I AM NOTHING WITHOUT YOU | March Catch-All

[adaine]

Who: Adaine and you!
What: General march catch-all with event prompts.
When: March.
Where: All over Trench, Jumanji, the catacombs.

Content Warnings: references to past abuse, overworking, anxiety, slight eye gore (spectral third eye), murder, imposter syndrome, burning.


GENERAL

(Testing)

[Adaine has been working pretty much nonstop since she arrived. She has one way to cope with all the new stress that’s been piled on top of her, and that’s through research, and through willingly throwing herself at new stress inducing tasks. She can be spotted wandering around the School of Mutter, writing in her notebook. She’s sitting at a table in a far-off corner, and despite her best efforts of putting forward a friendly impression, she seems to be avoiding talking to people as much as possible now.

At one point, she seems to be focusing on some runes written on a large sheet of paper, dipped in her own paleblood. In the centre of the runes is a glass eye, it looks expensive. She murmurs an incantation under her breath, and after a moment, a blue eye appears over her forehead, and her eyes open to reveal a milky white mist come pouring out of them…

Before the glass eye shatters and Adaine starts screaming in pain.]

(Orphaned)

[Alternatively, you might spot her around Koz’s orphanage. It feels weird staying in a place for children, but he made the offer pretty clear. She’s not sure she can bear living here for too long, but it is some relief to know she’s been acknowledged as an orphan.


Hopefully that means her mother is dead too.


Still, it’s not like she’s not suspicious of any shady eldritch entity that offers shelter to children. She knows exactly how that tends to go where she comes from. She pokes around, looking for hidden passages, secret devices, spell ingredients. She’s not confident she can avoid Koz’s attention, but she’s certainly trying to be sneaky, at least until a large book falls over causing a sudden thud and she startles and lets out a yelp.]

(Seeking)

[She wanders, too, all over town. Exploring new locations, making notes. She seems to be filling out a map in the back of her journal, you can probably find her in any of the districts, shopping for something or other, or exploring a location. She’ll be walking along a street, nose buried in her book, and she might bump into you on the streets of Cassandra, going down like a sack of potatoes.]

Shit. I’m sorry. [She fumbles for her journal and her glasses, and in doing so, her hand traces over an old blood rune etched into the pavement of Cassandra, and she stops and wipes away the dust, and her eyes widen in surprise as she wordlessly puts her glasses back on and takes a more focused look.]

(Hunted)

[Or alternatively, you might find her in the Trenchwood, a sword in her hand loosely slung over her shoulder. It’s certainly a lot cooler than her fucking orb. There’s a monster nearby, with too long legs skittering around with bloodless eyes.

Adaine’s noticed. She’s pretending not to. She’s on her way to Ache, and stops at a local cluster of mushrooms. She checks her notes, pushing up her glasses. Yes, it would seem those are some of the ones she’s looking for. She kneels down to pick them, and suddenly the monster decides it’s time to strike. She looks like she might need some help.]

JUMANJI

(Games)

[Adaine is sat in an empty room of the School of Mutter, the boardgame in her hands. There’s obviously some kind of charm effect at play, making her think this is a good idea. She knows herself and she knows magic well enough to be able to tell that much. This is textbook enchantment.

She examines the board, holding the dice in the palm of her hand. Maybe you’re someone she’s asked to help her look into this, maybe you’re just in the same room for whatever reason. Reasonably she knows that this will probably start the game.] Identify hasn’t worked. It’s just more drumming. I think whatever’s happening we have to roll the dice to see.

I’m ready when you are

(Frogs)

[Adaine’s been walking for a hot minute, tired and weary. She hates this game. She hates the jungle. It’s too hot and she’s too much of a nerd for this place. The newest challenge seems to be… giant frogs. On the one hand, Adaine is a fan of frog. Truly one of the roundest animals.

On the other, she is so sick of this shit. She lets out a sigh and looks to whoever’s accompanying her.]

I think they’re going to try to kill us. Do you think they’re going to try to kill us?

(Hunter)

[Or the other hunter arrives, about a day and a half into Adaine’s jungle adventure, and Adaine narrowly avoids getting shot by diving down into the bushes. She is practically growling with rage when she grips her sword.]

Fine! Alright, enough of this shit. He can’t hunt us if I pulverize his corpse into dust. [So what if all their previous attempts to take him down have failed? So what? Adaine is going to punch him so hard in the face that his spine will break. As indicated by the blue ethereal power rising from her fist, she is about to do something very stupid.]

