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

Wait, you feel weird about eating these things, too? Wow, I was starting to feel real alone about that.

[ That's a relief. He was beginning to think he was the weirdo out here but no, now they can be the weirdo together. However, that does make him hesitate to give Urianger the mana stones. ]

I mean, I can just. I can find someone else who doesn't mind them. I... I know they're just monsters but... y'know.

[At least they're not alone in being weirdos! Not that Urianger needed an aversion to consuming mana stones in order to be a weirdo--]

Verily, I know. While I understand that these stones doth grant us additional power, I hesitate to consume them for a variety of reasons. I may change my mind if I find I have no other choice, but for now I shall refrain.

[With that said, he nods at Bruno's idea to pass them on to someone who wants to immediately use them.]

Very well. I imagine thou wilt not have to look far. I have observed several wizards seeking out stones here in the forest.

[ He'll pocket the stones for now, at least until he can find someone else to hand them off to. If not another wizard, then maybe Tatara. It's no secret that the magical elevator at the manor uses them. ]

Oh, I'm sure. Lots of folks poking around here despite the da... nger... oh.

[ Bruno can already see that thicker fog beginning to roll in. Not cool, forest, not cool. He'll step forward quickly, reaching to grab Urianger by the arm. ]

Uh, we should. We should probably start walking, um, this way, real fast.

[ Away from the fog, away! ]

[Urianger's about to ask if something is amiss when he suddenly trails off, but Bruno acts quicker.]

Wherefore...?

[He tips his head to where Bruno's looking, and suddenly it all makes sense. He's familiar with the fog and the effects it brings. If only their protective charms were just a little stronger...!]

Aye. Let us move.

[He breaks into a stride, making sure the two of them stay linked so they don't get separated. Bruno can run fast to keep up with him, right?]

[ Bruno can run fast! Which might be surprising. He does have to sprint to keep up with Urianger's longer stride, but he does so without issue, missing tree roots and underbrush. It won't matter in the long run, however, since they'll find themselves escaping into another thick fog no matter which way they go and Urianger will find himself abruptly alone.

Alone and indoors, even, rather than still in the forest itself.

He finds himself in a narrow space between two walls, light barely filtering down through cracks in the wall and the smell of dust thick in the air. From the framework and supports visible, one could easily surmise they're not only in a house, but inside the walls of it. For a tall elezen, he may find himself somewhat cramped.

Ahead? A door. It certainly doesn't look like it belongs where it is and yet it is there, perhaps having been placed by someone at some point. Voices come, too, muffled from behind it, although one has a familiar uncertain, mumbling pitch to it. ]

[Well...they tried their best, but there's nothing they can do with the fog closing in around them. The last thing Urianger does before the fog claims them is take a deep breath and prepare for what is to come.

Needless to say, he wasn't expecting to find himself in such a tight space once the fog lifts. He has to hunch down and crane his neck at uncomfortable angles to figure out where he even is, but the answer only brings more questions with it. Chief among them being...where did Bruno go?

At least he might be able to answer that question as he slowly makes his way toward the mysterious door with the hope of exiting into a more spacious room. He hears the voices on the other side and almost considers listening in with the door closed. However, this is most certainly a vision. They're not going to notice him, probably.

Either way, he opens that door.]

[ Beyond the door is a better-dusted and well-lit room. It's a little on the small side; it's cluttered in a quaint way, full of old furniture and books in stacks, random odds and ends, a broom in every corner, and routes for the rats that scurry about to get around easily handmade and added to the walls and ceiling.

Inside, Urianger will find more than just rats, though. Bruno is there, along with a teenage girl who bears enough similarities to him that they could easily be related.

She's looking around the room with growing confusion. ]

You never left.

[ She says this, not quite a question but it could be. The Bruno in the vision grimaces but rebounds quickly, trying to smooth over that uncertainty. ]

Well, I- I left my tower, which was you know, a lotta stairs, and uh in here -eh? Kitchen adjacent [ He picks up an arepa from a plate left randomly around the room and then, after that, he adds, ] Plus, free entertainment!

