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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!

pyojeol: (pic#15846932)

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-08-01 06:30 am (UTC)(link)
[digimon... is that like p*kemon.... except p*kemon can't talk.... Interesting.... Sooyoung looks more curious than apologetic, despite the latter being more warranted in this situation. Instead she comes closer, peering at Hawkmon. A flash of something like surprised realization crosses her face,]

So it can talk too, huh? ...Wait, where'd it come from? Did it come from your weird egg thingy?

[SHE MEANS CHRYSALIS but lbr it was a weird egg, a birthing sequence...]
arcaneward: (aerith-1228)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-08-01 06:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well that's rude. She makes a face at him, but he starts to walk with her, and that's what matters. Wherever here is, she doesn't want to stay here. And she doesn't want him to stay here, either. She's only half listening to him as he talks and they walk, hand still wrapped around his forearm. ]

How about...

[ She looks up at him, impish in her grin. ]

One date.

[ Yes, yes, go with the Pleroma, whoever that is. What's more important right now? Making her bodyguard smile. ]

Since I don't have any money.
bingos: (00_0010_92179993_p7_master1200)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-01 06:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ Maybe Miyako should be a little more cautious of the figure before her. But as someone who worked hard not to judge a book by its cover, in this situation she wants to believe that the people who brought them here wouldn't do the wrong thing. At least, between the pair, Hawkmon's feathers sticking somewhat on end is indicative of some kind of caution — But when you're day-to-day life is seeing giant monsters maybe you really do just lose some cautionary things.

Still she's not sure how she should feel... Reprimanded? Proud? She spoke honestly, as she always does, nothing more. Her arms fold across her chest, brow slightly furrowed in concern: ]


Well, yeah, of course I did. [ That part had been obvious, but even so her gaze flits between bird and man as she exhales: ] I just mean. I'm not exactly the best out of my friends, you know? It just feels like a 'why me' when I know there are more powerful people out there.

[ Better suited people. She doesn't even like fighting - accepting it to protect people is one thing. She'd rather just be doing her own thing... Even if her lack of confidence is greater that's something she's not assessed, she just knows right now. If it's just her and Hawkmon of their friends then she's really someone who shouldn't have made the cut. ]

pyojeol: (pic#15721051)

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-08-01 06:34 am (UTC)(link)
[kenoma about to give him his first taste of drugs...

But also, aha! Confirmation!

On something awful and terrible! But it's fine? Information is information, right?]


Yep. [the corners of her lips turn down into a grimace] I ran around in it for like -- I don't know, probably forever, met some weird kid, and then woke up here, naked.

[and then she found clothes! she should tell atsumu that part too huh]
arcaneward: (aerith-2700)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-08-01 06:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ That gives her a start — hadn't she just been there? Hadn't she already chosen to pursue a life free of her destiny? The look she gives Emet is wholly confused, maybe even a little angry. ]

I already chose my future. And nothing is going to take it away from me now.
arcaneward: (aerith-2590)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-08-01 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
Nngh—huh?

[ Her body is getting heavy, amazed that Estinien can still hold her, despite her weight shifting, pulling her towards the ground. She looks, from Estinien to Amos, back to Estinien, panicked. ]

Put me down! I can fight!

[ ...She can't feel it, the planet. But surely that won't matter, right? ]

I can trust you, right? You said you know me.
arcaneward: (aerith-1749)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-08-01 06:42 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah...

[ She says it, the words tinged with sadness. ]

I saw it, too. But we can't give up hope.

[ She can't see him cry, but she can hear it in his voice, and she reaches up to press her hand to her chest, trying to stem the ache from it, from her own pain of losing her loved ones. ]

They wouldn't want us to. If there's a way we can go back, if there's a way we can save them, we have to try.
fightingevilbymoonknight: (lookback-marc)

III

[personal profile] fightingevilbymoonknight 2022-08-01 06:44 am (UTC)(link)
Don't try to interrogate this guy, Layla, he doesn't know any more than you do. He's still lacing up the shoes they gave him when he hears a familiar voice, looking around wildly for her signature mane of hair.

There. There. He surges to his feet, shoe still untied. "Layla?"
bingos: (pic#15487271)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-01 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
Mm, Darkness doesn't always means evil. [ She sounds thoughtful, but not as if she doesn't have some kind of idea. The ideas of light versus darkness were something she's dealt with for further than she'd like. ] Darkness can just mean things like when you're experiencing loss or feeling down, right?

