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Aion Mods ([personal profile] aionmods) wrote in [community profile] aionooc2022-07-30 12:18 pm
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TDM #3

TDM #3
DREAMING (new characters)
At first, there is nothing. You are nothing. Whatever existed before ceases to be if for a moment. Then, bit by bit, you start to become aware. Where there was not even darkness now is a dim haze, gentle and almost mist-like. You have limbs again and beneath your feet lays a path of light reaching out like limbs of a great tree beneath you, twisting and climbing out into the horizon.

You take a step forward for what else is there to do? As you walk you begin to remember what it was you were doing before the nothingness; maybe something as simple as chatting with a loved one or close friend. Maybe you were just beginning a great journey or facing off against an old foe. Whatever it was, you get the distinct feeling that wherever and whenever that was, it is not here. Not now.

The path of light twists off into different directions. When you look up you can see that it is not a sky above you but the sky of everything, a grand cosmic tapestry littered with not mere stars but galaxies and clusters of galaxies that gleam like crystals against the velvety backdrop of space. Admire it for a moment, if you will. You don't know how long you will drift here, but you are not alone. Other wanderers will come and go as you bask together in the vastness of creation.

It seems to you that there are two paths to walk in this place, the light and dark beckoning in turn.

THE LIGHT AT THE CENTER
One leads you to the center, splintered fragments folding together and colliding until only one thing remains: a light that speaks to you with the voice of all there is and has ever been. It greets you simultaneously as an old friend and as a lost child, both rejoicing in and mourning your arrival. You remember it too, somehow, with a feeling of complex nostalgia, as if returning to a place recalled from your distant childhood.

You’ll feel the same of the other wanderers that join you in the light; you know their faces, their voices, and as you reflect upon the world of your birth, you may witness fragments of theirs as well. You feel a comradery, then, a synchronicity of thought and emotion. Are the lives of others truly so different from your own? Or are you simply two hands of the same, greater being? Though some individualistic part of you may resist, the longer you spend in the light, the more you will find yourself becoming one with it.

Despite this welcoming call, no matter how eagerly your pursue its embrace, before you can fully submerge yourself in this oneness you will find yourself being torn away. As if seized by the impossibly long, cold arm of a creature unseen, you are plucked from the edge of fulfillment. The last thing you will remember is the sensation of your world, and all the others your experienced here, collapsing into nothingness.

THE DARK OUTSIDE (CW: deep despair, ego death)
The other leads towards the outside, where the splintering becomes so great that the vestiges of reality can do nothing but collapse back into the abyss at the end of everything. As you wander to these barren outskirts, your thoughts will not be drawn to familiarity and oneness, but instead to memories of discontent and waste. The darker the path becomes, the more you find yourself dwelling on life’s disappointments and injustices, of the things about yourself and your world you find wanting.

If you see others here, at first they will feel frightening or contemptible, as if representing to you the worst experiences in your life. Even if they are someone you’re certain you know, that familiarity and affection will be stripped away in the face of the great emptiness before you. In the end, you were all the same. In the end, none of this was worth it. If you approach the end together, you may even form a kind of kinship around this acknowledgment, as the need for paranoia and hatred fades.

Slowly, the darkness encroaches, and you can see it devouring all the things you once knew. Memories of your home, of those you loved, dissolve into nothing, and you can only reflect on the barren emptiness in your heart as you see it happen. In your final moments, though, you feel peace with it all, knowing that there was no other way. You step from the edge of the last dwindling fragment of being and are greeted by silence.

THE END
No matter which way you go, you are left with a single impression: you feel the world you came from die. It's a realization that transcends logic or sense; it weighs on your heart and leaves the vestiges of dark memories dancing in your thoughts like motes of ash. It's a memory of your home crumbling away into nothing as if consumed from within by rot. Returned to the void, all that's left to you is to be reborn.

REBIRTH (new characters)
In a new time and place, you awaken. Stirring within a capsule of warmth and isolation your senses will slowly return, only to observe that you are trapped. Your body, as it wakes, is tangled in close, yours eyes unable to open, as if still within the womb. You are held tight in the embrace of something unyielding, so smothering that at first you only have the strength to struggle for moments at a time. Yet, as you persist, the pressure begins to relent in turn; it may take hours, but eventually you will find the purchase to push, to claw, to fight, and it will all give way.

The chrysalis surrounding you bends like flesh and cracks like glass. It tears as you force your fingers through, finding liberation one inch at a time, until finally you have emerged. As if having undergone metamorphosis, you feel old and new all at once. You are weak, piteously so, but the markings and scars of your previous life remain. As you slump down upon the smooth cavern stone, you realize that you've just wrenched yourself free of gigantic crystal, though its hollow, shimmering form is now in pieces on account of your passing. Somewhere on your body, a shard of similar material remains embedded.

