Darin Altway (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
forgeabettertomorrow) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
isleofavalon2021-06-09 04:14 pm
forgeabettertomorrow) wrote in isleofavalon2021-06-09 04:14 pm
Feel it right behind you, a grinning monster out to kill
🧙 WHO: Darin Altway and You!
⚔️️ WHAT: Caster has cursed Darin and now he's using Familiar Fusion and going berserk
🕒 WHEN: Right after Caster's declaration against Archer and the aftermath a few days later!
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot and Darin's Forge
⚠️ WARNINGS: Potential Violence/Blood/Gore/Mild Body Horror
[He doesn't know how long it's been since he passed out. He remembers Caster's message. He remembers meeting her at the edge of Broceliande Woods. He remembers...]
[Pain.]
[He comes to in a sweat. Not from pain or nightmares or anything of that nature, but because the forest around him is currently ablaze. He tries to jump to his feet but his senses are off. Skewed. Something was very wrong and he could feel it. It felt like oil seeping into him, slowly gripping the very cockles of his heart.]
[Rationale gives way to panic and he's stumbling away from the treeline. He had to get back to Camelot. He had to get back for...some reason. Something inside of him screamed that he had to.]
[But his footsteps slowly grind to a halt as he crests that final hill. As Caster's dark curses finally find their hold and grip his very being, altering every bit of his perception and reasoning.]
[The witch's curse was a powerful one. In her grief, she hexed Darin to see his greatest fear. And to act on the rage that he spent his life tamping out; the one fire in his soul he refused to stoke.]
[He falls to his knees, staring at a ruined Camelot. Everything he'd come to know, the happiness he was so desperately seeking. You see, if Darin was as much of a monster as he claimed, then his fate should match that of the monster, the witch of betrayal, that he sought to defend. It's only fair, right?]
[There would be no peace. Not while monsters walked among the people of this world.]
A - Transformation (CW: Blood/Mild Body Horror)
[Camelot was gone. Or at least, Caster's curse made Darin believe that it was. And Darin, on his knees, was slamming his fists into the earth with all of his magical given might; each blow sounding like a cannon shot as it cracked the stone beneath his fists. Inconsolable, he screams, believing no one will hear him.]
[However, anyone making their way to the woods to try and stop Caster or the fire she's set might stumble upon him. Calling out to him draws his attention to you, but there's something...off...about his eyes. They're clouded over with a dark haze. And while he might be looking at you...what he sees is something different altogether.]
You...it was you!
[Enraged, Darin pushes himself to his feet, magic coursing through his body so sharply that it crackles in the air. The air becomes stifling. Oppressive.]
You've taken everything from me, Dromas! Everything! So, you want a monster?! I'LL GIVE YOU ONE
[His giant antlion familiar bursts from the ground behind him and latches onto Darin's back. For a moment, it looks like his familiar might actually attempt to subdue him. Unfortunately, those enormous, terrifying mandibles find purchase in Darin's back and, for a horrifying moment, the familiar begins to burrow. Writhing in pain as his magical power skyrockets faster than his body can compensate, Darin lets loose a blood-freezing scream. But just as quickly as it had begun, his familiar disappears into Darin's body as the two merge.]
[Darin slams his hands into the ground as he begins to grow and change. Two horns erupt from his temples, black and glinting in the light of the burning woods behind him. His torso swells; muscles grow massive as chitinous plates form around his extremities like armor. His body contorts, his back arches, until finally he's a hulking beast, towering at over ten feet tall.]
[Green eyes glowing ominously amidst the haze, the newly transformed Darin lets loose a bellow that sounds like it's three voices screaming in cacophonous harmony.]
[And then he rushes to attack.]
B - City Escape (CW: Blood/Violence)
[Believing Camelot to be nothing but wreckage, Darin storms the city chasing...something. In his cursed state, every person he sees looks exactly like the person he believes to have brought about this disaster. Unfortunately, in this state, Darin isn't much for conversing. He's barreling through Camelot, tearing through buildings like they weren't even there. And any person, resident or not, that crosses his vision is likely in for the fight of their lives as he presses the attack. After all, in his mind, Camelot is in ruins.]
[He tears up a chunk of the street and hefts it towards a group of terrified people, all of which scatter. Or attempt to. It might be too late for some.]
