beleos: (Default)
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
    lockedon: (Default)

    [personal profile] lockedon 2023-01-29 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ They already saw each other naked? Though I guess a limp dick is vastly different from an erect one jammed up your ass.

    Anyway I hope no one is reading this thread, I really should have taken a nap. And Eustace really should have had the foresight to ask this question earlier so he's not caught unawares by the dark shadow that suddenly spreads across them, apparently from a pair of black wings unfurled from Dokjaganger's back. Go figure. There's not really any time to be surprised by this revelation (though truthfully, a single pair of horns and single pair of wings isn't exactly all that extra, especially in GBFworld), the dark claws outstretched towards him demanding much more of his attention.

    His reflexes don't kick in quick enough this time, his feet still trying to find balance on the ground after springing up from his roll, and the outstretched claws find an easy target in the soft flesh of his forearm as he throws one arm up in self-defense. They drag through fabric and cut through skin, Eustace hissing at the sudden burst of pain. But as far as injuries go this is little more than a flesh wound, and it's certainly not enough to stop him from trying to fling his knife into the nearest body part available to him. ]
    hauntedking: (07)

    [personal profile] hauntedking 2023-01-29 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
    Perhaps not. But I would rather try than know that I could've done something in my power and not.

    [ Dimitri shrugs at the other man, not sure if he'll understand or not. ]

    Consider it a personal fault.
    oomfies: 𝑜𝑜𝓂𝒻𝒾𝑒𝓈 (💚 bathe.)

    [personal profile] oomfies 2023-01-29 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Telling her to keep them closed is easier said than done, especially when she likes to see (in fact, this is something she adores very much, especially now that she's officially lost her only pair of glasses somewhere in this skirmish). It'd benefit her in a lot of ways to be able to see, all considering her doppelganger is still writhing on the floor and who knows? She could get up any minute?!

    ..Well, she doubts she'd be walking any time soon. Evil or not, a Lottie that's inconvenienced is a Lottie who is tied down to it for at least an hour.

    And there is a silence that follows, as he carefully arranges her to shoulder her weight on him. Her head is absolutely throbbing and her lungs hurt, stinging whenever she takes an inhale through her mouth because her nose is clogged from all the crying. She lets her head rest onto his shoulder, the strain on her neck from letting it hang getting to her.

    Squeezes her eyes shut because the salt is stinging particularly harder now, as he tries to be kind and tender to her in a way she isn't prepared for. What comes out in response is a wobbly, unsure: ]


    ..You're just saying that because you threw salt in my face.
    oomfies: 𝑜𝑜𝓂𝒻𝒾𝑒𝓈 (💕 confirm.)

    [personal profile] oomfies 2023-01-29 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Ah.. That says something about how capable Amos thinks Lottie is that she could even bake something like this. On a good day she could make maybe like, one pretty loaf of bread. And then nothing else for a year. Maybe some scrambled eggs? Maybe??

    She blushes nevertheless, flattered, a lot less nervous (and feeling very silly for it, now!) by the time she lets his full smile sink in. ]


    Uhhhhh, nooo.. I wish. I picked this up from a bakery down the street from my coffee spot.

    [ Also yes, she is deliberately not naming names because if he likes it — and judging from his reaction, which she is very much enjoying vicariously, he does — she wants the opportunity to surprise him like this again. She stares at him, half relieved and half giddy that he's this tickled by her surprise, juust for a moment longer before remembering.. Oh! Right. Right! She digs through one of her many pockets, zipping it open to find: an appropriately fancy fork, wrapped at the base with a handkerchief. ]

    So you don't get your hands dirty.. [ She offers it to him, while her other hand slides the cake over the tiniest bit closer towards him. ] Unless that's how you wanna eat it? I don't judge.
    shisho: (pic#16114626)

    [personal profile] shisho 2023-01-29 09:36 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Amos seems to go on autopilot, once they introduce themselves and shake on it. Reigen lets the first of the Atirat kids eat without looming over them, concerned they might take it as a threat to themselves or their food, and instead - he follows Amos back to the stock pot full of stew. There's plenty of it, though he'll inevitably have to make more once the rest of the Atirat are brought back into the world. He really does hope they all survive. At least the kids, if he has to be judicial about these things -- and oh, he can. He can be so very practical in the same way that he can be so deeply giving of his time and efforts.

