Ⅰ. ARRIVAL & THE TEMPLE The islands, Gideon continues to learn, are full of color. She expects as much compared to the Ninth House. Perhaps even next to the dead decaying First House. It's still so much. Colors blur, and Gideon ducks her way around and through the loud noise. Only way out is through, yeah? (no, but it's her answer for a lot of things). Her mind skips from element to element, unsure how much it resembles the other houses or even farther abroad parts of the universe.
The element that grounds her and nabs her focus is the hammer with the sign: test your strength. This, yes, this. Gideon knows this. Someone's ahead of her, and she's got enough sense of fair play to wait her turn. She postures, watching them. "How hard is it?" she asks, teasingly.
Ⅱ. HALL OF MIRRORS CW: murder, blood/horror
Buddy system is a little suspicious (the last time Gideon followed the buddy system people were being murdered), but sure. The first reflection she sees looks a lot like her. Her clothes are all black (she's got some color now), and most importantly Gideon has her sword. She longs for it the way she needs air and food and sleep and Harrow. Gideon holds up her hand to the mirror and stares.
She's no Naberius Tern, so Gideon moves on.
The Hall of Mirrors stops being as fun when Gideon sees herself falling asleep in a broad mirror that drips with blood. It drips from her too, even as her eyes droop. Each time Gideon blinks, a spear of light sears against her eyes, and more blood coats her hands. Her mistakes. Her failures. Her face flushes, and Gideon strides farther on. She glimpses further images of herself--holding Harrow in that water-filled hole (and her corpse impaled on a wrought-iron fence), eleven year old Gideon dazed, Gideon fighting heralds (as herself, not as Harrow, which she knew didn't technically happen, but she had fought them, so it had, shit just got complicated).
Standing at the exit doors, Gideon sighs and feels scraped dry. "Gideon fucking Nav," she declares at the glass series of reflections, holding all of the versions of her. Nothing happens.
Ⅲ. THE CAROUSEL Other people may have learned to expect shit to happen. Gideon is slow or stubborn or both. She's having fun damn it, and sometimes that means riding some four legged construct that's pinned to the floor. She laughs as it speeds up and laughs and laughs and-
She's laughing but gasps shut. The gangly eleven year old gulps back and eyes everything suspiciously. This has to be Harrow's doing. No one else just does this. Even these people look much too young (how many corpses is she puppeting now? Are there more?). Her jaw sets, and Gideon climbs off the construct (Harrow is soooooooo going to scratch her face off if she learns Gideon climbed her precious skeleton construct). She backs up and backs up and what the ever-dying fuck there's a sky.
Ⅳ. COULROPHOBIA CW: suicide, child neglect
Gideon hasn't seen Harrow, and she doesn't know what to make of the other people. No one knows her, and no one's immediately come up and done whatever. AKA absolutely fucking normal. Except most people aren't wearing face paint, and those that do aren't skulls. That's even weirder than people not wearing face paint (because that is the way her face is when she wakes up in the morning, before someone holds her down and paints it on).
Then it's worse. Because someone knows what she did, what was supposed to be that 'gotcha' moment. Everyone who knows was dead or Harrow. Harrow wouldn't tell. Gideon definitely wouldn't tell. Someone knows? Even as the laughter racks her body and the tears are as much from guilt and the sinking sensation in her stomach, though not the painful way all this laughing tears at her stomach (Aiglamene's lessons are harder), Gideon's scared. She tries to find a way to be alone, but it is hard to slink around in broad daylight (thank something for the sunglasses) and while laughing.
OOC: Internet access issues --> responses will be sporadic for the time being.
Gideon Nav | The Locked Tomb (content
The islands, Gideon continues to learn, are full of color. She expects as much compared to the Ninth House. Perhaps even next to the dead decaying First House. It's still so much. Colors blur, and Gideon ducks her way around and through the loud noise. Only way out is through, yeah? (no, but it's her answer for a lot of things). Her mind skips from element to element, unsure how much it resembles the other houses or even farther abroad parts of the universe.
The element that grounds her and nabs her focus is the hammer with the sign: test your strength. This, yes, this. Gideon knows this. Someone's ahead of her, and she's got enough sense of fair play to wait her turn. She postures, watching them. "How hard is it?" she asks, teasingly.
Ⅱ. HALL OF MIRRORS
CW: murder, blood/horror
Buddy system is a little suspicious (the last time Gideon followed the buddy system people were being murdered), but sure. The first reflection she sees looks a lot like her. Her clothes are all black (she's got some color now), and most importantly Gideon has her sword. She longs for it the way she needs air and food and sleep and Harrow. Gideon holds up her hand to the mirror and stares.
She's no Naberius Tern, so Gideon moves on.
The Hall of Mirrors stops being as fun when Gideon sees herself falling asleep in a broad mirror that drips with blood. It drips from her too, even as her eyes droop. Each time Gideon blinks, a spear of light sears against her eyes, and more blood coats her hands. Her mistakes. Her failures. Her face flushes, and Gideon strides farther on. She glimpses further images of herself--holding Harrow in that water-filled hole (and her corpse impaled on a wrought-iron fence), eleven year old Gideon dazed, Gideon fighting heralds (as herself, not as Harrow, which she knew didn't technically happen, but she had fought them, so it had, shit just got complicated).
Standing at the exit doors, Gideon sighs and feels scraped dry. "Gideon fucking Nav," she declares at the glass series of reflections, holding all of the versions of her. Nothing happens.
Ⅲ. THE CAROUSEL
Other people may have learned to expect shit to happen. Gideon is slow or stubborn or both. She's having fun damn it, and sometimes that means riding some four legged construct that's pinned to the floor. She laughs as it speeds up and laughs and laughs and-
She's laughing but gasps shut. The gangly eleven year old gulps back and eyes everything suspiciously. This has to be Harrow's doing. No one else just does this. Even these people look much too young (how many corpses is she puppeting now? Are there more?). Her jaw sets, and Gideon climbs off the construct (Harrow is soooooooo going to scratch her face off if she learns Gideon climbed her precious skeleton construct). She backs up and backs up and what the ever-dying fuck there's a sky.
Ⅳ. COULROPHOBIA
CW: suicide, child neglect
Gideon hasn't seen Harrow, and she doesn't know what to make of the other people. No one knows her, and no one's immediately come up and done whatever. AKA absolutely fucking normal. Except most people aren't wearing face paint, and those that do aren't skulls. That's even weirder than people not wearing face paint (because that is the way her face is when she wakes up in the morning, before someone holds her down and paints it on).
Then it's worse. Because someone knows what she did, what was supposed to be that 'gotcha' moment. Everyone who knows was dead or Harrow. Harrow wouldn't tell. Gideon definitely wouldn't tell. Someone knows? Even as the laughter racks her body and the tears are as much from guilt and the sinking sensation in her stomach, though not the painful way all this laughing tears at her stomach (Aiglamene's lessons are harder), Gideon's scared. She tries to find a way to be alone, but it is hard to slink around in broad daylight (thank something for the sunglasses) and while laughing.
OOC: Internet access issues --> responses will be sporadic for the time being.