(Camping)

[Or maybe you catch her at a more peaceful moment, camped out in the jungle, a lightless fire kept up with magic to keep her warm, and a tent behind her. Whether you’ve been with her this whole time or you’ve just arrived, her reaction is the same.]

I can get you a tent or a bedrool, it’ll just take me a while since I have to get everything individually. [She rubs her eyes with a sigh.] I hate this game, I think.


CATACOMBS

(Arrival)

[She falls into the catacombs, letting out an angry growl and raising her middle fingers to the air.] Fuck you! Actually, fuck you! Fuck you, Moss King, you arbitrary piece of fucking shit, I will punch you so hard in the fucking face when I find you.

[And then she hits the ground with as little pain as possible, instead replaced by screams repeating in her head. She clutches her head with a hiss of pain, only with one hand. The other is reserved for throwing up a middle finger at the sky.] I see you’ve been thrown into this as well. Ugh. First dungeon crawl?

(Catching Fire.)

[Adaine steps into the large and empty space, sees people screaming out in the depths of the caves, in the smoking ruin that used to be a home. Pale smokey ghosts appear in the corner of Adaine’s vision, and she feels a draw to run towards it. Of course. People are in trouble. She’ll run without thinking, sprinting for the flaming house. She gets about sixty feet away before she slows to a walk.

Something is wrong here.

Adaine sees mannequins wreathed in flame, sees empty ghosts that scream for her to run, to leave the fire, she sees the fire sucking the life out of her like a vampire. She sees nobody but herself, nobody but the flames that hunger for her like a starved beast.] Wait!

(Ghosting)

[The dead walk. There’s monsters in these halls, and Adaine is swift in putting them down. A reanimated skeleton here, a zombie there, a ghoul feasting on the dead and driven mad with corruption over there. It’s as she enters a large auditorium that she feels the least at ease, though.

The outer chambers are filled with seats, the inner sanctum filled with coffins. Ceremonies were held here. Necromantic, perhaps? Did they raise the dead? Did they hold seances to contact the long deceased? She raises her hands, a firebolt sparking at her fingertips as she walks slowly through the chamber, giving a glance to whoever’s following her.] I don’t like this. So far it’s just been trap after trap after trap. I don’t know if I want to see what ancient Trench considered a good show.

[And then, from one of the corners out of view for Adaine, a pale presence rises, a blur of green cloaks and blonde hair. The resemblance is uncanny. It’s clearly someone related to her. And perhaps, alongside her, another presence floats out from one of the coffins in Adaine’s line of sight, and a chill runs down her spine.]

(Seasons)

[The puzzle before her is difficult to suss out, especially considering how little she knows about this place. But she’s been doing her best. There’s drawings of Madame Generosity, and after Madame Generosity is the Doorway and after the Doorway it’s the Moss King.

What was it that Ford mentioned…? October belonged to… who?] I… don’t suppose you’ve done any research on this subject?

(As Above, So Below)

[There is a tremble in Adaine’s step as they near the end of this hell, as they reach the gaping void that stares back at her and perceives her for all her faults and imperfections. In a rare moment of companionship, her omen hangs on her shoulder. She stares up at it, unable to stop perceiving even as it’s hurting her. Even as the fear begins to build. Maybe after this she can go home, but there’s no home left for her, maybe after this she can work on nothing and fill the void left in her by finally reaching a resolution and having it snatched away at the last moments.

But it’s bullshit. She was never meant to be happy. Her parents were right about her. She killed her father, she only wishes she could kill her mother. And her sister too, she’d wanted to kill her so much. She was so jealous, and spiteful, and cruel. She looked upon someone suffering and wanted to slit her throat for not suffering as much as she was.

She sees visions of a future in which she’s alone, she sees visions of a future under the dominion of the Nightmare King, where their fears are feasted upon forever, she sees the cat that ruined her sister that she never even saw, she sees her friends, she misses her friends, she is nothing without her friends.

‘These aren’t visions,’ The Oracle tells her. ‘Merely fears. You do not need your friends. You were always going to end up alone.’]

I-I don’t know if I can… I don’t think I can do this. [Tears streak down her cheeks, and her hands quiver with fear. She doesn’t have to roll to have a panic attack this time.]

Comments

chamber of seasons

[hauntedsavior]

[fuck the moss king. all her homies hate the moss king. she can't count this companion as a homie yet, but at least they're trapped in the one chamber down here that she actually knows her way around.]

Yeah. I've actually met a chunk of these guys, including our glorious host. [she's wearing a comical t-shirt saying that she's barely surviving in trench and all she got was this stupid t-shirt. beyond the short sleeves, her skin is patchwork, between pale white human skin and matte black robotics. one hand, as well as what's visible of most of her legs under the holes in her jeans, is completely black.] Well, technically I haven't met him. Just dealt with him already once this month. I think this is payback for me telling him to suck my dick. Anyway.

