People are missing from my city. Daniel, my brother, Harley, Thorn, Markus, and Cornelius, to be precise.

John thinks it might have something to do with the Strangers who visited the Nexus recently. I don't understand how they could kidnap people from our city, right out of their homes, but it's our only lead.

I can't visit the Nexus right now because I'm caring for Harley's daughter, but I want to know if anyone of you have seen or heard something unusual. Is anybody else missing? Is this a Nexus-wide problem?

Thank you.

Perhaps it's too late, or you've already heard this from Daniel, but alternates of the aliens that terrorized our city are in the Nexus. There are many of them.

Please do not trust them, whatever they say. Their desire to survive is single-minded, and they lack any sort of empathy or feeling for other sentient beings.

I will not be visiting the Nexus again for some time.

((Blame Schreber-mun for this story idea!))

The City's vibrant nightlife gave Tom many options for a place to unwind and have a drink or two. Tom settled on a jazz bar that Sarah had mentioned in passing. It was smoky, and a little cramped, but the three-piece ensemble on stage was jamming, and the crowd loved it.

He sidled up to the bar, watching the audience while he waited for the bartender. Some people were dancing, mostly women. One women was quite good, swaying sensuously to the beat and sliding her hands along the fabric of her little black dress. She turned to blow a kiss to someone at a table --

Oh. Oh God. That was Sarah.

That was his sister!

Tom stared, then blushed vividly and tried to find a way to keep his eyes on the ceiling while still watching her. What was she doing, dancing like that and dressed like that? Not that there was anything wrong either of those things, but this was Sarah. She didn't act like that.

Did she?

She blew another kiss, and he looked toward its recipient. Schreber. He recognized the man immediately, despite the poorly lit club. He jostled his way through the crowd, his mouth set in a determined line. "Hey," he said, once he was at Schreber's table. "Having fun?"

The bespectacled scientist looked up, a dreamy expression on his face. Which was immediately replaced with a mixture of shame and terror. If it weren't for his bad leg, Tom was sure Schreber would have tried to slide under the table. "Tom! Oh... ah, hello, I didn't know you... were here."

Tom pointed to the dance floor. "Why is she up there dressed like... like not how she dresses, dancing like that?"

Schreber smiled weakly. "She's, ah... she told you about her other personality, yes?"

"Mary?" Tom blinked, his frown softening. "But she said Mary only comes out when she's stressed..."

"She's been working on... bringing Mary out in a controlled environment, through self-hypnosis," Schreber explained, some of his composure returning. "It's im...pressive, that she's come so far in her ability."

Tom watched his sister again. She did look like she was having a good time. He knew how awkward it was to have two sets of memories, it couldn't have been easy for her. "So now she... what, just goes out like Mary?"

"Not often." The Doc's gaze was also on Sarah, and his dreamy smile had returned. "This is only our second... night out, in fact. Usually, she's on...ly Mary in the bedroom."

Tom's glare was immediate and scorching, and Schreber looked like he really would slide under the table, bad leg or not. "I don't want you to say those words or anything remotely like them to me again. Ever."

Schreber blushed and looked down. "Sorry." More quietly, he added, "We are on a date, you know."

Tom sighed, embarrassed at his reaction and... well, everything, really. "Okay. Fine. Have a nice night, I'll see you later." He left the bar and took a huge gulp of air as soon as he stepped outside. Now he needed to find a different bar to have a drink or two. Or ten. Ugh.

I've given my characters a healthy dose of Veritaserum and now they have to tell the truth. What does this mean for you? Ask my characters questions about anything and everything and they will truthfully answer it. So, go ahead and ask what you want. He can't beat around the bush with half-truths.

Feel free to ask questions of any of my characters. :)

It's another lovely summer day in the City. Sarah has decided to have tea with Arlen outside, in the back. Many of the flowering plants are in bloom, and her raspberry bush is ripe with berries. Belle is busy plucking berries and putting them into a basket, humming a little tune as she does.

Sarah has made her patio chairs comfortable with a couple of decorative cushions. There is a pitcher of iced tea and some miniature raspberry tarts on the table, but she will make hot tea if Arlen asks.

Daniel's recent entry made me realize that I haven't written in ages. I'm sorry! We're both doing well, as is the City. The community garden is in full bloom, and my own garden is doing well. The City looks much nicer with a touch of green.

Courtney, I don't know if you're reading this, but if you are... well, I'd like to talk to you, when you have some free time?

