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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!

undertheweight: (Default)

[personal profile] undertheweight 2022-08-07 02:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Then that is what we need to focus on. Hopefully, it will be a goal we can all strive for."

And Wrathion hopes, for all their sakes, it ends up more like the events of the Waking City, than the Siege of Orgrimmar, for him. One was far more triumphant than the other. Not that he intends to admit to any of that, now.

"What is your name?" Mostly so if he wakes up, he can hopefully remember this man. "You may call me Wrathion."
wildrawr: (pic#15860124)

[personal profile] wildrawr 2022-08-07 03:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"Kotetsu Kaburagi," is the reply. "Nice to meet you, Wrathion."

Maybe things will be fine afterall? Kotetsu definitely can say he feels better knowing there's others. Even if it was just this dragon, that would be more than enough to keep his spirits up.
wildrawr: (pic#15859789)

[personal profile] wildrawr 2022-08-07 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
For what it's worth, Kotetsu keeps an entirely straight face through the whole spiel Hiccup goes through, looking very much intent over what he's hearing. There's a moment of quiet once Hiccup finishes, the older man's hand coming to rub his chin thoughtfully to considering if he may indeed have any questions.

Finally, Kotetsu leans in just a little bit, sounding a bit cautious, like he knows this might not be the most polite thing to say to a stranger. Still, he's here to treat this place out, right? It would be wise to keep it to himself and the business endeavor potentially fail once open to the public. "While comprehensive for a resort welcome, don't you think it's just a little on the campy side?"

Apparently the whole preface about Hiccup not having any idea what Kotetsu's talking about went in one ear and out the other.
vapour: (pic#15074390)

[personal profile] vapour 2022-08-07 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ As Ozymandias mulls this information over, Childe takes the time to get a better look at him just to ensure that he never lets his mind play tricks on him again.

Far more outwardly arrogant than Zhongli. Darker skin than Zhongli. Shorter hair than Zhongli. Far louder than Zhongli but just as long-winded. ...shorter than Zhongli, too, Childe particularly realizes once he's straightened himself up and sees that he is taller than the new aion.

He thinks to say something in response to the whole crawling thing, but... considering the string of noise that follows, Childe decides against it. The demand to be taken to the Regent is, however, loud and clear.
]

Here. [ the Kenoma aion pushes the items he's been holding onto this entire time to Ozymandias's chest. The towel and clothes aren't great at all but the other is all sticky and unshowered, anyway, so it's for the best until they arrive to Achamoth.

If the other doesn't take them, he'll hold them for a few seconds until finally just dropping them and going to move by the man so he can continue towards the exit.
]

Ready when you are, King of Kings. [ he's already forgotten his name?? ]
theorems: (pic#15347715)

[personal profile] theorems 2022-08-07 04:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[Viktor is thoughtfully silent again, this time only for a few more seconds. "Wild space" implies there is "tamed space." Which means... a space traveler? Perhaps through the use of his magic "force?"]

You are capable of traveling through the stars?
theorems: (pic#15370137)

[personal profile] theorems 2022-08-07 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[Even if it wasn't intentional, the intangible feeling of being slighted doesn't leave Viktor so easily.]

You would have already moved on if you chose one of the paths before I arrived. Then, we would have not met, and you would not have had the misfortune of meeting me.

[Said so, so dryly.]
fallingsand: (53;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-07 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Viktor, why. ]

I. I thought we were. [ Starting this over? No? They're not? Okay then. Bruno sighs and runs a hand through his hair, mumbling something about this probably being why he doesn't have friends but that isn't a message he really means to Viktor. What he does say, actually say after that is, ] Look, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean that meeting you was the bad thing about all of this. It's just a really weird dream, alright?
theorems: (pic#15370138)

[personal profile] theorems 2022-08-07 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[Viktor holds his breath, still as he looks over Bruno once again, and after a flex of his gloved left hand, he exhales.]

Yes.

[His emotions feel so strangely irregular right now. Whatever's happening, is he really letting it impact him in this way?]

Yes, you're right. We should be... working together through this. I feel as if this is more than a dream. All the more reason for teamwork.
subsist: (pic#15697780)

[personal profile] subsist 2022-08-07 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ sometimes it's the simplest gestures that can mean a whole lot. kaeya doesn't move away from her when she leans in. if anything, he lets her stay close if she'd like, even more so when it seems like she's about to cry. it's always difficult for someone like him to know what to do at a moment like this. even when diluc grieved over his father's death, he didn't know what to tell him, how to comfort him.

(all he did was feel amused over how fascinating the world was when someone as kind and righteous as master crepus would also seek the help of a dangerous and evil power...)

all he can do is be here. until her words make his focus sharpen even more. ]


Children?

