Penelo (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mincingminuet) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
recolle2018-01-12 06:06 pm
mincingminuet) wrote in recolle2018-01-12 06:06 pm
Entry tags:
[Closed] I sung of Chaos and Eternal Night...
WHO: Penelope Raban, the esper Mateus, and an (un)fortunate few.
WHERE: The streets of Recolle, Recolle Woods, and Kumou Shrine
WHEN: January 12th to January 15th
WHAT: Penelope has regained the demonic summon Mateus that she cannot control without a fight. Mateus flees, seeking to gather support for the inevitable conflict between them and to hurt the people close to Penelope.
WARNINGS: Violence against people and animals, blood, possible gore, potential mentions of ritualistic sacrifices. Other warnings may be added, so please assume this log will involve any number of unpleasant things.
In the early evening outside of Wiffle Waffle, something stirred, and bystanders reported that it seemed just a touch more chillier than normal. Shouts were heard, the resonant crash of steel against steel, and a deep, rasping laugh but few people got a clear picture of what was going on. It wasn't anything to worry about, probably, even if a young woman was spotted limping to her car and driving off like a maniac. Just someone who fell, probably.
Others may have noticed an enormous shape slinking off into the shadows too, but that was just a guy carrying an old Christmas tree. Probably.
I. January 12 to January 14, Streets of Recolle.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, nothing happened. The creature expected that it would very likely be met with immediate pursuit, but when it wasn't that gave it time to think. Slulking from alley to alley, Mateus considered it's surroundings in bewilderment, maddened by its failed attempt at freedom. It knew only what its summoner did, and the deluge of information took time to process.
Traveling outside the city was simple enough, and surrounded by the cold of Recolle Woods it found a place to build into a stronghold. A shrine with a certain kind of energy to it worked quite nicely, giving it an opportunity to call forth minions.
It needed more support though, and it needed it badly if it wanted it's freedom. Fortunately, this new place seemed a likely place to find the gullible and foolish, those with more ambition or desire than caution. People with darkness in their hearts, the wicked or the misguided. These were people it could use.
The darkness helped, masking its movements and making it easier to study potential allies. Moving with an unnaturally graceful gait for its ungainly form, the esper followed at a distance...weighing and measuring, trying to get a feel for who to approach. When it does, it calls out first in a voice as cold as a glacier, and as dry as a desert. Just a greeting, always delivered from a particularly dense patch of shadows, concealing itself at first.
"Why...hello there," it rasps, "...I was wondering if perhaps we could speak..."
II. January 13 to January 14, Streets of Recolle.
When dawn came, Mateus had come to several conclusions, and chief among them was that it would need to attract its summoner's attention somehow. To draw her in, to keep her off balance, and get her to come in upset. Easier prey, that way, and what better way to draw in a self righteous mortal than to play on her sense of loyalty. Discovering who she held dear was simple enough, they reeked with the girl's scent, and those become its first targets. Others as well, those not allied with the girl, but those who might carry word of the attack back to her.
Skulking, stalking, moving from shadow to shadow, Mateus observes and waits. The attack comes on suddenly, a streaking blur of cold rippling out of a shadow, a demonic form rising up from a snow drift or out of the mouth of an alley. The esper shrieks something unintelligible in a gutteral tongue, and then...
"Where is Penelope?!" before attacking with an arm, its trident, or a spell. Defend yourself, run, or perish!
III. January 14, Recolle Woods/Kumou Shrine.
As the third day arrived, Mateus had decided that staying within the bounds of the city was less than wise. It could not continue these forays into a confusing tangle of concrete and lights, and if it attacked many more people it might draw the eyes of a mortal militia. So into the forest it goes, waiting to see if its labors to attract Penelope are successful.
While out in the forest, though, it hardly remains idle. Humans that visit the Kumou shrine or who are out in the woods are both potential targets or potentially approached if they have a suitable amount of darkness in their hearts. A rustle of leaves, the tinkling of ice crystals, and a sudden deepening of shadow are all that announce its presence.
Individuals it seeks to bargain with will be greeted with a simple "Greetings..." while those it intends to attack will hear only a battlecry before being struck with a shock of freezing cold...
IV. Contact Pen.
If your character wants to contact Penelope after a thread about being attacked, this is the place to do it. Post deal threads involving action with Pen I will reply to in the original thread.
V Any Day, Wild Card.
