#eastrail

[cassandralexxx]

5 original sentences remain…

[syrupness]

Young!Dennis

@febuwhump Day 8 Prompt: no anaesthesia

And I Don't Even Know My Name [AO3]

Summary: Kevin's mother has damaged Dennis in a way he doesn't know how to fix. Someone new comes forth to help him. 

Content Warning: child abuse (aftermath only) finger dislocation and treatment pain, no painkillers/anaesthetic graphic depiction of first aid

Dennis slipped to huddle under the table as he listened to Kevin’s mother leave the house. He hadn’t made the kitchen clean enough. If it had been good enough she wouldn’t have done this. Now he was tasked with cleaning it properly, but he had no idea how he was meant to do that with only one hand.

His left hand was a throbbing ball of pain. He held it close to his chest to try and lessen the lines of agony running up his arm. It was no use, he would have to do something, but he had no idea what. It was hard enough just looking at his hand through tear blurred eyes. Fingers all bent and twisted at unnatural angles, if not for the pain he would have believed it was a fake hand. No real hand was meant to look like this.

Then he felt another alter brush against his mind. Dennis tried blocking them out, this was not something for Kevin or Hedwig to see, but his usual control was being undermined by the pain.

“I’m here to help, let me help.”

Help is what Dennis so desperately wanted, but it still felt like a personal failure as he shifted to let the other alter share the light with him. The pain didn’t lessen, but he lost control of his right hand as the other took it over to examine the damage.  

Dennis clenched his teeth against torturous stabs the feather light touches caused. Maybe it was the pain, but he realised he didn’t recognise this alter. Right now was he vulnerable to someone with a grudge? He didn’t always get along with everyone…

“They are mostly dislocations, you might have some fractures but I wouldn’t be able to tell without x-rays.”

“W..who are you?”

“I’m… I don’t know…I just know you need my help. We have to do this before the swelling gets worse.”

Dennis would have to trust, or continue suffering with a crippled hand…. “Do it.”

“Okay, try to relax.”

He watched as the other alter controlled their body so his left arm was braced between their legs, then he curled forward to give a clear view. Dennis was already having enough trouble holding on, there was no way he could watch this happen. Closing himself off from sight he waited breathless for the first touch, the first increase of pain. He waited, waited longer, was almost about to look when it came.

Screaming at the sudden firm grip that pulled and twisted, there was the strangest feeling of settling underneath the torment. Then another finger and another until all four were given treatment. Stress sweat ran down his face as he looked down at his hand, straight and true again. They were breathing hard, a pained whine still catching in his throat but mercifully the pain was much less. Still present, but not the level it once was.

“I need to make splints but I don’t know where the supplies are.”

Dennis held his hand to his chest and shuffled out from under the table “I can get things. What do you need for splints?”

He listened to the other list things as he stood on shaking legs, creating a mental list and prioritising a path through the house to collect the stuff. First stop would be the hall table for the masking tape, but before that,

“I didn’t know what I was going to do, so thank you, but who am I thanking?” Dennis walked slowly as he waited for an answer.

The other was quiet for a long moment before he said “You can call me Samuel.”

[syrupness]

Hedwig’s dream is a nightmare

@febuwhump Day 4 Prompt: nightmare

Dreams Aren't Always Soft [AO3]

Summary: Hedwig dreams he is alone. It's all he ever wanted, but the dream becomes a nightmare. He is alone.

Content Warning: Isolation

Drake blared from the headphones as Hedwig enjoyed the light, revelling in full control of their body as he shuffle-danced his way down the street. Taking steps to the beat of the music and trying his best gangster hand moves, he was having fun.

Awareness sank in slowly, a disquiet. He drifted to a stop and looked around. Everything in the factory district looked the same. Large buildings. Dingy streets. Little piles of trash collecting in gutters and around corners.

But there were no people.

Normally he would have seen other people by now, or a car would’ve driven past. He couldn’t remember how long he had been walking down the street but it had been long enough that there should have been some other pedestrians.

Hedwig scoffed at himself and his growing anxiety. Geez, everyone is probably at their shifts in the buildings! Even so, he was gently cautious when removing his headphones. The sound of machines, the reverse beeps of trucks, the distant hum of traffic. All those expected, familiar sounds were absent. There was only silence.

Hedwig scrambled to replace his headphones, desperate to drown out the heavy quiet with the sound of music, but it was not to be. In his ear’s absence the music had stopped. A low battery light blinking once from the powerless machine. The screen stayed black as he repeatedly pressed the buttons.

Dead battery. Dead.

