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deercountry2021-09-08 06:20 pm
reddosmod) wrote in deercountry2021-09-08 06:20 pm
Entry tags:
- *event,
- abby anderson: c,
- albert wesker: ref,
- albus dumbledore: catharine,
- amos burton: trace,
- anakin skywalker: michele,
- anduin llane wrynn: jack,
- ange ushiromiya: jelle,
- anna amarande: celene,
- ariadne: wizera,
- arthur: adri,
- atsushi nakajima: berri,
- bella swan: cee,
- castiel (au): frog,
- charlie kelly: ashlee,
- childe: bean,
- clarisse la rue: lor,
- darth maul: shade,
- dean winchester (au): cat,
- delilah dirk: c,
- diarmuid: ashlee,
- diluc ragnvindr: samuel,
- eames (au): frank,
- eurydice: floral,
- faolan: teresa,
- fern: pan,
- flynn fairwind: teresa,
- flynn scifo: jordan,
- goro akechi: kei,
- hunk garrett: lexie,
- huntress: catharine,
- jezebel disraeli : catharine,
- john constantine: dmitri,
- kd6-3.7: moz,
- korra: c,
- kyle broflovski: emma,
- lance: charley,
- lev: ru,
- levi ackerman: carmine,
- loki laufeyson: lauren,
- luca: robin,
- lucille sharpe: clari,
- luna lovegood: cheryl,
- luz noceda: pedro,
- lysithea: wighty,
- makoto kino: mesi,
- manabu yuuki: elle,
- melius senyan: red,
- michael: lu,
- mike wheeler: giz,
- minako aino: fay,
- nancy wheeler: clari,
- neopolitan: latroma,
- obi-wan kenobi: timmy,
- orpheus: qv,
- oz vessalius: berri,
- peter graham: jhey,
- peter parker: ashlee,
- qrow branwen: batty,
- raleigh becket: andi,
- reaper: vette,
- rei hino: ax,
- richie tozier: effy,
- ruby rose: josh,
- sam winchester (au): ashlee,
- samatoki aohitsugi: carmine,
- savage opress: vette,
- scorpia: gore,
- soldier blue: elle,
- stefan salvatore: trace,
- takashi "shiro" shirogane: red,
- the emperor: rona,
- varian: tf,
- vira-lorr: latroma,
- vyng vang zoombah: jansen,
- wanda maximoff: jade,
- wei wuxian: tohma,
- will byers: cee,
- willow rosenberg: lucy,
- winter schnee: mesi,
- wu: mads,
- yuri lowell: mads,
- zari tarazi: lauren
All men must die, but first he must live.
SEPTEMBER 2021 EVENT
IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: Woman holding skull in bag. ]
[Image Two: Plants sprouting out of earth.]
Prompt Two
[Image One: Woman rocking back and forth in dark.]
[Image Two: Woman rowing down river with corpses on stakes on horizon.]
Prompt Three
[Image One: Beef cake man breaking arrows off of shield with a sword.]
[Image Two: Beefy man slamming axe into troll-like creature, spraying blood.]
GROWING PAINS
RIVER OF REGRET
BLOODSPORT
CODINGPrompt One
[Image One: Woman holding skull in bag. ]
[Image Two: Plants sprouting out of earth.]
Prompt Two
[Image One: Woman rocking back and forth in dark.]
[Image Two: Woman rowing down river with corpses on stakes on horizon.]
Prompt Three
[Image One: Beef cake man breaking arrows off of shield with a sword.]
[Image Two: Beefy man slamming axe into troll-like creature, spraying blood.]
WHEN: September
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Minor blood ritual.
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Minor blood ritual.
September, for many in Trench, is considered a month of personal sacrifice. It is the month of self-actualization and promise. To grow your future, you must first be willing to sacrifice your past. You cannot walk forwards while walking backward. All throughout Trench, natives can be seen in yards and on plots of land digging small holes and planting a variety of items. Some plant seeds, some drop in a ring, others bury small parts of a body. But the ritual is simple: bury something that represents your past and seal it with a promise for your future.