[ She frowns shaking her head. ] I don't think that there's nothing we can do about it... Because, why would we be here if not?
zauneyete: (rude boy move)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2022-08-01 06:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ He watched Bruno, looking ratcheted, spinning himself up. Again. It would have been funny, if the circumstances weren't so pressing at the moment. Silco can't help but notice that he leaned against the crystal, still weak. Still needed to use the crystal. They all had, of course, but it let him gauge the state he was in. ]

Well, remember that choice, that I mentioned? The one that got you all...up in arms, about the fact that you didn't understand it? We're picking up the fresh new aions who choose to come with us. Lucky you, that I found you, instead of someone more violent.

[ Well, Silco may be more violent than most, but he is more impotent than the others, in terms of power. To be fair, Silco doesn't have to make people choose to bring them in, but... he's been ferreting out those who defect. He doesn't want any other defectors. ]
arcaneward: (lyL1YKd)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-08-01 06:57 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, according to the person I got it from, it's just plain wheat, nothing fancy."

She lifts one shoulder in a shrug. It was the only answer she got, and the friendly stranger had seemed to have more important things to do than answer her questions about food.

"Do you think the crabs are edible?"
baltimores: (041; no)

[personal profile] baltimores 2022-08-01 07:03 am (UTC)(link)
I don't want to fight you.

[ Amos' words are for Aerith, his voice softening, his gaze along with them as he attempts to address her directly. His control on gravity slips, abruptly returning the two of them to the weights that they're used to; he reaches out feebly to try to put a bit more pressure on Estinien, but it's waning, as though he's exhausting himself.

Still. He has to try to hold it; has to try to keep him down. Amos regards Estinien coldly for a moment. He recognizes him a lot better now. It's been some time since they've been face-to-face, but Amos knows exactly who he is, and he's dangerous — even without the effects of Innocence warping his body.

His mind, too, as far as Amos knows. ]


You can't trust him. [ Back to Aerith, more of an edge to his voice, an urgency. Estinien hasn't said anything worth responding to. ] Something's got ahold of him. He's not in his right mind. He'll drag you down with him. You'll forget who you are, you'll try to hurt others. It's a plague.

[ He genuinely isn't sure what Estinien's intentions are with her — warp her to Innocence, corrupt her to the Pleroma — but both are bad. It's just that the Innocence, the thing affecting the way Estinien looks right now, is probably worse. ]

You need to get away from him.

[ He advances, gravity kicking up a notch as he does so. ]
uproared: ▌helmet (when there's no more room in hell)

ciel in fgo when 🥺

[personal profile] uproared 2022-08-01 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
Ha! [ It's not true laughter, just a vaguely amused snort. She makes no effort to hide from Ciel's curious gaze, her fingers flexing around the hilt of a nonexistent sword as she stares back, defiant. ] I'll be the judge of that.

[ But she doesn't try and make good on her threat. Instead, she turns her helmeted face skyward, above the other woman; to the stars littering the darkness above. ]

... If this is hell, it's rather droll. [ Nothing like the priests said, the few times she bothered to pay attention — and nothing close to the hell she created at Camlann. She lowers her gaze again, assessing Ciel properly. ] No ordinary human has such contempt for death. Who — no, what are you?
fallingsand: (62;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-01 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ Can't defect if he has no idea what he would be defecting from, ayyy. ]

Picking up... people who choose to... [ He scoffed, although the end of the scoff became a laugh. He couldn't believe this guy. Looking away again, he managed another step away from Silco, though not without stumbling and grasping for another crystal to lean his weight against. ] Geez, you, hehe, really gotta work on that, uh, sale's pitch for your cult. Thing. Like maybe start with, hey, Bruno, you look cold, here's something to wear, wanna talk about all this somewhere warmer, maybe... maybe actually explain what the heck is going on?

[ He waved his free hand vaguely in the air as if to punctuate some of the words he rambled on with. ]

But no, you're all here's a bunch of words that make no sense and. Yadda yadda yadda. It's. Wow, just. Wow. Awful.
rosethorns: (14)

[personal profile] rosethorns 2022-08-01 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, Miyako. However fleeting that desire might have been, you’ve certainly chosen the right person to express it to. The moment she mentions having wanted to visit an opera house, Dorothea’s eyes light up—even as she laughs at the addendum.] Well, darling, I’ll have you know I was once the star diva of that very same opera company in Enbarr. So I can personally attest to how wonderful they are.

[She winks at her playfully, laughing along with her.

Dorothea’s delight at hearing about the flower field is plain on her face. She doesn’t know much of what to expect of this world outside of the conflict she has been briefed on, so learning that there’s beauty to be found despite it all is welcome news indeed.

