Fichain #3: Start Date 19 June (World building, Segment #10: pg - 16) - Page 10

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

I did have an idea this morning but I’m afraid it’s gonna be un-executable after all the segments that have come up 😆

Originally posted by: Satrangi_Curls

kar ke dekh lo. I tend to fit in any idea anywhere 😆

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

M not that creative, especially when it comes to this genre. But you guys are doing great! 👍🏼

You're very creative, this genre might be new but give it a shot, it is fun! 😳

Although I've grown up reading Narnia, LOTR, and other fantasy genres so I love this world building. 😳

Me drafting rn, will post in a while

Segment 8

"Karan!" Gustave's voice brought him out of the trance he'd felt seeing the painting and her almond brown eyes.

"Who is this woman?" Karan was still entranced.

"My grandmother."

"She's beautiful." Karan said and wondered if it was a weird thing to say.

"I know! I have always seen her as an old woman but she was really beautiful, almost ageless and so kind. There was something special about her being...always so warm and bright."

"It reflects in her eyes."

"Le- let's go back."

"Did you find what you came here for?"

"I did." Gustave nodded, holding a big brown envelope close to his chest.

Gustave had found the journal where his Gramps had kept it years ago. In a secret compartment under his desk. He had skimmed through the pages of the journal and a few things were at the back of his mind. To undo the dark matter consuming Karan, his current body, he needed the force of light.

Light.

He remembered how warm his grandmother felt. As if she... She was an embodiment of sunshine.

Gustave's heart beat faster. If his grandmother possibly had the opposite powers that Vamika possesses, then he has to search for her counterpart in present times. Gramma, how I wish you were here. Gustave closed his eyes. His grandmother smiled at him and so did his mother.

Mom.

Gustave's eyes lit up. The chances of things being in his favour were slim to none but he had this chance and he was ready to risk it all. For the love of his life. Karan.

"Who made those sketches, if I may ask."

"My mother did. She loved art, all forms of it. She was a master craftswoman." Gustave said.

Karan could feel the vigour in his voice return. It feels odd to hear your own voice from somebody else's mouth. To see yourself as someone else. Karan did feel good about not feeling the aches all the time but he still wasn't much comfortable in a stranger's body. It felt weird. It was weird. This whole thing that was going on. I just want my normal life back. That's all. His inner voice, his heart ached to be at home. His home. Where his mom was.

(⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)

This segment is loosely inspired by Grishaverse, Shadow and Bone trilogy where Grishas are people that are blessed with connections to different elements. Vamika controls dark matter so we should have someone control light as well.

This segment is also brought to you by maa ka pyaar because it is the og, the superior and the ultimate love of life for any child.

Toodles.

Ok, I just finished reading all the segments and T's summary (thank you for so succinctly capturing the highlights from each segment).

The latest update: Neha I understood you're trying to bring in a superpower of light as opposed to Vamika, who's the superpower of dark, Right?

There's the motif of mom too - with both G & K yearning for theirs. Did you mean to go somewhere with this?

Do the teas have some significance? The coconut & roses concoction that K offers G in his apartment and later the strange tea that K drinks at G's grandfather's house that makes him feel light & happy?

Also, I wanted to understand if the power of the watch controls the time loop? I.e whoever is wearing can control it?

Also how did Gustave use the time loop to erase Karan's visions about what he did when he's in K's body and now K in G's body has the watch? Can both of them control the time loop now? So does that mean time resets for both of them after 24 hours?

One more thing, T's 1st segment said G is only able to control his own time loop, he can't do much about others'. So did something happen during the soul switch that now enables him to control others' time loops as well? (Like he did while erasing K's visions)

Sorry, I'm asking all these Qs

I'd also like to claim the next segment if no one else is taking it.

Ok, I just finished reading all the segments and T's summary (thank you for so succinctly capturing the highlights from each segment).

The latest update: Neha I understood you're trying to bring in a superpower of light as opposed to Vamika, who's the superpower of dark, Right?

Yes.

There's the motif of mom too - with both G & K yearning for theirs. Did you mean to go somewhere with this?

Sorta. Most fics do love in romantic sense only. I was exploring, here the magic/special abilities glow through bloodlines. Or some aspect like that. And when we're in trouble, the best person to go to is mom, right? Yes, they're grown adults but having your mom comfort you, if not anything else definitely helps. I also left the drak v. Light wala a bit open ended. In Grishaverse we have the sun summoner, who can summon light and she controls it. This is a rare magic, only once in 100 something years someone has it.

We can either explore it along those lines or have one light magic user alive at one time, then somebody else gets those powers. Let it still be a rare magic, because pure goodness is rare.

Do the teas have some significance? The coconut & roses concoction that K offers G in his apartment and later the strange tea that K drinks at G's grandfather's house that makes him feel light & happy?

Also, I wanted to understand if the power of the watch controls the time loop? I.e whoever is wearing can control it?

Also how did Gustave use the time loop to erase Karan's visions about what he did when he's in K's body and now K in G's body has the watch? Can both of them control the time loop now? So does that mean time resets for both of them after 24 hours? Yes.

