feudalladyshandmaid: (moon!bad)
Cassandra ([personal profile] feudalladyshandmaid) wrote in [community profile] kaisou2022-06-11 03:24 pm
Entry tags:

Action | Open

WHO: Cassandra and YOU
WHERE: Her labyrinth and Kaisou proper
WHEN: 6/5
WHAT: A woman faces her fears in a new world
WARNINGS: Parental neglect/abuse, mentions of injury.

[A: Lost in your own mind | cw: parental issues, mentions of injury]
[The last thing Cassandra recalls is the mine cart she and Rapunzel had been escaping in from that monstrous mole, down endless tunnels long-forgotten by Corona. And then... a blur. Like a piece of the world had been plucked out, leaving empty space in its wake, and Cassandra to pick up the pieces.

And she tries. As she comes into clarity, it's obvious that something is terribly wrong.

After all, cave systems aren't made of mirrors.
]

What...

[She turns sharply. No sign of the cart she was tumbling from, or of Rapunzel. It's just her, alone, with no discernible way out of here other than continuing forward down this strange corridor of reflections. But even as she starts taking her first steps, she starts to notice... these aren't reflections of her. Not how she is now. No.

One bent visage displays her as she is now, stranded on a ledge, chunks of dark stone raining down around her. All she can do is weakly lower her head to the stone- No.
]

No. This isn't real. It can't be.

[It's a trick. A track. She has to escape.

She walks, then runs, faster and faster. Trying to avoid the images following wherever she went; memories of her, throughout her life. One wall displays her collapsed on the ground, clutching her arm in pain as the princess walks on. She's alone. She's in pain. In the moment, that was fine to her. On another, a young girl, barely four, is reprimanded by her mother for simply wanting to go outside.

And no matter where Cassandra turns, she finds more of herself in this maze, wrapped in these moments of torment. It grates on her heart and, finally, she skids to a stop.

Right in front of her, a young girl sobs for her mother as guards sadly carry her away. It hurts no less now than when she first experienced it. Cassandra grits her teeth, hands clenched as she wills the Moonstone on her chest to do her bidding...

Nothing. No rocks heed her call, despite pouring her will into the stone.
]

Crescent high above...!

[She recites it, the words she knows now by heart. Still, nothing.

The crying grates on her heart. So, Cassandra does all she can think to do. She still has her sword, and it makes for a very efficient bludgeon as she swings it with all her might at the glass.
]

[B: In the big city]
[Eventually, Cassandra escapes. She's a resourceful one and, perhaps even more, unerringly stubborn. What did a few shattered mirrors matter? So long as she found her way out, that's all that matters. The less time spent trapped in that nightmare the better.

Too bad she's lost in another nightmare now... and this one was a whole lot bigger.
]

Okay, just...

[She doesn't want to be lost, but she is. Terribly lost in this strange kingdom of steel and glass. It's altogether nothing like anything she's ever seen before, and if she was aware of how clearly that showed in her expressions, she'd hate it.]

There's gotta be a way around her- No, it's another street.

[Frustration is mounting. This woman, with bright blue hair and armor of black stone, sticks out like a fucking sore thumb. Not that she cares, her mind is too distracted at the moment. Enough so that she marches out into the middle of the road-

HONK

And a car comes to a skidding stop right in front of this sword-wielding lady who snarls over the horn.
]

Watch it!
a_cute_batata: (panic)

B - A Sheep...

[personal profile] a_cute_batata 2022-06-12 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
It's the day after the convention, and Luz is actually still riding high from it! Se met several friends, got some pretty good swag, and was in the process of going to try and meet up with some of Hunter's leads for the Black Order.

Or at least, that was what she had planned when she hears a loud swerve and several people yelping. She turned her attention to the commotion and saw a woman, with blue hair and a sword,

A sword. Oh boy. This had Spirit Realm shenanigans written all over it.

She hurried over while the driver was yelling incoherently about danger and knew if she didn't say something fast, the police absolutely WOULD be involved.

