hadriel_logs | Event Log: Dead Ringers

Entry tags:

Event Log: Dead Ringers

Who: Everyone participating in the event!
What: The event log for the Dead Ringers event!
Where: All around the city
When: January 16th-January 25th
Warnings: Evil doubles, so we can assume manipulation, violence, murder, and maybe some nasty words

Everything seems normal on the morning of the 16th - actually, everything seems normal about the city for the entirety of this event. Nothing is strange, nothing is obviously wrong. Well, except that the population has mysteriously doubled, and the new residents each look exactly like one of the old residents. So weird! Definitely not ominous at all.

At least until your new double gets down to business. After all, their only goal is to ruin your life, and that can take any form. Smashing your favorite coffee cup? Telling your worst enemy they're right? Kissing someone else in front of your girlfriend? Brutally murdering you and then hiding your body in a closet so they can more effectively destroy your life? The possibilities are truly endless, and the only way to protect yourself is to kill your double first. They're not really open to negotiation, after all - but they sure might pretend to be in order to trick you.

So watch your back, and try to make sure that really is your best friend and not an evil clone masquerading as them. Boy, that would be awkward. If you can stick it out until January 25th, good for you! But if you didn't manage to and your double survives until the end - well, just as a final 'fuck you', there's a chance you'll come back to life and remember every awful thing your double did. Hey, at least that'll make it easier to fix, right?

► This log covers January 16th-January 25th.
► 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 your evil clone happens to take you out, please let us know here, and remember that you will not revive until the event is over.

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Remind me to never get on either of your bad sides.

[ Rose hadn't believed Faith had a bad side, honestly, until seeing the destruction her double had caused. The temples would need to be rebuilt... Maybe that could be the blond's next project. Maybe Faith - whenever she returned because she would return - might help. Right the wrongs her double had done.

Rose can't do the same, unfortunately. She's not sure anything will change the horrors her dark side had inflicted upon the cave. What's worse is that Rose still isn't convinced it wasn't just a past version of her resurrected from Haven. What's even worse is she isn't sure that self is well and truly dead as she still tastes iron on her tongue that causes a persistent deep rooted hunger. ]

Mind if I join ya'? I don't got much else to do.

[ Besides stew in her own self-loathing. Which, honestly, doesn't sound like a fun time after the umpteenth hour of doing so. Who would have thought. ]

Just hope she comes back soon.

[ There's always the worry after Haven. First, it was Sam who didn't resurrect. Others would follow. After that, they all would. She hadn't known that version of him but she'd know the later ones. Their world seemed to be like a revolving door, honestly. At least for Sam. There'd only been one Dean that she had known - had been friends with, even - but after he went into cold storage she kind of didn't want to try with any new instances of him. Thankfully, Hadriel has seemed kind in that regard. Not so much duplicates coming and going. ]

Edited (dur, pick a prompt self) 2017-01-17 02:43 (UTC)

( Everyone has a bad side, really. But even Kate tends to ignore the things Faith's done, dismisses them as orders, as things done for the greater good - which is, at the end of it, what their battle was, right?

(She ignores that twinge, the one that says "maybe there was another way", the same one that says maybe if she'd died instead of Marc, they'd have done without the deaths. The one that recognises these impulses, the grandeur that comes with them. The legend, indeed.

Faith's left more than a mark on their world, and now here.)

Kate knows her own dark side well, has given into it too many times, heard it come to twisted life in front of everyone only a few months ago. She killed it, swift and easy, with the kind of chill that it basked in.

Faith's double? That had been a far longer, grislier scene, where everything inside her blurred into silence and ice, the world around her distant, muffled noise. She made sure that one hurt, made sure it was well and truly dead before leaving, stalking through the streets without looking back.

(Honestly, it would have been so easy to think she was the double then, stoic and unblinking until she found a door to slam shut, a place to crumble in privacy.)

Even now, there's something all too pulled together, too calm about her. Something that all the same bristles with tension, sparks electric as though she's wound too tight. (Of course she is, she always is.) Arms folded and eyes trained on the roof until Rose speaks, and then she only pulls her glance down, doesn't move from the rubble she's leaning on. )

Sure.

( Tension that doesn't leave her face, even if her word is carefully neutral, even if nothing about her actually says to be left alone - because she doesn't, at the end of it all, want to be. Too many what ifs snake their way into her head, venomous and unrelenting - what if this time it's different, what if the doubles or Hope's destroyed temple make it impossible for her to come back? People have always resurrected here, for all the ten months (and fuck her if she knows how it's gotten to that stage of being stuck underground) she's been witnessing the comings and goings and the gods' games or efforts to feed (does it make a difference? They're still toyed with), and actual disappearances have only come like the shock of static when dragging your feet, the thundercrack of a gunshot, shocking in their immediacy, in the way your world turns on its axis.

