LOG | July Catch-All | OTA/Closed Prompts

[rainestorms]

Who: Raine Whispers, Kate, Carter + OTA
When: Throughout July and the beginning of August
Where: Around Gloucester and the ADI
Summary: Raine pokes around the Christmas party, makes a bet about eating spicy food, looks and feels TERRIBLE, and does some light confrontation.
Warnings: supernaturally caused feelings of depression/isolation/loneliness, mental/physical health degradation, panic attacks, anxiety, drug abuse, more will be added if needed.



Holly Jolly
Raine didn't really understand the Christmas in July thing, but they were thankful it made Pam happy. She’d seemed so glum since their encounter in the park, and Raine did feel bad for stealing from her. Even if it was perhaps too easy.

Raine decided that they'd help Eda set up for the party when they're needed, as an unheard thank you. After things kick off, Raine can be found mingling around the restaurant, puzzling at the food (or decorations), or perhaps even trying to find the other half of their strange bauble. It looks a bit like a pig’s back end.. or maybe some sort of bird? Or maybe something holding maracas. The bard doesn't know.

Heating Up

Despite what the spookily dressed teenage workers claimed, Raine was not dead. In fact, they were doing fine. Maybe a little too fine. They'd loved spicy food since they were a kid, and having tasted some of the other spicy things, they had their eyes on the challenge: The Bowel Buster.

They contemplate it, alone, and will offer to do it with somebody if approached about it. To sweeten the deal, Raine might suggest that if they both successfully eat the chips, whoever finishes first gets both people’s prize money.





Lone Digger (Closed to bossyboiler/Kate)

“Kate,”

Raine sits down across from Kate, coffee cup of… whatever sounded good at the moment on the menu. They didn’t exactly understand what a latte, or cappuccino, or Americano was- Eda had explained all of them a while ago, but with everything going on Raine had only really retained the statement that they were “different ways to drink the same bean juice,” and that she was “banned from several coffee shops in Gravesfield” for trying to pay with raccoons.

“I’m glad we could sit down together, outside of the ADI.”

Raine flashed a polite smile. They didn't want to hit the ground running with asking Kate questions about the Glamours- it would seem too needy.

“It feels like as of late things have been.. Well. You know.”

Come Back Down To My Knees (closed to setthetone/Carter)
(tw: drug use)

Raine had spent some of their time using the medallion to spy on Carter- steal a few of his papers here, look through files and eavesdrop on conversations there. They'd been gathering information not just on him but on what he'd been hiding.

A stroke of boldness told the bard that they could confront him about it. Convince him to give over what they wanted if they could frame it the right way, as a safety thing. Because it definitely was.

Raine knew Carter was going to be at his clinic near Dogtown around this time. They'd followed him to it a few times, both to get a good sense of the clinic itself, and to keep tabs on who he was seeing.

So they strode into the clinic, as seriously as possible, violin on their side just in case, as they called out:

“Carter?” No sign of him yet. “I need to talk to you about, uh, what we discussed the other day.”





I Think I Could See The Beach, Just Don't Look Underneath Us
(tw: mental and physical health degradation, anxiety, depression, isolation.)

Things had changed around the ADI. Raine, unfortunately, is no stranger to being a part of this change.

Around mid-July, Raine begins to lose their normal cheery exterior. Dark circles under their eyes as if they've not slept, and a sort of sluggish energy that can be taken as them being tired from the recent attempt to stop the apocalypse, or one of the various other horrors they’ve dealt with.

But they become less responsive and more anxious. Their attempts to reach out to coworkers or friends dwindle, and texts go unanswered. Though they do come to work, or go shopping, they spend time doing what they're needed, and then go home. Small talk is unusually kept to a minimum. Questions of spending time together aremet with awkward admissions that they'll have to see if they're busy. Any attempt to ask if they're okay gets a gentle smile, a hand wave, a nervous laugh and a soft reply that they're just feeling a bit under the weather, or something vague.

i) I Can Admit, I Am Not Fireproof
(tw: prev+ perceived haphephobia)

Raine’s love language has always been physical touch to those whom they were close to. A pat on the shoulder here, a gentle hug there if both parties wanted it. But touch in the oncoming weeks is a sudden and new challenge for Raine.

They hesitate to take things from people’s hands. They try and keep distance in conversation. Any touch that they aren't expecting Raine will flinch from. They try to brush it off, but.. there's a sense of unease from the bard. That coming into contact with somebody is something to be afraid of.

ii) I Hope I Don’t Murder Me, I Hope I Don’t Burden You.

(tw: prev + descriptions of panic attacks.)

Raine tries to hide the way their anxiety has twisted into something severe. They disappear during work when they need to, In a bathroom, an office, behind bookshelves, in their room when they think they're alone.

