deercountry | [March Catch-All Log]

Entry tags:

[March Catch-All Log]

Who: Jinx (

hijinxer) and YOU
What: Arrival, March TDM Prompts, Exploring, Bloodhound Training & April TDM Prompts
When: Throughout March & Early April
Where: Around Darcmouth, Cellar Door

Content warnings: Typical cw’s that follow Jinx are mental illness with symptoms of psychosis, potential for violence, drug mentions. More specific warnings have been added to each individual prompt.

I. Father Shores

[ while jinx has shed her squid form long enough to have acquired most of her belongings back from the trenchies who stole ‘em, the unsettling feeling she’s had in the pit ofh er stomach hasn’t given her a moment of peace. everything about this place feels like it’s meant to be home, but that has to be a lie, right?

all around her, people talk about starting a new life, building a community, finding family and it’s rubbed jinx’s nerves raw. she winds up back at the beach where everything started with pow-pow and fishbones laid down besides her as she narrows her eyes and glares at what appears to be a shining blue marble pinched between her thumb and index.

they tell her the ocean water isn’t safe, and somehow that only reminds her of the poisoned sludge that runs through the undercity. it’s reassuring in a way that it shouldn’t be. in some fucked up way, she thinks silco would have liked this place and its on the nose glorification of drowning and rebirth.

she tosses the blue sphere up into the grey sky, and catches it, closing her fingers around it and yells.

have you had enough?

jinx slams her fist down hard into the warm sand, breathing hard. ]

Do you really think we can just start over?

[ is it that easy? what if she doesn’t want to start over? who she’s speaking to is unclear. it could be the ringing shadow of murmuring voices in her head, one of many new squids starting to acquire a new physical form. it could even be you. ]

II. Moss King’s House

A. Burial - cw: claustrophobia, buried alive
[ there’s absolutely such a thing as exercising better judgment and not doing questionable shit like swallowing random magical pills that appear next to you for seemingly no reason. but no risk, no glory.

unfortunately for jinx though, she happens to have rolled a ‘one’ and no sooner than the screaming agony of being immolated consumes her whole, she finds herself stuck inside a dark, confined space. it’s pitch black and even the tiniest movements of her limbs has her brushing against the walls of her new cage. ]

HEY! [ she yells instinctively, giving the space above her a solid kick. the lid of the coffin barely budges, but it doesn’t stop her from kicking and screaming repeatedly. ] Hey, get me outta here!

B. Discovery
[ now that she’s escaped her premature burial, jinx is out and about and poking around every corner of the moss king’s summer home. she eyes all the various stolen nicknacks from around the multiverse, eyes bright and alive with curiosity. currently holding her interest is a cute scepter with a shiny gem on top that catches the light and refracts it into a multitude of rainbows. if she knew what magical girls were, then she’d know what this is... but alas. she gives it a wave, and it casts pink light like a sparkler and jinx positively coos in delight. ]

Aren’t you a pretty thing ... [ she laughs, twirling the scepter in her hands and laughs as she’s showered in pink shimmering sparks. ]

But what would some stuffy guy calling himself the Moss King want with you, huh?

III. Earworm

A. Party - cw: alcohol
[ of all the places jinx has seen so far, it’s the cellar door area that happens to remind her most strongly of zaun. the high spirits, the loud music, the bars, the seediness of it all manages to take just a little of the edge that’s been boiling away internally.

wanting to forget every troubling thought in her head if only for one night, jinx sits herself down at the bar and downs whatever they have on brew. again, again and again. despite her waif like appearance, the girl’s got sky high tolerance. catch her at the bar where she’ll greet you merrily with: ]

You look way too sober. Drink.

[ or alternatively, catch her on the dancefloor, raving and waving her arms wildly in time to the music. when this song comes on, jinx squeals and grabs the nearest person with an excited: ]

That’s my jam!

