⇨ EDEN

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 79 - Day 85
Where: Eden
What: Everyone arrives in Eden with their new animals forms - unfortunately, the welcoming party is a bit more intense than expected, with a ritual called 'The Anointment.' Better get this place figured out before anything gets any crazier.
Warnings: Hopefully no ritual sacrifice!

FLAME OF INSPIRATION↴ So it begins. After everyone has been given their new animal form and have had about an hour to readjust to it, the Ringmaster begins the infiltration. You don't see a lot of the specifics of the magic - all you know is that Pru's sword, the Hand of God, is somehow involved. It alone can tear through the wardings of Eden's realm, and once that entrance is made, the teleportation is instant. Everyone will find themselves in an open grassland overlooking a dense forest, with buildings and lights poking up out of the leaves. Behind you, there is a darker place - the barrens, the Ringmaster has explained. It's were the Outcasts are sent after they're banished. You are scattered across the area as if you've been dropped in with nothing. You've been given specific instructions - act as if you have no memory besides the vague life of being an animal. None of you know each other. You don't know how you got here, you've just been suddenly found yourself enlightened. Hopefully feigning ignorance will be what the residents are expecting, as what information the Ringmaster could find suggests it should be. Before the beasts of Eden come to claim you, you'll see the Ringmaster once last time, in the form of a giant serpent. With a nod of her head, she slithers away towards the barrens - she'll be in touch. ► THE WELCOMING: It's not long until you're discovered. The first to find you is a pigeon, who seems rather surprised. She'll ask the first few new arrivals she sees a couple questions - 'did you just get here?' 'did you meet the great Lilith?' Regardless of your answers, she'll hurriedly say she's going to go get help, and will fly away back into the forest. A short while later, an entire welcoming party of different animals will have come to greet you, sweeping out to find every straggler and explaining that you are the newest of the chosen. After they are sure that nobody is being left behind, they will invite you into Eden. ► THE GARDEN: Eden is a beautiful place. Every street, every structure, is surrounded by flowers and vibrant plant life - every bit as idyllic as its mythos would imply. The architecture is ambitious and creative, as if the residents have been perfecting the art for thousands of years, which they almost certainly have. There is the sweet smell of perfumes and incense on the other animals are you are led into the city. This is your home now, the locals will explain. You have been chosen by the Creator to serve Her cause. You will become one of the Honorable, one of Her artisans working towards the Divine Clarity. But first, of course, you must be sanctified. ► THE ANOINTMENT: On that first night, everyone is brought to a vast cathedral, covered in unknowable writings in a shining script. You are brought in through several gorgeous hallways lit with shining crystals and blue flame torches, only to emerge in a great hall built around a circular, sparkling pool of water. There are several braziers around its circumference blazing with fire, with sets of tools hanging out of them, like iron pokers. All of the new arrivals are gathered into the grand hall, and scriptures are read in the background that you can't really make out the specifics of. You will all be made to stand around the outside of the pool, and the local animals will gently explain to you what needs to be done. To become a new Honorable, you must be Anointed with the Flame of Inspiration - that is, they are going to brand you with the metal pokers they have heating up. If you go along with it, they will burn the mark into a highly visible part of your person (they have smaller brands for smaller animals), and then cool it off in the pool of water, where you are encouraged to bask until you are comfortable again. There are obviously a couple concerns with this. The biggest one is that it's sketchy as hell. The second one is that the brand is definitely made of medium grade iron. While the painful difference it makes won't be super obvious from the outside, long-term veterans and those with superlative fae qualities will find it very uncomfortable, and it will blister for a fair while afterward, which is seen as unusual. If your character refuses, or tries to get around it somehow, please explain in reply to the post down below. ► THE DAYS AFTER: After everyone is branded (or isn't, as the case may be), you'll be given the opportunity to dry off and head back into town. All of the fancy structures here are communal, they will explain, and you can choose wherever you'd like to sleep. There are a few buildings that are mostly empty that newbies seem welcome to hole up in, though the locals assure everyone they will be nearby in case they need help. In the days that follow, everyone will be welcome to explore Eden and find their bearings, and begin to discover what gifts the Anointment has bestowed on them. Whether or not you were good at a creative pursuit before, you will find yourself filled with inspiration for something - any artistic talent will do. It's like a creative talent will have been born in you overnight, or like an existing talent of yours has been boosted to near perfection. This effect will last as long as the characters are in Eden unless you are told otherwise. You won't feel the need to eat, but there is breakfast available, if you'd like it. The locals are very courteous, though they seem a bit confused. Something about your entry seems to strike them as different than usual.

