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[polydeukes]

ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ | ᴠᴏɪᴄᴇ | ᴛᴇxᴛ | ᴍᴀɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ɴᴏᴛᴇs

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voice. @degas

[poppycock]

( savor this moment ok josie, it doesn't happen often ) I believe I owe you any apology.

voice, to end }

[polydeukes]

[She's well aware. But in the aftermath of everything that went down, she knows that she's not entirely innocent in this either.]

I think that's mutual.

[headmaster]

[He's gotten the authorization to have their family room together. It was entirely too easy, and left him unsure about whether he'll owe the devil any favors when this is over. And though it should be good news, it's reached him while he was coming down from his stint in the hall of mirrors. And with that came the crushing guilt that's worse than the usual sort of hangover.

He comes to her room, knocking politely on her doorframe. ]

... I understand if you don't want to talk to me right now.

[polydeukes]

[Josie is also coming down from her own mirror adventure, and she's honestly not feeling much better. But her time with her father is the one time her dark magic hadn't come into play.

She's not sure she should be grateful or not. She's sure it would have probably been much worse in the end.

She looks up when he comes in, and yeah, she may still be a little upset, but she tries to school it behind a mask of calm.]

Depends. How much of it was the mirrors and how much of it was you, and the mirrors just happened to bring it out of you?

text | un: andrea

[havethings]

The power's out and there's a breach at the gate. But, sure, let's all have one big giant sleepover. You've been here longer than me. Do you know what might have breached the gate?

[polydeukes]

[Josie may have been here longer than Hope but she hasn't been here that much longer than Hope. Still, she might have practical experience to pull from this, so after a moment:]

A couple months ago, parts of town got overrun by these creatures. They basically were tearing apart everything in their path, but they were heading towards the mental hospital. I can't say if these are the same though.

text;

[itchtokill]

Josie, do you have a minute?

[polydeukes]

Sure. What's up?

[She has a feeling she already knows, but she doesn't want to run headlong into it quite yet.]

september tdm | action

[polydeukes]

Having Elena here in Hell has been great. And Josie occasionally feels guilty for having that thought, given where they are, but she's sure that Lizzie agrees. It's good to have someone of their own here, someone in their corner, not simply relying on the good will of Klaus Mikaelson.

And, given the cozy fall vibes, the mood is perfect for a good old fashioned gossip session. Complete with cozy blankets and pumpkin spice lattes. Oliver and Keith are out doing whatever Oliver and Keith do, so they have the common room to themselves. Josie settles on the opposite side of Elena from Lizzie, and tips her head back with a sigh.

"So. Where would you like us to start?"

[buried]

"Wherever you would like to," Elena answers with a smile, and listen, maybe that sounds a bit like a cheat, but she means it. She is happy to learn anything about them that they would like to share with her. It's still a bit surreal that they should be here together at all, and Hell may be Hell, but she's going to enjoy this part — to take what goodness she can. Along with the snuggles and lattes.

Who's got the most precious nieces, she does. Yes, she does.

delivery.

[buried]

[ miranda gilbert gave elena her very first journal when she was ten years old. they shared a dream what feels like a very long time ago, but on top of that, miranda wanted to encourage elena to find her own voice: to learn herself and become her own person, independent of her mother. to have an outlet for the things you can't always say out loud.

elena harmed herself so much by suppressing her emotions and trauma: out of guilt, out of low self-worth, out of fear. her greatest wish for josie is that she one day feel safe enough to express how she really feels. in the meantime, there's a leather bound journal in a shade of yellow left on her pillow.

for those days the darkness grows too loud, and she needs a safe place to release it. ]

[polydeukes]

[Her fingers run over the soft leather of the cover, and she doesn't have to ask who it's from. Elena has always been the one with the journals, writing down all her feelings.

Josie doesn't know if she'd ever be able to do it. To articulate all the feelings that are swimming in the back of her head day after day. Putting words to them makes them real, and sometimes she doesn't want them to be. But the gesture means a lot all the same.

