beleos: (Default)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2022-10-14 03:08 pm

TDM + GAME OPENING 🎉

Who: Shard-Bearers, new and old
What: Seeds take root
Where: The Tree of Life, Highstorm, Springstar
When: October 14th and onwards
Warnings: Potential for (mild) body horror, death, dismemberment


I. BEARING FRUIT (new characters only)
It starts out as a pleasant dream. You’re in your favorite place, with your favorite people. It’s a moment of idyllic comfort.

And then, it goes wrong.

The sky turns dark above, and as you look up, you see the black expanse of space spotted with faraway pinprick lights of stars. Yet, they’re not stars. You’re certain. They’re watching you. A billion eyes all looking down, and they spill forth as if sky itself was a dam holding back those dark waters. You reach back to the people you’re with, but they’re frozen in place. Their eyes are black, reflecting only the expanse of dark eyes.

So you run, even though you know you won’t escape it. You glance back and see it not overtaking, but consuming. The landscape around you is being devoured, and you can see it cracking apart. The world itself is breaking, and it cracks under your feet. You fall, and the billion eyes chase after you until the darkness swallows you whole. There’s agony as if you’re being ripped apart, and then—

You cannot see. You cannot feel. You simply are. Yet even so, impossibly, a woman’s voice speaks gently.

I’m sorry it couldn’t be saved. But, come, it’s time to wake.

You wake with a start, cradled by soft, velvety plants, and sticky with a sap that smells faintly of honey and iron. You can see the veins of the leaves that hold you, lit warmly and gently by what looks like a crystal embedded above you. Yet, it’s odd, because that crystal calls to you. When you reach out to touch it, it’s warm. Familiar. Important. You don’t know why, but you know you must hold onto this, because now it feels wrong for it to be suspended in these leaves. So, you pull it out.

The light starts to fade, but only in time to see as the leaves cradling you immediately start to soften and crumble, and with it comes a torrent of dirt. Soft, loamy soil starts to fill the space around you in the dark as you’re buried. Or, rather, you already were. You reach out through the dirt desperately, and your hands finds a root, so you pull while you clutch that precious crystal so close that it almost feels like it sinks into you (in your panic, you don’t notice that it does). You reach out again, and this time, your hand hits open air and plenty of sturdy roots around to grab.

From a seed you’re born, and like a sprout, you make your way out of the ground.

And once you’ve clawed your way out of the soft earth and the roots, nearby, you see the soil shift. Another hand comes up to grasp desperately for something, anything, just as you had been.

II. MORAL HAZARD
There are new Shard-Bearers at the Tree of Life, and Yima has asked that the earlier arrivals go to greet them and help them. These aren’t people from Horos, after all, so they’ll have many, many questions. As Yima explains, the roots of the tree rise up to create caverns underneath, and it’s there you’ll find the new Shard-Bearers. And indeed, with careful steps to not slip on the mossy roots, down you go. Perhaps Communion will help you find the new Shard-Bearers, but it might be a confusing process for them.

The roots all start to look the same, to the point that you’re sure that you’ve already been through this passage. You turn around, and most of the people you had come here with are gone, if not all of them. It’s confusing and unsettling, and strangest of all.. You’re starting to feel ill, even if that wasn’t something normally possible for you. But continuing forward, you do eventually find an unfamiliar face of a new Shard-Bearer. They look no better than you feel.

Before introductions, however, roots around you shift suddenly until you’re enclosed in a room together. From the roots, a face forms in the wall. It speaks in a creaking, uneven tone, as if it weren’t used to speaking at all.

Give to take. A sacrifice. To live.

LET'S PLAY A GAME...

As the Dryad will explain, characters are now trapped in a room and have been poisoned by the spores that the lichens underfoot release. An antidote lays beyond the roots the dryad has curled around you, but to access it, you must make a sacrifice.

Characters can pick one of the following options, but the decision must be made unanimously. If one character takes a drastic action (such as murdering another), it’s counted as a failure for the group.

