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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.



ancunin: (pic#16798674)

[personal profile] ancunin 2024-04-26 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's taken him some time to locate her here. First he'd tried seeking out her domain, and along the way had stopped to make sure Gale was paying attention to the outside world and not just lost in his books while the sky was cracking.

It... hadn't gone well.

The sky can't be seen from within the Witchwood, the red jungle like a world unto itself. His appearance flickers when she says his name. Over the centuries his form has become more fey-like, his limbs a subtly and gracefully elongated, his teeth sharpened and his eyes glowing red. For a brief instant he appears again like something adjacent to the material realm, his proportions closer to human - or elven, as they exist in a realm whose name he's long forgotten.

In both forms his expression is mournful. ]


Haelva - [ His chest seizes violently, he can't quite remember the last time he uttered her name - he's spent so many centuries doing everything in his power to forget her, blaming her for everything that went wrong with them. He looks uncertain for a moment, then extends a hand. ]

Come with me, please.

[ There's no theatrical flourish to his words or motions, all that's been dropped for genuine plea. Something's happening, and he needs her. ]
lightkeeping: (pic#15944737)

godlands

[personal profile] lightkeeping 2024-04-26 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Aloy spends most of her time traversing the continent, never staying in one place too long. Her job is too big, and her attention is needed everywhere--it's not conducive to settling down. Not that she minds, because it's what's familiar to her. Her nomadic nature gives her a greater appreciation to those who have settled down, or at the very least spend time in a place that might be home.

Julia's domain is nice, with its quiet nature and all of the flowers. She finds herself returning when she can, if only to check in (but also, maybe, to find a bit of respite for herself).

She finds Julia laid out among the flowers, and for a moment it seems almost unfair to disturb her. So Aloy tries to do this as unobtrusively as possible, sitting down next to her and then stretching out onto her back.

"Anything good?"

She can listen, too, but this is her way of saying hello.
thoughts: (66)

[personal profile] thoughts 2024-04-26 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
As her power increases and her control collapses, Serenity has been very selective about physical touch. The information she receives from mortals across the world is so overwhelming that coming into direct contact is nigh unbearable. Her sight doesn't extend to the gods, but that physical connection opens the floodgates so she tries to avoid it at all costs.

In her dreamlike state, though, the touch at her forehead feels less like the intrusion of foreign thoughts and more like the gentle affection of a mother or a sister. The magic that passes between them is familiar, almost comforting, even in the continued swirl of chaos and madness, because Sabine is and was long before Serenity.

Sleep has never come easy for her, especially now that it's no longer a necessary function of her body but a retreat from the overwhelm of her conscious mind. Her dreams are a chaotic jumble of images and sounds and ideas and possibilities from all across time and space. With Sabine beside her, some of that pressure eases, and a soft exhale escapes her right before Serenity opens her eyes.

A moment passes as she blinks at her curiously, knowing the Goddess of Dreams appears in a form that suits the moment, before her voice chimes in the same youthful tone without her lips ever moving. "Jiějiě. You're here."
thoughts: (112)

[personal profile] thoughts 2024-04-26 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she holds the toy by its center point and flicks the edge so he can see it in action. it spins on its own for a while before finally slowing to a stop. ]

They're symbols. Symbolic. Your arcana sign and the number of stars - it's supposed to be a good luck charm, or a fortune teller. It doesn't work, though.

[ it is just a toy, after all, but it could work with the right enchantment. her eyes flash gold for a moment and she offers it back to him. ]

Here, try it now.

[ it's just a short burst of her foresight, a single glance into the near future. maybe it'll show the outcome of his next bet or one of his follower's adventures. ]
cryptsleeper: <user name="malagraphic"> (thinkin for a sec here)

[personal profile] cryptsleeper 2024-04-26 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
To your eternal disappointment, no.  [Alucard's gaze drifts over to Astarion, the exhaustion on his face lingering as he considers the current state of dress of his companion.]  Close though, and I am certain that I'll be done acting as a consultant at the end of the week.

[The robe looks new.  It is new or there has been additional embroidery work applied to it, and at the moment Alucard cannot quite determine which.  The effect is that it makes him look all-too-at-home in their temporary lodgings, and within that thought there's probably some joke about curtains matching drapes.  Maybe Jaskier would have an infinitely better means of approaching it.  

He's all set to ask when he notices the warm glow from the room Astarion just emerged from.  That's new, and Alucard sits upright just a little bit more in an attempt to see what it is.]
 What's in there?  
aquaveiled: (himeka-505)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-04-26 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She would be hard-pressed to believe godly threatening would have been necessary. Who wouldn't have wept at the heartfelt tale?? (Drugs do help, though.)

