silver21

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Caught in a Snare

@DaftJive@Tlazolteotl

Damien swallowed hard, looked up at the moth. "It doesn't matter," he said, his voice levelled. "They have enough going on as it is. Even if I were to tell them..." He glanced again at the frantic movements beyond the vines, then looked back at the moth. "Maybe I could. But it's not fair for me to ask them for so much when I've been lying to them. Not that I want to, I have to. Because of him. And even then, I wouldn't be able to escape...that." His head drooped as he sighed. "Maybe I'm a coward for trying to run away. I'm so tired."

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

J̶͙̝̹͖͒̅̂̏͝͝ā̶̪̘̾̇̎̕y̷̗̦̖͊̀̑ͅ's̵̤̪̰̓͝ S̲͍̏̂͜͡i͑̏҉r͎̲͞p̰͔̅̏ȃ̷͍҉̥͒'̶̝̰͍́ͅs͖҉̲ C̸̭͓̤͓̘̱̑̀̾͝͠ą̸̟͈̯͖͐̉͛̾̕͠t̴̩̺͆̂̓͐̕ḣ̵͉͍̣ȧ̷̫̙̞̐͘r̴̛̛͉̟̓̌̿͛s̴̛̮̞̫̝͉͆̈̀ị̸̗͓͍́͑ș̴̛͊̐̋͝t̸̞͗͐

@Tlazolteotl@JJ Doe

"Oh."

How did she not see it before? The vision of the therapy space snapped into place and once it was there, it felt as if she had been there for hours. She could see the creature as therapist. She felt the uncomfortable folding chair beneath her. The soft yellow of the room stripped her of her comforts, all but for her tea which was now sitting in a thermos at her feet. There was nowhere to hide now.

She sat stiffly as she watched the images controlled by the therapist. Things were starting to make sense. The involuntary wave of sadness made her stomach lurch, and she pulled her legs under her chair. She thought of her tea, but did not move to retrieve it.

The view of Jay's perspective was disorienting. It was like she was a cartoon character that learned it was just a drawing and a voice. Was she even real? She must be. But seeing herself represented as an idea orchestrated by another person... It sent a shiver through her bones. But there was still more to think about.

"Waiting to hear someone out is a kindness. But I think what Jay was asking for was not to be heard to the end. They are asking to be met in the middle. Right now, silence will hurt them more."

That was confusing too. All her life, "listening" meant "shut your mouth and open your ears." Her parents had trained her to attend to conversation without speaking, lest she be disciplined. Excited or introspective interjections were to be stifled. It hadn't occurred to her that someone would actually want that. Why couldn't there be a instruction booklet about how to interact with people?

When Sirpa looked back at Jay, the room settled. The lights brightened, then dimmed slightly to a tolerable brightness. Not comfortable, but not overbearing. "Um," she started awkwardly. Should have thought of what I would say first before talking. "Did you...want to keep going? Did your, um, 'RP' group fizzle out?"

━━━━━━ ◈ ━━━━━━

What Is Perceived

When Sirpa looks at Jay, her words and actions are perceived by everyone.

Adventure is Out There!: An Amazing Digital Circus RP

@tadcfnaf I added Ragatha for you.

Adventure is Out There!: An Amazing Digital Circus RP

@tadcfnaf You're all set! There's not really an order to the posts, we just happened to do that. No need to follow it though. I will add your suggestion.

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Caught in a Snare

@DaftJive@Tlazolteotl

Damien paused his struggle, his breath heavy. Exhaustion overshadowed any embarrassment from being perceived in such a vulnerable state. His eyes searched the floor for an answer he wasn't sure how to find. He drew in an unsteady breath before speaking. "I want..."

When Damien spoke again, the words that he formed with his mouth did not match what was outwardly expressed. What he mouthed was "I want to die," but what his voice said was, "I want peace."

Damien startled, surprised. He tried again. "I want to be dead." "I want to feel free."

"I wish I had killed myself!" "I wish I could just live!"

