Bringing in Spring with a worthy revel

[onewiththerevel]

[With the changing of seasons, many Nexus visitors are very happy to see the snow melt away and life returning to their beloved home. Spring is here!

It appears overnight: a large pantheon in the center of the Nexus forum, and once can only guess how such a great building was erected without anyone noticing. Atop the Patheon are two golden thrones, adorned with gemstones of great value. No one seems to be sitting there, but they seem to hold a great deal of importance to the cloaked humans who guard the Pantheon entrance.

The land in front of the Pantheon is paved with smooth, old stones in the shape of a large circle. Lush flowers and grass grown along the outskirts of the cropping, full of beautiful and exotic plants. Truly the host of this revel wants even nature to bend before their whim.

On the left and right sides of the sides of the circle are two long marble tables, where different food and drink await those who enter. Freshly cooked meat. Ripe fruits and unsullied wine. Whatever your heart desires, be it simple or sweet, you will be hard pressed to not find it on one of the tables. Near the tables is also a large group of tents, adorned with many plush chairs and sofas for those who like to relax while indulging.

The center of the circle has a large bonfire pit, carved of fine stone, lit with a brilliant (almost unearthly) red fire. Comforting to those seeking warmth or invigorating to the souls of the weary: it carries an important symbol for the revel: let your soul burn as hot as the flames inside. Which, to the satyr, it means that everyone present should be partying and indulging with one another. There seems to be plenty of space for dancing and socializing alike, whatever your preference may be.

The entrance into this festivity is monitored by a group of half-human, half-goat satyr. They don’t seem to be picky about who gets let in, assuming you’re not here to ruin the fun, but it would be wise to check it with them first. This is a masquerade-style party, so all of the guests need masks.

But there can’t be anything possible wrong with such a wonderful party, right? Perhaps things are not all as they seem….]

((Here's your OOC guide guide to this event. Post when you can as you like, no worries. Have fun!))

((The second half of the event is live link here Please read the OOC thread so you know the details!))

Comments

[mynameisnotbrad]

"You're not getting in the way, Josh." Dave manages to say that, for better or worse. He should be trying to get the Canadian teenager to leave, but this is his friend. Someone he's shared drinks with. Talked hours on hours with in the past. He doesn't want to ruin their friendship by sending Josh away, but Dave knows the danger of staying here.

He motions for Josh to follow him inside the Pantheon. "We have some time before the big finals of the festival starts up. There's a few things I need to discuss with you, mainly about the future of our business." The woman follows behind Dave, but clearly has her eyes on Josh as well. He's a good candidate, in her mind, for the upcoming 'invasion'.

[brother_alone]

"Oh, hell. You shoulda lead with that. I'm not surprised you didn't hit me up for setting this shindig up. It's decidedly out of my wheelhouse so far as decorum goes, bro. What've you got lined up now?"

The woman is once again more or less ignored while Josh follows his employer into the Pantheon, slipping his hands into his pockets in a show of relaxation. Dave has always had good work for Josh to do and encouraged him to throw himself into it whole heartedly. Putting those skills of his to some good use for a change. Helping Joshua find some semblance of pride and self confidence again. He owes the other much.

"Though later you should definitely tell me how you wound up with this gig because damn. I wouldn't have expected this from you."

[mynameisnotbrad]

"What have I got lined up now? Well, for starters..." Jeff shakes his head, wondering if he gives Josh bad news, that the teen will go away. It's always easier said than done though. "The business we have going is taking a different direction."

"What he's saying is that making props is no longer profitable. We're going forward with the times and planning something much bigger." The woman beside them smiles hopefully at Josh. In her mind, she hopes he'll consider the change as a good thing. "We're going to take over the business mantra of the Nexus and you'd be a wonderful person to have on board. You have the right mental and physical capabilities we're looking for."

[brother_alone]

"Excuse me?"

Josh looks over his shoulder at the woman following them and this time when he narrows his eyes it's with a touch of real irritation. She's not in the business with them--Josh has never met her in his life. And to go ahead and insult everything he's good at in one breath like she's the one in charge here sets his temper on edge.

