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apocalypsehowcomm2023-04-13 07:46 pm
rainestorms) wrote in apocalypsehowcomm2023-04-13 07:46 pm
LOG: Raine Whispers | April Catch-All | OPEN
Who: Raine Whispers, Eda Clawthorne and others (that could be you)!
When: Throughout April
Where: Bonnie's, Aldon Pond Burial Grounds, and maybe more!
Summary: Closed prompt for Raine and Eda, open TDM death prompt that includes spoilers, and Raine settling into Bonnie's prompts.
Warnings: Visions of Death, Violence, Attempted Suffocation, Implied Genocide, Fungus/Rot Imagery
If You Hold Me, I'll Be Your Only | Closed
Raine was finally glad to be home from Buffalo.
They'd enjoyed the little vacation with Eda for the most part; the weasel things and unwanted antagonisms from others were not ideal, but getting to spend their time with Eda was nice. The bus rides and all of the exploring they did made Raine feel like they were almost kids again! Though they were full of excitement about the trip, it was late, and Eda had already laid down to sleep.
So, Raine quietly settled into bed themself and said good night to Eda. Their mind wandered back to how they'd fallen into old habits with her again, though. Raine didn't do anything overtly romantic with her, but the shoulder touching, the way they talked to each other, and pretty much everything else had begun to become comfortably familiar.
The thought brought Raine back further, to when they'd stumbled across Eda at the gym the first time. She'd picked them up, hugged them, and kissed their face, all things Eda hadn't done to them in years. They were things Raine wished for more of, but remained quiet about due to the circumstances of their arrival and the stress it had put on them both.
"Eda," Raine finally spoke up.
They only continued when they heard a soft, sleepy sound of acknowledgement from Eda. Though anxiety sent their heart into a frenzy and twisted their lungs they wanted to ask Eda anyways. Raine knew neither of them would speak up about it if they continued this way. Raine felt like they were a child again, having to dance around both of their feelings.
"The way you acted, it was.. When we were working together, I- I've always acted friendly towards you... aside from the brainwashing... because you're- I always considered you my friend. But.. that was different."
They paused, and tightened their grip on the part of their shirt’s hem that they'd balled up into their fist. How silly was it that Raine could hardly address their own feelings without getting flustered and nervous. Whatever happened to the cool, collected head of the Bard Coven Eda had seen back in the BATs hideout?
"Were we...?"
Raine felt the rest of the sentence catch in their throat, and they decided to just leave it at that. They closed their eyes, and covered their face, the screen between them and their back to Eda not enough to account for the surge of anticipation and dread they felt. Not because they dreaded Eda telling them yes, but rather if Eda laughed it off, or changed her mind because they'd pretended to be brainwashed even in Gloucester.
Raine was Certain they knew the answer. It was hard not to pick up on the way Eda felt after everything, even before they'd come to Gloucester. But their shared history wouldn’t just disappear from Raine's memory. It couldn't.
50 Steps/The Game Plays Us For Fools| OPEN!
Having your death play in your head in any capacity was a nauseating experience, but having it in a cemetery set a new precedence. Raine had, against their better judgment, climbed a particularly insistent flight of stairs in the cemetery that had been rather... persistent about showing back up as they explored. It had been peaceful, at first, but there was an eerie sort of silence that seemed to envelop them as they reached the top, and looked around.
Raine had always considered the various ways they could've died back on the Isles- assassination and petrification were their mind’s favorite recurring nightmares since they’d become Head Bard. But whatever thing that gave them the vision of their own death had blown away their imagination by far. It made their nightmares pale in comparison to the desolation that came with Belos actually succeeding during the Day of Unity.
Raine had never seen the green, corpse-like form Belos had became until they managed to rip him out of their body. They didn't know what it was capable of when they fought to prevent him from possessing the Titan’s last beating heart.
Raine didn't necessarily attribute this to why they had failed, but Belos had gleefully mocked them for their failure either way.
To seal their defeat, Raine became trapped in the disgusting fungus-like corruption he created. They were immobile and suspended off the ground,unable to see having lost their glasses somewhere in the struggle. To stay sane they whistled the song Eda had written for them to keep sane as they waited for Eda, or anybody, to come rescue them.
But minutes turned into hours, and hours seemed to turn to days as their body gave out, or rather give in to the corruption as it grew over their body. They had long stopped whistling by the time they died, only hoping that Eda and the others hadn't perished the same way.
A:Raine had decided that they’d seen enough of their own demise. They run back down the steps, too panicked to have regard for those climbing up the stairs. That's not to say they'll run into whomever else is in the area, but seeing Raine running at top speeds down the stairs only to move around you at the last minute isn't out of the question.
