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Entry tags:
- arcane: vander,
- arknights: gavial,
- bastard!!: dark schneider,
- expanse (the): amos burton,
- fire emblem: dimitri a. blaiddyd,
- genshin impact: kaeya alberich,
- genshin impact: zhongli,
- granblue fantasy: eustace,
- legend of zelda (the): link,
- oc: liem talbott,
- orv: dokja kim,
- practical guide to evil: akua sahelian,
- snotgirl: lottie person,
- star wars: cassian andor,
- star wars: jyn erso,
- trigun maximum: vash the stampede
april event, phase one: seeds of unrest π±
THE BEGINNING
Summertime in Springstar has been on its way out, heralding the arrival of fall; winter has likewise given way to spring in Highstorm - at least, according to the calendar. Yet there is an unseasonable bite on the breeze - one growing as frigid as the mood among Meris and Zenites in their cities. Between Alenrouxβs occupation and talk of βthe Blight,β worries have been on the lips of the citizens with increasing frequency - and with good reason. The reports of plant life dying, of objects crumbling, of people whose bodies are deteriorating are dominating the rumor mills and local papers.
Everything comes to a head early in the second half of Pelu.
After an unusual pocket of commotion in the Seat of the Tribune and the courtyard of Yimaβs manor, an urgent announcement is made on behalf of both cities: both Great Trees have been quarantined, and no one is permitted in either location without clearance. New rumors spread of an βincidentβ that saw those in the immediate vicinity of the Trees rapidly demonstrating symptoms of an illness that was becoming all too easy to identify. It had stricken with frightening speed; not long afterwardβ¦
The unrest had spread into the streets, and it wasnβt just about the Blight anymore.
Cetina and Kathova wasted no time in reaching out to the Bearers via Communion to offer them guidance from their leaders and incite them to action.
Everything comes to a head early in the second half of Pelu.
After an unusual pocket of commotion in the Seat of the Tribune and the courtyard of Yimaβs manor, an urgent announcement is made on behalf of both cities: both Great Trees have been quarantined, and no one is permitted in either location without clearance. New rumors spread of an βincidentβ that saw those in the immediate vicinity of the Trees rapidly demonstrating symptoms of an illness that was becoming all too easy to identify. It had stricken with frightening speed; not long afterwardβ¦
The unrest had spread into the streets, and it wasnβt just about the Blight anymore.
Cetina and Kathova wasted no time in reaching out to the Bearers via Communion to offer them guidance from their leaders and incite them to action.
SPRINGSTAR: THE ROOT OF THE ISSUE
Day by day, changes unfold that render the city increasingly dangerous...
ROOTS:
Vine-like roots have begun to thread the streets, creeping upon and over buildings, spreading outward from the Tree in Heliopolis. Over the next two weeks, they will continue to grow in size and become more troublesome, slowly blooming ice-like leaves that radiate a sickly glow.- GROWTH: Contrary to the Blightβs normal behaviors, some people and things around clusters of vines or leaves can experience a burst of vitality, growth, and splendor as if transforming to beyond peak condition. In a normal citizen, this may result in an almost manic level of energy, reckless behaviors, and aggression. In objects, they become more durable and efficient, but dangerously so - for example, a stovetop cooks faster but burns uncontrollably hot. In plant life, this results in overgrowth that can overwhelm and choke nearby flora, objects, or even people. Then, they burn out an hour after exposure and immediately succumb to a dire state of Blighted.
- CHILL: The temperatures will continue to drop throughout the next two weeks. It will be coldest where vines have clustered and outright dangerously so near where flowers have budded or bloomed in great numbers. This will force some people from their homes.
TIME POCKETS:
In seemingly random parts of the city, areas referred to as βtime pocketsβ have populated. There is no way to identify a time pocket but to stumble into one.- REGRESSION: NPCβs in these areas will appear to freeze in time once a Bearer has breached the pocketβs radius but appear normal from the outside. Time within has halted at the point the pocket manifested ( typically covering an area like a city street or inside a single large building that sees regular use ). Objects can be freely manipulated but will not fall if thrown, etc.
- The pocket cannot be left until the Bearer has achieved their objective. Attempting to exit the way they entered, theyβll run into an unseen barrier that is painful to the touch, a sensation of frigidity that travels to their Shard.
