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( closed ) life like the unplumbed sea;
WHO: Elysium & friends(?)
WHAT: This is now just a catch-all for everything
WHERE: Everywhere
WHEN: 2024
WARNINGS: Blanket warning for possible explorations of dark themes in general, please tread at your own risk. I will, however, endeavour to include specifics in headers if applicable.
WHAT: This is now just a catch-all for everything
WHERE: Everywhere
WHEN: 2024
WARNINGS: Blanket warning for possible explorations of dark themes in general, please tread at your own risk. I will, however, endeavour to include specifics in headers if applicable.
→ closed to gebura, 05/08.
Anyway. If she wants reasons, he'll readily provide them: it's been a while since he's sparred (real) and she's the first person he'd thought of for a practice partner (also real). What he won't mention is that he's used to spending this particular day (and/or adjacent days) surrounded by company and making merry, and how he ends up buying a shitty sword for the express purpose of not spending it alone.
When she finds him, bright and early and as the sun is just about peeking through the horizon—he'll be going through his forms. As serious as he looks, it, too, is all a part of the show. ]
no subject
It could still very well be a ploy, and she keeps that thought tucked close, even as she opts to not bring along Mimicry in favor of a less dangerous blade. She doesn't want to actually kill the guy (probably).
Said blade is balanced casually over one shoulder as she approaches him, choosing to stand there while he goes through his Clearly Very Focused forms until the sun's starting to lift a bit more and that light sinks into the vivid red of her hair. Yeah, that's enough waiting. ]
You good to go?
[ Hi, Elysium. ]
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→ closed to megumi, 05/09.
For whatever inexplicable reason, they're both here and existing in the market district. At least, Elysium is here for the express purpose of finding a very specific something, pouring over accessories by picking them up and inspecting them one-by-one. In truth, he already has an idea of what he wants and could be done with his business in minutes if he put his mind to it—but he likes thinking about the faces that would go along with every piece he picks up, their smiles that would inevitably follow, thereby smiling himself before he moves on to the next.
Seeing as there's nothing in particular to be in a rush for, there's nothing wrong with being a little distracted, right? Which then brings them to the following scenario: Elysium with what isn't an accessory for his hands for once, using it to
poke the back of this random guy's (Megumi's……) head. ]
Woah. Why does it look like you don't use wax or gel?
This took so long feel free to ignorec
[ Megumi was just here minding this own business and picking up some groceries to make dinner with when he's very abruptly poked in the back of his head by what appears to be a fake hand. He doesn't need to turn around and check who it is to know that this will be a tiring interaction for him.
He does turn around though, and here he is in all his porcupine-like prickly glory. He doesn't look very amused at all. ]
I was born like this. Do you always go poking at strangers?
→ closed to yuwon, 05/11.
so with that:
Here Elysium is, keeping to Neo Tokyo with a lid on any spiteful energy LILITH may have incurred from the aforementioned event. If there weren't so much else he could busy himself with, it's highly likely he would be out and about exploring the outskirts in every which distance within the imposed time restrictions—not quite out of vindictiveness (though there's the teensiest part of him that is…) but a genuine born desire to see all that's out there. And yet, he can't say he's keen on getting into trouble again for a second time when he's only been here for a little over week… Pushing boundaries and limit testing could always come later, when there were either accolades or achievements under his belt to prevent an early firing.
Unfortunately or fortunately, preoccupying himself means taking up more shifts as a civilian; whether it's a restaurant Yuwon frequents or not, he'll spot a new face at the bar he's chosen to visit when he's seated as a solo. It's his lucky daaaaaay ✨ ]
Alone on a Friday night, are you? [ Lazily, he props an arm up on the bar top to rest his chin on his hand. ] How can I help you?
not me losing this tag a million times
what he doesn't expect, however, is to be met with a somewhat familiar face. while it's a gradual recognition that comes to him (so gradual in fact that he doesn't recognize him for a good minute), he does tilt his head slightly towards one of the featured menu items. ] Get me one of that.
[ his words are impassive per usual, even as he slowly connects the dots: ] Do I know you?
