Event Log: Home Sweet Home

[hadrielmods]

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the Home Sweet Home event
Where: All over the city
When: June 20th-July 2nd
Warnings: Nothing bad could ever happen now that you're home

It could happen at any moment- any action you do could be cut short by a sudden trancelike state, and so hopefully it happens when you're safe in your surroundings. And of course you're safe... after all, what could happen to you now that you're finally home?

Whether you don't remember Hadriel at all, or you just believe that this entire ordeal is over, you're home for good now, which is something worth celebrating. What happens in your home? Are you treated like royalty or just cast aside and forgotten? How are your friends doing? Your family? Everything is just as it should be and it's easy to get lost in it, even for an unlucky onlooker who may find themselves drawn into your trance and able to interact with you as you mill about your world and your reality.

Snapping out of it is the only way to end this trance, and you've got to eat and sleep at some point, but how can you go back now that you've been teased with what you desire (or maybe even fear) the most?

► This log covers June 20th-July 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 die of homesickness let us know here.

Comments

charles eyler || ota, warnings for options 3 and 4 in the comment

[proselytise]

Though he wouldn't think so at the time, it's actually lucky when this happens somewhere public; not that it's his goal to have people watching him just staring out into space like his mind is totally somewhere else, because his mind is totally somewhere else. It's just that if he stays like this forever, that's not exactly a good thing, or at least it's less good than being conscious and here. The point is, you're a good person and you tried to help, or you're a bad person and you tried to do something like push him over.

Shame on you, if it's the latter.

Anyway, it turns out that was a mistake. Welcome to the House.


option one; school's never out
Whoever says that high school is the best time of your life is wrong. And that's not just because here, at this nameless school, the classes make no sense, your teachers have no faces, and most of your fellow students respond to you like they're NPCs with one line of dialogue.

Then again, you're not really here for them.

There's someone in the school uniform, plus a pair of gloves, who (if you're aware that this is just some Hadriel stuff) you somehow recognize as the person who you saw just before ending up here.

Which is definitely weird, considering the person in front of you is about half a foot shorter than the guy you saw, and is also definitely female.

"Aren't you late for class?" she asks, even though she is obviously also not in class right now. "Or are you skipping today?"


option two; rooftop book club
The door to the rooftop closes quietly behind you; it's almost churchlike here, quiet rows of white stone benches looking out into a sky that feels somehow empty. On one of the benches closest to the railing is a boy with white hair. He starts a bit when he notices someone is here, almost dislodging the notebook from his lap. It probably has something to do with the fact that he looks like he's recently been in a fight, and not one that he won, either.

"I wasn't sure if you'd still come here." He still looks slightly nervous, but smiles at you, unsure, as if he's testing the expression out. "But, thank you."

You're aware of who he is, and whether that means "the boy that you just saw standing outside staring into the distance at Hadriel" or "the new student who introduced himself as C, the god of this world, and was immediately laughed at by everyone in the class," well, who knows?


option three; the world outside
Warning: this option will lead to discussions/themes of suicide.
You find yourself in the infirmary, lying on one of the beds. Sitting on the stool next to you is a white-haired boy, looking slightly upset. "I'm sorry," he tells you. "I should have known that you would end up becoming their target, as well."

After a moment, he gets up from the stool, but doesn't leave. "But-- we don't have to stay here. If we take the elevator down from this level, we can leave. It would be...better than this." He's looking down at you, hopeful.

You don't want to let him down, right?


option four; home sweet home
Warning: npc body horror, possible mentions of suicide.
There is someone else on the elevator with you. Actually, that's not fully correct, because the "someone" is lying on the floor, unmoving. So you definitely won't be getting much conversation out of him. On the plus side, the elevator ride up isn't too long, and you have the slightly-calming elevator music to keep you company until the doors open.

When they do, the person standing there is the one you had interacted with to get here in the first place. Charles looks a bit surprised, but only for a moment. The expression gives way to a sad kind of smile. "Oh," he says. "It was nice of you to come with him."

He picks the body up as if it weighs nothing.

When you step off the elevator, the doors close behind you, and in their place is the front door of the apartment you're now in. It's locked. No going back, it seems.

The apartment you've been dropped off at is small. Dark, slightly gloomy, but clean. "You can wait here, if you want." He looks down at the body in his arms. "I have to take care of him first."