Azem gladly accepts the hug even if she can't return it, hopefully he can feel it spiritually. ]


It was fantastic! I was so enraptured I forgot to get my sixth refill. For a moment I thought they wouldn't make it, but to see Bonny and Thatch not only come out victorious but come together in the end was exactly what I would have wanted. And the effects...I felt as if I were actually at sea! You really spent time on this, Ed. It shows!
funbreaker: (pic#16108659)

[personal profile] funbreaker 2024-04-26 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Metia and Aegis have always existed in each other's periphery, drawn together by mutual bonds. He feels drawn to her the same way he does to Mythos, and Bahamut, and Cid, but perhaps also because they are both parents. While all of the gods look over the mortals to some degree, it is something else entirely to be parent to another of their pantheon.

Either way, it is a relief to see her again as she rises up from her home with a swirl of frost and comes to join him where he flies, his golden wings allowing him to glide forward to their destination.

Which appears to be somewhere within the Velan Republic based on the direction he's headed, though they're still far above, among the clouds, and beyond the mortals' perception besides. ]


Metia.

[ It doesn't seem to matter how long it's been. He nods to her the way he would any trusted ally; they have certainly fought their fair share of battles together in the past. ]

Someone needs our help.

[ His protection; her guidance. ]
assembles: beard (this is illegal)

[personal profile] assembles 2024-04-26 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's not as if Claire really needs to worry about keeping her voice down given that Steve is the only one who can actually hear her. Still, he appreciates that she takes that consideration all the same, despite that barrier that exists between them and mortal perception. Some gods make a point of crossing through that barrier and showing themselves to their worshippers in various ways, but...

That aside, he suspects that she's here for him. It's not all often that Claire comes to this side of the continent unless it's to see Sam, as far as he knows.

His marble-carved form shifts to look at her, the illusion that he's an unmoving statue shattered in an instant. He nods to her in greeting, then shrugs. ]


Guess it's not the sort of thing you dip into casual conversation. [ There's a pause as he looks around the cemetery, before adding: ] It's one of the few places where I can be visible to them without them knowing.

[ Is there some comfort in that? Maybe. ]
satanicpanics: made by <user name="inkonic"> (pic#16613127)

[personal profile] satanicpanics 2024-04-26 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Nah. You sure are backseat answering, though, aren’t you?

[ He rolls his eyes in faux annoyance, absolutely no bite to his words and his smile ever-present.

Eddie doesn’t have it in him to critique a nervous mortal’s delivery beyond a little light ribbing and sarcasm. Maybe it’s because the young, anxious ones remind him so much of how he used to be. He’s more willing to bestow a blessing upon someone nervous than someone who shows up boasting and over-compensating.

He plucks the music box out of the air and turns it over in his hands, looking for any opportunity to playfully critique Valentine’s work. He pops it open and laughs, snapping it shut just as fast.
]

Yeah, alright. Might be overkill, but…I think we can skip the wrapping and give him on less thing to worry about.

[ He presents it to the boy with a slight bow, grinning ear-to-ear, snaps his fingers, and ruffles the kid’s hair with a clawed hand—that’s really all it takes. ]

Yeah, consider yourself blessed. Get out of here before you pass out, dude. Good luck.

[ The boy thanks both of them profusely and bolts, clearly both grateful and relieved to get out of there. Eddie laughs, and turns to his old friend with a grin. ]

Hey.
assembles: beard (when he only has it for one movie?)

[personal profile] assembles 2024-04-26 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Steve hears her coming but doesn't turn to look right away. Or rather, he knows that someone is coming, and that they mean him no harm, but he doesn't feel the need to check and see who it is until they begin speaking.

Gods don't have much of a sense of urgency, because why would they?

Nebula isn't who he would have expected to find here. He's always picked up on the fact that she isn't all that fond of Mechapolis, and she's hardly the only one. But there's something about her avoidance of it that he's never thought to question, either.

It makes him wonder if she came here specifically for him, and he's not sure he feels great about her putting herself through that sort of discomfort for his sake. Still, the damage is already done, so he turns away from watching the waves crash against the rocks and the fishing automatons to face her. ]


I don't know. There's a lot more they can do now than they used to be able to. The fishing is relatively new.

[ Still, he knows what she means. It's hard to tell with lips that are made of stone, which usually only move when he speaks, but there might be the smallest hint of a smile on his face.