B. Afterparty - cw: intoxication, assault, violence
[ it’s late at night by the time jinx leaves the club and she isn’t exactly looking to be the most stable on her feet. she sways from side the side as she walks down the streets, hiccupping and giggling to herself. she’s a small girl, and one that apparently looks like an easy target for a local trenchie to try and pickpocket for valuables.

it is... perhaps not their luckiest day.

jinx’s head may be swimming, but she’s lived in the undercity long enough to know to keep her wits and personal belongings about her and this trenchie is about to be the focal point for her rage. the trenchie shoves her against a wall, holding a knife to her throat.

jinx looks positively feral as her face splits into a wide, toothy grin. ]

Wanna try me?

[ in the next couple of moments, the air is thick with the trenchie’s screaming and the scent of fresh blood as jinx beats the man’s face over and over with the butt of a pistol. she laughs, practically giddy with delight as she straightens up and wipes the blood spatter off her face. the trenchie meanwhile lies barely conscious on the ground. ]

Well, well, well. Think you learned your lesson about stealing from poor, innocent girls? [ she stomps hard on his chest. ] Speak up! i can’t hear ya.

[ another stomp. thoroughly engrossed in this bit of catharsis, jinx doesn't even notice someone else arriving on the scene. when she does? she merely smiles sweet over her shoulder. ]

Whatcha lookin' at there?

IV. Spoils of War - cw: blood blisters, possible blood consumption by blodhounds

[ god, it's been... how many times that she ended up being dragged around in survival mode in either the jungle of the catacombs? don't ask. it'll instantly put her in a bad mood.

instead of being unceremoniously sucked underground, jinx can be seen walking around with a bloodhound on a leash. notably, said bloodhound has got one of its antlers sprayed blue, the other pink. it is also currently sniffing at a very ugly blood blister, licking it and very much being a monster about its next meal.

the way jinx coos to it though? seems more like she's talking to a baby. ]

Sheesh, you eat a lot, Horny. Is that normal for you?

[ because the unfortunately named doggo can obviously answer? as jinx spots you pass by, she waves: ]

Hey, you got any experience with these things?

V. Blessed Are the Curious

A. Rose Tinted Glasses - cw: mind alteration, hallucinations
[ jinx is, in a word, enraptured. the golden moths have transformed dreary old trench into the most beautiful place she's ever seen. the fact that it kind of reminds her of piltover leaves a bitter taste in her mouth, but how exactly is she meant to stay in a foul mood when there are songbirds flittering around the trees?

she croons as she skips down a golden path (in reality nothing more than a dirt road) and proceeds to hold out her hand to see if one of the brightly colored birds wants to land in her hand. there are, of course, no birds, only the golden moths. one does make the mistake of sitting on her palm and jinx immediately aims a fingergun at it and mimes shooting at it. ]

Boom.

[ she laughs, as the "bird" flies away and continues to skip down the road. ]

Heh the life of a real princes, huh?

B. Undoing the Past - cw: deeaging, death, depictions of death by impalement and crush injuries in linked video
[ eventually jinx reaches the archway marked with the "▲" symbol and anyone who happens to be following will find themselves transported to an old factory. it's late at night with only the full moon to illuminate the inside of the worn down cannery.

but all is not quiet. it's this moment. the night of jinx's biggest mistake and the foundations of the cannery are practically shaking with the force of the fighting going on at the other side of the door.

jinx gasps, eyes round as she stands there frozen in place. has she learned anything? is i can fix this truly any better than i can help?, she looks down at the monkeybomb held tight in her hands with the glowing blue orb clasped between the cymbals of the clockwork monkey.

she doesn't even register right away that her perspective is changing by the second. everything around her is getting taller -- or more accurately, she's getting shorter as the years lift away and she begins the process of being unmade.

with an almost manic shriek, she yanks the unrefined hexgem out of the clockwork monkey and takes several deep breaths. on the other side of that door though, vi, clagger, mylo and vander are all in huge trouble and there's a hulking beast high on shimmer and... the man who would eventually take her in as his daughter. heart pounding, she slumps against the door, hyperventilating. ]

I don't know what to do! I have to save them!

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[Honestly it's the screaming that catches Ruby's attention and she's quick to round the corner to see what's going on.