The cave itself looks almost like the inside of a geode, the walls and ceiling bedazzled with greyish crystal that shines with all the colors of the rainbow. While they vary wildly in size and shape, only a few have grown large enough to hold a form like yours, and you can see the one you just escaped isn't the only one bearing a passenger within. They may have already hatched, or they may still be lingering in stasis. Either way, there's enough time that you may have a chance to speak to yours unexpected peers, or to perhaps to struggle to find something to cover your naked body with. You feel the chill of the open air against your moisture laden skin, a distant light trickling in through the cavern's opening.

Make the most of this time. It won't be long before you're interrupted.

[Mod Note: If you don't want to deal with your character being naked in front of the others at that location, feel free to assume they emerge at a different time than the others of their legacy. Characters will be 'hatching' over a period of several hours.]

DREAMING (OLD CHARACTERS)
For those already in Horos, they will find themselves in the same dreamscape as the new arrivals, only, this time, it's familiar. You'll feel more cognizant of your surroundings as you reawaken in this psychedelic realm, more in control of your emotions. What's more, you recognize that light at the center and the darkness at the edge: it's the Pleroma and Kenoma respectively. The one you are attuned to will call our to your soul, and though you are technically free to wander as you please, the closer you get to the force of your opposite sect, the more it will grate against you spiritually. Pleroma attuned nearing the Kenoma will feel as if its presence is desperately trying to tear them apart, and Kenoma attuned nearing the Pleroma will feel as if its light is burning them from the inside out.

More importantly, you notice that entirely new souls are wandering here with faces you didn't see in the cavern. It gradually becomes clear that they are Aions in the same state you were prior to your rebirth, lost and wandering this stretch of the cosmos with no idea what's to come. Maybe this is your chance to ease the confusion of their arrival, or maybe you'd simply like to scope out what kind of people are on their way. It's also possible for you to run into Aions already in Horos, wandering just like you are. Unfortunately, things are a lot less neutral than they are the last time you shared this realm.

No matter what you do, eventually the cosmos above will begin to burn out, just as it did the first time you were here. As darkness swallows reality itself, you will wake with the visceral memory of your world corrupting and breaking apart.

SEARCHING (OLD CHARACTERS)
Soon after the dreams begin, it will become clear that the Aion NPCs of either sect are also aware of what's happening. For those in Achamoth and Greentruth, the imminent arrival of new Aions will become a matter of official discussion. All able Aions will be called upon for their aid, in whatever way they can offer. Getting to the shrines themselves will be easily accomplished via teleportation. What's would be more complicated is ferrying any new arrivals back to a secure location. Thankfully, this is something both sects have already prepared for.

All characters will have the opportunity to acquire a 'returning stone' if they don't already have one. In all cases, this will amount to an amulet made of the same shimmering material as the shrine monuments, though the stylization differs between the Pleroma and the Kenoma. While regular Aion teleportation can bring you to any of the shrines you know the sigil and location of, a returning stone is magically programmed to bring its wearer back to a specific destination to which it is attuned. Normally, these stones will only be able to store enough energy for one 'return' a month, but it turns out that the ambient power created by the shrines being active will temporarily super charge them. Though it's not guaranteed, this means they may generate enough energy to perform multiple returns for TDM purposes. More information about returning stones can be found on the powers page.

Spare returning stones will be issued to all Aions so that they can be used to bring back anyone they collect, as it's possible to bring someone alongside you if they are also wearing a returning stone. Where your stone leads will depend on your sect.

PLEROMA
Tehri will be the one to supply returning stones, based out of Greentruth. She will not travel to Godsblood to deliver returning stones to those that have not visited Greentruth, but it can be assumed that Greentruth's visitors can pass them along to anyone who has been staying in the city. The returning stones are set to bring them to a secure location beneath the water of Godsblood's coast. From there, new arrivals will have to be allowed to rest and then brought up into the city when they're ready.

Greentruth is limited in its resources, but it will attempt to send troops to the Innocent, Seeker, Wanderer, and Firebrand shrines, all of which are close to the forest. Compared to the last attempt, these troops are a bit better armored. Meanwhile, bolstered by recent events in Godsblood, bands of Resistance members and guerrilla fighters will turn up at the Artisan and Sovereign shrines. The Resistance members will work willingly alongside with the Pleroma Aions, but the guerrilla fighters seem to have their own priorities and that is mostly that they have a beef with the Achamites. These reinforcements will struggle against powered Aions, but they might be able to delay any troops sent by Achamoth or Hylici.

