beleos: (Default)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenosooc2024-01-12 02:07 pm

JANUARY TDM + SETTING UPDATES


BEARING FRUIT (NEW CHARACTERS ONLY)
It starts out as a pleasant dream. You’re in your favorite place, with your favorite people. It’s a moment of idyllic comfort.
And then, it goes wrong. The sky turns dark above, and as you look up, you see the black expanse of space spotted with faraway pinprick lights of stars. Yet, they’re not stars. You’re certain. They’re watching you. A billion eyes all looked down, and they spilled forth as if the sky itself was a dam holding back those dark waters. You reach back to the people you’re with, but they’re frozen in place. Their eyes are black, reflecting only the expanse of dark eyes. Their bodies jerk, and convulse, as if controlled by puppet strings, reaching out to try to grip your hand, your shoulder, your wrist, but you know you should pull away. Something iswrong. If fingers or appendages meet your skin, there is a chill, that runs up your body, from the tips of your toes, up your spine, a full-body experience of wrongness. Would your loved ones feel like this, when they reach out?

So you run, even though you know you won’t escape it. You glance back and see it not overtaking, but consuming. The landscape around you is being devoured, and you can see it cracking apart. The world itself is breaking, and it cracks under your feet. You fall, and the billion eyes chase after you until the darkness swallows you whole. It's coming for you, it will not stop, it will not relent, and there is nothing that can be done. What a fool you were, for ever thinking you could escape. There’s agony as if you’re being ripped apart, and then—

You cannot see. You cannot feel. You simply are. Yet even so, impossibly, a woman’s voice speaks gently.

I’m sorry it couldn’t be saved. But, come, it’s time to wake.
Your senses come to you slowly. Are you here for days? Weeks? Longer? It is difficult to say. All that you are is inert, and still. You can feel parts of you that form, but they hurt, like your body is fighting through a layer of...something. Something that keeps you from a gentle regrowth. You feel a chill, next to your heart, and while your form grows, it also fights, trying to both find a form and fight against some darkness that clings to you, like it's trying even now to consume your soul. It has a taste of it, you can tell, though not enough to take from you. Enough to know you, and while your body grows, this darkness slowly, slowly ebbs away, as if it can no longer touch you when you are whole. Something protects you, a presence. You can sense it, just like you can start to sense the presence of others. Some are close by, you can tell, winking in and out of existence just like you are. Falling in and out of consciousness like you do, as you are all collectively regrown. A groaning, creaky voice hums in your ear, with breaths that thrum and hum, like a gentle summer breeze through the leaves, and it tells you: Try to reach them. Welcome their calls. Can you hear them? Through communion. Your emotions are laid bare, in this space. Will you allow them to project? Will you try to control them? Will you reach out to your fellow new bearers, and soothe their own worries, or exacerbate their fears?

Eventually, after a long time, you wake with a start, cradled by soft, velvety plants, and sticky with a sap that smells faintly of honey and iron, an acrid scent lingers, like the edge of rot that has been swept away. You can see the veins of the leaves that hold you, lit warmly and gently by what looks like a crystal embedded above you. Yet, it’s odd, because that crystal calls to you. When you reach out to touch it, it’s warm. Familiar. Important. You don’t know why, but you know you must hold onto this because now it feels wrong for it to be suspended in these leaves. So, you pull it out.

The light starts to fade, but only in time to see as the leaves cradling you immediately start to soften and crumble, and with it comes a torrent of dirt. Soft, loamy soil starts to fill the space around you in the dark as you’re buried. Or, rather, you already were. You reach out through the dirt desperately, and your hands finds a root, so you pull while you clutch that precious crystal so close that it almost feels like it sinks into you (in your panic, you don’t notice that it does). You reach out again, and this time, your hand hits open air, and plenty of sturdy roots around to grab.

From a seed you’re born, and like a sprout, you make your way out of the ground.

And once you’ve clawed your way out of the soft earth and the roots, nearby, you see the soil shift. Another hand comes up to grasp desperately for something, anything, just as you had been.