💞💞💞
💖💖💖
⚠️⚠️⚠️
🚩🚩🚩
https://twitter.com/incorrectbearfx/status/1795105103088701888
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→ closed to sampo, 05/10.
anyway
Perhaps giving credit to hottie's words that this is a legitimate affair, the location pin leads to one of the nicer izakayas tucked away in an alley of Neo Tokyo. Cozy and dimly lit, with wooden furnishings and traditional décor—it's a bit like stepping into a relic of the past, a respite from the neon lights and commotion, waited entirely by human staff.
In any case, there's a part of Elysium that doesn't expect moneybags to show up as online banter is simply just that, at times—but when he does and is escorted to the counter, he'll have a terribly amused face staring right at him. ]
Do anything interesting with your password recovery answers yet?
[ Along with the 'greeting,' a drink, as was promised, is slid in front of him. Sampo can have fun with it: it's a cocktail that isn't expertly mixed whatsoever, so the ratios are likely way off. That's what he gets for accepting something on the house…! ]
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[Of course, he's intrigued by this so-called five star person. Amused, even. And for a man like Sampo, sometimes amusement is all he needs.]
[As he's allowed to approach the counter, he'll absolutely let his turquoise eyes move from top to bottom and back again, before they're creased with a wide grin.]
I haven't the faintest idea of what you're talking about.
[His judgement? He's not giving it, yet, giving the drink a once over. He does seem to actually know his drinks, as he lets out a little disappointed huff as he gives a sip.]
...How long have you been working here, again?
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→ closed to wriothesley, 05/15.
Still, Elysium isn't thinking that much of it, mostly being his conversationalist self until the person he happens to be talking to departs—and as he looks behind, recalling all their companions that have already flit into all manners of hotels except him… he looks ahead. Sees and pinpoints the sole other Outsider in Wriothesley then strides to bump his shoulder. To his credit, he's probably pretty normal their whole isolated journey forward, with maybe only a few choice words to having to walk under the grueling sun.
That is, of course, until they get to their hotel lobby… then worse, their room itself. ]
Wow. [ He has never sounded this unimpressed in his three weeks of conscription. ] Just the two of us, huh? In this big, bad…
…
Jail cell.
[ His smile stiffens in place. If Elysium can't hype up their circumstances, you know it's truly over. Nevertheless, he'll turn to Wriothesley with that same grim expression. ]
So what crimes did you commit against LILITH?
[ Elysium, unfortunately, knows his. Or maybe the irony is that the criminal needs a warden, and Wriothesley just so happened to be the unfortunate soul saddled with this purpose. ]
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He glances over at Elysium. How much has the man picked up since arriving? (Hopefully not too much.) Lightly: ]
Not as many as you have.
[ Don't think he missed you getting escorted back by a whole-ass SWAT team? What the hell happened there, buddy.
But this is their room now for the next however many days and Wriothesley, who has long learned that beggars can't be choosers, opts not throw any fuss about the state of their lodgings and instead goes for dropping his duffel on the ground and sizing up the bunk bed in front of them. I'm making bunk beds canon now. ]
It does feel kind of like home though.
[ .......Okay???? Is that a joke. ]
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→ semi-open, june 2024 pre-fight top-levels.
→ city of dreams.
i
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what's in a home mini cyoa version hehehehehe
I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LATE
→ city of dreams, cyoa.
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i should've cw'd this at the start... but how... cw: just don't read
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cw: forced medical examination references
I'M SO SORRY YESOD...
ALL IS WELL
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you know what this is, june 2024
[Sampo moves through the streets, feeling off. Did he drink too much? No. Can't be that. Something is wrong. He holds his head, moving into a building but-]
[Where he is becomes a different space entirely. He feels nauseous, his head pounding as he tries to regain his senses from the onslaught.]
....Huh?
[How disorienting. The smell of the sea buries itself in his nose, his mouth, and he feels like he's choking on it. Sampo topples forward, feeling something shift behind him. What, is there a creature there? He twists around, alarmed, but whatever it is drags around him and he almost trips on-]
[His own.....tail? A large, dark blue snake tail.]
