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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.



restingstitchface: (Boredom [AU])

[personal profile] restingstitchface 2024-04-21 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
[Silence hangs on the air. Water ripples beneath the balcony, waves of subconscious memory disturbing the surface. He recalls pleading with an older woman. He remembers being birched for his insolence. You knew what I would say, Jonathan.

But he cannot remember sounding so young.

He cannot recollect his feelings. He cannot identify his emotions - and he cannot imagine himself seeking permission from anyone. He cannot imagine why words are slipping off his tongue.]


Well, I could, but the next thing I know, you'll be telling me to go back to my room.

[Room. The word makes him wince.]
respiting: (133)

climb every mountain, ford every stream — OTA ;

[personal profile] respiting 2024-04-21 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ Rocket ain't a transport vehicle — never was, never will be.

But on the occasion, because it's stupid and it's fun and he'll often get some kind of traded favour out of it, he'll offer his friends a ride. It's certainly a different way to travel, but the air up here is crisp and cool, and the company ain't bad either.

(It isn't, okay, Rocket is a real goddamned treat.)

If you just so happen to be one of those friends, well — you now officially owe him a future favour and maybe something shiny to add to one of his numerous temples scattered across the country lands.

Tilting his very, very large head towards you, he'll ask: ]


So where are you off to, anyway?
godshattering: (pic#15439514)

[personal profile] godshattering 2024-04-21 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
Feature: Demigod
Location: The Witchwood
Description: A ghostly deer which tends to materialize out of the shadows from wherever it was lurking when it feels threatened as it will always pursue if there's any chance of a fight to be had. A fierce opponent capable of moving at great speeds and much agility while swinging its horns, it's said a swipe of those horns will inflict a powerful poison into the wounds left behind. Though where that particular knowledge came from is hard to say, it's also said there's an antidote which can also be made from blooms within the jungle at the request of divine intervention. When not in pursuit of something that's crossed its path, it doesn't often attempt to escape The Witchwood or fight others and mostly stays out of sight.
Character Involvement: Claude von Riegan
diametrically: (pic#16919485)

[personal profile] diametrically 2024-04-21 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's no recognition in his eyes at the sight of Azem, no faint tug at the back of his skull that typically occurs when he comes across a god that he may know. It's a good thing, he decides, or rather it's a neutral thing. Someone knowing him and seeing him like this might cause more trouble than is worth.

He tracks the movement of her eyes down to the mortal who cannot see and soon will not be able to hear. Sand snakes, curling its way into his ears and his gaze stays steady on the red-head. If the smell coming from the Maw bothers him he doesn't show it, almost as if he can't smell it at all. But where Azem's eyes go towards his victim, his void eyes gaze down towards the basket in her arms. That smell is stronger than the stench of death.

When she speaks however his eyes go back to hers. ]


Does it matter? Are they followers of yours?
kobes: ([star] well that's horrifying)

for hilda

[personal profile] kobes 2024-04-21 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
[Usually when they meet, it's somewhere in the Feywilds, when some poor, innocent human has gotten lost and Koby's been called upon to guide them home. There are any number of reasons that someone could've gotten lost -- the woods aren't exactly hospitable to humans, and Fey are known to play tricks.

Sometimes, though, when Koby appears with his little stardust fish, he has a pretty good idea of who's responsible. There's an element of...chaos to it that's pretty damn identifiably --
] Hilda? I know you're here.
sophos: (pic#4539986)

[personal profile] sophos 2024-04-21 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ annabeth had called out to cassian first, without thinking, mostly because she'd been thinking about him. dusted, again, like a fucking idiot, and it's been longer than usual for him to come back to himself. or maybe it hasn't - her sense of time continues to blur each passing year. ]

[ she has a back up plan, of course - clarisse, usually, or even percy if need be - and she always likes to give herself a few minutes of fighting them herself, even though she knows she can't kill her own. fighting them is still cathartic, in a way, and her friends are used to the semi-frequency in which hers appear as she continue to overindulge. ]

