justanudge: (yikes)
Frankie Harvest ([personal profile] justanudge) wrote in [community profile] lastvoyages2024-08-22 10:23 pm
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18

Anyphaena celer

[Video, Otherworld days]

[The view starts off mostly dark. There's a very faint reflection off Frankie's glasses. Her knees are pulled up close to her chin, letting her wedge into - something, some kind of hiding place. It looks like she's maybe hiding behind a bar.

Behind her, something passes slowly into view. A giant spider the size of a minivan, stark white and gently, eerily glowing, lumbers past. Once it lumbers out of view again, after a few more beats, she whispers fiercely,]


Can I have my glock now, Mister House of Belmont?


[Spam, otherworld]

Spiders are always nearby, with franky, always pale, softly glowing. Most of them are small, fist-sized at most. Some of them, though, are massive. She isn't afraid of spiders, but she keeps her distance from those anyway.

It's probably the little spiders that chitter and whisper traitor traitor traitor. Fishing lines hang from the ceiling, swaying, here and there in her path, slender sharp hooks on diaphanous strings.

Frankie picked up a piece of rebar somewhere, and carries it like a baseball bat; she does her best to keep moving.


[Monster Mash time!]

It's not the spiders that have her really running. It's the spiders looming over her, when she finally gets tangled in the fishing lines and falls. There's a thing, roughly man-shaped but almost nine feet tall. Black, thick-set, built powerfully under fat, with fists bigger than her head, with a slashed-open gut, intestines spilling out into a writhing, slick loincloth, and an open furnace grate where the head should be. He grabs her whole leg in one hand, drags, twists, smashes a crater into the floor next to her head with the other. He leans over her, hot coals spilling out of the place where his face should be. She flinches and sizzles, grits her teeth, refuses to scream.
queenofechoes: (Default)

Video

[personal profile] queenofechoes 2024-08-24 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Madelyne peers at the spider with blithe fascination. A few of the small demons dogging her own steps are spider-like, eight eyes bulging obscenely above steadily dripping pincers, but they aren't attacking. ]

I don't have anything long-range. How good are you at stabbing real hard and running away?
queenofechoes: (Default)

Re: Video

[personal profile] queenofechoes 2024-08-25 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm...

[ She twists around a bit to grab something strapped to her back. (She's finally forgone her tattered regalia for something a little more sensible; accessorising with a random assortment of rusty, gore-stained weapons doesn't look as ridiculous.)

What she presents a camera is a steel pole fractured into a sharp point. ]


This is my longest one. Should buy you some good time if you go for the eyes. [ It doesn't look super durable, though. ]
queenofechoes: (Oh Come On)

Re: Video

[personal profile] queenofechoes 2024-08-26 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ One of her own spiders shrieks ANGLER FISH which is an obscure enough dig that Madelyne just arches an eyebrow at it for a second before shrugging and moving on. ]

Level five, near the library.
queenofechoes: (i knew i liked you)

Re: Video

[personal profile] queenofechoes 2024-08-29 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Only if you ask nicely.

[ Look, she can't resist a line like that.

Of course, she isn't invested enough to shorten the trip any; she stands right where she is, leaning against a wall and twirling her pole. ]
helluvamess: (60)

[spam]

[personal profile] helluvamess 2024-08-25 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
He sees the thing roar over a prone figure and that's all he has time to register before Blitzø slams into it from behind, stabbing and clawing his way up the bulk of the creature to where its head should be. He has no idea if he's hurting it at all, but at the very least he can hope for being a distraction.

"Fucking let go of her!"
helluvamess: (80)

Re: [spam]

[personal profile] helluvamess 2024-08-26 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Blitzø doesn't expect to be able to last, but it's enough to see that it lets go of her and tries to reach for him instead, giving Frankie a chance to get some distance and a weapon. He slashes at the reaching fists, stabs at the neck and shoulders, but even if it were human still, his knife is small and the figure is massive. He can feel the heat pouring off of its hands as it grasps at him, and fingers tag one of his horns and almost get a grip on it.

"We gotta get the fuck out of here!" he yells, struggling to keep his balance as it stumbles from her blow. He doesn't know if she can run on that leg, but he does know he can probably carry her and run for it if it comes to that.

"Hit it again!"
helluvamess: (97)

Re: [spam]

[personal profile] helluvamess 2024-08-29 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
Blitzø leaps from the creature's back as it staggers and lands on the ground close enough to see how Frankie tries to get away and the way her leg seems to drag and make it clear that isn't happening any time soon. He bites down on a curse and dashes close, unheeding of the ticking sound and her shouting for him to run. Instead he scoops her up, and while he's smaller than her he's strong, stronger than many people realise, and it's just like lifting up Loona the few times he'd had to before.

