[Lucciola's Heart]

[soulping]

[As you step through Castling's mirror, you end up in a large, bright and blinding white space. It's so bright that it's difficult to see anything the first few moments. Your eyes will probably hurt a lot.]

Instructions | Hub | Mirror | Sky | Childhood | Servant Quarters | Castling | Guild | Dining Room | Rose Garden | Chessboard | Fireflies

[ooc: new areas will be unscreened as you gain access to them.
IRC chan is #firefly!]

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Instructions (don't reply to this comment)

[lucciola]

- There is no requirement to travel in a linear fashion in Castling's heart. You can go wherever you wish, and also revisit areas you've already been to as many times as you want. You will be able to pick up and move things, though some items will not be possible to move through areas. In example, there are some areas that will stay locked unless you move an item or bring something with you, etc. Some places will attempt to kill you, and in others Castling will treat you as an intruder and possibly chase you out unless you convince him otherwise.

- There will be one or two puzzles here and there, but it's more likely you will need to nudge resident Lucciolas to perhaps step out of their currently safe places/help them solve a situation or similar to progress. You will not be able to access the vital parts of the heart unless some requirements are met, however, there is a minimum and maximum amount of things you can change. What you change and how many things you change is up to you.

- There will be potential dangers everywhere besides the Hub, and you will feel as if you are being watched in pretty much every room. (There's only one exception to this.)

- Generally, every Castling you come upon will be very hesitant to have you around, but to what degree will vary. Do execute caution.

- TRY TO KEEP AN INVENTORY. I will do my best to keep up with what you move around, but it'd be very helpful if you helped haha ♥

HUB

[lucciola]

When your eyes have adjusted, you'll notice you're standing in a fairly large circular room. Everything is very sterile, and it seems as if you're dirtying it by dragging in all the colours you are wearing. You'll also notice contours of doors lining the walls around you. They have no labels or marks, but none of them are quite alike. One is slightly ajar, another is jammed shut so tightly it looks like you'd need something very sturdy to force it open, a third seems to have started withering... In total, there are 10 doors. Well, right now, anyway. In the middle of the room is a chair with a looming shadowy figure on it. You cannot make out their features as of now, but they somehow make you uneasy and is a stark contrast to all the white.

Lastly, between two of the doors facing the chair stands a child who looks very much like Castling. He doesn't seem to notice you as you enter the room at first, his face an incredibly blank and silent mask.

YOUR DOORS ARE AS SUCH:
Ajar, Jammed, Brambled, Reflective, Whispy, Sterile & White, Silver, Red, Black & White, Wafty (it smells delicious!).

Re: HUB

[unguilded]

[ S ... taring at the figure in that chair for a couple of moments. But he quickly turns his attention to the child, approaching slowly so he doesn't look like he's coming in as any sort of threat, giving him enough time to hopefully notice him. ]

Hey. [ He keeps his voice low and gentle. ]

Re: HUB

[foulhussy]

[Yeah, not a big fan of sinister shadowy figures, so she's glaring at that. But she's also got her eyes on the li'l Lucciola. So, uh, she has to be all nice and shit, right?]

Oi, kid? You alright?

Re: HUB

[mysterioustype]

[ Considering the room carefully for a moment. Hm. He calms calm, casual as he inspects the room. He gives the figure in the chair another look before going to the child... ]

Good day.

Re: HUB

[thexfactor]

Castling . . . ?

Re: HUB

[perspire]

[ looking at the babycastling ]

Uh, hey there...

Re: HUB

[unguilded]

[ HE HATH RETURNED.

...... Aaaaaaand it checking up on the tiny here as well as that chair again, before he does anything else. :| ]

MIRROR

[lucciola]

As everything, this place is also white, but this time, you’re also surrounded by some of the Ometotchtli’s dorm layout. It’s not everything though, and only covers a part of the mirror area. The particular part where Castling’s mirror stands. However, this mirror seems different from his, a little weird. The shards in it look cracked and broken, as if something hit the mirror at a high velocity. There are a few stray shards on the floor, crushed to a degree. Greeting you upon entry is one Lucciola standing with a broken shard in his hand. He’s not paying you much attention, because his shard is more important right now. In front of the mirror stands another Castling, seemingly in the process of taking out a few pieces of the already broken shards inside. He looks up as you enter, confused.

Also if you notice it, as you entered the room, something whisked away into the shadows, too fast for you to really see it.

Re: MIRROR

[thexfactor]

Castling, wait! I have your shards.

Re: MIRROR

[unguilded]

[ Two Lucciolas together. This could be hot.

He noticed that movement out of the corner of his eye. But he gives a wave to the Lucciola that seems to have noticed him first. ]

Hey.

