un: midnighter2 | text.

[thingpuncher]

hey

raise ur hand if youve been abducted by aliens before

cool

now lower it if youve escaped

now use ur hands to tell me how

and for those of you not flapping ur hands around: dont let this shit get to you. its 101 bullshit. theyre probably studying longerm effects of isolation or systematic community building on a nonorganic environment or whatever bullshit the mad scientist of the week cooked up. social experimentation. the fucking showtunes are making it pretty obvious.

i mean has anybody been experimented on yet?

physically. i mean physically. blondie is probably torture but not what im talking about

ps: who the fuck took my name. do i got fans here? if yes: youre fucked up. i should not have fans. look at bludhaven if u need somebody to feel warm and fuzzy about

Comments

[contorta]

How did you get away the last time?

[thingpuncher]

took a while but i was alone
and a stupid kid with no life experience
this time shits different
get what im saying?

[contorta]

Okay.
I need to get back home to find my daughter.

( if alex is right, if this is a different universe, maybe there's still a chance. )

[thingpuncher]

good
so what were gonna do is fix this
whoevers in charge of this shit made a mistake bringing me here
itll take time but this isnt a permanent thing
u might have to be more patient than them
gonna make a hunch and say theyre gonna prey on ur need to find her

[contorta]

As long as I find her, it doesn't matter.

( maybe this is foolish, but —midnighter seems so sure of himself, even just over text, and prax soaks up that certainty. clings to it because it's hope. the kind of hope he's dangerously close to losing, no matter how much amos tells him to hold on. )

[thingpuncher]

ur not getting what im saying
caring about something is a vulnerability
its a vulnerability worth having but it still is one
whatevers in charge of this place is gonna use that to fuck with you
make you less able to escape
maybe think shes here instead of wherever she really is
that kinda stuff
shit to make you want to stay or be afraid of leaving
you following me?

[contorta]

So I shouldn't trust anything, is that it?

( he's not sure he can do that. he's not sure he knows how to do that. )

[thingpuncher]

no
the no trust thing is macho bullshit
take it from an expert
im saying be patient
dont jump at every opportunity
but shit im giving you advice and i dont know your fucking name
sorry i guess abducted kids are a
thing
whatever
im midnighter if it wasnt fucking obvious
m if its too many syllables

[contorta]

I can be patient.

( or he can try to be. he'll need to be, for mei. the hardest thing will be holding on to hope. )

I appreciate the advice.
My name's Prax. Praxidike Meng. My daughter's Mei.

[thingpuncher]

nice to meet somebody with good priorities here

[NICE TO MEET SOMEONE WHO HASNT ASKED HIM A SINGLE QUESTION ABOUT HIS PERSONAL LIFE]

[He wants to tell him 'you'll find your daughter, but she might be older and she might be different. She might not know who you are.' But he's already given too much unsolicited advice, and he has the sneaking suspicion he's projecting.]

how long you been here prax

[That seems like a safe and normal thing to say...]

[contorta]

( if midnighter said those things, prax would worry about mei being turned into a hybrid again. he just wants her to be okay. alive and herself. preferably well, but no one's been able to cure her disease yet because it's incurable, so he's not holding out hope there. )

A few weeks.
Almost two months, really.

[thingpuncher]

hows that work out
time displacement?

[contorta]

Just me being bad at keeping track of time.

[thingpuncher]

[...cute?]

dont worry man
first chance i get ill buy you a digital watch

[contorta]

The devices function kind of like one, I think. And there are no shops here. But thank you.

[thingpuncher]

then ill remind you to keep track of time
thats important too

[contorta]

Yeah, I guess it is.
I've never been great at it.

( he gets lost in his plants and in botany in general. he's been much better about it since mei's birth because she needs to take her medication and go to school on time and visit the doctor, but — without mei here, he's been falling back into old habits. )