⇨ 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

C

[spaghettimonster]

To the local Honorables, it probably does sound like Pesagni's just fascinated by his name, saying it to make sure he's memorized it.

For Papyrus, who's just been called to the cathedral for his own naming ceremony, it sounds a little bit like a pokemon's repetitious sounds. Which is a little extra bit concerning, when they're all freshly turned into animals.

"Are you... okay? You're saying the same sounds over and over."

[pipers_son]

"Oh, 'lo there, friend~!" He knows that voice but not, he thinks, the new 'name' that goes with it. So he'll wait on that front. In the meantime, Joker twists around, an act that takes something of a whole circle for him to do so that he doesn't step on his own tail. With how long and enormous it is, it... takes some doing.

"I just got my name~." Or, you know, his fake name. Whatever. "So I'm Pesagni here in good ol' Eden!"

[spaghettimonster]

Papyrus waits politely through the display, encouraged that the greeting wasn't in the same sounds - whatever that was, it's not a ploy to keep from talking to anyone. And that's a very showy tail, flashy and impressive in ways that suit Joker - Pesagni - even if it looks a little inconvenient.

"Oh! That sounds like a good name! I just got mine too... I wonder if that's why we're all here?" He looks back to the Cathedral, where there's still a lot of familiar-looking Honorables trickling in and out of the building. Maybe they're all fresh from brief and distant visits with their respective Architects, relieved that they hadn't been caught on the spot, like he's feeling. "Hope it's okay to take a while to remember them all... There's a lot of people." Even just the 40-odd people from the carnival would take a while, let alone all the local strangers.

[pipers_son]

'Flashy but inconvenient' describes a lot of things about Joker so, really, it all fits in the end anyway. He cranes his head up a little bit more, feathers along his head perking a bit.

"It does seem like all the important things happen there," he says. "From the brands to this, now. I imagine we'll all get used ta things the more we go with it. But yer havin' me die of curiosity here- what name did they give you?" Basic curiosity should be more than enough for him to hear it, right?

[spaghettimonster]

"Nyeh heh heh, I hope you're exaggerating! That would be a terrible way to die." If Joker's going to go out, he should at least go out in a cool, flashy, heroic fashion. Not something silly like curiosity.

"But, I am merciful, and I'll spare you further suspense. I have been dubbed... 'Yehudi'. I think I like it!" They're probably supposed to like them, if the names are reflective of their innermost selves. But it's worth saying.

[pipers_son]

"I think the idea is that we're not supposed ta die at all, actually," Joker muses, mildly amused that the joke went over Papyrus' head. Or maybe that's also part of the joke. Who can even tell, sometimes? "It'd be rather impressive if I could break the rule on that by curiosity alone."

Also it'd probably piss off the Ringmaster because what the hell, but hey.

At the announcement of the name, Joker makes a funny little bird noise in the back of his throat. "Oooh, Yehudi. Sounds fancy. Like ya should be travelin', or somethin'. Although I suppose there's only so many places ya could travel, here."

[spaghettimonster]

"It's true," Papyrus says a little solemnly, nodding but not giving away whether he was counter-joking or taking the comment at face value. Either way, it would surely piss off the Ringmaster, so they better keep it to the land of jokes.

But why talk about the possibility of death when there's so much happier things to talk about, like 'Yehudi's new name and path in life?

"I suppose I could travel to the edges of Eden, and... 'admire' those barren areas nobody likes to talk about." The few real Honorables he's overheard mentioning them, at all, did so in hushed whispers and shushed each other when they noticed him nearby.

the internet cut out right as I posted this tag

[pipers_son]

The possibility of death and all that misery it entails really is best left off for a different venue, or at least artists who fit the bill in looking positively gloomy. You know, like Childermass, or something. Definitely not Joker, in all his multi-colored glory.

Then again, the Barrens is hardly any better, and Joker cocks his head sharply to the side. "Now now," he says, feigning a blithe tone, "you'll want ta be careful there. Looks like a real scary place even ta be close ta!" Especially if he's caught, or suspected of anything. "One shouldn't suffer for their art or anythin'. If ya do go, maybe ya should take a buddy?"

Half advice, half an offer.

oh i hate when that happens

[spaghettimonster]

"Oh no! The last thing I want is anything... needlessly scary." Like unwanted attention, or suspicion, or the risk of getting booted out. Sure, the Ringmaster's out there somewhere, but it's a big world.

He looks out and away, as if to see the Barrens through all the buildings and greenery, and bites his lip a little - then winces, and opens his mouth again. "Maybe... I'll travel, but in worlds of the mind. Weaving words and spinning tales, and all that. Stories are art, right?"

[pipers_son]

"Now that sounds much more preferable." At least for now, while they're still figuring out the culture and locations of this place. The time for bullshit will come in due time, because it always does, but they may as well try to be good for a while.

In the meanwhile, he give a sort of bow, spreading his wings out in a grand gesture. "You'll have ta come share them with me sometime! We can talk about our progress with art! Since we both came on the same day, I would say that's as good a reason as any for bein' friends, right?"

[spaghettimonster]

Any excuse not to go near where the rumored cannibals are is a good excuse. And keeping their cover is so important, so good a rationalization, that surely nobody would argue with them.