    And Amos has gentled, which is surprising. Not unwanted, but surprising. He'd come in like a drill sergeant, all demands and expectations, and now he's willingly doling out stew like he doesn't know what to do with his hands. This whole situation must be affecting him, in some way. He must like kids, is what Reigen has to settle on. If it's not that he likes kids, it's that he feels responsible for dependents -- maybe he led in the army, he concludes. Some sort of military group, where he was in charge of keeping others safe.

    It's in his voice and attitude. ]


    You're right, Amos.

    [ And actually, he is. Even to Reigen, who will burn himself on this mission because he needs to test a theory and why not now? Why wait? Amos is right, though. Just like Reigen would later tell Silco -- he's not doing this wholly because it's the right and shiny thing to do. It gets them something, but people can get something out of others without being assholes about it. It doesn't have to be cruelty that brings people together. ]

    I'm not going to abandon them. I want to find a way to get them back to Highstorm, to let them make their own choices -- this world of theirs can't support them, not without our help. We can't provide that help if we don't have the means to.

    [ He folds his hands together, steepling his fingers as he turns his gaze up -- away from the man before him. ]

    I just can't think only of the future, if it means abandoning people in the here-and-now. It's not cost-effective, it's just the decent thing to do. That's all you wanna' do, I'm guess -- good things, even if you have to be harsh while doing them. You came in here with the intent to stop me, I'm guessing and now you're... getting more food ready for the next kid. I think you know what's decent.
    lachtara: (Fleeting)

    [personal profile] lachtara 2023-01-29 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
    Castles like this will often have a storage cellar with a cache of supplies. Enough to hold out in case of a raid. While I can't guarantee this castle is the same, it is something to consider.

    [ Spoke from previous experience with such things. Anyway... ]

    If you find the time and happen across it, your fellow Zenith can use items that will keep them warm and fed.
    lachtara: (Coyness)

    i realize i have done this to myself

    [personal profile] lachtara 2023-01-29 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Emet-Selch pauses and calmly looks out on the library. There is nothing but aisles of books and empty air - but he can see...something lingering in the air nearby. His eyes follow it. ]

    Well?

    [ His tone is disapproving as he looks at the invisible. There is someone there. It has to be that strange creature. ]

    Are you going to answer our question?
    kenosevents: (Default)

    [personal profile] kenosevents 2023-01-29 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ And, right on cue, the little otter pops into being!! (Are those a few accompanying clouds of smoke? Maybe.) He walks closer down a set of invisible stairs closer to the two of them, adjusting his monocle all the while. ]

    I haven't a clue what you mean. Who wrote what now?
    lockedon: (065)

    [personal profile] lockedon 2023-01-29 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ When was the last time someone asked him a question just for the sheer sake of it and not with some other underlying intent? A long time, long enough that suspicion has been the automatic response to sudden questions out of the blue, but a little more time studying the other man's face along with the atmosphere surrounding points towards Yoo Joonghyuk telling the truth.

    A little of his wariness drains out in the form of a low sigh, though his shoulders remain tense. ]


    I haven't found a reason to choose a side yet.

    [ Once bitten twice shy, and Horos certainly hadn't given him a compelling reason to repeat his actions here in Kenos. ]

    Have you?
    settingup: (no no no)

    [personal profile] settingup 2023-01-29 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Not as helpful an answer as Atsumu would have liked, nor does Joonghyuk give Atsumu half a chance to do the one potentially useful thing he could do. If it could even be useful at all. As rough as this is going to be on him with his meager magic, it sounds like the guy he's stuck with is an even tougher situation.

    Though he's still someone with memories that are going to be much more helpful than any of Atsumu's own when it comes to this fight.

    He yelps loudly at the sudden appearance of the figure, and somehow louder still as the Siren moves to attack, scrambling sideways out of the main part of the fray. It actually takes a few seconds to realize what this absolute madman is trying to do right now, and his eyes go wide as he skids to a stop, just out of immediate swiping range.
    ]

    What the hell're you doin'?!

    [ He is about to witness someone die, and boy is he not excited for that... ]
    lethally: (pic#16179238)

    [personal profile] lethally 2023-01-29 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Dimitri asks the question she wonders, but there's no answer. Just continued music that wraps itself around them—in more ways than one.

