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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Ah. Well, so much for not being seen, though it seems like Solomon escapes this particular fate. Given that this is his memory, it makes sense.

Kurapika edges himself out of the shadows, but he thinks approaching the desk right now would be the wrong move, so he largely stays put as he sinks down onto his knees to seem less imposing. His frame may be relatively slight and his height just a little below average, but he knows his serious face offsets all of that. So, Kurapika tries to make his expression somewhat less severe, though whether he's successful or not in that remains to be seen. ]

I won't hurt you.

[ His voice is low, hushed so that those outside don't hear him, but it carries nevertheless in the stillness of the room. ]

[Kurapika does pose an intimidating figure, sliding out of the shadows. But the volume control does help to ease the considerable tension in the boy's frame, tentatively looking over his shoulder with those frightened eyes, before flicking towards the still-closed door.

You feel dread. Dread at being spotted. Fear, childlike and raw, of death. Confusion, at the sight of the locked door. And yet, curiosity, as though gazing at something unknown. Something not allowed.]

I'm... I-I'm just sick. I'm sick...

[Though the boy is frail and filthy, he does not look ill in the slightest. It's a fearful response, a taught response.]

[ He swallows past that feeling, pushing it down as he does most intense emotions that flow through him—a bodily and mental response he's trained himself to do so as not to give himself away.

And so, he keeps calm as he looks at the child before him. ]

You're ill? [ He doesn't look it, but Kurapika has a fondness for children that keeps him from voicing that thought aloud. ] Is there any form of treatment I could get for you?

[He goes quiet, hesitant, as though he's never been asked that before and doesn't know how to answer.]

Um... n-no... no, nobody gets better. That's why you gotta go. 'Cause... c-cause I'm sick... and...

[His voice is starting to waver, in that familiar way of a child desperately trying to lie through something that scares them and realizing they're not being convincing. He tucks his face down again, shoulders hunching.]

... Don't take me away.

[ He shakes his head, slowly. ]

I won't. But surely there's something I can do to help you?

[ It's futile, he knows it, but... he thinks of the warm bundle that Woble was in his arms when her mother let him hold her. Children really are his weakness, full of life and unlimited potential that he wants to protect, even if the outcome has long since been determined. ]

[He glances, hesitantly, hesitantly, at the locked door. Then towards the window. He flinches bodily at the sound of horses galloping by.]

I... no. N-no, I can't, or you'll get in big trouble... e-everbody's gonna get in lots of trouble....

Mama and Papa said I gotta stay in here. I-I can't be near anybody. Like all the other sick people.

[The smell of disease and decay seems to sit heavy in the air. A plague, outside the walls of this room. The dead, being moved out of homes.

The boy doesn't look sick. But he seems insistent on maintaining the lie.]

[ Briefly, Kurapika considers checking if he can use his Nen ability, because if so... he could use his Dowsing Chain and confirm that he's being lied to.

...

But he can't do that to a child, much less one in a memory that he can do nothing to change. So, Kurapika nods. ]

Alright. I'll take your word for it. [ ... ] Will you be safe in here?

[His face turns to the side as he draws his arms tighter around his knees.]

...Yeah.

If the soldiers catch you, then they take you away. And your family, too. They take away everybody they think is a heretic---

[A beat, a choking sound and a shaking of his head.]

I'm... I-I'm not, though. I'm not. Mama and Papa aren't, either... and they're not sick, so you gotta leave them alone, too. You gotta.

[ Kurapika lowers his voice, his tone just a bit softer than usual. ]

Don't worry, I will. I believe you. There's no reason for me to call upon the soldiers.

[ He'll start to slink back towards the shadows, soft quiet steps back that won't alert anyone outside to movement. ]

I'll be fine as well. Focus on yourself.

[A pause, as his eyes look up and follow Kurapika. Brassy and open and confused, as though that's not the answer he was expecting.

...]

I...

They're gonna get real mad if I'm talking to people they don't want me to talk to. I can't talk to nobody.

I think... um...

...

Do grownups get scared?

They do. Everyone gets scared, no matter how old or powerful or influential they are.

[ Even Kurapika, underneath all of the emotion he's tamped down and compacted and hidden deep within his chest, gets scared. ]

It's natural.

[ ... ]

Why?

Cause Mama and Papa, they can't hear it. The things I hear.

And their voices always sound angry and sad. So I think they must look angry and sad, too.

And sometimes I think maybe they get scared. If I make noises wrong. If I do things. Lots of things.

[The boy deflates a little as his head rests against his knees.]

If I stay like I gotta, the soldiers won't get me. Which means the soldiers won't get them. Then they don't gotta be scared as much.

Right?

[ He wants to agree, wants to provide comfort here, but that isn't who he is. Kurapika only lies by necessity. ]

You do what you feel is best and everything will fall into place as it should.

[ That doesn't mean that things won't go wrong or there won't be hardships, but... ]

Your parents want you to be safe, don't they? Do what you can to stay safe.

[The boy grows quiet again as his eyes flick to the locked door, then to the floor.]

...

[Off to the side, Solomon (the real Solomon) moves, a quiet drift to sit against the bed.]

I can't. I like to do what I feel. Cause I feel really good things. And I hear really pretty things.

Papa calls it magic.

But that's why they put me in here. Why I gotta never go outside. I don't... even see Mama and Papa a lot. 'Cause... I guess a thing that feels good still makes people scared sometimes.

[...

He curls up tighter, tucking his face fully against his knees so that his eyes are hidden away.]

I'm glad they get to be safe. Papa... says it's just how it is.