- Their goal will be to locate a past version of themselves hidden from immediate view. This past version of themselves can be from any point in their lives but must be from a moment when they felt extremely vulnerable, isolated, wounded, or fearful.
- Once finding this past version, they will feel the compulsion to either find a way to reassure their past selves somehow or kill them. Whether it is the Bearer themselves who performs these acts or another Bearer in their company does it for them, as long as their past selves are pacified enough ( to player satisfaction ) or dead, they will gain immunity to the pocket and may leave. The immediate area will remain frozen, however, and the past version will be revealed to be made of roots that will shrivel and die.
- Note: Bearers will be able to see other Bearerβs past selves, even after they have been freed. Whether the past reflections are capable of speech while functional is up to player discretion.
HIGHSTORM: THE ROOTS OF CHANGE
The snows continue to fall over the city, feeling brittle against your skin...
ROOTS:
Vine-like roots have begun to thread the streets, creeping upon and over buildings, spreading outward from the Great Tree in Yimaβs manor. Over the next two weeks, they will continue to grow in size and become more troublesome, slowly blooming ice-like leaves that radiate a sickly glow.- SACRIFICIAL: [ CW: self-harm ] Where the roots snake and gather throughout the city, NPCβs in several locations are falling victim to the quiet, slow pulse of the flowers and their buds. They will sit and stare at the flowers for hours, unblinkingly, as their body begins to succumb to the Blight. If they are disturbed in any way - a loud noise, an attempt to move their person, etc - they will calmly look up from their worship and crack off a piece of their brittle body before returning to their reverie.
- In order to save them, a pair (or more) of Bearers must sneak up on the NPC - one using a pacifying spell given by one of the faction leaders while the other crushes the flower. If the NPC is not pacified before the flower is crushed, they will become hysterical and the Blight will rapidly consume them, causing them to perish. If they are pacified and the flower is not crushed, the spell will wear off within ten seconds with the same result.
- CHILL: The temperatures will continue to drop throughout the next two weeks. It will be coldest where vines have clustered and outright dangerously so near where flowers have budded or bloomed in great numbers. This will force some people from their homes.
TIME POCKETS:
In seemingly random parts of the city, areas referred to as βtime pocketsβ have populated. There is no way to identify a time pocket but to stumble into one.- REFLECTIONS: NPCβs in these pockets are moving in surreal blurs, pieces of them moving forward as others move backward, some changing as if time were rapidly passing as others remain frozen still. The Bearersβ surroundings are distorted as if reflecting multiple realities simultaneously.
- Their goal will be to locate a tall standing mirror situated alone in the center of the time pocketβs radius. The Bearer who first touches their reflection ( henceforth called βmirror-Bearerβ ) will cause the world inside the pocket to suddenly stop, reflecting a comforting environment they have fond or pleasant associations with. The mirror will be gone.
- Something or someone the mirror-Bearer highly values, deeply misses, or sees as imperative to their character, goals, or desires will be present. If they make contact with this object or person, the Time Pocket loops and sends them back to searching for the mirror - but they will have no memory of this occurring. Their partner, however, will recall everything.
- Both Bearers will be released if five loops occur without the mirror-Bearer being stopped from causing the loop or if the mirror-Bearer is stopped from reaching their goal for five minutes ( willingly or otherwise ). The longer they refuse to make contact with this object or person, the more tempting and dire the need becomes inside of them.
- Once the Bearers are released, the Time Pocket disappears. If they manage to avoid contact with the temptation inside the Pocket, the roots and flowers in this area will be withered and dying, buying the NPCβs and buildings in this location some time. Otherwise, they will be thriving and dangerously blooming.
- Note: the mirror will not respond to the non-mirror-Bearer once it has been touched the first time.
ENTREE-TING HELP
The Tree of Life is in danger, and you know it. Both Yima and Cyrus have directed all Bearers who might listen to increase visitation to the Tree and monitor it for signs of the Blight - of its leaves changing color, of any frostbitten bark, of its roots withering.
And then, during a moment in which you find your mind at ease, at rest... you dream, even if dreaming is unnatural for you. You dream of yourself sitting beneath the massive bows of the Tree's breadth, at peace. The perpetual dawn's glow warms your skin in a way that seeps into your bones, leaving you certain you are safe from harm. The Tree reaches out, and though it cannot speak to you in words, you feel it is trying to convey a message: one of urgency. One of plea.
