payingfordeliverance: (Smile: Can't be helped)
Xerxes Break ([personal profile] payingfordeliverance) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2022-07-07 09:38 pm

House Log 004: Do you wanna build a snowmaaaaaaaan --

Who: Residents of Pandora House and Frequent Intruders
What: In which, while the rest of the game loses its collective shit, at Pandora House we try and fail to conjure magic winter while playing musical chairs in regards to who is locking who up to keep them safe at any given time
When: Throughout July
Where: Paaaaaandora House

Content warnings: Marked in threads accordingly, mostly just people being wildly overprotective
belovedscars: (4.)

Closed to Oz (cw: past death, cigarrette & smoking mention, obsessive behavior)

[personal profile] belovedscars 2022-07-10 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[Gil had an early start. He had already started adding locks to the front door, and had stopped sleeping in and was up at all sorts of hours, cigarette in his mouth as he looked outside with a haunted, brooding expression. His paranoia had been amped back up with everything he had experienced and heard from others. He had been foolish to think Trench was safe. No place was safe, but it was his job to make sure his family remained safe.

Predictably, he doted on Oz in his squid form, talking to him and giving his tank little accessories and worrying over everything. Now that Oz was back to his original form, that hadn't changed. In fact, when he wasn't moping Gil was probably more attached to his best friend than ever. If Oz so much as sneezed or walked too hard on the floor, Gil would be running to his side and asking him if he felt feverish, did he trip, was his breakfast not enough--

But it didn't stop there. Gil couldn't stand the thought of Oz leaving the house--of anyone, other than him, going outside. He made that mistake already, he would die before he made it again.

It's extreme, and he hates himself for even considering it. But Oz in particular has a penchant for running into trouble, so using the excuse that he was going out bartering, Gil left, making sure to hide the padlocks in his room and try to seem as casual about everything as possible.

Now that he's approached Oz the next day and actually going to do it, going to lie to his master, he fears he might pass out from shame.]


Oz, ah--

[The grown man fidgets before he's even finished his lie to be caught in. His heart is filled with remorse. It seems cruel to lie to his master like this, even if it is for his own good...

But it is for his own good! Doing all of the mental gymnastics in his head, he reaches this same conclusion and nods to himself, right in front of Oz, which probably doesn't help his argument because he looks as if he's arguing with himself.]


I was wondering if you're free right now, could I get your input on a project that I'm working on in the library? I-- I want to make sure it's...your opinion would mean a lot to me!

[Internally, Gil weeps. Outwardly, he's a nervous wreck, but he hopes Oz attributes it to his normal skittishness. He hopes Oz will forgive him for this, but...even if he doesn't, even if he bullies him nonstop for this, his safety is what comes first. And the Library is a roomy space. It has some books, and Gil will glare and ban anyone from visiting when Oz is asleep.]
velvet_teen: (oz fell down the old well again?)

OTA, alice being wildly overprotective and having poor personal boundaries

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-11 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ One Hundred Years Dungeon ]

It is very normal to be protective of people especially when many of those people have died or been grievously wounded in various fashions. This rule should not apply to Alice, she feels, as every time she has been hurt it has been mostly not really her fault. She recognizes the need for peace of mind and has elected to use the cunning tactic known as 'lying and then sneaking out', as is her Abyss-given right as a teenager. But more on that later.

Her tactics run to what she thinks of as considerate. She could lock people in their rooms but then they could get up to just about anything and wouldn't be able to interact with their favorite things and people. For the first part of the month she ambushes the people she likes and also Break just about every resident and the occasional common visitor with nets and ropes and gets spicy when resisted. Oz might find himself tied to the sofa and plied with tea and books to keep him motivated to stay in one place, Gil might be pounced upon in the kitchen and tethered to the stove so he can still be useful. She is thinking about your needs.

She is pretty easy to escape early on once she lets down her guard and stops watching her captives like a hawk. She's not confiscating anyone's sharp objects and isn't great at knots either.

Later in the month she discovers actual irons and manacles in the basement because of course they're in the basement and the difficulty rises. For everybody. Will she handcuff herself to her twin because she doesn't know what she'll get up to next? Of course. Does she remember where she left the key? She does not. There were a lot of keys. They are mostly in... places. It's fine. Anyone who Alice has interacted with like once can tag into this one and get a personalized response if they would like a nice surprise, she has a lot of feelings whether she feels like owning up to it or not. Nothing huge and bad has happened to Ada here - and thus that's the worst, does she know how bad a lot of these people would absolutely flip out if it did!!

