#meridium tomas

[meridiumfarm]

* available produce *

the egg ration has been increased to two eggs per person every other day. Don’t ask why it’s not one egg a day. We have our own schedule.

a pig has been slaughtered. While the bulk of the meat is curing, there’s some fresh roasted pork available. Also available immediately: ears, trotters, liver, blood. 

[starlit-lilies]

@hananzaki​

Well it had been about a week since the Heart Tree’s flare-up, and as far as Lily could tell, most things were going... okay? Her attunement worked, she didn’t swap memories whenever she touched someone, nothing was in danger of burning down.

Even so, when Seamus had told her to go ‘take a poll,’ and when she’d seen Hana (Hannah? Hanan?) by the sugarcane, she’d figured it would be wise to make the most of this opportunity.

“Hey!” she called out with a smile, heading toward Hana-Hanan. “Welcome to the farm! And Meridium too, but, y’know. Mostly the farm. I’ve seen you hanging out a bit more. I’m Lily, Tomas’s daughter. I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to say hi!” She reached out for a handshake, giving Hanan an easy smile. “The Council’s been sending me around to poll people since the Heart Tree caught on fire. Have you experienced anything strange? Attunement going crazy, weird monsters showing up, funky weather, anything like that...?”

[thestrandedrpg]

News travels through the air on the island like salt on a sea breeze. Here is the gossip currently circulating as of January 13, 2023. Read on below the cut!

GENERAL NEWS / NOTICES:

ISLAND UPDATE: The tree grove on North Beach now seems to house only normal trees. The trunks that previously held the encased figures of the departed are now bare wood. There is no sign of where these previous inhabitants have gone.

ISLAND UPDATE: The Labyrinth is not moving. Local Labyrinth Lady Libby Blum states, “I’d prefer if you didn’t call me that.” But also, “I haven’t seen anything like this. Even when it kept still enough for us to live in one place for a while, there was always movement in the periphery. There hasn’t been a thing in weeks now. But listen: if you take that as an invitation to go in, you’re an idiot. Yeah, you may quote me.”

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Over the past several months there have been multiple instances of earth-attuned people almost or actually drowning—and a lot of you are quite useful so dying would be inconvenient. In a show of aunt-niece bonding, Aurélie Marchand and Lily Takahashi will be hosting swimming lessons this Friday afternoon at the farm river. These lessons will include seminars on floating, treading water, overcoming your preternatural earth-gifted density with your own force of will, front vs. backstrokes, and more! You don’t have to be an earth-gifted to attend. If you skip work to go to this just tell Tomas it’s to improve your chances at survival so you can continue working on the farm the rest of your immortal life, he’ll probably be OK with it then.

SPECIAL EVENT: Come down to the foot of the cliff by the High Settlement where somebody drew an ugly mural of Spongebob in charcoal and take a five-question quiz to find out what your Alphonsussona is! The results are drawn from a composite of personality traits of Matthew and Nick. Which Alphonsus is your persona? Flavorless NFT? Party Bland? Noncommittal Shakes? Results are certain to make you question your own worth!

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOUR: This feature spotlights something new and/or exciting about a resident. Today’s lucky person is Harry! Did you know that Harry exists? Well then SHUT UP ABOUT IT because she does not want you to run your mouth about her! If you want to know something new about her here it is: MIND YOUR OWN RUTTING BUSINESS

QUEER EYE FOR THE ISLAND GUY: Fixing up a Trainwreck. This week's island makeover features a certain, shy island lady who was in need of a little love. Our team of island experts rocked on up to the abandoned train to find Amelia trapped in an overgrown bush (haven't we all been there?). While (our brand spanking new!) home-designer Willie worked hard on livening up her train cab, Amelia enjoyed a day of pampering around the island. First up, Mik gave Amelia a rousing pep-talk (which she nodded along to!) and a discount voucher to join his Beach Gym Elite Squad. Nick helped Amelia let her hair down (literally) with a steamy hair styling. Amelia scored herself a new wardrobe from some newly scavenged threads. Unfortunately, Tamyra couldn't make it to Amelia's makeover, so island superstar Alex Woo stepped in to help guide Amelia's choices. When we returned to Amelia's new and improved cabin well, Amelia was so overwhelmed from the day that she simply bust into tears! If you or someone you love needs a makeover, give us a call! Here's a hot tip from our hair expert Nick: if you're earth attuned, please BRUSH YOUR HAIR FREE FROM ANY BRANCHES OR DIRT!

THE MERIDIUM UNIVERSITY PRESS

The Press has received an unprecedented anonymous tell-all manuscript about the Castaways!

Told in unvarnished and some might say unnecessarily ebullient prose, this stunning expose, confusingly titled “My Gap Year in Uppsala”, will leave you reeling, riveted, and wondering why it was even written.

Some of the toothsome tidbits revealed: ALEX WOO spent two weeks wearing a crop top and bikini bottoms for no discernable reason LIBBY BLUM ate more pieces of fish jerky than all the other Castaways combined JUPITER GEORGE insisted on using spit and her thumb to clean people's faces KANG SAE-BYEOK never once washed a dish! LILY TAKAHASHI did twenty-two somersaults in a row to prove it was a viable means of locomotion MAVIS WHATEFIELD skinned a lizard. Not for any purpose just for fun SIOBHAN WALLIS let her hair fall in front of her face and found her way through echolocation

Don't miss out on securing your copy of this vomitously candid book, printed on mulberry paper with stitching of squid-ink twine for that evocative smell of afternoon fish markets!

CHEERS to Emre Akbar for finally deciding to stop being codependent! Now he can concentrate being overly invested in Madi, Aurelie, Kaz, Wren, Noura, Tomas, Lily, goat, coconut, etc. JEERS to Madi Byrd for starting some kind of trend on the island for people to hoard booze. You might have done it first but other people are doing it louder! Gotta keep up!

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU. It’s a new year and (almost) everyone is still alive. Congratulations! Want to do something with the endless eternity of free time ahead? Check out the top 5 best things to do near you!

BEST GYM: Looking for a workout you can easily dip out on by February? Want to lift small rocks? How about medium sized rocks? Wait, what about really, really heavy ones? Mik’s gym has them all! Sign up now and get five free motivational cheers of “yaaas!” with your first workout.

BEST VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Some say the greatest gift is giving time to those in need. Why not volunteer to help some recent newbies to the island, like Hanan Zakir and Rakesh Ghai? If explaining the uncountable dangers on Meridium is too daunting, perhaps talk about… eh, you’ll figure it out.

BEST NIGHTLIFE: The latest hotspot on Meridium is The Bridge! Dance the night away under the blue lagoon lights with Kang Sae-byeok. Or grab a drink at the labyrinth bar with Wren Augustine. This Saturday is Emo Night, because let’s face it. You’re not okay, I promise (please be advised: crying on the dance floor is forbidden).

BEST ISLAND TRANSLATOR: Do you see parrots at every turn? Ever wonder what the hell they are squawking about? For these and other Meridium translations, we recommend Lily Takahashi. (Disclaimer: Lily may or may not tell you what you want to hear).

