awashlogs | Event Thirteen.

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Event Thirteen.

To love a human face was to discover
The cracks of paint and varnish on the brow;
Soon to distrust all impulses of flesh
That strews its sawdust on the chamber floor,
While at the window peer two crones
Who once were Juliet and Jessica.

t's a regular morning here in the Town. The sun isn't shining at all, snow is falling like crazy, and...there may be the sounds of shouts coming from the well, thoroughly muffled.

Okay, so it's not a regular morning at all, but you'd better go help those people! The newcomers are here again. Of course, once you get to the well, you'll notice that there's actually no real help you can offer -- it's totally frozen over.

As for the newcomers, well... hopefully being suddenly dumped into freezing cold water in the middle of November in a dark, damp well is your idea of a good time, because that's your life now!

And that's not even taking into account the mirrors in everyone's homes that are about to wake up and start chattering...

Welcome to Awash's thirteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. Please keep in mind that while this is a general event log, it is also an intro log; be sure to pay plenty of attention to our newcomers!

If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

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[ stares at him, because like, that was mostly a joke. ] What? Do you mean the fire or the screaming?

[ why is garbageville like this?

Vriska will give her head a shake, and then scrunch up her nose when that makes the ice in her hair crack and shift. ]

Being dead and alone at the end of the universe, I guess. I will magnanimously spare you the gory details.

I didn’t think it was going to be that!

[ the mirror is cold to the touch, but sierra isn’t too bothered—she just wishes that she could generate her own body heat to keep the handle from stinging her palm. for now, she tucks it into her cape, or at least starts to. ]

I just don’t want you to think badly of me, Reim.

[ the fact that it uses his name makes her pause for only a moment, before she pushes it the rest of the way to hide it. ]

Screaming, kinda, [and damn, alright, it's already Heavy. Okuyasu's never been to the end of the universe, but he's been more or less 99% dead before... but how do you relate(tm) to this without making it weird??]

That sucks.

[nailed it]

[ well.

it wins a sharp bark of a laugh, and a sharper smile, so maybe that was the right answer? ]

You're right! It did suck. Who cares, let's move on. So other than, like, the walls screaming, I guess, what have I missed?

To be fair, it's a mirror, and this town is... [he waves a hand; there was always a possibility it would be something upsetting, he means, but he's not going to bother her about it. especially not when the mirror actually talks to him, which is a lot harder to politely ignore.

he coughs, and looks away for a moment.]

I will forget all about this later like you asked, [in theory,] but your past couldn't make me think ill of you.

i. arrivals
[ The sound of splashing and some muffled chatter and "WHAT THE FUCKS" from the bottom of the well is a normal enough occurrence around Chroma.

The thick cap of ice sealing the top of the well, not so much, and it's a bit alarming.

Joshua being Joshua, though, he sees no point in panicking. He reaches down for his orbment, swapping out a pair of blue quartz set into the device for red ones. The glow of magic being charged surrounds him, and when nobody else has gotten too close to investigate (he's not a complete asshole!), he unleashes a ball of fire at the ice -

- which does a whole lot of nothing. ]

...ah.

[ That can't be good.

He sticks around, nonetheless, so later, if you're stumbling out of the well after dealing with the ice from the inside out, he's got a few blankets at the ready and he's stoking a small fire a short distance back from the well, waving over the newcomers. ]

You should really come dry off.

ii. mirrors
[ Joshua never exactly thought much of himself to start with. (Vicious understatement.)

So the idea of a mirror following him around, showing off his bad side to anyone who happens to take a look...well, that's not so much alarming or infuriating as it just feels like a disappointment he should've had the sense to expect. He knows precisely what a shitty person he is! Now everyone else will know it too. Such is life.

He's actually doing a pretty good job of ignoring it, as such, going about his business with a stoic non-expression and only looking a bit deflated, if you know him well enough to catch the slight slump to his shoulders.

It helps that his mirror isn't really saying much, unless someone deigns to take a long look. Mostly, the Joshua in the mirror is just staring back with a dull gaze that looks more than a little dead inside, apparently not noticing (or just unbothered by) the blood that's splattered here and there on his image - but mostly on his hands.

Totally normal day here, folks! ]

[Is it really time to move on..... alright, sure, he doesn't know anything about healthy coping mechanisms. What did she miss in, like, six months-??]

Uh... The well's magic and nobody believed me 'til like a month ago 'cause, yet again, everybody's a dumbass around here. There's one thing. [Now he's counting on his fingers,] D'you know Jake? He was here and so was that guy who looked like Dave, [sorry dirk] but they're both gone now... There was something about mermaids but I was busy when that shit happened.

[this is the best awash summary of all time]

It’s not my past I’m worried about.

[ sierra rubs her brow, still frowning. although she hasn’t physically changed much from the image in the mirror, the person standing before reim now seems unspeakably older in less tangible ways. it’s been centuries, of course. ]

The first many years of my life were boring. You might judge me for what an idiot I used to be, but there’s nothing painful there.

[ she delivers the statement as confidently as always, though she’s troubled and annoyed by her situation, but the reality is different in her chest. there’s an ache squeezing at her heart, a buried hurt that’s being roused by the person she used to be.

those stupid words—caring about someone, wanting them to stay, loneliness. crying about it. it’s awful. ]

[ tbh there will be plenty of time to unlock one another's tragic backstories later.

