Week 5

[airlockedmods]

[As with the weeks before, life in the Fantasy Sweet returns to something resembling normalcy with shocking efficiency. The second floor rest area and Adventure Zone Death Orb Room are spotless again, the demon glitter has been vacuumed, the deflated orbs have been replaced. It's like none of it ever happened, like three more friends aren't dead and stored away in the guest house morgue.

There's a new floor to explore, their "reward" for a job well done.]

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday



[ooc: Don't forget to to turn in your activity for week 4, submit your memory regains and put in your threads for the Benefactors!]

Comments

[goteachother]

[If anyone wants Queenie during anything resembling normal daytime hours they'll have to do some looking. She's not in Room 3. She's not in any of her usual spaces...

She's in Kip's Room mourning and mostly being an emotional trainwreck.

Just before the kitchen closes she can be seen collecting a couple of knives.

And then she'll be in the garden once again, throwing knives at trees. Or at least trying to. This time there's no alcohol involved so her aim is better but the force needed to actually get them to stick is still difficult for her. She... doesn't want to have to hurt anyone.]

garden

[plugout]

... Whoa.

[ He's watching her from the entrance, eyebrows raised. ]

You're, uh... not bad at that.

[goteachother]

[She didn't really expect anyone else to be out this late. She jumps a little when he speaks, the knives dipping in the air.]

I've never... done anything like this before. [Not exactly modesty or a defense just... a statement.]

garden

[myocordial]

[Of all the things he expected to see, Queenie of all people throwing knives is... not even close to on the list. But it is an interesting sight, to be sure.]

How much experience do you have with this?

[goteachother]

[She looks up from collecting her knives, bounced away from the tree instead of embedding into it again. A sigh and she doesn't meet his gaze.]

I... well I don't. Not really.

[myocordial]

Hm, I thought as much. You lack conviction.

[goteachother]

[His choice of words is enough to make her laugh, soft and sad and maybe with a brief edge of hysteria to it. She feels like she's never going to stop being on edge.]

So many spells take conviction. If you don't believe it, want it. They're not effective.

This is just... [She doesn't want this. But she doesn't want to feel so helpless anymore either.]

[myocordial]

You don't want to hurt anyone... correct?

[Which isn't surprising. Queenie... really doesn't seem like the type to seriously hurt anyone.]

Which is fine, but... It does sort of defeat the point of practicing this, doesn't it?

[goteachother]

I don't want to sit back and let people get hurt tryin ta protect me, either.

[She doesn't want to see Tani hurt because of her, not after Kip.]

I don need- [A shaky breath.] need anyone playin the hero for me.

[myocordial]

...I understand that. The desire to protect yourself, as a form of protecting others.

[Because that's really what it is, isn't it...]

And there's nothing wrong with wanting this. But you'll have to get past your reluctance or you won't be able to do anything when it really counts.

[goteachother]

[She bites her lip, looking down and away. He's right, she knows that. But she also doesn't know how to get better at it. To be more okay with hurting someone.]

I-

But how?

[myocordial]

The same way you do anything else. You simply will it.

[He takes one of the knives. It's not anything he'd usually use, but that's fine. He knows the theory behind it.]

You can't look at it as choosing to hurt someone. If you worry about the result too much, then any action you take will be useless. [He turns, throwing the knife at a tree himself. It sticks.] Focus on the action completely. Don't think about anything but what you need to do.

[goteachother]

[She watches him, the way he moves through the throw, the angle of the knife.]

Just... a series of actions. [She repeats the idea to herself, tilting her head, lifting the other knife with her magic. But still she hesitates.]

That's so hard. Not thinking about the consequences.