SKY

[lucciola]

Whether you walked through a door or similar, you’re now climbing a rope ladder upwards! As you reach the top, you’re in a huge darkish hangar. It doesn’t look the least bit like the sterile environment you’ve gotten used to, and it feels less… imposing or dangerous. It’s very light, however, due to the large bay door open to the right of you, showing the endless expanse of sky and clouds. To the left, there’s a silver vanship, and also two gliders(??? what’s that all about?).

And an ecstatic looking Rook, pushing a Castling towards said vanship. FLYING! LET’S GO FLY. It… exudes an air of calm and happy, and doesn’t seem the least bit harmful. Castling is silently complying to Rook’s excited exclamations, and they start climbing into the vanship. Catch up…?

Re: SKY

[unguilded]

[ ... SKYBONER TIME?

Also wow looking at ... himself is really weird. Can I make out with myself??

Looking around the hangar. Is it a standard looking hangar? Or does it resemble one from their memories? Either way, once he's done taking a look around, he jogs up to catch up to that sexy guy ... and also Castling. ]

Re: SKY

[foulhussy]

[Oh, wow hey, it's that ship! Heading closer to it, maybe entering the line of site of the Rook and Castling in the hangar.]

CHILDHOOD

[lucciola]

Did you just enter a room? Because it sure does look more like the underside of a table… there’s two children there, who are obviously Castling and Rook. Rook’s pushing food at Castling, it’s all very hush hush and secret and Castling is devouring the food as if he hasn’t had anything to eat in days. (And probably hasn’t either). It is all very sweet and there are a lot of feelings and Castling is nearly breaking down at the mention that Rook considers him his friend. There’s an overlying sense of fear at this whole scene, however.

There’s a glinting at the edge of the table cloth hanging at the far end of the table. If you head that way, you’ll notice that this is a much larger room than just a table hideout. If you look outside, you will see various shrouded doorways. (There are no doors, but there is fabric obscuring whatever is inside the smaller parts of this room. There are four of them in total: gold, silver, white and black.

[ooc: this room has mini rooms! Each might have something of importance, but you’re free to ignore them and move on if you’d so wish.]

Re: CHILDHOOD

[perspire]

[ going to check out the white room first ]

Re: CHILDHOOD

[thexfactor]

[ let's try the gold door then ]

SERVANT QUARTERS

[lucciola]

Opening this door, you’re greeted with a very sparse bedroom. There’s nothing else than a tidy bed and a chair in a corner that looks very unused. You cannot really see any personal effects, besides a guild uniform hanging from a hook on the wall. However personal that can be anyway. This place doesn’t look very inviting, and it doesn’t look like someone lives there, aside from sleeping in the bed. It’s... boring, to say the least, and very small.

The thing off about this room isn’t the uninviting feel of it, but maybe the fact that it’s currently occupied by three different Castlings. They do not appear to have taken notice of each other, but are all occupied with similar tasks. On the bed sits a tiny Castling, carefully binding a wound on his arm, his face blank. On the chair there’s a slightly older Castling, taking care of more numerous shallow wounds, and lastly, a currently aged Castling sits on the floor, leaning slightly against the bed. He seems to have troubles sitting up properly, but he doesn’t move a muscle in his face to show his discomfort, and instead makes sure to slowly but methodically tend to whatever ails him. In short, it’s not a very happy scene.

Re: SERVANT QUARTERS

[unguilded]

[ ...... Ah.

ROOK has gained +10000000000000000 sad feelings and guilt. Now it's multiplied by four.

Four.

Four Lucciolas hurt in some way.

His heart can't take this.

But all the same, he glances at each of them to size up the severity of each situation. Little one looks okay (STILL HURTS), Slightly older one looks ... a little less okay but still okay (STILL HURTS), big one looks like he might be in trouble too, so Rook thinks fast, bringing the Lucciola he's helping to the bed. ]

Here-- here, it's okay.

[ There's a tightness in his voice when he speaks, like he's trying his best to hold down his upset. But he's trying so hard to quash that because he can't, he can't falter. He won't falter. ]

Sorry ... this is probably going to hurt a little.

[ And thank you previous room tinybf, because Rook gets started on carefully tending to his wounds. While he does that, though, he addresses the youngest two Lucciolas in the room. ]

Hey ... are you two okay?

[ He asks, and then realizes that if they both notice who he is he's going to get that ever familiar 'I am fine' response even if they're not. ]

CASTLING

[lucciola]

Did this door just throw you back into Kyriakos? I'm sure you're super familiar with the Bunny dorm by now. It's silent, as usual, and some fuzzy images of people around you, though they cannot see you and ignore you completely. In the alcove with the mirrors, Castling's is the only one that's clear in outline. The others are as fuzzy as the person they belong to.

There are some places you can go to. The mirrors, the quarters, or you can also stay here in the living room.

Re: CASTLING

[unguilded]

[ First he's gonna try poking and catching the attention of those fuzzy people. ]

Hello?