You can write yourself a note or cut off a lock of your own hair. The ways in which people do this are limitless since it's a largely personal experience. Find a small patch of soil and dig yourself a shallow hole. Bury the item inside, say goodbye to who you used to be, and cover the item up with dirt. Once you are done, you must shed at least one drop of blood onto the sacrifice. It must be your own blood willingly given. Once the blood hits the soil, a small flower will miraculously grow out of the earth within seconds.
A single, powerless flower, but this flower will be completely immortal. You can either keep it on the patch of land or dig it up and bring it home. The flower will be a representation of your progress in Trench: if its petals wilt, you are lingering too much in the past. If it is in full bloom and vibrant, you're on the right path to a better future. If the flower starts to rot, you're heading down a dangerous path.
The flower may not be able to sway you one way or another, but it may serve as a valuable reminder of the kind of life you wish to lead. Some people abandon the flowers entirely and never bother with them. After all, there are no real consequences if you let the flower rot. If a character is dropped, their flower will fleck away like dust. Many believe that the flowers are made of the same stuff omens are made of.
You can dig up other people's flowers and watch their progress (make sure to get player permission) instead. After all, not everyone will care enough about their own flowers to really observe them closely. The flowers can come in any species or size, even fictional flowers, but they will only be replicas. Meaning if your character's flower is typically used for healing, there will be no healing properties in this replica. The flowers cannot be destroyed.
Many natives in Trench will repeat this ritual a few times every couple of years since the ritual is for letting go of the past. After all, the promises you make to yourself now won't be the same promises you make to yourself ten years from now. People change and so too will their flowers. What the characters bury is largely open to interpretation.
You can write yourself a note or cut off a lock of your own hair. The ways in which people do this are limitless since it's a largely personal experience. Find a small patch of soil and dig yourself a shallow hole. Bury the item inside, say goodbye to who you used to be, and cover the item up with dirt. Once you are done, you must shed at least one drop of blood onto the sacrifice. It must be your own blood willingly given. Once the blood hits the soil, a small flower will miraculously grow out of the earth within seconds.
A single, powerless flower, but this flower will be completely immortal. You can either keep it on the patch of land or dig it up and bring it home. The flower will be a representation of your progress in Trench: if its petals wilt, you are lingering too much in the past. If it is in full bloom and vibrant, you're on the right path to a better future. If the flower starts to rot, you're heading down a dangerous path.
The flower may not be able to sway you one way or another, but it may serve as a valuable reminder of the kind of life you wish to lead. Some people abandon the flowers entirely and never bother with them. After all, there are no real consequences if you let the flower rot. If a character is dropped, their flower will fleck away like dust. Many believe that the flowers are made of the same stuff omens are made of.
You can dig up other people's flowers and watch their progress (make sure to get player permission) instead. After all, not everyone will care enough about their own flowers to really observe them closely. The flowers can come in any species or size, even fictional flowers, but they will only be replicas. Meaning if your character's flower is typically used for healing, there will be no healing properties in this replica. The flowers cannot be destroyed.
Many natives in Trench will repeat this ritual a few times every couple of years since the ritual is for letting go of the past. After all, the promises you make to yourself now won't be the same promises you make to yourself ten years from now. People change and so too will their flowers. What the characters bury is largely open to interpretation.
WHEN: September
WHERE: Some obscure location within Gaze
CONTENT WARNINGS: Mangled corpses of loved ones, birds eating corpses, themes of regret.
WHERE: Some obscure location within Gaze
CONTENT WARNINGS: Mangled corpses of loved ones, birds eating corpses, themes of regret.
You will find raven feathers all over Trench. They may drift through the air, lightly touch you, or you might decide to pick one up. The moment you come into physical contact with a feather, a conspiracy of ravens tears through the air and scoops you up into a whirlwind of feathers and caws. It only lasts a few seconds before you're deposited into a canoe drifting along a still river. Another Sleeper is in the boat with you. You pass beneath massive stone walls carved into the likeness of Never Mind and his ravens.
