Field Mission 7: The Queen of Hearts, Part 2

[balancemod]

*gross sobbing* NAVIGATION 1. BREAKING DOWN THE COURT OF HEARTS What a year it's been. (See what we did there?) We've come so far and gotten so much closer to the truth behind the Bureau of Balance, and how you've all made a giant impact on this world for the better. Mystra is riled up from the lake in which she's dwelt, holding a broken Excalibur in her hands. She's just about had it from Karsus, but her duty is, and always has been, to govern magic and its application throughout the world. The planes of existence are wonky right now, the Hunger having consumed several of them over the last year, and the effects of that are seen in the world around you when the illusion begins to fade. She rallies, heading straight for the bond engine. She needs to be there to protect magic. Concurrently, a team of Reclaimers sets out to bring Lucretia back to her beloved team. We've discovered, through her shared memories with you all, that she's been part of an exploration team that's been running from the Hunger for over the last 100 years. Every time something called "The Light of Creation" falls to a planet, the Hunger is not long after, attempting to consume it and add it to its repertoire. She eventually breaks out of the Queen of Hearts role she's created for herself, and with tears in her eyes, thanks her newfound family for all the support they've given her. She thinks she doesn't deserve it, but in the end, her Reclaimers turned out to rise above and beyond her expectations, as they always have and always will. The final relic, the Bones of Conterfeit Pasts, was with you all along. Karsus had done a little bit of Reclaiming on his own, and knowing that if he didn't step in now, that the world would end without the help of magic... plunged everyone into the illusion. Franziska had it all along, in fact. And as the three Reclaimers who won the last Relic return to the Moon Base, Lucretia awaits. And deep within the heart of the Moon Base, the bond engine clicks on and the rings propelling around the ship begin to work again in perfect harmony. Magic has returned to Faerun, and it was single-handedly done by the bonds our heroes hold together. As those brave adventurers enter the Starblaster, they see the memories of 100 years worth of friendship and family, scattered throughout its deck. They also discover something that Lucretia had never wanted to share with anyone. A voidfish- a baby one, floating in a tank and happy to see visitors. More awkwardly, Angus has revealed that Lucretia hasn't been destroying the relics. In fact, all the members of the IPRE that are still alive are with us now, presently located in the Moon Base. Lucretia has lied to you all about the pretenses of what you're doing, as she holds the 8th and final Grand Relic in her hands. The Bulwark Staff. She knows that there's going to be hell to pay for what she did: erase the memories of her friends. She looks down at the floor, the final Grand Relic presented to her. Lucretia's at a loss for words, right now. "I will accept whatever feelings you have towards me, negative... damning, wishing me for dead. But please... allow me to stay on with you just a little while longer. Until we defeat the Hunger once and for all. It's taken. It's taken everything from me, and my friends. And I'm tired of running." Karsus, revealing that he had never lost his memories in the first place, is the first to step forward. He gives her a hug, and then soon after, we see all of them. Barry, Bread, Lucas (although he kicks Karsus in the shin on the way), and Davenport... as they all join in. 2. CRASHING UP (OR BACK, AS IT WERE) A. PROCESSING... Go ahead and buckle down, because there are a few things happening here that might take a bit of adjusting to. You may have already had your memories back for a while. Maybe, since the illusion of the world around you dissolved, crumbled into nothing, the things you've forgotten, the smallest smidgens of inklings that were replaced by some other memories, come rushing back. That's not the only thing. There's a thrum of energy inside you that you don't quite remember having an entire year ago. It feels like after the life you've led on this world, you can conquer anything. It feels like it belongs there, of course, but there's something of an ... otherworldly sense about it. Like a dear friend that's moved to Faerun, settled down and near immediately became a vital part of your very being. You are relying on a new wellspring to use your magic, your path actions, after all. And it came to be from the bonds you yourself have fostered over the past two years. It's only natural that you'd feel so attuned to it. It's a wild feeling, isn't it? What does this mean for you and your fellow Reclaimers? Take some time to sort yourselves out — reconnect, if you haven't seen someone in a while. Spend time with your loved ones. Because the Hunger is in your vision — and every time you glance to the horizon, from your spot on the grounded Moon Base, it almost looks like it's getting closer. B. THE INTERLUDE That's because it is, of course. Now that the illusion has dissipated, now that the Bureau of Balance is as ready as it will ever be to take on the Hunger, Seekers estimate that the edges will reach the Moon Base in about two weeks. There really isn't much time left to prepare. The entire Moon Base and what supplies it has are available to you. Think of it as the final supply run before you go and face the final boss: With no way to move past the Hunger to the rest of Faerun, the base has redirected all of its resources that it has left to help you fight the Hunger. The blacksmiths will now craft your ultimate weapons at no charge. Need spell catalysts? Take as many as you can carry. Training simulations are running 24/7. Bender is churning out magic meal after magic meal. Everywhere you turn, a member of the Bureau is stopping you, wishing you the best of luck in handling what's to come. And, well. Party? Yeah, okay, they'll throw you a party. At the end of the first week, after little sleep and so much anxiety, members of the Bureau who can will gather near New New Aspen and cut loose, throwing one night's nervous energy into an all-night shindig. Something is ending soon, whether it be Faerun, the Bureau, or the fight against the Hunger. You may as well try to enjoy yourselves while you can. C. THE MAGIC ATTACK By the way, those trinkets you've been carrying around the past year? As you hold them in your hands, you can almost sense that same hum of energy that you've been carrying in your chest since the illusion finally cracked. It is, indeed, magic now. What exactly it does is up to you, with a few caveats: - The item, powered by the strength of your bonds, your memories, should hopefully be symbolic of such! For example, maybe you've gained a fiery passion for protecting the people and things that matter to you most. Boom, your trinket can now cast a low-level fire spell. - Nothing too OP, please! It's not a Grand Relic, after all. If you're not sure, feel free to ask. - If your name happens to be Franziska, see Karsus. He'll probably crack some jokes about you having the final relic all along, and provide you with a replica, with the same level of effects as all the others. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