B: After running from visions of their own demise, Raine sat themself on a bench. They tried to find somewhere as far away from what they perceived as the beginning of the stairs, though eventually gave up considering the stairs followed them. Raine instead settled for one closest to the outskirts of the graveyard. They're lost in thought, trying to play out a scenario in which they'd managed to fail so horribly at stopping Belos.
Settling Down | OPEN!
A: Raine had decided that, in their spare time, they'd explore Bonnie's. They poked around wherever they could within reason of not getting in trouble- mostly- and stop to talk to familiar people and strangers alike if they're friendly. Sometimes, they'd get a little nosy, and would take the time to investigate people or conversations of interest- they mostly focused on gossip or other things of interest pertaining to the ADI. Raine always made sure to stay out of sight- or, to at least have an exit strategy if things went south.
B: A place of interest for Raine is the memorial room. They'd seen it a few times walking in, but had never stopped in to investigate until that day. They don't recognise any of the names painted onto the soft blue walls, but they still took the time to read all of them, one by one. These names were people that those still around cared about- they were friends, family, lovers and loved ones that were missing or had perished to some untimely fate in a realm not their own. Raine felt deeply for them. It was an all too familiar feeling, and reminded them of the people who had disappeared, or ended up in The Conformatorium back at home- in fact, things became too familiar. Raine was transfixed by a drawing on the wall of the Boiling Isles- one that looked like they'd drawn themself, but had no recollection of ever creating. They didn't know what to make of it, but might bring it up to somebody who walks in if they talk enough.
Wildcard
(ooc: I'm open to anything! Contact me on discord at CatMageA#3680, or on plurk at raineyday if you wanna plan.)
When: Throughout April
Where: Bonnie's, Aldon Pond Burial Grounds, and maybe more!
Summary: Closed prompt for Raine and Eda, open TDM death prompt that includes spoilers, and Raine settling into Bonnie's prompts.
Warnings: Visions of Death, Violence, Attempted Suffocation, Implied Genocide, Fungus/Rot Imagery
If You Hold Me, I'll Be Your Only | Closed
Raine was finally glad to be home from Buffalo.
They'd enjoyed the little vacation with Eda for the most part; the weasel things and unwanted antagonisms from others were not ideal, but getting to spend their time with Eda was nice. The bus rides and all of the exploring they did made Raine feel like they were almost kids again! Though they were full of excitement about the trip, it was late, and Eda had already laid down to sleep.
So, Raine quietly settled into bed themself and said good night to Eda. Their mind wandered back to how they'd fallen into old habits with her again, though. Raine didn't do anything overtly romantic with her, but the shoulder touching, the way they talked to each other, and pretty much everything else had begun to become comfortably familiar.
The thought brought Raine back further, to when they'd stumbled across Eda at the gym the first time. She'd picked them up, hugged them, and kissed their face, all things Eda hadn't done to them in years. They were things Raine wished for more of, but remained quiet about due to the circumstances of their arrival and the stress it had put on them both.
"Eda," Raine finally spoke up.
They only continued when they heard a soft, sleepy sound of acknowledgement from Eda. Though anxiety sent their heart into a frenzy and twisted their lungs they wanted to ask Eda anyways. Raine knew neither of them would speak up about it if they continued this way. Raine felt like they were a child again, having to dance around both of their feelings.
"The way you acted, it was.. When we were working together, I- I've always acted friendly towards you... aside from the brainwashing... because you're- I always considered you my friend. But.. that was different."
They paused, and tightened their grip on the part of their shirt’s hem that they'd balled up into their fist. How silly was it that Raine could hardly address their own feelings without getting flustered and nervous. Whatever happened to the cool, collected head of the Bard Coven Eda had seen back in the BATs hideout?
"Were we...?"
Raine felt the rest of the sentence catch in their throat, and they decided to just leave it at that. They closed their eyes, and covered their face, the screen between them and their back to Eda not enough to account for the surge of anticipation and dread they felt. Not because they dreaded Eda telling them yes, but rather if Eda laughed it off, or changed her mind because they'd pretended to be brainwashed even in Gloucester.
Raine was Certain they knew the answer. It was hard not to pick up on the way Eda felt after everything, even before they'd come to Gloucester. But their shared history wouldn’t just disappear from Raine's memory. It couldn't.
50 Steps/The Game Plays Us For Fools| OPEN!
Having your death play in your head in any capacity was a nauseating experience, but having it in a cemetery set a new precedence. Raine had, against their better judgment, climbed a particularly insistent flight of stairs in the cemetery that had been rather... persistent about showing back up as they explored. It had been peaceful, at first, but there was an eerie sort of silence that seemed to envelop them as they reached the top, and looked around.
Raine had always considered the various ways they could've died back on the Isles- assassination and petrification were their mind’s favorite recurring nightmares since they’d become Head Bard. But whatever thing that gave them the vision of their own death had blown away their imagination by far. It made their nightmares pale in comparison to the desolation that came with Belos actually succeeding during the Day of Unity.