But you cannot understand...
Soon, the branches of the Tree are reaching out to others. You cannot see them, but you know they're there; a spiritual tether connects your Shards together, bringing you all into a place of wordless unity. And once your fellows have been summoned, you know what you are here for.
You feel it rather than see it: some meager, barely-there brush of something cold in the warmth of the island's comfort. The Tree is already infected, and the clock is running down for all of you.
When you wake to yourself, a feeling of dread not entirely your own will chase you, and you will find a single violet leaf in your hand.
And then, during a moment in which you find your mind at ease, at rest... you dream, even if dreaming is unnatural for you. You dream of yourself sitting beneath the massive bows of the Tree's breadth, at peace. The perpetual dawn's glow warms your skin in a way that seeps into your bones, leaving you certain you are safe from harm. The Tree reaches out, and though it cannot speak to you in words, you feel it is trying to convey a message: one of urgency. One of plea.
But you cannot understand...
Soon, the branches of the Tree are reaching out to others. You cannot see them, but you know they're there; a spiritual tether connects your Shards together, bringing you all into a place of wordless unity. And once your fellows have been summoned, you know what you are here for.
You feel it rather than see it: some meager, barely-there brush of something cold in the warmth of the island's comfort. The Tree is already infected, and the clock is running down for all of you.
When you wake to yourself, a feeling of dread not entirely your own will chase you, and you will find a single violet leaf in your hand.
MISC NOTES
- Bearers start with immunity to the Blight. They will not succumb to the effects of the Blight even if they handle the vines and flowers directly without precautions or care.
- The above effects will occur in small clusters and are not yet spread city-wide during phase one. The escalation of frequency characters will come across problematic clusters or Time Pockets will be slow building.
- For context, it takes about a month from infection to death or dissolution for the average person or object to succumb to the Blight. By the 21st, it will be three days to a week.
- Bearers will be directed by Cetina or Kathova to make efforts to protect the civilians and investigate the manifesting changes around both cities. Both factions are working on their own methods to attempt to counteract the Blight, but neither has produced a failsafe solution.
- The roots will remain mostly outdoors, for the most part, these first two weeks.
- Tensions will slowly ramp up in Alenroux, and there are checkpoints for any non-PC visitors to screen for signs of infection.
- Player characters who die inside the Time Pockets are dead and need their Shards brought to the Tree of Life for revival.
- HAVE FUN!! β₯
no subject
(Yes, she was going to try and stack the bodies like crates and get them the fuck out of here!!) ]
Amos?
[ She quickly abandons it, lets it fall against the nearest wall so she can rush over to him. As quickly as she can, anyhow, considering there's an active path of people on the floor getting in the way and making walking obscenely complicated. It's as she's stepping on someone's shoulder ("Oops!" she says aloud after the fact, because they lightly groan at the point of her heel hitting their muscle), that she finally breaches that barrier of close enough to touch.
And she does, by settling her hands on his shoulders the moment she's on steady (people-less) ground. ]
Amos, are you okay?? What are you doing here?
no subject
[ And maybe it's a good thing he did, judging by the state of things. The way it is going to be really, really difficult to walk further into the store, for lack of unavailable floor space.
He'd seen her wheeling in the dolly, but all of his attention had been on her at first β no signs of injury or any real harm (maybe just a little sickly, but that could be anything) β so he'd ignored it. Now that he's pretty sure she's okay, though, his eyes fall back on it, and... oh, yeah, he thinks he can see where she was going with this.
He gives a nod of approval in its direction. Whatever she'd done here to get things under control, what she's doing now to clean up, he's in favour of. ] Good idea. Do you need help getting rid of all of this? [ All of this, like it isn't people he's talking about... But still, he's ready to put off going back home to help her out. Just say the word. ]
no subject
How did you know?
[ Her eyes begin to water, which may be worrying on principle, but the smile on her lips should clue him to feeling otherwise. ]
Um, yeah, I'd love some help.. I promise I'll pay you back for this.
no subject
Back to her when she speaks up again, brow furrowing when he sees her eyes water but, okay, judging by Lottie's expression it still isn't anything to worry about.
