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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!

bingos: (pic#15487269)

dreaming

[personal profile] bingos 2022-07-31 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ This isn't the first time she's seen a world engulfed in darkness, so soon to blinking out. She wishes it wasn't the last - that that time would have been. But they're here now and it's the image that frightens her. Perhaps, because it's something so viscerally similar to her own past.

A past they were so close to not stopping before. A force engulfing everything in this dream. It keeps her heart in her throat and she's unable to look anymore when the man expresses his thoughts. She can feel Hawkmon's feathers gripping her hands, but doesn't respond. Instead, she shakes her head and answers near as quietly: ]


They're suffering.

subsist: (pic#15628714)

he is soooo happy to see you

[personal profile] subsist 2022-07-31 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ the last few weeks have been so incredibly difficult that this almost feels like the first time he's able to allow a genuine smile to bloom on his face. he is so relieved that she appears to be in rather good spirits, but then again, this is just a dream, so it can always be someone playing tricks.

he tucks that possibility away to the furthest corner of his mind, choosing to ignore it. ]


... About that, even if someone has the talent for creating convincing doppelgangers, I very much doubt they'll be able to capture your delightful charm.

[ while he is happy to see lumine, really, he also has so many questions. ]

How are you faring? Last I heard of you, you managed to vanish into thin air. Always the clever escape artist, hm?
dragonmount: (🔆 010.)

[personal profile] dragonmount 2022-07-31 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
I'm —

[ wow this isn't?? about him?? or his admittedly not fantastic eating habits lately??

but, oh good, subject change. ]


No. I woke up here, just like you did. Everyone here did, too. It was a few months ago for me, and longer for some of the others.
arcaneward: (aerith-0470)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-07-31 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's something about the way he says it. Like he's not going to go into the light. She just saw everything she held dear to her vanish into this nothingness, and while she may not know him, she knows enough to not want to let him succumb to that fate. ]

Hey!

[ She reaches out and grabs at his forearm, starting to tug. ]

I'm not going alone. I need a bodyguard. What if the people on the other side are just as bad as what's on this side?
bingos: (00_0009_92179993_p8_master1200)

pleroma

[personal profile] bingos 2022-07-31 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
It's best not to think about it.

[ The voice that pops up next to him is casual, almost bored even. At least she doesn't seem as worried as she should be (or is trying not to be). The young woman it matches shakes her head, throwing up hands in a half-hearted shrug: ] Otherwise, the next thing you know it'll collapse in on itself just for thinking about it.
Edited 2022-07-31 01:23 (UTC)
arcaneward: (aerith-0677)

[personal profile] arcaneward 2022-07-31 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
You've been here that long..?

[ So much for going home... She takes another bite, frowning. ]

Someone told me that.. There are people here who want to make us slaves. Is that true?
heavybreaths: (Brooding)

[personal profile] heavybreaths 2022-07-31 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
[If it were not a dream, and obviously so, Vader would probably have responded with anger. But there was a novelty to this, and the stranger's glib reply amuses him. Not a point.

Shifting away, he faces the stars, unconcerned and patient. It's just a dream, and no Force user he's ever encountered can do more than observe them.]


See that you do not. It would not be wise to pry into my affairs, stranger.

[This isn't something that the Emperor had done, and it doesn't seem as though this man is related. Some Jedi dreamwalker he hadn't met? Or just the Force drawing others in? Perhaps with time more would reveal itself, or perhaps not. He'd keep his silence for now, let the stranger reveal if he knew more.]
Edited 2022-07-31 01:30 (UTC)
pyojeol: (pic#15727557)

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-07-31 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
So you just wanted someone else to do it...

[CLAUDE....

now it's her turn to puff up indignantly when Claude gives her that considering look. it's definitely warranted, but she still doesn't like it.........]


Give it here.

[she reaches over in an attempt to grab the rock, unless Claude holds it over her head for fun]
horniness: (028.)

rebirth;

[personal profile] horniness 2022-07-31 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
Every time he returns to the shrines in his search for others from Briar Valley, he encounters more and more dragons. Is it by design or pure chance? He can't tell, but their kind is as powerful as they are strong, so it is not entirely outside the realm of possibility that they may have been seen as rather desirable for this universe to import. He's still trying to figure out the why, but he's definitely not fazed by the large dragon before him.

