presgarddihellis | Seven Horrors Inbox

[should he say?

well.

hums in consideration.]

You don't have to be so worried about what I hear. I'm very good at keeping secrets.

[in spite of CERTAIN CURSES.]

Edited 2025-08-20 18:13 (UTC)

[that]

[is so ominous what the FUCK]

. . . great. . . that's.

Comforting.

[welcome to the world of eldritch horror gods. even the good-intentioned ones are like this.

amused, still.]

You don't have to pray if you're that worried about it. It's only in specific incidents that I'm requiring it, anyway.

[YOU HAVE A CHOICE HERE, PUCK. YOU DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.]

I know, I know. I was just-- [hrrrrgh sinks a little more into his seat] -- curious! I was just curious.

How much can you hear before it cuts out?

[buddy...

you're so lucky you're messing around with a god like The Fool and not someone else...

such is the case with many who pray to him, though.

a bit of mercy, then]

The connection's not as strong with the limitations of this place. Usually, I just hear whispers and can go to a different realm where I can watch and listen for as long as I have the spiritual energy to do so.

[which is a lot, he doesn't say.]

Here... I can't do that. The whispers are more audible and distinct, but I can't see anything and I don't know how long it lasts. It could be that you cut off because you threw yourself out of your praying because you got startled. How can I tell?

[ah. . . so that's what happened? he got cut off? and linking it to him consciously ceasing the prayer. . . knowing that he can stop it at any time does help]

[relaxes a bit, sitting up straighter as he scoots his chair forward, openly curious now]

I dunno. I guess I thought you'd be able to tell? I'm not super religious, so I don't know how this praying thing works.

It might not be the same across all worlds, but it's generally how it works from what I know--

[... ah.

catching himself from almost saying a little too much about something. oh no you don't you fucking curse!

--changes gears.]

You have to keep in mind what I've been saying about being limited here. In some ways, no doubt, I'm very powerful. But a lot of it, I don't have access to. So I'm not omniscient. Or omnipotent.

[. . . raises a brow]

Cursed knowledge?

[annoying. . . but! he moves on]

And that's not surprising. [wryly] Can't have you being more powerful than the ghosts haunting us, right?

Which is why they grabbed a marionette--

[HUFFS IN ANNOYANCE. YEAH, OKAY, CURSE. YOU CAN GET ME THERE SINCE I DODGED YOUR LAST ONE. BITCH.]

It's impossible for this to be my real body. Or extremely unlikely. But. A marionette... that would make sense.

Does that make a little more sense now that you understand how a Marionettist is like?

[asked curiously because he sure did not explain himself the last time he let this detail slip.]

Wait, what?

[HE]

[SURE DID NOT!! sorry give Puck a moment to catch up. . . from what he remembers about Smith's marionettes, they're created from the bodies of those who have died, so???]

[IS SMITH RENTING OUT A CORPSE?? A. . . WORM CORPSE??]

[... hm.

maybe... probably should have kept that one under wraps longer.

holds up his hands, smiling. SEE? HE IS STILL FRIENDLY MISKATONIC SMITH EVEN IF HE'S AN ELDRITCH ABOMINATION!]

Try not to think about it too much?

[NO NO. WE ARE NOT DROPPING THAT LORE THAT QUICKLY]

[he doesn't look upset, though. just confused!!]

When you say they grabbed a marionette, does that mean you're. . .

[gestures]

Currently using someone else's body?

[well. the man doesn't want to be coddled, he said]

... most of my marionettes were large beasts and monsters found lurking in the darkness of the Lands Forsaken By God. I can... adjust them to look human.

Only a few were human to start with. And those ones were... more or less monsters in their own right.

I don't know which it is, but... it is the body I am stuck with while here.

[reasons why he commented on it being fortunate he was allowed even ONE face]

Because of certain reasons, I do utilize marionettes to travel. Whatever brought us here must have grabbed one. Generally, my marionettes are only able to accomodate only up to certain Sequences... though Sequence 5 is a bit lower than usual.

