(march catch-all) OH LOOK, THE HANDS ARE BACK

[vestigemods]

MARCH CATCH-ALL

► I WONDER IF THEY LIKE VEGEMITE?

Though Spring isn't quite in full swing just yet, life in the containment zone definitely seems to think otherwise. Plants are sprouting new growth without a care in the world, woodland creatures have lost that mildly haunted edge they've had since late fall, and the number of juvenile raccoons in the general lake vicinity is honestly just ludicrous.

In fact, if Foodland's anything to judge by, the Technicians might be on some sort of 'go forth and grow shit' kick in general. They have seed packets at ready, right there on a rack by the checkout counters - and to those unfamiliar with St. Paddy's Day, it quite likely seems that the holiday decor has been replaced by just... a general celebration of greenery, as a concept.

Speaking of greenery, a few unlucky souls get to go on a bit of an impromptu field-trip through shrubbery hell a bit later this month - but let's not let that spoil the mood, shall we? It's only a little death, nothing to get worked up about.

► MOD NOTES

• This is the March Catch-All Log, for any non-event action top-levels throughout the month. Large gatherings (parties, meetings, etc) are still encouraged to post their own logs for organizational purposes!
• There will be an event log for all things pertaining to the Twists And Bloody Turns event, so keep an eye out for that.
• Refer to the bottom half of the March Bulletin for any March-specific info to potentially include in your prompts! The above blurb is honestly just mood-setting flavortext.
• Because this is a catch-all for everywhere + all month, try to remember to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location of each prompt (whether in the subject or in the prompt title within the comment)
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

Bernadetta von Varley || OTA

[cryingforever]

A. Out and about during the night
[ You might be on an evening constitution. You might have stepped out onto your porch in the evening to breath in that fresh night air. You might notice a furtive shadow in the night cautiously wandering around. Even a recluse like Bernadetta needs some time out, and what better time to avoid dreaded people than night? It just looks kind of suspicious, that's all.]

B. At Foodland
[ Bernadetta has, much to her chagrin, found that she has to make occasional trips to Foodland for food. This time is a little different though, as she seems to have gotten a few things to allow her to stay holed up in her room at the cabin. She's also found the perfect thing for a recluse like her.]

[ Have what amounts to a figure enveloped in a huggle hoodie with a basket full of the closest thing to art supplies and a stuffed animal or two. This particular lump has moved to the seeds, looking in particular at the flower and veggie seeds.

It's nice to be alone in the store. Or so she thinks. ]

C. Near the cabin
[ All is quiet and once again Bernadetta thinks she's alone. She's currently planting seeds in a little patch of garden nearby the cabin and humming softly to herself, the sound actually quite pleasant and sweet. Doing this reminds her a little bit of the greenhouse in Garreg Mach, being able to garden just a little. Though it would've been nice if Foodland had had some carnivorous plants.... Those are cute. ]

D. Wildcard
[ I'm down for anything! ]

A! For that breath of night air~

[singularwidower]

[The stars start to glitter alight one by one as the daylight fades, and Daemon settles himself on the porch steps of his cabin at the treeline just a bit north of the lake, cup of tea in hand. The warmth seeps into his hands as he casts his awareness as far as he can, picking out the familiar minds in the nearby cabins...and a not-quite-as-familiar mind cautiously moving about rather closer than he would have anticipated. He calls into the night:]

Hello?

[He knows someone's there, but it's a query all the same, and one in as curious a tone as he can manage. He's not alarmed, particularly, by the furtive slinking about, after all. He remains relaxed on his front stoop and takes another sip of his tea before gazing directly at the shadowy figure.]

[cryingforever]

[ There's a startled Eek in the darkness and the shadow jumps nearly a metaphorical mile in the air. Definitely a teenage girl from that noise. ]

A-ah! Am I in your yard? I'm sorry! Please don't be mad..Or kill me.

[ She is not good at being startled as she blurts out the first thing on her mind. ]

[singularwidower]

[Daemon's eyebrows fly upward. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't a nervous teen.]