  • Each of you must offer up a personal/treasured memory. The memory will be shared in Communion with all characters assembled, and then will be destroyed. No character will retain the memory or memory of its Communion.
  • Each of you must offer up something physical. A finger, a toe, an ear, it’s your choice. The dryad will offer a knife if this is chosen that will sever the body part of choice cleanly and immediately stop any bleeding.
  • Offer up another. Kill one person in the room.
  • Refusing is also a valid option. Characters will get more ill as they debate until they start to find it difficult to breathe, and they’ll die quickly after.
The following is OOC knowledge that will not be known IC: The consequences of this game are about intent, and thus are not real. When characters are freed from the tree’s thrall, they’ll have their memories/body parts/life intact.

This can be done in groups of 2 to 4 players, and Loremasters recommend three if you can swing it! It’s more fun when you get in philosophical debates, right? Regardless, when your group comes to a decision, please record it here. These don’t have to be fully threaded out to be recorded, so the conclusion can be discussed OOC if you prefer. Actions can be submitted until October 21st, after which groups will be informed of what comes of their choice…

When a group receives the antidote, they'll be released from the tree's thrall... But will have a hard time waking up. It feels like something has grabbed onto their spine.

III. DREAMING OF HOME
You may wake with a start from your deliberations (or arguments) with a jolt of pain from the base of your spine as something is pulled away rapidly. A dark-haired man who looks to be in his thirties or so holds you carefully, but as soon as you start to regain your senses, he sets you back and holds up his hands.

Woah— Woah there, it’s fine! The tree was, uh, trying to take you back is all. You’re fine now.

As long as you’re not going to attack him, he offers a friendly smile and a hand to shake.

Name’s Cyrus. Sorry about the rude awakening. Let’s get your friend here unhooked too.

And indeed, glancing over, you can see the person you met in that room laying nearby, and it looks like a vine has snaked underneath them to exactly where something had just been pulled from you… Best not to think about it, maybe. Or if you've been unlucky enough to be one of the last people rescued, you might find vines and roots starting to grow into your skin. It's fine!

CYRUS, THE TRIBUNE

Cyrus is the NPC heading up the Meridian Faction, and is available to thread with under this header. Cyrus has come to the Tree of Life to help rescue the Shard-Bearer’s from the Tree, so he’s not going to be inclined to explain too much right away, since he’s on a mission, but he’ll stick around once everyone is successfully freed from Prompt 2 to speak with anyone that wants to. The following is just an OOC summary of information in case you do not need to thread with Cyrus:

Cyrus will gladly introduce himself to everyone, and will further explain his position in Meridian and Springstar (see the NPC Page) and the goals of Meridian itself (see the Faction Page, save for the italicized section). But most importantly, he’ll explain that he knows it sounds like something overly optimistic. It’s fair to be skeptical. He’ll produce a small glass bead from a bag he’s carrying. It looks like the necklace he wears, though not lit up. He’ll explain that the force of Meridian is a gift and can be a tether to your home, if you let it. As his fingertips light up, the energy is infused into the bead, which he’ll hand to you.

Taking the bead into your hands, you’ll take a bird’s eye view of your home world as if your consciousness is split, since you’ll still perceive standing in front of Cyrus at the tree. Rather than a vision, the view of your world is absolutely real, you’re certain. It’s a glimpse at the world that you thought destroyed, and if you focus on a particular place or a particular person, you’ll find the view shifting rapidly to it. No one you watch is aware of your presence, but simply continues about their daily life, whatever that is. But after about a minute, the view will fade as the light in the bead also fades.

That’s an iliachtida, a sunbeam, and when infused with Meridian’s light, allows someone Harmonized to it to check in on their world, he explains. It also acts as an anchor that tethers their soul to their world in the Timestream. With it, their world can’t entirely disappear, so eventually, they can go home. It’s a gift he’ll allow anyone that wants it to keep it, but indeed, they’ll be unable to use it again without first Harmonizing to Meridian.

To help manage threadload for the Loremasters playing Cyrus, we ask that you only tag him with the character you are most likely to app. Similarly, new tag-ins will not be accepted after Monday, October 17th.

