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
    escardos: (pic#13478919)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
    It would, wouldn't it? If you give people the opportunity to speak their minds, I'm sure that things can be cleared up between the differing parties.

    [ he pauses. and then continues, with a lighthearted shrug. ]

    And if it leads to an argument, then at least people can feel less guilty if anything terrible ends up happening.
    kinaesthesia: (42)

    okay my turn for sorry lmao

    [personal profile] kinaesthesia 2024-01-21 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
    ((so please lmk if you want me to change this haha))

    [Okay, that’s a possibility that hadn’t even remotely crossed her mind until now. So there’s definitely a moment there where her brows furrow a little more in thought rather than annoyance. And then she considers that sarcasm that slipped into his tone to match hers and decides: no.]

    Too bad. [She lets her arms drop back down to her sides and then gives him a considering look for just a beat before:] But if you need help getting out of the way, I guess I can lend a hand.

    [And without another word she’s dropping to a slight crouch and moving forward to make an attempt at hauling him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, coffee cup in his hand be damned.]
    escardos: (quatorze.)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
    Like sleeping beauty! Were you awakened by true love's kiss?

    [ he says so casually, all the meanwhile imagining what a vampire version of sleeping beauty would be like. but now that he thinks about it, the idea of a dead apostle going into stasis is very similar to a sleeping beauty without the need of getting stabbed by the spindle. so perhaps sleeping beauty is a vampire...?

    that said, flat smiles, his voice confident as he continues speaking. ]


    What isn't exciting about stories of someone that can travel through worlds? And you were being chased by someone, too? You're like a fugitive, then! That's even cooler.
    slashing: (30)

    HELP

    [personal profile] slashing 2024-01-21 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
    [ this ist he funniest thing ive ever read in my life PLEASE ABSOLUTELY same goes for me tho feel free to ask for changes

    therion has a lot of abilities. he is not strong and buff like olberic, no. he cannot do 39254 different kinds of magic like cyrus or ophilia. he cannot cut something in half with an axe like alfyn. but he is very small and he is very fast.

    which means that when she crouches he instinctively knows Something Is Happening and tries to jerk out of the way, jolting backwards to try and avoid getting lifted, but there's a (convenient) passerby right behind him, and much like a cat who does not want to get grabbed, he's going to claw at dear life to avoid it. therion squawks a - ]
    What the fuck -

    [ as he is nearly bowled off of his feet by the force of this. and so you win some, you lose some. you lose some because you're going to go ass over tea kettle if you don't get picked up and so she can absolutely try and throw him over her shoulder.

    you win some because therion is dumping the coffee he is still holding on her head immediately. at least it's not crazy hot because he was dissociating in the line but it sure is wet and unpleasant ]
    escardos: (onze.)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
    Oh, you're named after that one Japanese hero! Or maybe you are him?

    [ from the way that flat's expression is full of innocent excitement, it's obvious that he hopes that this ryouma is the ryouma. suddenly, he remembers the dream that led him to the holy grail war-- the opportunity to meet all the participating servants and to befriend them.

    but what are the chances of any servants being here? well, surely they can't be that high... but they can't be zero either. ]
    escardos: (pic#13478938)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
    I'm talking about why you're wrong about letting humans die out.

    [ flat responds as if it were something obvious, almost confused as to why the other person doesn't seem to see what he's saying. well, it's not the first time, nor will it be the last, he thinks. nonetheless, he smiles cheerfully as he continues. ]

    To let them die out would be far too inefficient. Even if this is a different world, they do have a purpose. Wouldn't it be a pity and a waste just to let them die out without accomplishing it?
    furibund: (006)

    [personal profile] furibund 2024-01-21 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
    I don't have all the details.

    [ It's the closest she'll get to admitting that she's fairly new herself, but she knows enough. ] There's a town below this city where unsavory people live. They've decided that feasting on the ones above ground is now on the table.
    escardos: (pic#16854341)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
    I am new here! [ he nods eagerly, apparently unbothered by the man laughing at him. ] I'm glad you noticed.