Comments

[prazerbutterfly]

"I used my claws," he answers, clearly not giving her the answer he wants. Then with an odd grin he digs into cloth material for another piece of glass and sets it down. His paw passes right through it but his claws touch the inside, leaving behind claw marks. Then with a calm tone, careful not to blend in his usual cheeriness, he speaks again, more serious, "Like this."

[amphibiopathic]

Eruka’s eyes about bug out of her head (pretty impressive considering where they already sit in her skull) as she topples back with a squeaky noise of alarm. That’s certainly, well...

Terrifying.

“How — is that your talent?!” She cuts herself off from saying something more incriminating just in time.

[prazerbutterfly]

Maybe it is the fact that he's use to this kind of reaction that he makes no real show of emotion when she lets out a squeak. He sits there, his tail curling around his hip with a small lash at the tip at her making a little too much noise for his comfort.

"The glass is. As for how I do it, I suppose I'm just naturally good at bending reality." Because he was. His Power to Choose was simply manipulating the world to his whim. He just had less control overall when it came to places outside of his own world.

[amphibiopathic]

“I see...”

It’s all too easy to imagine those claws going into something else. Gulp. She ribbits nervous laughter, self consciously smoothing down goosebumps she can’t actually physically have.

“W-well, that’s a lot handier than being able to make different smells from your skin!” Whoops. She didn’t mean to say that out loud.

[prazerbutterfly]

Normally he'd lift a brow at such nervous laughter but all it really gets him to do is step forward again at the sudden revelation. He looks over at the vial with a sniff of it. It's such a sweet scent and now he's a little more curious than he should be.

"Wait, what?!" he starts, even if he doesn't seem that bothered by it. It's no different than Steven's spit at this point. He sniffs in her direction, "Then you ought to smell as tasty as an apple, hmm?"

[stillwinningthehardway]

"Huh. That sounds... good?" It's awkward being this much bigger than everyone else. Not something she hasn't experienced before, when she ends up in a strange body it's usually a large one. Still.

Scout flips her fuzzy ears. "Well, okay. Was there anywhere in particular you wanted to go?"

[stillwinningthehardway]

Farming. Scout has less than flattering associations with farming; in the Temple, her weak powers suggested to a lot of people that she should go into the Agricultural Corps instead of training to be a Jedi Knight.

She doesn't say anything, but her big ears pull back. "I guess anything can be... artistic? It doesn't need to look elegant, necessarily."

[pipers_son]

"Better stingin' than burnin', right?" he asks, although there's hardly any difference between the two. Whatever, it's fine. This whole thing isn't fine, but semantics between words can be.

"Anyway, I'm askin' because if it hurt too much, I could heal it for ya."

[steadydollypegs]

"...those seem pretty similar, Jo--... brother." And she narrows her little beady bird eyes just a smidge. Semantics doesn't make her chest feel better.

"Ya could?" She perks up a little bit. "I dunno, maybe y'should save it f'r somethin' bigger than just this though..."

[whattaprick]

Lambert goes and looks as he's directed, and it doesn't take much time before he's trotting back with a bit of scrap wood. Settling on his haunches, he turns it over in his claws, scraping carefully. Shavings of wood curl off and fall to the workshop floor.

It takes a bit -- this is smaller than the pieces he's worked with before. But before long, the form it takes shape under his paws is obvious, and he sets it down with a flourish when he's done: a miniature kitten in wood, one paw raised in mid-air and ears perked as though it might be playing with an invisible toy.

"There. That's my talent."

i love you papyru

[pipers_son]

Yeah, he gets that a lot.

Beaks might not be able to smile, but there's an unmistakable sparkle in Joker's eye as he leans a little closer to his poor suffering companion. "Hey, don't judge me for havin' a good laugh, now. I just have a sense for humor! Or overenjoyment of it, some might say, no matter the quality of the joke in question." After this long, he's more than aware of it. Unfortunately, that doesn't make him regret it at all.

[spaghettimonster]

Joker might know it, just like Sans does, and persist in doing it for the sake of seeing peoples' reactions. Even and especially the complainy ones. In which case...

"A little bit overenjoyment!" Papyrus agrees. He's perfectly capable of smiling, but there's a curl to his lips that makes it halfway to a grimace. "If the jokester likes the joke so much more than others... so much louder... Well, I think it might not be your thing. You should try drawing, or painting."

[pipers_son]

Radiating amusement, Joker watches her scurry about to collect the feathers, and doesn't jump nearly so bad this time around. "Oh, then I'm sure I'll be lookin' forward ta how ya make me worried~."

He's still waiting on those embarrassing clothes, after all.

"How many do ya think you'll need?"

