⇨ 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

⇨ INVESTIGATION THREADS

[ringleaders]

Below are prompts with specific investigation-based hooks. Some prompts may go up as hooks for specific characters, who may reply as they see fit, but if you find something you'd like to investigate, please make a post here explaining what your character is doing to find out info. All investigation threads will be done in summary form as opposed to going tag by tag.

DON'T BE VAGUE. If you are having your character investigate something, you must explain what your character is specifically doing to find out information. Don't just say "I investigate the Twelve." You have to be more specific, by saying what your character is doing, such as "My character is going to ask the Honorables that brought everyone in who the Twelve are." The more specific you are, the better info you will get in return.

You can also confront NPCs by this method, and you'll get summary posts in return explaining how the situation will unfold based on your actions. Investigation is important for this plot! Various boons and advantages will be given out for characters who make a difference.

Please restrict all investigation actions to one or two actions at a time. Please don't give me a laundry list of the five different things your character is doing, because it makes everything too time-consuming to get through. Stick to one main thing your character is looking into per tag.

DID YOU FUCK UP THE ANOINTMENT? (Day 79)

[ringleaders]

If your character is having an unusually adverse reaction to The Anointment (that is, more adverse than one normally would be to getting branded with a hot poker), please indicate it here. That is, if they react particularly bad to iron, or if they try to get away and avoid the ritual entirely. Trying to refuse won't go well for them, so if you are going to do that you'll need to do something very clever to get away with it.

IGNATIUS

[npcarnival]

Ignatius basically fucking dies when he gets branded, given that he's a tiny fire skink. The brand is also small, but it is iron, and he is super fae. He doesn't scream, but he does go in a shock, giving the poor Honorable with the brand a heart attack. They dunk him in the water with great concern, as they were not expecting to have to straight up resuscitate anyone after a measly little branding.

He'll wake up eventually and manage to pull himself together, but wow, that was the worst. The Honorables will try to take him away to the local doctor, or whatever serves as one. You can try to interfere or come along, if you like.

[scientificist]

Herbert wants to come along. He's fascinated to see what passes for physicians in paradise.

He's complaining that if it was unsafe he needs to feel certain that they have ways to care for animals in these circumstances.

[kingsroads]

Yeah, Strange is freaking the fuck out about this. why you gotta murder the guy he's trying to protect, come on animals, do better.

He's sticking as close to Ignatius's side as he can and probably getting in everybody's way.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita will offer to come along (and firmly insist if anyone tries to tell her it's unnecessary). If asked why, she'll claim she's worried about him. She's not a good liar, and her tone isn't that convincing, but she tries to keep quiet and out of the way so as to not draw too much attention to herself.

Mostly, she just wants to keep an eye on him and Strange.

[whattaprick]

Lambert knows that’s iron, and he knows it’s gonna suck. Regardless, he’ll ask if it’s possible to use a smaller brand and get it stamped close to the point of his ear rather than any other part of his body. If asked about it, he’ll say it makes him feel like it would let him hear the flame of inspiration more clearly and meditate better on his calling.

He blisters badly, but he carries it with no flinching or screaming. Though he’s unsteady as he goes to dip in the pool.

[npcarnival]

Just because of his stupid explanation (the thing about hearing the Flame of Inspiration) they will go ahead and brand his ear.

[textsfromhotland]

Guess who's NOT as used to her rabbit form as she thought she was? The minute Alphys is brought up to the pool, her rabbit brain sees the brand and tells her to RUN. So she bolts. And then trips over her stupidly long ears so they can catch her anyway.

[kingsroads]

yeah, Strange fucks it up a little. It's mostly due to the fact that even though they aren't supposed to know each other, he does a terrible job hiding his concern for Ignatius. Strange freaks the fuck out when Ignatius passes out, definitely gets in the way when they're trying to revive Ignatius, and seems way too concerned about this dude for someone he supposedly just met. He'll try to temper his concern and put a lid on his emotions if someone calls him out on it, but it's obvious that this whole business has him SUPER worried.

Aside from that, Strange has two rare changes and way too many contracts worth of being messed up by the fae, so his branding is most likely one of the ones that blisters suspiciously. He'll accept the branding and power through it (doing whatever the birdy version of biting his tongue is while also crying a little) but it's obvious he is NOT having a good time.

[atouts]

Childermass doesn't try to avoid the brand or make any special requests and he sure as hell won't cry, yell, or make any other sound, but he also passes the hell out at the end. Thanks again, Portland.

[npcarnival]

They will try to calm her down instead of having to use force. They'd really rather try to convince her to come back and get it done on her own. If they can't, though, one of the Honorables will basically cast a sleepy spell on her and they'll do it that way.

[textsfromhotland]

Let's save everyone a lot of stress and knock her out with a sleep spell!

DEER LAUREN

[mylastchance]

Since Lauren is sort of a changeling now he's going to go into mental shock after getting branded. He'll basically be non-responsive, loose his balance a bit, and need help moving on to the pool part of the ceremony. He'll be out of it for at least 20 minutes or so. Hopefully he can stay in the pool until he's recovered.

[periphrasing]

Peridot goes into the whole ritual with a definite sense of unease, but she convinces herself to cooperate at first by mentally telling herself that whatever this is will be gone whenever she reforms next.

