04 - week four

[afflictionmods]

WEEK FOUR

Saturday comes to a close, and it’s time for some rest and recovery. Perhaps the TLC you deserve will come this week, or perhaps the nightmare will continue. It’s hard to say with things being so strange around you, from Wei Wuxian’s disappearance to the sudden addition of objects and places and creatures from your homes. Who knows what this week will bring? Nothing ordinary, that’s for sure.

You wake up on Sunday to an increase in those little glimpses you saw yesterday. What were snippets of songs, locations that might’ve seemed familiar, and creatures that were dormant, are now all alive and whole. When you go to the karaoke bar, the songs you once knew are there. Monsters and animals are alive and sentient. New business are abound. Vehicles are operable, and perhaps some of your old belongings are back, too.

However, some of these things aren’t even things that should exist outside of your dreams. They may be far too strange and unusual to be real, or just things you don't remember ever seeing. The only thing you remember about these things in particular is that they were, quite literally, in your dreams this week.

That being said, every few hours, all of these things from your homes and dreams fade out and get replaced by new sounds, places, beasts….only to maybe come back again at another time.

Well. At least there's one constant here: You’ve got a handful of new locations to look at, with the fog having spread once more, and they aren't going anywhere. There aren’t as many new places that are native to Estelline this time around, but that may be for the best, considering everything going on.


SETTING TRACKER

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

NEWSPAPER SUBMISSIONS + EDITION #1

SAGE / FLORENCE / LORELEI

MEM SHARE DETAILS

OOC NOTE

OOC: Details on this week can be found here!

Also, we have a lot of participants for the news activity from last week. Neat! Everyone who participated in some capacity will have a small polaroid camera delivered to their doorstep. There's limited film, though - 10 photos per camera. It doesn't seem like there's any extra film at this time, either.

Finally, there will not be any weekly tasks this week. You guys are going to be busy with memshare and dreamscape stuff; instead, enjoy the Estelline University Newspaper!

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[superstructure]

a. (eventual child endangerment cw?)

[ Even if you weren't able to see the disaster in the kitchen in the apartment you find yourself in, it'd be easy to tell from the smell that something is very, very wrong here. A thick smoke seems to permeate throughout the apartment, and the scene inside isn't much better. A teenage Julius (without his glasses, glove, or eyebrow notch) is furiously trying to scrape at what seems like a charred, black mess stuck to the bottom of the pan. ]

Maybe it needs more oil...?

[ Hm. Probably not, given the fact that the instant he pours what looks like olive oil onto the pan, a huge flame bursts from it.

There's a 'Whoa!' that comes from the seven-year-old with silver hair and striking blue-green eyes sitting at the table, causing Julius to wave him off before he can move over to try and help.

This is fine. ]

b.

[ The scene here is much more open, in what looks to be like some kind of mountainous area. The vegetation is fairly sparse compared to most mountain ranges, perhaps eerily so, and there's not much by way of signs of life if not for the two brothers, a few years older than before. The younger, Ludger, is covered in what looks like some kind of poison oak rash, though he doesn't seem to be scratching that much. Julius (now with all his identifying accessories) seems only slightly better for wear, as he hums a particular song for what probably seems like the third straight hour. It's one that'd be familiar if you were with Julius for any length of idle time.

Given the two's states, it's probably not much a stretch to imagine that they're lost. ]

c.

[ The sprawling city of Trigleph is no stranger to having people wander up and down its walkways, full of bustling shops and residences alike. There always seems to be something up here, but the 'something' in this particular case seems to be Julius wandering around town, just a few years younger than you know him, with his head on a constant swivel.

Any meaningful eye contact with him, and he'll approach you with a slight smile, but a worried look in his eye. ]

Excuse me, you wouldn't have happened to see a teenager pass by here recently, would you? White hair, with the bangs dyed black?

[ It's up to you whether you saw him or not, but if you did, he was definitely very emotional and probably crying. ]

---

[ ooc; Feel free to interact with these, even though the outcomes will be staying the same! Or if you want Current Julius there, since that seems to be an option! The prompts listed (with the exception of the first one) are a little lighter in subject matter, but I do have a list of some potential other ones to go with if you want to wildcard it. Most of the :worry: content for him in particular will be on his shared prompts with Rideaux when those go up, but if you're looking for a different vibe with just Julius, let me know!

please god let me post ]

a.