The world is silent around you. There is no rain here. Instead, sunlight pours through breaks in the clouds. Sunlight dapples across the water and golden-red leaves of nearby trees. It's more serene than most places in Trench.
You turn a corner and smell it before you see it. The picturesque summer day is dampened by the stench of rot. Then you come upon them: corpses. Corpses tied up to posts with barbed wire, corpses put through spikes and suspended in the air. Ravens flutter to and fro, picking at strips of meat. It isn't until you're close enough that you realize you recognize the corpses.
They are the corpses of people you have hurt. And that doesn't just mean people you killed or physically harmed. These are the bodies of people you have deep regrets towards: a lover you wronged, a best friend you lied to, an enemy you wish you had forgiven. Not everything is as black and white as murder, after all, and this grisly graveyard of mangled bodies says as much. Sometimes our regrets haunt us like the dead, and it seems like yours have followed you to Trench. You might even see your own body up on a post or the body of your canoe companions.
You have one of two choices: ignore your regret or face it.
Choosing to ignore your regrets doesn't seem to have any ill consequences at first. You pass by the corpses and continue on your river voyage. But the water grows thicker, and you come across the same corpses only in a worse state. The situation gets progressively worse each time you ignore it, and the river gradually becomes a river of blood and gore. The stench becomes insufferable and you will become increasingly corrupt. Some may even turn into beasts right there on the river.
Facing your regrets means talking about them, even mildly, to your canoe companions. You simply need to acknowledge the corpses, acknowledge the slightest truth to your feelings towards those regrets. When everyone in your canoe has acknowledged their regrets, the ravens will come for you once more. You will be brought back to Trench and awaken in the School of Mutter. Those who faced their regrets will discover that they have been gifted a white gold compass. The compass's needle will always point in the direction of the nearest Lamp Friend no matter the chaos going on in the world. But the compass only works once you have calmed down and focused.
QUICK FACTS
1. Each boat can hold up to 4 people. There can be multiple canoes in the same area.
2. If you try to leave the boat, you will drown in the River of Regret.
3. This does not have to encompass every regret someone's had. It can only represent one or two things. The regret should have to do with another individual or one's self. Something like "I regret not going to college" wouldn't necessarily work within the parameters of the prompt.
4. The river can only be accessed by touching a fallen raven feather. Touching a raven feather attached to the bird or a quill does not count.
5. Characters can engage with this prompt as many times as they touch a raven feather.
6. Characters with no regrets will not see corpses, but they will still be able to interact with characters who do have regrets.
The world is silent around you. There is no rain here. Instead, sunlight pours through breaks in the clouds. Sunlight dapples across the water and golden-red leaves of nearby trees. It's more serene than most places in Trench.
You turn a corner and smell it before you see it. The picturesque summer day is dampened by the stench of rot. Then you come upon them: corpses. Corpses tied up to posts with barbed wire, corpses put through spikes and suspended in the air. Ravens flutter to and fro, picking at strips of meat. It isn't until you're close enough that you realize you recognize the corpses.
They are the corpses of people you have hurt. And that doesn't just mean people you killed or physically harmed. These are the bodies of people you have deep regrets towards: a lover you wronged, a best friend you lied to, an enemy you wish you had forgiven. Not everything is as black and white as murder, after all, and this grisly graveyard of mangled bodies says as much. Sometimes our regrets haunt us like the dead, and it seems like yours have followed you to Trench. You might even see your own body up on a post or the body of your canoe companions.
Choosing to ignore your regrets doesn't seem to have any ill consequences at first. You pass by the corpses and continue on your river voyage. But the water grows thicker, and you come across the same corpses only in a worse state. The situation gets progressively worse each time you ignore it, and the river gradually becomes a river of blood and gore. The stench becomes insufferable and you will become increasingly corrupt. Some may even turn into beasts right there on the river.
Facing your regrets means talking about them, even mildly, to your canoe companions. You simply need to acknowledge the corpses, acknowledge the slightest truth to your feelings towards those regrets. When everyone in your canoe has acknowledged their regrets, the ravens will come for you once more. You will be brought back to Trench and awaken in the School of Mutter. Those who faced their regrets will discover that they have been gifted a white gold compass. The compass's needle will always point in the direction of the nearest Lamp Friend no matter the chaos going on in the world. But the compass only works once you have calmed down and focused.