BEST GHOST WALK: Jupiter George is running a weekly ghost walk called Straight Outta Meridium. Hear insights such as “baby, don’t touch that”, “sorry baby!!”, and “ohhh my goddd!”. For a personal video of your ghost walk, please see Jovi George before the tour begins.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Tomas the Farmer will now like to be called Tomas the Conscientious Objector, in that he will object in good conscience to anyone who tries to mansplain/girlboss him about things he already knows about.   What does objecting entail?  No violence!  Maybe a raised voice and perhaps a segue way into lyrics of some old-hippie folksong.  When he starts constantly snapping his fingers, it's time to hurry away before things get really bad.  (Beat poetry about mesoamerican agriculture).

COMPETITION: Team Forge has landed on Love Island and is ready to compete for the title of top Survivor!  Make sure to cheer MikkyK and KenzieR on, as they flex thicc muscles and throw winning smiles (so dazzling! so fake!) to woo their competitors into jelly-legged submission.  That's how the game works, right?

SUPPORT GROUP: Wren is now forming a support group of uncoddled orphans struggling to stay positive and smile in the face of adversity. Bonus if you also discover unseemly deets about one of your parents actually being a total weirdo and all this time, you never even knew?  Like wtf, dead mom, why you gotta be like that. Am I more like my mom or my dad?  Oh damn, am I having a crisis?  AHEM anyway - snacks and fruit drank provided!

HELP WANTED: Noura is looking for a hunting partner in her biz!  Mandem requirements includes: ability to haul carcasses over long distance, good sense of humour, loves the scent of blood and the sound of a death rattle, and gives proper head as needed.

RUMMAGE SALE: Anybody who has an excess of belongings (quality items) and would like Lina and Alex to come rummage through them and take what they want for their own homestead, please respond to this -- what's that? A rummage sale is like a yard sale? They're supposed to sell things and not appropriate them? Oh. Hmmm. Well never mind then. Also nobody check your belongings for missing items.

BEACH FIT! - MERIDIUM'S PREMIER WATERFRONT GYMNASIUM GRAND OPENING! When you live on Meridium, you need a beach bod all year round! Maybe you've made a New Year's Resolution to look after yourself, maybe you want to be able to run faster away from the horrors, maybe your husband disappeared into the forest and then re-emerged and you're kind of separated and you want a smoking hot revenge bod to show him what he was missing, or maybe you've emerged from the jungle and you want to win back your wife with a sizzling six pack! At the Beach Gym, whatever your motivations, we've got you covered! Come join Mik, our friendly founder, as he helps you to love your body and push your limits. Be one of the first five to join, and you'll become part of the Beach Gym Elite Squad. So what are you waiting for? Go down to the beach and join in on the fun today!

CHARITY DRIVE

The Lower Farm has come into the possession of some very young, very orphaned birds whom the farm folk have dubbed Flapfoots since nobody knows what the hell kind of bird they actually are! Flapfoots seem to be quite valuable to have in a homestead as they are alert to atmospheric changes and eat pests. They are however somewhat neurotic and so the farm is experimenting with acclimating the Flapfoots to human residents and have decided the best thing is: hair nests!

Come on down to the stone circle where that one goat just glares at everyone, and donate some of your locks for the cause! No need to wash your hair first, it's important that the Flapfoots are saturated in human scents. Yes yes it sounds gross but that's zoology for you, get over it.

All donors will be rewarded with a small tub of scalp lotion for tending to their shorn heads, a kiss from Willie Shaw unless EXPRESSLY waived, and a stylish donation pin fashioned from a slice of dried corn cob.

NOTICE: Residents of South Beach are kindly reminded that basic rules of conduct and decency apply when utilizing common areas! Complaints have been made of all manner of item being left around (including but not limited to: discarded phones filled with photos of Tamyra Williams, sucked-clean coconut crab shells, bloody glass slivers, and endless pieces of red thread) for days on end. Please pick up after yourself and remember, your mother doesn’t live here! (Unless you are Jovi George or Lily Takahashi, in which case your mother does live here and we apologize.)

NOTICE: Though we have all benefitted from the reveal of our old belongings, residents are urged to exercise care and caution when enjoying the spoils of your previous lives! K. Raval was grievously struck by a holiday ornament shaped like a Santa wearing angel wings and a halo. Said ornament, which is roughly the size of a full-grown wombat, was poorly attached to a shed doorway by a wad of “sign here” post-it flags. The innocent Mr. Raval was merely attempting to procure a dried agouti paw (don't ask) when the ornament came free of its moorings and crashed onto him, knocking his shades askew and causing him to spill the coconut he was holding. Further insult was added to injury when the ornament began to play “Jingle Bells” in dog woofs as Mr. Raval attempted to maintain dignity under the assault.

DEBATE SEMINAR: What can be more exciting than a theological seminar on Catholic demagoguery, or transubstantiation versus consubstantiation.  Fighters in the ring: 'pero por favor, where am I? ha ha!' Franciscan monje Joaquin pitted against 'totally wears a leather jacket over his Catholic collar' Priest Ned.  Featuring Hanan as the confused ring girl, wearing a very modest, very good Muslim girl glitter costume.  Place your bets!!  (You cannot bet on Hanan).

FASHION CORNER: Doing her soldierly duty, Mavis will be strutting down the catwalk, modeling her latest fashion trends: tank tops!  Oh wait, this is her only fashion trend, for the past twenty years -  but what a classic it is!  Just ask Willieboy!  Best to wait until Willieboy stuffs his googly eyes back in his sockets and rolls his jaw up from the ground.  HAWOOGAH! HONK HONK! HUMMINA HUMMINA!

WANTED AD: Looking for all variety of mechanical and electrical goodgads, geegaws, doohickeys, thingamajigs!  Please place in collection box near the George home.  You'll know it by a sign made by a momma who claims not to be a helicopter mom to her perfectly independent adult son, no ma'am.  (Literally the sign on the collection box says:  Genius at Work.  Ooooook, helicopter mom).

ART SALE: Stop by the high farm on a good day to trade for beautiful artwork by Aurélie Marchand!  Many decorative choices to spruce up your South Beach Manor.  Some art pieces include:  a  beautiful sculpture of a rock perched on a slightly bigger rock, entitled:  Le Balancer, 2023.   Looking for something to prettify your walls?  Aurélie's beautiful quilt made from scraps of cloth, 2x2 ft square, entitled:  Donc, j'ai essayé, 2023.  And la piéce de resistance: a clay bowl with an imprint of her fist punched into the bottom of the bowl.  Literally entitled: Resisté! 2023.

RECIPE: LABYRINTH CARROT CAKE - submitted by mother-daughter duo, Libbly!

1 carrot

Wash, and consume fresh.

What, did you expect more?  It's the fucking Labyrinth, we didn't have time to sit around making pretty cakes, okay geez.  Lily says Labyrinth Carrot Cake is superior and better than any of these overly-sweet, mushy, tender beacher carrot cakes.  Carrot cakes have got to have some crunch or what's even the point!?  Also, the colour reminds Lily of her mom's beautiful hair???  This cake is made from LOVE, deal with it you spoiled beacher assholes.

DEAR MS. MERIDIUM

Anonymous islanders are invited to voice their questions, complaints, and compliments to the island itself. Replies are not guaranteed.