Rather, he understands why the dragon is feeling unsettled at the moment.

"I am no mortal. Now, rein in your temper before this shrine collapses on you."

Given his own magic is restrained at the moment, he won't be able to stop it if the ceiling gives out on top of them. If only humans weren't so prone to gawking at their kind and making comments...

"Is this your only form?"
settingup: (i won't give up)

[personal profile] settingup 2022-07-31 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ If he ever steps out from behind this big rock, she is going to be severely disappointed how clear it is that she would not be able to beat him up. Luckily for her, however, he has no intention of stepping out from behind his modesty rock. ]

Hyogo prefecture.

[ Why does everything have to be about Tokyo with people, but also-- ]

And tell me your name already!

[ His voice is loud enough to echo throughout the shrine. This boy has some real impressive lungs on him. ]
bingos: (00_0005_92179993_p10)

pleroma

[personal profile] bingos 2022-07-31 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ Miyako feels so much better with actual clothing and some food in her stomach that it's almost possible to forget the situation they're in — almost. It's there, still in her mind that's still running like a hamster on a wheel. A mind that's feverently choosing to keep up with helping in whatever menial task or talking to someone. It's easier to do for others than for herself, but eventually through the insistence of the little hawk who's been mother henning her to sit down she does.

For the moment she's coaxing a drinking and wishing it was something stronger as she watches over the area expanding further into the ocean. The friendly voice isn't met with much surprise or trepidation, only with a smile of her own: ]


Oh. Definitely. They're probably like what are all these weirdos doing down here. [ She gives a laugh that's cut short suddenly by the image of a fish going splat. Possibly - probably, knowing her luck - on her head. It draws a shiver down her spine as she groans: ] Ugh, that's not an image I'm getting out of my head.

[ Neither are some others, but she's not gonna linger on that. Instead she pauses and asks: ] Think the fish can talk?
bythelight: (17)

[personal profile] bythelight 2022-07-31 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ He turns to look at her, sharp eyes running over her form. ]

Light, I hope it doesn't.

[ What an unsettling thought. He frowns, eyes flicking back to the water barrier. ]

Are all the settlements here under water?

[ There might be a reason for it, after all. He couldn't say, he's been here all of five minutes. ]
bingos: (pic#15653479)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-07-31 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ He's cute, she thinks, despite herself - flatly chooses to ignore it. Is given more of a reason to ignore it as she glances up half shielding her eyes to see where it's going only... Until the impressively cute guys has (un)impressively failed the shot. She doesn't know what he was expecting but it's not that and she's still willing to watch it fall and fall -

She gives a yeep of surprise when he suddely pulls her away (fair). And lets a puff of breath: ]
You should... really warn someone first!

[ About what? The throwing of a thing you ENCOURAGED him to do? Or pulling someone away? Possibly giving you a concussion? Who knows, she doesn't. ]
pyojeol: (pic#15727583)

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-07-31 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
[JOCKS (DEROGATORY)... LOUD JOCKS,

HSY rocks back on her heels, wincing.]


God -- alright, already! Han Sooyoung! There, happy?

[she waits expectantly for a flash of recognition to cross atsumu's face. she's no anna croft or yjh but she's just as famous as those losers at this point, so!!! (narrator voice) she will soon be disappointed]
entsetzt: (scarecrowicon2)

Jonathan "Scarecrow" Crane | Batman Arkhamverse | The Sovereign

[personal profile] entsetzt 2022-07-31 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
The Dark Outside

All his plans, his vision of a Gotham bereft of its saviour, the legend of the Bat peeled away to reveal only a man betrayed by his allies and crippled by fear...such wasted effort. Useless, in the long run.

These are the thoughts that occupy Doctor Jonathan Crane's mind as he wanders the infinite darkness at the edge of reality. Even though his mind is clear, free of the terror that had gripped him once his own toxin had been turned on him, is cold comfort, for he must face the reality completely sane. All that work, years of planning, perfecting his toxin, and in the end, none of it mattered. He had hoped to wither the people of Gotham's hope, and maybe he had, but so too had fear withered. Gotham had withered.