It's good to see her. ]


But you're right, they don't make for the best conversationalists. [ Some might consider that a plus. ]
cryptsleeper: <user name="malagraphic"> (thinkin for a sec here)

[personal profile] cryptsleeper 2024-04-26 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[There's a faint memory stirred at the mention of what powerful blood might result in, but it falls away as soon as it rises. Looking at non-existent eyes does that, and frankly, the information is more interesting because of where it ends. Not quite indifference, but an acknowledgement that not everything needs to be traced or tracked in these moments.

He hasn't known any of his own Summoned to have taken this particular route. Not that Alucard expects that the results would go well, given that they are all still collectively learning to live with this transformation.

The dhampir considers it all in light of where the discussion began. Perhaps they've sidebarred a bit, but this? This is so very human, and in that, there is something reassuring.]


Did anything in particular cause you to lose interest? Or was it simply time combined with the high scatter of blood relatives?

[As if to clarify, a more embarrassed smile takes over Alucard's face.]

I realize this is no longer about properity. I'm genuinely curious.
assembles: beard (pic#13195922)

[personal profile] assembles 2024-04-26 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There's a time when the Sentinel would not have bothered to even ask Sidus for assistance with this, assuming that he would prefer to make things worse and cause more harm to lost souls who are already at their worst outcome. The fact that he can even consider offering it up as a possibility is a sign of how far they've come since some darker days.

Perhaps he should have given up on the Patron of the Gambit long, long ago, yet here they are. He can't help but want to find the good buried deep down, though he's not sure it's even still there.

Their long existences mean that he has the luxury of continuing that search.

Sidus seems utterly unbothered by the situation unfolding below them, here to watch more than anything else, and yet he must have known what the Sentinel would want to do in this situation. He could have just as easily flitted away to a different vantage point.

While Sidus leans back in a casual pose to watch, the Sentinel remains a still and silent observer. It's always a bit unnerving to be around him, when he doesn't breathe, doesn't blink, and hardly even makes expressions. ]


They might be stubborn and not even let us get a word in. They might reject us and accept their fate. But we can still give them a choice.

[ Finally he moves, if only to turn his head and stare Sidus down. ]

Will you help? Or are you just here to watch?

[ He'll be making a move either way. ]
assembles: beard (never enough never)

[personal profile] assembles 2024-04-26 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ From what the Sentinel knows of the Patron of Fortune, he would not have expected to find him here. His presence in this place is odd, but perhaps he wants to offer good fortune to those who have lost every last bit of their luck and ended up in this miserable place, at the end of their rope.

He glances at the other god, his own eyes that look to be sculpted from white marble — like the rest of him — staring into ones that are little more than dark voids. What a pair they make. ]


They might reject us. But I'd like to at least offer to help them.

[ Ultimately, he won't remove a mortal's choice or free will. But now, with death staring them square in the face, maybe they'll reconsider. ]

What about you?
restingstitchface: (Interest [AU])

[personal profile] restingstitchface 2024-04-27 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
[People are eager to experiment, eager to explore, eager to satisfy their curiosity. People are unable or unwilling to accept why they need to check under every bed in the world. To feel safe and to convince themselves they are safe from others.

Without asking if they are safe from themselves.]


Of course.

[And in that answer there is no objection, no chastisement of methods or morals. All there is is acceptance.]

Much as there are those in my pantheon who object to my methods, I imagine there are those in yours who believe there are limits to how far you should go.

[Does this God have his rivals as he does his own? Not that he expects him to care.]
respiting: (o4)

[personal profile] respiting 2024-04-27 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah ...

[ Hold on.

That perks Rocket's interest up again. Who knew he would transform into such a gossiping auntie in his old, old age?

He sips his stolen ale in lieu of tea. ]


Wait, you got a story about that too?
respiting: (o26)

absolutely extreme sports for gods: ROUND 1

[personal profile] respiting 2024-04-27 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ Rocket laughs. ]

Oh, yeah? You don't think I'm gonna make it easy for you, do you?

[ He could. Obviously he could. But the first time Altair had done this, he hadn't been all too pleased, and over the decades ... and centuries ... it kinda just became ... a thing. A fun little challenge: see how fast your climbing buddy can, uh, climb you.

And so he jiggles at his leg as he walks, because the point is to always be in motion — not enough to fully wrench himself free of Altair's hold, but enough to make it challenging. ]
restingstitchface: (Austere [AU])

[personal profile] restingstitchface 2024-04-27 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Anthropos continues listening to pleas for assistance and prayers for guidance. Each voice is an opportunity for learning.