So now it's Amos' turn to give her a friendly little clap on the shoulder before turning and bending over to just... pick a couple of people up, one in each arm, including the guy he'd just punched. ]
Shit, you don't gotta pay me back anything. I mean, I wouldn't say no to you recommending something good for me in here β [ since he is not a fashion guy, more a wear-the-same-shirt-every-day-for-a-week-as-long-as-it's-clean kind of guy β ] but I can still pay. Waive the consultant's fee?
[ That's good enough, right? Amos is already trying to make his way back to the dolly, dancing over prone bodies so he's stepping on actual floor en route to it. ]
no subject
We can talk about it later.
[ Lottie decides to put a pin in it, because they can argue about details later. Right now, Amos is hefting a good chunk of the population that made up her floor in both arms (wow). She follows after him, feeling very much in awe at how easy he makes it look. Has he always been that strong? Sure, he carried her that one time, but she isn't that heavy.. She wonders (and wonders), as she picks up her pace and worms her way to the dolly before he can even get there.
She lifts it upright, sidles it closer to him β and near a relatively empty space of the floor β so he can stack them. ]
..But I won't lie, it'd be nice seeing you rep the brand.
no subject
Amos gently squats down β legs, not back β to deposit his charges onto it, indeed stacking humans as though they're crates. Or as best he can, considering how they don't neatly stack like crates do, but hey, he's doing his best...
And blinks up at Lottie when she brings up the part about him repping her stuff. ]
Really? [ There is still a person half-slung over his shoulder. He maneuvers himself to place them on the dolly, too. ] I mean, shit, if it'll help, sure. Think I've got a better rep in Highstorm these days β [ gee, who could guess why, as he's literally stacking Springstar denizens on top of one another on a dolly β ] but yeah, I'll do it. Your stuff looks good.
[ It sounds like a win for the both of them? He doesn't know what an influencer is but yeah, he could totally be an influencer.
And, the first batch of would-be shoppers loaded up on the dolly as best as he's gonna get them there, Amos rights himself. Looks around. ]
Where were you gonna wheel 'em out? Might take a couple of trips.
[ Which he's game for! Just gotta take care of these ones first. ]
no subject
Really? You think so?
[ Don't mind her just, completely ignoring the rest about his reputation. Or how he's actively pushing, prodding, and placing more people on the dolly before he asks what her game plan was.
The truth? Uhhh, she actually had none. Just a singular desire to get them the fuck out! She fumbles to reply, ]
Ohβ [ She breathes out, ] I was just gonna dump them on the street or whatever. Should we not do that??
no subject
And, that much accomplished, Amos straightens back up, taking hold of the dolly's handles as he looks back at her, his own contemplative look on his face. ]
... Not sure. [ He should be sure. This is absolutely the kind of thing he should be sure about, anyone should be, and yet. ] I mean, gotta get 'em somewhere, right? Can't have people cluttering the store like this. Or being lunatics in it.
[ He spares a glance back at the entrance, and... no, that might be tough to navigate. So, looking back at Lottie, ] You got a backdoor to get 'em out of here? Might be the way to do it. Maybe they'll sort themselves out and be normal once they're out there.
[ Couldn't hurt, right? ]
no subject
Lottie follows his gaze to the door and β hm, he's right. An alley would be perfect. She jumps to the chance, gesturing towards the door separating back of house from the front. It's propped as wide open as can be, Lottie holding it taut against the wall so he'll have an easier time wheeling them out through the hallway.
She grins towards him, ]
Lead the way!
no subject
The backdoor out to the alley is easy to spot, but he's already learned that he's going to have a difficult time navigating both it and the dolly, so he turns to look behind him for Lottie. True teamwork in action!
Except it doesn't look like any of his charges are... moving. At all. Not even from the usual jostling of the dolly; there's a nonsensical... stillness to them. Which means on the one hand he probably could just open the door himself, but on the other hand... ]
Lottie?
[ Is she okay?? Because that's of much greater priority, and something feels deeply wrong now. ]
no subject
From the outside, everything looks fine. It looks like he's still moving out through the door leading into the alley to dump the bodies, in fact. She waits, taps her foot, checks the time, wonders what is taking him so long. So that immediate call of 'Lottie?' goes unansweredβ she's right outside the barrier he had crossed into, the time pocket, completely unaware that her building has been condemned in a way she can't fixed. ]
Amos? [ Her brows raise, her tone unsure and vaguely pensive. Uncomfortable at being left alone so quickly, ] Do you need help..?