[ is she implying the price to pay is the lives of those who won't even be able to defend themselves? ]

Alright. I'll make sure you don't end up anywhere near them.

[ it's time to speak with some of the citadel's staff just so they're aware havoc can't approach the orphanage here at all. of course, he's planning on keeping an eye on her too but there's only so much he can do on his own. ]
thulium: (Default)

[personal profile] thulium 2022-08-07 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
There's a moment of stunned silence as Garrus attempts to contemplate half of all life in the universe, then gives it up as a lost cause.

"And I thought the Reapers were ambitious," he mutters. "And we probably are. That...definitely would have made the history files. How'd you know it was the whole universe?"
cutlery: please do not take! (I just found a new hobby.)

[personal profile] cutlery 2022-08-07 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Sebastian's response is an amused and thoughtful noise at first, since that certainly hits his ear as familiar. He was more than happy to allow his contractors their stipulations, after all. It was only fair, he would say, since they had paid the price for his power, so they were within their rights to negotiate terms. But those stipulations were always an illusion. He would never enter into a contract truly to his disadvantage, so stipulations were simply a means to gauge a master's fears and desires to be used against them. They're never given in the way that his master would prefer. ]

How gracious. But I would not impose so... I would much rather earn such favor.

[ He may not know what the Regent is, but treating it with the same logic as dealing with his own kind certainly wouldn't hurt. Asking for a concession is unwise and shows weakness, but being granted one is a different matter.

Besides, though he's sour over losing his hard work, the base matter of a meal wasn't anything so special beyond his particular tastes. It might not be his ideal, but it would still be trivial to consume a soul by force. He just didn't have any intention of doing so until absolutely necessary, since he's quite certain it would cause problems that he didn't particularly want to deal with. ]


Though to that note, I am quite curious what sort of regent I am to be serving. Answers in that department have been quite lacking thus far. [ Partially because Sebastian hadn't been willing to be honest about what he was just yet, but. ] What exactly are we serving?

[ It's definitely the "what" that Sebastian is far more interested in. Who it may be doesn't matter to him in the slightest, or at least no more than it does for his masters. It's much more important to know just what sort of creature he'll be dealing with, since he certainly doesn't think it's anything mortal. ]
ktizo: (🎵 e'er our vows endure)

[personal profile] ktizo 2022-08-07 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
"I couldn't judge one's intentions or motives through soul sight. I simply enjoyed it for the beauty of it. Souls look like a light at the heart, you see. When many people gather at once, the sight can be quite the spectacle."

He misses the ability already... but, well, there's not much to be done about it. Moping won't bring it back!
cutlery: please do not take! (soldier finds job after skeleton war)

[personal profile] cutlery 2022-08-07 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
And I you, as it seems we shall have much to talk about. I can only hope that it is not too difficult to find you.

[ He laughs pleasantly, almost half-teasing, since truly, Matt doesn't completely know what he's getting into by offering to teach... It's definitely nothing bad, but more that he's an enthusiastic learner. Give this particular demon the promise of learning something new and interesting and he's just genuinely excited.

Though, to that note, he does look back to the abyss. His humored smile softens to one that's more thoughtful. ]


...Which, I suppose I should head along on my way eventually. There does not seem to be a particular rush for this choice, but my lingering does amount to whimsy.
cutlery: please do not take! (he's a golden deceiver!)

big gay vulture had its time in the sun now it's charles-jeeves era

[personal profile] cutlery 2022-08-07 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She really is an earnest sort, isn't she? He's certainly reminded a bit of some of the staff of the manor who wear their thoughts and feelings so openly (in his view, at least). He certainly finds it much more charming when it's not accompanied by cleaning up all of their equally earnest messes. So when she turns back his way and starts to reach for his arm, he at least offers it as a gentleman would. ]

Then I do so appreciate your company, Jinx. I am sure that the metaphor is such that we are supposed to undertake the journey alone, but...

[ He shrugs with a small laugh ]

That makes it all the better to ignore what we are supposed to do, yes? It is certainly the more interesting choice.
fallingsand: (52;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2022-08-07 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Only Bruno would prefer to actually be a dream and have it stay that way, until he woke up again, safe at home. He was beginning to think that wasn't going to happen so long as he lingered here, however, at this cosmic crossroad. It made him fidget and pick at the already fraying edges of his ruana. ]

Working together? Yeah, yeah, that'd be, uh. Nice. [ Better than him having to figure this out alone. ] I think we have to pick a path to... move on, but I don't really like the look of either of them.
predispose: (pic#15852731)

[personal profile] predispose 2022-08-07 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ for a moment, he registers another's voice, but it is one unfamiliar to him. he blinks up, gaze a little clouded, just slightly out of it. ]

Just a bit. [ Yoojin's voice sounds strained, he wipes at his forehead with the back of his hand. ] I'll get used to it.