[ Cue Bruno snagging a little handmade theater (for rats) and setting it down on the side table next to the old, overstuffed chair that, from what a casual glance would tell, seems to be the only thing in here worthwhile for sleeping in. Hm. Anyway, he sorts through a few different scenes he's made, his drawings on them colorful and rather cute. ]

So what do ya like? Sports? Game shows? Telenovelas? [ That arepa he had before? He puts it in front of the last scene he swaps to and it bribes two of the rats to come and poke their heads through the little holes for the two "actors" drawn onto the scene. There we go! Time to plop down in his chair and wave towards them. ] Their love could never be.

[ This... could be seem as humorous, if not for how manic the poor man looks, trying so hard to act like any of this is normal. The girl, his niece, certainly doesn't seem to be buying it. ]

[Urianger joins the girl in her confusion as he takes in the surroundings with her. This is where Bruno lives? But...as quaint and cozy as it looks, this is in the walls of a house. What is the meaning of this?

His attention is drawn back to Bruno and the little play that he's putting on with the rats, his eyes softening with...he doesn't want to call it pity, but what else can he call it? This isn't quite how he wanted to learn more about the one-off comment Bruno made about writing plays. Have these rats been his primary company until now?

So many questions. He prays this vision will tell him more.]

[ Luckily for Urianger, Bruno's niece is here to say everything he's likely also thinking. None of this makes sense to her and she's left watching her uncle's antics with growing worry. ]

I... I don't understand.

[ Which Bruno takes the wrong way, assuming she means the show the rats are (not actually) putting on. ]

Y'know, because she's his aunt and she has amnesia, so she can't remember that she’s his aunt, you see it’s like a very forbidden kind of-

[ But the girl interrupts before he can go on about that for too long. ]

No, I don’t understand why you "left", but didn’t "leave"?

[ Oh. Bruno pauses in his explanation and shifts uncomfortably in his seat. A glance is thrown her way, then away again, gaze flitting elsewhere around the room to avoid eye contact. ]

W-well, the mountains around the Encanto are pretty tall... and uh - you know like I said, free food... and everything... [ He shoots a look towards the rats on that point. ] Yeah, you guys, you guys love the free food, don’t ya? Always hungry, never satisfied...

[Okay Urianger is absolutely not thinking about it in the moment but he's going to sit upright on his couch later and think very hard about that telenovela plot. God-tier melodrama right there.

But no, what he's actually thinking about is the bigger picture. Did the negativity surrounding himself and his power become so overpowering that Bruno felt forced to leave his home? Or, well..."leave" in some sense of the word. That's troubling, to say the very least.

He looks on with growing concern, hoping that the girl will be able to squeeze more information out of Bruno.]

[ It is God-tier melodrama and that is why he and Urianger should be best friends, okay? ]

...and... I...

[ While Bruno is shuffling through his excuses, his niece has taken to walking around the makeshift hovel between the walls. She pauses by where there's a sort of table that's been added jutting out of the wall where the panels thin out and allow a crack of light to seep in from what's beyond.

She leans down to peer through it and seems to come to some realization before drawing away. She turns to look at Bruno with about the same amount of concern that Urianger himself is feeling.

Should Urianger go over and take a look himself, he'll see a gorgeous dining room beyond with a table long enough for a large family to all sit there. Looking down from there, at what Bruno's added on his side of the dining room wall, is his attempt to mimic the table design, as though he might have been pretending like he could still be joining his family for meals even... even without being there...

Bruno, however, just looks embarrassed. He looks down, unable to meet her eyes. ]

...I... um... look, my gift wasn’t helping the family... but... but I love my family, you know... I just don’t know how to... I just don’t know how to...