Besides, something as important as the Mirror is probably in the city anyway, right? Where it can be kept safe.

"Y-Yeah! That's a great plan!" Papyrus enthuses, hop-turning back to 'Pesagni' and his better ideas. That's a cover story he can get behind, and he'll borrow it when he's talking with other friends. "I'm still trying things out... Have you felt, uh, drawn to anything?"

1/3 i'm so sorry about him

[pipers_son]

"Oh, I think so... but not to the point that I've drawn anything."

2/3

[pipers_son]

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!

3/3

[pipers_son]

Needless to say, Joker takes a good few minutes just cackling to himself, far too pleased about the joke that was just handed over to him on a silver platter. At least it only lasts for a moment or so before he calms down with a few last wheezing giggles.

Anyway.

"I still have ta experiment, of course," he continues, as if he'd never stopped like a jackass. "But I have a pretty good feelin' about it."

*Please* don't be, I love it even if Papyrus goes :[

[spaghettimonster]

Papyrus grins at first, because Joker saw the same necessary joke and took it! Who knew that Joker was a joker all along?

Okay, that should have been obvious. And it would be a shame that all these months they haven't been exchanging comments like these, except that when the moment finally came, it was good.

But, well, his smile slowly droops as Joker keeps laughing. He's not used to that kind of response to wordplay, from anyone. Brief chuckles and groans are the norm, not... this. Is it that funny? Is Joker having an episode? Do peacocks go into hysterics when they're stressed out?

He's about to softly ask when Joker finally stops laughing and starts talking, and he sounds so normal again that Papyrus hardly hears what he's saying over a slow sigh.

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]

"Drawin' or paintin', huh?" In any other time, he'd ask how with only talons but, well.... Clearly the animals here make it work. Still. Still, still, still. Joker cocks his head from side to side a couple of times.

"Doesn't seem as interactive as I'd like," he decides at last. "Doesn't that worry about yer work?"

[spaghettimonster]

"Huh? Ummm..." Papyrus squints for a minute at the bobbing bird head, before shaking his own. "I don't understand what you're asking? But I'm sure it can work, if it isn't about laughing at terrible wordplay, for too long."

[pipers_son]

"Ah, well. S'what I get for getting all, ha, philosophical and whatnot." How to explain.... Joker shifts a little bit from leg to leg, anxious and wanting to move. He wishes he still had hands, to gesture with. Wings just don't cut it.

"The fun part about jokes, I've found, is that it involves everyone, happenin' at the same time. I tell the joke, I get ta laugh about it, and ya react in yer own way." Like exasperation, or annoyance. It's all fine either way. "But just a picture or somethin'... I make it, and it's there. My part's done." Another cock of his head.

"That make sense?"

[spaghettimonster]

"It's all the same time... but so fleeting." His tail flicks back and forth, abrupt and impatient. "A good picture is full of memories! Associations! Telling a story all its own, with more details to take in, every time you see it."

This being Papyrus talking, his favorite painting is of a single bone with no particular secret details. The story is: bones are important, the end.

"Sculptures are even better; you can see them from so many angles! Different every time you look."

[pipers_son]

"Ha ha, ya might be right, but even somethin' fleetin' can have a big difference. Isn't that what everythin' is, in the end?" And boy, this sure isn't a conversation he ever expected to have with Papyrus of all people, but he guesses it's happening. It's sort of... fun, even. Maybe it's because they both seem like energetic jokesters that it's alright to talk a little more deeply.

"I'm not sure how I feel about sculptures... But ya might have a good point. Seein' somethin' from all other places, and different ways..." He shifts from foot to foot. "Hm. Wonder if that doesn't give me an idea."

[spaghettimonster]

Papyrus' ears go back at the reminder of the fleetingness of everything. One of the things about bones is how they last. They're used a metaphors for permanence in human art and literature because they're the last to decay, which is quite the flattery to a living skeleton.

But it really is strange how that feels, for ears to fold back like that, and he raises a paw to rub at them while Joker starts mulling things over.

"If the idea is something besides laughing at your own jokes, I've done my job." Papyrus says with an emphatic nod as emphasis, since he can't rest a hand on his hip and look all cool now. Then he tilts his head at Joker. "So, what kind of idea? If you want to share."

[pipers_son]

"Ha ha, how mean~." But no, really. He swears his has something, and he leans forward a little bit as he explains. "But I was thinkin' of makin' somethin' that an animal could wear. That's a sorta art, innit? And it'd combine the best of everythin', with everyone participatin'. The artist, the one wearin' it, the people lookin' at it from all over... At least, it sounds good ta me."

But he's also the one who laughed at his own joke, so.

(returning from hiatus!)

[spaghettimonster]

"Something to wear, so everyone's looking at them..." There's little question that Carly's doing something along those lines, but they're pretending they don't know about things like clothes just yet. "Like... living sculptures!"

If there's a way to combine Joker's good idea with Papyrus' advice, giving himself the feeling that his advice led here, he's taking it. Sure, it might lead back to bad jokes, especially if Joker opts for clothing decorated by funny words... but getting it visible when they're mostly on 4 legs would be a challenge. They might be safe.