[natural powercap, very convenient]

But it's easy to forget, sometimes... that this isn't my real body.

[that is correct!! he doesn't!!1]

Huh. . .

[a beat, brows pinching together in open concern now]

Does it feel. . . weird? Whenever you remember that it isn't?

[he's quiet for a moment. not because he's considering lying so much weighing how much truth will only make the situation harder on himself.

in a way, this too is a reminder of his humanity being so easily eroded away.]

Not... weird. I'm fairly used to interchanging between marionettes.

But I do... become afraid, sometimes. If the me in my real body should cut the lines, so to speak. I don't think I will. A marionette cut free... loses control. But it is still frightening to consider.

[. . . there's a large part of him still trying to comprehend this, but. . . something about it doesn't seem quite. right?]

What if the "you" I'm speaking with now. . . and the "you" controlling the strings are one and the same? Like--

[how does he put it?]

With how powerful the spirits here are, maybe they did get the "real" you?

[his expression doesn't change but there is a quality of abject fear that he can't fully control even with his Clown capabilities in his eyes.]

No.

That would be so much, much worse. I can't accept that's the case.

[. . . . . .]

[quietly. evenly]

How so?

[cursed knowledge. cursed knowledge. he needs to just say that. but he's also now terrified if he opens his mouth, the curse will have him saying something.

life as an eldritch abomination who clings onto humanity by the nails is a life of always being afraid, truly.]

... have you... looked for the book on the Loen Kingdom? Seen the map of the Northern and Southern Continents?

[it's a seque but. relevant.]

[at this point, he doesn't even have to say it. a small exhale. . . and Puck just nods, silently understanding]

. . . yeah. I found it. I haven't read it cover to cover, but I've seen the map.

[so he knows what Smith means when he mentions the Norther and Southern continents]

Edited (repetition) 2025-08-21 15:21 (UTC)

Did they... look famailiar to you?

[hah]

[so it hadn't just been coincidence. it wasn't just his brain trying to recognize a pattern where there wasn't one]

. . . yeah.

But I thought that was just me.

[he's toeing so many lines here but also his throat is tight because he also had the same reaction until a certain fucker taking him to a certain city in the Lands Forsaken By God.

he shakes his head.]

There's no crude oil... because crude oil wasn't what it was thought to be. And when that entity woke... everything was destroyed.

And the ones who left such a thing buried so long... if my real body is here, then there are only two half-Pillars holding the barrier keeping those things from finishing it.

[that's his home. always was. even if the time is wrong.]

I'm the only full Pillar maintaining it.

[there's another layer to his fear but we don't have to dig into THAT. that's a perpetual existential threat]

Edited 2025-08-21 15:35 (UTC)

[the questions come naturally. what entity? how long ago, compared to my own Earth's history? . . . exactly how catastrophic was this event? and yet, he doesn't voice a single one, because now is not the time. now is not the place. the thinly veiled strain lacing Smith's words is enough to stop him in his tracks; especially when he realizes what it is Smith is clinging to, here]

[. . . better to be afraid of losing control. . . than of losing your entire home. right?]

[. . .]

. . . all right.

[his only response, after a moment of contemplative silence]

Then I won't take that thought any further.

Edited 2025-08-21 18:47 (UTC)

[he already lost home once and it thoroughly wrecked him until Miss Justice helped him pick up the pieces. doing that again with no Psychiatrist around... no... it's not a good thought.

he'd so much rather be a marionette who could be cut off at any second, lose control at any moment than go through that again alone after putting so much into rebuilding already.

Klein's not sure how much Puck actually understands, but there is a palpable kind of relief that there aren't more questions, that he doesn't have to risk his curse giving more up... he's still tense, there's still that strain from having to even come close to mentioning things that are, truly, cursed, but...]

Thank you.

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LOTM SPOILERS LOL

the way I haven't understood a single spoiler in this series. nods.

thats how it be mysteries

jazz hands

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