HOUSE OF M(ETA)

[metamods]

HOUSE OF M

A DREAM IS A WISH…

In dreams you will lose your heartaches,
whatever you wish for,
you keep.

Anti-Meta sentiments are on the rise. This is no secret. Check the news and you see it, politicians arguing about the dangers that superhumans pose to the world. What if they go rogue? What if they stage a mutiny? How can they tell that heroes are really the good guys, when so many of them have secret identities. In the last week, multiple protests against metahumans potentially moving to their cities have broken out across the United States. Some cities have proposed legislation that would make it illegal for metahumans to live within their borders.

Excelsior is leading the charge, politicians are looking to ban any metahuman whose abilities are not technical in origin from living there.

It is little wonder, then, that so many go to bed dreaming of a better world. One without the hardships of this one, or of the one they endured before.

Meanwhile, across the country, Sunset Falls is in a state of change. Mayor West finally has candidates willing to take the position of Mayor from him. This shift in the city's attention prevents anyone from paying much mind to the odd and potent energies taking shape. Sure, there are strange occurrences happening. A young woman walks by the school and immediately forgets her name, her job, and where she lives. Others report a strange feeling of being watched. Those sensitive to it may feel something otherworldly and strange hanging in the air. Bearing down on them with oppressive force.

And, dear heroes, as you know - two forms of surging energies create what is known as a Confluence.

THOSE LEFT BEHIND

You wake to pandemonium.

An emergency broadcast is blaring across any transmissible signal. A Confluence of unprecedented size has struck. Half of the country has been consumed by it.

By noon, there is a quarantine in place - not that anyone seems to be trying to leave the affected area. No, this quarantine is to prevent people from trying to go in. Unauthorized access is not permitted, not until the capes in charge have a better idea of what is going on. Once again, the Godfall Protocols are enacted. All able-bodied metahumans are recruited to the task, and once again, the Starfallen will find themselves standing shoulder to shoulder with those far weaker than them.

This time there is no giant monster to fight. Just a barrier, invisible to the naked eye, that seems to alter anyone who enters into it. The early metahuman scouts report themselves to be unaffected for the first few hours, but any normal humans who enter this space quickly find themselves… no longer themselves.

Atomight, Frances Starling and Mechanima are all at the Alliance HQ. For once, the three faction leaders seem to be in perfect harmony. This is a bad idea, they cannot send their people into this No Man’s Land… but they have no choice. The Godfall Protocols are what they are, they were created for this very reason. Though they are not arguing with each other, the government agents suddenly standing in HQ are telling a very different story. The three of them are not hiding the fact that they are all too aware that their “freedom” comes with a price, and their resentment is reaching a boiling point.

At some point during these early hours, Atomight finds himself temporarily locked out of his office. While the three leaders are distracted trying to regain entry, Fantastic takes center stage and begins issuing the most scripted heart-felt speech you have ever heard. Unlike the other three, he doesn’t seem to care much for what he could be sending people into. This is not a speech meant to inspire confidence that all will work out in the end, that the weakest among them will be taken care of, it is a speech to inspire soldiers.

By the end of this first day, they have gathered enough information to make a determination. The Starfallen seem to be more resilient to whatever effects are occurring than the rest of the population. They are called to a unique, private meeting - one in which all three leaders attend.

“We don’t know what you will be facing there,” they state plainly. “But we know you have the best chance of making it out with your minds intact.”

The choice is yours. You can help secure the area, you can retreat to Little Love and hope that this expands no further, or you can step into the unknown.

You can engage with the leaders here.

HOUSE OF (M)ETA.

Inside the quarantine zone, all is well.

Your alarm rings a little late and you find yourself groggy and briefly disoriented, as though waking from a very long dream. One that you find yourself considering to be unpleasant, and not worth thinking about. You stretch and slide out of bed, perhaps kiss your partner good morning and prepare yourself to wrangle your children and get them prepared for school, but today is like any other day. The world is as it always has been, and you find yourself oddly comforted to know that things are not as bad as they could be.

And then your day begins.

