ange "the definition of chuunibyou" ushiromiya (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
entreats) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
deercountry2023-03-13 08:29 pm
entreats) wrote in deercountry2023-03-13 08:29 pm
(open) you're looking at me like you don't know who i am
Who: Ange, Ruby, Break, and anyone who knows any of them.
What: Corruption turned Ange into a true Umineko witch who decided the best way to keep the people she loves safe from this town is to drag them into a pocket dimension.
When: For a while in March.
Where: Ange and Ruby's house-turned-small-pocket-dimension.
Content Warnings: Potential violence if anyone acts particularly antagonistic. Potential talk of violence or gore. Other warnings will be added when things pop up.
Perhaps you have seen Ruby's odd network post and decided to check things out. Or maybe you're just wandering around Trench and notice that Ange and Ruby's house suddenly looks.. different.
The house has been completely overgrown by way oversized roses, big thorns growing out of all the stems, completely obscuring the structure that's supposed to be underneath it. If you get close enough to the cluster of roses, you may feel your connection to any of the three people inside suddenly pull you in. (Please note: only people who know either Ange, Ruby or Break will be able to enter the pocket dimension because of this!)
If you give in to the sensation, everything around you might go black, and when the light returns, you seem to find yourself in.. a hedge maze. A rather odd one, though. As you stumble through it, you may suddenly find yourself in random rooms, and then back out of them into the hedge maze once more. The Moss King's wild plants seem to have even invaded corners of this place, so you might want to watch out you avoid having those snap at you. Retracing your steps through the labyrinth feels impossible, like the way is changing up behind you with every step. Some rooms make perfect sense - like a neat and elaborate kitchen, or a library - and others seem to consist of nonsense with stairs leading upside down or to nowhere, or gravity not working in a specific room at all.
Flying throughout the entire maze are golden butterflies. They seem to fly with direction, and if you follow them, you might find them leading you to one of the people you were looking for..
What: Corruption turned Ange into a true Umineko witch who decided the best way to keep the people she loves safe from this town is to drag them into a pocket dimension.
When: For a while in March.
Where: Ange and Ruby's house-turned-small-pocket-dimension.
Content Warnings: Potential violence if anyone acts particularly antagonistic. Potential talk of violence or gore. Other warnings will be added when things pop up.
Perhaps you have seen Ruby's odd network post and decided to check things out. Or maybe you're just wandering around Trench and notice that Ange and Ruby's house suddenly looks.. different.
The house has been completely overgrown by way oversized roses, big thorns growing out of all the stems, completely obscuring the structure that's supposed to be underneath it. If you get close enough to the cluster of roses, you may feel your connection to any of the three people inside suddenly pull you in. (Please note: only people who know either Ange, Ruby or Break will be able to enter the pocket dimension because of this!)
If you give in to the sensation, everything around you might go black, and when the light returns, you seem to find yourself in.. a hedge maze. A rather odd one, though. As you stumble through it, you may suddenly find yourself in random rooms, and then back out of them into the hedge maze once more. The Moss King's wild plants seem to have even invaded corners of this place, so you might want to watch out you avoid having those snap at you. Retracing your steps through the labyrinth feels impossible, like the way is changing up behind you with every step. Some rooms make perfect sense - like a neat and elaborate kitchen, or a library - and others seem to consist of nonsense with stairs leading upside down or to nowhere, or gravity not working in a specific room at all.
Flying throughout the entire maze are golden butterflies. They seem to fly with direction, and if you follow them, you might find them leading you to one of the people you were looking for..
two for tea
More baubles? [The boy similarly drawls] You know, it won't hurt you to keep some things more classically simple.
[Lucius will be the first to admit he's embraced the Victorian tendencies towards layers and fabrics with lovely patterns. He's resisted most of the trimmings, though, finding them impractical and an aesthetic step too far for someone who's studying ancient Greek and Roman architecture for the love of it.
And if the protest to adding more things has a double meaning - well, it's more than plausibly deniable.]
no subject
Do I really seem like a classically simple guy to you? I must not be putting enough things where they don't belong, of late.
