Entry tags:
- !event,
- arcane: silco,
- arknights: gavial,
- black butler: sebastian michaelis,
- divinity original sin: fane,
- elder scrolls (the): voryn dagoth,
- expanse (the): amos burton,
- fate/: gray,
- fate/: quetzalcoatl,
- fate/: rin tohsaka,
- final fantasy xiv: cid garlond,
- fire emblem: byleth eisner,
- fire emblem: claude von riegan,
- fire emblem: dimitri a. blaiddyd,
- fire emblem: shez,
- fire emblem: yuri leclerc,
- forgotten realms: raphael,
- genshin impact: tartaglia (childe),
- granblue fantasy: eustace,
- haikyuu!!: atsumu miya,
- htwmho: rudbeckia de borgia,
- jinba: hayame,
- legend of zelda (the): link,
- legend of zelda (the): midna,
- locked tomb (the): john gaius,
- marvel: nebula,
- oc: liem talbott,
- practical guide to evil: akua sahelian,
- reverse 1999: regulus,
- vampire hunter d: d,
- zone-00: kiritsubo
NOVEMBER EVENT | THE HARBINGER ORACLE
HEDGING YOUR BETS
Bearers feel it. Similar to when the Scorching Isles was opened, there is the same tug, from somewhere in the distance. Those who are in springstar feel it from closer, like a blossom of warmth in your heart, you feel the Oracle spring to life. Those in Highstorm feel it too, but distant. Far away. You remember Cyrus’s words, that it would come to life in Springstar, and you know, just from the relative distance, from how far away it feels – He was probably right.
So bearers must make their way to the center of Springstar’s residential district. Finding one’s way to Springstar will be difficult, in fact. Preparations have been underway since Cyrus’s announcement, and Springstar leaps into action. The Legionnaires are already marching by the time the first bearers start moving throughout the city. In addition to any of Meridian’s own preparations, the Legionnaires establish choke points and start organizing evacuations. It will be difficult to make your way through Springstar, but the closer bearers make it to the hedge maze, and what seems to be the oracle at the center, the warmer their chests feel. Throughout the city, it feels warm, like small wicks of heat. The closer bearers become, the more it feels like a torrent. It is burning them to their center and igniting them to their cores. Like the fire of drive, is what it feels like. Like the hunger for something more than just food, or anything else, like the anticipation of victory.
The maze itself is where it is the most intense as bearers start to make their way through the hedge maze. Vines and brambles lie within a neat hedge, and it looks like it is safe to jump, or scale, but the moment a bearer tries to jump it, cut through it, or even go beneath it, roots, brambles, and vines lash out to entrap bearers, and start to drag them down and into the hedges. You will have to figure out a way out – lest you be stuck for seemingly the near future.
Of course, when Dimitri’s hand touches the stone statue in the middle, it all goes dark, and wherever you were, whoever you were fighting –
Every bearer collapses at the same time.
So bearers must make their way to the center of Springstar’s residential district. Finding one’s way to Springstar will be difficult, in fact. Preparations have been underway since Cyrus’s announcement, and Springstar leaps into action. The Legionnaires are already marching by the time the first bearers start moving throughout the city. In addition to any of Meridian’s own preparations, the Legionnaires establish choke points and start organizing evacuations. It will be difficult to make your way through Springstar, but the closer bearers make it to the hedge maze, and what seems to be the oracle at the center, the warmer their chests feel. Throughout the city, it feels warm, like small wicks of heat. The closer bearers become, the more it feels like a torrent. It is burning them to their center and igniting them to their cores. Like the fire of drive, is what it feels like. Like the hunger for something more than just food, or anything else, like the anticipation of victory.
The maze itself is where it is the most intense as bearers start to make their way through the hedge maze. Vines and brambles lie within a neat hedge, and it looks like it is safe to jump, or scale, but the moment a bearer tries to jump it, cut through it, or even go beneath it, roots, brambles, and vines lash out to entrap bearers, and start to drag them down and into the hedges. You will have to figure out a way out – lest you be stuck for seemingly the near future.
Of course, when Dimitri’s hand touches the stone statue in the middle, it all goes dark, and wherever you were, whoever you were fighting –
Every bearer collapses at the same time.
YOU'D BETTER BE A-MAZE-ING!