C - Lockdown
[It had been several days since Caster's message. Several days since he'd lost control and was set upon the good people of Camelot. He'd been keeping to himself in the forge almost the entire time, only going out occasionally in the evening for food or groceries. When he did, he wore a cloak with the hood drawn to hide his blue hair and he barely spoke.]
[Of course he did his best to help the city recover from the damages. For the first two days, he worked tirelessly to get supplies and forge tools for whatever reconstruction needed to be done. But he would always send then out anonymously or send them to whoever needed them via a proxy. It's clear that he's doing everything he can to avoid going into town himself and he hasn't been spotted in town since the incident.]
[He threw himself into his work after that but...he still seemed off. Anyone who stops by the forge might find him struggling; hammering away at something that just isn't taking shape properly or tinkering with, and subsequently screwing up, some detailed work. Finally, in frustration, Darin pitches his hammer across the forge with more strength than intended, burying it into the wall across the work space.]
[Frustrated, he sits down and buries his face in his hands.]
Wildcard
[Got another idea that you want to thread out? Go for it!]
(OOC: Feel free to threadjack as much as you want during the events of this log! It's going to be chaotic and people should definitely help each other! Got questions! Message me on the journal, my discord, or hit me up at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
bitterbearface)
⚔️️ WHAT: Caster has cursed Darin and now he's using Familiar Fusion and going berserk
🕒 WHEN: Right after Caster's declaration against Archer and the aftermath a few days later!
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot and Darin's Forge
⚠️ WARNINGS: Potential Violence/Blood/Gore/Mild Body Horror
[He doesn't know how long it's been since he passed out. He remembers Caster's message. He remembers meeting her at the edge of Broceliande Woods. He remembers...]
[Pain.]
[He comes to in a sweat. Not from pain or nightmares or anything of that nature, but because the forest around him is currently ablaze. He tries to jump to his feet but his senses are off. Skewed. Something was very wrong and he could feel it. It felt like oil seeping into him, slowly gripping the very cockles of his heart.]
[Rationale gives way to panic and he's stumbling away from the treeline. He had to get back to Camelot. He had to get back for...some reason. Something inside of him screamed that he had to.]
[But his footsteps slowly grind to a halt as he crests that final hill. As Caster's dark curses finally find their hold and grip his very being, altering every bit of his perception and reasoning.]
[The witch's curse was a powerful one. In her grief, she hexed Darin to see his greatest fear. And to act on the rage that he spent his life tamping out; the one fire in his soul he refused to stoke.]
[He falls to his knees, staring at a ruined Camelot. Everything he'd come to know, the happiness he was so desperately seeking. You see, if Darin was as much of a monster as he claimed, then his fate should match that of the monster, the witch of betrayal, that he sought to defend. It's only fair, right?]
[There would be no peace. Not while monsters walked among the people of this world.]
A - Transformation (CW: Blood/Mild Body Horror)
[Camelot was gone. Or at least, Caster's curse made Darin believe that it was. And Darin, on his knees, was slamming his fists into the earth with all of his magical given might; each blow sounding like a cannon shot as it cracked the stone beneath his fists. Inconsolable, he screams, believing no one will hear him.]
[However, anyone making their way to the woods to try and stop Caster or the fire she's set might stumble upon him. Calling out to him draws his attention to you, but there's something...off...about his eyes. They're clouded over with a dark haze. And while he might be looking at you...what he sees is something different altogether.]
You...it was you!
[Enraged, Darin pushes himself to his feet, magic coursing through his body so sharply that it crackles in the air. The air becomes stifling. Oppressive.]
You've taken everything from me, Dromas! Everything! So, you want a monster?! I'LL GIVE YOU ONE
[His giant antlion familiar bursts from the ground behind him and latches onto Darin's back. For a moment, it looks like his familiar might actually attempt to subdue him. Unfortunately, those enormous, terrifying mandibles find purchase in Darin's back and, for a horrifying moment, the familiar begins to burrow. Writhing in pain as his magical power skyrockets faster than his body can compensate, Darin lets loose a blood-freezing scream. But just as quickly as it had begun, his familiar disappears into Darin's body as the two merge.]
[Darin slams his hands into the ground as he begins to grow and change. Two horns erupt from his temples, black and glinting in the light of the burning woods behind him. His torso swells; muscles grow massive as chitinous plates form around his extremities like armor. His body contorts, his back arches, until finally he's a hulking beast, towering at over ten feet tall.]