He hisses out a "sorry", knowing that lifting her is going to hurt that leg any more, but they don't have time to worry about that. Whatever that ticking noise is he imagines it's nothing good.

As soon as she's in his arms, he's bolting from the area, half expecting that the thing's about to blow up behind them.
helluvamess: (80)

Re: [spam]

[personal profile] helluvamess 2024-09-01 12:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Bitch, I'm going as fast as I can!" Blitzø snarls, and while he doesn't see what she grabs and throws, the sound screams 'bomb' and he's pushing himself to run even faster, throwing them both behind cover right before the explosion rips through the area. Heat washes past them and Blitzø covers her as best as he can, although he knows it's going to be hell on her leg.

As soon as it's past, he pops his head out, ready to grab her and run again if he has to.
helluvamess: (99)

Re: [spam]

[personal profile] helluvamess 2024-09-04 12:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Blitzø slips out properly as the silence starts to settle around them, the various plinks of cooling metal and creak of settling concrete the only things to be heard. He prods a couple of melted and burning chunks of plastic but once nothing else seems to happen, retreats back to Frankie's side.

"Looks like we've got some time. How's your leg?"
helluvamess: (90)

Re: [spam]

[personal profile] helluvamess 2024-09-09 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Gonna hurt like a fucking bitch," he warns, but it's not to try and talk her out of it. He's helped Mills with enough shit in their years together to know that they gotta do what they gotta do. Especially since who even knew if the infirmary was even an option right now.

Blitzø helps her get up on the railing, then drops down to take a grip on her leg. He doesn't try to do any count down or tell her to brace for it; as soon as he's certain she's not going to fall over immediately, he grips and shoves.
helluvamess: (77)

Re: [spam]

[personal profile] helluvamess 2024-09-22 10:55 am (UTC)(link)
"Over fast and you're good," he retorts, though there's an edge of concern to his voice. He knows it's a lot and it's impressive that she's still conscious; he'd half expected he'd have to catch her and get them both to cover until they found a way out of here or she woke up.

Taking a break is probably still a good idea, especially since that thing is gone now and they'll hopefully have a little breathing room before anything else comes along, especially since her face looks a little grey still. "You need a minute?"
talesuntold: (wolf 04)

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-08-25 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Maggie smells burning flesh, and she recognizes whose it is. She's pretty sure Frankie is real, which is more than she can say for some of the familiar faces she's seen today. So she comes running, and for once she doesn't stop short out of her long-running aversion to mammalian blood. Whether this thing is a mammal seems questionable, anyway.

She shrugs out of the the small emergency pack she has on her before she comes in range, holding it in her mouth, and flings it toward Frankie with a toss of her head. It contains a t-shirt and leggings, a small bottle containing a couple pills, her communicator, and most importantly, a pistol and a couple clips.

Then, Maggie sinks her teeth into his leg.
Edited 2024-08-25 15:34 (UTC)
talesuntold: (wolf 04)

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-08-26 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)

Maggie yelps once with pain, followed by a low, keening whimper. She's not going to be much use with her jaw shattered like this, but she'll stay low to the ground and harry him at least a little, darting in and back away as quickly as she can manage. Leaving Frankie plenty of room to shoot above her.

She's about to call John for reinforcements and healing, especially if her gun doesn't do the trick immediately; he's the one person she can easily reach right now.

talesuntold: (1)

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-08-30 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)

At this point, Maggie isn't fucking around. She reaches out for John, calls his name in her mind, lets him catch a bit of the pain and fear running through her. He left the line open, and she promised to use it if she needed to.

Need you. We've tried gun and teeth already, and he's hurt but not down. Both hurt.

She's moving alongside Frankie, careful to match the woman's pace rather than running ahead. If that monster manages to follow them, he'll almost certainly go for Frankie rather than her. He's her monster, not Maggie's. These horrors seem personal.

greatoldjohn: (the ravening one: lorge)

[personal profile] greatoldjohn 2024-08-31 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
There is a shift as reality adjusts, one that they'll feel instead of see since it happens behind them But the next time they turn to look at the monster that's racing after them, they'll get to see something bigger, seemingly too big for the space of where they are.

Something made of teeth and tentacles and if one looks within that deep and void-dark maw, stars, that slams into the furnace creature tentacles-first, wrapping around each one of it's limbs, stopping it in its tracks. The fires do not seem to bother the too-dark tentacles, slick with black waters that do not burn, that hold twin suns every evening.

A voice both of them know though deeper, darker, ever more monstrous, speaks then.

