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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!

chronosynthesis: (❖ Sympathetic Visage)

IIA

[personal profile] chronosynthesis 2022-08-01 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Syrlya takes enough of a breather between visits to the shrines to recover himself. It doesn't seem as though they'll be overwhelmed, so after the most recent battle he's pacing himself in expectation for... what's to come.

So he can field a question from a newcoming dragon. That's become a less and less strange sight to him over the years so he, at least, doesn't blink twice as he casts a look aside to her.

"I'm not really certain. I would assume it was another Aion ages past, but I don't know enough about the magic theory of Horos to give a detailed explanation."
fallingsand: (34;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-01 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ Bruno would make his own attempt to stand but he was still too weak. He made it partway up before having to fall back to a knee with a gasp. How could he be so weak? What was this, him literally being a newborn? Only not? That actually made some sense, considering the rest of this, but even then, it all seemed insane to him. ]

...dios. [ He breathed out the word, shocked that he could be so weak he couldn't even get to his feet, regardless of if it made sense or not. ] W-well I haven't had. Had time.

[ He doubted any amount of time would be enough. ]

If. If something is destroying every. Everyone's worlds. Why aren't we. Why aren't we stopping it?
chronosynthesis: (Default)

[personal profile] chronosynthesis 2022-08-01 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
Syrlya can help escort Dorothea to Pleroma! If it's fine Misa will PvP with him (or them idk if she's feeling up for throwing rocks) over her before they ultimately get away.
lockedon: (b037)

wildcard because i can.

[personal profile] lockedon 2022-08-01 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ The Firebrand shine is his default first choice shrine whenever the order to pick up new Aions goes out. It's where he'd awoken, after all, its scenery and surroundings deeply familiar to him after so many trips outwards.

Also, it helps that the time needed to teleport there is so much shorter than all the other shrines.

He comes prepared the same way he was last time: a pack is slung over his shoulders, containing a loose robe, some food, and the ever (dis)comforting vial of Kenoma sludge. Strapped to his back is his trusty gun and at his hips are two daggers, in case of emergency. ('Emergency' being the sudden arrival of any unwanted Pleroma, which has happened too many times before.)

Turns out there is someone at the shrine when he arrives, naked as per usual, with a messy mop of blonde hair atop their head. He keeps his distance, letting his voice travel towards the arrival instead of his feet. ]


You alive?
coerthantorment: (44)

[personal profile] coerthantorment 2022-08-01 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
[He shouldn't be surprised that she accepts it. If she was indeed the same woman... why would it be any different than before? He nods, his silvery eyes wide for a moment, as if in awe. Then, he offers a clawed hand.

Once she accepts, he will scoop her up into his arms, his wings adjusting as he prepares to exit the cavern and fly. He moves outside cautiously, remembering the mistakes he had made the last time he collected her. With the shrines active, a Kenoma could appear at any moment.

Around them is a crater, absent of life, with a giant statue of a kneeling figure extending from its center. The cavern Aerith just awoke in forms the base of this colossal monument, the external stone shining with shifting colour in the sunlight.]
ricordi: (014)

[personal profile] ricordi 2022-08-01 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm. [cassius has to consider that for a second or two-- dreaming like this is illogical for him, and it should even be impossible. moondwellers do dream, but not like this, and cassius remembers none of them.

... which in itself is something to be considered.]


If this is not entirely a dream, we may remember it. But, logically speaking, there is a chance that we do not remember.
fallingsand: (53;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-01 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yeah, he isn't okay. None of them are. He sniffles from behind the crystal he's taken shelter behind and waits a few seconds after Aerith's said she's hiding now to before he nervously peeks out from around the edge of the broken crystalline stone. ]

I... I guess? I. I just. I. [ Alright, so he's still embarrassed about it, barely looking out from the edge of the crystal in an unfathomably shy manner. ] Is. Is any of this real? This can't be real, r-right?
coerthantorment: (110)

[personal profile] coerthantorment 2022-08-01 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
Weep, this is cute. Would you like me to court some Kenoma interference, or would you rather Estinien just bring Aerith to the lodestone so he can answer some questions?
zauneyete: (Oh you)

Rebirth

[personal profile] zauneyete 2022-08-01 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ Silco barely registered the child, other than to look down at them with a blank face, and say -- ]

You're likely going to need to give me a bit more of a description, if you want to find your... family.