[ she's appropriately armored as she always when she comes to the witchwood; the gold is not subtle here, but annabeth has not been interested in subtle in a very long time. when she hears cassian's voice, she finds herself feeling two things: relief and anger. there's no concern for his warning or time to really grapple with his presence just yet, as her demigod spawn beelines towards her. ]


As if it could kill me. [ regardless of whether or not it can, annabeth refuses to consider the notion. just because she can't personally kill it doesn't mean she can't deal it damage. battle strategy is still a craft, and as the creature swipes his talons at her, she swings her sword (also gold) to block the blow, then twists it expertly to spin the whole demigod off balance. ]
thedreamer: (0547)

[personal profile] thedreamer 2024-04-21 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ Sometimes he can't even remember how it all started, what pulled them apart; a big thing, a series of little things — it doesn't much matter in the end, because he knows it was his fault. That, at least, he's always known; he ruins the people he loves most. No matter how desperately lonely he is and how much he fears that loneliness, he knows her being far away from him is the best thing for her.

He's weak, though. It's easier when she's not near him. His selfishness is a powerful weapon. To look behind him, to face her, to reach for her hand — oh, he wants it. More than anything. To feel the weight of her in his arms again. ]


Why did you come, Julia? It shouldn't matter.

[ It does to her. For reasons passing understanding. He's the last one she should think of any longer. ]
theidlemaiden: (pic#16095199)

[personal profile] theidlemaiden 2024-04-21 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's a sweet sentiment, one that means more to Hilda than he knows. For the year she'd lost herself to her emotions both ugly and sweet, there were moments in her darkest despair that 

Hilda sniffs. ]
 

Really? Are you sure you wouldn't rather have a basic sword? 

[ Okay, that's a little mean and even she knows that. She knows that it isn't just basic it is something of home for him. And they both know how important it is to cling to pieces of home when none of it exists here, when there is no one left who remembers.

Hilda sighs, picking it up and holding it out to him. ]
 

Put the ring on. It's attuned to you and only you. Well, and me. I had to test it and make sure it worked after all.
kobes: ([star] lost in thought)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-04-21 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Koby doesn't leave his own Domain much, like most of them. But it occurs to him sometimes to check in on people he cares for, even if it takes decades for the thought to come.

Today it's Apollo, the memory of the chain occurring to Koby in between answering Echoes and staring at the waves. When he arrives, it's much longer than it had been on his last visit. How long had it been?

He sits, warm and glowing slightly, a small star contained within a still fairly human-seeming form.
] I'm sorry it's been so long.
kobes: ([star] still just a lil guy)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-04-21 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
[The silvery little fish that float around Koby most of the time react first -- the wings send them skipping off to the far corners of his Domain, disappearing in bursts of stardust. It takes him a moment to look up from whatever he's reading -- usually something about one of the other Summoned, tales and legends of their deeds, sometimes the only way he can actually keep up on what his friends have been up to.

But sometimes they appear -- like Eddie. There's a quirk of a smile on Koby's face, even as he huffs in mild exasperation.
] You scared my fish.
seaweedbrain: (020)

month 3 — ;

[personal profile] seaweedbrain 2024-04-21 03:52 am (UTC)(link)

( awakening: catalysts and nightmares and realizations, oh my! )
kobes: ([star] hopeful)

wedding witnessing

[personal profile] kobes 2024-04-21 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
Koby doesn't leave much, anymore -- he relies on visits, on other Summoned passing through as he answers Echoes, provides his guidance from afar to keep him abreast on the happenings of Abraxas. But there are sometimes some petitioners who tug at his heartstrings hard enough that Koby makes an exception.

Like now, at the wedding, a broader-shouldered, less anxious version of himself, his stardust dimmed down as much as he can manage, though his body still radiates the heat of a star. Koby smiles a little as he comes up beside Jesper, watching the couple embrace and, specifically, watching the grandmother of one weep with joy. "She called on me every single morning to "guide these two idiots to each other". I'm glad it worked out."