[When the girl steps away from the wall, Urianger isn't far behind her. It's clear that he's a ghost in all of this since they haven't seen him yet, so he has little fear in stepping right in front of them on his way over.

He finds himself running a hand along that handcrafted table extension by the time he too pulls away from the scene beyond the crack in the wall, a weight of sorrow for his friend growing within his chest.]

Bruno...

[He murmurs to himself, knowing it won't be heard. Part of the memory is clear: Bruno just wanted to help his family, even if something forced him into solitude. What could have happened, though? Is the girl going to ask?]

[ There's a silence that seems to span the length of eons, though in truth, it's only a handful of seconds before Bruno's head pops back up and he segues into, ]

Anyway, I think you should go, because, um, I don’t really have a good reason, but if I did, you’d be like, I should go ‘cause that’s a good reason and...

[ He's hopping up out of his chair as he goes on but the girl moves to stop him, getting to the point of why she had tracked him down to here in the first place. Gently, she asks, ]

Why was I in your vision? Tio Bruno...? I just... wanted to make the family proud of me... just once. But if I should stop... if I’m hurting my family... just tell me.

[ A look is exchanged between the two, a realization crossing both of their minds: they're so much alike. Urianger may not know how, but those words, they may as well have been Bruno himself saying them. To that, Bruno struggles a moment, looking for the right words, but in the end, he can only sigh. ]

I can’t tell you... [ Which earns that kind of frustrated look that's closer to tears than anger from his niece. ] Because I don’t know. You see, it's...

[ Bruno sticks his hands in his pockets, pulling out a series of faintly glowing shards. Made of thick green glass, Urianger will recognize those. They're akin to that same slab of green glass he'd pulled from the vision of their possible futures here that Bruno had shown him all that time ago. This, however, this one was broken for whatever reason, but Bruno begins putting the pieces back together on whatever surface he can find in the cluttered little room.

It begins forming a vision of that same girl, a house in the background, cracked, falling apart, and then not; two paths, but no context. ]

I had this vision the night that you didn’t get your gift, Mirabel.

[Full glad is Urianger that the girl whom he will soon come to know as Mirabel stands her ground, and it seems to be for a very good reason. Though they may be of different generations, they have a very similar desire to do right by their family.

He approaches when he sees those shards come out of Bruno's pockets, standing over him as he pieces them together. He can't help but feel a bit of distress upon seeing one of Bruno's tablets in such a state, even if he doesn't know the reason for why it was broken. At least Bruno seems to have all of the pieces, and the vision meets the general guidelines as Bruno described. Two different outcomes...

Then Bruno says something about a gift, and Urianger looks up. He can't quite recall if Bruno has ever mentioned magic running in his family, but either way, it seems it didn't manifest in Mirabel.]

[ Urianger might be even more distressed to know it was Bruno himself who shattered this particular tablet. He finishes assembling it and gives it a long, tired look. ]

Your abuela, she was worried about the magic, so she begged me to look into the future, see what it meant... [ To which might confirm that, yes, whatever magic their family has, it had skipped Mirabel for some reason. ] And I saw the magic in danger... our house... breaking... and then... and then, and then... I saw you. But the vision was different. It... it would change... and there was no one answer... no clear fate. Like your future was undecided.

[ From there, Bruno shakes his head and pushes the tablet pieces away. His voice hitches a bit, upset. ]

But I knew how it was gonna look, I knew what everyone would think because I’m Bruno and everyone always assumes the worst... so... so...

[He sure would be!!!

This is so difficult to hear, though. Bruno was asked to look into this, so how could everyone blame him for any of it? They should have been thanking him for the forewarning! With that information, they could have looked into it- looked for the warning signs so as to make an attempt to avert it. Or at the very least prepare for it to minimize the damage.

He shakes his head, frustrated. This had to have been the catalyst for Bruno's leaving, right...]

[ Mirable is stunned into silence for a moment, gazing down upon the tablet, shifting the way she looks at it to see the two different possibilities, before, quietly, she realizes, ]

You left... You left to protect me.

