Repose

[Individually, Claire, Eames, possibly Misha.]

[It's technically not in his wheelhouse. It's probably against the rules. It may not be quite physically possible. But the being that is Janus is brushing at the edges of the subconscious of each, individually, at different times. If there's a dream, there's some of him in it, a presence in a way, like he's standing on a doorstep. He brings with him a heavy cloud of depression, and it's a pressure of sadness outside that boundary that everyone has between the sleeping mind and reality. It's perfectly possible, in the way of dreams, to not even notice he's there, or to choose to keep that oppressive sadness out of a resting mind.

If he meets with too much of that darkness, he doesn't stay, and the brush of contact is gone, fast.]

[public:]

Alone

From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—
Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From ev’ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—
From the torrent, or the fountain—
From the red cliff of the mountain—
From the sun that ’round me roll’d
In its autumn tint of gold—
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass’d me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—

-Edgar Allan Poe



[locked to misha b:]

Thinking back on our last conversation, I feel I was being far too harsh. You have only ever tried to help me, Misha. I deeply regret if you were hurt by anything I said, as I suspect you might have been. I'm sorry.

→ The summer heat disperses, and Repose is left with beautiful days in wake of the sticky summer months. The air gets cooler, and the breeze that blows through the trees feels almost magically refreshing. And something else happens as the heat is ushered out of the small town: Fireflies appear. The fireflies light up Repose's night sky, as if drawn there. It's a beautiful display, and residents who venture out late in the evening, when the town is shuttered up and asleep, get a light show like no other. The fireflies dance every night, almost as if performing, before disappearing into the new fall cool. Residents spread blankets on the grass and turn their faces toward the sky.

→ In the Capital, two teenage runaways wander into the local precinct claiming they're from 1700s France. After an extensive psychiatric evaluation, the teenagers claim to have been living in a book in the old Vade Mecum library. The library, which features non-fiction books and letters from various time periods, and which has a strict policy of all reading materials remaining within the library itself, has been inundated with visitors since the teens made their unlikely claims. No similar cases have been reported, though, notably, two visitors who signed in at the front desk 48-hours earlier have not been seen since.

→ There's something loose in Repose. Unseen by any of the town's residents, there's a small creature causing mischief. It steals small items from homes, scampers away with food from counters and plates, and it sounds like a small monkey. The creature climbs into open windows and down chimneys, leaving small-scale chaos in his wake. The creature doesn't try to hurt anyone, and even the things it steals are tiny. It leaves a breeze in its wake, and if your rings or chicken nuggets go missing, this invisible mischief-maker is probably the reason why.

[From the Mean-Eyed Cat.]

[Locked to Janus A]
Do you need anything, Janus?

[Locked to Atticus M]
"There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight. Then there is a depth of thought untouched by words, and deeper still a gulf of formless feelings untouched by thought." Zora Neale Hurston.

[Locked to Atticus M+Janus A (Wolf Demon Soldier)]
This is better done in person, but I'm going to get us started. Janus, is there any way to undo what you did? Is there any way for us to help?

[Locked to Cat C]
How're you, Cat?

[Locked to Claire J+Jude C]
Just wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing.

[public]

so if living inside a book is possible and feasible and without side-effects, answers on a postcard as to what you'd pick. i'm ruminating, over the odds of walking into my favorite tome and ruining it completely.