It'd be easier if people didn't resurrect, maybe. She wouldn't stand here, struck numb by tension and the skip-jump heartbeats that accompany desperation and hope. Sam leaving might have had more meaning than simply waking up to an empty bed and a notebook she'd always neglected to read. )

... How're you holding up?

( Pulling herself out of the mire of swirling thoughts, of that space where everything around you seems like it's blocked off by some large, plastic bubble, takes effort, takes forcing her voice past a lump in her throat and the grasp of some warmth that still exists deep down. The warmth that remembers how excited Faith had been to have a date down here, the small embers of joy she'd felt at her friend's newest reason to shine bright.

(God, she misses that smile. That laugh. The days between it and this seem to stretch out forever.) )

[ It's easy to be told what to do. It's even easier to do if you think it's something for the 'greater good.' Rose knew all too well about falling in line and doing what she was told to survive. Her situation was different, certainly, but it didn't make her actions any less selfish. Didn't change all the lives she took because it's what she was told to do. Some days she still struggles with 'there was no other choice' and feeling like a coward because they were and she just didn't want to see them. ]

Thanks.

[ That's all she'll utter at first before taking a seat next to Kate in the rubble. At the question, there's a lapse of silence as Rose stares blankly ahead in contemplation.

How is she holding up? Not well, if she's being honest with herself. But when is Rose ever honest with herself? With others? Her double had deceived everyone. No, that's not right. It actually hadn't. She's been the deceiver. Her double was honest and that was scarier than it being deceptive.

It was her. It was Rose. It was everything about the woman that she's been trying to hide since arriving in Hadriel. It wasn't a dark manifestation of herself; it was herself out and open. The monster that devours perhaps not because it has to but because it enjoys to. It's something Rose has had to face a couple of times here but never quite so potently. Did she really need to consume flesh? Did Kite's experiments actually change her physiology? Or did it instead awake a hunger in her she'd been denying all her life? A hunger that couldn't be sated any other way and that she's had a taste she's turning into the creature she never asked to be born as.

A creature that didn't deserve Faith's kindness. Anyone's, really, but especially not hers. ]

I've had better days, definitely. [ Always with the understatements. ] How about you? I mean, I'm sure I already know the answer but...

[ A vague wave of her hand. Everyone seems to be in a state of disarray these days. These are the events that they get glimpses of the god's actual power, she thinks. It's a wonder how if they're this strong, can cause this devastating an effect through everyone in the city... What could possible kill them? They're called gods because of their power compared to mortals but then who are the Titans that felled them to begin with?

Rose hopes she never knows. ]

( Too easy. Not thinking, just being a good little soldier whose only concern is their overarching personal goal - a selfish one, an ambition driven by the kind of pain and immature thinking that could have been prevented.

Kate stays standing, kicks a leg up against the rubble, and if a person didn't know better, they'd probably say she looked relaxed until they took in the tension. The way her body sits too straight, like a livewire ready to explode at the slightest provocation, or take off if the smallest flicker of that red hair makes itself known.

(Come back, already.)

Kate snorts at the question, at the understatement because doesn't she know a fucking thing or two about those, but doesn't comment on that part, just echos it. )

Had worse ones.

( Although, this comes close. This burns in her soul the same way the images of Marc's slit throat or her parents' mutilated bodies do. )

[ Rose doesn't need to see the tension in Kate. She can feel it herself, to a degree. Heightened senses mean picking up on all those little cues.

On her end, the blond is the picture of calm. Composed. Though anyone with a good enough eye would be able to tell in an instant that she's just tired to her core. It isn't a slouch of relaxation against the rubble but one of exhaustion. Her lazy smile is the bare minimum she can put forth right now as she tries not to spiral downward into the depths of self-loathing. ]

You know, me too. Losing my hand was probably up there, actually. That was a bad time.

[ She still has nightmares about that day. Haven added a lot to her nightmare collection, actually. Seems like Hadriel is finally throwing in its contribution as well. ]

Do you think they realize what they do, sometimes?

[ She had mentioned to Sorrow how she made that ridiculous post because they needed time to recuperate from events like these. He said it 'made sense' like it wasn't something too heavily considered by him before. They need the emotions these instances cause to gain energy, which she can't fault them for... But do they actually understand what they're putting their inhabitants through? The cost of it?

Maybe she'll try to talk to them about it, someday. Maybe they could try to understand each other a little better. Maybe she'll mention it to Faith when she's back. When. Rose holds onto that word with all she's got because, well. It is all she's got in this moment. ]

( Anyone with a good eye, or the sense to realise what's going on around them. Nearly everyone's dealing with some form of twisted, mad reflection of themselves or their loved ones. But then, it's hard to get out of your own head - Kate can barely manage it, with the echoes of what she could have, should have done better; how things could have been prevented if she'd paid more attention, or found their doubles earlier.

