02 - Mirrorheart

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    40 – The End of an Empty Life

    Time came, time went, and she couldn’t get out of bed. Indigo. One more memory to go. And there was an inevitability about what Violet was going to show her – how her worthless little life had ended. And she hadn’t been that different in the last memory. Part of it was the certainty that ran beneath the amnesia – facts that were just…solid, despite the holes in her Swiss-Cheese-Sam-Beckett memory. Attempting to take her life hadn’t been that long ago, compared to when she’d died. There’d been so many…strains of nothing that had woven into that moment. Not reasons for, but more like…reasons against wanting to continue. And in…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    39 – Last Tether

    For the longest time, the couch and her ghostly self had been waiting. A video on pause, waiting for the brainpower, emotional energy, or whatever to be activated. And for whatever stars were aligned, she finally felt ready. Stef slowly slid along the couch until she sat just above the paused memory. Then with a deep breath in, she shuffled off the couch, falling directly into her own translucent shadow. And as soon her bum hit the smooth surface of her world- Her eyes. Not her eyes. The past-the present-the- In a way, she wished it had been dramatic. That she’d cried and wailed and thrown herself onto a fainting…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    38 – Grey Miasma

    Ryan allowed himself to be led out of the research facility and onto the smooth pavement. ‘Come on, Newborn,’ Jane said gently as she pulled him down the street. Behind a deli, there was an anonymous-looking service door that led to a set of fairy stairs. There was the usual momentary disorientation of leaving a System area, though without the accompanying fear that came with entering a Solstice-created blackout zone. There was no reason it should be hitting him hard. He had been sure that he’d gone through all the possibilities, that- And there was nothing logical about griefs, even when your very programming was designed to make emotions as…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    37 – Among the Unfamiliar

    After April left, Ryan busied himself with the notes she’d given him. There was a genuinely astonishing variety in the people present. People who had made wishes; people who’d had wishes made on their behalf; others, fewer than the other types, who were part of experiments. And lastly, those who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the research he’d done, he knew there were far more than this who’d had their lives touched by mirror. Even more than the “dusties” that weren’t present, but in many – most – cases, the mirror could be removed without lasting effects or even without conferring a wish. He…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    36 – Reflections

    ‘Welcome Director, you can call me Ditto.’ Ryan nodded to the young man and followed him towards the elevator. So far, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the research facility – it wasn’t in an ordinary Agency. Still, he hadn’t expected it to be. In general, there were two types of Agency research centres – those hosted within Central itself. Central research centres tended to focus on agent – or agency – development, things classed as “internal”. “External” research tended to be things that involved magic other than blue – whether it be fae, time, or…mirror. Due to the ability of these magics to disrupt blue, potentially harm…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    35 – Waiting for Indigo

    Blue had joined the chorus of colours in the sky. Stef nibbled on a doughnut, watching the auroras and nebula-like clouds drift into new configurations and shapes that – probably – weren’t always a result of that thing where you saw faces that weren’t there. The central memory that had fallen into place, the snowflake that had caused the avalanche was somehow much more straightforward than some of the other segments of the rainbow. But…it made sense in its way. If this was her life flashing before her eyes, then her first real moment of freedom was surely one of the pillars the rest of the short life had been…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    34 – The Shape of Stories

    Each of the Major Courts had their own aesthetic – though its degree of prevalence varied from court to court. At least in their forward-facing areas, the Liars had a cool, minimalist look even more simple than that of most agencies. The Mad had their contrary looks in all aspects of their world – from the mismatched fabrics worn by their queen; to the clashing art in their waiting rooms. The Lost… weren’t at all what he had expected. Ryan tried to settle into the square-shaped chair. He knew he had limited exposure to the human world – but the Lost’s waiting room reminded him of a slightly tired doctor’s…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    33 – Domestic Bliss

    Picard launched into a speech, and around mouthfuls of pizza, Curt heard himself mumbling along. Dinner and Trek had become a nightly ritual. Most episodes were familiar enough to fade into white noise when he needed to pick up a file and work, but comforting enough when his attention strayed from the Agency. The unofficial aide position was still as fraught with difficulty as it had been in the first few days – stepping on Ryan’s toes with some bits of processing, becoming even more of an outsider amongst his peers. But just like his early days as a recruit, he was finding a routine, despite the discomfort. It was…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    32 – First Dance

    Most people were woefully unaware of how many minds they had real estate in. Most people understood that parts of them lived in the hearts of their families, friends and partners. They would know that co-workers and acquaintances thought of them but probably didn’t think of it much further than that. Celebrities and public figures of note had to recognise their presence in the minds of people they would never meet. But the same was true for every person who didn’t live strictly as a lonely hermit in the deep forest. To a dozen dozen people, you were nothing more than a flash of clothing that got in their way…

  • 02 - Mirrorheart

    31 – A Dance, A Diary

    Every interaction with a person was a tiny snapshot of their whole. Sometimes, one moment could express everything about that person – a moment of courage or cowardice, charity or callousness. The rest of the time, it took a lifetime to build up a picture of a person, and even then, they could surprise you. Ryan tried to adjust his face so that he wasn’t staring so dumbfounded at the newest aspect, resplendent in shades of green. The more he learnt about Stef, the more he realised he didn’t know. He had always known, logically, that he had a very incomplete picture. That despite the almost immediate feelings of fatherly…