KENOMA
Xishen will be handing out returning stones to all Kenoma the day after the dreams begin for the Aions that don't already have one. She'll explain how to use them, and state that the Regent expects for them to head to the shrines once they become fully active. The Kenoma will have whatever mundane weapons or supplies they need at their disposal for this mission, along with minimal Achamite reinforcements. Due to injuries and death in both Godsblood and Venera, many are in recovery or on their return to Achamoth. She'll reiterate not to rely too heavily on them; after all, only the Aions are able to quickly move between the shrines and at the Citadel. The regular troops will have to be deployed by river or by land, and mobilizing them will take time. They will feasible be able to reach all of the shrines to some degree or another, but will more easily populate the shrines of the Martyr, Celebrant, Lover, Champion, Visionary, Sovereign, and Firebrand.

The Hylicians will be called to fill in the ranks of the diminished Achamite troops. They follow the orders that they are given but are very standoffish otherwise, even more than usual for them. Xishen herself says she will be traveling to the shrines and the Kenoma will be expected to communicate their movements to her as they work. Dionys remains in Achamoth to 'keep watch'. All Kenoma Aions will be given a familiar vial of black sludge, and are instructed to feed it to any Aions they capture at the shrines. It will cause the same effects it did in the cavern, though it will resolve in a few days rather than a week.

RETURNED (ALL CHARACTERS)
New characters that are found a the shrines will be brought back to one of two lodestones, depending on which sect they are taken by. This will be accomplished by their escort putting a 'returning stone' around their neck that will enable them to be teleported to a secure area in their sect's territory. It is advised for your character to be taken by whichever sect you'd like them to end up in.

TO THE PLEROMA
In a dazzling flash of psychedelic light, you will find yourself brought to the Pleroma's lodestone: a monolithic rock set in the center of temple-like ruins. The entire cavern is hidden away beneath the ocean waves, just outside of Godsblood, and the ceiling itself is comprised of nothing but a barrier of water, as if held back from filling the space by some unknown force. The waters surrounding the lodestone are exactly body temperature, with swarms of tiny, violently iridescent fish darting through it. Crabs that look as if they're made of pure, clear crystal wander the sparkling, sandy shores.

There isn't much here in the way of accommodations, but it's comfortable enough that the new arrivals brought in by the Pleroma can take a moment to catch their breath. Some relatively plain but assorted new clothing will have been brought to the cavern to make sure they are actually clothed, as well as blankets and basic food items. It's a good time to ask your questions, or if you are an established Pleroma, to help out your freshly arrived peers. After all, their welcome at the shrine may have been a confusing one.

New arrivals will be permitted to leave the lodestone's temple when they are ready. Unfortunately, the only ways out of these place are through your choice of either swimming through pockets of water that eventually lead to the surface, or by spelunking through a series of tunnels to make your way the cliff faces near the city of Godsblood. More information about the city itself can be found on the setting page, though it would be preferable to keep TDM interactions to the lodestone area. As characters emerging from the shrines will start our as Untouched (more info about attunements here) they will not be permitted entry into Greentruth until they have attuned to Pleroma.

TO THE KENOMA
As your returning stone activates, you will feel yourself thrust into a suffocating void, only to emerge just as quickly somewhere else. The most pressing thing on the minds of anyone taken by the Kenoma will be the vial of pitch black sludge they are forced to drink, whether it is before or after their arrival. Maybe their 'escort' from the shrine gave it to them, or perhaps another Kenoma does soon after they arrive. If not, one of the Achamite cultists wandering around definitely will. Dedicated servants to the Regent's will as they are, they are not afraid to gang up on the vulnerable new arrivals and force it down their throats.

Once in your mouth, the potion will slither down your throat as if it's a living thing. The effect takes hold quickly: as this darkness creeps through your insides, it will embolden your darkest and most despair inducing emotions, plaguing your thoughts with the worst sorrows of your life. What's worst, it simultaneously seems to awaken some form of enhanced psychic empathy within you, both projecting your thoughts for others to hear, and allowing you to receive those of the others around you in kind. Black ooze will begin to seep from orifices, or the space around your shard. The effects of this contamination bring out your worst, and its recipients will be forced to live with these effects until they accept the force corrupting them into their souls.

This world is not good enough, a voice speaks to your through the Kenoma. This suffering you feel, the cruelty that has birthed this darkness in you... it is simply the rot that is consuming this existence. A better universe awaits, one forged by your own hand, and all you need do is first bring about this broken reality's end.

How long this goes on will depend on how long the characters is able to fight it. Acceptance of the Kenoma can come as quickly as immediately, if your character is inclined towards it, or it could be drawn out to take a few days. In the meantime, they will have to stay in the barren halls surrounding the Regent's lodestone, and will not be permitted to exit into the greater Citadel as the current Kenoma are. All that will immediately be offered to them down there are stone slabs that can be used as beds and formless white robes that reach down past their knees.

