Peyton didn't move. "You made a deal is it. What was the deal?"
Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:02 am
"It wasn't exactly a nice little written contract." he said with a faint smile. "Your guess is as good as mine. However, I can say I no longer work with her. She reneged on her promises I'm afraid."
And to illustrate his point he raised the lower corner of his shirt to show the long clawmarks descending past his side.
"I am owed my retaliation."
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 6:37 am
Her eyes narrowed at his answer, hands curling into fists at her sides as she took a step towards him. "I don't believe you." Why would she? He lied like he breathed, and would say anything to paint himself in a harmless light.
"What did you do!?" It came out as a scream, all fear and frustration. The memory she'd seen stealing away the last of her resolve. There was just nothing left but raw emotion.
And then there was nothing at all.
The dream seemed to shatter around her. Breaking like glass, and all at once she was sitting bolt upright in bed, sweat drenched and breathing hard, her heart pounding in her chest and her hands clenched in the blankets.
baneful
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:26 pm
gaia_crown[ Day 2 – The Winding Forest ]
After a lot more wandering through the forest, following endless winding paths, they end up in a darker, more sinister part of the woods, the path once again blocked by gnarled trees and thorns making progression difficult. In the forest, it is impossible to see the sky and any glimpse of it is pitch black. Already claustrophobic it only becomes more so.
gaia_angelright Once again these prompts can be a shared experience (with the exception of the cat prompt) but everyone needs to roll, you don’t need to do the same prompt twice. You progress regardless. Once again total word count for the day must exceed 500 words per person either in one post or spread out through some rp/discussion.
Choose a path to proceed ahead Roll 1d4 -
Quote:
1. Caterpillar - Finding yourself herded by the brambles and thorns down a tightly winding path, you find yourself at the many feet of an enormous caterpillar smoking a hookah. It looks mostly uninterested at your arrival, but does turn its attention on you, taking a long puff of its pipe and exhaling strange undulating smoke rings. It sighs. “Who are you?” it asks. Only if you answer the question of who you really are in 100 words or more will he let you proceed, and for your trouble you gain a piece of mushroom which lets you either shrink or grow within reason in the strange world you find yourself in, but you cannot choose which (roll 1d6, odd is large, even is small)
2. Cat - You end up on a wildly twisting path through the forest, seeing the same sights over and over. You are certain you are lost and that no matter what direction you turn you always find yourself back at the same place. Before you appears a large smile, followed in turn by a striped and sinister looking cat. No one else in your group can see him but you and he speaks to you about one of your deepest secrets. You find yourself temporarily driven a little mad by the aura of the creature and you turn upon your teammates or self. This is mercifully temporary and after several minutes sanity returns once again.
3. Tea Party - Through a broad and leafy path you come across an enormous table laid for a tea party with three figures at at it, the march hare, the hatter and the dormouse. They welcome everyone to join them but no one is permitted to leave until they furnish the others with either a riddle or a story.
4. Oysters - The path opens up to a hazy sea shore and as they go they (either one individual or any number of people present) begin to lose sense of where they are and who they are. Soon enough they have to stop exhausted, overcome with the realisation that they are and were always oysters. They stop, only to be found by a large walrus in a suit and a carpenter. What began as a pleasant walk quickly degenerates into them being eaten in a graphic and unpleasant way.
Mercifully afterwards, the entire party snaps back to reality shaken but unharmed.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:33 pm
When Lawrence woke up, he did nothing but exhale hopelessly.
And was acutely aware none of this was over at all.
The next night, he found himself in a dark and winding part of the forest, riddled with thorns and very dark. More than once, even with Butch helping to lead the way, he found himself raked by sharp brambles and sticks.
"Peyton?" he said testingly. He had a feeling she'd also be here somewhere.
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 3:20 pm
Not again...
It wasn't exactly the same as the night before, but somehow Peyton knew this was still Wonderland, and if she was there, then so ******** my life," she cursed soundly under her breath as she turned towards the sound of Lawrence's voice. "Here," she said loudly enough for him to hear her, pausing in her aimless wandering for him to catch up. One small hand coming up to push messy bangs back from her face. Features worn and unamused. Already impatient, and they hadn't even started this latest nightmare yet.