[Green eyes glowing ominously amidst the haze, the newly transformed Darin lets loose a bellow that sounds like it's three voices screaming in cacophonous harmony.]
[And then he rushes to attack.]
B - City Escape (CW: Blood/Violence)
[Believing Camelot to be nothing but wreckage, Darin storms the city chasing...something. In his cursed state, every person he sees looks exactly like the person he believes to have brought about this disaster. Unfortunately, in this state, Darin isn't much for conversing. He's barreling through Camelot, tearing through buildings like they weren't even there. And any person, resident or not, that crosses his vision is likely in for the fight of their lives as he presses the attack. After all, in his mind, Camelot is in ruins.]
[He tears up a chunk of the street and hefts it towards a group of terrified people, all of which scatter. Or attempt to. It might be too late for some.]
C - Lockdown
[It had been several days since Caster's message. Several days since he'd lost control and was set upon the good people of Camelot. He'd been keeping to himself in the forge almost the entire time, only going out occasionally in the evening for food or groceries. When he did, he wore a cloak with the hood drawn to hide his blue hair and he barely spoke.]
[Of course he did his best to help the city recover from the damages. For the first two days, he worked tirelessly to get supplies and forge tools for whatever reconstruction needed to be done. But he would always send then out anonymously or send them to whoever needed them via a proxy. It's clear that he's doing everything he can to avoid going into town himself and he hasn't been spotted in town since the incident.]
[He threw himself into his work after that but...he still seemed off. Anyone who stops by the forge might find him struggling; hammering away at something that just isn't taking shape properly or tinkering with, and subsequently screwing up, some detailed work. Finally, in frustration, Darin pitches his hammer across the forge with more strength than intended, burying it into the wall across the work space.]
[Frustrated, he sits down and buries his face in his hands.]
Wildcard
[Got another idea that you want to thread out? Go for it!]
(OOC: Feel free to threadjack as much as you want during the events of this log! It's going to be chaotic and people should definitely help each other! Got questions! Message me on the journal, my discord, or hit me up at
no subject
[He retorts sharper than he means to and drags a hand down his face, like he's reapplying his demeanor.]
I took all of that and more away from those people, Momo. A blacksmith does not take. He doesn't destroy. He provides. He creates. He protects. How can I care about my own well-being when I...
[He marches over to a window and throws the pane open, gesturing to the ruined part of lowertown that can clearly be seen.]
When I did that?
no subject
Because... Because you won't be able to provide anything, or protect anyone, if you don't protect yourself first.
[ Feeling bolstered suddenly, she pushes on, taking another step forward. ]
And I know that you think you're protecting yourself by keeping your head down and focusing on work, but... Sometimes in order to protect ourselves, we need to make ourselves vulnerable.
[ She takes one last step, until she can reach out and put a hand on his hand, her touch soft and not yet calloused from working with the metal of the forge. ]
I think... You need to talk to someone about what happened. It doesn't have to be me. I know we don't know each other very well yet. But one of the best ways to process trauma is to talk about it, with someone you trust.
no subject
[He echoes the word as he stares at her hand on his. His gnarled, calloused, leathery hands. Not exactly hand model material after two decades in the forge.]
I don't even trust myself, Momo...I never have. I've spent my entire life living in the shadow of what I was born for and I almost ended it all. Not just for my world, but for every world.
You want to talk about trust? Every single person here, in Avalon, you included, should be looking for a way to seal me or to...to remove me from the equation. I am a danger to you. And not just you. The world you came from.
You want to be a hero, yeah? The heroic thing to do would be to take me out.
...Before I become that thing again...
no subject
That witch woman... "Caster." She used you. She tortured you with curses and dark magic. I saw it-- she broadcast it live on AOL for everyone to see.
She did this to you. If anyone is a danger to this world, to all of our worlds, it's her. Not you.
no subject
[Of course Darin saw the broadcast on AOL. When he'd come to, he searched the network for anything pertaining to him losing control. He saw her announcement...]
[He saw so many people coming to his defense, not knowing what they were about to deal with. It left him with...complicated feelings...]
[But Caster...something was very obviously wrong. Something had happened during the trials. Something broke her. Something this 'Archer' person did...]