Dear Ms. Meridium, I would like to request that you reprint the maze puzzle about Labyrinth Libby and guiding her through it. I think it might come in handy. Honourably, Not a Castaway Honest I Swear

dEAr MS. merIDIum, will there be more JUNGLE TOURS offered by that sexfoxxe Kaz Raval and that silverdough Tomas Hardy? I want to sign up! I want to learn how to huddle together for warmth at night and filter water to make it potable and sing sweet sweet harmonies with them. PS this is all code for sex I want to have sex with them please lmk when the signups happen. Thirstily, My Yurt is Ready

Dear Ms. Meridium, Am I The Asshole? You see I (200+ M) and my not-girlfriend-she-is-the-devil (57 F) were having dinner and she said that I quote ‘hate women.’ I told her I knew plenty of women! Loads! Love them actually! To which I accidentally air-powered my spoon at her. She says it hit her misogynistically! I don’t even know what that word means?! Anyway is she right? AITA? Sincerely, She’s not a duck, she’s a goose Dear Ms. Meridium, In your humble, wise, all-knowing opinion... would it be terrible if I took one of the DVDs from the stockpile on the High Farm to use as a tanning mirror? The selection of movies is mediocre at best. Who’s going to miss The Return of Jafar, really? Palely, You Ain’t Never Had a Tan Like Me

AO-TREE

TITLE: where you lead, i will follow RATING: T SUMMARY: when single teen mom libby blum moves out on her own, she’s surprised that the quirky cast of meridium hollow welcomes her and her newborn daughter lily with open arms. as the years go by, they carve out their own place in their unique town and learn how to rely on each other while also navigating their respective teenaged and adult years. (**meridium gilmore girls AU! i’m team emre!!!**) TITLE: not enough jungle for the both of us RATING: T SUMMARY: Hairy has perversely enjoyed her status as jungle cryptid for the past eighty years. The legend of the Jungle Hag has grown as she spent her time skirting the outskirts of the small town of Meridium, stealing food, scaring young women. But a new cryptic being has come onto the scene, and is stealing Hairy's ill begotten limelight. The End is a strange beast, tricking passersby into arguments so twisting they forget where they were going, and sometimes their name. Now it's up to Hairy to stake her claim as resident cryptid, and chase out this pretender for the crown.

TITLE: the godson RATING: M SUMMARY: after his uncle gets shot in the heart by a rival gang member, nick steps up to the plate and has to find a way to get the mob under control. all whilst said rival gang is encroaching on his territory, and his boyfriend has been kidnapped! nick must find a way to placate or destroy rival gang leader – emre akbar.

TITLE: House of Lies RATING: R SUMMARY: Lily never knew much about her birth family, apart from the fact that her parents had mysteriously disappeared when she was a year old. One day, she receives a mysterious letter from Harriet Atkinson, her biological aunt, inviting her and her family to stay at her home. When they arrive, it becomes clear to Lily that Harry doesn't want to just meet her niece. They've been gathered, along with a cast of strangers that Lily hasn't met before, to determine the fate of John Atkinson.

KIDDIE CORNER

Per request to the editor... help The Labyrinth Lady Libby get through the maze! Solution at the end! *

* There’s no way out. But you knew that already. Didn’t you?

[tamyrawilliams]

How has your muse developed or changed since you brought them on? What pivotal moments fueled those changes?

Tamyra has gone through a lot of changes since the beginning of the RP. She is still the confident, unapologetic mess that she's been, but she learned a lot of lessons and gotten better at things and keeps on trying to be better herself.

I think there are three pivotal developments for her that happened over the years:

First one was giving up on getting off of the island. She spent so much time trying to get out, did all she could and spent almost three decades hoping that one day her effort would have a result and she would actually get to go home from Meridium. The big, pivotal moment in that development and what pushed her to give it all up was when Emre, Aurélie and her tried to reach South Beach too early and she got her face scar - it sent her into a pretty low point and not being able to leave came out from that and it has stuck with her ever since. She hasn't completely stopped trying, she is just trying for different things now: trying to understand the island and figure out its secrets to make life easier for them and to be able to fight back against the island.

The second one is her journey of accepting herself and her bisexuality. At the beginning of the game she was completely closeted and didn't even think about liking girls, that was just not an option. Never have been, never would be, not even on this island. I don't think there was like, one pivotal moment for Tamyra in this - it was the culmination of plenty of moments, including her talks with Tomas and Kaz, the support she got from them, the way Emre and her shared their bi-awakening and found support in each other, the women she felt attracted to over the time, that first hookup with a woman on this island that ended horrible and Tamyra was an asshole but it jumpstarted the process in general, the way she just kept seeing queer people of all kind around this island and how nobody really cared about it, and then Wren coming along of course and realizing she might want more. She is at a much better place now here she is ready to be more open about it all and it's the result of such a long journey for her and so many of your characters were part of that an it's so so important for me that Tamyra got to go through all of this and was allowed to fall and fail in it plenty of times before getting things right and finding her own way.

And the third one is her relationship with her parents and her realization about them not being perfect people and parents and in combination of it her relationship with Jupiter and family in general. In the beginning she just idolized her parents and just wanted to get back to them and then the first pivotal moment was Clementine showing up and revealing that they were half-sisters, which sent Tamyra on a long examination of her own relationship with her parents and what kind of people her parents were and what she really wanted. That relationship ended way too fast with CLementine dying and Tamyra never really getting over the shock of the news to explore what it's like to have a sister, but then the other pivotal moment in this is Jupiter showing up. Tamyra has always been really vocal about how important family is to her and now she gets to know her sister and get to experience family in her life again and it's something that's really important to her and to me.

[kazxraval]

Location ~ the farm  Closed ~ @akbartheolder​

The last of what he needed had been placed behind the smokehouse. Scrap from the train. Parts, pieces, and small shells of harvested steel would soon become something new. Meridium had interrupted the particular project for far too long. As usual, he’d tell Tomas about it once completed. 

Kaz consulted the ‘blueprint’ -- a scratch of an outline made by Luis with the tip of a blade into wood. The fire nearby was then stoked. He straightened up to the sound of footsteps behind him. Happy, feet slightly turned out with heavy thuds. Not a care in the mother fucking world as they walked. 

He glanced over a shoulder but easily bet who approached. Kaz sent a message well before the other arrived. “Get outta the way, baby jailbird is flying free...” Someone else held down the fisher’s hut now. The I forgive you Matthew’s “spirit” uttered as they poured out of the tunnels on south beach pointedly at Esther.  All the thumbs-up-asses ‘uhhhh I don’t know why no one has bothered to look into his death, who knowsssss...’ 

What a fucking joke. Idiots. But good for Emre, honestly. He turned around as the steps came closer. “Time to party, hm? First round of shots is on you.” 

[madibyrd]

You wake up and it's your first day on Meridium all over again, but you've retained all of your memories of the future. What do you do differently?

"I-- cry a lot. Probably. Like, a lot, in the beginning. Just from the sheer setback of it all and knowing what would come. And then I-- I'd get myself together and do... well, I guess I would do things mostly similarly.

I would work really hard on the farm to make sure when the snow hits, we are more prepared and it doesn't all go to a big mess, like it did last time. That would be such big help moving forward. I know Tomas would probably think I am an idiot for even worrying about snow, but it would pay off in the end, so it would be worth looking little insane for it. Definitely would build the apiary with a snow-protection built in.

