hadriel_logs | Event Log: Dazed and Confused

Entry tags:

Event Log: Dazed and Confused

Who: Everyone participating in the event!
What: The event log for the Dazed and Confused event!
Where: All around the city
When: September 24th-October 2nd
Warnings: None!

On the 24th of September, you wake up and everything seems pretty normal. You've got to head in for your shift at the guard, or at the clinic, or wherever else people go- maybe you're visiting a friend, maybe you're checking out the library, but either way as soon as you step out onto your street, you're in a foreign location.

No, you haven't been transported anywhere weird. Well, not by anything other than your own two feet. And hey, you could recognize a landmark and know your way back from there! But somehow you turn left instead of right and now everything is confusing again. It's not that the city itself is changing, but rather, it's your ability to take direction and move in the way that you think you should.

On top of all that, of course, is the strange inversion of most abilities. Everything is topsy turvy with your various powers or individual skills, so be on the lookout for some odd changes. Maybe you're usually pretty good at reasoning and now you can't think your way out of a paper bag, or maybe you have fire powers that start shooting icicles instead- either way, it's weird. Hopefully you can deal with it without injuring yourself too much, but... well, it's kind of difficult to make any guarantees when you can't even find your way to the clinic when you accidentally break something.

► This log covers September 24th-October 2nd.
► 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!
► If you walk into the lake and drown or have some other unfortunate mishap, please let us know here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Their SOUL felt like it was going to crack open since the day began. Someone or something had taken the value of their LOVE, pinned it to one of those stupid game show spin boards and spun it for all it was worth. Going from LV 20 to 1 and then 4 and 6 and so on was not pleasant, especially if it started happening in your sleep. So Chara had stumbled out the front door and wound up half way across the city.

But eventually they stumble across Frisk. They feel it long before they see their partner but--

The bones that were thrown at them and pierced their skin and the spears and the vines like snakes and it hurts.

They run, stumbling along the way as their LV gives an ugly shift to 5.]

Frisk!

[Chara doesn't touch them but tries to place themselves in front of their partner so they can see. So Chara could look at see where exactly the child was.]

[It takes them a moment to register the words. Another moment before they raise their head, but when they do- at least they can do it with a smile. A faint acknowledgement as their SOUL shudders and shakes in tandem with another, finally settles on a number that puts them on even ground.

2. They could both do a little better.]

Hey. [Fancy seeing you here. A flicker, and there's welts on their cheek. Small droplets of blood- the first drawn. Friendliness pellets gone wrong.

You want some LOVE, don't you?]

I'm lost, heh...

[And somewhere in the dark a flower cackles, standing tall despite only barely reaching their knee. The first drawn. The blow probably knocked them over.

Yeah, they wanted LOVE and they got it.

Chara isn't smiling, much to somebody's surprise. Fluctuation in their LVs and - and place and if this was the Gods messing with their partner in this way, Chara was going to run over and kick them. Or something. Didn't matter.]

I'm here. What can I...?

[They're rapidly starting to realize...the Knife was useless, wasn't it?]

[The change in Chara's expression isn't unwelcome at all. In fact, Frisk keeps looking at it, smile growing wider every time they do so, even as the air about them crackles and the smell of ozone becomes almost overwhelming.]

I don't want to get blood on you.

[Not because they're currently bleeding enough to do so.

But they could be.]

[They can hear the crack and smell as something creeps up and they can't help the frustrated noise that comes out of their mouth as they drop down to LV 1 again. That wouldn't help!]

I don't care about the blood Frisk! There's already enough on me. What can I do?

[Even if it's something futile like shielding them from something that had hurt them a long time ago. Even if it's something stupid like singing a song. There had to be something!]

[The fact that they actually want to do something is-

Frisk's lips wobble. They're still smiling, right up until the point their body jerks forward as if flung, mouth opening against Chara's shoulder to spill blood against it in a hacking cough.

All the while, a sound.

It's not a pleasant sound.

The sound of a SOUL fracturing to pieces that follows is hardly pleasant either.]

[-But at the least, it's over quickly. Just one more crackle before Frisk is inhaling again, mumbling a quiet sorry into Chara's sweater, and righting themself with- with-

With the thought of making sure Chara doesn't feel annoyed by the contact in mind. Determination.]

[They can't feel annoyed by the contact. They're not thinking about it.

Flowey. Chara had honestly not expected that he would turn into such a monstrous being. A monster that fired attack after attack, binding Frisk, shooting them, and laughing. He laughed at their suffering and it hurt and - ahaha - at least with Sans they could quit! With Flowey it was an endless loop of death until the SOULS...]

...Frisk....?

[* You feel like crying.
* You're probably doing it.
* Crybaby.

They grip their partner's upper arms without thinking. Their LOVE beings to fluctuate in a way it hadn't ever before.]

Are you....no, ahahah, you're not okay are you? We'll just...get some help...

