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ABRAXAS MODS ([personal profile] abraxasmods) wrote in [community profile] abraxaslogs2024-04-17 10:07 am
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EVENT #18: EMERGENCE - IC EVENT LOG

Event #18 - Emergence
Whether voluntary or by force, you find yourself transported to the Singularity's crater. There probably aren't many resistors - officials have taken great pains to convince you to come voluntarily, reserving force as a last resort - but it's clear that everyone is required for this to work. It takes multiple mages to stabilize the portal, but you make it there in one piece. If you cooperate, you'll be asked to walk towards the ancient relic. If you resisted, you might be forced to do so while restrained. Regardless, a heavy fog soon descends around the area, obscuring you and your vision.

If you have thoughts of turning back, it's too late: for some of you, the second you step across the threshold, a force pulls at your chest and absorbs your psyche at once. For others, a mystical call beckons you to walk a little further before the same effect takes hold. And for a rare few, the call brings you to the Singularity itself, where you're compelled to touch it - and are subsequently swallowed up like the others.

The Horizon doesn't greet you like you might expect. Instead, something far stranger awaits.

Please communicate with your fellow players as needed! We also recommend discussing with us if you plan on a major environmental upheaval. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid changes to the landscape that will significantly alter the established map.

We've also posted comment sections for WORLDBUILDING and HANDWAVED submissions. Instructions can be found at the respective links.

Year 20,879
When you open your eyes, it feels like you've only blinked. If your body has transformed or you're someplace that shouldn't exist, it doesn't strike you as odd. You were always here. Everything around you was always here, and your physical alterations and new abilities - while perhaps not originally there - have been a part of you for a long, long time.

The world of Abraxas isn't completely foreign. Familiar territories remain, as well as the familiar faces of those with long lifespans. But a lot has changed in 800 years, too, especially where the Gods are concerned. Alongside the Old Gods of the Ancient Pantheon and the Cardinal Gods of the New Order, a third class of deities formed from you and your fellow Summoned: the Ecesis Gods of the Iterum Pantheon.
Politics, People, & Gods
Abraxas's political landscape remains complex, with continued tensions over land, worship, resources, and power. Nonetheless, since the Free Cities is no longer intent on destroying the Singularity, conflict over the ancient relic has lessened. All territories agree that the Godlands - and the Singularity - belong to the Gods themselves.
Beliefs and Gods
The active presence of the Summoned confirms the existence of the Gods. As a result, most Abraxans turn to the Summoned and other Gods for aid or protection. Extreme reverence exists in certain areas, especially on the Isle of the Lost and in parts of Solvunn. In other places, though, the Gods are merely acknowledged as a facet of life - a force that helps or hinders depending on temperament and should be respected, much like the sea. The Gods play a crucial role, sure, but so do the rain and stars. This is particularly true in the Feywilds, the Nether, and the Free Cities.

Small pockets of non-believers actively denounce the Gods. They claim the Summoned should be wiped from the world and the Singularity destroyed to prevent future invasions. Labeled dangerous heretics by Thorne and Solvunn, and "regressives" by the Free Cities - whose scientists and philosophers liken such thinking to be as foolish as declaring the sun unworthy or the earth to be flat - these people are shunned from society. In Solvunn, the consequences are more severe: heretics are exiled to the Barren, where they are subsumed by the desert, the Maw, or whichever Gods may punish them.

At the other end, some sects revere the Godlands so much that they believe feeding themselves to the relic will enhance Abraxas' good fortune for generations to come. Such cults are quite rare, but there are reports of mortals throwing themselves into the Singularity's crater and disintegrating as a gesture of their devotion to the divine.
International Relations
Due to the combined change in their priorities, Thorne and the Free Cities are less at odds. The Free Cities believes in protecting the Singularity; Thorne no longer seeks to control it. Nonetheless, mistrust flares on occasion.

While things are peaceful during these three months and have been for a few decades, Abraxas hasn't found a cure for war in the Gods. Conflict has broken out in the past and will again. Eyes are on the Nether as it grows in power, and who knows how long Thorne will be content with its losses? Will they convince the Velan Republic to reunite and turn against the Free Cities? For now, though, the territories have found their stride and appear more interested in progress than fighting.
Magic & The Singularity
Magic is relatively unchanged and is a vital part of Abraxan life. The small kingdom of Thorne continues to practice Academic Magic. Meanwhile, Wild Magic plays the same important role in the Velan Republic (formally Nott). Meanwhile, the Free Cities has developed New Magic further. The goal of decoupling magic from technology is less of a focus. Instead, researchers are eager to find new ways to fuse magic and innovation, including aspects of the Gods. Portable shrines, for example, are popular with traveling merchants.

