If you listen closely, you can hear the gentle whispering of a Goddess slipping across tendrils of fog. "The Wall," Protection (Paranoia) urges, "...build it higher. Take whatever you can find and build. The Wall is safety. Terrible things await you, only the Wall keeps them at bay."
Near the Wall you can see figures coming in from other areas, carrying and dragging material to build up the wall with. Others are scaling it, fixing things just so until their forms still and grow slightly vacant.
The structure of the Wall looms impossibly high above, an ominous structure that makes you feel small. The structure of the Wall crouches low, barely even a few feet, offering little protection. The Wall is an orderly pattern of brick and stone. The Wall is a random heap of debris. The Wall is still, it is just a wall. The Wall is shifting to stare down at you in silent hunger.
You begin your task by searching for materials...
Today's items:
A half-melted Hello Kitty flashlight
The object is part cheerful cartoon cat, part melted plastic horror, but there's something about it that draws you. When you touch it, a feeling of safety fills you. Finding the right spot for it is a bit of struggle, but when the light begins to flicker on, you know you're close. It grows brighter and brighter until your entire field of vision is flooded with a blinding white light.
Suddenly it's dark, and you're laying in the comfort of your bed with the covers pulled all the way up over you. You're small, and weak, and your little heart is thumping so painfully loud as something outside the covers shifts and sinks down onto the bed. A harsh laugh sounds above you and the thin protection of your blanket is yanked violently away, revealing a razor sharp smile that glints starkly against inky black.
The world shifts and suddenly one of your own memories slips across your mind's eye. A memory of a time when you felt small and helpless. When safety was yanked away from you. As the memory ends, the light recedes back, solidifying into the form of Goddess Protection
(Paranoia). Her warm hands reach out and take hold of your own. "It only frightens you, it only makes things worse. Let me take it from you, that feeling...that time..." The warmth surges as her hands slip through your very being, carding through your existence, pulling something out and away from you. You own memory fades as her light grows brighter. The Goddess steps back into the Wall, sinking into it's structure until all that's left is a feeling of warmth and safety.
The Wall continues to keep all the terrible things at bay.
A stained brick
The brick is a bit sticky, with a few odd lumps hardened to its surface, but seems sturdy and well-suited to the Wall. You find a section that is neatly made up of similar bricks, perfect except for one small hole. There is a feeling of satisfaction as your own brick slides home with a thick, heavy smack.
Smack!
Brick raised high in your hand, you bring it down on the other person's helmet with another hard smack! Their helmet finally cracking, the muffled screaming reached a new, higher pitch, until it was cut short and then boom!
Pieces of flesh and blood and bone rain down on your own helmet in a soft, wet, spatter. Breathing heavily, you sit back on the sand and stare out into the foggy ocean, uncaring of the red streaks now obscuring the view. They were going to kill you. Everyone was going to kill you.
If you let them.
If you didn't kill them first.
The sound of the tide grows louder and louder until it stops, and you look up to find yourself within another scene. This one familiar. This one happened to you. You experience a memory of fear and suspicion, of a time when it felt dangerous to trust.
The sound of stone scraping against stone jars you from your memory. The bricks all shift and warp until they form a pair of arms that emerge to wrap around you. "You don't need that, you're safe now. You never have to trust in anyone," The Goddess Protection
(Paranoia) whispers with quiet intensity. Her arms tighten and sink through you, drawing tighter around something within. "Except me. As long as you trust in me, I'll keep you safe." The arms withdraw, holding something tight between them. Your own memory fades as the arms move back into the Wall, now stronger and more ordered than ever before. A feeling of power and safety fills you.
The Wall continues to keep all the terrible things at bay.
A bouquet of dried flowers
Sitting quietly in a dark corner, the flowers may not seem the best sort of building material at first, but upon closer inspection, the seem perfect. They seem necessary. Important, even. It doesn't take long to find a place for them upon the wall, a large beaker gleaming invitingly on top of a pile of rubble.
You place the flowers into the make-do vase and look up into the eyes of a nervous man, his face earnest and good-natured. In a careful tone, you speak, "Tell you what, Ben. You can help me with my button pushing thing. And then I can go with you on your mission, and help you with your looking around thing. Sound good?" He grows more nervous, and you proceed to flirt and bargain. It feels good, despite all your fears, it feels right to finally have this, to allow it to happen. You deserve this. You deserve love.
You look down at your desk, but it's been replaced by an operating table. A familiar face stares lifelessly up at you amid the various remains. You smile wryly at him and then pick up the scalpel. You deserve this. You never could hold on to anything good.
