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
    cutlery: please do not take! (They Tim Tam Slammed.)

    [personal profile] cutlery 2024-02-12 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
    Indeed. It is a phenomenon that was called simply “the Blight”, and it was…

    [ He trails off thoughtfully, since how to put it… It’s still something quite odd to him considering just how far outside the real of his experiences it was. Ironic for a demon, perhaps, but his world was shockingly mundane despite that. ]

    Well, it caused patches of… instability, I suppose? But it was with time itself. I did not personally witness it, but I head the building crumbled as if it had suddenly become a ruin.
    recordless: (pic#16812977)

    [personal profile] recordless 2024-02-12 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ If he's happy to listen then she's happy to babble, posture relaxing as they settle into an easy rhythm of pumpkin-growing via handholding. ]

    We don't have anything like 'em either where I'm from. Either you're born with your talents or you aren't. Nobody suddenly wakes up with a weird rock in their body.

    [ Because that's what they are to her still, just weird gemstones embedded inconveniently in her body. Though she supposes some of them do look nice. And it's awfully nice to be able to talk to people with just her mind. ]

    Oh, but apparently they can make it so you don't die. Well, [ she hastily corrects herself ] as long as the Shard doesn't get destroyed too. So you can die as many times as you want but you'll never really die.

    [ If that.......makes sense. Sometimes you are fifteen and you suck at explaining things. ]

    I hear it still hurts though. [ Which is clearly the more important thing here. ]
    gravings: (013)

    [personal profile] gravings 2024-02-13 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
    [ His observation could be taken as a barb by some people, but Gray knows it to be a fair one. ]

    I used to hold a position similar to the Zenites'. I was so certain my world was gone... I thought the people clinging to the idea of reviving their worlds were trying to bring corpses back to life.

    [ She pitied them with the severity of a gravekeeper tasked with enforcing the boundary of life and death. She's loosened up a bit since then... but only a bit. ]

    In any case, my reason for wanting my world back is a bit selfish, so I can't judge the Zenites too harshly.
    wolfish: (regard)

    [personal profile] wolfish 2024-02-13 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
    [ The question gives Yuri pause, glancing Sho's way. ]

    A Zenite's the reason I harmonized at all.

    [ Delivered calmly, with an absence of any sharpness or heat, because— ]

    She didn't particularly believe in one cause or the other and just wanted to be able to help people. To heal them. I've always respected that — she's good people.

    [ He returns to stacking up his food hoard, deliberate and selective, as they pass by so many varied options. ]

    There're people I like on that side. Considering my goals, it'd be hypocritical to want to deny them a fresh start. But I have to believe they can have that without it being built on the sacrifices of countless lives.

    [ The enormity of a prospect that encompasses all worlds, when Yuri's home knew nothing of other worlds at all, is well into the realm of the abstract for him. But he grasps that the prospect of abandoning all other worlds to oblivion means building a new world on the bones of all who are not here. ]
    dreamflowers: (shows up late with starbucks)

    [personal profile] dreamflowers 2024-02-13 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
    [If they spiked the coffee with anything, Jade isn't able to tell. Once he puts in the order, she mumbles a quiet "thanks" before just accepting it. Did he just buy her a drink?

    [Whatever. It's neither here nor there whether she ends up liking it or not, either. The cheap ass brandy she normally consumes tends to be pretty damn bitter, she's sure she can handle a non alcoholic drink of a similar calibur.

    [On the subject of beatdowns, her brow raises.]


    Hm. I kinda figured you don't go about trying to bring your world back with cuddles. But, yeah... I'm used to it.

    [Their orders being so simple, it's not long for the cups to be served. Jade takes hers and idly smells it.]

    The work I normally do tends to have me going into dangerous places. Or... it did.
    gravings: (101b)

    [personal profile] gravings 2024-02-13 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Always happy to be able to help, Gray smiles slightly. ]

    Then whenever you need them, please let me know. And if you're interested in trying out something new, I can show you as much as I can.

