my sweetheart #5: the rocket man

August 2088. Keri Riley is 27, Bentley Booth is 25.

previously: the mythical bunions

Time melted away for Keri because her mind was light years away in her work. Somewhat literally. The Cassiopeia mission charged ahead to its big moment. They had their crew, their pilots, their scientists. They developed flight suits and long range sleep pods. There was so much still to do and get ready, but everything was coming along on schedule. And Keri did what Keri does best. She worked. She was at the helm of this ship and it was going to sail spectacularly.

They finally had a date set for launch. The crew buzzed with excitement over it. It was really happening, after all this time. The next great leap for humankind. June 4th, 2090.

Thankfully, with only twenty-two months left to departure, Keri’s mother had finally stopped nagging her to find an insta-husband and baby.

labor day

August 2087. Madison Riley is 64, Bryson is 65, Keri is 26, Willow is 6, Lily is 5. 

previously: the adoption // which Madison does not support // Keri goes alone // Madison's new house

 

Madison was disappointed in her retirement. She hated the way her body had changed. She hated having all this time and no hobbies to fill it with. She hated that her daughter was gone constantly, and would soon be gone for years. She hated that her husband was still working, because it reminded her that she was not. She hated that her only granddaughter had a new "mother" now. There was a lot to be disappointed in. 

Keri was stationed out in Washington now, deep in the snowy mountain forests on some military base. No cell signal, but she returned Madison's calls a couple times a week. She made a trip back home whenever she could, while she still could. But Madison might as well get used to her being gone. The big mission across the cosmos was always looming out there on the horizon, two or three years away. Like a mother given her child’s terminal diagnosis. 

No, it wasn't that dramatic. Keri would be home alive again some day. Probably—an adventure like that was far from risk-free. She could only hope that she and Bryson were still alive to meet her when she came back. Five years was a long time at their age. 

Madison just received the sad news that Micah Phoenix was dying—they went to high school and college together, they were in each other’s weddings. It was apparently that season of their lives now that their close friends would start to die off. Meanwhile, Madison's doctor told her that she was healthy as a horse—You have the heart and joints of a 25-year-old, you’ll outlive them all. 

Sometimes that felt like a curse. So much time. What would she even do with it all? 

it's your day: Madison

January 24, 2087. Madison Riley is 64. 


Birthdays are just not as exciting after you reach a certain age, and Madison Riley is pretty sure she reached that certain age many birthdays ago. Being told that she looks incredible for a woman of sixty-four is no consolation, knowing that her charmed genetics will falter eventually—maybe even this year. She is not special. She has not discovered any fountain of youth.

In the first months of her official semi-retirement, Madison wishes for many things, but she asks for only one gift: a real house. She is tired of travel, tired of hotels, tired of luxury apartment suites with shared walls and busy city traffic. Luckily, Madison's real estate tycoon husband is happy to oblige her.

happy new year, 2087!

Happy New Year, 2087! Keri Riley is 25, Tyler Jackson is 23, Janie Trudgen is 45, Pamela Collins is 38, Madison Riley is 62, Marc Hall is 42, Levi Bachman is 52, Bentley Booth is 24.

*Warnings: Grab a cup of tea, this one is long! Both in words and pictures! (If the pictures don't all load the first time, try refreshing the page. I don't know how it is on your end, but the pictures have been wonky for me when there's a lot of them.) 

** Also NSFW!


On New Year's Eve, Keri finally had a reason to wear this gown. It had been her mother's gown, although Madison never had a chance to wear it while it still fit. Then in time Madison felt too old for it, with its deep scooping back and bare arms, so she finally passed it over. Keri and her mother were never the same size at the same age, but where Madison filled out in curves, Keri filled out in muscle. So the gown fit.

"But don't get too bulky," her mother told her. "Men like their women a bit softer, you know. How will you ever find someone again if your arms are stronger than his?"

"Only date athletes?" Keri quipped. At least Tyler's arms were reliably stronger than hers. Maybe she could consider it, though. Another check to add to her long list of impossible traits a man should have: doting, but not smothering, independent, passionate, ambitious, likes his own space, won't nag for children, won't ask her to be a housewife, and has strong arms?