"C-cousin Willow!" Luz said loudly, linking an arm around Cassandra. "I got separated from you, sorry! Oh, there's my cosplay sword! I thought I left it at the con, thank you so much!"

She looked at the driver apologetically. "Sorry, she was in such a rush to give it to me she didn't see you, sorry! At least no accident happened! We'll be more careful next time, promise!"

People who stopped to stare seemed to be losing interest now, and Luz kept the smile plastered on her face until people were turning away, then turned to the new woman.

"Hey, um. I'm gonna guess you just escaped the labyrinth thing. You're in a new world now, and they might have a problem with you walking around with a big ol' unsheathed sword. They'll take it away and then they'll take YOU away. Believe me, don't want that."

a_cute_batata: (What the heck)

[personal profile] a_cute_batata 2022-06-16 12:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Sometimes you just had to think quickly, or you were going to be on the forefront of a lot of problems. And sometimes, sometimes, you thought that it would be nice if people took stock of their surroundings and said, "hey, this doesn't seem familiar, what gives?"

Still, Luz is not about to be daunted, and kept the smile up, waving at people, then turned to the girl with the cool blue hair.

"A lot of us came here the same way. You did take a look at this place before you started swinging your sword around, right? Does this place look like the world you're from?"

In Luz's case, technically, yes, it did, but that was what immediately alerted her to the fact that something was wrong.
a_cute_batata: (I'm finenotfine)

[personal profile] a_cute_batata 2022-06-25 11:31 am (UTC)(link)
"Right, and now that you're not crazily swinging around your sword, don't you wonder why that is? More importantly, that you might want to ask why that is too?"

Luz motioned for her to put the sword back in its scabbard. It wouldn't do her any good to have it out now, that was for sure.

"And I'm telling that you're not going to do that by freaking everyone out, especially since, well, no one knows why you're doing that or what you're talking about. See, I'm gonna guess that you got here through this strange labyrinth, right? Well most of the people here are locals, and they can't even SEE that, or will know what you're talking about. The reason I know, and why some of us do? Is because we were brought here the same way. I'm also not from this world. My name's Luz."
a_cute_batata: (keep feeling fascination!)

[personal profile] a_cute_batata 2022-07-30 04:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Luz can't really blame her there: it's a pretty frustrating situation, and it only felt all the more that way if you were her age and you found yourself shut out of places because everyone just saw you as some poor young kid who was abandoned here.

Which was all true, but there was so much more going on for Luz than many realized, so it actually took some effort not to feel discouraged.

"I'm Luz! Nice to meet you, Cassandra. And as I've been here a few months, I can confirm it's going to be hard to get back, but I am working on it with a few people!"
laminae: (yikes)

B

[personal profile] laminae 2022-06-12 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's really, really, really hard to miss the angry blue-haired woman in rock armour, even with some of the weirdness that can happen in Kaisou. Fern is wandering down the street, doing his usual exploration of the city, when he notices her march out onto the road and nearly get hit by a car.

Obviously he's going to stop and race over, but her wellbeing is secondary in his mind. Just for a second.]


Whoa! Flippin' heck! Okay, first off, that sword is totally sick!

[He jabs a grassy finger at her sword, and is promptly interrupted by the angry driver getting out of his car. Yikes, okay, Fern waves over at the sidewalk.]

Second, you should probably get outta the road.
laminae: (big questions)

[personal profile] laminae 2022-06-16 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[Huzzah, he's helping! Fern, glad that she's moving out of danger, follows after her. It's partly to make sure she'll be okay, and mostly to get a better look at her sword.

What? The sword is extremely cool. He's never seen anything like it before - it doesn't even look like it's made out of metal. Sort of like how the Grass Sword was made out of grass, and that similarity really piques his interest.]


Um - yeah! Pretty much. Not from around here though. I guess you aren't either?
laminae: (oh)

[personal profile] laminae 2022-07-31 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeahhhh, pretty much. That's a big tell, people around here don't usually have giant swords and sick armour and threaten people.

[Kaisou is pretty safe, all things considered.]