High Magic no longer exists as a specific school of magic now that offerings, pacts, and requests to the Gods are a part of everyday life across Abraxas. Solvunn has returned to its roots, using the ancient Academic Magic practiced by the Lunae for standard tasks while turning to the Gods for greater blessings.

The Singularity has been relatively stable for the past two or three centuries. While occasional disturbances rumble, for the most part, the presence of the Summoned has strengthened it, alleviating its displeasure and ensuring that Abraxas - and possibly the universe itself - continues to exist. Indeed, academic writings from Thorne and the Free Cities across time suggest that the Singularity's devouring of the world has considerably slowed. It is now as much of a threat as the eventual collapse of the sun, something that is bound to occur but not for eons.

Of course, this could quickly change if the Summoned or any other Gods provoke the Singularity by rejecting its connection or denying its magic...so all should take care not to upset the nature of things.
Old World, New World
The map of Abraxas has undergone some notable shifts, although many names and places are the same.

Setting descriptions are HERE for your reference.

Mechapolis, the Witchwood, and the Barren/the Maw contain prompts related to the event itself. Information about those areas can be found under "Exploring the Land" in the section The World as the Divine (Month 1-2).


Month 1-2: Submersion
What do you last remember? Well, that depends. You might recall most things perfectly clearly. You might have new memories that don't feel new at all. Or, you might only remember the most recent year or two. Regardless, there is something missing: an important face, a handful of key events...maybe you don't remember having ever lived anywhere except Abraxas. You might find this unsettling, or you might accept it as just the way things are.

You've transcended those old memories, anyhow. You feel a little distant from the person you were centuries ago, and you most likely look different, too. Perhaps you've sprouted giant wings, become a formless void, or you're now a shapeshifter with no permanent appearance. You've gained a substantial amount of power and influence, the type that people of this world attribute to the Gods.

The first half is a more sandbox-like environment designed for scenarios that emphasize CR and personal character moments. Active conflict between the emergent reality and the world will not arise until the second half.

The World as the Divine
The mortals have bestowed you with a title and possibly a new alias. Do you know your mortal name anymore? Some of you might've taken on a new identity, or you might have held very tightly onto who you were. Regardless, your abilities have grown. Your new powers and appearance are as unique as your dominion, influenced by your interests, subconscious desires, or personal relationships.

While in your full God form, you'll move through the world unperceived. Only when you're sought by a mortal - followers, believers, cultists - can you consciously make your complete divine presence known. To be seen freely by all, you'll have to take on a less overwhelming shape to the mortal gaze. Those who have met the Old Gods or Cardinal Gods in the past finally understand why they seldom reveal their true selves, often arriving in hazy visions or speaking through animals.
Exploring the Land
The Witchwood
As the Summoned continued to ascend, their power began to coalesce, creating a new ecosystem never seen before. The dense woods, originally a temperate climate, warmed and grew into a thriving jungle. The air is humid and heavy with magic, the sky locked into an eternal sunset. Reds and oranges filter through the thick canopy. Birdcall and animal cries echo throughout the jungle. Trees and rocks seemingly move at night, meaning the Witchwood is impossible to map. Foolhardy souls who venture too deep are rarely seen again - unless divine intervention prevents a tragic fate from befalling them. Perhaps one of those intervening Gods is you?

The most dangerous beasts in the Witchwood are the demigod spawns. Creatures born from the Summoned, demigods are powerful enough to affect the world around them should they ever leave the magic-encased forest. See Impact & Consequences for more details on the demigods and how, as the Summoned, you can help maintain Abraxas' ecosystem.
Mechapolis
Heartwood Syndrome persisted in Fomalhaut long after the quarantined population died out. The port city stood as a monument to loss for nearly a century until about 200 years in when the Summoned gained notable influence as Gods. This resulted in a slow but steady acceptance of the Singularity's power as a positive force for potential advancement. New Magic boomed, leading to increased sophistication in technology and the refinement of automatons.

Originally designed to clear and guard Fomalhaut, they were eventually used to rebuild it. Fomalhaut became known as the City of Machines and was renamed Mechapolis. Although humans are barred from entering for safety, the automatons gather soil and air samples for study and perform fishing duties. The clockworks require routine maintenance and must return to a hub city or outpost for recalibration. Clockwork birds are used to communicate with Mechapolis. They can broadcast through the Free Cities's primitive "radio" towers.

