Event log: Mirror, mirror

[hadrielmods]

Who: Anyone and everyone!
What: Hope gives everyone mirrors with visions of their most hopeful future inside.
Where: Throughout the city.
When: March 14th-18th
Warnings: None so far!

On March 14th, all characters will stumble across mirrors at some point on their daily journey. Maybe your mirror is right under your pillow, maybe it's on your bedside table, or in the sink in your bathroom. It could be in a random store that you're scavenging, or somewhere along the path that you're taking to go to a friend's place. Wherever it is, it's positioned perfectly for you to find it- though you might want to be quick so someone else doesn't nab it first.

Each mirror is predetermined to hold one person's future and will be placed somewhere that they can find it on that day. Upon looking in their own mirrors, each character will see a version of their future that will fill them with hope. This vision has to be possible- or they have to think it's possible- even if it's unlikely. Picking up someone else's mirror will not change the image inside; you'll instead see that person's vision for their future.

In addition, during the first four days, until March 18th, characters will want to look into any mirror they can find, not just their own. So be a little careful if you want to guard your innermost hopes- someone might be trying to peek.

► This log covers March 14th-March 18th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► Please report any character deaths right here!

Comments

peter rumancek | open and closed

[werewolfing]

[closed to newt]

[peter wakes up earlier than usual, when the light is just beginning to filter into the room. newt is smushed up against his back, as per usual, and there's something small and thin in his hand. squinting as the light catches on the surface of the mirror, he raises it up to look at it.

peter sees himself in the mirror, but it's no reflection. he's sitting in a chair with a little brown-haired girl in his lap, bouncing her on his knee as she giggles. destiny is there with andreas, and so is his mother, and roman stands next to him holding the hand of a little blond girl with intense blue eyes. nadia. he can just see miranda there in the background, and some of his other family members milling about. another tall mop of blond hair hangs by the edge of the mirror--newt, looking a bit wary about the entire proceedings but slowly giving in to lynda's motherly smile.

he's still staring at it when newt wakes up.]

[open!]

[peter doesn't try to hide his mirror. he carries it in his pocket, taking it out to look at sometimes. he leaves it lying around the apartment, sitting on counters or shelves while he's scavenging for groceries, puts it down beside him when he has a cigarette outside fear's temple, because for all that the mirror fills him with the most bittersweet sort of hope for his own future, it also reminds him of all he has lost for now, and all he has to lose, all he could be losing right now if time in hemlock grove is passing without him. lord knows roman can't take care of himself, and he's only just beginning to figure out how to take care of nadia, who's in constant danger...it's not hard to give fear his usual dose in return for smokes, as much as he aches to forget about those things and just believe in a happy future.

once or twice, it might even drop out of his pocket. who knows? the thing seems to practically yearn for freedom, like it wants to be seen.]

[krangke]

(Newt's slow to wake up but eventually he does. It doesn't take him very long to realize that Peter is already awake and preoccupied with...Something.

Newt rubs a hand into his face and shoves himself up onto his elbows to get a better look, his eyes squinting in the soft, morning light.)

...Peter? What is that?

(It looks like what Newt recognizes as a mirror but....From what he can see, it's not showing Peter's face. Not....how it should, anyway.)

[werewolfing]

It's a funny little dream, kitten.

[once newt moves peter rolls onto his back to give the other boy a better look. he points to the figures in turn]

That's my mom, Lynda. And that's Destiny. That one's Roman, and that's Nadia. She's...Letha's daughter. We were, um, together. But she died. A year ago, now, I guess? Must be.

[he's quiet for a moment, eyes bright like the grief is still too fresh to be contemplated long.]

I have no idea who the little scamp in my lap is, there's about a million cousins in the back, and you keep trying to hide off in the corner there. Can't blame you, it's a hell of a family.

[krangke]

(Newt tucks in close to Peter to look up at the mirror, his brows raised up high and eyes wide with wonder.

Peter's family.

Then he's blinking fast and looking at Peter, eyes even larger yet. He knew Peter hadn't the best life ever back home but it was hard to forget how much Peter had suffered too.)

Oh...was - Is she your...daughter too?

