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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.
cw: descriptions of death
[Rei starts to say something, but then she looks at the corpse again. Really looks at it, and her eyes harden to flint. Because of course it was something like this. A young woman, someone roughly Rei's age, is simply hanging there. Flies buzz around a lovely face, blood and gore fleck blonde hair, and Rei's jaw clenches. Her whole body goes rigid with tension and barely restrained rage. That this was happening was nothing new, she remembers every October well...but the why, and the choice of this face...? This cuts more deeply than it should, in such a way that even someone as focused as Rei can't shut out the emotions completely.]
Justine...
[Her voice loses the edge it had previously held, her attention clearly caught by the grisly sight.]
...I hate this place.
no subject
But she doesn't recognize this particular person.
Maybe it's not surprising that Rei does recognize her though. Isn't that something Deerington did all the time? Showing them people they knew who died - or just the corpses of the living people they missed?
It makes something pause within Ange. Her facial expression shifts, a little more uncertain, a feeling that's reflected in her voice. ]
You know her?
no subject
[Rei's voice drops, and she sinks down, realizing just what this place is doing. It's been a long time since she talked about Justine, or even really thought about her, but the woman is unmistakable, an indelible mark on her.]
We were...close. More than friends close.
[She'd taught Rei a great deal about herself and awakened feelings in her that she'd held in check for most of her life. She'd taught Rei other things, too, like the effects of a well timed smile, and how to tolerate men. Justine had been important.]
She's been gone for years now, but she was the first Sleeper I ever got close to.
no subject
From what long ago? Not to mention that Rei is using the word 'Sleeper' - so it's not like this is someone she knew from back home. Instead it's someone from Deerington.. though rather than it being the actual person, it's most likely just an illusion, or just their thoughts and feelings momentarily being given flesh.
Like what happened so much in Deerington. ]
Then.. is it just like back there?
[ Even though they went to a different place entirely, they're thrown right back into this same crappy loop of events? ]
Is something out there trying to use the things important to us to hurt us again?
no subject
[Rei looks up at Justine's body, trying to ignore the buzzing flies, her gaze growing a little bit misty as she thinks of what's happened since they last spoke. Her voice is little more than a murmur at this point, but it feels...right...to get some of this out there.]
I'd thought I had moved on, but I guess this place has my number. I...wouldn't expect it to be a pleasant place, not coming on the back of Deerington...but this is quick.
no subject
[ Quick, that is.
In fact - maybe it was a little too naive on her part, Ange thinks now, but she sure expected to show up in a better place than this. A place that wouldn't pull this sort of stuff. Isn't that why they moved on from Deerington in the first place? To find somewhere better?
It's a disappointment, and it makes Ange's heart feel heavy in a way she knows she doesn't have time for right now. They need to set priorities, especially if they're seeing something that's actively hurting Rei right now, making the other speak more softly like this.
So Ange instead looks around them. ]
But.. let's find a way out of here. [ The boat, she means. The water around them. Whatever this place is that the crows dumped them into. ] .. you shouldn't have to see this.
no subject
[Rei lowers her gaze, keeping her focus off of Justine's body as they float on by. The air remains filled with the same cloying stench of decay, for the moment.]
Or if you do. I don't see anywhere we'd be able to go, and my powers have been a little unreliable in Trench thus far. I'd...rather we stay on the boat, for the moment.
[Shaking her head again, she forces herself to take one last look at Justine's body.]
She'd have liked you, I think. And loved Ruby.
no subject
But it's not like she can just jump off the boat when she's not even a good swimmer. Especially not when there is nothing but them, the boat, and the corpses.
She sucks in a breath, her hands balling up into fists on her lap. Don't think about that, she tells herself. Think about what Rei is telling you. ]
.. Ruby is easy to love. [ It's said softly. And with a fair bit of bias in it, but it's just true to Ange. Who wouldn't like such a positive, cute and kind girl? ] I'm not so sure about me in comparison, but.. if you cared for her so much, then I wish I could've met her.
[ Under circumstances that aren't.. this. Especially since it doesn't even feel like the real deal when it's just such a corpse. ]
no subject
[Love? Not Rei, but she'd spent nearly two years being Ruby's neighbor, and periodically being terrorized by the exuberant young lady. It was like Usagi with the brakes pulled off at times.]
And you're easy to like too. Justine liked clever people, and you're certainly that.
[Circumstances aside, it's hard to know what to feel, after all this time.]
no subject
But she's still thinking. About Rei, and Justine, and about how she could possibly make this situation a little better. Even though there's not much to save when it's this crappy in the first place. ]
Do you.. think that it'd help? If you talked about her more right now?
[ Maybe Rei can at least air some of her emotions that way. ]
no subject
[Rei? Talk about her emotions? What do you take her for, Ange?
Though, she doesn't stop, and she doesn't dismiss the notion, as they float on down the stench-filled river.]