    [ Oh. There's the small issue of how they would get in contact if Alice hasn't harmonized yet. Best start off with the most important thing: ]

    My name is Gray, by the way. I work at Ugly Squid Books in the Academic District a few days a week, so you can find me there.
    dreamflowers: (there's a voice in my head)

    [personal profile] dreamflowers 2024-02-13 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
    [Keeping his distance was probably the wisest thing. Jade isn't sure she could handle being coddled and hugged by strangers at the moment.

    [At least she's trying to hold herself together here, but she's clearly hanging by a thread. The visions she just had before crawling out of the dirt still feel too raw. Not quite real, even though she knows better.

    [Attempting a few deep breaths that come up a little short, Jade plants her hands over her knees. Her head bows a moment. Another breath. And then she slowly rises back to her feet. Or attempts to. Her limbs ache, but she manages to stay vertical long enough to find something to lean on as she catches her bearings, and tries to fully process what he just said -- "bring it all back" and "before you're ready" particularly stand out.

    [Even hunched over as she is, Jade is towering. She'd almost be imposing if she weren't simultaneously cradling her head while looking like a gust of wind would knock her over in her current state.]


    I... Yeah. I'd appreciate that. These rooms aren't shared, are they...?

    [She's never been the most restful sleeper. Chances are that hasn't changed.]
    damnpire: (pic#15956292)

    [personal profile] damnpire 2024-02-13 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
    It should be a choice you make for yourself alone.

    [Firstly. But he gets the deserve to follow routine, to do what has always been normal snd comfortable, standard.

    Not personally, but he understands it.]


    I wanted my strength, so I Harmonized. Assimilation is a risk, but returning my world is something I would never question.

    [Satisfied with the progress, D gathers up larger screws and hands them to Sho. Then he lifts the wide plate up, fitting it where it should go over the leg and holding it in place. He motions with his missing arm for Sho to go ahead with the screws.]

    The vampires were dying out, and the humans were flourishing again. They deserve the chance to have that world and live in it with no fear.

    I don't trust the idea of playing a god, of one world being created to satisfy everyone. So it was an easy choice to make for me.

    [personal profile] ex_fend346 2024-02-13 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
    There aren't many then?
    revivia: (pic#16997864)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-13 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
    [ One does have to wonder what sort of person would feel at home in a den of crime—while Demeisen doesn't seem outright dangerous, his presence here speaks to some volume. This isn't the sort of place where he can let his guard down, no matter how apparently pleasant the company.

    Though that's not why Sho takes a moment to answer, cautious and formal. This is a confidential subject back on his Earth, but—they're not on Earth anymore, are they? ]


    ...It wasn't the sort of place where the native population was ready to see lifeforms from other planets. Most extraterrestrials would disguise themselves to look human.

    [ They usually had to erase the memories of anyone who did see an alien out and about, or it'd be a whole incident. It's something he has to get used to here—the nonchalance with which people simply don't notice or care. It's not a bad change. ]

    But "shard bearers" seem welcome here, if anything.
    revivia: (pic#16997864)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-13 04:44 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He looks briefly surprised, a tiny bit of slack in his grip around the screwdriver, but doesn't argue. It does seem a very personal decision to make. That's probably what makes it difficult for him.

    For now, he turns his attention to how D may ambiguously not be human—a note to himself, but not one that disturbs him. He's used to aliens. And D's appearance has an otherworldly quality to it anyway. ]


    I see.

    [ He works at the new plate with the same careful diligence as the first. ]

    What if your world were in decline?
    damnpire: (pic#12094812)

    [personal profile] damnpire 2024-02-13 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
    [my typooooos :evaporates:

    Even one armed, D manages to hold the heavy sheet of metal up for Sho with surprising ease. He definitely cannot be human, not completely.]


    It was. It was a terrible place to survive, and only some humans were able to truly live. The world had been ruined by nuclear warfare, then rebuilt by vampires, then destroyed again by the fight between vampires and aliens.

    [Someone else knows aliens, too.]

    But pieces of life still persevered. Humans, after everything, persisted. Doesn't even a declining world still deserve to exist?