[She was grieving.]
Caster just...she knew what I was. But she didn't force me to lose control. She didn't force me to use my familiar fusion and unleash my power. Those were my choices. She might have made me see something terrible...but my choice upon seeing those visions was to tear this world apart.
All she did, Momo, was give me a good enough reason. That's all...
no subject
...You say that Caster, "knew what you were."
[ Something about those words makes Momo's heart feel cold. ]
[ "I've spent my entire life living in the shadow of what I was born for..." ]
[ "I am a danger to you." ]
Darin-san... What is it that Caster knows? What... are you?
no subject
If that isn't a question I haven't asked myself a million times...
What am I? [He echoes.]
Fine...most worlds have creationist myths and lore, right? How the universe or the world was brought into being by some kind of benevolent god. My world's no different.
Except it isn't myth, lore, or stories. My world was created by gods and demons to settle a war between the two. And when it looked like they might lose, the demons decided to tip the scales in their favor. Their god, Diomuhr, reincarnated himself as two twin boys with the intent of growing up and destroying the entire world.
I'm one of those twins. I'm the reincarnation of Diomuhr, Archfiend of War and God of Destruction.
I was born to end everything.
1/?
no subject
no subject
no subject
end
But.
Even though she understands the weight with which Darin is saying all those words, everything about them runs counter to her experience with him thus far. So, she rejects it. She refuses to believe it. It may be the truth of Darin's path in his own world... But it isn't the man who helped her cope with the loss of her quirk, who offered her a way to continue to learn and grow in this strange new world, who gave her hope that she could still be something, still make something good out of herself.
She shakes her head vigorously. ]
No. That's not what you are. You're a blacksmith. A provider, a creator, a protector.
You may have been born to end everything, but that's not what you're doing. That's not what you're going to do.
That may be what you are, but it isn't who you are.
no subject
Tell that to them. To the people whose lives I ruined.
no subject
You can tell them yourself, when we take this next batch of supplies out for delivery.
no subject
[But in the face of that defiant look, Darin loses his bluster. He knows what Momo is trying to do. And he appreciates it deeply.]
[But...]
...I'm scared.
no subject
I'll be right there with you.
You don't have to deal with this alone. In fact, it's better if you don't.
no subject
When I lost my family, everyone thought I was a cursed child. I lived on the streets for a month before someone took me in and even then, his business suffered for harboring a monster.
If people saw you with me...[He shakes his head.]
I won't let you jeopardize all you could have here because of me.
no subject
She won't have that. ]
...There's a man here, from my world. His name is Shigaraki Tomura. Back home, he is one of the most dangerous villains of our time. He is the leader of a league of criminals and killers who have attacked my school, kidnapped my classmate, and injured one of my teachers so much that he had to retire from his career as a Professional Hero.
That man is here. Has been here for months, and he hasn't made a move against us yet.
It could be that he is biding his time, planning something in silence and waiting for the right moment. But, the fact of the matter is, from the perspective of the people of Avalon, he is just as innocent of wrongdoing as any other outsider brought here from our various worlds.
[ She takes a deep breath, realizing that Darin might not get what she's trying to say here. She looks at him square in the eyes and tries to convey her intent through her gaze. ]
These people can make their judgements. They don't know us. They don't know the work we've done, the work we want to continue to do. We don't know each other, we who come from worlds so far from each other's. I can only judge people based on what they've shown me.
You have shown me kindness. You have shown me strength. You have given me guidance, and made me feel more sure of myself at a time when I was perhaps at my most vulnerable. If that's not enough to base my judgment on, then I don't know what is.
I've made my choice to be here, Darin-san. And I'm going to stay.
no subject
[And these people knew nothing of them. Hell, everyone was just learning about one another. Darin had no idea someone so nefarious lurked amongst the seemingly easy going, ever growing group of displaced people.]
[Finally, he bows his head and laughs.]
...I wouldn't insult my apprentice by ignoring a choice she's so clearly adamant on making.
[He places a hand on Momo's shoulder.]
I have nothing but complete pride in you right now. But more than that...
[And then he reels her in for a hug.]
...Thank you. I'm...I'm not used to having people rally around me like this and...I just...
...I'm really happy I met you.
[And then he adds.]
Thank you for being my hero...