Pulling the journal to her chest, she flops back against her bed and reaches for her phone, sending off a quick text.]

How'd you know I liked yellow?

text. @andrea

[havethings]

So, I trapped a guy in his suite per his request. His name's Dick Grayson. He's worried what he'll do if he gets possessed. Again. If anything happens to me in the maze, only you and Lizzie can get him out.

Also, I'm going to the maze.

[polydeukes]

[Hope that is so much information.]

1. Which suite?
2. Why are you going to the maze?

[nighted]

[ jon knows by now that josie has told elena about what happened, and he can only imagine that means she told her sister too. following his apology to elena, following her acceptance of it and the subsequent painful understanding that came after, he finds himself at josie's the following day.

since learning what he did, he has stayed in his room far too long beyond brief exits from it. he left last night to speak to elena, and he left in the morning to check in on josie after what must have been difficult conversations. they're good reasons to leave, good reasons to move forward instead of being stuck in truths that are too big for him.

he lifts his hand, knocking on the door. ]

[polydeukes]

[Josie doesn't answer the door, but she does find Jon there anyway.

She hasn't been staying in the room. She's made a point to give Lizzie her space and Landon's been nice enough to let her crash in his suite. But she does pop in every once and a while to see Merry and Pippin, who are following close behind her.

Both of them look up at Jon like he's there cool new friend, before waving their little blue hands up at him.]

Jon. Hi.

text | @ms salvatore

[incontrovertible]

( ... Well, this is not what she remembers. She has a schedule now she has to stick to, and clubs she advises? Also students? )

Hey, are you also in a school now?

[polydeukes]

Yeah. This is one of those events I've mentioned.

[Because that's really the best explanation for it.]

At least it's school and not a mental hospital like it was when we first got here.

text;

[predispositions]

(lizzie stares at her device, unsure of what to even say or how to start.)

i'm sorry

(it's a start, at least.)

[polydeukes]

I know. I forgive you.

[Not it's okay, because she knows it's not okay and nothing is okay right now, but she doesn't blame Lizzie for lashing out the way she did.]

Want me to bring up smoothies?

[moderatelycompetent]

[The big fight against Barbas has ended, and this seems to be the part of the 80s movie where everyone gets together and has a dance party. Or maybe the part of the 60s movie where everyone goes out to do a choreographed musical number on the beach. One of the two. Landon would argue that they're very different cinematic archetypes, after all.

Since the tents have been set up, Landon's been trying to help with the relief efforts. He approaches Josie with a pair of bottled waters in tow, passing her one on his way to flop into the closest cushiony surface.]

So is it wrong that I think the hamburger chair is pretty cool? And I don't know why that guy's complaining about the eggplant, either. It makes the whole place look more fun.

[He is also purposefully not talking about anything that happened between the last time he saw her and right now.]

[polydeukes]

[He's purposefully not talking about anything but they are going to talk about it. Josie takes the bottled water from him and leans back with a sigh, looking out on all the colorful chair options.]

It feels kind of surreal, honestly. Like a couple days ago we were fighting for our lives, and now we're chilling on plush food.

a luxuriously sweet escape | setsuna | overflow

[polydeukes]

[from here]

Duly noted.

[Not that electricity was her element of choice, but it's good to know that improvising probably isn't her best course of action. But when he says fire, however, her eyes light up. She glances over to a candle sitting on the table nearby.]

Whadaya know.

[She twists her wrist, and the wick springs to life with flame.]

Fire happens to be my favorite.

[Josette, you did hear the "it's scary" part, right?]

[failed_antichrist]

[Setsuna licks his lips to that. At least with fire he can control and push it back if it's too much for him, unlike electricity. A part of him remains apprehensive, but there's another part of him that watches the candle, the bright orange and yellow flame dance.]

Okay. We can try it. I want to try it.

a luxuriously sweet escape | nate | overflow

[polydeukes]

[From here]

I'm sure he did.

[The world is a crazy place.]

The world was probably a much wilder place back then.

