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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.



seaweedbrain: (059)

[personal profile] seaweedbrain 2024-05-07 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
— what?

[ Well, there's a nickname he's never heard of, and that does give him pause. He doesn't resist, not yet, and it's the intensity of her gaze that reminds him to trust her; after all, it's been centuries of a long-standing friendship to back those feelings up.

But it strikes him as both odd and bold to change things up with what sounds to him like ... a bit of an insult. If she wanted to challenge him to a sparring match, she knows he would easily agree. They've always been fun, even if any nearby village tended to see the unfortunate consequences of their competition on a few too many occasions.

Still, when he lifts a hand to call upon the ocean, it's with the intent to get them safely across in mind — and the niggling at the back of his thoughts remains quiet for now. The ocean doesn't quite part so much as it begins to form a solidified pathway between them and the Isle up ahead. ]


Okay. Hold on to me and I'll get us across.
familysucks: (07)

[personal profile] familysucks 2024-05-07 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Michael is rarely one to impose his company for long. Conversation with his fellow gods is a good way to keep abreast of events in the area and can be agreeable in and of itself, but he doesn't like to be kept from his people-watching too long. They are fascinating to him in a way the slow, predictable growth of plants is not.

He understands that Aloy finds her purpose among the trees rather than in exchanges with other gods, anyway. She's almost maternal in her care for them.]


I'm sure they'd thank you if they could.

[Maybe they do? He wouldn't know if the trees talk to Aloy. Michael speaks only to the fauna, not the flora.]

Where to after this, or have you yet to decide?
unwings: (211_zps066db69c)

[personal profile] unwings 2024-05-07 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ it isn’t often that Castiel leaves his forest any longer, but Istredd is one of the few he makes exceptions for. When he visits, he brings his forest with him, morphing the rooms of the library to leave the isolated tranquility of his home in his wake. As Istredd arrives, he’s sat in a shallow pool, a step along the path of the trickling waterfall as the stream parts around him. He doesn’t look up from the tome he’s paging through when he speaks. ]

He visited last night.

[ There’s no need to question who he’s talking about. Istredd remains one of the still fewer Castiel ever mentions Dean Winchester to anymore. It’s hardly every conversation they have - sometimes they dig through obscure knowledge, while away hours with intellectual ponderings and debate, or squint at Lucifer and whatever shenanigans he’s getting up to. Cas always ebbs away from discussing most other gods, making no disguise of his distaste for the entire structure of their ascension. The control they wield freely over mortals.

But when there is another Summoned he’ll allow himself to mention - it’s Dean. ]


It’s the same as it ever was. We enjoyed each other, until we didn’t. [ the page turns with more of a snap, Castiel’s carefully guarded calm splintering under the veneer of unshakeable peace. ] It’s paradise, until one of us speaks.
monomachy: watchet @ dw (paint the town red [event])

[personal profile] monomachy 2024-05-07 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
As he works to return his attention to the present and away from the echoes, she can see the change in him. Despite the horrors of this world, the war and famine and other disasters that seem to happen every decade or so, Diana has never lost her hope, her belief that humanity was on its way to being better. And even if they are both gods know, blessed with immortality and nigh-incomprehensible powers, there is still a part of her that sees Altaïr as the most human of the pair of them.

And despite all that entails, she still loves him for it.

She doesn't let go of his hand, smile blooming wide when he finally turns his eyes to her. Diana risks reaching up, brushing her fingers gently across his jaw, testing the waters. "And I, you." She remembers, just as she remembers everything about this world, but she simply doesn't care to lay the blame anywhere. There would be no point. "I wondered if I would see you before the festival."
seaweedbrain: (006)

[personal profile] seaweedbrain 2024-05-07 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
Hey, I'm glad you came.

[ The words come out in a rush, and gods, he's her husband in this illusion, isn't he? That's weird. Like, it's a good weird, but he's also sixteen, so it's still weird.

He has no idea how to act like a husband. He barely manages boyfriend on most days, trying his best and knowing that if he ever slipped up, Annabeth would be sure to let him know what's what. Would she do that for him now?

He clears his throat, takes a breath, and wonders whether she would burn him alive if he reached out to try and take her hand to hold. She's in her god-form, after all, and he ... isn't a god anymore. Never was, really, but definitely isn't now. ]


I need to tell you something. It's important. Will you ... walk with me?
monomachy: watchet @ dw (paint the town red [event])

[personal profile] monomachy 2024-05-07 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
After a few centuries, most Summoned had begun to notice some change to their bodies, an alteration brought on by the excess of Abraxan magic. Diana, who had already been a god with a true form of her own, had been spared much of the changes. Others, like Garrus, had not. But she still recognizes him, still knows him when she finds him watching out over Cadens, despite the feathers shrouding his face. And even if she didn't, that sardonic tone to his voice would be unmistakable anyway.

