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deercountry2022-03-11 04:19 pm
adaine) wrote in deercountry2022-03-11 04:19 pm
I AM NOTHING WITHOUT YOU | March Catch-All
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.]
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.
(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.]
(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.
(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.]
no subject
...Not that I can forgive her, after she set in motion her shitty little "game" to kill all of us.
[ She takes a deep, shaky breath, looking at her mother. It's so hard to look at her face. To look at those stern, but loving eyes. ]
But she deserved better. And so did you and your sister.
no subject
They didn't care. And neither did she. Aelwyn...]
I don't think you have to forgive a person to love them.
I hated my sister for my entire life. I blamed her for everything, because it was easier. [She pauses.] She also was a horrible bitch to me, in my defence, but I didn't see she was suffering until long after she was already broken.
And then my parents picked up the pieces and broke her again. And when I saw her like that... [Tears well up in her eyes and her voice gets wobbly.] I couldn't hate her.
She tried to kill me, inflict a monster on the world, kidnapped seven girls and I still just couldn't. She didn't... earn it, because she couldn't. There's nothing she could do to make me forgive her. But... we're not our parents. She didn't have to earn my love.
I don't know if that applies for you. But one doesn't have to outweigh the other.
[And at the end of that speech, Adaine sniffles.]
no subject
I... I'm sorry. It's very different from how Sayo and I grew up, the relationship that we had, but all the same—
[ She swallows. It's hard to vocalize, but explaining it to somebody else makes it comprehensible. Allows her to better understand how she feels about it. ]
She took all of our lives, she betrayed me in the worst way possible, but I still can't hate her, really. I wish I could. And I wish I wasn't still in love with her. It'd be so much easier. Especially since she's here, in Trench.
She was in so much pain. [ Her voices cracks in a half-sob. ] Her heart had been broken so many times. And I just sat by and... I didn't help her at all. I barely even tried. When she was calling for help, I ignored it because it scared me.
no subject
Years ago, Adaine might have tried to drown out Jessica's pain with her own. She might have screamed and cried petulantly for attention, because she'd been so starved of it for so long that she saw anyone else getting anything that she wanted as them stealing from her. But she's changed, she realizes. And from the sounds of it, Jessica's changing too.]
...When my sister was slipping, I didn't see it either. Not until she'd sunken a ship full of people in the middle of the ocean, or until she was so wrapped up in her addiction to pain that she'd choose to destroy the world rather than live in it.
Part of me really wants to blame myself for that, because she was in pain, and I could have saved her. But... it wasn't me. It was this... cycle of abuse that needed to be broken.
I'm sorry that you went through all of that. I'm sorry she put you through that, and I'm sorry that she went through all of that as well. Nothing will excuse it. But I don't think it's your fault either. You...
We were just kids.
no subject
She kept calling herself "furniture" instead of a person. She was so miserable she decided to end it. But she... wanted us to go down with her. [ The ultimate, final act of miserable egotism, in a family full of the miserable and egotistical. ] I think maybe she didn't want to be alone.
[ She sucks in a deep breath, looks over to her parents again. To her mother. It had taken her mom so many years before she'd gotten pregnant with her, and she can't even imagine how awful grandpa had been to her. What could have been going through her mind when she'd done that horrible thing? ]
Yeah, it was—there was no one person to blame. Except maybe the old bastard, but... he only did the stuff he did because other people let him, and thrust his position on him in the first place. I guess it's what you said. A cycle.