What do you get when two ruthless assassins raise their daughter travelling through the wildest reaches of Caido? Take one look at Theea and you'll get a pretty good idea. Cheerful and tenacious in equal measure, and curious beyond all else, she began her journey on a mission to find those her mother once called family. And find them she did, soon rubbing elbows with demigods, leaders and even ghosts from the past. Her determination is resolute, her thirst for knowledge unmatched. We can't wait to see where her next adventure takes her!
Congratulations, Theea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
Thal doesn't need approval, but there's something in the purple current of her heart that pulse a little harder with his words, a warmth of pleasure that she finds herself continually seeking. Her smile is sharp and competes with Vox for most fangs, glinting like a blade that's partially unsheathed.
Once all the losers leave with their dirty implications and boring items (although not the one person she might hope to see leave), she patiently waits her turn amongst the other finalists. However, her reasoning might not be as obvious as the others, so she steps a little closer than necessary, an innocent look on her face as she tilts her head. "Let me finish this sentence then."
Thal leans forward so that only Noe will be graced with her deceptively soft voice. "It'd be in your best interest to make up with Vox. He misses you dearly." There's a tease there, an offer, a threat that she hopes the girl recognizes along with all the benefits she now lacks without her close Friend. Because she doesn't like the grief and longing on his face(?) or the way his tentacles shudder when his eyes(?) land on her or the quieted dissonance of his voice when her name leaves his mouth(?) - and Thal knows that she would do a lot of terrible things to make it all go away.
As if she'd been talking about her own dropped item, Thal pulls away, her voice musical and lilting with a venomously sweet smile on her face. "And what's not to love about a good duet?"
Thalassa threatens encourages Noe to pick Vox her. >.>
// "One more drink" I think I'm losing my head now //
He bids Elizabeth farewell with a small wave as the overly dramatic announcements from Vox unfurl, her name not on the short list, to which he can only shrug. He's no fucking clue what's happening, but might as well see it to the end.
Glancing over at Noe, he extends his rather ordinary hammer for her to inspect should she so desire. "Uh, well, it can be a weapon or a tool, so it's pretty useful. It's heavy, so when it drops, get out of the way. It's also a turn of phrase, the hammer drops, for a final decision. So, I guess, it's got a lot going for it?" He feels rather foolish explaining a hammer to someone.
Iskra holds out his hammer for Noe to inspect and explains it.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
It’s a strange thing to get such praise from the staticky member of the Family, but as Thorn drops the squash and watches as it sinks into the depths, and by the time it reaches the bottom it hits with such velocity that the courtesan smirks a little, ignorant of Vox’s response despite how he can tell how pleased the Family member is.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs it’s with a bit of surprise to see that there are far less of them than there were before. But with it, the young courtesan listens, unsure of whether or not he should take it as a compliment. As for the next task, he doesn’t know Noe, but he turns to her anyway, and when it’s his turn he seems a little indifferent, flashing her an easy smile. “Ain’t much left’ve mine, but it made a splash huh?” He tries to jest at first, finding his smile faltering slightly. “Squashes are messy but the birds’ll like it.”
thorn
— getting crucified, every time you cross my mind //
Emotional Perception | The user can read surface level emotions of those within a 15 foot radius. Control is moderate. Note: "Surface level emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded
Emotional Telepathy | The user can read deep emotions of those within a 5 foot radius at will. Control is excellent. Note: "Deep emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Who was it that led you on And makes you want to hurt me so?
Liam's bookmark fluttered through the air, landing insignificantly on a stair somewhere down below. The soldier watched it fall, looking almost bored. Vox, at least, was entertained, even going so far as to clap for Liam with a sound that grated on one's eardrums. The soldier offered a grin before moving out of the way, watching the remaining participants with an unreadable expression.
When it became clear that Noe would be choosing the winner (?) of this little contest, Liam studied the girl. She had been a Friend before - and then she'd been lost to them.
So when it was his turn to convince her, he mentally shrugged, not particularly caring one way or another if he impressed her. "The bookmark was pretty as it fell," he rumbled, gesturing towards the steps. But, honestly? It probably wasn't the best, and that was okay with Liam.
---
Liam... gives up?
Who do you want to forget? Who forgot you long ago?