Just as welcome, in fact, as the sudden invitation to do some sight-seeing at the shrines.]
Oh, that’s a wonderful idea! I had to leave my shrine so quickly that I couldn’t get too much of a look at its surroundings, but it looked like… a place of gathering and revelry? [Certainly Dorothea’s style.] I can’t wait to see what makes each of them unique.
eightfoldfiend: (This gritty Shining Force reboot is odd)

[personal profile] eightfoldfiend 2022-08-01 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
Nothing.

[Yuber straightens up and stares into the middle distance with a furrowed brow.]

I remember being nothing. The world being nothing.

But this world is still here...

[He can tell by the damp on his skin, the cool feeling of stone beneath his feet.

It's very disorienting... If he is dead then being dead feels a lot like being alive.]

regressor: (LOST)

[personal profile] regressor 2022-08-01 07:21 am (UTC)(link)
[An embrace.

It's warm, in a way that most of the embraces she had known hadn't been. Waking up in eastern Europe with almost no memories before the blinding rush light that had accompanied the strange events at Heaven's Gate, with no proper name, no money, and no papers, she had eventually turned to the world's oldest profession to feed herself, to fund that quiet life she wished was quieter and filled with just a bit less looking over her shoulder for people whose identities weren't even clear in her own mind.

But this one... this one is warm, and "Carmine" sinks into it. She's tired. She's been tired for a long time. It had almost felt like a relief when the thick shards of ice had pierce her body from behind, when she'd been judged better off dead than to be "Havoc" again and to give whichever syndicate or government who got their hands on her the advantage of the powers that had done so much damage in the war.

She can't even be angry. If it hadn't been MI6, it would have been the CIA, or the Syndicate... any one of the groups she had been a tool for. A tool they'd rather break than give to someone else.

So she knew it was too good to be true to think she'd actually get what she wanted. Not after she'd been discovered, and that precious dream had died. Now... she is adrift again, perhaps even as far as another world... and yet she doesn't panic, she doesn't struggle. She's safe from the call of Hell's Gate, she can't feel it anymore... so she lets her eyes close, her cheek pillowed on a woman's shoulder and not the cold concrete stained with rain and her own blood.]


... What do you need me to do?

[She knows better than to expect something for nothing. Even PANDORA, who had claimed to have taken her in for their own good and not desire power from her, had been eager to experiment on a rare Regressor.

And that kind of life... a well-stocked kitchen and looking after orphans...

She'd had to give up over five years of life, any strength she had, and any memories left to get what little happiness she'd found. This time... What would it be?]
rosethorns: (12)

[personal profile] rosethorns 2022-08-01 07:30 am (UTC)(link)
[She wastes no time in wrapping herself in the offered garment, pulling it tightly against her and savoring the way it cuts away the chill from her bare skin. She breathes a sigh of relief.]

You’re safe to look now.

[Speaking of looking, now that she’s no longer hurrying to shield herself from the potential of wandering eyes, she finally takes a moment to get a better look at this savior of her decency—and quite unexpectedly finds that he is very much not human. She can quite certainly say she's never seen anything like him.

Goodness Dorothea, it’s rude to stare. She recollects her wits and offers him a grateful smile.]


Thank you, sir. For the cloak, and for… being a gentleman about it.
regressor: (HOPE)

[personal profile] regressor 2022-08-01 07:41 am (UTC)(link)
[Had she ever really wondered? As a Contractor, it had been the last thing she'd cared about. As a Regressor, she was so overwhelmed by the ability to feel emotions suppressed for so many years that it had been just within her power to care about the present...

She'd known death would come for her eventually, that it likely would not be one that arrived in her old age in her bed, but what came after...

Desperate for anything that wasn't the pain, the call of Hell's Gate... she doesn't ask how it was he would be able to know such a thing. If this was a "different world"... maybe he could. Maybe-]


... Do I... ?
chronosynthesis: (❖ Well of Eternity)

[personal profile] chronosynthesis 2022-08-01 07:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Syrlya lowers his hand at the go ahead, a little relieved to not have to be doing that. There's a slightest twitch of a reassuring smile, but his shoulders are still a little tense. This isn't a place he wants to be snuck up on.] Of course, I understand.

[He reaches to draw the amulet off of his neck.] I'm sorry--I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but we'll need to keep things brief here. You have awoken in Horos. This is a world very distant from your own, and possibly very different. My name's Syrlya, and many weeks ago I was drawn here the same way you are.
kablams: (Default)

ah, the powerful dad-ening...

[personal profile] kablams 2022-08-01 08:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ there had been the dream -- collapsing, swallowing, washing everything and everyone away with it. Vi; Silco. that blue-haired bitch she knows her name. would-be Zaun. the Last Drop. her hidey hole, her home.

surprisingly enough... she had felt good about that at the end. like it was right, somehow. like she knew what they built after would be better than what came before.

and then, there had been this.