The racing of thoughts and the pounding of their heart returns. The sound of heavy breathing and feeling numb fingers becomes normal for them again. At its worst, violent, ragged sobs that choked on desperate apologies with no recipient. The terror of being alone, of being unseen and unheard, but also of being seen, of being questioned for acting in a way that was off-script. It was so different here than in the Boiling Isles.

There, it was manageable.

There, Eda wasn't involved.

Comments

come back down to my knees

[setthetone]

It's been quiet these last couple of days but Carter knew that people had ventured into Dogtown again. And he knew that those trips usually ended badly - if he only had to take care of some bruises and sprained ankles, it would probably be a good day. And if it ended up worse, he wanted to be ready.

Or maybe he just wanted to clock in some overtime to keep himself busy and not think so much about what happened with the artifact. What happened with Luka.

What happened with himself.

He's in the back part when Raine comes in, gathering some supplies he wants out and within reach and shows up a moment later, setting them down on one of the tables and he looks over at them quizzically.

"Hi."

Carter frowned, trying to remember what they had - oh. Yes. The research, that's right. He noded, leaving the equipment for now to stroll over.

"Sure, come on in. I'm not busy right now. You want some coffee? It's bad but strong."

[rainestorms]

Raine froze, surprised by how.. calm he was. Maybe they'd just come off a bit too strong. They try to relax a little, but find themself just looking-and feeling- more awkward than anything.

"Um."

They stepped in closer to Carter, but still keep their distance.

"Yes. I'll take a cup," They didn't really wholly like coffee, but maybe it would help. "Though if it's bad I'll probably need to put something in it."

They decided to wait till he came back to do anything.

[setthetone]

"I think I have some sugar around here somewhere."

He usually takes it black, courtesy of the doctor's lounge back home notoriously being out of anything, and pour them two mugs.

There's a pause after he sets it down and he scratches the side of his face.

"So. Research. You said you were looking into artifacts and their long-term effects on people."

[rainestorms]

Raine took a sip of their own coffee, and after being dissatisfied with the taste for a moment they blow on it, giving enough of the whistle to change the way it tasted.

Raine sat the mug down.

"Well, yes, I was but-"

Raine suddenly wasn't as sure about confrontation. They cleared their throat.

"-but I. Found some other things."

Lone Digger

[bossyboiler]

She gets her usual at Any Beans Necessary, a caramel latte with extra caramel. This time it's also has an extra shot of espresso. She has a feelling she'll need the fortification.

"Raine." Kate greets them with a friendly smile. She can't say that she's happy to be there but she's not displeased about it. She can understand the need to talk about something away from ADI especially something as important as this. "I am too." She genuinely think that it is a good idea to get to know people especially now that there are so few of them left.

"I know what you mean. It seems as though we've lost a lot of people and things are changing very fast."

[rainestorms]

Raine took a sip of their coffee, relieved that the taste was pleasant. They smiled through it, and fidgeted with the little sleeve they were given.

"We have lost a lot of people. And not just from them disappearing, I'm aware of the attempts to make something.. New outside of the ADI."

They glanced out of the window, before looking back.

"To be completely honest I don't know what to think about all of it."

Which is a lie, but they're doing their best to stay neutral.

"But I do think it might be smart of those of us still around Gloucester to cooperate and make sure the ADI aren't... Hiding things that could be helpful to getting home."

[bossyboiler]

"The people who have left ADI voluntarily don't feel as though they can work for an Avatar." She takes a sip of her own coffee before continuing. "They can't trust them or the organization as a whole like that." Her roommates, no her family, might have been persuaded to stay with ADI if Nia hadn't been the one left in charge. "They aren't leaving just because they feel like it. I don't know about those that disappeared. Maybe they just decided to run off or maybe ADI is keeping them in a secure basement somewhere."

Deep down in her heart, she knows there is no going home, not for any of them.

"That's why I'm staying with ADI. Someone has to stay behind and make sure that ADI stays on track and doesn't become an even worse organization."

[rainestorms]

"I.. could gather why they were leaving." Raine's voice softened "But I can't help but worry. About what it means for the rest of us. And what that means for them."

Raine took a sip of their coffee, before they continued.

"I understand being wary of Nia because she's an Avatar, but.. Something about, maybe the power structure made her that way. It wasn't a conscious choice. What's not to say the same thing doesn't happen to them? Only this time, there's not enough people around to notice, or help, or.."

They furrowed their eyebrows- not in frustration, but in a rather serious fashion.

"When I was home, I made the mistake of not including people that could've helped me because I thought I was protecting her-"

Whoops. Raine found it best not to get into details of the trials and tribulations of how they reunited with Eda, but they still had a point to make.

