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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[He watches it play out with a respectful silence, mind flitting to someone else - no one who treated him in particular this way, but... one who treated another with the same care.]

...A good teacher, at least. ...A good mother too, looks like.

[...Oh.

Well. The vision's done as quickly as it started, and Ahito spends a short moment in debate before shifting to shake Comet's shoulder.]

...Hey. Wake up.

You shouldn't sleep here.

Fortunately, in my absence my Lieutenant—Yanqing—with Master Diviner Fu will ensure that my duties have been taken care of.

...Though it is also a bit too early for them to continue to pick up the slack on certain details within my job and attend to their own.

[ For like, two whole entire months. Even for that he is certain that is quite a big ask. At the least the fact one of them can see into the future is a boon and should help ease any ends and odds but he is certain that is still a heavy ordeal. ]

That said, as long as this doesn't continue past a certain point, I should not return to a complete mess. [ ... ] Ideally.

[ Either way, Jing Yuan definitely can't stay in this world, haha. ]

Edited 2024-06-05 01:12 (UTC)

Then... how about you, uh, tell me about the better people?

[ Focus on something nicer, something more recent and better for Ahito, rather than this awful mess of a childhood. ]

It's fine, it's fine.

[ Don't cry, don't cry, don't cryyyy, okay. A few deep breaths later, Bruno thinks he has it under control. He'll give Urianger an awkward pat on the back before reluctantly stepping back, out of the hug. ]

I... thanks. Really, I mean it. It's been, well, a lot more tolerable after, after meeting you and. And all the other folks here, so, you know.

Very well. The sooner we can finish, the sooner I shall be able to find time to accomplish what I want to do.

[ Ginger’s distracted by the work they’re doing; it’s a grim matter to have to deal with death. He’s so rarely surrounded by animals, that there’s a sort of sorrow that falls over him in this forest. So when Day speaks, his answer is distracted: ]

Hm? No… is that something we’re supposed to be doing?

[ Are animal carcasses supposed to smell… sweet? ]

Doesn’t sound like rocks would taste good…

Yeah. Yeah, she was great.

[The scene changes again, this time to Malice sitting by the door, staring up at the night sky. He seems to be waiting for the woman... but time passes, the sun starts to rise, and Malice returns indoors. This happens a few more times before the scene shifts again.

Malice is sitting on a bed in the house, tiny face twisted in... anger? Grief? Pain? It's hard to tell, but it isn't a pleasant expression. He's holding a bracelet and mumbling to himself. The bracelet might look familiar - the woman was wearing it on her wrist in the previous visions. It's a nice-looking one, centered with a yellow and purple stone.

"You said you'd come back. Why did you leave me all alone? What did I do wrong?" Little Malice's tears start up and he swipes an arm across his eyes angrily. "I trusted you! So why... Mama, why..."

The scene fades out.]

Ametrine... That's what she called that stone, isn't it?

[Malice seems lost in thought. Though he vaguely remembered some of this, having these long-lost memories put on display have helped him recall some things he thought lost to time.]

That was... My name. She named me after the stone.

[A name he thought he'd lost, replaced with one of hatred and pain and a desire to make others suffer as he had.]

[Though he's seemed so calm all this time... Jing Yuan must be pretty worried about them, right?]

Yeah. Hopefully things'll still be runnin' fine when you get back.

[...]

Gotta admit, I kinda wish we could stay here longer though, y'know? I'd like to spend more time with everyone here, but... I know everyone's got important stuff to get back to.

[Hell, he does too. It's just his isn't on as strict a timer as some of theirs.]

We did.

[ He smiles. ]

I feel lucky, you know. You really are a good friend, even if you're a jerk.

[ Is he? That's... difficult to answer, and he isn't sure how to, even after giving it a bit of thought. ]

...If your people were wiped out and you were the only one left, wouldn't you kill the perpetrators?

Mm, not really. I threatened the man that I was caught up in a bidding war with when I ran into him on the way back to my boss, but he was quick to put his gun away the moment he saw my eyes.

[ He shoves his hands into his pockets, gaze set on a tree just to the left of Jing Yuan's shoulder. ]

Once I returned, I handed over the eyes to my boss's daughter, and then watched her play around with them. So... it was rather uneventful.

A person.