Of course, you're certainly able to follow. Maybe it'd be nice to have company.

option four

[am_i_a_monster]

Abigail's never been sure if she's a bad person or a good person.   Maybe it's both.   She feels an odd combination of curiosity and concern for the man staring blankly.   There's nothing ahead of him that looks interesting enough to capture his attention so completely.  "Lost in thought?"  She asks and when there's no response she touches his arm gently.  The simple action is enough to pull her in.

She's quiet in the elevator, trying to figure out what happened.   The idea of being alone when they reach the apartment is unappealing.   "I'd rather go with you if that's okay?"   She glances down at the body too.   "How will you take care of him?"   She knows how her father 'honoured' the dead.   It can't be that bad.

[proselytise]

"You can," he answers. Though it's certainly not a proper burial, as he'd like. Vincent deserves better than what he has to offer here, and deserved better when he was alive. "There's a place I have for them."

That answer, he realizes, will probably create more questions than anything else. "This isn't the first one to die here. Tens, maybe hundreds...they never live long." It's awful. It feels awful.

He leads the way to an area that might have been a room, were it a normal apartment-- here, it's almost like an outside area. The sun (a sun) hangs low in the sky over a pit. Charles stops at the edge, stares down. "This is it."

[am_i_a_monster]

Abigail nods.  "It's good to have a place.  I wanted to have one for the people I lost.   But the only place for them is in my memory."  Her mother had been cremated and her ashes scattered while Abigail was in a coma.  The FBI had kept her father's remains.  And her friend Marissa's family had never told her where Marissa had been buried.

Abigail's seen enough death to believe him.   "Who killed them?"   She asks, hoping very much that the answer isn't that he did it.  

Abigail follows him and stops when he does, only looking down for a second before glancing away.   There's a feeling that she should say or do something, but she has no words.   It's creepy to think of all those bodies in one pit.   "I'm sorry."   She whispers after a moment.

[proselytise]

Charles crouches down, lets the body roll out of his arms. There's a few seconds before a soft thud can be heard, from the distant bottom of the pit. It's unfortunate that she knows what it's like-- that anyone know what it's like. He straightens up and faces her. Time to answer that earlier question. "He did. His vessels are always...like that. No matter what, when they're left alone... It's a shame."

He's trying to sound casual, and probably failing. "It's kind of you to come along, though." Back into the normal part of the apartment, somewhere that seems normal.

option three;

[whip_poor_will]

Ravine can't remember pain enough for it to be made manifest, neither does she sleep.

So the idea of waking up in an infirmary, let alone a bed at all is a strange one. This place is beyond her, however. Despite her cognizance of the reality that this is a dream, she looks at the boy and plays along, even though Ravine herself is someone who would stand out in this world like a sore thumb.

"I do not suppose you would care to shed light on where the elevator goes to?"

[proselytise]

The boy turns back from looking out the door, back to Ravine, and nods. "It's the floor below this. It's normally forbidden, but it seems that I'm able to open all the doors here." He says it like it's a fact, not like it's something he's particularly proud of.

"I know you feel the same as I do-- that we don't belong here." It's obvious in his tone, he wants her to agree. To be told you're not alone. "That's why...you'll come with me, right?"

[whip_poor_will]

For someone who is used to logic being thrown out the window, Ravine can work with this. She can work with whatever this child wants, if it means escape.

"Yes," Ravine says, pushing herself to sit upright. She doesn't like laying down; she likes pretending to sleep even less. "I will go with you, even if this floor is forbidden. There is somewhere else that I need to be."

And there is no reason to be afraid.

[proselytise]

Good. That's good. He isn't sure that he'd be able to do this alone.

The elevator is only a few steps down the hall from the infirmary. Though the school itself looks...odd, the walls and floor patterned in a way that almost feels random, the elevator is relatively normal. Except for the fact that there's a button marked for floor -1.

Outside the doors is...well, outside. It's dark, and looks like the remnants of an abandoned society. Toppled buildings, some standing-- in the doorway of one or two, there are cockroaches, standing like people.

If she wants to explore this area, he'll follow-- if not, well, there are other places to go.