She was a good person, and...really I think the night she died was the night I resolved to stay in Deerington as long as I could.
no subject
And despite not knowing whether or not Rei is one of those people in the first place, Ange thinks that maybe.. it'd help in this case? Isn't that why those other people are so open with their emotions all the time?
.. who knows. She's not sure, and she certainly isn't an expert. Instead she just quietly listens to the other speak until she's sure Rei is done talking for the moment, which is Ange's cue to at least try and guide the other on a little. ]
Why was that..?
no subject
...Because I failed to save her. She died in my arms.
[and despite herself, Rei wanted to be the big damn hero sometimes.]
I knew it'd happen again, and again. And that there were a lot of people in the town that would too, unless we figured out what was going on, and what went wrong.
...And now Deerington is gone, and we're free of that place. Scars and all. But it's done.
no subject
Yet Rei isn't like that at all. ]
Right. I thought we were going to leave that all behind us.
[ Ange's gaze travels from Rei in the direction of the corpse as she says it. ]
But.. I'm not so sure anymore now. Us suddenly being thrown into this situation feels like we'll have to go through the same things over and over now, even though we escaped that place. I don't want to feel hopeless, but.. it's kind of disappointing, isn't it?
no subject
[Perhaps that's the worst possible outcome, really. But...her mind skips to a better feeling, and she hopes to assuage some of those doubts.]
...But we have each other, still. And the connections we made with one another. That counts for something, doesn't it? I don't think I would trade Winter or Ruby, or any of the others away to erase those scars.
no subject
[ Though Ange also strongly feels that such a statement has so much more to do with the quality of her homeworld, rather than with the quality of this place. She'd rather be in a hell that has people she loves in it, rather than in a hell all by herself.
This moment is the very example of that. This dumb boat thing is so much more bearable, just because Rei is right here with her. But even so.. ]
I just thought we deserved better. Especially after everything.
no subject
[Rei shakes her head, leaning a little closer, her eyes now brimming with real concern. She knows about some of it, of course, but hearing that this is better than her own world is a harsh truth.]
We do. I don't know what the universe has against us, but, we do deserve better after all that time in Deerington.
no subject
Maybe we can figure out why this is happening.
[ Or maybe not the why behind it, but rather..
She looks back at Rei now, trying to shift her expression back into something a little more steady. ]
Or who is behind this. So we can ask them some questions about all of this. [ And hopefully keep crappy things from happening to them over and over, the way they did back in Deerington. ]
no subject
Maybe. Never Mind may be involved in some way, given the raven symbolism and the fact that it happened in Gaze.
[That's one logical conclusion. He may have other ideas, and may be willing to point them in the correct direction.
However there are more pressing problems than that, as a second island appears to be looming up out of the darkness.]
no subject
[ But Ange is stopped in whatever suggestion she was about to make by the fact that it doesn't seem like their boat ride is quite over yet. And considering what they saw just a moment ago, she's pretty sure what they might find over there.
Unless it's even worse than that, and this boat ride is about to escalate. ]
Another one. [ Ange figures she doesn't have to say more. Rei is smart, she'll catch on to what Ange means. It's mostly a warning, like she's telling the other girl to brace herself - just in case. ]
Ange's turn, then?
But there's no fight. Just another island with a gibbet, another crow-pecked body twisting on a half-rotten, creaking rope.]
yes!
But that isn't it. The closer the boat gets, the more obvious it becomes that it's not just one body. It's seven corpses, lined up so perfectly that they only all become visible when the boat is right next to all of them. The corpses even look strangely identical - in the sense that they're all wearing the same, outfit, now half-worn from the damage to the body. It's only their hair and their faces that differences the girls from one another, none of them looking particularly older than Ange herself.
.. and the sight of them causes Ange to slowly exhale, though it's hard to tell if she's hiding more behind that sound or not. Her expression has shifted back to a pokerface - perhaps purposefully so - and her gaze is turned entirely towards the girl's corpses, rather than towards Rei. ]
Ah.. How messed up.
[ That's the only thing she says at first, apparently. ]
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[Rei leans forward, frowning at the swaying corpses. A trio, all...the same? It's curious, and she shifts her attention back to Ange. Her eyebrow rises in an unspoken question, but she doesn't let the silence last for very long.]
You know them.
[Not a question, but a statement. She doesn't know these people. So, they must be from Ange's memories this time.]
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[ There's a brief moment of silence after Ange says it, but then she manages to tear her gaze away from the bodies, instead looking back at Rei. Ange is - mostly - still looking relatively calm on the outside, but the look in her eyes is a little more complicated. ]
I guess they really are just showing us people who aren't here with us. And in the most grotesque possible way.
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[It's not easy to look at such a sight, even if she doesn't know these people. Scooting a little closer, she keeps herself in front of the younger woman, intent on taking as much of the sight out of her field of vision as possible.]
This is pretty messed up. Are...your friends at least safe at home?
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Figuring we can wrap this up shortly!
yeah, that's cool!
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