Of course, that doesn't mean the characters that are already of the Kenoma can't do something about that. If they desire it, they will be able to bring food or other supplies to those suffering with their Kenoma infections, and it will be equally within their power to try anything from bullying them into accepting to lovebombing them. Once a character accepts the Kenoma and attunes to it, they will be permitted to leave, but for the sake of the TDM interactions should be kept to the lodestone area.

QUESTIONS
Is this TDM canon?
Mostly! It's part of an in-game event. However, only threads with new players that app and are accepted will be considered game canon. Threads between old characters will all be canon, but threads involving new characters that don't apply or aren't accepted will either need to be tweaked to remove their involvement or made non-canon. New characters will also be able to decide TDM threads aren't canon if they end up changing directions.

Who can toplevel on this post?
Anyone, whether they are a new character or a current one. However, we do ask for current players to do their best to tag new characters. If you are bringing in a new character and want a current character to bring them into your sect of choice, post your request here! ICly, current characters are fighting to claim new arrivals, but it's up to the player of new characters where they ultimately end up going.

When is this TDM taking place chronologically?
The beginning of August. The shrines will be active and forming Aions during that time. The dreams will start around the 29th of July. All current Aions will be able to sense when it's time for the new arrivals to start emerging.

What are the shrines like?
Every shrine is comprised of the crystal-filled cavern character emerge inside and then the massive statue symbolizing the relevant Legacy built on top. More information about each shrine can be found in the "Aion Shrine" section of the setting page.

Are everyone's homeworlds really gone?
That's a complicated issue, and while the fate of their world is not without hope, they may certainly get the impression its been destroyed from the dream they had. Alternatively, they may refuse to believe what they felt and attempt to dismiss it as only a vision. More about this situation will be revealed as the game goes on.

Can I only experience one end of the dream sequence prompt?
New characters may experience one ending, both endings, or neither. If they experience both they will struggle to recall which came first or which feels the most 'true' to them, as both will simultaneously be the thought they are reborn with. If your character refuses to pursue either path they can simply linger in the middle until the infinite worlds above them start being extinguished one by one, eventually expelling them into darkness in a similar style to the light prompt. Which dreams they experience will not dictate their initial sect affiliation.

Is it possible to pull another character back from the end of the light or darkness dreams?
Yes! If your character is able to resist the pull of either end, they will have the chance to try to pull another character back from the edge of the abyss or the edge of oneness. Whether or not they succeed is entirely up to the other character, though.

Do you come out of the chrysalis wet?
For most intents and purposes it's the same experience as hatching out of a real butterfly chrysalis, so yes, a bit.

How does attunement to the Pleroma or Kenoma work for new characters?
More information about sect attunements can be read on their dedicated info page, but in summary: when new characters are brought to Horos, they will be in the state of being "Untouched" meaning they are not attuned to either sect. By the end of their first month in game it is expected they will either attune to Pleroma or Kenoma, though for those taken by the Kenoma's forces, the transition will be forced within the first few days. If taken in by the Pleroma, it may take then some time to attune to Pleroma, depending on the strength of their spirit, but it could also happen almost instantly if they are allowed to. How quickly it happens will depend on how strongly they align with the Pleroma's traits. Characters who have been taken by the Pleroma but that remain Untouched will not be allowed into Greentruth until their attunement to Pleroma is complete.

Can a character taken by one side end up attuning to the sect of the opposite one?
This is theoretically possible, yes: a person taken by the Kenoma could potentially resist the Kenoma's call, and someone taken by the Pleroma could end up falling to the Kenoma while staying with them. Generally, though, we recommend that you have your character be taken by whichever sect you want to end up in, as doing a switcheroo will cause narrative complications that might bog their introduction down in plotting that will need to be done with the mods. It can happen, but it is not to be done lightly!

settingup: (i see another mountain to climb)

[personal profile] settingup 2022-08-24 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ As much as Atsumu fussed at him for spewing his negative energy out into the world, it's not like he can actually disagree with him right now. There is literally nothing good about this situation, and every hour spent in this misery Atsumu can feel himself being worn down a little more by the Kenoma inside of him.

He's uncharacteristically quiet as he mulls that over for a moment.
]

Yeah. They're fulla shit... they told me my world was awful, but the only awful place I've seen is this one here.
subsist: (pic#15626262)

[personal profile] subsist 2022-08-24 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ it's really hard to say what implications kaeya intended his words to have, because while he believes that standing by the regent wants is his best shot at bringing back what (who) was lost, he knows full well what kind of being they are. achamoth, after all, can be seen as one big cult, and there are even those amongst the kenoma's ranks who tiptoe that line every so often. it's something that havoc will have to find out for herself because he isn't really going to elaborate much more on that.

with her safely settled on the slab, he moves his hands away, shrugging his shoulders. ]


That's what we were told. The Regent mentioned that we would become gods of this new world, and that we're meant to help guide it so that it doesn't fall apart like it is right now.