I'd-- I'd make sure Angie doesn't walk into the jungle alone and doesn't end up among the tree people. I-- she deserved so much better. I know she still thought this was a cult of some sort when she walked into it, so I'd try to convince her better what this place is and just-- yeah, make sure she still lived, if I could.

I'd make sure that day, when Guy and Rakel and Jacey and the other guy shows up, that Hazel isn't there. She couldn't-- she couldn't possibly be there. I don't know what that would mean for me, but-- no. She could be there. I'd do anything to make sure she'd be okay, not hurt.

And I-- I would--

Here's the thing, this is a really hard question. Because it's like, asking if you had all the information in the world and could go back in time, would you stop the second or even the first world war. And the obvious answer should be yes, I would want to, but how do you do it, you know? And what kind of repecussions would that have with it? Obviously I would tell people what I know, but saying that I would try to stop, say, Kotka and her friends is so simplistic and so easy in theory, but hard in execution. And it's me we're talking about. What would I really do? Go up to Kotka and cry and ask her not to do it? You know? It's not really-- it's not really plausible. I'd try to ask for people's help in it, obviously, and warn the right people about her and what she was planning and other island events, but it's impossible to get everything right even with all the knowledge, not to mention what kind of other horrible things would happen instead of those things?

Anyway, what I am trying to say is, I am not sure how it all would go. And I just-- There's that really big elephant in the room with the name of Emre Akbar and just-- I wish I could just say that like, I make sure he doesn't do it and then problem solved, right? He doesn't kill Suresh, it's all nice and dandy but-- but it's not that easy and it wouldn't change-- it wouldn't change the fact that he did or that he killed Carmichael, even if he asked for it, or that he's-- he's who he is. None of that would change, even if I wish I could. But-- anyway, I think-- I think I would just stay away from him as far as possible. Maybe actually befriend Iyaz instead of Emre, choose the right Akbar brother as my friend this time around and then if all of this happens again somehow, differently, at least Iyaz wouldn’t be that alone. Not that he is completely aloe now. And not that-- not that it's a choice like that, of course, if he doesn't wanna be my friend or if things don't work out like that, I wouldn't force him or anything, or anyone for that matter, I am just saying, I-- I am not even sure what I am saying anymore.

And this is hypothetical anyway, nothing actually could be changed, so, anyway... I am going to shut up now."

@sagetomashardy; @hazelbeaufort; @akbartheolder; @iyazakbar

[wrenaugustine]

You get to live the life of another inhabitant of Meridium for one day. Whose life would you live?

"I think I would like to live Lily's life. Don't tell her I said this but...if I think about it too much, I do get a little jealous of what she has here with Tomas, Libby and Flora. A perfect little island family that I really miss having. Getting to have that again for even one day would be...everything. Probably the best feeling in the world. I'd give anything to have a day where I can just go home and be able to say ‘hi mom, hi dad, what did you do today, I missed you.’ and just experience having a family one more time."

@starlit-lilies

[lostboyjamiebevans]

@j-crain​

Jamie was having a bit of a lie-in. As much as Meridium would allow anyway. Soon enough there was sun streaming in through the porthole, and he opened his eyes reluctantly, stretching, and climbing slowly out of bed. 

He dressed without any real intent - a black vest and a pair of shorts - stopping to eat a bit of mango (what harm could it do now, after all; his attunement had already been stolen), then headed for the door wondering what had taken Teak out so early. He supposed he’d find his brother sooner or later and made his way out onto the deck of the Leander, sighing contentedly as the sunshine warmed him and the island breeze brushed past. It was another beautiful day, and even though he was still processing the loss of his earth attunement, the magic he’d only just learned how to efficiently command, he had a lot to be thankful for. Glancing down at his scarred sandaled feet and his one spoilt shin, Jamie gave a little snort. Well. Maybe he didn’t need to be thankful for jellyfish stings. You had to draw a line somewhere, after all. Even Joaquin would agree with that.

Heading down to the beach though, Jamie noticed a rather good-looking bloke not quite skulking, but definitely examining the ship, perhaps looking for a nonchalant way to come aboard; and Jamie smiled, happy to be playing welcoming committee again, knowing Tomas and Iyaz would forgive his lateness this morning; and he called out, “Oi! Are you looking for someone, mate? Maybe I can help.”

[dreams-of-a-lark]

Date: A week AM Time: Late evening Location: Meridium Farm Closed Starter: @sagetomashardy​​

Following the horrors of the fog, Lark had retreated to his shanty like a dog to lick his wounds, both mental and physical. He’d gotten into more altercations that night than he had in a long while. In one night so many bonds Lark thought he had were fractured and, as a result, recovery seemed like something that needed to be done alone and in the relative comfort of his own home. In fact, he’d holed himself up so much that news of Matthew’s death hadn’t reached him until he overheard passerby's talking about it outside. That brought about a whole new set of scars that needed to be seen to, involving a lot of curling up and shaking himself to sleep with staggered tears.

He’d been living off a hoard of carefully rationed dried foods he kept for emergencies (this certainly seemed like a reasonable application), however, this morning he’d checked his stores to find his supply running dangerously low. This could only mean one thing and it was about the last thing he wanted. He’d have to go to the farm. Goddammit. After their little stint in the corn field, Lark found it near impossible to imagine facing Tomas... possibly ever again. So, instead of doing the mature thing and sucking it up for the sake of feeding himself, he decided to go the day without food and wait until long past nightfall to sneak onto the farm and gather necessities.

The day passed and his stomach began to scream at him with growing intensity. Lack of sustenance also didn’t help the torturous body aches from still healing injuries. It felt like forever before the light seeping into his hut started to dim. He peered through a makeshift window facing the ocean and waited for the the sun to languorously dip below the horizon. Never in his life had a sunset felt so excruciating to watch. 

Finally, the sky grew dark enough for him to feel comfortable slipping outside. He shrugged on a large, frayed, black blanket in the hopes it would further cloak him from view, grabbed his pack, and headed out. When he reached the farm, the coast seemed clear, which came as a great relief. Still, something told him he needed to make quick work of this little visit, just in case. He crouched and scurried over to the field to gather whatever fruits and vegetables he could get his hands on, it was too dark and he was in too much of a hurry to be selective.

Just as he’d gathered enough to keep him going for a few more days he heard a rustling in the distance. Fuck fuck fuck. He looked around frantically and decided his best move would be to try to blend in with one of the trees in the orchard and hope that whoever was nearby would pass without suspecting anything. However, as he was trying to fumble his way to the nearest tree, his foot slammed hard against a rock and he impulsively cried out, “Ow! Bollocks!” before tumbling to the ground, losing grasp of his pack, and spilling his haul every which way.

[leon-cresswell]

Sign names have been a crucial part of Leon’s life, they are a part of the way he interacts with the world. How he is known and how those around him are known. And so, over time he’s started giving sign names to the people of Meridium, composing signs that try to capture the essence of who they are and how they present themselves to the world.

( If it interests you, you can learn more about sign names here )

PEOPLE OF MERIDIUM AND THEIR SIGN NAMES

ANTOINETTE “TONI” GRAVES

AURÉLIE MARCHAND

BRIAR CARNAHAN

CALLIOPE WARREN

CASH CARLISLE

DOROTHEA “CONOR” CRAVEN

ELIZABETH “LIBBY” BLUM

EMILIA RAMOS ALVAREZ

EMRE AKBAR

ESTHER ACHEBE

FRANK HAUPTMAN

IYAZ AKBAR

JAMIE BEVANS

JOAQUÍN SAELICES

KATERINA “KISKA” SOKOLOV

LEON CRESSWELL Mix of the signs for gentle and tall. It can interpreted as ‘gentle giant’.