III. SPRINGSTAR, αιώνιος ήλιος
After your ordeals at the Tree of Life, perhaps you’re drawn to Springstar, the city of eternal sun and the seat of Meridian.

It’s currently (and fittingly) Spring in Springstar, and the bustling city is coming back to life after finishing up winter. It’s not as if the winters are especially harsh here, but you’ll quickly get the sense that the people of Springstar are vivacious and happy to celebrate. You’ll find the Entertainment District to be the liveliest, whether it’s at a rowdy bar or a brothel, but no matter what, you’re welcome with open arms and without question.

Of course, if you’d just like to use the chance to explore the city alongside your fellow Shard-Bearers, that’s fine too. It’s easy to get lost in the crowds of Springstar and see all the city has to offer.

IV. HIGHSTORM, луны-близнецы
Or maybe Highstorm, the city of twin moons and the seat of Zenith is more to your liking. It’s certainly the quieter of the two cities and is a relaxing, meditative place if that’s what you prefer. The chill in the air is constant, since it’s Autumn in Highstorm and the eternal night doesn’t help keep things warm, exactly. Snow isn’t out of the question at this time of the year, but it’s beautiful in the moonlight.

Because of the cooler weather than Highstorm is prone to, you’ll find many of its delights inside rather than outside. Libraries and museums are popular in the more introspective city, though it’s easy enough to find something that might please you. For example, the indoor hot baths are popular at this time of the year too. You’ll find the people are kind, if cool-tempered, though if you mention the fact that you’re a Shard-Bearer or allied with Zenith, they’re more likely to warm up.

Though much like Springstar, it may just be more interesting to explore the city with a fellow Shard-Bearer. And as a resident may warn you, it’s best to stay in the city. Wandering out into the marshes and forests isn’t advised. Of course, if you do, just contact a Loremaster to find out why. ♥

NOTES
  • Welcome to Kenos! As a reminder, all players are required to fill out an application, which are now open. This does include characters/players from Aion Teleos, so please don’t forget to fill one out! Any character/player that does not submit an application will be swept from the communities and the Discord after applications close.
  • Activity Check is optional this month, but is highly recommend so Christy can check her fancy program so that you can earn Activity Reward Tokens! Activity will be able to be submitted shortly after applications close. You can find more about how we do AC here.
  • This log is Game Canon. Any characters who are not apped to the game will disappear. If Cyrus or Yima are asked, they’ll explain that this happens sometimes, since not every soul has a strong tether to Kenos and sometimes return to the Timestream. They’re fine and may even return to Kenos one day, but for now weren’t able to make the full journey.
  • As a reminder, your character has a Shard somewhere on their body that encompasses their soul, so keep note of where you're sticking it on their person for reference! Additionally, they have a tattoo of their Aspect somewhere on their body. Please be mindful this Aspect will be assigned to you upon approval and whatever you choose for the TDM may be temporary (for new characters)!
  • For the Highstorm and Springstar prompts, both cities will be fully open and accessible to all characters once they are saved from their rather harrowing ordeal at the Tree of Life. For prompt ideas and any general information about the cities and what you can find there, please see the Navigation page and check out the locations!

    FOR NEW PLAYERS:

  • New players are welcome to join our Discord Server if you haven't already!
  • When they emerge from their cocoon/the ground, characters may be wearing their normal clothes, or they might be nude. Up to you!
  • At some point in the days after leaving the Tree of Life, new Shard-Bearers will have a dream, even if they're usually not capable of sleeping. All new players should read this post, since this details how they'll learn about both factions and their goals and should help them make a decision in which Faction they'd be drawn to.
  • New characters will not have access to any canon abilities on the TDM.
  • Your character will be offered temporary housing either at the Heliopolis district or Yima's manor for the first few weeks after their arrival. They will also be given a stipend for basic supplies like clothing and personal effects, and food is served in the cantina (Heliopolis) and at regular meal times in the Dining Room (Yima's manor). Once they Harmonize, they will get personal permanent chambers and a fancy retainer in their Faction's city. Wow! 🌈

    FOR OLD PLAYERS:

  • Characters may be Harmonized to their Faction (if that makes sense for the character, of course!) by the time of this log. This is more for IC reference, and just wait until application acceptance to do the OOC paperwork!
  • General reminder that your character won't have access to their powers until they have Harmonized.