You look up and the scene has shifted to one of your own memories, of a time when you lost hope. A warm presence soon drags you away from it. The Goddess Protection
(Paranoia) leans over you, smelling the flowers and then drawing back with a gentle smile. "Such a terrible thing," she whispers in your ear. "You don't need such pain. Not anymore. Not ever again." She opens her mouth and inhales deeply, drawing a thin wisp of something out of your own. As the memory fades away into nothing, you see her bend over the flowers and exhale, colour and life filling them. The Goddess soon slips away, leaving you with a sense of safety and warm affection.
The Wall continues to keep all the terrible things at bay.
Side Blessing Get!
In return for your work and what she took, the Goddess leaves you with something else as well:
the ooc
These are all basically writing prompts to explore your character's experiences and memories and are entirely optional! - You can only do this task once ever by selecting the choices so CHOOSE carefully! As you post, more prompts may be updated!
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 7:23 pm
Her goddess requests something of her, and so she obeys. She exists to serve, to sit at her feet like a dog, be it for protection or friendship or pure, undiluted servitude.
Licraesa approaches it, clutching a brick. It's seen better days, even as far as bricks are concerned. It lays heavy in her hand, and she licks her teeth and presses it into place. It is home. It fits. It is a wall. It fits. The sound it makes is a resounding--
Smack.
You hold it above your head and you yell, and you ruin it, you ruin them. You will seek out everything they have ever seen/known/loved and destroy it. Their helmet buckles beneath the weight of brick-hate-force. Nothing is so strong that it can defy nature and fate and you will end it. They scream and you do not hear it and they get louder and shut up shut up shut up already.
Blood splatters against your helmet, the sound of bone chips crashing off it, and they are done like a hog over the fire. The ocean roars beside you and you watch the tendrils of red slide down your visor as you watch the waves. They wanted to end you but you were better, don't ever be sorry, just be better, and--
You are at the same ocean. You are at the same ocean and you have your toes in it. You aren't in any armor and your hair is red and your body is strong and scarred and worn. You are tired beyond comprehension, and you are afraid you are being replaced. You had always hated her, picked on her, tried to ruin her, and -- had always given you space. She had been afraid-- hateful, but afraid.
But now she was here, in your sanctuary that stopped the apocalypse, in your sanctuary where you had found love, in your sanctuary where you had found a purpose beyond compare.
They were going to replace you, and you knew it. They liked her better. She was brilliant and sharp and intelligent, she was detail-oriented and ruthless, she had no emotion but science if science was a feeling and hate, distilled into the purest of essences.
You were just you. You were loud and obnoxious and it felt like high school all over again, and you dropped out on purpose. A hand covers your shoulder and it's warm and you love her so much, your name is -- and you love -- so much you do not know how to live or breathe if you think, and--
A different hand is on Licraesa's shoulder as she comes to, sobbing once then twice as she remembers how to breathe.
"I'm safe?" she repeats in a daze, looking up into the eyes of her Goddess. The Goddess' arm sinks through her shoulder (clothes, flesh, into her heart, into her soul, into her core) and pulls. "I trust you," Licraesa said, and she finds that she means it. "It's only ever been you."
The memory fades. The wall is strong. The wall is good. The Goddess is great.
Licraesa stands, brushing her legs off, for she must have fallen to her knees at the force of the gift her Goddess had given her in the form of a memory. She lays a hand upon the wall, and she smiles.
"I will follow you to the end of any world. I will."
It is a promise/prayer/assurance, but to who, Licraesa does not know.
OOC
Character name: Licraesa Character appearance: A tall, grey figure with a yellow heart. A pendant rests at her breastbone, pulsating blue. Link to Heart Log:heart log Current HP 40 Current weapon equipped: simple pride
Aeruban stared up at the large structure, it's presence enforcing all to look up to it. Everything became insignificant in comparison, even one's existence seemed miniscule to the barrier. The Goddess spoke, her voice calm and collected, caring even. The wall kept everything harmful to them out, it must be maintained for the safety of everyone. She requested that, he too, should assist in building and maintaining it. Approaching the wall, he noticed a wreath of flowers playing at the base of the wall.
Sitting quietly in a dark corner, the flowers may not seem the best sort of building material at first, but upon closer inspection, the seem perfect. They seem necessary. Important, even. It doesn't take long to find a place for them upon the wall, a large beaker gleaming invitingly on top of a pile of rubble.
You place the flowers into the make-do vase and look up into the eyes of a nervous man, his face earnest and good-natured. In a careful tone, you speak, "Tell you what, Ben. You can help me with my button pushing thing. And then I can go with you on your mission, and help you with your looking around thing. Sound good?" He grows more nervous, and you proceed to flirt and bargain. It feels good, despite all your fears, it feels right to finally have this, to allow it to happen. You deserve this. You deserve love.