QUESTIONS?

[balancemod]

[ribticklers]

This isn't a full NPC interaction so I'm putting it here--what would Lucretia say if asked why she didn't just tell them the truth?

[motherfucking_ghost]

What are the limits to the trinkets? Does it have to do a spell, specifically? Do we pick something from path actions, or can we pluck things out of D&D as a whole? If the latter, is there a level limit? Can we use it multiple times, or is it a one and done use? Do we have to have the trinket on us at the time and we just Know That Spell for good now?

[motherfucking_ghost]

What does an ultimate weapon mean in this case/context? Is it a weapon that already exists in the world itself, or are we just crafting whatever we want that's coolbeans? Do we get to dictate what makes the weapon 'ultimate'?

[unrecovered]

Between Tinker's Tools and knowledge/experience from home, would Wash be able to augment his own armor? Within reason.

Re: QUESTIONS?

[rockymountaindie]

Since the Hunger is practically on our doorstep and we can't see the rest of Faerun... Are we supposed to assume Faerun's being devoured? Can we get in contact with anyone we've met outside the Moon Base?

[seasaltkeys]

Would Roxas be able to use Find Steed to find another flying horse?

[protegge]

Could I have more information about the feeling of being able to conquer anything? Is that a physical feeling only, or a psychological effect as well?

[korekara]

Important: Can Honoka get her bonbon trinket set into some kind of cute wand so she can finally achieve peak magical girl aesthetic for the finale

HANDWAVED NPC INTERACTIONS

[balancemod]

Want something done with the NPC's during this interlude? Tell us what your plans are and we'll approve or ask for minor adjustments.

[unrecovered]

1. Who has two thumbs, a maxed-out fighter path, and really wants to punch Karsus right in his goddamn face? Agent "Memory Is the Key" Washington. He is, as it turns out, really mad about all of this.

