apocalypsehowcomm | Log - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Closed)

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Log - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Closed)

Who: Mercy Graves, Aelwyn Abernant, residents (and friends) of A1.
When: Nebulously early in October.
Where: Apartment A1, Mercy's room
Summary: Mercy and Aelwyn made plans to have a sleepover with some alcohol in the mix and they are making good on that plan.
Warnings: Alcohol, underage drinking (additional cw's will be in tag subject lines as they come up)

[Aelwyn has promised her clever ways to acquire liquor, and Mercy has promised snacks, in turn, along with a comfortable bed to sleep in. The idea that she won't be falling asleep alone tonight is one that cheers her significantly throughout the day. She's seen the injuries people have come back with from Dogtown, and it's been worrying her. There are so many dangers in this place that she isn't familiar with, things she doesn't know how to warn people for. One month, it seems like there are slides eating people, the next it's evil boars. Now it's toys, she's heard. Strange toys turning up in Dogtown and making people act peculiar.

But all of that can be put away for tonight. Tonight, she gets to have Aelwyn over and they don't need to worry about anything. That music outside doesn't seem to penetrate the walls here in the apartment complex. Or it hasn't been bothering her much here. It seems safe.

Whenever Aelwyn arrives, Mercy is already dressed in her pajamas--purple with little skulls on them--and she greets the other woman with a grin.]

Come on in! I got sugar and savor, whatever you're feeling like for snacks, and I've figured out how to work the television, if you're wanting to watch the moving pictures. Got us set up in the living room to start.

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[It sends a mix of emotions through Aelwyn that Mercy wants to tell her about her unpleasant stories, while Aelwyn could never really put that level of trust on someone who she wants to have a high opinion of her.

But maybe the difference is that her own stories are repugnant, and she was always the villain in every single one of them.]

I'm familiar with the type. I believe I've told you about it before, there was a cult that thought pretty similar about a year and a half ago now. Tried to open up a gateway to allow the armies of Hell to ravage the planet so that they could kill everyone before they had a chance to become nonbelievers.

[Heroism... she remembers Adaine coming home from her first day, her hair still matted with blood, shell-shock in her eyes, how she wouldn't come out of her room all night. It certainly isn't a fairy tale.]

You're very brave. It can't have been easy.

It weren't easy... and good folk got hurt because of it. We found out the Abbey'd been lying about their heroes for ages, too. It was all hidden in the records if you knew how and where to look. We found it, but all the evidence... it went up in smoke when the Abbey and the gatehouse burned down. Me'n the others who found it swore we wouldn't tell no one, either. It just- It wouldn't've helped none?

[Mercy frowns down at her drink and takes another long pull of it.]

All that was left who knew, who saw it, was me and Ciaran. He was just running from the gangs in Torland, hadn't arrived at the Abbey a season ago. And I'm... my people ain't known by most to be honest folk, even when we are.

[Ah, yes. A history baked in secrets with false prophets, false heroes and false villains. It's... familiar to her. She doesn't know the full story of the Nightmare King, but even still she's read over her mother's notes.

She nods. Nineteen years of dealing with her bigoted parents has made her familiar with the ugly nature of prejudice.]

Yes... if you'd tried exposing an established institution, even locally, that would only draw further ire, I imagine.

Is this the same faith that you hold onto now?

No. I was never a devotee to the Blind Mother. Me and my family just tend the graveyard there. We're children of Brother Earth. The Spring Tide is just... well, it's a healing order. I found out about it from folk visiting for a festival when I was real little. Then a cleric come up to help with the wounded after the Abbey burned.

She was good people, told me about how the Spring Tide was all about helping and healing and bringing life. I thought that sounded nice, so when she was leaving... I decided to go with her.

I see... that's a very noble cause. [She takes a large sip of her drink. She feels a bit out of her depth here.]

I've never been religious. [Is that true? Kalina is... something. Maybe not divine but certainly a vessel for a god. The Nightmare King would probably count Aelwyn as a follower. But it's not like she chose that.] ...My family sort of turns up their nose at anyone who bases their lives around faith in anything other than themselves. That way of thinking doesn't exactly work out all the time, though, certainly not for my parents. [Or for her.]

