On the first day of Xmas…
On the first day of Xmas, Harper Kingsley wrote for me of Darkstar transformed into a tree
Title: The Carrion Tree
Author: Harper Kingsley
Character: Kanon-Darkstar, post-Battle for Terra
The setup: After ruling a city of sycophants, a tired-of-all-the-bs Darkstar approaches Dr. Zee for the technology to jump universes. He activates the device and travels to a new Earth… And in that moment, there are an infinite number of worlds he could have gone to. And if branch-theory is a thing, a version of him has gone to a version of every world. This Darkstar has come to this world.
Darkstar ends up on an Earth with some very different plant life. Including the carrion plant that all smart humans avoid unless they want their every orifice entered.
The pleasure is great, but most people avoid carrion plants unless they want to die.
CW: consent issues due to it being an inhuman plant using aphrodisiacs as a prey attractant.
Mature.
Twitter meta-thread: https://twitter.com/HarperKingsley0/status/1341191075742924805
*—
The birds circled overhead, their screeching caws more than anything else telling him he was far from home. Their red feathers were a bright slash against the blue-blue sky. The air smelled of some foreign spice, near overpowering in its intensity.
"Well shit," Darkstar said, and sneezed. He could feel his nose beginning to run and it was such a foreign sensation that he allowed himself to enjoy it. From his reading, he figured he wouldn’t be marveling at the feeling for long.
Reaching down, he picked up a rock and crushed it between his fingers. Superstrength intact? Check.
It looked like the air-quality of this alternate universe could affect him. At least until his body adapted to it. (He hoped his body adapted to it. He was already growing annoyed with the sensation.)
He looked around at the alien scenery and wondered if even half these plants existed on his own Earth. Some of the grass and trees appeared familiar. The rest… were exotic to say the least.
He thought about flying, but felt an instinctive aversion. He wanted to experience this new Earth from the ground floor. Wanted to get a closer look at the plant life. Wanted to trudge the dirt with his own booted feet and follow that strange elusive scent that was fluttering his nose hairs and making his nerves hum.
A flush of heat went over him, but he ignored it. If the sun rose and set the same as on his Earth, then he was walking east with the breeze in his face. He could see the leaves folding and bending under its invisible force.
The air was sweet perfume. He absently swept his hand under his dripping nose and wiped it off on his pant leg.
Walking became an automatic function. It felt as though his legs were working without him, carrying him toward something amazing.
There’s something funny happening here, he thought, but it seemed distant and unimportant.
He was on another Earth, one that was somehow completely different from his own while at the same time being kind of the same. Plant-life was different, but gravity still existed and the ground was solid beneath his feet.