[* You can't remember?
* Calling for help gets you nowhere.]

It's okay. [They mumble back. Crybaby- they're not going to point that out. If Chara was like this, they'd feel like crying too. Already kind of do feel like crying, but-

They've yet to make a sound, when the pain hits. They don't intend to, either.

This close, they can feel the way their Partner's SOUL shifts and moves- in tandem with their own. Up and down, like a roller coaster. Sometimes the outside world matters for a moment; sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes, it's just two lovers standing at the edge of the cauldron to hell.

Sometimes it's not. Sometimes, it's just two kids.]

We don't need help. [13. They don't need anyone.]

We'll be okay. [5.]

We can do this. [1.]

[20. There's nothing left for us here.

15. Halfway there.

6. Why?

1. * It's you!

Two scared kids. Just kids who took a little walk up a mountain. Just kids who took a trip through colorful - nightmarish - Underground. And Reset after Reset after Reset---]

It'll be okay. L...let's go home, okay? I'll make you something. Can you stand?

[It's trying to find some normalcy and shoving it into a hole that doesn't fit. But if Chara can find a way back to their apartment, then maybe they could look after Frisk better.]

[Two kids walk up a mountain.

Only one person bothers to ask why they did. And only one child gets to hear it. No matter which one that was, the answer seems to be the same. It wasn't for a very happy reason.

Funny, how a colorful- nightmarish- world can still seem so much better than what could be.]

Okay. [They breathe; without much faith, because there's no such thing as home. Because it's impossible to get there. Because their legs move of their own accord, just one more thing to tick off in the list of things to keep going for.

Chara wants them to stand.]

You know, I'm glad you here... like this. But.

I miss you.

[Determination, as powerful as it was, had its limits. And when you don't want to be Determined...that was a whole other story. It allowed them to survive the drop. For what it was worth.

Chara helps them balance on the way up and forward. They know what their partner means. As useful as it was to have their own hands and feet, it left a void in exchange where Frisk just fit in a way they couldn't explain. * It's us - and all that.]

* You know you're missed by your partner too.
* But more importantly there's probably soup at home too.

[They know it's probably not the same but they'll try. And, un, inject a bad joke because their thoughts are like panicked rabbits and nothing much beyond it.]

[Not much, if either of them had anything to say about it. If anyone had ever thought to ask.

Walking is simpler now. They're still waiting for the inevitable crackle, something to cause more than just a simple stumble as their feet make to adjust where they can't, but the way their LOVE veers left and right, up and down-- in tandem with someone else, that's-

Nice. In it's own way.]

We should go to the library soon. We could...

Find cookbooks.

[Nobody would. Just a little kid taking a walk up they mountain. They didn't have to care about that.]

* A library spelled properly.
* What a concept!

[Although they aren't about to argue to charm of that sign. In-between the nightmares were the dreams. Sweet and sour in a way that didn't make them feel sick to the core.

Chara drops the narration for a moment.]

There...there were these pastry things I wanted to try. Before. But they never turned out right. We could try together.

[They think that maybe Chara's trying to tell a joke. There's an edge of cheer to their voice that Frisk is almost certain is only for their benefit, fragile and easily dropped.

But they're listening, as always. Chara speaks, and they listen, focusing on that and the act of putting one foot in front of the other. Just like it's always been.]

We can do that. It'll be- [A stumble. Their breathing gains a pained sort of haggardness, but they don't draw more attention to it than that. It'll fade. Nothing lasts forever.]

It'll be fun.

So much fun. And hey...there's stuff like baking soda volcanoes we could do if we get bored.

[Something was coming, they know. Frisk had suffered death after death so they couldn't know which one exactly. But Chara kept walking slowly, eyes ahead. Just keep talking. Never stop moving. Nothing lasted forever so you could walk off a cracked rip. Walk off the other injuries that one would get. All because of this:

* Determination]

Is there anything you wish to try?

If we do it in the kitchen, we won't stain the carpet.

[And no one will get made because it stained.

They're trying, so very hard, not to let go. But their fingers keep slipping; it's Chara's grip that keeps them upright, stumbling a few more steps until their knees buckle. Where's the source, though? Where's the wound, the boo boo, the scar to cause the trauma that's keeping them from moving at all?

It's so hard to tell, when there's so much blood.]

...D'n mind what we try.

[The important part is that whatever they try, they won't be alone.]

[Undyne's spears slicing through the boards of the walkway and then raining down upon the child came to mind, but who knows by this point? You get stuck by bullets upon bullets and then dive into a black void for a few minutes before being brought back and you lose track of what is what. You try not to track it. You try not to track it because you'll just wind up with nightmares and even if you get that happy ending it'll always stay. Because big kids and demons don't have nightmares.

Chara grips them so hard it'd probably hurt in a normal situation and when Frisk goes down so do they. It hurts in a way that Chara can't describe to see this, the same feeling when the thought stuck them that Asriel was going to die because of their plan. The same way when they saw the wedge that had been forced between Toriel and Asgore.