She's pulled out of it enough with Rosie's words about her hand, enough to flinch. That. Yeah. Nasty. She doesn't need to imagine. She's seen things like that before. The only way to prevent an injury becoming worse. Straight up torture. Appendages sliced clean off.

(She used to panic so much more, when she was younger. Now, most of her phobia's a dull ache in the back of her mind, only screaming when she can't get away, when it's the people she cares about most that are in danger and bleeding out-)

And then there's that question. One that gets a snort. She likes the gods - or at least Hope - more now, thinks they really are generally honest. But that doesn't mean they're always good to them. Or even often good to them. )

Doesn't sound like it. ( She watches enough of the conversations on the network when the gods post to get an idea of things. ) Can't even get clothes right half the time. ( You ever found jeans with a third leg hole, Rosie? 'Cause Kate has. )

[ The world is full of 'what if's. Rose is no stranger to wondering what could have been. Regret is found is practically every facet of her life, of herself... Moving forward, she's found, has been the only real thing that can be done though. She used to dwell on too many maybes but nowadays prefers to hope that the next decision won't be as catastrophic as the last.

'Good' is something the gods also don't understand in Rose's opinion. And, of course, in the same vein that means they also don't necessarily grasp the concept of being 'bad' to the cave's inhabitants. They just are and doing what they must to survive. Really, can they be faulted for that? Some people here think so, but Rose...

Well, Rose has always been a bleeding heart for creatures that have unorthodox means of survival. This is no exception to that rule. ]

Yeah? I haven't asked any of them for clothes but I'll be sure to keep it in mind. Do need to ask for some art supplies though. Wonder how badly they might mess that up... ]

( Moving works. Whether it's running, or actually leaving. Maybe that's part of why Kate hates this place. Not just the memories that being underground naturally brings forward, but the fact that she's trapped, essentially caged with only so much to see. Two continents and three countries, a job that - despite all the things that sucked about it - provided reasons to hop from city to city.

Kate would agree. Ever conversation she's had, especially the most recent one in the wake of her death and resurrection, just proves that more and more. They may not be able to help how they feed - like Creatures, without possessing people, can't help their powers going haywire, affecting the earth and the weather if they're startled - but they're certainly capable of trying to understand why it isn't as easy as just settling down and letting them feed.

Maybe that's what frustrates everyone, in the end. )

... Delight managed hair dye. ( She says it with a shrug. ) Didn't screw it up. ( So, that's a start. Maybe start with her? )

[ After over two years in Haven (it was hard to keep track, in the end) and now a half a year here, Rose hardly remembers what it feels like to move freely. She'd done it for two centuries prior - granted, a hiccup in the way of enslavement broke the routine for a while - and remembers the panic that settled in when she realized she was forced to make roots in Haven. The last time she had wasn't pretty so she was hard pressed to do it again. But it ended up being the best and worst thing that could have happened to her.

Hadriel is a bit more free form with no barrier but the tunnels make her think of the convenience store. Access at your own risk. It's your funeral. She wonders if anyone here would do what they did then and stage a run of the tunnels. See how far they could get, see what really was keeping them underground. Rose wouldn't be surprised if the monsters were just an excuse the gods kept so the inhabitants didn't hate them more for keeping them trapped down here against their will on top of squeezing every bit of precious emotion out of them for their own gain. ]

You dye your hair? [ Huh. Rose wasn't about to be surprised if it was naturally that color. She's seen stranger. Her own natural hair is snow white, so. ] Though that's good to know, I guess. I wanna decorate the temples a little. [ One the ones destroyed are restored, anyway. ] Especially Sorrow's. It's super drab.

[ That's the point, she knows. But she likes to think she's funny. ]

( She's had more freedom than she ever realised, even during her Agency days. There's always been a chance to sneak the joys of endless sky, of running across an expanse that seemed without borders.

(Compared to this fishbowl, it was.)

She tried running through the tunnels, when she first got here. Was determined that she didn't need to heed the warnings of others, or find information from them. She could leave, right? After all, she'd left the underground back home without problem every time. But no exit after no exit, monster after monster...

She had to give in, eventually. Accept it.

But eventually, Kate tilts her head. The dark brows should be a pretty stark giveaway that pink isn't usually her colour. The occasional roots that peek out. ) Aye.

( She almost wishes it were natural. After so many years, it's second nature to dye it, but here everything's a little harder and she looks weird with her natural colour after everything. )

Can help me repaint Delight's next time.

