Atrophy

Recollections: The Othergrounds [Complete]

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Penny shook her head as Lynette listed off half of the periodic table. A pained expression formed on her face as her denial swole until it began to leak from her mouth in soft, nearly incoherent refusals. The muted orchestra of nos, stops, and shut-ups played the harmony against her friend’s tune and ended abruptly when Lynette barked with laughter. Penny winced at the sound. The laugh was the perfect imitation. She twisted her head further down and bit her lip in a pitiful attempt to stop her body from trembling. No matter what this Lynette said, no matter if it was actually composed of all of the chemical compounds that constructed a human being, it couldn’t possibly be Lynette. She had seen the girl die. She had seen it almost every goddamn night.

"I'm just wondering why you were giving Hagan and Zoey so much shit for something you too are guilty of," said Lynette, the accusation heavy in her voice.

“I never said I—” The exasperated words that poured out of her mouth were cut short as Penny shut her eyes and covered her face. Her fingers squeezed her head so hard that she felt like her skull was cracking. How did Lynette even know that? Stacey had interrupted her before she could confess those feelings to Odessa. It didn’t matter. Lynette was right. Even the part that was aware enough to blame herself still piled most of the guilt upon Hagan and Zoey, making Penny think that she was only at fault for believing in them. Penny sat down on the steps with her hand on the back of her neck. She felt completely gutted.

“I just want to make sure you don't hurt yourself out here, Penny."

Penny dropped her hand and lifted her head. This sounded more like the person she knew. Her eyes watered as Lynette took a few careful steps towards her and then stopped. Lynette had always been so smart about not crowding Penny when she was clearly upset. Penny scrapped her thumb against her lip as she listened to the girl’s warning, her nail cutting a thin scratch on her cheek as the final thing Lynette said completely caught her off guard. Ever since falling asleep in an airport and waking up in Paradise she had been so distracted by everything going on that she had nearly forgotten what had made her leave home in the first place.

“Lynette, I am getting out of here alive,” said Penny, her voice strained. “I am going to avenge Caelea, find a way out of this shithole, and tell Jaden and Cierra about what happened to you. I don’t fear the loneliness getting to me, because I have the best goddamn secret weapon I could ever hope to have.” Penny tapped the sigil that had once belonged to Lynette. “You’re always with me. Your dreams, your memories, every shitty thought you had about me that was, I’ll admit, totally deserved? They’re always there when I need it.”

“So,” Penny kicked her feet out in front of her and jumped up with a shit-eating grin, “I’m never alone, but I appreciate the concern.” Penny tucked her elbow under the other and stretched, fixing Lynette with a glare. “But if you really think that some stupid city full of jerkass ghosts is going to get the better of me and make me break my promise then you can go fuck right off. I know Lynette. I know she’d never have doubted me.”

The Night Shift - Gas Station Horror Simulator (OPEN)

You might not, but I for sure do. Zozo swore to give me magical powers.

𝒟𝒪𝒪𝑀𝒮𝒜𝒴𝐸𝑅𝒮 - Opp's Adventures in Meta-Land

I thought the Land of the Dead was a bar.

I'd prefer art as was mentioned. Stylistic choices beyond that are up to you.

Finally, a GM that allows for my preferred medium of Play-Doh. Now I gotta make a sheet.

Recollections: The Othergrounds [Complete]

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Penny stopped as Odessa spoke up against her going off alone to avenge Caelea. She was right. Penny knew she was right. Penny wouldn’t willingly admit it outloud, but she knew she wasn’t the smartest person around and even then she could tell that her idea was a stupid one. Only, it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if it was dumb. It didn’t matter if it was suicidal. Penny had to go after that thing, and she had to kill it. She wasn’t worried that the others wouldn’t come along with her if she asked; she was worried that they would come along.

“Odessa, handling weird is kind of what I do,” said Penny, turning to catch Odessa’s look of horror as her hand weaponized into an array of barbs. At first Penny thought Odess was threatening her, but then she heard the footsteps too. She turned with her heart in her throat as she heard the eerily familiar voice. A smile of recognition appeared on her face. It couldn’t be! A warmth flowed through her body as she swelled with happiness and relief. How was this possible?

“Lynette!” shouted Penny as she jumped down a step to give the girl a hug.

"... Why’d you let her kill me?"

Penny flinched and froze a few steps above her friend. This had to be a trick, and it was a goddamn mean one. She placed her hand over her second sigil, the one that had once been Lynette’s, and cast the phantom of her friend a suspicious look. This place wasn’t just weird. It was hell, and it was torturing her. Penny drew in a ragged breath as she dropped a hand down to her bag. Odessa had said that all Awakened became Apparitions, but this felt wrong.

“She wouldn’t say that,” hissed Penny, as much to herself as it was to Lynette. Her hand shook. Even if Penny still blamed herself for her friend’s death, she knew Lynette had forgiven her. Lynette had even forgiven her killer, which was something even Penny couldn’t bring herself to do. Still, she hesitated, glaring at this Lynette through narrow eyes.

