come_sailaway | it's a war in there [March OTA, including memshare]

Who: Cassandra de Rolo & those visiting her memories / OTA
When: March
Where: Around the Serena Eterna; also Whitestone, at various points in the past
What: Things are beginning to crack
Warnings: Game-typical angst; in memshares, murder, torture, vampirism, mindfuckery both magical and mundane, and potentially noncon/dubcon; other warnings to be added in reply headers as needed

A. you're just like them, you're unprepared

Cassandra's noticed the cracks, of course. Before she brushes against one, they seem alarming and inexplicable; are they a trick, a trap, a sign that this whole little artificial plane is starting to come apart?

(The thought she barely lets herself contemplate: a way out?)

After her first few encounters with them, the nature of them seems more apparent -- although there's no guarantee they aren't also any of her previous thoughts. The first time her own memories double on her, with faces she knows from here appearing in them, she locks herself in her cabin's bathroom and curls up on the floor of the shower, arms wrapped around her knees, struggling not to begin screaming for fear that she might never stop.

[This prompt is for interacting with Cassandra in the present setting! Feel free to run into her anywhere on board, either before or after memshares begin, or PM/ping me on discord to discuss a more specific prompt.]

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B. cause you don't know the terrain

Several cracks about the ship, as it turns out, lead to a world called Exandria and a little city-state called Whitestone. Those who tumble into them will encounter a younger Cassandra at some point in her past.

[Specific pre-discussed prompts are below! If you would like a different one, see the plotting post here or PM/ping me to discuss.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She shuts her eyes, and her hand tightens on his.

"They killed you." Flat and bleak. "Didn't they."

There's just the smallest tremor in his grip.

"It wasn't your fault." And he's glad she didn't see it.

"I left you there." Her eyes open again, shadowed with guilt. "You tried to help, and, and you weren't anyone to me and I left. And they let me, because they knew --"

She presses her mouth shut.

"You couldn't have stopped them and I... didn't want you to see that. I'm glad you left." He's glad she didn't witness how much he... didn't hate most of what happened. Even after the spell wore off.

He puts a second hand on top of hers. "Is that what it was like for you all the time?"

She opens her mouth and doesn't close it or say anything for a long moment, blinking hard.

"I remember," she says finally, unsteadily, "I remember what happened that night the first time. They -- they made me stay. And watch what they did."

His face drains of color. His grip on her tightens. "Lady Cassandra... I'm... I'm so sorry. I... ah, fuck." What does he even say to this? He knows exactly how bad it was.

"You couldn't have stopped them either," she says, "and you knew it, but you tried. You didn't even know her. You could have stayed hidden, or, or tried to slip out without them noticing you, and instead --"

She swallows. "I didn't even try. To help you or her."

"I know..." he looks down at his hands. He knew how it might end for him. He took the risk anyway. "But I knew that death wouldn't be the end for me. You didn't have that luxury."

That catches her off guard, and she stares at him for a moment and then drops her gaze, squeezing his hands.

It's all she can do, as her throat's closed almost completely.

He returns her squeeze, but he doesn't want to leave it just at that. "If you ever need to talk about it, I'll always be here to listen. I understand if you never want to but... at least now you don't really have to explain as much. You saw into my world and I saw into yours. So, you know I understand...a little."

She swallows and breathes, trying to clear her throat.

"You're a good friend, Max." By dint of great effort, that comes out as more than a whisper. "And a good man. And ... if you ever need to talk about it yourself, I'm here."

"You are too, Lady de Rolo." He's looking her right in the eyes, a challenge there because he just knows that she's going to try to argue that she isn't. "You're a good person and I'm really glad you're my friend.

"I... don't think I want to talk about it right now but, after things have settled a little, I might take you up on it."

One moment of that direct gaze and ... she isn't convinced, but knows better than to try to convince him otherwise.

(As her ever-reliable dry internal voice points out: it's not as though anyone ever succeeded in convincing him otherwise about the man who enslaved him and regularly drank his blood, either; by comparison you might even qualify.)

"After things have settled," she agrees, and manages a smile. "Although if you'd like to talk about ... just about anything else right now, instead?"

"Okay. I'll remember."

Maybe it's just that he knows she's a lot like him, but he can almost hear the bad thought speaking in her mind. He doesn't know what they say, but he knows the tone. But... fine. He'll let her think she got away with it, for now.

"Let's... talk about something nice. Tell me what your favorite food is, or something like that? Talking about food always makes me feel better."

it's a war in there [March OTA, including memshare]

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good place to fade?