[If the boy has ever wondered whether Break genuinely thinks it looks good to do things like combine polka dots with checks or if he is well aware of his own fashion sins and commits them completely on purpose, here is the answer.
The answer is yes. To both options. Break is well aware he commits fashion sins and he does it because he likes them.]
Well, I suppose it's to be expected, with how rotten things have been. How is one supposed to have energy for anything fun when the world keeps sending man-eating giant snakes after you and stealing your kids? [Break shrugs carelessly, grabs a teapot that happens to be meandering by, and proceeds to go rummaging around in it for -- baubles, evidently. After a moment's investigation, he pours a string of pearls out of the spout, letting them clink into a teacup.] It's fine. Miss Ange's looking after me now, so I'll be right as rain soon enough.
no subject
He's ready to ask about the man-eating giant snake when the second part of that sentence clamps his mouth shut. Stealing your kids. It's only Echo left, and Break has clearly never had the kind of connection to her he had with white Alice, or black Alice, or Oz, or Gilbert (though Gilbert was older). Lucius knows that white Alice is having a grand time in the sea, and so he knows black Alice must be now, too. But that probably doesn't make much of a difference to Break, who likely feels as if people keep slipping through his fingers. Why wouldn't he want to stay in a little world his "niece" made, if in her surely corrupted state Ange convinced him that no one could be harmed and no one could be lost? Who would ever want to leave paradise, a warm land of healing and beautiful greenery? This isn't Lucius's place. But he can't blame Break for making it his.
Lucius's skin itches, and he rubs at his arm with annoyance. On the backs of his hands, patches of skin are turning Coldblood-blue to match his fingernails.
He sits down in one of the chairs, bracing his feet against the table to rock it backwards onto two legs, carefully casual. There is still the matter of Ange. A paradise created by someone corrupted can only stay a paradise for so long before the people in it start falling apart.]
It seems like Ange is doing a lot of work. Especially if she's taking care of you and your supply of baubles.
no subject
[The dynamic between Break and Lucius is often one of heckling and sniping; the boy likes to be a snot, and Break likes to complain about it until he's blue in the face. This time, though, his comment on that has the same tone as an idle remark about the weather. It isn't followed by insults like "uncute brat" or "the young master too big for his breeches", nor does he come up with some weirdly creative threat and grumble that it would be what Lucius deserves for his impertinence. There is no wailing and gnashing of teeth about how terrible it is to be so thoroughly disrespected by a baby who has yet to sprout his first pimple, followed by dramatics most often seen on a Victorian woman headed for the nearest fainting couch.
Instead, there's only a dark, satisfied smile on Break's face. Like the cat who's gotten the canary, you might say. Someone's prized pet canary, and the cat knows he's going to get away with it. It's a wicked sort of winning.]
To serve someone worth serving has always been my greatest pride. Having been chosen for such after all this time is like coming home at last, you know? If I can please her enough to earn a real smile, that's all I really need.
no subject
"To serve someone worth serving," hmm? Lucius grows quiet for a bit, just rocking the chair back and forth.
"When that time comes, you must serve him, my son. He is a warrior and a true king. Be his wisdom. Be his sword."
When the time comes for the hero to leave paradise.
How meaningful is it to serve in paradise? How much does just making a person comfortable and happy mean, in the end? The point of serving he thinks, is to change things through it. To make possible for a worthy leader what they could not do on their own. That's why it's something you step up to, instead of being chosen for (that's a choice of words that bothers him, from someone as contrary as Break). Lucius wouldn't serve Artorius (if the man exists) just because of his bloodline, or even just because of his mother's words. He'd do it because a true king, however capable, still needs someone on the ground. Because protecting or fixing or building something means clawing it back from the miserable state of the world. Sure, Ange has built a beautiful place here, and she and Break and Ruby are probably protecting each other. But it's...carving out a pleasant stasis, not doing something.
The king doesn't need servants in Avalon, where he's surrounded by benevolent magic. He needs them in the muddy pit of the real world, where cleverness and a sharp blade can make a difference.]
I didn't think serving someone was that simple.