Unfortunately she's a vet with something approaching like, 2 years worth of fae exposure, so that iron is pretty damn nasty to her aura. She knows she can't be giving herself away by doing anything weird, but it's so unpleasant (and far too reminiscent of her time with the vampires) that when she starts to sense the cold burn of the iron nearing her, she reacts on pure reflex and manipulates the poker with her metallokinesis. FORTUNATELY she doesn't do anything super dramatic: at the first pass, the Honorable will just have a hard time pushing the poker towards her skin, like there's some sort of invisible resistance pushing back against.

Peridot does not appear to be doing anything while this happens, she's just sitting there cringing with her eyes shut and not moving a muscle, like a young child trying to brace for a booster shot.

SOLLUX

[psionichax0r]

Sollux is def going to spark (thanks psionics), but he's going to do his best to pretend to be super surprised and confused about it! Why could he do that? Must just be because of the sacred flame or something!

[stillwinningthehardway]

Okapi Scout probably gets one of the bigger brands. She requests it on her hip (like a cutie mark!) because, well, that's around where she burns herself anyway, and her apprehensive reaction is pretty within normal levels.

Between her hard-won normal pain tolerance and, well, Jedi pain woo, she just sucks in a breath when it hits her. It blisters pretty bad, but she tries to hide a limp into that pool of water and by the time she comes out, it looks a whole lot better.

⇨ BOOKS

[psionichax0r]

Sollux is first and foremost looking for archived information. To him this means computers, libraries, and even museums possibly. I realize since this is a garden with a bunch of animals making art all the time those things might not exist, but Sollux will not make that assumption and will be looking for them or their equivalents anyway.

He's going to be doing this by asking the other animals how he can learn more about the buildings and just about Eden in general. If this seems to put people off he will try to explain it away as him just being amazed about this super amazing place and wanting to know more so he can better please the Creator! If people still seem kind of weirded out by his questions he will stop asking around so as not to draw attention to himself.

⇨ CHURCH

[mylastchance]

Lauren is actually super interested in the cathedral? People were reading from scripture during the anointment so if any of that is laying around for the public to use he will read it. He is specifically looking for things about the "Divine Clarity" the animals mentioned.

He's also interested in the shiny writing on the walls, he'll try to memorize the shape of it if he can or look for repeating characters or repeating sets of characters. He will waste about a half hour on this. I'm assuming he won't gain anything from it, but it felt important to note just in case.

CARLY

[insidescoop]

Carly doesn't resist being branded or anything at first- enough could go wrong in her immediate thoughts that makes her 'confidently' file through.

But she's also the Oldest Vet and a practicioner in a crap ton of magics so when the brand is finally applied to the one part of her body that isn't supposed to flatten out, she WRITHES (though fortunately, that one part is her scalp- so the branding zone itself doesn't move a darn bit). Writhes, and sort of choke screams since it's hard to actually scream without moving your jaw.

Your call if she'd pass out or not honestly because holy shit.

GONGENZAKA

[betheman]

Gon also tries to go in on his own will, but as he's also a vet Full Of Magic, things do not go entirely well. As soon as the brand is applied, the Honorables will notice the sort of twitching that comes from someone resisting pain A LOT- actually he's partly unresponsive, and his tentacles start sort of shriveling up under him. He won't really say anything until he's tossed in some water, at which point he'll use the excuse of `feeling as though he needed (the water)` for such an adverse reaction. He's just really not meant to be out of it this long, he's sure!

He was likely branded somewhere on his Mantle. ...Which will be interesting if it carries over, since it artistically seems to represent his old pomp.

THE BRANDING HONORABLES

[soft_focus]

Reira takes her branding remarkably well- pain tolerance is something she has in spades, not to mention she's not quite as fae as a lot of the others.

As it is, after stiffly and quietly taking a brand right over her back- the easiest visibility point when you're a 2 inches long bat-pup with land capabilities- she'll politely turn to thank the Honorable handling her, for being so quick and so careful! (Honestly Reiras possibly one of the fortunate grabs for branders, with some of these reactions) Though she does visibly appear to be trying not to sniffle.

Reira also shyly asks 'What now', claiming that she's a little lonely and afraid to be More Alone right now. (Which the Honorable could interpret however, given Reira can't really make it clear that she likes Her Bunch)

Ofc dw ate the key bit While talking to them, Reira will be trying to see if the Honorable has any sort of brand themself. If they don't, she will claim that doing it was much easier since she 'knew' that obviously, everyone else has done this too, right..?. (If it is there, she will instead note if it looks any different, and ask if it hurt that much for them too)

⇨Society

[prazerbutterfly]

Every Paradise, in Tyki's opinion, always has its social flaws. While he understands there is some semblance of equality in Eden given how the food chain has been knocked out of order and thus allowed predator and prey to stand on the same ground without fear, Tyki will be keeping his eyes and ears open for any segregation.

Similar to how snakes will be somewhat outcasted in snide remarks here and there, he's looking for:
1. any internal struggles between predator and prey
2. if wolves tend to still pack together because all wolves know the secret hand/pawshake
3. He'll approach NPCs and ask them if something is the matter should they give him any odd glances.

[whattaprick]

Guess who’s keeping an eye on Childermass until he wakes up? Yeah ... this guy. If any issues come up he’ll simply claim feeling inspired by him and leave it at that.

[npcarnival]

This is going to be his go to excuse for basically everything now, isn't it?