beleos: (pic#15952557)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2023-08-18 09:53 am

Toxic Love: The Exalt Oracle


NOTHING GOES OFF WITHOUT A HITCH
You feel it, the moment that the Exalt oracle opens its eyes, like something that rips through your body from head to toe, something that feel like fire, wild. It sears into your veins, like acid and fire, something that triggers something that makes you want to run, or perhaps turn and face something head on. Before you can find what sets you off – if you could find it. Bearers know what this sensation is, it is different but the same at its core. The emotions, the feelings it sparks are different – but in the end, you know it for what it is: An Oracle.

Kenos groans from the awakening, like a part of a whole sparks to life, and though you do not know what it is that they want yet, you understand and know their existence down to your core. That feeling to attack or defend, perhaps even flee, does not leave you, but instead it fills your veins, you feel it thrumming, pulsing, like the beat of a heart – if one has one. With the sense of awakening, bearers know the shape of what comes next, they will be asked to act, to do. You do not know how it will happen, or what the Exalt will ask of you, but the knowledge that it will happen is borne from experience, not from the Oracle itself.

As you begin to move, to… look, you are not long for this day, it clouds your mind, a hazy, drowsy feeling takes over, the encroaching dark that threatens to swarm, crowding from the sides, taking over your vision – until… it fully takes over, and Bearers are put into a deep slumber.


When bearers awaken, it’s difficult to make sense of what your sleepy eyes see. Structures begin to swim into view, and they like tall figures looking down upon you. It’s difficult to tell what they are at first, but as you wake up, you begin to see, they are not people, or creatures, but long spore-like stalks. Some have ribbed overgrowths that you can see, and some end in growths that ripple and hang over, but have no “cap”. They tower over the bearers, like towering spires and buildings, on all sides, as if they were trapped in a ring of them. As bearers look around them they will notice tall green spires around them as well, and it takes a moment for things to really settle in. Mushrooms. Blades of grass. The springy moss about them is almost as tall as they are, low to the ground. There are pebbles that appear as boulders, and the thunderous steps nearby indicate an insect or arachnid walking by, far larger than you. There is a stillness to this space, like a held breath, and as the bearers awake, and regard one another, and then to the center of the circle is – a small effigy in the center.

It is here, the Exalt Oracle, and you feel compelled to regard it, before you are given a pang down to your core. It compels you – pleads, asks, begs, and demands, all in one – for what it wishes for. Precious mementos and precious items that they are missing. They have been lost, and they are somewhere within the Liosachán. It beseeches the bearers to return its items, and begs they be returned here to the circle. There are no words, but there is a pleading sensation, a feeling that these items are treasured by this Oracle.

You feel at your sides, your pockets, and find one item on your person, a weapon, a companion, whatever it is you would bring with you to the conflict, shrunk down to a tiny size with you.

Stay steadfast, bearers, and capture the flag Oracle!
SURVIVAL OF THE SMALLEST ( DAYS 1 - 5 )
Unlike the still, stale apocalypse that had been the setting of the Iconoclast Oracle, the greenhouse is lush and vibrant with activity.

The Effigy present within yearns to be reunited with what belongs to it, fixated upon the five items lost within the greenhouse. The swell of its longing fills all Shardbearers, urging them to take action, claim the items and present all five to it to attain victory for that Faction.

Over a period of ten days, Shardbearers of both factions will have to navigate environmental dangers, and the normal procession of time, as the greenhouse is going about its daily routine. Workers plod around like towering goliaths, weeding and watering and pruning the greenhouse's contents. The Liosachán's native population of fae begin to take notice of the newcomers in their midst, emerging from grassy mounds hidden in the natural landscape to spy and pry about the newness surrounding them.
Naturally curious, and equally dangerous, the fae of the Liosachán are Highstorm natives. They range in cool coloration, from soft violet-greys to deep stormy blues, and wear clothes fashioned from of goods pilfered from the pockets of workers, dropped on the ground or handcrafted from the environment itself. Wielding bits of copper tightly wound into blades and spears, they are a ferocious and cunning little people who seek to trick, trap and toy with Shardbearers. Direct violence is anathema to them, but violence that happens as a result of falling to one of their ploys is a badge of honor.
DAY ONE - THREE. The Effigy initially urges Shardbearers to build bases of operation for defense and practicality, as surviving ten days without supporting one another is a surefire way to meet a grisly, tiny little end. Resources must be gathered: gather food and water, prepare shelter, establish unity and organization and prepare to set off into the wilds soon.