A pause, then he nudges his shoulder gently against Jesper's. "Hi. It's been a little while, I know."
kobes: ([star] still just a lil guy)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-04-21 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
For whatever reason, Koby's felt recently stirred to venture out of his Horizon, being the opposite of Shepard, tending to remain in his domain almost all the time. But maybe he's feeling a little more nostalgic these days. Homesick.

Whatever the reason, he's there, looking upwards at Shepard's ship, thinking about the stories he's heard about it. So many, over the years. The adventures of the Normandy are legends Koby knows nearly as well as tales of himself.

After a long moment, he says, softly, "It's been a while. I wanted to...see how you were."
theidlemaiden: (pic#16094991)

[personal profile] theidlemaiden 2024-04-21 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yinyue's lack of swimming clothes hadn't been enough to tip her off that she had misinterpreted how they were going to collect the pearls. This wouldn't have been the first time they had gone swimming and he'd just dove right into the surf.

Case in point, that one time incredibly embarrassing incident that he mentions now which immediately draws colour to her cheeks. It doesn't matter that the one time had spawned a sudden trend in asymmetrical earrings for several seasons, it was still mildly traumatic.

All the same Valentine's gaze follows the direction of his finger. Even as she relives her embarrassment and horror she can't help but feel touched that he was being so thoughtful. ]


Well I'm with you, aren't I? I thought you were going to make a bubble or something for us to swim down there. I don't mind. In fact [ Here she can't help but look sheepish. ] I thought it'd be kind of fun.
kobes: ([star] hopeful)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-04-21 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
Koby grins a little, looking up as Garrus descends, all feathers and halo. His own form is smaller, simpler, more humanoid, though he glows with all the stardust now contained in his blood, his bones.

"Awww, but it's funny every time." He's gotten more confident with age, with time, accustomed to being in his skin. But he can vaguely remember earlier days, the way he'd clung to Garrus's stability, to his protection. It's one of the things he still retains, after all these years. "What about the calibrations one?"
kobes: ([star] soft focus)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-04-21 04:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Koby's not entirely sure how long it's been -- time is weird, these days, ages of time passing by in what feels like moments, months slipping through his fingers. It's been long enough that seeing the Doctor has Koby's chest going tight with nostalgia, with remembering, has him smiling genuine and warm.

The silvery little fish seem pleased as well, skipping forward and frolicking around the Doctor like they're happy to see him. Perhaps they are -- Koby certainly seems to be.
]

I thought you'd sort yourself out eventually. It's good to see you, though, even if I'm still sure you could've found your way eventually. [A moment of hesitation, then, softer:] It's been a while.
theidlemaiden: (pic#16006949)

[personal profile] theidlemaiden 2024-04-21 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
Astarion.

[ Valentine had been out of sorts early on too, a time that she and Alucard had dubbed her "god puberty". It was a way of making light of the fact that there had been more to that time than just her inability to cope with these newfound powers. That time is a blur, perhaps on purpose, because she had done things she wouldn't have done normally like betray a good friend's trust by sleeping with her divorced husband. It's been centuries since that time; her shame regarding the situation has burned away leaving behind feelings of equal parts fondness and exasperation for Astarion - and her own penchant for pulling the occasional practical joke on him when she has the opportunity.

She spins in place, feathers trailing elegantly as she does. When she comes to a stop her expression is nothing but surprise, her mouth falling open in a pert little 'o'. ]


Me? You know that anything I put out is nothing short of perfection! And besides [ Here she points to the plaque that has a little piece of paper made waterproof by magic displaying the name of the artist in childlike letters. ] that isn't my name.
satanicpanics: (pic#16020735)

[personal profile] satanicpanics 2024-04-21 04:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ Jesper is kind of the exception. There are others who have pulled away almost entirely, purposefully, hiding themselves away because they’ve been hurt in some form or another. Eddie understands, but Eddie has also danced through these last 800 years almost entirely unchanged, and to see others change for the worse--it's frustrating and upsetting. He feels like he has to force his company upon them in order to stop them from totally cutting ties.