She doesn't know exactly what happened but from Jinx's words she can put it together. Her mismatched eyes look from the girl to the battered Trenchie beneath her before Ruby's gaze settles on Jinx.]

Come on. That's enough. You've made your point.

[ there's an unsettlingly wild look in jinx's eyes as she holds eye contact with the interloper, like she can't decide whether she wants to be pissed or laugh. no matter where you are, there's always gotta be some fucking wannabe hero, huh? she drops eye contact, cooing with a slurred voice to the trenchie groaning incoherently underneath her boot. ]

There, there, don't cry. Looks like your girlfriend's arrived.

[ she looks up, attention turned to ruby. ]

What's your name?

[Sayo has had, frankly speaking, an awful day for several reasons, leaving a pit of bitter loathing frothing inside her ribcage. (Does it still count as getting kicked out if she's the one who moves before anyone has the opportunity to give her the boot, she wonders.) So Sayo's feeling more witch-y than normal—or at least her normal for the past several months—as she prowls the streets of Trench, looking for somewhere to get smashed. She had settled on the bar Jinx had just emerged from when she sees the altercation, and watches it unfold with morbid fascination, an eyebrow slowly creeping up her forehead.]

Admiring the craft of that takedown, mostly. I'm trying to learn some self-offense myself, but it looks like I've still got a long way to go.

Do you want a Beast to show up and start chowing down on this idiot, by the way? With how much blood he's leaking out of his various orifices it's going to attract one sooner or later. [There's no judgment in Sayo's tone, just idle curiosity.] If not, we should probably toss him back inside the bar so somebody can get him cleaned up. If so, you should probably bleed him out a little more so it comes faster, kyahahaha!

[Settling into the witch numbs the pain (agonizing, no matter how much she expected it) ever-so-slightly.]

Edited 2022-03-05 03:48 (UTC)

[Ruby couldn't help it, it was just in her nature. If someone was suffering in front of her she just couldn't ignore it. The look in Jinx's eyes was unsettling and it reminded her more than a little of Neo.

She takes another step closer when Jinx turns her attention back to the Trenchie, she debates reaching for box that held her folded up weapon on her back but decides against it for now.]

Ruby Rose, Kind of a long time resident here.

Now come on- I think we've had enough fighting for one night.

[ Clarisse is in her usual spot on the beach, looking out at the waves. This is the third month she's come here, and the first time that it hasn't been freezing cold and covered in snow and ice. Weird. Eventually she'll get restless and either start making her way along the shoreline, or head back home, but for now she's content to watch the squids turn into human beings again and hope against hope that she sees somebody familiar.

The girl nearby, the one who's been forcefully taking her stuff back from the Trenchies and now tossing around a marble or something, asks if they can really start over here. It takes Clarisse by surprise, a little, only because she's used to new Sleepers asking more boring questions, like where they are and what they should do next. Shit, when she first washed up, she couldn't even remember the most basic things about herself, much less think to randomly ask strangers profound questions about her purpose, or whatever. ]

Nope. That's all bullshit. [ And yeah, okay, maybe that's a mean answer, but she's not going to sugarcoat it for anybody. ]

[ following that there is an uncomfortably long standoff where jinx merely continues to stare down ruby. but just when it seems like jinx ain't about to cooperate though, her demeanor shifts entirely. ]

Heh.

[ it's almost like a truce, except her foot doesn't come off the trenchie. ]

You're right. I think that's enough fighting too. [ jinx reholsters her gun, then smiles at ruby then down at the trenchie. ] So whaddya say, slimy fingers?

[ she pauses, allowing the trenchie to respond with more of his incoherent groaning. jinx clicks her tongue, frowning in mock exasperation. ]

OH no, no, no. That won't do at all, You gotta say "thank you, Ruby Rose." You wouldn't wanna seem ungrateful now, do ya?

Edited 2022-03-05 04:18 (UTC)

[Ruby feels the hairs on her neck standing on edge through the entire stand off. Then she shifts slightly when Jinx's demeanor shifts, she doesn't lower her hands but she let's out a breath.]