Admittedly, a lot of that anger is misplaced guilt over Karsus' death(?) in Lyrabar (dying to fix Wash's failures - at least, that's how Wash sees it) and uncertainty after Thay (given what Mou said, it sure sounds like Karsus knew a whole lot more about things overall and Wash in particular than what he'd initially let on).

So really, regardless of whether he actually manages to land a hit on Karsus or not, Wash just wants to know what the hell is going on, at least from Karsus' end of things. Did Karsus know Wash would find his chest and get into his room in Thay? Did he know the magic enhancing machine in Lyrabar would fail? Did he orchestrate any of it? Was it conspiracy or coincidence?

(For whatever it's worth, he's not planning on punching Karsus again, even if he doesn't like the answer he gets.)


2. For all that Wash wasn't necessarily a fan of Zarves beforehand (that's more Sans' territory, and also she ratted him out), he's still pretty damn impressed with her work. He's still relatively new at this Engineering With Magic thing; would she be willing to teach him, or at least share a few pointers?


3. where is Mou and can Wash adopt him

[eudaimonikos]

Two things!

1: Michael would obviously like to go and say hi to the baby voidfish! Can he access it freely? He wants to tell it that its parent (he assumes?) loves and misses it. If possible, he'd try to get the two of them reunited; if that's not something that could happen immediately, he would try to play go-between! Just pass vague empathy-type messages between a couple of jellies! That sounds, uh, weird and hard, but he'll do it!

2: Does...does Lucretia wanna talk about stuff? Michael's kinda awkward about it, but. Look, he knows he doesn't know her super well, but you know what he does know? ALL ABOUT WIPING YOUR FRIENDS' MEMORIES

[seasaltkeys]

Roxas has a few things he would like to do.

1. He'd like to find Angus and catch up with him. Sorry he couldn't be more help with the whole relic-swap deal, but they were all kind of busy. But still, he's glad Angus was able to solve the mystery and bring everything to light. And if Angus needs anything more, Roxas is here to help.

2. At some point in the interlude, he's going to find Lucretia. As with all his interactions with her, it takes him a bit to work up to it, especially since he's had a lot of thought about it. This isn't the first time he's been lied to, after all, and he is kind of rambly and open about his experiences with the Organization. But mostly he's just looking for reassurance. That even though she did lie to them about what was happening to the relics and everything, it was still to fight the Hunger, right? And that...they didn't inadvertently make things worse?

3. Finally, similar to how he did in Thay, Roxas is going to find a quiet spot, summon his Bahamut-given keyblade, stick it in the ground and hang his shield on it, and try to reach out to the Platinum Dragon one more time. Just to see if he can make a connection.

[ribticklers]

Okay, so there's probably going to be a follow-up to this, since there's a lot of stuff going on, but right now more than anything Sans needs one question answered from Lucretia in private: Does she actually think it's possible to bring their worlds back?

Not stated, but so heavily implied it might as well have been, is what Sans is really asking here, now that the chips are down: is it possible for Sans to save his brother?

[protegge]

Similar to the above, Mista is going to ask Lucretia if she believes they will be able to save their worlds and the people in them. Also similar to the above, there may be a follow up depending on her answer.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Joining in on Karsus punching, which Church thinks should be a new sport. There will be plenty of cursing of the 'stupid fucking asshole' variety. He's not like...looking for answers or anything, just catharsis.

[unrecovered]

1. I made you something
[If you're looking for Wash, he's in his Pocket Workshop, set up smack in the middle of the quad. Don't worry, the door is open, and there's a sign inviting you in]

[What's he doing in there? Well, it turns out that using his relatively newly acquired Engineer skills to help bring the bond engine back online has lit a fire under his ass, and he's using them to their full potential. With the tech he's brought back from Lucas' floating lab after the Netheril mission, the tools in his workshop, and whatever supplies he can obtain on base, he's hard at work using Tinkerer's Tools (and, sometimes, Create Bomb) to make small machines and tools for people. Have a request? He'll most likely help you out. If he's already friends with you, or if you're in his daily training group, odds are he's made you something already and is asking you to try it out.]