LUCAS LOWE

MADISON BYRD

MAGNOLIA BEAUFORT

MALLORY CASTLE

MATTHEW ALPHONSUS

NORA HASTINGS

PETRA BRIGHT

PIPER BRIGHT

PHOEBE DARLINGS

ROSE HAUPTMAN

SEAMUS HAYES

SYLVIE DAVIS Mix of the signs for see and eyes, ending with the sign for dreams. It can interpreted in multiple ways: ‘eyes that see dreams’, ‘watcher of dreams’ or ‘seer of dreams’.

TAMYRA WILLIAMS

TEAK MIDDLETON The sign for tea and man. It literally means ‘tea man’ which is a bit of a pun for ‘T Man’.

TOMAS HARDY

[meridiumfarm]

charlie

A young capuchin monkey that Kaz and Tomas captured. Charlie willingly accompanies Tomas, Kaz, and Emre around without too much fuss or convincing, but can be standoffish with other people so far. The goal is to get Charlie accustomed enough to human presence to easily go with most anybody without the use of a leash. Charlie’s broader function on the farm is one that isn’t particularly savory so Tomas doesn’t discuss it with anybody; so far as people know, Charlie’s a farm pet on a whim.

[starlit-lilies]

Do you think that it might come down to you having to choose between Libby and Tomas? What do you think about your family, now that you've seen the DVD?

“I don’t think so. I think they love each other very much, and Meridium brought them back together for a reason. I have faith they’ll work it out. Even if they don’t, Tomas has become... he’s become pretty important to me. I don’t want to make that choice and I don’t think Libby would enforce that sort of thing, where it’s either her or him. 

The only way I’ll have to choose between them is if Libby goes into the Labyrinth and leaves us behind. And then—yes, I’ll choose Libby. It’ll always be Libby. Tomas will be fine without me.”

@libbyblum @sagetomashardy

[thestrandedrpg]

CHAPTER NINE FINALE

When: June 20, 2022. Where: South Beach.

The buzzing is louder than ever on its tenth day. As if it knows something is coming. Perhaps it does.

Seamus and Esther call for a group gathering on the beach to address the issue as noontime grows near and the noise reaches a nearly ear-splitting level. The sky is cloudless and conversation is difficult over the din.

“It appears that this won’t be stopping any time soon,” Esther begins, raising her voice somewhat to be heard. “Given the circumstances, we’ve begun planning for –”

She doesn’t get the chance to finish that sentence. It’s as if she’s summoned this, as if the sky bursts on itself, a ripple that starts somewhere in the middle of the horizon then extends outward. Like thin fingers that reach across the sky, the lightning stretches overhead at stunning speed, sparks showering down. The buzzing is louder than ever. Some move to shield each other in spite of the memories that it makes you see. Others run.

And then, between one breath and the next, the sky is clear. The air is abruptly, overwhelmingly quiet. Quiet enough for you to hear Seamus’ trembling voice as he asks: “You?”

His gaze is on Esther as they pull away from one another, having collided during the second shock. And shock is what replaces his usual gruffness, widening his eyes, slackening his mouth. “All this time – after everything – it was you?”

Esther stands, frozen, her usually measured expression pinching with dread. “What did you see –” She begins, but Seamus quickly responds.

“You know good and well what I saw. You?!” There is a new bellow to his voice, outrage replacing the numb astonishment now. “After all that he did for us? After all that he did for you? He fuckin’ loved you, and you –”

Before Seamus can get too far into his blustering, Libby steps forward, balancing Flora on her hip. “Seamus, man,” she prompts. “What are you saying?”

“Esther killed Matthew.” There is a heavy finality to his words. The beach is hushed. The buzzing in the air is gone as Seamus turns to his fellow leader. His friend. “He trusted you. I trusted you –”

“I can explain,” Esther begins in a trembling voice. “It was the fog, Seamus, I hardly knew where I was or who I was or who he was –”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear it! You killed him, Esther, and then you lied to us! All of us! To hell with it – to hell with you. Akbar –” He whirls around suddenly with a definitive point at Emre. “You’re out of the Fisher’s Hut. Back to the mainland. You –” Now he’s pointing at Esther. “Get the fuck out of my sight. And you two –” Now it’s the Hardys. “Come with me.” 

After more than a year, the truth has emerged: Esther Achebe killed Matthew Alphonsus. What’s more, for better or worse, and without a vote from the people, island leadership has changed hands. A new trio has formed, consisting of Seamus Hayes, Tomas Hardy, and Libby Blum. Esther has not been put to trial. Will she be? Will her hasty sentencing stand? And how will this new leadership fare?

These are the questions that hang in the air on this hot, dry afternoon. Otherwise, it is mercifully silent.

To the muns...

This concludes Chapter Nine: The Shock! While much of the physical island has stayed the same this time around, it seems like dynamics will be changing in the wake of the onslaught of new information revealed during this chapter. I’m intrigued by the potential longterm impacts of this event!

You may take as long as you need to wrap event threads.

During this interlude between chapters, keep your eyes peeled for some plot drops, Meridium news, and tasks, including our third AU event!

Thank you all for joining in on yet another exciting event. I think it’s safe to say that, one way or another, every islander has been truly shocked.

[tamyrawilliams]

Who do you think is an invaluable part of life (or for the newbies, your potential survival/sanity) on Meridium?

“Nobody would survive without Tomas, that is just a known fact I think,” Tamyra said without thinking. “He runs the farm and the apothecary. Doesn’t get any more invaluable than that. Has a lot in keeping all of us alive. And on a more personal level,” she said, taking a moment before she continued, “as much as the pragmatic nature of his can be annoying sometimes, it’s really nice to just hang out with him. So, you know, he’s good for my sanity.” She often just ended up sitting on the fences of the farm, ranting on about something or listen to him grumble about this or that, and those definitely belonged to the moments that she actually enjoyed on the island. Not that she ever said that out loud. Maybe she should, though. At least to Tomas.

“And then the planning sessions with Frank were pretty invaluable in the last couple of years as well,” she continued. “He’s just as invested as I am of getting out of here and it’s nice to have somebody who doesn’t think I’m insane for wanting to get out of here after all these years, you know?” It could get exhausting sometimes when people asked her if she ever got tired of trying or if she ever lost hope.

@sagetomashardy, @frank-hauptman

[norasbolting]

Who do you think is an invaluable part of life (or for the newbies, your potential survival/sanity) on Meridium?

"Who? You want me to start name dropping these people I barely know?" She had only met a few people here, how was she supposed to know which one of them would be able to make life on the island more bearable. "Well, I have a feeling that dude that was going on about his sweater getting destroyed won't last very long. He sounded like someone that preferred living comfortably." That was her assumption at least, who knows. All she had to go on were first impressions and her first impression of him didn’t really fit deserted island living. “Maybe I’m wrong, maybe he'll just rip off the sweater and become one with nature and end up saving everyone's lives!”