For Shardbearers demonstrating particular selflessness, favoring the protection and defense of another, the Effigy responds warmly from the third day onward — rewarding them with a sign of their dutiful nature towards others in the form of fairy wings, the form of which are unique to the Shardbearer themselves.

DAY FOUR. The sudden thunderous sound of a storm begins. No, not a storm, the tumble and crash of water pouring down upon the greenhouse — the workers of the Liosachán perform their routines faithfully, after all. In watering the garden, the danger of the environment threatens to overtake Shardbearers and their work alike. Drops of water fall, their size equal or larger than even the tallest of characters, and trickles of water muddy the ground in the form of raging rapids.

The security of Meridian and Zenith's camps is even called into question, because as simple as the act of watering a garden is, it is a nightmarish situation for such itty bitty Bearers to be in!

DAY FIVE. By day five, the fae of the Liosachán no longer lurk and linger in the corner of one's eye. They make themselves known, having prepared a banquet below one of the mushrooms, within sight of the Effigy. A table draped in spider-silk lace awaits any Bearer who comes near enough, the sagging piece of driftwood polished to a gleam with golden sap, leaving it waterproofed and pretty to behold. A handful of corks serve as seating, with most of the fae draping themselves across scraps of cotton as though they are simply at a picnic.

They invitingly wave to Shardbearers, chattering brightly in their foreign, lilting tongue, waving tiny sandwiches and little clay pots full of jams and honeys, brandishing sugared berries that they bite into with gusto, staining their arms and faces in swathes of blue and red. They clearly are welcoming to whomever comes upon them, urging them to avail themselves to the bounty they have prepared. Perhaps some characters know better than to eat the food of the fae, recalling legends and lore about the mystical properties and implicit bargains made in becoming a guest. Perhaps some have no idea, and are simply hungry enough to dig in!

UNWILLING TEN-ANTS ( DAYS SIX - EIGHT )
The scuttling, scrabbling feet of ants crawling over surfaces, winding their way through this grassy playground, has become normal. Their feet thunder as they go about their business, and it seems to be a normal cadence to life here in the underbrush, in the greenhouse. It is normal, and it is has become nothing to really concern oneself with. They are ants, after all, what do they do, but work? Endlessly, continuously.

That is, until the heavy, loud sounds of their feet draw closer to whatever place that the bearers have found to camp in. Whether solitary or as a group, these workers are no longer content to simply ignore the bearers, but they are a curiosity, perhaps even a bother. You have disrupted their lifestyle. The sleepy pattern of obtain food, return ot the hive, and back out again now has obstacles. Now there are not simply the fairies, who live their own lives and existences, a part of the ecosystem, but now there are these tiny bearers. Fighting, working together, arguing and disagreeing.

You are disruptive to their way of life.

The ants have come to collect on this due, and some bearers that are vulnerable, or perhaps merely caught, are taken away, your weight so light compared to the rest of their burdens that they carry. The strength of these ants is overwhelming, incredible at this size, and try as you might, if you are caught in their strong mandibles, you cannot escape. An ant, after all, carries 1000 times their weight with those powerful jaws. You, bearer, are nothing to them.

They squirrel away the bearers within their hill, a complicated network of tunnels, junctions, and large spaces. Down within, where the air becomes stifling, and stale. The ants guard their pray, and you get the distinct sense that they see you not as people, not even as enemies, but as prey. You will be food – perhaps to the eggs that are gathered within this room, where you can see the stirring of new life, just beneath the surface. You may not have very long to live, if these little larvae get their mouths on you.

Or perhaps, your friends will save you? Once it is discovered that bearers are missing, the trail of ant prints on the ground is apparent – they are not stealthy creatures – and the feet lead from the locations of several kidnapped bearers toward the grainy ant hill that lies not far away. The hill itself swarms with life, with worker ants all over the surface, scuttling about, looking for the next meal for te colony. Or perhaps for more bearers to bring back for their young.

It will be dangerous, bearers, to save your friends. Should you choose to do so, you will be kicking the anthill, and the ants will protect what is theirs. Even if they just took it. Those bearers belong to them, now! Rescuers will find not only your average worker ant, ready to defend, but winged male ants will attack from above, and deeper, within the nest, near where the bearers are kept, lies the strongest ant in the colony: The Queen. Staggeringly large, strong, and vicious, when her subjects begin dying. She will do everything in her power to protect her colony, and that includes killing bearers, if need be. Or trying, at least.

