Once upon a time, in a land not so far away...
You wake to the feeling of being watched. Of a set of unfamiliar eyes, of warm breath on the back of your neck. A jolt back to the land of the living, and it's gone. No matter how quick you are, how sneaky, the source of the disruption has long since disappeared, so you have no choice but to try and ignore it. To continue on with your day and try to set that moment of strangeness aside.
You eat, drink, speak with others. Perhaps you explore a little. Whatever it is you choose to do for the day, that feeling from the morning won't return. And by the time the sun sets and the moon glows brightly above, you've likely set those moments of strangeness aside. It's not like it's anything new, after all.
It's the same again for the next few days. No better, no worse. Something best ignored, right?
A speck of blood on the doorframe. That wasn't there before, was it?
A snap of twigs in the distance. A crunch of leaves.
Claw marks gouged deeply into the door.
Into the wall above your bed.
Scraps of red fabric, turned darker with blood. Pieces of fur. Of flesh.
Do you run and hide? Do you fight? Whatever you choose, it's definitely time to make sure your body parts aren't scattered next...
...what a horribly big mouth you have.
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Since first waking up on the island, characters have been stuck with that feeling of being watched. It isn't a constant. Isn't more than a few seconds at a time, dotted throughout the day. Investigation has never turned up much, and there's never been any sightings of the cause of it all.
Until now.
Throughout the first half of the week, characters will find themselves suffering from that feeling of being watched on a far more constant basis. Rather than it being a one-off, few seconds occurrence each day, that feeling will last for minutes at a time, and on multiple occasions.
However, it isn't until the fifth day that they'll start stumbling across physical signs of their monitoring. There are claw marks on doors. Spots of blood on the paths outside. A crack of twigs in the forests, or the imprint of bloodied paws in the snow.
Ten days in and those signs start finding their way indoors. Wet footprints, tinged with red. Claw marks in the walls, the floor. Torn sheets and the smell of wet...something. Whatever it is that's been watching you, its finally decided to come and say hello.
Two weeks in and characters will begin to have sightings of the creature, its fur dark and its eyes a glowing yellow. At times it looks like a wolf, prowling in the distance. At other times, it's walking on its hind legs, almost human were it not for the muzzle full of gleaming sharp teeth. Get too close, and it slips away like a shadow, gone between one blink and the next. It decides when to reach out to characters, not the other way round.
It's after characters finally get a good look at the creature that it starts leaving...gifts. Characters will start to find familiar items from their home worlds amidst the mess. The remains of a childhood pet, perhaps. Photographs of loved ones, faces torn almost beyond recognition. It's only once it delivers its final gift that the creature retreats to the trees again: a blood-splattered item of clothing that clearly belongs to the person the character misses the most at the time, alive or dead.
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fablelands2018-08-27 11:34 pm
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It doesn't come back. Not for the length of time it takes for two blokes standing around to start to feel awkward.]
...let's keep moving. It'll come back. I don't like the feel of this place. [They're close to the lake now. They'll be able to see it soon.]
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I would like to present an idea to you that you might not find pleasant.
[he frowns, starting to walk to follow the wizard.] this green is entirely different then our green. We may have passed into another dimension. Some alternate pocket reality.
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So I've noticed. [The sky's a really strange colour. As is the ground. And if an earth elemental isn't on the same 'wavelength' as the fucking earth then, yeah, they've got a wee bit of a problem haven't they?]
I don't know what you think you know about me, but you seem to think I'm not an almighty prick so I don't want you getting your hopes up, love. I'd take us both home if I could but I don't have the ingredients I need to open a door out. [Said ingredients probably don't even exist in this place.]
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It's simply unusual to have you not remember me. We have a considerable amount of history.
[he looks ahead, voice rumbling.] if you need any plant based ingredients I can provide them. This...soil is different. It tastes different but it still obeys me. Willingly.
[passing over a patch of grass he peers across to-]
Lake?
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Maybe I'm from your other pants' pocket. [He's clearly not taking this dimension reality thing seriously.] That's good to know, ta, but I'm going to need a wee bit more than rosemary and thyme.
[He lifts his head at the mention of a lake, but he's momentarily distracted with the return of his mirror. He lets it rest flat in his palm so that they can both have a look at the surface. It's captured some images on its whizz around, some of the lake, some sort of well? Mountain ranges, trees and more trees.
And then there's a glimpse of something that has John tilting his head. A big, black, shadowy monstrous figure. It's like one of those blurry Loch Ness Monster or Yeti sightings where you couldn't really be sure what you were looking at.] ...the fuck is that? Some sort of bear?
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Lazy. He'd gotten lazy.