2. Let's get down to business
[Of course Wash can be found training: running hand to hand and weapons training in the dojo, and running specialized simulations in the arena. It's different from his previous training sessions last year: instead of a hard desperation, these are run with a fierce joy. There's little else he can do to teach everyone; now it's just a matter of honing the skills you have, and he is damn proud of you. As you finish your latest set or make it to the end of your simulation, he's there, grinning and offering you a fantasy Gatorade.]

Good job.

3. Here's to the nights
[The party feels right, honestly.]

[This is what you do before a mission. This is what you do when you know there's a very good chance that you may not come back, and you want to let everything go. Someone opens the door to their barracks and spreads the word; a lot of someones bring the contraband they've been saving for just such an occasion, food and alcohol alike; and everyone just lets it all out for a night. It may not be the best way to deal with the oncoming storm, but sometimes it's the only way available.]

[Honestly, the biggest difference here is that this one is sanctioned.]

[Wash is leaning against a wall with a drink, watching the party happen. He can easily be convinced to join the revelry, especially if someone he trusts is willing to literally drag him in; barring that, he'd be happy with a good conversation if you need to get away from the crowd for a bit.]

Some party, huh.

4. Twenty-one repetitions at the Salt and Pepper Diner
[What are you doing? Are you sitting alone, minding your own business? Researching in the library for that last spell or bit of information that might help? Enjoying a meal or a bit of downtime?]

[Well, whatever you're doing, there's a cat there now.]

[Athena is back in business, and her number one mission is to Make People Feel Better, so she is absolutely going to do just that. After all, everyone needs a little more cat in their lives, right? About twenty pounds more of insistent fluffy gray cat should do the trick.]

[Whether she's now in your lap or on your shoulder or rubbing insistently against your ankles, two things are very clear: she's here, and she wants you to pet her. Now, please.]

5. Title of the song
[Wildcard! Want to do something not outlined here? Create a prompt or drop me a line at kiaxet and let's roll!]

[unrecovered]

[This space held for additional prompts - please don't reply!]

[seasaltkeys]

[A - Re;Connect ; Don't Worry Darlin']

[As the illusion fades and memories return, it's a lot to take in. Especially when you're a kid with a lot of memories in your head and your heart, and not all of them are yours. He lets the ones of him as Hercules fade away for a bit, grabbing hold of the ones that he knows are his. That he is Roxas, Reclaimer for the Bureau of Balance. And that's enough to get him back to the base. That's enough to allow him to hear the rest of the story.

But there's still a lot to go over, and a lot of memories to reclaim. His own memories of his short life before Faerun, the fake memories of Twilight Town, the memories that belong to Sora, all of them take their time coming back which causes a lot of pause. He spends a good deal of time on the quad, in his usual napping place near the statue of the Director, taking it all in as he looks at the darkened sky.

There's a part of him that feels like he should be scared, but he's not. If anything, he's starting to feel ready. Roxas can't say what's causing it, but he can feel the warmth within him, the strength of the bonds he's made, and it almost makes him wonder if this is what it's like to have a Heart. It's enough to give him a reason to hold out his hand, and with a flash, the keyblade is once again returned to him.

And not just any keyblade, but the one he received from Bahamut. The one he's named Dragon's Justice.

Roxas almost looks like he could cry.]

It's back...


[B - Training and Supplies; Now Baby, Don't you Fret]

[Now that he's remembered himself, Roxas is steadily preparing for the next mission. He's regularly in the dojo, training once more in his armour and with his shield. He is determined not to squander these gifts, and to do right by the one who gave them to him. One thing that can be said about the past year is that he was at least able to keep in shape and can draw on those techniques.

But he can also be found in the library, once again researching his path actions. He's got them all now, and he'll need to use them effectively.

Or he might be lingering outside of Fantasy Costco. There's a reluctance to go in there, really. The jingle still haunts his dreams on a regular basis. But he's also going to need supplies.]

[C - Party; We're Living in the Future]

[He went to enough celebrations in his time as Hercules that Roxas looks a little more relaxed at the event than he has been in the past. He's not hugging the wall this time, but actually talking to people. Engaging. Actually smiling, which might light up the room more than anything.