Keri was never under the impression that Tyler checked all of those boxes, although he certainly managed to check a few of them.

return to dust, part 3

October 2086. Zach Harris is 8, Nathan Lind is 36, Keri Riley is 25, Dominique Beech is 27, Samir Peroit is 31, Amaya Hadley is 8. 


"Can we stay out a little longer? Can we please, Uncle Nate?"

How do you say no to that face? Zach looked up to Nathan with the kind of ravenous hope in his eyes that suggested he hadn't had any fun in precisely one year and fourteen days, which was likely true. Night was Nathan's favorite time in the city, too, when everything became so vibrant and exciting. So he said yes.

"What do you wanna do? See the street performers? Buy some sparklers?"

In the end, they decided to do it all.

Drown #14: we go on, part 1

September 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Cynthia Kim is 50, Robert Kim is 52. Keri Riley is 25. Alice Nova is 65. Willow is 5, Lily is 4. 


I don't want to hear it. This isn't happening. 

"Swelling on his brain due to repeated blows..."

Remember when we were kids, when we used to camp out behind my house in the summer?

"... induced the coma to give his brain a chance to rest..."

You said if we slept with our backs to each other we could see in all the directions and the monsters could never get us.

all dressed up

August 2086. Keri Riley is 25, Tyler Jackson is 22.

* briefly NSFW


There was no point in bringing a ball gown to the moon. Keri's room on base was small and space was limited. She had flight suits, work clothes, workout clothes, and pajamas. Here on Earth, she had more ball gowns than she would ever have occasions to wear. Some of them had been her mother’s. This one, maybe, since she couldn’t remember having worn it before and couldn’t remember buying it, either.

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 1.5

July 2086. Justin Kim is 26. Lily is 4. Keri Riley is 25. 


Sometimes, when she visits, she comes over too early in the morning. Keri is an early riser, the early routine of the military has burrowed into her bones. Justin is about to head out the door to work and he hugs his daughter—used to be their daughter—goodbye.

He says, "I made pancakes for breakfast. There's some left on the counter, help yourself."

So she helps herself.

Drown #13: the story we tell, part 1

July 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Willow is 5, Lily is 4. Keri Riley is 25. 

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #13, parts 1-7

Drown #12.5: the scientist

July 2086. Madison Riley is 63, Keri is 25, Dominique Beech is 27, Tyler Jackson is 22.

* NSFW 


So it was all decided then? Keri would jet off into the great unknown, and the fabric of what little family Madison had left would disperse like stardust. The blood and cells and DNA that made up Madison’s existence would stop right here in this old, aging body. There would be no more grandchildren and no great grandchildren, and the Riley family name was dead, too.

Bryson wasn’t as upset as he should have been, Madison thought.

Drown #12: hand in my pocket, part 3

June 4, 2086. 12:00 pm


"ID's please," the reception attendant said. "We have you in courtroom 1B at twelve o'clock for session one, and one-thirty for session two. The judge will be with you shortly. Please have your paperwork ready."

Drown #12: hand in my pocket, part 2

May 2086. Keri Riley is 25. Bryson is 64, Madison is 63. Cabe Deppiesse is 45, Orion is 53, Dallas is 21.

Soundtrack, "Hand in my Pocket," by Alanis Morissette


Back on Earth, Keri's work looked a lot like most people's jobs looked. Notebooks on long tables, cups of coffee, colleagues talking over each other. But it wasn't everyone's job to meet with Earth's only known resident alien family. It was funny that Keri had never thought to ask Cabe before why he decided to pursue a job in astronautics. She had assumed he was like everyone else who just wanted to fly rocket ships and explore space. But knowing now that his brother was half alien, the reasons became clear. There was so much he wanted to learn about our universe and how it all worked.

They had two orders of business to start. First, they needed to make sense of the engineering notes that Lampyridae had left them. Second, they had to find a way to communicate with the Cassiopeians on a more reliable basis, which would also be the way they could communicate back home once they had embarked on the mission. Although their engineering specs could make it possible to travel faster than light, only those physical things that traveled with them in their ship would come along for the ride. To send messages that way would mean to harness the power of their warp drive each and every time, and that was just not practical.