That's okay. I think we all know he appreciates it. It might not be as good as an actual apology for whatever he did to you. But I hope he knows not to try it again.

[Because she's definitely not ruling out that Jinx was wronged here too.]

Now just let him go and we can all be on our way.

[ you know. this is absolutely not the kind of commentary jinx was prepared to hear from the peanut gallery and it shows. her eyes widen in surprise, all violence put on pause as she tries to work out this girl's angle.

where's the usual stop being horrible, jinx?

it's kind of a nice change, honestly. she blinks, then smiles a little sheepishly. ]

Y'know. I really haven't thought that far ahead yet. [ she gives a one-shouldered shrug as she grinds her heel into the trenchie's ribs. ]

Whaddya think? Wanna be eaten by a lil beastie? Maybe you'll even come back less of an asshole!

[ she laughs as the guy gurgles pathetically, blood trickling out of his very broken nose.
jinx turns aack to sayo. ]

What d'ya think he said? Can't understand a word out of his mouth.

[ jinx looks over towards the other girl, several beats late. she wasn't expecting anyone tangible to respond to her question. she talks to herself often enough and only gets echoes of her worst impulses in response. ]

Thought so.

[ said sullenly as she opens up her hand to look at the glowing blue stone resting in the center of her palm. after all. if this place were really about starting over, then why would the stupid crystal that catalyzed everything that went wrong be here as well? she closes her hand up again, then sullenly rests her chin on her knees. ]

Who're you waiting for?

[ at least that's what she assumes anyone siting on the beach where all the squidlings show up has to be doing. ]

"AUGH!"

Look, she was curious, ok?! What was up with the pill, and there was a die so she had satiate her curiosity! Unfortunately, this resulted in her falling from a height she was sure she hadn't expected and had only just enough time to allow herself to grow limp before crashing through the roof and into the attic, and for several minutes, Luz is staring up at the sky in pain, wondering what she'd done to deserve this.

Finally, she manages to lurch herself forward and hobble down the stairs, groaning at each step, sure that she might have broken a few things when she hears some muffled noises down below.

Oh no, what now??

Despite the pain, Luz hurries down and hears the commotion proper: someone's trapped down there, in a coffin.

"Hey, hey! Give me a sec, I'll get you out!"

Luz hurriedly looks around until she finds a crowbar and manages to get at the coffin, trying to pry it open as much as she could.

"Can you give it a kick?"

Edited 2022-03-05 07:47 (UTC)

It depends, doesn't it?

[There's a boy sitting on some rocks, one arm looped casually around a knee as the other dangles just inches above the tide. He was perhaps watching the sea. Or watching the squids show up and try to grasp at some human form.

He looks young, but there's something old in his gaze.]

On what you need to shed to start over.

[ in this case? jinx is speaking to a beached squid. at least, this squid wants this secluded, blue-haired girl to be speaking to it. speaking to her? yes, yes that’s right; she’s a woman. how does she know? she feels it in her soul. wait, do squids have souls? woman; she’s human. thoughts circling the drain as she tries to grasp an identity, the squid musters up her energy and forces her body forward. she gains maybe half an inch with that flop further up the beach.

a wave rolls in then, its reach splashing over the squid’s tentacles and up along her sides. its pull isn’t strong enough to drag her along the sand, but the squid panics at the possibility of being swallowed up by the water again. her new life is here. she’s meant to be here. the water recedes and she flops further with another hard bend of her body.

help. the water touches her again, her wriggling toward dry sand coming faster. she can’t remember just yet, the life that’s now behind her, but something tells her to get closer to this human, perhaps for safety from the water and shelter from this new world she now belongs to. just until she finds her bearings. ]

[ Ever since the realization that they are all squids, they all come from the ocean, and there are still thousands of them out in the ocean waiting for the right moment to come on land, Kaneki has been visiting the beach almost daily. He hopes to find a tiny little eldritch squid who will turn into a familiar face once Kaneki picks it up.

But the ocean also... calls for him. Or rather he calls for it. When he was swimming in that ocean he didn't feel anything; he didn't feel sad, angry, lonely. And that emptiness was scary but also... nice.