Well, welcome to Kaisou. It's in some place called the United States, which is in some other world. It's a multiverse deal.
droptheious: (It's so delicious and moist)

B

[personal profile] droptheious 2022-06-12 07:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[Naturally, Varian has done everything he can to understand this strange new world he's dropped into as much as he possibly can. It's only been a month, so he has plenty to learn yet, but cars was something he picked up on real damn quick. Horseless carriages that worked like automatons? Hell yes, right up his alley.

So it gets his attention when he can hear a ruckus from one nearby. Maybe one hit a tree and he can finally look inside the hood? That would be the best. He definitely wasn't expecting Cassandra in the middle of the road and he absolutely wasn't expecting her to still have the moonstone.
]

...Cass?

[He moves forward, carefully- he's definitely the same old Varian (admittedly with a monkey tail he is trying to ignore) but this...this isn't the same old Cass. Or maybe the problem is that she's too]

Cass. I can explain everything, but you've gotta put the sword down and get out of the road before trouble comes.
droptheious: (When there's science to do)

[personal profile] droptheious 2022-06-16 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[Normally a question like that would be met with some solid snark- but Catalina is here but she's not really Catalina. He knows better now. Having the sword pointed toward him isn't comforting. They were definitely past this back home...for him, at least. ]

Yeah, I'm really Varian, I-

[He glances behind him, and grimaces. Right. That.]

Ignore the tail. Magic is really strange here and has...complicated side effects. It's just...a thing. I'm trying to figure it out.

[Which isn't the easiest. Magic isn't his favourite wheelhouse, despite how often he gets dragged into it. ]

I've only been here a month, but I can try and explain what I know? I'm not going to hurt you. This just...well, it's not Corona. Obviously.
droptheious: (From destroying the Earth)

[personal profile] droptheious 2022-06-20 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't know. Time works...odd here. Like- really odd.

[He very almost tells her that the last he saw of her, she was heading off into the world and definitely didn't have the moonstone anymore. But he thinks better of it. That will categorically not help right now.]

Less kidnapped and more...fell through a dimensional rift. I think? I've been working on a portal to get us back. This is...uh. The future. In some city in...America? It's called Kaisou.
droptheious: (Unless I kill it first instead)

[personal profile] droptheious 2022-06-29 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's so goddamn insane and he knows it. He knows he can't voice it in a way to make it less insane. It is what it is. He's not sure if he should be glad for the eye-rolling or not. She might just be at the end of her rope, but she'll be stuck here for a while, more than likely. She'll have time to get more metaphorical rope space.]

Sorry. It's uh- it's a lot, I get it.

[He dithers for a moment, before plopping himself down to sit beside her- not SUPER close- but close enough.]

Look. I know you're in a...bad place right now. [He gestures at the whole...rock armour that he'd honestly thought he'd seen the back of.] But I'm here if you need me. I'll- I'll help you however I can.
droptheious: (About some things I shouldn't say)

[personal profile] droptheious 2022-07-31 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
...Yeah, okay, that's fair.

[After all, she's still handling coming here better than he did. He's better now he's lived here long enough to at least understand vaguely where he is. But at first? Hell no. He glances skywards at her first comment, she sure doesn't need to expand on that her.]

I guess she rubs off on everyone at some point. She's infectious like that.

[His tone is equal parts fond and frustrated for reasons he knows he doesn't have to explain to Cass of all people. He raises his shoulders in a careless shrug.]

I do, but I also tried to crush you with an automaton so I figure we're kinda on an even keel at this point.
prodigalhairess: (pic#13210519)

A

[personal profile] prodigalhairess 2022-06-12 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[After her own experiences, it might seem reasonable for Rapunzel to stay away from the labyrinths. After all, she'd been trapped in hers, unable to find a way out until a few kind souls had managed to guide her into the city proper. It was... a heavy experience, and not one she really wanted to repeat so soon. But, as it so often happens, Rapunzel's curiosity gets the better of her, and soon she winds up passing through into this one.

She almost immediately wishes she hadn't.