QUICK FACTS
1. Each boat can hold up to 4 people. There can be multiple canoes in the same area.
2. If you try to leave the boat, you will drown in the River of Regret.
3. This does not have to encompass every regret someone's had. It can only represent one or two things. The regret should have to do with another individual or one's self. Something like "I regret not going to college" wouldn't necessarily work within the parameters of the prompt.
4. The river can only be accessed by touching a fallen raven feather. Touching a raven feather attached to the bird or a quill does not count.
5. Characters can engage with this prompt as many times as they touch a raven feather.
6. Characters with no regrets will not see corpses, but they will still be able to interact with characters who do have regrets.
WHEN: During the Blood Moon
WHERE: Everywhere but specifically, The Gate
CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, fighting, forced aggression/violence, forced fighting.
WHERE: Everywhere but specifically, The Gate
CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, fighting, forced aggression/violence, forced fighting.
The Blood Moon invokes religious reverence among Trenchies. September and October are the ultimate months of sacrifice to pay tribute to the gods and the blood that rules this world. An energy begins to swell among Trenchies and you keep hearing the same word whispered excitedly around the city: "Bloodsport."
As the Blood Moon floods the streets in red, you begin to feel antsy, like you don't know what to do with yourself. You're not necessarily angry, you just have an abundance of energy. You don't need to be told what it is: your blood is reacting to the moon. The Blood Moon enhances blood powers significantly and you're simply not used to that yet. You don't feel in control of your own power or maybe even your own mind. At least until you exert some power, some force. Slam a door shut or swing a sword, shoot some electricity or spit some poison and you'll feel at peace with yourself. That nervous energy will ease out.
Only to come back twice as strong. It starts to put you in a real fighting mood and you start to realize why the locals call this Bloodsport. Hunting down beasts and monsters might seem like the fun thing to do right now, but the real attraction for Bloodsport takes place at The Gate. You can hear the roaring crowd blocks away. Hundreds of Trenchies have settled in to watch Sleepers duke it out with each other or with locked-up monsters. Maybe join in the fight. At least you know the other Sleepers there want to be there...Right?
Unfortunately not. Those who resist Bloodsport will find themselves passing out more and more frequently. Eventually, they will be taken by Mysterious Forces to The Gate to be pitted against other Sleepers and monsters. Some Sleepers will be forced into a gladiator-style fight that they either must win or die trying. Most fights at the Gate do end in death, but there are some circumstances where someone surrenders. Of course, that never stops their opponent from killing them anyway...Hopefully, you're fighting someone who is still relatively reasonable. Both parties can be resistant to fighting, but they will feel obligated to fight each other. If they don't, monsters will be unleashed into the arena and your situation will get a whole lot worse.
Bloodsport can greatly enhance a Sleeper's ability and many believe it is a gift from the Pthumerian gods. It is generally considered an advantage to Sleepers during the Season of Blood to prepare them and train them to hone their skills for the Season of Bone. Many believe it is wisest to submit to Bloodsport and let yourself get used to the motions of violence in order to survive the remainder of the year.
QUICK FACTS
1. Casual physical training will alleviate Bloodsport feelings. You could get through the month just by jogging around a lot.
2. Characters forced to the Gate will not remember how or when they arrived - they will just wake up and be thrown into the Gate by some shadowy force.
3. Characters who willingly participate in violence/fighting will feel temporary relief from Bloodsport only for the feeling to increase.
4. Effects of Bloodsport last as long as the Blood Moon shines through September and October.
5. You can treat symptoms of Bloodsport with calming techniques such as aromatherapy, meditation, medications, etc. Can be based on what would ICly help calm your character but it should require a lot of it.
6. You can invent the monsters/beasts that are at the Gate. They should be killable creatures and easily captured for the purpose of the Gate.
