Luca Paguro (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
schoolingfish) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
deercountry2021-12-05 10:54 pm
schoolingfish) wrote in deercountry2021-12-05 10:54 pm
Entry tags:
Luca catchall post - Fun vileblood issues!
Who: Luca Paguro and open!
What: Luca's memory flashback, as well as generally sneaking around the Disaster House/Town/getting caught in snares because he's a vileblood and there's two blood types hunting him this month
When: Throughout the month
Where: The Disaster House or anywhere in the Trench
Content Warnings: A thirteen year old boy getting hunted like an animal, both in his memory and in the 'present day' prompts
Luca's Memory β Trying to escape Ercole (OTA)
Whoever touches the Winter Mourning will find themselves witnessing a hunt. Maybe they'll see out of Luca's eyes, a passive observer forced to make the same choices he made, or maybe they'll take on the role of someone else in the setting. Alberto, perhaps, or one of the people trying to catch Luca. Maybe they'll even be able to do their own things, make their own choices.
Regardless, the memory starts with Luca and Alberto in sea monster form racing through the streets on a bike. They're terrified, desperate. Ercole has gotten in front of them, but the hill's too steep to try and turn back and go up. Besides, they need to get back to the water to be safe, and to do that, they need to pass Ercole. Luca stares in horror as he keeps pedaling forward, and Ercole lifts his spear, ready to throw.
"You should have left when I told you. Now...I'm going to kill some sea monsters!" Ercole says, and his cackles fill the alley as he balances on his bike, his spear raised in the air.
Then, just in time, Giulia, a red headed girl who had caught up on her own bike, rams her bike in to Ercole's own, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Luca and Alberto race past on their bike, but Luca glances back. Giulia bounces roughly on the cobblestones several time, rolling down the steep and rocky pathway.
"No!" Cries Luca.
"Giulia!" Alberto calls out to her.
Not willing to just leave her like that, not knowing if she's okay, Luca stops the bike and he and Alberto race over to her, helping her up. This was a mistake. They're surrounded now. Many of the townsfolk are just standing there, watching to see what happens next. Others seem more ready to participate in this hunt. Some have harpoons. Some have nets. They whisper.
"Look at that," says one villager.
"You're not going anywhere," says another.
Ercole, however, is quick to call dibs. "Guys! I saw them first! The reward is mine!"
Luca tries to be brave. "We're not afraid of you!"
"No," responds Ercole, "But we're afraid of you. Everyone is horrified and disgusted by you, because you are monsters."
The memory may end here. Or it may continue on for a few more seconds, so the viewer sees Giulia saying that they aren't monsters, and Massimo coming out of the crowd to tell them that the boys are Luca and Alberto. Either way, the memory wraps up soon unless the viewer is an active participant and was able to make a different choice in the course of events.
The Disaster House β Open to anyone who would be at/around the Disaster House
Luca's skittish. He's been hunted before, he knows the feeling. He knows the mortal terror, the constant hiding, the fear of discovery. The worst part is, this month even people he loved and trusted seem to be turning on him. Nowhere is safe. But this house...it's still home.
He sticks to the shadows, staying out of sight, easily startled if anyone spots him. Still, there are times he lets his guard down. Enamored with all the pretty antler decorations around the house, Luca decides to make his own. He takes a couple of antlers he's found tying them up with ribbons and decorating them with little twigs and springs from the greenhouse. At one point he even starts having enough fun with his crafting to relax enough to hum a little tune, enjoying himself as he pretties up the antlers, holding them up to see how they're coming.
Other times he can be found grabbing things from the greenhouse or the kitchen to eat. He doesn't know how to cook, though, and this month...this month he's too scared to find someone around the house to help him, so he might just start eating raw ingredients as is just to avoid coming out of hiding.
Out And About β OTA
But of course, living in a household with all bloodtypes can be quite stressful to a young boy during a season where he's doomed to be hunted by two of them, so he ends up spending quite a bit of time away from the house this month. Of course, he heeds the warnings he's been given about cold weather and bundles up. A dark grey wool coat, gloves, boots, a hat...dressed up as well as he can be as he heads out into the harsh winter.
Still, as unused as he is to this sort of winter weather, Luca does stop to marvel at the snow. It really is pretty, and he never imagined it looking quite like that. He stomps it down to crunch it, squeezes it in his hands, experimenting and examining it, fascinated...until he hears anyone else coming by.
Like a prey animal, he's likely to hurry off to cower in the nearest hiding spot, before staring in horror at the obvious tracks he's left in the snow.
Trapped β OTA
Luca is trying to be careful, staying out of sight, avoiding other people and obvious traps. Not all traps are obvious, though, and there are so many this month that he's bound to get caught at some point.