Emotional Perception | The user can read surface level emotions of those within a 15 foot radius. Control is moderate. Note: "Surface level emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded
Emotional Telepathy | The user can read deep emotions of those within a 5 foot radius at will. Control is excellent. Note: "Deep emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me At teatime, everybody agrees
Vox gave everyone else feedback on their items, but to Noe, he gave only silence; her gear curled and warped as it fell, blooming into a pulsing, glitching heart that caught her gaze. She couldn't look away - not until the second beat had long since faded, the silence broken by the next item being dropped. She realized she was shivering and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look braver than she felt.
Eventually, everyone completed their drops, and Vox's attention turned squarely onto her. Caught in the eldritch horror's gaze (?), Noe froze, her heart stuttering in her chest as everyone turned to look at her.
Vesper was first to speak, stepping up to offer a maple seed to Noe, which she accepted in silence. As he explained, she dropped the seed, watching it spiral in the air. It was a strong contender.
Nova was next, a girl who looked about her age who positively bubbled with energy. The engineer swallowed hard at the good cheer cast her way. The Noe of a few weeks ago might have gotten caught up in the excitement - who didn't like glitter, after all? - but with all of Vox's eyes (?) on her, she couldn't bring herself to summon the same ability to care that she'd had before.
Jack was another unfamiliar face, but he handed her a bouncy ball - something that, as he explained, would always come back for more dropping. That was appealing, if only because it gave the girl something to do with her nervous energy. She dropped the ball and caught it when it bounced back to her, nodding to the captain before turning her attention to the next.
Thalassa - an Ancient with a face full of tentacles and too many eyes. It hurt to look at her for too long, and goosebumps rose on Noe's skin at the woman's veiled threat. She did her best not to move away from the infected Ancient and failed, shuffling a step to the side as she swallowed down a healthy dose of fear.
Iskra had a hammer, which Noe was very familiar with as an engineer. She couldn't fault his reasoning, but she had to admit that she liked other items better.
Hawthorn dropped a squash, and Noe looked at the remains with a strange look on her face. Something about its innards spattered all over the ground unnerved her. She couldn't quite explain why.
And finally, Liam - someone else whose face had been replaced by a void-tinged abomination. Of everyone's, she'd thought that his offer was perhaps the saddest. Now she saw his shrug and heard his explanation and wondered if the infection had sucked the feeling out of him, or if that was just who he was.
In the end, everyone was still staring at her, and Vox was still waiting for her, and Noe raised her eyes to his as she trembled beneath the scrutiny. She raised her finger and pointed to one of the faces she didn't know - Jack, who had given her the bouncy ball still gripped in her fingers. "I like that it always comes back," she explained.
---
Noe selects Jack's bouncy ball!
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
Vox draws himself up with an unsettling, gelatinous shlorp, his static whirring into something just shy of reverence. Arms, limbs, something in-between—too many and not enough—wrap tightly around his own shifting form in a parody of the hug he wishes he could give to Noe, curling in where they cannot reach out.
He doesn't speak at first. Just vibrates gently with the hum of a thousand unplayed instruments, of signals crossing oceans to say: he heard her.
Then, very softly, almost tenderly: "She picked the bounce."
A silence follows, the kind that feels like the world tilting slightly out of orbit.
Then—"Captain Jack wins all the best things to drop!" A flare of hands into the air, a mockery of celebration and coronation, static like party horns blaring from nowhere and everywhere. "The seed, the sparkle, the squash—all yours now. Don’t spend them in one place."
His body turns in an elegant spiral again, unravelling like an animated ribbon, until only one arm remains extended. In his palm—if that’s what it is—lies the small, metallic gear that had once pulsed like a heart. Somehow it’s been made whole again, clean and cool and entirely itself.
Vox holds it out toward Noe, and his voice softens to a warbled hush: "Except this. This stays with you. Always."
Then, with no grand declaration and no vanishing act, he simply stands still, eyes trained on her—every one of them—as if he might burn the shape of her into whatever serves as his memory.
Liam is out of the drop for not posting within 24 hours. Everyone else may use this drop for levelling.
Jack has won! He wins some maple seeds, a bunch of glitter, his own bouncy ball, a broken skull, a hammer, and some pieces of squash!