Undoing a few minutes for both wouldn't be much difficult.

One more thing, T's 1st segment said G is only able to control his own time loop, he can't do much about others'. So did something happen during the soul switch that now enables him to control others' time loops as well? (Like he did while erasing K's visions)

Sorry, I'm asking all these Qs

I'd also like to claim the next segment if no one else is taking it.

Leaving the other questions for T. We could sit together and draft certain rules for magic, of course there can be exceptions but largely within the rules to maintain consistency.

Segment # 9

*TW: Violence, graphic imagery

Vamika screwed her eyes tightly closed as she focused intensely on the task at hand. Finally, she would have the missing, elusive piece of the puzzle. She had engineered the soul switch to weaken not only Gustave’s body but also to weaken his powers so she could break into his mind vault and access that crucial information that would help her put together what had happened on that fateful day. The Maitresse & the Council had been worried that Gustave’s powers had caused Karan’s body to fill with dark matter and any adversary with powers like that had to be stopped. They had assigned the task to Vamika, whose fierce dedication to protect magic was well-known.

But Gustave’s mind vault had been too strong. She had used all her powers but hadn’t been able to break in. She had to know what had happened to Karan and to ... her.

Her hand gripped the sides of her armchair tighter as she felt the emotions coursing through her veins, setting them ablaze.

She had to access his memories of that day - the day she had lost everything to magic.

She concentrated hard, summoning all her strength to break into Gustave’s mind vault. Damn, the man was tenacious. Even with the extra dose of the mind control injection she had given him, he was still putting up a mighty struggle.

“Let me in, you b**t*rd!” she muttered, her hands moving in circular motions around her head, gathering the aura of memories that had begun to swirl in her mind.

They were muddled. Mixed in with her own memories.

A child crying and then gurgling. She cooing to the baby in her arms. A little girl taking her first steps, falling, getting up and running into her arms. Being swung high in the air. Laughter. Tears when she fell off the bike she was learning to ride. A piano recital. Fishing by the lake. Hiking up the mountains. Singing. Dancing. Love. Oh, so much love. '

And then, love in a different form. A young man. The incessant smiles. The long conversations. Their first kiss. The promises they had made. And then.. cruelly and inexplicably… the girl had disappeared.

SLAM! The mind vault shuttered with a bang and Vamika gasped for breath her eyes shooting open. No! She almost cried aloud. She was so close! But she would not despair.

Taking a deep breath, she began anew, this time steeling her mind and wiping it clean of emotions. This was not the time for being sentimental. She had to be cold, calculating, as devious as the man she was trying to defeat.

Visions swirled around her again, fuzzy at first and then slowly becoming sharper as she willed her mind to remain calm.

A party. People. Food and drinks being passed around. A couple with their backs to her and in the corner a fuzzy figure. Who was it? Go closer…

She zoned in on the man as he disappeared around a dark corner. He was important.

Vamika felt her veins burning up, fire consuming her as she went deeper into Gustave’s mind vault.

The man was him! He lifted his right hand, bringing the watch he wore closer up his torso and then tapped on it. He was using the time loop! Just as he turned the switch, everything went black.

There was a loud gasp and the young man fell to the floor, clutching his heart. Karan!

But the girl hanging on his arm was whipped up and suspended in air, a furious black vortex swirling around her, as the time loop took full effect. In a few seconds, the vortex closed and she was sucked in.

As she disappeared, her arms flailing, her body being tossed ruthlessly, the girl screamed out in panic, “Ma!”

Vamika’s eyes popped open, tears streaming down them, her breath coming in frantic gasps as she fought to gain control of it.

“Vani! My baby!” she sobbed.

She finally knew what had happened. Gustave had used the time loop to reset Karan’s feelings for Vani so he would forget her & he had succeeded in doing so. Karan only had vague memories of Vani now. He knew she was his ex, but Gustave had caused every other detail to be erased. Which was why Vamika could not tap into Karan’s memories to find out what had happened to her daughter.

But in a weird form of justice, Gustave’s magic had defeated his own nefarious goals.

Karan and Vani had been so in love and so connected, through their very souls that when Gustave had tried to break them apart with the time loop, the ensuing physical split had induced a parallel soul split. It had caused the dark matter to rush into Karan. And it had caused Vani to be stuck in an infinite time loop, stuck in a dark dimension that Vamika had no access to. Her daughter was in limbo and there was nothing Vamika could do to save her.

___________________

Please don't beat me up, I tried 🤡

OMG now that's something I absolutely love!!! The sheer raw power of a mother. 👏

Wonderfully captured emotions. ❤️

Mmmm.. the plot thickens 😛 this is gonna be fun. Before we go any further, we should not down the magic rules. And what happens/anomalies when they're broken.

Originally posted by: Satrangi_Curls

OMG now that's something I absolutely love!!! The sheer raw power of a mother. 👏

Wonderfully captured emotions. ❤️

Mmmm.. the plot thickens 😛 this is gonna be fun. Before we go any further, we should not down the magic rules. And what happens/anomalies when they're broken.