[ This is where the vision, this memory, begins to become hazy, slowly dissipating back into the forest's thick fog, but Bruno's voice remains, or does it? This time, he sounds like he's right next to Urianger, and should he look, hey!

He is! ]

That vision, it would have torn the family apart...

[To protect Mirabel... Indeed, had everyone looked at this with the worst expectations in mind, there is a chance she would have been to blame for the house's collapse in that potential future. What would the family have done with her to avert it?

So to avoid putting her through all of that, Bruno just...left. He left, even though he loves his family and didn't want to. No, he left because he loves his family. Even if they all seemingly treated him so...

...

Oh, it's over. That's Bruno actually talking to him. Urianger turns to look down at him, pained.

So...if he were to kneel and give this man a long overdue hug, would he allow it?]

[ Wait, what is Urianger do— oh. Bruno won't try to avoid the hug but it feels very foreign to him after so long of, well, just. Never being hugged? It's wild how strange a common gesture can be in total absence. He sure hopes Urianger will understand when it takes him a moment to turn into the hug and return it, face finding a shoulder to bury itself against. ]

...aw, c'mon. [ He sounds teary, though he fights against actually crying here, in the middle of a deadly forest and all. ] Don't be like that, ya big dope, you'll make me cry.

[Urianger does understand, at one point having been just as unused to hugs himself. He would've even understood if Bruno had turned him away. But now that the embrace has been reciprocated, he gives the other man a gentle squeeze.]

Mine apologies. I wish to comfort thee, and this felt more appropriate than any words I could conjure up.

[Which in itself is saying a lot, considering Urianger's affinity for flowery speech. Sometimes, a simple action speaks far louder than words.]

I am sorry thou hast endured so much. Truly, I am.

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.

[Urianger nods once Bruno steps back, slowly rising back to his feet.]

I believe thee, and full glad am I to hear it.

[It's genuinely heartening. He remembers when they spoke in the past and Bruno wasn't sure how much more of these wizard shenanigans he could take. He's glad to know that something good came out of it all in the end.

He glances around to check their surroundings. There doesn't appear to be anymore fog on their trail yet, but they probably shouldn't push it much further.]

If I may inquire...prior to thine arrival, did that memory occur recently? Mirabel and the house, are they...?

[Okay?]

[ Right, right, Bruno should have anticipated he would ask that. ]

Oh, that, uh, w-well, funny thing is... um... [ Bruno can't help it. He turns his gaze down, away from Urianger. ] We. We tried. I thought we had a way to the right outcome but... but everything still fell apart and...

[ He gives his head a shake. ]

The house was crashing down around me when I found myself here, so, I don't know. I don't know what's happened yet but it doesn't look good.

[Ah... A heavy breath escapes Urianger. That does sound bad.]

...'Tis possible that it could not have been averted. [Which really sucks to say, but sometimes it does end up that way and you can only endeavor to minimize the damage.] I can only hope that thy family escaped unharmed. Devastating though it may be, a home can be rebuilt. Lives, however...

[He tails off and shakes his head. Bruno is older than him- he doesn't need him to tell him that.]

Not knowing the outcome, however... This cannot have rested well upon thy conscience.

But it should have been possible. The vision had two outcomes, Urianger! I... we... we thought we had it figured out...

[ But maybe they hadn't. Maybe he had misread it all. It's his fault, it's all his fault, and it will always be his fault. He seems to sink in on himself, shoulders slouching and his head bowing, thick curly bangs moving with the motion to hide his face. ]

I don't know what to do. Part of me wants to stay here and not face what's happened... back home... but I love my home... and my family... and if I don't go back, they're gonna blame Mirabel and she doesn't deserve that.

thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

one fucked up coming down the line

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this memory provides like 80% of my icons i stg

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gently whispers oh. my god.

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Endwalker endgame spoilers

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