beleos: (Default)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2024-03-15 01:39 pm

THE ADVOCATE ORACLE - A RIP VAN WINKLE IN TIME


Sweet dreams are made of Bliss
As the twilight falls, and bearers begin to tuck in for their evenings on the night of the 15th of March (OOC time) and whether they tuck themselves into bed fully, or simply drift away in the middle of their dinner, work, indulgences, or what have you; bearers will fall into a deep, deep sleep. Perhaps you slump in your chair, or you wrap your arms around a teddy bear, or partner, or cup a precious shard in your sleep, it doesn’t matter, because as you drift away, into a sleep that seems to tug you under like the undertow itself, a question will echo in bearer’s minds: “If given the choice, would you show compassion in the face of adversity?”

It sticks with you, even as you fall into a dreamless sleep. As if it rotates in your mind, over and over, letting you worm over that. You know for certain what it is, that it is the calming, soothing voice of the Oracle, reaching out to you across the ether, telling you – promise you – that if you accept its promise, you will find that the Oracle could be in your hands. That thought leads you to dream of something else – of home, or your loved ones – of what you are fighting this war for. Even as you dream, you feel a presence next to you, and unlike the Harbinger’s winding, rough digging, this is more akin to a friend, who is asking you soft, coaxing questions. Things like: what was your childhood like? What were your friends like? What did you do? You cannot help but think of them, think of your home and your loved ones. Of where you came from, and how it made you what you are.

The advocate seeks to understand you, and where you come from. You can feel it, that overwhelming Acceptance and love from it, even as you reminisce, compelled to answer the multitude of questions, you can feel something building behind you, around you. “Don’t you want them all to understand this?” the impression is given through communion, and you cannot help but answer: yes.

Click your Heels together, Dorothy!
As you awake for the first time, it’s alien, the world that meets you. New smells fill your nostrils, new sights, the gravity is perhaps different than you’ve gotten used to on Kenos, even those slight shifts enough to make the world feel wholly different. You remember the advocate’s words, and it wants you to feel what it feels. Understanding. Compassion, and perhaps there is a sense that doing so would hurt yourself in turn, if you understood too much. That is the advocate’s way, after all, isn’t it?

You feel an inexorable, slight tug in your chest. Something subtle and gentle, the slightest of sensations, that gives you a direction. You know it, your mind only just now comprehending the advocate’s confusing impressions via communion, that there is something of this world’s… Soul/center/heart or whatever word you want to use for it. Something about this world that will help you along your path, and help you with the results you so desire. You know it will not guarantee a victory, but surely it will help. Especially as your numbers dwindle from world to world. You are left with an impression from the Advocate -- if you die, they cannot bring you back. There is apology in this, but alone, one oracle is limited. Only united, can they truly change your fate.

The lingering presence of the advocate starts to fade. You know this is a bearer’s world, if not your own. You look around, to see perhaps a familiar face nearby? Or perhaps you are alone. Does it matter? You know that this place belongs to a bearer, but whether they are a friend or an enemy, one has to begin to determine that. You’ll need your wits, you’ll need your strength and resolve to make it to the end of this, won’t you?

After all, as bearers were recently reminded: this is War. This is not simply the fate of this world, but perhaps all, as it will require you to find the answer to this question. So you start to move, you start to look around, explore, and search. For the soul of each world, for the bearers that lie dreaming within, and your foes that will seek you out. Stay steadfast, for the way out will come, if you make it to the end. The longer you spend in each world, however, the more the shadows look darker, and deeper. Hungrier. The more the spaces seem smaller or compressed. As if there is something gnawing away at the sides, making their way to the heart.

Around the world in 60 seconds 12 hours
When you find yourself at the end, when you close your eyes – only a blink, but it hangs, as if the momentary motion is enough to suspend you into a suspended space before. You can see the two options stretched out before you – metaphysically – the impression of it. A long, long shadow cast over one. As if there is a presence hovering over and above, like waiting jaws, ready to strike. In the other, there remains…nothing. It is not pleasant, it is not comforting, it simply… is. A sense that there is now a lack of anything, almost like it had never existed before.

Does this world have value? You can feel the Advocate ask. Do you want to give them a chance to live? Or does should this world cease, is there nothing here to save?

And though you are compelled, required to answer, you know this question for what it is. Short-sighted. Both, in the end, will lead to its destruction, but which will you choose? Will you allow the world to continue, even with that long shadow cast, like a hungry beast with snapping jaws; or will you erase it from existence and spare it that oncoming apocalypse?

Catch [???] Winks
The last world’s fate decided, bearers float in an endless sea of stars. You can see them all, spread before you. Intermittently, they wink out, swallowed into the darkness, consumed as the shadows, that inky-black nothingness grows ever-larger. It looks upon you, bearers. It is nothing, but you have its attention, and your blood runs cold, your limbs frozen. You cannot move, you cannot speak, you cannot breathe. You feel it, the power of being drawn into it, like it wants to consume you. Like it knows you.

