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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.



thedreamer: (0720)

[personal profile] thedreamer 2024-04-29 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ After being separated from her for so long, there's a certain peace in knowing that wasn't real, but it lasts for merely a second before the harder, more brutal truths quickly follow, and he doesn't want any of it. The way she kisses him and touches him so tenderly, after the pain of their marriage falling apart, should be clue enough that she's telling the truth.

He knows she wouldn't lie to him, it's just that...he doesn't want what she's saying to be true.

He starts to try and pull away from her, though his attempt to actually pull away is mild and weak at best. If she attempts to hold him tighter in return, he won't be able to resist. ]


No. No, please, that's not true, it can't be. That man, he wasn't a good man. He did terrible things. I was better, I was trying to be better...

[ He looks at her more fully, though, his voice soft and a little broken. ]

It means losing you.
furibund: (pic#17131124)

[personal profile] furibund 2024-04-29 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
Who knows? Lost on the mountains or some part of the lake, I imagine. Or someone was ahead of you on your plan.

[ Finders keepers would definitely be something more than Rocket would live by. ]

Really think some mountain farming village has anything worthwhile?
theidlemaiden: (pic#16106053)

[personal profile] theidlemaiden 2024-04-29 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Mortals, in general, are technically weaker. Even a god at their weakest would still have some sort of well of power that they could draw on that a human couldn't. And while Hilda knows that without a doubt, it still has the desired effect that Rocket is probably going for - comfort. Granted, some of that might be coming from the helpful pat on her back.

Whatever the real source of comfort is, it's enough to help soften the real-talk. ]


Yeah it was a -

[ She shifts, stepping back a bit so she can magic the offending shield into existence. It doesn't quite look like a shield though. A bloodied bangle. At least it is when it's inactive. ]

It was this. [ Her nose wrinkles slightly at the recollection as her eyes water. ] I had to tug it off his arm. Not that there was much arm left.
thoughts: (14)

[personal profile] thoughts 2024-04-29 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ perhaps it's the nature of symbols, one that stands beyond the test of time or the perception of mortals, that lucifer remains lucifer across the ages in abraxas - he defined himself long before all this.

still, she has seen the subtle shifts in him. her father's most beloved, through all trial and triumph, and serenity still holds him in high regard with all that has transpired. after all, haven't they all spent eternity trying to escape from their own cages? ]


Guāngmíng Shǐzhě.

[ she may not remember the chinese language but certain words and phrases have stayed with her, mostly nicknames and honorifics. he is a star, something that holds deep meaning in her life; a symbol, perhaps, of the family she's found in the people she holds dear.

she takes in his form and looks to the humans before them, so small and fragile by comparison to the gods that watch over them. she would never have participated in something like this herself, but they find their own ways to interpret transcendence. ]


I wonder what version of themselves they'll be when they stand again. Sometimes they surprise me.

[ who will they choose to become, after falling? ]
respiting: (o4)

[personal profile] respiting 2024-04-29 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ Rocket shrugs.

He's a simple creature, all right, and when all else fails, he could always use it as leverage for trading, or add it to the piles of treasure and junk at any of his temples.

But what a disappointment if someone had already beat him to it. Maybe they're a part of his followers. ]


Someone's gotta have something valuable. Maybe one of those — what are they called? An heirloom?

[ Another sip. ]

We could trade it back, earn us more points as uh — benevolent gods.
exuviage: 🌙 fanart. (pic#17094645)

[personal profile] exuviage 2024-04-29 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm... [ He looks back and forth from the water to Hilda, several times. It's easy to shape the water without a thought, and it probably would be fine. She'd look like an astronaut diver, with a magical helmet rather than one of those free cities contraptions, made out of glass and thinly hammered steel. ]

I could probably make you a bubble to breathe with. And we can just walk on top of the water to get to the right spot, so your air doesn't get used up on the way there. Then, when we go down, you could just pop in and out of it when you needed a breath.

[ That would probably work, yeah. ]

If you started getting dizzy, you'd go back up to the surface or Horizon, right?

[ Because he does NOT want to drown her. 8( ]
Edited 2024-04-29 00:42 (UTC)
furibund: (whatif20)

[personal profile] furibund 2024-04-29 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Some heirlooms are only valuable to the people who lost them. We'd probably just find some rusted bread maker.