( After all, that'll help her get more dye, which means she keeps looking like herself. )

[ That's more than Rose can say. Haven had taught her the hard way there was no escape. Between the barrier and the murderous convenience store, and cold storage... There was never any way they were escaping. Not unless Yao toppled. Which was just about as likely as Hell freezing over, so.

At least Hadriel has enough merits - in her opinion - to warrant wanting to stay. The worst the gods could throw at them was child's play compared to the experiments done at Yao's whim once a month. ]

Yeah, I'd like that. Gonna' slap some color on the other Temples too. Gotta' find out what they like first though. [ Tranquility warned her that some of them might not care, but... That just means it'd be more fun for her. ~~Sorrow's temple 'bout to become the pride flag.~~ ]

( It's hard to imagine how things could get worse when you haven't seen worse, lived worse. But Kate will never like the underground, will always feel uneasy in the presence of earthen ceilings instead of sky, so she will always be intrinsically biased against the imprisonment in such a place. )

You gonna ask 'em their favourite colour or summat?

( It sounds like the kind of thing Faith would do, and that just hurts, her mind flashing back to Faith's excitement and joy before and after her date.

Dammit, they were happy. Or at least close to it. )

[ Pain is relative, right? If you've only ever gotten a scratch, that's the worst pain in your life. If you're put through physical psychological torture every month, the bar starts to get raised in the amount of pain you can take or adapt to. ]

That's the plan, actually. Don't think they'll really think too much of it, but.... I'unno. Gives me something to do, if nothing else.

[ It is the kind of thing Faith would do which is, actually, another reason Rose plans to. Maybe in case she doesn't come back it'd be nice to keep some of her spirit around.

Though Rose hates dwelling on the word 'if' and all that entails. So she doesn't. ]

( True enough.

Kate shrugs, because she imagines most of the gods won't see the point in it. They don't seem to see the point in a lot of things, it seems. )

Do what you can to stop being bored?

( To stop thinking? She knows that well. )

[ That they don't. Though Kate's right, it's just as much for Rose as it is anyone else. ]

More or less. There's only so much to keep one busy when you don't really sleep.

[ Nightmares. Plus, she doesn't need as much sleep as the average person. ]

( That's one more thing they have in common. Sure, Superhumans need to sleep, but they get away with far less than humans can. Things that used to be taken advantage of in The Agency, a sore spot and old, repeating argument.

Everyone's exhausted.
We're understaffed.

But now Kate pushes herself for herself, mostly, even if that often means for the sake of avoiding her thoughts. The exhaustion is different. )

Aye. Specially here.

( It's not as bad with Faith around, but before that, nights where sleep didn't come easily were only endured by working out and texting until someone passed out.

She misses that outlet, even if it doesn't sting any more to know Sam's not here. Misses him with the wistful sort of melancholy that comes from knowing that anything which happens down here can never really last, but damn do you wish it would. )

Least the boredom's not as bad as where I was before.

[ Just imagine a place without late night texting. Haven didn't have any written word, including on their phones, and Rose hadn't realized how much she missed it. That city really did a good job of teaching her not to take anything for granted. ]

We had an orchard but then a couple idiots burned it to the ground. [ She says 'idiots' almost affectionately though. Gods, she misses Hiruma and Jesse. She hopes they're off raising Hell in whatever world they've found themselves in.

That's better than the alternative, anyway. ]

Not gonna' let that happen again on my watch here. And I got other side projects to keep me busy, so...

Not all bad.

Wouldn't be surprised if someone tried that here. ( She pauses, thoughtful, and then adds; ) Or th' gods do summat and then-

( well. Kate gestures to the rubble around them.

And then this.

She stares at the altar for a minute that seems to take forever and eventually glances back at Rose. )

You gonna stay here?

( Because she should probably go pretend to work for a few hours, try to do something other than sit here and stare at the empty air. )

[ A valid point. ]

I don't have anything else to do.

[ As in, she doesn't want to do anything else. Sitting right here and not thinking about how sideways her life went during this event (killing herself, Faith being dead, the things her double did) is a small reprieve.

Maybe she should keep her mind busy lest she does fall into old mental tricks and traps. But another part of her just wants to stay put. Rest. ]

So yeah, probably.

Gotta go work.

( Well. Not really. The clinic is pretty lax on schedule, but if she doesn't, it'll grow harder to tear herself away, she'll have nothing to do with the energy that buzzes impatiently inside herself. Nothing to distract herself from the way time seems to go so slowly.

Kate stands, glances down the road towards the city and exhales. )

Lemme know if she comes back.

( Her voice is deep, dark, the signs of someone who doesn't really believe that'll happen but says it anyway out of habit, or some futile hope.

She'll be back after work. Probably with booze. )

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Event Log: Dead Ringers

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