Raine had never seen the green, corpse-like form Belos had became until they managed to rip him out of their body. They didn't know what it was capable of when they fought to prevent him from possessing the Titan’s last beating heart.
Raine didn't necessarily attribute this to why they had failed, but Belos had gleefully mocked them for their failure either way.
To seal their defeat, Raine became trapped in the disgusting fungus-like corruption he created. They were immobile and suspended off the ground,unable to see having lost their glasses somewhere in the struggle. To stay sane they whistled the song Eda had written for them to keep sane as they waited for Eda, or anybody, to come rescue them.
But minutes turned into hours, and hours seemed to turn to days as their body gave out, or rather give in to the corruption as it grew over their body. They had long stopped whistling by the time they died, only hoping that Eda and the others hadn't perished the same way.
A:Raine had decided that they’d seen enough of their own demise. They run back down the steps, too panicked to have regard for those climbing up the stairs. That's not to say they'll run into whomever else is in the area, but seeing Raine running at top speeds down the stairs only to move around you at the last minute isn't out of the question.
B: After running from visions of their own demise, Raine sat themself on a bench. They tried to find somewhere as far away from what they perceived as the beginning of the stairs, though eventually gave up considering the stairs followed them. Raine instead settled for one closest to the outskirts of the graveyard. They're lost in thought, trying to play out a scenario in which they'd managed to fail so horribly at stopping Belos.
Settling Down | OPEN!
A: Raine had decided that, in their spare time, they'd explore Bonnie's. They poked around wherever they could within reason of not getting in trouble- mostly- and stop to talk to familiar people and strangers alike if they're friendly. Sometimes, they'd get a little nosy, and would take the time to investigate people or conversations of interest- they mostly focused on gossip or other things of interest pertaining to the ADI. Raine always made sure to stay out of sight- or, to at least have an exit strategy if things went south.
B: A place of interest for Raine is the memorial room. They'd seen it a few times walking in, but had never stopped in to investigate until that day. They don't recognise any of the names painted onto the soft blue walls, but they still took the time to read all of them, one by one. These names were people that those still around cared about- they were friends, family, lovers and loved ones that were missing or had perished to some untimely fate in a realm not their own. Raine felt deeply for them. It was an all too familiar feeling, and reminded them of the people who had disappeared, or ended up in The Conformatorium back at home- in fact, things became too familiar. Raine was transfixed by a drawing on the wall of the Boiling Isles- one that looked like they'd drawn themself, but had no recollection of ever creating. They didn't know what to make of it, but might bring it up to somebody who walks in if they talk enough.
Wildcard
(ooc: I'm open to anything! Contact me on discord at CatMageA#3680, or on plurk at raineyday if you wanna plan.)
no subject
"Y-yes. Yes. Twice now." She frowns up at the stairs, trying to cover up how intimidated she is by them, and how badly she was rattled by both her trips up.
no subject
"What did you see both times? Was it.. the same, or different?" They pause, contemplating their next questioin before they ask it anyways. "And did you... did you die in either?"
no subject
"I. Yes. I died. In both of the visions I saw. They were both things that really happened to me. Or nearly happened. Things that did nearly result in my death. And in the visions that the stairs showed me... they did."
She pauses for a moment before continuing softly. "Was it the same for you?"
no subject
"I saw something... something that hasn't happened to me," Raine made it to the bottom step, relieved to be free from them. "I did die, though. It wasn't fun to watch."
no subject
That's valuable information.
And she's going to doggedly pursue that line of thinking rather than allowing herself to dwell on the specifics of what happened to her in the visions. She'll make it home someday, find Vi, set it all right, and then none of the dread curling in the pit of her stomach right now will matter.
"Do the stairs merely draw on our memories or extrapolate new ones, I wonder, or are they playing on the sorts of deaths we fear?"
no subject
"I truthfully don't know if it did or didn't happen. I'm from an entirely different part of the timeline than the others from the Boiling Isles. I'd have to ask them."
Raine shrugged, almost noncommittally. They hoped that what they saw wasn't real, but the gaps that had been filled in for them by mostly Eda caused a worry to gnaw at the back of their mind that it was real. Even if it wasn't exact.
"I don't think I could answer for certain what happened in my vision was real, but.. it was certainly based on things that make it seem real. And it definitely did take advantage of my fear. I don't think anybody would want to die the way I did."
no subject
The whole idea of different timelines is well beyond her scope of understanding. She knows that sometimes people arrive from seemingly different points of time, or having lost time. But to properly understand it, she'd need someone like Jayce to explain it to her. Science has never been her strong suit.
It's a discomforting thought, in any case, that the stairs might be able to draw not only from their memories, but their futures as well.
