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
    furibund: (inkonic aru nebula (41))

    [personal profile] furibund 2024-01-20 07:12 am (UTC)(link)
    Knowhere.

    [ Is she saying the name of a place or denying telling him where she's from? In the past, it may have been the former. She doesn't remember much about her Homeworld and knows there's not much left to go back to - if anything. Easier to write it off than say more. In this case, she does mean a place. Even if it sounds like she's writing it off. ]

    [ Nebula doesn't further explain with a tilt of her head as if to say 'you don't say'. ] People are getting killed at random off the streets.

    Would you be excited?
    clockpunk: (048)

    [personal profile] clockpunk 2024-01-20 07:43 am (UTC)(link)
    ...wait, what the hell?

    [ the jibe about nebula keeping her secrets in relation to "knowhere" dissipates in his throat, replaced by a cold feeling of dread crawling through his lungs. ]

    No one mentioned that. [ in the short time he'd been awake, the information had been coming at a pace he couldn't keep up with, but he's pretty sure he'd have remembered something that crucial. ] Why's this guy going on about victory if something like that's happening under his nose?
    zauneyete: (I'm this close)

    v ............im sorry sisi...............

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2024-01-20 07:53 am (UTC)(link)
    [ It's always interesting how the new ones find their way down to Kolwoon so rapidly, especially since not that long ago, Kowloon had been something of a dirty little secret. The city itself is dark, dank, and a scant few blocks of nearly floor-to-ceiling buildings, and the tight, cramped streets between the buildings were littered with shops and stands galore, everything from food, to stolen goods, to weapons and other such items. This one stand is littered with knives and weapons, everything one could need for engaging in... well. The sorts of things Kowloon was known for.

    The man is turned, so Therion only sees a normal profile, talking to someone else behind the counter, a hand outward, gesturing for something, before the man nodded, and then a small packet (of what is presumably money) exchanged hands. He was paying the other attendant a lot of money. For what, it isn't clear. There is no product.

    He'd just been turning to go, when Therion starts asking questions, and he paused.

    Unfortunately, that gives him the full benefit of Silco's mismatched gaze, half unblinking. His lips curled, before he answered:
    ]

    It's fair enough, considering your other options. [ Though he wouldn't admit it if it wasn't, given that he'd just given them a lot of money, which had to be for weapons. ]

    If you want to test it out, I would suggest Ryad, but... [ A twitch of his lips. ] It's not for the faint of heart.
    zauneyete: (touches face)

    you gave me permission so............................ iib

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2024-01-20 07:57 am (UTC)(link)
    I would be careful.

    [ A sharp voice says, warped by too many cigars, a rough scrape that comes coupled with the foul stench of lingering cigars, though he does not have one in hand at the moment. It's fine, the scent clings to him like a blanket, practically. ]

    Humans make up the majority of those whom are here.

    [ His lips are tight, and they twitch only enough to show that he's not taking offense. Yet. ]

    And some will find themselves different than humans by the time they are through with their time here. Where do you draw that line, if you're going to choose a world where they are destroyed? [ A beat, and a soft bark of a laugh. ] Or more importantly: what will you do if the majority disagrees? Subjugate them all anyway?
    furibund: (inkonic aru nebula (77))

    [personal profile] furibund 2024-01-20 07:58 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Her mouth twitches further into a frown. That is kind of the question, isn't it? Their victory was a few weeks ago. There is neither reason or cause for it in this climate... But even understanding that, she scoffs: ]

    Because of you. [ It's not an accusation, at least, but the levity in her voice doesn't change. ] It's not like Shardbearers are waking up every day. The talk of hope and victory are for all of you.

    Dealing with the problem is left to everyone else.
    zauneyete: (You called it a What?)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2024-01-20 08:01 am (UTC)(link)
    You misunderstand me.

    [ He said, his tone still sharp, and cold. ] I said I did not care for what comes, not that I do not have opinions about my world ending.

    [ His lips curl into the briefest, barest ghost of a smile. It's there for only a millisecond before it's gone, swallowed back by a sour, downturned mouth, thin-lipped and only the barest hint of gapped teeth. ]

    Those are two Very different opinions, and most people know how I feel about my world, and others ending, though I'm certain you could guess, given that I am here.