He panics when he feels the snare tighten around his leg, pulling him up. He struggles, and he wants to scream, but he doesn't dare to. He's helpless now in a place filled with people who want to hunt him. If he wrong person comes...he has no hope of survival. They'll just slaughter him right there. He has to get himself down.
He can't get himself down, he soon realizes. He can't get up to his leg. He can't do anything here. Tears well up in his eyes, and he wants to cry, but he's too terrified to be anything but silent. He'll die if anyone sees him...and he'll likely die here if they don't.
What: Luca's memory flashback, as well as generally sneaking around the Disaster House/Town/getting caught in snares because he's a vileblood and there's two blood types hunting him this month
When: Throughout the month
Where: The Disaster House or anywhere in the Trench
Content Warnings: A thirteen year old boy getting hunted like an animal, both in his memory and in the 'present day' prompts
Luca's Memory β Trying to escape Ercole (OTA)
Whoever touches the Winter Mourning will find themselves witnessing a hunt. Maybe they'll see out of Luca's eyes, a passive observer forced to make the same choices he made, or maybe they'll take on the role of someone else in the setting. Alberto, perhaps, or one of the people trying to catch Luca. Maybe they'll even be able to do their own things, make their own choices.
Regardless, the memory starts with Luca and Alberto in sea monster form racing through the streets on a bike. They're terrified, desperate. Ercole has gotten in front of them, but the hill's too steep to try and turn back and go up. Besides, they need to get back to the water to be safe, and to do that, they need to pass Ercole. Luca stares in horror as he keeps pedaling forward, and Ercole lifts his spear, ready to throw.
"You should have left when I told you. Now...I'm going to kill some sea monsters!" Ercole says, and his cackles fill the alley as he balances on his bike, his spear raised in the air.
Then, just in time, Giulia, a red headed girl who had caught up on her own bike, rams her bike in to Ercole's own, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Luca and Alberto race past on their bike, but Luca glances back. Giulia bounces roughly on the cobblestones several time, rolling down the steep and rocky pathway.
"No!" Cries Luca.
"Giulia!" Alberto calls out to her.
Not willing to just leave her like that, not knowing if she's okay, Luca stops the bike and he and Alberto race over to her, helping her up. This was a mistake. They're surrounded now. Many of the townsfolk are just standing there, watching to see what happens next. Others seem more ready to participate in this hunt. Some have harpoons. Some have nets. They whisper.
"Look at that," says one villager.
"You're not going anywhere," says another.
Ercole, however, is quick to call dibs. "Guys! I saw them first! The reward is mine!"
Luca tries to be brave. "We're not afraid of you!"
"No," responds Ercole, "But we're afraid of you. Everyone is horrified and disgusted by you, because you are monsters."
The memory may end here. Or it may continue on for a few more seconds, so the viewer sees Giulia saying that they aren't monsters, and Massimo coming out of the crowd to tell them that the boys are Luca and Alberto. Either way, the memory wraps up soon unless the viewer is an active participant and was able to make a different choice in the course of events.
The Disaster House β Open to anyone who would be at/around the Disaster House
Luca's skittish. He's been hunted before, he knows the feeling. He knows the mortal terror, the constant hiding, the fear of discovery. The worst part is, this month even people he loved and trusted seem to be turning on him. Nowhere is safe. But this house...it's still home.
He sticks to the shadows, staying out of sight, easily startled if anyone spots him. Still, there are times he lets his guard down. Enamored with all the pretty antler decorations around the house, Luca decides to make his own. He takes a couple of antlers he's found tying them up with ribbons and decorating them with little twigs and springs from the greenhouse. At one point he even starts having enough fun with his crafting to relax enough to hum a little tune, enjoying himself as he pretties up the antlers, holding them up to see how they're coming.
Other times he can be found grabbing things from the greenhouse or the kitchen to eat. He doesn't know how to cook, though, and this month...this month he's too scared to find someone around the house to help him, so he might just start eating raw ingredients as is just to avoid coming out of hiding.
Out And About β OTA
But of course, living in a household with all bloodtypes can be quite stressful to a young boy during a season where he's doomed to be hunted by two of them, so he ends up spending quite a bit of time away from the house this month. Of course, he heeds the warnings he's been given about cold weather and bundles up. A dark grey wool coat, gloves, boots, a hat...dressed up as well as he can be as he heads out into the harsh winter.
Still, as unused as he is to this sort of winter weather, Luca does stop to marvel at the snow. It really is pretty, and he never imagined it looking quite like that. He stomps it down to crunch it, squeezes it in his hands, experimenting and examining it, fascinated...until he hears anyone else coming by.
Like a prey animal, he's likely to hurry off to cower in the nearest hiding spot, before staring in horror at the obvious tracks he's left in the snow.