(He doesn't really know how to ask that. There's a strange discomfort curling around in his gut but it feels selfish for the moment so he promptly ignores it. He's more curious about Peter.

His eyes cut back to the mirror and he doesn't really know why he's in the mirror at all, his eyes narrowed just a little.)

That's...

(His mouth feels a little dry and he swallows hard. He's never been surrounded by family before like that. Even if it's not real, it gives him a moment of pause, his eyes sweeping over the scene. He nearly smiles at Peter's mother.)

I think I'd like her a lot - Lynda.

[werewolfing]

Nah, Letha was knocked up before we even met. She swore up and down that the father was an angel, and I figured what the hell did it matter. Thought Nadia died when Letha did, but I was wrong. Maybe I would've helped raise her, but everything went to shit. She's with Roman now.

[he shrugs, a little hopelessly. everything was complicated.

he watches the interplay between mirror!newt and lynda, the way she gently beckons him out of the corner and the peter in the mirror smiles up at him. the girl on his lap smiles up too, the exact same smile, less a few teeth. peter's daughter, maybe, except there's no one around to be her mother.]

You'd love Lynda. Best mother there is.

[krangke]

She's a cute girl.

(He finds that he means this in earnest. The little girl looked happy, sweet.

It's an exchange that Newt has no clue what to do with. He doesn't belong in a world like this and yet seeing himself there is as intriguing as it is warming. His eyes drift to the child in Peter's lap and he blinks again, his eyes darting over to Peter's face before right back to the girl.)

She looks kinda like you.

(There's a question somewhere in there but he doesn't seem to plan on actually clarifying.)

I can only imagine. It's the first time I've ever seen a mother before.

(He reaches his hand up to the mirror and touches the side of it. His mouth curves into a soft smile.)

They're much softer than I imagined. Kinder looking. I wish I could meet her. Then we could talk about how impossible you are.

[werewolfing]

Definitely Letha's daughter, Nadia is.

[except she kinda looks like roman, too, but hey. family resemblances.]

She does, doesn't she? Always wanted kids, but the idea of finding a woman and settling down is...

[weird, clearly, for so many reasons. he sounds uncomfortable just voicing the idea. but the idea of newt actually meeting his mother, that makes him smile. it doesn't matter that lynda is in romania and newt is from a whole different world. it's not impossible that she could end up here, that all of them could, that peter could have his family again, that years later they could all be together. just unlikely as all hell.]

See, you two would get on like a house on fire. How impossible I am is one of her favorite subjects.

[krangke]

(Newt nods because he doesn't know what to say to that. He didn't know Letha but it doesn't surprise him that Peter would find a girl equal parts lovely and sweet.)

I can honestly say I've never once in my life even thought about children or a family.

(His tone quiets a bit at the end. There's plenty reasons why he hasn't. Memory loss. The fact that he should have been dead, never should have lived to see the age of when he might have kids. How he doesn't really know how he feels about...all of that in general. The kind of world he associates living with. Too many factors go against the grain and yet.

Yet seeing Peter with a kid just sits right. It looks like Peter's future. Newt just doesn't know how he's apart of it at all.)

Oh, she is a delight then.

(He watches in the mirror as mirror!himself bends down to give Lynda a proper hug and he smiles despite himself.)

She's adorable.

(Because even from where he laid, he could practically feel how tightly that woman was holding him and it nearly makes his eyes water. He refuses that though because this isn't his family to miss. Instead, he shuts his eyes briefly before looking over at Peter, grinning.)

You've a lovely family.

[werewolfing]

Sure, why would you? You don't remember anything like it.

[peter watches as the lynda in the mirror hugs newt and he smiles, a soft, quiet thing.]

Of course she's a delight, she's my mother. And she gives the best hugs.

[he ruffles newt's hair, finally starting to grow in past a peachy fuzz.]

You're not there by accident, y'know.

[krangke]

I can't argue with you there. Delight clearly runs in your family.

(He grins a bit stupidly when his hair is ruffled and his eyes squint up.

Then of course he looks completely surprised.)

What do you mean?