A LITTLE ISLAND HOPPING
With the new Shard-Bearers present or en route, it is Kathova and Cetina who approach the established ones, requesting that they form mentorships with the new souls to assist them with the integration process. To this end, they have both provided a centralized zone in both Highstorm and Springstar for a series of small, seemingly casual gatherings, they happen over the span of a week, so new visitors can get the chance to spend time in both cities before they make a decision.

Additionally, as Springstar and Highstorm are holding their events over multiple days, the knowledge-hungry can participate in both informational sessions -- the tones and opinions held by both cities are doubtless to differ.

For those established bearers of the opposite faction, however, your faces are known amongst the populations of our sister cities, especially the administrators of both Meridian and Zenith, and if you try to attend the parties of either city, you will be turned away, with varying levels of aggression, depending on your tier of harmonization. New bearers are free to notice if someone tries! It seems you've stumbled your way into an escalating war.

SPRINGSTAR, αιώνιος ήλιος

In Springstar, the seat of the Tribune becomes available for such an event. While a section of the building itself has been reserved for the meeting between fresh faces and experienced Shard-Bearers alike, the hustle and bustle of Heliopolis continues around them -- acolytes still gather their robes and tomes, hurrying from their quarters to lessons. A score of young militants march in step across the yard to the training grounds. The higher-ups amongst Meridian have taken it upon themselves to wrap up their Year's End and New Year's festivities with a celebration of their recent victory over the Harbinger Oracle, as well as a celebration of the possibility of new shard-bearers. One does not have to attend every day, but Springstar's celebrations do tend to be multi-day affairs, and everyone from the scholars to the titled nobility seems keen on greeting new bearers. The tribune himself, Cyrus, welcomes bearers with a rousing speech at midday each day, speaking of their victories and their battle to stand for the worlds now lost. His speeches are met with polite applause, but is it a bit lacking in enthusiasm? Cyrus seems to brush it off with little offense, but perhaps you notice, that his eyes crinkle slightly, and he may look a touch... sad.

The celebrations are in the Seat of the Tribune, with tables draped in white-and-gold-trimmed fabrics fare filled with fare typical to Springstar's slowly brightening summer -- platters of hard crumbly cheeses and stuffed doulmades, roasted meats and fish, like souvlaki and psari plaki. There are plenty of grains and other dishes that elude to the abundance of both Springstar and Alenroux, and bearer efforts there.. The atmosphere is ambient with informality and friendliness, though topics will inevitably stray towards philosophic or political, Springstar's meeting grounds are decorated with handsome chaise lounges and slouching klismos chairs in small, intimate groupings. This is a forum in the classical sense, where people are encouraged to speak freely, no matter the topic. Though excitement charges the air, the gathering at the Seat is much more muted than what transpires outside the center of the city.

The church, too, celebrates the victory. Now that the Year's End celebrations have passed, the head of the church, Hieropoios Natalia Theodora Vaso Helios offers proclamations daily to those who will attend. Her tone has turned in tone toward driving forward, for now, that they have two Oracles of 3, Meridian's light is in favor, and she offers blessings and venerations toward the bearers who support their efforts to restore worlds. Bearers who attend these masses will feel their discord ebb from her words alone, and their shards will feel warm to the touch for some time afterward, even if they are not harmonized. If they ask anyone within the church, they will be told that it is Meridian's light filling them.

One would assume after a victory, that the mood elsewhere in Springstar is jubilant, but while there is still the occasional party outside in the summer sun in the Psychagogía district, there is a hushed tenseness to the city of eternal-sun. Stay too long, and you will eventually find the reason why, when scared locals speak of disappearing friends or family members, and there are whispered rumors of attacks. Some accuse the denizens of the Below, and others whisper about monsters in the dark. Though they have captured the latest oracle, the hope that normally follows such excitement is... tentative, at best.

HIGHSTORM, луны-близнецы

Eternally in opposition, Highstorm uses the manor's courtyard as the location for a series of events over the next week, inviting bearers new and old to join them in celebration. The members of the Highstorm council have set the small gathering in the court beneath Yima's tree, and next to the reflecting pools. The Lady Yima herself is in attendance and oversees the gathering from the balcony of her manor above. She will visit the grounds sparingly, generally when a new bearer is afoot, but she will direct any questions to either Kathova, or her more established Zenites, as she has many people to greet. Though she will take the moment to hold each new bearer's hand that visits and tell them each: "You have the potential to hold the key to a new, and better world. We believe in what you can do, and what strength you will find in Kenos. Let the memories of your loved ones, and your world, guide you to the right path, and know that your loss will be honored when we achieve our new world," before she glides away.