[ Which is a nice way of saying: I have no clue who those people are. ]

Although, you may not find them, at all, here. [ Hey, even kids can have cold hard truths. He looked down at her for only a second, a dual-toned pair of eyes, and then he blinked one eye -- before he looked back up at the rest of the crystals in the room. Some with figures still inside, some empty, he couldn't decide if it looked more like a graveyard, or if it looked like some eerie birthing room, like he would have found in one of Singed's labs. Probably the latter, given the hue of them. ]

I'm sure you noticed, that this is an...unusual way. To arrive anywhere, let alone a new realm.
Edited 2022-08-01 03:37 (UTC)
arcaneward: (aerith-1445)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-08-01 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
Interference could be fun! Let's go for it!
subsist: (pic#15626279)

[personal profile] subsist 2022-08-01 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ if it bothers kaeya that lumine doesn't seem to know what in the world he's talking about, then it doesn't show at all in his expression. his smile remains in place, but it does soften by a tiny fraction. ]

It's just that you were here before, and then you weren't. [ he looked everywhere for her. he really did, and found no trace of her anywhere. ] You don't remember?

[ maybe it doesn't really matter in the end, as long as she's alright, but it does make him wonder what exactly happened here. ]
bingos: (pic#15580529)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-01 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
...Kind embrace?

[ Miyako's response is of immediate disbelief - confusion even. She and the bird that stands to her knees both look at him in unison. She's got experience with darkness and the effects it has on people - kind isn't how she'd describe it. It was suffocating, crushing, on a level she nearly lost to.

She can't imagine they're talking about the same thing, so she shakes her head and tucks her hand behind her back: ]


'Should I,' huh... [ It's said more to herself. Maybe some part of her, the part of her that still has issues with self-worth and the part that doesn't want to fight anymore, to see her family is inclined to the dark -- but she's worked hard to become who she is. ] The light, of course. Why would I choose anything else?

[ It's a genuine question, open and honest - Curious to his own answer. ]
bingos: (00_0006_92179993_p9_master1200)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-01 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
Yep! With wide open skies and color in all directions! I wouldn't mind going back there someday - it's the perfect place for a picnic!

[ She sounds cheerful for someone who just woke up. If she's worried or has any questions, she's intent on focusing on the here and now. Still, even she pauses: ] Sure did. Isn't that what happens to everyone around here?

[ It's not meant to be demeaning in the least, but from the way he says it she's curious if it wasn't exactly his experience. ]
scythegun: (NEUTRAL ⇝ this ain't a scene)

[personal profile] scythegun 2022-08-01 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
[Well yes, but he wasn't expecting to hear about it right away and from the man himself! Incredible.]

Do they now? Why is that, precisely? Because of our connection with the Kenoma?
coerthantorment: (Default)

[personal profile] coerthantorment 2022-08-01 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
Okay sweet! I'll ask around!
cutlery: please do not take! (you don't mean hurt.)

[personal profile] cutlery 2022-08-01 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, I hardly find it paradoxical.

[ That's important to say first. In fact, it's perfectly logical, so far as he's concerned, though his perspective is unique, to say the least. He's heard and read thousands of years of humanity pondering their own existence, and might even know the truth of it. But even if he did, he wouldn't say. Their explanations were far more impactful than whatever the truth might be. ]

"And God said, Let there be light" is the famous line, but "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep," comes just before it. But no matter the religion, darkness always comes first, does it not?

[ Since eras of blooming and burning doesn't quite sound familiar as terms, but Sebastian also thinks at a certain point, religions differ more in the details than anything else. It's why quoting scripture delights him, though it doesn't show openly. Even so, from what he's said so far, it's either a sign that Sebastian is something of a theologian or that his particular preference in the choice ahead might be easier to guess. ]
bingos: (pic#15487266)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-01 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
I know what you mean! Usually my dreams have a lot more delicious food and cute guys in it — [ She pauses abruptly, realizing that's not exactly what she wants to say. Also it's probably rude. She raises a hand and gives an 'oops, sorry' kind of wave: ] Not that you're not cute or anything! Just, you know!

[ He knows what? Who knows, she doesn't elaborate as she nods along enthusiastically; ]

Ah, I got it! No matter what you choose, what's going to happen will, right? Mm, but it's good to be prepared if you can, too!

[ But this was just a dream, right? So there's really no reason not to take it slow — It's what she tells herself, anyway. ]
vivificantem: (040. there in my father's home)

[personal profile] vivificantem 2022-08-01 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
Something like that.

[It's difficult as hell to really explain why the Achamites are like this; the most he's gotten was a hazy explanation himself.]

You asked about our enemies. They're the ones who refused to cooperate with the Kenoma; they want to cling to this world as it is, and refuse all possibilities to erase everything that's wrong with it.