[she heads over to the tile with argonaut on it and puts her hand on the carving of the tiny moth.]

Argonaut is next. The Pthumerian of hope. The one who appears on the battlefield to remind you that no matter how dark it's getting, there's always something worth believing in, worth fighting for. They say he'll show you what that thing is, too. Much better than captain fuck-with-your-life over here. [she points at moss king, as though that weren't obvious.]

[adaine]

[She already laughed at the shirt, but it's still funny whenever she sees it. She smiles at what Anna is saying, putting her hands in her pockets.]

Well, that's a relief. I've been doing my best but I just got here. [She is immensely fascinating in hearing everything this girl has to say about them though. What is that, if not it's own form of homieship.] I told him I was going to punch him in the face so hard he'd shit himself and die. Maybe he's trying to do away with his greatest threats.

[She nods along with her explanation.] Right. Honestly it seems like this place could use a lot of hope. Have you met that one?

[This is the priority.]

[hauntedsavior]

Oh, I like that one. [she nods approvingly. solid threat. real. could happen. nobody knows whether pthumerians can truly shit that hard, but she doubts even a pthumerian wants to find out.]

I don't know if I've actually met Argo, but, like, I've felt him? If that makes any sense. [she's not gonna get flowery, not quite yet—save that for July's child—but there's a little bit of respect in her tone as she talks.] There's definitely been times out there where it's felt like there's nothing else to hold on to, and then like a bolt from the blue I get hit with a reminder of what I'm doing and why I'm here. Hard to tell if that's Argo or Baus, though—maybe that depends on whether you're fighting for love or not.

[adaine]

[She nods, twice, slowly. She's very fascinated by all of this, and also thinks Anna seems cool as hell. A reminder of what you're fighting for, huh... That's important. Crucial, really.] Honestly, I might have to pick your brain to talk about them after we get out of here. When I have my notebook and stuff.

Bausphomette comes right after Argonaut, right? And then it's... Remina. So that'd be April, May, June.

General - Hunted

[survivalthroughhate]

[There's a sudden Thrrruuuummmm! that fills the air as a lightsaber is ignited. Maul's nearby and he's holding the Darksaber in his hands, similar to the way an Earth swordsman might hold a katana. He's in a bad mood (but what else is new?) and taking on a monster seems like just the sort of thing that can help get him out of it.

He jumps forward with a Force-powered leap, much farther than a normal humanoid being should have been able to, and lands right by where Adaine is at. There's an inhuman growl directed at the monster that sounds far more like the sound a lion or tiger would be capable of making than anything that should be coming out of vocal cords capable of sentient speech. It's a warning not to come any closer.

He glances just for a moment at Adaine before his eyes become fixed on the monster again.]

Are you any good with that sword?

[His voice, cultured and smooth, sounds completely at odds with both his extreme looks and the growl he just made.]

[adaine]

[She rises to her feet. In truth, she's a touch annoyed at the intervention, but it's not really Maul's fault. She'll probably still have plenty of opportunity to test the Shield spell's use here, and in retrospect, this whole plan was a bit stupid, so maybe it's a good thing she didn't risk death on a spell that might not even work.

She raises the sword with both hands, a third translucent eye lighting up on her forehead.] Not the sword itself yet. [Runes glow a faint blue across the blade, and three glowing bolts of energy rise, circling the blade in wait for when the Oracle unleashes it on her enemy.]

But I can utilize it's main function properly, yes.

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul glances at the woman and notes that the weapon appears to be magical in nature or possibly utilizing some form of technology that he's unfamiliar with as of yet. Well, at least she's no damsel in distress.]

Good. I don't know what will take this beast down for good just yet.

[Generally, he's found removing the head from the body did it for most creatures, but even then Maul didn't count that as been foolproof one-hundred percent of the time. The beast takes a step forward and Maul lunges, swiping out fast to get it to retreat backwards.]

If I distract it, how fast can you strike?

[adaine]

[She hums thoughtfully.] I figure I can create a distraction and you'll be able to do more damage. [She raises her sword slowly, examining the darts of blue magic circling the blade.] These will hit nearly-instanteneously, and from any direction that I choose. But I doubt they'll do as much damage as your sword. So they'll probably work better to distract.

[Absolutely not a sword but she doesn't know what you'd call it.]

I can also make you temporarily stronger and luckier, if the need arises. [The beast snarls, growling with a feral bloodthirst, it starts circling, looking for any weaknesses in their guard to have it's meal.]

