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beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2023-01-13 05:00 pm

⏳ THE SCORCHING ISLE: Oracle Event One ⏳


ARRIVAL
All Bearers have heard whispers of them - the Oracles. Mysterious and unknown entities of an abstract nature, they serve as the heart of each faction’s cause - both as a means to an end and a very real stepping stone in achieving their objectives. To claim an Oracle means growing ever closer to victory: to see your homes restored as they were, or to herald in a new one of your making.

So you go.

A Cornerstone has been set up for each faction; one for the Zenith and one for the Meridian in Yima’s manor and Heliopolis, respectively. They warn you that upon transportation, your safety cannot be guaranteed and there is no telling what waits for you beyond - to be prepared. To make sure you have whatever you deem necessary with you before you go, as there is no telling when - or how - you will be coming back. CONTINUED HERE...

NOTES

  • Upon your arrival, you woke up with an HOURGLASS NECKLACE. Please refer to the Time Mechanics on the OOC Summary and bottom of this post for details on its usage.
  • The COURTYARD is frozen in time. Player Characters and the Great Tree are the only signs of moving, free life in the courtyard. During the intro, time magic does not work.
  • Characters are free to investigate but cannot move beyond the courtyard if you choose a prompt during the intro. You may mingle among your fellow Bearers or speak with [MR. TIBBS] if you so choose. (Also? LOOK AT HIM HELP)
  • Iconoclasts and Stargazers will notice Aspect benefits/detriments now.
  • All characters will be weak for the 24 hours - think like mild flu - and unable to leave until Mr. Tibbs has dispersed them. This is the time in which any threads with the NPC will be carried out.
  • The INTRO concludes with said dispersal of PC’s once interactions concluded. They will be sent to a location around the castle of your choosing; they are free to move about freely from here. Your prompts can start with you waking alone or in the presence of others - whatever you’d like!
  • Your character will innately understand how to use time magic from this point forward. It will come naturally to them, like a skill they were born with.


  • CASTLE: OVERVIEW (p a s t)
    The Scorching Isles is home to the Atirat, a people of sea-dwellers who have the ability to walk on land. (Think mermaids with the ability to shift back and forth between human and mermaid forms.) As such, much of the Scorching Isles is covered in large bodies of blue water and glistening pieces of ice to accommodate their lifestyle.

    THE CASTLE, however, is what dominates the landscape and it's where the Shard-Bearers will be spending their time. The white castle with colorful glass windows is obscured by a thick layer of clouds and fog. Nearly every location on the island has a thin layer of fog that rolls through it, which gives the entire Island an inescapable chill. The castle has artfully built rooms with a CAVALCADE OF DECORATIVE ICE, lavish mirrors, and white plants accented with blue decorations. Several portions of the castle are submerged due to the aquatic nature of the native residents.

    And everywhere you go, you find them - STATUESQUE BODIES FROZEN mid-movement. They are haunting reminders of the power in your Hourglass - the very real power to decide their fates.

    The castle has many winding paths to explore, as castles often do. There are sleeping quarters, HALLWAYS, a wine cellar, and a few large rooms presumably for diplomatic affairs. Players can use these rooms at their own leisure for whatever purposes they see fit. (Exploration, combat, or supply gathering.)

    However, many of these rooms will require some strategy to access their full potential! Atirat were much more comfortable being underwater than many Kenosians may be. Therefore, rooms of higher importance may be COMPLETELY SUBMERGED or require swimming through an underwater pathway to reach them. Very minimal supplies will be kept out in the open for all to reach. More desirable supplies - such as warm clothing, small weapons, treasure, and the like - will be located past or within one of these flooded areas.

    Players may gather supplies within and preserve their Sand or use their Sand to make other rooms accessible and gather whatever lies within! The larger the asset you attempt to unfreeze, the more Sand it costs - and the more drained/vulnerable you will be as a consequence, so choose your path ahead wisely.

    Currently, a pervasive fog is preventing you from wandering beyond the Castle's limits. Should you try to venture past it, your Sand will rapidly be stolen and you will find yourself suffering the same fate as the islanders if you don't move back to safety quickly... However, if you ask Mr. Tibbs what lays beyond the mist - he will tell you about the thriving farmland, the once-bustling village surrounding the castle, and the beautiful coral reefs beneath it. Sadly, they're beyond your reach - but maybe if the Bearers decide to unfreeze them when the week is up...

