scawwy ✦ karlach cliffgate

[recession]

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[recession]

[ He tenses minutely by instinct when she reaches out to him, but he doesn't pull away. ]

...

Just... for the sake of survival, you know.

Better to be one-armed and alive than not.

[ Hell, he's two-armed and alive now! I could've given him the Asa treatment here but I was like I will be kind to myself with our first aid people ratio. ]

[ablazement]

... Yeah. That's what I mean. Shouldn't have to even make that decision in the first place.

[she leaves her hand on his arm for just a second, and then pulls away.]

You gave up a part of yourself to bring someone back. That's - I mean, Daan, survival or no, that's brave. You're gonna get squirmy about me saying so, but it is.

[recession]

It's not like I'm going to deny that first part, but it is what it is. I could have lived my entire life without the horrors I saw in Prehevil either.

...

You do give me too much credit, Karlach. I wasn't going to win against... that... on my own. I just made a practical decision.

Wouldn't consider it brave. Especially if it only gave us probably a few more hours at best.

[ablazement]

Not many people would chop off their arm for that. Or risk the shit that you did - you already told me about the occult. I've seen people just run. Hide. Get eaten, because they couldn't act.

...

[her tail goes back and forth again, anxiously.]

You didn't... die, there, did you?

[recession]

You misunderstand me to some extent, I think. I didn't know if it would work for sure, because it didn't in a previous attempt. It's no different than any other desperate act to escape.

...

I don't know. I don't recall dying, I don't think I did -- but what do I know anymore? Everything's been very difficult to believe.

I made my way to the tower. I reached for it. Felt a terrible headache, and it was dark, and --

...

And I woke up here. Pretty much.

[ablazement]

[she wrinkles her nose, because she refuses to think anything but good things about him despite his best efforts to get her to be realistic.]

The tower? [...] I'm sure you're fine. You look like you're breathing to me.

[this is a little joke.]

[recession]

Prehevil's Moon Tower. The place Rher's servant told us to head towards.

[ Unfortunately he does not humour a joke this time around. ]

[ablazement]

[fair enough]

I don't... know what any of that means, but I assume it's important.

[recession]

...

[ Just looks off to the side then back at her. ]

I've told you a bit about Prehevil, right? But not that much.

[ Most of his mentions about Prehevil were in W0 when he was still very freshly reliving the horrors but like. He's been here 3 weeks in the same prolonged scenario with everyone else also being in the same boat so his horror has dulled significantly by now. ]

[ablazement]

You've told me a bit, yeah. Mostly about how fucking awful it is, but not... the hows or whys or any of that.

[she figures if it were her business he'd tell her, really.]

[recession]

[ The way my threads have convened this way is very funny because I JUST explained it in detail in another one like 10 minutes ago. Conveniently copies and edits. ]

I was in a city called Prehevil, capital of Bohemia. We, meaning myself and the other unfortunates who happened to be on the same train going into the city -- including Miss Marina -- were roped up into something Per'kele called the "Festival of Termina" under the watch of Rher, the Moon God. That's the freak who visited us in our dreams and explained the whole deal. I suppose our equivalent of an overseer there, but considerably less generous, given he typically only cared to remind us of our deadline and encourage us to... take part.

He expected us to kill each other, wherein there could only be one survivor and they would be crowned the champion of the affair at the end of three days.

...

The city and its moonlight had... effects, on the town's residents. All mad and violent. And eventually, even some of our own number turned into...

[ Genuinely cannot emphasise enough how horrified he was to recount this to anyone back in W0 compared to now where it's just like well we've all been talking about the Scawwy horrors for three-quarters of a month now so whatever. Still, even then, he hesitates a little bit there. ]

As you saw.

[ With the crazed glass man wearing a torture device. Just to emphasise the aura, she could've perceived in his memories what Tanaka used to look like, versus how he appeared as the Judgement. Mind semi-pixel horror art details for CW if that bothers you. ]

[ablazement]

[HELP copypaste that background

anyway, she listens, expression very firmly a frown. she hates the sound of this place - like, who wouldn't - but even more because it just... really does sound like here. like stepping from one hell to another.

there's a lot she could say to this, a lot that she could be angry about. but, more than anything:]

You really haven't had a break in ages. [she says, finally, sounding sad. like that kind of sadness that's just achy and tired.]

[recession]

[ I have a special talent called 'managing to kin the game concept specifically in summer'. ]

...

[ He doesn't really have anything to say to that, because it's kind of true. Because right before Prehevil, he was on the front lines of the fucking war for who knows how long exactly.

He'll be happy to just inhale some cigarette smoke instead to pad the silence as he debates whether he even has a response to that, letting the well-missed nicotine actually take some of this damn edge off finally. ]

Guess not.

[ablazement]

[it's so funny god]

... D'you see why I keep wanting to give you a little sunshine? [she says, finally, glancing up at the sky of wherever they're at instead.]

Don't have to answer that. It's not a real question. [...] Maybe having downtime's not so bad.

[recession]

[ Sunshine. His fingers twitch slightly over the cigarette at that, but he just shrugs. ]

What can I say, I'm from Rondon... [ Technically not but it's easier to say that, she knows iirc. ] Not so much of a sunshine and rainbows place there anyway.

Literally. It tends to be pretty foggy and rainy there.

[ablazement]

Baldur's Gate isn't much better. In both senses.

[she says, idly.]

It's not mindless, you know. I'm not mindlessly hopeful or anything.

[recession]

Thought you were selling me its nice port town offerings last week?

...

I know you're not mindless.

[ablazement]

[a little half smile.]

It's great to me because I missed it for ten years. I know what it's actually like. I know what the world is actually like.

[recession]

Well now, that's a surprisingly downer statement from someone like you, so far.

Not that you're not allowed to. Everyone has their days.

But it'd be nice if you never felt like you had to say something like that.

[ablazement]

Is it? I don't mean for it to be. To me it's more that I just... know the world has it's bad parts, but I'm trying anyway.

I --

[and she gets interrupted by her own memory!]

[recession]

[



Buddy now I wish I gave you my other mem option after all because lol on some things. But Daan's quiet for a while, letting the smoke curl around the air between them, drifting through the silence that lies waiting heavier. ]

...

Are you sure you didn't want a stick for yourself after all?

[ablazement]

[HELP you can always give me more... i welcome them

a big, slow sigh. she brings a hand up to rub at her face.]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. But thanks.

[recession]

Suit yourself.

...

It'd be a nice thing if closure came more easily.

[ablazement]

I thought that'd be it, you know.

[she says, a little listless.]

But you saw. It didn't make me feel better. I still can't go home.

[recession]

[ He tilts his head a little bit in her direction. ]

Because of the engine?