She was not certainly not happy to see him, but these sorts of dreams were odd things, and for all she knew there'd come a point in all these where she needed. And wasn't that just a sickening thought?
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Baneful rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 5:00 am
She was here and that was just fine with him, more flesh to take a hit if they were both in danger. The more the merrier, or in her case the more the more miserable.
"Oh you wound me." he said sweetly, giving her a wink.
"I think that I remember the way though, you are welcome." And he led the way through the strange winding forest, walking at his own unhurried pace. He refused to go near any sort of sea shore, wary and on edge after the horrors he'd witnessed the last time around with Rodney.
If Peyton stayed with them both of them ended up at the feet of a huge caterpillar, giving them a critical look and asking who they were.
It was a compulsion, a drive to explain who he was and for Lawrence it was an experience as close to torture as he had ever felt.
For one horrible, horrible moment he found himself mentally lit up like a cracked mirror, every single neurone filled with the desire to answer the question put to him. Only there were so many versions, so many personas he'd created to hide behind that it was like a chorus of proclaimations that froze him in the spot.
Who are you?
He made a pained noise somewhere in his throat, unaware he was making it, fighting the desire to speak, fighting it with everything he had.
Who are you? It got worse and worse, amplifying itself more and more. He clenched his hand by his side and fought with everything he had to say no one, to say Lawrence Michaels and Lawrence Michaels only.
Who ARE you? And he could control it no longer, the words spilling forth against his will, his mouth moving of its own accord, his tone flat and cold, robotically rhyming off even a sliver of who he thought he was.
" I am Larry, the first, the child who could not understand but who understood hate, the first thing I learned was that I was different and that all I could hope for was to act like them. They hated me because I was not like them and they could not love what could not be returned. I am Weiman, I learned hatred fast from the other who bears my name, it became my first weapon. I am the tool with which all else can be understood, the flaming sword of the greatness within. I cut through mind meat and bone and inside I find answers and immortality. All faces are tools and I am the one which should never be seen. I am Divinity, perfection incarnate, I will reach up my wings to the heavens and shall understand all things, all people and all emotion. Transcendence is my meaning. I am Jan, known as Ian to some, I am psychic, both to pets and people. I exist because the elderly enjoy me, because I tell them what they want to hear. I tell them their racism and their bigotry is normal. I tell them the ones who never loved them do because it is what they want to hear. I fill them up and then I tear them down. They think I am stupid, that is what I want. I am Chantelle, they saw through me on the island so I shed my skin for another, I was stolen, I am alive and yet I am dead. I am Diego, I sought a family, I sought credit cards, I exist as a fraudulent face, as a lie on paper which cannot be traced. I am Lawrence and in me is nothing. I am Tweetheart, I taught myself to fly. I am Dr Michaels, I exist for my family, I am a vet, I am reborn. I had a wife. I had so much. I will have it again. I am good. I am good. I am good. I will be good. I will be a good boy."
And at this Butch barked his approval.
But he couldn't stop.
"I am all of these things and yet I am none of these things. Who I am is a constant state of never knowing who I am. Who I am is Hunger."
And finally free from the compulsion he sagged, physically relieved, but looking more than a little bit scandalised at what had just been pulled free from his lips.
Beejoux
Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2017 4:56 pm
Not responding was probably better for her own mental health, at least for a while that remained a viable option. Easy enough at first, as they made their way through an ever thickening forest and tangled bramble that bit and scratched at every inch of them. By the time they reached the clearing--and an oversized and all too familiar caterpillar--Peyton had scratches all over her arms and legs, and even a few on her cheeks.
"Why am I not surprised." Arms folded, he watched the giant thing lean over them, blowing smoke rings into the air before addressing Lawrence.
At which point the thin man froze, stiff and nervous looking. It had her frowning at him, head tilting curiously, and she was about to ask him what the deal was when he suddenly let spill An alarming list of personas and identities, some of which she had already known, and some new.
Like the owl that had been following her around. The one that was apparently Rodney's pet. "You creepy, stalker b*****d." But it wasn't as if she were really surprised.