In the dark, there is that fiery impression of the Harbinger. Competition, drive, disdain for even those that best them. It is clear, in the dark, with your eyes closed, that the Harbinger does not see the Bearers as worthy to obtain it. You feel ghostly hands on your mind, into you, as if it is delving for more, trying to pluck and pull out the right memory. It looks for victories, triumphs, defeats, or betrayals. Something that shows the mettle of the bearer, what it is looking for. When it finds what it is looking for – or is this just a dream? – after the bearer experiences the dream, they will get the distinct impression that it is not enough. That the Harbinger wants more. It wants to see what this bearer can do. It wants to see you rise to the challenge, bearer! Will you do as it wishes, and show it the scope of your mettle, or will you capitulate and let the Harbinger know that it was right – you aren’t enough?
The Harbinger wants you to prove them wrong. Can you do that? Will you use spite to convince it that it is wrong? The Harbinger at the center of this labyrinth imparts to bearers, that it will not allow the weak to succeed, that nobody who cannot reach it, would ever be able to protect them. They look down on bearers, and it is up to you, to convince them that you are worth their attention.
When bearers wake, they will be stuck in a foyer. The walls seem blank, and there is a door, leading further into the maze. It is not… fully dark, everything here seems to be lit just enough to move around without trouble, but it is not bright. Bearers can look left, and right, and see others beside them. They are not alone, but nor are they with others of their faction. No, you can feel it, between all of you, gathered here in one space. The humming of your shared aspect fills the room, as if all of you together in one space feels right.
You will not be able to stay. The foyer lasts only until the last person leaves, and if any try to stay behind and stationary, they will find that eventually a door appears, and the room begins to shrink. You had better get moving!
You must move further into the maze. You will find that grouping up for long periods of time becomes impossible, and moving from one door to the next can find foes, allies, or even neutral parties. Every door you open within this maze, leads to new and unusual locations. You may both walk in, from opposite ends, only to find that the doors are gone when you turn your back. Do you end up on a precarious path over spikes, lava, or even water? Do you walk into a room with your greatest desire, a hunger that can now never be sated? Will you do anything to find your way through the corridors? Will bearers help each other, and resist the call of the Harbinger, or will you push over even your treasured ones to win?
The Harbinger wants you to prove them wrong. Can you do that? Will you use spite to convince it that it is wrong? The Harbinger at the center of this labyrinth imparts to bearers, that it will not allow the weak to succeed, that nobody who cannot reach it, would ever be able to protect them. They look down on bearers, and it is up to you, to convince them that you are worth their attention.
When bearers wake, they will be stuck in a foyer. The walls seem blank, and there is a door, leading further into the maze. It is not… fully dark, everything here seems to be lit just enough to move around without trouble, but it is not bright. Bearers can look left, and right, and see others beside them. They are not alone, but nor are they with others of their faction. No, you can feel it, between all of you, gathered here in one space. The humming of your shared aspect fills the room, as if all of you together in one space feels right.
You will not be able to stay. The foyer lasts only until the last person leaves, and if any try to stay behind and stationary, they will find that eventually a door appears, and the room begins to shrink. You had better get moving!
You must move further into the maze. You will find that grouping up for long periods of time becomes impossible, and moving from one door to the next can find foes, allies, or even neutral parties. Every door you open within this maze, leads to new and unusual locations. You may both walk in, from opposite ends, only to find that the doors are gone when you turn your back. Do you end up on a precarious path over spikes, lava, or even water? Do you walk into a room with your greatest desire, a hunger that can now never be sated? Will you do anything to find your way through the corridors? Will bearers help each other, and resist the call of the Harbinger, or will you push over even your treasured ones to win?
MADE IN THE SHADE
And even further in, as you start to catch sight of them, patches of darkness seep into the corners, into everything. They may be hidden, at first. They may lurk underneath patches of leaves, or in shadowed corners. But the longer bearers are within this labyrinth, the longer the shadows seem. They start to reach out, to pull bearers into their shadowy depths. You may feel malaise, or an unwillingness to continue, once you first step within these patches. The longer you are there, the harder it is to get out. You will need help from your friends or dear ones, or sheer strength of will – but can you fight on, as you start to lose the things that motivate you?
And then there are the visions. People you know, love, or trust, they round corners, just ahead. They seem just out of range, and at first, it is difficult to tell if they are there or not. But they happen to reappear, and then disappear around a corner. Try and chase them, if you dare. When your fingers touch their arm, or grab their clothing, or heaven forbid, if you pull them into a hug – it seems impossible to pull away. They were treasured, weren’t they? There is a reason they appear here, to you. Why would you want to pull them away? Why would you –
They reach out, their fingers seem long, as they reach toward your shard – they will not be deterred by clothing or armor, their fingers seem to bend and twist around the junctions – before they find purchase on your shard. They rip it from you, and it feels like you are being separated from something. It’s painful, it hurts, but the last thing you see, as they hold your shard in your hand, is someone you care very deeply for, placing the shard in the same place on their own body, and your own face smiles back at you, and it all goes black. You are gone. Into… nothing.