When he mentions a bear Alec peers over and the first thing he thinks is Arcane.
Except no. That's foolish. Beyond foolish. It's not Arcane. Arcane is dead. He's killed him multiple times. Except that lock of hair. Abby might be here. If Abby is that thing? If that's Abby?]
...I don't know.
[If he can go to the green, then the red - there has to be a red avatar right? Or an avatar of the rot in this pocket dimension?-
Unless this is a trick. Unless this is some game of Arcane's. Again.
John might notice he looks tired. World weary. It's so obvious it shows on a big green monster creature.]
You can't perform a spell to find out? If you can't I might have...an idea.
[Go fully into the green and look for the red and it's avatar. Get a clearer lay of the land.]
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It's probably not that important mate. Don't wear yourself out. [Vegetable thing looks a little sullen.] Look, this could be fun. Like a camping trip. A bit of Bear Grylls action to distract from the mundane demonic warfare. You need to lighten up.
[John abruptly laughs at his own stick up the arse joke but he doesn't say it aloud as he keeps on walking towards the water. He's saving that for later.]
So how do you know me, anyway?
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He stares at him.] I have burdens. I don't...lighten up well.
[Can he root himself in this green? He's a little...concerned. Who knows what would happen?]
...That and my whole life is camping.
[The latter is a bit easier to deal with.] You were the one who told me what I was. After what happened to me, you...opened the green to me in your own way. We've fought multiple demons.
You've regularly observed the kingdoms. Everyone...knows you.
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His brows furrow as they get to the waterfront. He'd remember this conversation if he had it. While he doesn't think of himself as unhelpful, often if it's not a life or death situation or if he doesn't see much personal gain to be wrung out of it, he doesn't get involved. Constantine tries to do the right thing, sure. When it's convenient or when he sees it as a long-term investment. Maybe he thought Alec would be of some use to him.]
'Everyone''s a wee bit of a stretch, love. [He knows he's made a bit of a name for himself in Hell but it's a big place full of wankers that spout all sorts of gobshite.] So am I your sidekick? [Or just some sort of Delphic Oracle that Alec consults with vague magic eight ball style answers?]
I'll be honest. I'm sure I'd remember you, and I don't, but you know a lot more about me than you should be able to tell on a cold read. Either there's two of me running around or you're a really good conman. [Contree?]
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Alec stops walking and stares. Two of them. There's always a chance it's some sort of magical doppleganger or...If there's one reality, then there might be two realities.
More information is required. He begins walking again.]
We've been partners. I give you information about the green, which is the kingdom of living things-plant life.
[Pause.]
Not Cannabis.
[He's going to be honest with this man, looking down at him before looking ahead.]
I was a man. Obviously. I was a...scientist. Who died in an explosion. My consciousness merged with the plant life first. It created the first Swamp Thing. He was the first avatar of the green.
[There's a lot more. A lot more. He's not going to go into it now though because the guy might have a point. If there are two Johns. Pocket dimensions. That means there's an Alec Holland in his reality.
The thought is...troubling.]
I was brought back by the parliament of trees when he died to become the next Swamp Thing. So the first avatar was...a plant who thought he was a man. And I'm a man...who is a plant.
You taught my predecessor about his abilities as an elemental. We've - my John and I perhaps - been...colleagues since then.
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The swamp thing? [They're going to have to work on a better name than 'the next swamp thing', nevermind this confusing tree-man cum man-tree business.]
I'm just going to call you Alec, alright? And we can still work together here. [He's not sure how much use he'll be without access to his library in the millhouse, but it's just his good luck running into someone who's willing to work with him straightaway and Constantine's not going to stare a gift horse in the mouth.]
We should follow this lake around. People like to live close to the water. Maybe we'll find a house. [With a local whom they can bully, manipulate and extort for information.]
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...If you do call me Alec, I'd appreciate you not sharing that name with others. Without my permission.
[One of his arms transforms into a very large spiked club, a twisted massive root covered in spikes before glancing to his new partner.]
Until you're feeling better I'll...defend you.
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Put your big cock away, love. There's no one else here yet. [Weapons out of one hand and a beetroot and corn salad out the other? That's pretty bloody handy.]
You miss it? Being flesh and bone.
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It's...not something I want to deal with here. For the moment.
[His eyes narrow and the club recedes. Hngh. He needs time to root, to dissect this, to try and speak to the green of this pocket dimension.
Being flesh and bone? It's a loaded question.]
...No.
[Lying. He's lying.]
I used to. [Then the machine queen raised his body from the dead. Truth be told he doesn't have an answer but he's not going to get into that. Not until he has more of a lay of the land.