[pipers_son]

"Mmm, it really is. Even the branding was unexpected." Joker tries to ruffle his feathers, with mixed results. He's so drenched that he suspects he just looks a little ridiculous instead. Well, more ridiculous than a peacock with a rainbow tail already is, at any rate. It's fine.

"Where'd ya get yers?" So that he can maybe fuss over it later, sshh.

[pipers_son]

"Yeah, although it ain't surprisin'. That kinda metal tends ta leave a mark." As in, iron. Even the newest among them are still fae-touched when you come down to it. Burning hot metal is bad enough on its own, but iron just adds an even worse pain.

Well, they can talk about that kind of thing later. Joker edges a little bit closer, leaning his head in. "Show me it clearly, and don't fidget, alright?"

[dontpokethat]

"Ha, right?" It's funny because it's creepy and also hurts like hell.

"On the shoulder. More space there." And he didn't think to tell them to put it somewhere less obtrusive, like an ear. He nods toward the mark, just under where Joker is sitting, partially submerged in the pool.

[atouts]

"'Hey, you' still works," Childermass says with a hint of humor in his gravelly voice, then he follows suit. It's less settling down to sit and full-bodied flop to the grass, though. If nothing else, it'll at least put them closer to even heights. "Although my actual name won't have other Honorables asking if you meant them. You know, in that way... what is it? How dare an amateur speak to me?"

[whattaprick]

That, at least, will draw a soft laugh from the cat, ears wiggling with his own amusement as his tail curls around him. It’s short and not nearly as splendid as the dog’s, and he has to fight the strange urge to head around that way and bat it with a paw.

“Run into a lot of that, have you?” He settles for touching his nose to Childermass’s instead, a quick, friendly touch before he pulls away. He appreciates not having to strain his neck. “Is your art not up to their standards? I thought beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and all that.”

[exaomori]

Please never say that out loud, Shima. She'll puke.

But what he shows her is impressive. Kinda. Considering that he couldn't do that before and that wasn't normally the kind of thing people could just do. Was it just that red, or could he do other colors as well? She's not so disinterested or agitated that she'll blow him off when he's trying to show her something.

"Hn. Gonna use that on yourself if you get bored?" A pink tanuki... that might be funny.

[atouts]

"I'm good at studies but they apparently lack any real, hm... inspiration," is what he answers with in a likely mimicked tone of voice, even if he can't do that at all as well as some certain witchers. He leans forward even after Lambert withdraws and bumps his forehead with a cold, cold dog nose. Similarly, it's brief and he draws back a little right after.

[whattaprick]

In turn, Lambert reaches to lazily bat one of those ridiculous ears with a paw. If he’s meant to be teasing Lambert for his own liberal use of the term at every given opportunity, he’s at least succeed in tweaking his good humor. Lambert may dislike a lot about being a cat right now, and everything about this whole charade, but it’s not so bad now that Childermass doesn’t seem the worse for wear despite the iron branding.

“Maybe you just lack the right subject,” he suggests. “Look around Eden enough and maybe you’ll find it.”

[pipers_son]

A faint laugh bubbles out of his throat, and he nudges her a little. "S'not a one time magic wish," he teases her. "Just a little rest, and I can use it as much as I need ta." He's not perfect at it, yet, but he can do enough for something like this, he's sure.

"Besides, it's a little thing. It wouldn't take much at all. I promise. I've already used it on myself." If he hadn't, he doesn't want to think about what state he'd be in, with how long he's been in the carnival.

[atouts]

It didn't kill him, that's all he can really claim. Childermass being Childermass, he's just gritting his teeth and bearing what lingering twinges of pain the brand carries. It'll heal, in time, if slower than everyone else's. Without anything else to be done for it, what can he do but at least try to enjoy the moment of air they have between this and whatever shitshow may come?

"Well, it's not as though I can just go ask some cat to pose for me or anything like that," he says with a sniff. "Surely I need something much more inspiring. Maybe a curiously shaped rock..."

[whattaprick]

"As if anyone would pose for free," Lambert counters, scoffing in mock-offense. "Why sit still when you could be using that to work on your own talents? Now, if there was something you offered in return..."

He lowers his paw, the short scruffy length of his tail twitching. There's a fleeting urge to groom all that fur into neatness, but he's still human enough in mind to tamp it down, for now.

"You might want to try finding a performance to watch. Eden's got plenty, apparently."

[pipers_son]

"Oh." Joker pauses for a moment, a little awkward even as he tries to crane his head to see just where it is that the mark is. He suspects its hidden underneath all his feathers.

"Does it hurt or anythin'?" As in, does it hurt because some big ass water clogged bird is pressing down on it with his stupid sharp feet? Joker is pretty sure that makes him a bad boyfriend, if so.