Ghost and the Machine

[catko]

Title: Ghost and the Machine
Fandom/Characters: Dollhouse; Echo
Rating/Warning/Spoilers: PG; no warnings, no spoilers
Disclaimer: I don’t own, but I do enjoy.
Summary: 150 words; hints at a crossover. For dollhousefics , challenge 001, "ghost."

She’s all body; pure feeling. The roaring engine shakes her bones, ears filled with her own screaming, whooping. Eyes wide with lights zipping past at warp speed. Knuckles burn around the handgrips. She dips her head down quick, and catches a whiff of leather.

Suddenly, the wild sensations jolt into a memory, sharp and bright. She’s pressed against a school window, outside looking in. The sun on her back, smell of the leather on her body, the joyful vibrancy of being young and alive. It’s there, filling her, like a spirit…

A shout cuts through the glow; shadowed walls close in, then tilt and whirl; the hunk between her thighs lurches; and her body goes into a split-second freefall. Hits the ground hard. Engine sputtering, blinding pain, the stench of dirt and smoke. Slammed into reality, she leaps to her feet, and looks around. But the ghost is gone.

Comments

[wytchcroft.livejournal.com]

sharp as cordite:) i enjoyed that:)

[catko]

Thank you, it was fun to write!

[dana-serenity.livejournal.com]

Oh nice, it's short, but it has so many hidden layers. Great work!

[catko]

I appreciate it! That's one thing I like about the shorter format.

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Oh, yummy description. I love the idea that Echo was Faith in the past - I have a feeling (or a hope, at least) that there will be lots of crossovers like that.

[catko]

I couldn't resist the crossover, and I too hope there will be some, at least, shout-outs? Thanks for commenting.

[sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com]

Beautiful. The short, choppy style really fits the story you're telling. I love the descriptions and prose. :)

[catko]

Thank you for the comment. By the way, I've enjoyed your Firefly fics and it's cool to see you here.

[aaronlisa.livejournal.com]

I loved the way that you managed to combine the two fandoms.

And I love the idea that Echo was Faith in a past lifetime.

[catko]

Thanks! I just couldn't resist.

[emmademarais.livejournal.com]

Oh, very nice! Quite visceral and wonderful in its immediacy. (And bonus goes nicely with your icon!)

Thank you so much for posting this to dollhouseflash!

[catko]

Thank you for the comment, and for the comm--it's great! I'm so looking forward to seeing what people come up with. Love the prompts.

[emmademarais.livejournal.com]

Cool!

Speaking of, I just wrote a fic for the Control prompt. How would you feel about giving it a look? You don't have to beta, but I'd love to get someone else's view of it since the show's so new.

My email's my LJ name at gmail if you're interested.

[catko]

Sure, happy to! My email is amadock at yahoo.com.

[emmademarais.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

First draft on its way in a bit.

[emmademarais.livejournal.com]

My gmail kind of hung up a little on send so if you don't get it LMK. It says it's sent but I'm not so sure.

[quirkysmuse.livejournal.com]

Very nice. Lovely and poignant descriptions. Good job.

[catko]

Thank you very much!

[juliet316]

I think alot of us are going to go with the Faith is Echo theme until Joss shows us otherwise, but good job with this take on it.

[catko]

I hadn't thought of it as a theme, but it's hard to avoid the connection, especially since there were so many moments where she seemed like Faith. Appreciate your comment!

[pacejunkie.livejournal.com]

How did I miss this? Nice take on that scene that I think really confused a lot of people when they saw it. After watching the episode twice I finally got what Joss was trying to do and that was to fake you out into thinking you were seeing a scene from Caroline's past and learning what mess she got herself into. Of course it turns out it's a whole new mess, as she now has that clean slate Adelle boasted about. So I guess it was all part of a spoiled rich kid's birthday party entrance. They had to do something that would work with both the actual story and the fakeout, though it was a bit of a stretch.

But I rambled, brave you for trying a dollhouse fic already. I need to watch some more and get a better feel for the story, the first episode was a little too confusing. But I see how in your fic you're hinting at the ghost of Caroline bleeding into Echo's wiped mind which is cool.

[catko]

I agree, pace, that first ep was confusing and as I've said elsewhere, didn't totally "gel." All I could think to write about was a very brief moment. I'm amazed how some of the people here have been able to give such depth to the characters while I'm still confused who is who!

Thanks as always for reading. Your insights are always so wonderful.

[mamaboolj.livejournal.com]

Great description of the scene from Echo's perspective. And I love the last line.

[catko]

Thank you! I wanted to think about what she might be thinking and feeling, since she's such a cipher...

[snowpuppies]

Brilliant.

Fantastic imagery.

[catko]

Oh! I appreciate your comment so much. Thank you for reading.