She sits beside him, legs dangling out over however many stories from the earth below, as unconcerned with the height as he is. "I have good genes." She's learned what those are, by now, and is confident in matching his joking tone with her own. Except she means it more literally, but she isn't about to say as much.

Then, gentler: "But you know I don't." And because he's Garrus, she lets the magic of this world flood her; Diana's skin darkens to the colors of midnight, pinpoints of starlight winking in and out over her skin and hair. Her eyes turn to pools of bright white light, twinkling like the stars in a cloudless night sky. She stays that way, for now, not really feeling as if she's changed, but knowing she looks as if she has. Her gaze sweeps across the city below. "I like having this conversation with you." Because as long as he keeps having it, she knows he's still Garrus.
tedandroses: (wry smile)

[personal profile] tedandroses 2024-05-07 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
[What would 800 years be worth if there weren't books involved? Theo lifts a curious eyebrow at the stack next to the hammock, forever interested in what people are reading (or writing, or discussing). But only briefly. He does smile at the fish, lifting a hand to weave around it as it "swims", circles around Theo, flicking its tail with a flutter of stardust.]

[His smile fades just a little, a line forming between his brows as he follows. It's so tempting to just set things down, to avoid making the light, joking mood more serious. But -- ] Well. It might be, actually.

[He can't help a grin at the tone, wry but fond. It makes a sort of sense that seeking out the North Star means you get a meal and a moment off your feet insisted upon. Honestly, it feels like ...a little like home? Not home in the mountains, alone as often as not, though he loves it. More like the idea of a home. Or just Solvunn, maybe, the slightly over-protective sharing of everything -- even after centuries...

Well. He can sit down and be just Teddy for a few minutes if it'll make his host happy.]


[Eyes amused, but tone easy and obedient:] Yessir.

[And he does: sit down that is, politely, once he's inside, perched on one of many, many chairs and pillows and sofas that in concert make the inside look like it's just waiting to host a cozy brunch of everyone Koby knows. The wood floor shimmers a little, with tracked in mica from the sand or from lightly shed stardust.]

You don't have to do anything special, you know that, right.

[Look, Teddy knows how this dance goes, but it's still a required step.]
sophos: (pic#17081301)

[personal profile] sophos 2024-05-07 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ she really doesn't know what to do with this. it's percy, she knows it is, but it's not the percy she's so very used to. even the way he asks her to walk is almost juvenile in a way she doesn't recognize. ]

[ except for the part of her that kind of does. it pulls at her as percy is prone do it, albeit in a far different way. ]

[ annabeth still can't refuse him though, holding out her hand for him. a test maybe, for herself or him she's not sure. but she needs to get her head on straight. ]


Something's not right. Are you all right?
ordinar: (♛ 011)

[personal profile] ordinar 2024-05-07 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[They are frozen in time, suspended in the age they were when their connection to the Singularity crystalized into something more, but time keeps flowing around them. They don't grow old; they evolve. Their power does — and Wilhelm has long since thought of it as a part of him, little different from his blood or bones.

In the snow, he holds his fire close. That old trick of floating the flame around himself takes no concentration anymore. As naturally as breathing, he circulates it to keep them both warm as they follow the footpath through naked trees. He even knows how to make it emit heat without burning skin or singing hair.]


Well... [Pulling off a glove, he flexes his hand for her. Slowly, the skin becomes encased in jagged crystals, blues and greens glowing through black on each sharp facet.] I've been playing around with this.

[Like any of the abilities he's accumulated over the years, this one sprang from him suddenly. But seizing it came more intuitively, as if the way to wield it was already written on his ribs. When things shifted, he doesn't know precisely. It's like the tide creeping in — you don't notice until it's gathering around your knees and the shoreline is utterly changed. Now, he's hearing the wants and hopes of people he has never met. He's feeling the weight of something converging on his shoulders, his chest.]
Edited 2024-05-07 03:24 (UTC)
sophos: (pic#17101504)

[personal profile] sophos 2024-05-07 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ she looks over as heather approaches her, and normally she would greet her friend with a smile, but she's been slighted. heather most assuredly recognizes that about her too. ]

[ she signs her response easily, the language as natural to her at this point as any, for all the time she's spent with the patron of the nexus. the man wobbles on his feet, falling over to the ground in his imbalance. ]


He thought he could fool me.