He is not stepping in, though. He doesn't want to die a brutal death.

But he ends up noticing other people around, and by chance hears Jinx. Start over? ]

No. Of course not. [ no matter what people say, that's not how this works ]

[ Clarisse huffs out a quiet breath and runs her fingertips along the sand. Something about the other girl's sullen response has her second guessing whether she should've tried to keep the hope alive for her, for a little while, at least. ]

I don't mean you can't do things differently here if you want. Just that you're still yourself, so you'll probably end up doing the same shit you did back home anyway. [ Wow, she's not good at this. It's probably why she doesn't try to be helpful, like, ever.

The girl's question has her scowling and curling her fingers into the sand. ]

None of your business. Nobody. [ Clarisse, those are... two very different answers. ]

[ it's hard to tell how much time has passed since being trapped inside this dark cage, there's barely room to move, and if jinx were thinking clearly she'd realize there's a limited supply of oxygen in here, too. conserving her strength, using her omni to call for help -- both of these strategies would probably be the smart thing to do.

as it is though? her head is going a mile a minute, veins pumped full of adrenaline as thoughts oscillate wildly between can't see, trapped and of course, the ever present chatter rooted deep inside her head.

see? what'd i tell ya about being a jinx, huh! ]

Shut up, I need to think!

[ jinz shouts, but the noise echoes and fills the coffin making her head hurt even more. she's just about ready to scream again when a different voice actually answers back. wait. voice? no. person. someone outside. talking to her. ]

Hello? [ there's an edge of desperation in her voice, emotion clogging up her throat. ] Are you there? Are you real?

[ unspoken: please don't stop talking. jinx doesn't know to what end anything can be trusted right now, but she needs to get out. she needs to breathe and so, she as much as she can, she angles up her foot and gives the lid another solid kick. ]

[Was she real? Why wouldn't she be? Well no point in asking THAT, because who knows what this person has been dealing with or how long? Luz wanted to get her out of there right NOW, before she had more time to panic].

Yes, I'm here! Uh, my name's Luz! I'm trying to get you out, I have a crowbar and everything! Just...yeah, that's it!

[The kick helped, because the coffin shook a little, and Luz pried it into the crack and doing her best to wrench it open. It was giving, just a little, but needed a bit more of a grip].

Can you give it one more, so I can wrench it open?

[ jinx raises her head, turning just enough to look and confirm that she's talking to someone tangible. she only holds eye contact for a moment before turning her gaze back down to the sand, but it's enough for anyone to tell she's exhausted. ]

I dunno.

[ she sucks in a deep breath. ]

I got left behind. But now that I'm here, I think I'm the one that did the leaving. So something broke.

[ it's just a fucking squid struggling to achieve personhood. of course it doesn't provide jinx with an answer. all the same, she can't help resenting it for its silent perseverance as it struggles to drag its squishy body further up along the beach. like it has a purpose and goal to get to. and once its fully formed its body? it'll probably leave jinx behind on the beach to get to that purpose.

fuck, part of her just wants to pick up the disgusting thing and throw it right back into the deadly water just to make its life harder. fortunately for the squid, she doesn't.

at least not yet. she rolls the hexgem back and forth on the sand, attention seemingly diverted but her thoughts haven't strayed from the tiny life at her mercy. ]

There's nothing good here, you know. I did the same as you. Followed that stupid feeling telling me this was home. But that's a lie. I'm alone all over again. Silco isn't here. [ a beat. ] And eve my sister who swore up and down that she wouldn't leave me again? She's not here either. Liar.

Edited 2022-03-06 14:39 (UTC)

[ for her part, jinx merely glances at the other boy when he speaks up, evidently entirely unfazed about having been overheard. she tosses the small blue stone into the air and catches it again. ]

Everyone else doesn't seem so sure.

[ it's said in a cavalier tone, but frankly she's a little relieved for the dissenting opinion. ]

What do you think about that?

[ jinx isn't even remotely fazed by the sudden irritation. she notes it of course, debates toying with it frankly, but instead keeps her eyes on the ocean. ]

Nobody.Suuuuusure.