[ She pushes herself off the wall, one hand at a time, finds herself hesitantly walking down the hallway to where she thinks the open door is.
Less than a minute has passed in reality, but to Amos it must've been a weird little eternity, stuck with this dolly and everyone slapped on it supporting itself. It doesn't matter if he's settled himself further in the hallway or closer to the barrier she had stumbled her way into, there's an ever pervasive cold that settles into her shard regardless, once she sees how frozen everything is, realizes Amos is the only thing alive and kicking. Visibly, Lottie looks like she's been burned, a hand reaching up to touch the stone, the one at the back of her neck, always hidden by her hair. The most she does is make a weird (unpleasant) little sound, a garble that's between shocked and pained. ]
no subject
And then he's letting go of the dolly β glancing back at it when it doesn't fall, which, uh, that's weird β and heading straight for her, hands uncertainly reaching out but stopping just shy of touching her, just in case it's not okay. ]
Are you okay? I... shit, whatever's wrong, I got some healing magic if you think that'll help.
[ He's caught in the moment, both needing to help her and needing... permission? Guidance? Either way, all of his attention is on her now. Just... give him an order, tell him something he can do, and he'll do it. Her wellbeing is so much more important than anything else right now. ]
no subject
It'sβ [ How else can she even describe it? ] cold. I'm cold but I know it's not cold?
[ Is it the fact everything is.. What's even the word she can use, frozen, here? With them? The hand touching at her shard is forced down, lands gently palm down on his forearm. She isn't quite saying it verbally, but she's letting him know if he needs to touch her for his sake, he can. Because that is, inadvertently, exactly what she is doing come the tired slouch of her shoulders and the whine of: ]
Something stupid is happening, isn't it.
no subject
He looks right back at Lottie at that whine, a more aggravated sigh coming from him this time. ]
Yeah, probably. Hold on, maybe we can...
[ As he talks he moves to gently extricate himself from her, go back the way he came. It doesn't matter that the dolly full of people is just frozen there, really should have fallen over by now; what matters is the two of them getting out of here.
Which only results in him bumping into an invisible barrier, a hiss of pain coming from him as he recoils back from it. What the fuck; what the fuck. And, with that comes a third sigh as he turns back around to face Lottie, a hand inadvertently placed over his heart, where his shard feels like it's burning with a sort of icy fire. ]
Can't go back that way, apparently. Fuck it, [ and with purposeful steps he's making his way back over to the dolly, to the doorway leading to the back alley. He wrenches it open before turning back to the dolly, looking to offload these people, his back to the pocket of outside he's managed to put on display for them. ] Let's just go this way.
no subject
Her mouth closes, unsure of what she should say that wouldn't sound needy or worried (unhelpful, her mind supplies). Lottie nods, ] Uh, okay. [ then takes the first few steps out of the hallway and into the outside world. Truthfully, it's a regular alleyway β even Springstar has its fair share of shady streets, of questionable shortcuts, and Lottie has been fortunate enough to have one. Makes it easier to talk to the neighbors, to gossip when she needs to.
She's stood out in this exact area so many times before but it is unnerving, now. Strange. Her skin prickles and she reaches a hand out to openly palm for Amos to come beside her. He'll find it's.. Fairly normal. Some stray boxes and staircases, Springstar's bougie (ye olde) equivalent of a dumpster. But the only difference is there are still no signs of life, no sounds of it. No scents, or anything. ]
How far do you think this goes? [ Because from here, it's even hard to tell if the streets the alley leads out to are affected. ] Do we just keep walking and find out?
no subject
But Lottie's still here, still okay, so that's where his priority automatically goes. He walks up beside her, looking around at... he isn't sure what he's looking at. It seems normal? It's normal, so why is everything still and cold, why are they the only ones apparently still living. ]
No clue. [ At least he's purging the frustration from his voice, because being with Lottie genuinely does make him feel better. It's a relief; it lets him slip back into his usual mindset, where everything isn't incomprehensibly fucked up and he can take charge. Try to take charge. ] Guess that's all we can do, right? Either we'll reach the end, or...