"Who's 'we' here, lady?" He looks back at David for explanation. "Who is she? Why is she acting like she's in charge here? Did you hire someone to boss you around at your own business?"

[mynameisnotbrad]

Sara doesn’t seem to give a crap if she’s made Josh upset. In her mind, the only thing that matters is killing, how or what means that gets accomplished is irrelevant. It doesn’t seem like Jeff is eager to contest the idea of a shift either, because the guilt of dragging Josh into this mess is starting to weigh on his soul. What little of it is left.

“it’s not your fault, Josh. Your work has been amazing, but the people need more now than ever. They need to get in touch with their inner selves.” Jeff extends one hand to Josh. “I won’t be mad if you say no to this agreement..”

“He’ll be heartbroken.” Sara interjects. “The project has always been a ‘we’ thing. I’m the one who gave Jeff access to the Nexus. I motivated him into creating the business.” Wait. Did she just use his real name? Sara has no fear in revealing what’s really going on here. “Have you ever wanted to know what your props were used for?”

[brother_alone]

"What fucking agreement?!"

Josh whirls on David now, his temper rising when Josh doesn't get any goddamn explanation for who this woman is and lets her keep walking all over the both of them and this conversation.

"You're not explaining anything! And--" Wait. Hold on. "Who the fuck is Jeff?" He looks between the woman and David in increased confusion and frustration. "I know what my props are used for. Unlike you I've been employed in this goddamned business for over a year now."

Escape rooms. Haunted houses. Horror themed game shows. That kind of thing. All private affairs, nothing he's ever been allowed to watch. But then, it's a private venue. They don't want folks seeing them get spooped and scared. Especially not strangers.

[mynameisnotbrad]

"So naive. Your props are being used in murderous game-shows. Jeff has been running them for years now." Sara grins, while Jeff turns away quietly. "You want an explanation? That can be done. You see, Jeffrey here has been a serial killer for years and I gave him access to the Nexus."

"She's right about everything. I've been lying to you about my name, my occupation, everything..." Jeff lowers his eyes to the floor once more. "I wanted to change and get out of the murdering business, but I couldn't. I connected with you on a personal level, Josh. WE have a lot in common."

[brother_alone]

There's always been a cruel streak in Joshua when it comes to protecting what's most important to him. Something able to justify almost any means to an end that stops someone from hurting his friends. Not only justify it, but enjoy doing it. He's digging for ammunition here; what knife to twist into Sara's poisonous gullet and watch her squirm. How hard he'd have to hit her to break an old woman's bones.

Joshua wants to hurt her. Metaphorically. Physically. Anything to make her face twist in pain. The chance never comes.

His world comes crashing down in a cacophony of shattered glass and mirrored fragments. Reflecting his ugly self and the even uglier truth staring at all of them. All of David's excuses were just so convenient. The money was good and he was getting to do something he excels in for good this time.

What a fucking joke.

Joshua doesn't want to believe it. He wouldn't believe it--if Caspar's explanation wasn't screaming through his head with all the subtlety of a multi car pileup. David fits the description Caspar gave of Adia's stalker. He's admitted to being in love with her before. And he took the alias 'Josh', the man he claims to have so much kindred spirit with.

The man who's been helping him torture his murder victims psychologically before he--

The wine glass Josh had been holding shatters against the ground where it's been dropped. Its ruby red life blood spilling across the floor. Bethany looks up at Joshua from the puddle's edge with a lopsided tilt to her head that threatens to rip it right off its severed base if she moves much more. He feels clawed hands closing over his shoulder with razor sharp nails piercing his flesh. Hannah and Beth don't have to say anything.

He's a monster.

"Y...you son of a bitch." Josh's voice is shaking, wide green eyes all but begging Jeff to tell him it's not true only for those hopes to be dashed.

[mynameisnotbrad]

"Josh...I..." Jeff wants to say more, but Sara puts a hand around the back of his neck, gripping tightly. The pain is enough to force Jeff to keep his head low and say nothing. He can't even fight back against Sara, not when she's the one who gave him this power. The power to reach the Nexus.