And then there are the visions. People you know, love, or trust, they round corners, just ahead. They seem just out of range, and at first, it is difficult to tell if they are there or not. But they happen to reappear, and then disappear around a corner. Try and chase them, if you dare. When your fingers touch their arm, or grab their clothing, or heaven forbid, if you pull them into a hug – it seems impossible to pull away. They were treasured, weren’t they? There is a reason they appear here, to you. Why would you want to pull them away? Why would you –
They reach out, their fingers seem long, as they reach toward your shard – they will not be deterred by clothing or armor, their fingers seem to bend and twist around the junctions – before they find purchase on your shard. They rip it from you, and it feels like you are being separated from something. It’s painful, it hurts, but the last thing you see, as they hold your shard in your hand, is someone you care very deeply for, placing the shard in the same place on their own body, and your own face smiles back at you, and it all goes black. You are gone. Into… nothing.
NOTES
Here are some prompts to set the scene and foundation of the Exalt Oracle! Please refer to the ooc post for more details about what’s happening in the labyrinth! Feel free to direct questions here.
If your character gets killed by a shadow-copy, please let us know in the reporting post that goes up on November 20th if they touch the effigy. If they do not, please let us know on the deaths page! Don't forget to report any dissipations as a whole! Please also let us know if your character is saved by another bearer, or if your character’s shard is taken by the shadow copy for the entire duration of the event. This will not result in any permadeath, but you might get some cool lore! Teehee! If your character defeats a shadow creature, please let us know [HERE]
If your character gets killed by a shadow-copy, please let us know in the reporting post that goes up on November 20th if they touch the effigy. If they do not, please let us know on the deaths page! Don't forget to report any dissipations as a whole! Please also let us know if your character is saved by another bearer, or if your character’s shard is taken by the shadow copy for the entire duration of the event. This will not result in any permadeath, but you might get some cool lore! Teehee! If your character defeats a shadow creature, please let us know [HERE]
Rin Tohsaka | Zenith ✦ Harbinger
✧ Domination
[If you want a thread and these don't work, please reach out to my plotting comment so we can discuss me creating a tailored starter made just for you! You can also PM me if that works better. I will be posting ]
Closed Starters
Hayame ✧ Tit for Tat
Eventually she runs into a familiar face. Not someone she'd want to run into during an Oracle's trials, but Rin isn't exactly afraid of enemy confrontation. The moment their eyes meet, Rin smiles — though there is little mirth in it. They're both practical women. There isn't a need to pretend to be friendly in a situation like this.]
It's you. Feeling cramped in here?
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In order to claim the Harbinger Oracle, however... There was very little she was not prepared to do. She has galloped through the halls to avoid being crushed by a stone, she has hauled herself free from a trap that would have skewered her had she not procured (and actually had time to put on) enchanted armor, she has fought with her enemies...
And now she is face to face with a Zenite, in a trial in which the effigy has all but implicitly said that they must abandon anyone and anything in order to accomplish the goal themselves. That is why, even though she had no grudge against this woman- even though she was one of the few of Zenith that she could actually tolerate to even look at or suffer to listen to... Hayame's knuckles pinch the shaft of an arrow in her quiver.]
Ah. I am looking forward to the end.
[And a Meridian victory. But Hayame has never been able to secure such a thing on her own before. As far as she was concerned... her faction's losses were the result of weakness, of too many of their number refusing to do what needed to be done and those willing not enough to make up for them. This time, though. This time, only she needed to be strong enough, surely. And if she was going to claim the Oracle...
Though she does hate all of Zenith for their stance, for daring to stand there and proclaim that they would fight to rob her of her world, the lives of all that resided in it, there is no particular anger on her face when the arrow is notched on the bowstring. Just as there is none when she draws the string back, nor when she releases the arrow aimed at Rin's chest, all in a single smooth motion in the space of two seconds.]
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🎀
Mordred ✧ Weakness as a Curse
Well, this was either about to be a blessing, or an incredible headache.]
Haha... Actually participating this time?
[And not rummaging around in pile of adult toys that she knows nothing about.]
Senti ✧ Strategic Sacrifice
They must permanently lose something in order to progress. Will they be a disappointment if they offer something inconsequential? Will they be a laughing stock if they offer something important when a smart person would do the minimum of what they can get away with to come out ahead? It makes her stomach churn not knowing the specifics. Only that the Oracle requests something, and they must provide without knowing any of the answers to Rin's pressing questions.]