CHARLES LET'S GO TO SCHOOL <3

[abyssalarcana]

It's very odd that Charles is simply standing there, dead-eyed.

Did he actually die while standing up? Is that how bad he is at life? Amazing.

Naturally, Caedra tries to push him over, because that's what you do to people who appear paralyzed upright. But the moment her hand contacts his shoulder, she, too, freezes. Guess you get to stay standing upright for now, Charles.

Instead, she finds herself in a hallway. Sleek, and well-lit, with a style of construction she's never seen before. It's very minimalist, actually, like someone focused only on function and not form just took building blocks and stacked them in one big long line. What happened to art and architecture?

She's being addressed by Charles, though, she notices, which - okay. She's never seen Charles look like this, but people do change form from time to time. But that outfit-

Caedra glances down at herself. Finds she's wearing the same outfit, and groans in disgust. "Awful," she comments initially, rather than answering the question, but then- "Class? I have a class?"

this is the most class caedra will ever have (rimshot)

[proselytise]

This school-- and honestly, the House in general-- is where art and architecture go to die. This place has a way of sucking the life out of things, if it had any life to begin with (considering its origins).

And even though Charles is now looking a lot different (there are some similarities, it'd be easy to mistake the girl for a relative), she (he?) is still 100% the same person. Her smile isn't so much one of friendliness as it is amusement. "Of course you do, that's what school is for. Unless you want your class representative to hunt you down." (And if that does happen, Charles will be escaping as soon as possible. Even here, he avoids Scarlett Eyler like someone who's allergic to bees avoids...well, bees.)

As for that other remark-- Charles pauses, looks herself up and down. The school outfit is basic; a white blouse and a black skirt. Simple, but cute. "The outfit isn't that bad." Though that might just be bias, on the designer's part.

WOW GET OUT

[abyssalarcana]

"Classes have representatives?" Not the most important question here by far, but the one that comes to mind, as Caedra looks at Charles like she's - well. Growing an extra head is the usual turn of phrase, but it wouldn't be the strangest thing that's happened in the last five minutes.

So she looks at Charles as if she's just turned into a swarm of bees. There, that's better, and appropriately sums up the creeping dread that Caedra is feeling at how regulated everything here is, from the hall, to the doors, to the matching outfits. It makes her shudder.

"What if instead of going to class, I do something else. What's down this hallway?" she asks aloud as she wanders off in one of the two directions that seem to be present, aside from the multitude of doors. How far does this go? Is there someone in charge? Is there an outside?

(finger guns)

[proselytise]

"Instead of going to class...well." Charles follows a few steps behind Caedra; the hallways are relatively short, if that's any consolation. (It probably isn't.) In fact, there only seems to be one actual classroom here. Weird! "On this floor, there's the cafeteria and locker rooms. Though I wouldn't actually recommend eating the food here," she adds, grinning. It's probably very weird, considering how he acts about 99% of the time when he's in his own body.

"Or you could go to the library, if you don't mind books about ways to peel an apple without hurting yourself." You know, high quality literature. "I don't actually care if you go or not, it's not my future on the line."

four!

[jocoeur]

Akira is focused on that body on the ground. The elevator's music is slightly horrifying in light of what's happening, its dulcet sounds aren't exactly fitting the mood. He's pressed against the opposite side of the car, wondering what might await him when they open, and when they finally do, he sees...

"Charles?" He'd been trying to rouse the young man, which is what had gotten him into this... predicament, somehow. "Wait, what do you—" what did he mean 'take care of him'? As he exits the elevator, he turns to see the doors close and become something entirely different that what he was sure he stepped out of. This is... an apartment?

Back to the matter at hand now, and how it seems to be no big deal that he's just plucked a body off of the ground, and Akira tenses. "Do you know who that is?"

[proselytise]

As if he's just realized what this all must seem like to...well, anyone, Charles pauses. "He's..." How to even begin explaining that? "Someone important to me." Okay, maybe that wasn't the clearest way to explain that. At the very least, the fact that he seems to have no issue with handling the body is unusual, so that was probably obvious.

"Well, it's not really him, just a pale imitation. Still, I wish it didn't always end like this." He starts off towards one end of the apartment, slowly enough that Akira can follow without getting lost-- not that it'd be easy to get lost.