If there is a specific scenario you'd like to play, or a different set up to being approached or attacked, then feel free to write your own prompt and I will respond with Mateus accordingly. If you want to do a group thread, as some of you guys have mentioned, just leave me a note of who is participating in the subject line as well!
I'm perfectly fine with whatever you want to do, but if you feel the need to get in touch with me OR just have any general questions, please hit me on Plurk.![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
intercession. Reference art linked above courtesy OperatingThetan.
WHERE: The streets of Recolle, Recolle Woods, and Kumou Shrine
WHEN: January 12th to January 15th
WHAT: Penelope has regained the demonic summon Mateus that she cannot control without a fight. Mateus flees, seeking to gather support for the inevitable conflict between them and to hurt the people close to Penelope.
WARNINGS: Violence against people and animals, blood, possible gore, potential mentions of ritualistic sacrifices. Other warnings may be added, so please assume this log will involve any number of unpleasant things.
In the early evening outside of Wiffle Waffle, something stirred, and bystanders reported that it seemed just a touch more chillier than normal. Shouts were heard, the resonant crash of steel against steel, and a deep, rasping laugh but few people got a clear picture of what was going on. It wasn't anything to worry about, probably, even if a young woman was spotted limping to her car and driving off like a maniac. Just someone who fell, probably.
Others may have noticed an enormous shape slinking off into the shadows too, but that was just a guy carrying an old Christmas tree. Probably.
I. January 12 to January 14, Streets of Recolle.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, nothing happened. The creature expected that it would very likely be met with immediate pursuit, but when it wasn't that gave it time to think. Slulking from alley to alley, Mateus considered it's surroundings in bewilderment, maddened by its failed attempt at freedom. It knew only what its summoner did, and the deluge of information took time to process.
Traveling outside the city was simple enough, and surrounded by the cold of Recolle Woods it found a place to build into a stronghold. A shrine with a certain kind of energy to it worked quite nicely, giving it an opportunity to call forth minions.
It needed more support though, and it needed it badly if it wanted it's freedom. Fortunately, this new place seemed a likely place to find the gullible and foolish, those with more ambition or desire than caution. People with darkness in their hearts, the wicked or the misguided. These were people it could use.
The darkness helped, masking its movements and making it easier to study potential allies. Moving with an unnaturally graceful gait for its ungainly form, the esper followed at a distance...weighing and measuring, trying to get a feel for who to approach. When it does, it calls out first in a voice as cold as a glacier, and as dry as a desert. Just a greeting, always delivered from a particularly dense patch of shadows, concealing itself at first.
"Why...hello there," it rasps, "...I was wondering if perhaps we could speak..."
II. January 13 to January 14, Streets of Recolle.
When dawn came, Mateus had come to several conclusions, and chief among them was that it would need to attract its summoner's attention somehow. To draw her in, to keep her off balance, and get her to come in upset. Easier prey, that way, and what better way to draw in a self righteous mortal than to play on her sense of loyalty. Discovering who she held dear was simple enough, they reeked with the girl's scent, and those become its first targets. Others as well, those not allied with the girl, but those who might carry word of the attack back to her.
Skulking, stalking, moving from shadow to shadow, Mateus observes and waits. The attack comes on suddenly, a streaking blur of cold rippling out of a shadow, a demonic form rising up from a snow drift or out of the mouth of an alley. The esper shrieks something unintelligible in a gutteral tongue, and then...
"Where is Penelope?!" before attacking with an arm, its trident, or a spell. Defend yourself, run, or perish!
III. January 14, Recolle Woods/Kumou Shrine.
As the third day arrived, Mateus had decided that staying within the bounds of the city was less than wise. It could not continue these forays into a confusing tangle of concrete and lights, and if it attacked many more people it might draw the eyes of a mortal militia. So into the forest it goes, waiting to see if its labors to attract Penelope are successful.
While out in the forest, though, it hardly remains idle. Humans that visit the Kumou shrine or who are out in the woods are both potential targets or potentially approached if they have a suitable amount of darkness in their hearts. A rustle of leaves, the tinkling of ice crystals, and a sudden deepening of shadow are all that announce its presence.
Individuals it seeks to bargain with will be greeted with a simple "Greetings..." while those it intends to attack will hear only a battlecry before being struck with a shock of freezing cold...