[He's careful to keep his tone thoughtful, distant. He doesn't want Break to think he's being attacked, not now.]
no subject
[If Lucius were to speak his thoughts aloud just now, Break would simply argue that what's happening now is exactly that -- there is no paradise to be had in Trench, unless Ange carves one directly into the center of it. Probably it's just as well that the boy is keeping that to himself, however. The argument as to whether abandoning the city for a pocket dimension as opposed to fixing Trench itself is the right choice is going poorly elsewhere in this world, and it will also go poorly with Break.
Half the reason he's here is because Trench keeps taking away the people he decided to bother living for. Sometimes, Break is able to convince himself to bother getting out of bed because he has to keep his little corner of the world ready for those people to come back, or others to arrive. Recently, however, Break is exhausted down to the bone, and the energy Ange has sent flowing through him is too much of a relief to fight against it.]
Anyway, there's still a great deal of work to be done. Miss Ange intends to expand this place, so that there will be room for everyone. I'm certain we can find something for you to do clever enough to keep you entertained.
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And derail Lucius's train of thought.]
Huh?
[Something for him to do? Here?]
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[Off in the corner, there’s the tell-tale rustling of one of the plant invaders. Break reaches into his hat, and his arm disappears all the way up to the shoulder as he fishes around. Momentarily, he comes up with another fork, and dispenses with the plant much the same way he did in Ruby’s video.
The hat, of course, is not big enough to accommodate his entire arm. Except that it does. Even if he isn't finished with its exterior yet, it's a perfectly wearable hat, and thus just fine to use for storage.]
Don't think I don't realize you've gone behind my back with the gambling. I admit I'm a little proud, but if you'd at least wait until you're big enough to flip people over in a bar fight, you'd give me a great deal less by way of heartburn.
no subject
I told you he'd know.
[Lucius starts to glare, then rolls his eyes instead.]
I can flip people over.
[Admittedly, it would be difficult in a bar fight, given the positioning and momentum necessary for someone his size up against adults. But it is at least firmly within the realm of the physically possible. And anyway, Break is complaining because he's Break and it's a chance to complain. Just like he's doing whatever it is with that hat because he's Break and it's an opportunity to be whimsical. (Why forks, though?)
Lucius tilts his head back and sighs, his expression growing distant.]
But why here? This is Ange's place.
no subject
[The bar is thus set from "within the realm of Lucius's precocious capabilities" to "nigh impossible". This is arguably unfair, but on the other hand, Break can keep up with the Remnant people and their bullshit powers and weapons just fine these days. When Lucius can beat him reliably -- Break does think of that as a when, not an if -- it's true, Break won't have to worry. He'll be able to wipe the floor with most of the ruffians worth messing with.
Not that it's going to matter.]
Anyway, in the end, this place will be extensive enough to accommodate the lot of us. Why wouldn't you be staying? You're part of my household.
no subject
He doesn't say anything in response, though, because the real issue here is the "invitation."
This is the thing about Askeladd, even Askeladd who has reclaimed his real name: he does not belong. It is not something he knows as a matter of conscious thought. It's a small but persistent flame deep inside of him, scorching parts of his heart. The feeling is hard to separate from the other things that burn (anger at the world, resentment over the way things are, the side of grief that is also fury), but that just makes it harder to extricate. And it burns more fiercely in Trench. Starting from a place different from everyone else is a part of it. But the worst is that he has memories now of a different version of himself who did belong, in the homeland he only knows from that other self.
But this Lucius is Askeladd, and Askeladd is Lucius. He will always be too much of one thing to fit in another.
The thought that arises from this instinct is that this still doesn't make sense. Maybe it's a sign of Break's own corruption, a way for him to prevent any "problems" before someone runs amok causing them. Maybe since Ange got the idea to create an...alternative household, Break is applying the same logic to anyone who lives in his house.]
Ange must be thinking of "the lot of us" pretty broadly. I barely know her.
no subject
She wouldn't deny me one of my kids.
[He doesn't even bother to look at Lucius as he says it, casual as can be. Certainly his relationship with the boy isn't as intimate as what he had with the Alices, or Gilbert. But what Lucius likely doesn't know is that Break's first interactions with Gilbert in particular weren't actually all that unlike their own initial meetings in Trench, in that Break's intention was that they would be allies.