[jocoeur]

"Always?" Akira has to look over the rims of his glasses when he hears it put like that. "Charles how many times has this..."

He was dead, right? that was a body he was so nonchalantly slinging around... wasn't it? Maybe he wasn't even sure he wanted an answer to the next question, but still, as he slowly followed inside, looking around, there's a pointed— "Where are we going?"

[proselytise]

"It happens...often. Each of his vessels are like this. Even though there's a rule against self-harm in the House, when I leave them alone..." He trails off, but the implication is obvious.

Around the corner is...it looks like the outdoors, with a dark sun blazing above a pit. It looks bottomless, if Akira peers down. "It's only right to bury him."

option 3

[toiletseat_girl]

[George looks confused as to how she ended up here of all places. it's clearly not the Clinic, but she's dead. she has no need for medicine or healing. she's beyond all of that.

she looks up at the boy sitting next to her with mild suspicion. she's never seen this guy before in her (after)life. then he speaks, she listens, and becomes even more confused. what does he mean, she'd be a target? who's "their?" what does the next floor have to do with anything? he's got such a hopeful look on his face, it kind of makes her feel guilty in a vague, undefined way.

so she sits up and swings her legs over the side of the bed, getting to her feet]

Yeah, sure. Beats hanging around here.

[proselytise]

[ He looks genuinely relieved, thankful. A quick look out the door shows there's no one in the hall-- good. ]

We should hurry, then, before someone catches us.

[ Since she's up, he'll lead the way to the elevator. Once inside, he hits the button marked -1. ]

It normally wouldn't work, but it seems that the doors all work for me here.

[toiletseat_girl]

[she wonders why he looks so relieved, but this isn't her world or her rules]

Okay. But catch us for what?

[she follows closely behind him, periodically looking behind her.

she's not quite sure what to make of that] Well. That's good?

OKAY FINALLY IM GETTIN ICONS FOR THIS....

[proselytise]

We're not supposed to be leaving. But...we can't stay here.

[ The elevator's descent is brief, and as it stops, the doors open onto...the outside world? It's dark, and it looks like some kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland. There are buildings, but some are toppled, the road looks like it hasn't been in use in a long time, and what figures that can be seen in doorways...seem more like bipedal cockroaches than people.

So! To stay here and look around or keep on moving? ]

option 4 AT LAST

[aroundthecoroner]

One minute he's trying to figure out what's wrong with Charles, and the next minute he's trying to figure out what's wrong with the guy on the floor of the elevator.

Oh. He's dead. Well, that should've been obvious. It doesn't really make him nervous, though; he's used to it. The only thing that makes him nervous now is where he might be going. Not the morgue, certainly. This elevator's going up.

He's not entirely sure what to do when he's greeted by Charles, apparently trapped in his apartment, and feeling a lot like he's intruding on some private moment as he watches him heft up the body. He thinks maybe he shouldn't be here? But then again, he always kind of feels like that. And he's pretty sure it'd be worse to be alone.

"No, uh, I'll come, if that's okay. I came with him this far, I guess." Even if it wasn't by choice.

yeehaw!

[proselytise]

Actually, it's a bit nice to not have to go through this alone. "I appreciate that." So he'll lead Michael down the hall and off to the side, into a...room? It looks like the outside, with a dark sun hanging low in the red sky over a hole-- a deep pit. If Michael looks into it, it seems bottomless. However deep it goes, the bottom can't be seen.

"By now, I can't even remember how many of them are down there," he admits. "Or how many times I've gone through this." It never really gets easier, either.

[aroundthecoroner]

Of course he looks into it. Michael is the cat that curiosity killed, probably. This whole thing is bizarre, like a Surrealist painting. He steps back from the hole before his low impulse control gets any ideas.

"What... is this, exactly? Some kind of a mass grave?" Well, duh. But... why is it a mass grave? What happened here? Or is happening, rather. It seems to be an ongoing thing.

"What happened to him?" He nods toward the body in Charles' arms. Normally he'd be investigating that for himself, but this hardly seems like the appropriate time for an impromptu autopsy.

[proselytise]

"It's...something like that. A mass grave for one person. It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"

As Michael shifts his attention towards Vincent's body, so does Charles. "It was suicide. It always is. Even with all the rules here against that sort of thing, he still manages."