“What the fuck are you?”

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

This RP is like coming across a dumpster of manure that's on fire when you're a hobo in the dead of winter who lost their old, patched-up coat.

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

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Vashti tapped a finger against her chin to think of another idea after Emily revealed that what Vashti had suggested was equivalent to telling someone with clinical depression that they should just try being happy. A tick Apparition? If it was literally the size of a tick, it would be damn near impossible to just find out in swamp country. Vashti eyes drifted to follow a server carrying a tray of food, losing their luster as it passed by their table without stopping, and then she quickly glanced back at Emily. Now wasn’t the time to worry about her stomach, even if the last thing she remembered eating was just the empty calories of a DQ Blizzard and, possibly, part of an engine.

Herik had a better idea. Vashti sat up straighter in her seat as he explained that there were Adepts who could deal with curses. Maybe if they found one to help Emily’s sister that Adept could also, in turn, help Vashti with her Leviathan problem. Herik suggested getting in contact with Kimberly, and Vashti lifted her feet and tucked them under herself to boost herself up even higher as Emily expressed her uncertainty

“She’s totally legit!” shouted Vashti, her excitement a little too high when compared to the average peaks of the typical Red Lobster diner. Her chair rocked back dangerously on two legs before it settled down as she pointed a finger at Emily. “I know from first hand experiences when she helped me. Temporarily, anyway, but that’s not her—whatever! I have her number!”

Except Kimberly’s number had been lost. Vashti shoulders dropped and her face tightened, “I had her number. But it shouldn’t be hard to get in touch with her, right Herik? I’m sure Agatha would give us her number, or we could just try getting in touch with her through a fansite.”

Recollections: The Othergrounds [Complete]

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There were maybe three entire seconds of silence before Odessa uncomfortable laughter echoed around the steps of the bank, but it only took Penny one of those seconds to instantly regret what she had just done. She took a step down as if that would help her uncross the line and relaxed her fists. Her face was still pained and contorted, but the red was more from embarrassment than anger and her blue eyes glistened. As Odessa moved to comfort Stacey, Penny quickly wiped away the tears as if her cool facade hadn’t already been trampled underfoot by her outburst. Still, if she apologized quickly enough maybe the boy wouldn’t spiral out into another panic attack.

“Sta—”

"Fuck you too, Penny! Caelea's better off dead with a piece of shit friend like you!"

Stacey’s words were a dagger to the chest. Penny jerked back like she’d actually been stabbed and nearly lost her balance, just barely catching herself on the railing as her mouth fell down in her stead. If it had been anyone else she would’ve screamed back, hell, she would’ve rushed them down and made them shit out those words, but with it coming from Stacey it had stunned her. Penny never imagined he had that kind of fire inside him. She clicked her tongue as she closed her mouth and avoided looking at Odessa. Penny believed Stacey was right about one thing: she was a piece of shit friend.

Still holding herself upright with the railing, Penny hung her head and hid her face with her free hand as she lost the battle with her tears. Her shoulders shuddered as she silently sobbed. Stacey’s words resonated with an idea that had already been forming in her mind, fertilizing the seed of a thought and turning it into a great oak tree with gnarled branches that overshadowed anything else in her mind. Penny bit her lip to keep it from quivering and smeared the sleeves of her sweater back and forth over her eyes in a hapless attempt to clean her messy face. Penny lifted her head and looked up at Odessa, determination and certainty shining through her bloodshot eyes.

“He’s not wrong. I am a shit friend. Caelea isn’t the first...” Penny frowned. She let go of the railing and balled her hand as she blew off the bitter memory. She had avenged them. She would do the same now. Penny turned and began to descend the bank steps. She paused only to look back and, with a wry smile, say, “Odessa, could you pass a message on for me? When the others ask where Penny went, tell them she’s gone to bury a friend.”

The Night Shift - Gas Station Horror Simulator (OPEN)

I gonna invest my Bork Bucks like a goddamn adult. That way in twenty years I can cash them out for a sick spider ring, a bouncy ball, and three strangely warm, slightly damp Tootsie Rolls.

R E D U X .// 2047 //.

Maysah’s face wrinkled into a smile at the sight of the Tower wearing an Old Glory t-shirt. She was somewhat disappointed that the Brit didn’t try his hand at imitating a southern fried accent to completely sell the disguise. Unless, worried Maysah, that it wasn’t a disguise but rather just what the Tower thought was fashionable, and perhaps his suitcase was packed with designs of maple leaves, rising suns, and three legs. She tugged at the sleeves of her white wool sweater , noting the hypocrisy in her critiquing another’s choice of clothing.

The Tower asked the only question that needed to be asked: why were they doing this? Maysah’s answer was different from the one Arbiter gave out. For starters, just because Hex wasn’t wrong often didn’t mean he was never wrong. Harrison was the one to convince her that the best course of action after the corps made their move against her was to disappear and live the last twelve years of her life as an useless husk. More importantly, if the drone had the kind of information on it that Peterson said it did then Carolex deserved to have it swiped out from underneath their noses. Her eyes narrowed as the man himself joined their table. She wasn’t so sure that Peterson deserved to have the drone, either.