    If you talk to Zenites, most of them will tell you their worlds abandoned them when they needed it most, and those worlds were terrible enough to leave behind.
    revivia: (256)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-13 08:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He nods, expecting that there's virtuous people wherever you go, under whichever city's banner you fly. He wants to believe—that choosing one over the other is a matter of priorities and not morality.

    It doesn't make his decision any easier, but what Yuri says gives him food for thought, at least. As for actual food—he's solidly moved onto the eating phase, practically inhaling a small tart as he formulates a response. ]


    ...That's noble of you. I hope you're right.

    [ He says so gently, without condescension or sarcasm. Sho isn't often warm, but he speaks with a plain sort of honesty.

    And to be fair, it does seem like Meridian might be on the right track. There's a cluster of noise from a busy dining table, caught up in eager conversation. The city feels tense, but alight. He'd listened to some of the public speeches about Oracle this or that, but lacked context, so. ]


    Is this... a victory celebration?
    revivia: (179)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-13 08:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [ i can't read so i don't even notice dw

    Does that make him a vampire? Woahhh. ]


    People who struggle for their right to exist... They deserve the opportunity for happiness.

    [ He thinks very few people and worlds are beyond saving entirely. He's a peacekeeper, and he wants to protect others, to shelter their kindness and believe in their goodness. It is fundamentally unfair for people to fight and suffer and bring warmth to a bleak world and then just—die. Which is exactly what's happened. What's always happened. Sho's hands are steady, his focus unbroken, and a bit of sadness creeps into his voice all the same. ]

    But restoring a universe won't save the people in it. Or those who died well before. [ He could bring his world back perfectly intact, and his family would still be gone. And there are people who have lost even more than he has. ] I understand why someone would hope for a new path instead.

    [ He hasn't decided if that's him yet, but he can empathize. ]
    cyfaredd: (Default)

    [personal profile] cyfaredd 2024-02-13 01:00 pm (UTC)(link)
    Is it?

    [ With his question, Howl steps forward, swooping his arm out in a wordless invitation for Gray to follow him out of the Tribune courtyard. The speech and ceremony is continuing on as they talk, and Howl is much more interested in hearing Gray's opinion than listening to stuffy bureaucrats talk. ]

    By bringing your world back, you'd be bringing all the people in it back too, correct? That doesn't sound selfish to me.
    wolfish: (regard)

    [personal profile] wolfish 2024-02-13 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Yuri isn't so sure about noble, but rather than yield anything too personal about himself, he opts for something else. ]

    Oh, I'm thoroughly common.

    [ A jest, of course... Though he is commonborn. He moves right along from it soon thereafter, rather than lingering. ]

    Meridian's been successful with the last two Oracles, so you're right on this occasion. Back when I first got here, they did this to court new arrivals too.

    [ It may double as both, and it may not. Yuri couldn't rightly say one way or the other. ]
    corvidant: (9)

    B

    [personal profile] corvidant 2024-02-13 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Is Akechi a floriculture sort of guy? Absolutely not-- if anything, that sort of job would be a much better fit for (a different, female) Haru. Still, as far as interacting with the living goes, he is far more amenable to fauna and flora than he is to humans, if only because they are more amenable to him in return, no judgement passed on his worth or usability.

    So imagine how thrilled he is to come to the gardens only to be forced to pair up with some rando. Just his luck, really... ]


    I suppose I have no other choice.

    [ He does, but he doesn't plan on running like a loser, and he doubts he could find a more preferable partner because, well, there's no one he would want to do this forced hand-holding with, anyway. So, he holds his palms out together, cupped and primed for some seed growing. The things he'll do for his chosen faction... ]

    Let's get this over with.
    damnpire: (pic#12040565)

    [personal profile] damnpire 2024-02-13 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
    [DON'T PERCEIVE HIM. Also stop, don't be acting sad in front of my salad.]

    I see.

    [He says this casually, conversationally. It doesn't seem judgy, though he offers little in terms of facial response. Likely an acknowledgement he's listening.]

    I'm not interested in bringing people back from the dead. But I do think there was still valuable life left in my Earth. It had a new path already without creating another one. The way it was, no matter the history, never made it not beautiful.

    [D lowers his hand after at least two screws are in, keeping it stable. He lets Sho finish, though.]