Even if you were in my yard, I don't believe I'd be mad then, either. I'm not entirely sure I have what could properly be termed a 'yard.'

[He doesn't move from the porch, just lifts one hand from his mug and kindles a small witchlight above his hand that casts a rich red light across the winter-brown grass.]

I have no plans to kill you. [More amusement.] Come over so I can get a look at you.

[cryingforever]

[ This is the end of Bernadetta von Varley. He's clearly lulling her into a sense of security so he can obviously kill her for trespassing. ]

A-are you sure? [ She does creep a little closer, stopping barely in the edge of the red light from Daemon's magic. At the very least she's discernible and not some indistinct shape in the darkness. What the man will see is a short and terrified looking teenage girl practically enveloped in a huggle hoodie. ]

[singularwidower]

[Daemon doesn't answer immediately, only raises his hand to let the red light nibble at the young woman's toes. He looks her over as best he can in the dark, curious as to this neighbor that he's yet to catch sight of before this. Both hands occupied and shoulders relaxed, he considers her.]

Am I sure...? That I'm not planning to kill you? Do people around you often answer that question with anything other than no?

[cryingforever]

[ Bernadetta glances down and scuffs the dirt a little with a boot, drawing the huggle hoodie a little closer to her. ]

Not at the monastery but.. There were the bandits...And Sylvain's brother's men... And the monsters..

[singularwidower]

[Daemon stills for just a moment with a slight indrawn breath, his eyes sharp as he watches her fidget and burrow into her jacket-blanket-monstrosity. He lobs the witchlight into the air between them so that it would illuminate them both from a few feet overhead and sets his mug of tea down on the porch steps beside him.

Very seriously, he leans forward, bracing his arms on his knees and folding his hands together.]

Upon what can I swear that you would trust? I would like to give you my word, but I do not know what oaths would set you at ease.

[cryingforever]

[ Bernadetta looks a bit surprised. This was an unexpected turn of events. ]

I..No one's ever really made a promise to me..

[ Vows and promises are very serious, what would be an appropriate oath? The teenager scuffs on the ground again, deep in thought. ]

Could you...Swear on my uncle's grave? I-If that's too much I understand! I..I don't really know how this goes...

[ Her uncle had at least tried to promise to be there for as long as he could, even if it was less time than the girl had wanted in the end. That seemed somehow appropriate for this moment though. Invoking the one person who she felt really cared for her. Well, at least until she came to Garreg Mach. ]

[singularwidower]

[Expression tightening, Daemon takes a moment to think. That she'd chosen something that was meaningful to her made sense. However, he does not wish that to be the only binding between them. He has no idea who her uncle is, after all. Blood would seal any oath, but in this place he cannot say if that would be more or less dangerous, nor does he want to frighten her. So something on his end...

Then he nods decisively and fights his instinct to stand up to lend the moment gravity. He stays seated, keeps his hands folded.]

Alright. That's fine.

[He allows himself a moment for the drama of it, because if he's not going for gravity then he's going to go for the appropriate amount of drama, and then speaks.]

I swear upon the grave of your uncle and the memory of my wife that I have no intentions to kill you, nor even harm you. I do not wish to, and I will attempt not to do so in the future as we navigate whatever this place has in store for us.

[cryingforever]

[ That takes her aback again, the seriousness of the vow, and she does note the inclusion of another person. It does seem the oath has given her more security though as she every slowly creeps more under the light of the witchlight, illuminating her a bit better. ]

I..Thank you... And.. I..I'm sorry about your wife..

[singularwidower]

[He watches her carefully, not moving even as she's illuminated just that much more.]

You're welcome. [The amusement is back.] And no need to be sorry. I merely thought that any oath I might take should have some assurance of sincerity that would be meaningful to both of us. And now that that's taken care of, might I ask who you are and what you're doing out in the dark?

B!

[toosmall]

[Living so close to Foodland, he lives in the apartments in town, Vivi makes a trip to the store every day. Usually to collect a bagful of canned pet food, as well as small bag of kibble. It's his thing to go about town and leave food out for all the strays, he'd feel terrible if he failed to keep up with it!

