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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!

rosethorns: (01)

[personal profile] rosethorns 2022-08-03 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
[Dorothea would venture to say that most people drawn into any war would say their fight is one of necessity, though she can see Caitlyn’s point. The stakes here are enormous, and even that seems like an understatement considering what little she has been able to learn about this whole affair so far.]

That would be much appreciated. I do wish to help in whatever way I can, but it can be hard to know where to start.

[As much as it pains her be involved in yet more conflict, she cannot allow herself to sit idly by when there may be something she can do to make a difference.]
vapour: (pic#15104884)

[personal profile] vapour 2022-08-03 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
...Heh. [ —And you don't recognize me. That really hurts... Yoo Joonghyuk. Is what Yoo Joonghyuk will hear echoing in his mind. It's almost scornful and derisive, like Childe is actively attempting to drag out any and all further negative emotions of whatever kind he can from the other. ]

Oh well... [ he sighs, looking resigned to what has occurred here. ] That's fine because I was starting to like you, anyway.

[ Can't have that sort of crap happening.

He shrugs, simply content to watch the other a few moments, either as if to "help" him through the process that's begin our perhaps just watch him suffer. It's hard to tell, but Childe folds his arms on his knees to lower his head down on them as he continues observing.
]

You don't have to talk to me, and you don't have to listen, either. It's your choice. Still, you're absolutely powerless now; but if you really want to break heads and not be so helpless, did you know all you need to do is accept that stuff digging around inside of you? Is it a bad tradeoff?
galdorleod: ([blond] noble)

[personal profile] galdorleod 2022-08-03 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
No, the rest of you lot have not "got on my case" — that's just you. But they're all busybodies in their own right, not to mention the Pleroma Martyrs.

[ Oh no, will that passing reference to Abel upset you, Ciel? It's okay, Howl is confident you can manage.

Speaking of the Pleroma, however, the stranger's next question is perfectly timed. Howl ignores the rest of Ciel's jabs and turns his attention back to the fresh Aion. Narrowing his foggy blue eyes at him, he looks him up and down, as if there may be some secret clue to which side he might be inclined to join. The fact that Howl and Ciel are here to retrieve him almost guarantees that he'll become a future comrade, but there's no guarantee.

As fellow Celebrants, Howl knows they can sense each other's emotions and thoughts, if they want to (and sometimes even when they don't want to). Surely, he'll be able to feel Howl studying him so intensely, but he's fine letting his curiosity be known. He crosses his arms and pays close attention to anything he might be able to sense from the man, but otherwise leaves it to Ciel to answer his question.
]
Edited 2022-08-03 00:25 (UTC)
lockedon: (b021)

returned/wildcard

[personal profile] lockedon 2022-08-03 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ Again he does the rounds in the lodestone, same as last time.

There are blankets slung over one arm, bottles of water in a basket carried in the other. They have servants for this, sure, to accomplish most of the busy work that comes with acclimating the new arrivals, but he's always preferred to take a more hands-on approach.

And maybe, just maybe, he wants to know if there are any familiar faces in the crowd this time around.

There are, but it's not one he expects, the familiar face of the man hunched on the ground enough to pause his steps, though there are no flattered ears this time, no bristling tail. How...? The timing isn't right, and neither is the location. If they'd captured him as normal, he should be down in the dungeons with the other prisoners, not coughing up black sludge with the rest of the new arrivals.

Cautiously he crouches down, holding out a bottle of water. ]


You should drink, if you can keep it down.

[ There's nothing particularly kind in his voice, but at least there's nothing mocking or haughty about it either. Just an even-keeled tone, business-like in nature. ]
rosethorns: (04)

[personal profile] rosethorns 2022-08-03 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
Saints, that feels like so long ago now. [Her carefully measured expression takes a turn for something more melancholy as she pulls the blanket draped over her shoulders a little closer.] For me that was… five years ago? And then some.

[If other Aions have also experienced this sort of asynchronicity, then at least they can be certain the two of them aren’t simply losing their minds here. Yet even still, to even consider it nearly beggars belief.]

As you can no doubt venture to guess, the whole war has been something of a drawn out affair. To put it mildly. [She grimaces.] Though over the last few moons before I arrived here, the Imperial army was gaining much more ground.

[That last part is offered much more hesitantly; the details would not likely be welcome news for him, especially considering how many of those recent battles had been waged with Leicester. Dorothea finds herself facing the uncomfortable proposition of whether or not she should divulge any such information. How wise would it be to tell someone of their future? Does it even matter, now that they are here and the fate of their own home is dubious at best?

