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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!

lachtara: (Reproach)

Cosmic Crossroads

[personal profile] lachtara 2022-07-31 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ These dreams are often strange. Their contents are tailored so closely to the wills of their dreamer that they are impossible to mistake for one another, as unique as a glimmer of their soul.

This one shows the pinpricks of distant stars and the welcoming embrace of darkness all around. It's a pleasant sight to see, and one that lifts his spirits in its beauty.

Emet-Selch's attention is torn away when he hears the voice of someone else - presumably the dreamer themselves - to which he turns and looks in their direction. ]

Is that so. [ He gives a gesture equivocal to a shrug. ] Mind you, I don't seek to make a habit of it. You may consider your dreams hereafter safe from my 'wandering eyes'.
emblazer: (029.)

returned - wildcard sort of;

[personal profile] emblazer 2022-07-31 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ He's just minding his business, wandering around Godsblood and helping the new arrivals, when he catches something in the corner of his eye. At first, he's sure he's only seeing things –thinks it's just wishful thinking. But then,

that voice.

He recognizes her, and though he'd been calling out to her through their Communion not too long ago, he hadn't expected to ever hear her again any time soon. Or see her. In plain view. Just a few feet away.

Before he can even think, Thoma sprints towards her and stops just short of hugging her because he knew she was still alive and well. Kaeya doubted him, but Thoma knew. ]


Lumine! You're back! I was so sure you'd eventually return. Did you find a way to go to and from Teyvat?

[ That would make it a lot easier for them all to go home. He's absolutely ecstatic about the prospect. ]
vapour: (Default)

[personal profile] vapour 2022-07-31 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
. . . [ Childe hesitates a moment before giving a light shake of his head and shrugs lightly, trying to show that it's not really a big deal or anything that she doesn't remember. This is completely fine. ] Sort of, in a dream somewhere.

[ or not a dream at all, that is very obviously the real answer despite his words. Still, it doesn't seem to be out of malice that he's attempting to brush it (or her) off. he's a stranger to her, afterall, and this isn't a joyous experience even if it's a dream. ]

...Anyway, you should head that way. [ he points her in the direction of the light, away from the gravitating presence of emptiness and despair that seems to be the path into the dark. ] Once you do, I'm sure you'll find some friendly faces that can help you once you wake up.

[ He'll turn halfway, intending to retreat back to the dark himself rather than linger in the middle, but before he actually does so he'll wait as if making sure she goes off in the direction he suggested without any inconveniences or complications. ]
subsist: (pic#15624541)

[personal profile] subsist 2022-07-31 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
( ooc. gonna have ryunosuke crash this party after this tag, hehe. )

[ perhaps once they're back at the citadel, kaeya would be more forthcoming with any questions sebastian might have. as it stands, they likely don't have much time before someone from the pleroma comes to check this shrine, especially given its proximity to the city of venera. it wouldn't surprise him if things end with a confrontation, but at this point, he thinks that's an inevitability.

he does, at the very least, take the time to return sebastian's bow, maybe slightly more dramatic than it should have been, but he's always loved flourishes like that. ]


A pleasure to meet you, Sebastian. And don't mention it— it's the least I could do.

[ a beat, and then he's reaching for something else in the bag. ]

Now, there is a favour I'd like to ask of you before we can go back to the Citadel...

[ what he pulls out is a rather sinister-looking vial filled with black sludge. surely, this is a good thing? ]
dragonmount: (🔆 hanging out.)

[personal profile] dragonmount 2022-07-31 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ he had, actually. which is why he says, with humor, ]

Now I know you're hungry.

[ because she is very sweet, but he's not that good a cook. (even with sandwiches? but look, he's being self-deprecating, let him be.) ]

You can have the other, too. There's more.
cutlery: (you may have stolen my cat)

returned (also delighted to see a road!!)

[personal profile] cutlery 2022-07-31 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Truth be told, he's also a little bored, and not really for dissimilar reasons. When you're already quite naturally in tune with what the Kenoma asks of you, well. It turns into something of a waiting game, so it would seem? It's all rather disappointing, since for all the interest that led him to this point, it feels like it slowed down quite a bit... Or, rather, he knows full well that the task of downing that ichor would be quite inconvenient for any creature with, well. Morals, he supposes?

So Sebastian is taking a little time to at least take a better look at where they are for the moment, which does mean passing by Road. When she calls out to him, Sebastian looks to his side, thinking surely she wouldn't be talking to him, but... Oh, there's no one else there, is there? hm, ]


I beg your pardon?

