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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!

lockedon: (b037)

[personal profile] lockedon 2022-08-11 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It sure is a long time. And yet somehow Eustace gets the feeling that span of time will be nothing compared to how much longer he'll still have to be here. Provided something else doesn't happen to him first, as it had with this guy.

He keeps his expression neutral, free of any indication that he might feel one way or another about YJH's presence here at the Kenoma lodestone. ]


You were— [ Hm. How best to put this. ] Not on this side, last time.

[ Does he know about the two sides? Had the Pleroma fought over him when he'd first arrived? From what little he knows and from what he's observed, this man doesn't seem to be the type to willingly follow anyone anywhere, but he might also have been knocked out almost immediately and brought here without Pleroma intervention. ]
salvageable: (pic#15332082)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-08-11 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This is his fault. She's openly crying now and Dokja freezes, his own tears forgotten as he moves automatically, arms coming up to hesitantly circle around Sooyoung before finally drawing her into a careful hug. He's never been one for physical contact or even comfort, but he's missed her so terribly much. ]

I'm sorry, [ he repeats as his voice cracks, swallowing around the lump in his throat. ] I'm so sorry.

[ But even hearing her words, her protests, nothing in his mind changes. It really had been the only way to repay back the debts he owed, the lives he had selfishly destroyed, all for the sake of one reader.

He's not worth it. ]


That wasn't just an Avatar... It was me, too. I thought that would be enough.

[ 49% of him... Nearly half. He couldn't bring himself to give more away, but he had hoped they could learn to be happy with what they had. And if not that, then it would at least give him the time to reach his desired ending before they could get to him. ]
regression: (pic#15851394)

[personal profile] regression 2022-08-11 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
If it was a choice last time, I had little choice now.

[ So, yeah, maybe he got knocked out and brought here, or he had underestimated his newly born state. He had struggled well until he got tentacled by another Aion. It's easy to take advantage of the weak and, of course, he's berating himself over his mistake. Anyway, he is aware of there being two sides, at least now.

Grumbling, he tries to latch onto the conversation despite the despair nestling in his core. It's familiar, comfortable in its own way, but it isn't natural—so he has to fight it.
]

Did I have a history?

[ Joonghyuk being like I might need to suffer for crimes I committed, but don't remember. Sounds right. ]
pyojeol: (pic#15855967)

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-08-11 08:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[Dokja draws her into a careful hug and Sooyoung immediately smacks him (weakly) on the chest, then she curls her hands into his shirt and thinks about all those times she's touched dokja, so much of it violent and brief. how she'd stabbed 49% of him, and watched him bleed out.

She won't stab him this time. She feels like he's been stabbed enough,]


You and I both know that it's not enough.

[Because Sooyoung has the Avatar ability, and out of everyone else in their group, only Dokja would really know exactly what that would entail.]

That guy likes tomatoes. He doesn't remember Ways of Survival -- he doesn't even read it on his phone. He's missing memories -- and...

[and then he'd told them how dokja wouldn't have wanted this -- wouldn't have wanted them to regress and look for him again. that the person sooyoung wants so desperately to be fake would be the one person who understands dokja the best.

she sees the irony there, and it makes her cry a little harder -- tears of anger and self-recrimination and embarrassment, and she wants to lash out like always, be a little cruel in return for something that's not even dokja's fault --]


...We went back. Yoo Joonghyuk's Stigma... It let us all regress.
salvageable: (pic#15332057)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-08-11 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah, right. Dokja had needed Ways of Survival to be with him, as selfish as that had been. It was the only way he could make the minutes, days, weeks, years bearable. As long as he was reading, he was fine.

But even that hadn't been enough.

As he rests his chin against the top of her head, he stares down at his scarred hands and remembers the way he'd pressed his fingers to the glass of that subway train in an effort to speed up the process of his decay. He had just been a shell of himself, then, kind of like he is now, all restless energy and a darkness steeped into his gaze that he can't seem to pull himself out of. It's why he had cornered a child here in a weak attempt to reach his desired ending, only for things to have turned out in this way instead.

If he really had died that day in the Veneran church garden, he wouldn't have seen Sooyoung here today.

... Or learned about the group regression. ]


What?

[ Dokja draws back, a look of shock on his face as he pulls away to stare down at Sooyoung. He... had considered it. Not a group regression but considered them coming up with ideas to rescue him, but not like this. To go to such a length... ]

Why would you do that?
pyojeol: (pic#15855974)

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-08-11 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
["Why would you do that?"