[ Is that what they would have? She doesn't know what they would have. ]

Benevolent.[ She snorts, the word hardly means much about who they are - even if she admits they're a lot better than whatever their past representation are. ] You just want to laugh as they cry over something stupid, admit it.
divinityfrompain: (044)

[personal profile] divinityfrompain 2024-04-29 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ Julia holds onto him, solid as a rock, because this is all terrible but it has to be done. She would never lie to him, not even in their angriest moments was she capable of being truly cruel to him. She is propelled by the fear of what will happen if none of them break out of this. She wonders if this was what Q felt like, stuck in that horrible fantasy she maliciously put him in. Maybe she deserved this, but not everyone did. ]

We've both done terrible things, and we both wanted to do better.

[ She shakes her head and drops her hands away but only to put one around his waist and the other around his neck, each point of contact gripping him close to her, reeling him in and keeping him there. They held onto the same hope before, that they could make up for their mistakes and put some good into the world. And for centuries in this fantasy they created, they did exactly that. They can't go back now, not in this world, but they have a chance. ]

You never lost me. I've loved you all this time and I'll love you again, in any life we find ourselves in.

[ She leans up and kisses him deeply, almost desperately, trying to cling to him and bring him back to himself. Wicka the goddess could not find her way back to him, but Julia the goddess might be able to. She kisses him trying to make him melt, to cling, memories of their centuries together still feeling real, even if it won't be once they wake up. She won't forget being in his arms. ]

We need to save everyone, Doctor. [ She has tears in her eyes as she leans their foreheads together. ] I need you to wake up.
divinityfrompain: (sm1b_227)

[personal profile] divinityfrompain 2024-04-29 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ Julia does glare at him as he first sidles up but it loses its edge when she recognizes him. Gods don't hide well inside mortals; only mortals mistake them. She knows that personally considering she walks among them so often in different forms, listening and often stewing. She sighs and snaps her finger, the terrible ale she was pretending to drink turning into a Feywilds wine she can stand. ]

I assure you, they deserved whatever was pissing them off.

[ Julia is fair, or at least, she's fair to the letter of the word. She treats everyone the same way and if they make the same wrong choice, they get punished without question, but some probably deserve it better than others. She's starting to lose sight of that line. ]

Where have you been? It's been months.
thoughts: (41)

[personal profile] thoughts 2024-04-29 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ on instinct, the moment he touches her, serenity's physical form poofs into a cloud of white mist - but instead of reappearing a safe distance away to avoid opening the door into geralt's mind, she reforms in the same space and grabs his wrists to bring him into hers instead. the molten gold of her eyes is hidden behind her black blindfold but she stares into his eyes anyway with a fiery intensity.

the vision is chaotic, a rapid flash of different images and sounds and emotions. normally she would be better at interpreting it but she's getting caught on the deep sense of terror coming from a small group of children huddled together and weeping. there are sounds of swordfighting, flickers of orange and red as buildings burn around them. the oldest of the group seems to be placing themself in front of the rest, as if to protect them from whatever threat may come to find them in their hiding place.

it's not enough detail to figure out exactly what is happening; she's too tangled up in her panic. ]


I - I don't know where they are. I can't see it, I can't find them. But it's now, Geralt, it's happening right now.

[ sometimes her visions are days or years or centuries away, but she knows that this premonition is already well under way and she doesn't know how to stop it. ]
divinityfrompain: (hair up listening)

[personal profile] divinityfrompain 2024-04-29 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ Julia went there hoping for something but she didn't really expect anyone, so she almost starts to tear up when the Traders move out from behind the shrine. She looks up at him, seemingly burdened with much more than meets the eye. She hesitates before reaching out and taking the coin, holding it to her chest afterward. ]

I don't know if I can keep going on. [ She admits. ] I wanted to do so much good when this all began, but I feel like all I can see is failure. Theirs, mine.

[ Humanity keeps going on the way it always has, so when did it change, that she couldn't give them the grace to fail? She's tired and she's been at this much less time with the older gods. ]

What keeps you going? Why haven't you given up?
respiting: (o31)

[personal profile] respiting 2024-04-29 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
What the hell is a rusted bread maker?