Better to be the monster in this case.]
I have a duty I must perform now. That makes it easier.
[He considers this] So if you aren't the John Constantine I know...
You don't know about the league? Zatanna?
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It's a no that sounds an awful lot like a yes, but John doesn't push. Maybe calling him Alec is making it worse. The Swamp Thing looks like he needs time. Figure all this shite out. They'll probably have a lot of time here.]
Only league I know of is football. [As in, 'soccer', not that American game where the ball barely touches anyone's foot.] So, enlighten me. What's a Zatanna league?
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[One of the things that's slipped away is his concept of "spoilers". He keeps pace with him, arms swinging at his sides. Things here are whispering.]
At least you were. You stepped - [Nice way of saying "was ousted"] aside so she could take charge. The magical community is a small one.
no subject
She? Zatanna's a she? ...is she cute?
Damn it now I want a Zatanna.
You're the same across any dimension.
[He pauses. One root extends from his shoulder and scratches the back of his neck in an almost sheepish gesture.]
She is...cute.
[She's a friend of sorts. One of many people who he keeps an eye on. That said, he's a married man. No matter what the circumstances.
There's that desire to protect him from spoilers.]
Very much your type. Be nice should you meet her.
She's so rare though xO I've only seen one around in memes
That's... to be expected - hard to picture someone with his name and possibly wearing his face living it up somewhere making good life decisions and actually being happy for any stretch of time. Even though all that really needed to happen for that was one small little thing to change, like his mother surviving, or his father coping with her death, or never dabbling into the occult. Expected, but still a little disappointing.]
I have a drinking and smoking problem and think with my little head too much, you mean? [Could have told Alec that himself.]
Have you told her she's cute? [What's with that coy tree act?] Unless sexy and completely insane is not your 'type'.
I think I know her...
[he was. Is. What are he and Abby now? They can't touch. They could never ry make love. They'd made it work though and Linda...
By way of response he expels the pack from his chest again and opens it, shifting things around with tiny roots before he wraps one around the ring and holds it up for John to see.]
Twice even.
[my root structure brings all the women to the farm...
I was funny once.
Alec slides it back into the pack.]
You should tell her though. Neither of you have it in you to commit but that doesn't mean you should lack for companionship.
The version of you I know is a better man then he gives himself credit for.
[be like him.]
I don't think I've ever threaded with her
If she's cute I would have told her, mate. [He has no hangups about that, surely, so the other him wouldn't have the same reservations either.] I don't know about any other Constantine but I don't have the best luck when it comes to 'companionship'. I don't need her soul on my conscience.
Hmm.
You're an...arrogant, self-centered conman. I can see why you wouldn't want anyone's soul on your conscience.
It's what I like about you. You annoy the parliament of trees, we're... [Hm. Haw. Hrmm. Can't say friends. Can't say friends.] A successful partnership. Have a little faith in yourself John. Your...alternate self may be an independent operator but he's a good man. Don't be so hard on yourself.
[He pauses] I mean you helped me find my wife when she was lost. That alone means you have my alliance.
When you return to your world and I return to mine, have faith in yourself.
no subject
You think your missus is here? [They can add that on the list of things to do, somewhere along with finding food, water and shelter. He did see some in his bag but he's not sure it's going to last.]
We can take a look around. If you want to find her that is. [Marriage. It's a lottery.]
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[He's both sorry and not sorry because it's hard to forget that you nearly killed him in Scotland and also - so many other reasons but there's...a degree of regret in his voice.
The moment they come to a stop his feet root again, slow, gently, just a nudge burying himself in to earth before he shakes his head.]
Every kingdom has it's own avatars. Beings like me. Some are destined to do it...
All are. I'm the avatar of the green, Abigail is...the avatar of the black. Death. I'm honored bound to know where she is, just as she should know where I am.
[It's not stalking John. It's totally not stalking.]
I found something of hers in the bag that was left to me however. If she is here...I don't envy the person who brought the both of us to this place.
...How are you feeling?
[Do you need to stop, eat, drink, anything like that.]
no subject
honestly the kind of codependent relationship John would accidentally stumble into and spend years trying to disentangle out ofhe didn't want to get too involved there, regardless of whether he's supposed to be the Swamp Thing's best mate or whatever.]I'm still really hungover and half expecting you to turn back into my coathanger. [John forces a smile and shakes his head.] Until then I guess we're going this way. [Of the two of them, Alec's probably taking their current predicament a lot more seriously.]
I googled SO MANY THINGS to make this tag accurate.
A+ but doesn't sound very appetising raw...
...Making fires is gonna be fun. I just realized this.
burn them all.gif
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