    [ that said, demeisen's story unfortunately...doesn't do anything to curb flat's enthusiasm. if anything... ]

    But that's even more interesting! Something that has the ability to shapeshift and mimic others is cool. Sure, the murder part is a bit--well, very--inconvenient, but that's like criticizing a predator for simply doing what its instincts tell them. And if they're sapient, then surely there must be some that can be reasoned with. I actually once had a friend like that.
    slashing: (18)

    [personal profile] slashing 2024-01-21 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
    [ hah. of course. now there's a tale as old as time. parasites of the underground are the same anywhere, aren't they? something therion is intimately familiar with.

    he snorts, nearly a scoff. ]
    Figures. [ thieves are thieves, in the end: he makes a mental note to himself to get a look at that town as soon as possible. ] How literal's the feasting?

    [ are these people or monsters ]
    clockpunk: (024)

    [personal profile] clockpunk 2024-01-21 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
    N-no, that's not...

    [ it was right for her to call him out, in a way. there were assumptions being made on information that hadn't been said, and for a moment chrono looked abashed, a child scolded for overstepping.

    but he looks from the stone tile under his feet up at the opulence around them, remembering that he hadn't even had the chance set foot back on his own planet after defeating their local deity of destruction. the feeling of being placated made him deeply uneasy, and more than a little frustrated.

    he scowls back at her, tipping his chin defiantly. ]


    You're clearly not satisfied with all this either, so don't go puttin' words in my mouth. [ he runs shaky fingers over his shard. ] If this thing's so significant, if we're supposed to be soldiers for their war, a little clarity might be useful, is all I'm sayin'.
    escardos: (pic#16851443)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
    Oh, no, not at all. Dying's really not my type of thing...

    [ at least that seems to get flat to calm down slightly, rubbing the back of his neck with an wry smile. ]

    I could go adventuring during the day, and I might! But to know that there's something out there that I've never seen before... I really want to see it with my own eyes! Maybe try to tame them or something. [ they quickly deflate slightly after that, breathing out a sigh. ] But I'm not really looking to get myself hurt or die. It'd be troublesome, especially since I actually have a friend here that I don't want to worry.

    [ he taps his chin, expression thoughtful about what to do. certainly putting himself into needless danger (or even necessary danger) is counterintuitive and will only worry gray. therefore... ]

    Maybe I should ask someone to go in my stead?
    slashing: (36)

    [personal profile] slashing 2024-01-21 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
    [ immediately assigning this guy nepo baby with daddy issues ]

    Riiight. [ Okay Sure

    he'll take the topic change though, folding his arms as he looks back at cyrus again. ]
    And sure, yeah. Place's tense. People'll do something about a leader they don't like, one way or another.
    escardos: (pic#13770518)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
    [ well that's... both surprising, and not. the rin he knows is stubborn and headstrong, so he's not entirely shocked that she would speak her decision so bluntly after she's made it.

    his gaze focuses on her, the smile wiped from his face in favor for a neutral, blank expression. ]


    Really? You don't think there's a chance?

    [ in reality, whether the worlds come back or not should not matter to flat at this point. but that's a waste beyond comprehension. surely there should be something salvageable, like a back up. ]
    escardos: (pic#13478937)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
    Oh, there's no need to call me sir.

    [ with a light laugh, flat holds the scrolls close to his chest. he agrees that this might be a little bit too much of an endeavor for one trip, so he's making the executive decision to accompany her. ]

    You can call me Flat. Flat Escardos! [ he'd extend a hand, but they're both occupied with all of these things, so he opts for a quick bow of his head and a bright smile. ] I can help you take these to wherever you're going, miss!
    escardos: (pic#13770497)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
    My inner godzilla... my inner godzilla?

    [ now it seems to be him who's puzzled by her statement. or, perhaps, the better phrase to use would be 'deep in thought'. he had never considered himself very godzilla-like...

    flat hums, cupping his chin as he tries to visualize what his inner godzilla might look like. is there, deep in his chest, the soul of a 50 to 300 meter tall giant reptile? well, his parents did call him a monster, but that's a completely different vibe from this, isn't it?

    hmmm... ]


    Alright, let me try this.... [ he takes a deep breath and raises his hands to his chest, fingers curled. and then-- ] Rawr!

    [ how's that for a godzilla imitation by someone that wouldn't know cringe even if it hit him in the face. ]
    hauntedking: (12)

    [personal profile] hauntedking 2024-01-21 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
    Ideally people being able to openly air their grievances and disagreements helps with the terrible things never happening.