"But let's think about this another way," Cabe suggested. "How did the Cassiopeians know that we needed help here? They didn't send a message on a warp drive, and they didn't use a wormhole. They spoke with the baby. They communicated with their minds."

"You’re not using my baby," Dallas said.

Drown #12: hand in my pocket, part 1

May 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Willow and Lily are 4. Keri Riley is 25. 

Soundtrack, "Hand in my Pocket," by Alanis Morissette


Spring rushed into the countryside, bringing with it a lush green breath of fresh air. By May, in rural and forested areas, some occasional air pockets had been measured at fifteen percent oxygen. For the first time since Reclamation Day, the EPA lifted the air quality alert from Hazardous to Extreme Caution for certain zones and climates, and in Stephanie's particular corner of northern Michigan, they were rated simply Caution.

Drown #11.5: to infinity and beyond

April 2086. Keri Riley is 25. Madison Riley is 63, Cabe Deppiesse is 44. 


When Keri said goodbye this time, there were only smiles, hugs, and pictures. No tears. No fights.

Drown #11: three little birds, part 5

March 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Willow and Lily are 4. Keri Riley is 25.


Keri slept like heaven and dreamed about distant stars. Gravity pulled the full weight of her body down, heavy and deep into that pillow top mattress. Not even her arms floated into the air with a sudden dream movement. The morning sun was soft behind storm clouds and she dozed long into the morning.

pool day picspam

March 2086.


Keri's parents were eager to spend some time with her now that she's on the ground, and Stephanie's parents came up north to visit as well. They all decided to make a day of it at the community pool in the city.

We'll imagine that this is a very well heated pool, for everyone being able to get in the water in Northern Michigan in March!

Drown #11: three little birds, part 4

March 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Willow and Lily are 4. Keri Riley is 25.


The weight of coffee in a thick ceramic mug was, in total, maybe fourteen ounces. In space, they drank their coffee from insulated pouches, like kindergartners with juice boxes. Here, the weight of liquid was heavy and secure. Keri moved her mug in circles to watch the foam swirl on top of the coffee.

"The role we’re offering you is Mission Specialist, Communications Lead. You’ll report directly to the Commander as a main liaison and communicator for the team. There will be sixteen on the team, consisting of flight crew, mechanics, scientists and specialists. You'll have three reporting to you, and you'll be responsible for teaching a basic range of the language to the crew."

"Yes, sir! I want in," Keri blurted out

"Hang tight, soldier. There's more to think about."

Drown #11: three little birds, part 3

March 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Willow and Lily are 4. Keri Riley is 25.

Hi, baby. Happy birthday! Did you get the violin I sent you? Tell your dad to record a video for me. I couldn’t call because we’re in the wrong time zone right now and I’ll be all tied up later, but I wanted to leave a message for you and say happy birthday. I can’t believe you’re four! What a big girl. Did you get a good cake? I can’t wait to see you next month. I bet you like to play games now, don’t you? Do you like hide and go seek? Do you like jump rope? You can tell me all about what kind of games you like, and we’ll play them together when I get down there. Love you baby! xoxo — Mom

Drown #10: the mouse, part 3

January 2086. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25, Keri Riley is 24, Jeremiah Day is 29.

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #10: the mouse, parts 3, 4, & 5


They drove back down to Lakeside Heights the next morning. They had so much to take care of still—jobs to quit, things to pack, bank accounts to transfer. Justin had to decide when his last day at work would be, before he even had his next job lined up. He had to decide what on earth he would do next. Bryson had offered to write him a nice letter of recommendation, but the problem was that Justin hadn't found any jobs to apply for anywhere near Copper Hill, Michigan. And now he could only try to convince himself that moving his family there was still the absolute right decision.

Now that Bryson knew they were moving, Madison would know shortly. Once Madison knew, Keri would find out within seconds. Justin figured he should probably tell her himself.

on pivot points of the universe

I was wondering if anybody wondered about that! :D