Also, do any of you know a man named Metody Green? If so, I'd like to speak with him, also.

I had the most disturbing dream last night. I was in the City, but it was completely empty. There were no monsters or anything of that sort, but I couldn't find anyone. Daniel says that's a dream he used to have often. I don't know why I dreamed it, but it was very sad.

The weather is lovely here. If you'd like to come over to visit, let me know! My work hours are a little shorter now that it's summer.

For this meme, choose one character of yours and one character of mine - and then I will write out how they hook up, settle into a long term relationship and/or marriage, and describe their child/children.

I kind of wish I had more female characters, to make this meme more interesting. >_> For your memeing pleasure, you can treat Sarah and Mary as separate entities, or suggest non-LJ characters that I've RPed in the past.

It's the second night of Sarah's LOL that has turned her into an eight-year-old. Her first night, Dr. Schreber let her stay up as late as she wanted, but she's had a busy day -- first downtown with her brother and then a few hours visiting Harley and April, so by the time dinner is over, she's ready for bed.

She changes into a nightgown -- it's way too big on her, but it's all there is, brushes her teeth, and gets into bed. But it's still a strange room to her, filled with ominous shadows and unfamiliar shapes, and sleep doesn't come.

A little while later, Schreber might hear her calling for him. Not in a scared way -- more of a whiny, "I can't fall asleep and I'm bored" sort of way.

This one has been making the rounds. Indulge me!

Give me a current character of mine and I will list for you their:

01.) Full name?
02.) Best friend?
03.) Sexuality?
04.) Favorite color?
05.) Relationship status?
06.) Ideal mate?
07.) Turn-ons?
08.) Last sexual experience?
09.) Favorite food?
10.) Crushes?
11.) Favorite music?
12.) Biggest fear?
13.) Biggest fantasy?
14.) Quirks in bed?
15.) Bad habits?
16.) Biggest regret?
17.) Best kept secrets?
18.) Last thought?
19.) Worst sexual/romantic experience?
20.) Biggest insecurity?

Daniel and I will be away this Valentine's Day weekend. I'll have my PINpoint turned on for emergencies only.

I've been practicing self-hypnosis and meditation lately. I think my biggest challenge is learning how to shut out distractions. Does anyone know who this man is? He offered to help but there's something a little off-putting about him. Harley, if you have a little time, do you think you can help me?

Thorn, are you comfortable with feeding the pets, or should I have Tom drop by to do it? I can wake Belle from her hibernation if you'd like to have company.

It's a thoughtful mood that Sarah finds herself in as she wanders through the Questions area of the Nexus. She's spent the last couple of months helping her brother get used to his new memories and old problems. Now, he finally seems ready to do things on his own. She's happy for him, of course, but part of her misses the distraction. A lot happened the previous year, a lot she never fully addressed...

So of course she's in the Nexus, listening to people's questions, hoping someone else has a problem she can concentrate on.

Two things:

1. I am making lots of cookies for the holidays. Please let me know if there's a particular kind you like!

2. Please feel free to visit us during the holiday season. It's been so long since I've seen some of you. We have a lot of catching up to do.

If I don't see you, happy holidays to all of you!

Mary had a bad habit of going places without telling anyone, but when she didn't come home one evening, she at least had the courtesy to text Schreber's PINpoint with a somewhat vague message. holding Irma's hair bbl.

Early the next morning, she PINpoints home, wearing dark sunglasses and smelling like booze. She doesn't walk so much as stumble to the kitchen and start banging around the cabinets in the attempt to make coffee.

Home stretch! These last five are an interesting mix of... well, something.

Prompt 026: gentle as a lamb <-- Note to other Dark City peeps: this really happened. Before Thanksgiving.

Prompt 027: quiet as a mouse

Prompt 028: stubborn as a mule <-- It's Schreber-mun's fault I wrote this.

Prompt 029: call the dogs off
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Prompt 030: curiosity killed the cat
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Mary was bored. No, Mary was more than bored. Mary was frustrated. Playing house was fun for a while, but she was missing the fun of late-night jazz clubs and smoky, sketchy bars. Daniel went out with her a couple times, but it wasn't really his thing. He had too much work to do, or so he claimed. He kept just enough distance between them that she was starting to get lonely. She wasn't some alternate or evil twin! She was still Sarah... just cooler.

Too cool for Daniel, apparently. It sucked.

She scrolled through her contacts. Surely there was someone out there, just as fed up and misunderstood as she was, looking to let loose and have a little fun.