You look down at your desk, but it's been replaced by an operating table. A familiar face stares lifelessly up at you amid the various remains. You smile wryly at him and then pick up the scalpel. You deserve this. You never could hold on to anything good.
You look up and the scene has shifted to one of your own memories, of a time when you lost hope. A warm presence soon drags you away from it. The Goddess Protection (Paranoia) leans over you, smelling the flowers and then drawing back with a gentle smile. "Such a terrible thing," she whispers in your ear. "You don't need such pain. Not anymore. Not ever again." She opens her mouth and inhales deeply, drawing a thin wisp of something out of your own. As the memory fades away into nothing, you see her bend over the flowers and exhale, colour and life filling them. The Goddess soon slips away, leaving you with a sense of safety and warm affection.
The Wall continues to keep all the terrible things at bay.
Aeruban watched as the flowers sprung to life, turning to watch as the Goddess disappear. He was safe here, on this side of the wall. The only dangers here were dealt with by the collective efforts of those on this side. The Goddess loved all of them and she cared for them. She took away his pain, a pain that no medicine or tending could treat easily. Aeruban placed an hand against the wall, looking up at the imposing structure, certain that it would hold strong against anything that came against it.
"We are safe."
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:05 pm
Build it higher.
Terrible things await you.
Shaw shook his head, looking away. The changing and twisting Wall made his head hurt, just behind the eyes - a confusing and chaotic jumble of conflicting images. Was it short, or tall? Smooth, or broken, made of rubble or trash? He wasn't sure.
He cast about, looking for something to appease the goddess of this strange realm, and a spot of color caught his eye. He approached them, reaching out to carefully pluck them from where they'd been discarded on the side of the street. Flowers. It was a strange thing to find out here - such a delicate material, certainly not suitable for the task at hand.
He clutched them to his chest, his heart. No. Something about them... He knelt, bringing the dried blossoms to his face, breathing in their faded and half-remembered bouquet.
Shaw approached the wall again, eyes averted. He searched with his peripheral until he spotted a beaker jutting up out of the top of the edifice. He carefully made his way up the rubble, reaching to place them in their strange sconce.
He blinked.
Ben. Yes. Love. Something to have, to hold -
And then it was gone, as quickly as it came. It was to be expected, really -
A hallway, dark shadows drawn along its length. The attic is a yawning hole in the ceiling; discarded sneakers rest forlornly at its base. He could hear the snickety-shnack of claws as they descended the first rung...
He ran from the house. They'd never believe him. They'd never -
Shaw looked up into the eyes of the goddess, and nodded mutely. He was afraid of the memory, of what it meant. Of that little, old house. She offered him freedom. Freedom from despair. From guilt, and from pain. From hopelessness. The emotions were too deep, more than he'd ever experienced, and he felt as if he were drowning in memories that couldn't be his own.
His expression relaxed as she drew the bad thoughts out, and he smiled almost dopely when the flowers bloomed of their own accord. What had he been so upset about? He couldn't remember, so it must not have been important. Shaw felt himself relax, and he slumped down to his knees.
He would stay awhile, and watch them. His flowers.
OOC
Name of character: Shaw Current HP: 40/40 Special ability: Kings Regret 1/1 Species Ability: Moon Hunter 40hp Current weapon equipped: n/a
Ravvlet
Hygienic Waffles
Offline
Minsuil
Enduring Elder
Offline
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:14 pm
The Wall. Safety. Around him, others were scaling the Wall dragging materials up to fix and repair it. The Wall rose so high, that even from far away Lliote had to raise his head to see the top. It was big. It felt safe to be on this side. He walked forward, he wanted to be kept safe too. He wanted to keep his Goddess safe.
Lliote searched for the perfect addition. He wanted his contribution to mean something. In a dark corner, he spitted a bonquet of dried flowers. At first he kept going, he didn't think flowers could make a wall stronger. But then he stopped. The more he thought about it, the more important they seemed. No, not important. Necessary. He needed to add them to the Wall. The Wall needed these flowers to stay safe. He climbed up the wall and stuffed the flowers into a crevice, that should be good enough. There was a nervous looking man next to him, and Lliote turned to talk to him.
"Tell you what, Ben. You can help me with my button pushing thing. And then I can go with you on your mission, and help you with your looking around thing. Sound good?"
He smiles, and Lliote smiles back. They talk, banter, flirt even. And it feels good. It feels right. He deserved this. This is love, he deserved it.
He looked down. It's not a desk anymore, it's an operating table. He recognizes the person staring blankly up at him. It feels familiar. It feels right. The scapel is cold in his hand.
He looks up. This time he's in the a cold dark room. There are pods hanging from the wall and the only sound is the silent beep of the life support machines the room is filled with. He's staring at one. He recognizes the face. Her face is dark. Darker and dull and dead. He didn't want to ever see her like this. She didn't deserve this. This was wrong.