  • CODING
    hundredpower: (302)

    [personal profile] hundredpower 2022-10-15 11:21 am (UTC)(link)
    [Barnaby's still a little disoriented by the situation as he comes to. He remembers been trapped with a red-haired girl and Emet-Selch, and then... this? Had Cyrus pulled them out already? With a panic he checks the silver pendant around his neck is still there, one he'd had fashioned as a way to carry Cerys's Shard with him, and he breathes an inward sigh of relief to find it unharmed.]

    Thank you for the help. [He says to Cyrus, regarding him. The man has a smile that would be a perfect fit for in front of a camera -- in fact, he wouldn't look out of place on HeroTV.] I wasn't aware the tree would do... that.

    [thanks for the warning, yima!!]
    mignons: (Default)

    dave | minions franchise | stargazer

    [personal profile] mignons 2022-10-15 11:23 am (UTC)(link)
    i. bearing fruit (it's bananas)

    [ So you're just sitting there, catching your breath after you've clawed your way out of the dirt. Or maybe you've been wandering for a bit trying to find your way out of this tree mess. Whatever the case, something suddenly pops out of the ground next to your foot. First one gloved hand, then another, followed by something round and yellow and bulbous that pops out of the ground with a little suction cup sound effect. Fortunately for everyone involved, it is not butt naked.

    It looks up. Sees you. It screams in panic. ]


    ii. moral hazards (why would you tag this prompt)

    [ Saw theme plays in the bg while Dave the minion clings to the nearest person's leg and bawls while protesting that he doesn't want to die (in gibberih minion speak).




    yes that's literally the prompt, yes this is the 'stab/kill dave' prompt for all you banana haters out there ]


    iii. springstar (i've been awake since 4 am)

    [ In one of the many Springstar shops that fill the bustling city, there is a small yellow minion chattering away to himself as he takes clothes off racks and then puts them back on.

    World destruction aside, the key to being a successful villainous minion is to 1. look the part 2. feel the part 3. act the part. Once 1 is taken care of, it should be easier to accomplish 2 and 3. Which is why he thrusts out two shirts towards two, chattering away (still in minion gibberish) and alternates lifting up one over the other.

    One's banana print. The other is pineapple print. Which one looks better on him???? ]


    iv. wildcard (send help)

    [ seriously i'm so tired, send help ]
    Edited (I FUCKED UP THE CITY) 2022-10-15 11:25 (UTC)
    baltimores: (095)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2022-10-15 11:27 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Damn — Amos is a pretty well-built guy, but this one? He's an absolute tank. It earns a moment of appraisal, respect — and then, after a beat, a matching of that half-smirk. ]

    Takes one to know one, I guess. [ He hasn't seen Vander around before — doesn't know his story, just feels a faint sense of kinship he can recognize as someone sharing the same Aspect as him. So it's with a general sort of friendliness he addresses him, because hey. That's probably a good sign. ] It's cool. I just went for something normal. Never heard about anything like what they say they're peddling here before.

    [ And, as if proving his point, Amos takes a sip. No change for him; this is exactly like drinking at any other bar.

    Putting his glass back down on the bartop, he lifts his chin in the direction of Vander's drink. ]


    What'd you get?
    warmare: (恐慌)

    cw: slavery, abuse, etc.

    [personal profile] warmare 2022-10-15 11:29 am (UTC)(link)
    [For what it's worth... Hayame does listen. She doesn't trust him, she won't do it for even a minute, but she does listen as her her body remembers what it's like to be in control of itself, shaking out the vestiges of the dryad's work and the roots that had attempted to twine themselves around her spine with a last series of twitches and an aborted kick.

    What she hears... Is more than difficult to swallow.