[ Is that like a little droid that makes bread?

Clearly he also has no idea what the average villager would have. Has it been so long since he's lived in a village that he's forgotten? Or maybe it's just that he'd gotten so used to Himeka making the meals, he didn't pay attention to how they were made, only what things tasted like.

Rocket has never been picky about food. (Aside from spicy things — that is absolutely food to be sent into the pits of hell.) ]


Well, what? Can't it be both? We can do both.
furibund: (whatif11)

[personal profile] furibund 2024-04-29 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
No surprise you haven't cooked a day in your life.

[ Nebula have you??? At least she is quite obviously teasing as she says it, the smile less that as much of a thin smirk:]

Uh-huh. Sure. I'll go along with you, if only to see your disappointment when it's all shit.
thoughts: (23)

[personal profile] thoughts 2024-04-29 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ she didn't choose them, and certainly none would choose her in this state. perhaps it's simply bad luck that they crossed paths with her on this lonely road, far removed from any nearby cities.

and perhaps it's good fortune that ciri finds them next, opening the door to their ( hopeful ) salvation. serenity doesn't turn toward her, her golden eyes staring at something in the clear blue sky above. ]


Yes it is. Here, in Abraxas. They were born here and they will die here.

[ one of the men seems to gasp at the glimpse into his mortality. oddly, they might not outwardly seem distressed so much as overwhelmed by emotion and information they shouldn't hold. call it madness or enlightenment, but they cry and serenity cries with them as she finally faces ciri. ]

Abraxas is home. Isn't it?

[ she can't remember being born here and she doesn't know if they'll ever die. any memories of a time before abraxas have long since faded - so this is their home, isn't it? why does that feel wrong somehow? she can't remember, but maybe ciri knows. ]
thoughts: (48)

CLOSED ⚝ henry

[personal profile] thoughts 2024-04-29 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ the call comes to her randomly. it scared her at first, in the time after being newly released from henry's thrall, because she wasn't sure if it meant he was still inside of her head somehow. if he could still control her, if she still had access to his magic or if the grass would rot beneath her feet again.

but he released her. she didn't escape. at the time, she didn't want to, even as she questioned their every move. maybe it was just an aspect of the hivemind, but there was a familiarity in the way his mind worked, a level of understanding in the nature of their abilities that the others don't quite relate to in the same way.

she doesn't hate him. she doesn't fear him. she doesn't love him either, but she knows the connection between them is something special, important, even with its twisted roots.

( centuries ago, in a time she doesn't remember, a girl named river met henry and thought not all beginnings are great. maybe they were always meant to go down this path. )

so although she may have hesitated at first, when she feels called to his side again, serenity goes. oddly, it doesn't always seem like a conscious decision on his part. he let her leave for a reason, after all - but still, she finds her way to him, visiting hawkyn for the first time in years as she appears before him. ]


Henry.

[ her eyes are hidden behind her blindfold as ever when she's on the mortal plane, but serenity observes him curiously as though she could fathom out what brought her here just by looking. she never is quite sure how to greet her former master. ]

Hello.
Edited 2024-04-30 23:47 (UTC)
exuviage: 🌙 game. (pic#17096568)

[personal profile] exuviage 2024-04-29 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
I'm good—thanks. It's all yours.

[ Plus, he's got the tea! ]

It's too bad the prison break didn't make it into the play. [ A bit of a deep cut, from an early story that Ed had told Yinyue early on, back when he was half as tall as he is now. ] I know it would have made everything longer, but I liked it.

[ #releasetheprisoncut ]
tobeclosetohim: (AU2)

Cult Gatherings

[personal profile] tobeclosetohim 2024-04-29 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
Vēnāta can always feel when The Eagle gets closer to where she is at the time. There's a whisper of ripples in the calm she soothes upon an area—whether in the peace of sanctuary or the bloodshed of safety. People turning, need churning in their hearts, in their guts, to know more than simply peace and easy breath. But of their truest selves, from their brightest to the darkest soundings.