"-Or uh. Them. Based on what I know now about what will happen at home, I should've been more upfront with the danger and what we were doing. We worked better together than apart."

I Can Admit, I Am Not Fireproof

[punched_hitler]

By the end of July and beginning of August, Steve's all but got one (and a half, really) foot out the door. Although Winter's put in for his last day, Steve hasn't quite, yet. He's still digging around just a little more, hoping to glean a little more information about how they can help those offworlders who can't pass as human leave ADI's influence if they want.

But there's only so much digging he can do. It's frustrating, and he needs a break, heading to the break room for a snack as he turns a corner and bumps into Raine - who practically recoils even as Steve's reaching out to steady them, give he's the more massive of the two and doesn't want to send the other toppling over. "Geez, I - sorry."

He frowns, hands dropping to his sides, but attention now squarely on Raine. "Are you okay?"

There are perfectly normal reasons to be jumpy around here, none of which are good to start... and then there are worse ones.

[rainestorms]

To say Steve running into Raine didn't near frighten them out of their skin was an understatement. The poor witch shooed his hands away as he was trying to steady them, rebalancing themself on the wall a foot or two away from Steve.

"I uhhh-"

Raine tightly hugged themself, straightening up as they tried to think of an answer.

"I'm fine! I'm fine.." They hold their hands up, a nervous but reassuring smile. "I've been a little.. On edge since the stuff with Zyrian..."

From the dark circles under their eyes and their slightly strung out disposition, that's an understatement. But they try to be convincing, and straighten out their glasses for some form of show.

"Just.. Normal ADI things."

They weren't the best at lying.

[punched_hitler]

Yeah, Steve sees that body language, and he doesn't love it. He's a little worried it's because he's, you know, a big guy, but then he notices other things, like the dark circles, and thinks it's something more.

Which... well. Makes sense. Normal ADI things indeed.

"Which means something pretty awful," he says, keeping his distance, not reaching out again, but certainly not stepping away. His expression is concerned, not angry or accusing. "Can I help?"

I Think I Could See The Beach, Just Don't Look Underneath Us

[canofmanji]

At first Manji simply thinks Raine hasn't been sleeping well. Although as they continue to deteriorate he begins to suspect something else.

He'll wait until Raine is mostly alone at work. Not interested in being overheard by anyone else. Especially as he plans to speak frankly.

"When's the last time you scared someone?" He doesn't bother with pleasantries. Jumping right to the point.

[rainestorms]

Raine's startled by Manji- both his presence, and his question. They glanced around, eyes wide, before returning to Manji with more of a tired grimace.

"I.. don't usually scare people intentionally, Manji," They responded, their voice quiet. "So.. probably not since...Buffalo?"

If they didn't count the people they were using to feed the medallion. But that wasn't really feeding feeding.

"But I didn't really want to scare those people. Why are you asking?"

[canofmanji]

"Because you look like shit." Manji has never bothered to sugar coat things. "Like you could sleep for three days and still not get enough sleep."

For Manji, there is one reason why Raine would look so tired. "I look that haggard when I haven't been scaring people. You said you're a bard right? Need music or somethin' like that? Have you been playing your music without scaring someone?"

I Hope I Don’t Murder Me, I Hope I Don’t Burden You

[failedpromise]

People crying seems to be a bit of a theme this month. She's already found Eda doing it behind a shelf, and she almost expects it to be Eda again when she enters into a typically unused office searching for the source of the sound. Nosy little shit.

"Raine?" There's distinct surprise in her voice. She almost asks if they're going to be okay, but this is the second time she's seen someone crying randomly from the same world in the same month, and she is not only nosy, she thinks Raine is more likely to spill than Eda. "What's going on?"

[rainestorms]

They're surprised by the sound of Cortana's voice, and Raine jumps, trying to wipe their eyes and sniffle. They squint to try and discern who it is through blurry, glassesless vision.

"Cortana..?" They asked, and begin to search for their glasses. "I'm.. It's... Today's one of those days that are harder than normal."

Raine found them, and wiped them off before returning them to their very tired green eyes. They took a shaky breath, before adding:

"That's all."

They try to smile, but it's not worth it.

holly jolly

[hellojon]

( but also like, feel free to gaslight gatekeep girlboss as much as you want )

Elias Bouchard is normally not a holiday party sort of person. He's normally not an any party sort of person. But what good is being the servant of an all-seeing, all-knowing eldritch fear entity if you can't use your powers to scope out the menu?

There's cake. Of course he's going to be there. He can suffer the mild indignity of someone having plopped a santa hat on his head for that.