[ No big deal, really.

With one eye finished, he moves to the other, frowning in concentration. ]

[ A threat is a threat, regardless of their relationships outside of that, and so Kurapika simply crosses his arms. ]

Are you dividing up those mana stone between the five of you?

[ He's assume so, but he wonders if any of them might have issues with eating mana stones from dead witches. ]

[ Jing Yuan hadn't quite been concerned all that much in the first month. Though the second has made him at least end up holding concerns...

...

Even if he is certain people probably freaked out about their General suddenly disappearing on them. Oopsies. Anyway. ]

Haha, I understand the feeling. I have admittedly grown accustomed to the faces here; I know I must return, though it would be nice to have a convenient method of staying in contact with everyone, at the least.

[ Jing Yuan has purposefully been avoiding thinking about the complications that can arise from losing associations following the end of this. That is just how he is, though it is hard to evade thinking of it now... ]

Or at least find a way to visit each other in their respective worlds. Space travel is an available option back home, though I understand that is not the same for everyone here.

[He turns to Bruno with a faint smile - a little more than might be expected at this angle, but, well. His bad eye and all.]

Well, after my parents passed, I ended up in my grandmother's care. So, at least there's that.

Plus... I've mentioned it before, but my teacher's pretty good, too. A lot like you, even.

And what would that be?

[...Ametrine... yeah, he can see why. The gemstones - they really do resemble Malice (or perhaps, not Malice?), don't they...?]

You forgot?

[His voice is soft.]

[i love jing yuan so much]

Yeah. I mean, I've gotta go home too, to go kill Rosalie an' Lotisse but... well, I don't really know what I'll do after that. My world's not even worth stayin' in, so if I've got an option, I'd go anywhere else.

[He can't help the way his mind strays to Yamato and how his boyfriend can't leave his friends behind. He needs to go home - but unlike Malice, it's for good reasons. To explain himself, to make up with his friends, and to have fun being an idol now that he's embraced what that truly means to him and he isn't just doing it out of a desire for revenge.

...For all the character development Malice has gotten, he certainly hasn't changed in his goals. Is it progress to move forward and put his entire world behind him? Hell, he doesn't know. But he does know he won't be satisfied until they've paid the price for hurting him.]

I'd like it a lot if we could at least keep in touch. But I guess we won't really know 'til it's time, yeah? No sense worryin' 'bout it right now.

[Ithaqua waves a hand.]

Personal work, until I deem it ready to be used. Never you mind.

That's what I assume. I would not give them to anyone else, when they did not earn them the way we did.

[He will have to bother the others about it, though, and see when they want to divvy them up.]

...I did, yeah.

[Absently, he summons his focus - a different bracelet, a simple tied string with a star charm on it. For a moment he allows himself to pretend that it's a different bracelet, the one the woman left behind on that day she never came back.]

I don't... really remember a lotta things from my past. Probably got hit in the head too hard, y'know?

[It's said lightly, like a joke... but it doesn't really make it there.]

But that was the name she gave me. An' since I forgot it, I had to come up with a different one. So I became "Malice".

[A name given to him out of love, turned into a name born of hatred.]

Mm. I suppose that was smart of the man to back down. Otherwise, he would have hardly lasted all that long.

I do hope he faced some sort of consequences for his actions or participation, though I understand well if he might have been able to slip away.

[ The man deserved some absurd amount of jail time at the very least. Hard not to notice the way that Kurapika's focusing on elsewhere other than his face as well, so he isn't surprised if it still effects him, considering.

Anyway, speaking of the tree Kurapika is staring at in truth, something about it seems to...uh, glitch? In fact, it's looking like it is taking on a more bright bluish color...?

Meanwhile, Jing Yuan's expression is now a mixture of contemplation and equal confusion. Yeah, let's call it that. ]

...Though, why exactly would someone play with someone's eyes?

[ He laughs softly. ]

Of course not. You could have died for them, why give them away?

[ Hm. Is that tree... glitching? What's going on there? Kurapika's brows furrow, but only briefly. ]

They're toys to her, nothing more. She wanted them for her own collection, to shake them and spin them around in their case.

[ His tone is carefully neutral. ]

That tends to be the way of things in my world. Many are willing to do depraved things for what they consider valuable or beautiful.

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thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

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