General — seeking

[possessum]

( Peter isn't out and about too much these days, but he does venture from the townhouse one afternoon to pick up some more incense from one of Cassandra's various shops.

Truthfully, this area of the city makes him nervous on some strange, deep level. All the occulty things, the whispers of ancient protections. Gaze may be the district associated with arcane knowledge, but Cassandra has things that make something in his spirit prickle, too. Things he's no longer able to ignore.

He's a little bit zoned out when he makes contact with someone and yelps (not very helpful), then immediately crouches down to try to find some of the items the poor girl's dropped (slightly more helpful). )

No it's my bad— ( he starts to say, when he sees the girl wipe the dust off an area of the street. Peter's eyes naturally drop down to look at what's grasped her attention so suddenly, and... he freezes. )

...What is that?

( He suddenly looks afraid, eyes widening, pupils blooming. The sight of him looking so nervous is maybe kind of comical, considering he's recently sprouted a pair of big demon horns and a a scaly black tail. Peter Graham, the most reluctant demon boy. )

[adaine]

[If it helps, Adaine absolutely doesn't blink at Peter's somewhat demonic appearance. It does remind Adaine a little bit of Fig, and she feels a little sad all of a sudden.]

It's a trail... sort of a... bloodmark, I think they're called. Used by an old cabal of Blood Mages, a couple hundred years ago. [She picks up her book, flicking through the pages until she comes across a legend displaying various symbols.] This one says there's a cache nearby. See? [Her translation of the code isn't perfect, but it's got a few.]

[possessum]

( It's definitely something that he notices, that the girl doesn't seem to react unfavourably to him at all. Which is much more preferable to the alternative.

Slowly, eyes still all wide and nervous, Peter leans in a little to see what she's gesturing to in her book. And the sight of those symbols simply makes his anxiety grow. He doesn't have the best experience with things like that. )

O-Oh. That's... cool... ( He seems to be forcing himself to use such a word to describe such a thing. )

A cache...? Of what? ( And then, he can't help adding— ) Is it dangerous?

[adaine]

[She pauses and glances back at him, considering. She has an anxiety disorder herself so it's not like she can't empathize, even if things like danger aren't really the things she specifically worries about.]

I don't know yet. I wasn't looking for caches, more interested in the secret passage side of things, but I'll still go check it out. Could be useful items.

Are you... okay? Don't feel obligated to go along with me, I can protect myself if it comes down to it.

(Arrival)

[thisislife]

[bedraggled would be a polite way for describing how Lexi looked at the moment. she was covered in mud, thick in her hair and clothes, and already had several visible mosquito bite welts forming even through the mud.

she's trying to remember a time when she was this annoyed. the best she could do was when Cassie was whining about how she looked when the reality was that Cassie could wear a burlap sack and make it look good. not like taller, skinnier, and B-cup Lexi]

My very first, outside of the Dragon Age games and I'm pretty sure those don't count. You?

[adaine]

[OOCLY, Lexie has good taste. Adaine raises her brows, however.] Dragon... is that a video game? Huh.

[She gets to her feet with a huff.] Not exactly, no. I mean, we don't do a lot of delving into dungeons, they take up too much time, but yeah a couple.

...Do you need me to clear away the mud? I can't do much for the bites, but I can clean you up at least.

[thisislife]

Yeah, it's four of them. All set on the same world and you learn more and more about it as you go through each game. The graphics are a little old on the first two, but the story is what makes them great.

I'm beginning to see why. There were a few places where I barely fit and I'm not exactly a giant. Mostly all I could think was "am I really doing this? Is this my life now?" And I guess the answers are yes.

...seriously? Oh my god, that would be great. I'd really owe you one.

[adaine]

[She makes a mental note to ask more about this game franchise later for bonding. Asking about interests is the best way to make friends, and seeing as Adaine and Lexie have already been in a life or death situation together, they're probably at least semi-friends.]

Yeah, they've never been my favourite part either. Claustrophobic, musty... ugh. [She smiles thinly.]

I'll have to touch you, so just... stand still? [She awkwardly shuffles closer and raises her hand, lightly humming with magic, to touch Lexie's hair and clear the mud away. It starts to dissipate, along with anything else dirtying Lexie's hair. She brushes her hand through her hair until the mud's all cleared away.]

Ghosting

[snakesdonthavelegs]

[ Jessica is amazed that she's still alive, really. She's not particularly strong or smart, and she struggled with the puzzles. When she gets into that auditorium, she thinks it looks as good a place as any for a rest. Regardless of how spooky it looks. Seriously, wow. ]

Oh, it's you! Adaine, right? [ She smiles, but there's little mirth in her. ] Sheesh, who designs places like this anyway? Why'd you put coffins in the middle of a place like this?