    [ Dimitri sighs. ]

    Even if there is some arguing.
    lockedon: pid 4667155 (053)

    [personal profile] lockedon 2024-01-21 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Times and universes may change, but apparently in every one of them Eustace will continue to think Flat is a weirdo.

    Which is to say—he gives Flat one raised eyebrow of disbelief - a utopia? really?? - before turning back to the speech still carrying on in front of that. ]


    That's his job, to listen to us.

    [ Which, okay, maybe not to each one of them individually, because Flat is at least right in that Cyrus is a busy busy man, but Shardbearers have always held a little more sway than the average citizen. If this kid really wanted a private audience, Eustace is sure he could find a way to make it work.

    And while there's another question still waiting for his answer, Eustace rudely answers with a question of his own. ]


    What makes you think this is a utopia?
    kaientai: (110)

    [personal profile] kaientai 2024-01-21 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
    [ almost everyone else who has ever heard of him before was japanese themselves, so the fact that flat recognises his name right away comes as a pleasant surprise. he thinks of himself very humbly and not in the sort of way that ever really goes along with being known outside of his own time, let alone outside of his country. he blushes a little and scratches at his cheek, feeling unusually sheepish about it. ]

    Hehe, yep, that's me! You're the first person to think so, too, honestly. I guess I'm not what they were expecting?

    [ one person said he was too pretty and had too much hair... ]
    escardos: (pic#16854341)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
    Yeah! I agree!

    [ flat does seem to perk up at dimitri's statement, as it aligns closely with his own values. though he knows little about politics, he feels like half of the complications wouldn't exist if people were simply honest and straightforward. ]

    Back at home, there were always a lot of complicated political schemes happening...but isn't it a waste of time? If people worked together, I'm sure they could get a lot more done than just their crazy power grab schemes.
    escardos: (pic#16002350)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
    Well, whether or not it's a utopia depends on whether or not people have to stand in line for hours at a government office and go through a bunch of unnecessary steps to get anything done.

    [ eustace would be correct in thinking that flat is weird regardless of the universe they're in. of course, the mage focuses on something nonsensical and insignificant, his own mind traveling in ways and speeds that are clearly difficult for anyone that isn't him to follow.

    to flat, of course, this all makes perfect sense.

    he smiles, shrugging one shoulder as he continues. ]


    Though I don't think I've ever seen a movie or read any books where there is an actual utopia. Usually they're pretty on the outside but then hiding something really dark and evil underneath. [ there's a light pause, before it clicks in his head. ] Ah, but if that's the case here, then maybe this would be a utopia. Do you know anything?
    semicharmed: (cosmic love)

    matt jamison - oc, unharmonized - new player

    [personal profile] semicharmed 2024-01-21 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
    i. bearing fruit (nudity)

    [ This whole thing is not unlike dreams Matt's had before, believe it or not.

    If he were in any state to talk on the subject, he'd say: There's a certain extent to which everything in our physical world is an illusion, or perhaps an approximation. Our existence is full of false divisions–between us as souls, between this world and the "next" world. Past, present, and future aren't a line, but a circle. This is all stuff you can find out on your own if you meditate underwater in a bath of the right herbs, or if you take psychedelics with a certain ritual architecture in place. And there are certainly times when, having placed yourself in a more liminal and receptive state, competing spirits will call to you.

    But his mouth is full of dirt right now, so he needs a minute.

    Matt's left hand shoots free of the soil, encountering delicious open air. The rest of him, hacking and coughing, is quick to follow. He stares in amazement at the place he's emerged into.

    Things he doesn't notice: that the emerald lotus tattoo over his heart has changed. It's still just as brilliantly green, but now made of crystal instead of ink on skin.

    Things he does notice: that he's naked. Totally naked.

    Hoarsely, he calls: ]


    Hey … hey! Were you the one talking to me?

    ii. highstorm
    [ Let's just say Matt has found someone willing to lend him clothes, and while they aren't the band tee and jeans he'd choose for himself, they do somehow manage to convey the impression that their wearer is an orphaned hipster taking shelter in an abandoned record store.