    LIBRARY (s a f e z o n e)
    The ROYAL LIBRARY - A treasure trove of knowledge, history, and glimpses of a fractured past scattered throughout. The lower floor of the Library is void of much reading material and contains several intricate-looking art pieces on decorative pedestals.

    A spiral staircase dominates the center of the room, with its once delicate structure overtaken by sheets of formidable ice; it leads you toward the upper levels where a sea of books awaits. There are isles and isles of books, most perched on intricately carved shelves. Many books lay in piles or are discarded onto the floor, and scattered papers are common throughout.

    Curious Kenosians may pick out books from the shelves and read on various topics, but players may also pass through this room on their way elsewhere. This area will function as a safe haven where violence and the taking of others' Sand is not allowed; do not disturb the books or Mr. Tibbs won’t be happy!

    NOTES

  • Characters who wish to receive a book with lore specific to the island may comment [HERE]. You will be RNGed a book from a pre-written list of topics. The books may give you a deeper look into the island, its inhabitants, and its history! (Only 1 book per player! Please assume all other books they read are about commonly-available topics.)


  • THE EATING PARLOR (p a s t)
    There are no basic amenities on the island. No hot water, no warm beds, and no salacious magazines (that you know of. heh heh). That would make the Eating Parlour a wise stop for anyone. After all, this could be the perfect chance to procure some provisions!

    The EATING PARLOUR has all the equipment one would need for meal preparation. Dried plants hang from the ceiling, and the walls are lined with mason jars filled with every strange manner of presumably edible thing (Is that a head over there? Hmm… maybe you should check).

    The parlour also comes with a garden under a massive windowed dome so that the inhabitants could have fresh produce at hand. Many plants have withered, but there are some salvageable plants if you know how to look for them. But beware… Some of the plants have a strange blue glow. These plants can spell potential disaster.

    If someone should make contact with these glowing plants, they will crumble into glass shards - glass that will quickly burrow its way under the skin and curse that person with Blight. Blight will make all resources within that person's vicinity slowly age and eventually crumble to dust. (Which I relate to on a personal level tbh.) Iconoclasts will be immune to its effects.

    NOTES

  • Please see the "Blight" section below for more information on its effects.


  • TREASURE ROOM (f u t u r e)
    Faint singing can be heard coming from this room. Once you hear the song, it dulls your senses and leaves you in a haze. There is no stopping your feet from guiding you to it through the doors and into the Treasure room. The door slams shut at your back, sealed with a wall of ice and magic.

    Players will find themselves lured to an icy chamber bordered by a ring of cold blue fire. There is a deep pond that surrounds the platform you’ve found yourself standing on. Beyond its glassy surface and crystal clear water, one can glimpse all manner of treasures - from crowns, jewels, ornate statues in various statues of repair, scepters, spears, and books that seem impervious to the water's cold chill.

    As you come to your senses, you will find yourself frozen in place and at the mercy of a large statuesque being before you. This beautiful and horrifying figure in a perpetual song is the SIREN, the only Atirat you’ve seen in person. She measures nearly 20 feet (6 meters) from her head to the tip of her long-finned tail. She cradles an icy shard in her arms, singing to it as if it were a child.

    She sits serenely in front of a large hourglass filled with white sand, which is bordered by a spear and a lance. Emblazoned in faint text at the base of where she sits reads: “The future lies in our hands.”

    NOTES


    Welcome to the Siren’s Chamber! Players must use their wit, charisma, or some good ol' fashioned elbow grease to escape the room or break the Siren’s magic. The Shard that the Siren holds contains dormant time magic that players may activate by using the Sand within their necklace. Players can access the future in 5-second intervals and use whatever they find in that time period to escape their predicament.

    For example, if they activate the shard by using their time magic, that shard will begin to glow blue. The room around them will shift, and it could change to a point in the future where there is a sword nearby. If you can grab it, now you have a weapon! When the 5 seconds are up and time returns to the present, you will still have that weapon on your person. You may also try verbal communication if you’d like. If your character is someone who would try and talk their way out of a situation diplomatically, they may give it a try!

    It is up to player discretion/creativity to think of a scenario you’d like. Each “future" does not have to be the same across player encounters! What one group experiences may be tailored to the player wants (because branching timelines exist). Let your imagination run free!

    HALL OF MIRRORS (p r e s e n t)
    Should you reach the rightmost wing of the massive castle Library, you will find a door hidden in the very back of one aisle against a wall; it looks as though the door used to be concealed by magicks that have since dissolved.