IV. Contact Pen.
If your character wants to contact Penelope after a thread about being attacked, this is the place to do it. Post deal threads involving action with Pen I will reply to in the original thread.
V Any Day, Wild Card.
If there is a specific scenario you'd like to play, or a different set up to being approached or attacked, then feel free to write your own prompt and I will respond with Mateus accordingly. If you want to do a group thread, as some of you guys have mentioned, just leave me a note of who is participating in the subject line as well!
I'm perfectly fine with whatever you want to do, but if you feel the need to get in touch with me OR just have any general questions, please hit me on Plurk.
no subject
[A long pause. He reaches forward to grasp her shoulder.]
You have to let Mateus go.
no subject
I...had a feeling you ran into Mateus.
[She moves, twisting her shoulder and freeing herself. Putting one hand against his chest, she pushes back.]
I don't think that's a good idea, Howard. In fact, I know it isn't.
no subject
[He tilts his head to the side, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Even as he staggers back from the push, he's already stepping forward back towards her.]
If you let them go, then they don't have to hang around any longer...they can be free.
no subject
Howard. It isn't that simple. I can't just...let it go. It attacked me when I regained the ability to summon it. I had to have one of my friends drive it off.
[She looks at him with wary eyes, her Tonberry settling between her legs, one hand still holding the lantern up.]
It has been attacking people, one of whom is asleep inside. It's a demon. Do you have any idea how bad it would be if I just...let it go? Even if I could without it killing me, I wouldn't.
no subject
[He shakes his head, uncertain, but still determined. He came all this way, he left Sakura behind...he's not going to take no for an answer.]
You're in control of them. You can end all this. If you keep doing this...other people will still continue to be hurt. What are you planning to do? Just...leave this whole scenario like this? Watch people get hurt? Or are you just...hiding here...away...
[His eyes glance towards her hand at the movement to her necklace. In the past, he would've found it odd, but now, with all his knowledge that magic exists, that demons exist, and that little stones may appear far more than they seem to be. Even that strange toy...is it just a toy, moving like that?]
What are you doing?
[He lets out a huff, his mouth quirking to the side, like he half expects this to be a joke of some kind.]
Are you going to attack me, Penelope...?
no subject
[Penelope's eyes blaze, a sudden fire erupting behind them. That was a low blow and a deep dig at something she had been trying to avoid.]
I had a memory of that creature. An Esper. A Demon. Its kind are evil, cursed beings placed under a geas by the gods. They don't want just freedom, they want to kill everyone they can find. My other self defeated it, and because she did, she gained control over it. A means to cage it, to keep it from hurting people.
[She drops the crystal, gesturing at the Tonberry. The little creature waves up at him, very much not a doll.]
I've got another creature, a being she made a pact with, out searching for Mateus, so I can defeat it again. I have to beat it to regain control, or it has to kill me so it can slip the leash and regain its full strength...and kill everyone else.
[Her forehead furrows, and she shakes her head.]
Once Shiva finds Mateus, I'm going to deal with it.
no subject
[But another part, deeper down, finds himself almost offended by the notion of her words. Of course, yes, if what she is saying is true, then such creatures should be stopped. But to be caged? To be under control of someone else? It's like reining in the ocean, that wild and mysterious and deadly thing, and bending it to your will. It's impossible, almost insulting to think about.]
Penelope... [He feels his hands clench into fists at his sides.] I understand what you're saying, but...
[He grits his teeth.]
Why can't you just...kill it? Why do you have to control it, huh? If you want to stop it, at least have the decency to end it for good instead of forcing it to work for you...
[Why does he feel so pained about this...?]
Those creatures are not yours to control.
no subject
Why don't I kill it? Because I cannot. You cannot kill something that is immortal, Howard. My memories are clear enough.
[She adopts an almost lecturing tone, quoting right from her own head.]
In vainglory they arose, shouting challenges at the Gods. But prevail they did not. Their doom it was to walk the Mist until Time's end. Now they are bound to live only when summoned by their Glyph, to serve whosoever called them forth.
They cannot be killed, they can only be contained. I did not know that, when Retrospec gave me the glyph to summon Mateus. I had no idea, or I wouldn't have done that. I thought it would be like the Yahri...[She nudges Tons with her foot.]...creatures that my other self and I have made pacts with.
[She scowls.]