[pellameno]

[ Pell hasn't finished exploring the city. He wanders with purpose now, trying to see all of it, trying to map the place in his mind. He doesn't know what purpose it will serve him besides sating his desire to know, but he does it anyway. His own mirror lives in his pocket, too, and he walks with a hand around the stem so he can pull it out whenever the urge to look hits him again. It's amazing that he doesn't walk into things.

But right now he's just walking, looking up instead of at the little glass piece of hope that stabs at his heart every time he gazes into it. And he spots Peter on the steps of Fear's temple, smoking. Tired and miserable as he is, he manages a little smile. ]

Hey. Where'd you find those?

[ He climbs the steps to sit beside Peter and his mirror, fighting the desire to peek at it with everything he has. (That's rude.) The image on it is moving, though, and keeps attracting his gaze. ]

...May I?

[werewolfing]

I didn't find 'em, I trade for 'em. Fear's an asshole, but he's a reasonable asshole.

[peter jerks a thumb behind him to indicate the temple. then he taps out a cigarette for pell, because why not? he doesn't run out.]

Yeah, sure.

[peter's mirror is clearly a family scene. he's sitting in a chair with a little brown-haired girl in his lap, bouncing her on his knee as she giggles. destiny is there with andreas, and so is his mother, and roman stands next to him holding the hand of a little blond girl with intense blue eyes. nadia. he can just see miranda there in the background, and some of his other family members milling about. another tall mop of blond hair hangs by the edge of the mirror--newt, looking a bit wary about the entire proceedings but slowly giving in to lynda's motherly smile.]

[pellameno]

Thank you. What do you trade him?

[ Pell accepts the cigarette gratefully, lighting it with a flick of his finger and taking a long drag before doing anything else. Yesssssss nicotine. Something in his shoulders seems to ease up, though it could just be the deep breathing that helps him. He's a mess in general -- not scared anymore like the person Peter met a few days ago, but miserable behind his smile. The expression just doesn't reach his tired eyes.

The scene seems in the mirror to affect him when he looks, though. He holds the thing carefully, cradling it in his palm as he smokes with the other hand, examining everyone in the scene one at a time. ]

...you look so happy.

[werewolfing]

Fear, of course. That's all they ever want. Fear, or Hope, or Rage. Easy-peasy. I've got enough to go around.

[he watches pell light the cigarette with his finger.]

Nice trick. Wish I could do that.

[pell looks tired and worn but that isn't peter's problem, is it? this place is tired and wearing. except it seems to sit heavier on his delicate features. obviously he isn't settling in well, although the mirror lightens that a little.]

Yeah. That's my family.

[he points each of them out in turn. nadia gets explained as roman's cousin's daughter, no mention of the cousin herself.]

[pellameno]

Hmm. Maybe I'll ask as well. I've got plenty.... I'm sure we all do. And it's not a trick.

[ It took him a long time, back when he was first learning, to be able to light a candle. He remembers that now, those early days when everything was peaceful and hopeful and the worst thing that happened was he had to read an extra chapter of Orien's thaumaturgy texts. Something twists in the pit of his stomach and he takes another hit off the cigarette, then leans in for Peter's explanation of who's who in the mirror. ]

Do you think you'll have this, someday?

[ The question is strange and personal but it's not just curiosity. His voice is soft as he continues to gaze into Peter's mirror, almost wistful. ]

Mine doesn't seem... they came from Hope, didn't they? But I don't think it's even possible, so how can I hope for it?

[werewolfing]

Yeah, you can talk to any of 'em over the phone, dumb as that sounds. You'd think they'd answer in their temples, but nope. It's the phone.

[peter gives a soft snort.]

It's a happy dream. I mean, I guess it could happen, if all those folks came here, and we were here for a real long time. But I donno. It's a nice thought.

[peter refuses to use the word hope, because he's wary of hope. not the god, but the concept. hoping is dangerous. it makes you want things you might not be able to have. like the scene in his mirror. lynda's in romania and dee's in hemlock grove and so is roman, people are trying to kidnap nadia, and newt is from a different world entirely.

but it would be nice.]

You can hope for anything you want. That's the thing about hope. What you want, deep down? Has jack shit to do with what you can get.