A warm presence is tugging on his edges, and he follows it, allows himself to sink into it's embrace. It is a Goddess, not his, but another one. She opens her mouth and tells him he doesn't need to feel that again. He doesn't want to. The feeling of helplessness fades, and he notices the flowers look a little more vibrant. He descends.
The Wall is safety. He is safe behind the Wall.
OOC
Character name: Lliote Character appearance: A tall gray figure that appears to be wearing a long coat of some sort. Has a pulsing red core. Link to Heart Log:Here Current Health 30/30 Current Weapon
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:37 pm
The wall. The wall must be built up. The wall kept them safe and sound, like peas in a little pod. Yiro would help keep the wall nice and strong. Yes she would, and the goddess would be pleased with how hard of a worker she was.
Gingerly, the shadow scooped up a small flashlight, with a distorted resemblance to... A cat? Why did that seem so pleasing?
Huh. It felt so... Safe. Yiro almost didn't want to give it up, but the wall did need to be reenforced, after all.
She searched. She searched long and hard for the perfect place, and when the light suddenly flickered on by itself, Yiro knew that spot was here.
Suddenly it's dark, and you're laying in the comfort of your bed with the covers pulled all the way up over you. You're small, and weak, and your little heart is thumping so painfully loud as something outside the covers shifts and sinks down onto the bed. A harsh laugh sounds above you and the thin protection of your blanket is yanked violently away, revealing a razor sharp smile that glints starkly against inky black
And then things shifted. She was no longer in a bed, but a long, cylindrical tube. There was a window to the outside. She could see them. She could see those people screaming and crying, but all too well, she was aware that they didn't cry for themselves. This shouting and screaming was for her. The great machine began it's whirring and in an instant, she knew these were her last few moments of being. She hadn't even gotten to tell them... How much they all meant to her...
Yiro let out a loud screech as the light faded and stumbled back, shifting inbetween clutching her head and hugging herself as she tried to find some meager comfort after feeling so many awful things.
And then the goddess was there. The glorious goddess. Yiro grasped her hands tightly, desperately seeking the warmth that was offered. "P-please! Take it! I can't stand it!"
She was right... It only frightened her. It only served to damn the shadow further.
When the goddess disappeared back into the confines of the wall, Yiro fell to her knees, grateful and relieved. Relieved from what? All she could remember was not being okay, but she was okay now. Ah. How cute that flashlight was, even if it was half-melted.
Yes. The wall was safety. Thank the goddesses for their almighty wall.
OOC
Character name: Yiro Character appearance: A tall, lanky shadow with a yellow heart. Has a shiny skull pin she wears like a brooch. Link to Heart Log: here Current HP: 50 Current weapon equipped: N/A
And then as he flinched and waited for those same teeth to meet in his neck, something else entirely.
The tiniest little wrinkled-ugly-alien hand, moving in stiff, meaningless circles, and blurring in his vision when it caught against his skinny fingers.
"Look," she said, and her smile was more relief than anything, her dyed-black hair ("I don't think you're supposed to dye your hair when you're pregnant but my roots are an inch deep. Help me out and get the back.") clustered in heavy earthworm curls from the sweat on her forehead and her neck. And he tried to look, but he couldn't, because everything was tear-blurred.
Sometimes when he lay on the floor and the rush hit it felt like the entire world contracted down to one spot, and the spot was him, dense as a star, and everything else was some inconsequential planetoid caught helplessly in his orbit. He was the long spiraled arms of a galaxy and every person and every year was an insignificant star. He was a cloud of dust infinitely large, and all the thoughts in the world were the smallest galaxies. The boundaries of his skin and muscle vanished and he filled up reality, absorbing every trivial concern and joy. This was no metaphor, in the moment. It was a real and physical thing; it felt.
This, then, was the opposite. The walls of the universe blew outwards, tossed back into the void endlessly, and the hospital room floor was an infinite plain, and Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, he was tiny, he was weak; his arms were useless bundles of blood vessels and paper-thin sinews and his organs were intricate moth-wing systems designed to fail at a moment's notice and he couldn't, he couldn't, he couldn't let that happen, because those arms and that body were all he had to protect her.
The world, which until now had been an inconsequential concern, was abruptly huge, and full of danger.
He stood in the center of a pressing pack of howling monsters, monsters that he'd never noticed; he'd been standing in a sea of wildfire without feeling the burn, and now, now, with the tiny little fragile person in his hands (and how strange! how strange! a brand new person, not there a moment before and now there, all potential achievements and failures and futures), the monsters closed in and the fires licked up.
"Look," she said again, weakly. It was all she could muster.
"I'm looking," he choked. "I still--I still think Tuesday is a stupid name."