[fabulation]

[ What a sight he's witnessing right now...

Is there any salt in the nearby area?? ]

[superstructure]

[ I mean, I guess you could leave and take the train to where Rideaux probably is –

No, but there's probably a salt shaker or whatever nearby, more by the pan and less where it should be, which is by the pot of what can probably be assumed to be pasta, given how it's started to foam and boil over.

When he notices it, Julius reaches for the handle without thinking, only to jerk away upon contact when he realizes it's – ]

Hot!

[ No shit, Sherlock. Might want to focus on the fire in front of you, instead. ]

[fabulation]

[ Wao.

...This kid is such a disaster at cooking. He can only shake his head.

He will open up the salt shaker and attempt to douse the flames with some well aimed flying salt. He's violently shook the salt shaker in its direction, alright? ]

[superstructure]

[ Yeah, it's. Not great. There's a reason it's on his profile.

Both Julius and the boy finally notice Xingqiu as he helps to try putting the fire out, but luckily the older boy is too preoccupied right now to say anything about it. He moves to the side, avoiding the steam as the salt hits the fire. It seems to be working, at least a little bit.

The younger boy gets up from where he's sitting, grabbing some pot holders and moving to try and get the pot off the stove to help while the other two work on the fire. ]

[fabulation]

[ HE TRIED AND THAT'S WHAT MATTERS... ]

You may want to be more careful next time.

[ He will continue to dump more salt on the fire, doing his best to help continue to put it out. ]

ok now here's the??? child endangerment???????

[superstructure]

[ Julius snorts, moving to turn the burners off of the stove while Xingqiu puts out the fire. ]

There's not going to be a next time.

[ He seems a little agitated and annoyed, but at least the problem is dealt with. Which is enough for him to turn and start to question who Xingqiu is and how he got into the apartment, but something catches the corner of his eye. ]

Ludger – !

[ The boy is able to at least hold onto the sides of the pasta pot with the potholders, but the weight of the water seems to throw the seven-year-old off, causing some of the boiling water to splash over the side. There's a gasp from Ludger as jerks back when Julius yells, and he drops the pot back onto the stove. It lands awkwardly against the metal grate, which causes it to lurch in his direction with all its contents towards him.

Sorry, Xingqiu, this comedy of errors isn't quite over yet. ]

oh my god

[fabulation]

[ . . .

How did this happen?

Xingqiu will react quickly and tries to grab or pull Ludger out of the way of the lurching contents because boy this is turning into quite a disaster here...! ]

c

[cheerfuldays]

( oh- another memory. shizuku blinks before shaking her head, folding her hands together. )

I'm afraid not, but I can help look for them?

[superstructure]

[ He seems to deflate a little at her saying that, but quickly blinks at the offer to help. ]

Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose if you're in the middle of something.

[cheerfuldays]

No, it's alright. I'm just on a walk.

( it's a reasonable excuse, right? right. but... )

I'm afraid I'm not too good with directions though... I hope that won't be a problem?

[superstructure]

[ It seems like a good enough excuse, as Julius seems to buy it without question. ]

No, it's not a problem at all. I appreciate the help, Miss...?

[cheerfuldays]

Shizuku Hinomori. A pleasure.

( said with a polite smile! )

So, who are we looking for?

[superstructure]

Julius Kresnik. Likewise.

[ He returns the smile, adjusting his glasses. ]

My brother, Ludger. He got rejected by a girl he tried asking out and ran out of the house not long after that. He normally doesn't do that, so I'm worried.

a

[pr159]

[ Ha. Of course this was what he walked in on. ]

You really are terrible at this, Julius.

[superstructure]

[ The instant Rideaux starts talking, Julius freezes. The pitch is obviously off from what he's used to at this point, but the cadence and tone are unmistakable. He snaps his attention in Rideaux's direction, whatever panic setting in from the still-ongoing kitchen disaster turned into a different kind of one, his expression darkening considerably.