You can enhance clockwork performance, boosting the towers or providing additional energy to the automatons. Scientists often have "rituals" when performing maintenance or experiments to earn the Gods' favor, hoping this will prevent their inventions from breaking down.
The Barren/The Badlands
Once contested territory between Thorne and the Free Cities, the Badlands was split into two by a large ravine shortly after Thorne retreated to Hayle. With neither side able to breach the gap, Solvunn naturally laid claim to the western half while the Free Cities retained its eastern half. On the eastern side, the chasm swallowed several well-known bandit camps and the presence of a new entity further drove them away. Bandits now occupy the mountains northeast of Aquila. Due to the entity's threat, the Free Cities increased its military presence in the Badlands to keep careless or foolish travelers from straying too far.

Meanwhile, Solvunn has named its portion of the wasteland the Barren and sought the Gods' assistance to form an enchanted forest. Those who enter are lost forever. Meant for more than just protection, the forest and the Barren serve as a place of exile. Heretics are taken into the woods and left to wander towards the Barren's harsh desert. There, they will face the elements, be devoured by the waiting Maw...or encounter a God.

As a God, you can lead the exiles to their salvation or doom, but choose carefully: the Maw is hungry and must be fed. These exiles want you dead. They don't care for you, and should their lack of faith spread, they might revive attempts to destroy the Singularity - and with it, your home. Is it so wrong to leave them to their fate? On the other hand, saving them might convert them by demonstrating your kindness.
The Maw
The Maw lurks beneath the chasm dividing the Badlands. Named for its gaping jaws, the Maw waits at the widest part of a jagged canyon, mouth open and salivating in the desert heat. Rows and rows of teeth as tall as a man spiral downward into a bloodshot throat. When sated, it retreats deep into the gully, barely visible aside from the shine of a tooth. When hungry, it draws closer to the surface. Hot and heavy winds often carry the putrid scent of its half-digested meals.

Solvunn is not the only territory that uses the Maw. The Free Cities will occasionally march criminals and bandits in that direction, as well, tossing them into the gaping mouth, although this method of execution is much rarer. Desperate exiles from Solvunn will try to cross the chasm despite the danger. None ever make it - at least, not without divine intervention.
Horizon, "Death," and Dormancy
Your domain in the Horizon is no longer constrained by size. How it's changed depends on you. The more detached from your mortality, the more likely it'll have surrealist elements: bizarre statues, physics-defying architecture, odd visual or psychological effects. The Horizon feels like home to all Gods, although you ought to take care not to heed its call beyond reason. Shutting yourself off from the physical world can result in unintended consequences...but completely refusing to enter the Horizon will do the same.

Additionally, Gods are beyond true death, but that doesn't mean you can act with impunity. Engaging in an exhaustive battle with other Gods can weaken you into dormancy. In this state, you will enter an ethereal void inside the Singularity. As you heal, you'll slowly be able to return to your Horizon domain and then the physical world once more. Depending on the extent of the damage, this process could take anywhere from months to decades. For instance, losing your head could take a few months, total dismemberment might take a year, and being vaporized into atoms can take a few decades.

Mortals cannot achieve this level of damage, even if they seemingly "succeed" in striking true. Only a God can weaken another God into dormancy. If a mortal removes your head, you can merely pick it up and put it back on.

Impact & Consequences
In the early years of your ascension, you might've wondered why the existing Gods seemingly intervened so little. Why did they not demonstrate their powers more blatantly over the thousands of years? Is it apathy? A desire to watch rather than act? As you come into your abilities, you realize that the Singularity and the universe are significantly more delicate than you thought. You begin to understand why the Gods have behaved the way they do.

Of course, whether you care to keep the world (and yourself) in balance is another story, but to be sure, some of the other Gods and the Summoned do - and you may have to defend your choices.

The equilibrium mechanic is described in OOC terms HERE. The Singularity and a character's ascension will not inherently sway them one way or the other. Any temptations will result from individual personality and development.

Instability Effects
To maintain the universe's equilibrium, you need to be cautious of when and how you interfere when using your status to alter the state of the world. Conversely, you'll also need to take care not to withdraw entirely. Several Gods have undergone periods of instability, though others haven't. Which category you fall under is up to you. It depends on who you are, your experiences, and your desires.
◎ Should you refuse to ACKNOWLEDGE your Godhood or enter the Horizon, you'll find yourself losing time. You may forget how you got from one place to another, or names you knew yesterday slip your mind. Lapses in memory or time can be temporary or permanent, but one thing they are is certainly confusing. With magic building inside you and nowhere for it to go, your power will begin to spill over, causing the Singularity to exhibit bursts of power that spawn demigods in the Witchwood.