"It only frightens you, it only makes things worse. Let me take it from you, that feeling...that time..."
He realized he had reached out, blindly, to take those light-formed hands, and he tried to resist. Twice now he'd let her take a memory from him; twice now he'd been relieved to feel it go. Twice now the hollowness had been a welcome blessing.
"No," he whispered. "No. Not this one. This one is important. This one--"
It was gone.
And she was gone.
He stared blankly at the Wall, and gently, carefully, he nudged a piece of it into a more secure position.
The Wall was important. The Wall kept the bad things away.
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:19 pm
And then there was the wall. It surrounded her completely and yet it shifted and changed right in front of her. Other stuck things to it. While even more squiggles scrambled up and down it. It would keep them safe, but not in the state it was. It would change in the blink of an eye, so she was unsure if it was whole or had holes in it. If it was high in the sky or just low enough for her to hop over to the outside.
But who would want to go outside the wall? Not her.
Build it up. Build it high. Protect and keep safe. Ralifa looked to the ground. Searching feverishly for something, anything she could add to the wall. Her eyes settled on a half-melted Hello Kitty flashlight. Bingo! It was perfect! Grasping it tightly she scurried over to the wall, happily jamming it in between stones and other objects. She gave it a few founds with the palm of her hand to make sure it was in all nice and snug. It's light flickers on and she is instantly blinded as it fills her entire field of vision with a white light.
Then darkness. The feel of something soft beneath her and a warm thing covering her all the way up over her head. She felt odd physically, as if she were a child again. Her entire body shivered as her heart drummed in her ears, faster and faster. What was that? Something outside the covers. Ralifa curled up into a tiny ball as a heavy weight shifted on the bed. All of a sudden her covers are ripped away, she lets out a tiny scream as a razor sharp smile bares down on her.
And in that moment the world shifts again. A memory. Something from what seemed long ago creeps into her mind. An island. Her home. Gone. There was nothing she could do to save it, she had come back too late. Everyone she loved was gone, left unprotected because she had gone adventuring for the day. Ralifa fell to her knees as she stared into the darkness, the fog. Her heart breaking as agony screamed in the back of her mind but her throat was so tight nothing audible would come out.
The memory began to fade, the blinding light with it and soon there was the Goddess. Her hands warm took Ralifa's and she could feel the warmth. She had missed this warmth. Ralifa wanted to crawl into the Goddess' arms and bask in this warmth forever. But she couldn't. The Goddess' wanted something but she was unsure what until she felt her hands slide into her very being. So warm.
As she pulled them out, the memory faded. A feeling of relief washed over her, she didn't want it. She felt as if she hadn't wanted that thing for a long time. What was it again? Ralifa barely noticed that the Goddess has quickly left, melting into the wall in front of her. All she felt was warmth and safety.
Yes, warmth. Safe. The wall would keep her safe. Safe from all the bad things.
OOC
Character Name: Ralifa Link to Heart Journal:[x] Current HP: 30 Special Ability: Rook's Ambition [b[Species Ability: Famine Horseman Current weapon equipped: ---
Yayoi
Super Sex Symbol
Offline
Kaiyumi
Offline
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:46 pm
Just what was beyond those walls? What were they trying to keep out? Ever curious, she stared at it intently for a good few seconds, and if trying to either see through it or somehow encourage it to divulge its secrets. When this--as expected--proved to do nothing, the girl simply shook her head and turned her back to it.
The goddess had asked her to help with the building, and so that was what she would do. Setting off, she weaved around the other figures who were milling about, noting that they were all carrying materials to fortify and raise the wall even higher. She would have to find something in kind, something that was sturdy, durable, good for building...
And the bouquet of dried flowers met none of those requirements. Nonetheless, when she noticed the lonely group of flowers sitting in a corner, she found herself approaching them and gathering them up in her arms. These won't do at all, She mused, brushing a finger against the dried petals, There's no way something like that would do the wall any good.
Yet despite her thoughts, a faint, lingering feeling whispered that that was not the case, that--despite how fragile they seemed--they were exactly what the wall needed. Cradling them in one arm, she began to climb up the wall, using the nearby rubble to get herself high enough until she found an appropriate spot in the wall to tuck them into.
When she turned away from from the vase, she found herself face to face with a man. She notices with a hint of amusement that he's nervous--she sees it in his eyes--and they converse for a bit. It is flirtatious and light-hearted, a stark contrast to when the scene blurs and she finds herself staring at his still body lying on top of an operating table. That glimmer of hope has turned to tired resignation as she clutches the scalpel in her hand.