She paused over a name. Perfect.

Sometime that night, Mary PINpoints to Irma's neighborhood in a little black dress and knocks on the girl's apartment door.

I'm doing this prompt a little differently than the others. I took a look at the list of the Chinese zodiac signs and tried to pair them up with my characters:

sarah_branigan: Ram

Righteous, sincere, sympathetic, mild-mannered, shy, artistic, creative, gentle, compassionate, understanding, mothering, determined, peaceful, generous, seeks security. Can be moody, indecisive, over-passive, worrier, pessimistic, over-sensitive, complainer, wise.

Above all, Sarah cares for others. Her heart is always open. I never thought of her as particularly 'artistic', but she does express herself through her baking, and the way she takes care of her loved ones.

too_late4tom: Tiger

Unpredictable, rebellious, colourful, powerful, passionate, daring, impulsive, vigorous, stimulating, sincere, affectionate, humanitarian, generous. Can be restless, reckless, impatient, quick-tempered, obstinate, selfish.

How funny that Sarah's 'brother' gets the big cat sign. Tom is very passionate. Now that he is not psycho, he will hopefully channel that passion into something productive. He can socialize well with others, but I see him as more introverted than Sarah. He doesn't have more of a temper than Sarah, but I think he's more apt to show it, both because of his personality and because he's a man.

not_seacrest: Dog

Honest, intelligent, straightforward, loyal, sense of justice and fair play, attractive, amicable, unpretentious, sociable, open-minded, idealistic, moralistic, practical, affectionate, dogged. Can be cynical, lazy, cold, judgmental, pessimistic, worrier, stubborn, quarrelsome.

No wonder Ryan is friends with a talking dog -- he is a dog! The dog sign is concerned about morality and fairness, while still having compassion for others. The negative qualities don't quite fit Ryan, except when he is being hard on himself or upset.

orchidlover_wa: Snake

Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, ambitious, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful. Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious.

The negative qualities of a snake fit Harold Smith almost as well as the positive ones. He's one of the residents of Twin Peaks with a sixth sense, even if he's not consciously aware of it. I suspect that his sensitivity to negative emotions would keep him isolated, even if he weren't agoraphobic.

heaintheavy: Pig

Honest, simple, gallant, sturdy, sociable, peace-loving, patient, loyal, hard-working, trusting, sincere, calm, understanding, thoughtful, scrupulous, passionate, intelligent. Can be naive, over-reliant, self-indulgent, gullible, fatalistic, materialistic.

I think that describes Emile pretty well. He's kind-hearted and wants to get along with everybody (and for everybody to get along with each other). His biggest weakness, aside from over-eating, is his desire to be liked. (I tried to match him up with rat, because duh, but pig fits much better).


yip_yip_yip: I don't know what constellations they see in the sky. ;_;

Prompt 024: The Periodic Table.

Once upon a time, a doctor and his wife lived at the edge of a great spiraling city. They lived a simple life, and could not have children, but they were happy. That is, until the doctor's weak heart began to fail. His wife traveled into the city to find someone who could heal her husband's heart, but found no one who could help. Dejected, she started her journey home. On her way, she stopped in a small forest to rest.

"Is there no one who can heal my husband's heart?" she cried to the uncaring trees.

"I can help!" a high-pitched voice cackled from the undergrowth. In the blink of an eye, an old man, no bigger than a child, appeared in front of the woman. He bowed lowly, doffing his hat and revealing pointed ears. "I'll fix your hubby up, good as new!" He tugged on his beard and grinned devilishly. "For a price."

( Long prompt is long. Try to guess what element inspired me. )

Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! Last Tuesday I punched theycallmeoufan in the arm (-10 points). In August I gave hypnosnake a kidney (1000 points). In January I bought porn for turnabout_fey (-10 points). Last Wednesday I ate my brussel sprouts (1 points). Last month I bought porn for harley_is_love (10 points). Overall, I've been nice (991 points). For Christmas I deserve an Easy-Bake Oven! Sincerely, sarah_branigan

Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username:

Apparently I enjoy giving out pornography. And I already own an easy-bake oven. Hmmph.

OMG what happened! I totally slacked off on these. Oh, well. Here are three more. Please let me know what you think, especially of prompt 23, since I don't play very often with Harold.

Prompt 021: Tarot Suits

Prompt 022: Lunar Cycle (AUish)
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Prompt 023: Four Seasons.