If you are a card carrying member of the Guardian Alliance, then you report to work before most of the world is up and running. Atomight appears to be busy in Central City, as he is not present and is not answering any calls, but you know what to do. The Guardian Alliance is all about finding ways to be useful, without enrolling in any of the government run Metahuman departments. It pays less, and you have to have frequent check-ins with actual government approved heroes, but you find a measure of freedom in it… though the pressure is immense. One wrong move and you may find yourself imprisoned for “irresponsible” use of your powers, branded as the reason why metahumans should stay under the thumb of the government after their service ends, and not allowed to organize themselves in fear they may take over the world.

If you took the darker path, then you will find yourself reporting to an ordinary office building in whatever city you live in, for a boring job that you do not have. Villainy is not a safe passtime, but those who band together tend to stay alive a little longer. The Society of Villainous Reformation exists to provide the community that most villains lack. Villainy comes in many shapes and sizes, and the Society has all sorts. The only uniting factor in this faction is the fact that you do not want to be used the way heroes are. You want to use your powers as you see fit, whether that means you get an edge on tests or rob banks to your heart's content is up to you.

Or are you a vigilante? A complete wildcard, answering to nothing and no one but your own personal sense of justice? Vigilantes have a reputation for being brutal and efficient, needing none of the teamwork and oversight that the guilds use. They are also generally less accountable, unless The Society or the Guardian Alliance steps in.

Starfall, formerly Starstruck. He was one of the first heroes to enroll in the government's War Hero project, which has now become a mandatory military service for all young metahumans upon reaching 18.

The most concerning thing right now in the world is the cult, the Battlements of the Shining God. They are known to sacrifice people to their fearsome God, stating that it will give them the power to put things right. But… you have never seen them in person. Only heard of the wreckage they leave. But disturbingly, if you tune in to the nightly broadcast that the Dreamers of the Willow Maiden put out to help lull you to sleep, you will note they seem… off. Warning of a war that is coming. You are fairly certain you can handle a confrontation with them, though. After all, nothing you couldn’t handle has ever happened.

And as you fall asleep at night in this perfect world, in your perfect life, you swear you hear The Lady herself whispering in your ear. Wake up, wake up, this dream is not yours to live.

Yet when you try to hold on to those words, they slip from your thoughts. And when you awaken, all remains as it should be.

SNAP BACK TO REALITY

For those who agree to go into the quarantined zone, you find yourself given the best gadgets both the Alliance and The Society can offer. They are unsure how to prepare you for this, though the scouts that made it back say that things seem… fine. Peaceful, even. Everyone seemed so happy, but they did not recognize them.

Contact will be difficult to maintain. The radios were functioning while they were inside, but it seems that the further they went into these zones, the worse communication got.

When removed from the quarantine zone, those who were affected regained themselves bit by bit. Some held on stubbornly to their illusionary life, but when presented with undeniable evidence of the life they had before, and reminders of any joy they found within it, they came back to themselves.

“Are you saying that they have to befriend them to remind them of their sanity?” Mechanima asks, torn between incredulity and amusement.

“What he’s saying,” Frances cuts in, “is that they need a reminder that they have a life worth living outside of whatever the hell is going on in there.”

Atomight nods. “This appears to be a shared delusion manifested by magic. So, a mass psychic relay would be the best way to break the hold. However, it will take time to do safely.” He turns to the gathered volunteers. “Your job is to start cracks, so the whole thing shatters when we deliver the final punch… and no one soul is left bearing the brunt of that psychic backlash.”

There’s a moment of silence. You find yourself being handed resources for your trip inside - no weapons, just first-aid kits and any items you may have told people to gather that could remind your lost friends of who they are.

"This is going to change everything," Atomight continues. "Even if all this goes to plan, the fact that it happened at all means things won’t stay like they’ve been."

He doesn’t elaborate. Mechanima’s mask turns to troubled static, and Frances throws a glance back towards the Alliance’s tents. Many of the native metahumans are gathered, and Fantastic is posing for photos with them. The hashtag #METASTOTHERESCUE has been trending for hours, and were you to believe social media, Fantastic is the one leading the charge.

You turn, take a deep breath, and walk through the invisible threshold into another world. The teleportation devices you have been given will take you directly to the city of your choosing.