And then everything changes again. She's trapped in a net, and others--her friends, her classmates--surround her. Some are trapped as she is, while others fight desperately against white-clad figures wielding weapons. She remembers them, the ones who she has encountered countless times, the ones who have harmed her and her friends. Their name--the name of the collective group, of the organization--is on the tip of her tongue, and then--
Ixy suddenly finds herself with the goddess, taking in her warmth and gentleness. She allows herself to be lulled by the soft words, tempted by the thought of living without pain. When the memory is taken from her, she hardly even notices, but watches with awe as the dried flowers fill with life. Dazed, she reaches out to touch the brightly colored petals.
She has never felt more at peace.
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:52 pm
Onana was on a quest to fetch materials for the Goddess to fortify the Wall with. She was told it was a very important wall. That it kept all the bad things out. So, she dug around the ruins for something suitable. She mostly ended up fishing out scrap metal. "No, no, you're no good at all. You're much to big. And rusted. No good, no good." Then, she found it, a half-melted Hello Kitty flashlight. The quality was shoddy, but the size was just right. This made her happy. "Yes, yes, I believe you'll do just fine!"
After that, she marched up to the wall and set it into an empty spot. It fit perfectly. She whistled happily.
***
When she was younger, she thought she knew the forest like the back of her hand. She lived there, after all. Who would know it better than someone born and raised there? Oh, how wrong she was.
One day, while she was traveling with her family, she saw a hell butterfly and followed it deeper into the forest. Before she knew it, she had managed to get separated from the rest of her family and was all alone. She remembered her parents told her to stay put when she was lost, so she did. She started shivering. She felt so cold and alone like that. She hadn't felt that small and helpless in ages.
***
Then, the light faded and became the Goddess. She reached out towards Onana's hand and held it. "It only frightens you, it only makes things worse. Let me take it from you, that feeling...that time..." She took something away from Onana and stepped back into the Wall.
Onana felt safe now and she was full of warm and fuzzy feelings. "We're safe now, right? I did well, right?"
As the Goddess whispers her wish, Decyl flinches and pulls away. Something makes him edgy every time a lady whispers in his ear now…maybe it’s a natural reflect? He wasn’t sure but decided to return his focus to the Goddess’ request. A wall. He was going to help her build a wall. Pardon?
Giving her a skeptical look he shrugged before going forth to do ask told. Hey she asked, he’s not going to turn her down, not when she gives them stuff. However, the size of the wall and how it towers over him gives him the creeps. It’s as if he’s going to be swallowed by this giant heap of inanimate object. Decyl shook his head, clearing his thoughts somewhat before going to search for materials to build up the wall some more. The item he chooses was the half-melted Hello Kitty flashlight.
The goofy cartoon cat called out to him oddly enough and so he picked it up, inspecting it slowly before turning it on. Ah, a blinding light even though the flashlight itself looks damaged beyond repairs. The light it releases is blinding and suddenly, everything turned black. Decyl flinched at the sudden darkness and the sudden safety which was immediately torn away by something with a razor sharp smile. Hissing, his surroundings suddenly fade into a memory.
She was supposed to be home by now, but for days she has not returned. He had waited by the door day after door, occasionally moving only if it calls for it, but otherwise…he simply sat there waiting. She promised she would be quick and will return home when she could, but his mother never did. Not one word, not a sound. She simply disappeared that day. He had felt so lost, and so very pathetic when the situation struck. But how did he handle it?
The answer never came as the memory ends abruptly before another could start. Decyl could see the Goddess standing there as the light recedes; the feeling it gave of was as if she was devouring the light from the pitiful flashlight in his hand. Ah, it was warm. Her hand is warm over his. And as she coerced the memory from him, he gave it willingly. And upon the Goddess’ retreat to her wall, Decyl had never felt safer.
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 2:17 am
Hers.
That was the first thought that came to mind. Hers. Of course it was. It was her Wall after all, an impressive specimen to behold and beware, one side of many in fact to enclose her, hold her--
--soft as a mother's embrace, the blanket folds around her like a familiar set of arms. There's an edge to the darkness she does not like.
Figures on the wall. It needed to be higher, stronger, larger, longer . . . ! But who were these enemies? She needed to see them, to identify the faces of those she would hate for days to come, and a bright light filled her vision--
--and nights that fell not silently but with a loud terror, a harsh ringing in her ears from how very, very quiet it was, enforced rather than felt. Her music cannot penetrate such an awful bubble.
She was not small and weak anymore.
She was terribly small and weak. A soft noise escaped her lips: a plea for Father, because Mother could not come. It was moving, oh but it was moving again when it shouldn't be!
Holding the flashlight, damaged or not, made her feel safe. Its flickers were only part of its charm. Little imperfections every thing had, she had come to learn, except, of course, for her Wall.
Something stirred.
Build it higher.