[ it's objectively not that bad a slight. but there are days annabeth feels it more strongly than others and allows herself to fall into her own sense of grandeur. ]

His building. Are you attached?
familysucks: (14)

[personal profile] familysucks 2024-05-07 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
Why would it be any different?

Lucifer is just another Summoned-god to Michael, if one with superior wings and a better grasp of flight than most. He's ignorant both to any hint of competition that ought to be present between them and to Lucifer's expectations.

His mind is on other, more important things, like where to bite next. Something in him sings when he's able to sink his teeth into a deserving target, relentless leviathan hunger in harmony with an archangel built for combat. He's a knife taken from the block and finally put to his rightful purpose.

One talent he might have to give Lucifer credit for—if only in silent approval, because praise must be earned—is his knack for moving in counterpoint to him. It's rare that they've fought together, perhaps only once or twice before, but there is an almost familiar synergy to it. Lucifer never stands where Michael needs to be. His hands are never in the way of his bite.

And, right now, he offers Michael first shot at the creature's weak point.

Or, so he thinks. He lets the shattered ankle drop from his mouth and he turns, sinks his teeth into the hound's soft stomach next. He expects blood. He does not anticipate the meaty tentacles that surge forth and grab hold of him.

Michael rears back—or rather tries to, but another half-dozen tendrils emerge and wrap around his neck and head, binding his jaws shut.
seaweedbrain: (090)

[personal profile] seaweedbrain 2024-05-07 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well.

At least she won't smite him, and if the strength of her godly power does wind up turning his hand to ash, it'll still be worth it, right?

Percy reaches forward to accept her hand, finding that even while they're technically in two different realities, Annabeth still lost within the false one, their fingers still fit perfectly together. That hasn't changed. He doubts anything in the entire cosmos could change it.

So, that's reassuring.

The rest of it is up to him. ]


Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't, but I am now. [ Oh, boy. ] But you're right — something isn't right. That's ... kind of the thing I need to tell you.

[ He stupidly hadn't asked Clarisse for the details of how she tried to reason with Annabeth and why it didn't work; he probably should have, but he'd been in such a rush to get to her that he didn't think of it. He tugs them forward anyway, prompting Annabeth to walk, and biding for a little time to convince her of the truth. ]
hairington: (085)

[personal profile] hairington 2024-05-07 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ there aren't any lingering clues to what happened - in part because as time has gone on, steve's body has adapted, healing much more quickly, more so than any human should. but none of them are really human, are they? even if they'd started off that way. still, steve lets him look, lets his own eyes remain on the fire as some kind of complicated silence settles in the space, the air.

geralt doesn't reach for the food, not that steve expected him to. steve himself isn't all that hungry, doesn't really get hungry either, but the routine of it matters more to him than the food itself. having something to do with his hands, to fill his time with. part of him wish he had some of it now, that it wasn't over in his pack, just out of reach.

he doesn't know why, but he feels...guilty. at fault. what happened back at geralt's cabin in the mountains had been steve's fault, no matter how much dean had tried to convince him otherwise. he shouldn't have grabbed him, shouldn't have pushed, shouldn't have done...any of it.

but with geralt here, with this heavy silence, steve has a feeling that geralt doesn't agree with that idea and somehow that's much worse. and the apology, the question geralt asks, steve knows it's not his intention but it somehow makes steve feel that much smaller. he shakes his head. ]
'm fine. [ a beat, and then steve finally looks over to where the other man sits. ]

And I'm sorry for- [ grabbing you, instigating it, holding on to something that doesn't matter.

there is a right answer he should give here, the right words for this, but steve doesn't have them. instead, he lets out a breath, deflating a bit with it. ]
All of it.
Edited 2024-05-07 03:26 (UTC)
sophos: (pic#4369114)

[personal profile] sophos 2024-05-07 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ he takes her hand, and despite her racing mind, it once again calms her. she can feel the way his touch grounds her, the way it soothes over her existence and drains away some of the gold in her skin. she can't seem to resist that much, even if she's still resisting everything else. ]

[ her face falls. ]


Gods, not you too. [ tension lines her shoulders, but she allows him to pull her in the walk, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach. it simply does not occur to her that multiple people are right and she is wrong. ]

Go on. Get it over with.
seaweedbrain: (033)

[personal profile] seaweedbrain 2024-05-07 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
I know you spoke with Clarisse.

