aionpcs: (regent)
Aion Teleos NPCs ([personal profile] aionpcs) wrote in [community profile] aionchat2022-07-10 02:52 pm
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THE REGENT'S ADDRESS [OPEN TO ALL]

[It comes on fast, once the Regent has your spirit in their hold. Around you, you may see other Aions stumble in the same moment, as if shaken by the same tectonic motion. An inexorable darkness claws at your senses, and you have only a few moments, hard fought, to reposition yourself so that you don't simply drop to the ground when it overtakes you. It has similarities to Communion, to the way another entity's thoughts and words reach out to your mind, but by the same token it's entirely foreign.

This presence is not like another person, it is like a raging, screaming cacophony that drowns out everything else in its path. Whether you be Kenoma or Pleroma, the Regent's presence in this metaphysical realm is staggering. To the Pleroma, though, it also feels caustic, as if the movement of their aura is enough to erode your own, with time.

Gradually, a new world forms. Unlike other Communions, where you are ultimately grounded in reality, here you can been dragged to what seems to be its own distinct psychic realm. A vast, void-filled courtroom, where only the throne at its front has a defined form. Around you, you see shadows of other people, other Aions, that have summoned along with you... but for the moment they seem spectral and unclear, their identities obscured by the realm's aggressive focus on its master.

The Regent sits at their throne, their body swathed in dark fabrics that drift and flutter like smoke. They have no face to be seen, only a faceted silver mask, without any markings or the barest indication of what might be beneath it. Their size is indistinct, maybe a bit taller than you are. They at first sit reclined, but straight up as their 'guests' arrive.]


It's been a long time coming, my subjects.

[At first, they are the only one that can be heard. Though you feel as if you have some physical presence here, a shadowy body of your own, if you attempt to speak no sound emerges.]

To the Pleroma: well done surviving thus far. Granted, I feel as if my Kenoma have made things easy for you. How strange, that most of you were allowed to wander a city within my empire without recourse. Able to summon that wretched creature to your side, even.

I hope you've enjoyed yourself, in the time you've had, because this will be no more. You've spread your infection in Venera, in Godsblood, and it is only necessary that these wounds be cleansed by the touch of the Kenoma. Your presence gives the people ideas... ideas that would disrupt the fragile peace they've come to enjoy, after so many years of suffering. As a kindness, I will only trim the vine, rather than burn the vineyard. What Venerans have taken up your cause, I will see shorn from my empire. And in Godsblood... an example will be made, as of the Sovereign's moon.

My Kenoma will do this for me. Fight them, if you want. But know that I am no longer asking for your fealty. I am demanding it.

[As if opening their court for questions, you will find yourself more able to act. Those that speak or take action will find their physical forms taking shape, standing in the court as people rather than shadows. If you want to question the Regent, now is the time to do so.

OOC: This post is a free for all! We will try to response as the Regent to people who directly engage with them, but you are also allowed to threadjack and interact with each other if you like. Please note that we will not be responding to tag ins done later than the 12th.]
wolof: I craved the taste of it (A poison so sweet)

[personal profile] wolof 2022-07-22 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's such a... nice thing to say. It says nothing about her magical prowess, or even the fact that she was a Praesi noble -- one who'd drawn the eye of below and above, and made that deal with powers far beyond her. It had nothing to do with that...

And yet everything. It was everything to do with that.

She smiled, weakly.
]

I can hope so.

[ She disagrees, of course, that it will erode what makes them strong, but... perhaps there were ways in which it would. She, too, had to become stronger, by finding those places, in which she had to bend, or grow. Her fellow Pleroma would, as well. ]

I do hope I can guide some of them. It's... a hard path, to stray from. Intoxicating, in its own way.
warmare: (人でなし)

[personal profile] warmare 2022-07-22 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[The smile does nothing but enrage her further. Almost as much as that other man's smirk. There is nothing here to smile about. Nothing about this is good, or fine, or even remotely amusing.

She hadn't wanted to accept that her world was destroyed. She still doesn't want to, even though the Regent claimed it in front of her face just now. Torn between those two, all she can do is rage cold and still, keep from attracting the attention of the shadows and use this time to memorize the faces of her enemies.

But she doesn't have to look at that smile long. She knows that face already: the false Matsukaze. The one who had called her the last jinba, and struck fear into her hearts that he might be right.