But she is paralyzed with fear, the lump in her throat denying her the pleasure of a scream as her blanket is wrenched from her and she sees not the shadows cast by the moonlight in her room, but several things of nightmares curled at her floor, eyes bright and teeth flashing as they scurry unfettered, noiseless but unstoppable. They surround her and she cannot scream, they mesh and distort and grow and she has a mouth but cannot scream, because they would never believe her, no-one has, and perhaps they would if these things finally engulf her and take away all noise entirely, pressing against her not with comfort but with conquest and awful, awful silence--
Build it higher.
And then a light came when her hope had given to despair and chased the creatures away, leaving her with her goddess. The boundaries of her room faded as she felt something being taken from her, pain turning to comfort, fear turning to serenity. The goddess had touched her wall, blessed it even. It was strong.
It had to be. She could not fathom something weaker.
Good fences made good neighbors.
OOC
Character name: Rostym Character appearance: Shortish waif of a gray girl with a yellow core and a blue pendant Link to Heart LogHere Current HP 40/40 Current weapon equipped Simple Protection (2d8-6)
medigel
Anxious Spirit
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revenant aria
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:38 am
Sitting quietly in a dark corner, the flowers may not seem the best sort of building material at first, but upon closer inspection, the seem perfect. They seem necessary. Important, even. It doesn't take long to find a place for them upon the wall, a large beaker gleaming invitingly on top of a pile of rubble.
You place the flowers into the make-do vase and look up into the eyes of a nervous man, his face earnest and good-natured. In a careful tone, you speak, "Tell you what, Ben. You can help me with my button pushing thing. And then I can go with you on your mission, and help you with your looking around thing. Sound good?" He grows more nervous, and you proceed to flirt and bargain. It feels good, despite all your fears, it feels right to finally have this, to allow it to happen. You deserve this. You deserve love.
You look down at your desk, but it's been replaced by an operating table. A familiar face stares lifelessly up at you amid the various remains. You smile wryly at him and then pick up the scalpel. You deserve this. You never could hold on to anything good.
You look up and the scene has shifted to one of your own memories, of a time when you lost hope. A warm presence soon drags you away from it. The Goddess Protection (Paranoia) leans over you, smelling the flowers and then drawing back with a gentle smile. "Such a terrible thing," she whispers in your ear. "You don't need such pain. Not anymore. Not ever again." She opens her mouth and inhales deeply, drawing a thin wisp of something out of your own. As the memory fades away into nothing, you see her bend over the flowers and exhale, colour and life filling them. The Goddess soon slips away, leaving you with a sense of safety and warm affection.
The Wall continues to keep all the terrible things at bay.
"Flowers..?" Eyasa was ready to take it off, but as it was in her hand, she felt the urge to put some color on the wall. As if a monumental task had been done, Eyasa clapped her hands happily, spinning around in whirling motions. But she noticed a watchful pair of eyes on her, unsure of what came over her but he was just so nice about it. So sweet and fun, he was perfect--
So why was he sitting at the operating table, and herself, holding a scalpel? She couldn't understand, why there wasnt a more anguised or negative sentiment as she stood there, she only saw---
saw--
She saw herself, unable to take it anymore. She was curled up in bed, without a reprieve because if she opened her eyes, all she could see were the shadows. Sleep was no safe haven from them, if she slept, they pulled her in.. staying awake was the only way to stop herself from losing completely. But sometimes, she wanted to lose.. She didn't want to stay strong. As she was ready to clutch her pillow and scream, warmth suddenly seemed to push the shadows out of her way. The scent of flowers-- that scent seemed to instantly lift the terror, Eyasa's room lightening up and being the safe haven it had always been before.
The wall was her room.
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:55 am
[Wyng enters from the Ruins] Having heard of the goddess wanting help to build a wall, Wyng was intrigued, so she wandered around, looking for said wall until she heard the goddess' whispers: "The Wall,...build it higher. Take whatever you can find and build. The Wall is safety. Terrible things await you, only the Wall keeps them at bay." What things Wyng wondered, but she was not one to disobey the goddesses, so she obeyed looking around for something to build the wall higher with. As she did so, she laid eyes upon A stained brick. Bricks were good for building walls right. Happy at her find she reached out to grab it and looks for a good place to put it. Looking around Wyng found a section of wall that had a hole the size and shape of her brick. It would go perfect there! As soon as she thought that, Wyng slid the brick into place with a resounding...
Smack!
Brick raised high in her hand, she brings it down on the other person's helmet with another hard smack! Their helmet finally cracking, the muffled screaming reached a new, higher pitch, until it was cut short and then boom!
Pieces of flesh and blood and bone rain down on her own helmet in a soft, wet, spatter. Breathing heavily, she sits back on the sand and stare out into the foggy ocean, uncaring of the red streaks now obscuring the view. They were going to kill her. Everyone was going to kill her.