[ ... or they won't. Amos shakes his head, once, before glancing both ways down the alley. ]
... Or we figure something else out. [ Because they will, he's certain of that. ] We got a couple directions we can try here first, at least. You know the area better than I do; I'll follow your lead.
no subject
Or, well, hm. Not 'them'. Her. Lottie's, truthfullyβ shocked? Befuddled? Amos is counting on her to, she doesn't know, miraculously come across some solution he can't and she's suddenly queasy. Queasy in a way that can be defined as: this has never happened in any capacity here, and she doesn't want him to feel like his trust is misplaced. ]
No, yeahβ sure. [ A hand runs through her hair, ] Um, sometimes Eustace'll pick up deliveries over this way? He says my directions aren't 'legible' but I think he's just being dramatic or something.
[ She rambles, suggests this as an option because who knows, maybe whatever magic is at work conveniently forgets all the nooks and crannies that her interns find? Her feet take them to a nearby staircase that goes down, leads them into a hidden away delivery hotspot. But it is just as frozen β this time there are active workers stuck mid-motion, people stuck mid-handoff. There's a moment or two of pure silence as Lottie surveys the scene, crosses her arms stiffly as she thinks so hard Amos can feel it.
There's an anxious little warble that rings in the air the longer this goes on, except β Lottie is sighing pensively at the same time this happens. She doesn't catch itβ doesn't catch the slight scrape of a crate shifting ever so slightly off to the side, either. ]
Gimme a sec. [ She mumbles, ] Maybe..
[ Maybe if she just keeps walking, she'll figure out where it stops. That's precisely what she's giving off when she keeps going straight, squeezes her way gently past two Springstar citizens just in the wrong place, at the wrong time. ]
no subject
She might not know what she's doing, but he definitely doesn't, so it's better for the both of them if he gives her any nudges she needs. If she gives him something he can build off of, or even vice versa. So he remains a steady presence at her back as they descend, even as it's creepy that there are people just stuck in motion like that. Unnatural. His silence matches hers, his gaze whipping right to the back of her head as she thinks β no, his gaze whipping around as he hears something, and it's not her sigh.
He's all for giving her a sec, but as he does he's headed towards a stack of crates, past some of the frozen delivery people where something apparently is not frozen, and isn't that a good sign? It takes him just a second of standing before them, waiting to see if something else is going to happen before picking up the top crate to see what's behind it, what else is moving here, if that's their key to their way out.
... And stops, looking past what's there, over to where Lottie is supposed to be. Where she's moved, and he calls out to her, ] Uh, Lottie? Think there's something here.
[ Help?? Because he's. Really not sure what to do with this... ]
no subject
Hm? What?
[ Is her immediate response, wondering if Amos finding 'something' is a good or a bad sign (and in a way she is both dreading and anticipating it, either one, because at least that means they're going in the right direction, right?). It's immediate that she discovers oh, this is bad.
Very bad, actually, when she sees what Amos was trying to signal her to come see by those crates. Lottie feels so stupid for seeing the bomber jacket first (Caroline's), a pretty lavender, before even seeing her own doppelganger. The second thing she sees is the blood, the obscene amount of it coating the pink mules she remembered picking out to match her outfit (a baby pink mini skirt, a crop top that linked up into a choker at the base of her neck), covering the bare expanse of her legs. And thenβ her face.
This Lottie is so alike and yet so different from who she is right now, that when they make eye contact she laughs something high and broken. Panicked. Scaredβ so overwhelmingly scared and small that it makes something nasty and strange swirl in her gut watching this. This isn't the first time they've all had to deal with doppelgangers, but this is the first time one hasn't attacked first. And it's clear, when she looks to Amos for help as she hears laughs turn to sobs that she has no idea what to do.
Or, well, she has an inklingβ Lottie knows she wants this to stop because it's embarrassing and she doesn't want Amos to see her cry butβ ]
Iβ [ She gives up on that sentence rather quickly, ambling over pensivelyβ which only manages to make her double stand abruptly, taking a step back whenever she takes one forward. It looks like she doesn't even want to be near Amos all that much either, frantically glancing between him and her. ] Amos, do you think..?
[ That she has something to do with this?? ]
no subject
The real Lottie, who is thoroughly freaked out right now. He could go to her, hold her; he shifts so that he's putting himself very much in between her and whatever this thing actually is. He keeps his eyes on it as he does so, ready to anticipate any sudden movements, anything very much out of place.
Things could be a hell of a lot worse than it taking a step back. His eyes narrow, his head tilting slightly as he watches it, analytical. ]
Maybe.