As the Blood Moon floods the streets in red, you begin to feel antsy, like you don't know what to do with yourself. You're not necessarily angry, you just have an abundance of energy. You don't need to be told what it is: your blood is reacting to the moon. The Blood Moon enhances blood powers significantly and you're simply not used to that yet. You don't feel in control of your own power or maybe even your own mind. At least until you exert some power, some force. Slam a door shut or swing a sword, shoot some electricity or spit some poison and you'll feel at peace with yourself. That nervous energy will ease out.
Only to come back twice as strong. It starts to put you in a real fighting mood and you start to realize why the locals call this Bloodsport. Hunting down beasts and monsters might seem like the fun thing to do right now, but the real attraction for Bloodsport takes place at The Gate. You can hear the roaring crowd blocks away. Hundreds of Trenchies have settled in to watch Sleepers duke it out with each other or with locked-up monsters. Maybe join in the fight. At least you know the other Sleepers there want to be there...Right?
Unfortunately not. Those who resist Bloodsport will find themselves passing out more and more frequently. Eventually, they will be taken by Mysterious Forces to The Gate to be pitted against other Sleepers and monsters. Some Sleepers will be forced into a gladiator-style fight that they either must win or die trying. Most fights at the Gate do end in death, but there are some circumstances where someone surrenders. Of course, that never stops their opponent from killing them anyway...Hopefully, you're fighting someone who is still relatively reasonable. Both parties can be resistant to fighting, but they will feel obligated to fight each other. If they don't, monsters will be unleashed into the arena and your situation will get a whole lot worse.
Bloodsport can greatly enhance a Sleeper's ability and many believe it is a gift from the Pthumerian gods. It is generally considered an advantage to Sleepers during the Season of Blood to prepare them and train them to hone their skills for the Season of Bone. Many believe it is wisest to submit to Bloodsport and let yourself get used to the motions of violence in order to survive the remainder of the year.
QUICK FACTS
1. Casual physical training will alleviate Bloodsport feelings. You could get through the month just by jogging around a lot.
2. Characters forced to the Gate will not remember how or when they arrived - they will just wake up and be thrown into the Gate by some shadowy force.
3. Characters who willingly participate in violence/fighting will feel temporary relief from Bloodsport only for the feeling to increase.
4. Effects of Bloodsport last as long as the Blood Moon shines through September and October.
5. You can treat symptoms of Bloodsport with calming techniques such as aromatherapy, meditation, medications, etc. Can be based on what would ICly help calm your character but it should require a lot of it.
6. You can invent the monsters/beasts that are at the Gate. They should be killable creatures and easily captured for the purpose of the Gate.
no subject
[ Why is he seeing that? Why is he seeing himself, up there, as a child? Objectively, it was one of the worst times of his life. He was alone and lonely, the only child in a massive palace with only servants, courtiers, and his aunt. ]
No, not really. Riches can only give you so much.
[ He's reminded of a conversation he had with Maul very similar to this one. Money gives you power, and power isn't what he wants, not at all. ]
I, I don't know why I'm seeing myself at that age. It wasn't a pleasant time in my life, ah...
[ He turns to the other man, nodding slowly, even if he wants to shy back at the tone, he doesn't. ]
Did you? Fail him?
no subject
You have power. You have wealth to buy more power. You have less incentive to be bought by others.
[Of course, the Sith way of life was about wealth and power, consolidating and amassing it. He wasn't hard-core by any means, but he understood the suffering of those who didn't have power or the wealth to buy it. That was basically life on Dathomir, except it was entirely a societal system rather than actual wealth. Power played a factor.
So it seemed to him this humanling perhaps hadn't suffered under the thumb of power yet.]
What wasn't pleasant about it?
[He looked over at the corpse of the boy in the rich clothing and tried to determine for himself what was wrong. It seemed a better life than living in rags and having a near daily chance of death.
Looking also allowed him to pointedly ignore looking at his dead little brother hanging there with that neck at the wrong angle. He had seen it over and over before, and the notion that he had replaced Feral with Maul was like a wound that wouldn't heal now that it had been inflicted. After all, Maul had literally been cut in half and survived, but Feral had died begging from a broken neck. Strength was everything, wasn't it?]