Trapped β OTA
Luca is trying to be careful, staying out of sight, avoiding other people and obvious traps. Not all traps are obvious, though, and there are so many this month that he's bound to get caught at some point.
He panics when he feels the snare tighten around his leg, pulling him up. He struggles, and he wants to scream, but he doesn't dare to. He's helpless now in a place filled with people who want to hunt him. If he wrong person comes...he has no hope of survival. They'll just slaughter him right there. He has to get himself down.
He can't get himself down, he soon realizes. He can't get up to his leg. He can't do anything here. Tears well up in his eyes, and he wants to cry, but he's too terrified to be anything but silent. He'll die if anyone sees him...and he'll likely die here if they don't.
Memory Times
(She's seen scales like that before, she realisesβ)
Though she's trapped in someone else's body, Rose feels a horror blossoming as some of the people lift their weapons, as the energy of the crowd ripples, some of it fearful, others... angry.
And she recognises the voice of one of the creatures; she doesn't need to be told who that is. It's Luca. Rose watches, helpless as the older-looking boy, Ercole, speaks. 'βbut we're afraid of you. Everyone is horrified and disgusted by you, because you are monsters.'
She hears the word whispered through the crowd around her, monster, monster and sometimes, more specifically... sea monster. Like it's a word they all know, some taboo, frightening thing.
That's when the memory ends, and she's left trembling in the living room of her home, where she's holding her Winter Mourning.
Rose blinks, open-mouthed and stunned for only a few short moments, before she's scrabbling immediately to her feet, grabbing her coat. She knows where Luca lives; in her searches for her daughter, she was told about a few houses where young folks have congregated together, and she means to go find him now.
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The only difference he sees was that for the little girl, the people who wanted to help her came too late, but for him and Alberto, Massimo came just in time. If he hadn't, Luca and Alberto would have been hurt horribly or even have been killed as well. He might not know this little girl, but he hears the name. Rose. He knows whose memory this is.
This is all a lot to take in, so Luca heads out, wanting to walk and get some fresh air, and starts heading to the beach. Even though it's too cold to swim, he always prefers the beach. He doesn't get anywhere near it before he steps in another snare trap.
He's still scared, just like he was the previous times, though now he's quite a bit annoyed as well. This is getting frustrating. He struggles and kicks and swings back and forth, trying to get himself down, but isn't really making any progress.
"Oh, come on!"
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"...Luca?"
There indeed is the boy whose memory she just witnessed, and he's... trapped. Something's caught him. Immediately she thinks of what she'd seen, and Rose is looking quickly around as though expecting someone to come for him any moment. Because of what he is. (Sea monster, her mind repeats the term, over and over.)
"Luca! Hold on, I'll help you!" Rose rushes to the boy, pulling a knife out of her boot where it's kept safely tucked. She's learned to carry those around, and she gets to work cutting the line of the trap, as fast as she can.
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Which is probably foolish on his part, since he's already picked up on the fact that there are traps around, but it can be difficult to keep his guard up all the time. He watches as she cuts through the line, glad he'll be free soon, but bracing himself for a fall once she cuts all the way through.
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She's aware of the threat of him falling down once he's freed, so she drops the knife when she feels the line about to snap, both hands grasping onto the line to support his weight.
"I'm going to slowly let you down!" And she tries her hardest, teeth grit as she slowly lets the line go from her palms, bit by bit. It means he'll lower to the ground instead of drop onto it, and it's only when Luca's an inch or two away that she'll finally let go. It's with a sharp gasp, her palms cut through and bleeding a little, and she's wincing down at them before she realises something. Remembers his reaction to blood before....and what she'd just witnessed from his memory not long ago at all.
"I'm sorry... I'm bleeding a little. Are you... okay?" She's not afraid of him, but afraid for him, watching the boy carefully as though worried he might start changing.
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That's when he notices a drop of blood hit the ground near him. Like a shark, despite it only being a little blood, his nostrils flare, trying to take in the scent. This time, however, he's able to control it. Climbing to his feet, Luca tries to hide that there was even that temporary reaction.
"Yeah. I'm fine. It's a lot less blood this time than there was before."
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Even so, Rose is quickly reaching into her bag to pull out some cloth, pressing it into her palms. She has many things in her Mom Bag; she is prepared. Thankfully, the cuts aren't bad and they should stop bleeding soon.
"It's so dangerous out here.... all these traps." Rose winces, looking down at the thing with a mix of disgust and horror. "I'm glad I found you.... Are you sure you're okay?"
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He can resist it. Now, if fish or potential prey was bleeding, even with that small amount, he might be tempted to give in to his vileblood urges, but right now he's able to keep a handle on things.