[ But as she says that, she sees those figures rise from behind Adaine, and two more follow them from the coffins: a middle aged man and woman, both elegantly dressed and looking very dead. Jessica's blood runs cold. She backs away, her breath fast and shallow. ]

Nononononono! Don't take their faces you assholes! Don't you dare!

[adaine]

[Oh, it's the girl from the house... Adaine realizes belatedly that she never got Jessica's name.] I mean, it's a crypt, there probably would be...

[And then Jessica is reacting, and Adaine is staring at the ghosts that Jessica was indicating, and then at her own. An elf with a square jaw and a black eye, draped in a blue cloak, and a woman with circular spectacles and a slight smile. The elf with a square jaw looks immediately like he's had his neck broken, but the woman is unharmed. Unmarked, even. She scowls at them, turning to Jessica and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Her voice is gentle. Patient. She knows what it's like to be in Jessica's shoes.]

...It's just a trick made to hit you where it hurts. They can't be reached, wherever they are. It's okay.

[snakesdonthavelegs]

[ Even with those reassurances, Jessica has to squeeze her eyes shut, taking a deep breath before she can look Adaine in the face. She resolutely tries to look away from the phantoms of her parents, but she just ends up seeing the girl's instead. ]

How do you know? Maybe it's really—

[ Deep breath. Focus on the hand on her shoulder. The sound of a living voice. She's so close to just going to pieces again. ]

...What a rotten trick.

seasons!!

[hijinxer]

[ jinx is uncharacteristically downcast as she wanders through the endless maze of tunnels in the catacombs. she's cold, she's hungry and she doesn't know how long her second fucking time through this place will see her trapped. maybe forever. right on cue, the unhelpful voice in her head pipes up. jinx doesn't even bother telling it to shut up because sometimes the chatter in her head is better than silence.

retaliating with a hard kick at one of the skulls littering the tunnels, jinx all but announces her arrival to whoever's inside the next chamber at the end of the tunnel by sending bone hurtling towards them. she is, for the record, not entirely apologetic about this. ]

Oh.

[ she looks around the familiar pictures of the patron humerians, then offers up a shrug as the girl from the carnival speaks up. ]

That what you been doin' with your time?

[ research, she means. it's not a disparaging question necessarily. ]

[adaine]

[Luckily, Adaine is the all powerful elven oracle, and was informed of this moment exactly six seconds before, so she sidesteps the skull without even thinking about it. Such is the power of prophecy.

Her response to Jinx's question is a furrowed brow.]

Yesss? Why? What have you been doing?

[hijinxer]

Oh, nothing really. Juuuust pokin' around here and there, tryin' to figure this place out.

[ translation: it's none of your business. her tone stays nonchalant however, as she walks up to the pictures of the patron humerians. ]

But silly old me, I got dragged back down to this dump. [ she jerks her head towards the puzzle. ] What do you know about them?

general - seeking

[fogsong]

[ Sharon, thankfully, doesn't go crashing to the ground but her iPod slips from her hand, hitting the cobbled street with a sharp clatter next to Adaine's book. Sharon curses reflexively, scooping up her music player, checking it quickly—she feels immediate relief when she sees the only crack there is the one she's had for a year now—and then she grabs the book nearby. She holds both in one hand and then offers her free one to Adaine. ]

I'd probably have been pissed if my iPod broke but we're good. [ She says honestly with a touch of friendliness. Accidents happen and all. Plus, Sharon wasn't paying the closest attention to where she was walking, lost in her own thoughts as the music had played. ] You didn't get hurt, did you?

[ That seemed like a hard fall. ]

[adaine]

[Adaine blinks up at her a second or two longer than she probably should. She's caught between two things of interest, a person and a weird road rune. She'll take the hand, though, she doesn't want things to be awkward.]

No, I'm fine. Thanks. [She blinks at Sharon's ipod, noticing the crack.] Oh, shit, sorry, do you want me to fix that?

[She assumes she cracked it. It's clearly durable but the crystal looking device still looks damaged...]

[fogsong]

What, this? [ She tilts the thin device, showing off the crack that cuts the lit screen in half; it doesn't obscure the text, just displaces it slightly. She's always meant to get it fixed. It's one of the very few expensive things she's owned.

She shakes her head, returning the book she'd scooped up to Adaine. ] You don't have to, it's been like this for a while, but... I wouldn't turn you down if it's something you can do.