lunaecalamitas | thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

NEW MOON ADAGIO

Between the constant requests from the North and the sense of tension that pervades the manor, Sage Tatara makes an executive decision: we're going North, baby.

Of all the things that have happened thus far, let this be the ultimate test of your magic. Even as we near summer, it's frigid. Protect yourselves and your allies from the cold. Protect yourselves while also fighting off monsters (or other territorial wizards, should you make the terrible mistake of wandering into another's territory), flying through the vast wilderness, or protecting the poor humans who need your help to survive. Time to blow off some of your steam. Just be sure to obey Tatara's one rule: don't kill each other.

One particular problem of note is in the Forest of Dreams. Without its guardian, many of these rogue monsters and dangerous predators, displaced from their normal habitats, have found their way into the forest. Many of them, however, are unable to survive against the fatal toxin, and there are plenty of animal corpses and mana stones that litter the forest. It might be best to clean these up before the forest guardian returns...

That said, the toxin is yet another thing you must protect yourself against in addition to the cold. While you can likely keep yourself from dying from the toxins, you may not be immune to its effects. This deadly toxin causes anyone who breathes it in to dream and hallucinate vividly, be it images of the past, imagined futures, thoughts of the present processed and warped...

Strangely enough, those nearby may end up sharing in your dreams... Did you want the darkest recesses of your thoughts, hopes, and fears unearthed for others to see?

Those who decide to venture far past the more populated (in relative terms) parts of the North may find themselves stumbling upon what looks to be an abandoned bandit hideout. It seems it's been abandoned for quite a while—nothing to loot here, sorry!—but there sure are a whole lot of monsters that have decided to make this hidden corner of the North their home.

While you're at it, you may find a nearby cave. Beautiful crystals dot the walls and the floors, and there are small pools of hot spring water free for relaxing. It seems to be relatively free of monsters, too. So maybe this wouldn't be a bad spot to relax, away from everything else?

However, there's one thing that makes this cave truly unique, and it isn't the vistas or the springs—it's the bats. These bats hear echoes of the past and replay them for visitors. Should you stay a while and listen, a bat may pay you a visit. And when it does, it may play for you the voices from the memories of visitors past, whose stories may hold a clue or two to your circumstances...

While the Forest of Dreams is a memory/dreamshare free for all, the aural memories replayed by the bats in the Cave of Time will come from one of the original wizards only. If you'd like an audio replay of a perhaps significant moment either in their personal life or a clue as to what happened to them (it will be randomized), then please reply to this comment!

JOB BOARD

Clean-up and repairs. While thanks to the hard work of your Eastern friends the worst was prevented, the City of Rain emerged from their short ordeal a little worse for wear.

Buildings need repair, blood needs to be cleaned off the streets, the injured need help. This is, perhaps, the only time you will be allowed to use magic openly in the city (you've been given permits and everything!), but you still are not allowed to talk outside of designated zones. Please, please don't get arrested...

As for the scrap that litters the streets? Unfortunately, you'll have to take it back to the scrapyard. But this time, there's a big, roaring bonfire out there. Just chuck all the scrap and debris in the fire. The city isn't taking any second chances—extreme situations call for extreme measures.

Reverence. Several Northern villages are currently outside the protection of a wizard, and have requested the sage's wizards' presence. They're terrified of the monsters and worried the barriers for their villages will fail sooner than later. They don't simply ask for help for free, however, and these smaller villages are steeped in their tradition—they'll pay you their respects, praying to you, offering you gifts, groveling at your feet, in hopes for a modicum of your time and protection. Do their offerings please you? Then assist them with what you deem appropriate for their worship to you: kill a few monsters for them, or a lot if you're pleased. Strengthen the barrier a lot, or not at all if you're displeased. It's up to you! You have the power here. What's it like to be a god for a day?

Ladies' night. The monthly lady officers' gathering is coming up in the City of Affluence—it's an exclusive meetup for the women involved in and related to Western military and bureaucratic affairs. Anyone is welcome, so long as they meet two requirements: they are outwardly presenting feminine, and they have an invitation to the gathering. Here's your chance to flex your transformation and glamour spells! Infiltrate the meetup with a disguise and a fake invitation, mingle, enjoy the drinks, the jazz, the entertainment, and find out what you can... What's the Western army up to? Be careful, though—don't get caught and kicked out!

The attendees seem to be excited about the new phantasmagoria technology and the upcoming display, and many whisper about the upcoming Venator meteor shower...

G'RAHA TASKS

Greetings, new friends! I am G'raha Tia, and while I hesitate to call myself a mentor or a replacement for the one you had, I am eternally grateful for the assistance I received and will do my best to help your cause in any way I can. To that end, I feel I may need to be caught up to speed on the events and get to know all of you.

We can have some tea and sandwiches and have a discussion! That's the best way to learn, sometimes.