[His mouth feels different. He can't understand why.]
...What the hell?
dissociates immediately
Something of a knife flies past Sampo, possibly scuffing him in its trajectory. It lands dead centre in its eyes before Elysium's running up to him and grabbing him angrily by the arm. ]
Stole the words right outta me! What the hell, man? [ A hiss, but they aren't given the luxury to stand back and argue. He'll roughly urge Sampo to start running by means of yanking the same arm before releasing it. ] Get moving already!
[ Where the first one had appeared silently and almost sluggishly, an entire cluster of them begin to advance at an alarming rate. Do-or-die, friend! Do-or-die. ]
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research team memory (cw: human experimentation, death, implied self-harm)
It makes hope a palpable thing, not an abstract concept.
Before long, the assembled group consists of a variety of individuals. Some are more reserved than others — Ayin is aloof, Giovanni is quiet, Michelle timid. Kali's demeanor suits her role, as a Fixer recruited to protect the team, and Benjamin is courteous. They form contrasts beside Elijah's restless energy and Daniel's affable manner, both evidently unwavering. Carmen herself seems tirelessly bright with conviction.
A mix of strangers, all of whom recognize that the City must change. The collaboration is encouraging.
It is, until it all begins to unravel, thread by thread.
The dream fractures, splitting into fragments of memories. Progress is not easily achieved. The experiments kill Enoch — just a child, for all his maturity — and Lisa is left behind, anguished and resentful. Carmen's radiant light fades to nothing, and the shadows grow darker with each passing day. The loss engraves its impact upon the entire team. Ayin sees nothing of the people remaining around him, you think. Giovanni grows more withdrawn; Kali ever vigilant. Michelle and Benjamin worry while Elijah throws herself into everything that she possibly can. Even Daniel is subdued, distracted.
Maybe this is when you begin to die as well, slowly, from within — or was it before that? This road to walk is built with sacrifices and sins, supposedly out of necessity, all for the greater good. Still, the experiments continue, and you and your colleagues don't turn away from the project. Elijah makes herself a test subject, recklessly, only to lose her life.
You think and think, searching for answers, recommending measures to implement (too late), though nothing can prevent incidents that have already taken place. Nothing will undo them. And no matter how rationally you try to approach the reality of the situation, the phantom fingers throttling you are relentless, and you
Can't stand this, any of it, drowning beneath the surface.
Gabriel scrubs the blood from his nails. Washing his hands reopens wounds to treat before they are out of sight inside his gloves, but it makes no difference when all of him is on display all too soon, once his refusal to comply with the examination is disregarded altogether. Ayin can call upon Kali — he stands no chance against her. The door is locked, and escape is impossible.
> Enforce the procedure. ]
→ don't worry about it, mid-june.
[ They "wonder".
What a magic word to remove them of any culpability. Elysium doesn't look annoyed because he ultimately isn't, nor is he actively trying to appear otherwise, expecting Sampo to call him out on just that. A span of what had been a half hour at most had lightened a weight on his shoulders until it flipped it into something else entirely; all this time, he'd been telling Sampo not to complicate things and here he'd gone and done it himself—how funny.
What did it matter what they'd seen and gone through in a dream together? Everything. Nothing. Elysium had intended to bury it where it was conceived as a dream. Yet, if Sampo wanted to dredge it up so badly while simultaneously trying to take it back the moment he couldn't handle it, well. Elysium couldn't just let him throw him for loops whenever he wanted, could he?
A man who says he isn't scared of the sun; Elysium will call him out on that bluff.
Where the kiss to his knuckles burn, it isn't unpleasant—much like the feeling of constantly being upended, he reflects on when the last time he'd experienced this much excitement had been. Never, really. Ha.
Two hours and some change later: ]
So are we making this easy for ourselves, or hard?
really don't worry about it
[He thought such complicated pasttimes were behind him. This seems more like the material of the plays of younger Masked Fools who were eager to show themselves on stage, rather than stick entirely to the shadows. Such strange excitement was something distant, like the mist of nostalgia. Then again, it isn't nostalgia, right? He can't even explain it - that churning, awful pull of something he can't help but taste.]