[ Not Theritas, not the dragon goddess, nothing else but their friend Clarisse La Rue from Camp Half-Blood. It's wild that she'd been the one to pull him out from all of this. If she hadn't, how much longer would he believe he was the Herald of Telluric Springs? That life ... well, he doesn't want to think about it right now. Truthfully, he's afraid that if he thinks about it for too long, it'll just suck him back in. ]

And I know you didn't believe what she told you, I know it sounds insane, but you'd believe me right?

[ His fingers instinctively squeeze around hers, hoping that she'll respond in kind. ]

Everything you think about these last eight hundred years — it's not real. It was never real, it's some illusion that we literally fell into.

[ He remembers that part too, the falling. ]
sophos: (pic#4369137)

[personal profile] sophos 2024-05-07 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ he squeezes her hand; she yanks it away. ]

[ cassian, clarisse, and percy, all of them trying to tell her the same thing. logically, she should hear them out at this point. but annabeth has always held herself in a very high regard. it's magnified by her ascension to godhood, and she clings to the sense of power it brings her. ]

[ he uses the word falling, and her stomach rolls over, like she should know what it means beyond a trick, a trap. ]


Don't be ridiculous. All of you - [ she can't even finish the thought, taking a few steps away from him, like she wants to pace but can't bring herself to get too far. ]

Eight hundred years, Percy. How could none of it be real?
seaweedbrain: (106)

[personal profile] seaweedbrain 2024-05-07 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oof. Percy knows to expect some resistance from her — after all, it doesn't surprise him that after everything they'd been through, she finally has the experience, capability and most of all power to reshape a huge part of this world the way that she wants to. It's an architect's dream come true.

It feels almost mean to take that away from her, and the feeling of her pulling her hand away from his so forcefully kinda smarts. But he still can't leave her here, not when everything in this place is a lie. She would never forgive him, and he doesn't think he can go on leaving her here like this either. Selfishly, he doesn't want to.

He quickly recovers, and continues on. ]


Do you remember how we met? Like, how we really met. [ He pauses. ] What about how we became friends? When you start to sift through all of those memories, the core ones that make us who we are — they're gone, right? Instead it's eight hundred years of made-up memories, so many of them that don't even make sense.

[ He gestures to their surroundings, the calmness of the beach and the sky. He glances towards the water and knows that his power could never be like what he had being the Herald.

But he had never wanted power like that anyway. He turned it down. He remembers that clearly too. He turns back to the goddess, his girlfriend, and meets her eyes.

Please. ]


Come on, Annabeth, you have to believe me.
Edited 2024-05-07 04:19 (UTC)
techmaturgy: (pic#15745012)

[personal profile] techmaturgy 2024-05-07 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
[Now that he feels it, he remembers why he wanted to rid himself of it so badly. He thinks, maybe, if not for the fact that he's coming to understand none of this is real, he'd do it again. Reuniting with Kyle is a comfort, and though it staunches the wound, he knows now that this doesn't quite fit, not in the way Jayce did.

But maybe that isn't bad. It's different. Not a replacement, but something else.

What matters is that he isn't alone right now, and even after everything he's done to himself, Kyle still wants him. Despite being made entirely of metal and magic, Viktor is warm to the touch, and he finds himself hoping that it's not unpleasant. He's touching him, pulling him closer, and for all the others fear his augmentations, he feels none of that when Kyle's hand settles so close to his exposed heart. He shudders involuntarily, closing his eyes to focus, the intimacy slightly overwhelming and Kyle's question slightly unwelcome, despite everything.
]

I don't--I'm not sure.

[The truth is that Viktor wants to be this way. He is his own greatest creation, and the thought of giving it all up--the possibility of returning to what he used to be is terrifying. Viktor seems guilty about his lie almost immediately, bowing his head in what might be guilt, for making Kyle do this. He feels the tug of the cables and the contrasting pull of a world beyond this one.]

If you leave it up to me, I won't go. You have to do it.
sophos: (pic#4324827)

[personal profile] sophos 2024-05-07 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ she doesn't remember. it feels like something she should, because she loves percy with her whole soul, why would she not know how they met in the first place? it's been them, for so long, it didn't seem to matter. ]

[ only he thinks it does. between the pleading look in his eyes and the lingering sense that it's important to remember what he asks, she falters. ]

[ but she thinks about what's done here. her treasure trove of accomplishments, her mark on this world, and that feels important too. annabeth shakes her head, a little too fast, almost too desperate a denial. she can feel something inside of her curling with frustration against him and what he says, which only makes her angrier because she doesn't want to be angry with him. ]


There's too much to remember every second of every century. [ missing pieces make sense. she can't seem to look away from his eyes, despite it all. she knows those too well. ]