[ she sounds ... incredibly convinced, btw. she shakes her head dismissively, and doesn't bother to brush her bangs out of her face. ]

I was gonna pay a certain do-gooder a viist back home. Put her in her place. Doesn't look like the bitch is here though.

[ which kinda puts a hard stop to "doing the same shit" here, buuuuuut. ]

Guess I don't gotta decide if I wanna let that go just yet.

We? Where are we goin' after this? You takin' me somewhere nice?

[ perhaps reassuringly, jinx's smile broadens, but on the plus side? the prospect of having some other toy to mess around with is actually making her lose interest in the blubbering trenchie. her boot comes off his chest, but jinx isn't quite finished with him. the knife he'd tried to use on her is on the ground not too far from his right hand (which, from the looks of things have had two fingers dislocated). jinx picks up the knife, wipes it on his shirt, taking it for herself. ]

Thanks for the knife, slimy fingers.

[ wow, thanks for not torturing this tiny squid, who is merely trying her hardest to make a new life for herself. live and let live, y’know?? … also, please don’t step on her either, because that flopping is closing the distance between this here squid and jinx’s boot. what begins as an idle want for the supposed security of someone larger watching over her as she… transforms – ? yes, she needs to transform, because this isn’t her body. instead of tentacles, she has arms and legs – strong ones, topped with hard knuckles and barreled fists. she has hair too. pink. short. with a hard sweep to the right.

… what starts as an idle want for security, shifts into a blooming sort of desperation. the further she draws from the water, the longer her memory stretches into recognition. flop: her body. wriggle: her name. squirm: zaun, the undercity, the fissures. flop: her sister.

her sister had bright, colorful hair too, like vi’s. no, not like hers. her sister’s is uniquely her own. her sister has always been unique. different. strong? yes. what makes you different makes you strong – she said that…? yes. and she also said, years later, that she wouldn’t leave her… leave you…?

jinx? no. her sister’s name is pow… pow…? no. powder? powder.

this is powder. this is her baby sister.

memory slots into place and the frequency of her squirms grows again, each punctuated by an inner screaming to get closer, always closer. she’s right there. finally, after years upon years of regretting, of wanting… this time, she isn’t going to let powder slip through her fingers.

… but until she grows those back, she’ll be settling for tentacles. close enough now, vi will roll and twist on the next flop, throwing out her eight squishy arms and two tentacles, all aiming for powder’s boot-clad ankle. ]

[ he hums softly. What does he think? kaneki rarely speaks his mind, but he is being asked ]

I think... everyone else probably had a harsh life and is hoping for something better by forgetting what hurt them. They believe this way they can just find something better.

[ he doesn't think it's that simple - or easy - though. Because hurt can stay with someone for many years, sometimes forever. And it's not something one can just decide to forget, even if they have a brand new life as squids. ]

Do you want to forget and start over?

Edited 2022-03-06 22:27 (UTC)

If I had to venture a guess... [Sayo taps her chin theatrically, humming as she seriously considers the question. Part of her is collapsing into a singularity of self-loathing that in this moment, she's everything Ange thought that she was, but the rest is too relieved at this temporary distraction.] Hmmm... I think he's pleading for us to let him go home to a family he's made up on the spot.

What do you think? Should we let him return to his fictitious wife and three children, who are no doubt worried sick over their papa?

[She squats down next to the terrified Trenchie, carefully studying his face as she cocks her own head to the side.]

He'd probably be better food for Beasts, but on the other hand, if one rambled down here and attacked that pub I was planning on smashing my brains out with alcohol at, that would be quite the pity.

What... like to kill her?

[ Look, it's a valid question. It also has Clarisse's interest piqued, because what kind of person just freely admits to something like this to a total stranger? She's not judging, though. She has no idea what the context is, but some people do need to be put in their place. ]

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Page 1 of 6

[March Catch-All Log]

III B

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II A

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i; in which the timeline matters not

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cw: auditory hallucinations, claustrophobia

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cw: mention of dislocated fingers

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