Of Blood and Static
Prologue: Hello, my Dear Friend. How are you?
(AO3) (Next)
Summary: When loops begin, they continue with no end. Like an ouroboros, they continue and continue and continue with no intention of ending. The beginning marks the end, and the end marks the beginning, and it becomes impossible to find the seam that once joined the two ends together. Perhaps they will always be stuck in these loops until the end of time.
The Lady holds a large pair of heavy scissors in her hands and contemplates. Or perhaps they just need to make a new beginning and end.
(A bottle washes up to the beach, dangerously close to the television set. He reaches through and picks it up. A message?)
Word Count: 405
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The Lady is aware of the loops. Ever since she took the role from the previous host, she's been aware of the cyclical path her life has taken. It isn’t as though she retains all her memories of each loop - that would most likely shut her down for good. No, it’s just little bits and pieces of memories that leak through from her previous lives. All their memories are retained by The Thin Man - with his power, he can manage and balance all the memories that are kept from his past lives. He explained it once to her before, that it was like watching replays from a show in the first person. Little things change here and there, and he keeps track of what does work, and what doesn’t.
He told her that despite all the little differences, nothing works. By the end of their conversation the man appeared defeated, almost broken, and she wonders how many loops they’ve gone through - how many excuses she'd gone through before he heard the same things over and over again. In their last conversation, he had asked:
"Do you think it's worth keeping these up?"
Of course she does. It's how they have survived. Over and over again, they survive and survive and survive. Even if nothing changes, they're both able to survive. So she had said, "Yes. Of course I do."
"Why?"
She couldn’t answer that. Not yet anyway. Instead, she offered him encouragement. A hopeful thought.
"Perhaps something new will happen." She had to encourage him to continue. They don’t need to escape the loops, contrary to what the Thin Man believes. She'd rather they continue living in the loops. It’s guaranteed survival for the both of them. They live to die. They die to live. Over and over again, guaranteed to live to die to live. But it wouldn't do if the Thin Man wanted to give up. "I always thought you were a very stubborn man. Stubborn since you were a child, and stubborn through every loop we persist in."
He had chuckled, and it was almost enough to make her smile behind her mask. "Perhaps I'm getting old - I simply cannot keep up the energy to continue these."
"Maybe." She hummed softly before pressing her hand against the screen. "But let's try this once more."
"Alright," he conceded, "once more."
And thus had ended that loop in a rain of sparks and a pool of blood.