"You can try to go back to your old life, Joshua. Or I can help you tame the darkness within. Maybe you'll be a better student than Jeffrey..." She digs her claws into Jeff's skin, drawing a dark black substance which clearly isn't blood. "You can have it all. Money. Power. Any wish your heart wants, I can grant it."

Jeff manages to look up at Josh, after being forced to stare at the dropped wine glass. His eyes are full of concern and worry, as if he wants to tell Josh to say no. Don't take her offer.

[brother_alone]

"I was doing good. I was being better. I wanted to change. How could you DO THIS?!"

Does Jeff know what he's done to Joshua? Does Joshua know what he's done to all those people? In a way, yes. The same thing he'd done to his friends back at Blackwood Mountain. None of them would have known it was fake. None of them would have known it wasn't real. How many of them broke mentally before Jeff killed them? How many of them did Joshua hurt without ever lifting a finger to them?

His stomach rolls but there's nothing inside to throw up. It leaves Josh dry heaving instead while trying not to hyperventilate at the same time as a full bodied panic settles in to his bones.

When Jeff looks up at Josh he might as well be looking at a corpse. There's no life in Joshua's eyes, only tear streaked emptiness as his broken mind retreats in on itself and wraps Joshua up in his own personal hell. Nothing Sara says is getting through to him and Jeff knows all too well the only thing Joshua would want right now anyway.

Not power, not money. Not love nor fame.

He wants to die.

He deserves to die after everything he's done. His sisters are there and suffocating him in a way they haven't been for months. Hannah's claws puncturing deep into cartilage and muscle while Beth peers up at her brother with rotted eyeless sockets that stare directly into his soul.

You can't change, brother. You're a monster just like us. You'll never be anything else....

Joshua Washington sinks to his knees and the madness of the festivities pass over his head as unheeded as the waves are to the fish living below the surface. There is no use for this one. He's already catatonic or damn near. There wouldn't be anything left to take from him. But Sara has succeeded in at least one angle of her attack:

She broke Jeff's only real friend.

[mynameisnotbrad]

Sara seems pleased by this change of events. In breaking Josh, she's effectively broken Jeff, which was one of many plans in this event. But she can sense the disharmony in Josh's mind, the chaos that lingers there would be perfect for Nyarlathotep. Her hand moves off of Jeff's neck, reaching downward to grab Josh's shirt...

In that split second, Jeff stands and grabs both of her arms, stepping between her and the near catatonic Josh. He knows what Josh wants, but the teenager doesn't deserve it. He needs a real second chance, not something he's offering.

"Josh. You have to get up and run. Live on. I messed up, but you can change..."

"Neither of you can change..."

"You can just shut up for a few minutes!" In a rare display of rebellion, Jeff removes his hand and punches Sara across the face. The older woman breaks free from Jeff's grasp, stepping back a few feet, her body starts to glow purple.

Jeff turns, quickly placing one hand on Josh's shoulder. "Go. You have to move on and forget about me. Live your life the way you want to without anyone telling you what to do, Josh."

[brother_alone]

"We can't stay here, Big Brother." Maggots fall out of Bethany's mouth as she talks, her petite figure super imposed over Jeff's as the muderer's words fall on deaf ears. Joshua may not understand the danger he's in right now, but the Other presence that has been struggling to take hold of the teen does.

If the boy dies, it will die too.

So it plays on Joshua's broken mind, uses his hallucinations to influence him. A piercing shriek and sharp nails dig into Josh's shoulder where Jeff puts his hand on him. Hannah is trying to pull him away while Beth urges him to leave. It is his sisters' voices Joshua listens to rather than Jeff's but all the same Joshua's feet stumble and carry him away from this festival of madness. Weaving through throngs of people and stumbling down stairs and away.

Until the cries of chaos are vague murmurs on the wind and Josh is left standing alone staring down into his hands in the middle of the Plaza, unaware of the world around him.

He's a monster.

Everything he thought he was doing was a lie.