Running into others isn't so strange anymore, but usually it's pretty quiet in Foodland, and it is today as well. Until he hears something that is. Vivi peeks down the aisle to see who's there, maybe it's someone he knows? It's hard to tell with what they're wearing, but he does think it looks comfortable! Deciding he should go say hi, Vivi waddles on down and stops a little ways away, waving as he speaks up.]

Hello there, whatcha looking at?

[Hopefully he won't spook them, they seem to really be interested in what they're doing. Humming and everything.]

[cryingforever]

[ It is literally impossible for anyone, great or small, to avoid startling Bernadetta. Especially muffled in her huggle hoodie. As soon as Vivi speaks she gives a startled yelp, looking around fearfully before looking downards and noticing a smol. ]

I-I-I... [ Breathe Bernadetta, it's only a child. ] L-looking at seeds?

[toosmall]

[Vivi is startled in turn and falls backwards into his butt. Don't feel bad, he's liable to trip or fall over anyway.]

O-Oh, I'm sorry that I scared you.

[Picking himself up he'll brush off his pants and fixes his big pointy hat.]

Whoa... that's a lot of seeds. Are you gonna plant pretty flowers?

[He'll fiddle at his gloves, trying to see what kind of seeds she's looking at. He doesn't want to get any closer if she's already spooked.]

[cryingforever]

[ She feels really bad that she's startled a child so much that they've fallen down. ]

A-ah! I'm sorry! I'm useless, I even scare children... Bernie why are you like this?

[ She is grateful to see that Vivi doesn't seem worse for wear though and the subject change from about how useless she is to the seeds becomes a welcome event. ]

I-I think so. S-some of these flowers are new to me so I don't know how they'll grow.

[toosmall]

[O-Oh no, now's she's berating herself. Vivi feels bad about it, but isn't sure what to say. He's a bit of a nervous little thing himself at times, but he'll shake his head, hat flopping about as he does.]

It's okay, I'm okay really!

[Vivi doesn't know much of flowers, but he does know they're pretty! Sometimes they even smell nice.]

I bet some will and that's worth trying. [A nod of his head.] So um, you're Bernie? I'm Vivi, sorry for scaring you before. I come here a lot so I run into people all the time.

C

[legbreakings]

[ Jiang Cheng had not expected to come across his weepy new neighbor gardening - he hadn't even realized until now that she lives in one of the cabins at the lake just like he does.

He stops, giving her an exasperated look though this time the exasperation isn't even aimed at her. ]

Why is everyone suddenly obsessed with gardening? It doesn't look that interesting to me.

[cryingforever]

[ Bernadetta freezes mid troweling, a clump of dirt falling from her trowel. That voice... That belongs to a person... That looks familiar... She automatically assumes the panic position, which is to say her arms are crossed in front of her and her eyes are shut tightly. ]

PLEASE DON'T BREAK MY LEGS!

[legbreakings]

[ He rears back at that wail, momentarily simply confused before he recalls that mayhem when they talked on the network.

He scoffs at her. ]

As if I would bother! You're too loud even without broken bones, and you're not worth my trouble. Cultivators shouldn't bother bullying regular people, that is beneath us.

[cryingforever]

[ At this point usually, she would've run back to the cabin screaming and locked herself in for the rest of the day. However, even with the yelling their last encounter, at least he's a familiar face and that keeps her in place for the moment.

It's true, she is useless in her own mind and why would someone without anything to contribute be worth anything, even trouble. And probably to Jiang Cheng's surprise, she agrees, a resigned expression on her face. ]

...I know. I-I'm just scared and useless and people are scary.

[legbreakings]

[ That... is not what he had expected or well, at least it's not as easy to dismiss and mock.

While he has always responded by getting knee-jerk loud and proud, that resigned acceptance of uselessness is actually familiar enough that his belly twists unpleasantly. ]

Don't do that! [ he snaps, scowling at her. Don't make yourself smaller. ] People will bully you if you look weak. You have to push back.