The way hearing that makes her even more angry, but also -- well, what would they? why would they go back? why would they do it all over again? she'd been hiding her face the entire time, but she finally looks up at dokja, eyes puffy and red and glaring]


Stupid. Why wouldn't we? What else were we gonna do?

[live happily and in peace??? no, sooyoung would never -- and she hadn't let the others live peacefully either, which is a thought she wants to avoid thinking -- she can stand here in front of dokja and think of all the ways she's failed, but she doesn't want to. she's so tired.

she could say 'because we love you' but she thinks of her other self writing her fingers down to the bone, writing a novel for dokja's happiness without ever asking if he'd wanted something like that, and she mentally recoils,

so instead of telling that THEY LOVE HIM, she rubs at her eyes,]


Anyway, it was Yoo Joonghyuk's idea in the first place. You're gonna have to ask him why.
vapour: (pic#15275733)

[personal profile] vapour 2022-08-11 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes," he replies matter-of-factly. At least, that is what Childe believes because the Regent has said the cycle will begin anew after Horos has ended. He has several theories on how that might be, including perhaps this world is the last one that the Kenoma hasn't devoured so everything will be reborn anew once it does, to others such as the Regent will see to it that their worlds for their services are restored properly, should they desire it to be so.

What he actually answers with, however, is more down to earth.

"We don't know. Some of us think our worlds gone, others don't. Some Pleroma believe defeating the Regent will bring back their homes, Some Kenoma think the end of world by the Regent is the only possible way bring anything back at all. Formwise, we don't know either. The Regent has not been exact with us on the matter, but I can't tell for what reason."

There's a pause. "There is one thing that is fact, however. If our worlds are gone, the Kenoma is what devoured them." That's a dealbreaker for many of the Pleroma right off the bat.
redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

[personal profile] redsoil 2022-08-11 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ haughty is the nice way of saying that he sounds like a whole freaking bastard man. which he is. ]

Mascara -- ?

[ oh, this child is referring to his mesdemet; having not seen himself yet, he has no way of verifying his appearance and it is pleasing to note that the strange rebirth of his being hasn't divested him of all his divine beauty. it's important to look good, higher and more beautiful than any mortal being - such was the duty of the gods! all the same, it's nice to know it wasn't removed or smeared in any way. reapplying it would be a pain without a mirror, and who really knew when he'd be able to look upon himself once again. ]

How audacious of you to speak to me that way, [ he scowls, leveraging himself out of the shattered fold of his crystal. one leg slips free, the other snagged on the towers within his little prison. chrysalis. crystalis, whatever! come closer so he can beat you up, jotaro rex. ]

You're no adherent of mine, that you don't recognize me! Don't tell me you don't recognize a god [ demigod ] in your midst.
himbomb: (10)

cw: drugs

[personal profile] himbomb 2022-08-11 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
God?

[While it's true, Rex hasn't lived for very long, having only survived eighteen trips around the sun, he has witnessed a variety of strange occurrences in his four solid years of professional superhero-dom. At the very least, he doesn't doubt the other man's claims, having gone toe-to-toe with demons, aliens, and witches, and holding a grudge against each and every single one of those supernatural beings, albeit for different reasons.

Rex's brutish exterior hardly fades, although his irritated snarl morphs into a snicker. He gives the deity a wholly obvious once-over, the kind that is more objectifying than revelatory by far.

He lets out a low whistle. Rex wouldn't openly admit that he's also into men, but he can't help himself.

He's got a penchant for anything pretty. Especially redheads.
]

Of what?

[Clearly, he's unimpressed. Gods, aliens, witches, demons? None of that shit matters anymore. After going toe to toe with that horrifying Giant Hairball, this guy doesn't seem like he's anywhere on the same plane.

You'd think Rex would've learned his lesson after Monster Girl, but no! Of course he hasn't.
]

Skank city, or crystal meth?

Then again, you're a little too pretty to be the patron saint of crystal. You got any friends named Molly?

Or, uh, y'know! All of your front teeth?
redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

[personal profile] redsoil 2022-08-11 11:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ignoring the way his skin initially prickles into gooseflesh when rex gives him that too-familiar once-over, set does his best to spread his arms and press on the crystal alongside his hips - working to free his ankle from the confines of the stupid prison without giving away that he's, uh, a little trapped. it's not for mortal eyes to see anything less than precise grace, and were he still divinely crowned, he'd skewer this youth's on his sands for even remotely witnessing him in any state less than in perfect control.

all he can do right now is squirm, absolutely unbothered by his nudity. or the way he's viewed, because his body is a fucking gift to mortals, let them look all they please. worship him! ]


You rascal, [ he hisses, half-irritated and half-amused by rex's persistent heresy. ] You're being willful in your ignorance, don't mock your superiors.