Ludger tries asking if everything's ok, who's this that's come in, but his older brother cuts him off. ]

Go to your room, Ludger. [ When Ludger hesitates, he gets more forceful in tone. ] Now.

[pr159]

[ Rideaux breaks into a grin, knowing exactly how Julius is interpreting his presence here. Oh, he's going to have a good time with this. ]

Oh, Ludger. Everyone always works so hard to protect you. First your mother, and now the beloved big brother who killed her.

[superstructure]

[ Julius flinches, his mouth forming a thin, tight line. Ludger freezes in place looking at Rideaux, then looking at Julius disbelievingly. ]

J-Julius? What does he mean?

[ Julius' gaze drops to the floor, staring down with an intensity that could break through the tiling if it was possible. When he talks, it's with a similar focused intensity, keeping level despite whatever emotional rollercoaster is clearly going on here. ]

What. Do you want.

[ The catalyst he thinks Rideaux's looking for clearly isn't here, and as he puts his hand in his pocket, it's taking all his willpower right now not to just lunge for the throat. ]

[pr159]

[ He just gives Ludger a smile and a shrug. ]

I mean just what I said. And you can ask me yourself, you know. I promise I'll be much more honest with you than he ever will.

[ And then turning back to Julius— ]

I'm just having a little fun while this dimension still exists. You remember what it's like to have a good time, don't you? As I recall, we had quite a bit of fun shortly after this...

[superstructure]

Drop it.

[ As Julius all but growls at Rideaux, some flash of recognition seems to dawn on Ludger's face like he just made some kind of connection about who this man might be. He hesitates, but he manages to get his words out: ]

You're Julius' friend, right? The one he wants to kick?

[ That seems to snap Julius immediately out of whatever spell he's in as he looks back at Ludger with a furious look. ]

Ludger! What did I tell you?!

[ Predictably, all that manages to do is scare the younger brother, as he steps backward nervously. ]

c

[vivens]

[ i see a prompt involving a brother and i must reply to it.

even though sabo won't know that it's brothers that he's dealing with right now. tragically despite there being tears in julius' eyes he cannot immediately shake the very soft doubt in his mind. years of having to deal with crocodile tears will do that to a person but they will dissipate as soon as sabo gets more information about the situation because, well, sometime we love our brothers very much. ]

No, unfortunately I haven't.

[ with all the sincerity in the world and then with concern: ]

Do you have some business with them?

[superstructure]

[ you fool, all of the prompts involve a brother!!!!!!

Honestly, he gets it. It's natural to at least be kind of suspicious, to some degree. Spirits know Julius is just by nature. ]

He's my brother. He ran out of the house a little while ago and hasn't come back yet. I'm starting to get a little worried.

[ ............. he's underplaying how worried he is, but whatever. It's fine. ]

[vivens]

[ OKAY, but one that involves a brother running away then!! but that makes him frown two fold. or three fold??? because whether the part of being brother is true or not just how worried he is says enough to sabo.

(don't go unplaying it even if sabo understands!!!) ]

Is he the type to run out?

[ hmm. ]

I guess it would be silly to ask if you've already checked the places where he'd like to go.

[superstructure]

[ naru i have to be pedantic at all times. this is my curse.

He shakes his head. ]

No, never. He got rejected by a girl he tried asking out and left in a rush right after.

[ Being distraught is fair, but this is new for Ludger. ]

I've tried the ones I know about, but I haven't found any sign of him.

[ mostly because iiiiii don't know what they are! fingerguns. ]

[vivens]

[ smh pom.

but also when he hears the reason why ludger ran off it's. well. not that he sympathizes (because he can't) but it's such A Reason to make a mad dash. the urge to say "is that all" is strong but he will not. he is above that. at the same time— ]

Oh.

[ ... ]

Is that all? [ he absolutely is still a human being. BUT AHEM. COUGH. ] I, I mean having your sibling disappear for such a long time is still worrisome. And it's not like you could lure him back with food.

[ even though that'd work with sabo and his siblings...sweat. ]