    Hayame had almost hoped once... but that foreign, weak and newborn feeling had been extinguished by harsh reality not a few days later, before it had properly fledged. What did a woman born owned from an armless broodmare know about hope? Any chance as a child to feel such things had been extinguished once she became old enough to know what happened in the breeding stalls each month, once she'd seen what the flensing posts were for. Perhaps she had hoped to be sold as a warrior and not for her use as a woman, but even that was buried in how much actual obsessive work went in to trying to assure it, rather than simply wish for it.

    So how do you do it, when you don't have any power or means to actualize the thing that you hope for? How can she feel something like that when she is so lost, so weak in worlds that run on magic and systems she cannot comprehend or find a place for herself in?

    She should be more concerned about the implications of the word "ancestor", that it sounds as if this man is claiming that he is descended from someone who had come here like she had, and who then may have lived and died on this floating land in the stars without ever setting foot back in their home. Is that what he's saying? She opens her mouth to ask...

    Then he offers her a... bead, one that he claims will serve as a look at her home. Before she can stop herself her hand almost reaches out to take it, desperate for proof that her world survived or news of the fates of the few people she cared for... But she catches herself at the last minute and curls her fingers inward and snatches her fist back as if she'd almost burned herself. What a fool she had become, no-]


    Your ancestor's? What do you mean?

    [The demand for more information on that point rings more hollow, now that it is obvious what she actually wants to do... If she could just trust him for a single minute.]
    baltimores: (066)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2022-10-15 11:29 am (UTC)(link)
    [ His smile widens at seeing her; Ciel's always been a good presence to have around him. Reliable, trustworthy, a good friend, so he's happy to see her.

    That much more so now that she looks like she's feeling better, too; they can both afford to give each other way more than a barely-perceptible nod this time around, and he will immediately stop to talk with her, or even fall right into step beside her. Let her drive the bus again — that's always worked well for him, hasn't it? ]


    Hey. Yeah, this place isn't half bad. Not sure about how bright it is all the time, but can't complain about this part of the city.

    [ He's very used to living without natural sunlight, but the entertainment district is kind of a whole vibe, so it's easy to see him being a rather frequent visitor.

    And then Amos tilts his head a fraction, regarding her. ]


    How're you liking it here?

    [ The entertainment district, Springstar, Kenos as a whole — whichever, really, because come to think of it, he's not sure where she's been staying, or how often she comes out here. ]
    baltimores: (062)

    iii

    [personal profile] baltimores 2022-10-15 11:43 am (UTC)(link)
    [ ...

    ...

    ...

    Okay this is a new one.

    Dave earns a very blank stare, until, eventually, ]
    The pineapple one?

    [ If Amos sounds uncertain, well, there's a lot to be thrown off by here. At least he's trying? ]
    warmare: (沈黙)

    a woman missing her left eye and a man missing his right walk into a market...

    [personal profile] warmare 2022-10-15 12:09 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Her new eyepatch is... itchy. She can't stop being aware of the unfamiliar straps across her face, and though she'd been assured that the edge of the portion covering the empty socket of her eye was made soft and unlikely to chafe, it still feels like it is.

    But at least the accessory serves as an excuse for her to touch her face. She uses adjusting it as a cover for rubbing at her nose to try and stifle the delicious scent, embarrassed by the betrayals of her body... and even more embarrassed with a tall, foreign-looking warrior (or so she guesses) brings even further attention to it. By instinct, her muscles tighten up upon being addressed, her tail flicking out irritably behind her.]


    What business is it of yours?

    [... But she doesn't move, yet. It is not as starkly evident here, who among them is an aion... No, a "shard-bearer" or not. But her perhaps her response wouldn't change, no matter the answer.]
    ktizo: (🎵 i'll find you)

    [personal profile] ktizo 2022-10-15 12:18 pm (UTC)(link)
    I see! A commendable approach to life, and certainly I feel the same way in most cases. 'Tis all well and good to have something that looks nice, but what does it do?

    [He picks up an odd little piece made of thin wire, artwork of what looks to be a landmark here in the city.]