They're called the Pleroma. They live off in the woods somewhere, I think? I don't actually know where they are right now, if they're still where they were before or not. We've had some run-ins recently.
bingos: (012)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-01 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
Oooh! I've always wanted to go to an opera house! [ Has she? Probably in a fleeting manner, as she does now. She wants to see the world and all it has to offer, stopping isn't something she's really known to do which is why she has this addendum: ] Ah, but I hear they're so long I'm not sure I could sit through one...

[ Despite the guilty admission, Miyako gives a laugh at herself about it. Self-deprecation had been something she was able to laugh a little more about now, accepting those flaws she had long ago hated about herself and growing from them.

She hums quietly: ]
There's a really pretty flower field where I woke up! What about you, was the view pretty amazing there? Maybe the first thing we should do is visit all the different kinds of shrines!

[ How did it become 'we' - Miyako's just embracing Dorothea as a friend already, sorry about that. ]
rosethorns: (Default)

[personal profile] rosethorns 2022-08-01 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
That sounds great to me!
locumstudentesquire: (pic#15737452)

[personal profile] locumstudentesquire 2022-08-01 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Sebastian gets kind of a blank look of confusion in response to his guess at what the Pleroma are seeking, which... Ryunosuke will correct that momentarily, but he's busy glancing between the two men, his expression troubled.

The lack of alarm on Sebastian's face regarding any of the information shared about the Regent has him pretty worried. He'd kind of been banking on the inherent, well... Goodness of the newcomer to help make the pitch for him, but he's not really picking up any particularly strong feelings in either direction. And apathy is certainly more a Kenoma trademark, isn't it? Maybe he's relying too much on a hunch, but he just... Has a bad feeling about this.

Honestly, he feels sick to his stomach right now. Sick of hearing Kaeya talk about the Regent in such lofty and praising terms, sick of the assumptions being made... And he can't stop thinking about Abel and Himeka, and how they're probably suffering horribly while the three of them are standing here talking like this. If Estinien were here in his place, he wouldn't let this newcomer have a choice. He'd just take Kaeya out again and either the newcomer would leave willingly, or he'd take his shard back.

Ryunosuke has neither the power nor the will to take that tactic.

He ignores Kaeya's question for the moment and looks at Sebastian very seriously, putting every ounce of conviction he's got behind his words:]


The Pleroma just want to live. Personally speaking, I'd like to see this world last at least long enough that I can uncover the full truth of what's going on here, but beyond that... There aren't any lofty goals in mind such as what you've suggested. And if I can properly contextualize one of Mr. Kaeya's points: the Regent claims there is a cycle that has been disrupted, and that they're merely making a correction to it through their actions. But rather conveniently, no one else other than the Regent seems to have any idea what that actually means, or how true it actually is. Because they alone seem to have a stranglehold on all the relevant information regarding this world.

[He sighs again.]

It is your choice, sir. I... I won't interfere. I only ask you be aware that everything this fellow tells you is based off a carefully cultivated trickle of information that's been provided by a despot who has every reason to lie to their servants. If you value being able to think for yourself... I'd steer far clear of the Regent and their Citadel.
fightingevilbymoonknight: (Default)

[personal profile] fightingevilbymoonknight 2022-08-01 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
Marc is pretty sure that swimming would be even more of a challenge than this. The last thing he needed was a flashback in this weird place, dump poor Steven into the body without warning. He's not even sure Steven knows how to swim.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure who 'they' are, either. I've been here a grand total of a couple hours, at this point." He squints over in Wrathion's direction. "You new, too?"
youngprodigy: (∄ anyone who has this)

[personal profile] youngprodigy 2022-08-01 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
If I must.

[The sword at his hip is extremely obvious.]

You've made it clear words alone mean naught.
fightingevilbymoonknight: (lookup-steven)

[personal profile] fightingevilbymoonknight 2022-08-01 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
"You get used to new planets? I mean, this is my first, or I guess my second if you count the one I started on, but it's my first new planet, and ooooh my days look at you." Steven's ramble changes tenor quickly when he finally turns to see who spoke to him. He hops to his feet in surprise. "Oh my goodness! This is. You are. I mean, hello! Hello. Is it terribly rude if I ask you what you, ah, are?"
theorems: (pic#15370138)

[personal profile] theorems 2022-08-01 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
Not everything.

[Being crutch-less is new. He steps forward, just a single step, free of any constraints. Such wide eyes and hunched posture on this man, but the look he gives does seem… haunted. Maybe he has seen as much death as he’s said.]

There are some insects that choose to die, for the greater good of the hive. One could argue they do not know they are dying, but… I think that belittles their sacrifice.

Humans are not much different.