She wants to ask what, exactly, they saw, but doesn't want to pressure them if it would be awful. So she moves away slightly, giving them more room to get away from the stairs, and asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"
no subject
Raine tried to surmise how to explain the concept of timelines- honestly, it was simple to them because of how much Eda had obsessed over time pools when they were younger. It was no surprise that Caitlyn seemed to find it confusing. It was certainly a more complex thing to grasp, even by the most talented Witches. And it was- well, had been- purely theoretical.
Raine's shoulders stiffened when Caitlyn asked if they wanted to talk about what they'd seen. They looked away, trying to keep a level head.
"Well, I.. I can I just don't know how much you'd understand," Raine sighed, and raked their hand through their hair. "How... familiar are you with possession?"
no subject
And they do.
"Not very," she says quietly. "It's never happened to me."
no subject
"I was possessed by the man.. if I could even call him that anymore.. the man who was the current Emperor of the Boiling Isles. I was trying to stop him from.. killing everyone. I'd already failed at completely stopping him once, I assume."
They sound a little choked at the end, but took a breath. They decided to sit at the closest bench, and made sure to give Caitlyn room if she wanted to sit.
"It's.. not what killed me, though. See, I broke free. He was just using me as a.. vehicle. Probably a way to trick people too. What killed me was my failure to stop him possessing the.."
They paused, and realised Caitlyn would have no clue what they were talking about. They didn't know how much information Eda had volunteered, but they guessed it probably wasn't much. Raine took their glasses off and rubbed at the corners of their eyes.
"I died trapped and alone because I failed to stop him from getting what he wanted. I tried to see if I could keep myself awake and sane and hoped that Eda would come find me.. but she never did."
Raine let that sink in. Not for Caitlyn's sake, but for their own. Their chest had begun to tighten, and their heart rate had risen more than they'd realised as they recounted what had happened. They closed their eyes, and rest their face in their hands, their elbows on their legs.
"Nobody, did. I don't know if everybody dies in my future if it's real, or if it's.. just what the stairs want me to fear but it was.. I don't want it to be real."
no subject
When they finish speaking, she turns sideways on the bench and wraps her arms tightly around Raine's shoulders, squeezing them into a fierce hug.
"It wasn't real." She can't truly promise that, of course. But she knows the stairs' visions aren't always the truth, and she she wants to believe that what Raine saw wasn't true either. "What they showed me wasn't real."
no subject
"I don't- we don't know that," They say when they're able to collect themself enough to speak. "Even if I don't really die it's still- I still failed."
That's enough to cause them distress.
no subject
"Even if that is in your future, it hasn't happened yet, has it?" She pulls back enough to look at them properly, her brow furrowed. "You'll prepare for it. And if it does happen, you won't fail."
no subject
"I wish it was that easy. So much that seems to happen after when I last remember from home is completely out of my control," they wipe their face. "I mean, possession? How do you even prepare for that? It's not exactly a common occurrence on the Boiling Isles... And what am I going to tell Eda..?"
They were afraid to tell Eda, not because they didn't want to, but because Raine didn't want to upset Eda. Things were not perfect now by any means, but she was happy. They were happy. Raine hated to ruin that, and they weren't even sure how they would. A deep dread gripped them when they thought about it.
"I.. I don't want to cause her any more stress."
no subject
"She'll find out eventually, won't she? Either you'll tell her, or. She'll live through it. If someone knew something about my future, even if it were something terrible, I'd rather they tell me. So that I could help them try to avert it, and so that they didn't have to bear that knowledge alone."
no subject
Hesitance hasn't left Raine. They struggled to decide how much to tell Caitlyn. She may have given them a
very nicehug, but Raine to a degree felt that talking about their relationship put it at risk. They didn't know Caitlyn."Eda and I have been... through a lot. She's been through a lot. I know I need to help her, but everything bad I tell her? I worry that it's pushing her closer into what they want."
no subject
"I wouldn't base my personal decisions on whatever it is they want.That only affords them more power over you.If it were me, I wouldn't keep it from her. I know you only want to protect her, but hiding the truth doesn't really protect anyone, in the long run."
She speaks with the conviction of someone who is utterly sincere in her beliefs but has never had to face this situation herself.
no subject
Raine looked down at Caitlyn's hand on theirs, and a gentle wave of exhaustion came over them. Raine rubbed the bridge of their nose, contemplating what to say next.
"Caitlyn... you said that you've been up there multiple times?"
no subject
Their question catches her off guard.
"Oh. Yes. Twice."
no subject
They peered back at the stairs, warily. Maybe they could make sense of how the stairs operated. Or maybe they'd just have to run back up them and try again.
Or maybe that was crazy.
"Because I.. if you did, maybe it's just making things up."
no subject
Clearly. Since she's not currently dead.