[ while he speaks, he does take the time to observe her. the difference in her demeanour now compared to earlier is almost unnerving, but he can't quite put a finger on it why. maybe the kenoma has somehow soothed her anxiety... it can be a comforting presence every now and then, despite it all. ]

If that isn't your thing, that might become a problem later down the line.

[ for her sake, he can only hope she doesn't disagree. ]
salvageable: (pic#15563164)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-08-24 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's an awkward attempt to dispel the heaviness in the air between them, and Dokja tries to play along. But like this, red-rimmed eyes and a lump in his throat that's hard to get rid of, he's struggling. Even so, he'll have to make sure to keep her safe now. The way he'd always wanted for his companions.

So he nods stiffly, accepting the book with a restless energy as his other hand replaces the mask over his face and the hood over his head. ]


The place I've been staying at isn't far from here.

[ His voice is muffled once again behind the mask. He stalls for a moment, boots shuffling against the pavement of the alleyway, like he's afraid that if he moves from this spot then this will all reveal itself to be an illusion. That maybe his fragmented mind really is playing tricks on him in an effort to further break him down.

He's spent so long trying to keep some semblance of his sanity. He's not sure what'll happen should this, too, end up becoming nothing more than a hallucination of a mad man. ]


Han Sooyoung...

[ His voice is quiet as he extends the hand not holding the book so that his fingers can loosely grip her sleeve. ]

You'll follow me, right?
regressor: insovereign @ LJ (CHEWING)

[personal profile] regressor 2022-08-24 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you...

["Carmine" wasn't sure what sort of food she was expecting might be produced in a strange crystalline cave such as this, looking like a scene from a fantasy or sci-fi movie... but it's familiar. Home-made bread. Dried meat. Drink.

Still carefully holding the stone she's been given, despite not knowing what it was even for, she gratefully, quietly accepts the food... and brings it to her lips. Still weak, she struggles a moment to rip a bite from the length of the beef jerky, but the bread is easier... and she chews on the both of them together, her gaze dropping in contemplation. The seasoning was good... not too much, not too little... the meat was cured well...]


Did you make this... ?

[As a Contractor, the idea of baking or cooking with love had been a strange, laughable phrase... but she'd learned it, as a Regressor. What it tasted like, when food was made by someone with caring, thoughtful hands. How to try and apply them herself, to make the food Laura's children had tugged on her apron strings and pleaded for.

She swallows... and a small, aching little smile curls her thin lips.]


... It's really good...

[personal profile] expiera 2022-08-25 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
[HOW CAN YOU BE A HIGHSCHOOLER IF YOU DON'T READ

Oh, but that has her blink at him in growing curiosity.]


Practice? Like for a club or team activity? What were you practicing for?
fallingsand: (87;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-25 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
My home was... beautiful. Even if. If everyone hated me.

[ Only that wasn't right, was it? No. They took him back. They took him back but would that have even lasted? How long? Until the next bad vision? The next disaster? Worries he can't help but broadcast, barely able to keep those from leaking out along with all the other misery he's feeling.

It's not true, in reality, that his family would have rejected him again, but that's what it does, the Kenoma. Dragging up every worry, amplifying it, reminding him of all the bad times while diminishing the good. It's a struggle to hang on to the wish of seeing them again, somehow, some way, even with all the other dark thoughts miring him down, but that, at least, he can cling to. Even if they hate him. Even if they hate him...
]

This place, it's just. Cold. I don't like it, either, but. But I've seen other people. They've let other people go. M-maybe it's better outside of here.
undertheweight: (really now?)

[personal profile] undertheweight 2022-08-26 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
"Really? How fascinating. The dragons of your world sound very different. And this last had a separate body created for himself? Out of what? However did he project himself into it?"

It likely should not surprise Estinien that someone he's collected from the Seeker shrine has a number of questions. On Wrathion's part, hearing about those other dragons is patently fascinating.

"Are there dragons here as well? The researchers at the shrine, well. I frightened them, I think."
pyojeol: (pic#15848792)

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-08-26 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Sooyoung looks down at Dokja's pale fingers, noting the way he's very carefully holding her sleeve. The gesture is a surprise. Dokja's never been the type of person to seek physical contact, content to sit by himself in some dark corner and scroll endlessly on his phone.

It should be a surprise, but it tugs at her instead. Yet another sign of what Dokja must have gone through, to reach out to her like this.

she pulls away



so that she can grab his hand,]


There's no way I'm letting you out of my sight now.