It is not that people are trivial. It is that they are there. But he accepts his foil sees it otherwise. He can accept that their understanding and definition of "harm" is a constant state of agitation. He laughs to himself and tunes out the voices, because for once the voice is coming from inside the house.]


Funny. That is what they all say.

[Why does he aggravate? Why does he provoke? Does he enjoy it? Or does he need to see what will happen? Or, more subconsciouslly, does he hope their opposition will end and they will talk as contemporaries once more?]
ancunin: (pic#16689857)

[personal profile] ancunin 2024-04-27 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Astarion rolls his eyes, though with more fondness than offense taken. ]

So soon! How lucky they are to have you...

[ This too he actually genuinely means, even if there's a teasing lilt to his tone. A week is nothing to them now, though he'll still have to find other ways to entertain himself. The thing about the Ikorrans is that they tend not to need his services, and although over the centuries he's toyed with the idea of finding a way to offer them resistance to the sun - he's come to the sobering conclusion that it would take a concert of godly blessings to accomplish. And even if they should succeed, giving the Ikorrans free rein across the continent might, well, alarm other territories.

Which brings him to his new toy - ]


They call them sun globes. [ He motions toward the light from the room, encouraging Alucard to get up and look if he wishes. The robe isn't new, and the elegant embroidery seen when he moves his arm is clearly the wearer's fine work. ] They are enchanted in such a clever way as to make it seem as though the room is lit from sunlight streaming through the window... a bit disorienting if you do look out the window, though...

[ Because it's still dark as the hells out there. ]
restingstitchface: (Muse [AU])

[personal profile] restingstitchface 2024-04-27 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Lucifer is so possessive - so childish and selfish with his novelties - that others find it charming. He finds it curious and telling. Children play with toys to enrich their development. The implications are obvious and hardly need consideration. Was Lucifer ignored as a child in favour of a sibling? Or in favour of something personal like a project?]

An idiom, I believe. One that is somewhat inaccurate. The issue is not one of size but a lack of assignment for each individual.

[And really, if he wanted to interfere, he would do so. Would have done so.]

But perhaps you are aware there is another saying? Many hands make light work?

[Lucifer and his many arms, ha.]
gynvael: (200)

[personal profile] gynvael 2024-04-27 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ The burdens that once weighed his shoulders lifted long ago, but even so, when he returns from the winter, he nonetheless looks lighter. Perhaps it's the act of getting away from a world filled with people who look at them in a manner he's never taken to like others have. The endless stories don't bother him, exactly. That part's familiar. He just isn't compelled to indulge them. It's certainly not an accident that he's allowed the myth of his winter slumber to circulate.

But he likes reuniting with people. The routine keeps him from spiralling through an abyss of meaningless time. There are faces he makes sure to see first, Julie amongst them.

He greets her embrace with his own, holding her close as the smell of wildflowers envelopes them. A narrow braid tumbles from his hair, the clearest sign that he's either spent the winter with Ciri or recently encountered Jaskier. (Sometimes both.) Letting her take his hand, he tucks a lock of her lengthened hair with the other. His horse vanishes through the trees.

He laughs a little. ]
I'll be sure to descend more slowly next year.

[ She always has an unspoken invitation to come with him, but he knows, like Jaskier, she both prefers the warmth and seems to feel that his retreat is something of a wolf's tradition—a time when he's only ever joined by his brothers or Ciri, and which involves a lot of swinging swords and hunting and the occasional ill-advised experiment even by non-mortal standards. In theory, he's meant to have a solid four months of peace and solitude, but the reality isn't always so.

He holds out one of the miniature crowns she was making, lifted from the pile at her feet. Her love of small creatures hasn't left. Neither has her habit of dressing them up. ]
Do I get one, as well?
gynvael: (299)

[personal profile] gynvael 2024-04-27 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ When he drifts through the natural woods of the land, it's difficult to tell where his forest begins and that of the continent's ends. They blend together, trickling brooks and flitting birds occupying the space. Maybe the point is that it doesn't matter. He hears her all the same from where he sits by the water, feels her distress reverberating through the shuddering trees. The lake's surface ripples.

He rises to his feet. His horse lifts her head, shuffling nervously as Serenity's pale figure tumbles through the thicket.

Geralt catches her by the shoulders before she can trip over the gnarled roots and tangled thorny bushes. They begin to withdraw from her path, as if belatedly responding to her careless fleeing. ]


I'm here. What is it? [ He peers at her. Over the centuries, he's remained largely unchanged, but she has not—though he no longer has a clear memory of the girl she once was. ] What's wrong?
respiting: (o8)

[personal profile] respiting 2024-04-27 12:52 am (UTC)(link)
Nah.