And if he has to die in service to the Regent... at least then the sight of her looking as weak as she had that day would vanish with him.]
lachtara: (Distantly)

[personal profile] lachtara 2022-07-23 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ She seemed to be doing quite a lot of leering across the room. The look she's giving him is angry and challenging - An unspoken declaration of violence.

Well, he's never been one to shy away from such things. Emet-Selch makes his way across the 'room' (though it could only debatably be called as such) so he may greet her. He stops only close enough to make reasonable conversation. ]

Our Last Jinba graces us with her presence.

[ It's very intentional phrasing. ]

With a gaze of murderous intent, it seems.
warmare: (闇の中)

[personal profile] warmare 2022-07-23 08:43 am (UTC)(link)
[He is a walking reminder of her shame, this Emet-Selch. Someone who has seen her face when given an illusion of another, whom she l... Who she respected. Who she might have cared for, if everything hadn't been ruined. If she hadn't been taken from her world. If her world wasn't dead.

If she weren't the last jinba.

Just hearing the name makes her eye twitch, her fists clench... but she doesn't move. She doesn't even turn to look at him. She doesn't know how much time she has in this impossible spirit space, so before it blinks out of existence she must memorize all of the faces of the Kenoma that she can before that happens.]


What does it matter to you?

[Beyond, of course... the face that the Regent's words had turned every single one of their servants into nothing more than targets for her rage.]
tohell: (Default)

[personal profile] tohell 2022-07-23 09:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ If there was any uncertainty as to how their separation might play out, that chilly retort erases all doubt. Barnaby's rebuke of further banter signifies the dissolution of more than merely an amicable mood or some strategic alliance, but the framework of a bond that had knit itself together in their time here.

As the conversation takes a turn for the worse, J's hands withdraw to partially cross themselves across his chest. The fingers of his right perch against his face, a forefinger stretching up to massage little circles into his temple. The rest curl over a downturned mouth as the playful light in his eyes dims. ]


Come, now. That's giving me far too much credit. [ A long sigh pulls from deep within his chest as J anticipates an oncoming argument. ]

You've already done an outstanding job of shining a spotlight on yourself without the need for anyone's help.

[ It wasn't like Barnaby was being very subtle, when he'd gone on a fishing expedition for information from the Regent of all people. The room full of every Kenoma and Pleroma soon to be at war with one another surely hadn't missed the nature of those questions. Or how beneficial any potential answers would be to the Kenoma's opposition. Should Barnaby's plans have relied on him lying low before abandoning his current post, it's possible that he'd already sabotaged that option before the demon even thought to approach him. ]

And If you feel like you've been toyed with, for someone else's gain- [ Does Barnaby truly think J would throw himself under everyone's suspicion by standing at his side merely to ease the present tedium? The demon might not value his life, but with Makoto here, he's got too much to lose to be reckless without reason. ] Lashing out at the wrong target won't do you any good.
fightforthejoyofit: (considering)

[personal profile] fightforthejoyofit 2022-07-23 09:55 am (UTC)(link)
[.. odd. Given Zenos' understanding of the Grand Ascian Masterplan - admittedly, an understanding filtered through a gibbering idiot and only half listened to at the best of times - one would think this a strategem slightly more to Emet-Selch's liking. He tilts his head, tone one of genuine curiosity]

"What would you do, in their place? Beyond not announcing it, I mean."
Edited 2022-07-23 09:55 (UTC)
hundredpower: (121)

[personal profile] hundredpower 2022-07-23 09:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Barnaby regards him with an icy stare that suggests he'd only like to lash out at him more. Namely with questions like, Who are you? or, What do you really want from me? And if it wouldn't cause a scene here, he might have.

But there's also a nagging sense at the back of his mind that there are still plenty of Kenoma who are unwilling hostages in this situation, and lashing out at them really wouldn't help. He doesn't know where J falls in that category, if he does at all, but the thought makes him rein in his temper, averting his gaze. He does have a point, that the real target of his rage is ultimately the Regent, though it doesn't bother him perhaps as much as it should that J has been able to see through him that much already. He's too angry to be afraid of what happens next.]