There was something wrong. Hedwig didn’t want to be here anymore. He didn’t want to be alone in the silence. He wanted to close his eyes and for everything to be okay and normal again. He wanted to see other people to know there hadn’t been an evacuation or a zombie apocalypse.

Hedwig ran.

He wasn’t the fastest but he had the energy of youth as he wretchedly sprinted up and down streets. Jumping piles of debris he took to the road, running right down the middle, eager to almost be hit and prove there were people. He ran and ran...

Not seeing a single soul.

Bursting through doorways revealed empty rooms. Cold coffee cups sat on dusty tables. Building after building revealed empty echoing rooms and abandoned workshops. Tears leaked from his eyes as he gasped for breath. Totally not crying! Even as the sobs worked their way up his throat.

He couldn’t do this. He was only nine, and this was too big, too scary. Hedwig loosened his hold on the light and called to Patricia, she would make it okay. Dennis was strong, he could sort this out, Hedwig called for him too.

There was no reply. No one stepped forward to take the light from him and a cold finger of dread tickled over his soul. NO! It couldn’t happen. They were alters. They shared a body. Shared! He couldn’t actually be alone. It just couldn’t happen. Maybe they were just busy and didn’t notice? Yeah, that must be it.

Hedwig found a comfortable looking spot and sat down to ease his shaking muscles. Dennis would be angry at how sweaty he was and Patricia wouldn’t like the aches from running. He could see their reactions in his mind and he smiled, knowing everything would be okay even if they were angry with him. He had been silly, just a stupid idea that he was alone. Such a pussy.

Letting go of the light he turned inward, finding himself in the room with the chairs. The place where the alters waited, their home inside Kevin’s body. They weren’t stuck to their chairs when they didn’t have control of the body. Many would wander around and some would journey into the dark, sometimes even to the place where The Beast lived, maybe even other places, but most stayed near the light. Instantly visible, always findable.

All the chairs were empty. No one was waiting near the light. The room was empty.

It felt like his insides were crumbling. He was collapsing in on himself as a shaky terror bubbled from his stomach.  It couldn’t happen! It’s wrong! He was never alone! He couldn’t be alone!

Hedwig shook so hard he collapsed to his knees, the lump in his throat choking him. How had things gone so wrong? He was only nine, he couldn’t do this by himself. Hedwig gasped a breath that broke his restraint, a tearing feeling in his chest rose with the ferocity of a train. Throwing his head back, dropping his jaw to form a twisted ring of lips…

…Hedwig woke screaming.  

[syrupness]

Split Cast Interview with James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy and Betty Buckley

James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy and Betty Buckley interview and Q&A about M. Night Shyamalan movie Split

My favourite resource for Split outside of the movie itself. From 24:30 is the information about The Beast that I used to understand him as a character - and also the reason he became my favourite alter.  The Beast is a cheerleader!

[syrupness]

Preview News about my series

So, I have mentioned it in the comment replies on AO3 but I don’t think everyone understands the extent of how much longer the series will go for. Especially as I plan for the whole of ‘I Just Wanted To Believe In Something Beautiful’ to be finished sometime in March.

‘And Time Bends Like An Hourglass’ is updated on Fridays and has 5 chapters left. BUT THAT’S NOT THE END! I have 13 more instalments already done (subject to minor editing) and a bunch of WIPs and outlines. I will bulk upload a few on the Friday after finishing Hourglass, then we’ll see how it goes from there.

I’m also planning on participating in Febuwhump 2022 (and I seem to have a new job contract) so it may slow things down, but there will be more moments from Eastrail 177 from me for that (get your tissues ready!) 

[syrupness]

How big are your fandoms? List them in order of the number of works posted for them at AO3

Done as an image set! because I was bored but didn’t want to write and it’s raining

[syrupness]

How BIG are my fandoms?

Found this meme and thought it would be fun!

How big are your fandoms? List them in order of the number of works posted for them at AO3

Note: Because the tag ‘Eastrail 177 Trilogy’ is not currently used I’ve decided to have Split and Split/Glass separate because of the way the fandom, and my own work, is organised by tags.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 14,397 Total | 1 Mine (0%)

Split/Glass/Unbreakable (Total Fandom) 387 Total | 25 Mine (6.46% rounding up)

Split (excluding Glass) 208 Total | 12 Mine (5.77% rounding up)

Split (including Glass) 170 Total | 13 Mine (7.65% rounding up)

Taken (Movie Trilogy) 32 Total | 6 Mine (18.75%)

I’ll redo this once Chocolate box is revealed! I’ll redo this once Febuwhump is over!

[melanch0lyism]

Hey unbreakable stans, what songs are missing from Kevin’s playlist?