IN SUMMARY...

• The unrest in Excelsior and the upcoming election in Sunset Falls has caused a massive confluence, which has affected a great portion of the country.



• Anyone within the border of these affected areas finds themselves thrust into an alternate universe, wherein they lived a very different life as a native citizen of this world. In this version of the world, the Godfall Incident never happened.



• All metahumans - regardless of if they belong to Society, the Alliance, and the Unaligned - find that the Godfall Protocols are being enacted, meaning that metahumans will be conscripted into assisting. Knowing most metahumans do not stand a chance against whatever metaenergies are causing this, the leaders of these groups are asking the Starfallen to enter willingly.



• Being in the alternate universe for more than 72 hours will make you start to believe that you are part of it. It is very keen to assimilate you into it, and you may find yourself slowly developing false memories the longer you are in there.



• Exiting isn't an immediate cure, but the longer you are out, the faster you will come back to yourself.




• You can bring your AU-affected friends back to reality by reminding them of who they are, and that the life they have outside of the bubble is equally good as the one inside.



• Anyone who wants to sit this one out can kick back, relax, and enjoy some Kansas hospitality. Little Love is a safe area and will protect any citizens who do not feel capable or are unwilling to jump into the unknown.

Please direct any questions regarding this log HERE.

Comments

[harageous]

Hey! If it walks like a nerd, quacks like a nerd—

( she twirls her hand, indicating that she's not going to finish the rest of her sentence. also that she doesn't really have any problem with his request.

verdict: approved.

as she casts another glance over hunter, intending to get a good look at some of the book titles, something else catch her eye. the shadows look a little too long back in the foyer, stretching out over the area like long, spidery fingers. unnaturally black, almost if you could fall in.

but on second look, nothing seems out of place and the shadows exactly as what one would expect for this time of day.

eda thinks to dismiss it, writing it off as a sign of exhaustion. )

Just don't get too absorbed in them. It won't be long before we do dinner.

[badbutsadboy]

[He sprawls out on his stomach with a book on the floor in front of his face, kicking his feet slightly.]

Okay.

[And then it's a nice, normal evening, with a nice, normal dinner. After dinner, he does his homework and goes to bed.]

[His dreams are uneasy. They go strange places. A normal if odd dream about school changes and he winds up walking the empty, dim halls of some kind of palace. The candelabras barely shed any light. Leaning against a painting causes him to rip right through it, so that he falls down through a tunnel. In the place he lands, there are dead trees around him, covered in spider webs and rot. Decrepit paintings, half shredded, falling out of their frames.]

[There's a presence behind him, a looming shadow with antlers falls over him. His blood runs cold and he's frozen in place, terrified, unable to turn to see who it is.]

["What a shame. What a shame. What a shame." The voice keeps repeating the words in the same measured cadence and tone, over and over, like a recording. He's not sure what exactly is a shame but it's the tones someone uses before hurting someone. Like a supervillain in a movie. "What a shame I'll have to kill her, Mr. Bond." But worse. The voice sounds so...disappointed.]

[A hand finally breaks the cycle of frozen terror by suddenly clamping down on Hunter's shoulder. The hand looks like a zombie's, green and rotten, flesh nearly dripping off it. It oozes thick, black ichor down his shoulder, staining his clothes, and the hand digs in so hard he can't break away, so hard and so painfully that he starts wondering if any of the fluid is possibly his own blood.]

[Finally the voice, calm - so calm - says something new.]

["Out of all the grimwalkers, you looked the most like him."]

[The hand yanks and he tumbles back into black nothingness, falling into... some empty place. A terrible place where things go to be buried forever. He never sees who was grabbing him but a voice through the hole above him says blithely, "I was really expecting him to last longer than the others."]

[It is with that abrupt feeling of falling to his doom that he wakes up with a start, gasping and clutching at his chest. He wheezes as he tries to get his breathing under control. It takes time. But he's in his room. Everything is normal. He calms down.]

[It's okay. Just a stupid dream. Maybe he's been watching too much Storm of Kings because that was very high fantasy. (What's a Grimwalker? His subconscious isn't telling.)]