[ he bares his teeth delightedly, viciously -- perfect and whole and with some rather prominent eyeteeth. boy's got some fangs on him. ]

I am the god of the desert, divine warlord of Egypt --! Come over here and I'll show you how many teeth I have!
himbomb: (26)

hello, please nobody look at me, or him, or anything (cw: sexual harassment)

[personal profile] himbomb 2022-08-11 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a Guardian of the Globe, baby! If I can die for whoever, I can diss 'em, too.

[Rex is content to grin wickedly as this so-called "god" struggles to free himself of what the superhero would consider your standard goopdy-bop trap.]

Now that sounds like the kind of threat I can get behind.

[The Guardian of the Globe has fought many a battle, although he does stop to wonder why this guy doesn't look... A little more like spends time on the Egyptian sun? But if he is a god as he so claims, perhaps most of his days are spent above it all.]

So you're the god of sand, basically?

[He lets out a raspy chuckle, which certainly shouldn't belong to a normal boy his age. Rex's vocal chords were weathered in the experiments that created him.

That created Rex Splode, anyway.
]

La-ay-ay-ame.

If you were the god of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, you'd at least've been a good time, probably!

Now you're just a whiny little bitch. Bummer!
Edited 2022-08-11 23:23 (UTC)
wildrawr: (pic#15860117)

[personal profile] wildrawr 2022-08-11 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"Who's 'they'?"

He makes no comment on the not having to fight thing. While normally he'd be ready make it a clear point that he's more than capable of fighting and a kid doesn't need to be suggesting he's not, it's not even worth it.

He has to deal with a very serious issue that has nothing to do with being here, and everything to do about his daughter, Kaede, being gone. It's bad enough to acknowledge his friends and other family are gone, bad enough to acknowedge Bunny's gone— but this just feels like...it's a pain he can't describe and refuses to show to anyone. His failure is none of anyone's business, but now that he can't pretend this is a joke anymore, he can't muster up any cheerful behavior that's normal for him. Soon, it'll be fine. But for the moment, it doesn't matter.

He's made so many mistakes, screwed up so many things, and had plenty of regrets of his own—but never was one of things failing to protect his daugther.

"—Nevermind, I don't really care right now and you're too busy, anyway," Kotetsu suddenly answers, suddenly moving away from Hiccup like being around another individual is the last place he wants to be. He'll offer a wave over his shoulder, at least, with a less standoffish response than he initially gave, at least, in follow up, but that's it.

"Thanks for the other info, take care." Might as well not make enemies if he can help. Kotetsu will just have to figure out how to get out of this place and to the top by himself; a long walk and wandering around never hurt anyone with a lot on his mind, anyway.

Just how is he supposed to come to terms that Kaede is gone, but he's is still alive?]
redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

(ง'̀-'́)ง (ง'̀-'́)ง (ง'̀-'́)ง (ง'̀-'́)ง

[personal profile] redsoil 2022-08-11 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ THE AUDACITY!!!!!! ]

Do you think there's shame in being the master of the lands of Egypt?

[ in knowing everything within its domain, from the first grain of sand to the last? in being the guardian of the greatest realm in the world, fighting its wars and defending it from foreign invaders? without him, there was no egypt -- in his mind, at least. the thought swells within him, the pride he'd always felt a burning ember amidst the wreckage of so many things that once were. no mortal will be able to curtail how he feels about his home.

he is very pale for an egyptian, though none of it matters really -- this is the form his mother shaped for him and he is as he was intended to be. ]


Ridiculous. You are the most ridiculous thing I've met in my existence!

[ that foreign man might have counted, but at least he knew his place. ]

And tacky.
himbomb: (27)

[personal profile] himbomb 2022-08-11 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Fuck yeah I do! You really could've got somethin' better, man! Seriously!

[Rex is going to saunter over to the god's crystal prison, kneeling down to get a good look at his... Um, state of entrapment. It's true, clad head to toe in a highlighter-colored, flame-resistant supersuit, the explosive hothead really does scream TACKY.

Can you believe that this is the revamped design? The one that Rex submitted to Art as per his childhood imagination was worse.
]

I mean... Sand?! And not the even the beachy kind, 'neither! You got jipped on the whole eternal lottery thing, sooooo hard, Carrot Top. Speakin' of which, yeesh, the carpet really does match the drapes.