He says the bit about the well being magic and her eyebrows fly up, but instead of interrupting she lets him finish. Wild, it's almost like she has manners. ]

Yeah, I know Jake. We're all from the same, uh, set of universes. Are he and Dirk gone? Damn, that sucks. [ ... though she feels a quiet, guilty relief that someone who knew her living doppelgänger is no longer here to remind her of her failure. ] So, wait, go back to the well. Of course it's fucking magic! I could have told you that before I left. Wait, how did you find out?

[ There aren't many who Nico would call up to do something like this with. Sasuke would probably scold him and he's not sure Percy would be willing considering their history. So out of the few people he trusts, Dave is It.

Dave is the friend to do potentially stupid and dangerous things with. And here they are. About to do something potentially stupid and dangerous. ]

If you put your lips on me, I will have to kill you. To spare you from whatever hell your significant annoyance will unleash on you.

[ A shrug. ] But essentially, yeah.

[ She'll feel heat soon enough, heat enough to start melting the ice. If she looks up, she'll see that Clark's eyes are glowing faintly red. There's no anger, but he's clearly concentrating. ]

Any better?

[wow he just said he wouldn't judge her and that's what she says...]

If you showed me someone who insists they were the model of maturity when they were young, I will show you a liar.

[please. being dismissive of her past is one thing - ultimately, isn't everyone embarrassed of the way they acted when they were young? reim certainly has been more than once. but once again, that extra something—]

You know, wanting other people around isn't something to be ashamed of.

[ Honestly, she sees the glow and ducks a foot or two down, mostly just to give him space to do whatever he's doing. The ice, of course, basically melts on her head, but given she's already soaking wet, it hardly makes a difference. As soon as the hole he's melting widens enough to accommodate her she'll float free, blinking up into the light of a natural day. It's back to looking strange and new, which she hates.

Clark gets kind of like ... an uncertain look, like she's quite not sure what to do with herself. In the end she has this to offer: ]

Cool lasers.

[He nods first - yes, the not-so-duplicates are gone, tragically so because he lived with Jake for a while and never got to play with guns!! It's been a while, though, and the well being magic is the one thing he never gets sick of, somehow--]

I went back down there to see what would happen. First time me and Emma saw the town's memories or something, then me and Zelda saw these magic strings that tried to suck our color out, then a whole bunch of us went down and heard invisible people talking about their great new lives here in shitsville.

[These things he also counts off on his fingers. He's been busy!!]

So shit's magic, and everybody told me it was dumb 'til they all wanted to go down there too, and Mr. F's definitely got a secret base down there.

[ maybe that’s the problem. it wasn’t just when she was younger, it’s now, too. ]

Are you lecturing me?

[ it should be their usual playful banter, and it would be if it were based on her tone alone, but that extra something is going to betray her—she can’t help but feel a little jolt of shame and sadness anyway at being called out. it is something to be ashamed of, because it’s led to some stupid mistakes done in the name of love. ]

[ He offers her a lopsided smile in reply, along with a shrug. ]

I usually call it heat vision. I can dry you off a bit if you like.

[ His candid discussion of his powers is at least interesting her, making some of her awkwardness fall away. She'll float a little closer to him. ]

Can you? I mean, sure! Why not. Literally anything cannot be worse than this.

[Maybe a little bit, between Ochako and Izuku he's definitely learned how to tease people.]

Yeah. C'mon.

[He'll start heading to his very green house.]

[ His eyes will start to glow red again and the result will be a little bit like having the heated air machine from a public bathroom except all over. It won't take long before the water is steaming softly off of her and she's dry enough.]

Your hair could probably use a towel. But hopefully, that's a little better.

[ It's been about a day since these mirrors showed up, and he ... doesn't really like them. Without any real way of dealing with them, he's resorted to just ignoring his mirror as much as possible, trying to stay busy and keep his thoughts away from that depressing reflection.

So when he's passing by and a young girl (?) stops him to hold out her own mirror, he can't help wincing slightly. He catches a glimpse of bloodied clothes and quickly averts his gaze. ]

Uhhhhh. [ That's basically a 'no.' ] To be honest, I dunno if it's even a spirit inside it. I mean, it might be! But I'm not sure, sorry.

[well, now—]

Yes. Eventually, everyone experiences something like regret, or shame, but that isn't a sign to give up! People can't live without other people.

[if he seems particularly passionate about this, it's because of all the antisocial morons he has to keep in line at home... he's given this lecture before. but he still earnestly means it for her, not just the semi-automatic way he dispenses advice.]

And don't say something like "well I'm a vampire," because you know that isn't what I mean by "people."

[ Vriska muses on this quite seriously. She does not gainsay him, nor even seem to think any of what he's saying is that unusual. ]

I guess that confirms that feeling I had. [ A glance sideways at him. ] I don't know about a secret base, but he's definitely associated with the well somehow. Before I left I used my powers to try and track him down, and the well is what they led me to! All I found was that locket, though. [ a thoughtful pause. ] Huh. I wonder what happened to it after I left.

Well, forget it. Point being I'll go back down there with you if you decide to go again.

[ Vriska will float alongside him, pawing at her hair and knocking some ice loose. ]

Thanks. I don't think I can die again from being too cold, but it still sucks.

[ A beat, and: ]

You're actually sort of cute when you smile. You should do it more.

[Hold on!!! A locket!! A tangible thing that isn't just a vision!!]

Yo, what? No kidding? You think your old stuff's still here? We gotta take it down and see what happens!

Whoa.

[ Vriska will grin and lift her arms, glancing down at herself as steam starts to rise. Yeah, not gonna lie, this is pretty cool.

For at least a moment, there is nothing about her that is not sweet gratitude, and she'll dart in for a hug. ]

Yeah. It is. Thanks.

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Event Thirteen.

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