Good luck rescuing your friends, bearers!
IN SMALL PACKAGES ( DAYS NINE - TEN )
The day after the ant-pocalypse brings with it the brush of recognition — the Effigy has foreseen the likely victors, and calls to them to approach it once they have suitably recovered. It judges them the ones whom are most devoted to what binds them, loyal to memory and remembrance, and begins to clamor for them to restore to it what belongs rightfully. Thus begins a full day of resting, locating last-minute items, shoring up defenses and preparing for the sprint to the finish line.

Certainly your rivals will not allow you to simply walk to the Effigy unassailed and unchallenged.

Eat, rest, ensure your fellows are close and bolstered, for tomorrow begins the final rally.

On the morning of the tenth day, Meridian Shardbearers approach the Effigy with its five items in hand. In the midst of the mushroom ring, the Effigy stands as it had in the beginning — arms outstretched and back bowed skyward, gnarled fingers seeking contact with that which has been lost to it. It awaits, it strains, and even as it does, it requires one last test of ability. From the shadows of the towering mushrooms, the rasp of scale and soft hiss of a great beast descends upon the fae ring.

A gleaming garden snake, with glossy black and green stripes, blocks the way between approaching Shardbearers and the Effigy.

Between its bright eyes, pressed upon its brow is a scattering of brighter scales that appear to be in the shape of a delicate, three-leafed plant with spiraling patterns for leaves. It braces itself against the approach, and there is no doubt that to claim victory, the serpent must be subdued. Though Meridian approaches with victory in hand, they have not yet attained it — their rival faction and this beast remain in their way.

MISSING LINKS ( THROUGHOUT )
As the Effigy desires to be reunited with what belongs to it, the swell of its longing stirs something more within all present Shardbearers.

With that foreign longing arrives knowledge: beyond the five items prized by the Effigy itself, there are other lost things within the greenhouse. Like a compass, each Shardbearer's mind points them in direction after direction, urging them to seek and explore. Implicitly, the thrum of comprehension fills your mind: these are things that do not belong to you, per se, but seek to have your hands ferry them home.

Amidst tangled brush, hidden under doffed acorn cap, tucked away in the belly of a fae's glittering den, lost in the depths of a puddle of spilled water that seems an insurmountable lake now, folded secretly into the petals of a towering, skyscraper-like flower, there are three additional items hidden within the tumultuous landscape that each Shardbearer feels a draw towards. Things that belong to someone else, eager to be reunited with them, but subject to whim.

Upon locating and retrieving one, the Shardbearer is filled with a sense of information — they know who this item belongs to, and they will know that they have a choice. Bonds are fragile things after all, and they exist to be enforced or abused, in order to advance a goal or to deepen a connection. How will you treat someone's precious bond? How will they treat yours?
NOTES
Here are some prompts to set the scene and foundation of the Exalt Oracle! — The theme of this Oracle is a loose edition of capture the flag, where the Effigy's items can pass through multiple hands within the ten day allotment.

— For additional ideas and fun, it is known that several Shardbearers have concluded their efforts to fulfill the Greenwood Yards' sidequest request.

— All details of the Exalt Oracle can be found here, and questions for the mods can be submitted here.
CODING
gravings: (084b)

[personal profile] gravings 2023-09-26 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
A snake!

[ Her voice raises a notch with revelation. ]

Of course... A bird would be more wary of a snake than insects. Even if we can't make a realistic one, an impression might be enough.

[ Stripes of color showing through the grass, or something like that. ]

That's a good idea, Mr. Byleth. I'll start looking for things we can use.
kinaesthesia: (49)

[personal profile] kinaesthesia 2023-09-26 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
Works for me. Should be easy to scare him, I think.

[The frog, as if sensing it isn't going to like what's about to happen, gives a tentative hop once again. Gavial wobbles from her perch on its back, but decides to hop off before he tries it again.]
gravings: (082.0b)

[personal profile] gravings 2023-09-26 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ Running up vertical surfaces takes a fair amount of focus, but she can't help giving a bit of it up to look over at Atsumu in surprise. She slips a little, then redoubles to catch up with him. ]

Since when could you do that...?!

