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lunaecalamitas2024-05-18 12:19 pm
promittere) wrote in lunaecalamitas2024-05-18 12:19 pm
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...
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.
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...
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.
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?
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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.]
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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. ]
gently whispers oh. my god.
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.]
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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...
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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.]
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...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...
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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?]
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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.
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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.]
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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...
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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...]
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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...
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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?]
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...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.
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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.
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[ 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.
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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?]
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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.
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...'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.
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[ 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.
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I wish I could tell thee what may have gone wrong, I truly do. I am but able to offer a word of advice: thou shouldst return, else thou comest to regret thy lack of knowing. 'Twould surely eat at thy conscious.
[Almost as if sensing the hang-ups about family, the fog begins to rolls back in, lapping at their ankles. Urianger hasn't taken notice quite yet, though.]
...Not that I do not understand thy concerns. 'Tis...not easy to confront such harsh realities.
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...wow. [ Now that is a gorgeous spell
for a job i will never level byyyye. Ah, but after that, he will return his gaze to Urianger. ] I... yeah. I know. It's not really ever the right idea to run from a problem, is it?[ And so entrenched in his own thoughts, he, too, isn't taking note of the forest's creeping fog coming back in. ]
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As enticing as it may seem at our lowest...nay, it is not.
[The smile, and this moment of peace, is short-lived. The fog has thickened further, and though Urianger has finally taken notice of it, it's far too late to try to escape now.]
Bruno-- [His grip on the man's shoulder tightens.] Brace thyself.
[He barely gets his warning out before the fog completely envelopes them...and out of the deafening silence comes the distant noise of a crowd.]
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Urianger?
[ He asks into the fog, sounding worried and questioning even as he turns towards the sound of the distant crowd. ]
Endwalker endgame spoilers
A crowd has gathered at the center of the garden, many wearing white labcoats and hailing from a variety of fantasy races. Most recognizable to Bruno would of course be the tall and pointy-eared elezen, but there are seemingly humans among this number as well, and...wait, are those little talking rabbits? They're having lively conversations with the studious folk. In the middle of all the action is Urianger, acting as a go-between for the rabbits and scientists.
As Bruno approaches the gathering, he'll find a conversation happening directly in front of him. One of the rabbits, sporting a brown coat of fur over the white of the other rabbits, is speaking to a man that could only be described as "the protagonist of many fantasy novels that Bruno may have read in his youth." Human and average-sized with short brown hair and a bit of stubble, he's clad in full paladin armor and is also observing the scene.]
"Phew! Finally, some rest." [The rabbit proclaims to the man.] "Why, I haven't spoken so much in...well, in forever!"
[Another human man walks up from behind to meet with these two, this one dressed in black and white with a snazzy coat and white hair. A gunblade is strapped to his back.]
"Lively, isn't it?" [He says.] "The town is abuzz- everyone eager to meet with our friends from the moon."
[He turns his attention to observe Urianger, who is currently recommending one of the rabbits to a group of labcoat-clad people.]
"I'm impressed. Truth be told, I struggle to tell one from another. No offense intended, of course..."
"None taken!" [The brown-furred rabbit replies.] "After you and your friends left Mare Lamentorum, we spent no small amount of time with your Urianger. Oh, the conversations we had! He told us all about Etheirys- answered our every question, no matter how trifling or trivial."
[It seems like Urianger befriended talking rabbits from the moon! Wild. The brown-furred rabbit goes on to explain how much they were able to write down about Etheirys- the world that Urianger and the others are from. Now here they are, experiencing it and its people in person.
The white-haired man looks back to Urianger with a thoughtful smile.]
"What would they think if they could see Urianger now? I daresay they'd be more than a little surprised...and impressed, no doubt."
[Sounds like Urianger has come a long way in some manner. But who might he be talking about? Friends who are no longer with them, from the sound of it. As he's reminiscing, he falls quiet and balks at the sight of a couple—a man and a woman—approaching the scene. They are of another race than the humans and elezen, very tall and broad, and also clad in lab coats.]
"Ho there!" [The man calls out to Urianger.] "Heard there was a visiting expert who we might bother with a few questions. I take it you'd be the one?"
[Urianger freezes in place at the sound of this man's voice, a look of both surprise and fright in his expression.
Whoever these two people are, Bruno gets the sense that Urianger was dreading their appearance at this event.]
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