    The lack of answer is just annoying enough that she feels compelled to march forward, to ask that this strange woman reveal herself and her purpose here in this castle. But suddenly she finds that she can't move, and that every muscle of her body seems frozen in place. It's not until the singing pauses for one blessed moment that she feels control (of both mind and body) return to her.

    Her eyes narrow in fury and her mouth opens to say: ]


    Did you feel that? The way we were frozen in place?
    zauneyete: (Knife's edge)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-01-30 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Silco is so careful, and it's the only thing that kept his hand from running right into this person standing next to David, with her elegant white and multicolored hair, the cigarette pursed between her lips. He took a silent step back, when she neared, to keep from getting too close. He could try again in a moment, once they spread out.

    He had to rely on Sevika to lead, but she knew what he wanted, didn't she? And she'd always did just the job he asked of her. Without question, without bother. Unless Jinx was involved, but Silco's memories of her were too precious, and too carefully guarded to ever be put into danger like this.

    Something that Silco was both grateful for and wished he had, the moment the shortest of David's illusions opened fire. If anyone could have dealt with her, Jinx would have delighted in blowing all of them up.

    In contrast, Sevika grunted, and the Shimmered goons howled, the one who the girl shot at bent backwards -- and let it fly past him -- his body contorted in a way that was entirely inhuman before he flung himself back to rightness, and started moving, his shifts erratic and quick. The others followed and they spread out, their bodies moving too fast, trails of electric green and neon violet followed their wake as they closed in -- knives shuddering with that sickly green light as they pushed inward.

    Sevika, from behind, cracked her knuckles, and pulled the cloak back, pulling two vials of shimmer out of her bandolier, and her arm hissed as she popped them in, the joints loosening, and then working back to socket back in, the exhale of neon violet powering it matched the scars on her face, and she smirked, and spit her cigar out.

    If she eyed Dorio, how could she not? That was a match made in hell.
    ]
    hauntedking: (28)

    [personal profile] hauntedking 2023-01-30 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Dimitri's whole body gives a bit of a shudder. ]

    I - yes.

    [ He doesn't like that. It feels a little too much like magic for his liking. Some kind of enchantment. ]

    That song is some sort of spell. Is she enchanting us? Trying to bind us? For what purpose?

    [ His lance is gripped a bit tighter in his hand and he takes a step forward. ]
    zauneyete: (smug)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-01-30 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Silco's eye narrowed, as if he was about to say that no, he hadn't lit it on fire, because he wouldn't do that to an ally -- he would -- but Atsumu had already moved to sit down, so he didn't even need to wage a protest.

    Especially when he started moving around it, as if he was experimenting with the warmth. Really, Silco hadn't bothered to try to do this yet, so seeing someone else deal with it, and get the desired results... was encouraging for Silco. He would keep that in mind for later.
    ]

    See? Smarter solutions. No need to draw anyone's eye, here.

    [ His eyes flicked to the rest of the library, for just a moment.

    Silco tended to stay near the darker, more remote areas, but Atsumu had caught him a little more out in the open, and Silco did not want to encounter...

    Well. Let's just say he'd be getting into a fight with someone later, and having it start in a neutral zone wouldn't exactly be pleasant.
    }

    We're going to need to be creative to stay warm here, I think. The nights thus far have been worse than the days.

    [ But, thanks to his Demon, Silco had his own room all to himself. And now he knew how to warm it up. ]
    zauneyete: (You know...)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-01-30 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Silco, who didn't have animal ears or a tail, was able to school his own thoughts a touch better. It's easy, when people could really only look at one feature on his face -- and only that -- because it offered him something of an easy time to mask any other impulses. For example, the way he was tugging off the glove from his unmarked hand, or the fact that his lip curled when Gen finally said what he wanted.

    He resisted the urge to say: Oh is that all? when Silco very clearly didn't mind spreading the resource out to others, but Gen didn't know that, since he wasn't a part of Zenith at this time. It was something he had endless supply of, or as close as a night's rest could give him.

    He couldn't make an army of them like his factories could have, but...
    ]

    You have my word. An extra shot is an acceptable trade.

    [ He even held out his right hand -- the ungloved one now. To shake. ]
    warmare: (闇の中)

    [personal profile] warmare 2023-01-30 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
    [She wants to say that she does. That she pities this icy copy of herself, who will not know the joys that she has known... But she can't. She can't, and that's what's so pathetic about it. She can't condemn the doppelganger for speaking lies, and she can't...]

