Tlazolteotl

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@Stanifly It was very sweet of Teresa to be the one to stop Jay and even apologize (and spoiling us with some backstory too!)

@DaftJive What a way to end/begin a year 😭 I hope you're recovering well? There's no rush to write a post, your health comes first. I'm glad we were able to hear from you!

Y'all when I tell you that I took about 10 minutes looking at "laugh" words until I decided on "snortle" I am not exaggerating 😭

@silver21

As someone whose have similar struggles, I get it 🥲 But hey, it was worth the extra minutes to perfect an already good post!

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Jay's Catharsis

@JJ Doe@Stanifly@silver21

The Moderator listens to Teresa's apology, and her expression softens. A nod, approving.

"Jay." She waits until she has their attention. "You're welcome here. Whatever is troubling you—I'd love to help. Even if all I can do is sit with you and listen."

Her hand reaches over to cover Sirpa's.

"Sirpa didn't mean to hurt you with her question."

The Moderator turns to meet Sirpa's eyes.

━━━━━━ ◈ ━━━━━━

Sirpa's Catharsis

@silver21

The Keeper lowers itself, limbs folding at impossible angles until those large, round eyes hover level with Sirpa's. For a long moment, it simply watches her. Then, without preamble:

"Are you also a Normie?"

Ghostly figures flicker into view, replaying a moment from earlier: Jay, translucent and faintly luminous, seated in one of the coffee shop chairs.

"About half a year ago, I had a falling out with some people from a group I'd been part of for over three years. You'd think six months would be enough to move on. And it has been, for the most part. But some stuff stuck around. New year's coming, so I thought, why not clear it out? Start fresh."

A phone screen glows in Jay's hand. "This is a place to unburden yourself."

"As long as we don't dox or mention anything that can identify a person, we're allowed to vent as much and as long as we want."

"Why would you choose to come here?" The Keeper speaks in Sirpa's voice—her own words echoed back.

When it speaks again, the voice is its own. "They had already told you why. You asked anyway."

One large eye blinks slowly. "Was it not the answer you were looking for? Or did you think they were lying?"

Jay's apparition fades. Two bars flicker into view, layering over the coffee shop: one rusty and run-down, the other better maintained. A server with sun-bleached hair stands behind the counter.

"But hey, you can totally bail anytime, Silver Lady. Like, no one's stopping you. So if you're stuck here? That's 'cause deep down you don't wanna leave."

The images waver, then drift apart like smoke.

"Did you not believe us when we said you were always able to leave? Is that why you are willing to use Jay to test it?"

There is no edge in the Keeper's tone, only genuine curiosity.

"Is that what makes someone a Normie? Expecting the worst of others?"

━━━━━━ ◈ ━━━━━━

What is Perceived

• Events in Sirpa's Catharsis can only be perceived by Sirpa

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@DaftJive How's it going? Let us know if you need any help!

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Jay's Catharsis

@JJ Doe@Stanifly@silver21

The Moderator nods.

"That's right." Her hand lifts, gestures toward the circle. "Everyone here has something they want to unload. Whether they know it or not."

A glance toward Sirpa and Teresa.

"Some things can be worked through alone. Other times, it helps to have someone listening."

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Damien's Catharsis

@silver21

The smell is there before the cup is. Dark-roasted, bitter at the edges, the burnt-sugar note of something brewed strong and left to sit just long enough. It wafts through the bar's green air, settling in among the lavender and the sage.

If Damien looks, the cup is waiting. Clay, unglazed. What's inside is black all the way down, no milk, steam rising in a thin line that vanishes before it gets far.

The moth has turned away, hands moving quietly behind the counter.

━━━━━━ ◈ ━━━━━━

Vicis' Catharsis

@Stanifly

The plate arrives. Two cuts of meat in a shallow pool of cream gone dark with cracked pepper, pale and glistening, the sear on them barely there. Underneath, the flesh is soft enough to tremble when the plate settles, heat rising off it rich with browned butter and something almost sweet.

"Cherub cheeks," the entity announces. Cheerful and proud. "I'll bring the déjà vu once you're ready for dessert."

Golden light brightens for a moment. A smile, or the nearest thing to one.

"Enjoy."

They drift away, leaving room for a baphomet and a wyrm to get better acquainted.

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

happy new year! I'm sure 2026 will turn out fine... OR WILL IT?

@Stanifly

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@BaronOBeefDip As one should after the holidays! A happy new year to you too!

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

personally I'm always worried about over-explaining in my own attempts at avoiding miscommunication. the worst is when ppl think you're thinking too much abt it when you're just trying to make sure that everyone's on the same page 🥀

@Stanifly

similarly to what @Stanifly said with being worried about over-explaining. I often ask people “does that make sense?” and some people apparently think I believe they aren’t smart enough to follow me when in reality I think I am incoherent hahaha

@silver21

Gasp Samesies!



I've also had instances when I over explain, and others still misunderstand 😭

But I'm glad that wasn't the case for my bad grammar comment 😀

I'm glad you liked Wesley! I hadn't considered bringing him back, but maybe I should...

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@silver21 @Stanifly @Auragreedia You guys are largely correct!

Wesley/Westbound grew up pretty isolated. His mother was the bread winner of the family and worked a lot. That usually meant Wesley was often under the care of someone else when he was little, but once he hit a certain age he more or less took care of himself. The father wasn't present for most of his life, and what he does remember is of him using corporal punishment on him "for no reason."

It is unknown if Wesley/Wesbound is actually on the spectrum, because he has never been diagnosed, however he (and other members of the maternal side of his family) has displayed traits of it. He has high Neuroticism, and as such, he's constantly battling with anxiety, depression, sudden outbursts of anger (though one could say this is more because of his father's parental methods), and low self-esteem/worth.

Another thing to note is that Wesley has a mixed background and actually knows more than one language. But that came with its own set of difficulties when communicating with others who only spoke one language.

All this combined, Wesley has struggled with communication on various levels and forms, and has learned, more or less to bottle things up. When he was younger, he expressed himself through the arts, but as he got older he had less time to do these things and eventually stopped doing arts all together.

While Wesley can be considered an introvert, he actually likes hanging out with people (he in fact strongly craves it when he hasn't spoken/texted someone for days), and he doesn't mind being in busy places, but this comes from extreme loneliness.

---

The massive disconnect with the conversations in his Catharsis is based on my personal experience, bumped up to 10. I've had many instances where I meant to say/write one thing, but then when I look back on it, I realized how it was taken another way 😭 One example is actually when I said:

On the flip side, is it frustrating to see bad grammar? ... Cause I may be guilty of that 😂

@Tlazolteotl

In my head, I meant that I was guilty of using bad grammar... but then I realized later on that it sounded like I get frustrated at seeing bad grammar 😭

So yeah... communication's hard.