[Then he gets up to get some water and sees... someone on the lawn. Someone in a white cloak and a...mask? Why is there someone in a cloak and a creepy mask on the lawn?! He almost cries out to his aunt but something about it makes him feel... compelled to run downstairs first in a wild scramble to get a closer look at the backyard. His heart clenches when he thinks he sees them again, up closer now - someone his height, just outside, but then...]

[He breathes out a sigh of relief as he realizes it's not someone right on the other side of the glass, just his reflection on the sliding glass door. Still, he saw someone from above, someone down on the lawn below, staring right up at him.]

[He presses his face against the glass, hands cupping around his eyes to avoid any glare. He doesn't turn on the light, instead letting his darkness-adjusted eyes peer out into the darkness, half-lit by the annoying flood lamps of the neighbors that turn on whenever so much as a tree branch moves in the wind.]

[Nothing. Nothing moving in the tree line. If it was someone wearing white, he should've been able to spot them running by the time he got downstairs but he doesn't see a retreating back.]

[No one's there.]

[Maybe it was- was just in his head. He was having a nightmare, right? He used to have night terrors and sleepwalk when he was younger. He'd even had a bout of sleep paralysis now and again. It wouldn't be the first time he thought he saw something but had it be a waking dream. It's just...been a while since it happened.]

[He had a lot more of them when he was little, after his parents died.]

[Then he sees something moving in the shadows near the tree line. A large, gangly-limbed shadow. Two glowing eyes appear in the dark.]

[Then several other glowing eyes appear slightly below the first two.]

AUNT EDAAA!

[The scream is plenty loud enough to wake her up. He runs over to the stairs to meet her.]

[harageous]

( sleep didn't come easily. not this night. it had felt like a weight had settled in her stomach—although she's not quite sure when it had gotten there. had it been the uneasy feeling she'd gotten from hunter earlier? or had it been the unnatural look of the foyer? or the way the shadows of the tree branches outside had made her skin look like cracked porcelain while she laid in bed?

her arm hurt. or rather the space where her arm used to be hurt.

aching, cracking, shattering.

it takes ages for eda to finally sleep. she dreams of darkness, endlessly stretching darkness. darkness so dense and deep that no light could ever grace it. there is nothing in the darkness. nothing, nothing, nothing. no ground either, leaving eda to fall unendingly within this eternal darkness. deeper into a void there's no escape from.

then there are talons. grasping onto her ankles, yanking her down faster. faster into nowhere at all.

it doesn't even hurt and that's the worst part. just how empty it feels. because it's the kind of emptiness that one can lose themselves in.

effortlessly erased.

however, a voice eventually pierces through the darkness. a shrill, terrified voice.

of her own child.

immediately, her eyes snap open. her body moves instinctively, already launching her out of her tangle of sheets before her brain could begin to process what's happening. but what does she really need to know? she knows that hunter is screaming for her, so she's coming. aunt eda is coming! she's coming! and by hell, if anyone so much as touches this kid—

she only realises she had grabbed the baseball bat by the dresser when she's whiteknuckling it on her way down the stairs. )

Hunter!

( she calls, rushing towards him. )

What's happening? Are you alright? Am I killing someone tonight?

( that's probably legal if they broke in. )

cw: child abuse

[badbutsadboy]

[Eda isn't the only one that got woken up. His familiar, left on the little handmade nest pillow Hunter had sewed flies downstairs too and lands on his shoulder. Hunter cups a hand around the cardinal.]

I saw something! Outside!

Some weird person in a cloak and a creepy mask! And-and by the time I got downstairs to get a closer look, they were gone, but there's something in the woods! With glowing eyes! Lots of them.

[He's shaking, hiding behind his aunt. In this life, he never trained as a soldier, had to survive duels, or death hikes down a mountain, or fight in mazes with traps. He never had to join his new friends to fight against abominatons and the monster who raised him. He's going to the school to mostly learn to use his powers but doesn't plan on being a hero someday unless he can't find a way to wiggle out of mandatory military service.]

[He wants to get out on an exception as a scientist maybe.]

[Wants a normal life.]

[Because it's what he's gotten so far. She made sure of it.]

