FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, MY FELLOW LUCETIANS

[fourteen]

Who: EVERYONE
What: TRAUMA!
When: ALL THE TIME
Where: ANYWHERE
Summary: HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE TRAUMA. FREE FOR ALL IN THE SCARRING EXPERIENCES DEPARTMENT.
Rating: Gosh. I'm not sure. However, I suggest you hide your little'uns.

Basically, the purpose of this log is TRAUMA SPAM. If you didn't want to spam your flist with extra posts, or you wanted to post with more than one character -- or more than one character more than once! -- here is your place to be.

This will be a commentspam style log where you can thread start with your character hallucinating things. Whatever you wish it to be! It can even just be a more general thread start where they're not hallucinating anything -- yet. And each thread can get treated like a post, where that character's CR can react to the trauma going down!

If you still wish to actually post in your character's journal, you're of course totally allowed to do so. This is just here for funtiems and convenience for everyone who wanted a greater chance to post during this event! Feel free to use it anytime over the next few days, through Halloween, to do "posts" and threads with your characters.

Have at, guys!

Comments

[fourteen]

[ She jumps, but not as violently as she might otherwise have done. maybe it's that she can sense Wolfwood's not a threat from the way he approaches.

Maybe it's the fact that he's doing something really nice for her at a time when it must be very hard to be unselfish, what with all the horrors floating around.

For a moment, Xion just stares at the offered coat, her reddened wings fluttering. Then her expression tightens slightly, and she offers a tiny, "I'm not going to cry" kind of smile, taking the coat. She practically radiates gratitude. ]

Thank you. Thank you so much. [ she snuggles into it for a moment, shutting her eyes, basking in the warmth and unthreatening realness of it. then she looks up at him again, a much freer smile on her face. ] You won't be cold?

[notabluesbro]

[Even better, Xion, that bad boy is a trenchcoat that'd probably go to your ankles, comparing your height to his. Wolfwood leans to observe the water down below, smiling and tugging on the high collar of his own outfit in response: he was damn near covered from head to toe.]

Don't worry, I've got plenty to work with in the meanwhile. In fact, I was even starting to get a little stuffy.

[He scans her expression, his own soft.]

Having a tough week, too?

[fourteen]

[ she gives a single, quiet laugh at his response, and finally stands, actually pulling the coat on proper. it seriously is pretty long on her, and even hides her strangely reddened wings. ]

Hee. Okay.

[ her smile slips a little at his question, though, and for a moment she looks away ]

I think the scariest part is watching it happen to everyone else. Seeing people scream or claw at nothing... the things I've been seeing have been pretty bad, but that's the hardest part. I wish this would all just go away.

[notabluesbro]

[He understands the feeling, and fortunately he's been able to hone his skill at ignoring the hallucinations—now, only a slight jump of the shoulders or faint widening of eyes was all he really had to show for what he was seeing. Sometimes the tightening of a short-lived grimace.

Even now, he was seeing phantom children, familiar ones. They were so thin, they looked like skeletons. But he just continues to stare tiredly away from the walkway, an elbow on the support rails.]

It will... We just have to hang on a little longer... Just a few more days.

1/2

[fourteen]

But will everyone be okay in a few days? I don't know how much more of this I can take...

[ she joins him in leaning against the railing, watching the water below. ]

... I came here because the sound of the water is soothing. And it helps me remember anything else I might hear isn't real.

[fourteen]

[ and while that may be true, Xion forgot to account for the other memories she associates with this bridge.

namely, the time Naoki attacked her. and suddenly she sees him now, eyes and markings glowing a deep red while he smiles a sick smile and suddenly lunges.

without even thinking she shrieks and leaps back, then reflexively scrambles onto the railing of the bridge, ready to flee the same way she did last time. however, that was August; this is October, and falling into the water now would have more dire consequences. ]

[notabluesbro]

Hey!

[Ack—of all the worst times for this to happen! Swiftly and with deft precision he reaches out and grabs for the hand closest to him, unable to tell if she was planning on jumping automatically or not.]

Wait a minute—it's just an illusion!

[fourteen]

[ initially she twitches in his grasp, almost like she might tear away and fall back, but his voice gets through to her. suddenly it's not Naoki grabbing her; it's just this man whose name she doesn't even know, trying to stop her from doing something that would end very poorly.

she makes an awful, ragged noise, and uses her other hand to balance her dismount from the railing, back onto the bridge. she looks shamefaced. she never blamed Naoki for what happened, never; how could she let herself be so terrified by some thing she should have known wasn't real? ]

I'm sorry. Thank you for stopping me.

[notabluesbro]

[When she finally steps down he looks her over for a moment, finally letting his softened hold on her wrist go. And he breathes a sigh of relief. While he hadn't seen one bring someone so close to danger before that, he knew they were beyond capable of making it happen.]

Are you all right?

[Physically, mentally, emotionally, any answer would do. It was obligatory, but filled with sincerity.]

[fourteen]

I'm okay. Really. It's just ... a few months ago, I sort of accidentally jumped off this bridge to get away from someone who was chasing me... I thought I was seeing it again. I'm really sorry for scaring you.

[ she tugs his coat tighter around her, still not quite meeting his eyes. ]

... I don't even know your name.

[notabluesbro]

That's all right—we all have a few aggravating images to deal with, to put it lightly...

[At the mention of the usual formalities, he playfully smiles and winks the usual priestly charm.]

Aaa, you have a point. Well, I try to be a gentleman myself, so I prefer the old 'ladies first' line.

