faceless man counting crumpled bills // OPEN

[nothinglikea]

Who: Rose Dawson and you?
What: Event shenanigans
When: April 8th-15th
Where: Gaze

Content Warnings: possible underage drinking, hypnosis, hopelessness, monsters, potential for instant beasthood, corruption, draining of soul

Comments

Migration of Moonlit Butterflies (CW: Titanic deaths)

[nothinglikea]

Rose couldn't say that she cared for the endless night. It reminded her uncomfortably of April 15th, floating on the door with falling stars all around her, Jack's hands gripped in hers, and the sounds of people screaming or begging for help getting more and more quiet.

As if she didn't know that April 14th was quickly approaching, the anniversary of the day the Titanic hit the iceberg in the first place. The calendar told her so well enough.

So Rose was weary and trying to not show it, heartsick and not ready to talk about it. Even though she knew she'd have to eventually.

...but couldn't it wait until the lovely, glowing butterflies had left? Say, a week or ten away from now? She could stare at the butterflies and felt as though she could stare at them for days, even as she felt herself growing more and more heartsick.

Even as a green glaze covered her eyes, her breathing grew quiet and even, and she felt what little hope she'd been clinging to slowly seep away.

Re: Migration of Moonlit Butterflies (CW: Titanic deaths)

[imaglyphwitch]

For someone that had the ability to make light glyphs (and happened to like the dark), Luz was still feeling apprehensive about what it would bring and had already learned that there was plenty that could go wrong without the sun.

What was more, she had already run into the butterflies, so that had been both harrowing and sobering. This was why Luz was riding around the past few days to make sure she'd be able to help out anyone who happened to fall upon the butterflies too. When she flew past Gaze, she saw the butterflies were out again and she sighed, flying down to see who might be under their sway. She was pretty alarmed to see Rose out now, very quiet and transfixed.

"Rose?" Luz said tentatively. "You doing ok?"

[nothinglikea]

Rose couldn't like the dark the way she used to. In times past, she'd sneak an oil lamp under her covers and read the latest book on psychology or evolution or even a frivolous novel by lamplight. It belatedly (as in very recently) struck her that what she'd done was probably dangerous, but it was too late now.

Rose couldn't say that she'd ever seen the butterflies before, but weren't butterflies a good thing? Something beautiful to watch as it made its way from place to place? She'd seen the Audubon book about butterflies with its careful illustrations, but there had been no mention of giant butterflies like these before.

She hears Luz's voice as if Rose was underwater and Luz was yelling from the side of the pool. Idly, she found herself saying "I'm fine," back. Even though it wasn't entirely true. The pain in her heart was growing and growing.

[imaglyphwitch]

Oh boy. Oh no. Luz knew exactly what this was. She'd been in this exact position days ago, because how was she not expected to look at something so pretty? But Luz knew that beauty came with a price, and there was no way that she was going to have Rose pay for that.

She walked over to the teenager and put her hand in Rose's a moment, just so she could at least know she was there. She was going to see exactly how much Rose might be doing with her mind powers.

What are you thinking about, Rose?

[nothinglikea]

How could something so pretty be harmful? Even as she felt as though her chest was about to cave in with the weight of grief she carried, not just for Jack, but also for Thomas Andrews, the ship designer of the Titanic who'd become a father figure in a few short days. Jack's friends, Tommy and Fabrizio. They were nowhere to be found in the Steerage portion of the Carpathia. And her faithful maid, Trudy, who'd comforted her in the wake of Cal's temper. She couldn't find Trudy, either.

Rose reflexively squeezed the hand she was given.

And her thoughts came in as a bit of a haze. Mostly what the modern world called survivor's guilt, people's faces clear enough, but it's like coming through a fog. When she managed to think a thought, it was why was I the one who lived?

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz knew by now that there were plenty of things that were pretty that had sinister intentions. Even she had to admit that nature had not been something she thought would betray her, but you learned something new in Trench every day, and it could change the rules if it saw fit.

Luz held on a moment, and in that briefest point, she could feel that tinge of regret from Rose. It was something she had quietly expected might be the case for Rose, to have lived while so many had died.

In fact, Luz knew that feeling very well.

Rose. It's OK. You tried to survive as best as you could, didn't you? I can't imagine you doing anything else.

[undermoonlight]

Atsushi spent a lot of time in the archives these days. When he wasn't searching for information in the pages of books, then he was checking in with the locals for interesting gossip. So he knew why the butterflies so easily held his attention. He also understood what the green glow in someone's eyes meant.