[dere... with some tsun, since she immediately starts walking, tugging Dokja along with her. don't let her take the lead she doesn't even know where they're GOING!!! but she will very determinedly hold his hand,]
redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

[personal profile] redsoil 2022-08-26 07:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ i wasn't going to say it hayame but ur rump is pretty lewd right now 8(

where he would secure the cloth with a pin, or adorn his throat and wrists with weighted jewelry, he is left feeling very unmoored - lacking in the affects afforded his station. even though he was banished from the estates of the gods, he was still descended of ra. after a long moment spent rubbing at naked wrists, tracing the exposed angle of collarbone - without jewlery or armor alike, he meets her eye once more.

she knows not of greece, that home of heathenry and excessive body hair. yet, she is structured like their minor divinities and beasts, how curious. ]


Misfortunes, [ he sighs the world bitterly, though teeth clenched and baring prominent eyeteeth of his own; they're not as large as hers, but definitely inhuman in nature. cat-like, or bestial on their own. setting hands to his hips, he shakes his head. ] My being here is not an attempt to start a war, then. Perhaps an attempt to convince me to abandon my own - what with that attempt to convince me Egypt had fallen. Ha!

[ he points to her, to the weaponry on her person. ]

A warrior, then? This world sends you forth to what -- defend it? Prowl it?
redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

[personal profile] redsoil 2022-08-26 07:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[ the *game, dont look at my typo ]

Sacrifice lives?

[ the question is pitched, incredulous. it is as though he does not comprehend the fact that he is being asked such a thing, his brows rising into the tumble of red hair - a sign, a mark - as set reaches up to the ends of that same hair, further up. it's a habitual gesture, as though he's seeking something meant to be perched upon his head. a crown? a mask? something he thinks he needs to straighten, but is no longer there.

it's just -- ]
What a silly question. I have. I did. I would. What are the lives of mortals if not to be shaped by the gods?

[ the question is a tight one, his expression folding in on itself stubbornly. ]
coerthantorment: (113)

[personal profile] coerthantorment 2022-08-27 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
He understands well enough by now that dragons differ, though it's still strange to him to think that there are places where eyes have no particular significance to their breed.

"Through one of his eyes," he says. "The dragons from where I hail... eyes are of particular significance to them. The seat of their power, in a sense. To place their eye in a vessel is much the same as instilling in it half of their soul."

He smiles faintly, thinking about Vrtra, about all the things that made him unique as a dragon. He wonders what he would think of this place.

"But aye, there are. Many kinds. Not all are as complex of mind as you or I... I am particularly familiar with a race of them called moth hunters, who are... very charming, yet uncomplicated in their desires. Like eternal children. Yet, races like the Tamfa are as wise as any man could hope to be."
coerthantorment: (65)

[personal profile] coerthantorment 2022-08-27 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
Estinien stares at her for a few moments, as if trying to process her emotional state. Before long, though, he pulls out the spare returning stone he brought along.

"Here," he says, moving to place her around her neck... if the cord will get past her horns, at least. He touches the stone, activating its magicks. "This will ferry us back to a place protected from the Regent's ire. There, you may ask whatever questions you like."

He activates his own stone in turn. He's glad that Tsunami seems adaptable enough to these circumstances.
settingup: (running to the waves below)

[personal profile] settingup 2022-08-27 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ Jocks don't need to read! Or well, they do, but Atsumu isn't a particularly academically inclined guy. He's not a complete buffoon, but it's not like he's the top of his class or anything either.

He doesn't exactly brighten up at the question, but he does look a little less surly.
]

Volleyball. I'm my team's setter.

[ Was.... he doesn't want to talk in past tense though. ]
settingup: (running to the waves below)

[personal profile] settingup 2022-08-27 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ Rejection has never been something that has bothered Atsumu. He's known plenty of people that flat out dislike him, and he couldn't care less. Hell, even his own twin has sometimes disliked him a little, and Atsumu is fast to shrug it off like it's nothing.

Though it helps that whatever spats he has with Osamu, it never lasts for long.

That's all to say that Atsumu isn't used to this feeling pouring out of Bruno right now, that worry about rejection, about being hated...

He grits his teeth, arms crossing tight and protectively around himself, though the comment Bruno makes snaps his attention to the one exit he's also seen people come an go from.
]

Yeah, maybe, but we gotta accept it all is shit in order to see, right?

[ He snorts loudly, irritated at that oxymoronic notion. ]
coerthantorment: (28)

[personal profile] coerthantorment 2022-08-27 05:28 am (UTC)(link)
[There's a moment of give and take. Amos no longer has hold of him, but only because he's refocused his attention on Aerith, and the moment that familiar bottle comes out Estinien goes on full alert. Nothing quite disgusts him like that poison they attack helpless arrivals with, and it doesn't bear hesitation. He lashes out immediately.]