There are few places to be seated in the Manor's courtyard, resulting in bodies milling about as they flow and ebb between smaller gatherings, clustering in small-to-large groups with small platters and shimmering flutes of drink held in their hands. Yet, as you look, you’ll see that the selection is also quite interesting. The foods and drinks on offer are from a multitude of worlds, and so you may find a new favorite! Or something not suited to your palate at all. It’s at least a chance to be adventurous. If you try something and don’t like it, might not want to say that out loud, lest you insult someone who’s from that world. More established Zenites are encouraged to attend to help draw in new Zenites, and both new and old inductees alike are encouraged to speak about what their vision of a new world would look like. The reflecting pool itself is at the center of the courtyard, and if one looks in, they can see their memories reflected back at them. Though... if you look for too long, something seems to try and reach out for you. Can you feel the allure of dark fingertips, ready to brush against your face? If you stare too long, an attendant will pull the bearer back, just before they land right in the pool, offering unsettling remarks of “that has been happening more lately, the last person it happened to disappear. We even drained the pool, but couldn’t find them!

Further into Highstorm, the Greenwood Yards attracts many visitors during the dead of Highstorm's winter. The doors are (proverbially, we can't let the heat out!) open, to bearers new and old alike. Attendants there will explain that this season is the best for starting some of the seeds that will grow well into early and mid-spring, but most seeds need warmth to grow. They will ask visitors to find a partner, to hold their combined hands together, and to offer shared warmth to the seed, and they will explain that seeds grow best when they come from the combined care of more than one individual. Bearers will eventually have to separate, but they will notice that the small seed in their palms has started to sprout. Visitors will also be welcome to turn fertilizer with the laborers at the yards (What's in it? Don't worry about it!) and there will be sessions held by the staff on the local flora and fauna, so consider this your primer on the native plants and animals of Kenos!

The denizens of Highstorm are putting out their bells and whistles for the new bearers, as they have less to fear in the streets (or do they...?) so feel free to stop by Benny's -- watch out for any fights, or participate, I'm not your mom -- or feel free to visit the Tomes, where a certain coffee shop has opened up a cart in the largest library in the district, offering drinks to comers and goers, which are becoming quite popular. This particular barista often offers drinks based on their shards, but as a little winter pick-me-up for the denizens of Highstorm, there are several new drinks offered for visitors! They even have a menu on display for bearers to select from!
CHEERS TO A NEW YEAR

  • Springstar Sunrise - One using the crushed vines that populate Springstar in their warm season, which makes bearers want to reach out and hold hands.
  • Scorching Slowdown - One using water from the Scorching Isles that makes bearers grow cold, and time seems to warp around them. (This one DOES contain a modified touch of the Blight that bearers once healed, but if brought up, an attendant will shake their head, and impress upon the patron a sense of calm. It will not hurt you.)
  • Xanadu Xing - that makes bearers feel warm and totally relaxed. A spa in a cup, and you’ll feel like you had a therapy session afterward!
  • Worlds Edging - A drink that makes bearers start to feel...amorous. (The Aphro Drink)
  • Highstorm Hiccup - A whimsical drink that gives the bearer hiccups! Do they float a little? Yeah, but there’s no fans over your heads, don’t worry
  • Pastoral Punch - A fruity concoction, it’s made from the crops in Alenroux (think a Sangria) and when drank, it fills bearers with warm memories, and reverie comes easy.
  • Yima Yammer - a tongue-in-cheek drink, it fills a bearer with the uncontrollable urge to talk
  • Cyrus Concussion - This drink puts bearers into a deep sleep. They have pleasant, warm dreams.

