse of their savior's face before he disappeared.

"Um," Scott said first, holding his wallet shakily in his hands. He put it back his pocket.

In response, Amy collapsed into his arms and started to cry. It had all been too much. It certainly felt nice to be in his arms again.

God, she loved him. He was still the only boyfriend she'd ever had. There hadn't been anyone else, not before, not after.

He reached for her hand, and she didn't let go. As they left the alleyway, they saw the savior change until the girl that knocked at their door. She had to blink to make sure she'd seen that right. She looked at Scott and realized from the look on his face he'd seen the same thing too.

It was the girl that given that that story about a cabin in winter. The girl that looked just like the girl from her dream. The annoying one. Oh, she'd have a lot to explain to Scott later. She also realized in that moment, although it didn't have anything to do with anything in the moment, Scott didn't know Amy had found out who her father was. She'd really have a lot to explain to him later.

She made eye contact with the girl, still holding Scott's hand.

"I think," Amy said. "You're the girl from my dream."

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:46 am
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Mageheart says...



Even though Wren had desperately tried getting Amy to believe her, the first thing she felt when she heard her voice was terror. She hadn't even realized Amy had been the one she had saved; she had been too focused on getting in and out of the alleyway without any trouble.

And Amy wasn't alone, either. There was the man who had gone to her apartment earlier, too - they were holding hands when Amy made eye contact with her. Wren just stared at her like a deer caught in headlights, her pockets clinking from the bullets when she took a nervous step back.

"I...I am," she hesitantly replied. She gave Amy's boyfriend (?) a tentative, nervous look. Amy already knew about her powers; Scott didn't. What was he going to do now that he had seen her shapeshift?

She took a deep breath.

"It, um, wasn't a dream," Wren finally said. "It was real."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Thu Apr 16, 2020 2:25 pm
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Elinor says...



If it was real, that would explain the drawing. Amy gulped. Scott was right there, and she had a lot to explain to him as soon as they had an opportunity to.

"Why don't we take you to lunch?"

Scott formed a momentary look of protest on his face before he realized they didn't have much of a choice.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Thu Apr 16, 2020 2:28 pm
Mageheart says...



Wren hesitated, then gave a little nod. She still had some money on her. She didn't want to use it all up before she figured out how to get back home, but she also didn't want to make them pay for her. And everything had been cheaper back at Subway - if she was lucky, it would be cheaper than what she was used to wherever they went, too.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Fri Apr 17, 2020 12:56 am
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Elinor says...



They walked for a few blocks before they settled on a diner. It was close and had halfway decent food but great milkshakes.

As they got their seat, Amy wondered if they were going to ignore that Wren shape shifted in front of them and if everything at that cabin in winter had all been real. That would have explained the drawing.

"Get anything you want," Scott told Wren. "The milkshakes are amazing here. We're going to split a black and white one."

"Oh, sounds good," Amy said. She actually wasn't in the mood for a milkshake, but Scott had been so definitive and she wasn't going to turn it down.

"So, Wren," he said. "Where are you from?"

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Fri Apr 17, 2020 12:02 pm
Mageheart says...



She glanced between Scott and Amy.

It seemed more like Scott wanted to split the milkshake than Amy did, but Wren didn't want to get involved in something like relationships right now. She hadn't even been in one of her own before, so what could she possibly say about the two being together?

"I think I'll get a milkshake, too," she quietly said. She wasn't that hungry after having the sandwich, anyways. "...And I'm from New York City."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Fri Apr 17, 2020 4:06 pm
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Elinor says...



"We were just there," Scott replied.

Amy's face fell. She remembered. The news broadcast from the future. She wasn't going to say anything, not now, and she gave Wren a look not to as well. She wanted to forget about that news broadcast, about those crashing planes.

"So, what brings you to Seattle?" Amy asked.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Sat Apr 18, 2020 11:39 am
Mageheart says...



She stared down at the table.

What was she supposed to say? Scott was still there, and she wasn't sure Amy would want to believe the truth. Wren had always been so careful with keeping her identity secret. And even if she had accidentally shown Scott her powers, it was hard accepting that there were some times were the truth was needed.

"...I don't know," she quietly said. "I was in New York City this morning, and there was this man there. He made what looked like it was some kind of portal and pushed me through it. When I got out of it, I was here in Seattle..."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:55 pm
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Elinor says...



Scott and Amy both laughed. She was joking, definitely. Amy still hadn't fully processed any of the rest of it, the fact that she was here, that she'd somehow been in some alternate dimension, that they'd seen Wren transform before their very eyes. it was all too weird.

"You're funny," Amy said.

Just then, Scott whispered in Amy's ear. "Order for me. My usual. I'm going to the bathroom." Just then, he left, and as soon as he was out of earshot, Amy leaned in closer to Wren.

She'd seen her uncomfortable glances at Scott, but wasn't going to say anything while he was right there. But now that he was in the bathroom, she took an opportunity.

"Why do you keep looking at him like that?" Amy said. "And what do you want from me?"

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Sun Apr 19, 2020 6:37 pm
Mageheart says...



Wren faltered.

She knew she couldn't say what she had been thinking - or all of it, at least. She knew it wasn't her place to comment on Amy's relationships. But her thoughts on Scott weren't limited to Amy being in a relationship with him, and she knew she could say the other reasons for why she kept giving him nervous looks.

"...I don't know him," she quietly said. She kept staring down at the table instead of up at Amy's face. "He saw me using my power, and we never even met before today..."

Her grip on her overall's legs tightened.

"...I also wasn't sure what I could say to him," she admitted. "You were the one who ended up at the cabin. Not him. So I...I wasn't sure if he'd believe me."

She wasn't even sure Amy believed her, either.

Wren tried to remember what it was like before she discovered her superpower, but she honestly couldn't remember - it had been years ago. Whatever had felt impossible felt very possible now. She wasn't sure she could help Amy understand it more if she didn't already get it.

"...And I don't want anything from you," she added.

She finally glanced up.

"I didn't mean to end up here," she said. "I didn't mean to end up in front of your house, either. Or the mugging. That was an accident - or maybe a coincidence. I, um, don't really know..."

She paused, took a breath, and then hesitantly continued.

"You're the only person I know here," she said. And now. "That's why I went back to your home after you turned me away the first time. I thought I could explain myself. And I-I was excited about seeing someone from the cabin again..."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.








The continuation of our world depends more on the survival of the kindest than it does on the survival of the fittest.
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