warpweft: (01)
Nessa ([personal profile] warpweft) wrote2021-05-18 06:51 pm
Entry tags:

[popdrop] H1: Spectre & Poppy

[The first thing you notice is how dark it is. It’s really, really stinkin’ dark. You can’t see anything. Even if you naturally have the ability to see in the dark, well, not anymore. Which may be the second thing you notice - any powers you have, any magic is gone. Silenced. You can’t feel it, similarly to when you’re in the theme park, with an additional sense of anxiety and loss surrounding the inability to tap into it. Even a heightened sense of emotion won’t bring them back, like it might in the theme park. If you have other powers of some kind, enhanced physical capabilities or the like, they’re either gone or significantly reduced as well. You feel extremely normal and it doesn’t feel good.]

[Whether you stay still or stumble along in the dark, at least it’s not too long. You eventually catch notice of something illuminating the darkness. You find yourself drawn to it. It's a small spherical glass object. Near the edges, it's black, but bits of purple and violet appear, gradually brightening and swirling together in a spiral shape at the center. The spiral at the center is bright enough to bathe you and the surroundings in a soft violet light. As you get closer, you can feel voices coming from the sphere. You can’t tell what they’re saying, but maybe if you were closer. You feel a deep desire in your stomach to just…reach out….]

What are you doing?

[The voice, a woman’s voice, comes from behind you. You didn’t hear anybody approaching, but you’re immediately filled with an intense sense of foreboding. You turn and look, but you can’t see anything. The darkness is once again overpowering, the violet glow from the object next to you being the only thing that isn’t swallowed up by it. All you can make out in the darkness is what may be someone’s face and…two eyes. With nothing in them. Pitch-black.]

You touched the Heart…

You touched MY Heart!?


[There’s a lot of anger and it’s not making that sense of foreboding go away. The darkness and the person(?) inside it advance towards you, slowly engulfing the violet glow around you. Just when you’re thinking you’re gonna have to decide between fight or flight, here — something moves.

Towards you.

You feel something punch into your chest and before you know it, you’re on the ground, searing pain running through your upper body. A few things briefly pass through your senses. You hear a loud scream. If you tilt your head up, you can see a long black spike…embedded in your own chest. And you can taste… …yup. That’s your own blood.

That’s about as far as you get before consciousness leaves you.]
voidhearts: (N01)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-19 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Puck lets out another meow.]

Uh. If we're both holding Puck at the same time, just picture what you want to share very clearly and we should be able to share it!
taking_pains: (Apologize)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-19 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
[Hesitates]

[Then he holds out a hand]
voidhearts: (N01)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-19 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
[She plops Puck into his hands while keeping a grip on him, herself. She smiles to him.]

Whenever you're ready.

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-19 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
[He closes his eyes - begins to picture the memory]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-19 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Okay....

[Once you’re ready, Nell closes her eyes and murmurs something to herself for a couple moments. A soft purple light surrounds her hands and, eventually, surrounds Puck too. He lifts a paw up and whaps it on your forehead.]

[It's quiet for a moment. You can feel something in your head, but it's...subtle. Gentle. Trying to be delicate while it's in there and not mess anything up, so the process takes a few moments....]

[And then the glow is gone. Nell's eyes open again. She takes in a breath, a small smile curling on her face.]

That looked like a lot of fun. [Pie looked good, too.]

[One of the doors down in the hallway can be heard opening. Nell perks up and looks in that direction.]
taking_pains: (Insight)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-19 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
[Glances that way, as well]

May I go...?
voidhearts: (N07)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-19 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
[She nods.]

Yes! And...feel free to take whatever you need to. I hope it helps you.
taking_pains: (Incandescent)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-19 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
My thanks.

[He inclines his head, slightly, and heads off toward the hall]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-19 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
[The hallway has three doors, one of which is currently open. The other two are closed and... ...locked.]
taking_pains: (Next)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-19 05:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Heading to the open door, then]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-19 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
[You enter Nell's room.]

[Nell’s room has a bed, a desk and a dresser. On the floor there’s a stack of books and a tablet that mostly seems to be for playing audiobooks. In one corner there’s a big stack of music in a bunch of different mediums. There’s neatly compiled stacks of CDs, cassette tapes and there’s even a stack of vinyl records. And there’s a cassette player, a CD player and a record player all kept neatly next to each other as well. There’s even a guitar laying against the wall next to the stack of music.

On the desk, there's a loose stack of a few papers and photos.
On the nightstand, there's a framed photo.
There also seems to be something on the bed, under the covers.]

[You can explore this room or return to the Living Room.]
taking_pains: (Quizzical)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-19 06:27 am (UTC)(link)
[He has no idea what the CDs, cassette tapes, or records are for, so he heads toward the desk, to look at the papers and the photos]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-19 08:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[It looks like an itenerary. There's a schedule, a list of places to go and photos of those places. Museums, galleries, parks, boutiques, lots of stuff like that. There's a letter included with them.]

[Dear Agnis,
Here's some places I thought we could go to. If there's anywhere else in Manchester you'd like to visit, please tell me and I'll look up everything about it! We can't wait to see you and I'm so looking forward to meeting you in person for the first time! <3
Love,
Nell]

[You acquired Trip Schedule.]
taking_pains: (Next)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-20 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Holds onto it, and crosses tot he bed, to check under the covers]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-21 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
[You lift the covers. There’s a white orb resting on the pillow. It responds to your presence and floats towards you, lightly touching your chest. When it does, images filter into your mind…]

[“Here, take a look at this.”
“Wh…what’s that? That’s not one of Grandmother’s books, is it?!”
“No…no, this is mine!”

