[IC] [Reverie] SEPTEMBER 2022 - PALACE GAME

[pyrighteous]

[ Welcome to the inside of Hunter's heart! Potential CWs include (but are not limited to):

- Torture
- Character death
- Gaslighting/manipulation/bad parenting
- Child abuse (onscreen and implied)
- Experimentation/vivisection
- Body horror
- Drowning
- Full Owl House Spoilers

Generally speaking the onscreen stuff will be kept PG-13 (this is a Disney cartoon after all!) but the implications may be exponentially more horrific (this is a Disney cartoon after all!!)

If at any point you are uncomfortable or need to me take extra care in glossing over ANY topic, please ping me right away in Discord. I am happy to do everything I can to keep this game fun for everyone! ]

Toplevels:

START AREA - GENERAL
- Session 1
- Session 2
- Session 3

???

AFTERMATH - GENERAL

Comments

9 - The Birdcage

[pyrighteous]

[ The instant you walk through this painting - or get to this place in some other way - you are surrounded by foul, oozing slime. It's just thick enough for you to sort of stand on, but not nearly sturdy enough to keep from starting to sink in it the instant your feet touch it. The room itself is incredibly cramped quarters no more than six feet in diameter. The walls are similarly coated in that awful slime.

In the center of the room, there is a golden birdcage topped with a badly stained Phoenix pink ribbon. And inside the birdcage is a Hunter dressed in Phoenix colors - not that you can tell, given he's in the sludge up to his neck. He seems to be moving as little as possible, though given the way the mud shifts around his shoulders, he's probably still breathing, at least. That and the tears rolling down his cheeks indicates the fact that he's not dead. Yet.

Belos seemingly floats above him, attached to the ceiling by several tendrils of slime. He makes a shushing noise, reaching down for the top of the birdcage. ]

"Come now. Don't cry about it. We made an agreement, didn't we? This is just you holding up your end of the bargain."

[ He pushes the birdcage down into the muck a little more, forcing Hunter to turn his face up to keep from drowning. ]

Re: 9 - The Birdcage

[eudaimoniac]

You know, Belos, I'm not even getting tired of this.

[can he give him the 'ol special.]

[pyrighteous]

[ HE SURE CAN. for the third time, Belos eats shit on the ground with a satisfying crack of lightning.

The cage sinks a few more centimeters; Hunter's eyes find Adrien's and go rather wide. ]

M-Mister Desfourneaux!?

[eudaimoniac]

[trying to pull hunter up from the muck!!!!! again!!!]

It's all right.

[pyrighteous]

[ it KEEPS HAPPENING. This time it's harder - that cage is really stuck good. But at least he can drag it up enough that Hunter isn't actively at risk of drowning. ]

How - how are you in here? What's going on?

[eudaimoniac]

Belos is trying to take over your mind. He's trapped you in all sorts of places. We're just trying to help.

Re: 9 - The Birdcage

[moonlit_knight]

[ohhhh shit immediately trudging through the slime to the bird cage, gonna grab it and try and shove it UP]

No!

[pyrighteous]

[ That helps Hunter breathe, at least - he doesn't actively start drowning. But the cage is VERY heavy with just Selena here.

Meanwhile ... Belos approaches. ]

Well. If it isn't my knight. Betraying me already?

[moonlit_knight]

[selena is STRONG they'll fight hard!!]

Please, like I was ever your knight. Kid, get over here.

[pyrighteous]

[ The Guard shakes his head, taking a step back. ]

Belos will kill me if I go in there.

[moonlit_knight]

Then go find a damn rope.

[Leans their whole body weight against the cage to tilt it up, shoving one hand through the bars to the caged Hunter]

Gimme your hand!

[heartlands]

[without much hesitation, he's hurrying forward to try and stop the birdcage from sinking any further. to belos, first of all:]

Seriously, what the heck is wrong with you?!

[pyrighteous]

[ As soon as Rupert steps into the mud, it tries to drag him down too.

Belos, meanwhile, stares at Rupert. ]

There's nothing wrong with me. His time here is done.

[heartlands]

Can you stop trying to murder children for like five seconds?!

[he shoves the bottom of the staff into the mud to try and give himself leverage to move forward.]

[pyrighteous]

[ He's able to move forward, albeit slowly. ]

He isn't a child. He's a grimwalker. I thought you saw that already.

[heartlands]

I don't care how he was made or whatever you're so hung up on! He still has thoughts and feelings, and people he cares about! He's not an experiment, and he's not yours to get rid of whenever you feel like it!

[as soon as he can make it to the birdcage, he's going to try and lift it up. to hunter:]

I got you, I got you, just hang on—

Re: 9 - The Birdcage

[agentgymstudent]

Oh, it's the fucko again.

[And there's the ice cold murderous rage again and as much as he wants to rush, he knows how quick sand and peat bogs works, stepping toward the cage with lighter, testing steps.]

Who has no idea how bargains work. I know you're getting senile, old man, but drowning a child is never a fair deal.

[pyrighteous]

[ Belos turns slowly. ]

You need to keep your nose out of agreements you’re not involved in.

[agentgymstudent]

Child murderers don't have an opinion worth listening to. Met far too many to think they have any valid points.

Unlike you, I have a moral compass and a sense of decency.

[He approaches, step after step, light, careful, testing consistency, hands in his pockets.]

And any sensible government would rule someone underage can't make legally binding agreements. Specifically to protect them against abusive assholes who target the vulnerable because they're too cowardly to try and manipulate people who can hit back. Like you.

[pyrighteous]

[ It’s tricky going - any step Leo takes threatens to drag him under - but it’s not just liquid either. His feet sink a little but not completely as long as he’s cautious.

(The Hunter in the cage watches, eyes wide - too submerged to do anything but breathe.)

Belos is unimpressed, meanwhile. He gestures at the cage. ]

This is not a child. He’s not even a person. He is a tool at best, one that is currently not serving its intended purpose.

[agentgymstudent]

Literally nothing you say is going to convince me you're in the right, you psychopath. I know what a person is and he's way too messed up by your bullshit to not be one.

Hunter, why can't you leave the cage? Talk to me, I'm getting you out and away from child murderer.

[inclementia]

[Despite the sludge and slime, Percival tries to take quick stock of the situation.

And yeah, that isn't going to fly. He takes a breath and aims Bad News.]

I'm afraid he's going to be breaking whatever deal you made. [And fires again.]

[pyrighteous]

[ The shot goes through Belos? It ... hmm, that wasn't much of a dent actually. The slime fills back in immediately. ]

Mind your own business, Percival. This is between the two of us.

[inclementia]

I would disagree, but you've already lied to me once so there isn't much point in that.

[Reloading quickly.]

This isn't your mind.

[pyrighteous]

[ He drifts closer, summoning a staff in one hand. ]

No. But it will be. Hunter has agreed that this is the best arrangement.