Ṯ̸̮̎͛̏͒̅͗͐̊̑̄͑͜h̴̢̼̲̰̮͔͓̆̄͛̈́͑͂͌i̸̛̮̲̭s̷̹̦̬̒̽̔̎̑̿ ̸̩̩͕̰̜̰̑̓̂̾̄̎̓͜ï̵̢͖͈̝̤̑̄̎͗͘s̷̝̖͇̖̟̠̖̘̲̥̰͚̽̏͜ ̷̧̨̯̩̞̳̪̌͋̔ẃ̸̡̛͉͍̥́̽̆̈́̒̅͛̐̈́͜͝ḩ̷͎̝̃͒̈̉a̶̯̼̾̓͒̒͗̈́͐̉̄̑͘͘͠t̶̪̥̦͈͉̹͔̗̥̃́̆͊̾́̕ͅͅ ̸̰͇͇̜̬̪̓̌̀̚͝h̷̤̗͓̟̱͛͋ű̵͔͕̜̯͉̬̬̥́̒̓͑̓̀̐̒͐̈́͘͠r̸̡̼͖̖̺͈̻̯͆̈́̕t̶̪̣̮̱̭̗̩̗̹̺̲̪̰̐̈́̐͐̅̈͒̾̔͌͠ ̴̭̟̠̗̯͔͉͙́̀̀̈́̑̍͌y̴̡̱͙̥͖͓̬̩͕͗̇ǫ̸̫̗̠͉̀ů̵̦̥̮̟̱͓͈̣̪̯̈́͆̈́̎͐́?̵̬̑͒̾̏̂͆̈͋̽̉̈́̾

The creature does not appear to have eyes but there is is the feeling of attention first towards Maggie, and then towards Frankie.

K̶̩͈̰̊́͛͌̈̕i̵̡̛̩̩̹̺̰̝͈̱̽͌̚l̸̢̛̼̖̫̫̯̫̼̪̬̊̓̔̋̈̏́͛̂̃̊̈́̕ͅͅͅl̴̢̻̟̜͚̱̬̞̤̘͍̦͙̫͙̏ ̶͉̲̘̭̠̮̺̖̙̝̽̔̊̒͊̊̅͠ͅȋ̵̧̺̭͖̦͙̝̤̞͖̹̔͑̾͌́ṱ̸̨̛̝̗̄̍̊̄͆͛͑͐͋̾͛̏̓̚̚?̸̨̼̪̼̪͔̺͔͕͈̩̗̟̲̌̓͒̈́͛̚

He's assuming this is Frankie's. He's talked to Maggie a little about her monsters. They don't look like this.
talesuntold: (wolf 04)

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-09-02 12:50 am (UTC)(link)

Maggie's mind is still open to John when he appears, and there's not an ounce of fear at seeing what lurks under his human shape. Just love and relief. She feels safe with him, whatever he looks like. Perhaps even safer for it; if she has to be surrounded by horrors, at least one of those horrors is someone she trusts, down to the bottom of her heart.

She leans ever so gently into Frankie's leg, avoiding the worst of the wounds, bolstering her more emotionally than physically.

And she'll defer to Frankie's judgement here, but she's glad to hear that order, how firm and sure it is. She doesn't bother answering with words, only a low snarl through her shattered snout, and a wordless sense of agreement.

greatoldjohn: (the ravening one: teeth and stars)

cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] greatoldjohn 2024-09-02 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
John's answer isn't so much words as the sound of a thousand violins snarling in chorus as he does just that. The tentacles pull and limbs will yank out of sockets, or in a couple of spots, it seems as if he's forgotten to keep the tentacles blunt because they slice straight through. Arms, legs, even the furnace-covered head is being pulled off with a sickening crack and a scream of twisted metal before it's tossed into the endless rows of teeth and starlight and the crunching starts. Pieces are tossed in in various states of tear or slice and further destroyed before disappearing into the darkness until there is nothing left but a few embers burned into the floor and quite a lot of blood.

One of the tentacles moves to wipe around the maw even as the creature shrinks and changes and soon enough that is a hand on a large but essentially human-looking man, golden eyes still glowing with the molten heat of anger at this whole bullshit thing going on. He barely knows Frankie, but he still doesn't like this happening to her, doesn't like her having to face someone that she'd so viscerally request to be destroyed in front of her.

And he definitely doesn't like Maggie being hurt. Not at all.

"Okay," and his voice is back to normal, "would you two like me to heal you before I go? Or- I mean, I can maybe escort you somewhere. Unless... that is to say..." a glance down "it's pretty fucking dead but that's up to you. Though I would like to heal you both."
Edited (slight rephrase) 2024-09-02 01:00 (UTC)
talesuntold: (wolf 02)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-09-02 02:10 am (UTC)(link)

There's a slight flinch as John begins his attack, but then Maggie stands still, not looking away. And when it's done, when John is asking to heal them and Frankie's answering, she inclines her head the tiniest fraction of an inch.