But there are others, like Jesper, who haven’t necessarily pulled away so much as they’re just…busy. Ridiculously busy, in this case. Eddie keeps his calendar full, but he still can’t imagine living life on Jesper’s level. Sometimes you need a little down time, and you don't seem to get that when you're that popular.
]

Oh, so you do remember.

[ He presses a clawed hand to his chest and pretends to look offended, but he cracks quickly, grinning ear to ear. ]

Shit—I, uh…didn’t think that far in advance, honestly? I had two other rejections so I was kind of prepared for another. Let me mull it over for a sec.

[ He cranes his neck as he drifts beside Jesper, trying to get a good look at his design, purposefully passing through every mortal he possibly can just to be a nuisance. They can’t see him anyway, but he suspects they can feel his presence. And they all look…happy, which is nice to see, and yet… ]

You could leave a little doom and gloom, you know. For flavor.
gynvael: (mg: 001)

[personal profile] gynvael 2024-04-21 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
[ After so long, most Echoes fade into the background. With so many others he trusts to take care of what needs to be done—who are as capable of it as him—he is less compelled to answer every cry. But some call to him and him alone, reaching through the small carved wolves he leaves behind, and those are the ones he cannot ignore.

He spins his horse around. He does not anticipate the Doctor arriving. Isn't surprised to see him, either. They've crossed paths before. What they will find this time, he can't say. He hopes for some fanged beast. An easy, uncomplicated problem. Deep down, he senses there is more to it, and sure enough, when he walks through the gates, the only monsters are the men who encircle the children. Fresh corpses litter the dirt; not soldiers or guards, just farmers and tradesmen. He gives no consideration as to what the men want; whatever their motivations, it can't possibly justify slaughtering a village and stealing its children.

A man around the corner tears a young girl from her mother's arms. Geralt glances up. His eyes narrow. He curls his fingers around his sword.

While the Doctor faces the man wielding a dagger, Geralt stalks after the brigands targeting each hut. Tangled roots sprout at his feet. The men fall quickly—blood staining the ground, spilling over stone steps. Geralt steps over an abandoned arm to retrieve the girl clutching the roughly hewn wolf. It's okay, he says. He means to tell the Doctor to take her with the others, but when he returns to the center of the square, he realizes—

Gently, he puts the girl down. The darkness rippling outwards is unmistakable. The cluster of boys smell thickly of fear, shrinking away from the starlit figure that came to their rescue.

Geralt shifts his weight, uncertain whether he'll be heard. He hasn't seen the Doctor like this before. And although he doesn't give a shit about the human man, something tells him the Doctor will regret frightening the children. ]
That's enough.
glaciare: (jill-05975)

i. echo

[personal profile] glaciare 2024-04-21 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
( Metia answers Echoes when she can, if the prayer is desperate enough, if someone calls for her by name. Others she discards -- their voices not true enough, or that there are other gods more suited to seeing to their needs.

Not so this one, which flits through her mind and causes her heart to ache; and Metia takes to the sky from her home with a simple word to Mythos though nothing spoken aloud I will return, my love, do not wait for me resonates through their bond as husband and wife, as-- something, though the name escapes her. She knows it is something only she shares with Mythos, with Bahamut and Ramuh; that is enough.

(Though there are times she wonders why she cannot communicate thus with her son, her dearest Yinyue. She does not dwell upon it long.)

What Metia doesn't expect is to find another god on their way to this particular mortal--
)

Aegis.
gynvael: (ml: 027)

[personal profile] gynvael 2024-04-21 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ Geralt's lips pull down into a frown as a golden paw stretches towards the carving. He lets Jaskier examine the amorphous wooden blob. The wings resemble flattened pieces of clay; the beak makes the figure look as though it bears a miniature head.