[ Her little normie, all magicked up... ]
youngprodigy: (⊨ that sunday only comes)

[personal profile] youngprodigy 2023-09-26 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[He blinks at the familiar box.]

My tools...!

[With no hesitation, he opens the box, making sure everything is as it should be. It's the full set, and he he exhales a breath he didn't know he was holding.]

The Oracle is playing a strange game.
zauneyete: (pontificating)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2023-09-26 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ Please, D, please don't, he would hate it.

As it is, there's a scoff from the air, a breath of laughter.
]

One of two things, child.

[ He says it mockingly, of course. ]

Either we're all taken by Oblivion, and I have helped it along, or...

[ A snort. ] Somehow Yima is right, and some new world comes out of this. Oh, some in Zenith think that we will make a perfect world, but I am not interested in perfection. If this world comes about, I will ensure that there is a dark underside, a monster lurking among them. A predator.

[ Ideally, of course, it would be Jinx, obviously. ]
lockedon: (pic#14244924)

[personal profile] lockedon 2023-09-26 12:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ They're even now? Trading useless bits of information for useless bits of information. Does it mean this conversation of attempted advice-giving is inching along at an agonizing crawl? Sure, but at least they can be on even footing while they're tiny and trapped in this sprawling greenhouse.

For once, though, Eustace looks interested in a suggestion rather than dismissive, ears perking up a little as he considers Atsumu's words thoughtfully. A gift....not a bad idea. ]


Have you bought a lot of gifts for others before?

[ Maybe he should rope Atsumu into this...? ]
sterngaze: (neutral: commish)

[personal profile] sterngaze 2023-09-26 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[D doesn’t have to admit to being worried about Liem’s increasingly discord-afflicted condition. Maybe he isn’t worried after all; maybe he’s just the type of person who doesn’t like feeling indebted to others. In any case, when he offers to help with Liem’s discord once they find what they’re seeking, Liem only has to consider the offer for a moment before nodding in assent.

Fair’s fair; if D wants to offer his own assistance in return for Liem’s help in finding his hat, Liem sees no reason to object.
]

In that case — I’d appreciate the assistance.

[It’s nice of D to offer! Though maybe Liem would be less happy to hold D’s hand if he knew that the bare one has a gross parasite living in it.

But that’s a matter for later on. For the moment, Liem’s gaze wanders the greenery around them, pulled as if by a magnet up towards the “canopy” above, towards the object his magic is seeking.

Atop that giant white flower, he spies a tiny black hat.
]

Ah — there it is. It doesn’t even look guarded.

[He’d been half worried they’d find the hat inside a bird’s nest or a spider’s lair. Given D’s flea-like jumping abilities, retrieving his hat shouldn’t pose any difficulty at all.]
erbe: (291)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-09-26 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[After some dramatic bellyaching, Rin begins to pluck off the goop and slime herself. Chucking it back into the water where it travels downstream.]

Yeah... well, it's just a part of our trade-off, you know?

[Saving a life here, baking cupcakes there. They may be on opposite sides, but they seem to be convenient resources for each other.]
sterngaze: (neutral: dubious)

[personal profile] sterngaze 2023-09-26 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[Bless Quetzalcoatl for being so head empty, and also for her divine hugs. Liem leans into the hug just a little more, since he so rarely has the pleasure and she is so clearly enthusiastic to bestow it. It’s a shame their aspects aren’t closer together, or he might use the excuse of discord to accept her bright, sunshine-y hugs more often.

Anyway, they should both feel proud of besting a bird that was easily big enough to have eaten either of them. It’s only fair to take victories when they come. When Quetz pulls back, Liem regards the sunstone with a pensive look, his eyes falling on the areas where her fingers had dug into the rock to grip it previously.
]

If you get it to somewhere the stone can be rolled instead, and we can get below somewhere sheltered, I can repair the, ah, damage you had to do to lift it. As long as the damaged areas stay small.

[He seems apologetic that he can’t help more with moving it, considering this is turning out to be such a big hassle…]
hauntedking: (07)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-09-26 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Dimitri snorts. ]

I'll take the title, if it means being helpful.

[ he seems to take it in good spirits. ]

We should see about getting dry, though...
alliterating: (012)

[personal profile] alliterating 2023-09-26 05:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, oneeeee sec.