Eventually he'll find a quieter spot though, and observe from there.]

Kinda weird that we're doing this...

[D - Wildcard; And None of This Has Happened Yet]

[Feel free to hit me up with any other ideas, or we can plot at urbaninja

[seasaltkeys]

[Additional prompts if needed.]

[korekara]

[ So it's the end of the world, apparently. And yet, despite that, Honoka is in... surprisingly high spirits. Or considering that this is Honoka we're talking about, maybe it's not that surprising after all. With the sense of power and energy that comes from her re-centered source of magic, it's hard to feel worried about what's coming up. She's definitely a little anxious and she knows it's not going to be easy – but Honoka believes in her friends and she believes in the Bureau of Balance. They've been through so much. All it'll take is one little push to the end!

And more importantly: Honoka quite simply isn't going to let the world end until she finishes giving everyone Valentine's chocolates. It's important!

If you were accosted by her around Candlenights, this is going to be a familiar situation – Honoka popping up to interrupt whatever it is you're doing with basically no warning whatsoever. ]

Hey! You're not busy, are you? Great! Come take a break with me, I've got something for you!

Or if she's not giving the jumpier members of the B.O.B. their annual heart attacks, you'll find Honoka doing what looks to be some actual training for the upcoming battle. She's doing her usual laps of the quad with a look of determination on her face, but don't be fooled. As soon as she spots a familiar face, she'll smile and wave. ]

Oh, hey! I'm just getting some laps in. Come run with me! It's way more fun with more people.

[ When she's done with her laps and gets on with her stretching, she doesn't do any kind of battle-adjacent training and instead goes into what looks like choreography rehearsal – if you'd spotted her practicing for the concert with the other girls, you'll recognize the dance. The world might be about to end, but Honoka's not going to skip out on rehearsing. It's just not how she's wired. ]

chocolates

[eudaimonikos]

Ah - okay.

[Michael was busy practicing with his new Fire Sword ability, but he can extinguish it at will just as well.]

Where are we going?

[gotyourbach]

1. The Quad (potential DRV3 spoilers unless opted out)

[Kaede isn't used to feeling betrayed. For the past year and a half, she's given everything she has to the Bureau in an attempt to feel like she was helping. She'd believed when people had told her, over and over again, that using the Relics was evil, and that's why she couldn't use them to save the people in Vista Virs.

And now here she is, a year older, two and a half years removed from the events of the Killing Game that had shaped her life for so long. In the Quad, there's a tree, carved with the names of fifteen Japanese students. Three of them are elsewhere on the moon base, doing their part, but the rest...

Kaede reaches out and touches the tree, closes her eyes, and leans forward to press her forehead to the unforgiving bark.]

2. Artificer's Office

I really wish I could borrow Saihara-kun's Bag of Holding... [says a walking pile of papers making its way slowly toward the library. There are sheets sticking out the top of her backpack, carefully kept open to keep from crinkling any of the unfolded pages. A closer look will reveal that they're absolutely covered in musical notation, mostly for piano.]

Almost there-!

[Give her a hand? Knock all her nerdy stuff over? Laugh at her misfortune? Her path to the Artificer's Office is fully at your mercy.]

3. New New Aspen Party

Here!

[Even if they don't know each other well, Kaede will stop every Reclaimer she sees to hand them a small tin of chocolates. They're very clearly purchased from within New New Aspen itself. For those she knows better, she might have an additional gift, but if she thinks you're not familiar with the holiday, she'll add,]

It's not the exact day, but... where I come from, there's a holiday where girls give chocolates to their friends. So I wanted to make sure I could give you something!