ALENROUX

The pastoral farmlands of Alenroux are seeing a resurgence of life and community, since the establishment of combined Meridian and Zenith forces, and the subsequent attempts to eliminate or displace the monsters that ravaged the island at night. With a more stable population, some of the workers have established homes, and have started opening their doors in the sunny, lush farmland, which is reachable by cornerstone, and oddly? Alenroux has taken to advertising their new interest in tourism. The small farming village has started establishing shops with wares, crafts, cooking classes, and wine tastings, pretty much an agro-tourist's dream! Drink beverages crafted by refugees from distant worlds, or dishes from other worlds! Bearers are encouraged to visit, and stay the night with a multitude of Alenroux's homes opening their doors for bearers to stay in their Bed and Breakfasts.

However, while the days are 24 hours long, so are the nights. Alenroux natives do not leave their homes, and staying in for a full day's time can feel like an eternity. You'll have time to get to know your hosts, but the night is haunted by the cries and howls of monsters in the distance, particularly on the north end of the island. Should a bearer step outdoors, they will find monsters still roaming. Take one on, if you dare, but watch out! Shadow creatures lurk until you least expect it, and may try to lure you in with a familiar voice, a soft promise, the lingering scent of a loved one. What you find in the woods might be just a run-of-the-mill big monster to fight, or it might be something deadlier, a shadow, mimicking a loved one, trying to draw you into the darkness.

KOWLOON

Though Kowloon is something of an open secret amongst those in Springstar, it was normally left to lay in the belly underneath the sunsoaked city topside, like an afterthought. Only those who already knew where it was, could make their way through the dangerous maze of tunnels and corridors that leads from the Springstar sewers, down into the Below, and then further into Kowloon. The Below is dangerous to all but the most powerful, as in the dark corridors, creatures lurk, and people make dens and nests within. Some will warn new bearers away, citing that there are Dark Things within the tunnels and that they don’t encourage anyone to stay down there for long. If you remain unharmonized, it's recommended that a guide assists you on the way down. Fellow shard-bearers who visit frequently are recommended, but particularly savvy types can find their way down on their own.

Kowloon itself is a thriving little beating heart underground, and much like its namesake, it truly is just a built-up city within a scant few blocks, the buildings are densely packed, and ascend to over 14 stories high. It’s massive, enough to occupy a large number of oddities, such as a hunting ground for monsters, and there are bars, clubs, casinos, and shops with wares from very nearly anywhere. Though if you ask where they get them, the owners of said establishments will dodge the question, or outright threaten you when pressed. Bearers will find that there are varying degrees of openness in Kowloon, after all. Don't ask too many questions, or you may not like how they answer. Kowloon is a place where you can satisfy your every vice, and that is meant truly. There are weapons dealers, drug halls, exotic liquors, and substances that could fill innumerable universes. Every world has its shadowy elements, and every world's shady types have made their way down here.

SETTING UPDATES
In both locations, information passes between all in a forum, spread and disseminated among the masses - it's a good opportunity for city residents, faction loyalists, and interested new parties to share and share alike. Once a day, after the meet-and-greets have concluded, twin missives from both faction leads are read out -- invitations for all present to explore the cities to their heart's content, and warnings about stumbling ill-prepared ( or at all ) into the Below, or worse yet, the Beyond. As Shard-Bearers new and old take in their cities, they'll all see it change throughout the month...

OOC, these are all updates to the setting at large that players both new and old are free to interact with as little or as much as they wish! Feel free to use them as prompts on this post, in your characters' on-going lives and arcs, or just let them go "That's none of my business" and ignore it. The world of Kenos is shaped by our playerbase, and these are some of the wider-reaching effects of various player plots and actions.

TRY TO JOT DOWN A FEW NOTES

As part of New Year's gifts to everybody, Yima and Cyrus gifted bearers with an enchanted notebook. They are embossed with your characters' names, and have some unusual properties. Bearers can now send each other little letters or notes, or they can address the group at large, should they wish to! This essentially serves as a network function. Please check out the AC requirements for more information about these special new gifts.

FRONT PAGE NEWS

After the last Oracle, both cities are abuzz with gossip. Normally, the oracle appearances were wrapped in secrecy, only the bearers themselves were privy to the internal happenings, and accounts tend to be scattered, as it's always relied on what the bearers can share. This time, the oracles were broadcast to the population at large, and bearer opinions have shifted wildly, based on how successful a bearer was. New bearers may hear the off-the-cuff snide comment about some bearers here and there, and they'll notice that the cities are not very welcoming to bearers of the opposite faction. The public opinion seems to be shifting as half of the oracles are captured, and their fates are being written by bearers new and old.