◎ Should you give into the temptation to OVERINDULGE your Godhood or retreat to the Horizon for excessive periods, you'll lose more of yourself and your history. You may make decisions that feel unlike you, forget larger chunks of old memories, or struggle to distinguish what's real. Unrestrained use of magic will cause you to absorb yet more power, causing the Singularity to lose power in brief spurts, which can spawn demigods in the Witchwood.
These effects can be halted or even reversed in some cases. You might need someone's help to bring you back or convince you there's another way, or maybe you're the one seeking others out to assist. What you do soon understand is that your ability to manage your powers and stabilize your connection to the Horizon directly affects the Singularity and Abraxas...something that may have been true the moment you were summoned.
Demigod Spawns
Under the red haze of the Witchwood, monstrous creatures known as demigods or spawns emerge from crimson waterfalls and claw their out through the mossy soil. Born out of instabilities caused by careless actions from all Gods, they're usually contained to the Witchwood. For the most part, the older Gods - and the Summoned, if they choose - keep the demigods from leaving. However, now and again, one or two might escape, damaging towns, destroying villages, or causing ecological destruction in ways that are similar to natural disasters.

Demigods are not sentient. How they look can vary, but their appearances are often corrupted and disturbing: twisted animals, amorphous blobs, or alien-like parasites. They may resemble a monster you recognize from home.

Defeating one is possible but a challenge even for the Gods. Most crucially, you cannot kill your own spawn. Another God must deliver the killing blow, so working together is imperative. Should too many demigod spawns be allowed to invade the Witchwood, they will overwhelm and disrupt the Singularity further. Culling them is the only way to maintain stability.

You can submit demigod spawns you create to the WORLDBUILDING section if you want. Similar to using character powers, just keep the scale of destruction at a reasonable level.

Hearing Echoes
Echoes are a form of prayer that resonates through your connection with the Singularity. Solvunn has dedicated a monument to where the "First Echo" was heard, though the accuracy of this is debatable. Like the Network, you can hear an Echo regardless of where you are and can shut them out with concentration. However, your ties to Godhood may compel you to listen every so often. Mortals can entreat you through more formal methods (rituals, offerings, seasonal ceremonies) or in a moment of duress or desperation. They may seek you specifically or call to any God who will listen.

You can answer or ignore these cries for help as you like, but your choices carry consequences. Answer too many too eagerly, and your increased interference in mortal lives can upset the world's equilibrium - and the Singularity. Ignore your impact on the world, and your refusal to accept your ascension will equally destabilize the land as prayers go unheard.

Interacting with Other Gods
The Old Gods and the Cardinal Gods are an equal part of this world. For the most part, you coexist peacefully, though personal pacts and tensions can play a role. Each of you is aware of the impact of your actions on the Singularity: extreme displays of power are reserved for substantial transgressions, considering the price it carries.

Further, the older Gods have also walked the earth for centuries before you came. To them, you're still young, and rising against one of them won't end well for you. Nonetheless, many older Gods are more interested in giving advice or guiding you, ensuring the health of the Singularity and the universe so as not to doom all of you - Gods and mortals alike - to the void.

You can REQUEST AN INTERACTION with a God. Interactions will be brief but informative.

You will not be able to request a specific God. For logistical reasons, we have curated the list of Gods available ahead of time. However, we'll do our best to pick one from the pool that suits the purpose of your request.


Month 3: Awakening
Over the past 2 months, you've existed in the emergent reality without question. As you enter the third month, however, everything you've known over the past many centuries begins to shift. You might decide to investigate further, wondering if there's more out there that you aren't seeing. Alternatively, you might choose to ignore it, believing that your awakening is damaging the world and your life.
Catalysts
A catalyst can occur at any time through any circumstance. Do you see a familiar face you've forgotten in the eyes of a stranger? Do you recall a moment in your past while watching the mortals? Has a friend approached you specifically to try and remind you of the things you've forgotten?

With each memory returned you'll gain another piece of yourself. Depending on how much you've lost and how hard you'll cling to this reality, the effect may be clarifying or it might cause you distress and confusion. You might begin to encounter temporal cracks: buildings or areas that normally don't exist will flicker in and out of existence, or your reflection will briefly show an image of you from before your transformations took hold.

If you allow yourself to doubt your abilities or divinity, you might have trouble controlling your powers. If you've made alterations to your Horizon domain, it might start to revert to its original design.

These cracks are difficult to ignore, but if you bury your head, you can make them disappear - briefly, at least.
Shattered Skies
The effects go beyond the individual. As more of you and your fellow Gods reawaken, the sky also begins to form cracks that spread like broken glass. Through the fractures, you glimpse flashes of lightning and a swirling fog. The fissures only grow larger.

Soon, you realize you can see the Singularity itself, reflected upside-down in the crater. Disconcerting though it is, it may serve as proof that something is very wrong. Of course, you can also refuse to acknowledge this disturbance, closing your eyes to the crumbling sky. Doing so will let you remain unaware to the very end, but your friends who are seeking the truth might find your denial distressing.