4. Arena

[That whole 1000 monsters challenge that was going on a while ago? Kaede's started up the simulation for that, a flaming rapier clutched in her left hand, cloak flying behind her to the tune of Chopin's Heroic. She's not performing knowingly for an audience, but rather, trying to test herself against an unending hoard of wild bears. It doesn't feel like she's been training very long compared to some, but to her, it almost feels like she's been doing this her entire life. The magical connection to all of her friends, the flow of their bond coursing through her, makes the sword seem lighter as she darts between flashing claws and teeth, rapier flicking and flashing with stunning precision. Every so often, instead of blood, deep red flowers bloom and blossom in a circle around her; a wordless shout, and they explode, computer-generated bears fizzling into nothingness around her.

The music swells, and as the final tens of bears start surrounding her, Kaede looks exhausted. Her knees are shaking, her arms are trembling, and she draws her sword in close to herself and closes her eyes. Even though it's a simulation, it promises to be a terrifying end.

Then the ceiling cracks open, and the roar of the bears and Kaede's music is drowned up by a huge Flare of sunlight, filling the arena floor and reducing everything within it to so much ash. Kaede collapses to the floor, scratched up and bloody, but unscathed by the hellfire she's just rained down.

Maybe give her a minute to recover, because for now, she's just on her back laughing helplessly at her success.]

5. wildcard!

[Anything in particular you want to thread out with Kaede? She'll be working on her fencing, her runes, her magic, and her music throughout the moonbase. Use this space or hit me up @ jaderhade or on discord @ jade#9297 !]

1

[noblegarnet]

[As much as Ferran is frustrated by Kaede, it's hard not to feel sympathy for someone who's clearly suffering, when all of them are facing similar things: grief, doubt, anger, fear. The world is going to end soon, if they don't stop it. There's no denying that anymore.

Given who he is, he doesn't know that he's the best person to handle this, so in lieu of approaching, he sends his puppylike familiar to trot over and lie down near her feet. Ferran himself remains where he's sitting under a tree several yards away, pretending like he hasn't seen her at all even though Butter's presence makes the situation obvious enough.]

[eudaimonikos]

i. through the fire and flames

[So. That was a hell of a time!

Michael can't help but think he probably had all of this coming a little. How many times has he screwed with other peoples' memories, made them forget their loved ones and act out some brand-new life of his creation? It sucks that he upset other people, but he was such a miserable, crabby immortal...he wasn't happy there, either. It's a taste of his own medicine.

Out in the dojo, he's practicing with a few different weapons. First, he starts with the shield Eleanor gave him. Holding the fire near himself doesn't help all that much, he thinks, unless to keep people from hitting him even more. So he moves on to knives, which he ignites in a quick flash of blue flame before throwing them one after another into his target.

Later on, though, he may be playing around with a whip wreathed in blue fire. Michael's never really touched a whip before, in all his indecisiveness over weapons, but he seems bizarrely good at it. After a few minutes, he's easily executing some tricks.]

Hey! Check this out!

[Should he be able to wrap a flaming whip around the target and yank it around from across the room? Is that what people do with those?]

ii. milk and cookies

[Michael has learned one (1) effective Human Tending skill - at least, as far as he's aware. So today, he's baking cookies!

They're chocolate chip, exactly the recipe Shinji showed him a while back. When they're finished, he wanders around the area near the kitchens, offering them to people.]

This is really the only food I know how to make. I probably would have died, if we didn't have a chef!

[Boy, having to eat like a human is super weird!]

iii. green light (tw: spweed)

[Parties before the potential end of everything? Michael loves those! For large portions of it, he's gonna be out on whatever makeshift dance floor has been constructed, jamming down and either joining others or inviting them to join him. If it's a slow dance, he proves quite good! He knows how to waltz! If it's anything more up-tempo...he's probably doing something extremely silly. With a lot of bouncing. He's obviously having a blast.

Later on, he'll spend some time swaggering up to people:]

Heeyyyyy, my babies! How's it hangin'?

[Someone has clearly given Michael some spweed (space weed) this evening!]

iv. wildcard

[ hmu! ]

[motherfucking_ghost]

i
[There is nowhere, really, to go. Now that they've wasted an entire god damn year forgetting things with other memories, the Hunger is just...there. Everything else is consumed. In a sense, they've already failed. They don't get to pick the turf to fight the big bad...what, amorphous blob of the essence of people, or something? They don't get to pick the turf, they don't get to take the fight to it, they have to scramble to come up with an actual plan without knowing how, exactly, to fight it. Except with, in the vaguest of senses, ~friendship~.

