thespherelogs | OPEN | Inside my chest beats an insect heart...

Who: Alec i Amasa, Seregil i Korit, and anyone else who'd like to join
When: 2nd week (Plenimaran AU) & 4th week (cyberpunk AU) of February
What: The AU event
Where: Locations detailed in starters
Warnings: Discussions of slavery and abuse in some threads, will add more CW if necessary

Notes: Alec's name in the Plenimaran AU is Ahir; it's been changed by his master, so he'll be very confused and alarmed if someone mentions his old name. Also, please make fun of cyberpunk Alec's pants.

1. Plenimaran AU - locked to Seregil; in their pod

The scent was the first thing to hit him upon waking.

Ahir's pallet was in the corner of the cellar. Dirt floors and threadbare blankets weren't much of a bed, but then again, the frozen ground never had been either. It was better than nothing, and Ahir had learned to be thankful for small mercies during his time in Plenimar. It kept him warm enough, but it smelled-- It smelled of the cellar. Of moist stone and moldering casks and very very occasionally the fresh rot of a dead rat. But never--

Never this, whatever this was.

Ahir scrambled upright, eyes darting around the bedroom, but the rest of him immediately frozen in panic. Where was he? Was this a dream? A nightmare? If Ilban found him gone, he'd be furious; there'd be no end to Ahir's punishment, if Ilban didn't kill him outright. Ahir had seen him do it to others, and he'd never put a toe out of line after.

But then his eyes fell on the man in bed beside him, and understanding slowly came over him with an involuntary shudder. Ahir was one of the pretty ones; it wasn't the first time Ilban had given him to a guest for the night, though he'd at least remembered the last one. Perhaps -- based upon that experience -- not remembering was a mercy.

Though this place certainly didn't look like anywhere he'd seen in Plenimar.

Haltingly -- tremulously -- Ahir reached out to gently shake the man's shoulder.

"Excuse me," Ahir spoke Plenimaran, but not well. So when the Sphere translated, it simply sounded pained and awkward. "I apologize, sir. Where are we? I must go."

2. Plenimaran AU - open; in various common areas

Ahir had been wandering intermittently for days; it took that long for the anxiety to wear off. This place was strange, and from what he'd gathered, decidedly not Plenimar. He was as good as dead when he returned, he was sure of it; Ilban would be furious with his absence, however long it lasted, and Ahir would be damn lucky if he survived the punishment.

But it was out of his hands for now. There was no way to return of his own volition, so the best thing he could think to do was familiarize himself. If Ilban arrived here, he would need assistance, and becoming knowledgeable about the place would put Ahir in the best position to help. To be useful.

He hadn't felt useful since his arrival.

But he flitted from shop to shop, cafe to library, memorizing the layout and the goods with tired eyes and silently praying that his end wasn't nigh.

3. Cyberpunk AU - open; anywhere with coffee

Alec never necessarily needed coffee to function. Not like his husband did. Alec was a morning person in a way that Seregil would never be, so the waking up part was never really an issue. The focusing part was, and caffeine always seemed to help. A little. Enough to keep the code talking to him, at least.

He'd been camped out at the cafe for the better part of the afternoon, downing latte after espresso, with a microkit rolled out in front of him. His tablet had been acting up ever since his arrival; to be expected, considering he wasn't connected to the 'frame anymore, but this place had some kind of network he could slip into. He was sure of it. The tablet was spread out before him, unfolded from its usual home around his wrist, back panel removed so that Alec could delicately prod at the circuits inside. Disconnecting, reconnecting, checking the currents, then back to the wires again.

To anyone who'd known this other Alec Seregil mentioned, Alec was nearly unrecognizable. One side of his head was shaved entirely, the rest of his blonde hair streaked bright green and littered with the occasional braid. Silver hoops lined both ears, a match to the hoop in his nose, and blue geometric tattoos covered the entirety of his left arm. He was all sharp-angled accessories and ridiculously-tight black vinyl couture; seemingly off-putting, but his eyes were as kind and welcoming as ever.

Threaded | Flat

Inesa was working at the shop when a familiar figure stepped into the store. Her dress was white and her hair had been braided in her usual twin braids. There was a bunny pen in the far corner near the counter that held a white bunny in a cute baby blue vest that looked as if it'd been chewed on a little bit.

She was working on finding things that Lancelot didn't eat.

"Hello! It's good to see you. Did you want to see the new designs I've come up with for you and Seregil?" She didn't realize that this wasn't the Alec that she knew.

Waking in the morning as always hard for Seregil. Most days, one of his sisters would have to wake him. Today, however, the soft, broken words of the man beside him did the trick. Letting out a massive yawn, he blearily opened his eyes, frowning at the naked man sitting over him. Naked was odd; as many dalliances that Seregil had before now, he'd never gone quite that far. It took him a moment to realize that he was also naked, and his reaction was quick. He pulled the covers as far up over himself as he could, and rested his chin over them, frowning as he tried to piece together what the other man had said.

"I was hoping you'd tell me." The slight whine in his voice would be recognizable if it were the normal Alec. "Did we ..." He let the words cut off as he started to feel his face burn bright red up to the blue that stained his ear in several places.

As someone who all too often complains of ending up with caffeine in her blood delivery system, Alex has an impressively high caffeine tolerance. However even she is mildly disturbed (and also fascinated, really) by the amount of coffee that he's putting away. It takes awhile of watching for her to realize who it is. Or at the very least who it might be, even if he's tinkering with circuits and she remembers when he had a hard time with the whole using a toaster thing.

Picking up her coffee (her fourth of the day, because she's a little bit of a hypocrite) Alex just comes over and clears her throat a bit before she softly asks: "what are you working on?" After spending so long as not herself, she recognizes it in other people, even if the differences aren't so dramatic.

Alec's gotten into a bad habit lately. At least, he tells himself it's only developed lately; in actuality, it formed shortly after he fell in with Seregil. Long before their marriage, before their courtship even began, back when Alec was still a bright-eyed nomad who'd just joined Seregil as his guide and apprentice...

Back then, Alec started sleeping in way too late.

It's carried over. He's become one of those people who sleeps past mid-morning and needs coffee to function, and he can't believe it's come to this point. If he had the ability to feel shame any longer, he'd certainly be ashamed of himself. Though as it is, he's far too comfortable to bring himself to care.

It's not quite mid-morning yet, though. He's fairly sure of it; his internal clock is still spot-on, not that he's dwelling on it too deeply at the moment. Not when he's saddled with an all-too-common morning inconvenience, and he can feel Seregil's weight warm beside him. Husbands with appetites are usually happy to help with morning inconveniences; Alec praises every god who will listen for that small blessing, and far more often than he cares to acknowledge.

Alec hasn't even opened his eyes yet when he rolls over, one arm slipping around Seregil's waist to pull the man flush against him. Seregil's back is pressed to Alec's chest -- among other things -- and at this angle, it's easy for Alec to pick out a few soft kisses across the nape of Seregil's neck.

"Remind me again," Alec murmurs in between kisses. "Why mornings were invented?"

2. Plenimaran AU

1.

That sweet sweet cyberpunk AU.

4 - Cyberpunk AU; locked to Seregil