Yes. I broke a promise. [A promise he had no right to make in the first place. It wasn't the Dathomirian Zabrak way.]
no subject
[ He bites his lip, debating how much to say. Well, this man is facing his dead brother. The least Wu can do is be honest with him ]
My aunt had me dress like that. She was the Queen of the Earth Kingdom, and she was unpleasant, to everyone. She used her power to amass more power, to take advantage of our people, to abuse people.
[ Wu hasn't considered what was done to him abuse, exactly, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. ]
I had everything I could want, clothes, food, entertainment, but I wasn't free. I wish, I wish I'd had the strength to do something about it.
[ To find his freedom, but he felt so trapped. He didn't know how to protect himself.
But it's the past. He can, now. He found his freedom, or at least a path to it.
He focuses back on Savage, face softening. What he says isn't an accusation, but an assumption ]
And you regret it. Breaking that promise. Right?
no subject
What was described didn't sound like anything unusual honestly. That was a general run down on how many societies operated. ]
What's wrong with that? The strong will rule the weak. [He shrugged his shoulders.] Our women rule us and they can hardly be considered gentle about it.
[Savage issued a low snorting growl, shaking his horned head.] Freedom just means your chains are more invisible than they were before. [Maybe he wasn't the greatest being to take moral lessons from. After all, he was a slave no matter where he went; sometimes he just given the illusion of choice.
He growled in his throat but it had a different quality to it. He folded his hands together and looked back at his dead brothers.]
I killed him. I gave my life so he could live, but the one I made the pledge to could care less. I should have known better.
no subject
What isn't wrong with that? It isn't because she was a woman, no! But because she, she only cared about her own interests. She was supposed to be working for our people, but she only worked for herself, and even she was never very happy herself. It--
[ His eyes shift back to his younger self and he swallows ]
Do you really believe that? Freedom, freedom means that you can choose for yourself. What to do with your life, what you want. That, that version of me, I couldn't choose anything. I wasn't allowed to.
[ He takes a steadying breath and turns his attention back to Savage. This is important, it's important to him and it's... devastating. It feels like a punch to the gut when Savage says it, and with Wu's paleblood powers, Savage might be able to feel the sadness rolling off of him as he thinks about what Savage just said. ]
That's-- that's awful. This person, killed him anyway? I'm so sorry.
[ He frowns, rubbing his hands together and focusing on Savage's face so he doesn't have to look at the corpses ]
But, is that really your fault? It sounds like you tried to save him.
no subject
[Savage couldn't think of a time when he had ever been free. From the moment of his birth, he had a place to fill. He worked to be skilled and useful, protective of his little brother and cunning to avoid the Trials when and where they could. Then he was taken as mate, transformed into a monster and passed around from master to master looking to have a handle on his leash.]
So you're like every Dathomirian Zabrak male, every slave, every person who needs a job or a skill set. Even the Jedi are slaves to their Order. [He firmly believed there was no such thing as freedom. Sometimes the strings just weren't as obvious, but one was still being pulled.
After all, his lack of freedom meant Feral died. He had no real power, and his attempts at bargaining in the end meant nothing.]
It was my hand that took his life. She ordered me to do it, and I couldn't resist. Now my brother is dead. [They weren't supposed to mourn their dead long; it was a waste of energy and death was a daily hazard.] Maybe it would have been better if I let us both die at the Trials. [He didn't believe that for a moment, but it was a fleeting thought triggered from seeing Feral like that.]
no subject
[ Not that he thinks it'll matter much, not in this conversation. Wu's used to people disagreeing with him, but usually not on such a base level. Disagreeing that happiness is real-- he can't accept that ]
Does it? I don't, I don't know. I think it means that you're selfish. I've found that I'm happier when I'm helping others, than when I'm focusing on myself.
[ His voice is small, and he drops his eyes, looking down at his hands, shoulders hunched. ]
I'm sorry, that your world was like that. It, it doesn't have to be that way. I'm trying really hard for my world to not be that way.