    Akua, don't.

    [It comes out more shameful than she intended, the force of the initial rage breaking as the shattered and cracked mirrors reflect more of her mistakes. Rejecting her brother's offer of rescue in favor of a desperate plea to regain her honor on her own. (Yubari...) Her failure to teach the young ones that had been in her charge... It all mocks her.

    The flare of pain from the arrow being ripped free of her muscles and the burn of the wound cauterizing on her rump is welcome (and deserved). Her next words are hissed, pulling another of her own arrows from the quiver.]


    It's not lying.

    [What did that feel like? She could have felt it... it had been offered to her. Yubari had always wanted her to acknowledge him, to let him reach out and touch her... and she had always kept the wall up between them. The free jinba had eventually warmed to her, under Matsukaze's coaxing, and tried to invite her to plant and hunt and sing and work together... but she had held herself to her self-imposed duty to a master that saw her as a beast for sale. And Matsukaze... the Pleroma, now Meridian...]

    No, I'm not, am I?

    [This time the voice comes from behind, so close like a whisper. (A distraction... they're getting too close to the right mirror.)]

    What do you know, magic women? About this pathetic mare... about being welcome?
    hurricaneofblood: (pic#16170617)

    [personal profile] hurricaneofblood 2023-01-30 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
    That so?

    [ He tilts his head slightly, thoughtfully acknowledging the answer. ]

    A lesser man would ask you if you know who you're saving. But that's just me playing devil's advocate. [ At least he admits to being annoying? ] For me, it doesn't matter if the land or people are saved.

    I'll do whatever the person ahead of me suggests. [ Hm. ] So, I find your convictions to be interesting.
    hurricaneofblood: (pic#16170634)

    [personal profile] hurricaneofblood 2023-01-30 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
    Flamebringer and I'll keep that in mind.

    [ Being itchy isn't fun. Bleeding out and dragging one's wounded body around is much more fun. Hardcore, too. ]

    But you seem like quite a softie.

    [ He can't help but tease and blink at the comments that come next. ] Hmmm... [ Flamebringer looks to the side, musing to himself. ] I was thinking of arguing with you, but if you don't like how it sounds, you don't like how it sounds.

    [ He shrugs. ] Does that change things? Being born a mage?
    lethally: (pic#16179239)

    [personal profile] lethally 2023-01-30 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
    [ A good question. In this moment he isn't someone she can make use of but someone trapped in the same boat as her. An ally, no matter how unwilling. Her eyes scan the room, noting its layout, the objects contained within, the Siren herself, and then—

    Ah, that must be it.

    She nods her head towards the hourglass, an excess of sand contained within. ]


    She must be protecting that.

    [ It's her best guess anyway, based on the objective handed to them from the very start. ]

    If we want to be able to save this castle and the inhabitants inside, we'll need to take the sand from her.
    redsoil: (pic#16220678)

    [personal profile] redsoil 2023-01-30 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
    [ YOU'RE SUCH A HANDSOME WASTE, YJH. ]

    Ah.

    [ He feels the blade bite into him, and grinds the heel of his foot a little further into the arch of Joonghyuk's hipbone; he does not leap from him, instead wielding his weight down into the man without breaking from him. Fine, he'll take the bite of the blade, since it's in a place that is inconsequential to him. He'll do it, so that he can lean towards the dark-haired man and regard him. He'll sacrifice his leg to the blade, and plant the point of the spear behind Joonghyuk to leverage them together. A bird and a perch. ]

    Do you treat all of your battlefields so carelessly? Stumbling through them without bothering to assess anyone or anything? And I do not mean the manner of assessment where you just look at someone!

    [ This is not a waste of time to Set, by the tone of his voice. There is something angry in it, testy in the way that he always is -- an irascible creature, quick to turn flinty and tempestuous. And curious, infinitely so.

    Also Joonghyuk just has one of those personalities that sets him off..... ]
    hauntedking: (30)

    [personal profile] hauntedking 2023-01-30 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
    I suspect you may be right.

    [ He's a little unwilling to shed blood without justification - but this person has obviously been turned into a monster of some kind - complete with bewitching song. If they need to fight her to get what's needed, so be it.