The sky won't hold, though. Eventually, it does shatter completely - and you awaken abruptly, your body and others scattered several feet away from the Singularity's crater as if you were physically thrown out. The fog begins to dissipate. The lightning has stopped, the unrelenting storms fading across Abraxas. Whatever you went through, it seems to have done exactly what the territories hoped: stabilize the Singularity.

Characters will be returned home afterward. They will be thanked for their assistance regardless of if they cooperated.

Resistors will not face any consequences, as long as they don't cause excessive trouble upon their return. Officials will issue an apology for the heavy-handed action, stating that they saw no other way to keep the world safe. With the portals and weather returning to normal, it does seem to have worked...even if characters may not find the method agreeable.



techmaturgy: (pic#15429924)

[personal profile] techmaturgy 2024-06-13 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
[No, it's not right. Underneath Viktor's expressionless mask something shifts, though Cid can't see it. He's not sure why those words in particular have sent a little jolt through him, but it happens all the same. A moment of vertigo, something he should not be feeling--flashes of memory, ones that he does his best to push out of his mind.]

No.

[Definitive as he sounds, there's a shift in his posture, and in his voice. He stands, clearly intending to retreat deeper into his workshop.]

I think it's time for you to leave.

[He has work to do, and it can't wait.]
respiting: (111)

[personal profile] respiting 2024-06-13 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
You know what? Dealer's choice.

[ This idea is just so rife with potential, and any option is a good option as far as he's concerned. It's making him feel ... charitable. Agreeable, even. He gives Sidus the choice because he's game for anything the event they're about to bring to this crowd of mortals brings.

And if they do wind up going for both options in succession or simultaneously or sporadically placed within the time they grace the festival with their presence, well so be it.

Man, it's nice to be so easy-going.

His eyes even glint a little as they catch sight of the coins in Sidus' hand, as though he, too, could be tempted by them. He's always liked shiny, valuable trinkets, even when he has no need for them anymore. ]


Guess we oughta blend in while we plant some of those coins around, huh? Plan for our entrance.
gynvael: (378)

[personal profile] gynvael 2024-06-13 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ For fuck's sake.

He hasn't got time for this. Even Istredd's flicker of uncertainty does not stay his hand, in part because he no longer has a mind to pay attention. He needs to find Yen before it's too late, Istredd is in his fucking way, and there's no talking sense into him.

He can come back for Istredd later. Or perhaps Yennefer will, or Jaskier—he doesn't know. One thing at a time.

When Istredd once more refuses to budge, Geralt simply. Sighs. And then hits him, a strike he knows will hardly bruise given what they are. (Believe they are. However this shit is working.) But his point is made, and he sidesteps the mage without another word, reaching for his horse's saddle. ]
blackeyedprince: (the mask i wear)

[personal profile] blackeyedprince 2024-06-13 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
Absolutely not.

[When it comes to Fey, he knows not to mess with their favors. They always take more then they give. But in that particular situation, he suspects Viktor can relate.]

The gardener was ordered to destroy it, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

[It wasn't only the case that the little mushroom was unable to grow in the Feywilds. It was considered too harmful for them.]

This little thing filters anything it considers pollution. It was siphoning magic from the air around, poisoning itself in the process, but also making it harder for anything else to grow nearby. More of these could become a threat to the forest.
blackeyedprince: (Mara)

[personal profile] blackeyedprince 2024-06-13 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
"This is my garden. It rains here when I want, and as much as I want."

Mara crouches near the blighted rosebush. The rotten mass looks wet, but when he reaches to pick some of the dark mud, it crumbles in his fingers like charred remains of something that was incinerated. The ash blown away by the wind that isn't there.

"Just a while ago." How many days he cannot tell. They all feel passage of time differently now. "I came upon a hole in the ground that looked like it was washed away. Surrounded by no less than three bushes lying on the ground. Uprooted and dying already. Their root has been eaten away."

Since then, he found many more. Mara fears it is spreading, and he still doesn't know what's causing this blight.
spiritread: (014)

[personal profile] spiritread 2024-06-13 06:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ Sometimes your air bending knack to avoid things continues on for 80-0 years, she's happy to take the acknowledgement easily enough. A flit of a sheepish smile and no further commentary. ]

Of course.

Are you going to help him? [ A beat and she glances at Percy, ] Does he need more help?

[ Family bonding activity? Or at least she says it in the way of a 'I/we can help'. ]
theidlemaiden: (pic#16517646)

[personal profile] theidlemaiden 2024-06-13 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Had he voiced that determination, about this being for him as much as it is for the rest of them, she would have told him to consider that maybe this, unlike the portals, wasn't something that everyone wanted. That this power terrified her and she wanted her morality back, even if it would mean a shorter life.

None of this was real. None of this had been their choice. And therein lay the issue.