[Secret Santa]

Alice is frequently inclined to escape the grounds entirely, on the grounds that they need provisions and junk and she doesn't trust you fools not to get in trouble doing it. This also means that she has to come back, with preferably as little fuss as possible... Which is to say, she sometimes scuttles down a chimney with a big sack of seafood and mushrooms and other necessary supplies she can lay her hands on easily. It's summer, nobody's lighting any fires. She considers herself quite stealthy but she does often leave sooty footprints on the carpets while skulking around and also does erupt out of the fireplace which is inherently very unstealthy.
onekindsoul: (When love’s alive)

One Hundred Years Dungeon

[personal profile] onekindsoul 2022-07-13 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
[I don't think there's any other option but to ask for a personalized response here.]
velvet_teen: (pic#15781465)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-14 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
Ruby is very outdoorsy. It's dangerous outside. Enrichment is important. Look, they've both been mushroomed in the back yard before... But the yard is important for running around and swinging your scythe in for practice innnn.... The Darkblood house provides by extending the bay window so there's a bit that swings up on a hinge. This is perfect. She'll just need a really long chain. Alice is good at long chains. Chains are her world's specialty.

Ruby is here for some post-action tea and refreshment all unsuspecting, and Alice is perfectly capable of suppressing her poor impulse control for a little tiny bit.

"Hey, Ruby. What's that sign on your choker mean?"

It's very in keeping with standard Alice behavior to hop around and be all up in Ruby's personal neck space.
Edited 2022-07-14 01:34 (UTC)
onekindsoul: (pic#15218825)

[personal profile] onekindsoul 2022-07-14 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Any sort of alterier motive to Alice being this close is lost on Ruby. They had hung out enough that this normal- And Ruby not only remembered what it was like to get as excited as Alice did, she still did it herself on a lot of occasions.

She blinks at the question and thumbs the cross on her choker briefly. Her eyes shift down to her skirt where there are a handful more.

"Well- It's kind of a symbol of life and death- of mourning I guess. Not that I'm actively mourning anyone but-

Well honestly I like them because my uncle wore them a lot. And I kind of followed suit." Ruby Rose doing things because it seems cool. It was a valid reason if there was any.

"But from my time in the dream it turns out they have a lot of religious significance on Earth. It's kind of cool that things like that transcend worlds."
velvet_teen: (i need a nap)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-16 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, yeah, you do see those things on graves a lot!"

Alice can deeply understand doing things because someone you admire does them. Like, say, locking someone in a tower or similar. There is a soft jingling sound as she picks something up from the floor, where it has been semi-discretely coiled about.

"Crosses, wings... there's a couple gravestones here that have carvings of fruit on them, which I think is the right idea. If I ever die I want a marble plate on mine so my friends can have picnics next to it."
onekindsoul: (The lightning doesn't)

[personal profile] onekindsoul 2022-07-17 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
"There are a lot of them on those. My moms has her symbol on it instead- A rose. I based mine on that." She gives a little chuckle at Alice's idea.

"Have to agree with you about the fruit though. A picnic visit to a grave is always better than just getting all mopey." She knew a thing or two about this. She used to visit her moms gave all the time when it was within visiting distance.

She's feeling a little nostalgic though and misses Alice messing around with whatever was making that jingling sound.
velvet_teen: (I heard meat did somebody say meat)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-20 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"And I don't want to be visiting any boring graves. So the only thing for it is to make sure nobody I like enough to visit goes and dies on me."

Click.

It is at this point that Alice snaps a cold metal collar around Ruby's neck. There's a chain on the end. It is honestly a nice and fashionable collar, albeit a heavy amount on the Hot Topic side of fashion.

"This should help!"

onekindsoul: (pic#15034863)

[personal profile] onekindsoul 2022-07-20 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well I wouldn't say that all graves are boring, I used to vis-"

And Ruby hears the click and there's a brief moment where she stares down at it in confusion. She sees the appeal of the Hot Topic kind of fashion, that was her jam. It's even got a few cool spike studs on it. It's the chain that gets her concerned and the fact that when she reaches up and starts to pull on the collar it doesn't come off right away.

"Uh- Alice- What's going on here?" Because she hasn't quite put it together yet. Despite all the traps that have been going off in the house.
velvet_teen: (Today is a good day to be an Alice)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-24 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
Alice sets about fixing the free end of the chain to the window latch. She thought about this a lot - this way, she can go out but she can't be locked out because the chain will be through the window if she is in the yard. Flawless design, really.

"You live here now, I've caught you!"