DON'T LOOK TOO CLOSE TO THE SHADOWS

Be wary, bearers. Whatever patches of darkness and shadow you encountered in the Harbinger's Labyrinth, seems to be making its way across Kenos. Things like patches of shadow against a building, the slightest flash of a familiar face rounding a corner, or even hearing your name called by a name long gone. Something is trying to reach you and tempt you to find it. The shadows are hungry. For something, and bearers new and old alike will be fine feasting for whatever reaches from the shadows. Step carefully, and watch your backs.

AAH! REAL MONSTERS

If the cities didn't have enough to deal with, Springstar is taking the most hits. The city of sun may not be dealing with as many patches of darkness (for truly, Meridian's light touches all) but that does not mean that there is no danger within the city of eternal sun. Attacks by people such as vampires, ghouls, and other intelligent, people-eating races are on the rise, and fearful whispers hint that they are coming from the Below, some even suggest that this is the hint that the balance is shifting. Kowloon has always existed with relatively little strife toward Springstar, but that seems to be changing. Be wary on the streets of Springstar, bearers, you may find that lurking around the corner are hungry murderers of varying levels of danger. The attacks are not... constant, but they have begun to increase in frequency. By this time in the month, they are moving to several times a day, and the legionnaires are having difficulty keeping up with the attacks. Even one of the more well-known Meridian higher-ups, Agapitos Voreen, has been seen fighting in the streets, flanked by his second, a large, emerald dragon-born woman. All of these combined efforts have not yet been able to turn the tide, and it's clear that Kowloon was always a threat, but one that until recently, had been kept well in hand.
OOC NOTES
  • Welcome to Kenos! As a reminder, all new players need to submit a request, and proceed through player screening to apply to the game. Apps are now open!
  • This log is Game Canon. Any characters who are not apped to the game will disappear. If Cyrus or Yima are asked, they’ll explain that this sometimes happens since not every soul has a strong tether to Kenos and sometimes return to the Timestream. They may return to Kenos one day, but for now, weren’t able to make the full journey.
  • As a note primarily for current players, closed toplevels/prompts are not allowed in this log. If you would like to interact with the setting changes in a way that isn't open to all characters (new and old), we ask that you instead make a log in [community profile] kenoslogs.

  • FOR NEW PLAYERS:

  • When characters emerge from their cocoon/the ground, they may be wearing their normal clothes or nude. Up to you!
  • At some point in the days after leaving the Tree of Life, new Shard-Bearers will have a dream, even if they're usually not capable of sleeping. All new players should read this post since this details how they'll learn about both factions and their goals and should help them make a decision about which Faction they'd be drawn to.
  • Characters who arrive and harmonize to Zenith will receive a bonus token!
  • When meeting with either Cetina or Kathova, along with their shard or sunbeam, they will be given a Kenotebook! Think of this as your text-based comm. (This is also opt-out, so if you want it to not be ready/lost, go for it!) Any AC with the Kenotebook must be doubled, so make sure you are aware of that!
  • As a reminder, your character has a Shard somewhere on their body that encompasses their soul, so keep note of where you're sticking it on their person for reference! Additionally, they have a tattoo of their Aspect somewhere on their body. Please be mindful this Aspect will be assigned to you upon approval and whatever you choose for the TDM may be temporary (for new characters)!
  • For the Island Hopping prompts, all locations will be fully open and accessible to all characters once they are freed from their rather harrowing ordeal at the Tree of Life. For prompt ideas and any general information about the cities and what you can find there, please see the Locations section of our Wiki!
  • New characters will not have access to any canon abilities on the TDM until they Harmonize, AKA make a choice of which faction they choose to support. For some characters, this may be an easy decision, but it make take others time. We just ask you keep this in mind!

  • CODING
    sheezit: (s10)

    [personal profile] sheezit 2024-01-15 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Ah, no dream yet. This is going to complicate matters, but he'll do his best. ]

    Afraid not. [ A shake of his head, his smile sad and empathetic. ] It'd be a lot easier if it was all just an illusion, but this is as real as you and me.