Sighing, she leaned her head back and gave the question some actual thought. "I guess for me...Tamyra Williams, she gets me and my humor, she seems cool and could totally keep me sane. If she doesn’t kill me in my sleep. We’ll see.” she joked, chuckling softly for a moment. “And that Tomas guy seems trustworthy. He seems like a good guy to stay close to." Now if the two of them even wanted her around was a different story.

@iyazakbar / @tamyrawilliams / @sagetomashardy 

[madibyrd]

After @sagetomashardy and @libbyblum get seperated from Lily, some Alphonsians show up. Madi, half dazed still, stumbles to help them.

Something gets choked up in Libby’s throat when Tomas states plainly: we love you. We know you can do it. It’s true, wholeheartedly — has been true for Libby for a long time, but to hear Tomas say it too… no, this isn’t the time to get sappy. Libby swallows it down and instead reaches forward to tuck some of Lily’s hair back when the scared, brave girl manages to choke out a laugh.

And then offers them a weapon. Libby considers it for a second before gently shaking her head. “If they have guns,” she says, trying to keep her voice level even though that buzzes up her spine, a fear that aches in her teeth. “Then you need to stay safe, too, kiddo.” And then she smiles at Lily, pinned tight. Here they are, promising each other things as if they have any right too. Again. “Sounds good to me. I love you,” she reminds again as Lily begins to back away. And then their girls are off and Libby has to rip her gaze away or she’s sure she’ll follow after them.

“Be serious,” she suddenly demands from her husband, pointing at her own head to indicate his. “Do we have to take care of this right now? Don’t give me any stoic shit. Just tell me and we’ll figure it out.” She doesn’t give a fuck about a farm. She cares about him and their girls. That’s that.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

Lily takes off like a deer and Tomas is glad that Libby made her keep that spear. He doesn't want to think about their girls getting into any situation that would necessitate its use, but he can't discount the possibility. And Libby didn't either. Parenthood on Meridium means a whole lot of new things.

"Remember when that family across the street sent their kids out on bikes wearing those full sets of ... those knee and elbow pads? How much we snickered at 'em?" Even helmets had seemed a little excessive to the Hardys, who'd piled onto a single banana bike and tooled around Seattle bare-headed and generally high, back in the day. Libby's hair streaming out behind her when he pedaled fast, and...

...and where was he headed with this? Bikes? Acid? Tomas wrinkles his nose and huffs out a breath, turning his attention to Libby's direct and unavoidable question. "It's fine," he assures her. "Head wounds bleed like a motherfucker, you know that. I'm kinda dotty from getting knocked on my ass but once my head clears it's nothing a little cauterizing won't help." Tomas reaches for her hand, dried mud cracking over his fingers as he curls them into Libby's. "Really. I'm functional. I'll sleep for days once this is over, I promise."

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

“Yeah, we said they looked like the little brother from A Christmas Story,” Libby supplies, though worry tinges her voice a little now, furrowing her pale brows and quirking her mouth. Where’s he going with this? Somewhere else, it seems, as his eyes glaze over a little and Libby prepares to take that as an answer to her question.

Except then Tomas hits her with a typical it’s fine, the very stoic shit she’d just asked him not to pull, and she lets out an unhappy little grunt of a noise that sounds an awful lot like a habitual sound of his. So they’re both speaking Tomas! Great. But when he elaborates, takes her hand, promises to sleep, she nods. Then points at his face with her free hand and warns: “I’m holding you to that promise.” Yet another one that they can’t be sure they’ll keep. Hasn’t stopped her from still holding fast to them.

“Okay,” she exhales, much like Lily just had when she’d been reassuring herself before taking off with Flora. Her fingers stay linked with Tomas as she inhales then sets off in the direction of the farm again. “Okay,” Libby repeats. “What are we walking into, besides gunpowder pouches?” They’ve been tear gassed before. How different can this be? Probably very. But she’ll compare in a way that she can stomach, though Lily’s low warning about guns is still buzzing through her spine.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

Libby gesturing at his face brings a lopsided smile, because Tomas can feel the sting and ache of the way he'd scraped the blood off, and the open pucker of the wound, although it's the throbbing in his skull that's worst at the moment. Nothing a lie-down won't help, he's certain of it. "It looks bad, huh?" he murmurs, squeezing her hand. "Believe me. That's a promise I really really want to keep."

They do an about-face and then start heading back to the farm, Libby drawing the subject unerringly on-topic with her question. "Alphonsians with weapons and their attunements," Tomas reports, keeping hold of Libby's hand and brushing his fingers against the bone scraper he'd stuck into his belt loop during the Flora transfer. "The gunpowder bombs weren't really meant for people, I don't think. It wasn't what hit me, something else did first and then the bomb went off to blow up ground." Green rice shoots, arcing through the air.

"The, um. The ... when it  -- the thing that hit, I don't--" Tomas curls his lip, grasps hold of the sentence and shakes it straight. "Don't think their guns are doing any work. It might have been a bullet shell that hit me, but one used with attunement." That's plausible, isn't it? "Emre might know. He was there. He knows guns and stuff. Things. Stuff like that."

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

“Okay,” Libby answers to the status report, not touching on that promise, not liking how her gut just churned at Tomas’ smile rather than the warm fondness that she usually feels. She keeps her eyes forward, listens to his verdict. “Okay.” She repeats.

And then Libby listens to it fall apart. “Stuff and things. Things and stuff. Reassuring,” she says, unable to help it. Suddenly it looks like she’s got a choice to make here. She’s just got to decide how much it’ll piss Tomas off. Or more importantly, how much she’ll care that he’s pissed off. Not much, she decides. They cross into the smoky air of the farm and Libby tugs her hand from Tomas’ to splay her fingers and tug some vines their way, shielding them for now, giving them an angle to get a decent view while still tucked in shadows. “What’re we looking for, here?” She’s got a goal in mind, at least, narrowing her eyes against the dirt and smoke to try and catch a glimpse of Theo. Or the little (not so little) Dr. Akbar. Whatever works.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

Their favourite filler word, that okay. And where sometimes it's reassurance that things will be okay, and sometimes it's a way to say that you've been heard, this time it's the way that's biding time but not really buying it.

Which just means Tomas will have to work a little harder, that's all. He can't afford to let anything go to hell any further. But he's not in it alone, and Libby reminds him of that when she brings those vines up as a screen, and Tomas feels the odd tug that he always does when he watches her use her attunement like that. Naturally, with assurance, without a brambly or sarcastic disclaimer beforehand. She's good at it, good like he is with air despite his own decades-long disclaimers, but it's still odd. Like they're at a costume party and Libby's turned out to actually be Poison Ivy.

"You're very good," Tomas says, because it seems important now that it's on his mind. "At that. With the vines, Libb, you're so much better than you think you are." He grasps her shoulder, rubs his thumb into it as he looks around, squinting through the smoke. "Emre should be around somewhere. Madi probably. Maybe Kaz." Dropping his hand to his belt, Tomas tugs out the forearm-length bone scraper, hefting it in his palm. It helps order things -- which is useful as a trio of Alphonsians start to range closer. The more determined, feverish ones, too, not the ones who move hesitant and fretful. "But we got company."