It may only serve to put them at odds and she is not so certain she wants to find herself with an enemy here already, considering the state of things in Horos. Though perhaps that isn’t her decision to make.]
kablams: (054.)

[personal profile] kablams 2022-08-03 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ he knows better than to get comfortable by her acquiescence; Silco better than anyone knows that it could be withdrawn at any second. but for now, it's his.

'Shrine of the Lover' is met with a twist of her lips in something between distaste (um, talk about tacky? what does that even mean, that is a whole thing to unpack later--) and admittedly, most of his explanation flitters right over her heard. he's talked about being reborn before, after all - reborn after surviving the stinging waters of betrayal more times than she can count. the Lodestone; the Citadel; whatever. but the thing she grasps--

is they aren't safe. that people are coming after them. that she and Silco are all one another have (all they ever had? ...yeah, but-- 'gone,' he said everyone else was gone. Zaun is gone. what does that mean--), and he's worried. Silco doesn't get worried; Silco has plans for his plans on top of plans. things have gone awry in a big way.

so she nods her head, already starting to find her feet, clutching that jacket around her, long hair still dragging across broken crystal. she's a little wobbly for the first breath, but... Jinx is getting it together. shaking it off. ]


You're going to tell me what's going on. When we get there? You'll tell me, Silco.

[ she says it in the way that makes it clear he IS going to tell her; this isn't one of those times he dismisses her, tells her he's handling it, not to worry. ]
ourtomorrow: ([bugge] wink)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-08-03 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ Wormmon munches carefully, so as not to shed crumbs from his mandibles all over Ken-chan. ] I'm Ken-chan's partner Digimon.

It's short for "Digital Monster". [ Wormmon takes a bigger bite, so Ken assumes exposition duty. ] Put simply, Wormmon is living computer data. His world is closely related to mine, and I've traveled there many times.

This bread is good. Thank you!
ourtomorrow: ([kenzuna] discuss)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-08-03 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ken frowns back. That wording sounds ominous. He wants to understand. ]

"They"?

[ Someone scary is going to come? Wormmon clings to Ken's ankle. He needs to be brave and protect Ken-chan....but going to a totally new world, one they've never ever seen before, has overwhelmed him a little.

Ken-chan is doing fine, though, and Wormmon is SO PROUD. Look at him! So serious and smart! ]
ricordi: (015)

[personal profile] ricordi 2022-08-03 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
My name is Cassius. [usually that's enough of an introduction, because many of the people he's met only have one name, and don't often include their homes as part of their greetings. perhaps it's standard for claude, wherever he's from?

fascinating.]


I'm just a traveler, so there's no need to know about where I come from, as I have no home. But I travel with a crew of adventurers.
ourtomorrow: ([kenzuna] huh?)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-08-03 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ The bug notices something is amiss before the human, who has gotten lost in his own thoughts. It almost feels like someone is wa--

OH NO SOMEONE IS ]


Gyaaaa!!!

[ Startling in mid-twist of his body, Wormmon falls over. This is enough to snap Ken back to Earth (....figuratively speaking). ]

--Wormmon?!
emblazer: (128.)

[personal profile] emblazer 2022-08-03 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, right! About that– ]

You'd have to attune to either the Pleroma or Kenoma ...I guess, join us or them, in a matter of speaking, to unlock both your new and old powers. You'd even be able to commune more easily –which is to say we can speak into each other's thoughts.

[ Admittedly, that sounds creepier than it actually is. The whole concept took Thoma a while to get used to after years of arduous letter writer for communication. ]

And the only thing that really separates us from them are our shards.

[ He sticks his arm out so he can undo his dinosaur leather vambrace so he can show Claude his shard that's embedded into his inner wrist. ]
predispose: (pic#15852780)

i'll kill you

[personal profile] predispose 2022-08-03 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ normally, he would expect an apology, some reason for her exclamation but it's just. nothing. wow. this isn't very attractive of you, noona. why the hell are you even bristling, you have no one to blame but yourself?

instead, Yoojin just smiles, a polite kind. even though he kinda wishes to be snooty in return. he can behave as the adult that he is it's fine. ]


Shouldn't you be introducing yourself first before asking for someone else's name?

[ your manners are so rude? AND FOR WHAT. it's fine, he's not acting like an adult. he's being petty now for her yelling at him for no reason. really tempting his soul to call her ajumma straight up. ]
Edited 2022-08-03 00:45 (UTC)
theorems: (pic#15360568)

[personal profile] theorems 2022-08-03 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Darth's a title.]

Darth Vader,

[he repeats with a nod, and then turns his attention back to the stars. They glow brightly here.]

I don't think this is a dream at all. Too tangible, and with such clarity.