[ He's not going to outright tell her that the concept of wasting time doesn't feel like it exists anymore, not these days. (Although, yeah, he might make an exception for dealing with exceedingly dumb Echoes.) And he certainly isn't going to admit that her presence could never be a waste of time either, no matter what they might be doing.

Eight hundred years later, and he still has difficulties admitting an emotion. Go figure. ]


All right, I'll take your word for it. [ His voice does not betray his interest, maybe even a hint of excitement. Not one bit.

(Except that it does.) ]
How small are we talkin'?
monomachy: watchet @ dw (paint the town red [event])

[personal profile] monomachy 2024-04-27 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
While a cemetery is not the first place she had looked for him in Libertas, she is not surprised to find Steve there. After all, this city was one of the places they had first encountered one another, first worked together. Shared the horror and grief of these people. Even if he may not remember it (she doesn't know, hasn't asked), she does. She remembers everything about this world, the good and the terrible. It is a blessing when talking to those like Steve, who strive to remember, always reaching for some memory that she can summon with hardly a thought. But for her...

Well, not all beings were built for immortality. Diana was, but that doesn't make it easy.

She's learned, by now, how to mask herself at will from the eyes of mortals. Even if she looks like one of them, the magic of this world has intertwined with her own so thoroughly that she can call upon it to do her bidding at any moment. And as Steve is in his current form, she uses it to make herself fade from perception as well; the faintest twinkle of starlight remains in her dark hair and eyes from her use of the magic, but otherwise, she looks as she always has since he's known her. Like all Summoned, she, too, has undergone physical changes wrought by this world's magic, but she has more of a natural aptitude for controlling (suppressing) it. Most days, she's content to walk among mortals as one of them, if in appearance only.

She looks out at those visiting grave sites, brow drawn together in sympathy. But this visit is not for them, so she turns her full attention back towards the man (automaton?) beside her, expression smoothing.

"Just making the rounds." She was looking for him, and for others like him, for whom godhood has presented an unfamiliar struggle. She's drawn to them, it's true, but there's still a choice in who she visits. This week had been about him, though she won't admit that openly. "The seasons will turn soon, and even in Libertas, the evenings grow cold." A roundabout way of offering company, if he wants it. The cold doesn't affect her much, so time is no issue.
familysucks: (04)

[personal profile] familysucks 2024-04-27 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
Commotion in the Witchwoods always draws attention. Today, it's a favourable dice roll: a collection of jaws that are not after Lucifer's blood. The snarling and shouting between the trees reaches Michael, who's flying not far above. He folds his wings and drops into a dive.

His ever-present flock breaks through the canopy first. Their avian heads are split to reveal rows of teeth and they make for the mutant hellhound, latching onto its faces, its back, its shoulders. Michael follows them to the ground, branches cracking as he pushes his way through and lands on multiple limbs. The weight of his landing shakes the nearby trees. Prepared for a fight, he's abandoned polite pretenses, his mostly-human mask pulled back to reveal his own wide jaws and pointed teeth.

The flock on its own isn't strong enough to be anything but a distraction, but that's the idea. He eyes the demigod, quickly assessing it, then turns his attention to Lucifer.

Intervening is the same courtesy he'd show any Summoned he isn't specifically at odds with. He doesn't expect Lucifer to think otherwise, though, so he doesn't spare any thought towards an explanation.

"One of yours?"

He's looking for a fight—why else does anyone come here—but far be it for him to steal a kill. There are enough monsters to go around in these woods. If it's Lucifer's own, though, he can't kill it. From the smell of it, and the coldness of it, he suspects that's the case.

And, well. From the broken arms and grace painting the demigod's mouths, it doesn't look like Lucifer is winning.

Annoyed by the nibbling, the thing whips its head around. It snaps at one of Michael's leviathan-birds, catching it between its teeth and ripping it from its shoulder. It bites down; there's crunching.

Michael hisses at it. He felt that.
restingstitchface: (Muse [AU])

[personal profile] restingstitchface 2024-04-27 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Illusions are his forte. Not those born of magic but of the senses: sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch. The mind processes and interprets each and every piece of information. His is inviolable - he is awake to the nature of reality - and observes everything with curiosity.

Cluttered or orderly. Dirty or clean. Shadow or light. He regards the cat as a novelty and looks into the eaves: a god who clings to the man he was is a small curiosity. The raven that follows him most places - heralding his presence - takes off into the rafters.]


Oh, I'm just wandering.

[Wondering.]

Call it curiosity.

[Surely a man who seeks knowledge appreciates curiosity?]