    The stairwell leads down and into darkness. Once you reach the bottom, shimmering light cast from an unknown source beneath sheets of glistening ice will illuminate your new surroundings; you are in a maze of mirror-like ice. This labyrinth is silent save for the quiet creaking of shifting ice that may disquiet you and leave you uneasy regarding the stability of this area… but it holds beneath your feet.

    Mr. Tibbs had told you that the “Kaleidoscope” - where your Sand is counted - rests through here, so eventually, you must brave the journey. Is it a trick of the light? Maybe the product of an especially active imagination…?

    Did you just see one of your reflections move without you?

    NOTES

  • Please refer to the OOC Summary for details on the Hall of Mirrors!


  • THE BLIGHT and TIME MECHANICS

    BLIGHT

  • Blight is an infliction that will age supplies and infect people with a creeping disease that steals their Sand. For objects, this includes weapons, food, and items like cloth. It will take a few days to deteriorate things beyond use - so watching your supplies and acting accordingly is in your best interest. Generally, it will make it more difficult for PC's to get by given that their already scarce resources will dwindle and deteriorate - especially since it's 'contagious' through touch.
  • The Blight will not act quickly enough to severely hamper infected persons, but repeated exposure will cause effects to a person's body - notedly protruding VEINS in the face and extremities, a lower body temperature, and increased agitation. These effects start out mild and grow more severe with each 'dose.'
  • Characters must touch an object/person that is Blighted to become inflicted with Blight themselves. When that happens, it will become easily identifiable as Blighted from the faint blue, shimmering outline around the infected subject, as well as the WITHERED, FROSTBITTEN or ashy appearance it takes as it progresses.
  • However, there is one single perk with Blight. (Or is it a perk?) Players will feel reduced impact by the cold surroundings, making the climate around them somewhat more hospitable. Beware of falling victim to a chill you can't feel...
  • TIME

  • To use your Sand, each character is granted access to and innate knowledge of a spell they channel from their Shard that automatically manipulates their Hourglass. This allows the remote control of Sand (aka gathering and dispersing), as well as the ability to pull Fragments of time from Shards.
  • Fragments are literal pieces of you taken from your Shard. They manifest as memories or images displayed on little shards of broken glass (think of the memory being played out in real-time on the mirror's surface), and can be crushed to convert into Sand automatically, either voluntarily or by force. The only stipulation is that the parties must be close to one another, and the Fragment must be exchanged while both Bearers are still. This means someone has to give it to you, or you need to immobilize them before you take it - one way or another.
  • Once the Fragment is crushed, the memory and associated time of that person's life is lost and your character will suffer amnesia until the Oracle is claimed. How deep this goes is up to you; they could lose a large chunk of time - even all their memories surrounding a person or place for a big payload of Sand, or they could lose very little for a meager net gain.
  • Sand is automatically gathered or distributed by your Hourglass and added/subtracted to your running total. No need to micromanage. Convenient!
  • Please note that using Sand to unfreeze anything (resources, a door which can be then opened, etc) is an unpleasant experience. Each time you use Sand in this way, your character will be left feeling weakened and flu-like for an hour or two, which will leave them vulnerable. This effect stacks and scales up to outright KO-ing them for a few hours if they go crazy, so unfreezing too large of an area is off the table!

  • NOTES
    • An OOC POST will be coming shortly explaining how Sand is going to be tallied and the Oracle claimed.
    • Should your character attempt to unfreeze any NPC's, please respond [HERE]. NOTE: unfreezing NPC's may result in physical violence with CW's for severe mental instability/illness and a potential reference to self-harm.
    • HAVE FUN!!!
    CODING
    copeless: (pic#16161905)

    [personal profile] copeless 2023-01-16 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
    [ LSMDAKLDJF crona's no good very bad day....

    But oh thank God, it's the nice person from before, who they'd never quite gotten the name of. Momentarily, they're relieved, and exhausted as they are, it shows blatantly - an unmistakable sign of their (tepid) trust, in a quiet exhale of breath. IT'd probably be smarter to remain vigilant against all Bearers that they seed, on the chance someone takes advantage of them seeming to let their guard down, but they don't think of that. No, they're just glad to see someone they can't immediately imagine stealing from them. ]


    S... Sorry, it's just... [ PEOPLE ARE WILDIN OUT HERE!!! ] With the competition... the Oracle is important to others...

    [ Which has caused people to act ruthlessly, in some cases. It's funny, they don't sound like they blame others for acting that way, nor are they bitter about it. No, they just sound down that they've found themself in these sorry circumstances. If they were fighting for something they believed in, they're sure they would fight tooth and nail, too... so they can't blame anyway for acting the way they have this week. Still, they wish they hadn't been caught in the crosshairs. ]

    You're not competing for it?