[ From how he carries himself to how he speaks, it's far too formal and polite, all things considered. He looks at her with mild confusion, since he doesn't particularly think he gives off the impression of someone that would "play", exactly. ]
dissonyance: (25)

[personal profile] dissonyance 2022-07-31 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ should he be amused? should he be smiling as well? he finally opens his eyes to find this man staring right back at him, but leaks doesn't bother to sit up. he doesn't have the energy to, and that by itself is a frustrating thing. leaks would rather lay here and wait for his inevitable death, so that he could also go wherever his former home also went. that would be the real play.

if he had a choice, of course.

but seeing as death hasn't come for him--- and whether this grinning man may be its envoy--- leaks sighs and clenches his jaw. he has no immediate words for makoto.

he will, however, unfurl. lie outstretched. feel as his muscles and joints relax. continue to gaze at makoto with a hatred that should be reserved for whoever apparently did this to him. to whoever brought him here. ]


Die.

[ just a simple request! please consider it. ]
leicesters: academy (008)

[personal profile] leicesters 2022-07-31 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Claude's cunning scheme had been to attract the attention of someone who might have a better throwing arm than him or who could recommend someone, so he doesn't expect it when Miyako just plays along with his obvious nonsense.

But, well, he's committed, why not try? He rolls up his sleeves of the clothes he was given after arriving.]


All right, I'll give it a shot. [He winds up his throwing arm -- which, admittedly, has more force to it than an ordinary teen's would, being an archer and all -- and flings it up as hard as he can.

It goes a respectable distance! But nowhere near hitting the water. Which is when gravity inevitably begins to pull it back to the ground.]


Ah, look out! [He grabs Miyako and pulls her out of the way before the stone can crack either of them on the head.]
bingos: (pic#15580529)

dreaming

[personal profile] bingos 2022-07-31 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Maybe it's just that she's so in awe of it that they stand there for as long as they have. Maybe it's the tendrils of darkness, just in reach, telling her all those bad times were unredeemable — Or maybe, she's simply over-thinking it. She's caught up in her own thoughts that she doesn't expect the man's question. Nor, does the little bird with her, who's arms flap out in surprise as if mirroring her own.

Miyako blinks: ]


Is it? [ The question is genuine as she folds her hands behind her back - She guesses it is, but she's known from the moment she found herself here which she'd choose. ] I have an idea. It's just all a little... surreal, y'know? [ She tilts her head and leans forward with a cursory look: ] What about you?
coerthantorment: (27)

[personal profile] coerthantorment 2022-07-31 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
The 'soul of a dragon' part is the old news, at least. He would be happy to explain that much to her, but not before they've quit this place.

"...'Tis no matter. All who awake in these shrines find themselves weakened at first. Present yourself as sufficiently fierce and the men outside will hesitate to get too close."

He draws his spear, looking at her with confidence born of the familiar. Everything else is hard right now, but fighting he can do.

"As for the rest... I'll clear the way."
bloomforyou: (💎22)

ranmaru ai (fairy ranmaru) • champion

[personal profile] bloomforyou 2022-07-31 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
I. dreaming, protection


[ the darkness is a different kind of end than ranmaru imagined. it’s not the first time he’s had a dream like this, watching the stars flicker out of existence, the winter triangle disappearing one by one: procyon, betelgeuse, sirius. there’s a foreign comfort in it for him. it’s all right if he tumbles off the edge into the embrace of the abyss.

but there’s another person here—there have been other people, he’s seen them walking similar paths and branching off into another he himself hadn’t taken. as deep in his own nihilistic despair as he is, in the midst of this dream, a part of him remembers what he’s supposed to do. at the end, until the end, he should follow his duty.

acting on some final flare of responsibility, ranmaru’s hand snatches out to grab the wrist of his companion in the darkness. ]


Don’t go!

[ he can’t explain it, but his eyes begin to brim with tears. ]


II. the champion shrine


[ when ranmaru finally falls from the crystal, one might be forgiven for thinking that he’s the natural spawn of the strange material. his body seems human enough, but as he finds his footing and brings himself to full height, two long, translucent wings unfurl behind him. they trail down like the wings of an insect, each a shimmering gold color except for one turning a rotten purple at the tip. while it looks like shattered glass where the color begins to change, ranmaru doesn’t seem especially hurt by it. ]



[ after flexing his wrist, checking his still-extremely-nude body and ensuring that he’s all in one piece, he turns his bright, catlike gaze on the nearest person. his eyes are piercing, but somehow, it seems as if he’s looking far beyond the person he’s speaking to. ]

I’m sorry I’m late.