    [ Among the Zenites, and given the way some pass by with a wide berth, while others nod respectfully, probably not a newcomer. ]
    zauneyete: (Hyping up for a Rant)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2024-01-20 08:05 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Silco feels it, that shared connection, that anger and hate, simmering — or more accurately: shivering — between them. His malevolent, blackened fire stare is unwavering, not by choice, but unwavering and unblinking all the same. It stared at him with that same sort of hate, though for all the rest of the worlds out there. He has one thing, after all, that he will protect more than anything else, and he needs a new world to have that, but if there were no other choice?

    If he didn't have the opportunity? Or if Jinx was not an option? There would be nothing that would keep him from doing just this. Though Silco is not always the most self-aware, and thus he does not truly think this, but instead just stared at the boy for a moment.
    ]

    Then you will have to prove to the rest of us that it doesn't deserve to exist.

    [ He said, sharp. ] Or take it from those who want it.

    [ Those who want it, not us. Silco was ever-cautious in his language, as his true allegiances were never one he wanted to share. ]
    Edited 2024-01-20 08:05 (UTC)
    clockpunk: (063)

    [personal profile] clockpunk 2024-01-20 08:27 am (UTC)(link)
    I'd rather be told straight than hear all this- [ a beat, to remember the term. ] -grandstanding.

    [ the last bit of his yiros is shoved into his mouth in a rough bite, tasting a lot worse than it did a moment ago. he had figured out the arrival of this new group of shardbearers was considered worthy of celebration, but that didn't make problems go away.

    in his experience, it usually meant problems were closer at hand than ever. ]


    Sorry. I didn't know it was that bad.
    umurice: (95)

    [personal profile] umurice 2024-01-20 09:05 am (UTC)(link)
    That is not good.

    [He hums, and without asking, he enters his space, already taking his hand in his. Touchy-feely, with no sense of distance. Subaru is free to avoid it, as Hiiro was not aware just yet how this could be uncomfortable for others.]

    I want to take a look.
    umurice: (116)

    Redpunzel redpunzel, let down your long whorl...

    [personal profile] umurice 2024-01-20 09:12 am (UTC)(link)
    [Intruders, that was his thought, something trained in him for so long it's more instinct than anything. Information, an afterthought, because they might know more than them.

    He only snaps out of it when he hears Chrono's voice, the single-minded focus brief due to having just started out. Lucky, really, because he might have forgotten him entirely otherwise. He doesn't stop, but he visibly slows down as he turns to look at Chrono, as if realizing what he did wrong.]


    Ah! Sorry. When they started running, I just reacted. I did not mean to run off without you.

    [So they were meant to run together...]

    ...? What else would they be, if not human?
    clockpunk: (008)

    tries to unwind it and it just rewinds itself like a spring

    [personal profile] clockpunk 2024-01-20 09:43 am (UTC)(link)
    I mean... there's no way this is Earth, right? They could be anything.

    [ ticking off on his fingers, chrono starts muttering other kinds of creatures to himself. it sounds like a list of fantasy races, but he's recalling the major humanoid races of cray - the planet from the card game he plays. which also is a real planet that exists, but let's not get into that. not that he thinks this is cray either, given the whole apocalypse situation, but that's his only other frame of reference, so. ]

    They could've been dryads or bioroids, since this is a big tree. But they definitely just looked human, right.
    furibund: (005)

    [personal profile] furibund 2024-01-20 09:52 am (UTC)(link)
    That how you see it.

    [ Idly. Thoughtful, maybe, but it's kept near the same level as she's spoken yet. Attention on the people for a moment she folds her arms across her chest. Considers the circumstances for a moment and adds: ]

    The way they see it is this is a matter they should be handling themselves. [ Shardbearers should and could help, but even she's not fully up-to-date with Kowloon politics as others might be. She's still rather new, in the grander scheme of things. ] Policing their city is the only thing they can do in this war.