TATARA ACTIVITIES

Even if we're not here for very long, I think we should leave our mark (not literally! Don't paint on the walls!). I got paint and big paper in the dining hall, but no brushes... Do you know what that means? Finger paint! Finger paint a portrait of yourself with your name and I'll hang it up in the library when they're all done!

Thanks to Cid and Khun, my camcorder works now. The thing is, what's the point of filming anything if we have no way to watch the film?! Could you guys work together to make some kind of projector? Or like...VHS player? We could have a movie night together!

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your fourth event! It's your dreamshare and memshare event! Ready to open up with your deepest and darkest secrets?
🌙 We're halfway through the game. How do you feel?
🌙 Back at the manor, Kurapika and Maya have set up a bulletin board! Leave comments, argue with your neighbors, have fun. Be nice. Don't set it on fire.
🌙 On the admin side of things, Lav has swapped out Wanderer for G'raha! Please say hello to your new mentor NPC.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting to the post, and remember to check back frequently, since not everyone checks plurk or discord all the time.
🌙 The next country to go on their mission is North. Do you think a PVP-enabled mission will go well?

» NAVIGATION

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Akira!

[ He would know that slumped form anywhere, black clothing and all.

It's a good thing Kurapika can keep his cool, isn't it? It's why he immediately places a warming spell on Akira and lifts him up out of the snow, so that he's sitting upright rather than panicking. Even so, there's a definite nervous energy in his voice. ]

Akira. Wake up.

[ He needs to be conscious if he wants to regain any of his actual body heat. With a frown, Kurapika lightly smacks at his cheeks. ]

[...His gaze turns sharp.]

...That sounds like...

[He could never mistake it - how many times had he heard those same voices in his dreams?

But as for Kurapika, he'll see for himself as a young, silvery-haired boy with light but otherwise normally colored eyes is led along by his parents to the labs. And, once there, being introduced to a robed man who promises him magic, shows him a lonely girl isolated in a room, her small body covered in bandaged wounds--

What plays out is not a happy story.]

[ Day sits and listens attentively. He's found that ever since showing up here he's been learning a lot about other people's lives and worlds, even when he doesn't give much about himself away except in pieces. G'raha's story honestly sounds so out there that he gets the feelings he's able to wrap his head around it only because, well, he's already living something nearly as wild. ]

You weren't kiddin' when you said it's quite long. So your blood...holds memories? [ Is he getting this right??? ]

[ He doesn't look at Day, instead letting his gaze settle unfocused on a tree a few feet ahead of them. ]

Yes, it was. [ And the pain of it, the anguish that settled in his chest that night, still sits there. ] I've only killed one other person since.

[ ...Ah.

So this is the girl he couldn't save, the one he felt haunted by. It's surreal, to see the impact she had on Ahito in real time, watching all of it play out. Something tugs at him, memories of his own friend that he couldn't save.

When it vanishes, he doesn't know what to say at first. ]

...You really cared deeply for her.

[ How surreal it feels, hearing this from someone younger than him. Day's done everything he can to avoid having to take a life so far, but he knows it's going to happen one day. ]

...I'm sorry things turned out like that. [ That it ended up being the only way it could have ended. ]

A few days ago?

[ khun thinks for a moment. ]

If you change out of it, it'll be much faster. It also means I'm less likely to stab you.

Edited 2024-05-30 02:16 (UTC)

[ he lets out a short laugh. ]

Take it however you like. Now let's get going before we learn even more about each other.

[ Weirdly enough that's...kind of reassuring? Norths. ]

Oh, good. So I'm guessin' the manastones are...?

[ Whatever they fought? Probably? ]

Cody...

[ Before they know it, the images fade away. They look to Malice but but see him tense up, despite how charismatic this fellow is... that's odd? On first glance. Comet looks to Malice, as concerned as they can look. ]

Are you okay? You look stiff.

[ Healer instinct. ]

Mikaaa, there you are!

[ Mika probably heard the sounds of wings and wind before he heard his name. There's no landing. Just wings and then slender arms that wrap around his neck from behind, the fingers familiar in the way they're long and elegant, though the knuckles and angles are not as prominent. What's not familiar is the cascade of blond(e) hair that fall over Mika's shoulders.

The voice is different in form, but the same in timbre - bright and affectionate around Mika, always. ]

Look! I did it.

[ Super belated. The party is over, the dancing and socializing are done, but!! Ginger has finally finished his transformation. Praise him, he worked so hard... Struggle... ]

["Can you even imagine what billions of people look like? That's how many died at once, thanks to humans."

The words are like a knife to the heart. Just how many people had died as the Voidstorm engulfed the world? He doesn't know. He'll never know for sure, and he hates it, because he feels like every single name should be engraved in his memory like some sort of living cenotaph. He can't stop himself from flinching like he's been struck, or from pulling the blanket a little tighter around himself as though it will somehow shield him from the eyes of people who aren't even there.