    Still, sometimes it is nice to simply look at something and appreciate it for what it is.

    [Placing the artwork carefully back on the table, he offers Vander a grin.]

    So, whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with? I am Hythlodaeus.
    warmare: (相手)

    [personal profile] warmare 2022-10-15 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    [At first... Hayame had simple sat down, plopping her rump down on the ground with her forelegs still held straight, adopting a posture more familiar on a canine than an equine. She had just intended to look in peace, trying to find some sort of answer to the question of what she should, would, could even do in a place like this. Soon enough... She had laid down on her belly, letting the purple blossoms begin to swallow her. Perhaps she did require more rest. She has not been sleeping or eating well since she was rebirthed into their new prison, and the lines of her withers and hips are already looking a bit sharp. As shameful as being so vulnerable was...

    At some point, even her more human looking upper half had grown slack and sunk to the earth as she fully laid down, her head pillowed on her forearms. She might even be mistaken as peaceful or calm, looking like that... but even to a stranger, there might be signs something is off. She doesn't seem to respond even to the obvious sounds of being approached, not even being hailed. It isn't until far too long after his words die into the air that finally,]


    I said "leave me be".

    [The words are mumbled, distracted, obviously meant for the local men who she absently assumes have come to pester her again as she presses an ear to the dirt beneath her. Where was that faint, faint voice coming from... ? Was it on the wind? In the earth?

    And why did it sound so sweetly, achingly familiar... ?]
    ktizo: (🎵 as we ride again)

    [personal profile] ktizo 2022-10-15 12:27 pm (UTC)(link)
    "Ciel. A pleasure."

    He almost laughs out loud at the question- oh, he can appreciate her attitude, that's for sure. "You have me there. No, I don't. I came in here for a drink to get out of the cold, but I'm hoping for a reunion with a dear friend. You see, last I recall, we were together- and if I have been reborn into this world, it makes sense that he would have been, too."

    After all, they were both in the lifestream, where it's absolutely possible to be reborn... even if this isn't exactly how it's supposed to work.

    "I've been looking all over, but my powers have disappeared and I therefore cannot simply find him as easily as I could have. Assuming he is even here- my attempts to find him may prove futile, in the end."

    But one can hope. Yes, there is always hope.
    ktizo: (🎵 smouldering softly)

    [personal profile] ktizo 2022-10-15 12:32 pm (UTC)(link)
    [He tilts his head, before shaking his head with a chuckle.]

    Ah, I see. I'm afraid I must disappoint you further- I know nothing of such things.

    [His world operated on magic, and little else.]

    Would that I could help you find the requisite book- alas, I fear I'd be of little help. So instead, what say you to a little break of sorts?

    [Hythlodaeus figures he may as well try to make a friend, and someone else who knows how it feels to see their world die- well, surely that's a start?]
    passio: (pic#12118226)

    [personal profile] passio 2022-10-15 12:49 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ dextera had done his best to reject yima. it was difficult, it wasn’t what he wanted to do, but he was able to recognize his own weaknesses and attempt to shore up against them. cyrus’ genial offerings have made it a little easier in the aftermath, but that just means it’s truly important to talk to the man himself and understand what exactly they’ve all gotten themselves into. ]

    …

    [ he’s clutching the bead, but he pries one hand away from it to reach for his shard—old habit, though he at least stops before pulling it out. ]

    Can you bring anyone back?
    warmare: (何っ)

    [personal profile] warmare 2022-10-15 12:50 pm (UTC)(link)
    [It is not as easy, in this place, to tell who was an aion-- or, "shard-bearer", rather. As much as Hayame was enjoying (and refusing to acknowledge) not being gawked at so obviously wherever she walked... it also let to a sense of confusion that came with this new place, no knowing who exactly was an ally or an enemy, let alone who was "native" or "foreign"... And perhaps there were those among their number who thought of such ambiguity as a good thing, but she...