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

Tomas is petting at her shoulder at a time like this, passing out compliments, and though Libby keeps a hand outstretched to ensure that the vines will stay in place, she does turn to look at him. Takes in the sight of his eerily reddened eye, his icy skin, the gash of the wound that they should probably unpack but she doesn’t feel ready to. Not unless she can pass him onto someone else who’d be better at it. And then she cracks a little smile. “Thanks, baby.”

Promptly back to business. “Right, okay. Emre’s on this side? Good.” She means this side of the water, i.e. not in the fisher’s hut, but the ambiguity isn’t amended either. In part because she’ll allow for the double meaning but also because she’s got no time to make her words nicer.

“Got it — you,” Libby steals another glance back at Tomas. “Fuckin’ stay back, please. Don’t need another hole in your head.” He probably won’t listen but at least she can say that she said it. And then Libby sucks in a breath and strides forward, breaking through the leaves just to bring them with her. Sure, she can’t move the dirt anymore, but as she splays her hands at the level of her hips the plants do her bidding, darting past her feet like the quick slide of eels, latching around ankles and pulling, sending two Alphonsians crashing into each other like dominos. They’ll get back up — but they’re not the ones she’s focused on now. Can’t be, when Libby’s busy dodging something thrown by the standing Upper Farm Fuckhead that whizzes past her shoulder with a loud pop and immediately catches on one of the trees, the spitting flames making a couple of her vines shrink back.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

Madi still felt out of it once she woke up, her dream about Emre and the reality of what happened to her slowly coming back to her, and then hitting all at once when she heard the voices outside of the apothecary room. For her luck (even if only she would have called it luck most likely), nobody was around in that moment, so nobody could stop her when she got out of there. Not a smart decision, but one she didn't regret the moment she realized what was going on. She needed to help. She needed to find the farm workers and she needed to help them, help whoever needed to. She needed to not fail even more than she already has in protecting the farm. (And in her eye sit was a huge fail - the farm was under attacks and she slept through/was unconscious for most of it.)

She wasn't in any better shape, but still the lingering effectsof the sedative Iyaz gave her allowed her to not feel the full force of the pain, instead was in a kind of dull, doozy state almost as if she was tipsy or high, and this is how she jumped into it all, until not so long after from the corner of her eyes she caught something flare up and as she looked over to see Libby and Tomas not too far from each other, several people slowly crowding them. She moved before her brain even registered it, shoving one of them aside when he tried to get in her way and heading over to Tomas first - Libby seemed to got it more, and she promised Tomas to keep him safe. "No, no, no, are you okay? What happened?" she asked, frantic, not even thinking about the irony of these questions coming from her considering how beated up and bloodied she must have looked from the outside, while the tree on fire near them slowly went out, Madi unaware of how weakly, slowly, but it responded to her desperately need for it to not go any further.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

"I'll stay back," Tomas promises, even though he feels better than before. It's the new boost of adrenaline that lends him temporary clarity, not that he realizes it, but all the same he offers a deadpan agreement: "I need another hole in my head like I need ... a hole in the head. You got this, hon." His wife carries on without him as Tomas hangs back and watches, his hand wrapping and re-wrapping around the bone scraper just in case it's needed. It might not be. Libby's working those vines in a way he's never seen her even at her most confident with earth and Tomas is for now fine with just keeping alert, keeping his eyes peeled for when he might be needed.

But he's not alone in that. "Madison," he says, reaching out to cup the young woman's face, horrified by the sight of the bruises and lacerations and the fact that she's standing, moving. "God, what happened to you, sweetie? Did they -- was it the fucking culties?" If it was because of Madi trying to prove herself a protector on the farm, taking Emre's place, then Tomas is going to ... he's not even sure how to end that thought. He's the one who put her here. He's the reason she looks like this, ripped up and down like she'd been set upon by wild beasts. And yet, she was dousing that tree, he was sure of it. "Brave girl," Tomas murmurs, rubbing a thumb over the shell of her ear. "Good girl. We have to stop them all."

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

She hadn't been paying attention. Too busy taking stock of the guy in front of her, she only notices the movement in Tomas' direction at the last second and instinctively turns toward it, only to see: "Madi? Fuck's sake–" She's basically unrecognizable, mutilated and – and Libby doesn't have time for this, actually, which she notices as something whirls by her face, just barely missing the turned-up point of her nose. "Fucker," she declares under her breath then rushes forward, manually yanking one of the vines with her. She'd meant to hook the guy's neck but some last second flinch of something stops her (Kessey, falling heavy and limp on top of her, still held up by one of the– nope! no time for that, either!) and she snags his arm again, pulling hard toward herself while also kicking away and feeling a sick twist of satisfaction when the opposing forces lead to an ugly pop from the man's elbow. It'll do.

His anguish buys her enough time to hurtle back toward Madi and Tomas – Madi mostly, who she wraps up in something like a hug except she's pretty afraid to touch the girl, considering what she looks like. Pressing her mouth to Madi's ear, she whispers quick and low: "Get Tomas to Iyaz or Theo or – fucking someone. I don't care how much he argues. Now." Will Madi listen? It's undecided – her odds probably would've been better with a castaway who is used to taking orders from Libby. But she doesn't stop to double-check, simply yanking back and turning back toward the fray in time for a gust of air-attuned wind that sends all three of them stumbling.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Madi was quick to reassure Tomas even though she was far from okay and the other two could easily see. She was just out of it enough to be able to move about but not feel the pain and believe that she was okay. "It was Guy and Rakel and their friends but I'm okay, it's not important now. And Hazel looks worse, she got burned and--" she pressed her eyes together and forced herself to not think about Hazel. Hazel was safe, Tomas and Libby and she were currently not. So instead she nodded, "Yeah, we have to stop them, sorry I wasn't around, I'm sorry I--"

She got cut off, though, by Libby sort of hugging her sort of not from behind and it was kind of confusing but it was in the middle of a really bad time, why would she question this out of all things, instead she focused on the request. No, order, and really, looking at Tomas and his head, it wasn't a surprise why it came from Libby. And maybe in another situation, Madi would have argued with Libby, but this was no joke and Tomas needed help. She did take the time to grab onto Libby's hand, though, before she could get too far away, and say, "Follow us while we are moving back, otherwise Tomas will find the first chance he can to come back and--"

A gust of wind and Madi was tumbling, for the first time her body hurting but she pushed that aside with a loud groan and she stumbled back onto her feet, taking Tomas' arm adn pulling him up, her hold on him strong, strong enough that it wouldn't be easy for him to get out of it, as she started guiding him away from the fraz. "Come on, we gotta get you out of here. You need a doctor. Now."

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

"I'm air-attuned, y'know. I can hear." The grumble is, actually, a little more worrisome than reassuring, at least to Tomas himself because he's the one who knows that it doesn't normally work that way. After the initial clamour and overwhelm, he'd learned to not hear people if he didn't want specifically to hear them. But now he can hear Libby cursing, he can hear her fierce imparting of instructions to Madi, he can hear Madi warning that Tomas will, like an unwanted tomcat ditched at the side of the turnpike, somehow find his way back anyhow.