    His lance comes off of his shoulder and he gives her a curious glance.
    ]

    How well can you fight? And... if we are to fight alongside one another, what is your name?
    redsoil: (pic#16220533)

    [personal profile] redsoil 2023-01-30 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
    [ It would be wise of her to compensate for her blindness with other martial styles, to relearn fluidity in combat rather than specialization. Though he speaks to her of polearms, urging her to seek one out, he is secretly glad that she is already accomplished in that style -- he hasn't the heart to teach anyone else combat, not since Anubis.

    Never since Anubis.

    Silently, he bites the fullness of his lower lip as he listens to her. She answers what he asks of her, and little more, the two of them an awkward and terse pair better suited for violence than they are for comfort. It is all he can do to examine her with his eyes and fingertips, sweeping his palm over one of her bruises to test for depth of injury -- has it reached muscle? bone? she seems hale enough, albeit battered. That is good, he thinks. It is a powerful tool. Hayame is a powerful weapon.

    ( His hands are marked, both of them; the left with the dark, spoked wheel of the Savant and the left with something miasmatic and sinister, circles and lines following the arc of his wrist, the bumps of his knuckles. It is horrible in nature, a curse that follows him. He is cautious when he touches her with that hand, in particular. Hesitant, wavering. She would have been a powerful weapon. ) ]


    It's not untrue, that I value strength above all else. Grace, dignity, wisdom -- none of them matter to me, provided you carry yourself with the strength to conquer all that opposes you.

    [ He sets a hand upon the haft of the trident, steadied between where her own hands grasp at it. The red of his eyes finds the black of her own. There is no sorrow in him, as his expression cools, steady and alien in so many ways, despite the human shape of him. ( I may be no better than your hated demon, he had told her. And now, he knew the demon she spoke of. ) ]

    It only matters to me that you were victorious, Hayame. I don't care about how honorable you were, nor how fairly you conducted yourself. I see your desire for victory, however violent you must be, however cruel you must be. That's what draws me to you -- the potential you have, to be merciless in your pursuit of what you want.
    goldendeceiver: (in a lotta weird places)

    [personal profile] goldendeceiver 2023-01-30 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
    [ It's definitely the second. Funny how for Ernesto ears like his are the normal, but it seems rare to find people with a little extra fur on them amongst the Shard-bearers. He's at least used to the glance up at his ears or down at his tail that he doesn't even bat an eyelash at David looking.

    Instead, he'll take that book from his hands, holds it up to his nose (close up to his nose, alas the ears don't come with a dog-like ability to smell things), and takes a couple of small sniffs.

    There's a pause where Ernesto frowns thoughtfully, and--
    ]

    It just smells like a book to me.

    [ He holds it back out to David now. ]
    cutlery: (go home Reddit...you're horny)

    [personal profile] cutlery 2023-01-30 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He’s a rather quiet person, isn’t he? Sebastian watches for a moment as Teacher seems to mull over his words, and as he does so, his expression shifts to the more generally thoughtful. Teacher is an odd one, certainly, but it’s odd in the way that he finds intensely interesting. Moreso with what he adds, because being a caretaker of such a young child with that “curse” of his immediately strikes him as something that would be quite difficult to manage. ]

    A more troubling age, I am sure. The young master was a handful [ a brat ] when I first started tending to him, yet he had already been forced to mature quickly because of his experiences.

    [ As Teacher begins to collect the rocks, Sebastian makes a thoughtful noise and nods. Not a bad idea. He proceeds to the opposite side of the pool to start to do the same so that he doesn’t take any from Teacher. ]

    I had only worked with adults before the young master, so… I do not know much about children, really. They are capricious in their needs. Did you find it difficult?
    cutlery: (is everyone here a Disney princess?!)

    [personal profile] cutlery 2023-01-30 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
    [ I was about to say “as if half of your muselist wouldn’t be the same,”

    The little tight-lipped response gets Sebastian to quirk his head (probably as he’s bending backwards or something, I hate them,) since it’s a marked difference from Matsui’s countenance so far. ]


    Oh, indeed. There are many contradictions humanity takes up that I find a bit comical. Though equally so, it is why I find them so interesting. To be frank, before this situation, the only non-human sorts I ever spoke to were my own kind. Ah, well, or Reapers, I suppose, but they were human once, so… [ IGNORE THEM ] How do you view humanity?