III. a fairy prince


[ the kenoma was taken willingly. ranmaru lingers nonetheless, having apparently taken it upon himself to serve as a warm, guiding figure against the occasionally brusque and frequently overzealous guards and other visitors.

for those who have already taken the sludge and is suffering its effects, ranmaru stands a silent guard next to them. anything they need or ask for, ranmaru tries to provide, though his capabilities are limited due to the circumstances they’ve all found themselves in.

unfortunately, he quickly learns that just having the kenoma doesn’t protect them from those trying much, much harder to hurry along acceptance. the few times ranmaru does speak is to get soldiers and other aions alike to back off from those struggling with the symptoms of their sickness. ]


That’s enough.

[ his voice is calm, even. ]

It’ll happen when they’re ready. You don’t need to do anything else.


IV. wildcard!


( just as a note, i’m not planning to app… this round so it’s understandable if you would rather focus on things you want to keep canon! that said i’m very excited to play around with whatever so ples… )
arcaneward: (lyL1YKd)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-07-31 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ That turn of phrase: 'Those that would pursue you here'. It awakens something in her, and her eyes go wide, briefly with fear and then with determination. Her jaw sets, and both hands clench into soft fists as her back straightens. ]

...They tried to do that back home, too.

[ Her voice is a little more steely; she'll run here, too, if she must.

And, she surmises, if he's telling her this, he's probably not one of those people, right? So he's safe to talk to, right? And he's offering clothing...

She bends down and grabs the tunic, pulling it on over her head, pulling her hair out of the collar. She starts to try and braid it, but gives up after a moment. It's too wet, and too thick, to do so without a hairbrush, so she tosses it over her shoulders, and steps forward, toward Estinien. ]


You aren't one of them, right? So how do I get out of here?
bythelight: (16)

[personal profile] bythelight 2022-07-31 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
It is Wrathion, and he's... nuzzling him?

Anduin blinks, lifts a hand to brace himself against the enormous snout and tries to gather some sense of decorum.

Which is, as it turns out, difficult when you're being nosed about by a dragon.

Wrathion lowers his head finally, and Anduin tightens the blanket about himself as he studies him. Light, he's gotten so big! He feels like he's staring, and he shouldn't be.

Questions. Focus, Anduin.

"I awoke inside some sort of crystal. I'd been having the strangest dream, as if I had died... as if everything was ending..."

He trails off, uneasy, then collects himself again.

"Have you seen anyone else familiar here?"
subsist: (pic#15626276)

wildcard?? i'm here to have a good time.

[personal profile] subsist 2022-07-31 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ there is a naked man sleeping outside the lover's shrine, which isn't all that weird given the timing of things, but it's more so his position that is more concering. is this why no one has bothered to bring the man back anywhere?

he is so... out there. free. without a care in the world.

kaeya almost envies him, but instead of focusing on that, he nudges the man with the tip of his boot. ]


You're sleeping on sand. Are you comfortable?

[ that can't be it. ]
dissonyance: (71)

[personal profile] dissonyance 2022-07-31 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
[ if he were a savanaclaw student... he would be not just years older than its leader, but far more powerful. imagine that turning things into sand would be your strongest spell and compare that into raising the dead. turning the world into a florescent place that rejects all living creatures... he would simply make his own school and hide from the world.

sadly, he has very few options of hiding here.

those horns are familiar. would this be a devil? perhaps he is. fortunate and unfortunate. ]


Beast-men? [ a hum. ] No. I am ribika. Surely you know what that is.
stellium: (pic#15846755)

rip kaeya

[personal profile] stellium 2022-07-31 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
( entranced by the light, the warmth that blossoms in her chest, it takes a moment for the words to register. the speaker to register -- but she knows him. the serenity that settled over her face is broken when she turns, eyes flying open and a smile spreading across her face. )

Kaeya? ( for a moment the joy of seeing a familiar face overrides her confusion at finding him here, wherever here might be. ) As far as I know. Unless someone has been creating very convincing doubles.

( well. alright, that's actually not impossible, given albeldo, but she's certain she's lumine. )
bingos: (pic#15500540)

pleroma

[personal profile] bingos 2022-07-31 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
They're pretty cute, right?