[There's a pause here while Rex chews his lower lip, considering his options. Usually, he'd be greatly offended by the tiniest jab at his appearance, but he is oh-so-distracted.]

Say whatcha want about the suit!

I'm the only one who looks any good in it. Aaaaand it's the only thing that can keep from turnin' to ash when I use my powers, so! Aaaaah-yeah.

[Owlishly, Rex turns his head to the side.]

If I help ya outta this hard candy deathtrap, do I get a wish?

Do gods do the whole genie thing? Or is that different...

[YES! YES IT IS]
Edited 2022-08-11 23:56 (UTC)
bingos: (00_0009_92179993_p8_master1200)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-12 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
What do you mean? Doesn't everyone arrive in the crystal?

[ She - they- might get more why the other thinks it unfair if it wasn't just... Natural. To Hawkmon who'd always been waiting to meet Miyako and for Miyako who felt he'd always been there. It's natural they would have come together, even if she's not sure.

She thinks about it and shakes her head: ]


It's like everyone has them... but everyone hasn't met them yet? My older sisters have met their Digimon partners, but my brother hasn't. It is becoming more and common, but Digimon come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of cute and coolness.

[ Read: there's poop monsters. ]
bingos: (00_0010_92179993_p7_master1200)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-12 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ If only Vader knew who the real impulsive one was - Hawkmon nods. ]

Correct.

[ The response certainly sounds proud of the fact - as if there's no partner better to the bird than Miyako. He understands her heart, which though it wavered in the moment - fear of fighting once more in unknown conditions lingering in her heart. No less accepted. And it's with a certain amount of will to push through her own thoughts that she pipes up, tries for an easy smile: ]

This isn't the first time we've had to help save the world together, after all!
rosethorns: (03)

[personal profile] rosethorns 2022-08-12 12:18 am (UTC)(link)
[Spirited away from home in this undignified state to end up goddess knows where? Exhausted enough that even the most basic of magic seems to be eluding her? Finding herself right in the middle of a brawl between strangers that she could hardly decide which of whom to trust? Dorothea is decidedly not happy with this whole mess, and she’s got half a mind to simply take her chances and try to make a run for it while the two of them are distracted with each other.

Well, at least until it’s clear that she hasn’t escaped their attention when she suddenly feels the incredibly odd sensation of her hand turning to stone.

It catches her off guard, as focused as she is on her disconcerting lack of self-defense, and she can’t help the surprised (and entirely undignified) yelp it pulls from her in response. She makes a very short and futile attempt to pry her fingers apart before the sudden fear that she might do herself harm in the process puts that to a stop quickly.

Panic and frustration spur her into scrambling for the nearest bit of crystal she can grab with her good hand.]


Don’t drag me into your little feud!

[And she proceeds to hurl it in the direction of the tussling strangers.

At who, exactly? Who knows!

…Perhaps that hadn’t been the wisest course of action.]
bingos: (pic#15854357)

[personal profile] bingos 2022-08-12 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Miyako nods - Deciding that speaking wasn't something she wanted to do right now or else she would scream. She's not mature enough or adult enough for this - She never had been before and now... For someone who's best with keeping moving, she doesn't even want to do that.

She does anyway, though, stuffing her own thoughts down into blinkingly teary eyes - Because she can't really do that. Not with the voice in her head. Reminding her of all the things she knew and just wanted to overcome. Or of how pointless this really all is - after all, what's the point if the world's been destroyed?

She does pick up the apples though, holding one tightly as she brushed a hand across her eyes off-handedly, like someone wiping away sweat than what they really want. And she answers, instead, because the thing that gets to her most is this:]


I just want to see my family.
rosethorns: (01)

[personal profile] rosethorns 2022-08-12 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
[That draws a short, tired laugh from her.]

Oh, I'm quite used to doing just that.

[Hope is perhaps the one thing that's managed to spur her on thus far in life. And it may very well be the one thing allowing her to keep her head on straight in this whole mess.]

Sounds like I should take advantage of the downtime while I wait, then. [She sighs, but manages to force a smile.] Thank you, by the way, for taking the time to indulge me and my questions. I'm sure you're plenty enough busy here as it is.
lockedon: (078)

anyway. for real this time.

[personal profile] lockedon 2022-08-12 12:52 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's a faint look of....pain? regret? that briefly flickers across his face. His voice dips quieter, almost imperceptibly. ]

More of a choice than now.