There's so many things that she wants to say but instead an outburst happens first as she stands up. Maybe it's the heightened emotions that can no longer be channeled into her powers. Or maybe she's finally hit her breaking point with him. ]


Do you? If you did then you would come back with us. There's nothing wrong with giving up. [ Her eyes lose some of that heat and frustration, showing the desperation beneath. ] Please.
theidlemaiden: (pic#16095029)

[personal profile] theidlemaiden 2024-06-13 06:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ She gives him another glance before depositing the shard into a little pouch that she'd worn around her neck to keep the pearls in. ]

Well, let's go get it then.

[ Her feet tap the air bubble meeting some level of resistance. With a little more effort though she manages to push through. With one last bright smile towards Yinyue she big gulp of air - before plunging into the waters.

Once she's at the coral her claws unsheathe as she begins to pry some of the coral away from their prize. ]
inthenameofhades: (Sarcasm and snark face)

[personal profile] inthenameofhades 2024-06-13 09:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Well I always figured that I could just die, and get back home the customary way. But then...that stopped being an option." Something he might have found out firsthand a few centuries back. Not intentionally of course. But he had been surprised to find that he hadn't woken up in the Styx.

"But...what do you mean, we were gods before everyone else? We've always been gods."
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (Default)

[personal profile] carmesi 2024-06-13 03:44 pm (UTC)(link)
I promise you that you won't hate it.

( now that he's here, they can be together. it's just that they have to attend to their duties, norms that they themselves stipulated in the first place. they really have no one to blame but themselves.

vexani clings to his side, holding onto his arm. )


Then we'll have the rest of the moon's sleep for ourselves.
Edited 2024-06-13 15:44 (UTC)
aquaveiled: (pic#15849522)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-06-13 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Himeka squeezes it back and manages another smile. She's ever been the optimist, but she feels she may be allowed a little moping after all that's happened. ]

Yes, you're right. I should wait.

[ As eager as she is to try and fix what she's done. Surely she'll find something else to occupy herself for a while... ]

Thank you, Alucard. I think I will stay here for a while...and I hope when our paths cross again you won't need to put a stop to me.
funbreaker: (pic#14106054)

[personal profile] funbreaker 2024-06-13 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The hope had been that keeping his distance and erecting the shield would be sweet enough bait to bring Cassian in close, as that is when Aegis would find the upper hand, but it doesn't turn out to be so simple. Cassian has always been the cautious type, preferring to attack from the shadows when possible; it's something they share in common, something they once bonded over from what Aegis can remember.

How ironic that they now fight like this; a clash of gods that has little in the way of subtlety to it.

He recognizes the taunt for what it is, but Cassian also isn't wrong. He's going to have to hunt him down. ]


I've never known Cassian to attack innocents either, yet here we are.

[ He braces himself, then moves in a flash, dropping the shield and then immediately rocketing into the air with a powerful flap of all his wings. It allows him to dodge out of the way before the sand can harm him again.

One of his wings is injured, but he pushes through the pain and he can still fly high enough to see a bird's eyes view of the village — along with where Cassian has tucked himself away. Only a sharp gaze could pick out the shape of a man made of dust and dirt alone, but Thancred finds it, and then divebombs right for him, gunblade drawn. ]
iustise: (69)

i hope you won't mind me continuing this even though its super late ;;

[personal profile] iustise 2024-06-13 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[John's expression softens ever so slightly at that confession. The fear of loss...

John is a soldier. He knows that now. He cannot say he had ever truly lost that part of himself, but in a way it had been buried, and for however long he had spent together with his fellow travelers here in this place, he had found peace. But as a soldier, John understands loss. He has faced it, time and time again. Perhaps not exactly in such a way as Jaskier refers, but he suspects it is not so different either.

There are those who might say that it gets easier, over time. But John suspects that those are lies one tells oneself to soften a blow. And being Verity, he is not about to lie to his companion.

John gently squeezes Jaskier's hand in return, where the other man is holding it tight.]


It is not wrong to fear loss. You seek to protect yourself from the pain you know is coming. And so you run.

[John searches the other man's expression gently.]

My dear friend. You know that you cannot run forever.
aquaveiled: (himeka-237)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-06-13 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Azem's head rolls back as she lets out a hearty laugh. It does usually come back to food, yes, and Azem may have made her entire domain one of indulgences and plenty. But they both know that she would be pleased to have Nebula's company even if the two of them did absolutely nothing at all.

That's the nice thing about having people you care about. They're all that's necessary. They do enough simply by existing. ]


No, no you do not.