[fourteen]

[ hee. that does wring a lopsided smile out of her. she can't really help it when he's being so sweet yet such a goof at the same time. ]

Xion. My name is Xion.

[notabluesbro]

Xion, it's nice to meet you.

[And he holds out the hand that had just gripped your wrist moments beforehand; with her smiling a bit, it's pretty much impossible to get rid of his well unless he sees more scary shit. While he knew relaxing moments wouldn't last long for either of them, he'll try his best to make the ones that creep into the chaos count.]

Th'name's Wolfwood.

[fourteen]

[ oh gosh, what a ham. Xion can't help but be a little charmed, and smiles a bit wider, taking the offered hand. ]

It's really nice to meet you, Wolfwood. Despite the circumstances and all...

[notabluesbro]

Meeting someone in bad circumstances isn't always bad in and of itself; after all, where I'd be a little down in the dumps alone on the bridge, I now feel a little better.

[He sets down that cross—oh yes, he actually does have that with him 99 percent of the time, believe it or not—and rests an elbow on it to hold the thing in place.

And his smile loosens, just a bit, and Xion may be able to see the concern.]

So, what were you doing out here alone, anyway...?

[fourteen]

Hee, that's true. I don't know how I could have possibly made you feel better, though.

[ you know, all around, she's feeling a little ... warmer. kindness does wonderful things when you think you're all alone. her smile turns a little sad when he asks, and she looks away for a moment, out over the river ]

My bedroom walls started to bleed. I just needed to get out of my house. I didn't really stop to think or tell anyone where I was going...

[notabluesbro]

Well, I feel better knowing I was able to finally help someone during all of this...

[He goes ahead and follows her lead, casting a gray-rimmed eye over the water below. He notes, with a faint wince, that it's been replaced with cracked earth and sand and bullet shells. But when he blinks his eyes a few times, the vision is gone.

He looks over at her as she continued.]

I didn't tell anyone either... I guess I thought it'd be better for me to tough it out in the forest for the day—it was at least a little better than my room, anyway.

[fourteen]

"Finally"?

[ she's a little curious. has he been trying, but failing, with others? jeez. but she won't press the issue or anything. instead she turns her attention back to him, watching him quietly ]

I know what you mean. It's not as ... closed in. And out here, there aren't any doors that can mysteriously get locked. [ tiny frown. that had been the scariest part -- being unable to leave. ]

[notabluesbro]

[He's quiet for a moment, overlooking that river. 'Finally', indeed: all he could do prior was repeat to everyone it wasn't real, that they were just seeing things. But... no good would come of such a silly thing. It wasn't like telling them what they already knew would do 'em any good.

But—helping someone in the midst of a hallucination... He admittedly felt better knowing there was at least some way of trying to aid those he couldn't help otherwise.]

Mhm, that's right. It's pretty hard to help your friends when you're all stuck in the same predicament... There's not much we can all do but wait, though I guess being around each other'll make it go by faster, huh?

[Her description was definitely one he wouldn't have wanted to be in... and a locked door would have been kicked and splinted into pieces, had it been him. Otherwise he would have felt as though he sat in it's shadow, just like the old days...]

That sounds awful—outside is definitely easier, if you stay away from big crowds. The sounds of nature even help a little. Don't you think?

[fourteen]

... that's true too. Friends always help make the time go faster.

[ yes, friends; because why not? he stopped her from jumping off a bridge, that ought to count for something. ]

Yeah, I do. Out here I think it's a little more peaceful, instead of just ... eerie. [ but something he said makes her pause. ] What makes big crowds so bad, though?

[notabluesbro]

[He smiles, but they way the thin line curls seems forced.]

My hallucinations don't do very well in big crowds.

[Lots of bloody results, those images. At least in the forest, he can handle himself when the familiar figures appear—seeing people from his past was far easier when they weren't stalking listlessly between crowded streets.

Not to mention the phantom smells of gunsmoke, the imaginary bulletholes and shells that no one else can see, the blood that somehow spots the land ahead of him, before he even steps there...]

So it is a little better if I try and hang around quieter places...

[fourteen]

[ she feels kind of bad for asking, now. Xion bites her lip, looking concerned for him. ]

I can't really blame you. [ shakes her head ] It's not like that for me. At least, they don't get any worse with other people around...

[ she hesitates, debating asking if he's okay while simultaneously wondering if that's a stupid question. ]

[notabluesbro]

[Before he notices her hesitation, he notices the figure standing to the side of her—an older man in suspenders, bottle in one hand, blank stare blocking out her last sentence in his mind. But he manages to look natural, smiling while the figure fades in and out in the corners of his vision. It makes him angry, angrier than any other vision has made him, but he's calm on the outside. His clenched fists are hidden in his pockets.

Instead, he keeps looking at the water. He would have preferred to deal with the crowds than have to see that sack of shit again.]

That's good—just make sure you don't stay out after the fog rolls in... Whatever's in there, no one seems capable of staying away from it.

[fourteen]

[ Xion doesn't notice anything, instead just watching him. Why... wait, why is he suddenly looking at her that way? Did he just tell her to stay out after the fog rolls in? Xion's brow creases as both her bunny ears seem to twitch and swivel to face him. ]

... what did you just say?

[notabluesbro]

[He looks at her; maybe she was as tired as she was, because he's not much for hearing things the first time people say them after a long day. So he repeats]

I said you shouldn't stay out of the fog—it can be pretty dangerous, from what I hear.