One unenthusiastic video under sea [13/??? artefacts collected]

[sadfreezingbrit_archive]

[ Philip's face is looking perfectly normal (if a little crabby in the strictly mood-related sense of the word). Shoulders, arms, no problem there. His chest, not currently covered by any sort of clothing, is looking just a tad more blueish and... transparent than it should.

Opacity only decreases from there, making Phil entirely light blue and see-through below his stomach. Below the waist it looks like he's been torn and tattered, his body segueing into a thick bundle of thin tentacles where his legs should be.

Or in other words: Philip, now with roughly 65% more this. ]

How is that even--

[ The blue tentacles whirl around as Philip turns and spins nervously in front of his algae-encrusted mirror, placing his hands behind his back to confirm that there is indeed nothing whatsoever between the front and the back of his body.

He spins a few more times before letting himself drift onto his mattress with resignation. ]

...I want my organs back.

Comments

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

{ Awww, poor Danny boy. See, I'd make him feel better by makin' you see a matching set, but I have no idea what's there. Could be anything... }

[ A noose. Then Ivanova, Tim and Pendergast, stuffed into the closet with their throats slit. ]

{ Anything at all. }

[ Then Dean, swimming past them with black eyes. Then Daniel's body on fire. Philip swallows. ]

...Just don't look at it. You know it's not real.

[ Because that always helps. Except when it doesn't.

Philip looks over Daniel's shoulder and senses a flaw in the plan he's about to execute. ]

I think t--

...I think we should swim up to the surface.

[ This is obviously a great idea and Philip expects to realise where he's going with this any moment now. ]

HALLUCINATION BUDDIES

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

[ Philip's reassurance doesn't help that much. Truth be told, Daniel would rather he didn't acknowledge what they both know is happening. It's not exactly acceptable to see and hear things that aren't there. ]

Let me be a moment, [ he says, with more force than usual. The words try to trip his tongue and come out a little slow.

Without thinking, he puts his right hand down to tug open the drawer and then snatches it away with a hiss. But he still pulls it open with only his left, and inside is the laudanum bottle, spelled correctly and everything. He fishes it out. Now, back to that question of how to drink it. ]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Daniel's objection cancels out Philip's urge to say something else, so he simply watches with a concerned frown, doubting that this will end all that well.

The flames slowly die down, then disappear, disappointed at the lack of appreciation Philip presently shows for them. ]

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

[ Uncapping the bottle with his fingertips proves quite possible. And it turns out that if he does that close to his mouth then angles it so that the lighter-than-water alcohol mixture floats up...

Well, some of it ends up as reddish-brown tendrils in the water, but most of it ends up bitter and sharp on his tongue. Glug glug glug. It's only a small bottle.

He looks at Philip, avoiding glancing towards the closet, and laughs uneasily. ] So it is at least possible to drink underwater. Even if it does require a song and dance.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip smiles nervously. Coming up next, apparently: Let's Play We Are Sane People Who Never See Things That Aren't There.

Fine. ]

If we go up to the surface I can put something on your arm and get most of the barbs out. Then you can actually wrap it properly.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

[ To his relief, he can feel his frantic heartbeat slowing; the pain in his hand is dimming somewhat as well. That's not to say that the wound is healed at all; that notion is silly and should only occur to you if you think real life behaves like a videogame. But the drink was, you know, a depressant. ]

Very well. [ He puts the bottle down on the bedside cabinet. Still doesn't look at the closet. ] It's lucky that you aren't hurt by them.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ ...Was that genuine or an accusation? ]

...I'm sorry.

[ That's sympathy, not an apology, a sorry that it happened excluding the because of me... for all the difference in tone that makes. ]

Er... go ahead, I'll just have to get some things first.

[ He moves past Daniel carefully, towards the dreaded closet. ]

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

[ For what it's worth, it was genuine, albeit generously mixed with "let's find a subject that has nothing to do with our not being sane people who see things that aren't there". ]

Well, it was hardly your fault.

[ Apparently Daniel can accept responsibility for things when they aren't too earth-shatteringly huge! Shocker.

He's kind of afraid that at the closet Philip is going to look for something frightening, and therefore confirm that Daniel was hallucinating. But he doesn't press the subject. Not much he could say if he did.

When Phil's no longer facing him, he risks a glance towards the closet. He quickly looks away again, shuddering. ]

Ah - very well.

[ All-round easier at this point to follow Philip's instruction and get outside. The mood has been soured even more than the water. ]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ True to his announcement Philip gets some things first.

...You want the narration to spoil the surprise? Fine.

Shaving cream and a safety razor. Vinegar. Sunburn relief.

So much for the easy part.

Now paper towels and dressing material, hoping the closet will cooperate with his request to have it wrapped safely against water damage.

Lastly something to transport the goods.

Half-jellyfish with messenger bag is go! ]

...Ready?

[ Philip slowly floats upwards, just a little, just to indicate the direction they'll be taking.