T̸̢̼̯͓̬̘́̀̋̆͊h̷͔̣̱̝͍̬̣͕̄̂͗̆͒͌͜ͅẹ̶̱̩̅͒̿̇͠ ̵̭̹͇͖̔̀ṃ̸̢̧͙̟̼̜͌͆̍͝͝ͅo̴̟̞̓̆̇̐̆͊̽͆̂̀r̶͈̺̮̠͙̗͌ę̸̤̻̈́͐͂̓̊͐̂͆ ̵̡̛͎̩̳̤͔͚̱̼̆̒̓y̴̺̞̹̺̝̤͂ǫ̷̡̣̱̥͊̈́̓͑̕͘ű̵̼͜͜ ̶̨̨̝̟̘̱͇̲̻̪̊͂̽̈̒͊f̴̱̐͌̌̓̋̔́̀͝i̶͖̤͎̬̝̦͒̂g̸̳̰̟̀̓̽̈́̐h̸̼͍̮͎̊̅͗͊̈͋̽̀͘t̴͔͚́̓,̷̨̧̱̠̙̠̙̱̒̍̽̾ ̷̖̰̼̬̟͐̊̂t̶̖̄͂̅̃̍͐̊̑̅͜͝h̴̢̛͙̪̞̫̝̺̋̅̿͛̇̚͝͝ͅͅȩ̶͉̤͍̠́̈͑̏͋̚͘͝ ̸̢̨̧͚̖̤̪̬̪̀̉̐͗̂͆͑̚̕̚c̴̠̩̳͎̲̪͔̟̈́͂̉͑́l̶̡̲̻̣̘̏́ͅo̶̢̧͔͈̬̳̰͈̝̻͌̋̆̃͒͗̏͘ş̴̪̺̣̥̎̽̿͗̒́͛̕̚̚e̴̺͍̤͖͂̇͑͂̋͂̆̾r̴̨̩̈́͋͠ ̷̧͚̲̩̖̋͒̉́͗y̶̘̖̝̑̈͊ǒ̵͚̽u̵͎͍̇̀̏̊̕͝ŕ̷͎̜̘͙̀̋ ̶͇̲̝̞̖̝̣̘̝̬͋d̷͔͈͔̀̿õ̴̝̯͇̹̘̏͗͜ö̵͚͓͆m̵͉̦̫̥̦̞̫͐̆͐̿͊͒͌͋͜.̷̼͈̻̥̜̾̏͐̾̐͆͘͜

You gasp, as you startle awake, and open your eyes for the first time in a long time.

CODING
settingup: (they said I wouldn't)

[personal profile] settingup 2024-03-25 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ He's not so absorbed in his reading that he doesn't hear someone approach, or see Rin moving out of the corner of his eye. He does still jolt slightly at the sudden sensation of the hand on his shoulder, and turns to look at her properly now, frowning at the outfit he's never seen her in. ]

Fancy getup there, Teach.

[ It doesn't sound like a compliment, though at least it's not really an insult either. As for the books. He holds up the one he was reading, the page open to the description of what the worms do to the people they infect. ]

Dunno about useful. Found some fucked up soundin' things though.

[ Tactful as always as he stomps across sensitive territory without a single clue to the fact that he's doing just that. ]
erbe: Because you know I'm #1 princess in the world (025)

[personal profile] erbe 2024-03-26 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Well... I would never be one to say that magic or magecraft brings happiness. In fact what you have the book open to now are the types of familiars my sister was infected with.

[There's no reason to play cards close to the chest with Atsumu. If she's raising him as her apprentice then he deserves to know more about magecraft. The world it comes from, and the darkness it harbors. Besides... this could very well just be a dream, no? It's all familiar, but it's also all wrong.]
settingup: (for what it's worth)

[personal profile] settingup 2024-03-29 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There was never a point in all of his studying that Rin made it sound like magic was something that was going to bring whimsy and wonder into his life the way his first (and very brief) magic teacher had. It had been a tool to use while stuck in a very dangerous situation largely beyond his control. He could use it to defend himself, and maybe save his own life or the life of someone he cared about in a pinch, but Rin's brand of magic was brutal and demanding, and took a whole hell of a lot of hard work in order to actually do well.

Ironically Atsumu had thought that it suited him because of that, though the revelation that Rin just dropped on him so casually gives him more pause on that fact than the disturbing contents of the books themselves would have done in a void.

He sets the book down on the table, face largely blank other than the slight crease between his brows.
]

What?

[ He heard everything she just said, but he's having trouble processing the second sentence. ]
erbe: (098)

[personal profile] erbe 2024-03-31 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Magic Crests cannot be split, and as such a mage can only realistically raise one child. Because of this, and a neighboring mage family that mine has had contact with over generations experiencing a decline in their bloodline, my sister was adopted out to the Matou family. A sign of goodwill and a chance for her to be trained in her natural born talent. However the patriarch of the Matou family didn't want his lineage to continue — he simply wanted another body to continue his imitation of immortality. By using those worms to violate her body he had hoped to take over before his current body gave out.

[And that's why her world cannot be revived. By doing so it would just mean putting Sakura back in a body that could barely even be called her own anymore.]
settingup: (i see another mountain to climb)

[personal profile] settingup 2024-04-06 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ That Rin just blurts this all out has Atsumu flabbergasted. That she's managing to do it in such a composed manner is beyond his comprehension. Sure, his situation is probably different what with being raised with his brother and all, but if someone had dared to do something like that to Osamu, Atsumu wouldn't be able to tell that story in such a collected way.

For a moment all he can do is stare at Rin, eyes scanning her face as he looks for any signs that she's kidding.

Say psych.....
]

What the hell kinda fucked up situation is that?! I don't really get the weird ass adoption situation in the first place, but what the fuck piece of shit plays the good guy for most of his life and then goes and does something like that?!

[ The good guy... he's making a lot of assumptions there, admittedly. He's assuming that Rin's family would have vetted the people they adopted their daughter to, and only let her be taken in by a home of people who seemed genuinely loving and interested in her own well being.

He might be putting too much faith in mages here.
]