Edited 2021-12-22 11:20 (UTC)

You're not the first to tell me something similar, but it's... Where I'm from, the people without faith are nomads and vagabonds off to the west. Everyone in Leigland says they're evil, godless heathens. My people ain't much respected for our god, but we're a step above that.

[She takes a sip of her drink.]

It's good you got faith in yourself, but what about for after life you're living now? You ever think about what comes after it?

...Humans stress so much about that, it's insane.

[She shakes her head, frowning. She's a little miffed at being called an evil goddless heathen, even second-hand.]

I'm immortal. So the only time I die will be because I was careless and allowed myself to be killed. When that does happen, I'll either go to Aborea, which is the heaven where our people originated from, or be returned to a cycle of reincarnation.

I understand you have your faith, but in my world, this isn't theoretical. It's fact. [Kind of. She left out the part where she's probably too evil for Aborea, so she'd probably get the Abyss instead.]

Edited 2021-12-24 23:33 (UTC)

Oh! But that's... huh.

[Mercy's pulled out of darker ruminations as she tries to parse how that would even fit into her world.]

If you got a heaven, then don't that mean you got someone who created that, too? Or is it more just... forces of the world all coming together to make your people at the start? We'd still probably call that a god in my world.

[Aelwyn, ever the self centred one, just assumes that Mercy's world is part of the same universe as hers and that they have simply not mapped out the Great Wheel.]

We know who created us, though they never created Aborea, or any of the other worlds where souls travel after death. They're gods, yes, but they're not infallible. They feed off the belief of mortals like plants feed off sunlight.

There's no one singular creator, however. Just multiple different elements at play in an eternal tug of war.

That's my world, too, I reckon. Gods ain't perfect, but they're powerful, and giving your belief to them is giving them more power. I think that's why the Council in Leigland don't like folk who ain't got a god they believe in. They're holding all that power for themselves. Makes them more dangerous, in a way.

[She offers Aelwyn a small smile.]

Guess they're right in a way. You seem real powerful, even if you're not supposed to use all that here. You ever think, maybe, if you only scared the bad folk, that'd be all right to fuel your magic? I ain't saying you should, and I know Ms. Nia said it was a bad idea, but if you really needed it... just seems like the best way about it.

[Aelwyn preens at the compliment, reaching up a finger and booping Mercy on the nose.] Flattery will get you everywhere, darling.

[She chuckles a little at the question. It's a bit of a naive interpretation probably, but she's glad to know that she can trust Mercy not to see it as a black and white issue. That means something.]

I have fed. In little ways, so I have enough magic to be useful. Though, I'm sure if I went the full feeding route and targetted even bad people exclusively, some people would probably disagree with you about it being okay. [Like Ren, who is okay with targetting bad people, but only if he's the one targetting bad people and ruining their lives irreperably. If Aelwyn does it, she's mean.]

Oh, before I forget, should we start doing eachother's hair? We don't have to stop talking, obviously, but I believe that was part of the game-plan.

[It's a bit of a relief to know Aelwyn has some magic to call on if things go particularly poorly. Mercy giggles at the tap and scrunches up her nose for a moment.]

'Course! You want me to start with you? Truth be told, I been hoping... your hair's like gold. I ain't seen many folk with the like. We got lighter browns, but most folk are dark like me until we start turning with our own seasons.

Well, who would I be to deny such a request in your own home? [She grins, pushing her hair away from her face. It's long and loose today but she usually wears a ponytail.] I used to have it in a long fancy braid but... it's a lot more effort to maintain without magic, I must say.

Elves have all sorts of hair colours. There's elves with naturally blue hair, bright red hair, green hair... but most people where I grew up looked pretty similar to me, so I always found dark hair prettier, honestly.

[It sounds fantastical, really. Mercy tries to picture anyone with hair naturally those colors. She's dyed her hands and lips purple with berries, but hair would be a lot.]

Grass is always greener, ain't it? [Mercy huffs a laugh.] Reckon I could've got anything I wanted, looking like you back home...

[So long as it doesn't come with the drawbacks of being me, probably. Aelwyn smiles.]

Well, I'd say you certainly have the wits for it.

[She positions herself facing her back toward Mercy and sits pretty, and allows Mercy to do her thing.]

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Log - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Closed)

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cw: fantasy racism/bigotry

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cw: fantasy bigotry

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