You're safe now, Ruby. No need to thank her. Well, you really should thank her. This was the best idea after all and she set it up all on her own. She deserves lots of praise. Alice looks so proud of herself.
onekindsoul: (pic#15019292)

[personal profile] onekindsoul 2022-07-25 12:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh yeah? You caught me, huh?" Ruby eyes peer down the length of the chain from where it begins down to the window. She has to admit this was not exactly what she was expecting- It was the second attempt to keep her safe by holding her in some place this month-

And while this was a whole lot more wholesome than the last attempt it did bring a sinister little smile to her lips. Especially when she just saw how proud Alice looked.

"But am I trapped here or are you trapped with me?" Alice's trap was genius, Ruby would give her that. But she still had her speed and arms free. Which she's going to use to quickly wrap around Alice and start tickling at her sides.
velvet_teen: (NOPE NOPE NOPE)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-26 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
"TREACHERY," Alice yowls with high indignation.

"Ha, ha - help, it's a CURSE! Ha, laugh curse...! Ha ha ha!!"

She did not grow up among people who tickled and neither did other Alice, this is not in the lexicon. This is NEW GROUND. SHE HATES IT!! She does not hate it enough to not wish to inflict the curse upon others, of course.
onekindsoul: (Your life’s a masterpiece)

[personal profile] onekindsoul 2022-07-26 01:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's right- You're cursed- This was my evil plan all along!" Look Ruby had been the younger sister all her life. She was used to dealing with this from her playful older sister. It was time to take all those years of trauma and pass them onto the next generation.

"How safe do you feel now!?"
belovedscars: (5.)

One Hundred Years Dungeon

[personal profile] belovedscars 2022-07-18 03:38 pm (UTC)(link)
By now Gil has realized everyone has been acting off and overprotective, except for him obviously, he's certain he's acting normal. While he can't blame his family for acting this way after everything that has happened, it's still troubling to witness. Alice, Oz and Ada should be able to run around carefree, and Break should be allowed to relax and be grumpy and dramatic like the old man he is. If he were stronger, if he hadn't been so slow to do anything, that could have been a reality.

But it hadn't turned out that way. So Gil hides in the kitchen, taking his frustrations out on some innocent mushrooms and vegetables. He seems to have adjusted quickly to Scrabbles' presence, the hand holding them in place for them as he chops them with a knife, brows pinched and jaw tense in an intense expression.

If only he was stronger!
velvet_teen: (Now tell me what it is that I have bit)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-20 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Alice oozes into the kitchen. She's wearing fuller skirts than she often does in the summer and that's because you can hide lots of stuff in the petticoats. When Gil isn't in his domain is when she restocks it with ingredients she barters for, forages, and catches. Currently, the secret inventory contains the remains of a homemade trap and a bunch of apricots.

It is complicated because it's easier to do things in the kitchen when Gil is not there but when he is there he is making tasty things and not somewhere in a Trench ditch with cursed mushrooms growing on him. And speaking of tasty things:

"Seaweed Head, what's that you're making? Give me some!"
belovedscars: (5.)

[personal profile] belovedscars 2022-07-22 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"No."

Gil's answer is curt. He's yet to glance in Alice's direction, but he did feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand when he heard the rustle of her skirts, alerting him of her presence. Lately, with the unusual way everyone has been acting, he has been more cautious than normal...but perhaps Alice is safe. She's too stupid to come up with any intricate plots, after all, and he's certain he'd notice if anything was off with her.

It's a bit of a breath of fresh air.

Had Alice asked him the same question not very long ago, when he was still experiencing his honeymoon phase with Trench, Gil probably would have indulged her a bit and let her taste test what he was cooking. But now Gil is a changed man (really!). He'll offer her more of an answer as he glares at his project with an intense expression.

"It's a stir-fry and it's not done yet."
velvet_teen: (yo what)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-25 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Alice makes a rude face behind his back. She would of course gladly make it to his face also. She rustles closer because personal space does not exist.

"Did you add the right spices for the mushrooms? You don't know about every mushroom yet. Let me taste it. I bet it needs more garlic."

Break has let her help in the kitchen for so long that she has developed a bit of an ego. This is known. This is also a good way to trick Gil into guarding the stovetop instead of himself. She can be quite cunning and manipulative when she bothers to make an effort at it instead of outsourcing all the plotting to her smart friends.
belovedscars: (7.)

[personal profile] belovedscars 2022-07-26 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Stop trying to get a bite before I finish."

He grumbles, pivoting on his foot closer to the stove to try and block Alice from the mushrooms. He assumes that's why she's doing this, because she's hungry. Well, that's just too bad. She'll have to wait.

"I already taste tested them beforehand and I put the right amount of garlic on it."