It isn't that Church isn't used to his world being reduced to a small enough area, be it Blood Gulch or the nowhere rundown base he got reassigned to. And hey, that one was over a year! Longer than this memory-fuck. A year remembering himself fully, haha! Just completely alone. It was fine.

It just all feels incredibly unfair. The odds feel overwhelming. And he can't shake the feeling of sickness inside him, a shaky anger mixed with something that feels like grief. Memories removed, memories regained, false memories, it makes everything feel like static whenever he thinks about it; it's exhausting and encompassing.

So you might, for lack of any better place to put them, find Church climbing up the giant tree and tying off dangling strings, out of reach. They didn't fucking burn in a fire, magical stupid bullshit, so this...just seems like the next best option. It isn't, let's be clear; he could've shoved them under his bed or literally anything other than this, but here he is, doing this.]

ii
[So the fun thing about feeling a ripped open wound in his soul (if he has one) is that it competes with the feeling of a return of magic, but like, it's Magic+, because of something he had no part in. He's not, in fact, convinced any of the reclaimers had any part in actually bringing magic back, snorting at Monika insisting "we" did anything at all. It's an otherworldly sense inside him, magic settling in nicely.

Therefore he doesn't trust it. He spent a year thinking he was Better Pinnochio, no, of course he doesn't trust this otherworldly magical strength to be real, are you nuts?

It makes Church much, much more irritable than he's been since getting here. Anger's always an easy emotion to slip into when he doesn't know how else to feel or how to express himself but must, in some way, express. He snaps easier at people, doesn't seek people out so much as just seems to...exist.

Hard to feel like he's got the right to, these days.

About the only semi-productive thing he seems to do is add charms to his bracelet--well, he gets a new bracelet, for the other wrist. The charms on it are much simpler in appearance. They're letters, after all. Of the Greek alphabet. Not the whole alphabet, mind, just certain letters of it. The other thing that's productive is, after snapping at someone asking him about weapons, he gets into an argument about a free superweapon. Mostly the argument seems to be "what do you MEAN you don't think you can do that? then what's the point?" or "sorry, I thought this place ran on magic, of course you can't do something MAGICAL" and so on and so forth.]

iii
[If you're not at the party, great, so's he! Could be he's actually putting in some training, if you call flinging arrows from farther and farther away and them hitting, inexplicably, in an angry fashion, to be training. Could be it's actually just some attempt at catharsis. Could be both? Could be it's not working.]

i

[seasaltkeys]

Do you need a hand?

[It's an honest question, even if Roxas isn't 100% sure what Church is doing. But he can help regardless, and he probably should. Seeing as those he's been watching for a bit.]

CTA: AWAKEN LUCRETIA

[ribticklers]

[Closed to Sans, Monika, and Honoka.]

sneaking in

[ribticklers]

[It's too bad Monika and Honoka couldn't get proper royal invitations, but Sans isn't especially surprised. When have they ever been able to just do things the easy way? Not that he expects this to be too difficult. If there's one thing Sans has spent the past year doing, it's wandering around the castle and harassing everyone inside.]

I can keep you guys hidden from magic, but that's not gonna stop anyone from just lookin' at you with their eyes, so we're still gonna have to be careful.

[eastofeden]

a. reunion [closed to crowley]

[ Aziraphale doesn't make many promises. Better not to, really. Vague implications, certainly. Assurances to try, and if he fails in the end, well, he'd never said he'd succeed for certain. Not his fault if anyone else got their hopes up.

It's just easier, is all. Less pressure. The freedom to make mistakes and try again - and you'd be surprised how many mistakes even an angel can make, particularly one who'd never been a terribly good angel. It's worked for him so far, anyway, which happens to be quite far indeed.

But there is one promise he had made. Unasked for, unacknowledged even, but he'd made it all the same.