    The man she has addressed pulls the book from his face and becomes more than just an impression of color and hair and jewelry, and in the book's wake... is a face that is somewhat familiar. As a consequence of the crack running through the obsidian shard hidden beneath her bindings which were hidden beneath her modest robe, her memories of her last days in Horos blurred and became unreliable, too chaotic to piece despite her efforts, and yet...

    There had been someone. Someone who had helped her, when she had needed it, and spoken words that actually made sense. How and why she cannot recall, but that man's name had been... Claude. It had been Claude. Was she suddenly hallucinating, now, imagining what that man might look like in some years' time? Was her experience with foreign faces so bad that she had simply mistaken a man of similar race and build for him? Except the way he attempts to force some strange joke is also familiar... it makes her one visible eye narrow as her brow furrows, the confusion evident on her features...

    She forgets to actually say anything except,]


    What?
    executory: (pic#16013341)

    [personal profile] executory 2022-10-15 12:51 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ No, why is she still asking about that place? ]

    It's not some place a kid like you should be.

    [ Said vehemently, forcefully. At least they're slowing down now that there's been some distance put between them and the brothel. ]

    And not a place most adults should be either.

    [ The disapproval in her voice is clear. ]
    leicesters: (193)

    [personal profile] leicesters 2022-10-15 01:10 pm (UTC)(link)
    "What"? We get to have a reunion like this, and that's all I get?

    [He pretends to look put upon, but in reality, he doesn't expect anyone to be able to roll with the punches quite like he does. It helps that this also isn't his first time reuniting with an old acquaintance after what (for him) has been a significant amount of time.]

    Well, it's nice to see you again too, I guess.
    joyfully: (♙ Multiple Axis of Movement)

    [personal profile] joyfully 2022-10-15 01:15 pm (UTC)(link)
    I did!

    [Of course she did. Kaine's incredulousness does not even seem to register in her mind as she pushes herself up to a standing position quickly.]

    It smelled nice, so I wanted to see if it tastes as nice as it smells. And it does! So I'd say that's a victory in a sea of potential defeats.

    [a-ny-wayyyy]

    If we wanna get cleaned up, I guess we should find a way out of here and to the nearest village, huh?
    joyfully: (Default)

    [personal profile] joyfully 2022-10-15 01:17 pm (UTC)(link)
    [It's going to someday now and there's no escaping it.

    Morgan just hums enthusiastically at that, though, far too excited to share this little tidbit considering its implications.]


    That's because I'm a tactician! ... In training! So I've gotta especially think about things like that first and foremost, if I ever want to catch up to father.
    joyfully: (♙ Joining Pawn)

    [personal profile] joyfully 2022-10-15 01:18 pm (UTC)(link)
    [It's only a little, but it's so much more than Morgan knew. She perks up a bit at that, and then immediately reaches for this new girl's hand. Surely she's just shy? That's probably the purpose behind the hood, too.]

    Great! That sounds really fun and interesting--let's go find one and give it a try, okay?

    [Sorry, Gray. This is just happening now.]
    joyfully: (♙ Cyber Weapons)

    [personal profile] joyfully 2022-10-15 01:19 pm (UTC)(link)
    That would probably be polite! But by the time they become Risen, they're not exactly capable of human speech anymore.
    joyfully: (♙ Air Power)

    iii.

    [personal profile] joyfully 2022-10-15 01:22 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Morgan's just bouncing from place to place, unfocused wanderings to get the lay of the land and see everything there is to see in equal measure. So eventually she finds herself in the gardens as well, and... well!

    His question probably isn't meant for her, but she's nosy enough to respond anyway.]


    "Impossible"... mm, probably not! But definitely very, very unlikely. Anyway, that's the sort of thing we have to decide for ourselves, right?
    joyfully: (♙ Theater Strategy)

    i.

    [personal profile] joyfully 2022-10-15 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
    Aw, don't do that!

    [Whether the grumblings were for herself or not, Morgan has decided this lady was addressing her. Or she just doesn't care about the privacy aspect and wants to talk to someone else anyway. Could be anything!

    She's also covered in dirt and sap, so Morgan clearly came from the same place and circumstance--though she doesn't seem nearly as troubled.]