    [ He falls silent for a moment, fishing for words. It's probably best to deliver the news in small increments... ]

    This place... it's called Kenos. And if you've made it here, it's because the world as you knew it is gone-- or that's what we're told, anyway.
    escardos: (pic#16851443)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-15 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ a quiet 'oooh' escapes flat as he nods. yet another thing to file away! the more he learns about subaru, the more he realizes that he is nothing like the dead apostles from back at home. good thing the holy church has no power here, probably!

    but as for the next part, he perks up, barely letting subaru finish his sentence before he interjects with his own. ]


    Oh, oh, I know this one. Were you offered this power in exchange for your soul or something like that? I mean, there's people that would say that dead apostl- I mean, vampires don't have a soul. But I think that's silly. Every being is made up of mind, soul, and body, and I'm sure yours isn't any different.
    gravings: (027b)

    [personal profile] gravings 2024-01-15 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ That's a fancy way of saying, "I punched it too hard." But this does tell Gray a few things. That he's used to being strong, and that he's only freshly lost that power if he's still getting used to it. A new Shard-Bearer, most likely. ]

    I see. If anything happens along the way, please leave the fighting to me.

    [ It should go without saying given his condition, but still. She knows that she's small and generally non-threatening, so it's easy to assume she might need protection.

    As they walk, every once in a while a passerby on the street will notice Gray and stare or offer a nod. Always she responds with a slighly awkward walking bow before carrying on. And then she remembers... ]


    Ah. My name is Gray.

    [ Her manners!! ]
    diegeticmusic: (i have burned my tongue)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
    Yeah. I'll do that.

    [It's... something to occupy her time, anyway. Until she decides what she's going to do about everything else.

    In the meantime!]


    So what about you, Dimitri? What does a king do when he's away from his kingdom?
    diegeticmusic: (though im about to wreck)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Grace doesn't actually know her counterparts... at least, she won't until she regains memories of them. The other two Muses have been lost over the years; Grace isn't even sure if they still live, and she has a suspicion that they don't.

    But let's not get into that. Maybe it's not for the best to advertise that gods can die. Especially to someone called Calamity...]


    An intercessor, huh? [She has a vague idea of what that would mean. It's like how an oracle always manages to find Apollo, no matter what form he's taken.] So do you... interpret visions, or provide healing, or... just talk to them? Stuff like that?
    diegeticmusic: (not a breeze)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
    [She shakes his hand. So polite!]

    Same to you, Sebastian. At least now I know someone.

    [It's good to have some connections, new and tenuous as they are.]

    Have you been here long? It seems like some people here already have the routine down.
    diegeticmusic: (will i know where to go)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
    [That's a surprising way to start. She chuckles lightly.]

    I guess it's good to look on the bright side, huh?

    [She can't object that meeting people from all over is a bad thing.

    The rest of his explanation is definitely more interesting though.]


    Do you think that's true of both of them? Meridian and Zenith, I mean.
    diegeticmusic: (can find it again)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    Smells and tastes are the best at triggering memories, right? I... think I read that somewhere.

    [Actually, Apollo probably just told her that once. Grace's knowledge of how memories and brains work is pretty limited.

    It also doesn't matter.]


    Anyway, no, I didn't hit my head. [At least that isn't what's caused the "amnesia", anyway!] It's a long story... the short version is, I'm a god, and my line's memories are all in here. [She taps her own head.] I just don't have them back yet.
    diegeticmusic: (can find it again)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Grace looks back at the coffee cart, watching as the barista gets to work on... something. Hm...]

    Yeah, what's with that? [She gives her had a small, disappointed shake.] You give 'em a bad tip last time or something?

    [Or is something else at play here?]
    escardos: (pic#13507707)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-15 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ politics really are a dull, complicated matter no matter how anyone tries to paint it. he's never liked them back in the clock tower, much less at home, and it seems that it won't be any different here.

    however, that is no problem for flat. if something's boring, then he'll simply move on to the next thing to see if it piques his interest. if it doesn't, then he'll move to something else again.

    that's why the man's question takes flat somewhat by surprise. he tilts his head, in genuine thought for a couple seconds before answering with a bright smile. ]


    I want to meet as many people as I can and befriend them. That way, this sort of thing can be resolved easily, don't you think?