I will never forget you again.

Simple enough, one would think. It's not as though he'd meant to the first time. It's not as if he'd ever wanted to. But of course, therein lies the problem. He hadn't meant to. He hadn't had any control over it. He hadn't, by definition, realized at the time that it was happening.

The first time...or the second.

Memories once more intact, the gossamer fantasy of princes and castles and true love's kiss swept away at long last, Aziraphale finds himself alone once more, in his horribly empty room (Kokichi gone, back to who knows where, one more thing Aziraphale had been unable to prevent), feeling guilty and miserable.

He doesn't go and find Crowley. He's too much of a coward for that. But he needs - he needs to hear him. To reassure himself that, even if he's angry, even if Aziraphale had hurt him again the way he'd hurt him before, even if things are ruined forever, at least Crowley is here, and safe. He raises up his bracer, and calls him. ]

Crowley?

Crowley, I understand if you don't want to talk, I wouldn't ask that of you, but...are you all right? Please answer me.

b. party

[ With all the changes and revelations lately, at least there's still one constant. Throw a party, and Aziraphale will be there. Free food? The opportunity to meet new people and check up on old friends? He wouldn't miss it.

With his newfound need for sleep, he'd been afraid he wouldn't last at an all night party, and had acted far too enthusiastically on some questionable-at-best-to-begin-with advice, and loaded up on coffee late into the evening. He's practically vibrating out of his skin by nine pm, accosting anyone even faintly familiar who has the misfortune of passing by. ]

Hello! Oh, my dear, it's lovely to see you again - and know it, I mean. How are you feeling? The Hunger, nearly here at last - can you believe it? Isn't it dreadful? We'll win, of course. Oh, we've got to, I didn't save the world once and come all this way only to lose it again. But we've done all we can, don't you think?

c. wildcard!

b

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael stares at Aziraphale throughout that entire spiel, and then for several solid seconds afterwards. Then he bursts into laughter, leaning forward to steady himself with a hand on Aziraphale's shoulder.]

Ohhhhh, my man! You sound like one of those little human chipmunks!

[Everyone here is on a Human Substance tonight.]

[noblegarnet]

[help him]

[The last thing Ferran remembers is eating something and falling asleep in a comfortable bed... and then he wakes up in a glass case, suddenly aware of reality.

After a few trials of getting the hell out of that thing (unaware that levitate would work well enough), he stumbles into the halls of the castle-base, and eventually outside, looking for anyone who might be nearby.]

What the hell is happening?!

[—Or maybe you find him just after the dust has settled, sitting against a wall wherever as he tries to piece things together. Things have apparently not stopped happening while he was out of it.]

This is the worst headache I've ever had.

[Is it? Maybe not. But it's a doozy.]

[obligatory butter prompt]

[Ferran spends a few days getting accustomed to being awake again. After that, though—he starts to test his magic out again, and it feels like he's more in tune with it than ever. Resummoning his miniature white familiar is one of the first things he does, and it's a relief to have that presence with him again wherever he goes. Soon after he successfully attempts to summon a faerie, and the puppy and/or the pixie might decide to get into someone's business without Ferran's input.

Well, magic is back. But even with his familiar and his new summon, it doesn't feel like that much of a triumph when the Hunger is right at their door. Maybe those summons will help lighten the mood for someone, at least.]

[wildcard]

[Having lost a year to sleep is... probably easier to deal with than losing it to an illusion, but that doesn't make it easy. He's going to do his best to catch up with all his friends and acquaintances on what he missed, if it's worthwhile at all—as well as catch up on some training and studying, since catching up with everyone in Thay and Lyrabar isn't exactly an option at this point. He just hopes they're not too late.]

[OOC: If these prompts are too vague for you, feel free to hit me up at lumieresdedragon and we can come up with something better!]

help (I need somebody) help (not just anybody)

[motherfucking_ghost]

World's ending, what else is new?

[Church is gruff and grumbly and look, it's been a long year, okay?] Where have you been? Oh, let me guess--fucking fantasy land.