Just leave me alone. [He says, finally, the old habit of pushing people away rearing its head again. If he thought even for a little while that he might be able to trust the demon, or anyone here at all, now he's sure he's on his own.]
lachtara: (Warming)

[personal profile] lachtara 2022-07-23 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He shrugs in silent reply. Any answer he could give to that question would likely not be a welcome one.

After of which, Emet-Selch turns so that he may follow her gaze out to the crowd. Some fight, others converse. The rumblings of yet another brewing war that would be brought upon him. ]

I have met some number of warriors like yourself as time has marched on. None of which refer to themselves by the name you have given me. I would like to know of your people, so that you alone may not be the sole bearer of those memories.
aquaveiled: (himeka-590)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2022-07-23 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
No, not at all. I believe that you believe everything you're saying to me.

[ That much is clear. ]

I suppose a part of me does understand. There are times I've wished for an...absolute silence of sorts. But there is another part of me that wonders if you always felt this way? Or if something happened to change your mind?
vivificantem: (091. as to love with all my soul)

[personal profile] vivificantem 2022-07-23 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[...]

If things can happen to a person that are so bad they can change their minds toward believing that oblivion is preferable to nothing at all, I'd think that's more of an argument for how intolerable the suffering of the world is than anything.

I'm aware that my stance isn't the one that most would take. But it is what it is, in the end, however I came to that conclusion.
aquaveiled: (himeka-555)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2022-07-23 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That he can say it like that is...well, it's heartbreaking. To feel so wrapped up in another person's perception that you can't separate yourself from it.

She doesn't withdraw her hand. She wants him to know that he doesn't have to be alone with these thoughts if he doesn't want to be. ]


Do you have to?

[ It's a gentle prodding. ]

He isn't here...maybe now is the time to be the person you want to be?
tohell: (Default)

[personal profile] tohell 2022-07-24 06:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ Go ahead and ask away. His answers would simply be, "A friend" and "Not this." While there's truth in the fact that, during his some seven hundred years alive, J hasn't been able to successfully open his heart to many. It would still be a lie to say the demon would feel nothing at all upon learning that Barnaby's plans for future disobedience earned him a permanent expulsion from this war and existence itself. ]

Is that what he would do? Your Kotetsu. [ J remembers with frightening clarity that moment during their joint Innocence infection, when Barnaby's love had poured into his body like the breaking of a dam. Would a man worth that kind of immeasurable adoration simply abandon Barnaby in his most desperate hour? The sort of person who would appeal to his fellow Kenoma's sense of justice and righteousness, Hell- someone who could even measure up to Barnaby's expectations, that wouldn't be a man who could look on and expect Barnaby to fend for himself in dire straights. So perhaps using that sore spot, a dead man loved and lost, might remind Barnaby of what he's asking here: For J to potentially watch him orchestrate his own destruction. ]

Would you really expect him to leave you, to face this alone? [ Barnaby's action are so self-destructive that J can't help but point it out in the vaguest terms. His decisions are setting things up to pit Barnaby against the world at large, unless he can so easily assimilate into the very faction he's been working to destroy these last few months. He has serious doubts the Pleroma have such short memories, or are ready and willing to trust one of the legion orchestrating their destruction. The faction his mindset more readily aligns with could spell his doom just as easily as theirs.

A shard makes bodily death less of a lasting concern, but all it takes is the destruction of that soul-bound crystal left behind, and Barnaby won't be coming back to rattle the hornet's nest a second time. ]
I sincerely doubt it.

So why are you so dead set on believing everyone else should let you down? [ In this crucial moment, Barnaby would do well to not conflate J's inability to change the other man's stubborn mind with the assumption he's just going to kick back, sit on his hands and doing nothing. He's not an altruistic being by any means, but J is too selfish a creature to simply let what he likes senselessly fall to ruin. ]
hundredpower: (235)

[personal profile] hundredpower 2022-07-24 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
Kotetsu... [He whispers the name under his breath, eyes averted. He would be one of the idiots shouting at the Regent, if not charging in to outright attack them if Barnaby didn't stop him, and that's probably why this is all so hard to watch. There are many in this room who are more heroic than he is in this moment, and it would be an insult to Kotetsu's memory not to help them when his leash is loosened enough that he can do so.