Of course, darling. Jaw feels broken. Not sure about concussion. I never lost consciousness, but the blow was pretty bad and my head aches.

She takes a small step closer to him.

Will you also ask Frankie to pass my clothes, and to look away if she has any objection to nudity, or to seeing me transform? The middle ground between human and wolf is much uglier than either end form.

...If you saw or felt me flinch, it was the sound. That was a lot for my ears in this shape. I was never afraid of you.

greatoldjohn: (a gentleman: look to the light)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] greatoldjohn 2024-09-02 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
...I never thought you were. But thank you.

Sorry about the noise.


Sometimes, his temper gets the best of him. It's less of a problem here, where everyone is so very firmly a person to him with hopes and dreams and loved ones. He finds it so much harder to be angry in that case. But some kind of figment brought to life by bullshit that hurt people?

Fuuuuck that.

"Maggie would like her clothing," he says as he starts in on Frankie. He'll get the knee first, and then the burns and bruises. Then he's starting on Maggie. The head pain will fade first, then the jaw as it settles into the right place.

He'll breath out with a huff once he's done.

"Did I miss anything?"
greatoldjohn: (a gentleman: direct look)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] greatoldjohn 2024-09-02 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
The answer he gives to that is a gruff nod. He's pretty damn sure from the emotion in her voice, then and now, that there's a lot more to it than 'scary thing that was trying to hurt me'. And he's sure as fuck not asking about it right now.

"Glad I could help," he says honestly. Because even if his own monster doesn't get to die in front of him yet, maybe it's a little cathartic to kill someone else's for them.

He turns to Maggie.

"Do you want me to make a little curtain for you?"
talesuntold: (wolf 01)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-09-02 06:23 pm (UTC)(link)

Much better.

Once she's healed, Maggie licks and nuzzles John's hand, and she'll also butt her head affectionately against Frankie's leg.

I don't care. I was never especially shy, and becoming a wolf made me less so.

Whether John hides her or not, Maggie will start her transformation, bones cracking as her body reshapes, skin raw and painful as her fur vanishes, a soft whimper of pain that starts canine and ends human. If she's in view, there are gunshot and surgical scars visible on her stomach. As she quickly throws clothes on, she says, "Giving my senses a break. They're stronger than human in any shape, but this blunts the edges a little. Too much blood and noise for me. I'm so goddamn grateful you came, John."

greatoldjohn: (a gentleman: direct look)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] greatoldjohn 2024-09-03 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
John turns to look where she looked, but he doesn't see what she sees, doesn't know the shape in the darkness for what it is. It's just another thing that might come after them.

"I haven't... tried leaving this world. I'm not sure what might happen if I push too hard." He does not want to tear through something and damage the Barge or hurt people on either side of the divide. His power, in its raw form, without him carefully filtering it through safe spells, is not something he's comfortable with pushing. It's not something he remembers enough to.

"Maybe-"

And then something seems to call his attention in the distance. He breathes in deep and breathes out slowly.

"I think we might want to separate, though. If you think you're good?"
talesuntold: (7)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-09-03 02:25 am (UTC)(link)

Maggie darts in for a very quick hug, just a tight squeeze for a fraction of a second, then tells him, "Go. I'll call again if I need you. Be safe."

As for Frankie... Maggie tells her, "Keep the gun. When all of this is over, you're either returning it, or we're telling your warden you have it. I'll stay with you if I can, but I want you armed if we get separated."

greatoldjohn: (a gentleman: direct look)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] greatoldjohn 2024-09-04 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
"She should be. She's great."

John isn't going to miss a chance to be a cheerleader to one of his friends. Not hardly.

...but something is coming down the hallway.

"Okay, whatever that is might fuck with your heads just by looking at it. I'm going to head out. It'll probably follow me." A pause as he looks to Frankie. "You can call too if you need help. Just think it with intention."

Beat.

"If you can't use the communicator for some reason. That's easier, obviously."

And then he's going to start running towards the strange shape before veering off down a hallway.
talesuntold: (vlcsnap-2023-06-28-01h48m14s973)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-09-05 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)

Maggie gives Frankie and John a crooked smile at the compliments.

And once John is gone, Maggie tells her, "Telepathy is really convenient when I don't have human hands or vocal cords. Couldn't have called for help any other way just then."

She tilts her head. "I'm guessing this is not a talk-about-feelings moment, but if you need anything, let me know, okay? This thing's been digging into my issues too. I'm glad you got the catharsis of seeing yours torn to bits."

talesuntold: (vlcsnap-2023-06-28-01h28m38s084)

Re: cw body horror and extreme violence

[personal profile] talesuntold 2024-09-09 05:33 am (UTC)(link)

Her father, huh? "Yikes. Nothing like some parental nudity to go along with all the other sorts of trauma we're getting this week."