Could... "the Force" facilitate this?

[After all, Vader seems so confident in it.]
kablams: (045.)

[personal profile] kablams 2022-08-03 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ Jinx's unfocused and manic-eyed gaze settles sharply on Gen once he speaks up and draws her attention from where her thoughts had been impressively spiraling; she's squeezing that jagged rock tighter in the palm of her hand, even if her grip feels far more clumsy and weak than it should be. drugs--? they drugged her? (who are 'they?' where is this? what did they do? --no, no, it wasn't because she was WEAK. she isn't WEAK, so don't... don't you even start--)

for a girl newly 'hatched' from her chrysalis, her rise to her feet is surprisingly fluid, even if she has to take a jerky step to avoid teetering over unsteadily--

and she brandishes the rock in front of her like it were indeed a blade, smile leering and not at all Nice. ]


Wanna get a little closer and find out? [ she spits it out as if in offer of a challenge, no mind given to the robe at her feet. like she's going to risk picking it up and letting this guy get the jump on her? no??

but her slightly too-jerky, not-quite-right gaze ends up flittering over his person as if to search him over for weapons, for anything she could exploit. and once she catches sight of the distinctly... empty... sleeve, ]


You want me to give you a hand with the other arm, weirdo pervert? --And turn around. Let's go, pervy! Alllllll the way around, or I'll take an eye while I'm at it.
theorems: (pic#15350324)

[personal profile] theorems 2022-08-03 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Viktor’s lips purse in thought, the silence stretching on a little further.

The stranger has a point.
]

Depends on, ah… what one considers worth dying for, yes.

[Somehow he didn’t notice before, but now he does. An edge of “land” they seem to be standing close to.]

It isn’t much of a sacrifice, if guilt is the motivator, is it? That is something more unique to us.

[A bee or ant has ever felt guilt.]
fallingsand: (39;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-03 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
"H-hey, it's. They're not that bad," Bruno actually pipes up to defend his home, its people, those who feared and dreaded him for so long. "So many of them... got away from something really bad, so, I get them not wanting to hear about even more bad things, y'know? I'm not going to say it didn't hurt but."

But Bruno has always shouldered that burden and carried on through it all.

"Things will be different now. My family, they took me back and. And they're actually trying to understand me now. Everyone else sees that and, well, they are, too."
zauneyete: (Wait now)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2022-08-03 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ Silco stood too, only after she moved. She'll notice the details, if she looks. The clothing is similar, but not quite the same. The fabric is finer, the cuts slightly different, but it's still him -- as close to Zaunite fashion as someone can get on another world. And without his coat, she'll notice that he'd strapped a holster to his back, too, a knife hidden back there, handle down, to reach for it from under his coat. Silco wasn't a warrior, or a fighter. He'd always been a much more cerebral man, but...

Clearly his paranoia was justified, if he was keeping a knife at the ready.
]

Of course I will.

[ He promised, and it was a real promise. If he didn't, someone else would, and if someone else did it, then they might do it wrong. They might say the wrong thing, or upset her. No, Silco wanted to be the one to do it, because the rest of them, they didn't understand Jinx, likely never would. That's how it had always been of course, hadn't it? Silco could always rely on Jinx, and he knew his daughter wouldn't choose otherwise. ] As soon as we're safe, and we get you settled, I'll explain everything.

[ A sound echoed down the hallway, and Silco's head snapped up, and looked down the way. Nothing there? Something, one eye narrowed, as he tried to look down the hall. ] Getting stable? You're strong, I'm sure you'll shake it off in a moment or two.
emblazer: (054.)

[personal profile] emblazer 2022-08-03 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ A lot happened... except not really. It just feels like that because of the things he'd witnessed in just a few days. He's actually rather glad Lumine was spared from it and had been safe in their own world.

He sighs as he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. ]


We found one another around Godsblood, and you had been here for a few months already. After the usual reunion formalities, we met up again in a bar in Venera and then I helped you break into a school so you could do some research.

[ It sounds a little sketchy, but she had assured him that she wouldn't take anything she didn't have to, and Thoma had mostly played lookout for her at the time. ]

We were researching about the city and the strange affliction that had affected its people, but that had turned out to be caused by some weird creature-entity. And after that, you were patrolling around with Ryunosuke when you vanished into thin air, according to him. We were looking everywhere for you, and I reached out mentally but could only feel you faintly. I'd assumed you'd gone back to our world.