[So he's shaking. And the fear that's consumed him is coming from some dark pit inside himself that shouldn't be there. It doesn't feel like the normal trembling fear of a creepy stranger outside or even seeing some kind of monster like the ones he knows exist in the world because of what happened to his parents.]

[It's deeper. It comes from a deep, dark place, a yawning pit that shouldn't be there. The kind of place that only gets carved out of your soul if you know the kind of fear that comes from having to be scared of the person you should be able to trust the most.]

[Far worse than a child's fear that a monster is in their closet is the far less pretend fear of the monster in the other room. One that doesn't have to claw its way past the door and chase you to get yo. It just has to call you in and make it clear you're going to have a talk about something you've done.]

[And you'll walk in despite knowing the worst might happen because what else can you do? Especially if it's your fault for making it mad.]

[He collapses on the stairs behind his aunt and struggles with the feeling clutching at his chest and strange thoughts that are... they're confused. They're multiple different things at once and none of them make sense.]

[He's not supposed to be here! Reflexive. He can't not think it after seeing those eyes and a hint of too-long limbs. Because the fear is etched into his bones but he doesn't know where the thought comes from or who "he" is.]

[But there's also...]

[He's always here. Less a thought and more a voice. One that's calmer. Sadder. That knows the fear and hollow feeling is unfortunately necessary. That's why it's inflicting it on him. I know it hurts, but you have to accept it to get out of this.]

[harageous]

( outside?

eda lets out a quiet breath that she hadn't known she was holding, deeply relieved to know no one had broken into the house. it had been her first thought and her greatest fear. that something, someone would slip in and snatch something precious to her. she'd been more than ready to come to blows over yet. )

Okay.

( she says gently, affirming that she heard him. while she doesn't think that he saw what he thinks he saw, she's sure that he must have seen something. he wouldn't be this scared otherwise, all trembling limbs and shaky breaths. eda just cannot imagine what could be out there to invoke this kind of reaction in him.

honestly, she's not even sure if she's ever seen him this terrified.

but what she does know is that she's going to beat the shit out of whatever is outside. that eda knows for a fact. )

It's going to be alright.

( it is, it is.

then she's extending the baseball bat towards hunter, butt down and handle towards him. )

Take this, okay? Hold onto it tight and just breathe. I'm going to go check outside.

( correction: owlbert and the rather displeased owl lady are going to check outside. )

[badbutsadboy]

[Hunter grabs onto it like it's a lifeline, crouching at the bottom of the stairs. He grips it so tight his knuckles are white and nods a shaky, abrupt little nod.]

[He tries to control his breathing but all he can do is avoid hyperventilating altogether, not calming it down.]

[The words comes out as a gasp.]

Please be careful.

[Even though he feels safer having his aunt between him and...whatever it is, and even though he knows she's dealt with the more terrifying sides of the supernatural, he's still worried.]

[harageous]

Oh, never. I gotta make sure they know who they're messing with.

( she answers, trying to sound confident and reassuring. mostly she just sounds angry.

this is supposed to be a safe place. they moved here precisely because it was a safe place. it was so safe that even her prissy sister had approved of the neighbourhood. and now there was some weird jerk outside? who was probably either some snot-nosed teenager trying to play a prank or the world's stupidest criminal.

and she's not above hitting either.

owlbert is already in her hand, having taken the proper form of a staff. his eyes are alight with crackling golden energy, angry in his own right, and ready to defend their home. )

I'll be right back.

( is what she says before she turns on her heel, all but yanking the door open on her way to deliver some fresh, hot fury to whoever or whatever was waiting for her. the door slams against the wall as it swings open, making a loud, echoing sound.

but nothing else follows. eda disappears silently into the darkness of the night. )

[badbutsadboy]

[She'll find absolutely nothing there. No person in a mask. No creature lurking in the night. There aren't even any footprints.]

[There's just the cool night air, the occasional sound of a neighbor's barking dog, and the wind in the leaves.]

[But there's nothing to fight. Nothing at all.]

[Because the monster is in Hunter's head.]

[The monster is memory. It's the truth, bearing down on him, his real self trying to force him to accept the pain so he can recover everything else that isn't pain alongside it.]