He has to swallow a few times to choke back the lump that threatens to close off his throat. The familiar hot sting of tears burns his eyes as he closes them, tries to center himself enough to keep from sobbing aloud the moment he opens his mouth.]

... I... I see. I can't... say that you're wrong. Humans are selfish. Selfish and arrogant. Even if that isn't true of all of them... does it really matter when it only takes the actions of a single person to destroy everything?

[Because that's what he'd done. That's what he's always done. He destroys everything he loves... or is it that he destroys them because in the end he doesn't truly understand what it means to love?]

[He watches it play out with a solemn, though... not particularly sad expression, gaze intent on Mizuki the whole time.

It's been a while since he's seen her - ironic, since she'd haunted his nightmares for so long. And yet, now that he's finally moved past all the guilt, she's gone and more or less disappeared from his dreams.

When the memory fades and Kurapika speaks up, he responds, voice quiet:]

Someone had to.

[She had no one else. She'd been spared the immediate deaths her family had suffered, and for what?

All it meant was that she was delivered right into the hands of a callous lot who were interested only in what they could hope to gain from her. Maybe that's why she only ever spoke to Ahito, her voice so quiet it could barely be heard...

He was the only one who cared enough to listen, to stay close enough to pick up every whispered word.]

Phil.

[Malice shakes his head and tries to relax.]

I'm fine, it's—

[Well, there's another illusion forming over there, this time of Malice with a stern-faced, tall woman with long white hair. She's dressed in the most immaculate fancy clothes you can imagine, long blood-red and black dress with a tasteful assortment of golden accessories. Despite the difference in hair colors, they both have bright yellow eyes, and the woman's features are remarkably similar to Malice's.

"Have you come to an answer?" She asks. Her voice is serious, but gentle, at odds with her stiff posture and stoic expression.

"I have, yeah," Malice says.

The real Malice meanwhile is once again freezing up, but this time his expression is dark, bitter, and he's quietly growling, glaring at the woman's image.]

I don’t know Ahito, it’s usually pretty hard to get a group of people to agree. You might be right, but they also might be right in a different way.

Anyway - if I see you walking around before you're fully recovered, I’m carrying you back to your room. And then telling Mika.

You say that like walking around's a strenuous activity...

[ Looks at Phil?! ]

...

Please don't compare me to him.

[ Too late, but okay. ]

Also, you guys were pulled away pretty abruptly. Let’s not risk a repeat while things are still on the mend for everyone.

It's not like I'm in a rush to get back to work or anything, either.

Y-yes?

[He has done and said nothing, what is that look for]

...

[ They're about to say something to either reassure themselves or Malice that he's fine, but then there is another... what do you call it. A scene? They watch it play it out with a frown, because there are vibes from the woman that vaguely reminds them of those on the moon. The poised height and stern features are the sticking points here, but they can see that must be alike to Malice. Then when that vision of Malice gives his response, they check on the real one... Ah. That's also not a look they've seen on Malice, so they can add two and two. This is bad.

They get to Malice's side, wishing they had a bigger sort of... presence? Something to cover this up. Instead they take his hands, tugging. ]

We should go.

[ They toss a mana stone at that woman to be sure it's just an illusion, only to have it just pass through her. It's the spirit of the thing, but they can take the confirmation. ]

( It would be remiss to think that Mika, so conscious of Phil's organs squealing, would miss the slight nuance of his hurt; the scraping of the blanket's fabric tighten in his hands, the way his throat goes taut, and there threatens the gentle scent of salt.

It's subtle, underneath the scent and sound of everything else wrong with Phillip, but it's enough that even Mika can recognize there's something wrong.

Does Phil not actually believe what he's saying? Is he just agreeing with Mika? He doesn't... sound insincere, though. Not exactly. But Mika isn't sure how to take all this. )

... Yeah. It does take only one person. One person who embodies everything it means to be human, and overshadows the rest.

( Selfish, arrogant, callous, and cruel. However briefly humans may dabble in kindness, it hardly makes up for the desolation they leave behind.

And so there was Guren, who sacrificed those billions to save seven friends. In his wake came groups of humans working together to kill off the rest. In protest of Mika's derision, Yuu had asked him - But Mika, wouldn't you do the same as Guren? Wouldn't you do that to save the people you love?

Yeah, he would. Because he's the worst of both worlds, human and vampire. )

... What's wrong?

I wouldn't know. Last time I got my makeup done was by a girl who was like, 10.

( So, you know, smearing that cheap Kid's First Makeup Set! lipstick and powder all over his face... (It made Akane happy, it's fine.)

He will do as instructed, however - lifting his chin, and closing his eyes. He's quite good at being rigid given he hasn't a need to breathe - still as a corpse, one might say. He estimates Kurapika's skills are better than Akane's, at least. )

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thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

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iic! after after

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