[ She reaches out and feels the frog's mind - it isn't complicated. She gives it a little prod with her mental powers; a jolt of fear. And then she almost falls off as the forg starts hopping off at top speed! She stumbles and then manages to dismount - although she almost beefs it. ]
damnpire: (pic#12094809)

[personal profile] damnpire 2023-09-26 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[The way his boyish jaw clenches when Silco calls him a child. HE IS. He's now a child. He has decided in this moment, he will probably try destroying Silco if it comes down to it. The antithesis.

All of them here being consumed by Oblivion is actually something he's kept in the back of his mind. Maybe that's real third option--the only option. No worlds reconstruction exists, no new world order exists. What waits for them is their own end, the one they somehow missed before.]


Why?

[He does not believe for a second any world the Zenith side makes won't be this way already. It will be a world exactly like Silco wants because many cannot create a stable world, and who can trust a single person to do so?]

What makes you want to disturb whatever world is made so badly?
damnpire: (pic#12042816)

[personal profile] damnpire 2023-09-26 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[The delusions Liem is going on because he has such bad self-esteem conditioned into him. Mood. Very mad that D will not help with this because he believes dhampirs are abominations which shouldn't exist...]

Hold on.

[Time for the flea bit. D slowly bends into a bit of a crouch, and then he springs up toward the top of the flower much like he had when he was holding Liem in his arms. The flower is too tall for him to get completely to the intended destination, so he lands in the split between leaf branch and stem.

And then he jumps one more time from there to the lowest open petal. He hat is there one moment and gone the next.

What comes out of the flower isn't a spider or a bird, and either of those would have been more desired. Yellow and black, it emerges from within the depths of the petals. It's not a simply, lovely honeybee either.

It's a hornet. And it doesn't mind squaring up immediately.

The hat tumbles away to the ground below, and D rolls back against the white petal to dodge the angry lash out of the looming wasp. Why did it have to be an oversized satanic demon from hell?]
settingup: (and what i got is hot)

[personal profile] settingup 2023-09-27 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ The corner of his mouth quirks up as Rin's expression changes, more comfortable with the agitation than the worrying. It's nice not to be shoved back into the water though, especially because he's trying to fluff out his tail and get some of the excess water out of the fur. ]

What? If you mess up the magic can you grow an extra bone or something? End up with three arms?
settingup: (for a life i don't really need at all)

[personal profile] settingup 2023-09-27 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's no way for Gavial to know about Atsumu's earlier run-in with ants when he didn't have a handy chainsaw on his side. They'd scooped him up like it was nothing, tossed him down their tunnels, and it was sheer luck (and no thanks to Liem) that he'd managed to escape.

The fact that he stumbled into Dimitri, who seemed to have chronic do-gooder syndrome despite an unfortunate incident around some tree roots awhile back, while fleeing definitely hadn't hurt either.

This is all to say he is done with ants, and while killing one or two sounds like it might be somewhat therapeutic, he's the sort of done that makes the answer to that question easy to decide on.
]

You kiddin'? Those things are gonna keep comin' no matter how many we take down. If we can get outta here, we should while we can.

[ Any enthusiasm she exhibits is not mirrored in him at all as he quickly starts to back away from where the ants are gathered, watching the two closely as their antenna wave in what Atsumu is half-convinced is meant to be a threatening manner. ]
settingup: (easy go)

[personal profile] settingup 2023-09-27 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
[ He is making fun of them for exactly that reason. You don't usually see a goth sporting a Barbie pink accessory. The mismatch just strikes him funny, and despite D's protest that it wasn't his choice... ]

It wouldn't be half as funny if you did.

[ Alright the moodiness is starting to lift as Atsumu forcibly turns the tables back around once more, his tail sweeping in something a little more wild and less coordinated than a dog's tail wag. ]

It's 'cause you didn't pick it that it makes it so ironic.
zauneyete: (Shimmer King)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2023-09-27 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
Hm?

[ He tipped it back, and forth, looking it over. ]

No, I believe it belongs to a Meri.

[ He smiled, sharp, and knowing. ]

I was thinking about... using this. I've been experimenting with their items. We can level poor effects on them, by thinking about how much we detest them. [ A bark of a sarcastic laugh. ] Not difficult for me.
zauneyete: (Watching)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2023-09-27 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
Quite so.