"Who are you?"
She blinked, attention swinging around to the caterpillar as the compulsion took hold, and unlike Lawrence, she had very little on the subject to hide. It took only a puzzled second, and then her mouth opened, and the answer spilled out in a rush.
"I'm Peyton Renee Creedy, the eldest of two daughters. I had a happy and normal childhood up until I was ten. I watched my mother die after the car we were in together with my sister flipped three times before hitting a tree. I watched my father wither into a husk after her passing. I took over primary care of my sister. I moved thirteen times in the space of seven years. I like fighting, and pain, they make me feel alive. I'm a cook and a caregiver to those that would appreciate it. I'm a Sun hunter, and I'm good at it. I..."
For a moment she wavered, breath shaking.
"I haven't been the same since Taym died and America left. I'm...broken."
The last come out in almost a whisper, and she too sagged with relief as the endless stream of words finally ceased. None of it was a secret, but, there was plenty she'd only shared with a few people.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:36 pm
Lawrence was dazed and fairly upset, but at the very least wasn't upset enough to miss Peyton's conversation with the caterpillar. He was relieved only that the quantity of personas he'd just confessed had been high enough a few had slipped through the cracks, and he hoped against hope that Peyton would never understand the significance of some of the ones she'd heard.
Her own answer was curious to him, a few factors filed away for later reference, because to Lawrence everything was vulnerabilities. Peyton's identity appeared to be built around caring for others, centred around a core of longing to simply be a part of something and be needed. It was something Lawrence found interesting and intended in his own way to learn more.
Her final statement was the one which made him listen, that fractured admission like the scent of blood in the water to a shark. He most certainly would find out more.
The caterpillar seemed satisfied by their answers and nodded to them both, gesturing to the way ahead with one set of hands while he handed them both a piece of mushroom for their troubles.
"Good luck." he said, before surrounding himself with thick, heavily scented smoke and slowly disparaging before their eyes, scattering into hundreds of brilliant butterflies.
Beejoux
Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 12:18 pm
The butterflies cleared, and the dream broke for the second time. Peyton just lay there for a long while staring up at the ceiling. Then, before the dream had a chance to fade at all, she reached over to grab a pad and paper from the bedside table and began writing.
The next night she wasn't at all surprised to find herself in the same dreamworld, and if she was there, she she sure she wasn't alone. "Lawrence?" It was flat, a little resigned. She turned on the spot, looking for him in the gloom.
In her hand, the mushroom the caterpillar had given her before the dream had ended the last time.
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Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:03 pm
gaia_crown[ Day 3 – The Red Queen’s Castle ] Routes are player choice - Anyone wanting to reach the final throne room must pass at least one of these prompts
Route 1 - Painting the roses red You come across a group of people sized playing cards frantically trying to paint white roses red. They enlist you to help.
Roll 1d20, if you roll above 7 then you are successful in helping them and they approvingly let you pass into the castle out of gratitude, if you roll below this then you must choose one of the below two tasks to complete to proceed.
Route 2 - The castle maze - Another way into the castle is via the castle’s enormous hedge maze, this way is perilous and difficult but can have hidden rewards. You need to roll twice successfully to pass.
Roll 1d6 1 - Success - You mentally map out the maze as you go, successfully remembering the path you need to take. 2 - Success - Ahead of you the strange cat appears and points you down the right path. 3 - Success - Runic household item - Small runiced appliance 4 - Fail - You encounter nothing but dead ends and lose your sense of direction. 5 - Fail - A dangerous pit opens up at your feet, so close you almost fall in, realising your way is now blocked. 6 - Success - You hear arguing around a corner which leads you in the right direction.
gaia_angelright If you fail you find yourself back at the beginning of the maze, either start over the maze or choose one of the other two prompts you haven’t done to proceed.
Route 3 - Prompts You find yourself at a strange tunnel lined all the way through with mirrors. It is dark and as you go you grow more and more disorientated. After a time you realise your own reflection is watching you. It speaks to you and states. “You will only make it if you face yourself.”
Choose one of the below prompts and write 500 words on it.