    [ it's the answer of a bonafide idealist, with no hint of deceit in his eyes. surely, things would be resolved quicker if they just took the time to befriend each other. ]

    [personal profile] ex_fend346 2024-01-15 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Ah. This girl and Flat do not get along.

    Subaru mentally files this away, having no desire to trouble her thoughtlessly in the future. ]


    They are two separate propositions, that's true. In my experience, not many have been aware of others.

    [ And so it was novel to have someone follow along, or rather, ask him a bevy of questions. ]
    diegeticmusic: (you think youve strayed)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)
    [He's not quite hair metal enough to be Orpheus, but points for the scraggly black hair and commit to the color scheme.

    She eyes this strange guy as he approaches her; he seems kinda... weird, even for this place. At his words, she goes ahead and returns the shard. Not because he told her to! But just, you know. In case.]


    Thanks for the advice.
    diegeticmusic: (across the storming seas)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
    Oh, it's... you know, I have no idea.

    [There are definitely some people named after gods, right? Or is that super disrespectful? She's never looked into it.

    She's also getting off track here.]


    The Apollo I'm talking about is a Greek god. Have you heard of him?

    [This guy looks human, but she can't take it for granted that he's from Earth.]
    siriusly: (item get)

    [personal profile] siriusly 2024-01-15 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
    "Mn, that's right..." Both to the first remark, then the second. Easy or not, that's not the issue: Manabu has to do what's right, what he feels is right. "The SDF protects the railway...my platoon and I, Sirius Platoon, we...we're always on call to help those in trouble out there.

    "So the sooner I can get it back, the better things can be. For everyone, not just me."
    siriusly: (i--wait. huh??)

    [personal profile] siriusly 2024-01-15 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
    He perks up at the prospect of being able to find something familiar he can use, but his sudden want to go and see right now is halted by mention of evolving, growing...

    "Gifts?" he echoes dubiously. "Like...being good at flying jets? That's...I mean, that's just training. Though if I need to retrain to manage the vehicles here, then I can do that, no problem. I just need to know where to start, really."

    [personal profile] ex_fend346 2024-01-15 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Subaru tilts his head curiously, frowning in thought. Had he not said he was born this way? There are so many questions, he's not entirely too certain. ]

    Vampires can be created, there isn't any soul-trading involved.

    [ Fai had, in fact, kept his soul. All it required was the blood of a born vampire, but knowing how Kamui would feel about such disclosures, he keeps this to himself. ]

    As for me, I was born this way along with my brother. [ Twins... ] So I'd have to agree the idea of missing something essential is strange.
    escardos: (pic#16002352)

    so far she's already mom of the year by simply breathing tbh tbh

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-15 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ when you get to my age, she says, and flat's curiosity slowly but surely starts to take a turn. as a mage, he knows that one's appearances should never be used as a frame of reference for determining another person's age, so clearly this person must be old old if she's going to be talking like that!

    oh man, if only he could see it, he would love to figure her out!

    he leans forward, the goofy smile ever present on his face. ]


    Miss-- or should I say Mrs? I disagree! I think that, even if you're a thousand years old, you can still find new and exciting things in the world. There's new people to meet, new video games to play, new b-movies to watch, and new food to try. You should wake up every day celebrating that the world wasn't destroyed in your sleep. [ a beat. ] Unless you're like one of those elves in the movies that's almost 3000 years old. But even he managed to find novelty in the group he adventured with!
    Edited (bro i wrote this tag with my eyes closed) 2024-01-15 21:45 (UTC)
    diegeticmusic: (in the end)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:48 pm (UTC)(link)
    [The guy who sits across from her looks like a priest; though, there's something about him that tugs at Grace right away. Before she wouldn't have been able to notice it, but now... There's something there.

    And then he calls her "little god," and it clicks. No one else so far has truly recognized her for what she is without having to be told.

    She returns her shard to her body before replying.]


    ...So what have you committed to, since you've been here? Seems like you're wearing someone else's robes.
    sterngaze: (neutral: pensive)

    [personal profile] sterngaze 2024-01-15 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Grace’s question prompts a small, wry smile.]