    [ If that's true... then they can trust him a bit more, as they're in the same boat. They have a sneaking suspicion that some factionless might help one side versus the other based on a number of reasons - being wronged by the other side, making deals with other Bearers for mutual benefit, etc. - so even his admittance of being between factions doesn't immediately reassure them of the fact. ]
    copeless: (pic#16161828)

    [personal profile] copeless 2023-01-16 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
    [ The effect his shouting has is immediate: they jolt away, hunching their shoulders in, trying to take up as little space as possible. Even their arms draw around their knees, eyes wide with guilt. Guilt for having been so presumptuous as to push him out of the way, and then to assume he'd have any advice to offer regarding how to get out of here. They'd acted without thinking, out of a simple, impulsive want for neither of them to get hurt. Nevertheless, obediently, they inch as far away as they're able to while remaining out of the Siren's sight, averting their gaze forward— they don't want to be mistaken for looking to him for help a second time. ]

    I... I'm sorry. [ With great effort, they're able to stutter that out, even if they trip over several of the syllables from the lingering startle of being shouted at. It's fine. They don't blame him. Rather, they're just taking note so that this doesn't ever happen again in the future. ] I thought... well... I didn't want to seem like I could tell you what to do...

    [ Sure, they had an inkling of what might stop a being like this - the Siren doesn't seem far off from a Witch, a creature they're all too used to - but what could they do? They wouldn't dream of ordering around a person like him, or assuming they know better than him. ]

    Sound like this— it can be a powerful type of "magic," where I come from... so that's why I acted without thinking... I'm sorry. I won't touch you again.
    sanguinary: (scars in the evening sky)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-16 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
    [you really said you want to deal with matsui being abnormal in two whole games at the same time huh

    Anyway!! Wow. Every time someone has a noseblood around him back at the Citadel, there are always at least like four other swords at any given time around to cut him off or drag him away. No one's here to do that this time!! SO he just

    does what comes naturally to him

    which is to try sticking his cupped palm between her face and hand so he can catch some of this blood. Jesus.]
    sanguinary: (pendulum)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-16 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
    [Blood! In the cookbook. Matsui will turn the book so Dokja can take a peek... There's a single ominous bookmark within, written in something sketchy and red-looking, which just says: Kill him. Kill the otter. He watches you.

    Hm.

    Well.]


    ...This is the first time I've seen such a thing in any of the books that I've looked through.

    [Though he can't say he disagrees with the sentiment? He doesn't like this otter. Maybe they really should do an otter murder for fun and profit.]
    sanguinary: (SWEATY)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-16 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
    [WHY IS DIMITRI JUST A WHOLEASS HOUSE OF A PERSON. Matsui 1 wheezes fitfully when he's slammed into Dimitri, who does not so much as budge an inch. Matsui 2, meanwhile, takes the chance to try pretzeling Matsui one in half like a tube of playdoh.]

    I mean, do not bother with this--!

    [Says Matsui 1 the battering ram... Maybe he's referring to the situation in general, or the doppleganger specifically, but whatever the case - this definitely isn't something he wants anyone else having to deal with.]
    sanguinary: (your time is up)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-16 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
    [fair and valid

    STOP NOT HIS PEN-- But yay now Matsui can stop larping as a human and Eustace can continue on as he had been before, pretty much.]


    It's a necessity when we wield ourselves in battle with this form.

    [Gesturing to himself with one hand! Human bodies! They're so inconvenient!! Always getting cut and bruised and bleeding all over the place, damn.]

    I treat wounds with standard supplies. [Matsui has a little stash which he's unfrozen, it's fine... He's still unharmonized so he couldn't use magic even if he wanted to.] Is that fine?
    epiprocta: (58)

    wildcard

    [personal profile] epiprocta 2023-01-16 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Already, they've all had to start venturing further and further from the library in search of supplies; the most obvious stuff has already been picked pretty clean, and even some of the rooms that are easier to access only contain leftovers. And how much longer are they supposed to stay in this place? This sucks.

    Thankfully, Anders won't have to venture terribly far from the library to find something worth his attention -- he might eventually notice there's a small, easy-to-miss corridor tucked off to the side, almost hidden behind some gaudy statues, and following it for a short walk leads to a narrow hallway lined with several doors. It's some sort of storage area, Anders might realize, after opening one door and finding it full of neatly-stacked furniture. The next door, as well, opens to a room containing only decorative furnishings. But the one after that ... there's the sound of movement coming from within, some rustling and clicking noises filtering past the open doorway.