[ Which is seeming more and more correct by the second. ]

The cross-world travel must have wiped your slate clean. Does it always do that?
cutlery: please do not take! (I'm barbeque as fuck)

[personal profile] cutlery 2022-08-03 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ His smile shifts to one that's lightly pleased and knowing, as if he knew Sirius's thoughts. He doesn't, of course. But what he says (and pieces of what has gone unsaid in this conversation) gives him insight enough. A choice has been made, and perhaps not a good one, by the standard definitions.

But naturally, it's very much the one Sebastian would prefer. ]


Oh, you are quite welcome. It is not often asked, I admit, but I am always glad to give my opinion on such matters.

[ He draws his own gloved hand up to his chest, and in a gesture perfectly fitting for a butler, he bows gracefully. It might even be a tad deeper than his standard bow, but that's solely just being a little overly showy since he had been called a butler. ]

Sebastian Michaelis. It is a pleasure to have your conversation, sir.
killandrecycle: (Totally believable smile)

Rebirth

[personal profile] killandrecycle 2022-08-03 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
Without warning, a voice rings out from the shrine's entrance. Its a voice that allows one to tell a great deal about the one speaking. It speaks in a tone filled with scorn, no attempt at friendliness being made in the slightest. Its clearly female, and youthful sounding at that.

"Its just rock. Nothing to get worked up over."

The voice's source makes no effort to conceal itself as a tiny slip of a girl steps into view. She walks with a confidence unfitting for her size, and approaches without hesitation. "And you must be one of the newcomers. Hmph. You don't look like much."

Now the scorn seems to have been replaced by disappointment. "Oh well. I suppose you'll do. You can be cannon fodder at least. But we'll need to move quickly. I made it first, but I'm sure someone else will be here soon. You don't want to be here when they get here. They'll start filling your head with lies right from the start. Its what they do." She waits approximately four seconds for a response before getting annoyed. "You HEARD me, right? Get a move on! I'll explain on the way."
rosethorns: (11)

[personal profile] rosethorns 2022-08-03 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
[Dorothea lets their words wash over her, trying to keep up but very quickly beginning to flounder. Demigods? A war fighting over them? She knows full well that conflicts are seldom so black and white. To be pulled into this one, no say in the matter, hardly knowing what to think? She hates it.

Yet regardless of her feelings, the current circumstances are inescapable. And she’s very quickly realizing she is soon to be faced with a terribly difficult choice.

She studies Syrlya, his outstretched hand, the offered amulet. If he speaks true, this so-called Regent does not sound like someone she should be crossing paths with. She takes a shaky breath, lifts a hand to reach toward his. And then hesitates.

There’s that doubt, itching in the back of her mind.]


This doesn’t need to come to blows. [She tries to keep her voice calm, but there’s a pleading edge to it that she can’t quite keep out. Goddess knows she’s liable to just keel over should she even attempt to fight in the state she’s in.] But I’m not sure how I can take either of you at your word.
kablams: (047.)

🍕 stop i love mr. dante, the man, the myth, the legend...!!

[personal profile] kablams 2022-08-03 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ ok well, this is tragic... can't even call him a boomer bc she doesn't know what Gameboys are.... Dante deserves to be called a boomer, someone pour one out for us,

Jinx, at least, is busy picking up another rock - but the next three she finds are too flimsy and definitely aren't going to make any more impressive a trip than the first one. so she inevitably decides she's over it, throwing her hands up in frustration and going back to the only alternative she has.

being angry at Dante, obviously. ]


Says the weirdo cheater?? Tacky! Please, I didn't ask to be-- [ she is starting to drag her hair free of the shattered crystal, the remnants of her cocoon, and head toward him, ] UGH. --What the hell is going on?!
semicharmed: (messy hair)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2022-08-03 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ Matt can't help warming under the signs of interest, as a plant inclines towards sunlight. He's still not entirely used to his talents being appreciated rather than shunned. ]

Humanity didn't have the best grasp where I came from either, [ Matt notes ruefully. ] But I like that definition a lot. There's a concept in Hinduism, a sacred sound that you hear without two parts coming into contact ... it reminds me of that.

A lot of us can use magic here, actually, [ he adds. ] I was born with it, but a lot of people have started manifesting them since they arrived, and I can do things now that I couldn't before. So if you want to learn more magic, this could be your chance.
zauneyete: (heh heh)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2022-08-03 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ah, okay, at least that wasn't too mind blowing. He thought the man might cry again, for just a moment, before -- ]

Excellent.

[ He held out a hand -- a gloved hand, both of them were covered entirely. ]

Then, if you wish to make it to where there's a bit of warmth, and even clothing, you can just take my hand.

[ The only time Bruno will ever hear that. ]
dragon_rider: (hiccup378)

[personal profile] dragon_rider 2022-08-03 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
I can take this up with Hiccup, if you'd like!