It sends her out walking. A girl among mortals, lithe and quick-footed. One who cannot be followed through crowds, as she winks out of sight when someone's attention lingers longer than she has chosen to allow. Following the feeling, like a blading singing through the air, the scent of blood and woodsmoke.

"I thought I heard you."
satanicpanics: (pic#16020735)

[personal profile] satanicpanics 2024-04-29 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
“Sure, that one was,” Eddie responds, dropping down unceremoniously beside Teddy in the grass. He’s not really dressed for a festival, or even for the weather, but rather like one third of Motorhead took a wrong turn at the 70s and ended up in this field instead. He’s always been one of the more casual gods, even when answering echoes, and he’s not interested in changing that for a day off.

“But the previous…three? Four? Jesus Christ. My ears.”

He groans, dramatically flopping back and draping an arm across his eyes. He’s full of critiques, but there’s never anything heavy about them. He’s here for a reason—and how couldn’t he be? Music has always been a mainstay in his life to the point he puts it up there with breathing. Breathe, eat, sleep, music—or at least that’s how it worked when he was mortal. Music is the only one of those things that he needs anymore, and he’s more than happy to place himself wherever it’s happening.

“That last one almost put me to sleep,” he continues, but he peers out from beneath his arm and grins. “Though maybe that was the point so you didn't get to hear how out of tune it was.”
divinityfrompain: (178)

[personal profile] divinityfrompain 2024-04-29 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
She had a sister, but she doesn't remember her name. They were not close, the person she loved most in the world was a soft and kind boy; she doesn't remember his name either. She tries a lot of the time to put on a front these days, a shield of bitterness and frustration, but with Sabine she's just sad. Worn out. She answers the Echoes and she fulfills her purpose, whatever that is, and she keeps searching for something that will make her feel alive again.

"Why it made us this way. Why it chose us." Wicka doesn't technically mean that about the two of them, or Julie, but it's under an umbrella. She knows now that they've all stayed here and grown infinitely more powerful because of the Singularity's connection. Their growing power only proved that as the years went on and they were given more and more gifts. But with it didn't come explanations. She's not sure she wanted to be chosen. She can't hide away like her husband does because the responsibility of what that meant is too much.

"It let others go, but not us." She does remember there were more of them, once. She can't recall the names but there was a man she trusted and cared for deeply, she remembers the color of his eyes, but that's it.
thoughts: (49)

[personal profile] thoughts 2024-04-29 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ she counts - of course she does - with wide eyes and parted lips, surprised. her sight doesn't reach the gods and she couldn't have predicted that eddie would do such a thing. even though he carves his initial into the stone, effectively imbuing it with his magic, it's here in her domain where all is within her purview.

she counts thirty-one skips, the xylophone's notes the most lively thing to have happened in this space ever since she created it. she sees the rock as it sinks, watches it settle into its final resting place.

and then his magic entwines with her own, eddie's imprint left behind like the presence he holds in her life taking physical form within the horizon. suddenly, there are random notes of a xylophone that joins the natural flow of the waterfalls as objects drop into the pools from the forest canopy above.

it's silly and whimsical the way he's always been ( the way they used to be? ) and it warms something within her.

she turns to him with a smile, brighter this time, and softly intones a simple: ]


Thank you.

[ maybe not the most animated response but it is deeply heartfelt. this is something she won't be able to forget, even as her memories twist and blur, because eddie will never truly fade from her existence. ]

You can come here anytime you want. Part of it belongs to you too, now.
Edited (wait sry one more detail..) 2024-04-29 03:06 (UTC)
divinityfrompain: (006)

[personal profile] divinityfrompain 2024-04-29 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
"If there wasn't still good and kindness in the world, I would be attempting to burn it all down. It wouldn't deserve to keep turning." Maybe a little edgelord of her but it's more that she's saying she knows there is more good here than bad. It is a good enough mix that the planet spins and everyone exists and she hasn't gone full villain yet. Nor has she run away and hid like her divine mother, who she doesn't remember the name of, but that abandonment stays with her. They can't up and leave this place.