You will not.

[Estinien is behind him near instantly, trying to wrap his scaled arms around Amos's neck, with the intent on hauling him back and up with a powerful beat of his wings. If he can just hurl Amos away, maybe that will be the window they need to escape.]
deushexmachina: (pic#15398193)

[personal profile] deushexmachina 2022-08-27 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[A deep, agonizing inhalation:] It might be real. What you've seen. It might have happened, it may happen. You're walking into a world of questions without answers. Like the rest of us had.
redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

cw violence against women

[personal profile] redsoil 2022-08-27 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ -- he's seen enough women like her; hell, he's terrorized enough women into becoming like her: cowering, nervous things that huddled under his sister's name and banner and prayed to her for deliverance. and still, he'd taken a blade to them. he'd left them to the unmerciful advances of their own, to be bought and sold and traded and abused until death or worse. he was guilty of those things, and so, he paid particular attention to her. to rudbeckia de borgia, to ruby. ]

-- Set.

[ there's a soft little sound at the end of it, that could be why his name had been written as either 'set' or 'seth'; thankfully, whatever was autotranslating their spoken languages between them saw fit to allow the proper nuance. it takes him a moment to give her his name in return, to determine whether or not trading epithets with her would be better, or worse, in the long run. ]

God of the desert, and of war.

[ well, since he's in a foreign place, best deliver the fullness of his role; be it stripped from him or not, it did still belong to him. as long as he survived, and did not fail his duties, it would be his again one day. ]
salvageable: (pic#15332069)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-08-28 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ Even though he'd been the one to reach out for her first, the hand grab does catch him by surprise. He blinks down at where their hands have come together, and a curl of discomfort tugs at his heart.

But he doesn't pull away.

Hidden behind his mask, one corner of his mouth lifts ever so slightly at what she says. This is familiar. Almost to the point that it hurts, but he shoves aside the ache and pushes on, taking the lead from her. ]


You'll leave Godsblood, then? You only just got here.

[ There's plenty to see, lots to explore, and most of Dokja's closest Pleroma acquaintances reside here. He thinks he'd like Sooyoung to meet them, but with how quickly he plans on leaving, he's not sure if there's time for that. ]
pyojeol: (pic#15847969)

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-08-28 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
It's not like the city's going anywhere.

[Somewhat POINTEDLY, because she knows one person who just might, and she's here holding their hand. Maybe it's a little unfair of her to say and think so, but it doesn't change the fact that she knows her priorities. A.) Find Dokja. B.) Stay with Dokja. C.) No matter what. The city and all its wonders seem inconsequential in comparison.]

I can come back some other time.

[She pauses, moving in a little closer to avoid getting caught in the group of people ahead. Only once they're safely past them does she speak up again,]

Where exactly are we going again?
affal: (105)

always excited to pontificate

[personal profile] affal 2022-08-28 09:53 pm (UTC)(link)
( heresy? well, that likely explains why nothing along those lines had ever come up in makoto's surface-level research, though he hadn't dug too much deeper in the realms of theology than the major faiths that the world had to offer and some of the more well-known mythologies of antiquity. when none of these really offered him the answers that he was looking for (or, rather, the answers he was hoping for), the well had been poisoned by that point. individuals of faith who treasured ethics, morality, purity, and chastity had little to nothing to offer some deviant creature like him, not without him either attempting or being forced into becoming something altogether different. just as much as that had angered him, it had wounded him as well. back then, human morality had still even had a place rooted within his heart, but he'd had no good way to mediate between it and the violent urges that seemed to surge stronger and stronger by each passing week.

summoning a demon to give his life away to had been meant to be his ultimate compromise, but it hadn't gone the way he had planned, much for the worse of everyone involved. and now he was here, sat next to yet another demon, listening to him speak of gnosticism and wondering just where a recursive misfit such as himself factored in to any of these equations. )


Mm... That would be a little too convenient, wouldn't it? ( no, he doesn't necessarily believe that valentinus managed to stumble across the hidden truth of the world. for one, makoto isn't necessarily certain that all universes that had fallen to the Kenoma shared such a figure in their history. for another, language itself was mutable, in his experience. he speaks horosian naturally, but what is the interstitial tissue between it and the other languages he spoke? could it simply be that these terms were being used because they were the closest fit that the languages he knew had to offer?

it's all interesting, but none of it is a revelation that would change their situation here and how he chose to view it. )


An abandoned throne might not be completely irrelevant to this place, however.