Howard, if I could send it back to the Mist or wherever, I would. But I can't. Once I beat it, I can banish it to its prison, but that's all. I have to deal with the hand I was dealt, but I have no intention of dying and letting that thing kill anyone else.
[The Azer in Howard's pocket starts buzzing, moving slightly, trying to get free...]
no subject
[Forever imprisoned. Forever under someone's control. Unable to be killed. Just at the mercy of someone's whim. The language of Glyphs and Yahri and the rest mostly go over his head.]
It's not fair...
[She's right. She's right, because that creature will kill people. It could hurt his friends. It could hurt Penelope. And yet, to think that it's just going to be in a cage...]
[He shakes his head. There's a buzzing in his pocket, but he ignores it, far too conflicted over the whole situation. Mateus wants to be free. Penelope wants to help prevent others from getting hurt.]
Penelope... [He lifts his head, his eyes slightly wet.] Are you sure there's no other way to solve this...?
no subject
[She continues to look him right in the eye, the fire in her unabated. She will do what she must to protect everyone.]
If I knew another way, I would do it. If I could just...sever...this connection, send Mateus back into the Mist and get rid of whatever link we have? I would do it. But I can't. I think that when I beat it, I'll be able to send it back into the Mist, and then never call for it again. I don't know what the Mist is like but I know it's not here.
[She takes a deep breath.]
Its an evil thing, and I think that you know that. I don't want to be a warden for some horrible monster, and I don't want to deal with demons. I just want to live my life and for nobody to get hurt. I don't want any part of this, but that's not possible. So, yeah. I'm going to do everything I can to make the best of this, to send this thing back to where it doesn't have to deal with me or anyone else, and try and forget it ever existed.
[The buzzing grows louder, and more insistent...]
no subject
[And now, the tears are starting to flow. Howard is not an emotional man by any means. But to feel all of this, at once, to be torn between wanting to help a monster and letting Penelope imprison it...]
[It all overflows inside of him, like some kind of waterfall, and he hates it.]
Penelope...I was going to get my memories erased. I don't want this. I don't want to be part of Retrospec. I-I had a normal life. Mateus promised me that I'd be free of those memories from another life. Because seeing what I've seen..I want nothing of it.
[He doesn't know what to do. Nobody is here to help him. He left Sakura behind. He's such a mess. He's such a damned mess.]
I want this to all end, Penelope. But I don't...I don't know how to do it.
no subject
[She frwowns at the sight of the man in front of her actually crying. Her eyes soften a little, the heat leaving her, replaced with concern.]
I'm sorry that you're a part of all of this, though. You...aren't the only person who wants to go back to the way things were. I want to make videos, to make people smile, and build something to make the world more efficient...but here I am dealing with demons and monsters and mistakes that some girl made in another lifetime.
[Tentatively, she reaches for his shoulder, thinking to at least invite him in for tea and send him on his way...]
If there is a way to get rid of these memories, we'll find it. It may take time but we'll figure it out. Just...
[She cuts off with a sharp yelp as the Azer explodes out of Howard's pocket, shredding the cloth in a bid to get at her hand. She leaps back, grabbing the man's hand and pulling him away from the bundle of ice that's beginning to expand and grow on the porch.]
Jesus fuck! did it send that with you?!
no subject
[The tearing of his cloth is a sign that jolts him out of his hopeful dream, something that tells him that no, the nightmare will continue. It always will.]
[Howard staggers back from the thing, his tone stammering:]
Y-yes, Mateus said that it would...l-lead me to them when the deed was done...
[He's trying to put as much space between it and him and Penelope as he can.]
W-what do we do?!
no subject
You stay behind me. Just keep your head down. I'm going to have to deal with this.
[Tonberry looks back at Howard, his large yellow eyes glowing softly.]
It's okay. I will keep you safe. This thing will not hurt either of you.
[The little creature lurches forward with startling speed, knife raised, winging the Azer as it tries to dodge. Pen skips backwards to stand closer to Howard.]
This thing isn't really alive. I remember creatures like this. It's just cold air that's come alive. Like a robot, but...made of ice.
[She reaches a hand out towards it, electricity beginning to crackle between her fingertips.]
You aren't hurt are you?
no subject
[Is he going insane...?]
What? Me?! No, no, I'm not hurt, just...
[That's Mateus' construct. Did Mateus put it on him for this purpose, to attack Penelope? He hadn't done anything to activate it, had he? He didn't move to do anything-]
[Did...did Mateus use him to get this thing close to Penelope...?]