And yes, Kotetsu would never abandon him. He always reined in Barnaby's more destructive impulses when he was at his worst, though he can't see why J would show anything like the same loyalty except out of self-interest. It's difficult to comprehend in circumstances like this why anyone should care about him on a personal level.]


He was the kindest person I knew. He always did everything he could for others. But I'm not naive enough to think everyone is the same.

[While J's insistence on not giving up at him does tug at his heart, it doesn't prevent that simple, internal contradiction: Kotetsu would never willingly serve the Regent. Listening to J's desire for him to not do anything rash would be the same as submitting to the Regent. So this time when he meets J's gaze once more, it's with a revised assessment:]

If you want to help me like he did, stand with me. If you want to drag me down, stay out of my way.
lachtara: (Knowing)

[personal profile] lachtara 2022-07-24 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
You assume I would not announce it.

[ Oh, it's admittedly not far flung from what he may do. He may be huffing about announcing it while he's on the end of executing orders, but that may not be the case if he were not on the receiving end. ]

The key difference in our plans would be that I would be the one giving the orders for a plan of mine own design. There is a drastic difference in that alone.

[ He folds his arms. ]

Perhaps I would even provide more specifics so that they may meet us with a sense of exact predictability. Having a tertiary goal - one of more import - would be optimal besides.
aquaveiled: (himeka-502)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2022-07-25 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Mayhaps...though it helps to understand someone. Don't you think? To know their experiences.

[ Maybe that's just because she's used to conveniently getting visions of people's pasts, but, eh. ]

If you don't want to tell a stranger, though, that's okay. Something like that would be hard to talk about even with your closest friend.
vivificantem: (088. as to console)

[personal profile] vivificantem 2022-07-25 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
More like I'd prefer not to in front of a live audience.

[There are kind of a lot of people here, and he isn't interested in giving all of them his Tragic Backstory, whatever it may happen to be.]

Perhaps someday. But not here. Not now.
lifespanned: (pic#11743277)

[personal profile] lifespanned 2022-07-25 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ She's not surprised to hear this from Silco— she knows from their shared distaste for Matt's behavior in the cavern that they're both aware that just being in the Kenoma doesn't guarantee loyalty. No, if she thinks about it, it's far more likely that people will begin to stray from the pack among orders like these. Silco fixes his gaze on her, and she returns his look with a carefree, easy one - as though it doesn't worry her that it's near guaranteed some among them will be singled out soon. ]

Got any guesses as to who those will be? It kinda feels like I have a few myself... just intuition.

[ It's a casual offer, while she casts her gaze about the room. There are already a few she has doubts about, which only leaves her to wonder just how soon those people will fall under the scrutinizing gaze of the Regent. But she's curious to hear Silco's opinion on the matter— he does seem like he'd be good at sniffing out those types. It's his obvious experience in dealing with the not-so-savory that keys her into it. ]
aquaveiled: (himeka-533)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2022-07-25 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Himeka nods, that's an understandable reservation. ]

Well, when the time comes...I would be glad to listen.
zauneyete: (I'll probably kill you)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2022-07-25 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
I do have a few ideas, yes.

[ It's self-confident, and he held his hands behind his back, considering the answer as to who. He didn't want to give too much away, and he didn't want to share too many of the discoveries he'd sent toward the Regent -- not that he thought the Regent needed the information --

But regardless, he didn't want Misa to know too much about his... ability to sneak information to the Regent.

What good is it, if everyone has discovered you're the team snitch.
]

Let's see... there are a few who seemed... weak of spirit, or mind. Those that struggled a bit during the training... and those who seem to be unwilling to cause harm.

[ He shrugged. ] There are those who will think we are harming "innocents", and they won't wish to participate. Then there are those who will want to support the Pleroma they've become fond of.

All are ample possibilities for betrayal.

[ Silco had his suspicions, of course. Plenty of them. However... letting the cats out of the bag early wouldn't do. ]
passio: (pic#15616638)

[personal profile] passio 2022-07-25 02:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ that’s what dextera had thought. then the archangel had shown up and disappeared just as quickly, as if solely to remind dextera that he’ll never truly escape. he’s tried many times since then to contact the archangel, but it’s always the same: a distant, but undeniable, presence. ]

…I don’t know who that is.
warmare: (侮る)

[personal profile] warmare 2022-07-25 04:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[This Emet-Selch, this "Ascian"... Hayame does not want to admit that she keeps her gaze from him not just because she is frantically memorizing the faces of the people who have been cemented as enemies in her mind, unsure of when this sick "dream" would end... but because... she cannot bear to look at him.