All the LOVE in their heart was so useless, wasn't it? Look at them, they can't even save their partner. All they had was a shaky response.]

Y...yeah. I bet I can get it to reach the ceiling. And there's a few things I'd like to try. She was so good at baking...I want to try her pie recipe. It always m-made me so happy...

[* You conjure up your happiest memories.
*...
* Nothing happens.]

[They die with a smile on their face-- it's the only answer Frisk has the strength to give, and the only one coming, for several moments. They're a dead weight in Chara's arms, red dripping down onto the pavement as their head bumps Chara's shoulder, before limply hanging down, bare inches from the ground as well.

Her pie always made them so happy. Goatmom. Mother. Mom.

Her pie made them happy too. So happy, they'd almost never wanted to leave.

When they inhale, it comes with a wretched sounding cough, one hand curling over their stomach as their mind adjusts to which way they're supposed to be breathing, right now. Inhale? Exhale? They always get those messed up. Too much detail for a kid to keep track of, though they've always tried to inhale sharply before a SAVE. It's always more likely they're going to gasp out than breathe in, if anything happens.]

I- like her pie too. [Mom. They liked that feeling, that word. Mom. They don't dare ask, even now, but they've always wondered what it was like, to have her as their mother.

They've always wondered about how quiet Chara gets, whenever they fight her. Whenever they fight Asgore. And whenever they walk through lonely homes and dusty rooms, collecting knives and lockets as monsters tell them the history of the Fallen Child, and their beloved sibling.

They still don't ask.]

...Let's keep going.

[They had never been able to call Toriel 'mom' to her face. The mirror was Chara's only witness as they practiced things out, like "Good morning Mom!" or "Greetings. I am Chara Dreemurr.". But no, she got stuck with Ma'am or something else. Chara couldn't say that word, call her Mom or Mother or call Asgore Dad or Father.

But they were encouraged to call them whatever they could. Chara had never told them the full story about why they came to Mt. Ebott, but perhaps deep in their hearts made of kindness, the Royal Family understood.

Chara died with a smile on their face. They woke up to see the wedge driven between the family. Toriel, exiled herself to the Ruins. Asgore, surrounded by dead children. Asriel, dead and gone. Why they became silent during those fights. Why Sans' judgement didn't mean much. Their own narration condemned them.

* Look at what you've done.

They hear words and rise as slowly as they can, slow so Frisk can try and find their footing before setting off. Chara knew what needed to be done. They needed to go Home. New New New New New Home? Ahhahah, probably!]

* You set off for Home.
* Determination.

[*You set off for Home.

Chara says it with such a strong sense of finality, their last word seemingly warping into something else entirely, something that pulls at the laws of what sound itself should be. And Frisk should be frightened. They tuck their head into Chara's shoulder again, just for a moment, as two sets of feet slowly begin to navigate the way back- Home.

They aren't scared at all. How can they be scared, when Chara's arms about them like this? They can feel their Partner's fingers digging into their upper arm, and they've never been one to bruise easily, but they think that pressure just might do it. Chara talks about pies, and moms, and Home, and it's almost, kind of a bit funny.

But they nod wordlessly, letting Chara's sweater soak up their smile as their roles reverse, and Chara takes the lead, leaning on them because Chara wants them to, right now, refusing to voice a single complaint because- because--

They're already Home.]

[They scrub furiously with their free hand at their face and really succeed at nothing. Trust Frisk not to be scared of the red voice. It caught people by the throat but instead it held them by the hand.

They're going to regret those bruises but right now they couldn't really care. With fingers digging into fabric they know Frisk is there. It was a little silly to focus on clothing but it was better than the blood. Chara had gotten far to used to dust. Their own blood didn't bother them but there was an awful lurch in their stomach every time Frisk was cut down.

And there they didn't have any arms to hold their partner. Now they do.

Finally, finally they reach home. Just six flights of stairs. Chara puts one foot on the first step and then, just because they're kids.]

Know any good number games Partner?

Number games?

[They know what you're doing, Partner.

And they're grateful, because walking up the stairs is something else entirely. Their whole body is aching- because it's actually sore, or just because of the memory of hurting, they don't know, but their legs tremble as they go up a step, and they have to clench their jaw, just to focus on it. A number game. What's a quick and easy number game.]

Uh...okay. I'm thinking of a number between one-- and 50.

[It's something...Toriel would do. Whenever they woke up from a nightmare. Whenever she found them in the living room and suddenly she had a bunch of snail facts to tell them. Talk around it.

One foot after another.]

Let's see...thirty?

[A shake of their head, and a little grin. Another, small bonus to being as they are now- they wouldn't have been able to play games like these before.

Chara would have guessed on the first try.]

Lower.

1!

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1/2 cw "death"

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