GUILD

[lucciola]

You suddenly find yourself in a very long corridor. There are no windows, no indications of doors or any type of exits, other than the corridor breaking up into a T-section further ahead. To be honest, it looks a little claustrophobic. Oh, and did I mention the white? Yep, this is sterile white too. The only difference to this kind of white is that it's shimmering with a bit of pink, since the white is reflecting the soft colours of a few tendrils of red roses on long slithering thorny brambles that line the walls. There aren't many of them, but they look like they're in the process of invading the space you’re currently standing in. If you imagined it to be silent, you're very wrong. At the back of your mind, you will now hear the constant murmur of voices, as a thick layer almost drowning out any other sound. Try your best to ignore it.

If you turn around to find the door you came in through, you'll notice it's gone. Don't worry though, it's somewhere here, (probably), you just need to find it. Further on, there's a flash of something black speeding off down the path. You're at least on the right track.

If you look down, you can see the child from the hub! At least it looks like him. He's… tugging a little at your sleeve, seemingly agitated by this place.

Re: GUILD

[unguilded]

[ ... OH FUCKING BOY.

Rook takes a look around, grimacing at the roses. He also takes in a deep breath (please don't also have a strong scent ugh) because he knows where he is, must keep himself up and knock back the sudden uneasiness he feels. There's a look of dismayed recognition in his eyes, and he briefly tries to focus on those voices if only to see if he can make any of them out.

Still, he looks down to the tiny, tilting his head a little as he puts up a small smile. ]

Hey ... you okay?

ROSE GARDEN

[lucciola]

This room just feels off. The door is super heavy, and you will cut your arms on the thorns as you work on opening it. If stung by the thorns, you will notice a mildly nauseating poison taking effect in a few moments, with varying effect, depending. Be ready to feel a little sick and unfocused.

Inside is a huge and lavish rose garden, with rose bushes as far as your eyes can see, arranged in low labyrinths and well cut formations. The air is thick with the sickly sweet smell of roses and it would look pretty amazing if you didn't compare it to what you know it represents.

A female voice is carried by the wind, but there are no real words she's saying (for now). It's hard to make out. She sounds ... very unpleasant.

Re: ROSE GARDEN

[unguilded]

[ And very familiar.

Trying to be extra wary of those thorns, but ... ouch. One gets him, and he pauses briefly to swallow back the sudden wave of sickness he feels. But he forces himself through it to get that door open.

... and he's not surprised at what he enters into. He breathes in, but he tries not to smell those roses.

But once he catches the sound of that voice, his mind immediately starts to race to fight off the jolt of sudden, heavy fear that's always gone along with hearing it. You're inside Lucciola. You're not home. She's not really here, it's not real, not the same sort of real it'd be on the outside. ]

CHESSBOARD

[lucciola]

As you step through this door, the floor takes on a marble quality, making any heels click when you walk. It's unmistakable that this is just one huge chessboard. The pieces are set up for play, but some spaces lack occupants. Apparently, you need to jump into the fray and fill the spots! The door behind you locks and it doesn't seem like there’s a way out from this. On the opposite side of the board stands another adult Lucciola, posing as one of the pawn.

Perhaps we should play a game.

Re: CHESSBOARD

[unguilded]

[ ... MOTHERFUCKING HARRY POTTER WIZARD CHESS?

YEAH.

And somewhere outside of Lucciola's heart, back in Kyriakos, Rook's chess skill shard glistens a little. ]

A game?

[ He looks around, and then back over to Lucciola with a smile. ]

Okay!

FIREFLIES

[lucciola]

You find yourself floating in a black space. You can’t even see your hands in front of you, if you’re even able to lift them, that is. You’re incredibly tired and the poison is starting to actually take a toll; your whole body hurts and you just want to sleep. It’ll feel like it takes hours, but after a few minutes the darkness is slowly lifting as if dawn is breaking. What you see is a horizon with clouds and a sun rising from the surface of… water?

Suddenly, gravity decides you exist again, and you’re rather rudely dropped… a few inches to the ground. (ground?). Below you is a soft cushion of grass and sand. You’re at a beach stretching out far in both directions. Behind you is a large and lush forest. There’s even a vanship in the background, the metal frames glinting weakly in the dim light.

And you’re not the only ones around. All around you are fireflies, thousands upon thousands of small glowing insects, darting this way and that. They mingle with the light from the sun, taking turns illuminating your surroundings. As the sunlight grows brighter, the fireflies seem to disappear, all flying towards a certain point close to your location, only to gather into a form that eventually turns out to be Castling, who promptly sits down in the grass in surprise when he sees you. He still looks injured, bloody and weary, but his eyes are clear.

Re: FIREFLIES

[unguilded]

[ That drop gets another pretty prominent wince out of him when it jars his wound slightly.

But once he sees Castling, he looks into his eyes and

beelines right over to him, bleeding be damned. ]