Because he had worn Matsukaze's face in her Innocence-ridled vision. And in that moment... he had committed a sin she could not forgive: turning the man, the only man, who had ever told her that her life was precious, that it could have meaning beyond service to her masters... into someone who would speak of the death of their worlds as something to be celebrated, who would give in to despair and sink into darkness instead of stand proud in the struggle for survival and dignity.

If she looks at him... She doesn't think she'll be able to stop herself from trying to wrap her hands around his neck. As long as she is looking at others...]


You expect me to believe you would carry the memories of the jinba into your lord's new world?

[Each word drips with doubt and disdain, her sharp canines clicking together with the force of how she has to grit her teeth.]
semicharmed: (beast with two backs)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2022-07-25 06:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Not exactly, [ Matt says slowly. ] But kind of?

[ Amos doesn't usually place himself so far away from Matt in situations like these. Part of Matt is embarrassed to realize it, like, Am I really that clingy? Part of him is stung. He assumes Amos doesn't want to get too close to the site of Matt's self-mutilation, lest it rub off on him.

Well: Matt doesn't have to think about that. He just has to think about the Innocence. He focuses on his breath for a few moments, centering himself enough to try and put himself back in that vision. Begone and the impression of bright umbilical cords, points of light offering sustenance and grounding. ]


The way Xishen explained it to me, this entity isn't really its own thing. She's more like a product of various personalities and energies. [ Matt pauses, on the cusp of delving into an explanation of tulpas, but then he thinks better of it. ] So I don't think she has a "where" so much as a "who." The Aions that are ... powering her, and tying her here, they're probably the best approximation of her location.
aquaveiled: (himeka-457)

dex you're hurting my heart

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2022-07-26 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ That can be a scary thing, especially in a world where you're forced to redefine yourself. Himeka can't begin to imagine what has brought him to this point, but it doesn't make seeing him like this any better. ]

I think...that's okay if you don't know.

[ She gives his shoulder another gentle squeeze. ]

Without him you can find out who that is. And you have people who can help you along the way.
lachtara: (Resigning)

[personal profile] lachtara 2022-07-26 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
Mmm.

[ Whether it is a yes or a no remains to be seen. He seems to look out on the crowd somberly. Instead of an indignant tone of voice, he uses one that is unusually sincere even among those he calls 'allies'. ]

None of them understand, do they? How difficult it is to be the last of your kind. One can sit and share a meal with another, speak with them, hold a conversation, and still feel completely and utterly alone.

[ His voice turns a little more determined. ]

If only they could understand what your own could understand. Feel what you feel. Know what you know.

I would like to know your memories as someone who shares that same fate. Though I cannot promise it would make the feelings of isolation ebb, I can offer the understanding of someone who now exists on the fringes of this world.

[ He looks at her once more, the smug smile gone from his expression. ]

However, in this "new world", I would hope that you may share your tales with those like you. Other Jinba who roam free as they will, do as they will, and may build new memories to share betwixt one another.
Edited (I saw a typo sorry lol) 2022-07-26 05:10 (UTC)
baltimores: (011; first of all)

[personal profile] baltimores 2022-07-26 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ He doesn't notice anything off about Matt, because there's a bigger topic at hand (sorry) here. That, and Amos assumes he gets it: the energy coming off of where his hand used to be is weird. He doesn't know how Matt is coping with it, actually. If anything, it has him impressed with him, that he has the fortitude to withstand that at every waking moment.

Maybe at some point that miscommunication will be cleared up, but for now, the gears in Amos' head are turning as he tries to piece together everything Matt's just told him. ]


There are Aions powering it. [ He repeats it out loud more for himself than questioning anything Matt is saying, seeing how it sounds coming from his own lips. It's kinda disturbing to think about. People like him can power it; it completely co-opted him. Where could that even potentially leave him one day... There's gotta be a solution here. ] Kill the power source and then it's probably dead, right? Or at least weak enough to take it out completely.

[ Yeah okay sure, he can kill a couple of Aions, that's no problem. It's nice to come up with solutions. ]

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