    To them our duty is to choose a side and work towards those goals. Presenting that comes first. I doubt the other side is mentioning it all. [ She adds mildly: ] At least until you're the one being swiped off the street.
    clockpunk: (005)

    [personal profile] clockpunk 2024-01-20 10:15 am (UTC)(link)
    [ time and time again, people made decisions with the intent of shouldering burdens themselves, but all it even did was make things worse for everyone else. misinformation was not protection, chrono had learned. all it did was lead you astray.

    but he keeps his mouth shut about it. at the moment, he felt as if he had no right to protest - he didn't have all the details, and even if he did, what was he going to do? he was just a kid tired of the world crashing down around him. ]


    ...it was nice, at least. To hear that not everyone's given up on our homes. [ he swallows, brow furrowed. ] But you can't start with the big problems when the small ones'll get you faster.

    baltimores: (118)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2024-01-20 10:45 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Oh, yeah. Definitely an adult he's dealing with here. Akechi's age is definitely not automatically endearing him to Amos by virtue of it alone, let alone the seriousness he carries himself with. Definitely.

    Amos lets the pointedness wash right over him, content just to be making conversation alone. (It's entirely possible he's coming across as an idiot; in reality he's just vibing, and isn't bothered either way.)

    Cheerfully: ]
    Nope.

    [ He is not familiar with fugu; such luxuries did not tend to be found in Baltimore, no matter how much money you had, and something so potentially dangerous was not a common find in space. Maybe he's stumbled across it once or twice, but not in a way that'd be memorable.

    Which is probably a good thing.

    Either way. ]


    I'm familiar with sushi, though. That's good shit. [ Maybe he'll pick some up after he's completed his mountain of pancakes?? Get-togethers like these are a great time to have a bottomless stomach. Amos takes a look around. ] Might be here somewhere, though. Or might be able to find someone who knows how to make it. Let's go.

    [ And off he goes, ready to go looking around at all of the food present in the quest for sushi and/or fugu. He tips his head back at Akechi; he coming, or what? ]
    tresemme: (🍼3)

    [personal profile] tresemme 2024-01-20 10:58 am (UTC)(link)
    I’m not lonely.

    [ pshh… yeah right… as if he would ever be lonely. ]
    baltimores: (046)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2024-01-20 11:09 am (UTC)(link)
    [ ???

    ?????

    Amos' hackles were up, ready to get in a fight; to drag Tony down off his pedestal and into the land of sense and reason and not advocating for his own death — but he doesn't know what to do with someone essentially sticking their fingers in their ears and going lalalala I can't hear you.

    His hackles go down. He stares at Tony's back.

    He tentatively reaches a hand out to clasp Tony's shoulder. Try to spin him around make him face him again.

    And, with all of the aggression leaving his voice, soft concern taking its place: ]
    Are you okay?

    [ Somebody who is okay would probably not be acting like this? Who hurt him (even though the answer is probably humans again, but... no, really, who hurt him)? ]
    baltimores: (091)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2024-01-20 11:11 am (UTC)(link)
    Oh, yeah. White whale.

    [ Does he know anything about Moby Dick beyond that part? Maybe, maybe not... Now he's wondering if he should know who Alan Grant is, but his media consumption habits have always tended to be lacking.

    Maybe it'll be in the Tomes or something...

    That much settled, though, Amos' brow furrows a bit. Did Flat get his hands on some sugar earlier, is that why he's looking prime to literally bounce off the walls... ]


    You know you can go adventuring during the day, right? When there aren't gonna be things out there trying to kill you? [ He is genuinely unsure if this is actually known. ] Or is it part of the appeal that you could die? Like it isn't adventuring without that?

    [ Flat maybe? Has thrill junkie vibes?? Or maybe it really was just consuming too much sugar or something, who knows; not Amos. ]
    tresemme: (🍼18)

    [personal profile] tresemme 2024-01-20 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
    [ she could have left it at “i don’t care,” and that would have been enough for him to playfully banter. unfortunately, when she directly mentions tony’s grandpa in anything but the most positive of lights, he gets bristly. ]

    So what? I still know he’d be better!
    tresemme: (🍼4)

    [personal profile] tresemme 2024-01-20 11:42 am (UTC)(link)
    Blah blah blah.

    [ tony is no stranger to being outnumbered by humans, but the second he decides which side sucks less and gets his psionic powers back, no lowly human is going to be a match for him. he doesn’t have time—or honestly, the care—to worry about silco’s philosophical questions. ]

    If they can’t fight back, then they can just die.
    umurice: (96)

    It loses 1% of its strength each centimeter you straighten it out

    [personal profile] umurice 2024-01-20 11:43 am (UTC)(link)
    Ah, is it similar to being spirited away? The elders back home would warn the children not to wander too far, or else they may be taken by a spirit of the forest.

