nom + Dollhouse fic

[beer_good_foamy]

I got some more nominations for rwsawards. Huge thanks!

Mission Accomplished is up for the Rusted Scissors and Hairy Eyeball awards
The Moment I Wake Up is up for the Angelcakes award
And also, I'm up for the Bloody Brilliant AKA Best Author award. *is humbled*



Also, another attempt at Dollhouse fic, written for still_grrr's adjective month. This started out as a silly drabble and then got a bit more serious.

Title: Role Of The Dice
Author: Beer Good (beer_good_foamy)
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 446
Fandom: Dollhouse
Prompt: 131: Crackling
Warning: Violence
Characters: Echo, Boyd, Topher, OCs
Summary: It's all just a game.

Role Of The Dice

She feels the energy surge through her, almost crackling around her fingertips. Serious dark magic, but nothing she can't control. Besides, he's a monster, he's got it coming. Eyes narrowing, she steps up to him, begins to recite the spell, and -

"Gach'xo the uruk-hai strikes you with his broadsword before you can finish the spell. You lose..." Jeremy rolls the dice. "...12 hit points."

The pain is white hot as the blade slashes through her armour, leaving a deep gash across her belly. She stumbles backwards, trying to stay upright, but the entire world keels over and she sits down, instinctively pressing her hand against the wound to keep in the blood. Helpless, she can only hope her companions will come to her aid as the large figure looms over her, raising his sword.

"Is she, like, OK?" Nicholas looks at the girl that Jeremy brought along to the D&D evening, and who's now curling up at the table, wincing as if in actual pain and staring at Jeremy with eyes that seem to both plead for help and look right through him.

"She's fine. She's just, y'know, in character. You wanna do something 'bout that uruk-hai before he finishes her off?" Jeremy rolls the dice around in his hand, impatiently.

"Um... sure." Nicholas glances at the girl again. Ever since Jeremy's trust fund kicked in he seems to attract these incredibly hot girls who are all into D&D, but this one just seemed to take it way too seriously. Like it was... well, real. "I attack Gach'xo with my battle axe +3."

Jeremy rolls the dice.

The black blood stings in her eyes as the dark figure's head is suddenly severed from his neck. The dwarf helps her push the carcass off her body. She wipes her face and looks at her savior with gratitude.

* * *

"Topher?" In the van, Boyd activates the mic. "Looks to me like Echo's vitals are all over the place. Are you sure everything's OK here?"

"Not to worry, big man. It's just adrenaline. I imprinted her with one of my best mages, she can take care of herself."

"And you couldn't just have imprinted her with an actual D&D geek?"

"We prefer 'nerds', thank you very much. And the client was quite specific this time." Topher checks over the profile on his computer, making a few quick adjustments for next time. "He wanted it to be real, and that's what he's got: a powerful and gorgeous elven mage, to whom he's... well, God himself. Besides," he shrugs, "it's just a game. If she dies, you bring her back here, and we boot her back up again. It's what we do."

Comments

[mymatedave.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's kinda fucked up, just like a good Dollhouse fic should be.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks - glad it worked!

[angearia.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the noms!

[angearia.livejournal.com]

Forgot to comment on the fic, which is damned disturbing and awesome.

It makes me wonder though about the thought that if you die in your dreams, you can die in real life. What happens if a Doll dies in their own imagination and causes their own heart to stop...? No rebooting up then. Body damaged = no bueno.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks, on both counts!

That's a risk, sure. Though I'm pretty sure Topher has covered that base somehow. That's just one of the creepy things about the dollhouse; even the things that look good, that look like strength and resourcefulness and individuality and whatever, might as well have been put there as a part of the persona.