    A quick peek inside is all it should take to pinpoint the source of the noise: a somewhat ragged looking teenager poking through a walk-in closet full of (not-very-useful) ceremonial jackets and robes. Everything's a little too thin and wispy to be useful in warding off the cold, and he's clearly unimpressed. Gen huffs as he turns away from the rack he'd been poking through to look to the other side of the room in hopes of finding something more useful.

    And in the process, he shoves aside some poor individual who's been frozen standing up, stuck where they'd been looking around. The body, thankfully, doesn't hit the ground, but it does does give a loud thump as it instead hits a wall and ends up leaning there at an awkard 45-degree angle. Gen, much more pre-occupied digging all the clothes, doesn't even give it a second glance.

    He doesn't seem to have noticed the 'new intruder,' either. ]
    sharethememory: ([screenshot] 036)

    [personal profile] sharethememory 2023-01-16 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
    Not formally, no. I was present at the Communion that happened a few days prior and happened upon your impassioned speech. Needless to say, it was quite memorable.

    [ There's another incline of a head that is still formal but less so than a bow as he continues. ]

    My name is Zhongli, one of the more recent arrivals.

    I suppose I have many questions about this place --

    [ Said in such a way that he is referring to Kenos as whole, but this frozen island and their quest is also definitely a mystery (probably to them all). ]

    -- but do not know who to ask and unfortunately have little information to offer in return outside of my personal experience arriving here.
    settingup: (i don't see the point)

    B, but I will find a way to make this goofy no matter what rng gives me

    [personal profile] settingup 2023-01-16 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Fun house mirror mazes where never really Atsumu's thing. He might be the kind of guy to stop and fix his hair when he passes in front of a mirror or a particularly reflective window, but that doesn't mean he loves his face enough that he wants to see it reflected back at him from seemingly endless different angles.

    Besides, these days he hasn't been as fond of seeing his own face for a variety of reasons. That's all to say that even though he hasn't been shutting his eyes as he's been aggressively bulldozing his way through this hall of mirrors, he hasn't been having a fun time.

    And it's about to get a lot less fun as a body comes hurling at him with enough force to knock him over with a loud grunt.

    Look, he heard the sound of something metallic clashing together, and he had his guard up some for what might come, but he didn't expect that to be a flying body!
    ]
    copeless: (pic#16161812)

    [personal profile] copeless 2023-01-16 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He doesn't immediately lash out — but something about the calm, idle way the man speaks to them puts them on edge. Someone who could remain nonchalant in circumstances like these - in their experience - are either used to such conditions, or are confident in being strong enough to survive them. Neither of which are the kind of person they want to come across in their current state. ]

    Isn't that the point...? Of what mister otter said... collecting the sand...

    [ Stealing from others is practically baked in to the circumstances they'd all been dropped into by coming to the Scorching Isles. At the very least, they don't feel crazy for being suspicious or scared of others, particularly at this stage of the week. It's not just them, after all - they're seeing it all around the castle, people competing for resources and sand. ]

    Isn't it what you're thinking of, too?

    [ There's a slight accusation there - because they're not sure what someone would be doing approaching them from behind other than to rob them, at this point. No, they're definitely not thinking of the possibility that someone might just end up behind them by accident (the castle is only so big), nor are they thinking that someone might just have nice intentions towards them. Their head only goes to the worst case scenario. ]
    epiprocta: (38)

    armchair therapy

    [personal profile] epiprocta 2023-01-16 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
    [ And he'd been this close to falling asleep.

    Gen's been sitting hunched over in a quiet little corner, slumped against the bookshelves and blinking heavily as he debates whether to let sleep overcome him or not -- but blinks awake when he hears the thump-creak of someone settling into a nearby chair. That alone, maybe he could have ignored and slept through, but then the asshole talks to him.

    Those pointed dog ears of his swivel in Reigen's direction. Gen blinks heavily once, twice. Then he grumbles, his voice clearly muzzy with sleep: ]


    Did I fucking ask?

    [ Hope Reigen was expected to get a big fat dose of shitty teenage attitude!