[duderaider]

The world still is, if you know where to look. [a beat] Or, uh -- my world is, anyway. [and another] Though, I guess yours is, too, what with all the ... [the magic and vampires and stuff]

[rather than say that out loud, however, still interested in respecting Caroline's privacy and not sure who might be listening, he just makes a vague gesture instead]

a luxuriously sweet escape | landon | overflow

[polydeukes]

[from here]

Oh.

[Right. She was supposed to do that.]

Things have been kind of nuts with the Mammon and everything. I haven't had a chance for any real one-on-one time with her.

[But she'll put it on her list. She'll do it. Totally. Promise.]

[moderatelycompetent]

I get that. It's been a lot to deal with. But the library here is pretty awesome. Have you been?

[Is this a good angle for dragon pets? The dragon seems to be into it. He is totally nailing this amount of multitasking!]

text, with apologies for the unsolicited thread

[tobetheone]

[Immediately after finishing a conversation with his brother, Mega rattles off an urgent text to Josie.]
I found something I hate. All by myself.

never apologize, that is what inboxes are for <3

[polydeukes]

[Well. That is intriguing. Josie perks up when she sees the message and smiles a bit.]

Really? What is it?

slams back into rp with a random action thread

[predispositions]

(lizzie isn't sure how to go about this. if this was regular josie it would be easier -- but it isn't and the last of their friends seem to be gone now. she decides to go with some old standards, picking up some cookies from the kitchens while nobert hangs out on her shoulder. she's glad she finds her evilish twin in the room.)

I'm guessing you don't need to be told -- but bird boy has flown the coop.

[polydeukes]

[She doesn't need to be told. She'd be lying if she's not a little disappointed - Landon was someone she cared about and now it's just her and Lizzie. But it's more of a blip than a feeling, a phantom pain that she should feel something about that, but not loud enough that she can bring herself to care.]

Yeah, I noticed. Probably for the best. He and Hope are probably running off to be sickening together.

overflow | the sirens ring out

[polydeukes]

[Starts here.]

Josie keeps her eyes focused on her sister, but she can still see the demons dancing out of the corner of her eyes. It's so hard not to flare up the magic and just let it explode from her, no matter who it hurts in her path.

But that could result in hurting Lizzie. And she has to know that Lizzie is real. Lizzie is real, isn't she?

"How do I know that you're the one who's real and not them?"

[predispositions]

Luckily for both of them, Lizzie is pretty genre saavy and the test comes to mind pretty easily.

"Ask me anything, ask me something only the real Lizzie would know."

They're twins, after all, they have more secrets than most siblings do.

overflow | spirits awaken in the depths

[polydeukes]

[Starts here.]

[She makes a face at that, because that's terrible.]

Fiction is written by people who are scared of what they don't understand. That doesn't make any of it true. It's just ... projection. Especially sci-fi.

[holeinwall]

[ That reaction makes her pause in the middle of starting to carve out a design. It's...so rational. And nice. Which she technically doesn't deserve since she'd totally gone the insane AI route, but...no one needs to know that. ]

I like writing fiction, though...

[ But that's probably not the point Josie was trying to make. ]

But I get what you mean. It's just hard not to take it to heart. [ She sighs. ] Especially like I said with my friend who's way more out about it than I am. If you know Mega, that's who I'm talking about.

[ And Proto, but...he's a special exception she mostly ignores. ]

overflow | spirits awaken in the depths

[polydeukes]

[From here]

Josie's brow furrows at the request. Part of her is inclined to lean into it easily. They were safe the last time, safe words and the like, and it's not like Setsuna wouldn't heal. But after all the magic she burned off in the interim, there's a hint of guilt coming in, that he seems to want her to keep hurting him.

"Are you sure?"

[failed_antichrist]

He nods his head, then makes sure to voice, "Yeah. I mean...."

He licks his bottom lip. "I liked it. I mean, sure, some of that was probably the crap I was drinking there. But I kind of want to find out how much was that, and how much was me really liking it."