    There might be something really exciting just around the bend! We should keep going for at least that much.
    joyfully: (♙ Use of Force)

    iii.

    [personal profile] joyfully 2022-10-15 01:29 pm (UTC)(link)
    [.....

    ....

    Morgan peers at him curiously from where she's seated at a table not quite next to his, but only a few over. And then, apparently deciding that he's talking to her, she bounces right up out of her chair and comes over.]


    Maybe it's a curse?

    [#helpful]
    warmare: (残骸)

    [personal profile] warmare 2022-10-15 01:49 pm (UTC)(link)
    ["Reunion". So she wasn't imagining things. She wasn't so faceblind as to mistake him for someone else. But that means-]

    What-

    [She doesn't know what it means.]

    What happened to you... ?

    [Where had he gone, when many of them had woken in sap and root beneath the ground into the arms of a woman who had made them feel as they'd come home to a mother's embrace? It was an impossible feeling, to a woman who's mother had possessed no arms to hold her, and yet it had still been born in her... Despite how that made her want to avoid their "rescuer", she'd still looked around as best she could before she left (fled).

    And Claude had not been there- let alone the issue of his appearance.]
    passio: (pic#12118211)

    4b

    [personal profile] passio 2022-10-15 02:19 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ dextera will get to the content of “marthe’s” comment in a moment, but at least in the first moments of recognizing that voice, dextera feels the need to re-introduce himself—to establish, unlike some others, that he is recognized and known. it’s been hard to keep track of who remembers what, particularly when it comes to how hazy the last few months have been for him personally. ]

    …?

    [ he wants to say something, but obviously he can’t, so he taps sebastian on the shoulder with a much more wide-eyed, trusting expression than he wore the last time they spoke. ]
    hundredpower: (201)

    Barnaby Brooks Jr. | Tiger & Bunny | Exalt

    [personal profile] hundredpower 2022-10-15 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
    I. SPRINGSTAR - EMPORIO DISTRICT
    [Barnaby's always been a city person at heart, and there's something about the crowded, bright, melting pot nature of Springstar that reminds him of Sternbild. Or perhaps he's just a little homesick, after using the iliachtida and gazing into those old memories of home. He thought they'd fill him with nothing but bitterness, with the way he remembered things, but now he isn't so sure. Particularly when he knows now how much his mindset had been shaped by the dark influence of the Kenoma for months on end. Walking around this city, he feels like he's finally beginning to regain some clarity of mind.

    He's looking around the shopping district when he pauses to admire the way the light hits the glass, reflecting on the ground and making pedestrians look like they're walking through a liquid rainbow. He smiles, touching the pendant around his neck that bears a Shard, and speaks to it quietly.]


    I think you'll like it here. I'll bring you to see it, when you come back.

    [Yima had said she'll come when she's ready, but he still can't help but try to talk to her like she can listen, like he can try to coax her out a little at a time. It's a comforting thought, if nothing else.]


    II. HIGHSTORM - GREENWOOD YARDS
    [...Or perhaps you can find him over in Highstorm, exploring Greenwood. Though he'd thought of Highstorm as gloomy and oppressive as Achamoth at first, he's slowly realising that isn't the case, and is staving off the autumn chill by exploring the humid greenhouses. He's crouching down to admire a collection of bioluminescent plants when a woman with catlike features strikes up a conversation with him, and before he knows it they're engrossed in discussions about exotic flora, which ones are dangerous, which ones let off a pleasing scent if you drag your fingertips along their foliage, which ones are the favourites of rare species of butterflies or birds who also thrive here.

    After an engaging few hours, she shows him to an empty plot she offers for his own, and brings him a basketful of seeds and bulbs to start him off in anticipation for spring.]


    I can have all of these? I'm only experienced with houseplants, but I'll try my best. [He's both startled and pleased by this development, looking happier than he has... in a while, actually. Perhaps you're interested in lending a hand?]

    III. wildcard
    [Choose your own starter! Feel free to hit me up on the discord/via PM/[plurk.com profile] moonsilver if you want to hash out any ideas.]