“To form a true plan, I'll need to know your abilities.“

“Some information broker,” said Maysah as she leaned back in her seat and folded her arms as Arbiter spoke up.

“...Technomancy, if you want to get technical," he finished.

“Cute,” said Maysah.

She had eyed Arbiter with suspicion as he spoke. It was nice to hear him admit that there was more to him than a haircut and a suit of armor, but the truth was all a little too late. Her eyes darkened. Could he have possibly been the one too—she shook the thought to the back of her head. Accusing Arbiter could wait for after they had stolen the drone. She didn’t want their infighting to destroy what small chance they had to get information surrounding the mystery of Hex’s death. Maysah also didn’t want to answer the question.

“The big guy does exactly what he looks like he does,” said Maysah, flippantly jerking a thumb over to the Tower. He was capable of a lot more than her oversimplification implied, but she’d leave that up to the Tower if he wanted to actually elaborate. “I’m your typical quick, blaster type with a master’s in aerospace engineering and a bad habit of breaking any piece of technology I touch."

"Really, I wouldn’t pick either of us to come to a surprise party, let alone sneak into a corporate headquarters to steal a macguffin. I’d apologize for ruining any plans, but thankfully there isn’t one yet,” said Maysah with a wink. She put her elbows on the table, laced her fingers together, and rested her chin on them. “On the bright side, I doubt we’ll have any trouble handling what comes next once we cock up whatever brilliant plan you expect us to just whip together in under an hour.”

At least they would have no trouble unless they drew the attention of Envoy, that is, but some things were better left unsaid.

Recollections: The Othergrounds [Complete]

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“I think it’ll have to do, won’t it?” said Penny, looking sullen as she stared at the marker in her hand. She still felt defeated, but if Caelea actually did become an Apparition then it was nice to know that Apparitions like the Nurturing Will existed. Odessa’s story had given Penny some of her fleeting hope back. It wasn’t exactly what she had hoped for, but it was more than she had expected. Penny sighed and leaned back on the stairs.

“I’m from Shimmer,” said Penny. So, Paradise brought in people from different universes. “Hagan, Zoey, Caelea, we’re all from a town called Farmer Hill. We’re students at this dumb academy. That League of yours was using our town as a prison for this thing called the Glutton, this world-eating son of a bitch masquerading as a God. Things went to shit as they tend to do, it tried to kill a bunch of us, and we eventually unmade the damn thing. Everything got reset, but it was hard to go back to a normal life after that, you know?”

“Guess what I’m trying to say is that I get feeling lost and I get not knowing who I really am. I know I had a life before everything with the Glutton but the further I get away from it all the less and less of it I remember,” said Penny. Her childhood and early teen years were nothing but shredded images. She couldn’t tell if the loss was just part of growing older or something more dire. “The real sad thing is that fighting things like the Glutton might be the only thing I’m actually any good at.”

And she wasn’t even that good at it as her mind looped the image of Caelea getting ripped in two. Penny leaned forward and choked out, “What’s really frustrating is that because of that everyone just looks to me like I know what the fuck I’m doing when I don’t have a goddamn clue when it comes to any of this shit!”

She closed her eyes and knitted her brow as an old, familiar anger boiled inside of her. No, it wasn't just starting to heat up. It had been bubbling for a while like a volcano primed to explode. Odessa didn’t ask to hear any of this, but Penny had to vent. She couldn’t hold in her disgust any longer. Zoey and Hagan should’ve stopped Caelea. Caelea shouldn’t have been an idiot and try to talk to something that had attempted to kill them. Penny shouldn’t have been stupid enough to let them be on their own. The others shouldn’t have distracted her. Just one little release of the pressure and she’d be fine. She knew Odessa would be able to handle it. She seemed unflappable, perhaps one of the positive traits of giving up her humanity.

“Like, I try—”

"Uh, could I get some help? It started glowing when I played and I don't know what'll happen if I sing what I wrote," said Stacey as he walked down to the girls.

He could not have had worse timing in the world.

“Stacey!”

There was no hiding the seething annoyance in her voice as Penny jumped to her feet and turned to glare at the boy. She felt like she was his goddamn mom the way he always ran to her when he had the slightest of problems. Couldn’t he bother someone else for once? She didn’t even notice the glowing guitar as she raised her hand holding the marker and cocked it behind her head.

“Fuck!”

She chucked the marker downward with frustration. It repulsed away from her and exploded into a mist of black ink at the boy’s feet. Any higher and it would've hit him, doing who knows what kind of damage. Penny hands morphed into fists as she shoved them down to her side and took one step towards the boy. Her face was red, puffy, and twisted into an hateful, ugly expression of pure rage and utter revulsion like she’d just stepped into a pile of dogshit. From the way her hands were shaking, it seemed apparent that she was going to be scrapping something on the concrete. She took one more step towards Stacey and screamed the loudest she has ever in her life, spittle flying out of her jaws like a rabid animal.

“OFF!”