    Ugh, so much for sleep. Listening to this guy's chased away his sleep, and Gen huffs an irate noise before shifting where he sits to dig through his pockets and retrieve a pack of cigarettes. It's ... growing pretty empty at this point. That earns a fresh scowl, and Gen gives the matter an extra moment of consideration before parking one between his lips. ]


    'm not interested in whatever it is you have to say unless you can get me a fresh box of smokes.
    spilledinkpot: (pic#16163271)

    [personal profile] spilledinkpot 2023-01-16 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
    [(Isn't it? I'm DEAD.)

    At the sound of approach, he turns his head slightly to regard who it is, ready to warn against further closeness... but it is somehow who has already heard that caution. The man he had met at the Zenith's gathering in Yima's manor, who wore a man's face but claimed to be a demon, to be something more like a Black Child... but one who feasted on souls rather than offered up to another.

    But there should be no souls in danger in this room. Shiva's shard is safe in a velvet-lined box in Highstorm. As tempting as it had been to bring "her" with him... he is glad now that he did not. This place was no place for her, even if he could imagine her gleefully running to touch the pretty shapes in the ice, throwing herself into the snow in the courtyard...

    No.

    He blinks.]


    Master Michaelis. Good afternoon.

    [A greeting, somewhat belated after a brief loss to his thoughts. How strange, to be addressed so casually, about anything, let alone his nature.]

    The cold does not bother demons, then?
    sharethememory: ([trailer] 002)

    [personal profile] sharethememory 2023-01-16 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Zhongli feels that cold for what it is - the bitter weather of this place and likewise draws back a little. Nothing personal against Kaeya, he just really hates the cold. Unused to tempering his emotions internally at least, there is a slight spike of discomfort accompanying it. He really has been spoiled by living in a coastal port city for years.

    The question and look on Kaeya's face gives him pause though, and perhaps there is a little guilt of using a precious resource in such a way. Not enough to fully bloom into regret though. He has his reasons.
    ]

    I believe so.

    Unharmonized as I am, I fear I am at a disadvantage. It seems a very clever person was able to retrieve some sand from my hourglass.

    [ An interesting side-effect really. For how could Childe know that taking Zhongli's memories of himself would result in this strange memory gap? ]

    I could stay in the library, but that seems like a waste of attempting to understand what exactly happened to these people. Having an old friend stand guard seemed like the most plausible solution.

    [ Which just means losing more sand, but--- ]

    I must say I am also a bit curious to what happens to sand spent in this way at the end of all of this. Is that all it is - energy spent for this temporary gain?
    wolof: I craved the taste of it (A poison so sweet)

    b

    [personal profile] wolof 2023-01-16 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Unfortunately, Akua is no longer a ghost, and thus cannot just subsist on... nothing, she must search for something that looked like rations. Of course, there was what the Meridian provided, but there were plenty of them, and she did not doubt that a clever Zenith, or perhaps even this blight itself, would make the need for locating more necessary.

    That she had been in a similar situation before, with rapidly dwindling resources and little hope of finding more in time... it made her at least able to accept it and start looking for more. Here in this large castle, there were... plenty of little nooks and crannies to look through, plenty of possibilities of food. She'd stepped in to start rifling, only to find someone there, and clearly working on an experiment.

    Interesting. Her eyes took in the sight of the spread of glass on the table.
    ]

    Blighted as well? I'd hoped to find some things in here that didn't have signs of the disease.

    [ She admitted, her tone curious, all the same. ]

    A blight like this, that turns such things into shards like that will be...difficult to circumvent, don't you think?
    spilledinkpot: (pic#16163489)

    [personal profile] spilledinkpot 2023-01-16 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
    You are welcome.

    [She thanks him, she takes the package that held out that seems to be labeled (L), and the man with the caprine-like skull for a face quickly steps back and away, just out of arms reach where there would be no chance of accidental skin on skin contact and plenty of time to move himself should she reach for anything in ignorance. He had donned gloves to cover his hands, but...

    With the Curse, he felt no need to take unnecessary risks.]


    That would depend, Madam Person.

    [His head cocks, spiral horns (well, one and 1/3 spiral horns) lilting to the side, eerie white eyes regarding her quietly.]

    Have you eaten recently? It is best to ration your supplies, but if you are hungry...
    cutlery: (the watermark says it's a repost)

    iia

    [personal profile] cutlery 2023-01-16 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
    [ It’s one of the larger rooms that Sebastian drifts into as he explores, and he makes a light noise of muted surprise as he enters and someone is already there. It also doubles to announce his presence since this is also someone he doesn’t know, but he doesn’t interrupt as Zhongli looks at the Atrirat frozen in time. He can see that there’s something methodical to what he’s doing, but Sebastian couldn’t guess at what. So instead, he listens.