"I'm...kind of glad I ran into you, though. Even if I would rather not get caught in a trap like that. I...saw a memory. I think it was yours. It was about a little girl."
A little girl whose background was remarkably like his own, even while being distinctly different in some ways.
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But then Rose finds herself visibly started by what Luca says next, eyes widening. "A little girl...?"
She fishes her locket out from her shirt, opening the clasp to reveal a photo of her daughter Sharon, showing it to him. Could it be that the memory share was a mutual thing....?
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Which makes sense, considering it's her memory he was seeing.
"She...seemed to be in the same kind of trouble I was in back home. Only a whole lot worse. Or...maybe it just seemed worse because the person who came to save me showed up before I got hurt, and the people who showed up to save her..."
Well, they didn't show up in time. He feels terribly for the girl, and wishes he had some way to comfort her because he knows exactly how it feels to have townsfolk wanting to hurt him just because he's different.
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Just how much had he seen? The thought is a stab right through the core of her, and Rose slowly closes the locket, lets it slip from her fingers. What happened to that little girl is something that no child should witness.
"You sawβ" A quiet gasp cuts off her own words. For a horrible moment, Rose doesn't know what to say or what to do. She doesn't want to directly ask, doesn't want him to have to think about it any more than he clearly already has.
"...I sawβ I saw something, too. Of your.. past, I think. People trying to hurt you." Rose swallows, brow furrowing. When she asks, it's softly: not afraid, but as gentle as she can, trying to stave down the lump in her throat.
"....You're not human, are you, Luca?"
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He shakes his head. "No. I'm not. And...I think the reason they wanted to hurt me is the same reason they hurt that little girl. Because they think I'm a monster."
He hesitates, nervous, then decides to ask something just to be sure.
"You don't think that, though, do you?"
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Rose's eyes widen, a little glossy as the severity of it hits her. He's right, and she doesn't want him to be right about something so horrible as that. What people can do to a child in the name of fear... to call a child a "monster" at all is such a horrific thing.
But his question is what really hurts her, and the woman's immediately shaking her head, leaning down closer to him.
"I don't think you're a monster at all. I know you're not." Her voice trembles with emotion as she continues. "I'm so sorry those people tried to hurt you. You're right, the same thing happened to my daughter, just because she was... different, in their eyes. They were afraid of her. But I'm not, and I'm not afraid of you, either."
She gently reaches out a hand to cup the boy's cheek, affectionately, reflecting back on what she'd seen in that memory. His gills and scales.
"You come from the ocean...?"
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The sleeper farm. She'd seen him when he was skittering away from a corpse, covered in blood, freaking out because he'd been feeding, and far more terrifying than he'd ever been as just a sea monster. She'd seen how he looks when he's just a full sea monster. She'd seen everything that might make her think he was a monster, and she still didn't.
"I hope you find your daughter. I think I'd like to meet her."
He looks up at her when she cups his cheek.
"Yeah, I'm from the ocean. We're just another type of sea creature that most humans don't know much about, so when they see us they get scared."
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People like the cultists, and the shouting crowds in Luca's world ready to hurt a child? That's what a real monster is, and it looks very human. She's adamant about believing that. And she wants to help him with what's been happening to him here, even if she's not sure how β but she's been meeting people, talking to them, learning. She'll learn more about what this place does to people, try to find information to help Luca, and others, through it.
"I think she'd like to meet you too, hear about your world. I bet it's beautiful, living in the ocean." She smiles at that, at the thought of Sharon meeting Luca, and all of the young people she's been trying to help here.
"Can you... look like a human whenever you want to? Is that something you choose to do here?"
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He knows she's right, but it still helps to be reminded of that. It also helps to be reminded that at least the people here didn't see him as a monster.
"I mean the ocean is...nice, I guess, but land is pretty beautiful, too. You can see so far, with no murkiness at all, and there's the sky and the clouds and the trees."
From Luca's perspective, land has a lot more novelty, so it's a lot easier for him to notice all the ways it's beautiful. It doesn't hurt that the first land he saw was on the Italian Riviera, though.
"I don't have a lot of control over it, actually. Whenever I'm dry I turn human, whenever I'm wet I turn back."
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"That's really amazing, actually. That you can do such a thing. I wish I could. ...Actually, I bet a lot of people would like that. You're really special, Luca."
If people could learn not to fear something that's "different".... they could see how special it really is. Like her daughter, and like Alessa had been.
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He'd certainly know that, too, considering it was the rain that had him racing through the streets to escape Ercole's harpoons.
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"Are you able to be more free, here in Trench? Or is it something you're still trying to hide?" She's not sure, but it's certainly something she wants to know more about and help him with, if she can.
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