PLAYER PLOT: fear is the mind-killer

[fullmoon]

CHARACTERS: You and all your least favorite things.
LOCATION: Shipwide.
WARNINGS: Violence, gore, monsters, psych trauma. (Please warn for any potential triggers—e.g. medical horror, eye stuff, recollection of past sexual trauma—in your subject lines.)
SUMMARY: Boggarts. See the plot post for a full timeline if you want to forward-date; otherwise, watch this space for updates.
NOTES: Whatever happens, however this ends, remember that it's Draco Malfoy's fault.

JAN 22

If you've been paying attention, you should already be on edge. Ward and Resnik have returned without many answers. There's the dead pirate again. The Tranquility is being pursued. People are talking about violent confrontation like it's inevitable, any cycle now. Any day. And now Morgoth is back, somewhere in the corridors.

If you keep an eye out, you won't find him. But you might find something else.

JAN 23

Never mind about Morgoth.

JAN 24

Despite very well-intended claims to the contrary (see above), the mounting evidence suggests that boggarts can be killed. Also, there's probably more than one. Sorry about that.

Comments

{ locked to bellamy }

[tectus]

{ cw: violence? }

[ she can't fight, because it's her brother. she shot lincoln to stop him killing bellamy, but when the monster is bellamy, what the hell is she supposed to do? so she runs, because she has to get him away from people first, and she runs slowly to keep him following, because she needs to get him to the medical bay. clarke has done this before, she can do it again. octavia can save her brother. she has to.

except it's hard maintaining a pace between 'out of harms way' and 'keep coming after me', and being bait was so much easier when she could just lie on the ground with a weapon in one hand and her tongue between her teeth to keep her from crying out. it's harder when it's your brother trying to tear out your throat with bare hands, and she abandoned her machete somewhere along the way, anyway. weaponless and desperate, she keeps the twisted form of her brother half running after her, and she almost makes it to medical. almost isn't good for much, but there you go.

almost sees a hand close around her throat, and before she knows it she's fighting for her life while staring into the eyes of the one person she never thought would be capable of actually doing something like this. she should know it isn't real, but this is different. this isn't a nameless faceless monster, this is bellamy. it's only just that she manages to drag his hand off of her, and gasping for air she drives her elbow into his nose and runs. there isn't time for dangling the bait now, she has to get away and fast.

octavia is still crying - from the crushed windpipe, she'll insist, but there you go - when she rounds a corner and slams sharply back into her brother. she doesn't wait long enough to see that he doesn't have the bloodlust, doesn't have the anger, or the vicious growl of the reapers. she doesn't wait long enough to see that this isn't the twisted form of her brother that had been stalking her before, she just swings her fist back with the intention of landing just about as solid a punch to his jaw as she can manage. ]

[unguard]

[Earlier today, Bellamy watched his sister die. At least, that's what the boggart he'd run into wanted him to think, and those few minutes he actually believed it had been torture. Having the spell broken by Clarke helped get him back on track, but what he really wanted just to be sure was to talk to Octavia- even if it was just for a few minutes. Just to see with his own eyes that she was really alright, and to make sure she wasn't suffering through the same kind of thing he had to deal with.

Knowing their luck...

On the bright side, thinks he understands now, though, the way these things work and the best ways to defend against them. You either let the scene play out, you wound the boggart, or (as in Anderson's case), you convince the victim that what they're seeing isn't reality. Usually it's some sad or touching scene, some deep root-you-to-the-spot fear that keeps people paralyzed, and so when he seeks out his sister during one of these attacks, he's not expecting a sucker punch from a girl who's five foot nothing and a hundred-something pounds soaking wet. He's definitely not expecting it to hand so hard it sends him staggering backward.]

What the hell?!

[Is almost snarled, one hand coming up to press against a lip that- yeah, that's split alright.

Nice right hook, baby sis.

There's a burning demand, a question written clearly all over his face as he stares at her. A question that's answered less than a second later when another figure joins them in the hall, half obscured by distance and shadow, pausing to catalogue the two of them. It has a familiar figure, a shape Bellamy thinks he recognizes, and his brow furrows.

Is that...?]

[tectus]

[ her knuckles meet the solid block of...well, of bellamy's face, and it hurts, but it's not enough to stop her from drawing her arm back just as fast. in fact she's ready to lash out again, to do what she can to subdue him even if that means a little external damage when he speaks.

reapers don't talk, and they certainly don't get mad at their little sisters for decking them in the jaw. her hand is still curled in a fist, still half raised and ready to lash out again when her eyes go wide. it makes perfect sense. it's not like it's a difficult concept to grasp, but logical understanding and emotional processing are two very different things, and currently octavia's emotional processing is about four steps behind any kind of comprehension. ]

You- [ give her a moment.

her eyes are still red, throat still a little hoarse, and she looks worse for wear, sure, but it's clear to see which of the siblings came out of this one with more battle wounds. her hand moves up quickly to touch her own lip, around the point where bellamy's is split, and she's about to offer something in the way of an apology when her very own boggart catches up with them. ]

Shit, [ her voice lowers, tremors even, and octavia honestly doesn't know if she's felt this kind of fear before. it was one thing when they were just reapers, she could handle those, but no matter how much she tries to convince herself they aren't the real thing, those are damn good replicas of some of the closest people to her in her life.

her hand darts out again, but this time it's to grab bellamy's arm, and her eyes flick between the advancing shape down the hall and the decidedly less cannibalistic brother beside her. ] Listen. It's you.

