[Open] Keep it locked up, keep it sealed tight

[droptheious]

Who: Varian and YOU!
What: Varian's final corrupted days, his beasthood turn and the aftermath. See his corruption/monster page HERE!
When: First 2 weeks of Jan- before the event.
Where: Around the city!

Content Warnings: Applicable content warnings go here. Mentions of death, corruption, dissociation.



Hope you've stocked up - Last days of corruption

Anyone who's close to Varian will have noticed his slow corruption growth over the last two months. By the time January rolls around, things have gotten worse instead of better. By now his skin is made of a thick, black rock. This same black rock has turned his teeth into sharp fangs and his nails into claws. two amber horns sprout out from his head, and his elbows and one remaining ankle have spurs of the same stuff- as is the tail he's since gotten, flicking nervously as he paces around- firey red eyes darting around furtively.

He'd largely been keeping himself out of sight, trying to handle this alone, but his hallucinations have driven him onwards. He stares at things seemingly only he can see. If he comes across you, he'll grip your arm tightly (sorry if those claws hurt, he's not even thinking about it). He points at an empty spot of nothing, worry on his face.

"Eugene!" you are definitely not Eugene, but it's clear that's who he's seeing right now. "We- we gotta deal with these rocks before they take over everything! There's...there's got to be a cavern around here somewhere so we can cut them off, right?"

It's a long night - Monsterdom (Gaze and surrounding area)

Regardless of how much or how little help he gets in his final days of corruption, eventually, Fern decides enough is enough and the best way to handle this is to Fistfight God. Which is to say, he goes off to confront The Tower about this and gets himself killed by Never Mind in the process. Varian got there too late, and being the driving reason behind his boyfriend dying again was the final nail in the coffin for him.

The transformation is quick and sharp, and what's left is a a ten-foot rock monster spewing fire everywhere. His leg is still missing in this form, at least, which should help anyone with a quick ID-check. Varian himself rages through the city, slamming against buildings and breathing fire at anyone foolish enough to come close. It's definitely attracting the attention of nearby hunters- so perhaps finding a way to talk him back down before there's another death today would be for the best?

Nothing good is meant to stay - Aftermath

Eventually, Varian lets his friends in, lets them talk him down and the best hood fades. Parts of corruption still cling to him- his skin is still an unhealthy grey colour and his nails aren't quite back to normal yet. He's also sitting in a ball on the floor- partly out of shock and partly because he can't go anywhere without his leg - if someone could fetch him that, that would be awesome.

Or perhaps you come to him in the days that follow. He mostly stays near the Disaster House in Cassandra, as he waits for Fern to come back to life. He can be found inside the house, or sometimes sitting on the front porch, people-watching. Though he's certainly not better yet, day by day the signs of corruption lessen. Any visitors will get a tired smile, he's still a little withdrawn, but he's getting there.

"H-hey, thanks for checking in," nothing has changed how awkward he is at least! "Um...how are you doing?"

Because obviously, you're here for him to check up on you. Obviously.


[[OOC: The monster battle is intended to be open to any CR who want to take part. No ONE character will be responsible for talking him down from monsterdom, it is intended to be a team effort- hammering home that Varian is able to rely on his support network. Feel free to make separate threads, team up with other players, thread hop, etc. Do what you like, and we can wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey it so it happened around the same time- to make it easier than players trying to keep to one concurrent thread! Go nuts! As always please hit me up on teeeff for anything! ]]

Comments

[grice]

[ falco cannot offer anything else but words now, but— it seems like he doesn’t need to. following princess tutu’s lead, he calls out now with not one dagger of fern’s plants in his hands, but two, in an inoffensive gesture, as if he’d like to show him from where he stood, and makes it a goal to get closer. the closer, the more he could see. there was no need to use the sharp ends. ]

I know it doesn’t feel like it when it hurts that much, [ because all you can really feel is how much it hurts— ] but you’re not alone. You never were— we’re all still right here.

[ even fern— a piece of him is in falco’s hands, and soon he’ll be in full again. ]

You have to come back to that.

[ there was nothing for him, where he was now, but there was so much waiting if he came back. ]

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz hadn't know that Falco had a bit of Fern with him, and really, what mattered was reaching Varian. She could see the difference in him: he seemed to be recoiling into himself, starting to slowly gain his reason, finding a way to come back after the depths of pain he must be in now, from forgetting to take care of himself to not being there when Fern died.

It was a lot, but luckily, Luz understood by now that she was a Paleblood. She could help him to ease back into his non-corruptive state. With everyone here too, that capability grew better. Even with corruption and blood being at stake, Luz could feel the bonds of all of them working, and she took a breath, concentrating on all the mingling power around her, the bonds that Doorway presented her with, to draw from.

No one blames you Varian. You struggled, and you're in pain now. We want to help you. Concentrate on us, remember that we're here to help you. We'll feel the pain with you. But come back to us. Please.

[prodigalhairess]

[It's like trying to talk to a skittish horse. No sudden moves, a soft, soothing voice... they're all on the same page here, and that helps even Rapunzel's jittering nerves. They can do it. He'll be okay.]

I know everything is scary right now. It hurts, and you don't know how things will be okay again. [There's... something to her voice. Not her magic, but a sense of understanding; if Varian's mind hasn't totally been taken over by the beast, he might know why Rapunzel understands. She's familiar with the loss of someone so cherished, the feeling of uncertainty closing in around you like a vice...] But you know, don't you? You know that things can be okay, even when everything looks dark.

[She holds her arms out, equal parts looking like she's asking for a hug and a gesture for him to get closer.]

Remember back home? Everything worked out there. Everything is okay in Corona. And it will be here, too.