[He really should know better.]
[Maybe he doesn't know anything at all.]
[He keeps busy, lolita dress and all, and ferries the people down the streets, through winding passageways, all to freedom and safety. All in the day's work of Sampo Koski, though he wishes he was compensated more for it. Tch.]
[The question comes as he turns a corner, looking for stragglers. A pause. A hum. That's a good question.]
That all depends
I don't think you're the type who likes when things are easy though
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→ july wildcards.
→ gebura.
sidle right up to her.
In his hands is a watermelon. He gives her a look from the corner of his eyes. Apropos of totally nothing: ]
Heeeeey. [ hi. hi! ] Did you know that it's been a trend recently to crush these with your thighs?
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→ ishmael.
Anyway, he could make the journey alone again, he could not. But, why do that when he knows just the person who'd possibly share his enthusiasm for it? It doesn't hurt to ask, more so than months ago now that he more or less knows what to expect. ]
Heya. [ wherever ishmael is, elysium appears beside her like a poltergeist that has finally deigned to show itself. where did he come from? don't worry about it. at first glance, if it looks like he's carrying more load with him than he usually is—that's because he is. ] Make any plans for the day? What do you say we go on a little adventure?
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→ sampo.
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→ tao.
guess which idiot forget to bookmark
you found it again regardless mwah
→ august wildcards.
you know what this is.
He acts on instinct when he spots a hooded figure snatching a package right from someone's arms and making a run for it, abandoning the tornado potato he'd just paid for (RIP) in order to chase after the offending criminal.
It's just too bad he gets hit by a truck in the middle of his chase. This is a kdrama now.
Fortunately, his nanobot injections from ye olde keep him from ending up snapped in half with five broken ribs. Unfortunately, they haven't made him impervious to all damage, and there's still a good deal of pain radiating through his chest as he pushes himself back up to his feet, mouth twisted into a grimace. It's a good thing his dear friend Elysium happens to be nearby (or was watching the whole thing?? who knows) and can lend him a hand!
Predictably, the thief is long gone by now, vanished into the crowd of people that have stopped by to rubberneck. Even with cybernetic implants and the like on the rise in 2278, there's always going to be a little shock factor when it comes to watching car collisions. ]
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→ gebura.
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→ malkuth.
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→ september wildcards.
→ callisto.
In an also unfortunate twist of fate which may or may not make Callisto swear off of undercover missions for good, him and Elysium are playing the parts of… a luxury couple. There's something about their appearances being perfectly suited to the role, embellished with a dazzling array of high-end brand clothing and accessories.
But for a turn of events, Elysium has been given a dress, his hair extended to his waist. In any other scenario, he would revel in his appearance, confidently flaunting the reds and golds he's adorned in with a confidence so striking it could blind.
basically: elychan real.
If only his partner didn't leave so much to be desired. ]
… Let's make this quick. [ terse, short. he has heels. he can use them. ] Shall we?
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→ october wildcards.
→ ishmael.
Try again?
[ Sending a message to Wriothesley, he means. ]
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→ yuwon.
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→ yesod.
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→ callisto.
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→ malkuth.
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→ gebura.
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→ yesod. to preserve the header organization...
ari my hero
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→ ishmael... again... hi
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→ november wildcards.
→ sampo.
[They've been through a horrible time. Their wounds have more or lesss healed, even if their mental scares have not set in. Will they ever? It reminds Sampo of that strange limbo-like time after their strange, strange dream at the end of the world. Everything feels so new, so raw, and to patch things, soothe them with this dance that they have is more than acceptable. He may have balked at it before, but....]
[Well. He's here now, at Elysium's bedside. He watches the man sleeping for a bit (he's so comfortable, he begs to be bothered), before he bends in, steals a little kiss.]
Wake uppppp, sleeping beauty. Hehe.
[Elysium may note that Sampo is dressed in his hooded cloak from before, but now he's got a couple of backpacks at his side. Hi.]
1/2
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→ ereshkigal.
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→ ishmael... take 2
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