[ She's all smiles when she settles. Finishing up the crown of flowers, she holds it above Nebula's head. ]

May I?
aquaveiled: (himeka-596)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-06-13 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He moves like a bird in the sky under the sea and Azem is, as always, quite impressed by him. They balance each other out well, covering up any perceived weaknesses in one another's styles with their own strengths both on and off of the battle field. There are only a few things she's sure of from their time before Abraxas, but that Aegis has been an important figure in her life is something she has never once doubted.

She trusts him wholly, more than anyone.

It's a kindness that she allows him the rest of his fish undisturbed, instead shifting her sights on another school. Azem goes for speed at first, grabbing as many little fishes as her pockets can handle. That is, until she spots it--

--a leviathan.

Oh. Oh now that would certainly win the contest. And there's no possible way this could go wrong, having wrestled leviathans in the past.

Heh.

She looks over her shoulder and grins at Aegis before shooting off towards the shadowy presence in the distance.

Don't worry about it. ]
diametrically: (pic#16919584)

[personal profile] diametrically 2024-06-13 09:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Cassian can scarcely remember his own humanity; he can only recall being scattered to the wind. And while most of it came back, it always did, it always would like some cruel reminder of all the innocent he'd feasted on, that humanity never came back. Not fully. But it persisted, lingered, calling to him across star systems and galaxies, trying to remind him of where he'd come from and to never forget what it meant to fight. To hope.

Both of those things are what keep him going too. Every step he takes across Abraxas, every piece of himself that he tears from his flesh to tip the scales for humanity take him one step closer to Serentiy. But it was always a double edged sword. This was a harmful cycle that he had thrust them on. And he has no one else to blame but himself.

Sand kicks up around their feet brought on by his distress. The truth tears him in two. Still, the humanity in his bones persists, calling to him through the hunger, begging him not to forget. This is important, it tells him, not for him but for her. ]


I'm not just trying to give them sunrises - I'm trying to give you that peace too. A place where it's quiet for you so you don't have to stay in the horizon all the time. A space where you can be present and we might be able to spend time together again. To have our own sunrises.

[ There is nothing he can say that will make up for what he's done to her. His sister, his north star. And he can see he's gone about it the wrong way. ]

It's no excuse. I lose myself to the hunger. I don't know when enough is enough. [ His gaze that had shifted far away suddenly returns to her brimming over with despair and guilt. ] I didn't know that I was doing this to you.
diametrically: (pic#17140994)

[personal profile] diametrically 2024-06-13 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That smile of hers, so warm, so full of content, is enough to make him smile right back. This is what every pound of flesh he tore and broken bones had been for. For moments like this with his sister. ]

It only took a couple of decades.

[ It's a joke at his own expense. The cycle of heartbreak and discontent is something that he fully takes the blame for, and one that he knows he'll do anything to continue making up for as long as they lived. Stars continue to streak overhead and he thinks it's only fitting that they are his witness. Any humour that might have been in his expression is quick to fade out, replaced with something incredibly sincere. ]

...Thank you for never giving up on me, mèi mei.
Edited 2024-06-13 22:45 (UTC)
vixening: ([ ∿ ] 060 [S2])

[personal profile] vixening 2024-06-13 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ something is changing, they are changing, but they aren't doing it alone. that is what has kept yennefer who she is for as long as it has, her connection to others, their grounding force in her life. the worst moments of her life were when she believed herself to be alone, when she fell victim to the push and pull of the chaos as it swirled. but yennefer found her footing, her foundation, her anchor. and now she has molded herself into one.

tissaia - a name that right now yennefer still holds, still carries, even as it is actively slipping away from her as the years move on - had been the first for yennefer, too. the first moment where she was convinced she'd found something that would not budge in the storm. and now? now yennefer refuses to move, lets river's panic, her worry, the sheer force of every emotion she can call to mind, whip around them.

but she will not budge. and she forces that steadiness in river's direction, guides her to reach for it, to trust that it will be still once she is able to keep her hold. river sobs, but river breathes, and yennefer slows her own for river to have something to match. yennefer waits, her eyes on river's face, until she sees the brown of her eyes looking back to her. it is not perfect, it is not complete, but it is enough.

I'm here and yennefer smiles, relieved, proud of the work that river's done, the things she's accomplished. it is heavy, and their link means that yennefer can feel it too - only a fraction of what river is holding, only a fraction of what she is pushing through, but it is enough to remind her to keep moving.

where do they go? yennefer's mind whirls, ideas and thoughts and theories spinning through faster than she's able to bring words to. still, it is something that is possible, something they can do. ]


We go back. We rebuild. [ river's hands are steady on the bowl, so while yennefer keeps one solidly against it, her other reaches out to the room - collecting ingredients, summoning tools. none of it will be used directly in this process, in this magic, but they will be of help to center her and river's chaos. will be what they need to complete this task.

it feels... impactful. important. like a bell has run and a new era has been ushered in. still, yennefer knows what it will require of them, what it will change in them, but she does not hesitate. ]
We lead him down the path of remaking, and herald his return.