[ They'd all been given the same vials back then, filled with the same nauseating sludge that had burrowed deep into their veins and left them sick for more than just a few days. But there'd been less of a division back then between Pleroma and Kenoma, and the land they'd been confined in had been more neutral than now.

The question itself is a valid question to ask, though unfortunately if he's expecting any sort of detailed answer he'll be left wanting. ]


As for your history, I wouldn't know. We only met a handful of times.

[ The first time had been a fight and the second had been a shared hallucination. Neither had been particularly pleasant. ]
snakeandfangs: (pic#15630243)

[personal profile] snakeandfangs 2022-08-12 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
I think... if I had the chance to stay here longer, I would.

[ he's not sure what awaits this man. ]

At least here, there's some kind of peace. Everywhere else, there's none of that.

[ toge closes his eyes. he breathes in, breathes out. ]

I'd call it a respite for sure.
appeale: (you should obviously know)

dreaming

[personal profile] appeale 2022-08-12 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ between the light and the dark, neither feels like the safe path to Rudbeckia. of course she's afraid of the dark; what could she ever fear more than the bleak unknown? of course she's afraid of the light; what could she ever fear more than blinding exposure? there's no awe or admiration to be had for the vast and beautiful expanse of space that looms before her as she stands there, frozen with terror, her heart beating rabbit-fast to drive her towards survival when there's none in sight.

in the end, what makes her decision is seeing somebody — anybody — who might keep her afloat. ]


Oh— W-Wait, please! [ she lunges towards the stranger, even as he dismisses her. her hands are clasped tightly to her chest, and she doesn't reach to touch him; with the imperious way he speaks, she might risk being backhanded for laying a hand on him. if he doesn't give her any other choice, she'll make a grab for him, but— ] Can't we walk together? Or— If I could just follow behind...

[ she doesn't care which path it is. ]
salvageable: (pic#15733332)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-08-12 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ For the first time in a very, very long time, Dokja feels the faintest flicker of hope. As much as it fills him with despair to hear that everyone had chosen to regress, his heartbeat picks up in speed, the pounding of it reaching his ears. He can't understand why they've done such a thing, but more than anything, he wishes he could read that story.

See them one more time.

Tell them they did a good job. That they suffered a lot.

And then the pounding of his heart is replaced with a static white noise at what Sooyoung says next.

Dokja's hands go to her shoulders, and he momentarily forgets how to breathe. What had she said? What had she said... It's not enough that Sooyoung is in this place, but him too? ]


... Yoo Joonghyuk is here...?

[ He immediately glances up and to the sides, as if expecting the other man to be there. If Sooyoung is here, then he can't be far, isn't that right? Don't tell Dokja that the bastard ran off on his own again... ]
entsetzt: (scarecrowicon10)

[personal profile] entsetzt 2022-08-12 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
Crane considers this. That his world is gone, and he possibly its only survivor, and that the force that did it now wants—no, is demanding—he assist in completing that work. That there are no guarantees that the world that replaces it will be better, or that there will be a place in it for him.

"A pity it chose to devour my world when it did. The timing was...inconvenient for me." The Dark Knight unmasked, but not yet driven to terror so all the world could see him broken down and beaten, no legend, not a beacon of hope, just a man alone, betrayed or abandoned by his allies, crippled with fear. Crane had won, but his victory was not yet complete, and that thought irks him.

But if the world is gone, then perhaps Crane might have a say in how the new one is built...one more favourable to him. And it seems there's only one way to do that.

"If this Kenoma saved me, then the rest does not really matter in the end." He says, shrugging off the death of his world and possibly all its other people. "I have no interest in bringing back what was."

Crane leans forward, resting his elbows on his now thankfully-covered knees. "Take me to this Regent and I shall help you finish the job."
pyojeol: (pic#15871039)

yuul im crying im so sad

[personal profile] pyojeol 2022-08-12 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Sooyoung watches him closely.

She still can't read him. Losing him and wanting to save him hasn't fixed that, but -- she thinks... She thinks she can, maybe a little?

Is he sad? Or is he happy?

Then his hands go up to her shoulders, and the shock appears on his face -- this one far easier to read. The look of hesitance on her face too, as she turns her gaze down and mumbles, loud enough to hear.]


...He should be. I saw him in that dream... But he wasn't where I woke up. Ugh. He probably ran into the forest butt naked like the idiot he is.

[Does she feel responsible? She does. She'd been the one who told Yoo Joonghyuk to walk that path with her. Isn't she responsible for where it might have led him?

...She's worried, damn it. She found Dokja and lost Joonghyuk. She hates them both so much.]