The world had withered.

"Everything withers in the end." He speaks to the darkness, vaguely aware that there are others there with him, allowing a small, mirthless laugh that echoes throughout the dark. "I should have seen it. Should have known how pointless it all was."

Rebirth-Sovereign Shrine

Everything fades, and so too does Crane, and he welcomes the coming oblivion. But the sensation of nothingness is all too quickly snatched away as consciousness returns and he finds himself trapped in his cocoon. With great effort (Crane has never been a physically-oriented man like some of Gotham's more notorious crime lords, but even this feels pathetic), he manages to push his way out, sliding down onto the stone floor with a loud thud. Weakly, he tries to rise, and almost manages it before his left leg (ah yes, after Waylon's tender ministrations, that leg never did heal properly...and Crane seems to have misplaced the leg brace he wore along with the rest of his gear) gives out and sends him crashing back down with a small, pained grunt.

He simply lies there, painfully thin, his body still bearing many of the marks of Killer Croc's savagery, though after a few moments, he manages to turn onto his side. His face is an unnatural maze of scar tissue and sack-cloth that at times seems a mask, but also in other places gives the impression of being sewn directly into or over his skin. His good eye (the other is milky white and useless, another memento from the good Crocodile) searches the cavern. Someone must be coming, that much seems logical enough to assume, given the absurdity of this situation.

Finally, he hears the sound of footsteps. "I'm afraid I'm going to need some help getting out of here." He remarks in quiet, sibilant voice, though Crane does at least manage to pull himself into a sitting position to get a better look at the newcomer.

"Doctor Jonathan Crane. What is going on?"
Edited 2022-07-31 02:20 (UTC)
stellium: (pic#15846757)

pour one out for every single genshin i'm so sorry

[personal profile] stellium 2022-07-31 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
( with paimon gone, lumine doesn't expect to see a friendly face, or hear a friendly voice. it's a new world, after all; aether had been her only companion when traveling, and now that he was gone-- she doesn't expect to see anyone from teyvat any time soon. at least not until she found a way to get back to deal with her unfinished business.

but thoma is there, and the voice has her spinning around to face him; happiness overtaking her at it.
)

Thoma! I'm so glad to see you-- ( wait, what? ) Back? But I only just arrived.

( that... is an unexpected turn of events. )
entsetzt: (6)

[personal profile] entsetzt 2022-07-31 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
Would a Kenoma like to escort Scarecrow from the Sovereign Shrine? He's not very pleasant to look at (that is not a mask he is wearing in his icons), so I can work with anyone who might be unnerved to look at him or someone who will brush it off.

Crane will need some assistance leaving the shrine, since he was mauled by a crocodile and never fully healed; to whit, he requires a leg brace or something similar for his left leg, for an injury that didn't heal properly.

I am okay with PVP if the factions want to fight over him, but he's definitely drinking the Kenoma-juice.
Edited 2022-07-31 02:27 (UTC)
bingos: (004)

o/ i'm glad

[personal profile] bingos 2022-07-31 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
No problem!

[ Miyako's response is immediate - reactionary, but friendly. Hawkmon smiles in the best way a little bird can, but is happy to continue to listen on for the moment. Miyako focuses on complaining - she's always had the luxury of being able to go home after her world-saving adventures. To a nice warm bed even if it included sharing a room with a snoring sister. ]

Maybe, but after all this I say we deserve a good bed! ... And a good bath, so maybe an onsen?

[ She thinks more to herself as she glances up and around with a hmm: ] Maybe they have a submarine? Why stick people down here if there's no way out? What happens if someone can't swim?

[ Time for all the important questions. ]
settingup: (and oh yeah)

[personal profile] settingup 2022-07-31 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ He stares at her intensely for several seconds, brow furrowed, looking like he's about to say something.

Before he looks up at the ceiling of the cave, frowning in confusion. It's not like he was actually expecting to know her name or anything, but he was kind of hoping he might...? Somehow? Like things could be explained if he did.

But nothing was.