    [Well, even if they said the worlds are destroyed and all, Hiiro is completely unaware of the concept of multiple worlds. Comes from being so sheltered they didn't even have televisions or phones. Sure, this place looks weird, but the idea that it is still a different world is hard to picture.]

    Oh, but... what is a dryad? Or a bioroid?
    baltimores: (056)

    iii

    [personal profile] baltimores 2024-01-20 11:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He's seen Yima make her way through the crowds; the different ways people tend to react to her. Yuber's isn't entirely unexpected — while Amos holds an instinctual reverence for her, he at least has enough sense to know it's not universal.

    The respect is good, though. Tells him this newcomer is someone he can at least talk to. ]


    Honestly, I wouldn't mind if it was kinda like this. [ Amos tilts his head in the direction of the gathering before them; of people coming together to partake in food and engage in conversation, all with their matriarch present, if only fleetingly for the moment. ] Abundant land, good food, no real need to worry over anything, you know? It's nice.

    [ And it really is nice, as far as he's concerned. Perhaps unimaginative on his part, but it seems to cover the basics well enough — a simple life for what might very well be a simple guy. He nods at Yuber. ]

    What were you thinking of?

    [ Never a bad thing to compare notes and get new ideas. ]
    tresemme: (🍼19)

    [personal profile] tresemme 2024-01-20 11:48 am (UTC)(link)
    [ of course tony doesn’t take it well, but being that he’s completely depowered, there’s nothing he can do. he can’t sever amos’ hand with the flex of a neuron, and so he’s left unhappily trying to shake the touch off his shoulder while still covering his ears.

    it’s no good, anyway. he can still hear the question, and it’s a very human response indeed to start feeling much less okay the minute someone asks.
    ]

    Leave me alone! I hate you!

    [ his back still turned to amos by sheer force of will, his shoulders are visibly shaking with the short breaths he’s starting to take. ]

    [personal profile] ex_fend346 2024-01-20 12:04 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ It's fine, Flat already clasped his hands and professed Friendship... Subaru may stare at Hiiro, but he does little more than this. ]

    You don't need to worry over something so minor.

    [ He does his best to be reassuring, but it's a feeble attempt. In truth, he's not acclimated enough to his present state to know whether it is, in fact, minor. ]
    clockpunk: (051)

    noooo the integrity of the protag swirl--!!

    [personal profile] clockpunk 2024-01-20 12:09 pm (UTC)(link)
    A dryad is like... a nature spirit, I think? And a bioroid... is a person who is actually a plant? It doesn't really matter, though I guess those could spirit you away.

    [ he doesn't sound too sure, and he isn't - this wasn't his specialty at all. he just knew all the steampunk guys from his own deck... but man, what era is this guy from if he's got village elders and stuff? hiiro's antiquated language should've been an indicator, probably, to his unusual background.

    noticing that the group running ahead of them has slowed, as if expecting them to follow, chrono gestures forward to draw hiiro's attention. ]


    Did they find someone else?
    baltimores: (069)

    i

    [personal profile] baltimores 2024-01-20 12:39 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Yeah, that initial body language and reaction to Yima hasn't gone unnoticed.

    But! It's also a big and weird new situation for any newcomer, and so Amos figures hey, sure. Everybody's got their reasons to react however they're gonna. He's been here a long time now, which means this is all just standard to him. Absolutely no reason to expect the same from a newcomer.

    His smile is more in the eyes, though. Just a guy who doesn't really smile all that much, even though he wants to help. That's what he's here for! That and the food, which is presently irrelevant. ]


    I mean, I figure the selection here's pretty good, but... hm. [ Pause for contemplation. ] Depends what you're thinking. Bathhouses got some relaxing stuff... I think the place by the libraries has some new stuff? Arena's pretty much always got good shit on tap. Or if you just wanted to go barhopping, then... shit, wouldn't be the first time I ditched one of these things early. You really can't go wrong anywhere here.

    [ Maybe anywhere and everywhere is the best place to get a drink in Highstorm... it's clearly the perfect place, so like, ]