Still, he hesitated. He didn't know this girl or the thoughts that had her transfixed. He wasn't sure if his interference would be welcomed and wasn't sure if it was fair to use force to wake her up. So Atsushi gently reached out to tap her shoulder, hoping that and a calm voice would be enough.

"Excuse me, miss? Sorry, but you need to look away."

[nothinglikea]

Rose spent a great deal of time in the archives or in classes, too. She could hardly believe the leaps ahead in fields like psychology and physics, but they were entirely real and ready for her to study them to her heart's content.

Even though her heart never would be fully content. It was perhaps disobeying Jack's last request, but he'd asked that she survive. Not that she forgot everything which had happened in the meantime. So she was surviving, or doing her best to. Everything in Trench was so strange, she felt as though she may as well be on another planet entirely.

But she felt a tap on her shoulder, momentarily breaking the stupor of the butterflies and her own thoughts. "...look away? At what?"

[undermoonlight]

"At uh... me, I guess?" He stumbled into his reply. That choice of words had already sounded awkward in his head, but it was even worse to hear them out loud. Atsushi wasn't sure what else to distract her with other than a conversation. The butterflies were something he knew mostly from books at that point, not so much from experience.

Again, he tapped her shoulder. But this time, Atsushi also tried to lightly grab her and turn her to look at him. "I've heard that they're dangerous to look at- The butterflies, I mean."

[nothinglikea]

Rose's brow furrowed slightly as she wondered why she was being distracted from the butterflies. They were so beautiful and strange, even as she felt worse and worse somehow looking at them. But she could still feel that tap on her shoulder, her arm being taken so that she was looking at someone else.

She found herself saying distantly "Ah. I suppose they'd have to be, wouldn't they? Even beauty comes with a catch." And she thought for a moment about what that might mean in the future. "Thank you. I owe you a favor."

[undermoonlight]

Atsushi's shoulders sunk with relief once they'd made eye contact. With a weak smile, he waved his own hand to dismiss her thanks. "It's fine. We have to look out for each other here, right?"

It seemed like too small of a thing for him to accept a favor over. Cautiously, he lifted his gaze to take a peek at the giant butterfly that had landed. It was amazing how light they were, despite their huge size.

"Compared to some other things, they're quite gentle." He looked back at Rose, "My name is Atsushi Nakajima. Are you, uh. Feeling okay? You were staring pretty intently."

Wonderkind

[nothinglikea]

Rose couldn't help it, she was excited to see what would come out of the portals. She'd already retrieved her silver looking glass and matching brush, her silver music box, a bottle of perfume (not rose scented!) she'd had on her vanity, the dragonfly comb she'd worn when she decided that her only choice was Jack, now and forever.

It did not, however, give her the Heart of the Ocean. That she had balled up inside one of her thicker pairs of woolen socks.

So as she's looking into the portals, she's surprised to see a familiar face:

A) Jack Dawson, smiling at Rose with an expression of eternal love, looking as young and handsome and beautiful as she'd remembered him.

or

B) Cal Hockley, staring at her with dark, unreadable eyes, only the tension in his lips betraying something of what he was feeling.

A.

[onebadapple]

Snow wasn't really all THAT scared about the eternal night. She didn't have the trauma of October like so many and well, she has her gift from her patron making everything around her bright and glowing.

"Oh, he's very handsome," Snow White said from beside her, a basket on her arm and Argonaut's bottle sitting snuggly inside of it.

Surrounding Snow are the more nocturnal animals, owls, wolves, badgers, raccoons, hedgehogs, and as always, her stag, Faramund.

"Who might that handsome gentleman be, Rose?"

[nothinglikea]

Rose wasn't particularly fond of it. She'd come to associate night with the sinking of the Titanic, which always put her on edge. But she was trying to calm down a little since she'd gotten so many of her things from home. she wasn't sure what was causing the portals, but she was grateful for them.

But seeing Jack looking back at her was a huge surprise, so much so when Snow spoke, Rose just about jumped a mile.

"--oh! He's. He's someone from home. Someone I thought I'd never see again.

And Jack smiled playfully at her saying "C'mon, Rose. I thought you knew that. You jump, I jump remember? Maybe it's taking me a little while longer, but you know I'll always be there for you."

[onebadapple]

Snow watched Rose jump, but said nothing of it as she moved beside the older woman, smiling. She tilted her head as she watched Jack say "you jump, I jump." What exactly was Rose jumping from?