    Give it some thought, but don't wait too long.
    revivia: (216)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-13 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ He hasn't messed around with the shiny new rock on the back of his hand, partially obscured by his glove. It seems inconvenient—a flamboyant, easily telegraphed weak spot—but it's also the reason he's still alive now, supposedly...? So he leaves it be.

    Her explanation is thorough enough to leave him frowning, though, his expression suddenly pinched. ]


    ...So you just regenerate?

    [ Maybe he needs to test this later. He can probably get Reiji to kill him. ]

    If I lose an arm, will it grow back? [ pain is not the important thing here ]
    revivia: (126)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-13 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ sorry he's an emo!!!

    Anyway nothing about D's world sounds beautiful at all, but he likes the hopefulness of his mindset. Sho's world isn't in such shambles. It has its lovely, diverse facets too. But D seems ready to fight harder for much less, and that's amazing.

    He works at the panel, quiet for long enough that maybe he's just zoned out, but the minor shifts in his expression imply he's listening intently. ]


    Whatever I chose, I hope you save them.

    [ Even if they end up at odds, which—they could? He wishes it didn't have to be a possibility. In an ideal world, Sho would prefer not to restore his power back at all. This is the most like himself that he's felt in years. But D's right—he can't put off for long, not for such a selfish and impractical whim. ]

    Is it dangerous here?
    revivia: (pic#17003716)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-13 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Nothing about Yuri strikes him as common, but that's fine. ]

    Ah. A recruitment opportunity.

    [ That makes sense too. It's a sort of atmosphere that could draw anyone in, especially those that need an anchor. ]

    How many of these Oracles do you need...? [ to... win? sorry to make you loredump, yuri ]
    revivia: (126)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-13 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ When every series has a Haru of some kind or another........ closes eyes...... Anyway, this guy is about his age, but obviously not very excited to be partnered up. Sho isn't offended by the lack of enthusiasm—he's used to this sort of atmosphere, and they don't have to get along to accomplish the task at hand.

    ...Probably? Actually, he has no idea how magic seeds work. Guess they'll see. ]


    I'll try to be an amenable partner.

    [ Handholding gardening partner. He says so flatly, but without any snark, professional despite the menial task of sprinkling a little mound of dirt and seed into Akechi's palms, before gently resting his hands atop that. He has a light touch—maybe moreso than is best for growing plants, but, baby steps. ]

    ...This isn't the sort of work I'd expected. [ He's not complaining, though. ]
    damnpire: (pic#15946976)

    [personal profile] damnpire 2024-02-14 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
    [tch

    Regardless if Sho becomes a Meridian or a (traitorous) Zenith, the words are enough to tell D that Sho isn't a bad person. Maybe doing bad things sometimes, he doesn't know Sho well enough yet. Like Amos. Like Gen (a little). Like Rin, like Atsumu.

    When Sho finishes, D slips his fingers beneath the edge and tugs lightly to make sure it doesn't budge.]


    Springstar, or Kenos? It can be.

    [BOTH ARE A LITTLE DANGEROUS SOMETIMES.]
    wolfish: (regard)

    [personal profile] wolfish 2024-02-14 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Better to ask now than wonder later. Yuri wound up doing a lot of wondering in his tenure. ]

    The way they tell it, anything less than getting all six of the Oracles is a failure. And failures have happened before, though they don't tell us how many times.

    [ He manages to wedge a couple more pastries onto his mound of food he's collected and at last is satisfied with his haul. So he turns his attention to Sho more properly. ]

    Right now, Meridian's got two to Zenith's one. I've not heard anything about what comes after they've been divvied up.

    [ Then again, there's never been details on how the Oracles are supposed to do anything in any case. The degree of omission has always been suspect, though there's little for it. ]
    revivia: (186)

    [personal profile] revivia 2024-02-14 07:13 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Unfortunately, he is a good boy, besides the fact that he is plagued by Oneitis. ]

    Both.

    [ He frowns minutely as he tests the panel himself, running his fingers along the edge to make sure there's no gaps. ]

    Though I thought the city would be safer.