[ Even that doesn't feel very important right now. He never knows what to say, in the face of the atrocities he's been exposed to, at home, in Deerington, and now here. It's always terrible, always hard, and he aches, a pit in his stomach thinking about that, about what that must feel like. The sadness radiates off him, his power making it seep into the air ]
I'm so sorry. That's horrible, that you were forced to do that. That must hurt, very much.
no subject
[There was a whispered saying among the Nightsisters that craving too much power meant that one was consumed by it. He hadn't understood much when he was nothing more than a mere Nightbrother but once he left his planet, he encountered more and more people across the galaxy who were consumed with the quest for power and how it ruined them.
He squinted at the boy across the boat from him, as if uncertain if there was a mockery or the humanling was actually this soft. Like a defenseless insect or small creature. That sounded suspiciously like something the Jedi would tout but not always follow, though most of the Jedi he met didn't live long enough to tout much.]
When you have everything to start with, it's easy to lower yourself down to helping those with little to nothing. You have much to give; they have much to take. Isn't that selfish of them?
[He was used to being a pawn in a game of power, though it had taken him coming to Deerington and having to dedicate a bit of time on the beach to realize that's what it had been. He moved from master to master to master and none of them cared if he lived or died as long as his power was theirs to dispatch when they needed it.
All but his brothers. Feral and Maul.
But this humanling was clearly one of those bleeding heart types. The kind of person that others would move to put down or take advantage of. He didn't find the words realistic from the perspective of the life he had lead.]
Why do you apologize? No one apologizes to me, and you weren't even there when I broke his neck. You played no part in it, yet you apologize.
[He was confused by this behaviour.]
no subject
I don't think it is. I do have a lot, back home. I have a lot, and I did nothing to deserve it but be born. Others were born with less, some with nothing. It's only fair to share what I have.
[ It's a new way of thinking for Wu, and he'll never want to give up everything he has, but he does want to create more equity among his people, to give more people a better start in life ]
It would be more selfish for me to hold onto my wealth, to horde it like my Auntie did. I, I'm trying to change my country, back home. Or I was, before I was here.
[ He lets out a breath. It's still hard to let go of that responsibility, even if it isn't his anymore. He has to focus on here, on now. On this man before him. ]
No, but I'm sorry that it happened. That you were forced to that. "Sorry" doesn't feel like enough, but I don't really have a word for it.
[ It's empathy that he's feeling, feeling what Savage may have felt, feeling for him, and those feelings are rolling off him like waves. He hasn't learned to control them yet, hasn't learned to contain them, and they're free for the taking.
He looks up at Savage, remembering what Maul told him about his life. Maybe it's bad to assume they know each other, because they look similar ]
You, do you know Maul?
no subject
[That was the Zabrak way. For them, being born female was the only automatic guarantee of some form of power and control. For males, it didn't matter who they were born as their lives could be forfeit at any time and sometimes just because there were too many of them. They lived to serve, to survive, to be strong and die off. If they were born with the blessing of the Winged Goddess, they would be able to access the Force and thus be in line to be a favourite of a female if they were strong enough.
The idea of giving away power wasn't a foreign one to him. He had been the shoulder of strength for his little brother for decades, and now he was his elder brother's right hand. Those were his kin though, and he had strong attachment to blood.
Savage gave an unimpressed look.]
So you were giving away charity. Pitying them for their weakness.
[He didn't enjoy this sensation of empathy. It made him distinctly uncomfortable, enough that he shifted in the boat and even curled a lip in a snarl. It pressed at him, and his sensitivity to the Force was keen to pick it up, rely it to him. This humanling was like a newborn, all squishy and powerless but in such a way that it encouraged assistance.]
My brother. Has he tormented you?
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[ Wu doesn't have the energy to argue right now, and knowing that this man is Maul's brother, that explains a lot. ]
No, not charity or pity. Righting historic wrongs. That, the way my country is run, it doesn't work anymore. Not for my people, and not for me.