What matters is what we do. Not - things we forget.
mathmetism: (tumblr_inline_p5gexu6zsw1rvxgyx_100)

[personal profile] mathmetism 2024-05-07 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ jerry places a hand dramatically on his chest, looking shocked and appalled at the suggestion of wasting his delicious candies and peppers on an unplanned barfing. excuse the frick out of you, friend. ]

I would never commit so grievous a party foul. [ the offense passes just a quickly as it came. instead, he takes a faux-grandiose voice, while fiddling with any knick knack of koby's stuff within reach, like an ADHD child digging for a stimming toy. ] There is no man, beast, god or assorted candies that can destroy me. Only I will choose to open my arms to the Sun and embrace oblivion.

[ jerry pascal is smiles and jokes and manic laughter. he's also chainsawing and enough hard drugs to kill an elephant and existential horror. these things shouldn't be able to coexist inside one person. and yet, here he is, requesting juice. ]

Papaya, please.
flagrates: (clive-18521)

[personal profile] flagrates 2024-05-07 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
[ He laughs, crossing his arms, shaking his head. His son has always been serious, and he wouldn't dare to ask him to change now. He gets his from his mother, surely — Metia has always been the more grounded of the two — and it helps keep himself grounded, too. ]

But timing is very important in theatre. Without it, as you say, people wouldn't be able to hear lines or understand the story.
tedandroses: (looking down)

[for sam] no more bad days

[personal profile] tedandroses 2024-05-07 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
Teddy has worked with the Falcon before, though not closely enough to go so far as to claim him a friend without him doing it first. It happens, when someone has abilities that have to do with home, and another deals in harmonious community. There are a cluster of others like her -- probably in any and all areas really -- where talents overlap: Teddy sort of notices who she sees more and less of, and sometimes asks for advice.

Other... Teddy had been using the word mage, personally, for years, or just Summoned. After enough years, though, after people who've never met you start leaving offerings in your name to hear them,

-- after you do hear them, and start to be able to answer people across the world, as you learn to be rock or tree or light itself to help them --
(No, after all that, he still hates the word God. It just matters less what he says or what people call him.)

The semantics of whether or not Teddy or even Sam's a god, though, isn't why they're here in his domain, nor are the Falcon's home-related talents.

Or not in that way. Teddy takes a deep breath, stepping farther into the echoing antechamber of the museum that makes up a good portion of his Horizon, looking up through where multiple floors cut away. Their stomach twists for the seven hundredth time, acid in the back of their throat, but they've thought about this. A lot.

"Hello?" Teddy closes her eyes and tries to reach out to the air, the little disturbances, the flow of it. The Horizon makes it easier and harder to feel what's there: things don't work quite like real physics here. Instead, she sends a sort of gentle nudge back, a little breeze with a soft spin to it like a question. Nicer than hollering.
satanicpanics: (pic#15737630)

[personal profile] satanicpanics 2024-05-07 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ The funny thing is that the throne came about as a joke. Unfortunately, it’s become a joke that has long since lost its context because Eddie doesn’t really remember the Hawkins High drama room anymore, or drinking Mountain Dew out of plastic goblets, or the faces that surrounded him as they battled imaginary dragons.

But he still doesn’t view it as a serious thing. He’s not looking to wear any crowns or rule any lands, he’s just wanting to look cool and fancy and a little ridiculous when people come to visit him. He knows it unsettles Jon a little bit, but to him, it’s just a fancy chair. It doesn’t mean anything.
]

Believe me, dude. I’m pretty good at languishing and, uh, you really don’t want me languishing away on your front step. I’d be there for years.

[ He beams, though, pleased to get such a positive response from Jon. By Eddie’s count, it’s been a few years since they saw one another, but Eddie has never been particularly good at keeping count. ]

I say we do trouble ourselves to find it.
flagrates: (clive-11479)

[personal profile] flagrates 2024-05-07 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
We're that far behind?

[ Damn. He raises his snout to the air, sniffing. His sense of smell isn't as keen as Torgal's (who's at home on babysitting duty with Yinyue), but there is the faintest hint of smoke... ]

They're still in the wood, at least.
exuviage: 🌙 game. (pic#17096579)

[personal profile] exuviage 2024-05-07 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
I think fear of Hilda might make everyone else audible, actually.

[ he is never, and never could be, scared of hilda. but also, dress rehearsals were exhausting... not because of the difficulty of moving the water, but the pressure of living up to her exacting standards. if he were the mortal mage her glamour makes him look to be, he might be dead from the strain. ]