Jinx can't pretend she even knows what this is -- but whatever it is, it's cold and shivery and has her feeling weak, vulnerable. and she is not weak; she is not helpless. no, no -- she's worked so hard to be anything but, and perhaps that's why it's instinct -- to grip onto that piece of shattered crystal, prepared to fight whoever the hell did this to her.

...but instead of some formless, shapeless monster from her nightmares or even some jerk whose face might deserve gouging into, Jinx finds-- ]


S... Silco?

[ it's breathless and a little shaky, and instead of worrying about the rock in her hand and being prepared for a fight -- she's letting it clink to the shrine floor, fingers gripping into the comfort of his coat still warm from his body heat and pulling it closer around her.

and all pretenses at letting go of vulnerability evaporate -- because Silco has seen her at her worst and helped her come out the other side. knows she isn't weak. knows just how strong she is. and ironically enough, that means she doesn't have to worry about anything if he's here. he came for her -- and whoever pulled this shit was going to pay for it. ]


What... is this? [ she's slimy and cold and there's crystals everywhere and her hair is disgusting and-- ] What's going on?

only a matter of time now with this anni 🗡🗡🗡 heowo pseudo castmate...

[personal profile] expiera 2022-08-01 08:21 am (UTC)(link)
No, it's not. I don't think dead people are capable of coming here actually, there's too much light anyway.

[She briefly casts her glance towards the bright center, and is forced to squint a bit before turning her gaze back onto the knight. They probably wouldn't have any problems looking at it especially with their helmet, but for a Kenoma of her attunement, the light is simply beyond her for far too many reasons to count.]

Me? I'm just a passerby. I could be a guide too though, this is the third time I'm here. [It's a non-answer that sidesteps the original question entirely, and they both know it.] Don't you think there may be other things you could be asking about instead, sir knight?

[It's difficult to tell whether the armored figure cloaks a man or a woman, their voice sounds just as ambiguous, albeit somewhat young. 'Sir' should be safe enough in any case, it's knightly enough. Definitely not feeling any threatened here in any case, they're just conversing as you do in some metaphysical space that represents the opposing cosmic forces of life and death and hope and despair!]
baltimores: (045; that’s me)

dream of a big bro

[personal profile] baltimores 2022-08-01 10:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's the brightness of her hair that first catches his attention; it's the way she looks like she wants to understand or manipulate the all-encompassing everything that keeps it. Amos has never felt like there's anything here to figure out, but then again, this environment hadn't been all that strange the first time he'd been here. Weird, sure. But he got the basics.

So there is something distinctly charming about that curiosity, that eagerness to make things fit together. Something kindred.

There is something significantly less charming about the way she is talking to herself, and that gives Amos pause — more than enough pause for Jinx to simply bump into him.

He meets her peering with a slight tilt of his own head, staring right back at her like it's a game of chicken, and he's not gonna blink. ]


Guess so. [ Letting just anyone in here includes her, too, doesn't it? His voice is good-natured, faintly amused. ] Name's Amos. Who were you talking to?
uproared: ▌helmet (i hate when there is a fog of war)

[personal profile] uproared 2022-08-01 10:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ With a scoff: ] Of course I do, you buffoon.

[ Technically the truth... she knows her direction, just not her destination. She casts a quick glance at Gray, but dismisses her just as fast; a human no different from the hundreds she's cut through. (Well, slightly different. None of them would have the gall to ask her that question, so clearly her reputation hasn't preceded her. Annoying.)

Her focus returns to the paths ahead, lingering on the light for a moment more, before finally turning away from it for good. ]


Don't you know? A light that bright burns away everything else. [ She's had enough of chasing the sun; it's time to make the shadows strong enough to smother it. ] So obviously, I'm headed in the opposite direction. Stay here and rot if you want — I don't care. Just don't get in my way.
leicesters: academy (137)

1

[personal profile] leicesters 2022-08-01 10:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Claude had been drawn instinctively to the light -- really, the idea that there might be another option hadn't even occurred to him. As he moves through the nothingness, though, he spies a knight. He guesses from the colours of their armour, they're either a Knight of Seiros or Imperial, though he can see neither Crest nor Eagle that might indicate allegiance one way or the other.

Then she speaks. Definitely not a Church type, then... if any such things even matter way out here in the Cosmos.]


I'm already pretty lost, thanks. But if you have some advice on how to get more lost, I'm all ears.

[It's kind of a lie given he knows his destination, but he can't help but want to mess with the knight.]