[ He looks back up at his own small body, and really looks at him this time. He was so small, so sad, so beaten down by the way he was raised. ]
If no one is happy, not the people in charge, not the people at the bottom, and not the people in the middle, is it really a society that works? I don't believe so. I wasn't happy. I'm not happy, back home. I want to change that. I want a world where people can be happy, can be who they want to be, without fear.
[ It's idealistic. He knows that. The boat sways under them.
He looks back at Savage ]
No, he hasn't. We're... friendly. [ Not friends, but that seems like the best word ] But a lot of what you're saying, it sounds like him. The way you were both raised seems to have ingrained beliefs that are hard to rid yourselves of, even if you want to.
You don't have to listen to me, of course. But I hope that you can both find a way to be happy now that you're not in that world.
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So you're actually changing it for yourself, but you happen to also be changing it for others at the same time?
[It sounded flawed, but it was more in line with what he thought about strength. Personal gain through any means was something his brother was good at doing, even if there were powers at work that often took things from Maul just as readily.]
Where I'm from, males are supposed to be happy. We serve. The females... [He trailed off. He had no idea if they were happy, since they were kept separately. They had seemed content for the brief stint he had stayed at the village, but were they happy? Well, Ventress hadn't been happy. She was never happy. Finally, he shrugged. He didn't know, so it wasn't worth answering.
What was far more interesting was that his brother was friendly with this little human. That sounded a bit more in line with his brother when it came to certain people.] We weren't raised together. He was stolen from our planet a long time ago. [He felt the need to make the distinction; their misery was similar but also different. Maul had been raised a weapon; Savage had been raised a slave.] Brother is more social. He has a capacity to like people more than I do.
[He frowned at the notion of being happy. Maul had spoken of it, but aside from being in his brother's life, he had very little he could say brought him any warmth or joy. Maybe being alive again.]
You're a strange soft little human. You don't know me. You shouldn't wish anything for me.
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[ Wu watches him, considering him quietly. This all explains a lot, a lot of the things that Maul told him, a lot of the problems that Maul had to deal with, why he is how he is. This world, this society, doesn't sound healthy. It doesn't sound like a place where people can thrive, and it isn't his business, societies can organize themselves however they want, but-- ]
But I do. We all came to this place, to Deerington, and now to Trench, with things from our worlds. Our history, our pasts, our assumptions. I hope that you can be happier here, that you don't have to, to serve, unless you want to.
[ His eyes flick to his younger self again, to Savage's brother again, and he lets out a breath. Maybe this is what he can do, what he's good for, here. ]
You aren't there anymore. And I'm not him anymore. [ He nods to his younger self ] We don't have to be those people anymore.
cw; infanticide mention
He shrugged his shoulders at the notion of being happier. There were times he considered himself far more bored, since he wasn't engaged the same way as he was traveling the galaxy with his brother. Maybe this place was safer. Maybe not. He had no where else to go as he was dead where he came from.]
And what is it you do here in Trench now that you don't have a kingdom to throw your resources at? Have you changed so much that some of your original purpose is gone?
[His eyes also followed to the bodies, and he frowned before shaking his head. Feral was dead. His little brother was never coming back. To be a Sith one had to sacrifice something precious to them. That's all it was, right?]
We are those people. Maybe not identical, but the core remains.
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[ The boat sways under them and Wu looks at Savage, giving him a bare flicker of a smile ]
My original purpose? Well, I was born to be an heir, and I had to take up the throne, ah, several months before I arrived in Deerington. But I never wanted that, it wasn't something I was prepared for or very good at. Here, I want to see what I can be good at. I'm going to start a venue, a place for Sleepers to gather and perform and share their art. That's much more interesting to me than leading a nation.
And, you? Do you think you'll do something else, here?
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Humans do tend to do strangely wild things with their time rather than actually adhere to their purpose.
[He lived a life that was, to a degree, dictated for him. He was ruled, his power was set against his Master's enemies and when that inevitably failed, he was passed to a new Master or just put to a different scheme. It wasn't as if serving his brother was that different, just far, far more pleasant.]
I'm my brother's apprentice. I do what he needs me to.