[Everyone else. Because he's forgotten so many people that are important to him.]

[That means there's nothing for Eda to find.]

[harageous]

( there is no criminal, no punk teenager, no—

anyone.

not a single person that eda could pick a fight with or accuse of terrorising her charge. and eda makes sure to check. she goes over the entire yard, even glancing underneath the porch just in case, but nothing. either they were already gone or there was never anything there at all.

which would be irritating, but better than there having been any real threat.

once she's done verifying the security of the yard, she walks her way back inside the house. her staff is already gone, owlbert having returned his usual form and taken up residence on her shoulder instead. )

Whatever was out there is gone. Probably got one look at me and scrammed, you know?

( eda explains, shutting the door behind her. )

You okay?

( immediate follow up, before she even gets a good look at him. )

[badbutsadboy]

[He is not okay.]

[He is having a full-blown panic attack, gasping ragged gasps, feeling like he can't get enough air.]

I can't - breathe - I can't -

[He's never had a panic attack before. He knows what it is from health class and because he's seen a classmate have one before the teacher took her to the school nurse, but never had one of his own.]

[harageous]

( whoa!

the sight of hunter struggling like this sends an immediate stab of guilt right to eda's chest. she shouldn't have taken so long outside. she should have already been back inside with him. now that she's here, she doesn't waste in any time in rushing over to him.

she kneels down beside him, pressing a gentle hand to his shoulder. )

Hey, hey, hey. It's okay.

( softly.

it's been a long time since eda has seen someone have a panic attack, but she still remembers how lily would always handle it. she needs to help ground him in the now, in the present. )

Look at me, okay? Focus on me. What'd you have for breakfast? Did you have a favourite part? What did you drink? Was it bubbly?

[badbutsadboy]

[Tears are pouring down from the corners of his eyes. It feels like an elephant is on his chest.]

I - I -

[The questions seem like a non sequiter at first but he knows there are exercises that help people get out of panic attacks.]

[The sentences come out between gasps.]

I had French toast. With the blueberry syrup. That you got me.

[There was a brand he liked that you could only get at the really bougie grocery store and she'd picked some up for him when he'd been sick with a cold last month.]

It's my favorite one.

I had orange juice.

[It's helping, though. His breathing is slowing down.]

[harageous]

( good, good, good. it's such a relief to see hunter start to shift away from whatever it was that was causing him to jackknife in on himself. eda listens to him attentively, slowly letting her hand move to rub his back. partially to help distract him, partially to help comfort him, partially to help comfort herself. )

Great job, you little nugget.

( that's not just placating. she means it.

but they've a few more questions to go. )

Was it pulpy? Do you remember how it tasted? Did you make sure to eat one of the bananas too?

[badbutsadboy]

[He makes a face because he hates pulp.]

Ew, no.

[Teenagers. Even mid-panic attack they know how to be disgusted with something.]

It was the good kind. Without that weird aftertaste.

[He hated the kind from concentrate.]

I had one of the apples.

[His breathing is fully evening out. He takes a few long breaths in and out.]

[He looks at his aunt, expression pleading.]

I really saw something. Something was there.

[He needs her to believe him.]

[harageous]

( that's not exactly a hard ask. )

I don't think you'd be screaming like that if you didn't.

( that's not who he is. not by far! neither did she did imagine that he was just playing some kind of elaborate prank on her. no, that's something she'd do. to her sister, that is. not hunter. if he was freaking out that much, there had to have been something there.

she's just not sure he saw what he thought he saw. )

But whatever it was, it's not there now.

[badbutsadboy]

[Hunter still looks agitated. He knows she believes him but it's not the same thing as either of them having answers. It would almost be more of a relief if the thing had tried to fight so his aunt was able to stop it.]

[He gets up and frantically goes for a notepad and pen in the living room.]

We need to find out what they were.

[He sits at the coffee table, drawing frantically. He's a good artist and has drawn enough to be able to do it fast.]

This was the guy in the cloak. He was maybe my height? But I couldn't tell because I was looking down.

[He draws the mask last. It's creepy. Impersonal.]

[Familiar. Why is it familiar?]