[rather, he's waiting on his abilities to kick in. surely then it'll get easier. ]
predispose: (pic#14160304)

zubHOWDY

[personal profile] predispose 2022-08-07 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ oh, the words do seem notably different but he doesn't really pay too much attention. ]

I'd say like me but, he has changed quite a lot growing up... but he's about this tall, [ motions with his hand to be much taller than himself ] black tousled hair, he should have a red lizard marking-- might look more like a tattoo on his face, but it'll move around.

[ a moving tattoo.. ] His name is Han Yoohyun. He might behave grumpily or coldly if he's focused on looking for me.
predispose: (pic#15852811)

[personal profile] predispose 2022-08-07 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
He's still a child, so it's a bit worrying to think he may be wandering around lost...

[ of course, it doesn't come as a possibility that he had arrived without his companion. ]

That's right. It's a cute name, isn't it?

[ don't humor him, he gives out names like an old man. ]
deushexmachina: (pic#15393046)

crossroads

[personal profile] deushexmachina 2022-08-07 10:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[Never easy to know what to say when a man fractures. Jayce winces, his mouth souring from the memory of brutal visions once inflicted upon him. Reaching out to steady the man, ethereal hand on dreamlike shoulder, he speaks with a softness he hopes reassures:]

Hey, now. [No sudden movement.] What do you see?
predispose: (pic#15852881)

[personal profile] predispose 2022-08-07 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ HOW ]

Scenarios? No, I mean actual dungeons, appearing all over the world. That host dangerous monsters but-- you know, high risk, high reward? Only Awakened folks tackle them.

[ scenarios is such a strange term, he's got at least five years knowledge as well and that wasn't really a way to describe their situation. as well as... ]

Star Stream? Is that another guild? Or... [ maybe it's like those strange weirdos working in the background? ]
predispose: (pic#15852857)

[personal profile] predispose 2022-08-07 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Stop, leave his sad stats alone. I think it's funnier that the one he's handling is just gently trying to let him down. Yoojin really doesn't have the strength to fight or compete with them anyways. ]

I don't know how to explain it.

[ there's obvious bite and lashing now with his voice, but Yoojin himself looks surprised by it, as if it was something he hadn't expected. but his emotions are lashing out, twisting under its corruption. he at least looks a bit apologetic from the outburst. ]

Think "dark thoughts."
predispose: please don't take any. (pic#)

[personal profile] predispose 2022-08-07 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ you mean... Korea's second strongest S-rank hunter..... his little brother is obviously first. ]

..I guess so.

[ admittedly, he's considered it too, but once his younger brother shows up he'll obviously guide him to the light instead. they don't need to consider the dark path. ]

You'll have to let me know once you see. [ just assuming hyunjae will go darkside as he himself goes the opposi ofc. ]
heavybreaths: (Thinking)

[personal profile] heavybreaths 2022-08-07 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"The Force."

See? He's helpful.

If eyes on a mask could narrow, they absolutely would. Vader didn't really understand anything that Crane was saying, but he could sense the malice roiling off the man even without supernatural aid. He does sound entirely too proud of himself, and that immediately sets even Vader's teeth on edge. Not because he was sowing fear, but because he was foolish enough to think that hope could be extinguished with the death of a single legend.

Hope was a constant, and he'd grown to see that over the last twenty years. He'd killed the Jedi Knights, one by one, and destroyed a legend that had stood for a thousand generations...and it still hadn't worked. Hope for a better galaxy still burned in him, too, though it was a warped vision of the future. An orderly one, where there was no need for hope or fear.

"I see."

He saw that this man was a fool.

"Perhaps that was all for naught, if your city is indeed only stardust...or perhaps not. We'll need to find civilization, first."
heavybreaths: (Offering)

[personal profile] heavybreaths 2022-08-07 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[He does not entirely understand, but he's willing to accept things on faith. She did not seem the sort to lie about the need to recruit, and if this was some elaborate scheme to kidnap him then he reason she would learn the price of betraying a Dark Lord of the Sith.]

Then, take me to this...Lodestone.

[He reaches for the stone, waiting to see what would happen.]
heavybreaths: (Staring)

[personal profile] heavybreaths 2022-08-07 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[If only you knew, Viktor. If only you knew.]

I am. And it sounds as though you are not.

[He considers...and decides to elaborate. Viktor's been decent company, thus far.]

Does your civilization lack hyperdrives? Or is your world one of those that has yet to reach beyond your atmosphere?

[Those did exist. Adumar stood out to him, but this man did not seem like one of those. Not enough of a popinjay.]