"I'm just like ... you know who we are, right? It's not as if we're secretive." Some of the gods might be, but Claire and Julia have deliberate dominions, they aren't a mystery. "The rules of dealing with me are simple. You ask to look ahead to your future and see the best path, I give them several paths, one of them is a trick meant to weed out selfishness. And then they still pick wrong." It's so bizarre, because the trick is there, yes, and she put it there on purpose to be appealing and distracting. But they know it could happen.

She sighs and runs hands through her hair. "People are so frustrating. Sometimes I think it'd be better to just live with the Fey and forget about it." Except she doesn't do that despite saying so for centuries.
thedreamer: (0677)

[personal profile] thedreamer 2024-04-29 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
Julia, I — [ Too many fractures, too many cracks. His mind feels like it's tearing apart, but Julia is anchoring him through the chaos, the doubts, the questioning of what's actually real anymore. When he feels himself losing his grip, like he might slide off the edge into unknown darkness, Julia steadies him, holds him close.

She's crying, and that edges him more immediately to reality, to finding his way back to himself. His hearts ache at the sight, wanting to soothe, wanting to believe, wanting to feel everything she feels.

When she kisses him, he loses all tension from his limbs, holding onto her in return, kissing her just as deeply and sinking into her. He comes back to her then — that kiss, and the moment she says she needs him to wake up. He reaches out now, stroking her hair back from her eyes, stroking her cheek, touching her in every way that he can. His own eyes glisten with unshed tears, but then he kisses her forehead before pressing close to her again.

It's disorienting, remembering everything — like he can't catch his breath, but he holds her tighter as a thousand years of memories come flooding back all at once and he closes his eyes again. ]


I remember. All of it, Julia. I'm — I'm here.
exuviage: 🍁 ichor of two dragons. (042.)

[personal profile] exuviage 2024-04-29 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's harder than it should be, honestly. There ought to be great banks of moisture over the Andromeda Bay, ready to dump buckets full of water on the Godlands, and then after that the Velan Republic. But the skies are clear, and even when he casts his cloudhymn wide and far, he finds nothing. It's... strange. Late spring should be the best time to borrow clouds. Not that Yinyue has a lot of time to ponder this, because the statue moves, tilting its head — the sunlight fairly gleams on the sculpted stone and gold, nearly blinding. ]

Ah—Someone wished for rain. Winter was dry, and...

[ Oh, dip. He is standing on a fellow god. Manners, Yinyue. It's one thing to casually climb on human structures, another to be picked up by dad and slung around casually, a different thing to sit with lord Bahamut when he flies through the skies, and something else entirely to stand on someone you barely know, even if the gold and white marble is familiar... Maybe a god he met as a child? ]

I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were there.

[ And his cloudhymn has only just found some clouds, miles out over the sea. If he lets go of that... ]
northerndragon: (Default)

cw: very nsfw now!

[personal profile] northerndragon 2024-04-29 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
Come home to me. That's easy. Winterfell was his home long ago; his idea, for many centuries, of what home is. Even in the years when he had tried to escape from himself, to pass the time without meaning, at least some small part of him had always known that he would go back to it.

Things have changed. Claire is as warm and wet and she says she is, and the only thing better than her hand on him or his mouth on her is sinking into her as he does now. This is home; she is home, with her bright eyes and soft words and silver hair. He meets her heated kiss as he begins to move in her.
areou: (Default)

[personal profile] areou 2024-04-29 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Feature: Sacred Hedge Maze and Temple of Theritas
Location: Somewhere in the forest between the Velan Republic and the Godlands
Description: A large hedge maze towering around 20ft tall (enchanted to grow taller than the being entering it; no cheating allowed!) that is notoriously difficult to navigate. A glittering marble temple stands at the center of the maze where particularly devout followers come to pray to Theritas directly, the maze serving as a test of faith. Surrounding the temple is a beautiful garden of violets, roses, and anemones.

Feature: Demigod
Location: Witchwood
Description: Five-headed boars with one giant eye in the middle of each head. Each boar head also has five tusks. They're roughly the size of a Hummer and they function much like the Hydra: cut off one head, two will take its place. They rely on their keen sense of smell over sight (which is incredibly poor) and are weak to fire. They're also pack creatures, so it's possible you may get swarmed by 30-50 feral hogs heads (6-10 boars at a time).

Character Involvement: Clarisse La Rue