[ Miyako's voice is energetic and friendly despite everything that's happened that day. Her smile, while not quite full, genuine if Aerith looks her way. Her hands on her hips as she pays careful attention to the other woman. ]

Oh, here, we brought you something to drink.

[ 'We' comes in the form of a hawk-shaped bird holding water between his feathered limbs in offerring. For the moment he doesn't speak, but he does nod. His partner goes on and stretches: ] I hope we're not stuck down here too long; I'm not gonna rest properly until I see a bed.
uproared: ▌helmet (when there's no more room in hell)

[personal profile] uproared 2022-07-31 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
two quick questions!

1. while characters wake up/hatch in the shrines naked, are they dressed normally in the dreaming part? if so, would they be in the state they were beforehand (ie... covered in blood..............) or magically freshened up?

2. mordred here is a servant, which means she requires a constant supply of magical energy to maintain her existence, something usually provided by a master. i plan on going into further detail in her application, but is it fair to assume she's being supplied with enough by the regent or ~general kenoma magic~ until she makes a contract with a player character?
bloomforyou: (💎19)

[personal profile] bloomforyou 2022-07-31 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
HELL YEAH! thank you!
vapour: (pic#15074377)

rebirth • semi-wildcard.

[personal profile] vapour 2022-07-31 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ When her crystal breaks, Lumine does not hit the floor of the cave. Instead, she's caught in the arms of someone. They don't utter a word to her initially, instead holding her up for support until her legs get used to their new body, and there's no risk of her collapsing into a heap without additional support.

Of course, if she looks up she'll meet a familiar face: Childe (now half-wet from the remnants of the crystal rebirthing process) staring down at her with an expression of surprise, relief, and mortification all mixed into one.

...No. No he really shouldn't have come here, afterall! This is bad. He absolutely can't take her back to the Kenoma (not after what he he's witnessed, but when he knows for a fact she would never accept the Kenoma and end up like Himeka and Abel or worse,) but he also can't afford to just let an unawakened Aion go back with the Pleroma, either.

Shit.
]

A...aibou, you're... back ...?
cutlery: (this feels like a knock…)

3

[personal profile] cutlery 2022-07-31 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ If nothing else, hanging around the area was proving to at least be interesting. It's not surprising that he had less trouble than most with the process. For a demon, it was as easy as breathing, he thought. It's also why he was quite intrigued in watching how the process would go for others. With most of his self returned, it was much more obvious that most of the other creatures gathered here wouldn't have so much ease.

So, he wanders a bit. He's curious to watch the proceedings, but it's also more than that. With how he'd felt an intensity of emotion by drinking the ichor, he can imagine so easily how it would twist at others. It's a delectable thought. Were he less disciplined (or a younger demon, perhaps), he's sure that he would absolutely feast upon it.

When Havoc grabs his leg, he of course stops, and his expression is the appropriate one of polite surprise. But the surprise shifts to one of concern, but only briefly. With a request like that, it doesn't quite feel fair to show that kind of lie. He cants his head lightly as he seems to watch her for a moment, and his response is only delayed by a timely flicker of her power.

Curious. ]


Why?

[ His voice is gentle and soft, and not at all fitting for an answer that's not a refusal to her request. ]
arcaneward: (aerith-0288)

digimon!!!! this takes me back

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-07-31 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you!

[ She kneels to accept the water from the hawk, giving him a little pat on the head as she takes it, turning back to Miyako as she speaks. ]

I've slept on worse, but it's not fun at all. I wonder what the easiest way to get out is?

[ Aerith takes a sip, looking up above them at the fish swirling above their heads. ]

You don't suppose...?
undertheweight: (uncertain)

[personal profile] undertheweight 2022-07-31 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Wrathion looks startled for a moment, but then his face grows long as Claude asks if they shouldn't go after him. It's a more sheepish expression than one that holds back laughter, however. And it's likely his fault the man ran in the first place.]

Likely, but if he's not halfway to the hells right now, I'd be surprised. Forgive me if I don't rush myself out there to terrify him again?

[Though he does peer out of the shrine entrance, snaking his head around. Perhaps to just see how far the man ran, or if he hasn't gone very far in fact...]

He hasn't run that far. He's catching his breath, I believe.
arcaneward: (ZMHjdIc)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-07-31 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
What about you? Shouldn't you eat something?

[ Unless.. he's not new? She pauses. ]

Are you from here?