𝑬𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑵𝑨𝑳𝑺 𝑪𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑬𝑪𝑻.

#illusersi.   very  private  blog  for  sersi  of  marvel’s  eternals.   movie-based  with  select  comic  influence.   written  by  ally.     spoilers  are  tagged.     rules  under  cut.

beneath the seat,   jim pops open one of the panels   (     it is a dual - paneled design   :      one holds the wires necessary for restoration,  if such a thing is possible given its current state,   and the other holds the mechanics for the self - destruct     ).      he’s hoping that he doesn’t have to use the other side,   but he also doesn’t want all this laying around for someone to find.    most civilisations could barely handle even the most retro of starfleet technologies     —     and even the tiniest leftover piece of scrap metal could redirect the growth of an entire civilisation.     ‘‘    you’ve been plenty of help,    ’’     he promises,   eyeing the fried circuits.   it looked like some sort of sabotage,  though he couldn’t imagine that it originated from the enterprise’s crew.   he trusted them all with his life     …     which meant someone had no doubt infiltrated the enterprise.   and if they had done so,   they would have followed him to the ground.     with a flick of his finger,   he flipped a few switches,   sending out a distress signal that the enterprise would hopefully pick up on.      ‘‘    i wouldn’t want to be an inconvenience,    ’’     he said,  sliding from beneath the wreckage.    resting a hand on the metal side,  he pulled himself to his feet.     ‘‘    are you sure i wouldn’t be any trouble?     ’’

every plan had complications.     it just always seemed that jim’s plans had a hell of a lot of ‘em     (    they are self - evidently not nonsense plans  :       they’re formulated with care,    they’re thought through with more than an awkward fumbling of pre - notion     ).     the first complication is a woman he doesn’t quite trust by his side,    the sort of honeyed tone that tugs you closer just to toss you out again…    the kind of sure - fire gal who spelled heartbreak.    WHICH OFTEN MEANT BETRAYAL.    and now their escape pod had seemingly malfunctioned.     he was bent at the waist,   buried in the open of the contraption,    rooting around beneath the seat.      his hands latch onto a staff,   pulling it in order to undo a latch.    a few flickers of his fingers and he’s running a diagonistic on it.       ‘‘   don’t think we’re moving for a little while,    not until i can get in contact with the enterprise.     this is why we usually take an engineer down with us.   ’’           @illusersi

earth     underfoot  :     the     rock  -   flesh     of    this     planet     keeps    them     grounded,     and    so     very     far    from     the     sun.    (   DAYS     TURN    TO     NIGHTS,     AND    SO     IDENTITY     TO    OBLIVION     ———     a     ravenous     darkness     sits    just     beyond     the    horizon   ;     it    yearns     to     swallow    them     whole.   )    the     sands     of    time     seem     to    sit     so     still     [  …   ]     salt  -   spit     erosion    spans     centuries.     NEITHER     WAS    MADE     TO     FLY  :     neither     was    born     with     sunblessed     down    or     clouds     at    their     heels.     ‘   hey.     don’t    be     like    that.   ’    

beside     her    he     stands,     always,    as     some     giant    hewn     from     stone    [   …   ]    where     stone     is    cold,     he’s     warm  ;     THE     LOVE  -   DRUM     OF    HIS     HEART     AND     A    GOLD     VEIN     OF    ICHOR     ANCHOR     HIM    TO     THIS     PLACE.    a     million   -  million     grains     of    sand,     once     hard    and     holding     fast,    worn     to     silky    sediment     with     the    years     ———    war     becomes     peace,    loyalty     becomes     love    [   …   ]    ROCK     BECOMES     SAND    /     EARTH     BECOMES    HOME.    ‘   i’m    just     checking     in.  ’

SHE, THE WORST OF RESILIENCE     :     sersi carries a thousand lives on her back and doesn’t hide how much they weigh.     she tried,  once.     she folded her palm over her heart,  called herself an eternal,  and pretended a word that big could live on its own.     the truth greeted her harshly          —          for every sunrise,  there will be a sunset,  and the saving grace in both can only ever be its beauty     (     she can pretend she doesn’t want to see it for herself,  she can pretend she wants to bury herself in the soil and let the years pass her by,  but she knows herself too well     :     the suns rise and set and live and die,  and she blinds herself watching each and every one.     ).

“oh  I  know  i’m  quite  the  catch  but  a  miracle?  that  overdoes  it.“  he  teases  then,  he  has  no  ego  to  speak  of.  if  anything,  he  dislikes  thinking  of  himself  as  a  good  guy.  he  does  come  with  baggage.  an  orphan  and  a  stranded  relationship  with  an  uncle  who  is  part  of  the  one  percent  in  the  world  and  a  family  history  that  stretches  out  to  medieval  times.  he  isn’t  perfect  (  past  relationship  had  fallen  apart  for  apparently,  being  too  understand  and  too  soft  ).  but  sersi  seems  to  mold  to  his  softness  as  he  enjoys  her  own  and  in  a  way,  make  themselves  stronger.  better  for  it.  he  can  see  her  scars  of  the  past  relationship  like  he  can  tell  his  own.  but  they  are  together  and  for  that  it  matters.  lips  tug  upward,  hidden  briefly  by  the  tamed  beard  he  leaves  on  his  face.  

he  laughs  then,  squeezing  her  fingers  with  his  own  as  free  hand  toys  with  the  keyboards  before  him.  unsung  melody  that  plays  on  his  head.  “me  a  wizard?  according  to  my  uncle,  my  family  are  all  knights.  maybe  i  should  give  the  bloody  queen  a  call.“  he  teases  back,  aware  of  the  ridiculous  of  the  idea.  but  he  does  know  it  is  true.  and  the  fact  of  the  one  legend  about  his  family.  ancestral  blade.  cursed.  anyone  who  wields  it,  it  darkness  their  soul.  “you  get  to  be  the  wizard,  i’ll  be  your  loyal  knight.  how  chivalrous.  maybe  i  can  get  a  kiss  as  a  reward.“  

sweetness  unfurls  itself  over  sersi’s  lips.     it  looks  like  a  smile  of  newness,     blossom  -  ripe  love  well  worth  their  shared  efforts.     what’s  here  now  is  enough     :     dane  is  enough.     this  has  never  been  a  question,     but  she  still  likes  to  listen  to  the  answer  as  it  comes     (     fingertip  touches,     starved  kisses,     mornings  spent  seeking  refuge  from  the  sunrise  in  tangled  sheets  and  limbs,     even  in  the  veil  of  silence  they  all  make  the  same  promise.     ).     she  glances  at  the  union  of  their  hands,     willing  the  image  of  it  to  remembrance.     the  horror  of  immortality  is  this     :     this  memory  will  be  replaced  in  time,     sunk  beneath  the  weight  of  years  to  come.     the  beauty  of  humanity  is  that  it  will  only  be  replaced  in  kind,     with  another  lightning  -  hot  rush  of  sentiment  for  sersi  to  immortalize  as  best  she  can.