It'll take shape with time. ]


Envious? [ He's teasing. Jaskier and John get along well. A rarity when it comes to the men he keeps in his life—but John is...different. Open in a way the others do not allow themselves to be. In a way that Geralt hasn't always allowed himself to be.

He's been trying, as of late, to let go. ]


I'll see him in late spring.

[ Perhaps he will bring John a bauble. Not all them find a home; most end up as kindling. Geralt just likes to keep his hands busy. This one, however. This one, he intends to gift. ]
thearchangel: (Why yes I am hotter in this game.)

[personal profile] thearchangel 2024-04-21 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
"It's only funny the first hundred years."

He remembers Koby as he was. As he used to be. Smaller, uncertain, quick to panic and stay in the shadow of himself and Shepard. He chuckles, the puff of air fluttering the feathered blindfold stretched across his face.

"Do you even know what calibrations are?" He asks it idly, hunkering down on his heels at the water's edge.
mathmetism: (tumblr_inline_p5gezksLcL1rvxgyx_100)

[personal profile] mathmetism 2024-04-21 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
At Jesper's festival, while he's expressing discontent at the middling orgy preparation, Jerry unceremoniously falls out of a nearby hammock someone strung between a couple of trees. the neon swirl of rainbow fur of his coat floofs up and loses a few fibers to the ground as he does a wonka-style roll up to his feet and shuffles over to Jesper's side.

"Yeah, well, you know humans and their inhibitions. They get shy."

Couldn't be Jerry. Even before godhood, probably before Abraxas (not that he remembers), inhibitions weren't a problem. For as long as he can recall, optimistic nihilism has been his bread and butter and tasty breakfast jam, maybe with some cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. The neon-rainbow flock of butterflies that follows him around come to rest on his arms, his shoulders, melting in and out of the psychedelic colors of his coat, a couple flitting affectionately onto Jesper's hair. He angles his bespectacled face to his god-friend, waggling eyebrows.

"Want me to give a little confidence boost?"
Edited 2024-04-21 11:20 (UTC)
mathmetism: (tumblr_inline_p5gf2u5rQk1rvxgyx_100)

OTA; euphoria at the disco

[personal profile] mathmetism 2024-04-21 11:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ today, jerry's hanging out to bless a festival in the velan republic that's now become a late night, mind-altered, floaty psychedelic lights, dance party. once again, he is wearing some nonsense, that probably looks much more muted to mortals, but his fellow summoned will witness him in all his coachella lookin' glory. he's cruising through a crowd of common folk dancing around a bonfire with a tray of drinks and snacks he's distributing as he goes, like the self declared waiter of the mosh pit. ]

Drink up and party down. Or sideways. Party whatever direction you want, exercise your right to self-determination, I'm not the boss of you.

[ other gods will spot a small cloud of rainbow, iridescent butterflies flocking around his shoulders, some of them floating off to land on a human's shoulder, brush against the hors d'oeuvres, melt into someone's drink. they leave a string of pretty, colorful lights where they fly, mystifying the joyfully dazed party goers. answering an echo from one of the festival organizers, jerry's gently misting this entire affair with a fog of euphoria and jubilation. soon, a wave of overwhelming positivity, a sense of harmony and nirvana overtakes the festival, creating an event of mass shared euphoria. pretty neato.

as he passes another summoned in the crowd, he winks and offers a cup from his tray, filled with a sherbet-colored smoothie mixture, that smells like cake-flavored vodka and froot loops if they were actually fruit flavored. ]


Remember, alcohol is God's apology for making us self-aware.
Edited 2024-04-21 11:59 (UTC)
cryptsleeper: (Softe)

[personal profile] cryptsleeper 2024-04-21 01:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Hilda!

[The tone is mock shocked, mock offended. Alucard grins, showing that he's just playing along. Truth be told, this could be going much, much worse than it currently is.

He puts the ring on, as requested.]


And I trust that you wouldn't interfere. How do I activate it?