[ He agreed. He doesn't say it, doesn't explain or light on any other subjects. The oracle, as always was a safe subject. Silco didn't get nearly as emotionally invested in this, as he did with others. ]

I have been locating a few items of such a nature. Thankfully, some belong to those of us who can use them. Others... well. It seems the oracle does not discriminate with who learns of what.
muchalucha: (pic#16286304)

[personal profile] muchalucha 2023-09-27 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ wiem… The way that Liem leans into that hug isn’t something she misses, but she doesn’t draw any attention to it. She just makes a mental note to give him more hugs and physical affection in the future! ♥ ]

¡Sí!

[ She nods enthusiastically and heads back to her sunstone and takes a look at it. Since it’s toppled a bit, she’ll have to grab it again, so she’s looking for a good grip… It’s too bad she can’t just tip it over, but she’d hate to damage any of the actual carving! ]

I’ll find a good spot to make sure that you don’t have to work too hard on it, yes! Ah, and I really owe you, Liem! You’re being such a big help! ¡Mucho!

[ But she laughs as she finds the spot and grabs it, and with a little noise of effort, up it goes again. She’ll lift it this way to get it back on a smooth part of the path, and then indeed, she’ll start rolling it instead. ]
damnpire: (pic#12042813)

[personal profile] damnpire 2023-09-27 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[Don't make him start asking you whether or not you miss your friends, pal. NO TAIL WAGGING.]

There isn't anything wrong with pink wings.

[Now he's going to turn sassy. What Atsumu implies actually doesn't bother him. He's more disgruntled by the fact Atsumu is trying to gently bully someone.]

But I don't think boys should have paws, claws, tails, and fox ears.

[Clearly, Atsumu is the weirdo here. Not him.]
youngprodigy: (⊅ it swells into the air)

[personal profile] youngprodigy 2023-09-28 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
...Aye, I've surmised as much.

[It makes him wonder why.]

I plan to go looking for the ones I've learned about.

There doesn't seem to be a pattern tying the oracles together, does there?
erbe: (089)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-09-28 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
[After shaking her head a little to try and dry those fluffy ears of hers, she begins pulling up the hem of her shirt to wring what she can out of it without removing it entirely.]

No. If you have a broken bone and don't set it correctly the area will "heal" wrong. It's more like speeding up the process in which the body heals itself rather than magically stitching it all back together. Skin can heal around broken bone still protruding, if the area of a wound isn't sterilized one can trigger an immediate infection, or even sepsis.
kinaesthesia: (46)

[personal profile] kinaesthesia 2023-09-28 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Gavial clearly has no idea what she mean by fear, because she had imagined something like an intimidating show of strength to show it that they mean business! And instead Senti seems to focus… before the thing bolts and she looses her footing. Gavial steps up to join her, though she’s still watching the retreating hops of the frog as it disappears into the distance.]

Damn, off like a shot. What exactly did you do?
kinaesthesia: (79)

[personal profile] kinaesthesia 2023-09-28 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Maybe the Oracle knew about this all along. A nice little well-deserved break for them while they get in a good workout running around this place.

She returns a smile in kind to Akua as she reaches for a drink herself.]


You’re right about that. Gotta keep in fighting shape, and all.

[But, y’know, they could enjoy the food first. It really is way more delicious than it has any right to be, but maybe it is because they’ve worked up an appetite over the last few days.]

Definitely gotta get some pals in on this.
zauneyete: (Not even close to done)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2023-09-28 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ And this, of course, was the crux of Silco's motivation. Certainly, some of it was because his daughter deserved a playground to make her stronger, faster, and smarter than what any of those other fools could construct. To anyone from Zaun, that meant that Strength was paramount. Cutting one against adversarial relationships and fighting to survive. It was all they knew, all they could know.

A perfect world meant weak people.

It meant no monsters, no fighting for every scrap of food, every coin. It meant living in the world that the Pilties liked to say they lived in, while never looking under any dark undersides, ignoring what was beneath their feet. Truly, Silco would be a touch more palatable as a person, if it weren't for the fact that he made it everyone's problem, the crime of his birth and survival.
]

Why?

Because I can, boy. Because nothing should exist like that, because it isn't perfect.

[ Then again, Silco's ideas of what was perfect were...A little warped. ]

Don't worry, I'll make sure you get a glimpse of it when all of these oracles are done.

But do try not to trip on your coat, hm?