Black Alice's declarations that friends are people who use one another did not actually come from within her own head. She learned it from watching Break keeping Oz at arm's length as best he could. And here, what could be seen as kindness on Break's part in letting some strange child into his home in this weird place was really more for his comfort than Lucius's. He hasn't ever forgotten that Lucius was one of those who helped Break find his feet when he washed up on the shore, beaten and blind and shaken and dead. And even if it weren't for that faint feeling of debt, the idea of very young kids running around trying to get by on their own around here bothers him intensely.
That was over a year and a half ago. And now, just as with all of Break's other kids, things have become much more personal in ways he does not care to think about very hard. In the throes of corruption, Break becomes possessive and even more overprotective than usual. Lucius lives in his house, under his care. Therefore, the boy is his.]
don't half-draft tags on your phone and then accidentally post after unlocking it kids
He would bristle and draw away if he thought Break meant to claim that he's a replacement - a father Lucius doesn't want, an adult who can take the place the mother he misses and worries over. But he's seen Break around plenty of other people by now, and it would take a deliberate misunderstanding to interpret the statement that way. Break is aware of the family ties of everyone around him - he joins in addition to, not instead of.
Of course, Lucius might normally bristle and pull away from the possessiveness regardless of intent. Would normally do so. But the idea of being wanted is a powerful thing, a warm glow touching his cold blue-tinged skin. Not picked out for his "potential" as another soldier for his father and Denmark. Not even being both wanted and needed - for all that it was memories of helping his mother through her illness that led Lucius to reach out to Break on that first day, Break had quickly recovered beyond requiring help. Just being a welcomed presence, in and of himself.
That's more or less what Break is saying, isn't it? That he's more comfortable with Lucius around than when he isn't. It's hard to say it's just a matter of not wanting children to run around unsupervised when it's paired with "my kids." The statement seems too offhand to be a product of Break's corruption - he says it like something already established and moved on from, not like he's trying to ensnare the boy.
Break is the only one of his close allies left. After a year and a half of people washing up and washing away, none of them people from Lucius's world, what's left is what he started with. But maybe that's not too bad.
(He is so terribly lonely.)
This is the thing about Lucius, even if he is Askeladd: he doesn't yet hate himself so much that he can reject all hope of one day being able to belong.
But he can't simply accept the idea either. And not in a dream world that's bound to collapse.
(I'm not-)
(I can't be-)
(This is pointless.)
Emrys has come to settle on his shoulder now, leaning against his head. About as close to comforting as a falcon can get. He reaches up, idly petting the omen's back. It helps him breathe again, makes him feel more grounded and less like the ground is spinning out from under him, leaving him in an unknown place. He can feel like that later, when he's not on a fact-finding mission and when Break's eye isn't glowing.]
She's pretty tired from making this, isn't she? I hope she's careful when she expands it.
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Now, entirely oblivious to the way he's just pulled the ground from beneath Lucius's feet, Break triumphantly pulls a candy tin out of his hat and pries it open. As he tosses one to the boy, his omen, deprived of his playmate, leaps up into the chair across the table and sits politely with his paws folded on the placemat. In this moment, Baltus and all his horrible teeth are the closest thing this party has to a Cheshire Cat.]
It's true, it's true. It's not exactly an easy thing to create a whole dimension! I tore a hole between two of them once back in my own world, and that took the last of what strength I had left.
[Because while we are casually dropping truth bombs directly on Lucius's head, why not also reveal out of the blue that Break was tampering with the threads of reality before he found himself in Trench with glittering blood!]
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In all honesty, another revelation as to the extent of weirdness and magic in the world Break comes from is a relief. This is the fact-finding he's here for, a matter of using the opportunity to ferret out more information rather than being confronted with emotions. It gives him time to figure out how he'll lie about those emotions instead (or, perhaps, approach them, but from a safe distance).
He is bad at relationships. But he is good at finding and leveraging information. He's good at lying, and at saving things for a time when they're more relevant. ]
Really? Then did you teach Ange how to do that, so she could come and make this?