[ a breath, as something shifts in the room. it could be the tools, it could be yennefer's subconscious shifting the area around them. she creates something still, something neutral, a blank slate that takes away the classroom and replaces it with something else. something more.

her eyes close, and she recites an incantation under her breath, steadying all that is moving, all that is changing. when they open again, the violet of her eyes seem to glow, the colors and light almost reminiscent of the ring of the singularity itself. ]
You will have to anchor him, River. Do you understand? You will not be remade, but to do this, to be this, you will not be as you were once before.
cryptsleeper: <user name="malagraphic"> (thinkin for a sec here)

/end

[personal profile] cryptsleeper 2024-06-13 11:05 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll be very disappointed if I do.

[He smiles, gently retracting his hand. It is strange, having one small part of him wet in a giant desert. But so it goes.

The portal closes. Alucard breathes out. This will be fine.]
restingstitchface: (Default)

[personal profile] restingstitchface 2024-06-13 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Crane tilts his head, focusing on their topic, thinking of a response.]

Their symbolism. The Magician represents the master of a craft. A hyperfocused, perfectionist individual dedicated to his work. My friends would claim that description suits me to a tee.

[If he had friends. But yeah, guess what his sign is?]
seaweedbrain: (015)

wrapped! 🎀

[personal profile] seaweedbrain 2024-06-14 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
Mushrooms, hmm? I don't, actually. [ His eyes brighten just like hers do though, in a mixture of amusement and something like happiness for moments as simple and normal as these.

This, he thinks, feels like something that has always naturally happened no matter how long it's been, or how much more power they as gods possess. The moments with family are something Percy finds he still cherishes, despite the fact that he might not technically need them anymore.

He might not know everything she's talking about, and doesn't follow all of it, but he listens and he absorbs, and once she's done in the midst of his drinking and eating, he wipes at his mouth and slides back from his chair. ]


Please, mom. [ He smiles and gestures in a kind of 'lead the way' motion. ] That all sounds amazing. It's been some time since I've seen it all.

[ And he certainly has time to view all of the new additions too. Returning to the ocean can wait. ]
flagrates: (clive-10888)

[personal profile] flagrates 2024-06-14 01:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Punching wasn't quite what I had in mind, [ he murmurs, drawing his sword and advancing forward. The creature has it's back to them, and it reaches back to scratch at it's rear end, as though bored. Mythos doesn't have ears, but if he did, they'd be laid flat against his head, an angry cat trying not to hiss at the rodent in its territory.

His tail does twitch a little, though. ]


And it'll be little more than a distraction, I'm afraid.

[ But it's all Azem needs, really. Mythos crouches on his haunches and then leaps forward with a roar, the demigod turning and staring dumbly for the briefest of moments before, swinging wide with it's arm, sending Mythos sliding across the forest floor on his feet. He throws one hand down to cause drag in the slide, but he's taken out at least two trees and cracked a third as he thuds against it. ] Fuck!
catholica: (CC_173)

[personal profile] catholica 2024-06-14 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I know I won't hate it.

( he's never hated it. he just likes to be contrary because he can. still, he would put aside most everything else just to spend time with her. )

I'm sure I'll even like it.
philancer: (071)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-06-14 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Claude arches into him beautifully - as he suspected he would, always one for showing off. He smiles against the man's throat, a quiet chuckle ruffling the dark hair with warm breath. And that hand, dragged back to where he wants it, only teases around the area, before sliding back up to playfully tweak at one of his nipples instead.

His gaze meets Jesper's over Claude's shoulders, dark with anticipation and hunger. He sees that gleam of silver, feels a rush of heat that draws a husky moan from his lips, muffled against Claude's flesh as his eyes flutter closed for a moment before he's pressing against the man's back more firmly. The press of his growing arousal - impossible to resist when temptation is luring them so sweetly, a siren's call that will not be denied. His hands grasp a little more firmly, less a teasing caress now and more a hint of demand. A careless disregard with his outfit, as fine as it is.

He wants the warm flesh underneath, that pool of desire within him flaring from a simmer into something far hungrier.

"I'm never opposed to causing some wrinkles. Or more." A pause, before he gives a short, bemused snicker. "And no, 'shy' is not a problem any of us have ever had, I'd wager."
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (Default)

[personal profile] carmesi 2024-06-14 07:02 pm (UTC)(link)
( she brings his hand up to her lips, kissing at his bandages knuckles. )

I'm sure you cannot wait to take a break from these mortals. I'll pamper you head to toes for that long travel you had to do.