Gil sounds a little offended and maybe a tad hurt. There are few things he takes any pride in, and cooking happens to be one of them. Has his cooking not been up to par lately? Is he really that rusty...? Was everyone simply being polite when it came to eating what he made, and would they have preferred Break's cooking? His own doubts send him into an anxious spiral, as he starts muttering about all of the possibilities, temporarily forgetting about Alice's presence.

"ButperhapsitcouldusemoresaltandIcouldhavetriedharderyesterdaymaybeIhavenorighttobeinthiskitchen--"
velvet_teen: (would that be fucked up or what)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-17 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ Alice is scampering back all secretively, overland because SOMEBODY suspended some sort of birdcage over the lamp at some point and she might be a dumbass but she's nobody's fool. She has provisions because she's the one person here who still has their priorities in order, according to her own self.

The hedge is... bigger, than when she last checked. It's also full of lots of roses. Sisterrrrr....! And swords. Clowwwwwwnnnn....! She's gonna lock the both of them in the root cellar.

Fine fine fine she can get over a sword hedge. She's Alice she's great she's not going to ask for help and have people know she's actively sneakin'. They'll thwart her. She can get over a big hedge. She can jump very high. And land very lightly. She platforms up via the flats of the thorns. Security risk isn't in her vocabulary (many things are not in her vocabulary), she does not consider that other people could do this also.

She is also not, perhaps, as careful as she could have been. When she lands on the other side, there are big old rips in her big fluffy skirts, which have taken the bulk of the thorning. There is also big old rip in her leg right above the knee, which is glittering blood right into her boot. She doesn't care for this. ]


Shit!

[ Swearing makes her feel a little better. It is a wonderous technology. ]

Shit! Pissbuckets! Rotten cabbageass assfence!

[ She very stealthily limps in this fashion across the lawn. ]
velvet_teen: (HERBIVORE THIS MOTHERFUCKER)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-17 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ Alice whips around, stumbles on the bad leg, and hisses defensively. Baltus is not included in the hiss and may sniff freely. A regular person would definitely need stitches. It is not entirely clear how much of a regular person Alice counts as in this context. ]

It's an original creation! Now what's THIS doing here, who made that one up?!

[ Rhetorical question but she is pointing indignantly at the big honking excuse for cabbage - this stabbing nightmare- the stabbage, if you will (we will not) which is right! Here! On! The! Lawn! ]

Don't you make that stupid face at me, pissclown!

[ Kaine just gave her some vocab and demonstrated her unique florid turns of phrase. Alice has assembled them into this new artform. ]
velvet_teen: (NOPE NOPE NOPE)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-21 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ Auuuuugh hes doing it still and doing it worse she hates it so much!! That gormless oozy smirk all smirking at her gormlessly!! You can take the clown out of the piss but you can't take the piss out of the clown!! She crouches behind Baltus and continues to hiss and snarl over his back while hugging him for comfort tactical stability. With him sniffing at her leg they form a sort of pretzel. ]

If you love it so much why don't you move your bedroom right into it!! See how much you like the thorns then!!
velvet_teen: (hey mister)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-26 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
Uuugh, why, that's stupid, it's stupid and so is your stupid faaaace.

[ Break is completely correct in his assumptions. And speaking of assumptions. ]

How can you look at it when you're blind?! Baltus can look at it.

[ She sticks out her leg but still behind the shield of dog, in petty protest. Alice if he was actually blind that wouldn't do anything... ]
velvet_teen: (i have this many brain cells)

best birthday ever

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-26 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
AUUUGH~!

[ Can she do that - well, clearly she can, since she did?? Alice has not seen the new eye outside of the introduction of it which was a pretty intense experience for all involved it's not like she was looking to see if he was looking at it?? Wait. ]

Then why've you got your hair over it?! Can you see through stuff, like those skeleton rays?? Can you see my skeleton with your hair up.

[ No WONDER he likes a skeleton pirate, that has to be the natural order of things by now... Look. Alice is at the midpoint of learning to question things and think on her own and also being... Alice. Being wrong about things is how we practice getting to be right at things. The good news is that she's so completely baffled that she's forgotten to hiss. She could resume if she felt like it, mind you! She's now draped halfway over Baltus, leaning forward suspiciously. ]
Edited 2022-07-26 01:55 (UTC)
velvet_teen: (can't believe im having these loser emot)

[personal profile] velvet_teen 2022-07-28 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, you should have said so before your stupid hedge took a bite out of me; I'm not going to go out and raid a pirate ship for you now.

[ Alice makes a very huffy face as if she means she is denying him out of pettiness and not because she has a massive fuckin ouchie. ]

You can't trust just anyone to know how cool an eyepatch is.