It's not Cassandra she notices first, or the near-desperate chanting of the Moon Incantation. What catches her eye, what really sinks deep into her brain, is the image of Gothel. The scowling face of the woman who'd ruined both their lives, clutching a small bundle with a few tufts of golden blonde hair poking out of it, running away from a sobbing little girl.

There's an almost physical ache, a white-hot knife of pain stabbing straight into hear heart as she sees that little girl cry, the confusion and heartbreak and desperation clear in those watery eyes.

It's a mirror. Just a mirror. But Rapunzel still finds herself stepping forward, hand raised like she might be reaching out for that crying child.]


Cass...?
prodigalhairess: (pic#14033670)

[personal profile] prodigalhairess 2022-06-17 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
[It took Rapunzel a long time to realize how awful Gothel was to her. The words so casually slung at her, coated in sugar and honey to numb any hurt, had seemed like... nothing. Compliments warped by Rapunzel's own self-consciousness. Gothel had been cruel to her, but she was nice about it, and so it had taken Rapunzel quite a while to accept it as cruelty and not just... something less harsh. Bad, but not as ugly a word.

This, though...

This is what makes Rapunzel hurt. To see the sneers, the rolling eyes, to hear the insults and the barking orders - to see this cruel, heartless abuse thrown at an innocent child makes her nauseous. To say this isn't the Gothel she knew is incorrect - she knows this is Gothel in her heart, the true form of the woman who only ever showed Rapunzel mask upon mask. But to actually see it, to witness what that woman was truly like and what her dearest friend had gone through... she can't look away. The sights and the sounds are pressing in on her-

Until the sound of glass shattering pulls her out of the spiral.

She knows it's Cassandra. There's no doubt about it. She doesn't even need that string in her chest that pulls her towards her friend (?) to know that this labyrinth is trapping her friend inside. So with all the strength she can muster, Rapunzel tears her sight away from these terrible mirrors and runs towards the sound, calling out.]


Cassandra! I'm here!
prodigalhairess: (pic#14033664)

[personal profile] prodigalhairess 2022-06-22 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
[Rapunzel had tried so hard to keep her boundaries with Cassandra, when they ran into each other mere hours - hours that now seemed like an eternity - ago. It was such a fragile thing between them, and even when Cassandra had smiled, even when she'd protected her, even when Cass called her Raps... she was trying to be careful. She didn't want to ruin it.

But that caution is thrown out the window, because she doesn't see the anger anymore. She just hears the grief, she sees the way Cass is hunched over, like she's hurting, and any sense of wariness is gone as Rapunzel closes the distance between them, taking only a moment to make sure she doesn't cut her feet on the scattered mirror shards, and drops to her knees besides her friend.]


Cass, it's okay! It's-

[She pauses, because... she can't just say it's not real, can she? Just from what she'd seen in the mirror back in the caves, and what she knows about Gothel... the things Cass is seeing could be more than true. And just that thought wants to make her sick.

She knows she probably shouldn't, but Rapunzel reaches out, grasping Cassandra by the shoulders. The spikes from that black rock armor dig into her palms, but she doesn't register the sting at all.]


Just- just look at me, okay? Look away from the mirrors.
prodigalhairess: (pic#13210410)

[personal profile] prodigalhairess 2022-06-29 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
[... They're very pretty. Without the cloud of anger and frustration filling them, Cassandra's electric-blue eyes make Rapunzel feel... something. It's like that tug inside of her she felt for so long now, the Moonstone drawing the Sundrop ever closer...

But the fear in them now stops Rapunzel's mind from wandering, and though all she wants to do is draw her once-friend in close and hug her until she stops shaking, she knows it might be too much, too soon. So for the moment, she lifts one hand from Cass's shoulders, slow enough so she can see and pull away if she wants to, and will attempt to place it on the side of Cass's head. A firm, warm point of contact, unhindered by the black rock armor.]


Yeah. It's really me, see?

[There's a waver to her voice. Rapunzel is scared; scared for her friend, scared of all these shadows of Gothel's true face... but she has to push that aside. She has to help Cass.]