If she let them.
If she didn't kill them first.
Wyng then heard the sound of the tide growing louder and louder until it suddenly stopped, to be replaced with the gentle lapping of the water on the banks of her own lake. Some men were on the bank trying to convince her to come out of the water. They looked very muscular, prime targets for her to pull into the depths. They keep calling to her promising her that they would do her no harm, that they only wish to linger in her company, but something seemed off. Though it was not uncommon for men to call to her in her human form, when they did so, the usually did not have nets, guns, and knives. She could not trust them, they were trying to turn her, the hunter, into their prey. She could not allow that!
She could not- and then the sound of scraping stones draws her back to reality. Before her eyes, the bricks all shift and warp until they form a pair of arms that emerge to wrap around her. "You don't need that, you're safe now. You never have to trust in anyone," the goddess whispers with quiet intensity. The goddess' arms tighten and sink through Wyng, drawing tighter around something within. "Except me. As long as you trust in me, I'll keep you safe." the goddess promises and having made that promise, the arms withdraw, holding something tight between them. Wyng's memory of her lake and her true form fade back into nothingness, even as the wall returns to its prior form. She feels more at peace now than she had before as if something powerful would always protect her. She knew in her heart that the Wall would continue to keep all the terrible things at bay.
OOC
Character name: Wonenwyng (Wyng) Character appearance: A average sized grey form with a red heart, long black hair, a black blank tag around it's neck, and wearing the remains of what seems to be a dress. Link to Heart LogHere Current HP 60/60 Current weapon equipped Crumbling Hope
Ariaalina
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Duke of Donut
Liberal Lunatic
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 8:24 am
Remye was only vaguely aware that she was being led elsewhere. The whispering urged her on, insisting that she visit this Wall. How she had missed it before was unnerving. It wasn’t as though the Wall was at all inconspicuous. She stared up at it, trying to see the top and squinting as her gaze went ever upward. It was a haphazard structure of debris and old, forgotten things. She watched Others scale it, watched as the forms seemed to meld into the wall.
They were feeding it, almost.
Remye felt terribly small, now, as though the wall was looming directly over her, leering down as though she were its next sacrifice. No. She would find something more apt to suffice. Remye began to search around for materials, rummaging through the piles around her for something that would fit into the wall. She wasn’t sure what, exactly, she was looking for but it was there. She knew that, at least.
Her fingers brushed against the flashlight before she was entirely aware of what it was. She reached further into the pile, pulling it free, and stared down at it with a frown. It recalled her mind vaguely to a creature she had seen before. She fiddled with the light for a long while, examining it from all angles, before she suddenly flicked what was apparently the right switch, and light exploded into her eyes.
It was dark, now. Remye snuggled back into her bed, covers held in tight, white-knuckled little fists as she clung to the only blanket of safety she had between her and the Other Thing in the room. Her heart thudded in her chest so loud she was sure she could be heard. Her suspicions were confirmed as she heard the shifting, and something sank down onto the bed, making her yelp before she could stop herself and clutch at the blankets all the harder.
There was laughter, and then suddenly the darkness wasn’t a comfort, it was terrifying as she stared up at the sharp, sharklike smile –
Remye looked up sharply as the setting changed. The shark-like smile in the darkness was gone but so was her warm, safe bed, her home and her family and everyone was gone, she was alone. The young Remye sunk against the base of a tree as howls surrounded her. Unfamiliar. Not family. Not safe. She clutched her knees to her chest, shaking so hard she was sure she was making noise. “D-dad?” She whispered, uncertain why but aware that there must be someone, Someone there, she couldn’t be alone not like this not in the woods no where was her pack her dad where –
It only frightens you.
Remye closed her eyes against it, head settling into her knees, until she felt the warmth of the Goddess replacing the blinding, enlightening light. She looked up blearily, unable to shake the feeling that even though the memory was… wasn’t real… she was still very, very alone.
She took her hand, reveling in the warmth. Something felt… off, about this, but the memory was pulled free with ease and she wasn’t quite aware of why she felt so shaken. She watched, squinting as the light grew brighter in front of her. Then the Goddess retreated into the wall, and it seemed… More solid. Safe.
It would be fine.
She could feel the blessing of the Goddess, and retreated from the wall for now. The warm and safe feeling would last for a while but eventually, her doubt would cloud her again.
Character Name: Remye Gnorelan Character Appearance: Short, slim sliver of gray, with foggy ears that swivel slightly and a tail behind her. Her core is bright yellow, and a smaller white pin is fastened to her shoulder, a pin of some sort. Link to Heart Journal:Here Current HP: 30/30 Current Weapon: ---