- Your reflection criticises your weakest points, tearing you down, what does it say and how do you find the strength to outpace it? Can the others hear it? - Your reflection praises you, focusing on the good things you've done, does it help you escape the tunnel? Can the others hear it? -There is something wrong with your reflection, it seems to talk little sense and speaks about things you only vaguely remember in dreams. This makes for a surreal experience and can be quite frightening, do the others see it too? - Your reflection is still and silent, it follows you but says nothing at all, merely watches you, what do you do? Does it unsettle you? Do you feel like it is supporting you?
Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:06 pm
Lawrence replied in a sing-song voice. "Here darling, of course I am. Always with you." He was growing tired of these dreams constantly leaving him void of his innermost secrets, and the fact that Peyton had mentioned some of it on twitter meant it wasn't simply a dream, for whatever reason they were retaining facts into the outside world.
That was problematic and he simply had to count on Peyton not having the intellect to realise what she had.
"Not far till the castle if I recall correctly." he said, gesturing to the path ahead.
"There are three paths to take. Choose as you will."
Beejoux
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Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 3:31 pm
Quote:
Route 1 - Painting the roses red You come across a group of people sized playing cards frantically trying to paint white roses red. They enlist you to help.
Roll 1d20, if you roll above 7 then you are successful in helping them and they approvingly let you pass into the castle out of gratitude, if you roll below this then you must choose one of the below two tasks to complete to proceed.
Peyton walked past him without so much as a twitch in response to his baiting. Instead she focused on the path ahead, the split, and which of the three they should take.
A maze, a garden, or...she wasn't entirely sure, it just got darker in that direction. Not the most inviting. None of this was, really, but after a moment of thought she turned down the first path, leading the way towards the garden.
"I ended up in a maze before." he said flatly. "I'm rather good at finding my way out of mazes though, would you believe it? It didn't hold me long."
He'd glimpsed a long hallway of mirrors on his way through the castle previously and had found himself deeply relieved that he hadn't ended up there. He didn't like mirrors, not exactly, not after Russia and the strangeness of the mirrored room.
He could never be sure who he was looking at without his disguises and outfits on and the idea of having to deal with it in a dream world with Peyton was less than appealing. So for once, rather than shirking the task entirely, he picked up one of the paintbrushes the panicked cards handed them and set to work, painting the roses with dainty care and poise until they were all as white as he loved everything to be.
"There." he said with a smirk as they - now relieved - observed their collective handiwork.
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 12:30 pm
gaia_crown[ Final Day - The Queen’s Throne Room. ] gaia_angelright If you fail at any point here you must wait another day before you can roll again (unless specifically stated otherwise)
The red queen’s throne room is enormous and is linked to a vast network of guarded rooms and corridors, at the end of these rooms is the treasure room where the valuable and often stolen treasures are stowed away by the selfish queen.
gaia_angelright Success means you can move onto rolling an artifact, Safe means if you fill in an rp post you can roll again, a free re-roll can simply be immediately re-rolled if you wish. Fail means you must wait 24 hours to roll again.
1d10
Quote:
1 - You are almost caught by the guards on the way to the treasure room, however they get sidetracked by a voice from down the hallway. It sounds familiar somehow. - Re-roll without cooldown 2 - You all successfully make it to the treasure room through a combination of stealth and sheer dumb luck - Success 3 - You find a place to hide until nightfall in a quiet and rarely visited room on the upper floors - Safe 4 - Success 5 - You find a banquet hall where you have some food to eat, no one else is here and it's a safe place to hide for the day - Safe 6 - You stumble upon an attic filled with strange toys, magical objects and concerningly, guillotines. You opt to hide there for the night - Safe 7 - OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, the group find themselves caught by the red queen and only narrowly escape with their heads intact, they need to wait before they can even think of trying again -Fail 8 - Success 9 - You find yourself cornered by a group of playing card guards, they turn you in and you are sent away from the castle. Unless you successfully helped them paint the roses red, in which case, they turn a blind eye- Fail or (if you did the roses red quest) a free no-cooldown reroll. 10 - You get lost on the way to the treasure room and need to come back the next day with a better idea about where the hell you are going - Fail
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