Can you breathe along with me? Just... just to focus?
turningred: (normal_TTS_S3_E3_0448)

B

[personal profile] turningred 2022-06-12 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[Catalina watches in horror as Cassandra storms out in the middle of the road - doesn't she know basic road safety?! And then she pulls out a sword. As much as she kind of wants this play out, she waits for her chance to cross the road towards Cassandra.

She tugs at her arm.]


Uhm. You need to get out of the road!
turningred: (normal_TTS_S3_E3_0442)

[personal profile] turningred 2022-07-01 12:01 pm (UTC)(link)
But you’ll get hit by a car out here…

You have to look both ways before crossing the street.

[And not uh, pull a sword out on them.]
neverbreaks: (encanto_17906)

B

[personal profile] neverbreaks 2022-06-14 12:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The blare of a car horn catches Luisa's attention, and she couldn't help staring a moment seeing a woman with blue hair and armor. She doesn't have a lot of time to really wonder about anything though when the woman pulls out a sword, and Luisa hurries to where she is before anything bad can happen. ]

Ma'am? It's okay, everything is okay...can we put the sword away and talk? Please? [ She can see the driver in the car gesturing towards them, a mix of anger and fear in their expression, and Luisa holds up a hand to them, silently telling them to wait and let her handle it. ]
neverbreaks: (073)

[personal profile] neverbreaks 2022-06-21 08:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Luisa holds her hands up, keeping them visible so the other woman won't get further agitated. ]

I know...believe me, I understand. I went through something similar when I first arrived here too. But I can explain some things for you, if you'll let me.

Let's just...get out of the road, and put the sword away, and I'll tell you everything I can.
neverbreaks: (021)

[personal profile] neverbreaks 2022-07-01 07:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ The driver seems ready to honk again, but Luisa holds up a hand, silently asking for a bit more patience, before gesturing for Cassandra to follow her as she steps off the road and back onto the sidewalk. ]

My name is Luisa, by the way. I'm guessing you just showed up in some kind of maze before finding yourself in the city?
neverbreaks: (125)

[personal profile] neverbreaks 2022-07-20 10:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ She doesn't seem to mind that the other woman doesn't offer her name in return. Luisa can understand being uncertain about all of this, given the circumstances. ]

More than there probably should be. There are actually a lot of us from different worlds that were brought here and went through one of those mazes.
traaaaaash: (OBJECTION)

B

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-06-19 04:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Eda's just going about her day, no big deal here, when oh. That's unusual. Well, sorta. Not like weird stuff doesn't happen every day in Kaisou. Still, for a moment wonders whether the woman is a cosplayer, what with the con happening and all.

Cosplayers don't usually bring traffic to a halt, though, and boy does that sword look sharp. Eda decides it's probably good to intervene before the poor girl has an angry driver to deal with. ]


Hey! Over here!
traaaaaash: (is it though...)

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-06-20 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
Just get out of the road. Over here, where I am. Angry drivers are a handful.

[ Eda already suspects this person might be a new otherworldly arrival at this point. Luckily, she's pretty good at dealing with magical shenanigans by now, so it's not hard to be chill about it. ]
traaaaaash: (uh huh.)

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-06-25 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Eda just shrugs; though she is a little relieved the young woman is at least listening to her. ]

Considering you're walking around swinging your big sword at cars - that's the metal box you just stood in front of - you're the one who looks weird in this place.

But also, we're kinda used to it. Some of us, at least.
traaaaaash: (uh huh.)

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-07-12 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Uh, yeah. I live here.

[ The "duh" remains unspoken. ]
traaaaaash: (OTOH)

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-07-19 10:33 am (UTC)(link)
Understandable!

[ Eda holds up a hand, index finger raised. ]

Problem is, you might not have much choice in that. People from other worlds just being dropped here against there will has been happening pretty frequently as of late. I know a few kids who are trying to get home. One of them is even trying to build a portal, but I haven't heard anything about him succeeding yet.