Hey, you say you're pretty powerful, right? Maybe you should go first.
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Hard to say. ]
I am powerful.
[ She retorts with a frown. ]
Funny that you want me to help you out now.
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Yuri ✧ Teacakes for Two (or three, or four, or more—)
The young woman has already gone through two sandwiches, three cupcakes, two slices of pie, and quite a few cups of tea. Right now she takes a dainty little fork and slices into a bit of Chantilly cake. It's light and airy structure is easy to gather with the tines, and on the end she stabs one of the ripe raspberries. In fact Tohsaka is so engrossed in her indulgence that she doesn't even notice or acknowledge Yuri's arrival. At least not at first.]
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There's a catch, surely, he tells himself. There must be.
As he drills this into his mind, jerking a hand away from a scone riddled with bright berries, he spots Rin. She's busily eating, and were it not for their outing for tea a while back, perhaps he wouldn't think too much of it. Watching her, he doesn't see any ill effects... Yet this wasn't the way she ate before.
It took active encouragement for her to have a second slice of fruit tart, as though she shouldn't permit herself the treat. Is this because she thought herself alone, or...? ]
Rin, how long have you been here?
[ He ventures, weaving between tables, jerking his hands away from the pastries they surreptitiously drift toward. ]
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Quetzalcoatl ✧ She Came to Save You
Murmurs from what can only be her father and mother filter in through the cracks. "You know... the test... her capability... we can't—" "...It's incredibly rare. If we don't... they'll come for... She'll be—" "Experiments?"
Tohsaka pulls away from the dresser. Her hands instead find a pillow from the bed. Taped, rather messily, is a crayon stick figure drawing. Crude and unskilled — clearly done by a child's hand. The drawing depicts what are clearly Rin's pigtails, and the paper is crumpled and creased. As if the little girl in this room would hug the image of her bigger sister as she drifted off to sleep.]
the title is UNFAIR!!!!!
Oh, Rin! Ho—
[ She starts automatically with bright, sunny cheer as ever, but when she sees the girl’s expression, she cuts herself off. Her expression softens with her tone, and she steps into the room a little further as she looks around. ]
Are you okay?
:'>
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do i commend you or bonk you with squeaky hammer for using "on a different level"
it wasn't even intentional so squeaky hammer,,,,
Amos ✧ [She was] Always Brilliant
However... There are two girls playing in the corner with a deck of cards. The sight causes her to halt immediately. The younger one seems to have her too-short hair tied up in pathetic pigtails — clearly attempting to mimic the older girl sitting opposite of her. From the angle they stand at it's clear: the young girl that resembles Rin has a better hand. Her younger sister's Two-of-a-Kind doesn't come close to the Full House. Yet the younger girl... she seems so proud. So happy for her little, pathetic hand.
Seeing this memory recreated hurts. Pierces her like a knife carving into her heart. Perhaps that's why the "switch" to turning on her Magic Circuits always felt like that. It's always been something akin to blade plunging tip first between her ribs.]
I know you're there.
[The young girls don't react. It is a memory, after all. But she knows someone else has joined her even if she dares not turn toward them to see who it may be.]
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But it's not his. He's an intruder — one who inhales deeply, audibly at Rin's words for him. ]
Sorry.
[ His own is soft in turn as he steps forward, comes to stand beside her, watching the girls play. It's a good thing. It's a good thing, right? ]
You have a sister? [ Maybe a stupid question, but it's something he's never thought about before — the siblings anyone else might have had. (He never had any. None biological, at least. As far as he knows.) ] Is she...
[ Safe? Does Rin have her shard? Dead? Okay? He doesn't know what he wants to ask; drifts off for Rin to fill in whatever blank she sees as best fit to answer. ]
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Nebula ✧ A Poor Relationship with Honesty
[Really, it's hard to tell if someone will know Rock-Paper-Scissors or not. Somethings seem to be universal across worlds, and then others not so much. Truly it's better to double check with the uh... Blue person? Yeah, blue person — that she shares this room with. Tohsaka hasn't bothered sharing her name yet. Hell, it's possible that if it's not necessary they may not exchange names at all.
At least the room lets them know what it wants of them, and there's no wasting time trying to guess like the offering rooms insisted upon.]