I didn't see the thing in the woods enough to draw it. Just...eyes. But is that familiar? Does that look like anything you know? Maybe the mask?

[Maybe it's some kind of magical artifact she'd recognize.]

[harageous]

Hunter, you should—

( not be getting up so fast. really, he should probably just sit and breathe for a little while long. but he's up and racing over to the coffee table before eda can think to try to stop him.

which means that she's now having to pick her old creaky body off the floor and make her way over to him. )

Kid.

( she starts, getting ready to tell him to cut out what he's doing right now. this whole thing had just sent him into a panic-induced fit. he probably shouldn't be immediately going right back to it! however, hunter's drawing of the mask demands her attention first.

the sight of it invokes a strong reaction in her, a sharp twisting feeling underneath her ribs. somehow she feels a little queasy. she knows that mask. )

That. I've seen that.

( she just doesn't know where.

eda taps the paper with a long golden nail. had it been an ancient artefact? supernaturally charged? or just related to something greater that they had been investigating in the past? eda isn't sure. a lot of things start to blur together after a while.

but something seems to be missing.

picking up a blue pen, eda draws in a blue iris in the mask's left eye opening. )

Like this.

cw: child abuse flashback

[badbutsadboy]

[Hunter's not sure what mask he saw now. There are two masks that stick out in his mind. One that's simpler, with thinner slits for eyes. He thinks he saw that one.]

[But did he? Another form takes shape. With a flash in his mind like a lightning strike, his memory changes to a taller figure standing in the yard down below. Is that what he really saw instead?]

[He erases and lengthens the bottom of the mask into a beak-like shape. Then draws antlers. Then cracks that are oozing black liquid. With the last crosshatched stroke, he then stares out ahead, insensate, and goes still, the hand with the pencil dropping down still on the table, the pencil falling out of it.]

[Hunter's suddenly in a cavernous room covered in gold. The tall figure with his blue eye sits on a massive throne. Hunter's heart is pounding, the way it always does when he's displeased him, when they're alone here. Because he never knows how far his anger will go.]

[This room is sometimes a place of pain and shame over his failures and ingratitude. The figure towers over him and Hunter kneels in deference. In apology. In submission.]

[Everyone worships him, because he's a great man, and Hunter's no different. But what's different from everyone else is Hunter loves him so much. And his service to him is owed more than anyone else's because of what he's done for Hunter.]

[His life and time rightly belong to him.]

["So, you return with nothing. Is this the thanks I get for taking you in?"]

[The words come out of Hunter's mouth of their own accord, his present self forced to feel them leave his lips, hear them, without being able to stop them.]

Of course not. I want to help. A-A-And if you told me how wild magic did this to you, I might be able to find a -

[He's said the wrong thing. Stoked the fires of his anger. The tall man's arm jerks up and turns into a construct of dripping slime, a tentacle snapping out as fast as a whip. Hunter's heart clenches and he moves his head to left, only just in time to avoid another injury to another ear - or potentially losing it all together, were it to cut as deep into his face as a tentacle had when he'd gotten his face scar. He feels it snag his hair, cutting some of it off, but his skin is unmarred.]

[It's only through experience that his reflexes have gotten quick enough for him to sometimes dodge.]

[Hunters steadies his voice, keeps his eyes closed, submits.]

My apologies. I spoke out of turn. It won't happen again.

[He opens his eyes to see the slime tentacle withdraw, and the tall man clutches his chest, groans slightly. "These outbursts are painful." He stares down with glowing blue eyes. "And so is watching you fail. I know you can do better, Hunter."]

[In the real world, only a few seconds pass before he gasps lightly and comes back. His voice drops down to a hushed whisper, quaking with horror.]

I know him. Somehow. I belonged to him.

[It's the only way he can contextualize it. It's something he knows in his bones. He wasn't a person, he was an extension of his will. He was his to command and his to chastise and his to hurt whenever he pleased.]

Aunt Eda, who is he? What is he? What's happening to me?