[unguard]

[She says you, and he takes a moment to stare at her like she's got six heads and they're all speaking backwards German, beause yeah, me. Who the hell else was she expecting, and why did they deserve a sucker-punch to the face? He hopes his annoyance comes through loud and clear, though he can't distinguish whether or not she picks up on it because she's too busy flashing him the the world's about to end look, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't get his concern rising up swiftly and heavily.

And then that figure at the end of the hallway catches both of their attentions, ending the silent conversation as abruptly as it started. Whatever it is, it's not good. Octavia's usually pretty brave, and if something has her spooked, it has to be big.

His suspicions are confirmed the second she grabs his arm, though he still doesn't quite comprehend it until the figure starts toward then at a steady and increasing pace.

Oh.

It's him, literally. Except- no, no way, definitely not him, definitely a million times worse than him, because he's feral. He's black-eyed and scuffed, he's an animal standing upright, and he's barrelling toward the two of them. The sight is so bizarre Bellamy's almost rooted by the sight of it, but when he realizes he- it- reaper-him only has eyes for Octavia, it all clicks into place.

This is her fear, and no matter that it came from her imagination, it's as real and as dangerous as it could possibly get. He surges forward as soon as the realization hits, hands gripping Octavia's arm, tugging at her, forcing her into motion alongside him.]

Come on- come on, we have to move, now, this way.

[He orders, jerking her the way she'd been leading Reaper-Bellamy in the first place. Not because he has any stupid notions of curing fake-him, but because the other way was blocked and if he can get his hands on a- a tool, a scalpel, a tranquilizer, he'll be able to solve this problem a hell of a lot more easily.]

[tectus]

[ ad the thing is, she knows they aren't real - especially now with her brother standing next to her, dragging her away from the monster that's found its way back to pursuing them. she's known for a few days now, had time to process that and understand that, and that's why she'd been out in the first place. they didn't scare her any more, she could start actually helping other people. but maybe because they didn't scare her, or maybe just because they were getting stronger, they'd gotten a hell of a lot smarter and octavia had gotten a hell of a lot worse at separating reality with these products of people's imaginations.

it was a crapload easier to kill reapers that didn't look like your brother, basically.

she's still got half a foot in camp 'cure' when she starts to run. the longer she's with bellamy the easier it is to really force herself out of the mindset that she needs to save not-him, but whether or not she could actually kill the creature this time is something up for debate. with any luck they'll lose interest first, or find a new victim, but for now octavia's just half-running, half casting glances over her shoulder to make sure it's still coming after them. which, it is. great. ]

There's- down this way- [ she gestures at a hallway they're coming up to, giving bellamy a light shove in the right direction. ] I dropped my knife, it should still be there.

[ whether or not she's going to be able to pull that metaphorical trigger, she doesn't know, but it's the closest option they have. ]

[unguard]

[ Bellamy doesn't have a lot of faith in that finding a new victim possibility. If these fears are meant to be personal, it makes sense that this version of himself would doggedly pursue his sister until the very end. Which means that he's got to find a way for Octavia to face it if they want to finally break whatever spell this thing has over her. Somehow, deep within himself, instinct tells him that he can't just step in and kill the thing himself- it isn't his fear, after all, and for all the good that will do it may just pop back up around the next corner as soon as he's not there to protect her.

Her shove sways him a few inches, but then his heels dig in and an arm shoots out to grab her by the wrist.

He pins her with a look. ]

I'll hold him off. Go get your knife.

[ He says seriously, a look in his eyes that suggests he knows she's smart enough to figure out how this has to play out. Even more, that he trusts her to do it.

She's strong. If she can kick his ass on a normal day, she can kick it when he's an imaginary reaper.]

[tectus]

[ she wants to protest, she really does, but neither of them are stupid, and it barely takes a moment for her to catch onto what bellamy's saying. this in her, she needs to do this. this is her fear. and it shouldn't be that hard, right? she shot lincoln, maybe would have even killed him to save her brother in that cave, why is this any different? if anything it should be easier, with bellamy at her side and this imaginary copy stalking them down the halls. it isn't him. it should be easier. ]

Bell- [ she hesitates, because even if it should be easier, to use the knife she has to get close enough to see his eyes again. a gun would have been easier, and she can't help but curse herself for not somehow anticipating this and getting hold of one sooner. this is too close, too personal, and octavia doesn't know if she can follow through, but with a look from bellamy to the boggart she knows there isn't another choice. ] Okay. Okay, fine just-- I'll be two seconds.

[ and with that she ducks out down the hall she'd tried to shove bellamy towards, scanning the floors with a slight edge of desperation. the fears might be imaginary, but the damage they can do is very real, and even if they're not trying to kill her who knows what will happen to anyone trying to get in the way?

it takes longer than she'd like, heart pounding in her throat the whole time, but finally the glint of metal notifies her to the blade on the floor and she scoops it up, all but sprinting back to the corridor she'd left the bellamy's in. ]

Hey! [ she shouts, voice harsh and only wavering a little as she tries to bring the boggart back to her. ] Ugly, how about round two?

[ them's fighting words, they are, and on the whole a hell of a lot more confident than she actually feels to boot. ]