He shakes his arm in Madi's grasp but either she's gotten stronger or he's losing steam, because he can't get her off. "I can manage myself. I want them gone before I'll go anywhere." Tomas points his bone scraper at the ones that Libby put down or otherwise incapacitated, some of them seeming more inclined to abandon the battlefield they've made of his farm rather than keep fighting, and snarls, "Like that, put the fear of god in 'em--"

--before they're buffeted, as a group. Stronger than the first one, which had -- as fellow air-attuned -- mostly just sent Tomas stepping back and then lifting off the ground. This one hoists Libby and tosses her onto the ground, and it smacks into Madi's side like something physical, and Tomas, avoiding it by lifting higher and surrounding himself with a cloak of his own cold-front air, whips the bone scraper through his protective sheet and watches as it schlukks into their attacker's shoulder. She shrieks, falls to her knees, the bone protruding out through the backof her shoulder like a handlebar. Her name's Schwinn. Same as that banana-seat bike he and Libby had rode around on Seattle. He cracks a thin smile at that, slanting heavily down to alight near Madi again. "I'll go to Iyaz. So long as we make sure they're not gonna destroy my farm."

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

"Then cover your fuckin' ears," Libby snaps to her husband, her irritation, as always, increasing hand in hand with her anxiousness. Otherwise Tomas isn't addressed – at first because Libby doesn't intend to acknowledge him anymore, should he begin to protest, and then because she has bigger things to deal with.

Like a gust of air that sends her tumbling, crashing into her ribs. It'll bruise, she's sure, but it's fine. Libby's back on her feet despite how her hair blows back with the force of the unnatural breeze and she blinks hard when sand and dirt are tossed toward her face. Striding forward, Libby rolls her eyes at Tomas' comment then has to duck when she's swung at.  The man's (she's not aware of names and doesn't plan to ask now) second punch hits, crisp against her sharp jaw, hard enough to make her teeth clack together.

But it's fine. Libby uses the falling momentum to swing around a little, hooking her arm in this guy's and using her more diminutive size as an advantage as she turns and basically latches on like backpack. "Your farm won't fucking matter if your head's caved in!" She barks to her husband from over Whatshisface's shoulder now that she can see Tomas again, for a glimpse, then uses her new angle and Farm Man's surprise when he turns around to snatch up his own knife and drive it up, hard, into his jaw.

It's ugly – they're both sent staggering, but Libby pulls back with the bloodied blade in hand. Just in time for someone to approach from behind and latch an arm around her throat, pulling her off of her feet once more.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

"Yeah, you see, I can't really do what Libby can, what I can do is--" Madi started to explain that she wasn't really good at putting the fear of God into anyone, but then a gust of wind came and first since she woke up, she felt a surge of pain through her side as she fell, and for a moment she considered staying down, the pain was so bad. But Tomas and Libby needed help and she couldn't just stay down. Not after staying down since Guy showed up at the orchards.

So she pushed herself up onto her feet. "Everyone else around here is trying to make sure the farm isn't destroyed, we gotta--well, everyone who isn't fighting against us, but they are good people and they will--" she couldn't finished the sentence, though, even while she was trying to pull Tomas away from the scene, because Libby was struggling and fighting alone with several others and they just kept on going and when one of them started choking her, she couldn't not help her. Sorry Libby, she'd get Tomas to safety once Libby was in safety too.

"Stay here," she told Tomas and then she was off towards Libby. She wasn't the best at fighting (understatement), so she wasn't really sure what she was going to do until she crossed the distance, and then she moved instinctly, wrapping her own arms around the guy, her palms wide and spread out on his shoulders, any bare skin she could find and almost as if she just knew that for once the fire would do as she asked it to, her skin heating up and burning the guy in the process. "Let. Libby. Go!" she grunted digging her fingers in until the guy was screaming and letting Libby go.

And then suddenly Madi was hearing Hazel's scream instead of the guy's, seeing Hazel's red, scalded, hurt face with that sad, distant, pained expression as she was backing away from her and Emre and she let the guy go just as fast as she attacked. "Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-- I kind of did but I am so sorry, please just leave," she begged practically while she was moving over to Libby, her touch not scanding at all anymore, her voice more firm and unyielding than she probably ever spoke to Libby. "Are you okay? We gotta go. Tomas won't leave without you and I am strong but I can't exactly just pick him up and carry him away kicking and screaming and also I am not leaving you here alone either. So you're coming and there is no arguing about it."

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

The stars that she sees when her oxygen flow is temporarily cut out are actually sort of pretty! But also concerning, given that Libby is decidedly not air attuned and therefore very much can be strangled to death. So... her hands have to be somewhere, right? Through the stars she's seeing, Libby reaches blindly, digging her nails in hard to the arm around her throat, feet kicking all the while. For once, she can't make any noise, but boy does she struggle.

And then it's all a rush of noise and sound and heat, someone's wailing and Libby's falling, emitting a sound somewhere between a gasp and a hack. When she's touched again she reflexively winces back, thin fingers curling into fists, except it's just Madi. Just Madi, still here, not taken off with Tomas like Libby told her to. And sill looking pummeled half to death, and Libby tries to answer her question but her voice feels like its been squeezed to thin to be used, burning and tight. So she just gives a thumbs up, then uses that same hand to make a slashing motion across her own throat at Madi's last comment. Couldn't argue if I wanted to.

She hoists herself up then and cups Madi's shoulder, managing a croak of: "Good job." It hurts – she clears her throat and winces again before taking in the scene. Some folks have fled, including her apparent choker who is clutching his shoulder and sobbing. No imminent threats. But that doesn't mean anything's over. The sounds around them signify as much, and now that she can breathe again, anger simmers below Libby's skin like a pot of water waiting to boil over. But that's not anything she'll be able to reconcile with these two. She'll need another accomplice for that. So for now Libby ducks back into the shadows of the trees to fetch Tomas, giving him the same mute thumbs up.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

Tomas, left alone for a while, scans the landscape of his farm to note what's been done to it. Smoking areas, things destroyed, but not decimated; they can rebuild. He can replant. Growing things only need some time and care and some survival instinct of their own in order to grow back after being beaten. His father taught him that.

Pop, pop pop goes some sound nearby, and Tomas ducks and watches silently as some earth-eater drops the hard carbuncles of solid mud she'd been using as weapons as she turns tail and flees. They all seem to be leaving now, like they've heard some far-off conch shell calling the retreat, and he's glad for it. At this moment Tomas isn't even thinking of punishment or retribution even though he'd recognized most of them, the benighted attackers, the increasingly confused Alphonsians and the hate-filled Kotkans. They can go straight into the ocean for all he cares.

Libby comes to fetch him and Tomas can see Madi beyond the hiding copse, standing alert and ready despite the drubbing she's clearly taken. "I'll fix your throat when we get back," Tomas tells Libby, reaching out to hang on to her. "It's done here. We can go." Are there still people concealed, ready to attack them? Maybe. He'll have to let Madi and Libby deal with it as they haul his steadily more leaden body to safety.

— ✿ ❀ ✿ —

It didn't feel like a good job at all, it felt like Madi wanted to throw up. This was a tiny bit of help compared to the fighting Libby has done, and she was sure the only reason she could pull Libby along with her was because she was struggling with breathing currently, but she'd take it. She pushed her own insecurities down and headed over to Tomas and Libby, constantly looking around and keeping vigilant - it's the least she could do, she figured, while she let them have a moment.

The path is surprisingly clear towards the apothecary, some fights were still ongoing, but other stuff kept dying down and Madi instinctively put out the couple of fires they got close to on their way back, but at least they managed to get Tomas to the building without a hitch.