silver21

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I don’t mind either way! I do like a bit of surprise in what people are writing!

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Wait wait did the Keeper just eat the part of Charlie that she processed out of her mind and left in the catharsis?!?!

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Lost in Translation

@Tlazolteotl@Auragreedia@Stanifly

Sirpa looked up at the cowboy as he addressed her. She squinted her eyes against the flashing lights to watch his lips as he spoke, matching what she could hear of him saying through the noise with the shapes that his mouth made.

"I'm sorry, it's just so loud," Sirpa said, speaking loudly herself so as to be heard over the music as she pressed her hands harder over her ears. Saying it out loud made it sound silly, but still she felt that static buzzing feeling swarm her hands and chest. Sirpa took a step closer to the man anyway, finding comfort in being considered. She glanced at his metal arms. He must have been through a lot, Sirpa decided, to have lost both arms. "What do you think we need to do?" she asked him.

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Lost in Translation

Sirpa peered around the armchair to eye the businessman that the being had pointed out. She jumped in her chair at the shocking sight of the violent battle that they exposed. Was that what he is experiencing right now in this state of...catharsis? Were all of the seemingly normal people in the coffee shop experiencing some other reality right now? Sirpa glanced around at the other customers, all calmly enjoying their afternoon. Evening? There were no clocks, and Sirpa couldn't tell the time of day by the lighting in the room. There were simultaneously no windows and a normal amount of windows. Sirpa couldn't discern what "outside" looked like.

Before she could start to think about what "outside" might even be, she felt herself tugged forward to her feel through a portal??? For crying out loud. Where was she?

Again, there was not enough time to consider her thoughts. She was almost immediately overstimulated by the noise, the jostling, the humidity, and the smell of sweat. The flashing lights bothered her as if someone had held up multiple flashlights right against her face and moved them around quickly. Technically that wasn't much different than what was happening, but still.

Sirpa could barely hear the person talking to them. It was at that moment that she realized that they were at some party, maybe a club? That familiar feeling of static she so often encountered at events like this crept up her hands, feet, chest, and face. Sirpa closed her fingers around her thumbs and squeezed, searching for stability. She squinted at the fighter and the cowboy, two very unlikely people to find herself in the same room with at all. She made a note to stay close to them. They were familiar and somehow seemed safe among the partygoers. She didn't know them, but in this new setting she felt somewhat connected to them just by shared experience. They were all in this "catharsis" place, all coming from somewhere else and not quite sure what was happening. Besides, she couldn't see that big cat thing anymore. Where did they go? Or did it turn into the employee who was talking to them right now? Anything could happen, apparently. Sirpa wrapped her arms around herself and grounded through her feet, trying to make herself feel steady among the throbbing mob of people.

@Tlazolteotl@Stanifly@Auragreedia

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Sirpa on the inside rn after listening to Charlie’s backstory:

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Haha thank you 🐜

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Sirpa's Catharsis

@Tlazolteotl

Sirpa startled, not expecting to be addressed. She had planned to just observe from afar. Her blanket had disappeared, and she yeared for something that felt like a barrier between her and the others. She hugged her pillow tighter and pulled her legs in closer to her body. How uncomfortable it could be to be perceived. She almost wished she too was "far too lost," just to escape the discomfort.

A single ant crawled across her skin. Sirpa flicked it away, only to feel another one appear in the same spot on her arm seconds later. She flicked it away, and another appeared---with a friend this time. Why did she have to feel that she needed something at the same time as others? To take up space when someone else needed it too?

In that moment, it hit her briefly. She desperately wanted to be seen and overlooked at the same time. "Too intelligent for her own good" is what the last therapist had said. The thinking and logic that persistently blocked any further growth. That feeling like she was locked in fight-or-flight. Like she was too much and not enough all at once. Like she was running out of energy fast as she treaded water, uncertain how far down it would be before her feet could push off from the bottom. The ants suddenly swarmed to thousands, crawling over her arms, lap, chest, neck, face, and head for just a few moments. Sirpa quickly inhaled through her nose and shook herself, a series of 2-3 short twitches that cleared all but five of the tiny insects. The ants are not perceived by anyone except Sirpa and the Keeper. She sat quietly, trying to redirect her attention to the small group ahead of her as the ants roamed across her skin and a static, buzzing feeling throbbed in her chest. Don't draw attention. This is embarrassing.

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

I also don't mind being more forward with my character and helping move things along if needed! I tend to move a little slowly sometimes in writing and am totally fine with picking up the pace if you want to get things going more!

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Oh a question for everyone, but would you prefer it if a NPC of sorts starts talking about their problem(s) (kind of as a demonstration) or would any of you like to go first?

@Tlazolteotl

Hi somehow I missed this post and the ones after it lol sure! I'm cool with or without, either way works 💃

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Sirpa's Catharsis

Something about the being's calm response to the weapon was reassuring. Sirpa watched the violent newcomer cautiously and, as the threat seemed to dissipate, the shaking of the armchair stopped. The girl watched as the creature drifted toward the coffee bar with a couple of customers. They were quite odd in the way they arrived. Not that she saw a door that people were walking in and out of, but she could tell by the hint of confusion in everyone's demeanor that they didn't plan to be here either. Was anyone here by choice?

Sirpa sat forward in the armchair and peered around the side, pausing to really take in her surroundings for the first time. There definitely were other people here. There were the two or three that seemed just as misplaced as she did, but a bit more...disheveled? But everyone else acted as if everything was normal. Were they real, these other people? The ones who carelessly sipped their coffee or nibbled on a croissant while filling out the daily crossword? Did people still get physical newspapers and complete the daily crossword in pen?

Her hand felt wet. Sirpa looked down and realized that she was still holding the glass of water that the being brought to her. Deciding it must be safe, she took a sip. When nothing happened after a few moments, Sirpa allowed herself to take an actual drink of her water before setting it back down on the small table beside her. She found that she suddenly had a nice cozy blanket across her lap. No one brought it; it just appeared somehow. Concluding that this was the least of her worries, Sirpa let herself get more comfortable in the chair and positioned herself in a way that she could still see what the big cat thing was doing. Maybe she could try to understand these other people who seemed just as lost as her.