You’re speaking to Nell, your cousin. You have a big book under your arms. The two of you are hidden away in a corner of your own room.

“Where did you get it?”
“I don’t know. I found it.” You shrug your shoulders…that’s a lie. But you don’t want to tell Nell where you actually got it. It’s not that you don’t trust her, but. She’s very scared of Grandmother. Everybody is. Including you, much as you’re trying to not make it obvious. “Do you wanna see it or not?” Nell looks towards the door, then ducks down a little more.
“Y…yes.” She nods. You smile. You both get on your knees and you open it up. You’re not sure how much time passes. You excitedly point out the words that you know and get her to sound them out as well. After a while, she has a big smile on her face when she can get through most of a sentence on her own. Eventually, you both jump up when you hear the door open. You turn your head and see a white-haired woman fixing the two of you with a look.

“What are you two doing?” She asks.
“Nothing, mother,” you say. “I was just showing Nell-“
“Mmn.” She holds up a finger, cutting you off. “Run along, Nell. Your mother is looking for you.”
“O-okay.” Nell stands up and takes a second to smooth her skirt over with her hands.
“And Nell?” Your mother holds a finger to her mouth. “This is a secret, understood?”
“Y…yes, Aunt Lyra.” Nell ducks her head. Your mother smiles and leans down, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
“Good girl. Run along.” Nell looks back at you. She gives you a smile and leaves. Once she’s gone, your mother picks you up and sits you down on the bed.

“█████,” she says. “You know to keep that book between us.”
“I know,” you say quietly. “But you were teaching me to read…so. I wanted to teach Nell. She was getting it, too! She read some words and we—“ She raises a finger to her mouth and you quiet down.
“You’re so bright,” she says. “I understand. You want to show your cousin what you know. But sometimes…we have to keep our knowledge to ourselves.” She reaches an arm out and hugs you. Her other hand flips the book closed…and slides it under the bed. “I promise. Once we do what we discussed, you’ll be able to show people how bright you are.” You lean into your mother. She strokes your head a couple of times.

“…when we do what we said and Leave grandmother…can we bring Nell?” You ask in a very quiet voice.
“Maybe, my dear,” she says. The noncommittal way she says it…you don’t want to admit it, but somewhere deep in your heart, you know she doesn’t care.]

[….both Hex and Nell are a lot younger in this memory. More striking, however, is that they’re the same age in this one. But the Nell of right now seems a lot younger than Hex, almost a decade.]
taking_pains: (Insight)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-21 05:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Hmmm]

[After a moment, he peers down at his chest, where the orb went, to see if it's still there]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-21 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[The white orb has sunk into the Voidheart that Cornelius implanted in your chest. If you look carefully, you can see a single white light among the others, whatever color the rest of them are.]
taking_pains: (Owe)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-22 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Then, this must be the first.

[He takes with him everything he has, gives the room one final glancing-over, and turns back for the door]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-24 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
[The only things left to explore are Nell's music and books in the corner (which look neat, but you get the feeling won't yield much) and the photo on the nightstand. Besides that, you can return to the Living Room.
taking_pains: (Next)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-24 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well... it won't hurt to take one final look before he heads out]

[Going to check the music, and then the picture]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-25 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
[There's music in a variety of genres, from a variety of bands. Most of them....won't mean anything to you! What does rolling rocks have to do with anything? Isn't a beatle a kind of bug? What is any of this. But there is stuff to play all of it, nearby and it's probably not too hard to figure out where the tapes go, where the CD's go and where the records go....

... ... ...also, there's notes with helpful little pictures on which form of media goes where. Did Nell make this? Why did she make this?]

[It's a framed photo of Nell and Hex, both of them dressed up like witches, complete with the pointy hats and broomsticks, presumably for Halloween. Puck is with them, but he's huge. It's not clear whether this was done by photoshop or if he was actually made that big with magic for the photo.]

[You acquired Halloween Picture.]

[It's worth noting - clear age difference between Nell and Hex of nearly a decade in this picture.]
taking_pains: (Insight)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-25 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
[He sets all the music parts down, very carefully, and leaves them where they are]

[The picture he takes with him, since he's supposed to be collecting important things. Then, he tuns to head out again]
voidhearts: (N01)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-25 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Nell greets him again when he comes out.]

Hi! Did you find anything useful?
taking_pains: (Stars)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains 2021-05-25 03:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I found some things that seem as though they might be important.

[Heading over to show her]
voidhearts: (N06)

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts 2021-05-26 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
Oh! Like what?

[You can:
>Show Nell Halloween Picture
>Show Nell Trip Schedule
>Tell Nell about Reading Memory]

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains - 2021-05-26 03:21 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts - 2021-05-26 03:29 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains - 2021-05-26 14:47 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts - 2021-05-26 18:51 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains - 2021-05-27 00:40 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts - 2021-05-27 01:26 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains - 2021-05-27 14:48 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts - 2021-05-29 00:17 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains - 2021-05-29 03:13 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts - 2021-05-29 05:23 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains - 2021-05-29 06:00 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts - 2021-05-29 23:27 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] taking_pains - 2021-05-30 05:57 (UTC) - Expand

Re: THE WITCH'S CASTLE

[personal profile] voidhearts - 2021-05-30 06:50 (UTC) - Expand