    …He has his own opinion on the first question posed, but he remains silent on it. It’s a brutal answer, and so he won’t give it without knowing who he’s speaking to better.

    The second is met with a friendly smile and a nod, though. ]


    Indeed. There is much to see, and so do pardon me for intruding upon your own study.

    [ He looks to the hourglass in Zhongli’s hand, and with a light tilt of his head, his gaze drifts to the frozen person before them both. ]

    Are you considering freeing them?
    cutlery: (imagine getting party boy-ed to death)

    therapy, lmao

    [personal profile] cutlery 2023-01-16 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Sebastian (unsurprisingly) has been all work. He’s not the sort to dally at all, and so the horrible tiredness he’s been cursed with is… Just something to push through, so far as he’s concerned. He can’t show weakness, so he won’t. Or at least such was the idea earlier in the week. It’s drawing to a close at this point, and he’s actually very glad for it. Who knows, maybe when they return to Highstorm, he’ll actually sleep (unlikely).

    Though as he drifts through the library to check on the various people he’s designated as interesting or important, his gait does slow as he heads towards Reigen’s cozy corner. He cocks his head curiously as he peers inside, and at first, his expression stays carefully neutral as Reigen grins. He gives a glance to the side to look around, but he does take a step closer to speak gently. ]


    …I am also exhausted. It is a terrible thing.

    [ He’ll admit it, at least. He’s figured out at this point that it’s related to Aspects, so Reigen would technically know it anyways. It’s enough for his expression to relax into one that’s less than pleased, though it’s at the circumstances. Yet, his curiosity is piqued all the same. ]

    What people need, is it? What sorts of things do you mean?
    wolof: (The Girl who (didn't) Climb the Tower)

    04

    [personal profile] wolof 2023-01-16 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
    [ The twin tone of hoofbeats is met with another sound in this long hall of reflections. A click-click of heels on the stone, as Akua started her way in, avoiding the patches of ice, and where she could not, she wove firm spaces to step on, as she moved across the path. She could see the faint, distant sight of a horse up above -- it had to be Hayame, right? -- and she let her steps quicken. She could see her own reflections, laid out before her, and as she walked, they shifted -- younger versions of her, eyes mad with power, or even younger, in her hands an... egg. Large, wrought with finery.

    Her steps quickened, as she started to make her way toward the other woman, half as if she were running from her own past, and half because if she could see her past self, did Hayame not notice hers?

    That she saw a specter of her own -- the madness of the Diabolist long dead, or the fury and drive of an Heiress long gone -- worried her. Would they attack? Would they wait? She could feel the itch at the back of her neck, the story the way it was...incomplete. She had already come to terms with her own past. Moved on. What would there be to gain, in only fighting herself?
    ]

    Hayame --

    [ She called, her tone sharp, but not cruel. Only to catch her attention, as the second sound of hoofbeats became obvious. ]
    pyojeol: (pic#15992640)

    [personal profile] pyojeol 2023-01-16 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
    [I THINK THIS A BLOOD HURDLE THAT HAS TO BE CROSSED, Sooyoung jerks back for a second because she really does think that Matsui is about to try and strangle her with those cupped hands of his,

    except he does something stranger, which is this.]


    -- Didn't you hear me!? It's just a nosebleed! It's not like my blood's gonna come gushing out of my nose?!

    [she has yet to realize how weird matsui is]
    settingup: (of a partnership)

    [personal profile] settingup 2023-01-16 06:19 am (UTC)(link)
    [ With the last conversation the two of them had? Even as cold as Atsumu is, it's likely he brings himself up short. Though it doesn't matter if he stops himself from huddling in close, because the obvious shivering is still going to give away the fact that he's freezing right now.

    So Silco's little display with the fire? It's having the intended effect of grabbing Atsumu's attention, though he is narrowing his eyes at irritation realizing what Silco is silently saying here.

    Not even that silently, considering the question he just asked.
    ]

    I ain't dead yet, so it's not goin' that badly.

    [ But he sure feels like he's perilously inching closer and closer to that, so as much as he'd love to let his stubbornness win out here, his need for preservation breaks through. ]

    If your power you went and took lets you start fires, how about lightin' some things up so the rest of us can warm up a little?
    spilledinkpot: (Default)

    [personal profile] spilledinkpot 2023-01-16 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
    ["The same as everyone else", he says... But the skull-faced man? creature? cannot help but cock his head slightly as if confused by the statement. Some people seemed intent on violence, others on peace, some on foraging, and some on dealing with the fish people... What could that business be, then?