Damien sat in silence for a moment. His lip trembled and tears welled in his eyes when he finally looked up at the moth. "I want my friends to be safe," he choked. "And my mom-... I want her to have everything she needs." He looked out past the vines. He could see the frenzy of papers and phone calls just on the other side. "I don't want to live like that anymore," he said quietly. He let out a strained, painful sigh. "I can't. I need to, but I can't."

Damien felt hopeless. And sad. He felt so heavy with sadness that ached to the bone. The chains seemed to weigh down heavier on his body. A hint of blue brushed the bottom of the flame atop his head. "I'm stuck," he whispered. Tears flowed faster. "I don't know what to do. I'm trapped." He bit his lip, fighting back a sob, as he returned his gaze to the floor.

Adventure is Out There!: An Amazing Digital Circus RP

Welcome @tadcfnaf! Please submit q character sheet for your OC in the Characters thread. You can find the rules on the first posts of the OOC and Character threads.
We are also looking for a Ragatha!

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

J̶͙̝̹͖͒̅̂̏͝͝ā̶̪̘̾̇̎̕y̷̗̦̖͊̀̑ͅ's̵̤̪̰̓͝ Sirpa's C̸̭͓̤͓̘̱̑̀̾͝͠ą̸̟͈̯͖͐̉͛̾̕͠t̴̩̺͆̂̓͐̕ḣ̵͉͍̣ȧ̷̫̙̞̐͘r̴̛̛͉̟̓̌̿͛s̴̛̮̞̫̝͉͆̈̀ị̸̗͓͍́͑ș̴̛͊̐̋͝t̸̞͗͐

@Tlazolteotl

Sirpa grimaced slightly at the creature's uncanny movements. She twiddled her fingers as she spoke. "I don't really know what to say," she admitted. "I... I'm actually really confused about what they're saying. So it's hard to know what to say. I don't..." She paused to glance at Jay, then looked back at the creature. "Are we...really in a 'group therapy' thing right now? I don't think I signed up for that..." Sirpa's gaze wandered the room as she spoke, following an invisible train of thought. "Why am I here?" She looked toward Jay again, but continued to speak to the creature. "Actually, you can tell me later. I think I'm good at listening. I just... I'm not good at knowing when I'm supposed to talk, and I thought maybe Jay would want to get their whole story out first." Somehow, Sirpa was confident that this was another aside that the others couldn't hear. She felt no need to speak in hushed tones or monitor her expressions.

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@Tlazolteotlu can continue :D im still at a slight loss N recoverin (finally got treatment today YEAAHHHH)

@DaftJive

@Tlazolteotl Hi is that the moth that was serving them at the bar earlier?

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

J̶͙̝̹͖͒̅̂̏͝͝ā̶̪̘̾̇̎̕y̷̗̦̖͊̀̑ͅ's̵̤̪̰̓͝ ̷̮̤̋̽C̸̭͓̤͓̘̱̑̀̾͝͠ą̸̟͈̯͖͐̉͛̾̕͠t̴̩̺͆̂̓͐̕ḣ̵͉͍̣ȧ̷̫̙̞̐͘r̴̛̛͉̟̓̌̿͛s̴̛̮̞̫̝͉͆̈̀ị̸̗͓͍́͑ș̴̛͊̐̋͝t̸̞͗͐

@JJ Doe@BaronOBeefDip@Tlazolteotl

"It's nice to meet you, Sirpa. Though, I'm sure it would be nicer under less bizarre circumstances." Sirpa shrugged, then turned to Jay as they spoke again. The things they had to say were interesting, and Sirpa wondered how they managed to know so much about this place. Was it true that she was in a group therapy space? Is that why Wesley needed to confront his childhood to get out? Was this information something that she wasn't supposed to know? Jay knew. Was she supposed to know? Were Jay's words even true? Sure, maybe it was their truth, but did that apply to everyone else here?

Sirpa looked at the creature. She thought to ask, but realized that she didn't know its name. It seemed to be passively observing this whole interaction. Was it...?

This was making her head hurt. What was happening in the present moment was that Jay was talking about their situation. Sirpa decided to just focus on that for now. She could survive the length of one conversation without answers.

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

me @ Damien's mom