    Hardly.

    [As if Liem would be stingy in that way, in his position. Wealth is meant to be used, after all, not hoarded. If he were that short on money, he wouldn’t be shelling out for specialty coffee in the first place.]

    Meridian adherents are just a little less welcome in this city than they used to be, and my face has become quite well-known. The reception, as I have discovered, has trended towards chill in past weeks, even in places where I used to be welcome.
    diegeticmusic: (across the storming seas)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
    Huh? Oh-

    [She glances over her shoulder at the guy, and then quickly shrugs the whole embarrassing thing off.]

    It's just... something I remembered.

    [She quickly scoops up the prawn she dropped, putting it on her plate.]

    Hey, these look good, right?
    diegeticmusic: (or is it just me)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Grace had finally gotten her fill of the more crowded celebrations, and slipped away to explore the lest crowded parts of Springstar. So far her wandering has revealed, primarily, a very different attitude from people who live in the city than that she saw in the midst of the celebration, but not a lot else.

    Still, she feel safe enough moving around on her own... which is probably why she isn't paying enough attention and crashes into someone.]


    Oh, sorry-

    [Her eyes trail up, to try and see who's riding the horse... only to see that the horse does not actually have a rider. Not in any traditional sense.

    She stares for just a second too long. Oh wow. She thought all the centaurs were extinct. But then, if this place can bring people from anywhere-

    She breaks off that thought with a quick shake of her head. Focus up, Grace.]


    Sorry about that.
    diegeticmusic: (my best friend)

    [personal profile] diegeticmusic 2024-01-15 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)
    ...Gone, huh?

    [She remembers it; the feeling like the world was tearing apart, Hermes ripped away from her, everything ripping at the seams, and then... pain, and the crystal, and dirt.

    It's a lot. Grace doesn't even know what to feel about it yet. Right now, she's mostly numb.]


    Does anyone know how? Why?
    settingup: (how come blessings)

    1

    [personal profile] settingup 2024-01-15 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Ann just got the real Highstorm experience with that one, though Atsumu, who happens to be standing somewhat nearby, does a double take at that one. It's true in a lot of ways, because Yima is objectively a very beautiful woman...

    But for a guy who has been here for over a year now, and has developed a relationship that has slowly leaned slightly more familial than anything with Yima, it's also a little bit like hearing someone call your mom hot. That is to say, it's a weird and difficult thing to have to think up a response to.
    ]

    Uh... Yeah, I guess so.
    sheezit: (s6)

    [personal profile] sheezit 2024-01-15 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Numbness, he can understand. It's close enough to shock, or denial, maybe-- but he was assigned to Meridian, so that might explain it. Regardless, the answer to her question remains the same: ]

    If they do, they won't tell us about it. The gist of what we know is that our worlds are gone, and the path forward is to either restore them or create them anew. That's something only us Shard-bearers can do.

    [ ... right, that's something probably best shown rather than told about. Holding out his hand, he summons forth his own Shard: the stone is small and ruggedy, and vaguely shaped like a butterfly that's black as night. ]

    This is my Shard, and you must have one somewhere in your body, too. We're told these are our souls given shape. Whether you believe it or not, it doesn't hurt to be careful with it.

    [ And to further drive his point home, his own Shard sinks back in his palm and disappears, kept safe underneath his glove. ]
    escardos: (pic#16002353)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-15 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
    Wait, a dragon-- actually, hold up, two years?!

    [ flat is equal parts shocked and amazed by the information. even with all the shocking things he had seen in the holy grail war, a living breathing dragon was definitely something that didn't happen every day...or ever, aside from that one servant that destroyed their campus.

    but also two years without the classroom... flat is more than aware of the measures that they had to take for her after the events during the grand roll, but the idea of being fully separated from a place as dear as the el melloi classroom is something that's a little difficult to think about, especially in such a new place. he has no doubts about gray's survival skills, but he hopes that it wasn't too lonely. ]


    Well, when you're back, I'm sure everyone's gonna be waiting for you, so hopefully you haven't forgotten the Professor's lectures. [ he grins, a small laugh escaping him. ] And now that I'm here, we can start our own El Melloi Classroom! El Melloi Classroom 2.0! New but not improved!