    But he does not ask, yet. Technically... he is supposed to think of this man as his enemy.]


    I apologize. I was lost in thought.

    [The same excuse he had always given Shiva, when he forgot... where he was, what had had been doing, in favor of thinking or the haze of disconnect.]

    If you are here for [TIME], I must ask you to reconsider.
    sharethememory: ([screenshot] 027)

    [personal profile] sharethememory 2023-01-16 06:26 am (UTC)(link)
    [ At first, Zhongli is just speechless as he cups the seelie in his palms. It spins between his fingers joyfully before floating up to smush against his cheek like a puppy asking for pets. It might have even chirped at him but Zhongli is too distracted too pay much attention. Still dumbfounded, Zhongli reaches up to pat it on the head as he watches Childe construct a hydro replica of Vortex Vanquisher.

    Ah, this was a little much, wasn't it?

    Even Zhongli ("spend every mora of Childe's" Zhongli) knows this is above and beyond even Childe's usually generous nature. He takes the weapon carefully in both hands, running his gloved fingertips across the decorative geo symbols that Childe painstakingly sculpted into the surface.

    Truly a work of art as well as a beautifully crafted weapon.
    ]

    I will do my best to come back from this venture unharmed.

    [ The ever so casually mentioned "if I get taken out" while perfectly reasonably, causing something uneasy to stir within Zhongli's gut. Childe was perfectly capable and had been in Kenos for some time largely on his own. He knew what to expect. He would be fine. And what could Zhongli do if Childe needed aid? Scarcely little in his current state.

    Still:
    ]

    And will you do the same? Let me know if you need anything during your stay here.
    spilledinkpot: (pic#16163494)

    [personal profile] spilledinkpot 2023-01-16 06:30 am (UTC)(link)
    [That is a voice that he recognizes. One that had told him of the woman who ha delivered to him the one thing he needed, desired most. He remembers it (for now).]

    Master Silco.

    [Turning to greet him, the dark creature? man? finishes taking off his large coat with a little whip of his long tail, beginning to fold it neatly in his arms before setting it on the table beside his satchel.]

    The temperature? Or do you mean the water... ?

    [He muses for a moment, more to himself than anyone, before realizing it was a bit pointless to differentiate in this moment.]

    Neither do, no. I thought to see if there was anything useful wherever this leads.
    gravings: (040)

    [personal profile] gravings 2023-01-16 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [ With how familiar he is to her, she recognizes the sound of Eustace before he speaks up. She is unconditionally glad whenever she runs into him, yet she doesn't attempt to call him over... for the simple reason that she's too embarrassed to, knowing that she's in a pitiful state. As he comes upon her, she quietly accepts defeat for her dignity. Though she's really done nothing wrong, she feels a bit like a child caught with forbidden cookie crumbs on her face. That feeling is exacerbated by his quiet sigh (of disappointment!!).

    He might understand why she's so averse to her reflection, but that doesn't mean she'd blame him for being exasperated with her. Anyone would find it strange and impractical, she thinks; as with ghosts, and as with big crowds, it isn't normal that the mere presence of her reflection should debilitate her. It isn't something she can explain, and if she were to try, she's quite sure it would only make her sound childish.

    When he takes her hand, she startles a little but doesn't resist. He could probably throw her over his shoulder and she wouldn't resist... but either way, she'll allow herself to be led any which way, whether it's backward or forward, her grip on his hand delicate and her eyes glued to the floor.

    It takes her a while to respond. Thoughts and mortifications run through her head, but mostly she's thankful that he seems to understand her problem without being told, and she thinks about how her old mentor always understood too. When she does finally speak up, her voice is at about half its usual volume. ]


    I should probably learn how to deal with this... shouldn't I?
    vapour: (pic#15074565)

    [personal profile] vapour 2023-01-16 06:49 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Childe seems quite satisfied, perhaps because a part of him does understand, at least a little, how Zhongli might appreciate something like this.

    With a typical short and airy laugh, he tilts his head to one side as he glances to the ex-archon offering the also typical (fake) smile—the one where it can never be taken for granted to mean anything at any level. (the one he'd wear in equal measure for a person while running them through with a blade, the one that looks so hollow when compared to the rarest of rare moments.)
    ]

    I will. After the week is over, I'll take you to get some more tea when we get back. Then we'll get Kaeya and Rosaria for a dinner night. Sounds way better than being part of the scenery in this place, don't you think?