He's enjoying a slice of cake when he spots Raine. His demeanor shifts slightly, going from cool to downright cold. Still, he's an adult. He can have a perfectly pleasant conversation with someone who he doesn't like. So he walks over, gives them a little nod, then muses, "Your world doesn't have a holiday like this, does it? If you have any questions, I'd be perfectly happy to answer them."

[rainestorms]

(oh don't worry I will)

Raine can feel the frigidness of Elias before they see him. They're not doing much- picking at a piece of human food that they're not quite sure what to make of- but give him their full attention when he begins to speak. They don't Hold any negativity in their facial expression.

"It doesn't. We do have a similar event in the Boiling Isles that involves giving a tree.. Thing gifts but. That's more for our protection."

If they weren't trying to remain civil they'd probably ask him if he just knew that already or not. They'd also ask if he could just know what they didn't know already. But, they were trying to keep things cordial, despite the feelings of general unease and disgust that they harboured for him.

"But, I've had some time to do research on human customs. I don't know everything but I.. Understand the basics at least."

Mostly. Sort of. Christmas seemed to Raine less like an actual holiday, and more of a horrifying amalgamation of excuses for spending exorbitant amounts of money, and keeping something known as the "Christmas spirit" happy.

"I've been interested in seeing how people outside of this country celebrate it, though."

There. Small talk that their... Colleague? Can engage with.

[hellojon]

"Well, speaking as an Englishman, I suspect I'll be of no use. American Christmas and English Christmas have plenty of the same trappings. A few of our smaller customs are different—I doubt that Pam has any Christmas crackers here. But generally speaking? It's very much the same."

He takes another bite of his cake, chewing and swallowing before continuing the conversation. This is fine. This is just two coworkers, being civil, doing their best to hide their obvious loathing of each other behind that pleasant wall of civility and small talk.

Ah, but there is one thing.

"Have you heard about Santa yet? I can see how someone might get...mixed ideas about the man." After all, there is quite a bit of breaking and entering involved.

I Can Admit, I Am Not Fireproof

[graveyounglady]

"Raine?" Mercy doesn't know the other witch well, but she knows of them via Eda. And just being neighbors at Bonnie's Flophouse. It's in said Flophouse where she approaches them, just come down to the kitchen to see about making some dinner for herself and anyone who might be around.

She spots them standing near the door, but they seem... exhausted. Utterly so. Mercy reaches out to try to tap them on the shoulder. Just a light touch, really. "You feeling okay?"

[rainestorms]

Raine wrenched their arm back a little too quickly. They hadn't noticed Mercy originally, too lost in thought and sleep deprived.

"Uhm- I- Sorry," they stammered, and tried to smooth out their messy hair and disheveled clothing. "I'm, um, I'm fine. Just, ah, tired."

They tried to put on their most convincing smile. Needless to say, it probably isn't overly convincing.

"And maybe a little jumpy..."

[graveyounglady]

Mercy frowns in concern. "Aye... like a jittery Junebug. You wanna sit down, maybe? I'm about to make dinner. Happy to have some company if you'd like to eat, too. Seems like you could use an ear and I got those when my hands are busy."

I Think I Could See The Beach

[ruevealing]

Rue is nothing if not an expert at keeping up appearances. Though they have been living in a state of near constant terror since early July, a nice change of pace from the grief that's so taken over their day-to-day life, Rue has not missed a single day of work. If anything else, it's been quite the opposite, they've become quite the force of positivity around the office.

So of course they notice how quiet Raine has become. Some late July morning, they approach their office with Donnie's favorite cookies - mild taste, great texture and snap - and hot cocoa. If they do not like tea, perhaps chocolate will be more their preference.

"Raine? I'm not interrupting, am I?"

[rainestorms]

The bard nearly jolted to attention when Rue entered, and shut the notebook they were writing in.

"N-no, I was..." They glanced down at the notebook, and grimaced. They didn't usually do spying work at.. work, but an idea on something to look at had come to them. These days, not writing things down risked Raine forgetting them.

"I was writing something down for some research I've been doing.. nothing overly important."

They don't even notice what Rue's holding onto, too busy running their hands under their glasses and over their eyes. They tried to rub away the fatigue but all it does is knock their glasses onto the table and make them look all the more dishevelled.

[ruevealing]

Well! That's not suspicious at all!

Rue's expression immediately softens, concern pinching at their feather brow.

"Of course." They agree kindly, while not completely believing them at all. Rue has been around ADI long enough to know when something is up and this just reeks of something strange and terrible going on. The way Raine handles rubbing their eyes as their glasses clatter to the desk really solidifies that theory for Rue.

"Well, I'm sure you deserve a little break from all of the work, don't you think?"