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, someone from home," she smiled, waving a bit. "It must be wonderful that you can see each other again!"

Snow wasn't sure she would want to see anyone but the dwarfs again from home.

[nothinglikea]

If anyone had to witness this, Snow was the best one. And the Jack in the portal reached a hand out towards Rose, fingers extended. So Rose reached out her hand and touched his hand, even though the portal was there and real and unbreachable.

And Rose sighed, both happy and sad at the same moment. "Jack, this is Snow White." Jack tipped his head down respectfully, and said ma'am.

Rose smiled, a hint of sadness tinging her smile. "It is. There are so many people I left behind me, but maybe...maybe Jack will be here in person. Maybe he's one of those squids out there, I just need to pinpoint the exact one. It's possible, isn't it," Rose said with the mingled hope and desperation of someone who needed a yes.

Sometimes the past is best left in the past.

b

[phaseflex]

I dislike this man immensely, [amara announces, wandering up from having followed some of the shooting stars. satellites. moths. whatever they were. she's still not clear on the tech level of this world, relative to deerington. anything could be anything. that's just how it is in this little section of the multiverse.] Hello? Hello! Why are you looking at her like that?

[she glances to rose:] You okay?

[nothinglikea]

Cal in the portal drew himself up as though he was somehow sitting taller than he already was and said "I'll look at my former fiancee however I like.

and to Rose, "So you survived after all. Did he survive with you and whisk you away to a carefree, penniless existence with love to fill your bellies and staring into each other's eyes for an occupation?"

Rose sighed. She'd expected nothing less from Cal. But to Amara, she says "I hope so. This...person is from my past. I expected him to stay there."

[phaseflex]

He looks like a punk bitch. You wanna bounce? I found a place that does coffee. [she asks, looking at cal and just about realising the age difference between him and rose. gross.] Dunno if they have good tea, but close enough, right?

[nothinglikea]

Cal in the portal blustered, looking off balance in the way she'd seen only one time before: when Rose had spat in his face, the took off running. But Rose wasn't listening. Again. "Yes, coffee would be fine. I'm American enough to appreciate both."

From Within and Without

[nothinglikea]

It was upon her even before she knew what was coming, something with her own red curls but a mirror void for a face.

Rose didn't even have time to scream. Before she'd had any idea of what was coming, she'd been swallowed whole and transformed into something awful, a great big russet wolfhound with thick, curved horns on its head, snarling and spitting foam at anyone who may be near.

Here we go again!

[imaglyphwitch]

You know the best way to get into mischief? Flying around during what seemed like eternal night. That was what Luz was contending with now, and taking another hour to fly around to make sure things were going all right sometimes meant falling smack dib into trouble.

In this instance she was going through Gaze when she saw something that seemed a little off: it looked like a dog, but had horns on its head and looked like it had rabies.

Luz knew full well this had to be corruption. The horns seemed to be a dead give away. She landed down with her staff and walked toward the beast, approaching it as slowly as she could. Something about it seemed familiar, especially with its color.

Ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary folk, keep your hands inside the ride at all times and no selfies!

[nothinglikea]

Whomever Rose was had been subsumed, leaving a wretched, corrupted beast in her place. Something of Rose's consciousness was there, but it was being drowned out by what she'd become. Something she'd never wanted to be, a beast.

An onlooker got too close and she lashed out viciously, jaws snapping at thin air as the person managed to dart back in time. Voices started crying out to run, run, find a blood minister and bring them back, to hurry!

But Luz's rather more quiet approach wasn't as maddening as the onlookers gawking and shouting had been. But her hackles were still up and a low noise rumbled from her throat.

[imaglyphwitch]

"Easy, easy," Luz said softly, making sure to look as non-intimidating as she could. She was pretty sure that in this corrupted state that the corrupted beast could probably rip her throat out. While she did have her glyphs at hand, she didn't want to resort to them, not yet.

"I won't hurt you. That's it. If you want, I'll take you out of here, ok?"

She wasn't even sure if she could be heard while this person was in a corrupted state, but she'd sure give it a shot.

[nothinglikea]

The beast still did her best to seem intimidating, tossing her head to show off her curled ram horns. It didn't even occur to her that dogs didn't have horns and she'd be horrified if she had full knowledge and control of what it was she was doing.

But the voice sounded calm. There were so many voices which didn't. From their sounds, they'd kill her given half a chance and she was too afraid to let her guard down completely.

Her body language was a mesh of fear and anger both and it remained to be seen which emotion won.