[And you are. You are glad. And you are miserable. You've known nothing else but this. They are happy, and you are happy. They are scared of you, and you are confused.

The door suddenly seems more like a wall than any means of escape. The only breath, the only respite, is the window.]

...

[ He understands it now, he sees the full picture. He sees it and he all he can think—

This child's parents need to die.

Kurapika crawls back towards him, staying low to the ground just in case. ]

You deserve to be safe as well. You're only a child and nothing to be feared. [ He pauses, a stifling yet thoughtful silence that practically bounces off of the walls around them. ] You know, people fear me as well. When I'm angry, my eyes turn a bright red and it scares everyone around me.

But I know I'm not dangerous, just as you know you aren't either. Keep that knowledge close to your heart. You deserve to feel safe, and to feel loved just like anyone else. Even if others don't like magic... that doesn't mean they can take that out on you.

[The boy doesn't respond, only looking up towards Kurapika with a slowly unguarded face, as though whatever is coming out of the older boy's mouth is something no one's ever told him.

From his seat on the bed, Solomon's eyes soften.]

...You're a very kind soul under that directness of yours, aren't you?

[ He holds a hand up towards the older Solomon, palm facing out in a gesture for him to simply Stop. ]

Did I ask for a running commentary?

Did I need your permission?

[Light, effortless. What a sharp tongue this boy has.

The younger Solomon seems oblivious to the conversation, but he does glance up towards the window, where the noises have grown quiet. He bites at his lip.]

Then... you're like me?

Does that mean I can show you something?

[ Kurapika rolls his eyes, a retort on his tongue that he bites back only because the younger version of Solomon before him speaks up.

His expression quickly smooths out into something softer, something more neutral. That he has a weakness for kids is obvious, even though he was just biting at the older version of the one right in front of him. ]

Of course you can. I won't be afraid.

[He worries further at his lip, before huffing in a breath and crawling out of his hiding space. Eyes to the window, eyes to the window, always to the window...]

I like... to think about nice stuff. Like how big the sky might be. I like to watch the people talk, when I can get up high enough to see them.

[...]

One of my scrolls says that a fish that you eat comes from a place they call an "ocean". And I like to look outside and think about what kind of place it is, and how the fishes live.

I can show you. Things even Mama and Papa haven't seen. But you gotta be quiet. Okay?

[He starts to climb up onto the bed. His adult self quietly slips away to give room, even as the scrawny boy wobbles his way to a better vantage point of where Pika sits on the floor, hands on his hips in the first bought of cheeky energy that leaks through since the memory's start.

He waits for Kurapika to confirm, mouth thinning into a pout the longer he has to wait.]

Edited 2024-06-11 06:06 (UTC)

[ Ah, now that's more like a regular kid. Kurapika smiles despite himself. ]

Alright. I'll be quiet.

[ He'd even promise as much, but that's not a good idea here. ]

Show me.

[He puts a finger to his lips, not unlike his ancient counterpart, before turning around to climb on top of a small worn table next to the mattress with a jump of effort, filling the air with the smell of damp straw. It must be what his bed is stuffed with.

Successfully on his new perch, the boy once again checks the window, then the line of where the shadow stretches the room, before bringing his hands together, palm up and cupped carefully.]

I'm here. Come to me.

[There's an immediate shimmer of sparkling lights, a pleasantly glowing water forming above his hands in a swirling, playful ball. He immediately breaks out into a grin, but he works his best to try and stifle it in concentration, lip back between his teeth despite the obvious joy.]

Let's go for a swim again today. Okay?

[His hand drifts up and out, fingers outstretched, and the water follows suit, multiplying over itself into rippling, glowing streams that start to dance around the shadowed space like ribbons. Here and there flutters the shape of fish that move strangely, of bubbles that don't act quite right, an aquarium made of pure imagination from a mind that has to fill in the blanks.

The child jumps back down from the table with a quiet giggle to run into the midst of the shallow, circling line, the subtle colors dancing along the white of his hair. Letting his hand follow the flow of the water as it moves, letting it change colors under his hands.

There is no spell, no seal, no pacts. There is only a pure, natural talent, and unbridled curiosity.

The bite of the snow starts to kiss at their feet - a glimpse of reality starting to settle back in.]

Edited 2024-06-12 03:40 (UTC)

[ He knows what burgeoning power feels like, has felt it at his own fingertips as he learned how to gather and focus his Nen before eventually creating chains that sit cold and familiar against the back of his hand.

This, while completely different, feels the same. Kurapika reaches out to touch one of those fish, watching as it swims through the ribboned streams unnaturally. He smiles to himself, glad to finally see this child enjoying himself.

...Though, in the back of his mind, he can't help but think about what power like this looks like when it's fully formed. Kurapika takes a step, snow crunching under his feet. ]

...

[ He looks around, this time for the Solomon he knows. ]

[The cold fades in as the memory fades out, as the boy swirls the water up into fading steps to hoist himself up - up, to look out the window, just barely, to lean his head against his arms despite the danger and the disease, magic hidden in the corners that the world could not see, but still vibrant in its intensity.

Solomon's eyes are back towards the ground as reality settles, leaning down to pluck up another mana stone and run his thumb over the shape of it.]

You have a very strong view of yourself. That's admirable.

[ Kurapika watches as he picks up that stone, crossing his arms as the boy from that memory still has yet to leave his mind. ]

And what led you to that conclusion?

[ Like, Solomon is right, but Kurapika is not going to confirm it one way or the other. ]

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wandering back late to memshare with starbucks

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cw: parental abuse

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