Can you defeat it? I mean, do we need some fire or something?
no subject
We can defeat it. I can't make fire, but I have other spells. I imagine electricity will hurt it.
[She looks back at him, flashing a confident enough smile.]
Don't worry. Tons is extremely tough. More than any human, and if he can't handle it, I have another friend I can ask for help.
[Tonberry gets a good slash in on the Azer, its knife pulsing with a dark light and shearing off a chunk of it. Penelope's fingers open and close, and a shock of electricity zips through the air, crackling into the elemental and it begins to jump around wildly, shaking and shivering, like that hurt it more.]
You really didn't know what this thing was, did you, Howard? Or that it might be a trick?
no subject
[This really is like a fantasy novel come to life.]
[He just hands back behind Penelope, blinking as he tries to just grasp everything that's happening. Lightning from the fingertips, living ice...]
[At her question, he shakes his head vehemently.]
What? No, no, I mean, Mateus said that it was their construct, and that it would help me find them when I was done convincing you to release them, but...it didn't say anything about this...!
[He shakes his head.]
Are you sure that creature isn't alive? It seems to be in pain...
no subject
[Pen is rather emphatic about that.]
It's an Elemental. A construct. It's a servant of something, usually a god or a mage, and it isn't sapient. It just does what its ordered to do. In this case...
[It definitely seems to be trying to get around Tonberry to get to Penelope, but the little monster is quite deft at blocking it. In its haste, it doesn't even seem to be all that concerned with its safety, as it zips around the defender and catches a knife fully...and immediately breaks apart into a pile of snow. Poof.]
I guess Mateus made it from snow?
no subject
[There it goes. Howard blinks. Just like that, the thing is gone, transformed back into the way it was before.]
[Just regular snow.]
Yes, they did. [He's already wandering over to the pile of snow, prodding it with his foot.] To think it made such a thing out of that...
[A pause. He glances over at the Tonberry, before turning his attention back to Penelope.]
I'm... [A sigh. He looks embarrassed, lifting his hands to his chest.] I'm sorry, Penelope. If I had know what this ice thing was going to do...
no subject
[Pen shifts herself and looks up at Howard, unblinking and...while not exactly unperturbed, definitely not angry.]
I'm aware. You and I aren't close...but you aren't the kind of person that'd just try and kill someone. Or bring around a monster to do it.
[She honestly has a hard time believing that he'd even make a deal with Mateus on purpose, but then he seems awfully fond of demons.]
I think the best thing to do is for me to call you an Uber and for you to head home. Sleep this off. Drink, if you do. Maybe call someone who's closer to you than me, and...yeah.
I'll let you know when this thing is done with. And I'll meet up with you afterwards and we can seriously talk about it. Okay?
no subject
["Should we...kill them? he hears his other self say in his memory, casually, questioningly. He shakes his head. This is all...too much. He feels exhausted, suddenly. He raises a hand, wipes his eyes.]
[He has too much to think about.]
Okay. Thanks. [He's glad she's giving him a way out of this.] I want to ask you a lot, but I think I just need to...have some time away from all of this.
[A pause.] Will Mateus come after me, since I've failed them...?
no subject
I don't know what kind of memories you're trying to shut out, but I'll be blunt. You are not the person in those memories. You are who you are, and your experiences are no less real or valid. You have your morals and your sensibilities, and you aren't a killer. There's a reason I differentiate myself from my other self.
[And...probably always will.]
And no, I doubt it. It...well, its attacked other people, and some have contacted me. But nobody seems to have been targeted twice. I'd be surprised if you ever had to deal with it again.
no subject
[He swallows.]
Yes. I'm...not the person of my past. I'm not.
[Saying it doesn't make him believe it, unfortunately.]
Okay. As long as they don't come back, then...I can rest for a while. [He looks over at Penelope.]
Are you going to be okay? If you're facing Mateus...
no subject
[Breathing in slowly, then out, she reaches to pick up Tons and hold him against her chest. Running fingers along the creature's scalp, she turns to look at Howard and tilts her head a little to one side before smiling at him.]
Don't worry about me. I'm not going to fight Mateus alone, Howard. I've got Tons and other friends like him. And there are people here in the city I know I can trust. People who can fight.
I know it's a lot to take in, but I'm confident that we can win. You don't need to worry about anything.