So he just carries on like this name revelation doesn't even matter. Hope Sooyoung enjoys the bitter taste of disappointment.
]

Hey, Sooyoung-chan, you're wearin' normal stuff. What's up with this place anyway?
undertheweight: (I'm not certain)

[personal profile] undertheweight 2022-07-31 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
That's...disturbing, although the same thing had happened to him. Well. Wrathion wasn't certain that he had been in a crystal, but that wasn't important. Not at the moment. His horned brow furrows, and he gives a short, sharp shake of his head, then, as Anduin questions him.

"I have not. Only you." And he had been looking for familiar faces, though there are some he'd be much less happy to see. Like the other flights' Aspects, as an example. But so far, they weren't here.

"Have you, then?" Though by now, Wrathion was fairly certain that if he hadn't, it was rather unlikely that Anduin would.
bingos: (kizunamiyako31-2)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-07-31 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
Crazier things have happened.

[ Like them arriving here. It's still unsettling being down here for her - there's some bad memories associated with being trapped underwater that turn in her head. But it's large and there's plenty of space, so she tries not to think about that time so long ago.

She hums at the question: ]


I hope not. There's not much down here in the way of food, clothes, houses... Bathrooms.... [ She really wants a proper bathroom, thanks, it's been hours!!! ] There's also that flower field place I woke up at! I betcha this place is a whole lot bigger than we've seen yet.
entsetzt: (scarecrowicon1)

Rebirth A

[personal profile] entsetzt 2022-07-31 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
"Unfortunately that will be more difficult than usual." Crane doesn't react to the armoured figure's appearance, save that he apparently got to keep his clothing, while apart from the bits of his old mask that Crane rebuilt his face with, he most certainly did not.

He manages to stretch out his left leg. There are signs of old damage all across his body, but there appear to be old evidence that something large and with sharp teeth took a bite out of the limb. "An old injury that never healed properly, but without supplies for a splint or brace, I'm afraid I won't be going anywhere very quickly anytime soon."

He regards Vader for a long moment. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to assist." He mutters dryly, his voice quiet and seemingly totally unbothered by the situation they find themselves in.
bythelight: (17)

[personal profile] bythelight 2022-07-31 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
"None, nor any familiar banners."

No Horde, no Alliance, no Kul Tiras or Kirin Tor or anything at all familiar.

It's... troubling. Anduin purses his lips thinking, then flicks his eyes back over Wrathion.

"... You are unhurt?"

Wrathion may not be his favourite person, but he is an ally -- and he has recently helped them in a not insignificant way. It seems best they stick together, all things considered.
affal: (2)

[personal profile] affal 2022-07-31 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
( horos isn't much of a place for first impressions, or at least not if you arrive to it as an Aion. forcing one's way nude, powerless, and shivering out of a crystalline chrysalis and onto the ground of an alien cave in a foreign world doesn't really lend much to one's perceived dignity or grace. those snatched up in the talons of the Kenoma faced further trials, as sebastian has already experienced, even if his own with that of the Kenoma liquid and the illness that it brought about was brief and relatively painless (if not somewhat unsavory). makoto had spent a few days curled up on the floor of a cavern, oozing and starving and furious, when he'd gone through the same process. in comparison... it might not be to his own standards, but the impression as received on makoto's end is just fine. )

Ah. My apologies.

( he takes a moment to settle down nearby to the other demon. he might have accidentally pried into the interior of his thoughts and feelings for a moment, but that sort of minor invasion of privacy isn't exactly going to deter him from speaking with him about it. after all, they are to be working together, and it's a professional interest of his to keep tabs on whichever other demons they might stumble across.

he taps his temple to illustrate his point as he speaks. )
A side-effect of the liquid Kenoma, I'm afraid. It can cause one's thoughts to "bleed" out a bit somewhat, and I just so happened to chance upon them.

( he heaves a sympathetic sigh. ) I thought to at least offer my condolences, given all the effort that goes into a contract.

( when makoto had been human, J had soldiered through being alternatingly consumed and ignored for about six months. makoto's contracts had all been varying lengths of time, but nothing so long as years — if he had just lost such an investment, he'd take it much worse than sebastian does now. there would probably be a lot of pouting involved. )