( he says it musingly, remembering the cavern that the first group of Aions had been subjected to the Kenoma in: the throne room, ringed by eleven stone thrones bearing the sigils of the Legacies... and one that was blasted and broken beyond all recognition.

as the conversation turns towards himself, the younger demon grows... nervous? it's hard to say, but he does seem to have an aimless and nebulous energy about him as he searches out a way to answer the questions. )


...Both, in a way. At the time, it wasn't much of a choice.

( "I permit you to answer 'yes' in agreement," is how J had phrased it, after all. but at the time... he had wanted to agree. he had wanted to believe in what he had offered him, what he had promised him. acceptance, belonging, love... a foolish dream. )

I had summoned and contracted with a demon myself, knowing what it would cost me in the end. But rather than kill me and collect my soul as currency, he kept it and took me into Hell to become a demon instead. There - ... There was nothing that I left behind on Earth that I cared about losing, or that felt the same for me. But the deal that I accepted was a far rawer one than I originally believed.

( his tone of voice gradually seeps itself in bitterness, growing dangerously brittle. )

Is something like that unheard of to you?
fallingsand: (64;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-28 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If he could stop flooding Atsumu with his own feelings of isolation, the fear, the worries, the struggle of wishing to belong but never being allowed to, for so very long, he would. He honestly would but he doesn't know how to stem the tide and he is, as ever, a man who wears his heart on his sleeve. Only now it's amplified, though, to an intolerable degree. ]

W-would it be that bad to, though? [ He asks, voice barely above a hoarse whisper but serious nonetheless. His head drifts back down to rest on his knees, where he still has his legs drawn up and hugged against his chest. ] We could leave... this would stop... I want it to stop...
fallingsand: (26;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-28 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That doesn't help. It's not an explanation. It's not something that makes any sense to him. So, after all that, Bruno can only stare blankly at poor Jayce and then, with a sigh, turn away. He'll go back to watching the stars slowly die out, one by one. ]

Rrright. Okay, I'm. Just going to wait until this, uh. Ends and I wake up and forget all about this.
salvageable: (pic#15332079)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-08-29 06:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ That's true enough. There's a portal between Godsblood and Greentruth that makes traveling between the two cities rather easy. And while he doesn't think he'll have too many reasons to return all that frequently, it'll still be good to make use of the resources here that Greentruth may lack.

As he continues on, he glances back over his shoulder at her question. ]


Greentruth. It's where the Pleroma rebels are stationed, but before that, I have a place I need to visit.

[ They make it to Dokja's place quickly enough, and he continues explaining as he unlocks the door to a nearly cleaned out room. ]

You can meet me there. I'll show you where the portal is.

[personal profile] expiera 2022-08-29 06:41 am (UTC)(link)
[That's a relief. She was worried that the pieces may be too hard, and realizes with a smidgeon of guilt in hindsight that they didn't account for such factors at all when packing provisions. How certain food may be harder to eat for those with weaker constitution, common food allergies... Better be safe than sorry, right? Something to go over with other Aions who also frequent the kitchen for productive endeavors in the future, they'll be better prepared for the fourth wave.]

I did make the bread, yes. Thank you, I'm glad you like it. [The smile is genuine, and easily hides any feelings she may have over the remaining item on her agenda.] I've been too busy to bake much back in my world, but it's a different story, here on Horos. We'll have downtime for that sort of thing, visiting the kids and bringing freshly baked goods to them.

[There was no way she could know, the stark difference between a Contractor and a Regressor. But until then...]

There's one more thing I have to ask of you before we get back, Carmine, but that can come after you've eaten and drank your fill. Please go at your own pace, okay?

[The last step, before finalizing this woman's place among the Kenoma.]
baltimores: (038; it’s about Charles)

[personal profile] baltimores 2022-08-29 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ He lets him jerk away, lets him stumble through the lodestone's space away from him. He's not going to force Atsumu into anything; not anymore. Barnaby hadn't appreciated his sticking around, and Amos is at least trying to not make the same mistake twice.

(Well, aside from the obvious, but forcing the Kenoma into someone isn't exactly a mistake if it's what needs to be done.) ]


Alright.

[ Amos takes it, a verbal punching bag. Atsumu's words mean nothing; Amos knows this, and sooner or later, Atsumu's going to figure that out for himself, too. What's done is done. He has the Kenoma in his system. He's here in Achamoth. It's only a matter of time, and if Amos' role here is over, then it's over.

At least he got the kid here. Saved him from something worse. At least he did that much.

He stands back up, looking down at him. ]


I'll be around, if you need anything from me. You can always ask. Any time.

[ He gets it, that Atsumu doesn't want him around now... but it'd be a real dick move to cut him off completely. Whether he likes it or not, Amos will remain available for him, at whatever pace it is Atsumu ultimately ends up taking.

But he will get there, one way or another. ]