It's not an awfully long way up, but he has no idea how well Daniel can handle it right now. ]

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

I am. Are we just to the surface?

[ He lifts his face and swims straight up, trying not to look at Philip or the mansion or anything else that might warp and transform before his frightened eyes.

The self-medication doesn't look like it's slowing him down any. It's sort of possible to see how he might've lasted as long as he did through the bells-induced drinking binge. ]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, probably.

[ He's leaving room for the eventuality of Daniel recovering sufficiently to go on a little exploration tour with him. At the same time he feels that he might have to get used to the novelty of handling an event better rather than worse than most people.

Philip continues his ascend to the surface, making sure Daniel is following him; though if his speed is steady then he'll likely be able to keep up or even outswim the bulky jellyfish model. ]

Be careful when you surface... breathing's a bit odd up there.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

But possible?

[ That's kind of cool. He would have thought that they'd have to stay underwater entirely, fishlike as they are.

You know, hallucinations or not, compared to Brennenburg this is far from the worst situation he could be in. Hell, there he would have had to patch himself up on his own, probably while jellyPhil chased him down a flooded corridor.

...

LESS OF THOSE THOUGHTS. He kicks his tail a little harder, concentrating on swimming without throwing himself off course. ]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

It worked for me.

[ Then again, Philip isn't supposed to use gills.

Then again, Poland was part fish and he was doing great.

...

In the words of a dear friend: I'm sure you'll be fine. Probably. I hope.

And well, guess they'll find out in a moment, because that right there? That is the shiny surface.

Philip stops one last time to check up on Daniel, then breaks through to the surface. ]

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

[ As Philip breaks the surface of the water, the ripples scatter light everywhere, like glass smashing.

Daniel falters, staring, fearing that something's happened to Phil, who --

-- hasn't reacted at all.

Daniel's sunk a little; he takes a deep, steadying sort-of-breath and closes his eyes as he powers his way up arms-first into the air. He can breathe, but the sudden cold air on his new gilly breathing apparatus is disorienting, and he coughs out some seawater, still not opening his eyes in case the vision hasn't come to an end. ]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip takes a moment to adjust to the air again. Like breathing sand. He thinks it would be more comfortable if he didn't breathe at all, leaving the matter in the hands of his oxygen diffusing jellyfish parts or whatever mansion magic is keeping him alive right now.

And yet he can't help the motions. Oh lungs, Philip wishes he knew how to quit you.

...On that note he is now quite relieved to find Daniel on the surface, not doing the air equivalent of drowning terribly and painfully.

He taps him on the shoulder. ]

Everything all right?

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

[ He's trembling a little, though that could be from the cold. ]

I seem able to breathe.

[ Uncomfortably, for sure, but tolerably well. He reluctantly opens his eyes.

The surface of the ocean is clear of blood, stretching on grey-green and choppy as far as his blinking eyes can make out. splashes in a panic, thinking he really has fallen in, and sinks; tries to kick but finds that his legs are fused together, and remembers where he is. ]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Yes. Okay. Well. Breathing is one thing, but Philip has reason to doubt that this actually equates to Daniel being all right. ]

Dan-- Daniel?

[ His staring off into a distance far, far away is concerning. ]

Hey, are you--

[ His splashing is downright alarming.

Philip would steady him, but there's only so close he can get without his tentacles doing a lot more harm than good.

Instead he frowns, hovering by Daniel's side until it seems he's joined this particular reality again.

Philip breathes (or "breathes") a sigh that wants to be relief, but only ends up coated in yet more worry. ]

Can you...

[ He waves his hand in front of Daniel's face. That's a tried and true medical technique, after all. ]

Still with me?

[ His eyes dart around the surface. Not exactly brimming with places to sit down and rest for a moment.

...Oh, unless you're counting that buoy over there. Why yes, of course there is a buoy. Why wouldn't there randomly be a buoy? Really now.

Philip turns towards it. ]

Let's... just get you fixed up and swim back, okay?

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

I - I -

[ He's answering, and his eyes track Philip's hand just fine, so that's something! ]

I simply - I seem to have -

I remembered being on a ship.

[ The return of flashes of memory is infrequent enough to be unexpected, and exciting enough to be worthy of repetition. Man, he's all over the place today, isn't he? ]

Philip, that was a memory, I am sure of it!

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

That's...

[ Philip will need a moment to catch on to the fact that this belongs into the 'not horrifying' category. Yay, memory?

...Of course! Terrible loss of past history, very slow emergence of personal identity, hence YAY, MEMORY! Glad we could illustrate that train of thought. ]

That's great!

[ Philip just wishes it didn't look so much like its terrible cousin, Mr Hallucination. ]

Do you remember anything else? On the ship?

[ He drifts towards the buoy slowly. That sting treatment? That's still a thing he's going to do. That didn't just go away.

And the definitely didn't drag a messenger bag up here for nothing. ]