    He hasn't been here long enough to realize that the daylight's never coming. But he does think the moon looks gorgeous on the surface of the reflecting pool, here in the Manor of–well, someone he can kind of only conceive of as a goddess. As it happens, he soon meets the Lady Yima, who takes his hand and speaks to him so sweetly that for a second, he's worried he'll cry.

    (There's only one thing. Let the memories of your loved ones, and your world, guide you to the right path. Matt does love the world, but he can't think of a single relationship back home that has anything to say to him, except maybe about the conditionality of mortal love. The need for severing.

    That's decidedly not party talk, so he keeps it to himself.)

    There's something in the water, Matt realizes as he lingers by the pool. Inky fingers that remind him a little of his dark dream–or maybe they're different? If he looks a little harder, he thinks he could figure it out–

    Except then he's being jerked back, hard. And given a less-than-reassuring explanation?? ]


    I'm sorry, you drained the pool and "couldn't find them"?

    iii. springstar
    [ God, these people love to party.

    That's more or less what Matt's thinking as he navigates the sun-soaked streets of Heliopolis. Is this what it was like to party like it was 1999, waiting for the world to maybe end?

    He can be found, eventually, at the Seat of the Tribune, trying to hide on the most secluded chaise lounge while also eavesdropping on every conversation of note. None of it makes any sense to him, but some new phrases stick: Harbinger Oracle, Meridian, and of course, Shard-Bearer, Shard-Bearer, Shard-Bearer.

    When he overhears the first murmur of a vanished relative, he thinks, Bingo. All is not well here in Pleasantville.

    Though of course … how could it be? Nothing's well anywhere. ]


    [ ooc: guess who's back with all his original hands!!! I'm taking a try at resetting Matt, so if you knew him from Horos, FEEL FREE to remember him, I'm here for that shit. He just won't remember you. ]
    escardos: (trois.)

    [personal profile] escardos 2024-01-21 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
    Wait, you're the real Sakamoto Ryouma?

    [ from the way that flat's eyes widen in surprise, it's clear that he considered his guess to be little more than that...but to have it be correct is great! stellar, even! to think he's met a real historical figure, outside of the holy grail war! and, on top of that, they're now friends?!

    excitedly, he leans forward, hands balled up into fists and close to his chest and a wide smile on his face. ]


    I mean, you do look really ordinary, but I don't think that's a bad thing! If anything, you could say that it makes the reveal even more impactful!

    [ this is very much supposed to be taken as a compliment. ]
    wolfish: (lean)

    III

    [personal profile] wolfish 2024-01-21 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Yuri is no stranger to people-watching. It's a fine way to gather information about people, and frequently they don't even know just how much they let slip. Watching someone else doing the watching, however, is a rare occasion. In this case, it's a new face that draws his eye.

    He saunters his way over to the lounge with steps that are all but soundless, taking a circuitous route so he can approach from behind. Abruptly, he drapes folded arms over the back of that furniture, off to the fellow's side. ]


    So, how's your recon going?

    [ Just going to voice his assumption. It's what he'd be doing, sitting there. ]
    gravings: (100)

    [personal profile] gravings 2024-01-21 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Gray smiles to hear Flat gush about Dumas. While she has to take his account with a grain of salt (he did come up with Great Big Ben London☆Star), his enthusiasm is cause enough for comfort. Watching him is like seeing a faded photograph flooded again with color, her nostalgia realized. Gray's soft heart is so overrun with gratitude that she really could start crying again. ]

    Becoming one with Jack the Ripper... That sounds a little scary.

    [ She probably has a skewed stance on the matter. Fusing with a Servant has a very different meaning to her, after all.

    Ah. But if they're putting Servants on pedestals, Gray feels she should put up a bit of a fight. ]


    I didn't participate in a Holy Grail War, but I formed a contract with a Servant too. It was Mordred, from the Round Table.

    [ Mordred who committed crimes against Britain, but you know what. Gray still manages to sound quietly pleased about it. ]
    gravings: (017)

    [personal profile] gravings 2024-01-21 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
    [ ... Yes, he definitely seems to be very familiar with vampires. His clothing seems to fit the bill too -- if the way D and Liem dress is any indicator. If it weren't for all the daylight, she'd be certain he was a vampire. A dhampir, maybe? ]

    Alternatives... like blood from animals instead?

    [ Though some might still consider that cruel. ]