[ That one's for Lottie, his voice thoughtful, even though his eyes remain on the doppelganger β and when he projects his voice forward to talk to it there's much more of an edge, almost an aggression, waiting to see what it has to say for itself. ]
What're you doing here?
[ Doesn't matter how freaked out the doppelganger might appear to be, either β it's not his Lottie and it's out of place, so it's a threat. That's all that matters here. ]
no subject
Her twin barely acknowledges Amos until she absolutely has to, shoulders trembling but keeping her gaze locked with Lottie'sβ her brows twisting up and up like she can't believe what she's seeing.
"I don'tβ I was.." she says, warbles out in a way that is clearly meant to start off confident, like she isn't scared, but it peters out. Her confusion and fear seep into her voice almost immediately, remembering the sticky (steadily, drying) feeling of blood on her skin, her shoes, her hands. "A-am I hallucinating? I took my medication.."
Ohβ
The real Lottie, the one sidled behind Amos, breathes in sharply at that. The sound that teeters into something like peeved, like irritated, before she quickly puts both her hands on his ears in an attempt to muffle his hearing (truth be told she isn't even doing it properly, forgetting to keep pressure there halfway through her rant). Which is silly, it is so very silly of her to try and do this, but in a matter of seconds Lottie isn't thinking anymore. She's acting on instinct, speaking through clenched teeth at a volume Amos can definitely still hear. ]
You're not. Real. You're just a fake who didn't take any medication because you are not real and I don't take medication because I don't need to, obviously?!
[ And her double counters, hurt and anger painted across her face, 'I'm the fake? You're the fakeβ where's Caroline?' She stumbles her way to the wall behind her, sliding her palm across the expanse of it, spreading blood that isn't hers all across it in the hopes of finding a way out. Then, pointedly towards Amos, 'W-who'sβ who even is that guy??' ]
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But Lottie's hair is brushing up against him, her hand digging into the back of his shirt, so he knows that no. No, this Lottie isn't going to get what he would normally try to give her. Because it's not Lottie, and her sharp inhalation reminds him of that fact β before...
He wouldn't have thought twice about what the doppelganger had said were it not for Lottie's much more animated reaction, attempting β poorly β to make sure that he can't hear her. Amos' expression shifts from aggressive to downright baffled as she harps on the idea of medication in particular, and suddenly his original instincts β get rid of the pink Lottie β are replaced with the sheer confusion of one walking into the middle of something chaotic without prior context.
It is, for a moment, all he can do to answer her. ]
I'm Amos.
[ ... It takes another moment for his brain to absorb everything that's been said. For him to comprehend every word that he's heard, filter out the nonsense for what's actually important. There is blood across the wall. They are the only three things that are moving, and one of them is smearing blood across the wall, arguing about who is real and who is fake.
He looks over his shoulder back at Lottie, back up to speed (mostly) (he thinks). ]
Well, we know she's definitely the fake one. And since she's the only abnormality we've found, think we probably need to get rid of her.
[ They can sort out everything after she's gone. Permanently gone, since that's looking like their best way of fixing things, as far as he can tell. ]
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And, there's of course the whole "get rid of her" thing. She balks at that, shoulders raising high and panic absolutely coursing through her veins. The Lottie holding his shoulders and whispering vehemently to him is otherwise unbothered, only stating: ]
Yeah, and she's a liar β who lies! Ugh..
[ How can she be so fake, her everything says. ]
But, what, are you thinking like the last time we had clones? Just..
[ Lottie makes a minute (what she thinks is minute, anyway) movement, miming stabbing, a brow raised as she stares evenly at him. Clearly not opposed, but more or less just asking for clarification. ]
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But that's far and away from the here and now, turns out, as Lottie β the real Lottie β gets most of his attention, the fake Lottie relegated to his peripheral vision, where she at least seems to not be doing anything anymore. So. This should be easy, even if Lottie's still being kinda weird about the whole thing.
But at least judging by that little stabbing motion, they're on the same page. ]
Well, yeah. She's probably got something to do with all this. So, if you got something to stab her with β [ just saying the quiet part out loud β ] I think that's the only real course of action we got here. That, or we keep wandering around through a whole lot of nothing.
[ So really, they have no choice but to kill her! And even though the other Lottie is already clearly stressed out, it's not like she's real, so it's easy to suggest. What else are they supposed to do? If it's not the solution then hey, at least it was worth a shot. ]