💕 it's lovely
[ And while at least one member of their family unit would know how to play... It was much more entertaining for the Guardians as a whole to decide who "won" through knives and blasters and other such manner. So even if she could have been exposed, she hasn't. ]
[ Which is perhaps why she scowls, annoyed, at the question. The room has only decided to impart the wisdom it's some game they have to play - not the rules of it. Perhaps, because for anyone else it would be... It would be something they know, normal. And it's this reason precisely she annoyedly spits out: ]
No.
I did not play games as a child.
[ So clearly this stupid place is giving an unfair advantage!!! :/ ]
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domination 2, go big or go home ig
This place doesn't hold back the punches of any disagreeable situation. Whatever is in here, he didn't intend to go through it with a virile young woman. He stops where he is just inside, swallowed the whole way round by a long cape, refusing to venture in toward her. He doesn't even go for the sword on his back.
But it's a sensation he understands. Something deep inside of his genetic makeup, the part of him he has to control with an iron will, the one wrestling with the softness of his humanity. It's difficult standing Aspect adjacent, having the heavy hand of Harbinger on one shoulder in the face of a girl who is sure of what she wants. That part of him might rise up to meet it.]
I don't want any trouble.
[Bold words for a guy in an Oracle event.]
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You automatically assume I am trouble to you? Ah, are you Meridian, then?
[Why else would he be so hesitant to meet her directly? A man shying away from an enemy much shorter than him. However the more he denies her the more she wants to sink her teeth into victory.]
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This must be Rin. He has not met her officially, or even seen her, but he remembers the same voice in his mind on at least one occasion. He really will have a handful of trouble here maybe.]
This room will make us troubled.
[He turns his head slightly from one side to the next, watching her from around the curtain of long, dark hair.]
How long have you been in this room?
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and then I spent all month feb making up for my own jan disappearance
Domination 1 (just preemptively assuming Atsumu will lose this one)
No...? That's a shame, especially for Atsumu who has made the mistake of stepping into this room, unaware of what was waiting for him inside of it. It seems innocuous enough, lacking any of the weird puzzles or traps he's stumbled across in some of the other rooms, though as he turns to look behind him to find the door he came in gone, he lets out a heavy sigh.
Of course it's going to be some kind of puzzle room, isn't it?
... If only.
He starts to glance around, looking for some sign of another door out when he notices her on the far side of the room, and his posture changes as his muscles tense up. ]
Teach?
BINGER ON BINGER VIOLENCE
Soft hands ball into fists as she looks over her shoulder to him.]
Miya Atsumu.
[Rin's voice is stern. Like an authority figure trying to let their charge know they're in deep shit.]
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Surely they could shove aside a squabble to move forward? Atsumu's surprisingly good at that when it becomes important.
It's why even though he's still prickling here, he tries for a joke to ease the tension. ]
Well that ain't an ominous greetin' or anything.
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domination 2......... rin vs advocates
In this moment, the sight of Rin is very unwelcome. Gray has dreaded having to compete with the people she cares about ever since they were all drawn to this maze, but that dread peaks sharply when she makes out Rin's sharp smile. Gray automatically tries to step backward out of the room, only to find that her boot hits a door that wasn't closed before. A swift turnaround and a jiggle of the handle confirms that she's locked in. She spins back around to face Rin.
One of them will need to dominate the other before they can leave. That knowledge bursts into Gray's consciousness, and due to the call of the Harbinger she feels a competitive fire beginning to warm her limbs, driving her to act.
She just wishes she weren't in here with Rin, whom she'll presumably have to face once all this is over. ]
Rin... um, hello?
[ Very lame of her, but she's afraid to ask why Rin is looking at her like that. ]
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I've been stuck here alone for quite a while. How kind of you to join me. Have you had much trouble up until now?
[Rin herself has been put through a very wild type of hell. Tempted by all manner of desire and having to be torn from it again and again. For mere moments she touches on something that might just feel like happiness only for it to be false; for it to be poisoned. Perhaps here, with Gray, she can find something real. Something pure in the way the other young woman cowers from her. That minimal retreat. It is sweet in a way that cakes and pastries never could be.
Slowly, surely, she starts closing the distance between them.]
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tears up i don't have the icons for this
♥ ♥ ♥
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✧Hunger 2
How long had it been since they'd seen each other? For her, about two months. As for himself, it'd felt longer. More than two years of memories had returned to him. He'd been beaten a second time— sent to Hell itself. Seeing Rin now is surreal, and without saying anything, Dark simply lifts his arms to let her into him. One arm wraps around her upper back. Another softly cradles the back of her head.
He's back. ]
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Tohsaka nuzzles her face into his chest. Hiding her expression as her hands curl tightly into fists — clinging to him with handfuls of his clothes. She won't — she can't — let him go.]