[pellameno]

[ Pell gives a thoughtful hum at that, filing the information away. And then he's listening again. Really listening, and looking at Peter like he holds the secrets to the universe because right now this is all he wants to know. What you want deep down has jack shit to do with what you can get. It's true. He was lucky for awhile, he figures, and now...

He passes Peter his mirror back and pulls out his own from his pocket, looking into it again. Should Peter glance, as he's likely compelled to do, he'll see a happy scene in a thriving town. Pell is walking with a taller figure with long golden hair and a child that looks stunningly like him except for his hair matching the other har's. Everyone around has the same odd androgynous beauty that Peter first noticed in Pell, like he's among his own kind. There are humans, though, if you look closely. Because in Pell's mind Saltrock would be a haven for everyone. Like Greenling but even more peaceful. Flick is in the scene, and Kate, and Mima. He hadn't seen them at first because he'd been so focused on Cal and the child but he's looked at the mirror a lot over the past few days. It doesn't make him cry anymore, now it just makes him feel empty. The gentle smile that was on his face over Peter's scene fades away. ]

I've never really been alone before here, you know. It's so strange. To look up or reach out and there's no one there. Do you know what I mean? [ He touches Cal's face in the mirror. ] I just hope he's alright.

[werewolfing]

[pell listens the way destiny listens, with his whole body. it's less comfortable on a near-stranger than his cousin, but still familiar.

when he looks into pell's mirror, the weight on him suddenly makes sense. a lover and a child, a slightly different version of peter's own mirror. for someone so freshly arrived, that wound must be open and deep. he nods.]

I haven't either. Here, too, though. This kid, Newt, he thought I looked like a hopeless sadsack and practically adopted me on the spot. Being apart, that I'm good at. Alone, not so much. Turned out he was as bad at it as I am, so it kinda worked out.

You'll find somebody. Probably a couple somebodies. People here are...different. Some of them, anyway.

[pellameno]

[ Pell turns his mirror over, unable to look at it anymore without tearing up which he refuses to do right now. He listens to Peter instead, to how he found someone to be not-alone with right away. There's a pang of jealousy at that -- all he's gotten for his troubles so far is a sprained wrist. ]

That's lucky, then... that you found someone who understands so quickly. You must be very close now, for him to be in your mirror.

What do you mean, people are different?

[amos_moses]

[As the mirror clatters to the stone, a jabberjay swoops down and pecks at it. Amos, turning the corner, flaps a hand at the bird and stoops to retrieve the mirror, very carefully, turning his face away so he doesn't look into it. It's so tempting but these are such personal things.]

Oh, hey, you dropped this, [he calls to Peter.[]

[werewolfing]

[a voice calls--to him, probably, since nobody else is there--and peter turns around to find his mirror in someone else's hand. he walks the few steps back for it, hand extended.]

Oh. Thanks. Swear that thing keeps jumping out of my pocket.

[amos_moses]

Yeah. I think they're enchanted.

[A minor one, and a harmless one, if they are at all enchanted. Amos only considers this a possibility because of how tempting it is to look into them, when they're obviously so personal.]

[faithfulwolf]

[ Wolf isn't all that big on interacting with people but he's also not going to overlook when someone drops something. He wants to be a helpful wolf, after all.

He might not have seen who dropped the mirror but he can judge by scent, thanks to his excellent sense of smell. ]

Um, exc-excuse me, you dropped thi-this..

[ He might be hiding a little, peeking out from a corner as he holds out the mirror. He really hopes that he speaks loud enough to be heard. ]

[werewolfing]

[just barely loud enough, as far as peter's gone, but it's enough. peter turns and it takes him a moment to find the peeking figure holding out his mirror.]

Oh. Hey, thanks for that. My pockets are pretty deep, but not deep enough to keep this sucker in, I guess.

[peter's voice is calm and sort of friendly, the way one might speak to a strange child. he has no idea why the boy is so cringing, hiding like he neither wants to be seen nor heard.]

[faithfulwolf]

[ At least the person doesn't get mad. Sometimes people get mad even when he's just trying to be helpful. ]

Y-you're welcome, ah, m-maybe you need something to, um, keep it... keep it in...