[harageous]

( uh—

this is a problem.

scratch that, this is a HUGE problem and eda doesn't like a single aspect of it. especially the part where everything seems to be happening so quickly. it feels like she has barely even moved while hunter draws wildly across the page, unleashing haunting design after design. the paper is already starting to tear underneath him.

it feels like something else is tearing too.

ripping, ripping, ripping.

slipping away from her.

she doesn't know what it is. she should know, she should know. it feels like there's something screaming at her in the back of her mind, but her head feels like a mess. a jumble of thoughts, fears, and faded recollections of this ugly golden mask. eda would like to pick apart the way she feels herself react, the intense familiarity she feels with the designs that have been drawn on the page, but hunter freezes in place.

her heart wins over everything else, luring her back down to the ground to once again sit beside hunter. this time, however, she reaches out with her single arm and pulls him close. she feels it when the life returns to his body, but he's already panicking again. )

No, no, no. You're a Clawthorne. You don't belong to anyone.

( let's get that much straight first. )

Okay? I don't know what's happening, but you remember that.

( but what the fuck is happening? was this some sort of curse? had hunter met someone weird when she wasn't looking? was this happening to him because of her? something she did once? )

Was tonight the first time you started to see this?

[badbutsadboy]

[He's a Clawthorne. He's a Clawthorne. He doesn't belong to anyone. He's a part of a family and that's different.]

[He hugs her tight, clings to her hard until she asks her questions.]

This is the first time. It wasn't a dream. I know it wasn't. I was awake.

And you recognize it somehow, too, don't you.

[harageous]

I—

( don't ask her complicated things, hunter.

she makes a face to no one's benefit but her own as she tries to think how to even begin to describe her experience. it feels like a faraway memory, but parts of it still ring clear. she remembers the rich blue of the eye behind it, remembers the even intonation of his voice, and and and— )

Yeah. I don't know. It doesn't make sense.

( she leans her face downward, presses her cheek against hunter's head. )

But I remember it. Remember it taunting me while I was behind bars. Or a cage?

( that's what matters. )

The chuckle.

( absently added. it's what sticks out. the eerie way that he laughed, delighting in suffering. )

Can you imagine that? Someone jailing this gorgeous ol' bird?

[badbutsadboy]

[He knows that condescending little chuckle, the one that sounds so calm and even gentle but is anything but.]

I don't think we're safe here, if he knows where we are.

cw: light body horror

[harageous]

What? Nah. I don't give a damn who this guy is. He'll have to go through me.

( that's the immediate answer that comes rolling out from her. she doesn't even have to think about it. she's not going to run. no, no way! she wouldn't be forced out of her home. nor would she and her family be intimidated! she'd stand her ground. she'd fight, she'd fight, she'd fight. she'd—

—run.

a primal part of her shrieks from within, echoing and vibrating through the very core of her being. it feels it rattle in her bones and electrify her veins. she doesn't know if it's the thought of physical confrontation with this figure or something else. she just knows that hunter is right: they need to leave.

they need to leave.

but she doesn't want to. she wants to stay right here, right in their home, right where they have been building their lives. this is where she needs to be. right here, RIGHT HERE.

she wouldn't lose this one too. she wouldn't lose again—

something cracks, nearly shatters. darkness bleeds into eda's sclera, blobbily overtaking her eyes like ink oozing out from a broken bottle.

eda lets go of her child then, all but shoving him away as feathers start to sprout along her skin in thin lines. )

Go!

Re: cw: light body horror

[badbutsadboy]

[Hunter doesn't run. He freezes, shaking, hating this feeling like he's somehow infected her with his nightmare. This has to be a night terror, he has to be dreaming, he needs to be wrong about it being real.]

[He only backs away a little. His voice trembles?]

Aunt Eda?

cw: light body horror

[harageous]

( all of the noise, all of the noise screeching inside of her, is just getting louder. louder, louder, louder. reverberating from within, desperately trying to tell her something, but lacking the words to do so. a voiceless sound against the growing need to flee.

they need to go. she needs to take hunter—

no, she doesn't want to leave—

they need to go!

her body slumps forward, the curve of her back a little too sharp and unnatural. she lifts her hand to her face, but the hand is too large and her nails far too sharp. it's almost too hard to recognise it as her own. )

It's fine. I'm ^fine.

( a sharp exhale. )

Just go outside. Or to your room. Just-just go.